Fall Break

With very little sleep and energy, I uncomfortably floated through this past week preparing for a Thai-language exam and final papers. Amidst studying and severe procrastination, I’ve had little time to update my blog... Exam week at Payap University is over though and today begins the first day of my mid-semester break! After a flight to Bangkok, a 5-hour bus ride and finally, a one hour ferry ride, my friends and I have made it to Thailand’s “Koh Chang” also known as the island of elephants. We arrived in the evening right in time to see the sun set slowly into the calm and accepting blue of the ocean. It was the perfect welcome and I feel thankful for some time to relax and catch up on some sleep!

KOH CHANG

An Update on Chiang Mai

Last Friday, Khun Hope and I drove around Chiang Mai to get picture updates of some of the kids from the Grandma Cares sponsorship program that are still in need of sponsors. It was really nice to spend some time with the them. After a year at the New Paltz Children’s Center, I was so used to spending a few hours a week with children, admiring their wonderful energy and coming home with amusing stories to share with friends. With Grandma Cares though, I see pictures of the kids, I hear about the kids but aside from teaching English once a week, I hardly get a chance to interact with many of them.

I spend a lot of my time in the office, working on the website (which I am enjoying and making progress on despite my lack of website-making skills) and so the opportunity to meet the kids I hear of so often was really exciting. But, this trip also added to my eagerness to speak Thai fluently. Even though I can carry on a basic conversation in Thai, which is so so so exciting, I sometimes wish I could just have a long conversation, the ability to ask ask and answer any questions. Khun Hope was there to answer my questions though and tell me about their lives. And with my very basic Thai, I was able to ask the kids and their grandparents basic questions which most of the time ended in laughter because well, my accent isn't the best. :)

“If you open up your heart, there is no language barrier,” said Ajan (Professor) Kai, the very first week of school. He emphasized how important it is to try to speak the language but also encouraged us to speak what we know by saying that the effort is really worth something. And it is true. People here in Thailand really make the effort to open up their their hearts and when communication is a challenge but the effort is made, they respond with comforting smiles.

The heart of Grandma Cares- pictures below.

LAST WEEKEND

Last weekend was a great one. Even though I love Thailand so much I've been missing home. I miss my family, my friends...salads. After spending most of the day in PIH’s study lounge last Saturday, my friends Jenica, Sam and I went over to our friend Jayje’s house for some pizza-making! Pizza just happened to be the perfect medicine...

I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester. I will be adding one more class to my schedule: The Economics of the Sex Industry in Southeast Asia and I will return to the Bon Mae Yoi school to teach English as soon as elementary schools are back in session.

Lastly, I am sure many of my friends and family know that Thailand has been experiencing some of the worst flooding they’ve ever had. Many people in Thailand have lost their lives and their homes. I ask everybody to keep the people of Thailand in your thoughts.

Friends and family at home, I hope you are staying warm and happy.