Hannah’s Weblog

I haven’t written in a while, but have some time now in Pai so thought I better write a little.  So I left Surin last Friday, and it was so so sad. I had had such an amazing 3 months there that it was difficult to close that chapter of my life….Luckily when it came to saying goodbye, the office was hectice as Karen had just heard her boyfriend’s flight fron the UK to BKK had been cancelled so it made it easier to kind of slip away. Suger walked Adam and I to the station and she was so sad to see me go. It was so sad as I had spent the last 2 months with Sugar, teaching together at school. taking naps together in theafternoon, eating dinner together, and chatting online wit friends together! I miss her so much, but plan to meet her in BKK for her birthday at the end of the month…

14 hours later (and the journey was pretty good) Adam and I arrived in Chiang Mai. We found a guesthouse, which had been recommended and decided to just enjoy the sunny day exploring the walled city. Chiang Mai has over 300 temples, and we were keen to meanedr around taking in it’s great history. I am not someone who will ever tire of temples,  find their beauty and religious significance fascinating, and it’s great that Joey feels the same. We took our time, stopping to paint and sketch when we felt the erge…it was a lovely day. There were lots of monks around as one of the larger temple complexes has a school nearby. Something I will never forget, while I was sat in the shade painting a group of young monks stood and watched me. It was a priceless moment, as usually we are the ones wanted to watch them in their glorious orange robe, and here they were watching me! It was lovely. We also went to ‘Monk Chat’ it’s set up to allow monks to practice their English (or other languages) and also for people to learn about Thailand, it’s religion and culture. It was such a rare treat. We only stayed in Chaing Mai one night then left about 2 the next day. before we left though we went out up the hillside that overlooks the valley. There is a huge (very religious, judging by the amount of Thai people paying their respect and making offerings) temple that has amazing views. It was nice to be up high, although Chaing Mai is a very clean well organised city, it was to feel the cool air that only mountains can provide.

The drive to Pai was unbelievably beautiful! Maybe so because I wasn’t expecting anything like it! I napped the first hour, and was so glad that I woke when I did. I opened my eyes, to be surrounded by gorgeous lushious green jungle. I didn’t expect that we would have to climb so high over thick dense uninhahbited mountains to get to Pai. It wa sone of those journeys where I jsut sit back, and watch the beautiful world go by… Pai is nestled in a bsin that sits in the foothills of the mountainous North of Thailand. We have been here two days now, and I am tempted to knock on the local school to see if they need an English teacher! It reminds me of India. with it’s hippy laid back vibe, chic little cafes and worldy travellers. Its a little piece of paradise for sure, and would make for a lovely romantic honeymoon….We hired bikes yesterday, which was great fun. Winding up the mountains with the fresh cool breeze and amazing views. Being able to stop whenever we wanted to take photos of sketch….On the way back we decided to stop for a coffee at a cute little cafe with a vast view over the paddyfields. Joey wasn’t feeling great so I offered to ride us back..oh my this was a mistake! I had had a try earlier and it was fine. But as I drove off the gravely path onto the main road I gave to much throttle instead of releasing it! We skidded to a hault! It was so scary! Bascially I crashed and was soooo mad at myself ( as I have met so many people that have crashed bikes, and I vowed not to be one of them) well now I am! My first though as I lay on the road with the bike ontop of me was “Joey!! Are you ok!!” he was (THANK HEAVENS!) I picked the bike up and we assesed our injuries. I had grim grazes on both arms and my left hand, and also on my leg and knee (event though I was wearing jeans) The shock prevented me feeling anything at first! Joey rode us back…I couldn’t stop thinking what could have happened, had it been worse! When we got back, I said to joey “I feel sick!” then I nearly passed out! hahah I have never come close to fainting before, so that was also a first (along with my first road accident) Luckily I made it onto Joey’s bed, and lay there laughing! Dam ot culd have been so worse! Luckily also wa that Joey’s injuries weren’t as bad as mine (which kind of felt fair) he has some cuts on his foot. I can probably say I won’t be riding any form of moped ever again!!!!

Today we just chilled out. Pai is so sleepy and laid back this time of year….We played a few games of pool, drank some beer, went for a walk and took a nap. Tomorrow morning we are heading to laos. Our room is basic but comfortable. Live music plays next door which is lovely. If we can’t be bothered to drink, then we can just listen in the comfort of our room! That’s the life hey!?

I have had quite a few experinences in Thailand, where I think to myself, this is one of the best days of my life. I think how can anything beat this feeling? What could happen to top this days events? Well considering I would probably struggle to count these events on one hand, I am flabagasted how they keep happening. Thailand is a magical country. Surin in particular. Today was one of those days….where things I couldn’d  even have imagine happened.  

