My last full week

This week has been my last full week of work here in Thailand! I can’t believe how fast three months has gone. Although it feels like ages ago since I first arrived, the time has flown by and it’s a strange thought to think that this time next week I’ll have been back at Carrubbers! This year I haven’t been counting/worrying about the lack of time I have left, I’ve just been really enjoying it. I think that’s mainly because this year I am looking forward to being back in Edinburgh and excited for the coming year whereas last time I really really didn’t want to come home.

I have had a lovely week. We did two volunteer organised activities this week and two trips too. I have tried to do at least one trip a week since being here. On Wednesday we organised messy play! It is so much fun, I think us volunteers and staff had as much fun as the staff. I was so tempted to completely soak Alex, but he got away with just a bit of tapioca starch down his back and a spray with the hose. So, of course, we were super organised with planning and went shopping for the stuff we needed on Tuesday night! We bought baked beans, tapioca starch, two different sizes of tapioca balls, some shaving foam, iced jelly and then we had spray can ribbon stuff. We didn’t have time to cook it that night though so we went into work armed with all our ingredients hoping to be able to cook it after we’d had lunch. But there was no plug for the electric boiler they had so we had to go hunting for one. Eventually the staff found one and we then got on with pretending we knew how to cook the tapioca balls. Basically they start off really hard and dusty and then you boil them and they become soft and incredibly gooey!! The kids had woken up form their nap and so were very interested in what we were doing. We coloured them all bright colours with food colouring too.

Looking like we know how to cook tapioca balls ;)

End product of the large tapioca balls...a big plate of very gooey mess

The children waiting (amazingly) patiently for messy play to stary. All credit has to go to P'Bim for this though!!

We had a great fun afternoon of getting very wet and messy with the children. It’s a good afternoon activity because we get four older, more difficult to manage children, but who are all quite happy to mess around with water and everything else we had.

 

Great fun!

Lotus with tapioca hair.

 

Me, Alex, Kara and P’Nan took Sua, Tee and Biw on a trip to soft play and then for food afterwards. It was great fun. The three of them really really enjoyed soft play. We got lots of smiles and laughs from all three of them and Tee didn’t cry or moan which was amazing! He clearly just loves going out of the orphanage and loves the one on one attention that he gets on trips. We had P’Nan with us and she very kindly took us in her car which was great.

The gorgeous Tee looking happy.

Sua enjoying the balloons

Biw and Sua got playing with two girls. Biw started it by doing his usual chucking balls/everything at them. It was great to be able to let him enjoy throwing them without having to tidy them up afterwards. It is really lovely when we see interaction between our kids and other children.

Tee loving his food

Sua enjoying his too, but he was soon fed up and went for walks pushing the buggies. But he enjoed himself which is the main thing.

 

Thursday was a normal day at work but afterwards eight of the volunteers from Sirin house (where we live) came and helped us take six children on a trip to get food and ice cream. So there were a lot of volunteers. We were able to take out two children who don’t normally get out, Gob and Nielle. I knew them from two years ago, but only one of them is now a CCD child and she doesn’t come all that often. So it was great to be able to take them out. Gob loved his fish nuggets and chips and ice cream. He is a very bright boy, more than able to communicate what he wanted or didn’t want. It was fantastic to see him changed from on the ward being a solemn faced child to him having this beautiful smile! We were pretty tired after that but Alex and I come back and got some photos printed and made a board of photos for the staff and children at work.

 

Our photo board

 

Just as we were clearing it all away I heard something rattling at the back door and turned round to see a massive lizard/gecko climbing up the inside of the mosquito netting. It then crawled along the wall to the kitchen cupboards. We tried to do something with it ourselves but we were all pretty terrified so we took a picture and went to the security guard at the end of the road. But he sent us three high/drunk Thai men from the end of our road to our house. They stank! They went around banging cupboards but couldn’t find it. But it made another appearance at about 11.30! We still don’t know where it is.

Our giant gecko!!

The random Thai men who came to try and get rid of it!

