First Stop: The School

I love my Filipino friends so much.  They showed up in force when I arrived at Ubon Ratchathani Airport at about 8:35am on March 12th.  Some of them even snuck out of work so they could come.  This meant that after dropping my luggage off at Popsie's house (where I stayed for my 10 days in Ubon), our next destination was their workplace: my old school.

Off the back of my difficult decision to leave Thailand 1.5 years ago, I have often questioned if I should never have left my students.  One year level in particular I became quite close with, and felt I was making a positive difference in their education.  Frankly, leaving that opportunity behind hurt.  So when I was walking through the school, these thoughts came back to me.

One of the grade four teachers, Nun, took me to each of the grade four classrooms to present me to the students.  Some of the classes erupted in cheers.  Later, when I was walking through the school grounds, some of them came running up to me to recite some of the English they remembered from my classes.  Their grins were equally excited and cheeky as they said:

"Teacher!  Get out!"

"Be quiet!"

That's right.  I'm known as the teacher who constantly reprimanded students and kicked them out of class.  But the kids never held that against me, and their smiles were all the proof of that I needed.  And to be honest, I was proud that the little monsters could remember classroom phrases from 1.5 years ago.

My Filipino friends, Nun and I went out to a restaurant for lunch.  I hadn't realised how much I had missed Isaan food (local to northeast Thailand) until that point.  Fried fish, papaya salads, grilled chicken, fish soup...  Already my senses were buzzing with the familiar smells, sights and sounds of Thailand.  When the taste of Isaan food hit me, I was nearly overwhelmed.  It was like the past had come back to swallow the present.  I had missed my friends, and yet here I was, as if no time had passed.  How could something that felt so normal have been but a dream last year?

Debbie, Bryan, me, Nun, Beth, Dayrest, Mai

Back at school, I sought out my Thai mothers - Jiu, Nid and Dia - who had always fed me the equivalent of multiple meals during each lunchtime.  They were disappointed that they couldn't feed me this time, so we made plans for the following night.

So much food!

Thai people are exceedingly generous, to the point that to refuse them is to deny them the chance to show that they're a good person.  This can be insulting, so when helping after helping is heaped upon your plate, there is a strong obligation to finish it all.  My stamina for such massive meals has decreased since I left Thailand.  That, combined with an ongoing stomach problem I had had for several weeks prior, ensured that my food threshold was socially unsatisfactory.  They all thought I had lost weight, too.  (Although I get this comment every time I take an international flight somewhere, it's never been true - my weight has remained the same for at least seven years now.)

Dia, Nid, Jiu

 Thai Mums

Still, we had a good night, and I kept smiling to myself.  As long as I'm in Thailand, these odd, funny ladies - as bizarre as our conversations often are - are a big part of my life.