Teaching, Teaching, Teaching

Everything has been going great here in Thailand.  I love it more and more everyday.  Yesterday before dinner a couple of the girls were talking to me and telling me who everyone like who's boyfriend was who's and who they liked last month but not anymore etc.  G and I had been guessing these things because the older kids pair off and talk and flirt, we were right about most of them.  Of course Kam likes Petch and Aussie likes Oh, but I never knew that Ganyanwee had so many boys after her!

I think though that the best moments come when you see that everything you have been doing hasn't gone to waste and these kids actually do listen and learn from you even though they do everything to make you feel the opposite.  Last weekend a group of student from a Bangkok international school came to the Farm to spend a couple of days with the foundation.  All week we had been practicing and practicing with the kids on introducing themselves.  Thais are very quiet people (except when they yell.  My goodness they can yell) and very shy.  They were nervous about getting up in front of a group of older students who spoke perfect English and introducing themselves in English, a third language for many of these kids.  So, the day came and we were... ready?  Yes, we were ready.  As we went around the circle and everyone got up to introduce themselves I got so happy when Sua remembered everything we had taught him.  He said it with a smile and confidence letting everyone know that "he was from Burma, and liked to ride his bike and eat banana!"  We wrote down an entire page for Kam to say, but she got up there and and told everyone who she was and what grade she was in.  She didn't even pause to remember, she just spoke.

I love that joy you get when you teach and you realize that you are actually doing something.  Very often I feel like me teaching English to these children isn't doing anything.  I look at all the volunteers they've had in the past and how many times they've learned the vocabulary for the kitchen and think, am I even doing anything?  Does me being here mean anything?  But then there's moments like last weekend when they get up in front of a big group and that yeah, it does make a difference.  It might be slow, and it might be painful.  But at least it's working.

Chiang Mai at night (obviously).  Seen from Wat Doi Suthep