Emmy in the Rice Paddy: Lauren & Gwen in Thailand! Part 2: School in Ubon!

After teaching at school alone last Tuesday, in the evening P’Nuan and I went to Ubon’s airport to pick up Gwen and Lauren. From the airport, we went back to Boonmee Mansion (the name of my apartment) before going to my favorite som tam restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat. It was so surreal having Lauren and Gwen at my home in Thailand!

The next morning, we picked up some iced sweet coffees and grilled pork and sticky rice for breakfast before being picked up by P’Nuan at 7:15am. On the drive, the city quickly faded into the country, and beautiful green rice fields stretched out over the land. They were definitely not in Bangkok anymore!

As we pulled up to school, all of the children wai-ed us, and they were all sweeping or taking care of the school. Lauren, who is a TFA teacher in Philadelphia, was shocked. We watched the morning flag ceremony as the King’s National Anthem was sung (hands flat at our sides), and then participated in morning yoga with the students…all eyes were on Lauren and Gwen. From there, we walked around to see the different crafts that different aged students were making (keychains, scarves, mittens, embroidery). We also took a peek in the kindergarten classroom. Lauren and Gwen melted (as I do everyday)…SO CUTE! It was really nice for me to have them at my school, because it made me stop and really appreciate all of the little details of my day that are so special, but I am so used to them now that I sometimes take them for granted. It was also fun to show them my bulletin board… because there was a picture of the three of us from Israel together!

During first period, M.1/1 (7^th grade, probably my favorite class!) and I had been practicing the lyrics of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” for two full days. We opened class by performing it for them. It was amazing. I was so proud of them. They did such a great job with the lyrics, and they sung loudly! We have the whole thing on video, too! (I wish that Blogger would let me upload videos haha). After singing, Gwen and Lauren each introduced themselves, telling students where they’re from, what their favorite food is, how many siblings they have, etc. When they finished, we turned it into a listening game. I asked students “How many brothers does Lauren have?” (etc.) Gwen had brought some Washington, DC pencils and postcards with her, and we handed them out as prizes. I found it really interesting that when asked where they were from, both Gwen and Lauren responded with “I’m from New York.” I have been criticized by (mainly Europeans) for saying Chicago, New York, etc. instead of “America.” Sure enough, most of my students needed to hear “America.” (Interesting, no?) However, the BEST part of class last Wednesday was when Gwen- an amazing singer- sung for all of my classes. She sung Thai favorite “My Heart Will Go On” and “The Star Spangled Banner” (which I gave my students a hard time about remembering from my 4^th of July lesson hehe!) Her voice is so powerful. She can really belt it out! Every one of my students was mesmerized. (Again we have video recordings of this!) It was so fun for me to see how music can really bring all people together. In 3^rd grade, after Gwen sang, I asked students if they would sing us a song in Thai. All of 3^rd grade sung a famous Thai children’s song about elephants called “Chang! Chang!” Even the boys sang. Gwen had shared, and now they were sharing. It was a moment of grace. One of the most special days I hope to remember forever.

Also interesting: I had fun speaking with my students in Thai (per usual) but Gwen and Lauren obviously don’t speak Thai. After Gwen and Lauren spoke to my classes about themselves, some of my students told me that it was hard to understand them. (I believe that- they are used to my voice and my voice only, and I am very conscious about speaking slowly and pronouncing words very clearly J)

After lunch with the school teachers (Gwen and Lauren got to experience my lunches haha) the older students walked down the street to the village wat. We circled the wat 3 times (I still don’t know why, but I know it had to do with Buddhist Lent), before taking pictures at the quaint, charming wat. Upon walking back to school, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a throng of younger students. One of them had a very bitter berry for me to try and they all wanted to watch me eat it. Gwen and Lauren kept calling me a celebrity at school. I mean, I can’t help that I’m famous.

We also witnessed the (in my opinion horrible) beating of a small green poisonous snake at school. While many students were gathered around me to watch me eat this berry, a small green and black slithered by us. Instead of the children letting the snake slither on its way, they brutally beat it and murdered it. Even after I stepped in, some boys kept on beating it. It was terrible. Lauren made a good point though, that they were scared, and maybe they’ve seen their parents do it a thousand times when they see this kind of snake. (Considering that they’re Buddhist, doubtful that they would kill it, but still a good point). Also around the same time one of the science teachers came up to me to ask me how to pronounce some very difficult English scientific terms regarding the anatomy of a leaf. This makes me upset, because students (and teachers) can barely understand “How are you” and then teachers only confuse and discourage students more by trying to teach them very difficult, useless English words. I appreciate the focus on English, but in my opinion integrating scientific words like “stipule” is not an effective approach. What even is a “stipule”?

I showed Gwen and Lauren the school farm, and we took lots of pictures of the adorable striped baby piglet. In the late afternoon I taught teachers, and I chose to teach pronunciation with “L” and “R” for Lauren and Gwen’s amusement. They loved it. I would repeat the sounds of the letters, have a discussion with teachers about corresponding sounds in Thai (or not), and then I had a series of minimal pairs (e.g. “Lock/ Rock,” “Lamp/ Ramp,” “Deal/ Dear”). Teachers tried to pronounce them. After practicing for a few minutes, I would say the two words correctly, and we would play a game where I would write both words on the board with a corresponding number 1 or 2, and then I would say (deal) and they would need to tell me if it was number 1 “deal” or number 2 “dear”. Some of the words were very hard for them! I told them that when pronouncing “L” it is easier if they (literally) stick their tongues outside of their mouths. They all practiced this and thought it was hilarious. At the end of class I had a tongue twister, “Every Friday, Roger and Lauren go rollerskating in Rolly Park.” After the teachers practiced for a while, I would change one of the “l” sounds to an “r” sound (e.g. instead of “rollerskating” I would say “rorrerskating”) and have them guess what word was incorrect. Lauren and Gwen loved this. I also accidentally asked Lauren a question in Thai and handed her the microphone- the teachers thought this was hilarious and are still talking about “that time I asked my farang friend a question in Thai!” The meeting wrapped up with Gwen singing, once again, “My Heart Will Go On” for the teachers. They were mesmerized. Lauren and Gwen also purchased about 20 keychains that they’d seen the students creating in the morning. It was very nice of them, and they will be meaningful souvenirs I hope!

Also, during the meeting, Gwen, Lauren and I snuck out to my classroom to meet my favorite former student, Bow! Bow graduated last term, but comes back to visit me sometimes. When I told her I was leaving in less than 2 months she left the room crying, and then came back in and gave me a huge hug. I don't think that anyone has ever cried when I've told them I'm leaving! (*cough* Mom and Dad!) Gwen made Bow blush by calling her "Kruu Bow" (Teacher Bow) when I told them that she taught me Thai. She is 15 years old. It's so amazing that a 15 year old really helped me learn Thai! Bow told me that she wants to be an English teacher when she grows up.

Enjoy the pictures from my school, village farm, and school wat. As I look at these pictures, I really am reminded of just how special (magical) of a place my school, and life here, truly is J