One Week! Oh how the time has flown!

Greetings!

I hope this post finds everyone well! I miss everyone terribly and, while the time has definitely flown (as indicated with the above title), I am ready to begin the journey home. Though, it is definitely bitter-sweet for me, as I am leaving behind many little ones that I have come to love very much. In this post I want to write a little about each child that I watch everyday. It is most likely a losing battle to try and paint a picture for you just  how amazing these children are and how their individual personalities (haha, both the good and not-so-good aspects) have made me look forward to being with them each and every day, but I will try. Also, I may be repeating myself throughout this post (the downside to not being able to see my older posts while typing a new one is that I cannot see what I have already told you about the kids)...so here is my apology in advance.

The oldest girl, I'm not positive what her nickname was, but I believe it was Sue so we will go with that, is five years old and can be a bit of a handful. She definitely likes attention and will result to making VERY loud noises when she does not get said attention. I usually never have patience for children (or anyone for that matter) who seek attention--it's just always gotten under my skin. But strangely, this has not happened with Sue--in fact, quite the opposite! She loves to perform for Queyn and I, singing the funniest songs, basking in our enthusiastic praise. Her excitement and energy are such a joy to be around. The latest song/dance combo was what I like to call the "Plane-Train" song. She begins by flapping her arms up and down, chanting "Plane, plane, plane" and then switches to "Train, train, train" and making train motions with her arms. This is repeated several times before she switches to some sort of Thai chant and then every once in a while she'll throw in "Bird, bird, bird" with the same flapping motions as the "plane." I get the biggest kick out of these performances and make sure to applaud vigorously, always asking for an encore, naturally! Sue has started adding a "la, la, la" to the end of my name and it's become our funny little greeting. She shouts to me: "Becca-lalala," to which I promptly shout back: "Sue-lalala" (not really her name, but you get the idea).

Then there is Poe Poe. Lately he's been feeling a little neglected now that the babies have come to the daycare center and this has manifested itself in very cute ways as he tries to seek my attention. His favorite song that I have taught him to sing is "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Well, he (along with the rest of the children) struggles with pronunciation, and, since I am also his English teacher while here, I have been trying to get him to sound things out a bit better. Before I started working with him, the ending of the song sounded something like this: "Li is bu a eam!" Now he emphasizes each syllable perfectly and then repeats the line again after he's finished the song, going even slower and making sure that I am listening to his excellent pronunciation (if I am not, he will shout my name until I am focused on him and give him due praise when he is finished). We recently learned the letter "K" and the sound it makes. I was worried that he would have trouble understanding that it sounds like the letter "C," haha, but we have yet to run into trouble. When he needs a little moment of my attention, he likes to shout a variant of this sentence: "Becca! 'C' make sound 'cuh, cuh,' same same 'K' make sound 'kuh, kuh!' And 'H' make sound 'huh', huh' same same 'helicopter and horse and hen!'" These little moments are priceless (especially since I have grown in the virtue of patience--you try teaching a 3 and a half year old Thai child the English alphabet and the sounds each letter makes).

Okay, it's getting late (haha, yes, 8:50 at night is now late for me) and I am pretty tired from today--we took the kids to the park! It was so beautiful! Anyway, I'll continue this post tomorrow--I still have three left! Love and miss y'all!

Some Cute and Funny things

Hello!

Okay, I want to start out with a very cute little story about Fa Fung (pseudonym), the 14 month old little girl that recently came back to the nursery (She made an appearance in one of my earlier posts, I think). She has been a bit fussy and not taking very well to the nursery and all of the commotion that can happen over there. While she does like me and tolerates my holding her, she prefers Queyn (I don't take this personally, as Queyn has know her longer than I have). So, the other day we were about to head over to the Sala to drop the children off to their parents. Well, Queyn had her hands full with her own bags and quickly plopped Fa Fung into my arms. Side note: I had been making her more comfortable with me all day by taking her out into the sandpit and playing peek-a-boo with her (she LOVES peek-a-boo). So, Fa Fung has just realized the change in her carrier. She looks at me and just stares for about 30 seconds (a long time, actually). I don't make a move, haha, I'm terrified that she's about to start screaming. All of a sudden, she slaps both hands over her eyes and peeks out from behind the cracks in her fingers! She wants to play peek-a-boo!! I laughed and she smiled and we had a nice long game of peek-a-boo.

