Val (WA) - initial experiences in her placement in Bangkok

I feel like I have never left Thailand - apart from the fact I have forgotten a lot of the language I knew! As I stood in line at Immigration, there were flashing notices announcing "We love the King", and I knew I was back in Thailand. It is the 60th year of the King's reign, and it seems about a third of the population are wearing bright yellow t-shirts in honour of the king - and wear orange bracelets with the words "long live the king" inscribed. It was Mother's Day on Saturday (the Queen's birthday) and so another third were wearing light blue t-shirts in honour of the day.

My new home is Sai Mai, 20 minutes drive from the airport. Sai Mai is a newish suburb, with a mixture of poor housing and mansions - as well as "ordinary" homes. I was delighted that there are quite a few paddy fields near where I live, planted out with new rice, so they are a brilliant green. The main road is tree lined, and there are lots of canals. I live in a lane off one of the main roads. It is a 4 storied "shop front". The ground floor is used for church and English classes, the second floor is a family room, the third floor is mine, and the fourth floor is for the pastor and his family, two girls who are at boarding school during the week, and a boy who goes to day school. My floor has a bedroom with a king sized bed in it and a desk which runs along one of the walls. This room is actually used for sleeping, eating, and as a study. BUT, it has an air-conditioner!

I have been surprised at how pleasant the weather is. It is the wet season, so it doesn't get too hot - though is muggy at times. There is a small room next to mine where a young theological student comes for the weekend to help with the church work. There is a tiny kitchenette, a bathroom, and a little balcony overlooking a rice paddy. There are 38 potted orchids hanging around the balcony, where birds love to rest.


As soon as I had unpacked, I walked to the market to buy supplies - and bananas. Those of you living in Australia will understand why I was delighted that I could buy bananas for about 40cents a large hand! Living in Sai Mai does not feel like living in Bangkok at all - more like living in a Thai town.

The following day, the pastor and his wife took me to a school where I will teach English 2 mornings a week. I met a couple of the English teachers, neither of whom could speak English!! We then went to enormous shopping centre where I bought a printer, power board, and Thai SIM card So I am all set to go. My programme is this:
- teaching English at the church for 2hours, six days a week
- teaching English at the school for 2 hours, two mornings a week
- teaching English to the Pastor and his wife for two hours, 4 mornings a week.

The weekend was a long weekend because of Mother's Day, and the Sai Mai church joined with it's mother church, Zion in Bangkok. We went to Rayong province ( it took us over 5 hours in a bus) to a Retreat Centre, set in huge fruit orchards, for a camp. My bedroom looked over a lake and mountains. It was a fun time, where I was immersed in the Thai language! They had a guest preacher - his longest sermon was 1 3/4 hours long!! That taxed my brain. But I met lots of lovely people. The music group was a group of very enthusiastic young people, and there were some great times of singings and worship.

Until next time – blessings, Val.

For information about People in Mission, contact Kathy Periera, People in Mission Coordinator, Ph 02 8267 4230, kathyp@nat.uca.org.au