I know it's been too long!

So to begin, I apologize for waiting so long to update this! I have been very busy, but also a little lazy with keeping people informed, so for that I apologize. School has been going very well, we are busy learning a lot of new vocabulary which the kids are picking up very quickly. Many of them have been making huge progress in the past two weeks with there conversation time and also with writing their names. I am so happy that I think they will beat my goal, and will be writing their names way before Christmas. One of them, Beam, just learned to write the "B" in his name, which I praised him for, so now he writes it all over every workbook page we do! (Fortunately, he also likes to erase them :)
I also made it through my first ever parent teacher conferences a few weeks ago. Most of the parents know enough English to do them without an interpreter, but that meant I had to talk very simply, which at times felt useless because I couldn't convey exactly what I wanted to, but oh well. They are finished, and I enjoyed meeting all the parents and hearing stories about what their kids think of school!
In the past couple of weeks my kids have become very cuddly with me, it seems like I can't sit down anywhere without one of them in my lap instantly with a book or shoving a plastic carrot in my face saying "carrot" over and over until I acknowledge them. But it is fun, and I am enjoying the rapport that we have built with each other. Also, they are learning games like duck, duck, goose and ring-around-the-rosi, it took a while and a lot of them laughing at me while I made a fool of myself, but now they hate when I stop them!
Some things I have done outside of school since the last posting include:
1. Going to the orphanage each week to hold Grit, he is growing and seems to recognize me a little, which means it is getting harder and harder to leave him :(
2. Swimming a couple times a week with Jill.
3. We attempted to find a ship called the Dulos Ship that sells Christian books all around the world, but we weren't able to find it, so instead we went to eat some American food at the hard rock cafe. Although it felt a bit expensive to pay $10 for a meal, which came out to be more like 500 baht, it was totally worth it. We seriously skimmed our menus over and over for 30 minutes reasoning through what we wanted the most and couldn't find anywhere.
4. I went to a conference about Brain Based Learning, that turned out to be less about that and more about a program they were selling. But the trip was not wasted because it was down by the tallest building in Bangkok so we went up and got some great views of the city and some fun pictures in their museum.
5. Quite a while ago it was Brenna, one of my housemates birthdays so we went to a park and rented bikes, less then 75 cents for the whole day, and we brought food and played games and had a good time.
I think that is about all that is new. I am still planning and counting down til the time when my family gets here. I can't believe that will be the half-way marker for my time here. The time truly is flying. Now I am off to eat some ice cream, til next time! (And hopefully next time won't be so far away!)

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!

A fruit Festival and Wai Kru!

So two weekends ago now there was s fruit festival after church. This was at the Thai church on campus. After playing some ridiculous games, where people had to estimate how much fruit weighed in kilograms, and figuring out all the Thai and English words for each fruit, although there weren't English words for many of them, and then the new girls at GES sang two songs, then we finally got to sample all of the fruit. Some of it was great, some was spit back out, and a few were just a little too much work to get to. However I did come away with a new favorite, the mangosteen. Nothing like a mango, they really taste more like a grape, there is just a really thick skin to get through to the fruit. I ended the fruit medley with watermelon, something I can't get enough of here...maybe because that's what I would be eating at home. I took pictures of the arrangements because they had beans, carrots, and apples in them! Also, I love all the vibrant colors!

Later in the week it was Wai Kru day. To Wai, is to put your hands to your chin or below your chin depending on who you are Waiing, and then bowing your head slightly. This is what you do with the parents and students and certainly anyone older who you should out of respect. Kru means teacher, so basically it is a day to honor the teachers. All of the students bring in lovely flowers and then we had a ceremony where students come to your feet and bow with flowers and promise to be good students in school this year. Of course the ceremony was all in Thai, so we all were a bit unsure as to what to do, but it really is neat how much teachers are held in a position of honor here, even above a doctor or someone with much more training. So then I took pictures of all the beautiful flowers as well as my students. See if you can pick out Ari, my Thai/Amish boy, and Mafuang...pronounced Mah-fuh-luang, I think, she is adorable! There is also a picture of me with the owners of the school, two of the other new teachers, and the owners son.






