We've moved!

You may have noticed that we haven't posted here in a while... it's because we've moved house! The ILP blog is now attached to our regular website. You can find it at:

http://info.ilp.org/blog/

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Quotes of Service

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
~Muhammad Ali

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Assorted Thai Goodness

Laura Bull was in Phichit, Thailand this summer with iLP. She has shared some photos with us that whet the travel appetite...

 

Thanks Laura!

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"I'm Pretty Sure Fei-Fei Lives in a Pool Hall..."

The past couple of weeks Laura and I have taken up bike-riding. It's amazing, we can pick any direction and within ten or fifteen minutes of riding we're out of the city. We have ridden through so many different landscapes that are all beautiful in their own way. 

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Music Video Deathmatch!!!

IT'S ON.

Want to give your iLP country bragging rights? Want to share the motherland's musical talent with the rest of the world? Want to liven up the Tuesday of thousands?

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Along Came Mr. Crocodile

*Thai updates continue... courtesy of HT Sarah! Today, Phichit's famous building (shaped like a giant crocodile) is explored and explained.*

Before I even got to Phichit I heard rumors of a legend involving a crocodile man. This was after I heard that Phichit was famous for crocodiles. Finding out that I would be moving to an area with crocodiles was a little scary, but I was assured by the coordinators that there weren’t any more crocodiles in the wild, only on farms. I felt a little assured by this. Since I have seen no living crocodiles since I’ve been here I inclined to believe them.

What I have seen, and what I assume makes Phichit so famous for its crocodiles, are statues commemorating the Legend of Chalawan. Here’s how the story goes (at least as far as I’ve been able to determine)….

Chalawan the Crocodile King has the power to turn into a human. He uses this power to slip into the village at night and steal away the women. He rules over them in his lair. One day he sees two beautiful sisters walking by and is entranced by them. He steals away the older sister and disappears. Turns out that the father of these two girls is a millionaire. He offers a huge monetary reward and the hand of his other daughter in marriage to anyone who can kill Chalawan. Enter our hero, Krai Thong. He uses his super strength, cunning, and knowledge of magical arts to go and kill Chalawan and free all the women. He then gets the money and the daughter and eternal fame in the city I now call home. The end.

When I was first told about this legend I was also told that there was a giant crocodile in Phichit that is used as a meeting hall. I knew I had to see this magical wonder. And so we went on a bike ride to the crocodile this past week. We also found a park of bronze statues, waterfalls, random sand beaches, and gazebos for mutant fish feeding. Here’s the proof:

Crocodile!!! We couldn't get in because the door was padlocked but I got proof that there is a door.

Krai Thong statue.

Little version of Chalawan with his harem.

Fish!

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Don't worry...

The Thailand teachers are still awesome. Way to take the tiger by the tail, girls. Keep it up!

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THAILAND Update!

*In addition to her usual awesomeness, Sarah Steadman is now head-teaching in Thailand. And blogging! In this post, she expounds on sweat-powder, pipe-smoking teddies, and general adorability.*

We started teaching on Wednesday morning. We practiced bowing and greeting the parents properly the night before. We met the parents and the kids before class and then we got to watch their opening. They sing the national anthem and then they do some chanting and meditation. Then they do traditional dances. After that, it was our turn.

The kids all came really late the first day so we only did three of our four rotations. It was an interesting experience. Thai children are very calm and reserved. Some of the older boys were more rambunctious but for the most part they were very well behaved. The big problem was getting them to respond! They are also very young, 1-5 years old. That is younger than children normally are in ILP. The two four year olds and the one five year old are great and I can tell that they are going to progress quickly through the program. The younger ones were more capable than I expected but it is going to be difficult. We will basically have to have three versions of each lesson we teach for each age group. So it might be more work for my teachers but they were troupers.

Great (Gray) and Prea (Pear) playing in the ball pin before class.

We found out on the first day that there was a whole page newspaper article about the teaching style and us in the local newspaper. We’re famous!

After the kids are with us for three hours they have lunch and then take showers and get covered in powder. The powder helps to keep them from getting rashes in the sticky heat but it is also supposed to make them smell good for the rest of their lives. I guess the smell from the powder sticks with them forever. Then they take their naps. They are adorable all the time but oh so very adorable when they are sleeping.

Today when I was in Laura’s class with the middle aged kids (2-3 year olds), Tiger sneakily reached his foot out and put one of his toes on top of my bright pink toenail. Then he felt my nail with his toe and then pulled his foot back. He was watching to see if I was paying attention. I was. I was trying not to laugh. I guess pink glitter toes seem very mysterious to three year old Thai boys.

This some of the older boys playing before class.

Here are some pictures of my teachers teaching their groups today.

And then, of course, the best way to learn your colors is from a bear smoking a pipe.

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THAILAND

No, we're not kidding. ILP is opening a school in Thailand.

Photos courtesy of Lonely Planet

The facts are these:

• The school is located in Phichit - a small, rural, agricultural city of about 250,000 people
• 5 hours north of Bangkok
• Volunteering opportunities available during summer, fall, and spring semesters, beginning Fall 2011
• Spots for 4 volunteer teachers plus the Head Teacher. Housing is in a third-floor apartment with shared bedrooms
• Church is 1.5 hours away
• Small school, but growing
• Native coordinators are Tang and Pongsak, a married couple. One graduated from BYU

More details and photos forthcoming. We are so excited.

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