Mind the Gap

For anyone who's ever been to London, the statement "Mind the Gap" is very familiar. It means to pay attention to the space between the platform and the London Underground. I heard this message once at the Sky train station here and thought, "How could anyone fall through the small space between the platform and train?" My question was answered last week when I stepped into the gap and fell down to my hip. I know the Lord was protecting me because a Thai man pulled me out and I got onto the train without any problems. Let's just say that it was a miracle that I was at a station where the doors stay open longer than other stations and nothing really bad happened. Praise God for his protection!

I was blessed to go to a camp with my church here a week ago and the Lord refreshed me spiritually and challenged me with the theme of a greater harvest.

I have to go soon because I think that the internet cafe I'm in is closing. I just want to praise the Lord for allowing me to get a refrigerator, air conditioning in the living room, and a stove this week! I wish I could say more, but it will have to wait for next time.

Mission trip and Thai dancing

It's been a busy few weeks! The highlight was a trip to Songklaburi, a village near the border with Myanmar (formerly called Burma). I went with my Filipino churchmates. I was shocked that we fit 18 people and three massive bags in and around the large song tao (a roofed pick-up truck with two padded benches in the back and a luggage rack on the roof) that we took from the bus station to the orphanage. There are 26 children at the orphanage and most are refugees from Burma. The kids are so smart. Most speak Karen (or a different tribal language), Burmese and Thai. They know lots of English songs and English Bible verses, as well as other bits and pieces of English and Tagolog (the language of the the Filipino woman who runs the orphanage). The really striking thing is that they love Jesus Christ. They enter into worship quickly and they are very sincere.
While at the orphanage, I was almost never alone. There was usually a child at my side or sitting in my lap. They were so hungry for affection. We gave different material gifts to the kids, but I think the best gift we gave them was the time we spent with them.

Last weekend was the 155th anniversary of my school and it is a very big deal. They had vendors of all kinds all over the campus and several stages were set up as well. Different bands and groups performed all day long (Saturday). My part was to learn a Thai dance with other foreign teachers. The school rented traditional Thai costumes for us to wear and we performed in the chapel in front of a very large audience. It was a great experience and unlike anything I've done before.

Five girls from Lee University just arrived to student-teach at BCC for 2 1/2 months. It will be fun to have them here.

Pood pasathai dai nit noy ka. That means I can speak a little Thai. I am learning more all of the time from my friends. It's good to be here.

The not-so-Thai side of life

Ok, so about half of my foreign co-workers are British or Australian and Thailand largely uses British English. This being the case, I learn new vocabulary quite frequently. Did you know that it is correct to say "do maths" rather than "do math"? They say "maths" because it is short for "mathematics." I no longer ride the elevator. Instead, I take the "lift." Oh, and for my students to understand me, I have to tell them to put their "rubbish" in the "bin" (not trash in the trash can).

My latest crazy food experience was Cambodian escargot, as a Thai teacher called it. It was so spicy that I could not taste anything and I tried not to think about the texture or the fact that I was actually eating snails:) Not too bad for a one-time experience, but it's not something I plan to repeat soon.

The highlight of the week was seeing friends from Lee University. Three girls from my major, Intercultural Studies, were on their way back from their internship in Siem Reap, Cambodia. They had a couple of days in Thailand and my friend Eric and I got to spend an evening with them. It was nice to talk about Lee and the ups and downs of living in another country.

For my dad's sake (for those of you who don't know, he's in the cattle business), I'll mention that I got to eat steak last weekend. One of the Christian teachers invited me to her home for a gathering of friends from her church. All of them have students at BCC and several of the guests spoke English. We had a mix of Thai and American food and I got to make the kanompang gratiem (garlic bread). Lots of fun!

The Yellow People

I have officially joined the yellow people. Every Monday, the majority of people in Bangkok wear yellow polo shirts with the royal insignia on them. Ever since the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol's coronation in 2006, Thai people have worn yellow shirts every Monday because he was born on a Monday. If the yellow shirts don't convince you of the Thai people's love for their king, then the life-size pictures along the highway and the pre-movie king video at every movie theater should do the trick. I wore my yellow shirt for the first time on Monday of this week. My school was giving us yellow shirts for free, so I did not want to spend money to buy one. The other perk to wearing a yellow shirt is that female teachers are allowed to wear pants if they wear a yellow shirt. Woohoo!

