My Body Hates Me

My body finally got back at me last night for trying to do too much. I need to keep reminding myself that there are certain elements here that we do not have to deal with at home, such as heat and pollution, and that I need to be aware that I can not do the same things as I can at home. We usually spend some of our days napping as the heat can be unbearable and your body just shuts off when you enter a room with air conditioning.

I went to work this morning, not feeling 100%. Everyone in my class was in full attendance and in a very talkative mood. Even though there was a lot of English going on, it was not an actual lesson. When I looked at my watch to see how much time we had before class was over, class was already over. Oh well. Even though I feel bad that we did not actually do what was planned, we talk a lot about cultural differences, and everyone is required to speak in English, so even then they are learning.

I was telling them about taking Heather to see the Temple of Dawn, and how difficult it was to find a ferry to take us across the river without over charging. I spent about 5 minutes telling the story and then one of my students asked me why I just didn’t go to Wat Arun (Temple). I had to laugh as we were all talking about the same temple but did not realize it, until I translated it for them.

My class also talked about how they have difficulty pronouncing certain words. When they learn English in school they are not taught the proper way to pronounce even the letters of the alphabet so they had a shock when they had their first Native English speaker come in to teach them. They say tree, three, and tea all the same way. I spent quite a deal of the class teaching them how to pronounce each word, and also give them examples of more difficult words. Thank Goodness for that language development course I took at the Mount.

We taught at Rom Klao preschool again today. We invited EJ to come along with us as he will start teaching at some of the local preschools soon, and he wanted to know what it was like. The children were very wound up today and at one point they were all piled up on top of each other on the floor. Misty and I did the dancing cd with them so it was entertaining to try and break the pile up while still dancing so that the others knew what actions to do. The boys were also very excited about EJ. This preschool is tucked in the Rom Klao section of the slum, and does not get a lot of foreign visitors. I would not be surprised if EJ was their first contact with a male foreigner.

After class I went to visit Nancy and the rest of the patients in the AIDS hospice. Nancy was sitting outside alone, looking quite upset. I guess some of the other patients have been getting on her case about things. I am not sure what exactly but she felt as if everyone was against her. I can just imagine for everyone in the hospice that it is quite difficult to give up the life you are used to and come to Mercy where you are required to do things a certain way, and be in an environment where you may or may not get along with others. Hopefully they can sort through their differences.

Uma’s mother and sisters were over to visit. He proudly introduced us to his family. His sisters knew some English so they translated for his mother. She kept thanking Misty and I for providing comfort for Uma. We told her that we love teasing him (we always do).

We traveled back to Mercy via motorbike taxi as I was not feeling well enough to walk. I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, giving Misty work to give to my students to do as she taught her classes.