Fang
We have gone through the holidays and I am now writing to you all from Thailand! My month in Cambodia finished up well and we took a few days to get to our next place of ministry. Between the end of Cambodia and now, I have traveled through both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, great cities to see in Thailand!
Where am I?
This month I am in Fang District, outside of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. In the picture, I am just north of Chiang Mai. Fang is a pretty small place. I haven’t explored too much yet because most of our time has been spent on our school campus. Fang is a fairly small town with a big grocery store, a small downtown, and is located near the mountains that separate Thailand from Myanmar to the north. I have not explored much of Fang, however the campus that we live and work on is absolutely amazing!
Who am I with?
If you guys were caught up with my last blog, you learned that I was placed on a new team- Team Bob! It is a little confusing, but this month I actually have a temporary one month team. It is a tradition for there to be one month that all the men are together (manistry month). Because of this, the women on the two teams with men were combined. So… on my team this month is (from left to right) Caitlyn (in blue), Nicole, Morgan, Charla, Kat, and Emily!
What do I do?
This month we are paired with Fang Chanupathum School (Fang Chanu). This is a school for grades 7-12. This month, my team has all individually been assigned to help one English teacher with an English class. We have all been assigned a grade level as well. I will be teaching English to 10th grade students and assisting teacher JP. We will also start up English clubs after school to make friends with some of the students, help them with English and do Bible studies with those interested.
(this is the front entrance to the school)
Who is hosting us?
Our main hosts here are Steve and Joy Hanson. They are a couple who have worked extensively with the school. They live in Chiang Mai and we met with them for a cultural orientation and an overview of the ministry this month. Steve and Joy however are not with us this month on the campus.
Our other hosts this month who are with us at the school are the teachers! The English teachers are amazing. Some of the main ones we have been welcomed by are teacher Eeddy, teacher Dawn, and teacher Patty. They have gotten us settled in our house, transported us to the store, introduced us to the school and principal and provided us a welcome dinner the first night. Thai people seem to be very very hospitable!
(the teachers are on the left)
Where do I live?
I live here on the Fang Chanu campus! I absolutely love being back on a college campus! Living on a school campus also provides familiar things such as a track to run on, the sounds of marching band practice, some volleyball/basketball courts, and we are just so connected to the students we are teaching. I live in a little house here on the campus. We have a little living room, kitchen, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. I sleep on a sleeping pad on the floor with two others. Our house is located right next to a lake on the campus with a trail surrounding it. It is absolutely incredible the amount of comfort I feel living on a school campus again and right by a lake!! (feeling Furman). Thank you God for this little gift.
What do I eat?
What is also great about living on a school campus is having a cafeteria. Here they call it the “canteen.” Lunch is provided for us. This cafeteria is amazing, we many choices of food from the different food stations. Some foods include Khao Soi or Sukiyaki, or some good old fried chicken!
We have groceries that we share for breakfast food on our own in the mornings. Gotta have my good old cereal, banana, and coffee in the morning. 🙂
Currency?
The money here is called Thai Baht 1 USD= about 30 baht.
Transportation?
We were given 2 bikes to ride here on campus! But honestly we don’t have to transport much here. Since we live on campus, we walk everywhere because it is a small campus. When we go into the town, we take a bus/van.
Tourism?
So far, I haven’t done too many touristy things around the area of Fang. We had several travel days to get here and we were able to travel through Bangkok and stop in Chiang Mai as well. In Bangkok I was able to see the Grand Palace, an amazing palace that past kings have lived. In Chiang Mai we were able to visit some of the outstanding food markets and try the very cheap but delicious market food!
