Would you like a side of dancing with your ESL?

The kids always open the church door for me. They shout “teacher” as the rush of cool air hits my sweaty skin.  There’s always a lot of noise - singing, pretend sword fighting, yelling, dancing, round house kicks to sometimes unsuspecting bodies. I feel simultaneously overwhelmed, and at home in this pale yellow room with kids running around, a smattering of teenagers lounging on one another while glued to their cellphones, and a few adults talking at the table. 

Most Saturdays, Miranda (CLF intern extraordinaire)  and I take a bus, the sky train, another bus, a boat, and then walk 15 minutes to a church in the south of Bangkok to teach English, dance, and craft with kids who have had to hold too much pain in their short lives.

One of our CLF board members, Plaa is a pastor at the church where we teach. She’s a fearless advocate for these kids whom she loves. Watching her love and serve her community and neighbors is a gift. Yes, we go to teach English, but really we’re being taught and shown how to live well and with intention alongside others. 

English Club, which we’ve affectionally entitled PEC (Prapadaneg English Club), is loud and chaotic,and this past week involved a short lecture on not pointing just your middle finger at people (shooting the bird). The kids range in age from 3 to 19. So there’s lots of coloring sheets, glue sticks, flash cards, and uno. During the first 2 hours of PEC it’s all about the younger kids. We practice the alphabet, play dance stop while reviewing numbers, cover vocabulary (last week we focused on rain and umbrellas), and flex those fine-motor skills while making a craft. When the younger kids leave, we break out the UNO and Phase 10, and practice conversational English with the older kids. 

Six of the older children who come to PEC are also a part of CLF’s scholarship program. Kind humans from around the world sponsor these kid’s education, so that they can continue learning. Plaa told us that without these scholarships, most of students would have to stop studying, and begin working. Two students attend middle school, 2 high school, and 2 are in college.  

The students are resilient and tenacious. They know how to fight - fight to learn, fight systems that are not set up for their success, and fight for kindness in a heavy world. I wish y’all could see how the older kids care for the younger kids -it’s definitely that specific type of love that can only be delivered by an older sibling - rife with harsh truth, a bit of yelling, and affectionate jabs - but if one of the kids is ever in a sticky spot with learning or a game gone awry with hurt feelings, one of the teenagers is there to aid. 

Saturday is one of favorite days of the week. These kids are brilliant - hilarious, they make artful masterpieces from Popsicle sticks, and dance with abandon. They are strong, are quick to fight for, and defend one another. It’s and honor to learn with them and to bear witness to Plaa’s community development skills and compassion. 

We always end every class with dancing, because - we've got to dance it out sometime, we might as well do it together! Usually our song of choice is Bobby Day’s Rockin Robin, but lately, Justin Timberlake has stolen our hearts and dancing shoes with Can't Stop the Feeling. Next time you find yourself in the South of BKK on Saturday, stop on by and we’ll let you show off your dance moves and paper-plate craft skills. 

Thanks for reading! 

EM

Miss, there's watermelon juice on your shirt

Y’all, rainy season has come to BKK, and as I’m typing these words, the rain’s falling outside and much to my neighbors displeasure, the Me Before You soundtrack is playing from my IPOD for the fifteenth time today. 

As of late, all of the posts on this little blog have been a bit serious - emotional, weepy - and just downright heavy. That’s not an untrue depiction of my life, but it’s most certainly not the full picture of how my days look and feel and smell.

Here’s a few of my favorite things in Thailand - yes, Julie Andrews is one of them!

Passion fruit - I freaking (sorry, mom) love this stuff. I’ll take all the passion fruit, all the time. As I type, I’ve just finished a passion fruit slushy. My new favorite way to consume this delicious yellow and black fruit is mixing it with soda water. It’s just so good and refreshing. Treating myself to passion fruit and pineapple smoothies was how I made it through hot season. Lately, I’ve even been putting it in my morning yogurt. 

Fiction Books - Because of 3 important Thai language exams, I was not going to read a fiction book in May - and I almost made it, but during the very last weekend of May, I went on a retreat with some amazing humans to the Chiang Rai - which is nestled it the unbelievably beautiful mountains of northern Thailand, and I caved - I read a fiction book. It was glorious. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the what it was -oopps - it’s entitled, Eligible: A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Crutis Sittenfeld. Also, I just started using my kindle that was gifted to me right before I left the States from a wonderful family for whom I nannied. It’s so stinkin’ convenient. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get fully comfortable with an electronic book - but man it’s so easy to use. I’ve had a love affair with books since my parents used to bribe us to read (there was candy and coke involved) and I brought 25 books across the ocean with me. 25 - ridiculous. Bottomline - books are the best- and even better when it’s an updated version of one of the best stories to ever grace our homes and libraries and bookstores. That Jane Austen, she’s a keeper. 

