The chaos has begun and my days of relaxing at Yaek Laom or simply strolling through villages must end. The day began calmly, of course it usually does as a ruse to wake me before twisting events around my poor sleepy mind. Okay so I am exagerating a bit, however I wish there was more warning to busy days. It was still a wonderful day full of familiar faces explaining news from the past months. Even though I lost track of time reading while heating water for coffee, I made it to the meeting only a few minutes late because James showed up on his Moto just as I was locking the gate! He rushed me up to the office where the students were already seated in front of an overused white-board discussing the upcoming month. I was hoping they might begin later since hardly anything begins on time here but, I was more than ten minutes late so they could have still started after the agreed upon time of 8AM.
I tried to enter quietly but everyone still turned to see who was coming and there were many waves, smiles and salutations exclaimed as I sat towards the back. Although many of the students called out for me to sit near them I didn't want to creep around the bodies already situated on the mats. One girl actually ended up moving back to speak with me as they finished discussing plans for Non-Formal Education in the surrounding vilages. She was one I came to know very well during my last visit, as she attended nearly every session and used every opportunity to converse with me in our "free-time". Before I knew it they were ready to discuss a schedule for the classes I will teach and what should be covered in them.
This planning period was completely different than last time as it was organized and things were discussed in a linear manner. We actually used the white board to write possible subjects and times before creating a concete plan. Last time we just taped up a piece of butcher-paper with subjects down one side, then added times randomly as the students crowded around trying to fit their names onto the paper also! This structured method took much longer though. We breaked for fruit and water after deciding on a plan for the English classes but, before even touching on the classes for anything computer related which is the majority of what they want to learn. When everyone just began to come alive, again, they were called back to sit for a few more hours and finalize the schedule for classes involving Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Moviemaker, and anything relating to the Internet.
I returned to the house sweating from the afternoon heat and took a quick "shower", actually just splashing water on myself, before finally eating and sipping a cup of fresh coffee. Really the day wasn't to hectic, it was simply draining because of the new system of meetings with IYDP and walking back in the sweltering heat. I decided to skip the market and read for the last couple hours of daylight, which turned out to be a good decision as it began raining just as I finished "showering". I will visit the market tomorrow after teaching a few students things on the Internet, just after breakfast if I get a chance for that since everyone wakes up early here to use every bit of daylight. Then I will escape for a trip to a vilage in the O Chum district with James before hopefully getting the chance to read before teaching again.
Must add that the "rainy season" here is fantastic! It remains relatively warm but not as stifling since the rain usually comes with strong gusts. Last night my internet time was cut short because of lightening but I stayed up reading as the wind wrapped around me, shaking the house and whiping rain drops across the deck. It definitely beats the harsh rain of Seattle, not that I don't love that as well since Seattle is as many know my core base. However, this rain awakens the spirit and makes me want to dance gracefully on my tip-toes not crazily jump about in puddles like Seattle rain. Maybe it's not the rain so much as other cultural factors adding to my varied reaction...hmmmm. Well, take it easy and keep in touch when you can.
