Thursday 31 May 2007

Thursday 31st May

Today is a big Buddhist feast, so everyone is on holiday. We spent the morning with the babies, toddlers and kindergarten kids, just playing with them and giving them lots of love and attention.

The bus picked us up from the Center at 1.40 p.m. and when we arrived at the Orphanage the children were lined up waiting for us. The clambered onto the bus and a very excited group of children set off for Pattaya Park. When we got to the ticket office they all waited very patiently for their tickets and bowed and thanked as they were handed their ticket. Once inside we found seats under an umbrella and all our pupils plus their assigned child went into the water or straight up the steps to go down the slides. They did not stop for an instant, but came out immediately when told to come and get a drink. I think they were expecting water, so were thrilled when they had the choice of Pepsi or 7up. It was worth the strange looks in the shop and dragging 38 cans back to them just to see their happy faces (our pupils were pleased too!) As soon as the drink was finished it was straight back into the water for most of them and up and down the slides again, although a few of them went into the swimming pool proper for a short time to teach some of the little ones how to swim. Some of the children were only 5 or 6 so had not had much opportunity to learn to swim.

After a shower and supper (sauted potatoes instead of rice - we were all beside ourselves with excitement!), we got taxis to Royal Garden shopping mall for the pupils to do their last minute shopping spree. They were much more comfortable this time as they knew the lay out and the shops and also they went round in a large group and took confidence from that.

Wednesday 30th May

After a busy morning at the Orphanage with the babies and toddlers, we went back to the Centre for lunch. We had our afternoon activities cancelled by the Head of the School for the Blind - she wanted to do something special with the whole school, so decided to have some free time as we had to activities planned for the late afternoon and evening.

After lunch we went to Luk Dod to do some more souvenir shopping, then went back for a quiet hour and a half to catch up with some rest and relaxation. We all got ready to go to the Drop-in Centre to play football with the kids there. Crossing the main road we the most hair raising experience, although there is a pedestrian crossing, the motor bikes still come piling through! We boys from the drop in were waiting for us, and were very excited to be having visitors. They got organised into 2 teams and a frantic game took place. Our boys took of their flip flops to play, and ended up visiting the nurse to get their sore feet dealt with. When they pulled out the girls took their places - watching the boys have such fun meant they were thrilled to take part. The boys didn't want us to leave and when we had gone they were asking when we could come back, so we hope to see them again before we leave - this time playing something which means we can keep our footwear on.

After supper most of the pupils went up to the Vocational school for the Disabled to join in English Club and hang out with the students up there. They had a wonderful time and the students really appreciated them staying and talking to them, and also playing basketball with them!

Tuesday 29th May

We again went in our two separate groups, one to the Vocational School and one to the kindergarten at the Orphanage. At the orphanage one group played English games with two different groups, while the others went in with two groups for computer work.

In the afternoon, the pupils were all quite apprehensive about the visit to the School for the Blind - for most it was there first encounter with a blind child and they were not sure how they were going to communicate with them. We all piled out of the bus and the children were sitting in two lines waiting patiently for us to arrive. As soon as they were told to get up they walked over with their hands out and grabbed at any hand they could find and held tight. When all the pupils had a child holding their hand, we set off down the road to the beach. This can be the most difficult part of the trip as the children have to be guided past potential hazards and some are scared of the traffic on the road and stop or start clinging to their guide. That part negotiated, we then have the path with drains across and the steps down to the beach. When we were all safely onto the sands the children removed their flip flops and were walked down to the sea. Our group were the youngest children from the school and some of them were quite daring, whilst others seemed a bit scared, but in the end all of them were paddling in the water. Our pupils loved it - they were amazed at how well the children related to them and were so thrilled to have had that experience.

After supper we went by taxi on to the beach road to a shopping precinct. Not only are there many interesting stores but there are also stalls selling a huge variery of items. Everyone found something desirable. We got 2 taxis home at around 9 p.m. and went back to the Center.

Tuesday 29 May 2007

Monday 28th May

We were up bright and early for the start of the working week. We were at the Vocational School for the Disabled at 7.45, and most of the students and staff were already lining up for Assembly to begin. We were asked to line up with the staff, and then the raising of the flag ceremony took place. There were some speeches, which of course we did not understand at all, and then we all went to the front and I explained when we were going to be working with them, and there was great applause for the pupils.

The first groups of pupils, with Mrs Amphlett and Mr James went into one of the classes to teach English. To begin with the students were quite reluctant to speak, but after one-to-one tuition, some roll play situations and a great deal of encouragement, all the students gave a short speech in English with beautiful clear accents. Our pupils were very thrilled at what had been achieved.
The other half of the pupils with Miss Walsh and myself, went to the Orphanage to teaching English and computers. We split into two groups, the girls with Miss Walsh teaching English to 5/6 year olds, and then going into the toddler room for the rest of the morning. The boys started with the youngest children from the kindergarten, some of whom were only just 3 years old. It was really hard to get them to sit still let alone work on the computers! After about 40 minutes they watched a video of themselves that had been to music, and they all joined in the singing. We then had the older group who had previously been with the girls, and had great fun helping them with an alphabet game which was all in Thai!

In the afternoon all the pupils were in the baby and toddler room. This is a real favourite and I think the kids will feel really deprived when they have a day without going into the baby room. The toddlers are getting to know everyone, and look for their favourites every time. They love having the boys to play with them, some of them need a bit of "rough and tumble". One of the boys could not walk down to the Orphanage because he had a bad blister on his heel, so I managed to borrow a wheelchair for him and wheel him down for the end of the afternoon.

