July 4th Fun!

July 4th in Thailand, you ask? Well, yes! We have some Americans here, and it sure doesn't hurt for the students to learn a little of that culture. Plus, it tastes good and is fun! This year was no exception - we had a great time playing games, eating food, and listening to or playing music.
Students gathered around making delicious hamburgers!
Two of our 1st year students - Spy and Soda.
Playing balloon toss.

Getting wet!
Another 1st year student - Sorawi.
Me having a taste of home!
No party is complete without ice cream!
Students adding music to the fun.
Clapping along and singing.

Another 4th has come and gone! It makes me miss the US. This year we didn't have firecrackers (which we usually do - and they're usually pretty awesome!) because we couldn't find any. Maybe a residual effect of the protests here where they used them to scare people. Anyway, it just doesn't seem as much like the 4th without fireworks - but, it was still a great party. And the hamburgers were delicious!

PS - Photo credits go to whatever student was holding the camera at the time.

Jungle Flight

About three weeks ago (ahhh, so far behind on blogs!) I got the chance to go "flying" through the jungle. After a three hour motorbike ride (I drive slooooow) and some steep hills, we got to "Jungle Flight". It was a beautiful day and we spent the next 4 hours going from tree to tree on zip wires. We also got in some intense walking, and a few jumps from as high as 40 metres. Now, these were not free fall jumps - just abseiling. It was a really good time! We also lucked out because we got to go for a greatly reduced price. Just one more awesome thing to do in Thailand!

The three monkeys - or birds... me, Bouy, and Elainea.
Cool winding staircase that scared me more than the zipline! Not a fan of uneven steps!
Me "flying"
Me abseiling
Elainea and I going tandem.
The three of us crossing the hanging bridge.
The last abseiling "jump"
Us with our fun guides

I had a blast on our little excursion, and loved getting to see more of where I live.

...The Making of a Garden

When I thought about my bench, I envisioned it at the end of a path in a little garden by the teachers' house. These are more ideas that I shared with the boys before school. Well, reshared actually. We'd already started part of the process for the garden awhile back when they made the compost bin.

DaNi, Uaorawet, and Atiwat putting up chicken wire for the compost.

The overgrown area by the teachers' house.

Samuey waters the newly planted squash, tomatoes, corn, and cucumbers.

Taking a break to eat a snack - fruit and chili!

The finished garden with the gravel walkway and bench!

Now we are just waiting for the vegetables and flowers to grow. The vegetables are growing really well, but it looks like we will have to wait on beautiful flowers lining the walkway!

The Making of a Bench

A few years ago at a local garden I saw a bamboo bench that I really liked. I've thought about that bench since, and wanted one here at school. A few days before school started, I stood around with some of the boys and shared my ideas. Before I knew it they took them and ran with them! They gathered bamboo at the farm and made me a very cool bench!

The boys discussing the design.

Atiwat holding in the bamboo so it could be nailed.

The stripped pieces of wood they put inside the bamboo to make it stronger.

Surachai checking out nature's cup holder!

The three "movers and shakers" on this project - Atiwat, Uaorawet, and Surachai.

The bench getting some use.

When the bench was being hauled away in the truck (to the school) Atiwat said, "My company has a guarantee, if you have a problem with your bench tell me!" Well, no problems to report yet!