This past weekend many of the GES teachers were house sitting for the church people. So we went over to one of their houses and cooked tacos and apple crisp and then went biking on the safe and clean streets of Nichita! (Such a nice break from the busy and smelly streets around the shcool). Sorry no pictures of this :(
There is a five day break coming up here, so a group of us are planning on going to Laos, which I am very excited about. It's looking like there will be an 11 hour train or bus ride involved, but the whole trip will probably cost me less then $100 dollars...who wouldn't go to Laos for that small amount? And I hear it is beautiful! So you can pray for safety in going there, but I am in a group with many returning teachers who are experienced travelers in Asia, so I am sure we will get bye just fine.
Be looking for pictures of Laos in my next post!

One Week Down!

So I have now taught almost an entire week with my students and let me tell you a few things. I have loved meeting each one of them, they are all so adorable and fun. I am already getting to know their personalities and seeing the ones that will be my biggest challenges as far as behavior goes. I also have a few that I am very pleased seem to understand some of what I say and they kind of lead the class in a response. Although some of them still are tuning me out completely, it is encouraging to have a few who follow along. Think about if your in a foreign place and you don't know the language, you typically just tune it out, which is what most of my students are doing right now, but with repetition and consistent routines I know they will absorb quickly and get what I mean. Until then I am learning a few Thai phrases like good, bad, and listen to the teacher, just to help me get by! I took pictures of each student for attendance and if you want to see those you need to add me on facebook, where it is much easier to add a lot of pictures. Until then I have a few favorite pictures I choose to share.







Although the week has been hectic with getting my classroom ready and getting the students into a routine it has been good. I have been laminating like crazy, (laminating sheets are like gold here and you could seriously barter with the other teachers for them because they are so hard to get.) I have also been doing a lot of lesson planning, which always starts out a little rough, but now that I have my schedule made up it shouldn't be too difficult.
So I decided to make a list of some things that I either like of dislike about Thailand, I think it will be fun for me to look back on in a few months when I don't even remember these things as being odd or amazing because I am used to them.

Amazing things:
-Fresh fruit is for sale on the street and cut up for you for about 30 cents and it lasts me at least 3 meals. (the pineapple and watermelon are the best.
-The people here at the school are so willing to help in everything!
-How much teachers are revered here, and the fluent in speaking English thing just adds to it.
-Holding and playing with babies at the orphanage.
-The garlic chicken I eat at least 3 times a week at Sam Bahts (It's a little restaurant about a 5 minute walk from the school, it costs about a dollar for a plate full of goodness!)
-Sticky rice with mangoes
-My co-teachers are all pretty fabulous and we all have a good time in the staff room working together or just hanging out in the evenings.
-The church I attended last week that I plan to regularly attend. It is like you leave Thailand and enter California because everyone speaks English and is there working for Chevron, (the oil company), and they love to take care of the poor GES teachers with barbecues and other fun stuff! (And there's a pool next to it that we pay very little to swim at after church!)
-The owners of the school who invite us over for ice cream and then we end up singing hymns...everyone here is amazed how I sing harmony and they ask if I learned in Choir, I of course give credit where credit is due to Sonnenberg Mennonite Church and the amazing voices that I have grown up listening too! (Choir helped also I'm sure).
-I love Kru Som, the Thai teacher who is in my classroom and who saves my sanity and will interpret what I say when the students just aren't getting it! She is also incredibly patient with the children and has been a good example to me in that way. I hope I can be a good example of Christ to her!
-The last thing I love the most is singing Bible songs with my students. They belt them out so loud and in English! Our class favorite are: "If your Happy and You Know It", "If I were a Butterfly", and "Jesus Loves Me." (I will have to record this sometime and post a video).







