Homeboy, Papers and Ants!!!

Greetings from Mae Sa Luang!

I think jet lag has worn off and I'm back into the swing of things on this side of the world. However, I am beginning to wonder if I am ever going to acclimate back to the humidity. People at home can attest to the fact that I was cold most of the time I was home minus a couple days here and there. Cold is just a faint memory in my mind. What is cold? My fan has become my best friend!!! I'm quite sure I would simply melt without it. haha!

Homeboy a term I'm sure most of you are familiar. New students have been arriving over the last week and a half. Surachai one of our second year students come to the teachers' house and shouts, "Ajan!" He then proceeds to inform me that a new student had arrived. Of course we ask what their name is and where they are. He told me, "home boy." In my head head, I hear homeboy. I giggle a little and realize he is telling me the new student is in the boys' house. His name in fact is not homeboy. Nor was he referring to the new student as homeboy. I would have been pleased to know that somehow he picked up on some slang and used it appropriately. No matter the case, it definitely brought a smile and lots of laughing as I retold Erika the story. Part of the perks of teaching English is Asia.

I wish I had a funny story about papers flying all over our house or being bombarded by paper airplanes or something like that. I was bombarded by papers, but it was paper writing for my Master's courses. Our semester is coming to a close, which means final projects and for these classes I'm currently in, massive, intense papers. I started on one back in March and the other I began preparation and research while I was home. The one paper I expected to be intense and it had to be modified due to the political situation over here when I arrived. The other paper I thought was going to be fairly easy. Oh no! It turned out to be a 13 page paper needing 15 sources! Much to my surprise, I have an intense research paper on my hands. I finished the  draft that was due only an hour after the deadline. I am so thankful that a draft is done. Now we have two weeks before the final is due. Within the week, I should receive my draft back with comments and advice from my partner. Giving me one week to get the final revisions and touches done on it. I will be so  very happy when it is completed!

Ants... many of you know my hatred for these critters here in Asia. Hatred is a bit of a harsh word, but ants invade the house on a regular basis and it is not my favorite thing about Asia. Well, I think my hatred for the normal ants have dwindled since Friday night. I was going to the kitchen to get some water and what do I find?!?! These ugly, big, gross, awful, flying, black ants covering a cupboard door. Really?!?! I just had a battle earlier with ants in my shower and won. We sprayed them with some cleaner, which kills them. Then they were all over the kitchen floor. Not the most fun thing. In hindsight, it's kind of funny at how shocked I was to see all these ants in our kitchen. I wish I had a picture, but that was the last thing on my mind when I saw them.

Other than that, we are gearing up for school to start. We have been discussing objectives and course descriptions to have them on the books for future teachers as well as guidelines for us to make sure we're all on the same page. We're gathering together supplies and a schedule will soon be made. I will be teaching 3rd year English (Reading, Writing, and Discussion), 2nd year English (Reading, Writing, and Discussion), Journalism, Health, First year Bible and potentially a Teaching Seminar class second semester. While we have some stuff from the past couple year, my goal is to revamp the curriculum for the English. Last year I taught 2nd year and my first year I taught 3rd year. I have ideas and want to make it better. Hopefully this will help Legacy's teachers in the future. I will be adding to, changing and omitting things from the other courses in hopes of making them better as well, but my main focus will be on the English curriculum.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we get ready to start school next week. Wisdom  from above will definitely be needed for the year. I'll try to post again before school starts maybe with photos, but no promises. :)

Hope all is well!

Much Love,
Lainy J.