Well anyway, for the last few days, i didnt do my picture blogging sort of thing. i just wrote in point form because it was so exhausting in the day that i just KO-ed in the night. so yea, here goes nothing.-places two fingers on my temples and try to channel my memory tt is long lost-
15/9-Sunday
Okay! so this was a Sunday and we got a half day off! We went to the Phanom Rung Historical Park! That place is actually an extinct volcano and the scenery is so pretty. It took about 400 years to build. We had a guide to explain things to us. Like the pavilion is where the king would change his clothes before going into the temple to pray. Okay la, i wrote notes on the entire trip but im abit lazy to type all of them down. hahaha.Because my STM, i cant relate the pictures back to the notes i wrote T.T but anyway, have you seen the Singapore Next Top Model: BURIRUM EDITION?! hahaha, it was so funny. like normally you go to a HISTORICAL PARK you get all bored or really serious and interested in knowing the history and stuffs... and we went there to take vogue-wannabe photos. it was hilarious. Even mr dy, ms petrina and ms afida joined in! P-Pum and P-Orn too! then after tt, we got a little break to shop around. it was just a short time for us to buy gifts for our friends and relatives la. i just spammed all the pork floss. AND OF COURSE MAGNUM. i tell you. go thailand MUST EAT MAGNUM. SUPER CHEAP. it makes me feel so cheated when i buy magnum in SG. and whats more is they have so much nicer flavours!!!!!!! Cassandra caught a cold and due to the hot sun, got even more sick and was giddy during the walk in the historical park. This was the second heart attack i received from the trip. First was Qiao Wen, then Cassandra. This two kiddos ah. Need to take care of themselves!! (they need vitamin C seriously. Build up immune system!) so anyway, during the shopping, i bought this super duper uber pretty bag, ONLY 4 SGD. it is like pastel colours. and im bringing it everywhere now. hahahaha. Ms Afida tried to help me bargain but only managed to cut 20 baht. Oh well, i really like tt bag anyway! so i got it. After tt, we went back to the school and thats basically all tt i remember of that day.
16/9:Monday
It was the first day of English Camp! Was in the same group as Golf, To, Yo, Tam, Omm and Manora. Basically, they are the only group that i spent a full day with so they become my favourite students by default. (but i love all of them the same :>) I can still remember that Omm keep laughing at me! for no reason!! im thinking that shes making fun of me. hahaha. And she keep saying things like BuTaiDai(?) which Mr Dy says it means tt I know Thai or something. But i dont. I just kept telling them "Mai Kao Jai" but anyway, Mai Kao Jai means i dont understand. The front part of the English Camp, this Omm keep saying "Sharp Chin" as "Chin Sharp" make me angry until~~~ okay la, not angry. I just dk to cry or to laugh. hahahahaha! Then it was lunch and Tam didnt come back. Because her red eye was itching really bad and she left for home. I lent her my pen because hers was out of ink, and i immediately felt sad because i knew i wont get it back. (i know im selfish. judge me. i know im wrong) Then during Shopping Simulation, it is so funny! the game ended already and this Omm keep pulling me to the stores to buy things! then tell them to go left, she drag me go right. then bring me walk in circles. hahahahaha! this omm ah.. i miss her so much. To and Yo were very quiet, they only respond when i asked if they understood me. and Golf is called Tom Yum Soup! because he would smile so gleefully whenever we say tom yum soup. He must love that alot. HAHAHAHA. The day ended and i would say that english camp day 1 was good (:
At night, we had like cultural night plannings again. I cant remember what i did again. (oh gawd, i totally shouldnt have been so tired and stayed up to write a proper keynote. T.T)
17/9:Tuesday
ITS MY TEAM TO BE THE COOKING TEAM! Its totally AWESOME to be the cooking team. because we get to bond with the pa-pas and slack a little. During the midst of the preparation, Ms Afida asked me to do a short interview. I tied up my hair for cooking so i let it down when i was supposed to do the interview. and Mr Dy saw me and said: "You doing interview now? You.. want to go comb your hair first?" HAHAHA. THAT WAS SUPER EMBARRASSING. because im a very sloppy person, i really dont care about my image one.I used to do a little but when you are at Buriram, it just didnt occur to me. So anyway, we went to the nearby playground to do the interview and the kids were surrounding us because they are so fascinated. Ms Afida said i did a good job because my answers are like super short and sweet.. THANK GOODNESS. i was so stressed the day before. Because i have this terrible