It's too funny--all of the kids here at Wildflower have their own little pronunciations of my name and simply LOVE to yell it at the top of their lungs any time they see me around the property. Meredith, one of the staff here, commented the other day that I have my own fan club, haha, and that is kinda what it feels like. If I'm not behind the closed door of my room, then I am fair game for Mai Mow to climb up on my lap while I type an e-mail or  Poe-Poe to show me his (many) drawings. Poe-Poe also likes to show that he remembers our English lessons, so when I see him he shouts: "Becca! G makes 'guh, guh' sound like 'gun'!" (I did not teach him "gun," the book we are using has a picture of a gun next to the letter G...who puts that kind of stuff for children to learn?!). Haha, people kind of look at me funny when he shouts gun--I give a nervous laugh and quickly tell them he didn't learn it from me! We are having A LOT of difficulty with E and H right now, so I hope to hear those letters shouted at me soon!

Funny thing happened to me the other day. There was an uncharacteristic wind and rain storm here in Chiang Mai. Well, I hang some clothes up to dry earlier that morning (when there was NO wind) and I just kind of draped them over the wire--no clothespins necessary...haha, not funny. Anyway, the wind starts kicking up in the afternoon (scaring Mai Mow, poor thing, every time it blew really hard he would run to me and point outside). Okay, so I get off babysitting, head down to my house to fix the usual sandwich (it really does taste like a little piece of heaven--finding sandwich meat over here is next to impossible) and grab the clothes off the line. The clothes line is on the balcony of the second floor and my clothes have all been pushed together from the wind with only one shirt that had fallen off.

I dust everything off and start to head inside when something in the pond catches my eye. Could that be...no, it couldn't be!! Yes, it is. My capris are caught on a branch in the water near the edge of the pond... I run downstairs, grab the outside broom and gingerly make my way down the pond's steep edge. There are two fern-like plants on either side of me...both with very sharp thorns. I grab hold of the branch above my head and inch down a little further, extending the handle of my broom to get under them and hopefully lift them out. I just get a tenuous grip on the pants when my foot starts to steadily slip and then...the broom breaks!! Well darn it! Stupid broom--it wasn't long enough anyway.

Looking around for a more promising tool, I see a mop on the first floor balcony. I gingerly make my way up the little incline (darn you thorny ferns!) and run for the mop. Long story short, the capris are retrieved after...the branch I am holding onto breaks in half and I fall on my butt and get a few more scratches. Haha, needless to say, I clothespin ALL of my clothes to the line now!

Love all of yall!! Keep me posted on how everything is going!!

For Lack of a Better Title: My morning!

Hello there everyone!

As I brush off the paw-prints of a cat who just walked across my computer, I try to think of what I should write about for you all...

Haha, it's been pretty calm over here--and by calm I mean busy, tiring, frustrating at times, but ultimately...worth it all! I'll explain what I mean by this contradictory statement.

Upon waking up from a rough night sleep (I have the communal daycare cold, the result of being the human tissue to their various snotty noses...I was bound to catch it at some point) and hearing the usual rooster (it sounds like he also has a cold this morning) crow at top pitch, I jump out of bed, intent on getting a quick load of clothes washed and hung before 7 o'clock. Why so early on a Saturday morning when I don't have to report to the daycare until 8:30 (as opposed to the significantly different 8:00)? Well, it is my Saturday morning ritual to skype with my family at precisely 7:15 because that gives them 15 minutes to get home from Way of the Cross, settle down, and all gather around the phone to hear their favorite family member (haha, kidding, of course).

As I let my clothes soak for 25-ish minutes, I grab a mango, a banana, and some peanut butter and settle down for breakfast, I realize that I'm running a bit late--shocker I know because you can ALL attest to how timely I am!! (btw, Mango + banana and peanut butter = heaven breakfast. I don't think I'll be the same at home without my daily mango...) Anyway, the clothes, of course, didn't get hung to dry until 7:05 and as 7:15 rolls around, I grab my iPod and head to what is known as the T.V. room. Here is a picture of my walkway that I have to traverse several times a day:

Sprinting down this path, I am met with 7 or 8 spider webs, even though the other woman who lives in the house with me has already gone down this path and presumably knocked them all down herself. I swear, you'd think the spiders would communicate a bit better--this happens EVERY morning (and even several times during the day)--they need to spread the word that their webs will only last for about 8 hours, max.

