Birthday Bash

Today was full of laughs and enjoyment. Jodie and I walked to Kindergarten feeling confident and prepared to teach the children about shapes. As soon as we passed through the gate and stepped inside we realized we were dealing with a whole new set of students. A fresh new crop of kindergarteners that is, little ones that hardly know their ABC’s and definitely don’t know what a shape is. What could we do? We had a group of eighteen four and five years staring at us anticipating our every more. Our resources included a poster about shapes, a work sheet about shapes and a CD full of English songs. After assessing the situation we decided to start with the English songs. They never fail. After about 15 minutes we did all the songs and had broken into a sweat. We pulled out the worksheets and got the kids color these foreign objects called shapes. Every time we attempted to say an English word, the children responded in laughter. To them we were funny people that said funny things. Their giggles made us giggle and it turned out to be extremely entertaining.

Right after kindergarten, I had my final class with one of my favorite students Ford. He is starting school next week so our class together will end. This little boy came faithfully to everyone of my classes. This is huge at Mercy, because most of our students don’t even come close to having a perfect attendance. Everyday he would bring both Jodie and I a treat. He came into my class knowing some English vocabulary but I am really proud to say that he walked away knowing a lot more. I definitely saw growth and improvement in both his vocabulary and his pronunciation. Everyday he would come to work with his mother and hang around the office with her and before lunch he would have class with me. At the beginning of the class, I gave him the cupcake treat that I had bought for him and his mother. He then exchanged the gifts he had for Jodie and I. They were pencils with his name on them in addition to lollipops. We spent the class playing BINGO and XO, both of which were his favorite activities. At one point during BINGO, he decided that Jodie and I should play against each other and he would be the announcer. He allowed us both to win one game each. Of course it had to be fair. At the end of class he wrote in his notebook, “SPOON OPEN” I knew that what he was trying to say was “SCHOOL OPEN” meaning that school was starting. I had to laugh though because it was a simple innocent mistake.

In the afternoon we spent some time with our friends in the AIDS word and were reminded that some of them are returning home next week. It is very exciting news but we will miss them very much. After our visit we headed to Carrefour in search of enough cake and munchies for 20+ kids. John a staff member at Mercy had given us 1500 baht which is like 50 dollars. After quite a long search we ended up buying four ice cream cakes at Dairy Queen, 4 boxes of juice, 5 bags of chips and a large bag of Mangostein. We still teaching commitments at Mercy so we taxied it back and stored the ice cream cake and goodies in the freezer there. The party was to celebrate Sie Chon’s(sp?) birthday along with him attending a new school for the blind. It has been over a year in the making but he is finally attending this school that specializes in teaching the visually impaired. Everyone is excited for him, but he will be greatly missed here at soi 40.



When we arrived at soi 40 the boys quickly noticed us carrying large bags of food and so congregated around us like bees and a honey tree. The ice cream cake was quickly melting so the house parents told us we could serve the cake first. We filled there bowels with ice cream and cake and allowed the little monkeys to dig in. Moments later it was time for them to eat their supper. Rice, meat and soup followed and they ate every bit. The boys were of course very excited and hyper. I had never seen them quite so happy. The mood in the room was fun. There was more than enough for everyone and all of their bellies were full. Most of it was junk food, but everyone deserves a belly full of junk food every once and while. It was a very special supper, one I won’t forget for awhile.



Before the boys went to bed, Jodie promised to brush her teeth with one of her favorite little boys. Two of the boys came into our room and Jodie and I brushed our teeth with them. We guessed that they have never really been shown how to properly brush their teeth because some of their little teeth are rotting. We are planning to make this an evening tradition. For every successful tooth brushing session will be rewarded with a sticker.



Anyways, that’s all for now. This weekend we have a Mercy Staff sports day and Sunday we have plans to head to Cambodia for a visa run. So lots of posting to come.

Sending love from Thailand

Misty