Movies - I love going to movies, and when you go to the movies in BKK, you get to sit for at least an hour and half in air conditioning, and practice some good ole fashioned escapism, and it costs $3! Now, I don’t want to toot-the-horn too loudly for escapism, because I deeply believe that we have to look at, and climb into the pain and sorrow of our lives and the pain of those around us to fully experience it, sit with it, and work for healing - but also, sometimes you’ve gotta get away from it, and a cold movie theater is a superb place for just that. 

Sassy, honest humans - I am surrounded by folks who are honest - honest about life and all her junk and beauty, and their honesty is treaded with sass and spunk, and if we get too sassy with one another (usually,it’s me) and jump the border to hurtful, we try to be honest about it, and then dance it out. Honesty is hard. It’s hard enough to be honest with ourselves, but then when you throw other folks into the mix, phew - it gets tough - but it’s the sweet life - this honesty, where we can be completely ourselves with ourself and God and humans. It’s messy (yes, I know this is one of my favorite words) but it’s real and good. 

Coke - there’s just something about drinking a coke from a tiny glass bottle that feels like home (yes, Georgia is the capital of Coke!). And, I’m pretty sure the coke here is still made with sugar cane- it’s delectable!

Watermelon - Watermelon has forever been my favorite food. During the summer months of my childhood, I was frequently scolded for eating too much, or all of the watermelon my mom had just cut up. Here, in Thailand, watermelon is in season all year-round, and I consume it as if it were July in Georgia, and I was a 9 years old who had just burst into my kitchen after riding my bike around our block with my friends for two hours - which is to say -voraciously and often. 

Yoga - you guys yoga is hard, but I really like it. It’s good for carving out intentional space to breathe and clear your mind and spirt of the fog of daily life. 

Being a regular - You know in the movies when you see the protagonist visit their favorite coffee shop, or deli, or bar, and the waiter or person behind the counter knows exactly what they want before they even order - and sometimes just has it waiting for them when they show up? When this phenomena happens to me, it feels so good - it feels like l’m a part of the place - of the life happing there. I’ve lived in the market for a few months now, and I have favorite spots - the coffee vendor to the left of my building, where you can buy the best iced coffee; the pad- thai place to the left of the shine, and the garlic pork place also to the left of the shine, behind the market. These places are my regular spots. My homes away from home. I’m a creature of habit. I’ve been eating the same roast beef sandwich from the same restaurant in my hometown for maybe 25 years - basically ever since I could consume a sandwich, and in October, I’ll eat it again. When I visit these places in my neighborhood, they know what I want. I don’t have to ask - and it feels like home, if only they served roast beef sandwiches :) .

Air conditioning - it speaks for itself. 

Free Wifi - also, self explanatory. 

Making my own granola - it’s not healthy, but its tasty. I just mix whatever I happen to have, which usually consists of cocoa, peanut butter, coffee, and honey and oats. Yum

Dancing - wherever I teach, I always end class with a dance party. I’ve read that dancing in public or with peers builds self-confidence, so we’re trying to combat negative perceptions of oneself and low self-esteem early - and we dance in class. Also, it’s just plain fun! 

Headbands - I wear a headband everyday! Mostly because as my Thai friends say in reference to my sweating, "you look like you’ve just taken a shower!”

Pumpkin and egg curry - it’s so, so good. Maybe it’s all the MSG that’s in it, but y’all - it’s delicious, and I’ve eaten it almost everyday for lunch since commuting to language school from the market. I just finished language school this past week, and will no longer eat it often - but it will forever be in my heart (is this too much emotion for food?…no). 

There you go - this was a smattering of some of the indulgent things that fill my life and make it a bit more sweet.

Oh - one of my favorite things of all time is my parents love story. They fell in love, and have done the hard work of staying in love for over 43 years, and this week marks their 42nd wedding anniversary.  Congratulations, Mom & Dad! Love you!!! 

Thanks for reading, dear friends!

  

Love, 

Erin