Anyway, I get the key to the T.V. room, but it doesn't work--I'm panicking--it's 7:17 at this point. I run around, find another key and the lock clicks! Finally! Okay, so I get in the room only  to realize that I have the wrong headphones!! I need the one with the microphone since it is my ipod!!  Dashing out the room, I run back to my room (darn the spider webs!! how did they have time to weave another web! Why don't they learn!!), grab the headphones, and run back to the T.V. room (hehe, this time I run hunched over, below the branches--I've gotten smart). My mother has texted me by this point, wondering why I haven't answered her skype call. I'm flustered, mad that I lost precious moments talking with my family, and resenting the cold that the kids have given me.

Even in my sour mood, I have a nice talk with my family, getting to talk to Renee, Stephen (haha, very briefly--"hey Bec, how's it going?"), mom, and Sarah (from a distance as she was in the middle of cooking and I was on speaker). After our 45 minute talk (it should have been an hour, but, as I said, for some strange reason I was late) I head over to the daycare, I little down in my spirits. I feel this way after any form of communication with my family--I just miss them so much!

As I near the daycare, I look up to see Mai Mow standing next to his mother. Now, Mai Mow is very attached to his mother and wary of strangers. He has warmed up to me a great deal in the 3 and a half weeks I've been here, calling me "Occa!" and constantly coming up to me to put together these connecting blocks that he pulls apart within the next five seconds... Anyway, as I look up, his mother points to me and he looks up. A huge smile spreads across his face. Smiling back, I wave to him and yell good morning. He waves back and his mother motions him to go to me. He takes off running with his hands in the air, giggling the cutest little giggle. I scoop him up and hug him to me as we enter the daycare.

These are the moments that make it all worthwhile. The ones that lift my spirits right back up, and make me realize just why I am here.

Teaching English...yea

Greetings!

Today is a holiday here in Thailand. I'm not too sure what it is, but I do know I was woken up this morning with music blaring from the local temple (in addition to the obnoxious rooster and some other animal that sounds like it's dying a very slow death), so I'm assuming that it's a religious holiday...

Since I have the day off, I decided to catch up on some much needed chores. Y'all would be so proud! I washed a load of clothes (meaning, I filled a bucket full of soap and water, put my clothes in, let them soak for 30ish minutes, scrubbed them by hand to get the stains out--haha, the stains never truly disappear, though, so it's a good thing I brought OLD clothes, poured the dirty water out, refilled said bucket, swished the clothes around, emptied bucket again, refilled with clean water for a final rinsing, dumped the water out, and then finally hung it all out to dry); I washed my pillow cases and sheets (same process...my arms feel like jello); swept my room; and then took out my trash. All accomplished before 10 o'clock in the morning!! Shocked?!

This afternoon, I will be going with a group of people from Wildflower to visit one of the women here who is in the hospital. This is the kind of day that makes you feel good inside, clean, refreshed :)

Okay, so I had a funny experience teaching three of the women English yesterday and I thought y'all might appreciate it too! It is hard for Thai people to make many of the sounds of the English language. That being said, I was teaching them about opposites, like hot and cold, salty and sweet, and...beautiful and ugly. Well, I asked them to come up with a few of them on their own and one of the women said "beautiful". I then asked them what they thought the opposite of beautiful was. One responded "angry".

I was like, hmmm... I didn't want to dampen the girls enthusiasm by telling her she was blatantly wrong, so I was like: "Oh, okay, you want to do angry instead of beautiful?" She looked at me in confusion. I thought it would be better if I wrote it down to show it wasn't the opposite of beautiful. She said: "No, no--Angry!"

"Yes, this is angry--but it isn't the opposite of beautiful...Does anyone know the opposite of beautiful--look for it in the dictionary if you need." To humor me, they looked it up and then gave me the dictionary.

