Birthday bash

After overnight camp and spending time outside at recess, I have had the opportunity to get to know quite a few of the elementary students here. I must say, we have some pretty awesome students!
After school the Thai teachers watch out for the kids and wait with them until their parents pick them up. This particular day was rainy, which means traffic slows to a halt. I was in the staff room around 6 and one of the Thai teachers brought a second grader in. Her mother was stuck in traffic and the teacher needed to go home, and asked if I would watch the girl until her mom got there. Well, this girl, Naomi, is pretty amazing, so of course I agreed. We worked on homework and just talked. Her English is exceptional! Her father is from Holland and her mother is Thai. They own a travel agency and have done very well.
Her mother arrived about 45 minutes later apologizing profusely and brought us pizza, which I never refuse! She had been in China town planning for Naomi's birthday party and the rain kept her in traffic for hours! She then invited us all to the birthday party, which happened to be this past weekend.
Never have I been to a birthday party quite like this! They sent a van to pick me and 3 other teachers up. We got to their house and Naomi greeted us in her princess Belle costume. Their house looks like something you would see on HGTV! It was amazing! There was a courtyard in the middle of the house with a swimming pool, and all of the rooms had sliding glass doors that could open up into the courtyard to make the whole house seem like you were outside! There were beautiful fountains and gardens and decorations from all over the world. If I could have inconspicuously taken pictures, I would have, but there were people everywhere! The party was catered with the most amazing food and they kept feeding us allll day! It was nice to hang out with the students and not have to be teaching. We swam for awhile and then played games. There was a clown and a massive pile of presents. The girls also had a princess fashion show, and we ended the night with ice cream cake! It was quite a day.

"Same Same, but Different"

So sorry it's been so long since my last post. My computer is still broken. I'm hoping to get my keyboard fixed within the month, but in the meantime, I have been using the computers in the staff room and just haven't had time to update.
Well, after many requests, here is an update for you.

Last week we had Thursday and Friday off, so 4 other teachers and I decided to go to Cambodia. It was a little stressful getting everything done for that week and the next so that I could be gone for so long, but in the end it was soooo worth it! I LOVE Cambodia (I even got a T-shirt that says I <3 Cambodia!). The people are so incredibly friendly... not more so than the Thai, but I think it seemed that way because soooo many people in the city, Siem Reap, spoke English. Their favorite phrase is "same same, but different".

We spent our time there visiting the temples of Angkor. It is amazing how many temples there are!! We visited 12 total, which isn't nearly all of them. Steve, the resident history buff, was very informative of all of the history of all the temples and how old they were and why they were built. It's incredible how well they have all held up after all these years! Google Angkor Wat for more information.
We spent out nights in the old market. Bartering is such a rush of adrenaline for me, I love it! It's so much easier there because their English is better and they are much more willing to make a deal. I got some cute T-shirts :) The food was amazing too. The only thing that could have made it been better is if we had more time. I would love to go back one day.

Between all of us, we have a TON of pictures! Here are a few of them.... look for more on facebook in the future.











That's all for now. I'll put more on facebook later.

prayer?

i know this may seem like a silly request, but if you think about it, please pray for my computer. The keyboard is broken. It's not a necessity, but it sure does make work a lot easier. I'll certainly not take it forgranted after this. In the meantime I can use the computers in the staff room thankfully. I just really want mine to work.

Bugs? Yes, Please.

So the other morning one of my students comes in and pulls out a plastic container. From far away it looked like perhaps it was some kind of string or hay or something. She gets it out and shakes it around and says "I brought worms!" Of course I immediately think it's for science class, since they're studying plants/animals and adaptations and such. I proceed to ask, "oh, fun! for science class?" to which she replies, "no silly, for my snack!". At that moment all of the other kids rushed over to oooh and aah and were all grasping at the container, their mouths watering.
Yes, bugs are a favorite snack around here.
I was only able to capture one picture before they all devoured the delicious treats. I was offered one, and politely refused, although had my stomach felt better to begin with, I probably would have tried one. They didn't look so bad... they even had some kind of flavoring on them.
You can get all kinds of bugs here... cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions... I'll have to get a picture next time I'm at a big market or something... I tend to avoid those areas, but I might just go there for you to snap a picture of it!
Next time you're eating a bag of chips, cheeto's, or some other delicious snack, just think... I could have been having these: