From the Land of Smiles

Santo - St Francis in the Caribean, Latin Mass

2011-03-14T21:24:00.000+07:00

Annette invited me to her concert at the American School in BKK, Friday, March 11. I had a great time listening some some very good live music.

Multiplication Tables Thai

2011-03-02T14:01:00.000+07:00

2011-02-06T20:44:00.000+07:00

Dropped

2010-12-29T15:58:00.001+07:00

I dropped this blog, and will try to find another medium to exchange ideas and write thoughtfully about what's going on in my life.

Loving God and Loving Others

2010-06-30T07:04:00.003+07:00

This morning I picked up a book that's been on my shelf since I moved to Thailand 4.5 years ago. It's called Freedom from the Religious Spirit by C. Peter Wagner, and although I read chapter 1 a while ago, I didn't really feel the need to read more. But this morning, I decided I needed to read more spiritual books in English, so I picked it up again.
Chapter 2 begins reminding us about the greatest command: Love the Lord you God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. The leadership team at church just reviewed this command 2 days ago. In fact, pastor had to leave the meeting early, and he asked me to review along with the group how we're doing in loving God first, others next and ourselves last. I shared from my experience, and encouraged others to share as well - what did we still need to learn, and what kind of prayer help and accountability did we need from others about this?
I still wasn't thinking that deeply about it, but confronting the command again this morning, especially in light of the religious spirit, I am struck that I need to spend more time alone in the presence of God. Yes, I need to read the scriptures, and yes I need to pray. But I feel as though I am lacking face time with God - worship and adoration, praise and simply abiding. This hasn't happened for a while.
There is another issue here, and that is the religious spirit. A few weeks ago, someone wrote down the ways the I've encouraged him, but then he went on to write ways that he felt my character were lacking. I know that I'm not perfect, and I don't think I ever claimed to be, but this just isn't not what I needed from this person. In some ways, I just joked to myself that I'd keep the email in my inbox, and read it every time I needed some humbling. The most hurtful part was that he specifically wrote why he cannot think of me as a potential girlfriend. I don't think that anyone has ever been so specific about my lacking qualities as he was, and again I'll admit - it was really hurtful.
I believe I really try to be a person of grace. I know that because of my background, all that education and all of my experiences doing things in the Kingdom, it is easy for pride to be all over me. But I know the teaching on living in the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I am so grateful for the reading this morning, because it takes away some of the sting of the hurt I've held for the past couple of weeks from this person. Especially since coming to Thailand, I've had to learn and re-learn grace, because face is everything in Thailand. I've grown in this, I know that I have. Of course I probably still don't have enough, and don't exercise it quite enough. The reading reminded me that some other Christians feel that they must tell other Christians everything they are doing wrong, and this comes from incorrect teaching - and living in the tree of knowledge.
I'm trying to bounce from the mini-tirade I experienced from this person. God help me to understand and respond only in grace. Help to take what I needed to learn from this person and improve myself in those areas that genuine areas of weakness. And please, Lord help me to not have the spirit of religion in my interactions with this person, or with any one! Help me to extend grace and live in grace, because of the blood.
In fact that's how I responded when he asked for forgiveness (before going on to list all of my faults, errors and inadequacies). I sms'd that because of the blood of Jesus, I can forgive him. And I asked for forgiveness from him, for not being more sensitive in communicating with him. So why did he feel the need to do what he did? That much is something I also just need to slide under the blood.
Loving God...I want to do that more. Loving others, Lord help me to do this without making others lord over me. I want to be a God-pleaser not a man-pleaser, but it's so easy for me to work for the approval of others. Loving myself, I'm probably not doing that enough, because I'm not loving God enough.

First week of school

2010-05-22T08:23:00.003+07:00

It's Saturday, 22 May 2010, and I just finished my first week of classes at YRW in Chiang Mai. It was a good week. I had a few good classes. The students tend to me very attentive, although I have yet to see if they will actually deliver work that is worthy of their reputation as the first and highest achieving public school in Chiang Mai.

I made some mistakes, and if I had the week to do over again, I'm not sure I wouldn't have made the same mistakes, but I think I've learned some lessons. First is the schedule. Scheduling always has its problems. The biggest problem is that I didn't know what I didn't know which created lots of mistakes...on Monday, Nuch (who is the best admin assistant I could dream of having) saw that I scheduled physical education for some of the M1 and M2 classes the same day as they have scouts. And I can't schedule PE the same day as scouts or on Fridays, because students have to wear uniforms and cannot change especially for PE class. As Nuch and I figured our class codes, I realized that there is a list of required classes that students are supposed to be taking, and I didn't have that list when I was told to create the schedules. Because YRW is a leader school, we are using 3 different curriculum, so the required number of courses within each discipline for each grade level is different. I didn't know what I didn't know. We finally figured almost everything out and changed the schedule to what it should be on Friday. So teachers and students will get their new schedules on Monday. Ugh.

On Wednesday in Bangkok, the political situation changed. Because red shirts protesters had been in various locations illegally, the government finally cracked down and dispersed the crowd. Several red shirt leaders turned themselves in, but some fled. The crowds were dispersed; there were some deaths, and red shirts burned cars and buildings or heaps of tires in BKK as well as in various places around the kingdom. In Chiang Mai, they burned some tires on the Narawat Bridge creating a traffic mess getting our of the city. They also tried to burn the governor's mansion and the BKK Bank at Thapae Gate. Several schools were closed on Thursday, but we opened. At noon, I talked with P Sawat about going to the BCCC meeting at WTP at 1:30. She mentioned that school would be closed after 7th period. I made the mistake of believing her and announcing this to the staff. Then 30 minutes later, Noot got a call saying that our Acting Director was at a meeting, and he would announce by 3:00 if we'd dismiss early or not. I took back my announcement, but some teachers didn't hear me when I explained the real situation.

Against my wishes, I went to the BCCC meeting with Sawat, as a substitute for Jiraporn who was the representing the administration. I thought I'd call Noot at 3:00 to find out whether we were still have classes or not. I was scheduled to meet M1/1 for the first time 8th period. I liked being the meeting, and seeing my BCCC friends from the different schools; I especially wanted to talk with K. Toi! But we got there late, and I had to leave early to teach.

So I got back to school in plenty of time, but when I went to class, the students had already been dismissed by Tony. Returning to the teacher's room, Noot was explaining that no, the students weren't dismissed. But I just said don't worry about it; it's ultimately my fault for making the first announcement and not making sure that everyone heard the correction. Even though the students were outside of the classroom, they weren't allowed to leave the school yet.

Communication is a problem between the YEP teachers/students and the regular program. But honestly communication would be huge problem anyway, since it's such a large school.

It must have been around 4:00 that it was announced that the school would be closed on Friday, because the curfew had been extended, and it would be safer for students to stay at home. I sent an sms to all the teachers who'd left already. When Winnie left the teacher's room to go home, she talked with another teacher downstairs who told her that teachers still had to report. So I called to Wichakarn, and Nong said that only administrative staff and teachers will special admin duties had to report. Hooray! Winnie then went home happier. But maybe less than 30 minutes after that, it was announced that all staff had to sign in on Friday. I went back to sms again...but decided to call a few people, because my "sent" box on the phone didn't include the sms that I though I sent previously. After 3 calls, my teachers said that they didn't get the sms, and so I could tell them directly that school was cancelled, but teachers still had to sign in. Wow, was I ever glad that my so-called smart phone wasn't that smart, or maybe it was smarter than I thought by NOT sending the wrong sms text message!

So the communication lessons for the week: don't make an announcement to my staff until I have the information 100% correct. God help me!

Another lesson: don't write a schedule without having all of the correct information first.

Good things: the two students in the International Program are nice kids. Pisuttisak understands almost everything in English, but he doesn't speak that well yet. Thanaporn doesn't understand a lot, but she reads and writes better than he does. I think she might have better study skills, but she needs to improve in her listening and speaking. We spent 2 of our class times in the ERIC center which is a great place for a class when another class isn't meeting there!

I was supposed to meet my M4 TOK class for the first time in the small room, but it was too small and hot, and the students were late. We met on the lower floor where they sell ice cream. I just talked about TOK in general and the 4-H a little. The second time we met in class was much better. They participated, were attentive, and I told them more about what it meant to be a world class school. We went through the code of ethnics, some pertinent, others not; but it was a good exercise. We'll see if they follow the code by not copying!

Had a meeting on Friday morning with all curriculum leaders about the BCCC- UK teachers visit in two weeks. Sawat wasn't that prepared, and she asked me if I had any comments a couple of times, and I told her that I don't know Yupparaj, so I didn't know what should be showcased. I will have some responsibilities in training students to translate and explain the morning assembly. Later I asked Penporn and Pawinee if I could change dates from Tuesday to Wed (and Maeku change to Tuesday), so that I could help out at Doi Saket. They both agreed. So I asked Sawat to ask for permission to change. A Surapong had no problem changing, but bc Sawat teaches her global citizenship class on Tuesdays, the teachers felt like it was better to keep the schedule on Tuesday. But I think she said to me that it was alright for me to go to Doi Saket that day as long as the activities from YEP and students were prepared to carry on without me. I know that these teachers don't get why I want to go back to help. But I think I should do what's best for me, and help out at DW like I promised. Sawat wasn't very understanding about this, but I will need to be more firm with her in the future and not do things just to agree with her. She gave me wrong information more than once, and I just need to be careful to think about what she says before accepting it all the time. She isn't administrative staff, and while she is respected, she doesn't have the authority to tell me some of the things she's told me. Another lesson learned!

So it's Saturday morning, and I'm at school. I'll go see Jiraporn now to ask her what will hopefully be my final clarifications regarding the schedule for this term. God help me!

1 April 2010

2010-04-26T09:19:00.003+07:00

On April Fool's Day 2010, I began working at YRW School in Chiang Mai. This school is the first public secondary school in the province, and it began the first English Program in northern Thailand in 2003. I was hired to be the Manager of the E Hub as well as overseer of the English Program. While there are 3900 students altogether at this school, there are less than 300 in the EP, which I'm in charge of, which is a much more realistic number of students to manage.
Even though my contract began on 1 April, I didn't come to school until Monday, 5 April, because I was in Kuching, East Malaysia for a British Council school ambassador's meeting until 2 April. My first day on the job, I met with representatives from the Ministry of Education who were visiting to check up on Yupparaj's planning for the first cohort of students in the international program, slated to begin 17 May. The teachers submitted a curriculum and plan, but there wasn't much to contribute. We had only registered 3 students at the time, and although I was hired as the manager, there isn't much to manage! Students will likely follow the EP students until they have a significant number to work with.

The Bintulu Market

2010-04-07T22:42:00.004+07:00

My School Director Left

2010-02-17T14:10:00.003+07:00

1 year, 10 months and 3 days. I think that's what the student said. Doi Saket Wittayakom School had Mr. Boonsern as our school director for less than two years before he left for another, bigger school in Fang.
I can't remember when the rumors began...it was definitely before Christmas. Students and teachers heard rumors that he was leaving. But one morning during the morning assembly in front of the flag pole with everyone listening, he denied any rumors that he was going anywhere. This school year, 2009-2010, was the year for Doi Saket to be evaluated as a Royal School. Each school must undergo this evaluation every 5 years. A committee from our cluster of 10 schools in Chiang Mai does the first evaluation. I think that one was in October. Then we compete with other schools in Chiang Mai province. This second evaluation was in December. Finally, the third evaluation was between us and 4 other medium-size schools around the nation. This final evaluation was done on January 11.
Shortly after the final evaluation, we heard it again, but this time it wasn't a rumor: our director was indeed leaving. We would have a ceremony on Friday, February 5th, and he would go the following Tuesday. Teachers were invited to send him to his new school in Fang, displaying our respect and hopes for his prosperity and success.
I was surprised, that at the ceremony at school on Friday afternoon, two of the 12th grade girls who are our emcees for most important school events, Bua Hom and --- both cried as they shared their praise for our director. They were crying, wiping tears from their eyes, and sobbing. Two boys also spoke praises for the director, Wasin on behalf of students in M1-3 and PK who is the student council leader. They surely didn't cry. It made me wonder...he was here for such a short time. But all of the students said that he always had an open door for counsel or advice. He always supported the students and cared for them. Wow. I just never knew!
When Khruu Toi told me that the teachers were invited to send Mr. Boonsern to Fang, she said, "You don't have to go, if you have something else to do."
I already knew that I would be helping to train other Chiang Mai teachers who use the British Council Connecting Classrooms curriculum about international learning projects the following Saturday, Feb 13th. So I told Khruu Toi that I'd pass on the "field trip" to prepare my curriculum. She said that was no problem. But several other teachers approached me at different times asking again, "Aren't you going to Fang?"
"No." Honestly, the last thing I want to do is not fit in or not do something that I should do culturally. But my supervisor excused me from going. And I wasn't close to this director at all. I always felt like he was afraid to talk with me. He knew that I could speak Thai well, but still he would rather choose to speak to Baw Hua more than me when we were together, even though I would end up translating between the two of them. She's just younger and cuter, and I always wondered if I wasn't somehow a little bit threatening to him.
When Sunny Pai and Jocelyn visited me here in Chiang Mai, I invited them to come to school. In the morning, I introduced them to Mr. Boonsern, just our of professional courtesy. I told him that they were in the same principal's training network as me, and that Sunny was already a principal. He asked if I wanted to be a principal in Thailand, and I said no. I liked teaching, and I would rather stay in my current position.
So now, it's been nearly 2 weeks since he's left, and it's just hitting me. We don't have a director. The assistant director has to take on his responsibilities as much as she's able to do that, even though her authority is limited. She led our monthly staff meeting on Monday, and I was pleased with how she led the meeting.
I'm sad for our M5 students, who will end this year and begin next year without a director. I think of the students in M5/1 like Chanon who's going to graduate as the best student ever from Doi Saket Wittayakom, but how there's no one there leading our school into greater things than we've so far accomplished. Our school's reputation has shot up, since we passed the evaluation and are apparently a Royal School. We were told that there are several people who have already applied for the position. But still, there's such a long way to go - in my opinion - until we're a really great school.
He's gone. Maybe in 6 months we'll have a new director. Until then...I want my school to be better than a Royal School.

Crepes and Colonization

2010-02-03T11:06:00.002+07:00

I had breakfast with Annette at a Moroccan crepes place for breakfast last Saturday. We had a great time. Annette is very good. She's true Wellesley, and we relate on so many topics and levels. We talked a lot about the differences between Thai culture and other Asian cultures. She screamed out loud, "No way" when I told her that I had 3 Thai teachers tell me at different times, "I wish we had been colonized, because then we would speak English better." She thought that was as strange as me. The women who said these things were all intelligent women, but how could they possibly wish colonization upon Thailand's glorious, western-colonization free history?

I hope that I'll get to spend more time with Annette on future trips to Bangkok.

3 Feb 2009

2010-02-03T10:56:00.002+07:00

Last week, I took a couple of field trips.
On Wednesday, I took 4 students to San Kamphaeng School where we helped 70+ students from Mae Puka School and about 20 students from SKP. I took Sudaporn, Wilaiwan, Tirawat and Supawan. I wanted for the M2 girls to get some experience helping, as well as my M4 students.

My students were pretty good helpers, particularly in the morning. There were just so many kids to look after that I would have been completely overwhelmed if I were alone. The experience that Sudaporn and I had at Mae Ku School was a good experience of having several student helpers too. Because Suda had helped before, she was really good at taking initiative, just walking around the room, checking out to see what students were doing and whether they were stuck. She may be a better problem-solved in general, but it's a disappointing that my students aren't that great at PS themselves, and sometimes they would come to ask me questions which I think they could have figured out for themselves. Anyway, that's a skill that I haven't spent enough time teaching them.

My kids were lucky, because they got to eat nice bakery snacks for the mid-morning snack; we went out to lunch at a cute restaurant called Cream of Tartar...and they got snacks in the afternoon too. Good kids deserve little breaks like this. But I want to have some shirts made for them - Doi Saket Connecting Classrooms.

On Thursday & Friday, I was in Bangkok and met about 10 teachers there at the Windsor Suites Hotel on Sukhumwit Soi 20. Our group gathered to write interdisciplinary curriculum projects for BCCC teachers to use along with our partner schools. It was good to be there. Most of the teachers also went to Taiwan, so we're a close group now. I decided to tell Pawinee that I will pass on going to England this trip. It's in March, and I would rather go to Kuching, Malaysia which I think is also in March....I surprised myself for taking myself out of the running, but I feel like it was the right thing to do. But I hope that I will get to go to Kuching!