"Angry!" they said together, pointing to the word. I looked and saw the word "ugly" and it all clicked for me! haha, they were trying to say "ugly," not "angry." I then tried to explain to them the pronunciation of ugly...ten minutes later we were all laughing really hard and not one of them could take the "n" sound out of their pronunciation! I looked like an idiot as I kept exaggerating each sound of the word: "ug! not ung!" but to little success.

After the laughter died down, we started on a different lesson about how you describe the taste of food. I told them you could call a dish you are eating "tasty". So I started to write it on the board and my mind completely went blank on if there was an "e" after the "t". For those of you who don't know, I am the worst speller (haha, this blog has spell check, or else you would have seen for yourself). So as I kinda talk to myself out loud about whether or not tasty has an e, the women started laughing. I looked up and one of them hands me her dictionary, "Here you use!" It was so funny that we all started laughing again. She had to give the English speaking person a Thai/English dictionary to help spell tasty...it was quite a humbling experience for me!!

Haha, I am here to help these women and their children, but they teach me more about myself with each passing day!

I miss you all so much!! Keep me updated on everything that is going on!!

My Birthday and some Lenten thoughts

Hello everyone!

Today I was given a very usual birthday celebration. Poe Poe called out to me from where he was sitting outside in the sand pit. Really quick, here are pictures of the daycare:

 I was in the area off to the left of this picture, the balcony of the daycare where all very important events take place--namely that of who can run around in circles the fastest--quite vital activity, really. Anyway, he shouts to me: "Becca! I make cake for you!"

I look out to see two small mounds made of wet sand with sticks sticking out from the top. "Oh, thank you so much, Poe Poe! They look so good!" is my enthusiastic reply.

"Come!" he unceremoniously commands.

So I step down off the balcony and slip on my sandals, touched that he wants to give me his precious cake. "Is this my birthday cake? Can you sing me Happy Birthday?" Haha, as you all know it is not my birthday, but one of the few songs Poe Poe knows in English is the Happy Birthday song. He is so cute when he sings it, so I get him to every chance that I can.

"Yes!" He waits until I come over and sit next to him and then just stares at me.

"Okay, sing 'Happy Birthday...'" I prompt

At the top of his lungs he chimes in: "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Becca! Happy Birthday Bec-ca." Needles to say, you have to actually know what he is saying to understand the words--haha, it sounds more like "buday"

I blew out the candles and it was quite nice as he gave me the "cheddies" (translation: cherries) and "stawbeddies" (strawberries) that topped the cakes. He then cut it into pieces and spoon fed me my piece.

I am feeling more comfortable and at home here with each passing day--praise God! It has not been an easy transition and I have come to understand, to an extent, why. I had many expectations upon signing up for this volunteer experience. Expectations about how easily I would connect with the people I would be serving, how there would be other volunteers here to do things with, and, since God called me here I wouldn't feel lonely at all--why would I be lonely if I am doing God's will?

Well, I struck out three for three! While I am beginning to get to know the people here and relationships are being built, it has been a slow process--I've never had to work from scratch like this completely on my own--I usually have a friend or family member with me! Haha, I am the only volunteer on site! Even though the people here are very nice and invite me to do things with them, this is also there home and I do not expect them to drop everything to take care of my free time for me. And I am lonely. I know that God is here with me, but it is so different from having a family member always there.

So with all of these thoughts and unfulfilled expectations, I went to mass on the second Sunday of Lent to be greeted with theses words from the priest's homily: "I am taking her into the desert to show her how much I love her. This desert is Lent." Wow. I felt like God was speaking directly to me (he even used "her"!). It all clicked right then and there (it didn't make it easier, but I now understood a bit better). I am not here for myself or to have this fun amazing experience the way I thought I would. I had been so down and missed my family so much when Lent had started that I hadn't even thought of a Lenten penance. Lent is a time to suffer with Christ--I was suffering, but not in the way Christ calls us to suffer--with Him. I was keeping it all bottled in and it was negatively effecting my outlook and my emotions. I was sinking into depression and I needed a life line.

