Eat, Eat, Eat... EAT!

Yep, that's about all we do here.  Eat, eat, eat.  Well, kind of. When we hang out with Amanda it's about all we do.  We always find ourselves in an Italian restaurant.  And we wonder where our money goes... haha.

Yesterday was fun, and you bet, it included eating pizza.  We met up with Amanda after our classes and ate some pizza.  It was great.  Then we headed over to the ice cream place and got some pizza.  There were a lot of people staring at us, but we didn't care.  Something was really funny to all of us because we were laughing the entire time.  People were really staring at us that time, we were really loud!!

After eating, we headed over to a park that we rarely ever visit because it's farther from our place.  It was a blast.  We had so much energy because of our food and everything seemed really funny.  We walked around the park, and acted goofy the entire time.  Amanda wanted me to take a picture next to a random guy, we searched and searched, finally we found one.  How embarrassing!  The guy probably thought we were really weird.  Our outing at the park included laughing, lots and lots of laughing, walking, aerobics, dancing, and lots of picture taking.  

I tried doing aerobics with Amanda.  She has such good rhythm, I on the other hand do not.  My only cover up is laughter in these situations.  I 

was laughing the entire time, people were looking, oh well.  We moved to a larger aerobics area were we danced crazy with each other.  It was such a fun day with her, and it makes me really sad that she's leaving soon.  

Goodbyes aren't supposed to exist.  They cause too much sadness.  I know God didn't intend for goodbyes to exist, He only wants us to be happy.  It makes me sad to think that I'm going to be saying goodbye

to Amanda in less than a week.  As much as I'd like to think that I'll see her again, I probably won't, and it really makes me sad.  That's

one of the many reasons why I'm looking forward to heaven: never having to say goodbye.

Sabbath School

I've found that the busier I am on Saturdays, the faster they go by.  From here on out, Leah and I have volunteered to help with every Sabbath School for the children.  We sing songs with them, play games, tell stories, and act out Bible stories with them.  Even though they don't understand all of our words, they seem to enjoy our efforts.  

This Sabbath Leah lead out in the Sabbath School.  It was so fun to just take pictures of these cute kids.  I love their faces and their silly ways.  Amanda helped, too.  She is so fun!  These kids could not be any more cute, and I know I'm going to be really sad to leave them.

The Benefits of Thai Students

One of the many wonderful things about being a teacher in Thailand is that you are greatly respected.  The students are very kind to you, respect you, and want to do nice things for you.  Even the parents are very generous.  There hasn't been one class I've taught there that hasn't included a person wanting to do something with me outside of the classroom.  I'm always asked to go to eat, or shopping, or just hanging out with them.  It's a fun concept, and I wish America was more like this.  

One of my tutorials is going to be going to America next year as a foreign exchange student.  It's a very exciting concept!  She was really eager to learn from me and I felt like I could put my 

2 cents in because she'd want to hear what I'd have to say about America!  I really hope that we meet up next year, how awesome would that be??

Her name is Au.  Anyways, her family was super nice to me, and they really wanted to take me out to eat after her sessions, which were only a 20 hour minimum, which was the required hours with an English teacher for the exchange program.  The weekend after I finished teaching her, her family took Leah and I out to eat.  It was very fun.  We drove to their house, ate dinner with their family, and laughed a lot.  It was a very exciting evening and very enjoyable.  

I really hope to see this girl in America.  I think that would be such an awesome experience, and I think it would be a good treat for the both of us.

Beer... WHAT?

There I was: teaching in my classroom, going over the phonics of letter M when the word beer was blurted out. 

WHAT?

I didn't think I heard the little boy in the front of the class correctly, so I just kept going.  A moment later, he repeated himself.  I was in such shock I didn't know what to say.

How could a little boy know this word?  I bet he was just waiting for my reaction to this, because not long after the word beer was repeated many times came cocktail and whiskey.

WHAT?

I try not to let it bother me, but why does this kid know these words?  Do his parents drink?  Did he get it off of television?  Why does a ten year old boy know the word BEER in a second language?  The situation isn't the worst it could be: he could know some curse words, but why on earth does he know this word!!!?!

Amanda = Awesome!

We've been trying to spend a lot of time with Amanda before she leaves us to go back to her home in Australia.  I'm really going to miss her.  Friday we spent all day doing girl things:  facials, shopping, and then we went for some motorcycle lessons.  It was such  a perfect day.

Learning to ride reminded me of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the scene with the 

beautiful Matthew teaching his girlfriend to ride a bike, only there was no Matthew, and I'm not dating Amanda.  So, maybe it doesn't remind me of that....

But yeah, we had a blast.  Amanda was crazy and laugh

ing at us, so were the people driving by watching us.  Leah and I just didn't care: we need to learn how to ride so that when Amanda leaves, we can go places on the bike!!

I'm really sad Amanda is leaving.  I'm going to miss her a lot.  I'm trying my hardest to spend as much time with her before she goes!

