Student updates

I've been concentrating on coordinating events on the trip and sorting out important details like food, communications & the potluck dinner when the kids will go home with their host families.

Fortunately, Pat has been able to do the blogging to keep people back in Thailand updated on our progress while I handle stuff over here. But I'm slowly catching up. Here's my impressions of the kids so far:

Gam: She's been very mature and confident on this trip. However, when she accidentally ran into Dori Miller at the library, her facade slipped and she nearly burst into tears as she rushed over to give her a hug. It's so great to be reminded of the close bonds these kids can develop with their hosts in such a short time together. Connecting people like the Miller's with Gam and her family is really what this trip is all about, and I'm very proud to be a part of that experience for them. Gam has been a great leader on this trip too. Due to her experience and maturity, the younger girls look to her as a role model. She's been very good about helping them to adapt to things over here.

 Didi: June and Didi have been inseparable this trip. They do everything together. However, when she met her host family at bowling, she did a great job talking to them and playing with them. I think she will become good friends with her host sister too.  She told me they seemed very nice and kind, so I think she is looking forward to staying with them. In our orientation lessons, Didi told me that some of the American food she's been eating is not as tasty or flavorful as Thai food. I told her, "Welcome to America". Yes, the food is different, but we still have to try everything we are served. We never know if something will be good or bad until we try it. For example, when she tried the cheese curds, she really liked them. She also liked Taco Bell too.

 In: She's been very quiet so far on this trip. I don't think she's said more than five words to me, and I've noticed that she doesn't seem very social with the other students. Normally, I would take this as a sign of homesickness, but I think it's more about In's observant nature. She just likes to watch the other children talking and playing rather than participating. However, when the Stier's showed up for bowling night, In walked right up to Sophia and introduced herself. I was very proud of her, because I saw she was making a real effort to have a conversation with her new host sister. It was great to see her doing such a good job!

 Japan: He has been suffering from homesickness a little bit. The other day I saw him eating breakfast in the kitchen by himself, and self-isolation is usually a sign of homesickness. Part of the problem has been his phone. He has a sim card that should work in America, but it doesn't and so he's frustrated by that. The other students know that since we don't have internet at the house, they cannot contact home except when we go to the library, but Japan knows that he could contact him if his phone worked, and that's causing him to focus on something he lacks & things he's missing back home rather than focusing on the here & now like the other students are doing. I completely understand his parents' desire to keep in touch with their son, however this is one of those times when what's best for the parents may not be what's best for the child. In fact, the other day when I found Japan in the library playing games & chatting with people back home instead of doing his blog, I took his phone away. He didn't like it at first, but there was a noticeable improvement in his attitude after that. Once he knew that he couldn't contact home, he immediately found other things to do and started to participate with the other children. For example, he and the other boys rebuilt their snowman in the front yard. He was quite happy and proud of his work. It was very good to see him smiling again.

June: She's been doing very well so far on this trip. Having already experienced living in America before, she is more confident and sure of herself this time around.  But she doesn't know everything. For example, I pulled a "Tom Sawyer" trick on her yesterday and convinced her than scraping ice off the windshield of the van was "fun". Hahah! I've noticed a lot more smiling from June this time around, and when I joke with her, she'll laugh and say something fun back to me. I think she's matured a lot since her last trip. Every morning Gam, Didi, and June wake up before the sun comes up, take showers, and then get bundled up to go for a walk. When I ask them what they are doing, they just shrug and say, "walk around." I think they really enjoy the snow and like to talk about their experiences while they walk around in the park.

 May: I've noticed a big change in May since her last trip to America. She seems more confident and capable of being on her own. She also enjoys the trips to the library, because it means a chance to play on Facebook. Like Gam and June, her previous experiences have given her more confidence. I remember the first time she went with Jan to stay with her host family, they cried all day. This time, however, May knows her host family already, so she's really looking forward to staying with them. On her first trip, she didn't want the orientation camp to end and she was very worried about meeting her host family, but this time, she keeps telling me that she can't wait to go back to Hilbert so she can see all her friends again. Her host sister couldn't make it to bowling night, but she did join us for dinner at Mr. Lucky's.  May was very happy to see her, and they gave each other a big hug.