God gave it to me, haha, but of course not in the way that I expected. I wanted a friend to come to Wildflower that would make it less lonely or at best to have the green light to pack for home early (haha)! But would either of these things have made me truly happy? For a time, yes, but I would always have a restlessness deep down inside that was what drove me here in the first place. I am here in the desert with the Lord--I am here to learn to trust Him completely and grow in relationship with Him. My desert is the absence of family and friends, comfort and security. And like any penance, you have to offer it up and walk the way of the cross with the Lord, join your sufferings with His, suffer alongside him and trust in the will of God the Father.

As strange as this may sound, knowing this and putting it into practice has given me such peace and allowed my to truly give of myself to the people here. Is it easy? Heck no! But then again, giving up sweets was never easy either--haha, and I think I'm having more luck with this penance anyway (I always ended up cheating with the sweets...)

Love y'all!

When you got to go, you got to go...or not?

Greetings family and friends!

I hope that everyone is doing well! Today was a good day here at Wildflower, especially with the kids who never cease to make me laugh. First, I have decided to come up with code names for the children I watch (suggestion from a devoted follower of my blog). They will be:

Poe-Poe: the three-year-old boy who wants ever so badly to be a policeman
Sue: the five-year-old girl (this is my go-to name for all girls, sorry it is not in Thai)
Mai Mow: the two-year-old boy (this is his favorite word to say, meaning "No!"
Baby: the 14 month old

Okay, funny story today. I have been trying (in vain!) to learn Thai and communicate with the children. Well, I asked Queun today how to say "bathroom". I needed to go at the moment, and one of the kids asked me where I was going and I wanted to respond in Thai. A bit of background on Mai Mow. When he has to go to the bathroom, there is no coming up to me and asking to go, or even pointing to, the bathroom. He simply drops his pants in the middle of the play area and says (quite forcefully): "pee pee!" And Queun then scrambles to take his hand and guide him to the desired destination. So, I asked Queun how to say "bathroom" and she tells me (it's "Com Nam" if I remember correctly). I repeat it several times. All of a sudden, I hear a small voice repeating it too. I look over as he repeats it again and proceeds to pull off his shorts and nodding his head as if to say: "Bathroom. Yes, I can go now."  Haha, we both laughed really hard at this.

Also amusing is the fact that when one child here is sick, they all think they are sick. Well, Poe-Poe was running a little fever. So, throughout the day each one of them came up to me (several times) and said "Becca, I hot!" Not only do I have to feel their foreheads, but also their back and stomach and make quite a fuss over them before they are satisfied that I sympathize with them adequately.

This is all I have for now!

Happiness=coconut

Hey!

I just wanted everyone to know that I am very happy at this moment. Why, you ask? I am sitting by my computer eating what is called a "burned coconut." It is probably the best thing I have ever eaten. It is exactly what its name is, haha, a coconut that has been burned. I got one of the Vietnamese women to chop off the top for me, I drank the inside (the BEST juice ever!) and now I am eating the inside "meat" that is very easy to spoon out since it has been burned. Not only is this meal delicious, but it is a great source of calcium and magnesium (a bonus for me since I am the prime candidate for osteoporosis, as my mother has told me on several occasions). I will be buying more of these when I go to the fruit market in Chiang Mai this weekend. Also very good that I have discovered while here is something called a Rose Apple--a cross between a plum and an apple (and very good with peanut butter).

haha, funny story about the coconut. I have been wanting to eat it since I bought it this past Sunday, but I have yet to corner one of the Vietnamese women to cut it for me. Well, today I decided to get God in on it. I was like, "Lord, I want to eat this coconut. Today. So, would you be so kind as to make this happen? I'm even willing to share the second one that I bought with the person that cuts it!" A rare thing happened, the Vietnamese women ate supper with us and I saw one of them in the kitchen. "Yay!" I thought, "I can finally eat my coconut!!" I ran back to my room (literally) and grabbed it. She was very sweet and not only did it, but walked me through the process so that I could do it myself for the next one. I remembered my promise to God about sharing and I offered her my second one. She declined (I was secretly excited about this). I offered it to the woman that I work with, she also declined (more relief). Well, the three year old boy in daycare just jumped on my lap and we started talking. He sees me eating my coconut meat and I could tell that he wanted a bite. I had a little less than half left and I tore him off a piece to see if he liked it. Understatement. He loved it. So I offered him the rest and he was so excited--we had a great little bonding moment. After he was done and hoped off my lap, I realized that I was able to share my coconut after all, and I felt so blessed to have had the opportunity. God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?