The Battle Zone

As a teacher there are certain expectations.  A pretense of composure and capability is required, whether it exists in us or not.  It's an unspoken rule to keep an even temper at all times, we know what the consequences of losing it are: the students win.  They, at their moment of defeat, know that they have complete and utter power over us.  The classroom is a constant battle zone between students and the teacher.  Every second for an entire hour, I pray.  I pray for guidance, I pray for strength, I pray for help.  Without these I wouldn't be able to last one minute in that classroom without crumbling to the floor in surrender.  

Because I have God I can survive.  He is the one thing that makes me able to dismiss my students with a smile on my face, yet because of Him, teaching is one of the hardest things I can imagine doing.  Being a believer means I have to show my students who He is.  I cannot falter, I cannot fail.  In their world they do not know God: the majority of people here believe in Buddha. They don't even know of God's existence, as far as I know.  That means that I am the only glimpse of Jesus they see.  Those sixty minutes in my classroom are the only minutes of their day that they will be able to witness what a Jesus believer is like.  Talk about a lot of pressure.

I'm not saying that I'm perfect.  I'm not saying I haven't shown my anger or my irritation, because I have many times.  All I'm saying is that the relationship that I have with these kids might be the only one they have with a Christian.  I recognize this is not easy territory to be walking on, rather I know it's Satan's battle zone.  It's the time of the day I feel most irritable, most angry, and the most upset.  It's obvious more is going than what I can see:  God and Satan are battling it out.  Satan provokes me, God comforts me.  I am their battleground.  A million emotions and thoughts course through my body like electricity.  

On my worst days, even God triumphs.  Somehow, someway, God makes my day.  It's only because of Him that I can say I am a teacher.   Without Him, I would've given up on day one, but it's because of Him that I am still here trying, still taking the bullets in my one hour battle zone.

Survival in Thailand

I've made it!  I'm more than half way done with my year!  As exciting as that is to say to myself, it also makes me sad.  There are so many thing I have come to love about this country.  It's really been a year of growth for me: I've learned so much about the culture of Thailand.  It's an experience of a lifetime, and I'd never trade it for anything.

So, here's a list of things I've learned.  I'm putting it out there for anyone who ever wishes to come to Thailand.  However, you will need to learn stuff for yourself, but here are just a few bits on how to survive in Thailand:

 1.  Remember what mom and dad always said when you crossed the road (and I'm not talking about holding someone's hand)?  LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT.  Yeah you can just throw that right out the window.  I can't tell you how many times I've made the mistake of looking right first and almost walked into a car coming at me from the left.  So, think:  RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT.  There, now you won't die when crossing the street.

2. If you become friends with a Thai and are anything but skin and bones, be prepared to be called fat or OOAN.  This, my friends, is the culture of Thailand.  Think it, say it.  There is no filter, well at least for this.  I know I'm not skinny, but I don't have to be told that I'm fat three times a day.  It's okay, what won't kill you will only make you stronger.  Their way is honesty, which I prefer.  Better to be called fat to your face than behind your back.

3. THAILAND IS NOT HOT ALL YEAR.  Yeah, this might be a shock to some of you, it was to me!  Still is a shock, actually.  I'm suffering because of my lack of knowledge.  Ubon is no Andrews, but low fifties at night is cold when you don't have a heater to work with.  Leah and I are blessed because we have a hot water heater which translates HOT SHOWERS.  I have no idea how these people take showers in this temperature!! 

4. When people make appointments, always expect them to be late.  I have students come late all the time.  It's habit to be about fifteen minutes late for some.  Outside of school is the same.  So, when making plans, think ahead and be prepared to meet later than the time you decided on.

5.  If you're the kind of person who likes to sleep in, you can forget about it.  People in Thailand generally like to wake up early.  In Bangkok it was the whistle man, and here in Ubon it's the song-toas:  7 am is a lovely time to be woken up by loud noises. If people don't wake you up, you can count on the birds outside or the planes flying overhead.  There's really no point in setting an alarm, there's alarms everywhere!

6. Be prepared.  You will see adorable babies.  You will want to take them home with you.  You will not be able to because they belong to their parents.  They will be the cutest things you will see in your life.  When this happens, remember there are plenty of Thai people you can choose to marry and produce beautiful babies with.  Just try to restrain yourself from stealing one, trust me when I say it's a hard thing to accomplish.

7. Hungry for American food?  No problem, there are more Seven Elevens here than I've ever seen in America.  From snack to hefty meal, you can find any assortment of food at this local convenience store.  And there's no need to worry about finding one:  they cover the territory here like Starbucks in Manhattan.

8.  If you are of lighter skin you will be the equivalent of an American celebrity.  Everywhere you go people will want to touch your skin, stare at you like you're an alien, and tell you many many times that you are beautiful (kind of like Bella's obsession for Edward's pale skin in Twilight).  

Just like any place in the world there are good things and bad things about this place.  I'm so glad I'm here in Thailand.  What an experience, what a place, what a God I serve.  I'm in awe.