Touching Moments

I just wanted to include some of the plot summaries my Mat 2 students made of their favorite movies:

Doraemon have magic bag. Doraemon is a Robot Cat. This happened century 20. Doraemon from the future to help Nobita. They live in Japan. Doraemon can help Nobita always.

Gabriella moves to new school. She met Troy. They fall in love. One day, they will racing to sing a song but Shapay and Ryan don't satisfy. Because Troy and Gabriella is win.

Jack and Rose go to titanic in the sea 100 years ago. Because the super big ice attack the boat so titanic go down to the sea. Jack die but Rose a beam.

Okay, so that was a bag full of laughs there. Yesterday had another surprise in store: I received another package an hour before leaving work. Two packages in a day! I wonder what I must have done to deserve that. Oh and I was invited to go on a field trip to Sukhothai. But before I talk about Sukhothai, I want to mention that I had a home-cooked meal and my friends' house. It was really enjoyable and we spend so many hours sitting outside on a picnic bench, chatting and eating while listening to the patter of the rain on the roof and the ground all around us. There are few things that compare to the companionship and support of friends. It is hard to believe I have known these people for only a couple weeks and yet we are so close. I guess that's what happens when there are few farang and you happen to have the luck to meet each other.

So yes, I traveled to Sukhothai today. I realized very quickly that a trip with over 170 students and three double decker buses full of students is.....loud, interesting, funny, amusing, slightly obnoxious and not even contained chaos. The bus ride down I barely remember. Apparently I fell asleep. These days my friends never let me sleep! Lol. But anyway, I wake up when we arrive at the Old City in Sukhothai. It is known to the farang as "the ruins." I was not aware that it resembles the structure of preserved plantations I have seen back in the states, to some degree. There were lots of trees, ponds, flowers and open spaces. There were a LOT of different ruins and a lot of wats (temples). We took a covered trolley around the huge place since it was raining. My students encountered a number of farang and they had to be reminded by their teachers not to stare or point. What I found funny is that the farang took as many pictures of my kids as they did of them. Go figure.

After the ruins we then went to a National Park. There are many around Thailand, but this one closely resembled the ruins, which was okay. Nothing makes you feel more like you are in Thailand than these amazing ruins. We stopped and had lunch, where I met a University student from China, visiting on vacation. I also finally bonded with one of my Down Syndrome girls. I have three of them in my school and I have been trying hard to bond with them, without much success. In class my teachers tell me to ignore them, simply because they are behind the rest of class and I have other students to be responsible for. I only agree to some point and I try to modify assignments for some of my special students, but without bonding with them, it is difficult. But now, I have reached one of them. She has taken to holding my hand, hugging me, feeding me, talking to me in Thai and her favorite is poking my cheeks. Whatever works. But really it is adorable. And some English has gotten though because she can say her name. "A...N....G....E....E. Angee!"

So yep, that was my fun day. I am looking forward to a fun weekend and now I need to get dressed to go hang with a friend. I had to wear a long dress for all of the temples today and long dresses and motorbikes do not mix. Alright, more later :-)