First Monday at School

On Monday I got a ride into Manitowoc from my Mom. She dropped me off at Bethany Lutheran to talk with the principal there and hopefully get some pictures or videos of the kids in their classroom. I hope to be able to visit all the kids in school, but it all depends on whether or not I can get a ride and if the school is OK with my visit.

Sea, James (Jetnipit) and Gam were all attending Bethany Lutheran. Unlike some of the other Gird, Sky, James (Jirayu) and Tong, they did not have a holiday this week. Jet, Jump, May and Jan were also in school, but I couldn't get rides to their schools this week, so I'll have to check in on them another time. When I got to Bethany, I talked with their principal and asked permission to take a few photos. Mr. Wade was happy to oblige and I was grateful for the hospitality.

I took a few pictures of Sea and James in their math class. I was very pleased to see how well they were doing. James was in the back of the class laughing and joking with his new friends, and Sea was up in the front of the class getting some help from one of the other students. They both seemed to fit in very well, and they looked comfortable and happy.
The other students were very friendly and kind to both Sea and James. I could tell that the boys were going to have a great time at Bethany Lutheran.

Next I checked on Gam while she was in her handwriting class. I'm not sure if they teach cursive writing at Daroonpat (Gam's school in Thailand), but Gam seemed to know what to do immediately and her teacher also took some time to explain things to her. She didn't have any problem understanding him or listening to his instructions, so I think she'll be fine. Later on, I took some pictures of her in Science class. She was sharing a book with another girl, and she was listening intently to her teacher. I could see that she was enjoying herself, so I wasn't worried about her.

I also had to chuckle to myself because Gam was still wearing the brown sweater that my Mom had given to her. Gam wore that sweater for almost a week straight during our orientation camp, and so I thought it was really cute to see her still wearing it at school. My Mom had given it to her to keep warm, and she must have liked it because she never took it off! It made my Mom very happy to know that Gam liked her gift so much!

Afterwards, I went over to Goodwill to buy some secondhand books. I bought a huge stack of books for only $50!! In Thailand, that same stack of books would have cost me almost $400! Books are so much cheaper here, but it's still difficult to find good books in the secondhand stores. Fortunately I got lucky and found some really nice ones, including a nearly new copy of "Where the Wild Things Are" for only $2.00! Wow!

I went home feeling very good about what I had seen at Bethany Lutheran. It looks like a very nice school with good teachers, and my students looked happy and comfortable there. Since then I've chatted with them a little bit on MSN and it's amazing how easily they've fitted themselves in to the school. Sea and James have both made some good friends, and Gam has surprisingly started to enjoy playing American football. I've also gotten reports from Jump's principal that he's doing well up in Shawano, and Jet has told me that his teacher put him on the school's Math Challenge team and he's also made it onto one of the school's basketball teams. So the kids have been very busy this week!

I'm also very pleased with the way the blogs have been updated by (most of) the students. When the kids first started their blogs, their posts were only a few lines long and they had very little to say about themselves. However, the blogs have gradually increased in length until now some of the kids are writing blogs that are quite long! It's really awesome to read about their experiences and all the fun things they are doing.

Wow. There are times when I can't believe what's happening over here. All the problems and difficulties organizing this trip were totally worth it. This is something these kids (both Thai and American) will remember for the rest of their lives and it's been a real honor to be part of it. I'm very proud of the way the kids have behaved themselves and I'm glad I could help make this experience possible for them. It's been great.