2/12/10

The most amazing thing…. I am starting to be a little happy. I’ve had really good support and encouragement from a lot of people. Spent yesterday with the American volunteers, Julie, Rick, and Darlene, got $7 facials with the women and then swam at the water park on the top floor of the Mall Bangkapi, had American-style lunch and dinner with them. They packed me a big bag of groceries they’re leaving behind (they leave tonight) and it reminded me of the way my mom would stock me up when I came home on weekends in college: “Why don’t you take this can of soup?” “Do you think you’d use some tuna? How about peanut butter?” “Do you need any toilet paper?”

And my class last night was fun. I don’t think I mentioned my night class students: Rung, Rung (pronounced differently), Ket, Bum, Earth, Tai, Aom, Nok, Puky, Choke, and Son. They’re more energetic and fun-loving than my morning class (and of course I am also more awake at 7 p.m. than I am at 7 a.m.). I’m getting really comfortable leading the class and working in interesting/helpful tips and games. My favorite thing is doing the sound of the day and seeing 11 people leaning forward watching me, their faces intent as they strain to hear the difference between “sh” and “ch.” Most of them are so eager to learn. I’m learning some Thai, too. I’m surprised how much I can grasp after only a week. I mean I can recognize numbers and greetings and “yes” and “water” in conversation, stuff like that. The sounds in English and Thai are so vastly different; I totally get why my students have a hard time with English because I have an equally hard time with Thai.

Today after skyping with my parents (yay!), I had lunch with Joy. I appreciate her because she’s enough of an outsider to understand how I feel but is also Asian (from Philippines) and has been here for seven years so she has an insider perspective. Tonight was church, and I found that as I looked around at the pre-service dinner, I recognized and felt comfortable with almost everyone. How opposite that is from last week! I’m excited to get to know the women in my cell group, too (meets Sunday mornings)—Joy, Gaan, and Nan.

Tomorrow I will go with the advanced conversation class on a day trip, then go to Chinatown in the evening with Rung and a few others. My Sunday seems like it will be full too—cell group and then an outing with a student, Puky. It feels good to be busy.