A little of what it looks like:
4:30am– fist wake up call. Chickens and roosters find their
voice and sing at the top of their little lungs.
6:30am– second wake up call. The village bursts to life with the sound of early morning
announcements that were made for the fisherman. In my half-asleep state of mind, I often thought I was on a
game show or about to jump on a Disney ride. The chipper music followed by the monotone voice of local
announcements drug me out of bed and straight to the hot water and instant
coffee that was always waiting for me outside the house. (*love*)
7:00am– by this time, we are all zombies moving around ‘saw
wa dee down chow’’s mumbled to each other at the breakfast buffet provided by
our contacts. They had already been up, showered and started on their daily
chores. Towards the end of the
stay, we got jokes from them ‘ohhh. Good afternoon teachers!’ who would have
ever thought that being up at seven would be considered sleeping in?
8:00am we are all sitting under the veranda, eating our
peanut butter toast, cookie crisp cereal, yogurt, and fresh fruit. And then,
Nun would bring over fried eggs or pancakes. (spoiled!!)
9:00am– we load into the back of trucks and head off to local village schools.
9:30am-10:00am– COFFEE BREAK! (this would usually be my
third cup for the day)
10:00am-12:00pm– we would spend thirty min intervals
teaching each grade-pre-k up to seniors in high school. Simple phrases,
numbers, alphabet, days of the week, birthdays… we got really good at filling
up thirty minutes of time with dozens of little eyes staring at you.
1:00-2:00pm– we all became singers, actors and little
preachers as we put together assemblies to the entire schools. The schools
ranged from 50 students to 300 students. They all think that pretending to
throw up is funny (you had to be there)
3:00-4:00pm– we are back at home, and the neighbor hood kids
would show up. My team would spend
hours upon hours of playing uno.
6:30pm– Dinner time. We had, hands down, THE best cooks in
Thailand. Every pound I gained=completely worth it. I will forever be dreaming
of cashew chicken made by Nun or Pei Tip.
7:30-8:30pm If
baby Easter is sleeping, we sleep too!!
Life is simple. Life is good. The people, the food, the
sites, smells, the ministry. If only life were like this everywhere, people so
eager to see you, to know who you are. God is good, I love Thailand.
