This is a video I just found while looking through my India pictures. The day I got back from India I was exhausted and came home to sleep, but there was water dripping from the faucet in the bathroom. I touch the faucet to see if I could fix the leak or somehow plug it, and it came off in my hand. Here is what happened next....
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pie in the face.... for a good cause
The 6th grade class here at GES has been having various fundraisers throughout the year. There is a guy who used to teach here, Mr. Matt, who has since moved to Cambodia and opened an orphanage. Jenelle, the 6th grade teacher, is going there for Christmas, so her class is raising money to send to the orphanage. It's been really neat to see the ideas they come up with for fundraisers. They've had movie days, a haunted house, pizza sales at lunch, and more that I can't remember. But the most creative so far has been a ticket sale to pie your teacher in the face. On Friday all of the students that bought tickets got the chance to pie us in the face, although there's not really pie here, it was more like a plate of homemade whipped cream. What was even worse was that it was warm, so it was like being hit in the face with thick warm sour milk. It was kind've gross, but the kids had a great time! I was one of the lucky ones that got away with only 3, but other teachers sold out at 25... they were troopers!
Here are pictures from the momentous afternoon:
Here are pictures from the momentous afternoon:
Monday, November 8, 2010
India anyone??
Okay, the much awaited blog post (this is for you mom).
I find it difficult not only to find time to write, but to find things to write that are worth writing. Life in Thailand isn't much different from life in America. I wake up, go to school, work a little after school, eat dinner, go to sleep, and do it all over again. It's pretty cool doing it on the other side of the world, but life goes on like normal. There's not much of interest to write.
BUT since I did just get back from India, I guess I can fill you in on that. Our semester ended October 15 and we had the last 2 weeks off, so I went to India with 2 other teachers. We stayed at Asha Mission . This was my 4th time back to India and my 3rd time to Asha Mission. If you go back to my posts from last year you will see some from there. I am always excited whenever I get a chance to go back and see the kids. There are 32 now.. 4 more boys just came a few months ago from the leper colony. We just did the usual, get them up at 5am, have prayer time, get them showered, get dressed for school, eat breakfast, and head to the bus stop. Then devotions, breakfast, and teaching the 4 new boys that stay at home. 12:00 we go pick the kids up from the bus stop,change clothes, play, eat, afternoon prayer time, homework, play, night prayer time, dinner, read the Bible, and go to bed (usually on the roof!). I was only there for a week. It was sooo short, especially when I have no idea when I'll be able to go back, but I'll take what I can get. They have all grown and changed so much in the past 10 months. We celebrated birthdays, did crafts for homework, and bought new flip flops. My Hindi improved a ton, but unfortunately now that I'm back in Thailand all I can think of is Hindi. Oh my.
After 1 week at the orphanage my friends left to travel and see the sights and I flew to the NE part of India to the state of Assam. My dearest friends Amanda and Jessica were there volunteering in a hospital that they will both more than likely work at in their futures. Amanda and Jess were 2 of the 4 girls I was with last year. They are incredible and such an encouragement. I only saw Amanda for a few hours in the airport because she was returning home after being gone for 10 months. Jessica and I got to spend an amazing week together catching up and encouraging one another and just relaxing in the amazing countryside of India. We hung out with the student nurses and visited patients. We even went on rounds a few times!
The time passed much too soon, and it was time to come back to Thailand. India will always have a special place in my heart, but coming back to Thailand was like coming home :) I know without a doubt I am where I am supposed to be.
I only have a few pictures, because it's difficult for me to take pictures and be there playing at the same time, so playing won out most of the time, but here is what I have:
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Here are some pictures of the girls who I spent 3 months with last year... some of the most amazing girls I've ever met! I wish I had a picture from this past trip, but these will have to do.
Here are the 2 pictures I have from Assam. It really is a beautiful place, full of tea farms and rice fields!
Now we are in high gear for Christmas. It might seem early, but we only have 27 school days before Christmas break, and there is soooo much to do! The Christmas program is a HUGE deal here, and each class has several performances to do, on top of decorations and costumes and parties. There's no Thanksgiving holiday here, so there's really no reason to not listen to Christmas music. I've been in full swing for a week now, and plan on making snowflakes to hang throughout our apartment and make wassail and Christmas cookies and I've got a line up of Christmas movies we are going to watch :) I'm sooo ready for Christmas!
I find it difficult not only to find time to write, but to find things to write that are worth writing. Life in Thailand isn't much different from life in America. I wake up, go to school, work a little after school, eat dinner, go to sleep, and do it all over again. It's pretty cool doing it on the other side of the world, but life goes on like normal. There's not much of interest to write.
BUT since I did just get back from India, I guess I can fill you in on that. Our semester ended October 15 and we had the last 2 weeks off, so I went to India with 2 other teachers. We stayed at Asha Mission . This was my 4th time back to India and my 3rd time to Asha Mission. If you go back to my posts from last year you will see some from there. I am always excited whenever I get a chance to go back and see the kids. There are 32 now.. 4 more boys just came a few months ago from the leper colony. We just did the usual, get them up at 5am, have prayer time, get them showered, get dressed for school, eat breakfast, and head to the bus stop. Then devotions, breakfast, and teaching the 4 new boys that stay at home. 12:00 we go pick the kids up from the bus stop,change clothes, play, eat, afternoon prayer time, homework, play, night prayer time, dinner, read the Bible, and go to bed (usually on the roof!). I was only there for a week. It was sooo short, especially when I have no idea when I'll be able to go back, but I'll take what I can get. They have all grown and changed so much in the past 10 months. We celebrated birthdays, did crafts for homework, and bought new flip flops. My Hindi improved a ton, but unfortunately now that I'm back in Thailand all I can think of is Hindi. Oh my.