After work we walked down to Luk Dod which is a craft warehouse. We can get items at a discount price, so everyone had a great time buying gifts for everyone at home. We walked back to the Center fully laden and managed to shower before a late supper. After supper we had a huge electric storm which left the lobby flooded. Luckily we had planned an evening in so we did not get caught up in the storm.

Monday 28 May 2007

Sunday 27th May

We started the day in the Orphanage with the babies and toddlers. It was great to see all the toddlers rushing to be with the same pupils. Everyone was wonderful with them, playing games and keeping them stimulated and entertained.

After lunch there was slight change to our progamme, one group went to the Street Kids, as planned and had a fantastic time. They taught the kids to do the Hokey Kokey, which went down a storm, ring-a-ring a roses, which was far too tame for them, Duck, duck, goose, which they loved, and British Bulldog. Salas are the main living area in the Thai building, which is open at two sides, and it was not long before the Thai children saw running outside and back in again as a good way of winning the game! The girls came back absolutely exhausted but had had the time of their lives.

The second group went on a real adventure – an outing with children from the Drop-in Center! We went to Pattaya Park which had a fantastic swimming pool in a huge figure of 8, with 5 or 6 water slides. It was quite difficult for the 2 groups to mix, but the boys showed willing and everyone had a really good time.

After Mass on Saturday night, a gentleman approached Fr Larry and said that he would like us all to use his beach house one evening. Father introduced him to me, and we found that Sunday was the only possible day, so father arranged for the bus to take us there. We all met back at the Center, and then went by to the far south of the city to Tom’s beach house. It was fabulous and had a private beach with palm trees for shade and benches and tables. The sea is very warm, but unfortunately the tide was out so it was very shallow. Tom and his wife had put out an ice bucket with cold drinks for everyone, and a big bad full of large packs of crisps. We were overwhelmed by their kindness to complete strangers. We had to leave slightly earlier than planned as a tropical storm seemed to be coming our way, the wind was whipping up the sand and we felt a few drops of rain.

After supper we went to the local shopping centre, the adults managing to sit in the coffee shop for a few precious minutes having a hot drink. We all felt pretty tired when we got back and ready for our beds.

Sunday 27 May 2007

Our First Full Day

Having been shown round the Orphanage Site by the volunteers the group divided into 2 and half went into the baby room and half into the toddlers, and then swapped over half way through the morning. Everyone did a marvelous job of giving the little one some one to one attention and loads of love. It is so exciting for the toddlers to have new people to play with, they have such a great sense of fun. We were all rather reluctant to leave, but all the babies and toddlers were going for their lunch time sleep, so we crept away.

In the afternoon the we went by bus to the Street Kids' Home and started with Carrie showing us round. She told us of some of the backgrounds of the children and how they got there, which is quite heartbreaking. As soon as the children caught sight of us, they came running over wanting us to play.

After our visit we walked to the Elephant Village and went for an elephant trek in the jungle, two people to each elephant. We bought some bananas to feed the elephants and keep them happy, some were quite ssneaky and took bananas from people on other elephant's backs! One younger elephant thought it was a race and took Mr James on a fairly hair raising trip, starting last and ending up third or forth! The trip was a great success. Afterwards we went straight back to Mass at St Nicklaus Church, and then back for supper.

We had a night in after all the excitement of the day, and caught up with much needed sleep. We have a very full day tomorrow.

Saturday 26 May 2007

We Have Arrived!

After setting off from Worcester at around 10.20 a.m. on Thursday, loaded into 2 minibuses, we arrived safely in Pattaya at around 4 p.m. on Friday.

The journey was good although we were slightly delayed at Birmingham, and then spent around half an hour circling Dubai before being able to land. We had enough time to all go to the loo at the airport before getting on the next plane. Although we had a full meal on the plane some of the boys also tried out the McDonald's to check if it was the same as in England! The second leg of the flight was not quite as comfortable, and there was no in flight entertainment.

When we got through arrivals Mary Amphlett's son and his friend were waiting for us. They are travelling at the moment and managed to be in Thailand for our arrival. They are spending 2 days with us, working at the Orphanage and the Street Kids' Home. The coach was waiting for us at Bangkok Airport, and it was very luxurious, and we had not gone very far before the pupils were all asleep.

Everyone was very impressed with the accommodation and we all got unpacked and showered ready for supper. We did have one problem - two of the girls thought they could see a dead body in the garden below their balcony! I went to investigate and found that it was a broken statue which had been put with some other garden waste! After supper we went to Carrefour walking down the back street. The boys tested the KFC and said that the coating was much spicier than in England, which got a definate thumbs up.

We were all up for breakfast by 8 a.m., quite something for a Saturday morning. We walked up to the Orphanage and were given a tour of the site. The pupils then broke into 2 groups, one with the babies and one with the mini-toddlers, and then were going to swap over.

More news tomorrow!

Friday 18 May 2007

Preparing for our visit to Pattaya

The year 10 pupils at Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, Worcester have been preparing for their trip to Thailand at the end of this month. During the year they have been fundraising for the Trust. There has been a non-uniform day for the whole school, a fashion show for the Year 11's showing formal wear for boys and girls for the summer prom, the dresses and suits being lent by local firms. Profits from the sale of refreshments as well as the tickets went into the fund. One boy held an auction which raised a lot of money.

We are all looking forward to Thursday when we leave for Birmingham Airport straight after Assembly. We have a very busy timetable in Thailand and are very much looking forward to our work over there.