My Last Blog Entry

Hey All, this is my last blog entry...why because its my last day in Thailand! That's right...I leave for the states in about 14 hours. Ive thought a lot about this last entry and have kind of put it off. I wanted to come up with something thoughtful and reflectful...I don't know how good it is going to be, but here goes. So do I regret the decision to do Peace Corps...absolutely not! Many times I thought I had, but this has been such a fantastic ride and I have met so many wonderful people I couldn't possibly wish I had never done it. A lot of volunteers walk away from their service wondering if they made a difference. I'm not sure how much of a difference I made, but I know its there. From this experience I will take away a new out look on life and the world. I have come away with some wonderful friendships and knowing some fabulous people that I wouldn't have met other wise. The old Peace Corps slogan..."its the hardest job you will ever love"...is one hundred percent true. I love this experience and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I feel like I come away from my service as a more confident person and a person ready to face the world fiercely and independently. The picture above is of my language class and our two Thai language teachers Chaterone and Peesuit. The volunteers are Ryan, Natalie, Emily and I. We are at the swearing in of group 119, and the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps in Thailand with one of the princesses, as my group closes its service. So before I end this blog I have to give a shout out to all of the other volunteers in my group...Thank you...and thanks to everyone that kept up with my blog and supported me while I was here. I cant wait to see you all very soon. Sawasdee krup prahtate Thai! Pohm rok kuhn!

I LOVE YOU ELEANOR!

So this blog is about one of the most important things in the whole world to me and something that has been with me for most of my expereince....my blue point siamese cat Eleanor. I have to first recap my story of Eleanor. I got Eleanor from a siamese breader when she was 6 months old. She had been kept in a dark cage with several other cats. For the first 7 months of her life she was very timid and wouldnt let anyone touch her. She didnt even like to be in the same room with other people. Then last April, I think it was, she gave birth to two beautiful kittens. I had decided that after she finished nursing I was going to find a new home for her. So I gave the kittens away and litterally the next day she became incredibly loving. I dont know if it was the knowledge that she was going to be leaving or if it was just a chemical change, but she became the sweetest cat. This all happened at about the same time Mr. Ruth stopped coming inside and adopted my land lords family, so she became my real baby. She follows me everwhere, every time I sit down she jumps up on my lap or sits down beside me, and the one that sleeps with me every night. She is always there to calm me down and just be with me after a hard day, or any day. Tomorrow, she is going to go and live with Becky. I had played with the idea of taking her home with me, but decided it would just be too hard on her. She is the love of my life and I am going to miss her soooo much! I love you baby!

The real Goodbye party

So this past week my Co-teacher Ajjan Kanong organized a goodbye dinner for me with both co-teachers, his family (who I knew pretty well), my supervisor who retired in October, and my landlord Dr. Samboon and his wife who I call Bah or Aunt. It took place down at the Ping river and was just wonderful. It was a lot of good conversation and we all said good things to each other. In the end they gave me...of course, more flowers. Thus, I can now open my house up as Wesley's flower shop because of the hundreds of roses that are sitting in my house. The evening was really wonderful and a perfect ending to my relationship with them. I will go over to their houses and say goodbye one more time, but it was really nice to have them all together with me before I leave. These are a lot of the main people that really made a difference in my experience here. We had a lot of great conversations and they made me frustrated on many occasions, but in the end I really am sad to leave them. I may have only worked with them or been their neighbor, but its hard not to form a relationship with people after two years of being with them. Saying goodbye is really hard.

Good-Bye Anuban Prankratai

Thursday was my last day at school, and my last day at Anuban Prankratai School. I arrived to find that all of my students were waiting in the auditorium. Each student gave me a rose, cards, and sometimes gift. It was really so very nice. I then made a speach telling them how much I love them and how I will really miss them. I will really miss this school. This is because I have gotten to know these students and these teachers the most. Its the only school I stayed at for the two years of my service, and the one I was at the most. It will always hold a place in my heart. So around noon all of the teachers took me to a place for a goodbye lunch. On the wall read...Goodbye Mr. Wesley Have a time good so long. I looked at it for a moment, thought thats nice, and sat down when my co teachers jumps up and changes it to say have a good time haha. You know Ive been here too long when I dont think anything of signs in Tinglish. Notice, the carved Native American head above the sign..a little out of place huh? At the end of the dinner the school gave me a king dress shirt that generally only principals or important male teachers would wear. This shirt is made of thick polyester, has giant shoulder pads in it, and is bright yellow. They asked me if I liked it, "oh I love it, its just wonderful" I said. Then they asked me if I could wear it in America...I said "of course I can". What I didnt tell them was that I can probably only wear this shirt as a halloween costume. Well, its the thought that counts. So ends my teaching in Thailand. Its been a long journey, but one I will take with me for the rest of my life.

