Today was a long day of travel! We drove from Regents to
the airport and got onto our plane. Everything went smoothly with the passport
situation and the overall experience if the airport. We were able to hang out
in the food court area until our flight was ready to board, (I bought a subway
cookie- for a treat later, a Burger King croissant because I was hungry and
a bottled water. The flight was only 1 hour and I watched some tv episodes we
downloaded onto my iPad. When we arrived at the airport, we got our bags and
walked to the awaiting buses. From there we drove to a Thai local restaurant
where we had lunch. The food was mediocre however I munched on some of my
snacks. After that we drove some more until we reached a temple and got out and
looked around. We got into pairs/groups and split off exploring. There was a
small market outside the outskirts of the temple however I didn't see anything
that you would like as a gift (it was mainly phone cases, food- like squid, and
toys). We then continued driving and stopped again at a gas station/7 eleven. I
bought 2 bags of chips just in case I was hungry later on in the journey. We
then finally arrived at the school after approximately another 2 or less hours
driving. Our bags were waiting for us there- as the teachers/staff transported
our luggage from the airport to the school for us. We got escorted to our
rooms. I am staying in a room with all of the boys. There are separate 2 person
tents inside the room as there are many bugs and insects. I got partnered with
a year 9 boy. At 6:30 we went to the canteen and ate dinner. I don't know the
name of the dish, but it was a chicken western platter that I liked and ate.
After that, some students of the school put on a little dance/show for us, and
the principal introduced all of the teachers before we had to announce to them
what our names were and where we were from. We then went back up to our rooms
and got ready to go to bed. The shower and toilet conditions are bad however I
can make due with them. The shower water is freezing! Tomorrow my group (group
4- we got split into different groups), will be building part of the school in
the morning and painting part of the school in the afternoon. It should be fun!
It has been a tiresome day, but can't wait to start officially tomorrow! I miss
and love you! Bye! 😘
Day 2:
Today was much funner than yesterday! We had to wake up
at 6:30 in the morning and be at breakfast/the canteen by 7:30, (In the hour
time slot in between, I packed my "day" bag with my camera, snacks,
etc. I also showered. It's nothing like what I'm used to!😫😰).
We then had breakfast, which was a selection of toast, sausages and Corn-Flakes
cereal. I had everything except toast. We then joined the school children in a
whole school assembly outside- we introduced our names to the children in Thai.
There are approximately 250 pupils in the school- it's bigger than I imagined!
After that, we split off into our assigned groups and did our first morning
activities. My group's first activity was building. We learned and participated
in how to make cement out of limited resources and started to use the cement we
created to pave a path between 2 buildings of the school. We did that for about
1 hour or so, and then we had a small break in the canteen. We were treated to
biscuits, milk and tea, and small chocolates. No more than 10 minutes later we
continued our previous activity (more building for me!). We built a big part of
the path, and it was really fun- and surprisingly less hard work than I thought
it would be. At 12:30, we went back to the canteen and ate lunch. Lunch was a
previous Thai western meal that I have had before and liked, but I don't know
the name! After an hour (1:30), we swapped activities, and my group's new
activity was painting. We walked into a classroom and chose between 2 topics to
paint about. We chose the genre 'nature'. We were given pencils and wax crayons
to color and draw with onto a thin sheet of fabric. We drew and colored
together natural features like trees, bushes, etc. (all in one big image). We
had to label the image features in English and in Thai, as this painting would
help the Thai students learn about this topic better. Again, after about another
hour, we had another small 10 minute break. This time coke was available. I
took a bottle. After that we continued our paintings until another hour passed
(approximately). We then gathered everyone together and walked to the near
village where some Thai students lived from the school. I took some incredible photos that I can show you when I
get home. When we arrived back at the school, we were given 20 minutes to relax
before dinner time. The dinner course was green curry on rice, served with
fish, which I liked and ate. So far, the meals are very good for being in the
middle of nowhere, literally! I love and miss you! Bye! 😘
Today was another day of fun activities! We had to wake
up, again, at 6:30 in the morning, and had to be at the canteen by 7:30.
Breakfast was not as western as yesterday, however I still ate and liked it.
There was a selection of fried rice and chicken legs/wings. I ate both. Today
after breakfast, my group had to do the dishes, but it wasn't hard at all. After
that, we had another 20 minutes to relax. I spent that time packing today's
'day' bag. We then met up into our groups and started our activities. My
group's first activity today was gardening. It was surprisingly easier than I
thought it would be! We first walked outside the school, and shoveled up some
grass by the close road, and put it into a gardening bag. We filled 5 bags full
of grass. We then transported (ourselves) the bags of grass, back to the
school. We then moistened the dirt ground, and used some gardening tools to
make the soil rougher. We then simply placed the grass that we dug previously,
onto the dirt and pressed down lightly. I took lots of photos to show you when
I get home! We then had a small 10 minute break (like yesterday), and then
continued with gardening afterwards. We covered lots of ground gardening grass.
Once that was finished, we had lunch (which was massaman curry with rice- I
really enjoyed it!). After lunch, (like yesterday) my group changed activities.
Our new afternoon activity was teaching English to some pupils of the school.
We played some simple learning games and learned about what they already know
in English. We taught them simple things like colors, animals, and food/fruits.
