Back in Ban Chang

The trip to Hong Kong to see my family was wonderful. (The last time i was in Hong Kong was when we were stranded there during 9/11) I now have more beautiful memories and enjoyed seeing new, different and even more magnificent sights, an especially stunning one tucked away in a peaceful respite of the bustling city was HK Gardens with a misty view of the skyscrapers in the distance.

Back at school it was time for our annual upper class musical. This year it was “HAIRSPRAY” and the students has so much fun learning the songs and ’50-60’s style dancing, circa Dick Clarks American Bandstand. Even the fact that the lights went out on the closing night performance didn’t dampen their amazing spirits.

 In Thailand the schools love competitions, costumes and parades, And of course our school participated and won 2nd place overall out of 23 schools. Here are a few photos from the Kindergarten Sports Day  parade. Hot, hot, and the parade went down the street with cars coming and going on the other side while onlookers hug out of second story windows. Then the competition games began while we melted!

 After that it was time for me to do another REPS School assembly show with the little kids. Since it is the rainy season in Thailand and the students were learning the English names for colors we learned the song, “It’s a Rainbow.” Happily we colored rainbows for headbands, then we sang...

We have had lots of rain but so far, thankfully, no floods like last year.

Behind every rain storm there is a shining rainbow somewhere...enjoy!

Rain, Rainbows, Sunshine and Blessings from Thailand.

Birthday and Mothers Day

As an August Leo I became another year older in the Chinese year of the Dragon, which is also my sign. This year I happily celebrated my auspicious 6th round... a round is calculated as one every 12 years, so that makes me 72! The first celebration was in Hong Kong with daughter Carrie, John and grandsons Aidan and Taylor who turn 8 and 5 in September. Birthday parties are great fun, especially eating the yummy cake with family!

When I returned to teaching school in Thailand we celebrated Mothers Day, which is also the Queen’s Birthday, August 12th. The whole school participated in the all day program with each grade doing some kind of performance number which the parents enjoyed. I am not sure which part is the kids favourite. I wonder if it’s the singing and dancing or the elaborate costumes?

 

 

 Then I enjoyed yet another happy birthday dinner at the beach with my Thai friends on my real birthday. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live and work in Thailand where they value teachers and honour the elders.

 As Thailand celebrated and honoured their mothers, I now send my love to all mothers every where, to those who are with us and to those who have departed this life. Mothers truly are Gods gift as they give so much love, kindness, understanding and compassion. Thanks mom for birthing me and sacrificing so much for your family. I was truly blessed to have you for my mother. 
I know you can hear me as I say,   "I Love You."

Ten Thousand Buddhas

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never  decreases by being shared.   Buddha

Another Hong Kong Adventure...   

We were off to sightsee and a not to be missed on the list was the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. What we did not know was that one could only get to the temples at the top of the hill by climbing the many shallow aged steps. We haphazardly counted them and there were over 400 on the way down which was easier than going uphill. That meant we climbed up and down lots of varied and uneven steps in blistering Hong Kong heat and humidity... YES it was worth it and we stopped for a nice vegetarian lunch at the top. We even tried to count the golden Buddhas but that was impossible as they were every where we looked.

 My favourite young Buddha with a rose bud and then a "posing" beautiful Buddha.
Taylor then tried his hands at posing too!
Almost to the top...

Thank goodness we made it to the top and had fun posing with the multi-armed Goddess. Hugs and Blessings from Thailand

Happy Hong Kong

With a week off the end of July for term break, I flew to Hong Kong to visit my grandsons and daughter as they had moved from Shanghai, China to Hong Kong on July 1st. Carrie met me at the airport and we took the high speed train into the city where they are living in a fantastic high rise that overlooks the HK Harbor. The next day we spent at a “locals” beach and enjoyed the warm sun, cool water and pleasant breezes, a nice contrast to the busy metropolis that the island is!

Then we were off to HK Disney World on the special Disney express subway train. The biggest difference I noticed upon entering the park was that all the people were holding up umbrellas, not for rain, but to keep the rays of the sun away from their skin.

A super special moment was when out of thousands of theme park visitors, Aidan and Taylor were chosen to be Cinderella’s princes on her once a day merry-go-round carousel ride. Talk about a dream date!




The rest of the rides were fun and exciting, especially Space Mountain. Of course “blue cotton candy” was a must for dessert after corn dogs on a stick and lemon aid... just like home! Then after waiting almost an hour, Taylor got an autograph from his favourite Toy Story character "Woody."