Things I don't really love:
-How everything gets dirty here so fast from your room to the bottom of your feet which are guaranteed to be black by the end of the day since you teach with your shoes off.
-Throwing toilet paper away in the trash, yuck!
-The rats that seem to love my roommate and I. We have caught 3 babies and 1 mamma rat in this stick trap you will see a lovely picture of. But I also have a mamma and a baby that visit my room at night :(
-The tiny ants that are everywhere, so I keep everything in the fridge to avoid loosing food.
-Cockroaches
-the bad smells when you walk anywhere, although they are fading for me.
-the heat! I almost sleep without air conditioning, but during the day, if your outside, your dripping in sweat!
-how students come in the door anywhere from 7:30 to 10 (School starts at 8:30!) (I'm so very American in my scheduled like thinking, but come on, its time to learn!)
-I don't really love being away from family and friends at home, but I have amazing friends who are quickly becoming my family and support system here.

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One final thing I love the most is that I know that people at home are praying for me, and that means so much to me! I feel your support and I know God has me here for a reason, and looking at my 12 students I know they are reason enough!

I have arrived!

The first picture is one of me with most of the new teachers. We went on a river taxi, about an hour ride for essentially 30 cents, things are so cheap! So I took a picture of a suspension bridge, my roommate Brenna and I on the Taxi, (more roommates to come I think), and then some houses along the river. Sorry about the layout, I tried to go back and change it, but it won't let me, the next one should look better!

Now for the real post:

Hello Everyone! I have safely arrived in Thailand! The flight was long, and I didn't sleep more then 3 hours, so by the time we got to the school I was exhausted. But then our luggage didn't get here until like 3 AM which would be 4 in the afternoon at home, so by the time I got settled in, I still didn't really feel like sleeping cause for me, it felt like afternoon not night. But I am getting into the rhythm here with sleep which is a very good thing.
So far my days have been very busy. On Thursday 5 of us teachers, 4 new girls and 1 who is returning for her 4th year, went to an orphanage with more then 300 Thai babies and toddlers. You can sign up to be in a program where they assign you a baby and you go as often as you want to hold and play with or feed your baby during visiting hours. I think the five of us are going to do this all together. It is actually a really nice government run orphanage but with so many the babies rarely get held, so its a great program! After the orphanage we went across the street and got Thai massages! I know its a bizarre thing to do on your first day here, but it cost about 4 dollars for an hour and a half massage from blind Thai men. They do it all in one big open room and it is a program to help the blind men learn a skill and be able to support themselves.
So far the food has been very good for the most part. Their have been a few things I didn't like but I have had many good rice and chicken dishes. Today I even got a snow cone that tasted so much like the ones we used to get in Kidron.
Oh, one more thing. It is way hotter then I expected. As soon as you get out of the shower you are sweating again. I have been blessed with a great air conditioner in my room, everyone is jealous of how well it works. Another surprise for me has been how you take your shoes off to go in everywhere. There are just stacks of shoes outside restaurants and even outside all over the rooms to the school. It's kind of nice being barefoot, but then I worry about like foot diseases, so I am trying to wash them often!!
I am off now to unpack and organize my room, a job I have put off for too long so I must do it! Thank you for all your prayers as I traveled! God is so good!

Starting a New Chapter

Well I am now done with the college years and moving on to new experiences. As most of you know on June 2nd I will be heading to a suburb of Bangkok, Thailand to teach at a bilingual school. I am excited about having my first class and beginning my career as a professional. I am also excited to see the ways I will grow with the challenges that come from living in a new culture. Right now I am just starting to think about packing and making shopping lists. I'm sure in the coming weeks we will be making many trips to get everything I need, but for now I am enjoying having Sonya and Leah home. Leah is tons of fun and I am soaking it all in before I have to say goodbye for more then 9 months. Those of you who know me well will know that I do not exactly embrace technology, but I would like to keep people updated on my life, so I will do my best to keep this blog updated with writing and pictures.