This morning we woke the kids up early to get them ready for school. Last year, we had arranged a day at Divine Savior School in New Holstein, and so we wanted to do it again. However, the school in New Holstein closed (we are staying in the old school building), and the students were moved to the other school in Kiel. So this would be a new experience for all the students.
We arrived a little early, and so the teachers took the kids on a tour of the school and then matched them up with buddies for the day.
I saw something interesting on the walls in the hallway. The students must have just finished a project on other religions, so they had a bunch of drawings about Buddhism and the life of the Buddha. Most of it was pretty accurate, but some of it was from other stories about the Buddha that may not have matched Thai Buddhism. I'm not sure. Someone who's actually Buddhist is going to have to tell me if these drawings are correct.
Since it has been very cold here, the heat is still on in most buildings, and that means the air inside is quite dry. Po's lip has been bothering him and he's got a bit of an allergic reaction on his upper lip. He's pretty shy about it and keeps trying to cover it up or rub it. We will talk to his host family about remedies for this problem.
In got matched up with Maggie, her friend from last year. They've been keeping in touch by email since In's last visit, so it was really cool to see their reunion. In seems a lot more confident around her American peers. She is very talkative and social with American kids.
Fah got put in with the seventh grade. I guess they thought she was older since she is taller. The first thing they had to do was take a spelling test. It was very hard and Fah looked a bit overwhelmed. Po, on the other hand, seemed to fit right in and he did very well on the quiz.
The school had "Twin Day", so the students and teachers were trying to dress in similar outfits. It just happened that the two girls sitting with Fah were also wearing sky blue jackets. Fah looked like she was a part of their gang :-).
The eighth graders had an exam so Win, Carrot, Didi and June went downstairs to play with the kindergarten children. The Thai kids seemed really happy to go play with the little kids. It was a nice, low-key way to spend the morning. Certainly less stressful than taking an exam!
Po and Fah worked on an art project. I always like visiting schools in America because I pick up ideas for projects in my own center. I really liked the art project that Po was doing, so I think I will try it in my classes when I return to Thailand.
Dada, In and Japan had a science class. They played with magnets and iron filings. We've seen a big improvement in Japan this year. He is more active and happy. He smiles a lot more. We observed him talking and playing with his buddy very well. Dada was a little slow to warm up to her buddy, but by the end of the day, they seemed like very good friends. In fact, her buddy wrote a very sweet note to Dada. Divine Savior is such a friendly school and the students seemed genuinely excited to have visitors from Thailand. It's a really neat experience for them and I'm very proud to be a part of it. I really hope we can find a host family at Divine Savior next year because I'd love to place a student there. It's a great little school.
After the eighth grade students finished their exam, the older Thai kids joined them. Their teacher asked them, "What's special about you?" Then the students had to draw pictures of the things that made them special. Win drew a pudding cup (probably because I bought 60+ cups of pudding this week), and told his friends that he liked pudding. His buddy, Mitchell, said, "Me too" and told Win to try butterscotch pudding. When Win got home, he rushed to the refrigerator to see if we had butterscotch pudding. We did, and Win at all of it! Hahah!
The younger students seemed to blend very well with their friends at Divine Savior. Pat and I were impressed with their positive attitudes, their confident conversations and their big smiles. They really made an effort to talk to and play with their buddies. I think they will do very well next week when they go to their host families.
After lunch, the students went out to the playground for recess. Win and the eighth grade boys hit it off very well. They all enjoyed sports and we overheard the boys asking Win what sport he'd like to play during the lunch break. Win really likes rugby, so the boys played with the American football. However, Win still used rugby-style to throw the ball.
June, Didi and Carrot wandered off by themselves during the lunch break. When they were in class, we noticed that they weren't making a very good effort to talk with students their own age. Pat and I have been discussing this, and we think that Carrot will be our most likely "homesickness victim" on this trip. She is an active and social girl back in Thailand, but over here we've noticed that she really relies on Didi and June to give her confidence. Once they leave to go with their host families, we think Carrot will likely suffer from some homesickness. Luckily, her host sister seems very sweet and friendly, so I think it won't be long before Carrot is back to normal. We'll have to see whether or not Pat and I have guessed right.
I did notice that Didi really seemed to want to get back on the playground to play with the other students, but she didn't want to leave her friend alone either. It took some encouragement, but the girls eventually managed to convince Carrot to join them on the playground. However, they still didn't go talk to the eighth grade girls. Instead they went over to the 5th and 6th graders to play with them. In and Dada were already playing "four-square" (the game, not the app).
Po, Fah and Japan played kickball with the other kids. I don't think Fah quite understood the rules because she kept trying to run the bases even when it was her team's turn to pitch/catch the ball. Hahah!
After lunch, the kids presented their ice-breakers to the kindergarten to fourth grade students. The American children asked lots of good questions and seemed very interested in learning about Thailand. One of the best parts of this exchange program is watching how both sides benefit from it. The Thai kids gain great experiences and lots of English-speaking skill, and the American kids gain a broader and better understanding of the world.
After the ice-breaker presentation, Win went upstairs and showed his album to his friends. He seemed really proud to show his school and the American boys were very curious about Win's life back home.
At the end of the day, the kids send their good-byes. June, Didi and Carrot asked Win to take a photo of one of the handsome boys in his class, so Win walked up to the boy and said, "Hey, the girls want your picture." Which caused the girls to run off giggling in embarrassment. Hahah!
We hope to visit Divine Savior again next year. It is definitely a highlight of our orientation week.
Back at the old school in New Holstein, I cooked up a Wisconsin specialty: brats. The kids loved them, but they were already pretty full and so they could only eat one or two of them.
After dinner, the girls put on a dance show for us. I'm not exactly sure what their show was about, but it was pretty funny! Hahah!
We took the kids into Manitowoc for dessert. First we tried stopping at the library, but it was too late, so we just parked the van on the street and used the public wifi. Then we went to Beerntsen's Confectionary. It is an old-fashioned chocolate, ice cream, and soda shop. They make all their own chocolate and ice cream and it is very delicious!!
Tonight was our last night as a full group until we meet again for the Chicago field trip. Tomorrow June will go with her host family early in the morning. The rest of the kids will help out at the pancake breakfast the church is holding in the gymnasium of the old school. It'll be a busy day!
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