Joan's Thailand Journal

My favorite class at Regis, getting my teaching degree, was Human Development. Then, some of my fellow teachers shared their experience with watching/nurturing development in their students, from motor skills to critical thinking. The adaptive abilities of the mind are interesting to me. So, riding my bike to class this week I started thinking about being in a totally new culture for 5 weeks and what has happened: The constant sounds of birds and roosters has become normal, background noise. Being in a rural community, weekends are meaningless. Bucket baths are awesome. Living in a host family home feels normal. Communication without much language is possible (the dictionary helps). Generosity is contagious. I ride my bike on the “wrong” side of the road naturally. I can smell food in the market. Finally, when you have limited resources, maybe your creative mind develops. Our Thai co-teacher supplied all our materials for classes this week and last and a sample is below. She let me take all of it, so I have material for animals, fruit, numbers, family, and weather. I now need both a language coach and someone to teach me to draw when I get to my site. The other pictures are just outside our classroom and the view from the window. Classroom doors are always open, no florescent lights, lots of fresh air and a view of a rice field. Wealth comes in many different ways. On our last day at the school, we got roses from the students with a “Happy Valentines” wish. It is impossible to describe the joy in these children.