It was my last day at lamchi school. I think I have already said what  a wonderful school it is. The children are unbelievably well behaved, enthusiastic and good natured, and the staff couldn’t do enough for me. Their support really meant a lot. I taught my last two lessons with the help of Adam, then we were treated to a feast for lunch. It was a special lunch for me, and I felt so honored that all the teachers came together for this occasion. We had soo much delicious food! Lots of fresh sea food, phad thai, tom yum, salad, rice, fresh fruit, brandy and soda ( only for the men!!)….oh it was amazing! They thanked me for all my hard work, and genuinely invited me back anytime. I am so pleased that they appreciate my work, and feel that the children have really benefitted!! After lunch the headmaster gave me, namdal and Joey gifts. Beautiful Surin silk scarfs…..

The afternoon was a whirlwind of festivities! They asked me to summarise the childrens English lessons, and as the whole school had come together, I took them through, class at a time what they had learnt. They stood up, and showed off their new skills to their classmates and teachers. I awarded them the certificates I had made for them, and then it was our turn. Joey, me and Namdal sat at the front of the hall. Then one by one, the entire school came up (starting with the youngest) and said their thanks. Now only did they bow in the traditional Thai way, they all had roses, cards, paper chains to go round our necks and gifts. It was incredible how they kept coming. Piling the flowers and cards on our laps, hanging the lays around our necks…at one point I could barely see Namdal from all the flowers and gifts covering her… and they just kept coming!!!!! We were struggling to balance it all, when someone started the theme of also adding a hug into the crazy mix….Imagine the scene, I have 6 paper chains round my neck, 60 cards on my lap. My hands are full of roses and bunches of small flowers and then theyu want to hug me…..How I didn’t cry I really don’t know! It was MAGICAL!!!!!! When the entire school had paid their respects, the children stampeded towards us with arms streched out, they wanted our names written on their shirts, arms and books!!

How we got away i dont know. I don’t have enough time to continue…and to be honest i am still trying to come to terms with what an amazing day it was…….I will never forget this time teaching at this school. Never ever!!!!

Some of the  volunteers had Khao Yai as aprt of their ‘package’ so I asked Oh if Adam and I could tagg alone….and ohhh my I am so glad I did! Adam arrived on time on Thursday evening. I went to meet him from the train staion, and we went back to the office. It is soooooo nice having him here!!!!!!! Thursday night we had a party, mainly for Oh’s birthday, but also to welcome Joey and to say goodbye to the majority of volunteers! It was a brilliant night, even took Joey to Speed 3! Glad he experienced but did say that he’ll happily never go back!!hahahahah….

So Friday morning we packed a weekend bag and heading back to the train station. 3 hours to Pak Chong. It actually felt nice having things organized for us, as Oh was escorting the others (Fi, Keiran and Nicky) so we had a truck waiting for us at the other end. All the other vounteers had been here, and totally raved about it, and it really was as amazing as everyone said! When we arrived at out little guesthouse, we checked in and had some lunch. Greenleaf Guesthouse is wonderful, people are soo friendly, food is first class, and they organise the tours into the park. The guides that took us around were amazing and work and live at the guesthouse. They really love the park and all the animals, their knowledge was incredible so they really helped make our weekend special. We piled into a truck around 3….we were off for a swim at some natural springs. About two miles down the road though, we stopped. Jo (the guide) hopped out and ran over to the bush, he had spotted an oriental whip snake! How on earth he had seen this from a moving truck baffeled me, but it was exciting being rushed off the truck. He plucked it from the tree and we all had a chance to hold it!! It was wicked! Back on the truck, we all kept our eyes peeled for wierd and wonderful things in the jungle that spread bothe sides of us. Khao Yai is one of the worlds most impressive parks. It is Thailands oldest, spreads across 6 provinces! We swam in the freezing natural spring, which was a refreshing break from the intense sunshine. Clothes back on and off to the bat caves….oh on the way here we saw a beautiful green Chinese Water Dragon!

The caves that we went down into, are also part of a temple complex. the monks go and meditate in the darkness every everning, so there are shrines, and gret Bhudda staues carved into the rock inside. It was exciting heading into the ground, and I was intregued to see all the bats. Jo said..” so there aren’t many bats in this cave, only about 2000!!”  They flew above our heads, and the floor was deep in their ‘product’! In the cave Jo found a scorpian spider, which i am holding in the picture, a tarancular, a giant millipead, which i choose NOT to hold, and some crazy crickets. All of these creep crawlies live in the darkness of the cave so were well adapted to the dark. this made them even more wierd and wonderful for us!