Im unofficially a Buckey!

Ok everyone....as many of you know I have waited for months and months and months to hear from OSU about graduate school. I started working on my application letter back in August and had everything sent in by the end of September. The due date for my application was not until December 1st. Well, December came and went...and so did January, February, and half of March. I was starting to get really nervous as my friend Emily had found out she got into Yale at the beginning of February....which by the way congratulations girl!( There is a link to her website under peace corp blogs...she is going to become a midwife!) So Ive been griping about not finding out for months now and my anxiety level has slowly gone up. I had already changed my address from Thailand to my home address, with worries that I would get the letter and I wouldn't be here anymore, and had told my Mom to keep a look out for any letters from OSU. Today was my last day at my last school and I was preparing to leave when I got a phone call. It was my Mom. Now this is very unusual because she usually calls me on Tuesday evenings...never on Thursdays and never in the morning. She called to tell me she had called OSU and they still hadn't sent out the acceptance letters, but that I had been accepted! Hallelujah! This has been one of the biggest stresses in my life. One, because I had only applied to one school....and if I didn't get in, what would I do? Two, I didn't want to come home to everyone asking me " So Wesley what will you be doing now" and my answer being " Well Ive applied for a masters program at OSU". So as you can believe I was jumping for joy! My major will be foreign and second language education with an emphasis on English as a second language. What that basically means is I will be learning how to teach people English who come to the US and are non-native English speakers. So watch out OSU...cause here I come...GO BUCKS!

My Last Day at Yang Reung School

Today was my last day at Yang Reung School. The children here are so sweet! Each one gave me a rose and wished me luck. I really enjoyed teaching at this school. The teachers and students were both very kind. I will truly miss them!

Picture 1: My 5th, 6th grade students, and I

Picture 2: My preschoolers saying goodbye. Every day each one runs up to me about 5 times saying hello and then stretching out their little hands for me to shake it. If they cant shake my hand then they will just shout out Krue Wesley and give me a big smile.

Picture 3: Some of my students giving me roses.

Picture 4: The last lesson I taught. We reviewed numbers;)

Picture 5: The many roses I received

This saying good-bye thing is starting to become a full time job...I don't really like it;(

Oh, for those of you who don't know...I come home on the 28th of March

GOOD-BYE BOM!!!!!

This is my best Thai friend Bom and one of my best friends in the whole world! Through out my Peace Corps service he has been there for me to vent to, give me guidance, and just let me be myself. Last week Bom moved to Chiang Mai for a new job. I was a little sad that he moved two weeks before I leave Kampangphet, but Im really happy he got this awesome new opportunity. This past weekend I went up to Chiang Mai so that I could spend one last night with him. It was really fun and full of laughs and tears! I will miss him more than anything else about my life in Thailand. I know God puts people in your life for a reason, and he definitely gave me Bom because without him I don't know if I would have made it through the tough times here.

Pagoda Inn

These are pictures of my favorite guest house in Thailand. Its in Chiang Mai and is a lovely gem! Its rooms are cheap, clean, and are really well decorated. I love it because its like a maze with lots of different levels, hall ways, nooks, and crannies. This weekend Becky and I stayed in a room that had the bathroom and shower in an outdoor courtyard looking area! So if anyone goes to Chiang Mai...look up this place because not only is it nice, but centrally located.

crowded bus

In Thailand, there is not such a thing as too many people on one bus. If there isnt room, then you get to stand in the isle. Ive been on buses so crowded I had to stand for two hours, until someone got off and I was able to sit down. Here are some pictures of the Bus I took to Chiang Mai this weekend. Remember this is a 5 hour bus ride. The people in the second picture, in the middle of the isle, are sitting on little plastic stools. But what can I say...sometimes you just gotta get some place..and if its the last bus of the evening you often just dont care how comfortable you are.