Well, I have to say that Thailand just keeps getting better and better. Every day, I just fall more in love with the children here. They are so precious. It didn't take long for them to warm up to me…after a day or two of being here, they started coming up to me to tell me they loved me and to get hugs…they are such cuddlers too…I love it! Every morning and every night, when we have worship, they all want to hold my hand or lean on my shoulder…it is so sweet…even the older girls do it…they are very affectionate here in Thailand and I just love it because I am the same way!
So, this past week, I got to go to school to do some team teaching with Andrea. We taught 4th-9th grade. It was a lot of fun and I was impressed with how well some of the older kids speak English…they still are far from fluent, but they are doing really well. It was fun teaching and getting to interact more with the kids at school since not all of them are from Agape. We also got to spend time with the teachers, as they really liked having lunch with us. I have to say…the cafeteria food in Thailand is better than any cafeteria food I've ever had! They are amazing cooks here and everything is so fresh! It was fun too because one of the teachers from the school had us over at her house last night, along with some of the other volunteers from Agape. They taught us how to cook Thai food…my favorite was learning to make papaya salad. But, Pi Ham, the teacher who was showing Andrea and I how to make it put 20 chilis in it (I only put four chilis in my first batch and it was still really spicy)…I only had one bite of her batch and I had to drink 8 glasses of water to make my mouth stop burning…Andrea and I were both dying. I guess we can't take it as much as they can since we're Americans and aren't used to it…We both had horrible heartburn all night and even today…so bad that I couldn't even eat breakfast because it hurt too much…I think I learned my lesson though…I wanted to prove I could be a tough American, but I just have to face the fact that I'm not Thai! It was still a fun experience having our little Thai cooking class though!
Yesterday, we were supposed to teach at a school that is about an hour and a half away, but the people who usually come to pick Andrea up never came. So, we ended up going with Pastor Winai to the refugee camp where his brother lives. There are about 80,000 refugees in Thailand because the Burmese people have persecuted the Karen people (they felt threatened by them apparently since there were so many) to the point where they have given them no choice but to leave the country. So, Pastor Winai has a brother that lives in the camp and we got to visit him. It is really crazy how the camps are set up. There is one bamboo house after another. A lot of them use their front porch as their little market to set things up and then sell them. The people who live there cannot leave the camp unless they get special permission, so they are basically stuck there. The camp is pretty big, but they can rarely, if ever, get outside of that place.
After visiting Pastor's brother, a friend of his named Solo took us to see the school within the camp. The principal there asked us to speak with the students there, so we got to practice English with them and had them answer some questions in English…it was really fun. They were all college students, so it was nice to do a little teaching for people closer to our age.
Anyway, I have had some really great experiences already and I'm excited about all that's still to come. I have really been bonding with the kids. One of my favorite things to do is run with the kids. We have made it a daily thing. The kids are so amazing. This one little boy named Paradon is only about 5 years old and runs faster than anyone else…and he runs barefoot! He never gets tired either…it's incredible. I don't think that all the kids who go running with us all really enjoy running…but, it's an opportunity for them to spend time with us, so they choose to come along anyway. It's really sweet.
Well, this weekend we will be taking the kids to this cultural show at the school. Tonight we are watching High School Musical 2 with them (I brought it for Andrea) and they are so excited! They always talk about High School Musical even though I think they've only seen it once…they hardly ever get to watch tv or movies, so it's a special treat.
Sunday, we have a group from YWAM coming to join us for about a week to do some special activities with the kids, so that should be fun. I'm really excited and I know the kids are too. It will be fun to have some more Americans around to speak English with. I do have to say, though, my Thai is coming along. I came here only knowing to say hello and I have learned a lot in the last week. The kids are great at teaching me.
Well, I have many stories to share, but I'll stop here. Pra jiou oi pon (God bless you)!
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