After that we had yet another 10 minute break and then continued with teaching
English. At 4:00 we ended the activities, and at 5:00 we left to eat dinner at
the sunset. We got driven up the
mountains by trucks until we reached a magnificent viewpoint where we stopped,
took photos, and laid blankets down along the ground to eat on. The food was
transported In a separate truck. It was a Thai dish that I have eaten before
but yet again, can't remember the name. It was good tasting and I ate and liked
it. After that we got driven back to the school, and at 8:00, we went to the
canteen and was taught by borders of the school how to make bracelets. I made
some for you, dad and Brady. They look very nice! That led us until 9:30- the
time went by fast! We then went to our rooms and got ready for bed. Another fun
Round Square Week Trip day!
Today we actually didn't spend time working at/around the
school. We first woke up at the usual time (6:30), and had to be at the canteen
by 7:30. I ate sausages and fried eggs for breakfast. After that, we joined
with all of the students of the school for a whole school assembly outside.
After it, we split up into groups (girls and boys), and boarded onto
buses/vans. We then drove for approximately 2 hours until we reached a coffee
farm. It looked similar to a rice farm, however it was coffee! We got to meet
the founder of the farm (it is so important because this is the farm/company
that 'Starbucks' gets their coffee from!). I got you a small gift that I will
give you when I get home on Friday night. We walked amongst the farm and
learned some interesting facts. For example: There was an animal that eats
coffee grounds put into it's food, and then later poops it out. The grounds are
then separated from the poop, and specialized for coffee. I found it
interesting, and I didn't expect 'Starbucks' to be using this company! After 20
minutes (or less), we trekked up the mountains, and along the way we got to
feed sheep, and I got some good photos of views. Once we arrived back at the
coffee farm, we sat down there and ate lunch. It was an omelet served on top of
rice, serves with a kind of soup. I didn't care for the soup, however ate
everything else. The food was transported in takeaway boxes by teachers. We
were also given plenty of water to drink and keep ourselves hydrated. After we
finished our meals, we loaded ourselves back into the vans and continued
driving. We stopped at 2 places on the way back to the school. For the first
stop, we drove another hour until we reached the destination. It was a royal
plant conservation (basically, a long time ago, the king visited the forests of
Chiang Mai, and noticed villagers cutting down trees to make products to sell.
So, he set up a garden conservation. This reduced loss of trees in the
environment and ensured every villager a job which raised money). Here they grew
vegetables, fruits, plants, etc. We were presented with a short video upon our
arrival which explained to us what this was. We then got toured around a small
area of the conservation, seeing workers place seeds into the pods, and walking
into 3 or 4 different plant conservatories. The man showing us around told us
the names of the most common plants growing here that we came across. For
example: red and green cabbage. After that we went back into the vans and drove
for approximately another hour. I slept a little during this ride, as I was
tired from this morning. Our second stop was the nearest village's walking
street market. It mainly contained food and hardly any actual merchandise. It
wasn't too exciting, however it started to rain as we were leaving. We were
able to roam around the small market for half an hour, and then meet up in the
same place we split off from. It was a rough ride riding back to the school
with the rain, as most roads were not paved and were made of dirt. We finally
arrived and had dinner. Dinner, unfortunately Was by candlelight and
torchlight, as there was no power/electricity. Dinner was still good though and
I can't wait for the last day tomorrow (at least the last non-travel day!)! I
love and miss you SO much too!😘
Day 5 (Last day of no travel):
Today was a fun last day! We had to wake up at the same,
usual time (6:30), and had to be at the canteen again by 7:30. Thankfully there
was electricity! I ate some fried rice and some chicken wings/bones. They were tasty!
After breakfast, we all had to participate in trekking. We first were given 20
minutes to get ready before we left. After the 20 minutes, we got loaded onto
the back/trunk of trucks and drove away. The ride was about 15 minutes long. It
was fun riding with all of the bumps in the road! We then got off and started
our trek. We trekked for 6km. It was tiring, however there were some incredible
views of the mountains. I took some good photos. We stopped a couple of times
to have a short break, then started trekking again. We trekked up 2 mountains
completely. It was harder than it should have been, considering that it was
raining the previous night, and all of the dirt had changed to slippery mud. We
also trekked on some rice fields and got rained on a little bit. Luckily we
found shelter quickly, and avoided the rain. Once it was only sprinkling, we
continued or trek. Now it was even harder! I found going downhill hard because
there was so much slippery mud and rocks poking from the ground. I had to hang
onto branches of trees for some times. After 3 hours (approximately), we ended
our trek- by now it was brightly sunny out! The trucks were waiting to escort
us back to the school at the finish line, however we are lunch first. The food
was transported for us and was Holy Chicken with Basil. It was a little spicy,
however tolerable. It was once again, tasty. After lunch was finished, we
loaded back into the trucks and drove back to the school. My shoes were very
muddy and so were the bottom of my pants. I washed them off though at the end
of the day. When we arrived back at the school, we had a choice. You could rice
farm and then shower, or not rice farm at all. I chose to rice farm, and it was
very fun. We weren't allowed to wear shoes or socks in the rice fields, so I
took mine off. It felt very weird on my feet- a fun weird! It was surprisingly
easier than I thought it would be. All that we had to do was reach our hands
into the fields and push the rice plants into the ground. After a while, it
started to rain, so we stopped and walked back to the shelter of the school. I
then showered, packed everything inside my suitcase except my sleeping back,
and cleaned my shoes off- they were really muddy!
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