 Sai: Although this is technically Sai's first trip, I think the fact that her brother came over her and had such a great time has given her more confidence than her friends. She knows what to expect and she knows it'll be OK, so she's been very fearless on this trip. Pat and I tease her a lot, and she's always joking around with her friends, so she's always on the giving or recieving end of a joke. Most of the kidding revolves around boys, and Sai can't seem to make up her mind who is more handsome: Korean or American boys. I think she likes both! When I took a picture of Jinny at the church's carnival, it looked like the American boy was kneeling down to propose to Jinny. When I showed it to Bangpan and Sai, they both said, "No! He's mine!" Haha!

 Bangpan: The three amigas on this trip are Bangpan, Jinny, and Sai. Their obsession with Korean pop culture has made them inseparable friends. In fact, Pat told me they had already started using the Thai pronouns for very close friends with each other. Bangpan always has a smile on her face, and I often hear her laughter around the house. On bowling night, she was very excited to meet the Larson's exchange student from Korea. Jinny, Sai, and Bangpan could not stop talking about how he was so handsome and kind. When she found out he could play CNBlue songs on his guitar, she just melted. Of course, Pat and I have been teasing her endlessly about her infatuation, but she doesn't seem detered by that at all. Hahah!

 Dada: I think Dada has been amazed and shocked by everything she sees the older kids doing. She keeps coming up to Pat to report the "strange" behavior of her friends. Everything is so weird to her, and she wants to tell us all about it. Hahah! Of course, she thinks Pat and I are weird too. We're newlyweds after all, and so we hold hands and hug a lot, and every time we do, Dada looks at us like we've lost our minds and starts to giggle. She's also been a very good friend to In on this trip, and I often see them playing together. Dada hasn't been very adventurous about food, though. So sometimes when we go to a restaurant, she doesn't want to try something new on the menu because she hasn't heard of it before. For example, when we went to Mr. Lucky's they had mini corn dogs on their kids' menu. I recommended to Dada that she order it, but she wrinkled her nose and said, "I don't like corn". Of course, corn dogs have nothing to do with corn, it's just a name, and every kid loves corn dogs, so I convinced her to try them and of course, she loved them!

 Gene: He's been a little quiet on this trip around the adults, but I think that's just because he's too cool for us, hahah! I see he struggles a bit with having fun while trying not to look like he's having too much fun. If he could relax and stop worrying about being cool, he'd probably enjoy himself a lot more, but he's a teenager, so I don't think that's possible. Haha! Gene's been very good on this trip and he's shown a lot of maturity. He follows instructions very well and he's always willing to help out with the chores. He did a good job introducing himself to the Larson family and they told me he seemed like a great kid.

 Jinny: When Jinny met my parents, my Dad asked her why her gift had elephants on it, and Jinny correctly explained the meaning of elephants to Thai people for my Dad. I was very proud to see her speak so clearly and confidently in English. Of course, like Bangpan and Sai, she's very curious about the American and Korean boys she's met so far on the trip. When we were at bowling night with the host families, she tried to secretly take a picture of the Larson's Korean boy, but she forgot to shut off the flash! Hahah! When the flash went off, he knew she took a picture of him and she was so embarassed that she said, "I give up! I can't talk to him again!" Hahah!

Pokpong: He's been terrific on this trip. Even though he's not from the same school the other students, he's been socializing with them very well. He did a fantastic job introducing himself to the Stier family and talking with Lawton Stier while they bowled. He's also been a good big brother to the younger students. He helped Japan with his bags during the flight and he's been taking care of In too. When the boys were making a snowman, Pokpong figured out that he could use hot water as "glue" to stick the snowman together. That's very smart considering it's his first experience with snow!