It strange.. as we get older, the importance of some days declines in magnitude while others seem to take on more meaning. Lately, I've started to forget some days that used to mean so much to me, including my own birthday.. it's true.. I nearly forgot! (now that's telling you something..)
My wife kindly reminded me though.. and after a facepalm to the head, we decided to actually do something of value to celebrate.
I recently donated tons of school supplies and teaching aids to a few rural schools in the area. All the schools were overjoyed with the much needed materials and thanked me profusely. Obviously I wanted nothing in return, but one school in particular extended an open invitation to me to come and spend a few hours teaching English there, if I ever felt so inclined..
Well, considering it was my birthday.. I did feel inclined to do something nice.. to give something back. So, this morning we packed up the car and drove 3 hours into a small village on the outskirts of Suratthani, Thailand.
After getting a bit lost (the GPS signal couldn't even find the place).. we finally rumbled up the dusty road to the school.
It was humble by most standards.. a single two floor building with a total of 5 classrooms. There were less than 50 kids in the whole school.
We were immediately greeted with stares and hushed chatter as most of the students have never seen a 'farang' before. I smiled at them and the pace of the gossip increased. As I started pulling some teaching stuff out of my car, curiosity got the best of them, and they started slowly inching closer.. some of them even rushed to offer a helping hand.
I was prepared to teach the kindergarten students, as my wife had arranged via correspondence, but by the time we arrived, the little ones were taking their afternoon nap. So they brought the rest of the school in instead.. around 30+ children aged 6-12. The whole lot, from first grade to sixth grade, were sitting nervously on the floor in front of me not knowing what to expect, as the three teachers at the school hushed them and got them in lines.
They started off reluctant, but quickly opened up. Many of them had little to no English, but surprisingly a half dozen or so of the oldest kids were able to communicate very well! By the end of the 2 hours, after the lesson, and sharing cakes and toys with all of the students (including the kindergarten kids who had now woken up), there was a line of kids asking for my autograph, (and Facebook, in some cases, lol). I felt like a celebrity, but I was happy to see the whole school abuzz.
It felt absolutely amazing to give my time and services to those who truly needed and appreciated it.. it was one of the best birthday gifts I could have asked for.. I will definitely do something similar next year!
Note: These pictures are mine obviously. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the kids, cake or actual teaching... I didn't want to look like a tourist so I just snapped these shots of the school when I arrived, before anyone noticed me.. These are the children's and teacher's lives, and I didn't want to make them feel like I was treating them as an exhibit at a zoo or museum..
What's the most amazing or memorable birthday you have ever had?? Please share in the comments below
