7/30 Awkward turtle

Only 10 more days! I can't believe a) how quickly it has gone by and b) how long I've already been here. While sometimes the days are painfully slow and I want to rip my hair out, it doesn't feel like its been 6 weeks already.

Teaching at our temporary school has continued to be great, rewarding and a lot of fun. I have taken to playing the "Hokey Pokey" with my 6th graders to learn body parts, and they are endlessly entertained by watching me dance around. My 11th grade class is also absolutely adorable. They have requested continuously after many refusals that I sing them a song, so tomorrow I will don my best Taylor Swift hat and attempt to not massacre one of her songs. They brought me cute little snacks today and I am totally obsessed with them. At my other school, my students were great and the teaching was good, but I think I'm actually going to be sad to leave them. Its all downhill from here, 1 more day at the temporary school, then 3 days back at Taphanhin school, then a trip to the beach on the way to Bangkok (not sure how this will work out, Crystal's host dad has planned some sort of adventure), a weekend in Bangkok, and back to DC!

Mr. Pairoc is the head of the English Department at our temporary school who has essentially been tasked with stalking us, with only the best intentions of course. He insists on following us around everywhere we go, waiting for us after we finish teaching, walking with us to the bathroom (thats a little awkward...), takes us to lunch everyday (we said we liked noodles at one point and have eaten every kind of noodle available in our town thus far) and is like our shadow. At first I thought, oh how nice! Day 4 and I'm about to scream. I think one of the main issues with us in Thailand-that leads to the groping, the giggling at, the inappropriate conversational topics-is that everyone treats us like children. In their society, we still sort of are. I'm used to being a full-fledged (well almost...) adult in the US. I have my own job, I will have my own apartment (everyone pray) and I generally take care of myself. Here, everything is done and planned for us. We are treated as if we are mentally incapacitated and must have our hands held everywhere we go. I drink a TON of water since I'm in the middle of the freakin jungle and I went to the bathroom twice one day, and the second time I came out, he runs up to me and says, "Stacy! You have gone to the toilet a lot! Do you have diharrhea?" WHY oh god WHY are our bowel movements the interest of so many people? So yea, having Mr. Pairoc sit across the table from me staring on every single free period I have is getting a little old. He is also, how shall I put this, very open-question mark? We were discussing our students and he was telling us how some of the girls drop out early to get married, and asked us creepily if we were married (umm no?!) and then if we had boyfriends. We awkwardly laughed it off and said no no, and tried to change the topic of conversation. Ha. Next thing we know Mr. Pairoc (who is married, has two little daughters and a beautiful wife who works at the school) proceeds to tell us that before he was married, he was a "playboy" and he "made love with many women", but that when he knew he was to be married, he stopped "making love" and got tested for HIV every 3 months for a year.

T.M.I.

I sat in the front seat, mouth open and unable to speak. Crystal was able to mumble the appropriate "oh..." before I jumped out of the car the minute we pulled up to the pharmacy. So we are two young, female volunteers who he has known for approximately 3 days, and he feels the need to share his sexual history and health with us? Really? Is this actually my life? It creeped me out even more this morning when he said that I looked "Very beautiful today" because I painted my toenails. Cringeeeee.

Ok but he is a really nice guy. Lets just hope he stays happily married and HIV free. For all our sakes.

Last night, I had a Thai-style bbq. Kind of like a Barry Shelden bbq, except lacking the bbq pit, delicious meat, Kingsford charcoal, beer and an expert grill master...I'm not homesick or anything... My host brother finished his mid term exams and brought 8 friends home with him. 9 fourteen year olds...yikes! The bbq was so funny and completely different from an American bbq. We had these clay pots that had charcoal in them with grates over them, and we sat on mats around the makeshift bbqs and cooked kebab skewers. The kebabs were pretty good (minus the shrimp and fish ball ones. Shrimp balls....very chewy) but I got eaten alive. I haven't had this many insect bites since the first week here when I thought I had fleas. I am covered from head to toe, it is so miserable and I look like a leper.

Well I'm off to bed before my last day at Tessaban Song (the temporary school). I am sure the last day will be filled with awkward "Teacher! Picture?!" as the students will bombard me with their camera phones. I'm not going to know what to do when I get back to the US and people don't find me interesting enough to take pictures of. It will surely be a big blow to my psyche.

xoxo,

Stacy