The School Evaluation for the Royal Award

2010-01-12T19:14:00.006+07:00

On Monday, January 11, Doi Saket Wittayakom had it's third and final evaluation as a royally-awarded school. Schools in Thailand must be evaluated for this award every 5 years. We passed the city level evaluation, the provincial evaluation, and so we were up for the medium-sized, royal award.
In addition to having three students welcome the evaluating committee in Chinese, English and Japanese, the foreign language department had 2 big events. We did a performance composed of an 11th grade boy singing a Chinese song accompanied by 6 girls who danced along, and a skit entitled "Doi Saket OTOP" featuring 16 students who spoke either Thai, Chinese, English, Japanese or the northern Thai dialect. And we opened the ICT room where students introduced the British Council Connecting Classrooms curriculum, and one 10th grade girl shared a powerpoint about her trip to Thailand with BCCC.
It was a lot of work trying to get the students, their performances and products ready. For New Year's, we were out of school from Dec 30 until Jan 4. Then from Jan 5 until the 11th, we spent all day (including Saturday and Sunday) preparing our students and the school environment for the evaluation.
The day went well. To me, the day seemed surreal, it went by really slowly, but the performance and time in the ICT lab flew by. My students made me really proud. I was very happy with Daniyuth's work (9th grade). He was one of the last actors to join the production, but he learned his lines quicly and accurately. He still makes me laugh speaking English, because his mouth just can't pronouce some vowels and consonants together, but he really tried, and he did very well. He was very funny too. My student Oranut (also 9th grade) did a terrific job introducing our performance. And Armoei (11th grade), Sady (12th grade) and Sudaporn (10th grade) did a great job introducing the activities in the ICT lab.
I am still not in agreement with how these evaluations are done, from an educational leader's perspective. The products were excellent, but if you spent 6 days full-time preparing products, is it really an authentic assessment? I don't think so, personally. But being in Thailand, I must do as the Thai do...and in the meantime, try to teach my students so that they are genuinely learning as opposed to just simply performing.

Loy Krathong

2009-12-17T14:28:00.001+07:00

My student Sudaporn is introducing Klong Sabaat Chai - the Thai victory drum performance at the Cross-Country Loy Krathong Festival which we held at the Samkamphaeng School in early November. The performances were broadcast in Thailand, England and Malaysia among our partner schools there. It was a logistical challenge for us, but the results were impressive.

Short week

2009-12-11T12:36:00.005+07:00

Friday, 11 December 2009

It's been a short week, but one filled with lots of work outside of my workplace.

Sunday, Chiang Mai City Gate Church had a special service to pray for the persecuted church. I shared about Vietnam; A Dongkham showed a video about the Karen in Burma; Simon shared about our church's work in Laos, and A Kampon showed a video on the church in China. If I had to do it again, I would encourage more informed prayer. I will spend some time writing a powerpoint to help with this, for when we pray in the future.

On Sunday night, I went to my first Christmas party of the year. It was at our church, and pastors and their families from the "Bless Chiang Mai" prayer initiative came together for fellowship. I stayed at church the whole afternoon, cutting foil stars and decorating the cake that I baked. It was fun to hang out all day with the women in the church. But I was exhausted by the evening. I had some good conversations: first with Khruu Rujira's husband who later shared about us being the new history makers. The city doesn't have a good reputation for how it has treated women, minorities or Christians in the past. I also had a meaningful conversation with A Boonprasert. I asked about his vision for missions, and shared that I want to help him, as a mobilizer when the time comes.

Monday was a public holiday to celebrate the King's birthday. It's also national father's day. The king turned 82 on Saturday, but the government declared Monday the 7th as the substitute holiday. I stayed at home and baked all morning. Then I went to Big C in the evening for the "Good Things from the Southern Border" gift fair at Big C. I can't describe the feeling of going in that evening. I loved seeing the Muslim people at their booths. I bought 2 long shirts which are simply gorgeous, and talked a while with the female vendor. I just like being around Muslims, and I felt like I was among people like me - which is strange, because I'm not Muslim. I just like disciplined and holy people!

Tuesday was a normal day at school, whatever normal means. Wednesday, students in M5 and M6 had mid-term exams. Since I only teach M5 and M6 on Wednesdays, I didn't have any students to teach. But the director made an announcement in the morning that the teachers would have a meeting at 4:00. I left school at 10:30 after writing my year-end Christmas letter, had it printed then went home where I baked more stuff until about 2:00 when I returned to school. I wrote some Christmas cards, then went to the meeting at 4:00. As far as I could tell, there wasn't anything special for which I needed to stay. The director gave some announcements, but then a man from San Kamphaeng started talking about voting, and why he was a good person. ? So at 4:30, I sent an sms to Bau Hwa and told her that I was leaving, did she want to come too. She left with me, and I went to church for the Karen pastor's Christmas party.

Thursday was Constitution Day. It cracks me up the Thailand has a holiday for this when the Constitution is changed every time there's a coupe in this country. In fact, even now the charter which was drafted and approved (for the first time) by the Thai public is being questioned by the opposition Pue Pendin political party, which is completely ironic, because they were the ones in power when the draft was adopted. On Thursday, I finished writing a lot of my Christmas cards.

Friday was another day at school. The M5-6 students continued their mid-term exams. I taught my favorite class M4/4. They were especially good, because the 4 difficult characters skipped class, so the ones who really want to learn are the ones who came. I also taught M1/2, and they were awful. I told them that I'd talk with their homeroom teacher and the director, because their behavior is not conducive to learning at all. I had to yell over them, and I hate that. Friday afternoon is not the right time to be teaching English.

So, it was a short teaching week, but a packed one.

I love Taiwan!

2009-11-29T22:48:00.002+07:00

It's Sunday, 29 November, and I'm so grateful that I got to come to Taipei, Taiwan. I've been here since Tuesday for a British Council Connecting Classroom International Expo, and it's been wonderful.
This was my first trip abroad from Thailand as a representative of my school as a teacher. I think I did well. I gave 2 talks. The first one was on Saturday. It was just a 5-minute spiel about my experiences using the Connecting Classrooms curriculum and some impacts it's had on my teaching and my students. David asked me on Friday evening if I would be willing to help him with it as part of his opening talk to the group of policymakers. It was short, but I got some good points out. Then I spoke this morning. I was the last person to speak before lunch, and we were running 25 minutes late. I spoke only 10 minutes, but got lots of great feedback that I the favorite speaker. Funny. I do have much to say, and I know that I can speak well. I surprised myself at how concise I could be, actually. But really, everything I shared was about my kids. And what we did for Loy Krathong and with Pythagoras are impressive - and totally Masli! But I was happy to share.
I made some new friends and saw some teacher friends whom I'd met previously in Bangkok at the International Meeting. The Vietnam teachers are truly lovely. I met several Christian teachers: a Taiwanese, Korean and the LA from Sarawak (Malay) is actually Christian too. God is good. The morning I went to the policy meeting, I also talked with the ministry reps from Vietnam and Korea, and it was nice to check in with them. I found myself really trying to connect with people like this - kind of on the outside but in the mix.
Tonight's gala dinner was a visual treat - people dressed in national costume. My favorites were the Malay kids - such diversity. One kid dressed in a cougar skin; he so rocked! I was glad to be wearing Lahu along with Sudaporn, instead of something northern Thai which would be simply too high maintenance. I wore the hat too, for which I got lots of comments.
I really hope that I can be helpful to teachers around Thailand and SE Asia with the CC curriculum. Pawinee wants us to come up with some professional development as training for our teachers around Thailand to get us working on some of the same things together and get our kids talking more in English. We also talked about setting up a moodle between our partner schools to link information more easily, so I need to investigate that and try to get something going. I told David that if he needs me to do anything to ask, because I love training other teachers, so I'm available. He wants to set up more support networks, and I hope to be a part of that.
As I wrote on my FB page that if I had to live in a Chinese community and chose solely based on food, I would choose Taipei. I really loved being here. It's a different kind of Chinese community, and the food is really much healthier.
I'll blog more later and include some pictures.

Finding the middle path

2009-10-13T09:20:00.002+07:00

I keep trying to find my way along the so called Middle Path, but it's hard. As the 5th child of a high-achieving family, and a model minority, I grew up with the mentality that I could do anything I wanted as long as I worked hard for it. It was not hard growing up in Spencer, West Virginia, and my parents wanted us to make the very most of opportunities given to us. As a student, I had an over-achieving personality and work ethnic which often put me in positions on leadership which I enjoyed a lot. It helped that I also had a variety of life experiences as a kid, having been actively involved in girl scouts, 4-H, sports (cheerleading, softball, track and field), marching band and student council. So I had this competitive streak in me, seeking to be my best in whatever sphere I entered. I definitely had the no retreat, no reserve, no regret mentality, and more often than not, I was successful and satisfied.
Going to college humbled me. I was in a bigger playing field where the standards and stakes were much higher, but I found Christ and really wanted Him to be my center. I learned to make Him my motivation, and learned to submit my goals to His authority, seeking to please Him in what I accomplished or attempted to perform. It's not that I stopped being achievement-oriented, but I released the pressure of being #1, and instead just tried to give glory to God by giving my 100% regardless of whether the results were award-worthy or not.
Fast forward to October 2009...I've been teaching at Doi Saket Wittayakom now for 2 years. I went to a BCCC meeting last Friday at the San Kamphaeng School, and something happened where I felt that I wasn't totally in control on what I was saying and doing. I'm trying to decide if that's good or bad, because in the end, what I said then IS what I felt and still feel. And yet it's different from what I agreed to yesterday - changing my initial statements and feelings.
There are 10 schools in Chiang Mai which use the British Council Connecting Classrooms curriculum Asian Dialogues. I love the curriculum, and my students like it too, because they are connected with students from 7 other countries, particularly England and Malaysia. I thrive using this curriculum, because in my heart of hearts, I am a global citizen and want to train students to be global citizens too. I'm not very successful yet in helping the students attain this, for lots of reasons, but we're on the path...
Our 10 schools had a meeting to discuss a cultural celebration which we'll host together about Loy Kratong on Nov 4th. We have many activities planned, and have divided the responsibilities pretty evenly among our schools. The teachers asked for student emcees to connect the activities. I did not voluteer a student, but Khruu Penpong (with whom I spent time on Wednesday at Mae Kue showing her how to use the student website) asked me if I had a student, then went on to volunteer Chanon to the group. So all of the sudden, I'm essentially extoling Chanon's English abilities, and everyone is relieved that we have someone who can do this important job. But I knew and kept telling Penpong, and later P Sawat, that I knew Khruu Toi would not approve.
After talking with Chanon's mother, I still wasn't at peace. He was at Chiang Mai University this week and would be at Mae Jo next week. She wasn't sure he would want to do it and wanted me to wait and talk with him. They called me on Saturday, but I didn't hear the phone. We've been playing phone tag, but haven't connected yet.
Finally I talked with Khruu Toi yesterday. She was adamant that Chanon cannot be an emcee. I knew that she'd feel this way. I felt pushed in putting his name out there, and actually as I am recalling this morning, it was Khruu Penpong that volunteered Chanon, not me. I could have stopped her, but I didn't, because deep down, I also don't agree with Khruu Toi that Chanon can't do it. I think he can be trained, and I think that she's holding our students back by not believing in then and giving them more opportunities. She always says that they aren't ready, but that's not their fault...it's the teachers fault for not opening opportunities to them and giving them the kind of support that they need.
I think of the English speaking competition at Wachirawit last year and have they had students in M6 emcee the whole event. Why can't our students do that? Doi Saket has English competitions on Nov 5, and it's just too close to the Loy Kratong celebration to rely on Suda to emcee that too. But shoudn't she? Or shouldn't Sady or Pacharee or another, older student? If not now, when?
I'm kind of mad, because I feel like we need to train and release our students more, and we're not. The problem is planning and timing of these events. If teachers knew with enough advance preparation, then there's not reason that students shouldn't be given the chance to step up more. So I feel like I'm part of the problem if I'm not doing something to open the door wider for the kids.
And I don't like that I let Khruu Penpong volunteer Chanon on my behalf...or that I let Khruu Toi make me concede so easily yesterday. I set up the conversation in such a way that I wouldn't lose face in explaining how I HAD to volunteer student names fo emcee, which is true. But I didn't tell her how I much I believe in Chanon, and how much I want to see him released to do more, so that his emcee skills are improved. I hate that she disses him, because of his personality, when you can train people to behave in certain ways. I just think that we all need to take more responsibility, and I don't feel like I was completely honest in every step of this process. I don't shirk my responsibilities as a teacher, and as a adult (who needs to be accountable for everything I do). And maybe I downplay how cross-cultural this situation is with the nuances of communication and being spoken for (on the part of Khruu Penpong) or speaking for myself, and showing my true feelings. God teach me! I still want to be teachable, please show me how to be more authentic in every situation.

What is democracy?

2009-10-13T09:02:00.003+07:00

I read an article from the Bangkok Post last week about a Thai cartoon that really summed up what democracy in Thailand is. I must try to find the original Thai cartoon, and use it as a springboard of discussion maybe with some teachers. It's probably too advanced for my students.
Punchline of the cartoon is that there are no corrupt leaders in Thailand - it's just the constitution that's bad. So the solution is not to change leaders (which Thailand has done many times), but it's to change the constitution. What does that prove? This is the same beef that I have with Thaksin - the fugitive former prime minister. He was ousted in a military coupe 3 years ago and refuses to come home to face the charges of corruption held against him, because he thinks that the justice system is the problem - not him or anything that he's done. If he really believed in democracy, I think he'd return. It bothers me that people still idolize him. I asked my students once, and so many of them feel very strongly pro-Thaksin, saying that he's good and he did so many good things for Thai people. I agree that his populist policies helped people, especially the poor. But my students can't see how those populist policies aren't sustainable in the long run.
I keep asking myself how Thailand can have the second biggest economy in ASEAN behind Singapore. I've been Burma, Cambodia and Laos and understand how it's ahead of these nations which are still very much developing. But Malaysia with all of those smart, progressive Chinese and Indians? And Indonesia with such a huge population? I think that the government must have huge stores of baht and foreign currency hiding somewhere for the baht to be so strong again the dollar these days.
I guess that if I really believe in jubilee, verses market economy, then I would celebrate a strong baht. But because I still have to rely on my family's and friends' generosity via the church in the US, I want the dollar to be stronger. Anyway...I'm not so mature that I understand everything about politics and economics, but I want to keep learning. It's just so hard to get a handle on Thai ways.

Bury My Heart

2009-10-07T22:01:00.002+07:00

I'm reading Dee Brown's book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I brought it with me to a teacher training meeting last week, and my Thai friends (who are all English teachers, so their English is pretty good) had the hardest time trying to figure out what the book was about. It was funny to hear ask me, finally, if there was an alternative meaning to "Wounded Knee", and yes, actually Wounded Knee is a place.

Anyway, I've wanted to read this book for years, and now that I'm reading it, I'm having a hard time finishing it, because it's just painful to read how horribly out Native American brothers and sisters were treated by the US government, soldiers, frontiersmen and one another (especially after the aforementioned were involved).

The chapter that I just finished was about the War to Save the Buffalo, and how so many western settlers would just kill the buffalo for pleasure and leave their carcasses on the plains to rot. It made me so mad.

My good friend Annette is Korean from southern Cal. When she was young, she went to a Christian camp where everyone was given a Native American name and identity. She prayed the prayer of faith for the first time at this camp, and the one who led her in prayer is someone who's real name Annette never knew - she only her Indian name. When I told Annette that when I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a Native American. We laughed at that. Having grown up in Orange County which had very few Koreans at the time, she always wanted to be white.

Being the 5th kid in my family, I couldn't wait until I was 9, so that I could join the local 4-H Club - the Spencer Challengers, then go to Roane County 4-H camp at Camp Shepherd in Gandeeville, WV. My older siblings (except Melissa) had done the same, and I was eager to go to this weeklong, overnight camp. The campers there were divided into 4 Native American Indian tribes. I became a Cherokee - like my sisters Jessica and Debbie. My brother was a Delaware. I also remember in 4th grade that we had to do a research paper on a Native American Indian tribe, and I was given the Hopi tribe to research. I remember drawing the cover for my report. I had piece of orange construction paper and drew on it with my box of 64 crayola crayons.

Finally when I was 16, I went to State 4-H camp in Jackon's Mill. When you're 16, you get to go to a camp called "Older Youth" which is an interesting name. On the second to the last night of camp, we had a special campfire. I was chosen to the the ishkatay (wait, did I write this story already sometime in my previous bloglife?) - the one who lit the campfires that night. I also got to pass around the peace pipe to the different tribal chiefs. It was a real privilege for me to dress up as a Native American in this very solemn campfire.

It's so strange to go back now more than 20 years later and really learn the history about the Native American peoples, and what injustices they suffered, and continue suffer. Life is just not fair, but thank God I have Jesus.

My first translation

2009-09-24T12:46:00.002+07:00

In early September, I finished translating the prayer booklet, "30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World" from English into Thai. Actually, it should have been completed about a month earlier, since Ramadan 2009 began on August 22nd. But at least I got something printed and distributed. The booklet is updated every year, but I am not sure that I'm going to have the energy to translate something that size for next year. I may just wait until 2011 to translate that a new version.

Overall, it took me the better part of 3 months. While I had the English materials for nearly 5.5 months, I didn't get started until I returned to Thailand from a 2-month visit to the US. I was teaching English full-time at school as well and translating the booklet as a way to continue my Thai studies with Khruu Jai.

