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.

Back to Shanghai

 The Thai Buddha statue greets the Chinese Quan Yin Goddess and you notice the differences in colors and also architecture in the temples.

We were back in China and I still had another month off from my school. First we celebrated Easter, and Aidan and Taylor enjoyed coloring and decorating eggs.  The next week was the Storybook Fair and parade at the boys school... more costumes! Aidan went as "Tin-Tin" with his dog Snowy and Taylor as "Woody" from Toy Story.

Sadly my China visa would soon expire and it was time for me to leave Shanghai and the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Time to return again to Thailand and my teaching...I will miss my super hero grandsons who will be businessmen before you know it. Well not really, they have a few years yet!

I am so blessed to have had the months of March and April to spend with with my grandsons, Aidan is 7, and Taylor is 4. They truly light up my life.       
Remember to light a candle for someone you love...Share your happiness

April in Phuket

The International School in Shanghai had Spring break the first week of April, and we all went to Phuket, Thailand... yes, from China, to the quiet Meridian Resort on its own private beach. It was fun being together for a family vacation. Of course we went ocean swimming and petted a baby elephant.  Then we rode BIG elephants.

We also enjoyed a day at the zoo where we saw a monkey show, a tiger show, the alligator show and elephants dancing and painting...

Visiting the famous temple in Phuket was on my list so we all went to see Wat Chalong

A blessed family with the white string bracelets tied and blessed by the monks

Beautiful sunny warm days, yummy food and spectacular sunsets... that's why I love Thailand.

I was so fortunate to be able to share it with Carrie, John, Aidan and Taylor.

Blessings from the land of sunshine, sunsets ans smiles. 

Ides of March

Hang onto your hat!

A rose for Teacher Rose

Some students so happy and some so sad to see school end...

March 2nd was Graduation Day for my first Kindergarten class at Rayong English Programme School in Ban Chang, Thailand. What a contrast to last March when I was in Northeast Thailand and we had a  graduation ceremony for the senior high school students that I taught.

The next day I left for China to visit Aidan and Taylor. My first assignment was to design and make Saint Patrick's Day outfits for the "Mefford Boys"... (Daddy John included) as they has an Amazing Race competition and it had to be in IRISH costumes. It was a bit of a challenge finding supplies in Shanghai as I didn't know where any thing was...however I was able to find wigs and hats to decorate...AND the boys were willing to wear them!   Amazingly they WON the costume competition and placed third in the scavenger hunt race.

The Irish Red-Rocker O'Meff Boys Band...You guys rocked!

Beauty and the Beach

Daily from sunrise to sunset I am living in constant gratitude for my many blessings.

As I awaken to birds singing and roosters crowing,  I look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the children I have been entrusted to teach. 

 

Musical chairs and homemade coconut ice cream are our favorites!

I love that every morning at school the children sing the Thai National Anthem and have a prayer.  I love the overall respect for elders and education. Last week we took a field trip to see the sea turtles released into the ocean. It is a conservation program run by the Thai Royal Navy. They find the endangered eggs and let them hatch and the babies grow to all different sizes.  The students were fascinated with the program.

 

 

 

I have been in Thailand a little over one year now and I still marvel every day at the kindness and beauty of this country.  As I walked along the narrow dirt road to school yesterday, I stopped to take in the sheer simple magnificence of brilliant flowers blooming everywhere alongside ripening bananas and coconuts in the trees.

  Then at school we watched caterpillars cocooning in preparation for their annual transformation into butterflies. What a metaphor for life as we let go of last year and prepare to transform our lives in 2012.

Our school year ends the beginning of March and begins again in May, just in time for the butterflies. I am happy at school and lucky to be only minutes away from some of Thailand’s magnificent beaches so I have decided to stay and teach another year. I will spend March and April in China visiting my wonderful Grandsons, Aidan and Taylor.

As I stand on my small balcony to look at the warm golden pinks of sunset and wait for grandmother moon to rise, casting her brilliant glow on mother earth, I silently send forth waves of gratitude and appreciation for all this beauty.

It’s Valentines Day so I am sending you all my love and a bunch of Roses