And then, and then, and then and then and then!!!

For those of you fortunate enough to see “Dude Where’s My Car?” you can pick up on the reference for the title of this blog post. Basically, 2 guys are at a drive through fast food restaurant and the lady taking their order keeps saying “and then?” after each order but they’re done with their order and there is “NO and then.” Haha, I feel like my time here has been one “and then” after another. That is exactly what this blog is reflecting too . . . just random “and then” thoughts that I felt were worth sharing.

CORN
Yes, I am writing a section on corn. I feel like I’m in Forrest Gump (I’m all about the movie references today). Much like Bubba has so many options of how to cook shrimp, the Thais have many options for corn. Corn on the cob, boiled corn, grilled corn, corn pie, corn bread, corn yogurt, corn flavored ice cream, corn as a side garnish in ice cream, sweet corn in a cup, corn waffles, corn juice . . . I could continue but I have other subjects to cover ;).

DEAR ANTS
Yes, I wrote a letter to the ants who invaded (notice the past tense) our house.
Dear Ants,
I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You are scum between my toes. Oh wait, that’s my Little Rascals Reference. Let’s try again.
Dear Ants (also known as crawling nucences),
Please note that our home is a Thai home and the only acceptable way is to be greeted at the sliding gate and if we accept you as your guests, we would allow you to come to our front door, take off your shoes and then you could come inside. Crawling through the ceiling onto our kitchen counter is not an acceptable way to enter the house (granted I wouldn’t let you in the front door anyway). I know that you fought many a battle as you came in through our ceiling multiple times on multiple days and tried to get into our sealed food. Luckily we are somewhat smarter than you. We finally realized that there is a chalk that we could purchase to get you to stay out of our kitchen. No offense but we don’t spend our hard earned and raised money so that you can eat our yummy goodies. You like trash anyways, so stay OUTSIDE and have free reign of our trash! Okay? I realize that most of the ants I am writing to are already dead because I either crushed you or drowned you. Those who got away, let this be a warning to you . . . I have the proper ammunition to get rid of your quickly in the future. Your extended stay in our kitchen was only once lived. Plus, we moved so good luck at finding us. Oh and for those who can pass this message along . . . please let your smaller ant friends and family know that they are not going to get on my good side by trying to bit me fiercely and dig into my skin. I will carry around anti-ant chalk if I must. Thank you for your time and please note that if you abide by the rules, I won’t be forced to do away with you in an unkind manner.
Sincerely,
Brittany
p.s. to those humans reading this . . . the ants weren’t THAT bad, but they did cause quite a few fiascos. Haha. However, you live, you learn, and you buy ant chalk.

CHILDREN
Okay. So I know that my blog isn’t in order of importance as this ranks way above corn and ants, haha. However, I am too lazy to move things around J.
So, last Thursday, our school celebrated National Teacher’s Day. It’s a ceremony where the kids bring flowers and put on a small program for the teachers. The students come up on their knees and bow to Buddah (in public schools) and Jesus (in our school and other Christian schools) and bow to the King of Thailand and then come to the teachers to present us with flowers. We had the privilege of saying a prayer over the students that came to us. This was at the elementary school so it was just over 50 kids from grades 1-6 that mostly live with foster families or in orphanages. Our students are precious and each has a unique story. I am excited to get to know them. I will take a picture of my 4th grade class on the first day that I teach so that you can all see the faces that I will get to see each day. Here are a few pictures of kids from our school that I’ve taken, I don’t know what grade all of them are in but they are part of Hope International Schools. These faces are why I’m here. My heart melts around these children.

This last picture is of students who attend the preschool but they are so cute and i needed to include it.

I start school tomorrow. It's a Thai day so I will be ovserving my Thai counterpart and will have meetings and more lesson planning. Tuesday is my first official day as the TEACHER!!! Please pray for favor as I establish rules and guidelines and get to know the children! Thanks so much for your partnership with me as I dive into teaching . . . I am SO EXCITED!!! :-)

Peace, Love, Corn, Ant Chalk, and the Smile of a Child!