 

Friday was such a lovely day. We had planned an activity for the morning. Three boys from Rachawadee boys came and joined us for some epic music therapy. Alex and I had to get up and do some random actions and then do one last song for them. Then we played pass the parcel with a parcel and baby powder as the forfeit. Then we got out face paints, balloons and bubbles. The children had a great time. They particularly enjoyed the bubbles. We had almost all our children out in the morning so it was very busy but such fun! And it took up the whole morning which was great. It was Alex, Kara and I’s leaving do in the afternoon.

Alex and I doing a song with Art helping with the actions

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Biw got theforfeit of powder!

The legend that is P'O doing music!!




 

I think  for the first time it was held at Fuang Fah. So we were sent away for lunch and came back to the daycentre having been decorated with loads of bunting, balloons and it looked so lovely! It made me emotional as I cycled up and saw how much effort they had gone to to make it really special for us. The children were all sitting in front of the TV. Lay was particularly excited by it all. Then the Rachawadee girls volunteers arrived with some girls and the volunteer co-ordinator arrived and then we got under way. We watched a dvd of pictures of our time here and then were given a picture of us with one of the children.



Facepainting

Our leaving 'party'

All getting a bit emotional and Jew gave me a funny look.

Big group photo

The three of us were surprised with the photos we got because we had had a ‘photo session’ on Tuesday and had expected those photos but they weren’t the ones. It hadn’t felt real until this afternoon that I would be saying bye to the kids very soon. I think because I am looking forward to Edinburgh again I have been  focussing on that positive. So it took me by surprise when I go upset as they were giving us the pictures. And then afterwards as we were giving the children snack I was just thinking how hard it really is going to be saying bye to the children and staff on Tuesday. I love them all too much. And not knowing when I will be back is difficult. So it turned into a pretty emotional afternoon. But it was Alex and Kara’s last day and I think it was more than a little bit tough for them both. So we went to cheer ourselves and Emma up with a yummy ice cream. So I have Monday and Tuesday morning at work before I fly out at midnight on Tuesday. I am planning on going to the other orphanage to say goodbye to Solasak and Fah on Monday so you could pray that I won’t find that too hard, and again for the goodbyes I will be doing on Tuesday.

I might try and do a short blog on Tuesday afternoon if I am organised enough. We’ll see. So I’ll see a lot of you soon.

A wonderful outing

Sorry about that poor blog. I wrote it on Friday night and then couldn’t be bothered adding anything else to it tonight! So here’s to a more interesting one.

On Sunday we did an all day trip (8.30-5 but it felt so much shorter). Alex looked after Tammy from Fuang Fah, Kara had Fai from Rachawadee girls and I was able to take out Solasak who I met two years ago at Fuang Fah but who has now moved to Nontapoom orphanage across the road from Fuang Fah. I was really happy about the prospect of taking him out because I wasn’t really sure I’d be allowed because I don’t work in that orphanage and I have only briefly seen him this year and I developed a bit of a soft spot for him two years ago!!

Kara, Fai, Alex and Tammy heading into church.

So thankfully all went smoothly with picking them up and after a bit of a wait for a taxi we arrived at church. We go to a church in an ex-pat community, so there are a lot of Americans, so it must have been a bit odd for the children. Solasak (he told us he is 10) was really quiet in the taxi on the way there, but I remember he always was a bit shy to start with. But once we got to church and we were able to talk to each other properly he started laughing and talking with me. I took some sweets and a colouring book with me for him to do doing the service. He was so well behaved, the sweets kept him going. And he loved taking pictures of church on my camera. Quite a few of the pictures from yesterday are courtesy of Solasak. In the last song, he started joining in with the alleluia and did some clapping when others were clapping. I loved that time talking quietly with him, helping draw and colour in and having some hugs.

Taking pictures of himself in church

Making silly faces

Colouring in during the service

In church....look at that gorgeous smile!

