Then, even though we were quite tired, some of us ventured deeper into the city to go to a great jazz club. Afterwords we met up with some Thai friends and went to a really cool Karaoke place. We were out until 1:30am, but it was certainly worth it!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Busy Weekend
This weekend was full of activity! The owners of the school have 4 children, all of which at one point or another throughout the year come home and help out at the school. The two oldest are now here full time. Esther is the school administrator (and is so much fun!), and Solomon takes care of pretty much anything that comes up, which is quite often. He does such a great job. Before moving here in late August, Solomon got married to the fabulous Angi. It is so nice to have her here too now. They had a beautiful wedding in Virginia, but of course the people in Thailand cannot be overlooked! So this past Saturday there was another wedding reception for them. Solomon wore a tux and Angi got all decked out in another wedding dress. Solomon's other 2 siblings flew in for the occasion. There were about 600-700 people that came! The former prime minister of Thailand even said he was coming, although something came up at the last minute. But there were quite a few important people there among the rest of us. It turned out to be quite a fun night.
Then, even though we were quite tired, some of us ventured deeper into the city to go to a great jazz club. Afterwords we met up with some Thai friends and went to a really cool Karaoke place. We were out until 1:30am, but it was certainly worth it!
Then, even though we were quite tired, some of us ventured deeper into the city to go to a great jazz club. Afterwords we met up with some Thai friends and went to a really cool Karaoke place. We were out until 1:30am, but it was certainly worth it!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Not much to say....
Sorry for the lack in updating this thing. It just seems so odd to me to blog about my normal every day life. I've gotten into a routine here and it just seems like the most natural thing in the world (aside from the fact that I do miss my family and friends often and wish they could be here!).
I guess I could tell you what a normal day entails, if I haven't already... sorry if I did.
I get up and am at work usually by 7:30. Considering I live at work and just have to walk out my door, it's not so bad, although I am not nor will I ever be a morning person. Every other week I teach a class called CAS for students who are struggling or have failed a subject in previous years. It's every other week because I am so lucky to have a co-teacher in 4th grade, so we get to share a lot of the responsibilities. From 8:30-9:00 the students come in and turn in their homework. We have a problem of the day and then devotions. Devotions can be a struggle at times because these kids have heard a lot, but 98% of our students are Buddhist. You want to make a difference, but don't want to bore them over and over with stuff that they've heard before. This is such an important time and you can be praying for them and that I will do a good job of finding material that captures their attention and their hearts! From 9:00-9:10 all the classes gather outside their classrooms to sing the National Anthem, pray, and hear any announcements. The rest of the day varies depending on what day it is. I teach 2 math classes a day, one to my class and one to my co-teachers class. I also teach and upper English once a day, Geography and Library once a week. Teachers used to have to teach computers, art, and PE, but thankfully there are other teachers here this year that cover those... hopefully they'll stick around for next year! It's nice to have a few planning periods throughout the week to get grading and planning done. My co-teacher teaches Science and the lower level English class. After school I either have duty or tutoring for and hour except for Fridays. Most nights we eat out. It's too difficult and time consuming to cook here, especially in the heat. We usually go to this great little restaurant down the road and I get the same thing every time :) I am still getting to know all of the people on the streets, but it's frustrating not being able to really communicate with them! I really do want to learn Thai so bad, but there isn't enough time in the day!
As it stands now, I'm planning on coming back for another year. That could change, but I think that one year just isn't enough to really get to know the people and the culture. Time has flown by sooo fast! I can't believe that our semester is only a few weeks from being over! The only downside to staying is that I won't have a co-teacher next year. eek! That means one English class with a very wide range of levels, and I'll have to teach Science. It's going to be a lot more time consuming, but at least I'll have math down! :)
I really do love my job. It is very challenging, but also so rewarding. I love my students. They are so much fun and really are good kids. I want to do my best to teach them and help them to excel.
Welp, that's about it. Not super exciting, but it's my life, and I enjoy it.
If you're interested, you can check out the website I made for my class... It has some pictures on it of the kids, more to come when I have some more time to work on it.
https://sites.google.com/site/misslizges/
I guess I could tell you what a normal day entails, if I haven't already... sorry if I did.
I get up and am at work usually by 7:30. Considering I live at work and just have to walk out my door, it's not so bad, although I am not nor will I ever be a morning person. Every other week I teach a class called CAS for students who are struggling or have failed a subject in previous years. It's every other week because I am so lucky to have a co-teacher in 4th grade, so we get to share a lot of the responsibilities. From 8:30-9:00 the students come in and turn in their homework. We have a problem of the day and then devotions. Devotions can be a struggle at times because these kids have heard a lot, but 98% of our students are Buddhist. You want to make a difference, but don't want to bore them over and over with stuff that they've heard before. This is such an important time and you can be praying for them and that I will do a good job of finding material that captures their attention and their hearts! From 9:00-9:10 all the classes gather outside their classrooms to sing the National Anthem, pray, and hear any announcements. The rest of the day varies depending on what day it is. I teach 2 math classes a day, one to my class and one to my co-teachers class. I also teach and upper English once a day, Geography and Library once a week. Teachers used to have to teach computers, art, and PE, but thankfully there are other teachers here this year that cover those... hopefully they'll stick around for next year! It's nice to have a few planning periods throughout the week to get grading and planning done. My co-teacher teaches Science and the lower level English class. After school I either have duty or tutoring for and hour except for Fridays. Most nights we eat out. It's too difficult and time consuming to cook here, especially in the heat. We usually go to this great little restaurant down the road and I get the same thing every time :) I am still getting to know all of the people on the streets, but it's frustrating not being able to really communicate with them! I really do want to learn Thai so bad, but there isn't enough time in the day!
As it stands now, I'm planning on coming back for another year. That could change, but I think that one year just isn't enough to really get to know the people and the culture. Time has flown by sooo fast! I can't believe that our semester is only a few weeks from being over! The only downside to staying is that I won't have a co-teacher next year. eek! That means one English class with a very wide range of levels, and I'll have to teach Science. It's going to be a lot more time consuming, but at least I'll have math down! :)
I really do love my job. It is very challenging, but also so rewarding. I love my students. They are so much fun and really are good kids. I want to do my best to teach them and help them to excel.
Welp, that's about it. Not super exciting, but it's my life, and I enjoy it.
If you're interested, you can check out the website I made for my class... It has some pictures on it of the kids, more to come when I have some more time to work on it.
https://sites.google.com/site/misslizges/
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