Okay, cute story about the kids today! The youngest girl, age 14 months, is the CUTEST Thai baby I have ever seen (no, I haven't seen very many, but I'm still pretty sure she'd be the cutest). I play "peekaboo" with her often and she smiles every time. But today, before I could think to do it, she toddled up to me and put both hands over her eyes and smiled as she peeked through the (big) cracks in her fingers. The feeling that came over me as she did this is impossible to describe--it was priceless, confirming for me the reason that I came here, to be here for these children and give them my time and my love. I truly felt that for the first time today--with all of the children in different ways. Today, overall was a blessing.

It didn't seem to start out as such, however! I was feeling very lonely and down, missing my family so much that I felt that same pain of my first night here. The tears threatened to fall all morning and finally fell when...(fun fact about being TALL in a land of SHORT people, everything is just a tad too low for me) I hit my head on the nursery ceiling. I couldn't hold the tears in any more--I was homesick, tired, and in PAIN!! If a plane would have been near, I would have jumped on it that instant to head home. I tried to pray through it, but nothing seemed to help and God seemed so far away. The young woman I was to teach today couldn't make her class, so I had a rare afternoon off. I fixed myself some tea, closed myself in my room, laid on my bed, and proceeded to cry pathetically...

I have a book that Mrs. Robin lent me that I was enjoying, but having trouble connecting with thus far. It is a book that helps you discover who you really are behind all of the walls and false selves that we tend to protect ourselves with. I realized that through this whole process of trying to discover who Rebecca is, I wasn't asking God to journey with me through it. So I asked for his help, put the book away, and picked up a novel I brought for a bit of light reading. After reading for about an hour (and this is VERY rare for me) I was at peace and felt okay with putting the book down. I picked up Mrs. Robin's book again, not really reading it, but just thinking about myself, my past, and what has caused me to build these walls. Gradually, I began to notice things about myself that I had never really paid attention to before. I picked up my journal and suddenly everything started to make more sense--I had a little more incite into myself than I had five minutes ago. And my whole outlook changed--it was amazing the peace that came over me. I was now able to be fully present with the children and enjoy their presence in return. Another answered prayer!

I am learning to trust in God here in Thailand. Even though it is not an easy process, I feel so blessed and thankful for this opportunity. Love all of y'all!! Keep me posted on what's going on in your lives!!
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Thailand Customs!

Greetings!!




It is evening and I am sitting in the main office (well, it's the only office) here at Wildflower. This is not a very common thing, as the office shuts down before 7 o'clock, but Elizabeth and Michael's (they are the founders of Wildflower and live on the property) children have homework to do on the internet, so it's still open--yay, lucky for me! Today, like every day, has been very full. Here are a few pictures of Wildflower property so that you can see where I live:

 My house that I share with Andre and Phu--the stairs on the right are the ones that lead to my room! The above rice field is to the right of my house and my window looks out to it :)The view from the second story balcony overlooking the ponds and the garden

Funny story about the children. They love to play in the sand and are always preparing some kind of meal with the various sand toys. Today was no different. I walked up to the 5 year old girl and the 3 year old boy (who wants to be a policeman) and asked them what they were making for me. Well, the little boy, in full policeman regalia (aka, with a stick in his pants--his "gun"--and a funny hat on his head made from what looks like an old plastic watering can) looks up at me as says: "Pizza!" This answer, while it may seem strange to you, is very common for these children. For some reason, this is their favorite and ONLY answer to the meal question. I'm not sure who told them what pizza is (I know for a fact that he hasn't eaten it before because his favorite ingredient to add to his pizza creation is "strawberry!"), but whoever did had no idea, I'm sure, how deeply it would leave its mark on these children!!

Okay, one more funny story before I brief you on Thai customs. The three year old boy (I'm sorry I don't put their names, but I am not allowed to put their names on the internet--I'll be sure and tell y'all when I get back) came up to me while I was swinging, promptly pointed his "gun" at me, and said, quite forcefully, "BOOM!"

