Thailand 2006

Week 6.1 - Valentine's Day

So it's Saturday again, and I have been trying to write this post since Tuesday.  Speaking of Tuesday... Happy Valentine's Day.  We had a special Valentine's Day.  We had the day off and we were headed out in the morning to shop for some necessities.  I met P'Glome and he asked me if we wanted to go to a wedding.  I asked when, and he said, "5 minutes."  An Ethiopian couple has been studying with P'Glome about marriage and Christianity. They had been writing and talking to each other for the past 2 years.  He had fled to the US from Ethiopia because he is a Christian and the Muslims there where his is from were treating him badly.  She is a flight attendant and they both happened to be in Bangkok together. They got married on Tuesday and they have 2 weeks in Bangkok together before he has to go back to the US and she to Ethiopia.

A couple of quick notes.  I bought a better/safer bike.  It is great to be able to get around Bangkok faster.  We also got hot water for our apartment.  We recently moved from living in classrooms on the 2nd floor to a 2 room apartment on the 4th floor.  There is no central hot water for the church building, so for the last 6 weeks we have been taking cold showers.  BUT!  We now got a small instant hot water heater for the shower up there.  I never knew how great a hot shower could feel.

Tomorrow we are throwing a Valentine's themed party for our students.  These parties help us get to know  each others students.  It also lets the Thai Christians get to know our students.  We'll play games and have food and we are planning on teaching them to sing "The Greatest Command."

Week 5.1

Hi all.  Sorry for not posting this past week.  WE ARE BUSY!  And that is a good thing.  We have 2 good weeks of classes behind us and we are looking forward to so much more.  We're all slowly getting into a comfortable pace that keeps us busy but also lets us have enough time off to remember that. you. do. not. have. to. speak. like. this. to. every. one.  All of our students seem to be excited about studying with us, and many seem as excited about the material that we are studying.

The last of the Chinese Americans leave tomorrow (Sunday).  It was fun and encouraging having them here.  It was kinda fun being a tour guide for them... you know, with the LOADS of experience and the many, many years I have spent here.

This last week I bought a bike... and this last week I returned a bike.  I figured that walking around Bangkok was great, but it just took too long to get anywhere, so a bike would be perfect.  I asked around and the people here said that I should go to BIG C (a Wal-mart type store).  I bought the 3rd most expensive bike they had... about 3000 Baht ($75).  But after riding it for 3 days, the front wheel was out of alignment, the front brake barely worked, and a spoke broke.  I found out that the spoke broke when I took it to a bike shop for the first 2 problems.  The shop owner confirmed my suspicion... the bike was junk to begin with.  So, in a tuk-tuk, I took the bike back to BIC C and luckily they gave me my money back.  Now I've only to save up for another couple of months to afford a bike that I can use.                By the way, as scary as Bangkok traffic is, it sure is a lot of fun to ride around in the middle of.

Week 4.2

It is the beginning of the end of a very busy week.  It is Saturday and each of us (Julie, Dalissa, and myself) have every single available reading time occupied by students for today.  I am taking a short 30 minute break because I needed to get this entry in here.  We've done a quick count and Julie is winning with 38 students, Dalissa is next with 34, and I am bringing up the rear with 31... (I will say that I have taken most of the advanced students, and they typically study one-on-one with me, where as most of the beginner classes meet in groups of up to 5 students.)  So, with over 100 students and more trickling in daily, we have had a great first week teaching.

Some Americans have invaded Bangkok.  Actually they are Chinese Americans... that is, they are Americans from Freed, Harding, and Lipscomb who are teaching English at some universities in China.  Kyle Hooper (son of Mark Hooper) and Brandon Edwards (grandson of Earl Edwards) were the first to show up.  They had just bussed their way from China to Vietnam to Cambodia and are now spending 10 days or so with us in Bangkok.  Four others, Travis, Danielle, Tara, and Andrea also found their way to the building here last night.  This group is only going to be here for a couple of days.  They are all on a semester break and have been teaching in China since August.  It's an encouragement to have them here.