Good-bye Saint Francis, Hello Summer Vacation

Sorry to make you jealous with my title, but yes, we are enjoying our first day of Summer vacation. It's been in the mid-90s all week, and very humid. Although you may be sick of inclement winter weather, let me just say that we wish we had some... We are so sick of sweating! So there you go, the grass is always greener on the other side.

It's hard to believe, but we have successfully completed our first year of teaching. Granted, we started in the middle of first semester, so we're really only been teaching for a semester and a half, but it still feels like a whole year. We have learned a lot, about teaching, about ourselves, and about life in (for lack of a better word) an opposite culture. There have been a lot of good moments, but to be honest, we are glad to be done at Saint Francis and moving on to another school. We will really miss some of our students, though.

So here's the update you've all been waiting for:

We have decided to stay in Thailand another year. We got accepted to teach at another Catholic school not too far from here. Here's the real kicker: we will be teaching Kindergarten and First Grade!! Yep!! We are moving from 5th and 11th Grade to 1st Grade! We did teaching demos during our interview, and I was blown away by how tiny they are, with their miniature little desks, and how easy it is to entertain them!! We think it will be a lot of fun, once we get used to it, and it means we'll come back to the US with more experience whenever this whole Asian escapade is over.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Pictures... Let's see. Here are a few to show our last weeks at school. We really haven't had anything to do these past two weeks without students, so we've had to be creative to entertain ourselves.

...finishing up grades. Our "beloved" blue books.

...going out to lunch for 2-3 hrs with some of our fellow teachers.

...taking advantages of the empty classrooms to watch movies on the TVs.

Signs, Billboards, and generally bad English

No blog on Thailand would be complete without a post on some of the funny things we see written everywhere. Misspellings, grammatical errors, and just general nonsense. Here are some of our favorites:

Starbucks Coffee: We never could find the thrid floor.

This was a card they gave us at school: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2011. May the love and peace of Jesus threit be with you always" Sweet thought. We don't know who Jesus threit is though... By the way, we do work at a Catholic school.

"Don't let finger to my dog." We think it means don't pet the dog, maybe...

At a wat (Buddhist temple): "NO ENTRY WOMAN." The meaning there is pretty clear.

At a fish-feeding pond: "Please to make merit to buy the nutritions for the temple's fish." OK.

I don't know where the owner learned about marketing, but he could use some help.

"The Sidewalk Cafe: Probably the best coffee around."

And my all-time favorite. In a coffee shop, we found this on the wall...

It says: Plague of Appreciation.

Ahhhh, yes. You gotta love Thailand.

Life in the Kingdom, Part 1

When I was a kid, I used to think that since the earth was round, then the people on the other side of the world must be upside down. Turns out, I was totally right, except that it's not physical, it's mental. In the seven months I've spent in Thailand, I have realized that people here really and truly think the opposite of the way we think in the West, and I think this is true for most of Asia. We have personally experienced "East meets West," and it's far crazier and more different than the trend for decoration and food that has become popular in recent years. I think that the two biggest differences between Thailand and the Western cultures are the King, and Buddhism.

As Christians, we live in a Kingdom, but we don't really get what that means. This is one of the biggest things we have learned by living in the Thai culture, and I think there are many lessons that the Church can learn from it.

The most obvious is the incredible respect that Thais have for their King. In the US, we take this as a no-brainer, but I don't think we really GET IT. In Thailand, showing respect for the King is a part of every day life, even for those who have never physically met him. At 6 pm, in crowded places such as malls, train stations, and some public squares, the National Anthem plays and everyone stops what they are doing and stand straight to show respect. Our first experience with this was at a mall. We were talking with a vendor and looking at products and we turned around to find everyone else standing frozen like statues, staring straight ahead. We were blown away to see such a crowded place suddenly quiet and reverent. It was incredible! In case a person is not at a mall at 6, every radio station and TV channel stops at 6 pm to play the King's song. Every Monday morning, in addition to the National Anthem, all the school children of Thailand sing the King's song. When you go to see a movie, after the previews and right before the movie, they ask everyone to stand up and watch a movie clip of the King's song. Showing respect and honor to the King is a part of everyday life here. In fact, it is illegal to speak poorly of the King, which is why it is best for foreigners not to speak of him at all in public. Something that was meant to be perfectly harmless might really offend a Thai person because of their deep honor for their King.

Tonight at small group, we watched a video on the tabernacle and the speaker mentioned that one thing we notice in the inner court is that there are no chairs. Why? Because no one stands in the presence of a King! We see that tradition continue today here in real life in Thailand. It kind of makes me wonder about our modern worship practices in many churches. I'm not saying that there is never a time to sit in reverence, but I don't see much justification for sitting in the presence of a King, either in the Bible or in this modern-day Kingdom. Hum....

Even more than reverence and respect, people in this Kingdom have an immense LOVE for their King. I have had countless discussions with my students about why the King is so wonderful and what he has done for Thailand. Even young children can brag about the King's many accomplishments and contributions. Even if they don't know the details of his history, they know the details of his character. They are so quick to sing his praise. This is a wonderful lesson for us Western Christians to learn. Actually, Father's Day here is the day of the King's Birthday, and Mother's Day is the Queen's Birthday. In case you weren't observant enough to notice these subtler nuances, you would at least notice the huge amount of "Long Live the King" bumper stickers and "We love the King" T-Shirts. Perhaps this is an aspect of the Kingdom that needs to be taught in the US. We tend to think of a Kingdom as oppressive to our "free wills and independence" that we hold so near, but in fact, those in this earthly Kingdom are so proud of their King and love him as much as their own family members.

Third, there is an understanding that having a King is permanent, secure thing, and that there is great freedom in that. Many Thais do not like talking politics, but the King is not in charge of politics, his job is to take care of the people of Thailand. One of my students put it very nicely: the King is not involved in government, that's why he stays the same even though the government changes. That is why the Thai people's faith in their King has not wavered even through this time of political unrest with the Red Shirt riots last summer. They know that although the government may be in turmoil, their King will take care of them! How profound is that! God says many times in Scripture that though the Kings of the Earth rise and fall, His Kingdom lasts forever.

So there you go: those living in a Kingdom understand respect and love for their King, and know that they are secure because their King will take care of them! Many blessings! Let me know your thoughts.

Tune in next time for Part 2: Buddhism