Back to School

One thing that Gate 1 Travel is known for is giving back to the countries it has touring programs in.  Gate 1 has set up something called the Gate 1 Foundation and it works to establish and/or enrich schools in poorer areas to help educate and ultimately improve the lives of underprivileged kids.  Part of the money we pay for our tour goes into the Gate 1 Foundation fund.  Visiting a school that has been built or subsidized by Gate 1 is a part of many of their tour programs and Thailand was no exception.  We had the privilege of visiting an elementary school that had children ranging in age from five to twelve. Thai children are by nature rather shy, and one of the reasons for our visit was to encourage them to interact with adults in a safe way and to help them practice their English.

We left our hotel at 7:00 a.m. to make the drive to the school so we would be in time to observe and later participate in their morning routine.  When we arrived, all the kids were lined up on the playground awaiting the signal from the school’s director to raise the flag and play the song of the king.

Then we watched as they chanted in unison and had a few moments of meditation.  Loyalty to the king and to the Buddha is drummed into their little minds and hearts from a very early age.

Next, each of us was chosen by a child who would be our little buddy for the morning.  Each one came over and chose an adult, taking us by the hand and leading us over to line up with them on the blacktop.  This was my little friend.  Her name is Fogas.  

Serious little thing, isn’t she?  This is a close to cracking a smile as she came all morning.  Can’t you tell she was absolutely thrilled to meet me?  If she was given the choice between meeting and hanging out with a strange American woman or going to the dentist to have her teeth drilled, I’m not sure I would come out the winner.  I’ve seen people on trial for felonies who looked happier.  And this picture was taken after I plied her with candy.  Oh, well.... At least my mom, Brenda and Jill got kids who actually seemed to like them, although I can’t help but think that the little girl with my mom looks like she’s about to throw up, lol!

So once my enthusiastic little fireball got me lined up with the other kids and adults, the party got started.  Evidently, every morning the kids do little exercise and dance moves to music.  I think the idea is to help get some of their energy out so they can sit down and be still in the classroom.  Four children stand up on a platform and lead the group and everyone follows along.  It was a fun way to interact with the kids and I think the kids got a kick out of watching a bunch of older adults act like kids again.  (The median age of the people in our group 65+)

After we were done boogying down with the kids, each of us was led by our buddy to their classroom and seated at their personal desk.  Then the kids lined up at the front of the room and introduced themselves and told us a little bit about themselves.  Fogas told us that she is 12 years old, her favorite subject in school is Thai, her favorite color is blue, her favorite animal is the crocodile and her favorite sport is volleyball.

After the introductions, it was craft time.  Each child got two pieces of paper, one for their adult and one for themselves.  In my classroom, the kids taught us how to make origami hearts, which we then decorated with markers and exchanged with our buddies.  In Jill’s classroom, they made origami cranes.

After a trip to the school library, Fogus took me out to the volleyball court where I got to watch Jill, Brenda and a couple of other adults play volleyball with the kids.  

All too soon, it was time to go.  A good time was had by all. The kids were all really cute and really well-behaved and polite.  Even when candy was being passed out, not one child was ever grabby or pushy.  They waited patiently to be handed a treat, said thank you and bowed in appreciation, and every single one of them remained well-mannered and good-natured throughout the entire morning.  It was an absolute pleasure to be there.