"Ah, why did you shoot me?!" I replied to this assault. And with that same serious face that only he seems to have, he said: "I policeman." Now, he said this in a way that was like, "duh, I'm a policeman and that's what we do." I am officially scared for the Thai people once this little boy becomes a policeman... (not to mention that he also "slit" my throat several times that day with the exact same reply)

Now, Thai customs!! To understand the Thai people, it is very important to understand how they view the body. The head is the most sacred part of their body, and likewise, the feet are considered dirty and very common. So, before entering someone's house, you take off your shoes. It is less about cleanliness (what I thought before coming here) than it is about it being VERY rude to have shoes on indoors. That being said, you do not cross your legs because doing so could cause your foot to "point" at someone, which is considered very rude also. You do not step over people either. Basically, keep your feet on the ground at all times. So, feet: bad, head: good. NEVER touch another person's head. Period.

The Thai people are extremely polite. You never want anyone to lose face, or embarrass themselves in any way--hence the smiling. Thailand is known as the land of smiles. You smile at someone to let them know that everything is okay--"Mai pen rie" (not spelled correctly, of course) a very common statement here that means "no problem"--you use it to say thank you, but also as a way to shrug something off, make it no big deal--let's all just move on and pretend nothing happened.

Well, that's all for now!! I hope everyone is doing well and I miss y'all so much!

What I'm up to :)

Greetings family and friends!!

As I sit here with a cat on my lap in the office of Wildflower home, I try to think of what I should write down for everyone to read. I guess I'll start with what fills my days. I wake up every morning at around 6 o'clock (while I don't set my alarm to wake up this early, that does not stop my eyes from opening...I can't seem to help it), giving me about two hours to get ready for the day and eat breakfast. I usually eat breakfast in my room, eating what I have bought from the store--what the women here eat for breakfast every morning is rice (plain rice that is...and then there is rice for lunch...and then there is rice for dinner...let's just say that by the time I get home I probably won't want rice for quite some time..). Here are a few pics of my room:

It's beginning to feel a bit more like home (hehe, excuse the mess!). Then at 8 it is off to the daycare where I help Nguen watch over the four children (and then later two babies they are trying to transition to daycare come over from the nursery for the rest of the day). We either play games or let them play outside in the sand. At 10 it is snack time! The smallest boy, who is also the hungriest, is always the first to line up. Before the children receive their "Ca nom" (that is how it is pronounced, I have no idea how it's spelled), which means snack or small sweet, they must have their hands in front of them in a prayer position, bow, and say "Cap pu cam" which means thank you. We take the children to lunch is at 11:30 at the Sala (pavillion) where everyone at Wildflower gathers to eat. Haha, it is kind of like a feeding frenzy, in the best possible sense, and if you don't get to the food soon, there may not be any left... Then it is back to the daycare where Nguen baths the children, I dry them off, and they get ready for their two hour nap. We each take a child to the mat, sit next to them and rub their back until they are settled down to sleep, if not actually asleep by this point--they play very hard all morning, so they are READY for this nap (or at least most of them are--the oldest girl at Daycare sometimes thinks she does not need a nap).

Once the children are asleep, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays I teach English to three women at a time for a two hour period (aka, while the children are asleep and Nguen can spare her Daycare helper). Then it is back to the daycare from 3-5. It's a long day, but the children are a joy to be around. I have just started teaching the women this week, and even then I have not been with them by myself yet. But, quick funny story about that! Yesterday, when Meredith and I were teaching, the wind blew one of the windows open and one of the girls tried to help Meredith close it. She was trying to talk in English and show how good she was getting along, so she said to Meredith, pointing to the window: "Shut up!" Well, she meant "shut it." We all started laughing really hard, and she felt so bad (the Thai people, as a rule, are extremely polite and would never tell anyone to shut up, least of all their teacher).

Well, that's all for now!! I miss all of y'all so much and I look forward to hearing from you!! Love y'all

Hello everyone!!

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post again! Since the internet connection does not reach my room, I only have certain times when I can get on, so it limits the amount of time I can blog to all y'all... Dinner is in ten minutes, so I have to be brief! Things have gotten so much better after the jet-lag has worn off a bit! I still miss everyone tremendously, but I can look past it and give myself to helping the women at Wildflower.