I really had no idea how much effort, time and money it would take to translate something like this. For the most part, the money was spent on my Thai lessons. For those 3 months, I would translate as much as possible into poorly written Thai, then spend 2 hours at a time with Khruu Jai explaining what I meant, and she's make corrections to my draft. Then I'd type what she editted into a MS Word document, and she's read it over further correcting any errors. After the whole thing was typed and editted, she read the whole 30 days again (probably more than once), making other corrections and re-writing for clarity.

I had the document printed - nothing high class. But even after it was printed, Khruu still saw errors which she was embarrassed or unhappy with - because she was sure that she corrected those errors on my handy-drive. I don't know how that happened. The first distribution was for a September 11 prayer meeting for people in Chiang Mai - mostly expats - who pray for Muslims. That night happened to also be the night of a crusade by Pastor Matthew, an Indian man who is dearly loved by the church in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. So my book was first presented in public at a very small prayer meeting with a grand total of 13 people.

There is more to tell about this event...I received a marriage proposal that night from a 19-year old kid who began his conversation with me, criticizing me for writing without using an "EQ" about Islamic impressions of western culture...and somewhere in the middle asked me if I was interested in having him as my spouse. That's a common question, coming from a young man who is obsessed with US-culture and thought maybe I was desperate for marriage, and that I would surely have enough money to take him to the US with me the next time that I go. Oh please!

Back to the translation, if I had had time, I would have had someone else edit the document before having it printed, but since I was already "late" to get the thing out during Ramadan, I thought it was just best to print it first. I sent an e-copy to various people, and Acaan Chumsaeng said that he would edit it for me. I hope that he does, and that his draft will make the booklet useable for the Kairos course.

I am not 100% sure what's next in my learning Thai, and future translation projects. I will likely do some parts of the the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church which is Nov 8th this year. We'll see how much of that I can get done before the actual prayer date. I also want to do some stuff that the Global Prayer Digest published about ethne-to-ethne, people groups praying for unreached people groups. I'm just waiting for direction.

Oh Imelda!

2009-09-24T12:41:00.003+07:00

I don't know what she's thinking, but she seems totally delusional. I guess that we all are, to some degree. I'm not sure how she manages to have peace with herself. "I knew I was on the side of the right and truth. And if you are on the side of the truth, and you are peace with the truth, you are at peace with God," she said.

Imelda Marcos at peace with herself, not her critics

Writer: AFP

Published: 24/09/2009 at 10:01 AM

In an extraordinary world described by Imelda Marcos, the end of the Cold War began with an adoring Chinese leader's kiss of her hand.

Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos at her residence in Manila. In an extraordinary world as told by Marcos, the end of the Cold War began with an adoring Chinese leader's kiss of her hand. Her famous extravagance was actually a sacrifice to inspire the poor masses of the Philippines.

Her famous extravagance was actually a sacrifice to inspire the poor masses of the Philippines.

And her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, was definitely no dictator.

"I have been so misunderstood," Marcos declared during a wide-ranging interview inside her two-storey penthouse apartment overlooking one of Manila's wealthiest suburbs.

Indeed, the former beauty queen's recounting of her life sounds more like a wonderful fairytale than the one tarnished by greed, corruption and power-lust that many outsiders associate with her.

"My dreams were small and puny with the realities that my dreams became," Marcos said as she sat in her main living room surrounded by a stunning array of jade statues and photos of her meeting world leaders.

But at age 80 and with Monday next week marking 20 years since her husband died, the former first lady is acutely aware that not everyone believes in her fairytale, and for many the Marcos story is more akin to a horror movie.

"I don't want to be remembered as a criminal," she said candidly while discussing her legacy.

Indeed, she admitted to remaining driven in the twilight years of her life by her desire to clear the muddied Marcos name.

Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, holding on to power for nearly half of those years thanks to the use of martial law, a compliant military and powerful backing from the United States.

During that time, the woman famous for her shoe collection allegedly conspired with her husband to steal billions of dollars from the people they governed and preside over widespread human rights abuses.

Their rule finally ended after millions of people took to the streets of Manila, key military chiefs joined the masses and the US government helped them escape the angry hordes by flying the disgraced couple to Hawaii.

While Marcos stated that the fact she had never been convicted of any crime should prove she did nothing wrong, she revealed that the endless barbs about her supposed greed continued to cut deeply.

"Every time they put out a biography on Mrs Marcos (they say): 'Oh! She's beautiful!, Oh! Extravagant! Oh! Jewellery. Oh! Shoes," she said.

"What a pity to talk about the superficiality of all this and not the soul."

Sitting with a Picasso hanging on her living room wall, Marcos insisted that her penchant for the finest things in life was aimed at setting an example for the poor.

"My role as first lady was to be a star and a slave. To set the standard because mass follows class. And so I had to enslave myself so that everyone becomes a star," she said.

Marcos insisted she appreciated the poor masses of the Philippines.

"I envy almost everybody, I even envy the beggars in the street because they don't steal, they humiliate themselves to be beggars," she said.

Marcos also defended her phenomenal travels around the world when she was first lady, during which time she undoubtedly was an influential woman, but perhaps not as powerful as she remembered.

One of her proudest moments was her meeting with communist China's revolutionary leader, Mao Zedong, at the height of the Cultural Revolution and Cold War in 1974.

She said that despite big differences between the pair -- with Mao an ageing warrior and her a beautiful representative of a US-backed Asian government -- she paid respects by offering her hand.

"He took my hand and kissed it... And that was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Because the Philippines was America junior... do you see how serious that was?"

While Marcos's critics may accuse her of self-delusion, a recurring theme during the interview was her complete certainty that she did no wrong and that all criticisms against her were baseless.

"I knew I was on the side of the right and truth. And if you are on the side of the truth, and you are peace with the truth, you are at peace with God," she said.

The Spirit Catches and You Fall Down

2009-09-24T10:21:00.003+07:00

I finally read this great book which my friend Jim recommended to be probably 5 years ago. Now that I live in Thailand and have quite a few students who are Hmong, reading the book this year was truly enlightening. I really don't know about US involvement in the Southeast Asian history, particularly in fighting communism in the 1960s in Vietnam and Laos. But reading The Spirit Catches, really makes me want to learn more!

Some of my favorite people in Thailand Hmong (favorite is a word I use liberally). Noom is one. He is now pastor at a church in Isaan - northeast Thailand where he and his wife relocated just in August. When I came to Chiang Mai 6 years ago on a ST trip for the summer, I met Noom at the International Church. Because he can speak English pretty well, we talked more often than I spoke with other people in the youth group at the church. At the time, he was an undergrad, a sophomore I believe. When I returned to Chiang Mai 4 years ago, Noom graduated and began ministering at a church geared for university students. When I visited him at the church, I was always so proud of the man he turned into - a spiritual leader and humble servant of God.

Wilaiwan is a current 4/4 student of mine. She'd be so embarrased knowing that I'm writing about her, but she's one of the best students in her class, and she's Hmong. Something about her, not unlike Noon, she's has a certain degree of confidence that other students in this class don't have. She isn't afraid to laugh, and a lot of Thai girls cover their mouths when they laugh, which while may appear to be more proper, I think it stifles their joy and humor. Wilaiwan likes to try new things, and she isn't afraid of failure. That Thai concept of face and decorum are present in her life, but she seems to get beyond that and knows how to express herself, even if it seems trite or silly. I like that! So Wilaiwan is pictured here with two of her friends.

There is a Hmong family here in Chiang Mai who are now a part of the mission which I used to be a part of. And Cam does the most adventurous work of anyone that I know personally. I actually wrote "dangerous" before I changed the work to "adventurous", because I wanted to use a more friendly euphemism. While working among Hmong leaders in another nation here in SE Asia just last year, Cam had to hide out in the forest for like 2 weeks. He was never left alone, always had 3-4 other people with him, and these men rotated in and out of with other Hmong leaders who weren't supposed to be having leadership meetings about spiritual things! When he told us this story, I almost couldn't believe it, but wow - what a privilege to know Cam, and to know the risks that he takes just to teach people the Bible.

Okay, so I haven't yet mentioned what I learned about the health care system in northern Cal and how the doctors and care-givers were totally clueless about how Hmong culture understands sickness, particularly epilepsy. After reading the book, I felt like buying copies to give to all of my siblings and cousins who are in health care, so that they will maybe learn from the mistakes and pitfalls of what happened with the Hmong family in The Spirit Catches.

Thanks Jim for a recommendation to a great read.
Here's what Stephanie had on her facebook page...years later at the hospital where The Spirit Catches took place.

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

Published: September 19, 2009

MERCED, Calif. — The patient in Room 328 had diabetes and hypertension. But when Va Meng Lee, a Hmong shaman, began the healing process by looping a coiled thread around the patient’s wrist, Mr. Lee’s chief concern was summoning the ailing man’s runaway soul.

Va Meng Lee, a shaman, at Mercy Medical Center in Merced, Calif.

Paraphernalia used by Ma Vue to ward off bad spirits for a newborn.

Ma Vue with her husband and assistant, Yong Chue Xiong, warding away bad spirits for Lance Vang, a newborn, in Winton, Calif.

“Doctors are good at disease,” Mr. Lee said as he encircled the patient, Chang Teng Thao, a widower from Laos, in an invisible “protective shield” traced in the air with his finger. “The soul is the shaman’s responsibility.”

At Mercy Medical Center in Merced, where roughly four patients a day are Hmong from northern Laos, healing includes more than IV drips, syringes and blood glucose monitors. Because many Hmong rely on their spiritual beliefs to get them through illnesses, the hospital’s new Hmong shaman policy, the country’s first, formally recognizes the cultural role of traditional healers like Mr. Lee, inviting them to perform nine approved ceremonies in the hospital, including “soul calling” and chanting in a soft voice.

The policy and a novel training program to introduce shamans to the principles of Western medicine are part of a national movement to consider patients’ cultural beliefs and values when deciding their medical treatment. The approach is being adopted by dozens of medical institutions and clinics across the country that cater to immigrant, refugee and ethnic-minority populations.

Certified shamans, with their embroidered jackets and official badges, have the same unrestricted access to patients given to clergy members.

Shamans do not take insurance or other payment, although they have been known to accept a live chicken.

A recent survey of 60 hospitals in the United States by the Joint Commission, the country’s largest hospital accrediting group, found that the hospitals were increasingly embracing cultural beliefs, driven sometimes by marketing, whether by adding calcium- and iron-rich Korean seaweed soup to the maternity ward menu at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, on the edge of Koreatown, or providing birthing doulas for Somali women in Minneapolis.

In Merced, about 120 miles southeast of San Francisco, the Mercy hospital shaman program was designed to strengthen the trust between doctors and the Hmong community — a form of healing in the broadest sense. It tries to redress years of misunderstanding between the medical establishment and the Hmong, whose lives in the mountains of Laos were irreparably altered by the Vietnam War. Hmong soldiers, Mr. Lee among them, were recruited by the C.I.A. in the 1960s to fight the covert war against Communist insurgents in Laos and afterward, to avoid retribution, were forced to flee to the refugee camps, with most resettling in California’s Central Valley and in the Midwest.

During a seven-week training program at Mercy Medical Center, 89 shamans learned elements of Western-style medicine, including germ theory. They visited operating rooms and peered through microscopes for the first time. Looking at heart cells, one shaman, an elderly woman, asked the pathologist to show her a “happy heart.”

Designed to defuse the Hmong fear of Western medicine, the program has “built trust both ways,” said Dr. John Paik-Tesch, director of the Merced Family Medicine Residency Program, which trains resident physicians at Mercy Medical Center.

Since the refugees began arriving 30 years ago, health professionals like Marilyn Mochel, a registered nurse who helped create the hospital’s policy on shamans, have wrestled with how best to resolve immigrants’ health needs given the Hmong belief system, in which surgery, anesthesia, blood transfusions and other common procedures are taboo.

The result has been a high incidence of ruptured appendixes, complications from diabetes, and end-stage cancers, with fears of medical intervention and delays in treatment exacerbated by “our inability to explain to patients how physicians make decisions and recommendations,” Ms. Mochel said.

The consequences of miscommunication between a Hmong family and the hospital in Merced was the subject of the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and The Collision of Two Cultures” by Anne Fadiman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997). The book follows a young girl’s treatment for epilepsy and the hospital’s failure to recognize the family’s deep-seated cultural beliefs. The fallout from the case and the book prompted much soul-searching at the hospital and helped lead to its shaman policy.

The Hmong believe that souls, like errant children, are capable of wandering off or being captured by malevolent spirits, causing illness. Mr. Lee’s ceremony for the diabetic man was a spiritual inoculation, meant to protect his soul from being kidnapped by his late wife and thus extending his “life visa.”

Such ceremonies, which last 10 minutes to 15 minutes and must be cleared with a patient’s roommates, are tame versions of elaborate rituals that abound in Merced, especially on weekends, when suburban living rooms and garages are transformed into sacred spaces and crowded by over a hundred friends and family members. Shamans like Ma Vue, a 4-foot, 70-something dynamo with a tight bun, go into trances for hours, negotiating with spirits in return for sacrificed animals — a pig, for instance, was laid out recently on camouflage fabric on a living room floor.

Certain elements of Hmong healing ceremonies, like the use of gongs, finger bells and other boisterous spiritual accelerators, require the hospital’s permission. Janice Wilkerson, the hospital’s “integration” director, said it was also unlikely that the hospital would allow ceremonies involving animals, like one in which evil spirits are transferred onto a live rooster that struts across a patient’s chest.

“The infection control nurse would have a few problems with that,” Ms. Wilkerson said.

A turning point in the skepticism of staff members occurred a decade ago, when a major Hmong clan leader was hospitalized here with a gangrenous bowel. Dr. Jim McDiarmid, a clinical psychologist and director of the residency program, said that in deference hundreds of well-wishers, a shaman was allowed to perform rituals, including placing a long sword at the door to ward off evil spirits. The man miraculously recovered. “That made a big impression, especially on the residents,” Dr. McDiarmid said.

Social support and beliefs affect a patient’s ability to rebound from illness, Dr. McDiarmid added, pointing out that over half of the people who respond to antidepressants do so because of the placebo effect.

One of the goals of the new policy, Ms. Mochel said, is to speed up medical intervention by having a healing ceremony coincide with a hospital stay, rather than waiting days for a patient to confer with family and clan leaders after a ceremony at home.

Attitudes toward Western doctors have begun to loosen as young, assimilated Hmong-Americans assume more powerful roles in the family. Dr. Kathie Culhane-Pera, the associate medical director of the West Side Community Health Center in St. Paul, home to the country’s largest concentration of Hmong, said she worked informally with shamans, obtaining permission from the hospital to turn off the smoke alarms for incense, for example. Signs of the growing movement in cross-cultural health care can be found on the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona, where the federal Indian Health Service has three medicine men on staff and recently instituted a training program similar to Mercy’s.

At White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Hector Flores, the chairman of the family medicine department, refers patients to, traditional Hispanic healers, curanderos, on a case-by-case basis. The facility also trains community members as “promotores de salud,” or health promoters. Dr. Flores called it a “low-tech approach in which the physician is not the end-all, but part of a collaborative team geared toward prevention.”

At the hospital in Merced, Dr. Lesley Xiong, 26, a resident physician, grew up as the granddaughter of two distinguished shamans. Though she chose to become a doctor, she said there was ample room for both approaches. “If I were sick, I would want a shaman to be there,” Dr. Xiong said. “But I’d go to the hospital.”

More Articles in US » A version of this article appeared in print on September 20, 2009, on page A20 of the New York edition.

Durian

2009-08-22T20:22:00.002+07:00

It's called the king of fruits - it's spiky when it's still on the tree or uncut, and it's stinky. But if you can handle the smell, the taste is unlike anything else you'll every eat. It's soft, a little gooey actually, and it has threads and a pit. I like it. I'm Filipina, so I can't help but like tropical fruits, even if they smell.
On Friday at school, I brought a student to the principal's office. Sudaporn was needed to introduce the school (in English) to some visitors, and she needed the information from the director, so we went to ask him together. After talking with him, one of the assistant administrators insisted that I take some durian with me. The fruit was peeled and waiting on a plate to be eaten. I asked her how to eat it, since I didn't have anything to eat it with. She said, just pick it up and take it. I pinched off one small bit, trying to act non-chalant but graceful. She said, "Take the whole piece." Yee sh. I picked it up (about half the size of my palm) with two fingers and proceeded to walk back to my department with it. It felt funny, walking two buildings away with a big piece of durian in my hand. But once I got to the English department office, I bit right into the durian and enjoyed its sweet, gooey-ness. Nothing like it.

I forgive you, Denzel!

