And it Begins!

With the start of classes and my internship at Grandma Cares, I am finally developing a routine. Three times a week, I will be doing volunteer work and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I will be in class. At Payap, there are two parts in the semester. From now until mid-October, I will be taking Thai language 1, Service Learning: Institutions of Southeast Asia and Globalization of Southeast Asia. I am sad to announce that I could not take the Thai Dance course due to scheduling conflicts.

As for my internship, I spend my Tuesday mornings in the Grandma Cares office doing minimal clerical work and the more exciting part, I am responsible for maintaining the design and content of the website, Facebook page and news letters. I don't have much experience with website design but I felt comfort and gratitude when I was given a packet of detailed guidelines and ideas that a former volunteer left for me. I am excited to get started on renovating the website. To my dear friends at The New Paltz Oracle, I will not hesitate to contact you for some help and suggestions!

On Thursday, I started teaching English to a small group of third graders at the Ban Mae Yoi School, where I will teach for a couple of hours each week. The class is made up of mostly 9-year-olds but also, two 13-year old girls and one 15-year old boy. Most of the students are from Burma.

Before I started, I wondered how I was supposed to teach English without speaking Thai but most of the kids already have a very basic background in the language as I am gaining a basic understanding of Thai. Since Thai class started for me last week, I was able to ask them for their names, nicknames and last names in Thai, how they were doing and where they were from. Then, I asked them to repeat it in English. I showered them with Dee-Maaks and Geng Maaks (Thai for "good job!") and after an hour and a half of ice breakers, small conversation and inevitable charades, I was ready to go home. It was my first day and I enjoyed it very much but I realized that lengthening a lesson to an hour and a half while keeping it fun and entertaining despite the language barrier is quite a challenge.

Luckily, on Saturday I joined Linda, an experienced teacher and Grandma Cares volunteer, at another school where she taught English to a group of kids from the organization. I watched her and got some tips. I will be assisting her each Saturday morning. Throughout the semester, I will also work on other side projects which I can't wait to share with all of you!

TIME FOR CLASS

Lisa, Abel, Zoe and Claire in Thai language course 1! Before I got to Thailand, I was really worried about taking a Thai language course. I was scared but the classroom experience in Thailand is far from intimidating. It is fun! Our Thai language professor, Ajan (professor) Noi is a bubbly and small Thai woman who is constantly laughing and making us laugh. She tells us not to be "so serious." "Go with the flow!" she says, as do most Thai people. On our first day, as Lisa walked in, Ajan looked at us with a serious face and while pointing her finger, she said "The number one rule in this class is that the last person to walk in, NEEDS TO SING A SONG!" Lisa sang and it was wonderful.

As many of you may know, Payap University requires their students to wear a uniform.The majority of the schools in Thailand do, I think. My grandmother is really fond of the idea. It's a little strange to wear a uniform but it really feels like I am a part of a community.

STICKY WATERFALL

Classes have started but my friends and I were still able to make some time for an adventure! After teaching on Saturday, we took a one-hour "song tau" ride to Nam Tok (waterfall) Buatong. Also known as the "sticky waterfall," which is perfectly located at the beginning of Chiang Mai's beautiful forest.

This is not your typical waterfall. We didn't just stand beneath it while fresh water hit our faces. We climbed the damn thing. We sat on it, we lyed down and we rested on it. This is a picture of my friend Berrett and I on top of the waterfall enjoying the warm weather and fresh air.

Down the waterfall!

Climbing up!

I am having a lot of fun learning Thai and getting to know Chiang Mai. It is really starting to feel like this is my home. To make it feel even more like home, yesterday I rented a bike to have for the semester! Starting Thursday, I will start riding my bike around town, something I really enjoyed doing in the New Paltz I miss so dearly. Something else I miss: The New Paltz Oracle. Be sure to check out their first issue of the semester on Thursday!