interview experience. SUPER BAD. BAD HAIR BAD ANGLE BAD VIDEOGRAPHER. URGH. but hearing tt Ms Afida say until i machiam some natural interviewee person, i was super relieved. At least i didnt mess up. hahahaa. And the kids that surrounded us learned my name and followed me when i went for school tour! My team i doing on education for the topic for IS module and so we requested for a school tour. And these kids were like following behind me going like "Lin, Lin, Lin" hahahaha. Anyway, the way i see their school, and the students, i really feel ashamed of myself. These kids, they dont have enough teachers, one teacher had to split herself between two class because the other class had no teacher. and yknow what, those kids stayed in their classroom doing their work. they only got distracted when we went to their classroom. In singapore, when a teacher never come, and a relieve teacher come in, its like PARTAYYYYYYYYYYYYY. And in Singapore, we have like proper stairs to climb and we complain so much, say why no lift. Their stairs are not even sturdy! i almost fell like twice. Until Mr Dy told us to go down side ways, thats how i got my balance back and not fall a horrible fall. One thing that strike me the most is the dance studio. Their dance studio is like super small, and then its not air conditioned at all. Whats more is that it even has a distorted mirror. And yet, the kids are dancing. It really made me wake up. So many times in my life, i want to give up dancing. Because i was tired. But these kids, they dont even have proper dance studios. Im not sure if its part of their curriculum or anything, but really, even so, they take it so seriously. They make me realise how fortunate i am, to be able to afford proper shoes for dancing, and given a proper environment to dance. Oh, and their library, it is clean, non air conditioned. but the books there are really limited. And yet, people in SG just go to the library to enjoy free aircon, to sleep and occasionally to use the tables to study. We dont even know how fortunate we are to have a well-furnished, and a proper library with all that information...
During the preparation of the cooking, we also taught the pa-pas how to sing Pink Song and Jackson 5 song! they are so cute. i miss them so much!
Then came the end of the English Camp Day 2. Despite not being there during the camp, this student gave me handkerchief as a souvenir/thank you gift. and its really pretty. The students also gave us hugs and kisses to thank us. It was really the first time ive seen someone so grateful for what i can do for them. Especially, when im not even doing them a very huge favour or anything.Its help tt is within our capabilities. and they are grateful for tt. Their hugs, their eyes, they spell and show gratefulness.
and they asked for our signature, like we really are celebrities. So cute. and a group of boys wanted to get my signature but was pushing each other to approach me. Then they got P-Orn to pass me the papers. hahaha! so cute.
We had a community walk around the village and we went to Pa-Yao house. She's one of the pa-pas that took care of us. She weave mats for income and they are sold at really low prices, at least tts what it seems for us. Especially for a mat tt is hand weaved and she said it wont spoil for 10 years. I didnt get any, because i know tt i wont use it. yes, i can use it as a beach mat, but i wont bear to use such a pretty mat on the grass or sand. and i cant use it to sleep because i cant sleep on the floor. My protruding tailbone problem wont let me. Then we left the place to an computer lab. It was so amazing. kids could use their computer, and they grew crops outside the place. P-Pum mom is a really nice lady and she was trhe one who introduced the organic growing method. And then Gerald was like asking me this really serious question about Pa-Yao, it was like, the mat is so sturdy, her place isnt a tourist attraction site, so who is going to buy the mats? And then it struck me on how little she can earn. But she kept on weaving and doing it. (and i immediately regretted not buying. T.T)
This night was the last dinner that the pa-pas would prepare for us, because the next dinner was a potluck during the cultural night exchange.
Then we had our cultural night planning and i totally lost my cool. I was super duper stress as a matter of fact. Because i had to make quite a number of impromptu changes. so sorry to all of them when i lost my cool. but my team mates are all so nice to tolerate me and when i apologized to them, they all told me tt it was okay and assured me that i was doing a good job. thank you guys, without your support and co-operation, i think i would have just broke out into tears. I was really crossing my fingers and hoping for the best for cultural night already. hahahaha!