2009-08-10T14:21:00.003+07:00

I saw Pelham 123 with Siew on Saturday night. It was so good. I'm not a huge action movie chick, but this was fun. The script was brilliant - interesting questions about faith and being honest and doing what you have to do to make a living. And of course with John Travolta and Denzel Washington, you really can't go terribly wrong.
I loved seeing the city of New York. She never looked so beautiful, truly. I know I've seen a couple of movies that have been made in the city since 9/11, but wow the bridges, the subway, everything was beautiful in this movie. I don't know how they got those great shots.
One part which I hated was close to the end when Denzel saves the world, so to speak. The mayor offers his ride to Denzel, who politely refuses, saying he will take the subway home (after all that craziness that already happened in the subway tunnel). It wasn't convincing, but D asked the mayor, "Hey are you a Yankees fan?" I nearly boo-ed in the auditorium out loud. It really took all of my self-control not to, actually. But again, it wasn't very convincing. It wasn't like Ben Affect in Paycheck asking his girlfriend who his favorite baseball team is...nor was it like Luke Wilson in Legally Blond announcing that he was getting married at Fenway Park. So I'll forgive Denzel this one stupid line in an otherwise great movie.

Bangkok - twice in 1 month

2009-08-10T14:00:00.003+07:00

I got to go to Bangkok twice in July 2009, which was kind of cool. Both trips were with the British Council Connecting Classrooms group. My first trip was the first weekend, and I took a bus there along with some other teachers from Chiang Mai (no one from my school unfortunately). I read "The Orchid Thief" on the way there, and liked it, but wished I had another good book to read on the way back. During both trips, I stayed at the Windsor Suites hotel on Sukhumwit Soi 20. Khruu Sawat was my roommate on the first trip. She teaches at Yupparat Wittayalai in Chiang Mai. Her school is the oldest public school in the city, and she has great experience in teaching social sciences there.

Khruu Sawat and I were invited to be the Chiang Mai representatives at the international coordinator's meeting later in the month - July 27-28 at the Windsor Suites, but this time, we got individual rooms in the older part of the hotel which was recently renovated and had some of the prettiest, shiniest bathroom tiles I've ever seen.

Anyway, on the first visit, I met some cool teachers from Nakron Sii Thammarat. When I told two of them that it's sort of my goal to move further south in Thailand, they said that they'd surely welcome my move, and that they'd ask around to see if any of the other schools in NST had openings. Well, after that, I met new people during nearly every meal at the conference, introducing themselves as a teacher from NST who heard that I was going to move to their city. Funny. I do think about moving south frequently enough that it's something I need to pray about.

The second visit to Bangkok was terrific. I met more cool people, especially from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. I had some interesting conversations about faith and work and fun. The conference ended with a dinner out at Cabbages and Condoms. I was wondering what Muslim friends would think about this place, but when they learned it was all about educating Thai people about using condoms as a safety measure combatting the spread of AIDs, they were alright with it.

I really like all the people from the British Council that I met. I love the curriculum that I'm using, about teaching global citizenship. It's a worthy goal to be teaching toward, and the people that do the training are all very cool. A future with the British Council? I wouldn't turn an offer down all too quickly, but an offer hasn't come. I have had some financial reimbursements given through British Council accounts, so technically, I think I can call myself a consultant. Yah! I love being a teacher, so it's fun when I get rewarded with travel.

Harry

2009-07-16T22:16:00.002+07:00

I'm crazy about Harry Potter. I just saw the movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince." I wish I had time to re-read the book before I saw the movie, but I didn't. I wasn't disappointed with the movie. I thought the special effects and overall production were truly brilliant. But I also remember reading the 6th book and the immediate feelings I had afterward. I'm a teacher, and I have always enjoyed reading the books, because I love how JK Rowling develops the relationships between characters, especially between Harry and Dumbledore. The movie definitely brings out the high school romance angst between the students, but it also shows the special bond between teacher and student, and I really appreciate that.
I still curse inability of so many "Christians" who refuse to let their kids read the books or see the movies. Truly lost opportunities, because HP definitely has redemptive, Christ-like qualities which are admirable. And I love quidditch for it's redemptive analogies as well. Too many kids and adults are missing out, because their faith isn't big enough to embrace the fact that truth can be found outside of the Bible.
One thing I love about seeing movies in Thailand, is that when you buy your ticket, you also book your seat. The movie tickets were pre-sold, so there wasn't a lot to choose from when I got to the theater. I had to sit in the 4th row from the front, and I chose the seat closest to the center, which was between two different parties. I had to resist the urge to tell the kids who sat to my left (they were probably young professionals, but they acted like teens) to settle down and shut up. Right from the start when they sat down, I could feel that they weren't going to be well-mannered movie companions. When the king's song came on, they all stood up before me, but they snickered and laughed the whole way through the song, which - had there been police officers in the house - could be used as grounds for arrest. The girl who sat beside me left twice during the movie, just to explain how much she WASN'T into it. Thai kids - no respect!
Anyway, I loved Luna. Even though I just took a "Which HP character are you", and was Hermione, of course, I think in the later books, Hermione is less courageous than in the first 3 books. I think she gets overly distracted by Ron, and her portrayal in film 6 is little more than that unfortunately. I don't remember Ginnny playing as big of a role, but obviously the movie director is setting us up for the afterward which comees after the final book - which I didn't care much for.
Anyway, if I ever find my own Harry Potter missionary, I'll know that he's the man I'm supposed to marry. But I doubt that he exists.

Another first

2009-07-12T21:48:00.003+07:00

Today was the first time that I taught Sunday School in Thai at Pratuu Muang Chiang Mai (CM City Gate Church). It was alright. There were 5 kids, ages 9-12, 3 were regulars and 2 were newbies whose families have just become Christian which is pretty exciting. Two of the regulars were kind of antsy, and I didn't make a big effort to discipline them, although if I teach in the future, I'll definitely take more control.

My lesson:
1) Draw simple pictures of different groups of people
Kids who are Christian, kids who aren't yet Christian, the Church (pastors, teachers, member), Government officials, teachers and schools, Christian workers, people of influence, the poor/widows/orphans.
2) Read Jesus' Prayer in Matthew 6. Teach the kids to use a line from Jesus' prayer to pray for the groups we drew pictures of. Kids chose a picture and prayed for different groups of people.
3) I have students copies of a map of Asia, and they had to fill in the names of the countries.
4) Pray for the different groups of people who live in different countries in Asia.

I think it went okay. Hannah said that she was surprised how much Thai I could read and speak. I still surprise myself with that, although David was a little stubborn and refused to speak Thai at all with me. But I was impressed with the new kids. They go to a "Christian" school, so they have to say the Lord's prayer every morning during their school assembly, but they learned how to pray, and did so readily today, which was really cool.
I don't plan to teach this group often. I was just substituting for Miriam who just came back from a 2-week vacation, and asked me to fill in, so that she could rest another Sunday. It gave her the chance to be in service too, so I'm glad that I could help.

Curriculum

2009-07-07T23:04:00.002+07:00

I was in Bangkok over the 4th of July for a teacher's conference. I'm teaching a curriculum called Connecting Classrooms which is sponsored by the British Council. It's an online forum for teachers and students from 8 different countries. There are 60 schools from 8 cities in Thailand, and each school was supposed to send 2 representatives. The teacher leader from my department was sick, so I had to go alone. But I was ready.
We wrote a lot of curriculum, but not the way that I'm used to doing it. Basically, we spent hours and hours connecting the curriculum topics with other subject areas. But the teachers were doing this strictly by looking at the other curriculum standards - without necessarily having activities in mind. But for me, I had to think of the activities and sub-topics first, then connect the strands and indicators. It was different enough than what the other's did, so the Chiang Mai teacher leader asked me to present the curriculum that I had written. Here's the proof: I'm presenting my lesson plans. I started out speaking Thai, but a teacher told me to speak English, because it would make the other teachers listen better. So I switched to English, or spoke a blend of both languages.
It's funny, because this presentation boosted my popularity, and I developed a rock star teacher status. Throughout the remaining two days, teachers approached me asking for my email address, for me to take my photo with them, and for copies of my curriculum. I told two teachers from the south that I am considering a move to the south, and then the popularity factor grew even more - teachers from the south kept approaching me saying, "I hear that you want to move to my city. You should really come and visit my school. I think I can get you a job whenever you are ready to move." Wow.
On the last day of the conference, I had a long talk with Acaan Chat, an educator with the British Council. Hopefully, I'll get to travel with him some - introducing the curriculum and helping others to learn how to use it more effectively. We'll see. I love teaching, and I actually really like the lesson planning, when I have the time to do it well.

Life at the Conservas

2009-06-20T10:13:00.002+07:00

I am housesitting for the Conserva family in Bo Hin. It's about 6 km from the hostel where I usually stay. I like living in a big house alone. Well, I'm not alone. There's Didi, their crazy dog. She makes me laugh all the time. I like having her around, except I don't like it when she greets me in the morning. She's overly enthusiastic to the point of jumping on me. She scratched me the other morning, so I had to be more disciplinary with her and push her off me when she starts jumping.
I like walking around the neighborhood with Didi, because everyone knows her and loves her. I'm getting to know the faces of the neighbors here, and they all accept me, because of Didi.
My life is funny right now. I have internet connections at home and school now (school is more reliable than last year, thankfully), so I feel like I'm online as much as possible. I still like old-fashioned email, but I enjoy reading status updates of friends and family on facebook. I am also on the Red Sox website all the time, listening to games, checking statistics, etc.
Jasmine passed me a book, "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time." I quite like it. I've read a lot of good books this year. I'm always looking for inspiring reads, so I'm thinking that maybe I would like reading more from mountaineers (real climbers, not just people like me from WV).
Okay, I'm at a teacher's meeting in town, even though it's Saturday. It's break time, and I'm the only one still in the classroom. Once a nerd...

Monday morning at Doi Saket Wittayakom School

2009-06-15T08:42:00.003+07:00

It's Monday morning, 15 June 2009. When I got to school, I realized that I don't have to teach today! The students in M5 and M6 (juniors and seniors) are testing, and on Mondays, I teach two double-periods of juniors in the morning and then seniors in the afternoon.
So, how am I going to spend the day? There isn't a Red Sox game on to follow...I have curriculum to write, lesson plans to create, a classroom and desk which still need organizing after the 2-month summer break. I have a lot to do.
Oh, I'm also supposed to be re-certifying my math teacher certification this year, so I have an online class that I am supposed to be taking. So it's a day off from teaching, but not off from my responsibilities as a teacher.
Photo of the lovely view from the third building where I teach, looking over into the assembly hall which you can hardly see, it's sooooo green! I love that about my school.

My car's remote

2009-06-12T22:05:00.002+07:00

My car's remote control was broken. It's been this way for months, but I thought it was the battery in the remote more than the functions in the remote itself. When my right directional signal lit up and wouldn't turn off, to the point of killing my battery last weekend, I knew that I had to get my car looked at.
Thankfully I'm house-sitting, and dog-sitting and car-sitting, so I had Ellen's car to use this week. On Monday, while it was raining, I drove to TLCC, my former school, because I knew that the family in charge there has jumper cables. Again, it was raining, and this is rainy season rain. I jump-started my car by myself in the rain. I've seen this done a million times, checked a website just in case, and confidently jump-started my car. Woo-hoo! I drove the cables back to my old school, then drove to Khruu Jai's house, since her Dad is an auto mechanic, and he agreed to look at my car.
I had a Thai lesson with Khruu Jai anyway, so she drove me back to the house, so that we could study. I'm just reading portions of the Bible and learning to pray with her at this time - no pressure of having to take a fluency test or preach, well not yet anyway.
So, today, Friday, I had another Thai lesson, and afterward, Khruu Jai drove me back to her house to pick up my fixed car. Her Dad fixed the remote and changed my battery. He also told me that I need to change the tires. I had been told this about 4 months ago, but I didn't believe the guy who told me. But Jai's Dad, this man I believe.
I drove home tonight about 9PM. It's so nice to drive my own car again. Don't get me wrong, I like Ellen's Toyota, and I love Mike's Isuzu truck (4 doors and extended cab - sweet!). But there's nothing like driving your own car home, or to the home you're house-sitting. Didi, the dog was at the gate eagerly waiting my return. It was a nice evening for me. Oh, except that Didi killed a giant gecko (longer than my hand, but not afraid of Didi, I watched them dance around each other, both threatening the other with their open mouths and fangs hanging out) this afternoon, and it's dead body is now lying somewhere under my car.
I'm just happy to have my car again.

Honoring Teachers

2009-06-12T21:48:00.004+07:00

There's a day early on in the beginning of the
school year which is a day for students to honor teachers. It's a nice ceremony. The day before, students build a flower arrangement onto a standing vase (I wrote build rather than arrange, because some of the creations end up being 3 feet high). These arrangements are judged for their beauty, and it's cool to see what the kids come up with in the process.

On the day of honor, the senior teachers are seated (wearing their brown khakis, government-issued uniforms with insignia to indicate their rank and years of service) on the stage, and the student leaders from each class present their flower arrangements to the teachers. These student leaders have to practice every day for a week beforehand, because as a cluster of 6 or so students, they must bow as soon as they ascend the stage (their heads never rising above the heads of their elders), and they have to scoot across the stage carrying their arrangement, scooting "in step" with the other students in the line - all on their knees! They bow down, foreheads touching the floor in front of them. It requires a great deal of coordination and skill to do this gracefully, but Thai kids, wow are impressive in such abilities.
My favorite part of the day is after the ceremony. Students walk around the school looking for teachers. They ask the teachers to speak a blessing over them for the school year. It's just the coolest opportunity to speak into the lives of my kids. So they'll place their flower arrangement on the floor or on a table wherever they find their teachers. The teacher places two hands on the flower vase and speaks their blessings. I say my blessing first in English, and it's easily evident who does and doesn't understand, so I try to speak the same blessing in Thai as well. I always end my blessing with, "God bless you!"
One class asked me to tie white strings on their wrists also. This was a bit of a surprise, but knowing these kids - seniors - realized that the process would take a lot longer for their class, so they rather cleverly chose to add this to their blessings. So, for each of these students, I asked God to bless them, personally. Still it was very cool for me to bind them in Jesus' Name and speak blessing into them. That much is an honor for me.
May God bless my Thai students every one. May they study hard and receive knowledge and wisdom. May they have hearts that want to learn. When they search for the truth, may they succeed in finding it. And may they find success in all that they do this year. May they bring honor to their parents, families, teachers and this school, because they study diligently. God bless them.

Friday!

2009-06-05T21:37:00.003+07:00

I just finished my second full week of school this term. It was a good week. I really like my students, especially my new M4/4 class. There are 19 kids (as opposed to the 12 and 10 kids I have in M6/4 and 5/4) in this class - 10 girls and 9 boys. So there's a lot more interesting interaction with them overall. Today is World Environment Day, and I gave my kids a really difficult assignment. I read to them from my Thai essay that I wrote last fall in preparation for my Thai fluency exam. My students applauded my reading of my work when I finished. And it was applause-worthy, because to talk about global warming in any language requires pretty complicated vocabulary. Anyway, my students' assignment is to write an essay on how we can take better care of the environment. Eventually, they will have to give a speech on this topic (since it's a topic for every English competition I've ever taken students to), so today was just a start. They know how difficult the vocabulary is, but they took it was great attitudes, believing that it is possible. Yeah!
Okay, so Seth is sitting here beside me, about to go crazy, because he gets to fly home to the US tonight. Seth is 9 years old, and home is Chiang Mai and Connecticut. They will fly with Korean Air tonight at 1AMish, and will be in transit for about 30 hours: Chiang Mai-Seoul-New York. Seth's older sister Karis is getting married June 28th, so the family is flying back to spend time in the motherland. He wants to find his dartgun that he left at his house last summer. I can't believe that Seth hasn't read all of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which is one of the best books I've read this year. But his sister Cana has read it. She's 12.
Okay, my battery is dying. I'll be house-sitting and dog-sitting here at the Conserva's house in Bo Hin, which is about 10 minute away from my hostel. I love being here.