So far I have only been working in the nursery with four children ages 2-5. They have EXTREMELY different personalities, but they are a joy to work with. One of the boys, age three, wants to be a policeman very badly. The first morning that I came to the nursery to watch them, it was the cutest thing, he looked up at me (I should say WAY up, he barely reaches past my knee), saluted, and said "I am policeman" with the most serious expression I have ever seen on a three-year-old's face. Throughout the morning he would randomly repeat this process, to which I would salute in return and reply "Yes sir!"

I was going to post some pictures, but I've run out of time--I'll have more time soon!

Love everyone!!

My first night and morning

Greetings friends and family!

I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to start my blog actually in Thailand…But to be fair, it has not been for lack of trying! The amount of time I have access to WiFi is quite limited, as the network does not make it to my room towards the back of Wildflower property. So I am currently typing this as a Microsoft document that I will copy and paste to the blog early tomorrow morning J

Well, I am here safe and sound! I want to share with yall my journal-esque thoughts that I have been jotting down to share with everyone—they begin on the morning that I woke up in a world completely unfamiliar to me, with no one but God to comfort me…

It is early morning and a rooster crows loudly outside my window. To arrive in Thailand at night is not something I would recommend—it was pitch black with unfamiliar, scary noises. I was lonely, tired, and so homesick that I thought I would be sick. As I lay in bed, my stomach in a knot, I felt like I had made the biggest mistake of my life. The hardest thing for me to imagine at this point was staying here for the next six weeks. I could not stop the tears, I couldn’t concentrate on my rosary, all I could do was repeat over and over again a desperate prayer “help me Lord, help me Lord, help me Lord”. I forced it to take over every thought—because to think of home and family meant I’d be racing to the toilet to throw up the little bit I was able to stomach before landing in Chaing Mai—as I tossed and turned on the unfamiliar mattress. There was no peace for me—I’d feel it for a precious moment, but then gnawing homesickness would take over. I’ve never experienced such a feeling before—it was the most intense ache in a place where I could not sooth the pain away. I willed myself to stop crying, but thoughts of my family would surface and how worried they’d be since I hadn’t  been able to contact them. It ate at me from the inside out. The Benadryl had yet to kick in—there were constant nighttime noises—it sounded as if someone put a sound machine outside my window with the “rainforest” mode on full volume. Everything was unfamiliar and I was utterly alone with my God that I couldn’t feel as the darkness and noise pressed down on me. Why hasn’t the medicine kicked in yet?!

Finally, thankfully, the medicine knocked me out at about 1 a.m…for about 2 and a half hours (curse you Benadryl!)…Then all the anxiety and homesickness came back and I did not sleep again that night.

Meredith was to come and check on me at 7, breakfast time at Wildflower. So when 6:30 rolled around I decided to get out of the bed, since it wasn’t doing its job anyway.

As I moved around and began to unpack, peace began to seep into me. It is strange how different the world seems when you do something as simple as putting the items in your suitcase into what will be there home for the next month and a half. It became my room, no longer the strange, unwelcoming space of the nighttime. The sky gradually lightened and as I looked out my window I saw such a beautiful sight. A ricefield extended half a mile to a row of trees with houses interspersed. I’d only seen such a view in movies, and now it was right outside my window...

Hello friends and family!

Yes, this post is entitled "Rebecca in Thailand," and no, I am not in Thailand yet (that would be February 15). However, I wanted to have a little test run to make sure this is working and to also keep everyone up-to-date on how packing is going!! Yay, excited right?! I am new to the world of blogging and it would be quite a let-down to get to Thailand, with everyone SUPER excited to read my first epic post and then...it doesn't work (did you feel the excitement building there and then-WHAM! it went flat...yeah, that's what I don't want to happen, hence the test run).

So, packing...I'm going to post for everyone a little test-run picture to show just how GREAT packing is going:

yea...but for those of you that know me, this should not come as a surprise--simply the fact that I am thinking of packing already should give me at least 10 bonus points. This picture really just says it all, so I'm done here. Talk to everyone soon!