News from the classroom

The past few weeks have been busy with teaching since I'm back to a more regular schedule with no days off for Sports and holidays. Although it's been busy and sometimes completely exhausting I feel like I have gotten into a nice routine with my students and we have been making progress in the classroom (at least I think). My days have been seemingly flying by. At PlaPak Noi I have been given my own english classroom so my 6th and 5th grade girls have been helping me move posters around, set up a special reading corner (made from a mosquito net), and rearrange desks and tables to fit a better classroom layout. At Wang Yang school, I have been working on continuing projects and trying to keep up with some feisty 3rd and 4th graders. Recently I completed a unit on Nature where my students final project was to create a diarama of a Nature scene from old cereal boxes I had been saving, label with the corresponding vocabulary learned and present it to the class. It was great to see my students working together and their excitment. This was also a great project for them because Thais are extremely talented in folding leaves into orlabrite masterpieces used for string tying ceremonies or any event. To make the project a little more interesting I made it into a competition with the winner recieving a new pencil and sticker! Here are the end results from my 6th graders (wang yang school).

In other news, life in PlaPak has been becoming more like home. My house covered in cobwebs, spiders, and geckos has an oddly comforting feel to it now. Spending a weekend afternoon washing and hanging up my clothes by hand is normal. Doing dishes in wash tubs in the dark because our outside light never works. Waiting 30 min for my water to boil so I can a luxury hot water bucket bath all seem like a routine and I don't dwell but enjoy the process of it. Entering my 5th month here I have obtained a level of familiarity with the village and more important a pleasant relaxed relationship with my students. Last minute schedule changes, unannounced events, or miscommunications with my co-teachers all fit inside the box of a normal day now.

Being the only foreign teacher at my school has been a great experience because it forces you to make connections with the teachers and be the minority(which can be painstakingly hard at times when you just want to know what is going on). However being around a foreign language and culture can take its toll and it's always nice when the other volunteers and I can get together to swap stories from our teaching or what crazy thing a thai person made you do. This past weekend we celebrated Volunteer Ben's Birthday with a boat trip down the mekong river, a dinner at the "onion", and some drinks out at The Duck Pub. On top of that we treated ourselves with a night at the SP hotel complete with hot water showers, comfy beds, and english tv (that we didn't get a chance to watch). Little outings like this are much need especially when you are Thai-ed out for the week and want to let loose of a day. As we entered february, I'm looking at another full month of teaching, mid-service conference in the beginning of March, and then a glorious 1 1/2 months off to travel throughout Thailand...Here are some Pictures from the weekend boat ride