COMING SOON>>>>>

I actually feel a little guitly about what I wrote about these children on day one! In hinds sight we just weren’t prepared (not that this was our fault) and so day two we were ready with new techniques and we knew what we had to go, so dealt with it much better! we split the class into 3 groups which really helped. Two of the groups we took outside, and each of us took a small group. We kept the activities calm and it really worked well….. Lunch time however Fi spoke a little soon, saying how good they were..hahah, and mayhem hit again! They were wrestling with eachother, running in and out of the a/c room, drawing all over the board, fighting, running riot. We didn’t have the energy or language to intervene. Plus I had something up my sleeve. ‘Sleep time’ …oh and how wonderful it was! It took about 20 minutes to execute, and I had dragged Sugar along on day 2  to help, and even she had to shout at them “do you even understand THAI!!”  FINALLY we got them to lie down and sleep…..and I couldn’t believe it! 30 minutes of beautiful silence…….:-)

Today is Friday. We have 3 day weekends so today is my day off. It is also the first weekend I have stayed in Surin for over 5 weeks!!! Crazy!IT is also the day I saw the dark side of adorable Thai children….hahhaha…….We had agreed to ‘help’ at an English camp today and tomorrow. I have done these before and usually they are organised fun days, where we help out with short fun lessons and I have always enjoyed these experiences! Today unfortunately was another story. It turned out that this was the first English camp at this particular school, so a kind of trail to see how the children get on with it. We took at mini van at 8 this morning abot 20 miles out of Surin town. I was excited as I didn’t know what to expect. The school was fairly big, and when we arrived we were shown into a room. Not a small room I guess, but some kind of office. It had a desk, with laptop and prjector. A huge cabinet filled with certificates and such, and chairs all around the outside of the room. It had a/c so we sat and waited…..

A lovely young lady comes in to greet us, we exchange Thai pleasantries, and she gives us English Camp air-tex shirts! At first I was thrilled to be given these, but at a closer look these XL polyester shirts became the first of many things to grind on me throughout the day. I was wearing my long white skirt and a pretty top, I changed, as was the polite thing to do. My skirt now looked filthy as the t-shirt was gleaming artificial white. Ok, so I thought, it’s ok… This isn’t a fashion show, I am here to teach, so what if I look rediculous?!!! So the children arrive, and there are 31 of the little darlings. Like I said usually we teach the whole school, separating into different station, so the children get varity and a change every 35 mins of so. But it turned out they wanted us to teach them all day. 9-12, 1-4!!!! It started off ok, and the 31 little 7 year olds really impressed us with their knowledge of English. They knew their alphabet inside out, they could count to 20 forwards and backwards, and they responded well to our games. However the day preogressively got worse. This is to to with so many reasons! The first reason is the lack of support we had from the teachers. To spend this long with a group of children who don’t speak English and Karen, Fi and I don’t speak Thai. There is a lot lost through lack of communication. Oh, our wonderful translator could obviously only do so much as they got slowly less and less responsive. Secondly teaching can work without the Thai teachers, but for short periods of time…not hours upon hours! Thirdly these children are 7 years old, so even though their behavour was so bad, they should have been disciplined more, everyone knows 7 year olds attention span is short, and when we cannot directly speak to them, this becomes exhausting.

One example… and this makes me sooooo HAPPY to be at the school I am at. Seriously I have up to 40 children and their behavour makes my teaching so easy. Well it allows me to teach as suppose to constantly saying “NO ” “Quiet” “stop hitting him!” “don’t pull her hair!” Turn around, face the front!” hahahha I feel exhausted writing about it… anyway where was I? Oh yeah so a numbers game that worked effortlessly with my students was a nightmare with them! I know they don’t understand 99% of what I am saying. But in ESL teaching, body language and gesturing goes a long way! Well apparently not with this class. They litterally didn’t respond to anything!! ohh mannnnn I must stop!

hahahha…Guess I wanted to write about one of my not so good days..hah, incase you were starting to think they didn’t exist!

all I can say, is WISH ME LUCK for tomorrow!!!!

I like the colour green. Early mornings and sunsets. The hot delicious soup which comes free with lots of coriander all over my rice. I like being on the move, and staring out the window. A/c and canned sweet iced lattes…..

I like the way a man says my name, the internet , particulary facebook. My Thai friends and napping in the office. Small children, I love their smiles and hearing them laugh. I like the game we played yesterday, it was quiet. I like peace and quiet. I like laying in bed, knowing I have the whole night to myself. I like my long talks with Hayley, ColdPlay and staying up late. I like that I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I like different languages and not always being part of a conversation. I like to listen and to talk. I like taking cold showers and feeling silky and clean. I like to dream, to dream of people I love. I like to be here and now and to embrace things which come my way.

I like the sun on my bare skin, and the way it makes my skin glow. I like the boys in 7/11 for their smiles and confidence in speaking English to me. I like watching people, especially in the mornings and at rush hour. I like Thai school childrens uniforms, an also the ones the teachers wear. I like feeling a sense of belonging, even when I don’t belong. I actially like waiting…time by myself and emptying my mind of  all the clutter. I like teaching barefoot, being silly and making my students laugh. I like the word Jump and House, especailly when the children act these out. I like meeting new people and learning new things. I like to sit and draw, sit and watch, sit and become absorbed in my page…I like and admire hard working people and the idea that we create our own luck. I like crisps and cold beer. I like not knowing what we will be served for lunch. I like my life