Then after we had a snack of fruit and Solasak chatted to our friends James and Rach who used to do music therapy at Fuang Fah, and who Solasak remembered (during the singing, Solasak was taking pictures of James playing guitar!) Then we went for lunch at a Mexican place. Solasak ordered himself a massive plate of BBQ ribs and chips but didn’t quite manage it all. We had such a good time playing silly games and singing old MacDonald with silly things like Pepsi and pork and trying to make up sounds. He found it hilarious and his laugh is amazing so we were both laughing away.

Enjoying his lunch



Group photo...happy kids and happy volunteers

We came back to the house to put my pictures of the day so far on my lap top so that he could chose a couple of pictures to get printed. At Nontapoom he has a locker or something to keep some bits and pieces so I thought it would be nice if he had a memory of the day. Kara and Alex skyped their parents with their respective children too. Solasak was very content with playing on the lap top and he wanted to play on facebook! Not entirely sure how he knows about Facebook but there you go, it’s clearly famous! We headed down the road to get the pictures printed and went to Swensens for ice cream. He was so excited! But again, his eyes were bigger than his stomach and he ordered a massive ice cream which he didn’t eat all of. I’d promised him somtam (spicy papay salad) to take home with him. So we went and bought some and then headed to get a taxi.

Enjoying his massive ice cream!

On the lap top...he changed the desktop background back to a picture of me and him from two years ago ;)

It was so horrible taking him back. I know it’s probably the last time I’ll see him this year. On the taxi back he just stopped talking and held my hand and when we arrived back the security guard came over and took him so I didn’t get a proper bye, just a little kiss. He couldn’t say bye, he was so quiet. He went away holding tightly to his pictures and his somtam. If I could have I would have kept him. It was so horrible. It was such a lovely day. Not exhausting, just really lovely. We laughed so much and he said he had had a good day. I hope to maybe pop in and say bye to him at the end of the week or Monday next week. So it was a very very good day, one I would love to repeat!!  

A bit about last week

I have had a pretty busy week with doing one thing or another. I seem to have been out every evening this week. But it has been a great week of work. Monday was a bank holiday for mother’s day which gave all us volunteers a chance just to relax. We went to the cinema in the evening which is always very exciting when we get to dig the hoodies and socks out of our suitcases, ready for the air-con! We saw ‘brave’ in 3D. It’s all very Scottish and hilarious! I am the only Scottish volunteer so am often being asked strange questions like do you have the same things as we do in England, or how do I say such and such a word. This film just took all the most Scottish things about Scotland and made them VERY funny! That along with the Scottish made for a very fun evening.

The children have all seemed to be in really good moods this week. Tee who normally has a good few tantrums and screaming fits over the day has not cried at all! Amazing, he has just been really happy. I even got some laughs out of him the other day. And Somsak who often gets very worried and upset when he doesn’t get to run around has been remarkably calm and often quite happy to sit still for reasonably long periods of time. Maybe a result of his change of war.

Another more exciting post to follow with some pictures.

Work and play

Well I am back from a short break with mum and Kathryn who are now away. It didn’t start particularly well as the day we left Kathryn and I had been up all night with sickness and diarrhoea (a kind donation from the kids who’d had it I think) but mum got us together and ‘shoved’ us into the taxi, laden with plastic bags and wipes and towels. But thankfully we got there without incident. And we were both very glad mum had made us go because we were able to sleep in air-con for the first time in 8 weeks and have my first hot shower. So we spent a few days doing nothing. Just getting better. Then we did a few trips, it was a great break. I was very much feeling in need of a break as I was exhausted emotionally and physically.  

So this was my first week back at work. It seems to have been a bit disjointed with only two normal work day out of 5. Monday was normal but I went back at lunch to see mum and Kathryn into a taxi to the airport. On Tuesday I decided to take the opportunity to visit one of CCD’s community projects that works with families with children and adults with disabilities. They have a very small centre and then they do home visits to families’ houses too. I seemed to choose a good day, for one our staff had a meeting all day so I wasn’t missing my work and quite a few other visitors/volunteers were going on Monday too. So we went to see the centre and were told a bit about the running of it and what sorts of things happen from a community project and then we visited two families houses. Both very different. But it was LOVELY to see the children/young people with families who clearly love their children. Even though one of the families lived in a really poor area they still had their son at home with them. The way it should be. So it was a really good day, experiencing the other side of CCD’s work here.

