Swine Flu and Some BBQ!

So this has been an interesting week. We found out last week on Thursday that the school was going to be closed for 3 days due to 3 confirmed cases of Swine flu. However, there was already overnight camp planned for the weekend, so we still did this on Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon. It was a ton of fun playing games with them. I taught them 23 skidooo, (making sure they counted in English, which is not as fast for them as Thai, but good practice). We also had a campfire in the parking lot, not to the sounds of cricket, but of buses and taxis flying bye, but it felt like summer none the less. Then we had a water fight to end the whole camp and that was a lot of fun. Sorry I have no pictures of this, I didn't have any place to keep the camera safe!
After that work-filled weekend, they gave us Monday off and then Tuesday was back to work cleaning every part of each classroom. Each toy, chair, napping cot, and puzzle was cleaned with disinfectant. Then we had some meetings and extra planning time on Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday were back to school with lessons on germs and when we need to wash our hands, how long to wash, hot to cough and sneeze in your arm, and how not to pick your nose. They love to practice all of these things, but actually using the new rules may be another thing! Until they get it, I run them to the bathroom to wash their hands all the time. Which they think is funny, but I think eventually they will remember. There's a picture of them with their germ contracts committing to wash their hands!

Last week I had been really frustrated and unsure of how to get one of my students to learn any type of conversation. I do a lot of Good Morning's and How are you, and What's your name. And they all pretty much have learned how to respond. However, Beam just wasn't getting it. He repeats everything I say so I would say, what's your name? He would say, what's your name?...we did this a million times the week before, and then this past Thursday I asked him again, and I got the sweetest response that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "My name is Beam!" I was so excited I gave him a high five and a hug! It was so encouraging that I am moving one to a new one with him this week!
Friday night a couple of us went to a delicious Barbecue place where you pick your raw meats that are in different marinades, and then you pick vegetables, and fruit and then you have little grill on your table to make it yourself. You can pick all different sauces to make your own marinade, and then the vegetables boil in water on the rim of the grill. My favorite was a garlic and pineapple chicken combination I made.

I also included a picture of a ton of us girls crammed into the back of the taxi. Whenever possible, we put in as many as we can, generally around 6 or 7, not including the driver. Would you rather divide a taxi fair of say 100 baht by 3, or by 7?! (This is about 3 dollars). Quite the cheap way to travel!

The last pictures are of my baby and I at the orphanage. His name is Krit, pronounced like "git" or "grit". He is just over 3 months old, and so smiley and adorable. Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture a smile with the camera. A groups of us teachers go each week and we just play, cuddle, feed, walk around with, and talk to our babies for the 2 hours we are allowed to visit. The ultimate goal is for each baby to be adopted, but this usually doesn't happen until they are almost one, so we love them and give them one-on-one attention until that can hopefully happen. While we were there this past Saturday there was a couple from Finland that came back to visit with there two Thai children they adopted 12 years ago from that orphanage! It was amazing to see such a successful adoption situation.

Oh, and I put up a picture of Jill and I in our swim gear. We swim at the pool in the mall. The membership fee was 300 baht, under 10 dollars for the year, and that's for both of us!


So here's some exciting news to close the post. My entire immediate family is coming to see me for two weeks on my October break!! Yes, Nic, Sonya, Leah, Dad, and Mom are all coming! I couldn't be more excited/shocked that it is really happening! Now I get to plan all the fun stuff we are going to do!

To Laos and Back Again!

A delicious chocolate pineapple pancake
The hotel 3 of us stayed in
Then we stopped and did a cool swing into the water from about 300 ft. in the air
Rafting...it was so peaceful
Hiking in mud/other unsanitary things. I sunk a few times.
It rained, so we bought fashionable raincoats
Our 10-year-old guides with us at the cave entrance
After hiking thorough the fields and climbing to the cave

Who knew rice paddies could be so beautiful
Me on the bridge
The view of the Song River
So you can see my beautiful pictures from Laos, backwards. I loaded them wrong in order. So start at the bottom and look up through the pictures if you want it to make a bit more sense. (But chances are you already looked at them the wrong way, sorry about that). Anyway, after getting out of the ridiculously crowded bus station in Bangkok and onto a very nice bus, we were supposed to ride second class but due to the confusion we ended up on an amazing bus. The bus ride was 8 or nine hours, but since it was overnight it didn't feel that long. About half-way through we stopped and I had my first squatty-potty experience, not too bad. And then we picked up more people then there were seats for on the bus, so they put plastic lawn furniture chairs in the aisle and those people end up taking your armrest to lay their head on. We finally got to the border though and with a bit of help and a few quick passport photos that we forgot to bring, we were on our way into Laos.
It's funny because the Laos people drop the "s" and call it Lao, (which said correctly should rhyme with cow), but everyone European or American calls it Laos with the "s" on the end, Asian's aren't good at it, so they drop it I guess. Anyway, we had a wonderful guide who drove us in his van up into the mountains, it was the bumpiest most nauseating ride of my life, but well worth it when we got to the top. We were fortunate to find hotels, and even though our group had to split up, we were happy for the cute little places we found to stay for so cheap. (3 nights ended up coasting me 10 dollars, or 250,000 kip, or 330 baht. (you can see how currency stuff got confusing)).
After settling in 4 of us girls decided to walk around and check it out. We ended up taking pictures of the rice paddies and then 2 ten-year-old girls convinced us to pay them for a tour into the paddies to find a cave. It was around 3 dollars, so we paid them and off we went for about a 1 hour hike each way. It was well worth it though to get so far into the fields, and almost fall ina few times. But the view from the cave was beautiful. The girls then wanted money for the use of their flashlights in the cave, which we were in for maybe ten minutes, but a few dollars and a little bit of kip settled that fairly quickly.
The next day it was still raining so we got rain coats and headed out to find the blue swimming pools in the caves. Instead we hiked through tons of mud, and sunk into animal droppings, and ended up finding a cool cave, but not going in it. But it was worth the adventure and hiking about 5 miles in mud and water is an irreplaceable memory.
Our last day in the mountains we decided to go rafting down the river, which was so calm and relaxing with only a few rapids. And we stopped at a bar along the river where there was a slide and a swing about 300 ft in the air. So we decided to give it a try, and it was so worht it. I did the swing three times and it was quite the rush, especially since it had rained so much and the river was moving really fast. As soon as you dropped in there were people throwing innertubes right to you and pulling you in, so it was quite safe.
One great thing about Laos is that since it was occupied by the French, there is a lot of French influence with cheese and foods that aren't so Asian. So I enjoyed a variety of food from pancakes and pizza to spaghetti, and of course some fried rice and egg rolls.
Our last day we went back down to the capitol and did a little shopping, went to a bakery and got some treats, and used the best bathroom I have been in since I left U.S. soil! Then we had to cross the border and ride overnight on the bus. We got back into Bangkok around 4:30, and I was in my room at school by 5 A.M. Definitely a worthwhile trip where I got to know people in the group better, and see a bit more of Asia.
Now it is back to work with no break until October. But I am really enjoying my students and I am amazed at how much English they are picking up. The Thai teacher and I are also getting along very well, anytime one of my students has an issue, she is there for them, but she also lets me have control of the class.
God has surrounded me with amazing people and I am learning so much each day!