Christine and Karen

2009-05-25T15:44:00.003+07:00

This photo was taken at Karen Schnorr's house in Watertown, MA during the summer on 1990 when I sublet one of her rooms. Karen was one of two InterVarsity, Boston area directors while I was a student at Wellesley, and we became good friends through a mentoring relationship. Karen will always be the IVCF staff icon for me. She was fun and intense. She asked hard questions, but she worshipped God with abandon, and I loved hanging out with her.
Karen later went to Poland to help pioneer their student movement at different universities. She came back to Boston in the late 1990s to date and later marry Mike Bundy. Karen was diagnosed with cancer, and was in remission when she and Mike married. But less than a year after her wedding, she lost her fight with cancer, departing early in this life to eternal life.
Christine Kim is my other good friend pictured here. She was a year behind me at Wellesley, and will forever be one of my best friends. Christine lived in Cambridge the summer that I turned 21 there in Watertown, and we were able to spend a lot of time together learning how to grow up and take care of ourselves while living in apartments.
On May 2, 2009 Christine passed on, like Karen departing early from this life on earth. It was tragic and sudden: Christine had a brain aneurysm while sanding a picnic table outside of her home in Chicago. She left behind an amazing husband, Jon Mihevc, and two adorable girls, Zoe (8) and Phoebe (5). How unfair it is that her young and healthy life would be cut short so suddenly.
I got the news about Christine's death via email. I was at the Chu's home in Watertown, MA waiting to see if other friends whom I had invited to dinner were coming. I checked my email on my cell phone, and read the surreal message from Elizabeth Hoyt, my IVCF staff worker from Wellesley. I was shocked and confused. I asked Gary some clinical questions about brain aneuryms, and then I turned off my phone and attempted to enjoy the evening with my good friends. The friend who later drove me back to 5B Pine Street in Chinatown, was a good listened and took geniune concern as I told him about Christine's death. He said something really simply like, "If you can't get to your best friend's funeral, then what kind of friend are you?" He wasn't accusing me, he was just talking to me about valuing people and showing faithfulness when it's possible to do so.
I completely freaked out once I was inside the apartment. I am so grateful that 5B is a place that I called home for so long, and that Anna still lives there. She knew to just stay with me as I made plans over the internet - buying a plane ticket to Chicago the next day, canceling my train reservations back to Washington DC where my family was expecting me. Anna talked me through a lot of decisions, and later prayed with me even though it was way past my bedtime, and I was more than a little anxious.
Going to Christine's memorial service was one of the more meaningful things I did during my 2-month visit to the US. It was healing to celebrate Christine's life, and I am still thinking about how much she impacted me and my faith. Before I returned to Thailand, I dug through photo albums from college and afterward, and I've been slowly reading through some of my old journals about the years when I lived with Christine at Wellesley and later in Somerville (post-graduation).
It's good to reflect on Christine's life and Karen's life, and to know that these relationships are eternal, secured by our mutual faith in the God Who has redeemed our lives and promised us an inheritance in a place much nicer than Wellesley or Boston.

Back to Church

2009-05-25T15:34:00.003+07:00

I finally got to go back to my Church in Chiang Mai on Sunday. It was so nice to be back, after 2 months in the USA where I didn't really worship when I went to church. As is his custom, Acaan Kampon asked if anyone wanted to share testimony. There was a YWAM team present from Hawaii, and a young woman shared first about how she always wanted to be a singer, and how she always wanted to serve God in Thailand. She encouraged everyone to hold on to their dreams, but to give them to God and allow Him to make them come true, because He will take our dreams and make them a reality if they can honor Him.
After that, Acaan asked me to share, since I had just returned from the US a week ago, and he had heard my story about being quarantined. I did share, probably not as humorously as I wrote in the previous blog entry, but I shared about being ready to worship. Even though I was inconvenienced, I understand why it was so important to be quarantined, having arrived from the US, and having flu-like symptoms (mild sore throat is really all that I had). Some of my friends wrote to me after reading my email that it was a "rude welcome" back to Thailand. But I didn't feel that way. I actually had a really good time of worship on Sunday morning, even though I slept only about 4 hours on Saturday night. I decided to listen to the Chris Tomlin worship album that I copied onto my computer's harddrive, and I just got up and started dancing around the hospital room. I wasn't really conscious of the video camera looking in on me: I just wanted to worship. So, yeah the punch line I shared in the testimony was to be prepared to worship wherever you find yourself, because when we worship, we're doing what we were created to do, and it brings us joy and peace.

Quarantined!

2009-05-25T15:30:00.002+07:00

A really bizarre thing happened within the 24 hours of landing in Thailand...I arrived back in Chiang Mai on Thursday around noon. After a shower and a nice 2-hour Thai massage, I started feeling chills and a sore throat. No worries, but maybe I caught it from the guy who sat in the same row as me on the flight from San Fran to Taipei. That was a 14 hour trip, and this guy
coughed a lot. I was thankful that I could change planes in Taipei.
I reported to school on Friday. School opened on Thursday, but it was mainly administrative and procedural stuff. Well, on Friday afternoon, someone from the district hospital came to my school to check up on me. Upon landing at the Chiang Mai airport, I had to fill out a health form stating that I had no H1N1 flu symptoms. And at the time, I didn't have any. But still, I was coming from the US, which is on the at risk list, so all visitors and guests are being followed up by health ministry people. The hospital worker asked if I was alright, and when I told her that I had a slight sore throat, she said that it was important for me to move immediately to the hospital where I'd be kept isolated and under observation for 48 hours just to be sure that I didn't have H1N1. Yeesh. They wouldn't let me go home to grab my toothbrush. Thankfully I had my computer, and I grabbed some books from my classroom. They made me take an ambulance there, and when I got there, they took a chest x-ray, a blood test and some other tests.
So I was quarantined at the Doi Saket hospital over the weekend. Every time a nurse or doctor came in to take my vitals or check on me, they had to be in full gear (extra bibs and aprons, rubber boots, full face masks, gloves). The medical director, visitors and sometimes a nurse would talk to me via video monitor, which was kind of funny. I was under surveillance 24 hours. Honestly, when I was at school and they told me that I needed to "go away" for 2 days, I thought, "Okay, I'll make this into a 'back to Thailand retreat'." And the invitation
felt sweeter when they told me that I'd have online access there. I had my computer, and I knew that I wasn't really sick. It would be inconvenient, but 24-hours of internet accessibility in Doi Saket - no way - sure I'll go!
Well, the internet didn't work. I shouldn't have been surprised. I read a lot (Thai Bible) which was good. The manage of my hostel brought me my creature comforts from my room which is literally and conveniently across the street from the hospital: things like my toothbrush and my 2 pillows (that hospital bed felt as hard as a rock!). She also brought me delicious Thai food( somtam which I hadn't had in months, plus my favorite fruits: mangos, mangosteen and
lychee).
On Sunday morning, thankfully my test results came back from Bangkok. I was H1N1 negative. Hooray! So my 40-hour "incarceration" ended sweetly, and a nursing assistant walked me across the street back to my hostel.
It's Monday morning, I'm at school, but the doctor gave me orders not to teach this week, because I still have a sore throat. Crazy. I hate being away from my students, and I hate missing the first real week of school. But, I'll take a week's rest. I know that I won't be in bed the
whole time.

Fenway Park

2009-04-22T09:06:00.005+07:00

I love the Red Sox. My roommate in Boston for 8 years, Hannah, asked me this spring, "So have you always loved the Red Sox or is this something recent? You really love the Red Sox, and I don't remember when this happened to you."
Well, Hannah was with me in the first couple of years that I started going to Fenway regularly. It was in 1994 when we were camp counselors for Project Destiny. We took a bunch of Chinese immigrant kids to Fenway after teaching them baseball basics.
But it's truth the infatuation is relatively recent. In 2003, my sister Jessica and her family came to Boston for their spring break, and I took them to Fenway on Patriot's Day. That was the year that my two oldest nephews, Garrett and Zachary, first started following major league baseball. They couldn't help but become Red Sox fans. . .and then the ultimate happened in the 2004 season - the Red Sox won the world series after an 83-year drought of world series wins. Oh my gosh what a season, and what a great time to live in Boston!

So, fast forward to April 2009...Garrett and I went to Fenway to watch my beloved Red Sox play the Baltimore Orioles. We got into Gate C three hours before the game started, since I'm an official member of Red Sox nation. Usually we'd be able to watch batting practice from the green monster. But because it rained off and on all afternoon, no one came out to swing any bats before the game. We did see Koji Uehara warming up, although he didn't pitch until the next evening.

I love being at Fenway. It's just an great place to watch a baseball game. We sat in the bleachers, section 29, way up by the scoreboard. I took a lot of pictures, but you can't tell who they are of, and that doesn't even matter. I was there, and I was with Garrett, and the Red Sox won. It was so great to have that.

Jasmine's request

2009-04-22T09:00:00.003+07:00

Jasmine chose to spend her spring break with her Mom and big brother Garrett touring colleges in DC and Boston. Her only request was that she be able to go horseback riding. So I took her to Bobby's Ranch in Webster, MA. It's a great place. In addition to horses on a beautiful trail, they have other animals: a peacock, donkeys, goats, dogs and even a buffalo.

Jasmine loves animals, so it's nice to know a nice farm in MA where she can go riding. This goat really liked Jasmine and sort of followed her around after the ride. Cute.

Sweet Caroline!

2009-04-22T08:52:00.002+07:00

The Ngooi family in Bedford hosted me and my family in the Boston area. Caroline welcomed us with a homemade cake which was delicious! She's a kid that never ceases to amaze me. When I lived in Boston, I used to babysit Caroline one night in December, so that her parents could go Christmas shopping. When she was like 4, we made Christmas cookies with cut outs, and she was really good with the dough and cookie cutters, I think, because she was a play-dough expert. Anyway, she still loves baking, and I still love enjoying her treats. Thanks Caroline!

College Tour

2009-04-22T08:32:00.007+07:00

On April 14th, I went to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA along with my sister Jessica and two of her kids, Garrett and Jasmine. Garrett is a high school junior, and Jessica and I took him on tour of college campuses in the DC area and in Boston. This is a photo of George Mason himself. He is the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, which the US Bill of Rights was based on. The tradition goes that if a person rubs George's left shoe, they'll have good luck. Of course, we all rubbed the shoe! Also, if students want extra luck on a final, they leave George baked good offerings the night before the exam.

Babson College in Wellesley, MA was the second campus on our tour. I never gave Babson a thought even though it's in the same college town that I went to school. It's a h
ighly competitive business school (#1 in entrepreneurship according to US News and World Report for the past 12 years), and it's a gorgeous campus. Garrett, Jessica and Jasmine are pictured here in front of some important building.

Sasha is one of the many husky statues on the campus at Northeastern University in downtown Boston. I didn't realize that NEU was founded in the 19th century. It is the first university to have the husky as its mascot. Who knew?
Even though I got a professional certification from Northeastern (my secondary principal's cert), I never considered myself an alumnus until I went on the tour with Garrett.
The tradition with Sasha is that if you are an undergraduate and you rub her nose, you'll have good luck. If you're an alumus, you rub behind her ears. Again, we all rubbed the statue.

Bentley is another college in the Boston area that I didn't really know anything about, except that it was a business school. The coolest thing about this school was the stairwell pictured here. It's heated during the winter, so it doesn't get slippery or snowy. I couldn't see the wires, and I was really impressed. I don't think That Garrett liked this school, because it would require a lot of walking uphill.

Gordon College is a beautiful campus located on the north shore in MA. The day that we visited, it was such a beautiful afternoon. We couldn't figure out what the animal was in the middle of the athletic fields, so we ventured out to observe. It was a plastic coyote with a furry tail, and it's "scarecrowed" in the middle of the fields to keep away the geese. Interesting.

The magnolias at the Smithsonian

2009-04-13T08:55:00.002+07:00

I love that two of my sisters now live in the Washington, DC region. When I am home in the US, I fly into DC and stay with Vanessa or Debbie. On April 3, I went into DC to meet Jim Meyer, a teaching friend who was in town for a conference, and I got to spend the day at some of the Smithsonian museums. I visited the Freer and Sackler galleries, and then the Native American Indian Museum. It was a great day. I was very impressed with the Native American Indian Museum, and am glad that the good people at the Smithsonian finally decided to honor the original inhabitants of our continent. Anyway, while walking from the Freer down the street to the other museum, I passed through an amazing display of nature. The magnolias were as magnificent as they could be after a heavy, morning rain, and I took lots of pictures.

My DC

2009-04-13T08:51:00.002+07:00

The capitol building in DC is a beautiful building. I walked by it a week ago when I was in DC, but I haven't been inside for about 20 years. I hope to do a White House tour while I'm stateside this year, but I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to squeeze that in. On the side of the building there were some gorgeous Japanese cherry blossum trees which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The men in the family

2009-04-13T08:49:00.001+07:00

So here's the Easter photo of the men in my life:
Ian, AJ,Garrett, Gunnar, Edgar, Bryan and Tyler. My Dad was in the house watching the Celtics play basketball, and 3 of my nephews weren't able to make the photo shoot.

My nieces and nephews

2009-04-13T08:38:00.002+07:00

On Easter Sunday, we had an Easter egg hunt at my sister Debbie's house in northern Virginia. These are my beautiful nephews and nieces:
Ian, Gunnar, Margo, Tyler, Garrett, Phoebe, Jasmine and Andrew. There are 3 nephews missing from this photo. I think that Phoebe found the most eggs this year. There was a lot candy eaten today in the back yard, because after the Easter egg hunt, we had a pinata to celebrate Ian's 9th birthday.

Week at Debbie's House

2009-04-04T22:20:00.006+07:00

My sister Melissa drove up for a week from West Virginia to meet Tristan and spend time with Vanessa's family. So I spent the week with Debbie's family. It was really quiet in comparison with a week at Vanessa's house, but it was also fun. Tyler is now 5, and he's not much bigger than Gunnar, but he's heavier, so it's not easy to pick him up and play with him. We had fun at the park by his house one day.

Home?

2009-03-27T04:11:00.003+07:00

So I've been in the US now for 13 days. It's all a blur though; Thailand seems so far away. I already wrote about Tristan's early arrival into the world. We're all really happy that he's here, and that he's a calm baby. Gunnar and Ian are adjusting well, as are Vanessa and Alex - the loving parents.

So, yes, I've been in town for nearly 2 weeks, and my life couldn't be any more different than the life that I usually live in Chiang Mai. I'm on auntie-duty, and it's fun. This involves walking Ian to school about a half mile away, helping to get Ian and Gunnar showered or bathed, doing loads of laundry and cooking. I do enjoy cooking, but I just never really spend time doing it in Thailand. Some of the more exotic things I've made were essence of chicken, seaweed and fish soup, shumei, chicken soup and stir-fried vegetables with dried mushrooms and bean sprouts. But thankfully we've eaten lots of casseroles too, courtesy of Vanessa's generous friends.

A big adjustment that I have to make when stateside is driving on the right side of the road. In Thailand, we drive on the other side, so while I'm driving here, I constantly have to remind myself to stay on the right side of the road! And the vehicle? I'm driving Vanessa's mini-van, very different from the little, Honda City that I'm accustomed to.

I can't say that I like the weather. It's currently rainy and about 54 degrees. Sigh. It's summer in Chiang Mai, which is the reason that I'm here - school vacation. I've never experienced April in the land of smiles, and I'm not 100% sure that I wouldn't melt there in the heat. But still, I don't like the cold, even 54 degrees cold. I find myself wearing multiple layers and burying myself under the blankets at night. It is nice to see spring time in the mid-Atlantic. . . the daffodils and crocuses (croci?). I hang out with my friend Jim in DC late next week, and I anticipate that I will catch the cherry blossums. And I can't wait to see the tulips in Boston.

I decided to come home this spring again, instead of during Christmas, because Vanessa was pregnant. It's great that I've been able to be with her as Tristan arrived. I love being overseas for Christmas too. It's difficult to not be with family during that time, but it's so much less commercial, and so much more Christ-centered with the people I hang with in Thailand. And I don't think I'd like the weather on the east coast in December. So I'm here, and here is home. And it feels right, even though it's different.

Tristan, Gunnar and Vanessa

2009-03-27T03:51:00.002+07:00

Gunnar is my current favorite nephew, although they are all my favorite. He's #7 of 8 nephews, the littlest being the one on Gunnar's lap here in the photo. Both Gunnar and Tristan are Vanessa's boys - Vanessa being my younger sister, also here in the photo.

There are many wonderful things about 2-year-olds. I've never believed in the terrible 2's, but I've never been a parent either. You can literally see their personalities developing. They are curious about everything, and they begin to push the limits of the independence as much as a they possibly can.

Gunnar is at this stage where he's so cute. He loves to help with almost any task - putting things away, feeding the dog, searching for dog poop in the backyard, watching the baby. Gunnar has a wide, winsome smile, and he laughs at almost anything. He's just a great kid.

Usually when Gunnar wakes up in the morning or after his long nap in the afternoon, he's a little grumpy. Usually if you pick him up and cuddle him for a few minutes, he will find the security he needs and warms up to be the happy, fun kid that he is. This morning, Gunnar found me in the kitchen. He wasn't grumpy or clingy like his usual just-woken self. He was kind of happy. I greeted him with arms open wide to give him a hug. He let me hug him but didn't want to be carried. He looked at me and said, "Hey Auntie, are there still snacks up there for me to eat?"

Yesterday, after 2 snack packs, he asked for a third, and since dinner was less than an hour away, I said to him, "You know, let's save this one for tomorrow. Okay?"

He said, "Okay." I didn't think the snack pack would be the first thing on his mind in the morning, but I was wrong. I didn't give him the snack pack. He had breakfast instead, and then I guess he forgot about the snack. I love being an auntie!

Alex, Gunnar and Tristan

2009-03-22T06:19:00.002+07:00

Tristan Andrew Ellermann was born on Saturday, March 14th. This is Tristan the day after he was born, along with his Daddy Alex and older brother, Gunnar.
I love all my nephews, and the littlest one is certainly very, very lovable.

Gunnar and Monkey

2009-03-22T06:17:00.002+07:00

Gunnar used to be my youngest nephew, until Tristan came along. Gunnar is now 2.5 years old. He's seated here next to Monkey, my sister's beautiful malamute. Monkey is huge. She weighs as much as I do, and is a large dog. I like big dogs...and little boys.