I recently found out that it is indeed against the law for motorcycles to drive on the sidewalks in Bangkok. I used to think it was legal because it happened so frequently. When walking on the sidewalk, you have to keep your eyes and ears open. You have to be very vigilant because you may only have a moment's notice to dart out of the path of an oncoming motorcycle (slight dramatization added for effect). The worst are those that approach from behind. I finally asked a Thai friend about the motorcycles and he said it is illegal to drive on the sidewalk. Who knew?

The highlight of this week was a day of prayer called "Hunger for Purity." Approximately 200 people from many Thai churches came together to pray for Thailand. About half of those who attended were youth and young adults. It was amazing to see them passionately worshipping and crying out to God. They are not afraid to express themselves through dance (both spontaneous and choreographed) to the Lord. The powerpoint had the song lyrics in Thai and English and my friend translated the prayer topics and messages for me. It was very refreshing to spend the day with other believers in prayer for cleansing and revival in Thailand.

Song Taos and Thai daily life

My Thai word for the week is "song tao," which literally means "two rows," but is actually a noun. It is a small pick up truck with two rows of seats along the sides for people to sit on. I like to ride song taos to and from the sky train station every day because they move very quickly and take alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic. Any type of transportation on the streets of Bangkok provides opportunities for your life to flash before your eyes, so every day is an adventure. I try not to take motorbikes as they are the most risky, but there is no foolproof way to get around. Oh well, such is life!

I've realized that I only remember the Thai words people tell me when they are words I was wanting to learn. Sometimes people tell me many words at one time, and I usually forget them all. I've learned the days of the week and some other basic vocabulary words, which is encouraging.

I'm doing the culture shock thing a little bit (not because I want to). I miss being able to jump into my car and go somewhere close by to buy food, clothes, toiletries, or whatever I need. Here, I have to find out where I can find the thing I need and then how to get there, i.e. which bus, train, etc. to take. It is a long process that can be very exhausting. Still, I am way too afraid to drive here, so I will not be learning to drive British-style any time soon.

I got to share my testimony with the foreign elementary school teachers at my school two weeks ago. It was really amazing how God used it to challenge another Christian teacher to share a testimony of what the Lord has done in his life as well. He was previously not very vocal about his faith with the other teachers, but now he is opening up more, which is very good because he has been at BCC longer than I have. He wanted to start a prayer group with other foreign Christian teachers, which we have had for two weeks now. I got to speak today in our meeting.

I will close with something I heard recently from a Thai minister. He was addressing the foreign teachers at BCC. He mentioned many reasons that people could come to Thailand. Some were things like experiencing a new culture, helping a developing nation, or running away from something (namely God) in one's own country. He told us that he was sure that the reason we came to Thailand is because of the free sauna we experience every time we step outside. He is not kidding. It happens every day.

Barbecued fish, wyteboard markers, and ministry

Today has been a good day. I ate barbecued fish for dinner (yes, I said barbecued fish...it tastes really good) and had a companion on my commute home from work ( a Thai co-worker who is a Christian and speaks English). Besides that, I was blessed to lead some praise and worship songs for the Native English Speaking Teachers' session in Revival Week at Bangkok Christian College. All the students go to chapel each day and watch a presentation by a music, drama, and dance ministry group from northern Thailand. The presentations use Thai history and Bible stories to share the love of Jesus Christ. In addition, all the faculty and staff attend evangelistic meetings during part of their lunch break. It was clear that most of my co-teachers did not want to be at the meeting, but I believe the Lord is using the songs and truths spoken to make them think about Him and eternity.

I have enjoyed taking part in various ministry opportunities, such as singing back-up for the praise team at my church last Sunday. I also know that the Lord is allowing me to speak about Him to my students and co-workers at various times. I know that many seeds are being planted.

On a less serious note, I would like to inform everyone who uses disposable whiteboard markers that you are missing out on the fun of refilling and reusing whiteboard markers ( the brand here is called Wyteboard Markers, hence the blog title). Recycling is very important here and we do not throw away our markers when they run out of ink. Oh, no. We use medicine dropper-like objects to rewet the fibers inside the markers. The first time I did it, I forgot about the medicine dropper and tried to pour the ink directly into the marker. Let's just say the my ringfinger and fingernails were no longer white:)

My friends and I found a Mexican restaurant that serves food Chipotle style! It doesn't taste the same, but it is still Mexican food! I've been twice.

There's not much else to say, so I will leave you with a few thoughts in Thai:

Mai pen rai (it's ok, never mind)
and
Phrajow way pon (God bless you)