More Thailand Adventures

Since the last time we blogged, we have watched elephants paint pictures, throw darts, and play soccer; held monkeys; and gone bungee jumping. It has been very exciting. But more importantly, we have had great experiences serving the amazing people of Thailand.

House Building

As Lizzy blogged about last week, we are still working on rebuilding a house that burned down for a widow and her family. We have had several bumps this week—contractors not showing up, buying 2 by 3 pieces of wood instead of 2 by 4's, lots of rain, etc. So despite slower than we would like, the work is moving forward. We have put in six cement poles that will become the foundation of the walls and hope to build the roof tomorrow. While waiting for the contractor yesterday, feeling sorry that we weren't doing anything and didn't feel like we were making a difference, I looked over and saw the lady for whom we are building the house standing on the side, holding one of her babies. I couldn't help but think that even though the bumps in building have felt discouraging for us, they must feel infinitely more discouraging for her. Every day we don't make progress with building is a day that she doesn't live in a house. It was humbling and put the situation in perspective. It made me want to work my hardest and do all I can to make the most difference in these people's lives.

English Teaching

We have had several opportunities to teach English this week. On Monday, I went to the monk school while Lizzy stayed and taught at a local elementary school. We both found that it was easier teaching this week because we had previous experience at our respective schools and we could better cater the lessons to the needs of the students.

Last week at the monk school, a teacher found out that I played the violin. She told me that she was going to bring her daughter's violin next time so that I could play for the students. I wasn't sure if she was serious, but sure enough, when I arrived on Monday, she had a violin. We taught the students how to speak about talents, and then I, with the help of the violin, was able to demonstrate my talent. The violin was in pretty bad shape, and it took a couple of minutes to get the strings tight enough to even think about tuning it. The bow was also old and despite how much I tightened it, the hair would not go taught. When I finally got the violin and bow in manageable condition, I played one of the only songs I could remember—“I Know My Redeemer Lives.” I never thought I would play the violin at a monk school, let alone a song about our Savior. But it went well, and the monk students enjoyed it.

Tuesday afternoon, we also had the opportunity to teach English to teachers at various schools throughout the region. I was not sure what to expect, but anticipated maybe four or five teachers coming to the lesson. Nope. When Jon, my teaching partner, and I walked into the schools, we were greeted by 32 teachers from several schools, gathered around tables with pen and paper out. We were immediately ushered to the stage, given microphones, and allowed to teach the class for the next hour and a half. It was a bit intimidating at first, but we got into a groove pretty quick. The teachers were looking at us, smiling the whole time. The really wanted to learn, and were just happy to be there. It was kind of funny to see them in a reversed role. At the end of the class, they all stand up and said in unison in their broken English, “Thank you teacher. See you next time.” (This is something that the English students say at the end of every lesson). I am excited to go back next week to teach the teachers. It is a sustainable and effective project, in my opinion, because even after we leave, these teachers will be able to pass on the things that they have learned.

Lizzy had quite a different experience teaching her teachers. I don't understand all that happened, and will let her blog about it next week. All I know is that it involved her and her teaching partner being dropped off at a school that wasn't expecting them, and then receiving "mysterious crunchy mushrooms" from the mountain to eat while they tried to round up teachers. They were kind of giddy all night. Sketch.

Hand Washing and Teeth Brushing

Today, we had the opportunity to go to the school where we built the sink and put on a hand washing / teeth brushing assembly for the children. It went very well. It was educational, and I feel that all of the kids had a lot of fun. We started with a skit where Lizzy, several other volunteers, and I (dressed as a GREEN GERM) exemplified how germs spread.

In the above picture, we are showing how germs are spread when you don't wash your hands. To the left, we are showing what builds up on your teeth (Lizzy and the other two girls are the teeth) when you don't brush.      

The kids were then able to go out back where they were able to practice their hygeine skils with the new sink. It was a bit crazy, as some of the kids were taking what looked more like showers in the sink, washing their heads and faces.

We finished off the day with a really race, and had the kids sign pledges of cleanliness. It was a fun and effective activity. We hope to be able to impliment it at other local schools.

Looking Forward

We have been doing other small activities, such as teaching communities how to build sustainable hats out of local materials. Pictured is a group of volunteers practicing our hat making skills.

Tomorrow, a group of us are going to a small village where a man named Sai Sam has set a medical/HIV clinic for a group of Shan immigrants. We are hoping to be able to find some way to help, related to public health, sanitation, etc. On saturday morning, we are also meeting with a group of health related NGOs to discuss possible projects we can work on together. I am praying that we will be able to find some way to collaborate as, despite the majority of the volunteers being interested in health care, there has been a lack of health-related projects. Keep your fingers crossed for us!



Below are pictures that we took during our weekend adventure to Chiang Mai.

  

 


The elephant just starting its painting.

 

The elephant finishing up its painting. It was pretty incredible,
needless to say.





Lizzy looking like a true bungee jumper. Can you believe it was her
first time?!




Getting dunked while bungee jumping

 





Just chilling with monkeys.



Just enjoying some blues music in downton Chiang Rai at the "Boy's Blues".