Too Much Time on Our Hands? I think not.

Greetings to All,

It's just an ordinary week in Mae Sa Luang or so one would think. I have been asked the usual question from my students if I have a boyfriend. They are determined because I wear a ring, I must have a boyfriend somewhere. In fact, one of my students said, "Aj., I think you have a fee'... a fee'...." I just looked at him with a confused look (thinking why yes I do have feet thank you for noticing). However, I wasn't sure what exactly he was trying to say. Then he looked it up in the dictionary and showed me. Can you guess what the word is? Yes, fiance. They are convinced I have a boyfriend, a fiance or something back home. Maybe even two husbands somewhere! :) Really?!?! Good ol' Mae Sa Luang! I simply have to laugh, shake my head and move on. 

Just a side note, they had already asked me a couple times before. This was last week, but apparently they can't take me at my word. I took discussion class for Erika on Friday because she had to go to immigration and it was raining and whatnot. So, I thought no big deal, I can teach it. Well, I didn't know what to have a discussion class on. It's the first year students and I only teach them Bible. So, I had them draw a picture of their family and then they had to explain and answer questions. It went really well. They then wanted to know about my family so I showed them a picture. (And by the way, the students think you are all beautiful!) They asked if I had a boyfriend. I reaffirmed that I did not. At the end of class, one of girls said, "Ajan, my brother is very handsome." Again, you just have to laugh. I think everyone in my life is trying to play yenta. 

Hopefully that brought you all a laugh. Probably not as many laughs as it does me. If you come to Thailand, be prepared, you will be ask many, many, many times if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or if you're married. They'll be more than happy to make stories up about you too. :) Something all of us teachers have had to learn to deal/ cope with. I mean I never dreamt my reputation would be for having 2 husbands. Sigh!

This past Sunday night Erika, Nathan and I went to a Japanese dance performance in Chiang Mai. It was very modern and very interesting. There were three pieces. One of which I was trying to figure out the meaning the entire time, the other was pretty cool, and the last one left me with a confused look on my face. It was a great experience! So Erika and I were inspired! We decided to create modern art in our living room! You get to see it free of charge. :)

Notice the pretty pillows! We got new pillow cases and were rearranging the living room, when we decided to turn everything upside down to see Nathan's reaction to our "art."

Something wrong here? 

This is my personal favorite. Does it speak to you? ;)

When you live in a small and I mean small village, the little things in life bring you humor and we were quite delirious, lacking sleep. We giggled very hard while arranging our pieces of art! 

This week is a short week for us as August 12th is the Queen's Birthday. We get the day off. As some of you may remember the Queen's birthday is Mother's day here in Thailand. (Mom, Happy Thai Mother's Day!!) The three of us teachers and all the students are going to the Mae Sa Waterfalls. I'm excited! It should be fun. I've not been yet, but I've heard it's beautiful from one of our students. I'm hoping to get lots of photos to share with all of you. 

This weekend, Erika, Nathan, LaNuNan (our 3rd year student) and I will be heading to the refugee camp to visit some families who are Church of God members. I have never been here either. It should be an exciting trip. I'm looking forward to meeting the families. Even though we don't speak the same language and communication is difficult, I know just spending time with them will be good. Prayers for traveling safety would be appreciated as it is rainy season and could cause potential hazards. Also just that everything works smoothly with going into the camps. This should pose a problem, but prayers are appreciated nonetheless. 

School is running smoothly praises be to God. All my classes are going well. Bible is challenging, yet fun. English I really have a lot of fun teaching. My two students are great. They keep me on my toes and smiling. There's a lot of head shaking that goes on as well. Another story I want to share. This past week I gave my students a test in English, which they did quite well on and I was pleased. Anyway, they had pictures and next to them were sentences that the animal said. They had to use quotation marks correctly. One was of a monkey and the sentence was "I am angry because of what you did." I showed the monkey shaking its fist and making a terrible face. One of my students, the class clown, wrote, '"I am angry because of what you did," said WiChai.' I laughed so hard when I read it. I was jumping up and down inside because the grammar was correct and he wasn't confused. He was being his silly self. Legacy's class clown. :) They keep me on my toes, but I love it! 

I think that's enough stories and details for one blog post. I even got a couple pictures in there. (Just for you Messy!)

Please continue to remember us in your prayers. We can use all the prayers we can get and appreciate your faithfulness in praying. I love getting your emails and comments. They simply make my day! It's nice to hear about what's happening with all of you. 

Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Thailand,

Lainy J.