Tyler and Gunnar

2009-03-22T06:12:00.002+07:00

Tyler and Gunnar are seated on the dinosaur just playing. These two love to play together and sometimes fight together like boys do. These two are cousins, and I love being with them and watching them play together.

Sudaporn

2009-03-22T06:08:00.002+07:00

Sudaporn is my favorite M3 (9th grade) student. We took this picture on the day of the promotion ceremony. Sudaporn is a great kid. She's Lahu, and the best English student in grades 7-9. I helped to prepare her for a speaking competition in February at a private school in Chiang Mai. She placed 3rd which was pretty good, considering that she only spent 1 week preparing for the competition. I just like Sudaporn also. She's got a good heart, and is always willing to help others. Her favorite English songs are from High School Musical. I hope my influence in her life is something more than just exposing her to US culture!

Promotion

2009-03-22T06:02:00.002+07:00

On of my favorite Thai public school traditions is the promotion ceremony. On one of the last days of the second time, prior to finals, the M3 and M6 students are honored by their fellow students and recognized before the school staff.
On Friday, April 29th, students in M1, M2, M4 and M5 lined both sides of the street from the cafeteria to the auditorium (we have a fairly large campus consisting of 3 academic buildings plus separate structures for the cafeteria and auditorium). Then the M6 students parade down the street, receiving flowers, stuffed animals and favors from the other students. It's really cute and a little emotional. I think it's a great way for students to show their unity and affection for one another.

My 4/4 Students

2009-03-21T07:22:00.002+07:00

I don't have many photos of my M4/4 students. There are 12 of them, and most of them were here the day we made spaghetti for lunch together. They loved cooking and eating together. I love teaching English - real life.

The Sets

2009-03-21T07:11:00.004+07:00

Snow White and the 7-Eleven Dwarfs was the name of the play that the Foreign Language Department performed. My M5/4 kids made the sets. They totally outdid themselves. I struggled some with the production, because we did it in 4 languages (Thai, English, Chinese and Japanese). Every line was read in Thai and translated into one of the other languages. The actors also spoke/acted in one of the other languages as well. My students definitely worked the hardest. The school asked students and staff to come to school on the weekend prior to the big day in order to prepare for the exhibition. My kids were the only ones in the foreign language department to come, because they had to finish the props. Sigh. I was bummed for them, but they were actually happy to spend the extra time together instead of just sitting at home the weekend. I wish I had better photos, because this one doesn't do their work justice.

Rewind 2 weeks

2009-03-21T07:03:00.003+07:00

On March 3rd, we had an Academic Showcase at my school. The foreign language department chose our three best students to welcome our guests in 3 foreign languages (English, Chinese and Japanese). Khruu Toi and I are pictured here with our 3 students plus Khruu Oi. My girl, Sady, is beside me as the cowgirl, while I'm dressed in my northern Thai costumes.

30 hours later

2009-03-19T01:53:00.007+07:00

So, on Saturday morning, March 14th, at about 6:30AM, Debbie got a phone call. I had touched down in DC at 6:00AM the previous morning. Debbie's phone has this groovy function that announces the name of the caller. So from the second floor, I heard the phone say that the Ellermanns were calling. Debbie had planned a baby shower for Vanessa for 11:00 that morning. Vanessa didn't have baby showers for Ian or Gunnar, so she wanted a small gathering for baby #3, and she held off the shower until I was home from Thailand. I couldn't guess why Alex (Vanessa's husband) might be calling the morning of the shower so early, but about 10 minutes later, Bryan (Debbie's husband) knocked on my door saying that Alex called, because Vanessa's contractions had started earlier in the morning, and could we get to their house ASAP to watch their kids.

So, we were on the road within 20 minutes, and were at Vanessa's place by 7:20. Tyler, Debbie's kid was with us too, and we were all pretty excited. As soon as we got to the house, Vanessa and Alex left for the hospital.

While waiting, I watched the Madagascar 2 bonus disc. Watching the bonus disc might be more fun than the actual movie, because Alex the lion actually teaches kids his dance routine. I recorded my three nephews dancing along. . .

But okay, so around 12:20PM, Tristan Andrew Ellermann was born! We were all really happy. Debbie and Tyler had left to go home after lunch, thinking they might not get to see the baby that day anyway. But Alex came back at 6:00 PM, so that Ian and Gunnar could meet their new baby brother. He's so cute, so little, so precious! I'll post some photos too. So, about 30 hours after touching down from my 30+hours of traveling, I had a new nephew. Life is good!

Traveling home

2009-03-19T01:34:00.005+07:00

I'm home in the good ol' USA once again. I'm so glad to be back. I love my life in Chiang Mai, but I love my family more.

This trip took me 28+ hours from the first take off to the last touch down on China Airways airplanes. I renewed my teaching contract last week, and I had to renew my VISA and work permit all between March 3 and 12. So I was at Immigration in Chiang Mai the morning of my trip, in order to get a re-entry permit for my return to Thailand. So, if you count from doorstep to doorstep, overall my trip took 34 hours. Oh my gosh, I'm tired now thinking about it.

Usually when I fly, I try not to fall asleep in order to adjust to the time change (12 hours) more easily. But I only slept about 4 hours the night before traveling. I had everything packed, I was just trying to clean up. I hate leaving my space messy when I return home. March is when hot season begins in Thailand, which is the reason it's school vacation and why I always travel home. The air quality is also really unhealthy with smog, so I'm anticipating that with my room being vacant for 2 months, it's going to be pretty dusty. So, I always try to wash everything and put everything away, then sweep my floors well before a long trip. I have to do this in my little room and in my kitchen, which is detached from the house and outside. I baked like crazy the week before trying to use up as much of my food and dry goods as possible, gave my perishables away and defrosted my refrigerator. Thankfully, I remembered to move my bike into the kitchen rather than keeping it out. So, I was too tired to NOT sleep during transit. I'd say that I slept a total of less than 6 hours though.

When we finally arrived in DC, we were early. I had to wait about 20 minutes for my sister Debbie to pick me up at Dulles. A Thai woman from my flight needed help using the pay phone, so I helped her to get change and dial out, so that her ride would come and get her. When Debbie and Tyler came, I was so happy. Tyler told me that he wasn't going to school. He asked permission from his Dad to play hooky from kindergarten in order to hang out with me at home. Cool!

Bryan, Debbie's husband, was working from home, since it was Friday. We went out to eat at IHOP. Love those harvest grain pancakes with a side of blueberries! Oh my gosh. I had enough carbs in that one meal to last me for a week. Then back at the house, Tyler kept me entertained. He showed me all of the toys he's accumulated in the past 10 months that I've been away. And we watched Wall-E, Madgascar 2 and Space Buddies. I did fall asleep for a couple of minutes watching Wall-E and Space Buddies. but we had fun. Had Tyler not stayed home with me, I most likely would have succumbed to sleep.

I went to bed around 7:30 and slept until 6:00AM on Saturday. I felt pretty much like I kicked the jetlag thing once again. Then we got a phone call around 6:30. See next entry.

February 19, 2008

2009-02-19T14:49:00.002+07:00

It's Thursday. A week from Tuesday will be March 3, which is Doi Saket Wittayakhom School's Showcase day. Even writing it out makes me weary. The Monday before will be the last day of classes before the end of the term and school year. And finals will begin on March 4th. And since I don't give a final. . .it just means that I need to finish up my marks, enter then into the computer, and I'm free! Free to go back home and spend time with my family whom I love and miss so much.
My younger sister Vanessa will have her 3rd baby on March 20th, if all goes as planned. Since she already has Ian (8) and Gunnar (2.5), son #3 will be more than a handful. So I will be there with her and Alex as much as I can during my 6 week break in the US. Of course I will go to WV, to visit my parents' church in Spencer and my brother's family in Morgantown. And I have to make the trip to Boston, Massachusetts - my fair city - to visit my sending church and friends.

So, I'm trying to stay focused and get my work done here in Chiang Mai without going crazy. The foreign language department decided that we'd do an international version of Snow White using 4 languages. It would be so much easier if we only did one or two language, but it's hard trying to do 4. I feel a huge sense of responsibility, and that nothing is going as well as I want for it to. If it was just English and Thai, I could deal, but it has to include the Chinese and Japanese language teachers and students too which I'll admit - makes it very challenging for me. I really need to learn to say no.

Jacoby Ellsbury

2009-02-17T10:42:00.001+07:00

Okay, so I found this great shot of the Ellsbury catching a fly ball out at Fenway. What a great shot. I couldn't resist saving it, printing it and now posting it on my blog, because it's such a great shot. . .there's no place like Fenway!

My beautiful kids

2009-02-17T10:33:00.002+07:00

I gotta find a better photo from the party, but here are the kids I took to the Valentine's Day party at my church! It was a busy Valentine's Day weekend: baking brownies for some kids are school on Friday, baking all day Saturday morning for the party, picking up the kids at 5 different locations in Doi Saket before driving them to my church in Chiang Mai, the party!

After the party, it was still early, so we went to the walking street behind Carrefoure and looked at things that the vendors were selling. Fun.

On Sunday, I went to the Tribal Blessing Home Foundation for church where a lot my students live. It was my first time to attend church there, and I enjoyed meeting the leaders and eating lunch with them. After that, I went to Faa Siri, another foundation for tribal kids in Doi Saket, and taught the women and kids how to bake chocolate chip cookies. I hung out there after baking and did highlight's hidden picture puzzles with the kids for more than an hour before having dinner with them. Overall, a fun weekend filled with lots of love.

Valentines Day

2009-02-17T10:27:00.001+07:00

On Feb 14th, I took 15 students to my church for a party. I asked them to come and sing, "Take me to your heart." They were so adorable. The party was a lot of fun, and they got to eat pizza and other yummy treats.
Armoei is one my M4/4 student leaders. She helped me to organize some of the kids in her class to join the party and sing. This is her (in pink) along with Hannah, one of the coolest 6th graders I know at Grace International School.

Scout trip

2009-02-03T08:40:00.002+07:00

January 19-21, the students in grades 7-9 went of camping trips to 3 different sites. The 7th graders were at the most rustic site in the sticks of Doi Saket (and Doi Saket for those not in the know, is pretty much out in the country as it is). Saek, the middle kid, is pictured here with two of his friends who cooked rice together in a bamboo branch for dinner. Saek is another one of "my boys" at the school. He will visit me frequently during lunch, and it reviewing my Hooked on Phonics books, in order to get some extra support in learning to read English.

Julie's Reindeer

2009-02-03T08:34:00.001+07:00

Okay, so I was too busy to post these before, but here are the reindeer that I designed for our school Christmas program. They didn't do more than pull the sled for Santa during the opening assembly, but they were good deer.

Nearly irresistable

2009-02-03T08:30:00.002+07:00

The boys from Faa Siri Foundation found a litter of puppies at the school, hidden away from the school yard, down a hill and under some brush. For several weeks, they'd go and peek at the puppies who hadn't yet opened their eyes. They invited me and Teacher Baw Hua to go see the puppies too, one day - knowing that Baw Hua loves dogs. We totally fell in love with the puppies. The next week, we went back to look for the pups, but their mother had moved them further down the hill closer to a pond. It was another week before the boys found them - eyes opened- and Titmonkong brought the cutest one to the foreign language department office to show him off. This is me with the pup. So cute. I can't believe I was thinking about adopting him. . .there are too many other things that I should be taking care of, without worrying about a dog too. But so sweet to just cuddle like this. Nearly irresistable.

Baking

2009-02-03T08:21:00.002+07:00

I love baking. And it's really fun when I get to teach kids how to bake. This is Wanchai and Titmonkong from Faa Siri Foundation. I taught them during term 1 along with the other 7th grade students. For their science project, they had to do something requiring a procedure and write about the procedure and results. So they asked me to teach them to bake a chocolate cake. These guys could be my sons. Because they live in a foundation with all boys, they really crave motherly attention. So they usually come looking for me at school during lunch, just to have someone to talk with them and look after them.

Camping with students

2009-01-21T16:34:00.002+07:00

From January 19-21, the students in M1, M2 and M3 went camping at different sites throughout Chiang Mai. This photo is some of my M1 (6th grade) boys who had to rough it at the scout camp in Doi Saket. While the girls slept in cabins, each group of 10 boys had two tarps, 2 large mosquito nets and lots of string to create tents to sleep in. I was really worried about the littlest boys like Pon (far right) who is the smallest kid in the school. How were they going to stay warm when the temperatures were in the low 50s? They all survived. Their rice-filled bamboo branch is pictured as well - part of their dinner.

My parents with the littlest

2009-01-14T09:19:00.002+07:00

Every even December is a Gamponia Christmas year (04,06,08...). My parents invested in a timeshare in Orlando several years ago, and our family tries to get together there every even Christmas. This year, my parents went along with Melissa, Debbie (& family) and Vanessa (& family). I really missed out, and missed them. Sigh. But I'll see them all soon when the school terms ends in March.
This is such a typical photo of my parents. They are always reading which I think is great. I love that my Dad also has a pen in hand ready to underline which he does all the time when he's reading. He will sometimes photocopy magazine articles for all of us and send them, and we can see where he's underlined what he thinks is important. Mostly, he reads medical journals and the Bottom Line. Mom is more interested in personal interest stories. It cracks me up that she subscribes to Essence. I don't know if she realizes that it's supposed to be for African American women, but that's okay. I loved that she sent me some of her previously read copies with articles about the Obama family.
Mom's holding Gunnar who will turned 2 in August. He's currently the littlest in the Gamponia clan, but will be welcoming a younger brother in March if all goes well with Vanessa's pregnancy. Gunnar, like his grandparents, also likes the read.

The Bhutan Friendship Bridge

2009-01-14T09:11:00.002+07:00

This is probably my favorite bridge in Chiang Mai. It's at the Royal Flora Ratchapruek international gardens, and it was built by friends from Bhutan. I really want to go to Bhutan in the future if possible. It's a mysterious, mountainous nation locked in the Himalayas, and the people seem so unmaterialistic. Someday, maybe I'll make it there.
I went to Royal Flora again with Wendy in December when it was opened for an exhibition. I love the international gardens the best, because I think you can observe interesting things about a culture by looking at their gardens.

January 14th, and I'm still tired from the Xmas parties

2009-01-14T09:04:00.002+07:00

Christmas came and went. I had a great month of parties and celebrations. It is great to be able to speak Thai well enough to sing Christmas carols in Thai and understand what I'm singing! But we're two weeks into 2009, and I'm still tired. I have been sleeping a lot, 8 hours a night nearly every night, but it still doesn't seem like enough.
Yeah! I started going to my gym again. I haven't gone regularly since September or so when I started studying in earnest for the Thai language proficiency test which I took at the end of November. So, last week I went swimming on Tuesday, and I went to the gym to work out on the elliptical cycle, treadmill and weight machines twice more. Yesterday I went again. It rocks to work out, but it's hard to get where I was physically.
Tony, my former trainer, left the gym. I don't know where he's working now. Tony was a 2-time national kick boxing champion, and it was fun to work out with him and learn to kick box, but he wasn't a very good teacher. Oh well.

Nov 27th

2008-12-15T18:55:00.002+07:00

Three weeks ago I went to Bangkok to take the Thai language competency test given by the ministry of education. The week of the test, political protesters took over the Bangkok airports, so I wasn't able to travel via airplane as we'd originally planned, and I had to take a tour bus from Chiang Mai instead. That wasn't a huge deal, since there are multiple buses that go between the two cities daily, but it was more the whole scare of going to where there was potential violence - all in order to take a test! Yeesh.
Anyway, I got to Bangkok okay. I took the test, and feel pretty good about it actually feel pretty good about how I did. There were 4 parts: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The listening was surprising: I didn't expect the speaker (pre-recorded) to talk so fast, and I had expected to hear the questions read twice, but they weren't. Thankfully, I could understand almost every question. Whether I got the answers right is, well still unknown! The reading was difficult. As our protor announced previously, the questions started out easy and got progressively difficult. I left about 10 questions blank at the end, because I didn't read fast enough. But again, thankfully I was familiar with most of the vocabulary in the reading passages. The writing was definitely the easiest for me. In part 1, we had to analzye a line graph. And my teacher had given me a very similar graph during my test prep. Yeah!!! In part 2, we had to write why learning was important. Being a teacher, wow, did I have a lot to write about! I had been told to prepare for one of three more so-called difficult topics (Thai politics, the world economy or the world energy crisis), but I was happy with the topic we got.
Now the speaking. . .wow. I had two judges, a male and female. I think it was the man's job to make me mad and see how I would react. The topic was Thai holidays. After asking me what holidays I thought were most important to Thai people, the man asked me what holiday I liked most. I told him what holidays I thought were most important to Thai people (New Year's, father's day, mother's day and Loy Kratong), and I told him that I personally liked Christmas the best. He said, "But Christmas isn't important to Thai people." And I corrected him saying, "No, actually if you are a Thai Christian, then Christmas is very important." I know that there may have been consequences to my reply, but I wasn't going to let him get away with saying that Christmas isn't important for Thai people - it is!
So, after the woman asked me how Thai people in Chiang Mai celebrate Christmas, I went on to say that for Thai people who aren't Christian, they enjoy Loy Kratong a great deal in northern Thailand. And I explained how we celebrated Loy Kratong at my school. I know a lot about culture and customs, so while I felt confident about what I shared, I walked out mad, because I felt like my judge was purposely difficult. Sigh.
Overall, I felt like the written parts of the test were all very fair, and that it was actually a well-written test. Surprise, surprise! I love thinking about education and the whole institution of learning, and I was actually impressed. This is the first year the test is given in this format, and that the results will show what level of Thai we have achieved - lower or upper elementary or lower or upper secondary - rather than whether we passed merely passed elementary 6. I am really hoping for secondary. After arguing with the judge about customs, I think I deserve an upper secondary mark, but that would be my opinion. I will know in February what they thought!
So yes, I'll know the results of my test in February. And here's a stupid thing that I didn't know until I took the test. . .when the results are final, I have to travel back to Bangkok to pick up my certificate. What kind of government doesn't trust its own postal system to deliver a piece of paper? I have to remind myself that this is Thailand, amazing Thailand.

