Bulletin Update

This week was the last week of regular classes- it's hard to believe that the school year is already coming to a close! It seems like I just arrived, and I think it hasn't really sunk in yet that on Friday I taught my last classes at Legacy. Next week is our final exam week, so there is a lot of studying going on here! Exams are Monday through Thursday, and the awards ceremony is Sunday, March 6th. There is a lot of end-of-the-year excitement- the second year students have to give speeches at the awards ceremony, so I have been working with some of them on writing their speeches. I think that they're going to do a really great job- they've put a lot of effort into what they are saying. They are all a little bit shy when it comes to speaking in front of a group of people so I know they're going to be nervous, butI know they'll do a good job too! I'm sure they'll be practicing a lot this coming week.

Bulletin Update

Across the street from Legacy there is a public health space. Everynight at 6 pm, the women from the village get together there, play really loud techo-dance music, and do aerobics for about an hour. This phenomenon isn't specific to my village- everywhere in Thailand (or inChiang Mai at least) there are enormous outdoor aerobics classes at 6pm. People are really into it- it's kind of like the 80s! Everyevening the students look over our school fence and watch, and some ofthem dance along a little bit. The whole time I've been here I've said that I was going to go across the street and exercise too, and I finally did it last week- it was so much fun! The women are really nice too. Some of them speak a little English so they ask me thingslike where I'm from, how old I am, and if I have a boyfriend. After I went the first night the students told me that they wanted to go too.Quite a few of them came with me the next night, and it was great- Ithink they liked it a lot. I have been going everyday since. Sometimes the students go with me- the only problem is that 6 pm is dinnertimeat the school, so they either have to eat in a hurry and jump around on a full stomach, or eat later. Also, some of them have kitchen duty so they can't go- it rotates though, so everyone who wants to go will get a chance. We're going again next week!

Bulletin Update

Last weekend I went to Mae Sot, a city on the Thai side of the Burmese border. There are some church families that live there, so I got to visit them again. (I met them briefly on my way back from Mae La refugee camp back in November). I spent Friday afternoon and night with Lawan's family- Lawan is a graduate of Legacy and is now a teacher here at the school. She is from a Karen village right outside of Mae Sot. We visited some of her neighbors (they all wanted me to come visit them) and she showed me where she went to elementary school. Everyone in her village is so friendly and nice- someone even made me papaya salad! (which happens to be one of my favorite Thai foods) Saturday I spent at a church member's house- it was a lot of fun. Htoo Hpa, the woman who house I stayed in, fixed us really good food and taught me how to count to ten in Karen. Her whole family can speak English really well, and staying with them and talking to them was just a really enjoyable experience. I think in the future her kids will probably come to Legacy- right now they are still a little bit too young- they have to finish school first. Their whole family is just really giving and it's so inspiring to be around people who are genuinely selfless like they are. They are such good examples of how to live- even though they may not have much, they will give you everything they do have and will help you in any way they can. On Sunday we had to leave, but before we took off Ryan and I had to checkout the thriving Burmese market. It was amazing- there were tons of people under a hundred huge umbrellas selling vegetables, clothes, flowers, and any kind of animal or animal part you could ever want to buy. There was so much noise, so many smells, so many interesting things to see- it makes me sad that America doesn't have markets, because they are so much fun! We walked around for a bit and then had to catch our bus home- we arrived in the evening and had just enough time to prepare for the next day's classes before heading to bed.