After 1 week at the orphanage my friends left to travel and see the sights and I flew to the NE part of India to the state of Assam. My dearest friends Amanda and Jessica were there volunteering in a hospital that they will both more than likely work at in their futures. Amanda and Jess were 2 of the 4 girls I was with last year. They are incredible and such an encouragement. I only saw Amanda for a few hours in the airport because she was returning home after being gone for 10 months. Jessica and I got to spend an amazing week together catching up and encouraging one another and just relaxing in the amazing countryside of India. We hung out with the student nurses and visited patients. We even went on rounds a few times!
The time passed much too soon, and it was time to come back to Thailand. India will always have a special place in my heart, but coming back to Thailand was like coming home :) I know without a doubt I am where I am supposed to be.
I only have a few pictures, because it's difficult for me to take pictures and be there playing at the same time, so playing won out most of the time, but here is what I have:
.JPG)
.JPG)
Here are some pictures of the girls who I spent 3 months with last year... some of the most amazing girls I've ever met! I wish I had a picture from this past trip, but these will have to do.
Here are the 2 pictures I have from Assam. It really is a beautiful place, full of tea farms and rice fields!
Now we are in high gear for Christmas. It might seem early, but we only have 27 school days before Christmas break, and there is soooo much to do! The Christmas program is a HUGE deal here, and each class has several performances to do, on top of decorations and costumes and parties. There's no Thanksgiving holiday here, so there's really no reason to not listen to Christmas music. I've been in full swing for a week now, and plan on making snowflakes to hang throughout our apartment and make wassail and Christmas cookies and I've got a line up of Christmas movies we are going to watch :) I'm sooo ready for Christmas!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
India
It has been a whirlwind of a week. Between getting report cards done, writing finals, teaching, and getting ready for India, there has been little time for rest. But it will be SOOOO worth it. I am so excited and so blessed to have the opportunity to go back. I never know when it will be, but I always leave feeling that I will be back one day. This one day happens to be exactly a year from my arrival there in 2009... how awesome is that??
Please pray that God would sustain us. It can be a very tiring experience, but I hope through the hand of the Lord I will be able to give it my all and still come back feeling somewhat rested and ready for next semester.
I feel so inadequate. There are some amazing women that have gone with me and now before me, and they are big shoes to fill! Pray that the children would grow and be discipled through our time there and that they would know they are loved, not only by me, but more importantly by our heavenly father. Pray for energy and rest and just a sweet time with these children that I love!
I won't have internet, so this will be my last post until I get back in 2 weeks.
Thanks for the prayers and support!
Please pray that God would sustain us. It can be a very tiring experience, but I hope through the hand of the Lord I will be able to give it my all and still come back feeling somewhat rested and ready for next semester.
I feel so inadequate. There are some amazing women that have gone with me and now before me, and they are big shoes to fill! Pray that the children would grow and be discipled through our time there and that they would know they are loved, not only by me, but more importantly by our heavenly father. Pray for energy and rest and just a sweet time with these children that I love!
I won't have internet, so this will be my last post until I get back in 2 weeks.
Thanks for the prayers and support!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A collage of Pictures
Sorry... I'm really bad at keeping this updated. Instead of writing a bunch of words about what I've been up to, here are some pictures:
GES had a talent show a few weekends ago:
The 2nd and 4th grade went on a field trip to Safari World, a small animal theme park (reminded me of my Disney Days... on a much smaller scale of course!):
A fun night out to the Bangkok Spanish club's Venetian Mask party:
More to come. We have one more week left of the first semester of school. I've been here 4 1/2 months! I can't believe how quickly it's gone by (and how behind I am in so many of my classes!!). Tomorrow is a workday and we will spend it putting in grades, getting report cards ready, and planning for next semester. Then I'm off to India for 2 weeks!! I'm super excited, although there is lots to do! Don't expect an update from me while I'm there, because more than likely I won't have access to internet, but I will post pictures and stories as soon as I get back :)
GES had a talent show a few weekends ago:
The 2nd and 4th grade went on a field trip to Safari World, a small animal theme park (reminded me of my Disney Days... on a much smaller scale of course!):
A fun night out to the Bangkok Spanish club's Venetian Mask party:
More to come. We have one more week left of the first semester of school. I've been here 4 1/2 months! I can't believe how quickly it's gone by (and how behind I am in so many of my classes!!). Tomorrow is a workday and we will spend it putting in grades, getting report cards ready, and planning for next semester. Then I'm off to India for 2 weeks!! I'm super excited, although there is lots to do! Don't expect an update from me while I'm there, because more than likely I won't have access to internet, but I will post pictures and stories as soon as I get back :)
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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