A young man with his dad, showing us his plant business

Their home

Wednesday I went to Rachawadee girls because all the CCD staff health checks. There were four of us there. We went onto one of the wards and put a cd on and danced around, did the conga and generally just got very hot and the girls seemed to have fun. Then we went onto another ward and helped to feed some of the girls. In the afternoon we went to Rainbow house for training on autism. There has been a group of speech and language therapists here these last two weeks and they were doing the training for the Thai staff and volunteers. It was really good and useful and the staff all had some good questions asking for advice for specific children.

We then stayed at Rainbow house for the evening for some mother’s day celebrations. Mother’s day is a big affair here. I think it is celebrating something to do with the Queen or Princess. But as you can imagine, it is a sad time for the children in the orphanages here because a lot of them do have an understanding of the concept of a mother. One of the older girls got really upset at the end of it. Thankfully at CCD the director of CCD’s wife is considered by the children at Rainbow house as their ‘mum’. That is what they call her. So there was a time when all the mums in the room went up to the front. So community childrens’ mums and volunteers mums who are here visiting just now. And then the children sang a song. It is a really sad song. The words go something like ‘I miss my mum, where is she?’ So there were a fair few people in tears. Which here in Thailand, where they are not people to show their emotions, was just showing how sad it was. I wish I could have understood more of the words. Then after that sad bit the older students did a drama. It was hilarious!

Some of the hilarious drama

Thursday was a normal day. Outside our daycentre the climbing frame has been pulled down. It was falling apart and very dangerous, with nails sticking out. But now that it has gone there is less outside for the children to do. And in the afternoon it started raining (a tiny bit, but here if there is rain, even a tiny bit, they don’t like being outside!) so we had to come in. So we had all the very active children inside for the last 20mins, trying to keep them all under control. There were a lot of grumpy children.

Today was the government orphanages mother’s day. So at Fuang Fah we had a mother’s day celebration with a lot of the orphanage children coming out for it. There were various parts to the morning. I have to say the children were very patient as a lot of time there was not much happening. First, some children were picked to give flower wreaths to their ward mums, to say thank you. That was difficult to watch because these children don’t have their real mum’s to give things to. It was strange actually, one of the ward mum’s got upset. I was VERY surprised that she would get upset. Then a group of children got up and did a dance. They were very cute! And then a different group sang that same sad song and another one. They did really well. There was a blind boy leading the singing and he was an amazing singer! Then of course there was a lot of snacks. There was so much that Alex and I weren’t sure whether it was meant to be a snack or their lunch. But it was snack. 20 minutes later we went back to the daycentre and our children had lunch! This afternoon we had the children out in the garden. For quite a while two of the boys were playing very happily together which is very unusual. Because they are orphanage kids they tend not to like playing with each other as they see other children as a threat to any attention/food etc that they can get. So I was loving watching them. Just chasing each other round the garden and helping each other onto the slide. The pictures don't capture it quite so well! The staff have asked me to come and work at the daycentre as a physio when I graduate, there is a job vacancy......  (though I wouldn’t be able to have a paid job here with them because I’m not Thai).

Songpom and Sua enjoying the big swing



My all time favourite of Suchat. Playing so happily with a toy he found, and really playing. It was lovely

Sua and Jew playing together :)



Helping each other on the slide and laughing so much.

So that has been my week of work. Only another two and a half weeks and I will be home. These three months have gone very fast!

The past weeks' activities

Thought I would do a short blog with some random pictures, just to cover the last little while. Mum, Kathryn and I are meant to be leaving today for about 10 days on holiday. But Kathryn and I are really sick so we might have to wait a day or so before making the journey. Prayers for this would be so welcomed as I HATE being ill! I am really tired so I am looking forward to my first night in air-con and my first hot shower in seven weeks! But I will really miss work whilst I’m away, I may come back a day earlier to go into work next week. I’m very glad I’m going back to work for another 4 weeks after our holiday. I wouldn’t want to be going home!