Exhausted but exhilarated and thankful to have spent a marvellous day with my family. I am so blessed!

Temple Tour

 On Sunday July 8th several Thai lady friends organized a day of visiting Temples and markets. When they invited me, I asked if the new teacher from Milwaukee, Wisconsin could come along, as she had only been in Thailand for a few weeks and had not seen much. It would also mean there would be someone for me to talk with. The ladies speak Thai and only a few words in English. What a day... we left Ban Chang at 6am and returned at 6pm with many stops along the way. Of course being in Thailand we stopped first at 7/11 (there is virtually one every few miles). Fortified with fresh coffee and "knomes" (Thai sweets) we got to the first temple around 9am.  So here we are, two blonde Wisconsin gals standing in front of Wat Luang Poe Sotheron. This famous Wat is a light grayish color with gold outlining the many curvy traditional peaks. We checked our shoes and then bought flowers outside to take with us into the wat. Inside sat many golden Buddha statues and monks that had small containers of "take-away" holy water for a small donation.

 I marveled at the intricate inlaid marble floors that felt cool on our bare feet. Every kind of animal was depicted in great detail, tigers, dolphins, snakes, dragons, fish of all sorts and one that seemed to swim right to me, a very large smiling sea turtle.

 Next we went to a food market, and continued our day of eating every couple of hours ... Thai style! Several more temples and just as we were getting tired, we got to my favorite temple of the day... something about save the best for last. Wat Koh Loy sits at the top of a small mountain and we had to climb hundreds of steps to reach it. The welcome breeze and the spectacular view of the ocean eased the pain of the trek.  The golden Buddha faces the ocean and in front of the statue is the big Buddha footprint with marigold flowers laid upon it. I donated Thai baht to help the monks maintain the Wat and received a certificate and an amulet of the blind Buddha. I offered a prayer of thanks for my eye sight and for all the magnificent beauty I had seen that day.

Smiling Buddha says; your smile can change the world, don't let the world change your smile

Wi Kru Day

Wi Kru Day is celebrated every year in Thailand schools. It is a day to show respect and to honor all teachers. To "wi" is the proper form of greeting others, it's like saying hello in a very polite way.  A wi is done with hands in a prayer shape and head bowed. The position of the hands varies as to the person you are greeting; there is one way for royalty, one for monks, yet another for elders and teachers. 

The Thai word "kru" means teacher, hence "Wi Kru Day is a when school children bring friut and flowers to their teachers. Then they do a formal presentation by getting on their knees and bowing to show respect and gratitude. It is a very moving and touching ceremony.

A great deal of preparation and care goes into the presentation of the floral arrangements and fruit baskets as they become works of art.

The evening English class I teach also decided to honor me. I was overwhelmed by their show of gratitude for my teaching, but I did not want them to bow down to me as they are friends and teachers, including the principal of a Thai Government schools with over 5.000 students (like the public schools in America). So we agreed to laugh and hug and share the fruit and flowers. It was a wonderful day and night to feel so appreciated.

 The Smiling Golden Buddha sits in a Chinese Temple in Thailand. 

Sending Love, Peace and Blessings

Merry Month of May

Flying Thai Airways is always a pleasure as the air hostesses are so friendly and so beautiful in their traditional Thai dresses. Since my school year was about to begin, I returned to Thailand from China where I had spent two wonderful months visiting my grandsons.
To my delight the apartment where I am living had added a soothing waterfall and the spirit houses were freshly decorated. The Thai people put spirit houses on their land so that their ancestors have a place to live. They also believe that when you build or change things you displace the spirits, so in addition to spirit houses by homes, many banks, and commercial buildings also have spirit houses on their properties. My apartment is on the corner in the photo.

 

BACK to SCHOOL
This year I am teaching K-1 and K-3 which would be pre-school and kindergarten in the USA. The kids are adorable, so sweet and funny.


They call me Teacher Lo-se, because they cannot pronounce Rose. The Thai alphabet does not have an "R" sound. For our first program of the year and we colored and glittered stars for headbands. The big performance was in front of the whole school and their parents.
For many of the Thai students it was the very first time that they had ever done anything like that.
The children all really loved singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in English.

    May the memory of children's smiles bring joy to your day and the light from twinkling stars brighten your night.     Blessings from Thailand.