18/9:Wednesday
Its the last day we are staying in Burirum. We had our last day of English Camp. I was supposedly in the english camp, but then i was pulled out by Mr Dy because he wanted me to get more rest and prep for the cultural night events. Then QiaoWen and I started to cook the curry chicken. I feel so grateful to the pa-pas. The both of us started cooking and the curry was horrible! it was only the pa-pas who helped us with the seasonings and then it got better. So actually, the real masterchef aint us. Its the pa-pas. Finally finished it. And Omm and Manora came to look for me for a photo! Omm is supercute. ever since she got my name right, she has been calling me whenever she saw me. And she asked me to sign on her uniform.
The big night eventually came. The curry chicken got good responses! (well, they cant say its not nice. nbut im glad no one got food poisoning) The entire night went on smoothly, and i sang through a mike. Thank goodness the glasses didnt break. omg. We had this ceremony where the host (thais) would give us their blessings. We had to kneel infront of the village chiefs, teachers and the pa-pas. they were all really sincere. Even though they didnt see us or interact much with us. Then the pa-pas cried so hard. And they hugged us so tightly like we are their grandchildren and children who are leaving. Everyone cried, but i didn't. I cry very easily, but during these kind of super super touching situation, i NEVER cry. Its like im so sad and devastated that i cant cry at all. my tear glands need to know when to cry and when not to. sigh. The night ended well.
19/9:Thursday
We had breakfast, and attended their assembly as per normal. Only thing different was we packed our bags and were leaving after assembly. The kids gave us flowers. And some were in bouquets. Someof the kids are kids ive never seen before but they gave me flowers. Two person left me a strong impression. A kindergarten kid and Tam. During all the speakings, i was smiling at this kindergarten kid near me. I couldnt understand the thai words so i was distracted. But i still listened when it is time to.The kindergarten kids didnt had to give us any flowers or anything. But this kindergarten kid, she gave me a coin., Which i realised tt it was a 1 baht. I was so overwhelmed with emotions. That 1 baht, could be her lunch money, but she gave it to me. Because i smiled to her. I kept tt 1 baht with me. And then there was Tam, she's the girl who left early during english camp day 1. She remembered me and gave me a super intricate handmade card. It is really pretty. But what struck me most other than the fact tt she remembered me even though she only came for half a day, was that she had this pen that was in her pocket. It was my pen. She brought tt pen with her, and is using it for her studies. The way that she place it on her front pocket made me felt so ashamed of the selfish thought i had days ago. I immediately felt sad tt i didnt bring refills because tt pen was running out of ink already. Normally, when you give a kid something. 90% chance it goes missing after a while. But it had been 2 days. And she had it, right there, in her front pocket. I was so touched. She left such a strong message for me and really taught me the joy of giving. Thank you, Tam, thank you.
After assembly was photo taking with the kids. loots of hugging and kissing on the cheeks again. Alot of people cried, the students cried till i heart pain la. but no, i didnt cry. (again. tear glands, you are such an arsehole). It was didnt really struck me tt im really leaving until i was in the car. Thats when all my emotions flow. but i didnt cry.
we went back to bkk. checked into a boutique hotel. it was so funny. we got so used to speaking aloud, we were making so much noise. We went to Siam Niramit.I tell you, whoever that goes to BKK, PLEASE GO THERE. GO WATCH THEIR SHOW. IT IS SUPER DUPER UBER NICE. i shall not spoil the surprieof whats there. But anyway, people who ive met up with already know cos i cant contain my excitement and i salute all the crew members and their performance value. Before the show was an international buffet and we were all feeling so weird not having to protect our food from flies. HAHAHAHAH. cos we had to protect the food when we were in burirum.
after the show, we stopped by a petrol kiosk, and i got magnum again~ hahahaa. YAY FOR MAGNUM!
went back to the hotel, had a girls talk which eventually died down cos everyone was tired. Slept for a couple of hours and we woke up to leave for the airport.
20/9:Friday
Home Sweet Home.
So this concludes everything! this trip is nothing but beneficial. It made me learn, grow, see things from my own eyes. Made valuable friends that i would never forget. Thank you, im so glad i went on the trip.I took the leap of faith and risk to go alone, and this trip has proven me that it is worth it.
THANKYOU.
okay this is the end! gotta sleep now, because i have to wake up early for project meeting tmr. :( goodnight people (:
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