Jew

Tee enjoying soft play

Tee Loving his food

So I think face painting went down really well with the children and staff on Monday. Tuesday was a pretty normal Tuesday, with the afternoon in the adventure room. But sadly we didn’t have a ball fight. We must have all been feeling too tired! Then in the afternoon after a day of work we took out three children: Jew, Somsak and Tee. To say the least we were all a little worried about it. For a start Somsak is a runner, a lot of running required to keep him under control. And then Tee is always crying or moaning and he really only responds to one of the Thai staff at CCD who he calls mum. We were pretty sure Jew would be fine though. But it was actually an amazing trip! Tee was loving it. He smiled so much of the time, even laughed a bit, and ate loads of food which is unusual for him. And Somsak was fine. We took them all to the soft play at a shopping centre and they loved it, just being able to go around as they pleased. In fact the only problem we had was in fact with Jew who wouldn’t eat any dinner. But we gave it to the ward mums’ when we got back. It’s always a worry when they won’t eat on a trip because we never know if they will get food.

On Wednesday we did some big paintings with the children, letting them get as messy as they liked.

Art getting very messy

On Thursday P’O came from Rachawadee boys with two men and did music. It was great having him back able to play guitar and make proper music. He even brought out a harmonica and played it at the same time as the guitar! The kids loved it, as did we! Then we did another volunteer organised activity. Making smoothies. We had a slight excess of bananas and milk because we had all bought stuff without talking to each other (great planning) but that was great because we actually used it all because the kids loved the smoothies so much. It didn’t start so great because they just wanted to eat the bananas, but once we brought out the smoothie machine they seemed to understand what we were doing. They really enjoyed the whole process of mashing up the banana and pineapple, adding the milk and blending it all up. There were a lot of cups of it consumed.

P'O with his guitar and harmonica

Smoothie making

Sua with it all around his face

The big bike

Mum on the big swing with Lotus, Mod and Barn

After lunch we took the children out to the garden and went round the orphanage grounds on various bikes. Unfortunately one of the little boys we were meant to be taking out had been sick and had diarrhoea over lunch, so we were pretty sure we wouldn’t be allowed to take him out. But the staff said because he hadn’t had anything in the afternoon we were allowed to take him out. So again we went armed with nappies, rubber gloves and a change of top. We took the children to the same soft play and then for food. Art was loving the soft play, particularly the slide! He found it hilarious. He was really cute at one stage. I sat down and crossed my arms and then he slid down next to me and copied what I was doing. It was funny. Whilst I was away ordering the kids food there was a bit of an incident. I arrived back to the table to see the boy who hadn’t been well being held up and there was diarrhoea all over the chair and the floor and him.  Uh oh! A big smelly mess. But mum and Kathryn were with us and as Alex set to work cleaning the chair mum volunteered to go and change him. Stupidly I had forgotten to pick up shorts so we had to buy a pair of ladies short shorts for him. He looked great! But I don’t think he was really ill, maybe just too much banana smoothie earlier. So the trip continued without much more incident.

All of us leaving the orphanage

In the taxi

Lay playing in the tea-cups

 

On Friday morning we received wheelchairs that have been donated to CCD so we helped to put them up. Lay got one and was loving it. Hopefully he can learn to use it, although we want to encourage his walking too. Then this afternoon one of the staff went home ill so I went to one of the wards with another staff and spent the afternoon with three children. Positioning them, playing with them and doing some stretches. It was nice to get the children out of the ward and onto the patio to spend some time with them. It’s quite hard work though spending the whole afternoon on the ward doing some physio stuff with them.

Constructing a wheelchair

Lay LOVING his new wheelchair

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by. I am loving being able to skype my flatmates. It’s a great invention, although we are all in different continents and 1000s of miles away we can still have really great chats together. Sarah is off on her European travels tomorrow, and it feels like when I left it was ages and ages away.

Thank you for all of your continued thoughts and prayers.