A Day in the Life of "Sala"

Laos - Just a river away!
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Okay, I've been a little delinquent in writing this week - sorry!  It's only been a week, but I'm completely loving the laid back atmosphere of Thailand.  I have no idea what happens to time here, but somehow I'm never bored and get very little accomplished :)  In this entry, I'm going to tell you what a typical day is like ...

I've discovered that Sarah has turned into "Say-la" in Thai.  Each day, as the sun streams in, I awake to the sound of roosters.  I usually fall back asleep until 7a or so.  Lee, my roommate for the present, is coming back from the shower as I enter.  I must say a cold shower has never felt so good, as when living in a tropical climate.  After showering, I prepare for school by putting on a nice skirt and shirt.  Jack's mom is busy making breakfast for the family as the rest of the family gets ready.  "Say-la gin Kao" - Sarah, breakfast is ready - or an actual translation - Sarah, go eat rice.  She lays out a large wicker mat on top of the wooden living room floor.  Jack's (cousins?) Toffe, age 5, and Jennie, age 7, are usually the first to sit down.  Toffe is a cute hyperactive boy that lives with the family, and his sister is Jennie, much calmer, very sweet, and a first grader in one of my classes.  Jack's Dad, me, Lee- 20yrs from Austria, and Alex - 30yrs from Spain, also sit down around the breakfast mat.  Most mornings I usually have rice, with some egg and green beans on top, but salted fish, chopped cabbage, etc are also available.  I think in the states Toffe would be given ADD medicine, but here Jack's mom (who has sooo much patience) spoon feeds him breakfast as he tries to dash off, run around the living room, and fight imaginary monsters with a plastic sword.

Jack's House AKA Where I'm Living
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After breakfast, the volunteers (Alex, Lee, and I) lay around the living room on mats for the next hour.  I study Thai,with the help of a language book Travel-to-Teach provided.  Around 850a Alex and I leave for our school, and Lee takes off to a different primary school.  Our school is just a short bike ride away, and by the time we arrive the kids are nicely in their seats (haha, this doesn't last for long ;)  Our 9a class consists of 1st graders.  We are trying to teach them the alphabet.  The class has around 35 kids, and gets a little hot with just a fan.  Well, we take off our shoes and enter the wooden room.  On good days we manage about 3 new letters.  The kids draw pics to go with the letters - this somehow takes the whole class.  By the end, the kids are running around, Alex and I are scrambling to keep their attention with various songs - like "head, shoulders, Knees, and toes."  We usually take a 10 min breather before entering the 2nd class.  I had no idea how tiring it is working with little kids!  Our 2nd grade class is also pretty wild.  We've been working on "he is, she is, and I am."  They usually understand by the end of class, but don't really retain the information well.  We've been trying to think up games to practice what they are learning, including several that deal with introducing themselves and saying "he is/she is" as they throw a balloon to the next person.  Each class Alex and I get several notes from the kids.  I actually had Lee translate some, lol, and they are like love notes - "I love Alex and Sarah, I want to cover them with hugs and kisses, etc."  Of course, with many  Thai misspellings, as Lee points out :)  Our 3rd class usually stays in there seats without running around - small miracles!  They are at a similar English level as grade 2, but they usually pick up the material quicker.  This gives them plenty of time to draw and color whatever we've been working on.  After class on Thursday, one of the girls came up and presented me a gift of a used golf ball!  It was quite cute.

Jack and his homegrown dragon fruit - it is soo tasty!
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After class, Alex and I are usually completely beat.  We join 2-3 other teachers for lunch on the wooden deck that runs the length of the school.  There are usually 2-3 dishes served over rice.  It's quite tasty, besides the occasional chile pepper that we don't see.

At first, I thought - 3 class a day, M-Th?  That's it?! - hahahahahaha!  Anyway, we bike home and usually hang around the house reading/writing/meditating/ whatever else in front of fans.  Lee, Jack, and I have gotten into the habit of then swimming in the afternoon, while Alex has joined Jack's Dad's soccer league.

Bridge into town ...
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I'm not sure if any description will do the swimming pool justice.  Part of the fun, is the hike to get there.  We usually spend 10 minutes weaving thru the rice fields until we arrive at Jack's grandfather's old fishing pond.  The water feels sooo nice and cool.  We splash around the pond, swim, and have fake olympic competitions :)  haha, I - the US usually get 2nd, while Austria seem to win each event.  Poor Jack, Thailand, gets 3rd.

We arrive home around 5p, bum around the house for a little while, and then bike to the market/a restaurant for dinner.  Again, the food is good - but most restaurants serve the same meal - noodles + pork, noodles + cow, noodles + chicken, OR rice + pork, rice + cow, rice + chicken.  After dinner we often head to the river for shakes.  Mats and tables are set up along a boardwalk, so you can have your drink while watching the sunset.  I'm having a good time trying the different flavors - many are tropical fruits (such as the dragon fruit included in the pics).  Most food and drink here is very inexpensive.  Usually 30b for dinner, and 10b for a shake = $1 USA.  If I go to the internet cafe, it is usually 50 cents for hour.  It might be a little basic here, not much a/c, no western toilets, and handwashing of clothes - but it is quite easy to live quite cheaply in a wonderfully relaxed location.  Incidently, that is why it's fairly common (as I've been noticing) to see an older, usually not attractive, caucasian guy with a beautiful thai woman they can afford to take very good care of.

The Mother's Day Ceremony at the Nursery
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As we ride back home, across the wooden bridge (pic), I wonder where the day has gone?  I truly am having some amazing experiences, especially learning about the Thai language and culture.  At home, we lay out on mats, and watch the movie channel before bed.  Usually popular American movies, all in Thai, are being shown.  Even though I just know a few words, movies like X-Men 2 and Oceans' 11 are still fun to watch.  Since our house is very open, the bugs are usually out in full force each evening.  By 10 or so I usually decide to retire to the safety of my bed and the nice pink mosquito net covering the bed like a tent.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