1st Annual Legacy Cup

The boys decided a few weeks ago that since we had been having difficulties finding a league or tournament to join, that we should create our own - thus the 1st Annual Legacy Cup was born. It was a bit of work and I won't say the first day went off without a hitch, but it has been worth it.

Organizing anything in Thailand has its challenges, and trying to encourage students to take control, while also making sure it is up to standards, makes it even more interesting.

The boys (young men!) found the things we would need, determined the budget, contacted teams, made the schedules, wrote letters, and set-up on game day. Some of them, the second and third year students especially, were really involved and I was very proud of them.

Here are a few of the students making the scoreboard. Rather ingenious I thought, with the use of rubber bands to allow one to turn each piece and create the numbers.

The banner that we had made for this year's tournament -
hopefully there will be more to follow!

The 1st and 2nd place trophies the 8 teams are playing for - along with small cash prizes!

Me at the Opening Ceremony welcoming the teams.

Here are 5 of the eight teams - this is where it was difficult to be organized.
Lots of teams came late!

An action shot of Atiwat - one of the Legacy team members.

The team rehydrating over the 10 minute break.

The Legacy team on the field.

Some of the spectators.

This year we are playing 7-7 since we don't have enough players for a full football team. We play 25 minute halves with a ten minute break. The tournament is five Sundays (four more to go!) and hopefully all the teams will have a really good time! Hopefully we will continue this in the future as a service to others.

Feast Recap

We are already starting the third week of second semester. Since my last entry we had a three week "break" for the Feast. The Feast is always a busy time of year, and this year was no exception. We had families that came from the camps to stay at the school and it was definitely booked here!

This year we have a big first year class so it adds when students come for the first time. As usual I really enjoyed keeping the Feast with the students. The activities are more fun if we are all together.

Big FOT highlights are the following:

- FOOD - Lots and lots of Empress hotel buffets, where the students stock up on the assortment of desserts and load their plates with white rice.
- MUSIC - The students' performances and all of those who participated in the music at the Feast, it was wonderful to hear. This year I directed the choir and am mightily thankful that I started out with a talented bunch!
- Chiang Mai Zoo and SNOW DOME - Not only did we get to see many animals, but some of the students got a taste of a Minnesota winter when we went in the Snow Dome.
- Bowling - Every year the student activity is bowling and every year I think it is fun - however, my score gets lower with time!
- Swimming - The last night we all get to enjoy the pool under the big, beautiful sky. And during the Feast I get to enjoy it and soak up the sun! It never fails to relax me!
- Talent Night - This year I laughed so hard! These students can be total hams! I'm not surprised, I've seen it around school too, but still, they were very funny in their skit!

Here are some pics so you get an idea of what it was like:

Students at the zoo.
My favorite fella at the zoo - he was very entertaining!
Quick mid-Feast trip to Minnesota!
Good times bowling!
Special music
Our version of the Beatles (at Talent Night)
Beautiful girls
Handsome boys
See my swimming gear underneath? Yup, about to hop in the pool!
The crew minus three students.

The Feast was really enjoyable not just because of the things above, but also the fellowship and chance to hear so many messages! It was a very positive time.

(Posted by Aj Erika)

A Little Garden Obsessed...

So I realize that I write more about the garden than almost anything else. I'm not even really sure why. I think it has to do with what the goal is for it more than the reality. Eventually, the school would like to be as self-sufficient as possible. This obviously entails growing our own food. While our garden definitely has spurts of production, it hasn't reached maximum output yet. In the meantime, I rejoice over the little things (case in point, check out the watermelon!). And, as someone on the receiving end, I do think this garden fresh food is especially tasty!

Take a look at a few of the vegetables that we were reaping a few weeks ago. (I use the term we a little loosely there - I mostly end up in the garden asking questions!)

An ear of corn
Green beans
Long beans
Eggplant
Watermelon - which never actually took unfortunately.
Pea eggplant
Corn planted down in the river - it's all flooded now!

Now, wouldn't YOU like a delicious soup with eggplant and long beans or a Saturday night treat of roasted corn? I thought so!

(Posted by Aj Erika)

Not Just Apples!

So, what does a teacher get in Thailand? Well, I don't know about the norm, but when my students go home they generally bring back some fruit. Something like this...



I would say I'm pretty lucky! Coconut, mangoes, dragon fruit...don't mind if I do!

For the record, I would say even this is a bit beyond the norm for what I usually get!

(Posted by Aj. Erika)

Great Orators - or something like that!

(I actually wrote this a little over a week ago, but our internet was down for about a week so I wasn't able to post it.)

I just wanna brag on my students a little bit. Tonight the second year students gave their first speeches of the year.

We all worked really hard, and after a lot of writing and rewriting, the students got to a place where they could give practice speeches. After watching themselves and making suggestions for self-improvement (along with my suggestions) they were ready to take on the whole school! This year they had a decent sized audience with 25 people staring at them.

They all took it so seriously and were nervous. I was even nervous, although I did feel confidant in their abilities to do a good job. As the time drew near for speech night to start, I felt myself feeling like I used to when going to a special night in elementary school. The same nervous excitement.

Having all those students really helped with the atmosphere. There was a real feeling of support and enthusiasm. You could hear it in the applause and reactions to the speakers. They even kept their chitchatting to a minimum! That says a lot for this talkative bunch that is almost half girls!

As I listened to the speeches I found myself being impressed. Of course, I’d heard their speeches once before, and I’d read all of their outlines. Obviously this helped with my overall comprehension. They surprised me, though, and snuck in some new things – most of which were really good!

My confidence in them was well placed and then some! At the end of the speeches, I was so proud of them and I felt like they were proud of themselves, which is more important.

I’m definitely looking forward to more where that came from!

The following pictures are just stills we took from the videos.
DaNi giving us some information about his life...
...and Peto doing the same!


PS - I've added a subscribe feature at the top right of the blog. If you are interested, you can keep up with us that way. It will also save you trips to the blog if it hasn't been updated! However, we're really going to try to keep this thing updated!

(Posted by Aj Erika)

July 4th Fun!

July 4th in Thailand, you ask? Well, yes! We have some Americans here, and it sure doesn't hurt for the students to learn a little of that culture. Plus, it tastes good and is fun! This year was no exception - we had a great time playing games, eating food, and listening to or playing music.
Students gathered around making delicious hamburgers!
Two of our 1st year students - Spy and Soda.
Playing balloon toss.

Getting wet!
Another 1st year student - Sorawi.
Me having a taste of home!
No party is complete without ice cream!
Students adding music to the fun.
Clapping along and singing.

Another 4th has come and gone! It makes me miss the US. This year we didn't have firecrackers (which we usually do - and they're usually pretty awesome!) because we couldn't find any. Maybe a residual effect of the protests here where they used them to scare people. Anyway, it just doesn't seem as much like the 4th without fireworks - but, it was still a great party. And the hamburgers were delicious!

PS - Photo credits go to whatever student was holding the camera at the time.

(Posted by: Erika)