The balloons

2008-11-24T10:41:00.002+07:00

You can see me at the lower right corner of the balloon with my colleague and hostel-mate Bau Hwa - the Chinese teacher from Kunming, China. The students are from M1/4, and of the day of Loy Kratong, the school has a contest for students to make and send off these large, hot-air balloons. It actually takes a lot of science to know how to do this correctly. Students glue sheets of paper together and fit a bamboo or wire frame into them, fill them with air using a torch, then send them off. It's quite clever actually, but I'd like to see them do the science and math to make their balloons more clever. It's an interesting contest and a very fun day.

More pretty people

2008-11-24T10:33:00.002+07:00

There are two students from M3/2. I taught them for the first term, but don't teach them now. Really sweet, fun kids to teach. Chookhiat, on the right, is a kid at Fa Si Ri - the foundation for boys where my friend Eric is serving. He is a worship leader at his church, and a great kid - handsome too!

The Parade

2008-11-24T10:27:00.001+07:00

So on the day of Loy Kratong, students all have to dress in northern Thai outfits and walk in a parade. These are two students from M6/1 - seniors. The pretty girl is sitting in a lotus flower. Pretty no? I love this day.

Loy Kratongs at DW

2008-11-24T10:19:00.002+07:00

Okay, so a kratong is an offering made of banana leaves, flowers, usually a candle and some joss sticks. They are really pretty as you can see. Thai people offer them ("loy" or float them) to the River goddess, asking her forgiveness for ways that they've polluted her - Mother Earth in the past year. As if by putting more stuff in the water (even biodegradeable) demonstrates more penitence! Anyway, I don't believe in appeasing the great spirits this way, but the festival is lovely. I love looking at the kratongs - they definitely require creativity and skills.

Rice Harvest Festival

2008-11-24T10:15:00.001+07:00

Okay, so here's the harvest offering that was given at the church during the rice harvest worship service at Baan Nong Khiaw. Lots of rice there, since most villagers in this village are rice farmers. But there are also vegetables; you just can't see them. Lots of rice here in Thailand. Even though it's still considered a developing country, there is no shortage of food. The land is abundant.

The Chiang Mai Winery

2008-11-24T10:08:00.002+07:00

After the new rice harvest party in Chiang Rai, I stopped with my friend at the Chiang Rai winery to sample some of their fruit wines. I don't drink a lot, but I like a nice glass of wine every now and then. I bought some really amazing pomogranate juice and a bottle of white wine. I'm just chilling out here, because the scenery was so lovely.

Little Sarah at Khun Khon Waterfall, Chiang Rai

2008-11-11T09:18:00.000+07:00

I was in Baan Nong Khiaw last weekend for the village rice harvest festival. It marked my fourth trip to Andrew and Krisana's village which is 160 km from Doi Saket in Chiang Rai province (about 3 hours). But this trip was special, because I became the best friend of Andrew's little sister Sarah. This little princess is one of the cutest Lahu kids I've met. She is 9 now, and every time I've been in her village before, she was always too shy to talk with me. She came to Chiang Mai twice while Andrew was still studying at TLCC (where I formerly taught), but was even more shy there. But not this time, Sarah was only too eager to come looking for me at every possible free moment.
This was the first time I invited Sarah to hike out through the bamboo forest to Khun Khon waterfall which is about 15 km from her village. This is my favorite hike in Thailand, because the hike in is simply gorgeous, and the waterfall is pretty amazing. The first time I hiked out there, Andrew and Steven swam in the falls. There's a small cave behind the cascade, and Andrew kept inviting me in, but I deferred. Still afraid of leeches and hepatitus. This time, the water was so strong, that we couldn't get as close to the water as we usually do. But we had fun, and got wet even without going in. I miss Sarah already. I told her that if it's possible I'll go back to celebrate new year's there in her village.

The Master Craftsman

2008-11-11T09:13:00.002+07:00

Wasan is one of my M5/4 students whom I teach 5 hours/week. I think that his English has improved, although he still doesn't speak quite as much as I'd like for him to. His comprehension is better. But boy, can this one sing. Anytime I teach a song or a jazz chant, this kid gets it. He's all about rhythm, although he's actually more of a guitarist than a drummer (can play almost every instrument you put in his hands).
Anyway, when I brought the vegetables and fruit to school for the students to carve last week, Wasan, rather intelligently I must say, chose the squash. And of course, it was the easiest to carve - not hard like the pumpkin, and not too soft like the pomelo (large grapefruits). I like this picture, because he's so intent here on carving well. I never see him looking so serious, because like a lot of Thai kids, Wasan is almost always smiling.

Halloween

2008-11-11T09:03:00.002+07:00

Sady and Suphakhanna carved this pumpkin last week for Halloween. They did a great job. It was definitely a pleaser, although it didn't win the carving contest we had in the class.

The next day, I baked some pumpkin bread with the pumpkin flesh - yummy! While I'm not quite up to the baking par I had worked so hard to establish at JQUS, I am baking at least once a week these days for my students and colleagues here in Doi Saket. It's cool season, and with weather in the 60s each morning, it's nice to bake and eat fresh, warm breads.

Oh Happy Day!!

2008-11-05T13:49:00.001+07:00

I am really happy that my candidate, Barack Obama won the presidential election today. Technically it's tomorrow already, but yeah, I can feel it. The new day for the US. Finally! I really wanted to cry, but I was too focused on teaching, that I couldn't let myself get there. But I will. I'm just so happy.

Chanone

2008-10-14T08:45:00.003+07:00

October 4th was a big day for education in Chiang Mai with students from public and private schools competing in every discipline to represent the province. I had two weeks to work with Chanone for the English speaking competition. I really enjoyed tutoring him. We wrote an essay about food miles and carbon footprints. It was fun to put it together, and to teach him my perspective of environmental protection (which is a moral issue - the first command which God gave to Adam and Eve in the garden). We chose food miles, because I read an essay Chanone wrote earlier about wanting to be a chocolatier like Willy Wonka. In addition to learning about the environment, I brought him different chocolate bars to sample and compare. I think that he decided that Swiss chocolate is the best - not too sweet, but rich and delicious.

You can ask Chanone anything about food miles, his carbon footprint, global warming or chocolate, and he can answer. At the competition, though, unfortunately, I was the only judge who was a native English speaker. So the other judges couldn't understand what Chanone was talking about during his speech (one actually told him so afterward). He came in a narrow 2nd place (again, like last year) - this time only by 2 measly little points. I could've rocked the vote - I should've rocked the vote. But because I spent so much time prepping Chanone, I decided that my vote should be inconsequential, and therefore gave the top three speakers really close scores. The next though, if I have a say, I'm going to give the best speaker the best possible score and judge the others critically.

Anyway, here's the photo of the students and judges from the competition. I'm sorry that Chanone didn't win, but he's glad that he doesn't have to advance and compete again. He should be competing, because he's a really smart kid. If only all Thai kids were as curious and thoughtful as Chanone, Thailand wouldn't have the kind of political problems the kingdom is experiencing now. Sigh.

Another cutie

2008-10-14T08:41:00.002+07:00

Okay, so I may be 39, but I still love dolls. Here's another cutie from China who arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday after a 6 week journey from Kunming, China.

Arrived!

2008-10-14T08:29:00.002+07:00

I ordered the Olympic mascots via the Chinese teacher at my school. They finally arrived 6 weeks later (Oct 13th). But they are so cute; I just had to post them. I also bought the Olympics Opening and Closing ceremonies DVDs which were produced by NBC. I really like the closing ceremony DVD, because it includes highlights of various sports - most of which I wasn't able to see. Sigh. Anyway, I will just enjoy these cute little Chinese mascots until I surrender them to my sister, whom I bought them for.

The Lawnmower

2008-09-30T09:50:00.002+07:00

The other day when I walked onto campus, I could hear the familiar buzz of the lawmower. There's nothing like the fresh-cut smell of grass - it's the smell of summer in the US, but oh, so the opposite here in northern Thailand! We don't hear the sound of the lawnmower all year round, especially during rainy season (June - October), because the motor isn't good on wet grass. So the janitor pulls out the lawnmower only when it's still cool outside (early morning), but dry.

One indicator of global warming in Thailand is that there are more floods now at the end of rainy season. Thankfully, we've been spared of flooding in Chiang Mai this season, although our neighbors north of here in Chiang Rai, as well as in some in the central region of Thailand have had to deal with flooding problems. I think that there have been 15 deaths this season and more than 1200 people hospitalized, because of the floods.

Another change has been that cool season has been longer. . .we're praying for that one final big rain storm which will usher in a cooler, less humid 4 months which Thai people call cold season. Cold seaon means that temperatures are in the 60s at night, but still get into the 80s during the days. Pretty comfortable in the city.

I'm happy to hear that lawnmower, and love that I live in Doi Saket which is alittle bit country (like Marie Osmond) with all of the trees, rice paddies and water buffalo.

Food Miles

2008-09-30T09:42:00.002+07:00

My student Chanon has been coming to school everyday since the term ended in order to prepare for an English speaking competition this weekend. He is an amazing student, really sharp, and he knows everything in Thai and English. Last year, he won the speaking competition for the district, and this week he will compete with other students from public schools in Chiang Mai.

We wrote his essay on Food Miles which is the distance that food travels from where it is planted to our dinner tables. It's a great topic, because it has to do with the King of Thailand's sufficiency economy theory and global warming. AND, Chanon wants to be a chocolatier when he grows up, so food miles is a great topic is every way for him.

In addition to practicing the speech, Chanon is taste-testing the chocolate bars which you can buy in Chiang Mai. Every day that he comes, I give him a new kind of chocolate to buy and compare (where it's from, % cocoa, % sugar, taste). So far, Hershey isn't his first choice: "Too sweet, but you can really taste the chocolate". The Germans and Swiss know their stuff, so I won't be disappointed if Hershey doesn't win. Hersheys Chocolates are my favorite, because it's what I grew up with! And who can resist a chocolate kiss? Chanon had never had one until I gave him a small package last week. These poor deprived Thai kids!

The Glorious Sky Family

2008-09-26T10:00:00.002+07:00

Here they are: the Glorious Sky Family. Manop is to the far right, kneeling with the guitar. He is in my M5/5 class, and is the one who invited me to the dormitory the first time. Well, no, actually I invited myself. One English assignment I gave to my students was to draw a map and write directions how to get to their homes. When they asked why, I told them that if they lived in a Christian dormitory, that I would like to come and worship with them if they ever had special worship celebrations. Manop was the first student I chose to visit, because his younger dorm-mates (who wait for their ride to pick them up from school everyday at the shelter in front of where I park my car) eagerly invited me to visit them during a Sunday morning church service.
The Glorious Sky family has been so welcoming. During my second visit, I brought Eric (see earlier blog entry), who is now serving there on weekends. Acaan Chachawang asked me if I could also teach there on weekends. Uh - how I'd like to, but oh, so little time for that. After the birthday party, I heard myself promising that I would help them with their Christmas outreach. I had to wake myself and ask, "What did I just promise to do?" But it feels right. The directors know that I am studying Thai really hard now, because I want to pass the test of fluency for expatriats working in the kingdom this November.

The Birthday Kids

2008-09-26T09:52:00.002+07:00

I love this picture! On Saturday, the 20th, I went to visit some of my students at the Glorious Sky Church. The church was started about six months ago, and the campus also has a home for boys from around Thailand. Most of them are tribal kids, but some of them are Thai, and they live at this dormitory in order to go to school in Doi Saket. The director invited me to go and celebrate the birthdays of all of the residents who had birthdays during the past school term (May through October). I baked two cakes, and after playing games and getting some special gifts, we cut the cake and celebrated! It was really fun.
Each birthday celebrant had to share something that they were thankful about. It was touching that some of the older ones (16 & 20 years) shared that they had never celebrated their birthdays before. They were really happy to share the day with their friends from the Glorious Sky. God bless them all!

One of my Favorite Places

2008-09-26T09:41:00.002+07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Ratchapruek, the 80-hectare grounds where there was an international horticulture exhibition 2 years ago to honor the king. More than 2,200 species of tropical plants and flowers were planted. In addition to exhibiting the best of Thailand's flora, there were 31 countries that sent gardeners to Thailand to create gardens which would represent their nations culturally. The gardens are still there, but maintaining them is a task. There was a fair at Ratchapruek for vendors who wanted to sell their goods, and I am so glad that I went!

It's Over!

2008-09-18T12:32:00.002+07:00

It's September 18th, and the school term is over! Hooray!!! Students are taking their exams this week on Thursday and Friday and next week on Monday. I'm still checking homework, and frankly I'm really disappointed in a lot of my Thai students. They just don't value their time in the classroom, and don't see the value in learning English at all. Sometimes I feel like wow, what a lot of wasted years these kids spend in school. It amounts to so very litte, and the results are felt, especially so, in the political arena these days. Thailand is trying hard to be a democracy, but without an educated population who can make good decisions about choosing leaders who will govern well, development will continue at a very slow pace.
Anyway, it's not about politics today. I'm just happy that the term is ending. In the past four weeks or so, I've adopted several young boys. The other teachers call them my sons, because they come looking for me every day when they have free time - during the 90-minute lunch break or when they have free periods at the end of the day. At first there were just 3 M1 students (7th grade) who would come to get help reading English books. Then I taught them to play Uno. Since then, I have three groups of students who come looking to play Uno, read English books or watch some of my movies, esp with Chinese movies. After all, who doesn't love Zhang Yi Mou? So I will try to take a photo of my boys before they go leave school tomorrow for the mid-year break. They're all really sweet kids. So I'm finally building relationships with my students, and just in time. . .they'll be on break for about 6 weeks. Hopefully they won't forget me!

Field Trip

2008-09-05T09:15:00.001+07:00

I took my M5/4 students on their first field trip with me last week. We went to two museums: the National Museum in Chiang Mai, and the Chiang Mai Arts and Cultural Center. I had fun; we all walked all day, and I took a lot of notes (Thai and English). Next week when students turn in their final reports, I'll see how much they learned. I love these kids!

Helping Eric

2008-09-05T09:04:00.002+07:00

For the past three weeks, I've been attending a small church in Doi Saket called Glorious Sky Church. It was started by a non-profit group from Hong Kong, and they have a dormitory for hilltribe boys to study at Doi Saket Wittayakom School where I teach. I teach most of these students, and they invited me to go worship with them, so I did.
The first time I went by myself. It was fun. The group is small, about 30 people, including 22 of the students who live there! I love it that my kids are the musicians and the ones who sing special music selections during the offering. The fellowship time afterward was nice too. We shared a simple Thai lunch, and I got to talk with the leaders about the vision of the school.
The next week, I brought Eric with me. Eric is a recent grad from NEI's missionary training program. He's from the Philippines, and he's a nice guy. Now that his training is done, he's looking for opportunities to learn Thai, and to minister in Chiang Mai. So I took him to Glorious Sky, and he liked it. He met the leaders, who are keen on having Eric hang out there with the students on the weekends, learn Thai (using their books and tapes) and serve there in the future.
The thing that I hope I remember from last week, was that I actually translated the sermon for Eric. I always wondered if I could, and I constantly translate in my head for myself, but I never had to do this before for another English speaker. Yea! I did it.
Last week, I drove Eric out there again, and they set up a schedule for Eric to begin learning Thai, and pick ups/drop offs for Eric to begin living at the dormitory on weekends. I'm so glad that I could help Eric with his language learning and ministry placement. I think it's in my gift mix to help people find their places of ministry/work, and this is the first time I've really helped someone in this way here in Thailand.

In Chiang Rai

2008-09-05T08:55:00.002+07:00

I was asked on Tuesday to go to a teacher's conference in Chiang Rai for 3 days for foreign language, math and science teachers. Good thing that I don't have a family or other responsibilities that I can't re-arrange to attend this conference.
But here I am, the conference is to teach teachers to use a program to help write curriculum. It's funny, because we're on the computers all day. Just like a student, I find myself checking email and writing on my blog while the leader is teaching about this program.

Thursday

2008-08-14T15:03:00.004+07:00

It's Thursday again. Last week, I spent most of Thursday at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital in the city. It's a world class hospital, and I don't mind going there if I have to go to a hospital.

I have health insurance from a US company, with whom I had to associate when I was with the EFCA. I can go to a doctor for any emergency situation, and get most of the expenses reimbursed through the health insurance company. Thailand is great, because you don't necessarily need a doctor's prescription to get medicine. If you have a reliable pharmacist, just go to the pharmacy and tell them your symptoms, and they will give you some suggestions for various medicines (generic or name-brand), and you pay for what you want.

I have a doctor named Dr Taratorn. My first male doctor since I was a child. I would definitely choose a female if there were one available, but Dr Taratorn has been helpful so far.
I was in the hospital, because I had a fever for about 4 days. I was taking tylenol, but I couldn't shake the fever. I took Tuesday off from work (it was a professional development day for teachers who observed classes and such at another school across the city), but killed myself going in on Wednesday, because there were academic competitions, and I had already been asked to be an emcee for one of the English competitions. I was completely drained on Wednesday evening, and decided it best to take Thursday off and see my doctor.

So, after the normal triage and a short exam, Dr T ordered some blood work, since I had a fever and few other symptoms. They told me that the results would take about an hour. After 2 hours, a nurse told me to go ahead and eat lunch, when I returned, the results should be complete. So, I started thinking, what if I have dengue or typhoid or some other tropical disease? What will I do? I didn't want to panic, but I couldn't stop the thoughts! I went to Mike's Diner around the corner at Central (mall), and had a chicken burger - not very Thai, but I had been craving a burger or such from the US.

Thankfully, when I returned, Dr T reported that I didn't have any tropical diseases. . .gave me 5 days worth of antibiotics, and told me come back if my fever didn't break. I'm grateful that the fever subsided. I was able to go back to school on Monday, and although I'm not 100%, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm grateful to be in Thailand where the health care is good. My family would strongly object otherwise.

Big Cleaning Day

2008-08-14T14:51:00.002+07:00

I love that in Thailand, students take responsibility for cleaning their classrooms and the school. Earlier in July, we had a Big Cleaning Day, when classes were cancelled, so that students could do real hard labor - cutting trees, trimming bushes, cutting grass, removing tree limbs, grass and leaves - just beautifying the environment. In the afternoon, they spend hours cleaning, mopping, scraping desks, washing windows . . . you name it, they weren't afraid to get their hands, and knees and clothes dirty attempting to clean their learning spaces. It was great!

Birthday

2008-08-14T14:35:00.004+07:00

I turned 39 on August 4th. Milestone. One more year 'til I reach the promised land! I had 6 different celebrations (dinner with a Lahu family, dinner with my best friend Jasmine and my Thai teacher Jai, day out with another good friend Wendy, dinner and ice cream cake with the Conserva family, parties for my English classes at Doi Saket Wittayakhom School, and dinner with the Lahu students and staff at TLCC). Yeah. Last year, I didn't celebrate at all, so I made up for that in a big way this year. It cracks me up, because when it's your bday in Thailand, you have to be the one to plan the party and order the cake. It felt really weird to order a birthday cake for myself! But I did it, and enjoyed it immensely.
Here's a photo with my buddy Wendy. We did two museums, worked out at the gym, then went out for pie and drinks afterward. Fun.

My habit

2008-08-14T14:24:00.002+07:00

I have always loved exercising. Since June, I've had a personal trainer at my gym - California WOW. His name is Tony, and he's teaching me Kick Fit. It's great, because he was a former 2 time national Thai boxing champion (54 KG). Tony is a lot of fun, so I'm enjoying my workouts a lot.

Playing Hookie

2008-07-01T15:39:00.003+07:00

Okay, you know me. I'm the good girl - always do as I'm told. And if I tell you I'll do something, I'm the kind that will do the job, and do it well. The past weekend, I went on an adventure, and although I did some things I've never done before, it was me, so totally me.
I decided to go to Wiang Pa Pao with three former students, Barnabas, Somboon and Surachat - 3 third year students at the Bi-Vocational Training Center. I really love these guys a lot. They are fun, spirited, smart - what more would a teacher want from her students? When Barnabas told me that they were going home for Somboon's sister's wedding, I asked why they didn't invite me. They know that I like to go out. So they each asked me to go, and I told them I would come back on Friday and drive them to their village. Since they were first years, they have asked me to go with them to their village, but I was never able to go when they went, so here was my chance - and for a wedding. Yes!
So we drove out on Friday afternoon. I had four students with me. Somboon had left earlier in the morning. When we got to Wiang Pa Pao town, I was surprised to discover that their village, only four years old, was just 3 km outside the city. Running water: yes. Electricity: no. Oh! No problem. Barnabas' family rigged a car battery to provide electricity for their general purposes. Other than that, they use candlelight. Even Barnabas' two year old nephew was comfortable using candles when the sun went down. Different culture.
On Saturday morning, after a delicious breakfast, we went to Surachat's house to hang out. Our other friends were there already, and we literally just hung out on his porch all morning. Yes, all morning. I couldn't believe we played hookie from the wedding. Somboon had been running around the village and town all day on Friday and into the evening as well as all morning. When it was time for the wedding, he sat down with us at Surachat's porch and said he was too tired to go into the church. So we just stooped on the porch. I've never played hookie like that, but ultimately it was just good to be with the boys.
Later in the afternoon, Barnabas decided that we should go out to another Lahu village in the mountains. When I asked if I needed to bring anything special, he said no. So I grabbed my camera and jacket, and we were off: seven people on three motorcycles. We drove 35 km on a two-way, paved road, up and down the mountains, through multiple hairpin turns until we turned off onto a dirt road to travel another 10 km. The dirt road part was scary sometimes, because the ruts were deep enough, that the drivers had to be somewhat skilled to navigate well. Thankfully I was with Barnabas - who is a lot more skilled on a motorcycle than I am! Once we got to the village, it started pouring with rain. It was a total deluge, and we all fell asleep. But because it rained so hard, and it was already about 5:30, there was no use in going back home that day.
Great, stuck in a Lahu village way up in the mountains during rainy season, and no toothbrush, contact lens case, change of clothes or even a hairbrush. What was I thinking? I know better than to be without these things in a village! But I didn't have them, and I survived. The whole point of the weekend was just to hang out with the guys, and that's totally what I got.
Driving back out of the village the next day was the real adventure. We left at 8:00 AM, after morning prayers at the church and breakfast. I think we were all uncertain how we'd do on the road. Remember, it's a dirt road. So those big ruts from the day before were filled with water now, or washed out. There was a pine tree uprooted at one point, and it was laying across the road blocking anything bigger than a motorcycle. I was scared more on this trip, but Barnabas didn't disappoint me once. It was a real thrill ride - like why would I ever chose to ride a rollercoaster again when I can ride a motorcycyle to a Lahu village during rainy season? Actually I was more scared on the paved road than the dirt road, because when he realized that I trusted him, Barnabas drove faster up and down the hills and round the curves, often in the other lane. But after more than an hour, we made it safely back to Barnabas' house in time for me to shower and dress for church.
Now, I think about the ride, and think gosh what fun - that much was totally me! But then I think about how I wasn't wearing a helmet, and how I didn't have my things (toothbrush, contact lens case), and I think how careless. If I had died, it would totally be an unnecessary death! But thankfully, I more than survived, I had a lot of fun. So I'm grateful to Barnabas, Somboon and Surachat for our little adventure in the mountains of Wiang Pa Pao, Chiang Rai.

My Dad

2008-06-27T14:02:00.005+07:00

Thanks for everyone who's been praying for my Dad. He went into the hospital on Tuesday, June 18th, and was just released on Thursday, June 26th. Thank God that he's okay. My Dad, the doctor, never gets sick. But in this past year, he's had pneumonia three times - twice in the past month. So he finally went to get everything checked out.
Dad had a by-pass surgery 4 years ago. He didn't have a heart attack, but his arteries were apparently so clogged, that the cardiologist thought cardiac arrest might occur at any point. So he had that surgery done, because his cardiologists and all of us family members urged him to do it. It was totally not something he thought he needed.
So, this episode of pneumonia had us all worried. Thankfully, after a lot of tests, my Dad doesn't have any form of cancer or melanoma. It's ironic that my sister and brother (also doctors) think that the viral infection he suffered had to do with all of the vitamins that my Dad takes. For several years now (at least 5 maybe up to 10), my Dad has taken a handful of megaviatmins every day, and will frequently try to get us to take them too. His doctors have told him not to take the supplements for the time being, and see what his body does.
I love my Dad. He's an inspiration to me. He works hard, and I know that I get that from him, in addition to my insomnia. I'm a light sleeper. Every night whether in my own bed or traveling, I sleep with ear plugs and my eyes covered. I'm sensitive to sunlight and sound. And when I have a big day coming up (traveling, beginning of the school year, end of the school year, holidays coming), I don't sleep well.
A tremendous thing about my parents, both of them, is that they are great dancers. They make me look as stiff as an ironing board. They still go out dancing more than I do, and they are 78 and 75 years old! Last year at a cousin's wedding in the Philippines, my Dad was like the most popular male dancer on the floor - all the female relatives and family friends wanted to dance with my Dad. My parents boogie pretty easily, but it's their ballroom that's more impressive, especially the Latin stuff. They are really good, and fun to watch. They just put me to shame, and I think I'm a decent dancer!
A funny and memorable thing about my Dad is that he loves to eat ice cream. Before he'd come home from work, when I was a teenager, I remember Dad calling home and asking, "Do we have any ice cream in the freezer?" I'd run to the basement where we had a deep freezer.
If I told my Dad yes, he's say, "I'll be home in 5 minutes."
If I'd say no, he'd say, "I'll be home in 20 minutes," which meant that he'd stop in the hospital cafeteria and grab a cone on his way out.
Anyway, I wrote it in an email yesterday, but in case you did do it yet, please go out and eat ice cream today to honor and celebrate my Dad's homecoming from the hospital!

This week at Doi Saket Wittayakom

2008-06-27T13:52:00.004+07:00

This week on Thursday was "Wan Soon Thawn Phu", a day to celebrate literacy in Thailand. I kept looking for things about this person Soon Thawn Phu on the internet, but I couldn't find anything written in English. Apparently he was a poet, and Thai students all around the kingdom have special activities at school every June 26th to celebrate literacy. Cool. I just wish that I knew more!
Because we had special activities, we changed the school schedule around, so that Friday became Thursday and Thursday became Friday. Fridays at every school in northern Thailand, students wear traditional Lanna style clothes. For girls, it means a cotton wrap around shirt with strings to tie the shirt instead of buttons, and they wear long sarongs woven in the school colors (green and white). The boys wear farmers' pants and a cotton shirt also in school colors. They look so nice in their outfits. Not only do all school children dress Lanna style on Fridays, but people in banks and businesses also dress in northern Thai traditional dress. It's nice.
Since we switched things around at school, I wore my traditional Lanna outfit on Thursday instead of Friday, which was a little confusing when I later went into town. People (non-Thai friends) asked why I had a Friday dress on when it was Thursday. I had to explain about Soon Thawn Phu and changing the schedule in Thai public schools. Oh.
So about celebrating literacy - what a worthy thing to celebrate! I love reading. I can't seem to get enough of it. One of my new year's resolutions was to read a book a month - outside of studying Thai and daily Bible/devotional reading. So far, I've read 16 books. Not bad. Okay, seven of them were the Chronicles of Narnia, but still they were each, separate books. I want to celebrate Soon Thawn Phu every day and keep on reading. . .

WOW!

2008-06-17T07:40:00.003+07:00

I became a member of a fitness center called California WOW. It's a great gym, because it's new and clean. I'm told that the yoga is really good, but I'm not a yoga person at all, so I just use the treadmill, eliptical cycles and occasionally the weight machines. I want to take some of the dance and aerobics classes, but haven't done that yet. I signed up before the club opened, because my Thai teacher at the time wanted to sign up and have a buddy to work out with. Turns out, she hardly goes. Another friend was interested, so she signed up, and occasionally we meet there to work out together. And just last weekend, before going to see the movie "Prince Caspian", my friend Wendy signed up too.
Because I brought Wendy in, I got three, free training sessions with a trainer. The next day when I went in for my fitness session, I met Tony. Turns out, Tony was a two-time national champion at muay thai - Thai kick boxing. He asked if I was interested in fit kick - how could I say no when a former Thai champion asked me?
So after some initial cardio work, he strapped up my hands, gave me some gloves and taught me how to hit. It was really fun. I believe that I am the aggressive type, but not physically in terms of attacking or hitting others. I've never hit anyone before, ever, so when Tony told me to hit, I was pretty shy at first. But as we got into it more, he kept telling me hit harder, so I did. I was laughing half of the time, thinking hitting someone like that was kind of ridiculous, but I started really getting into to. And like a good trainer, he taught me more moves and hits, kicks and tricks. He started telling some other trainers to come and watch, saying that I was really good, and that he really wanted to train me. He said that I had such good, natural form, that if he trained me, I could be good enough to open a Thai kick-boxing school in the US when I leave Thailand. Now, that thought has never occurred to me!
I'm not sure if I'll sign on with Tony after my three free sessions, but I may. It was a really fun workout, and I would be learning some self-defense skills too. It's actually been a goal of mine, that once I learn enough Thai, that I would take music lessons (piano or the Thai dulcimer), a martial arts class or a Thai massage course. Maybe it's time to do kick boxing!

10 Days Later

2008-05-26T10:14:00.005+07:00

So, now I've been back in Chiang Mai for 10 days after my 5-week rock tour at home in the US. It's been a good 10 days, full and happy. I've had lots of time alone, but good times catching up with my best friends here too.

I can definitely say that I know where home it though, and it's with my family on the east coast. It would be much easier if they all lived somewhere around Charleston, WV where we grew up and where my parents and two eldest sisters (Jessica and Melissa) live with their families. I'd like it better if I could say that it was in the DC area where my two closest sisters (Debbie and Vanessa) live with their families. I can definitely see myself living there in the future. I've never lived in Morgantown, northern WV where my brother and his wife live, but I love going there and spending time with their family, because they are my family too.

Technically, Boston, Massachusetts was home for me for 18 years. I loved every minute of living there for undergrad, grad school and my professional years as a middle school math teacher. My churches are there, and my closest friends are still there - but for those, like me, who moved from Boston to new, old or different places. I love Boston. I had a great two weeks there. And it wasn't enough time. But it doesn't feel like home anymore, and that was weird. There were times that I was driving around, and I forgot how to get where I was going. Sigh. It will never be the same to go back, although I always will love being and cherish the times that I was there.

I miss my family and friends a lot. I think I already wrote it somewhere, but I cried on the flight from Washington DC to San Francisco knowing that I had, yet again, left my family behind. My nephews and nieces are at really fun and critical stages of their life development, and I hate not being closer to them to watch them grow and to be a more significant part of their lives. But this is my sacrifice. It is without doubt the most difficult part of my life as an overseas worker.

So what's going on here? It really is good, very good. I moved from my room upstairs in the hostel - the second biggest room and the room with the biggest bathroom - to the newest room at the hostel. It's a personal room, free standing across the parking area, which was just finished in April. Before I left, I told the housekeeper that I would be interested in moving in when it was finished. On Friday, she told me that if I wanted the new room, I had to move in before Monday, because we would get another tenant from overseas (the new teacher from China at my school who will teach Chinese) who would take the new room if I didn't. So I moved on Saturday with the help of my former Lahu students. It was a smooth move, because I don't have a lot of furniture - thank God. But I have a lot of books and stuff. So, some 30+ trips up and down the staircase with my hands full of boxes and clothes, and I was done. But I'm still settling in. I'll post a picture when it's all photo-ready.

The new school year began on Tuesday (May 20th). I am teaching M1-3 (grades 7-9), and my first meetings with each class went smoothly. I had a lot of fun with some of the classes, and really look forward to learning and teaching this year.

Church has been good. I really like my Thai church. It's been a regular Thai church for the past two weeks, meaning no YWAM teams. My first Sunday back, I was happily welcomed back by my pastor and his wife, and yesterday I talked more with one of the younger church workers about the worship team, opening the new coffee shop (later in June) and the outreach he is doing in a new neighborhood with another worker from the church. I feel really good about this church, and have hopes to really engage in the ministry, since I am no longer teaching at the bible school. I just hope that my Thai is up to it!

I am studying Thai twice a week with my tutor Khruu Jai. I'll be mixing it up between Bible study and preparing for the B6 exam for foreigners which is in December. It's something like the TOEFL exam, but it's in Thai rather than English.

I've been staying away from Thai food - eating up my power bars with fruit for lunch at school and not eating for dinner - because I've developed ecsema which is really bothersome if I eat food with MSG or too many chilis. My gym membership will be active active June 1, and I've been walking or riding my bike. I did the math again, and since I have to pay US$5.25 per gallon, I resolve to ride my bike to work at least twice a week, unless it's rainy season.

Overall, I am glad to be back.