Where to begin? This is what happens when too much is happening at the same time and you don't have time write about it. So here is the abbreviated version. Up until last Monday, Rebs and I were finishing grades and planning our trip to Thailand. Though we had not received new contracts for work, we had assumed that we were going to get them fairly soon. We had done our jobs well, had been professional, and couldn't think of any good reason to not receive the new contract. So we made plans.
On Monday night, Rebs and I each received separate emails, very formally stating that Kwandong University was choosing not to re-sign our contracts. There was no explanation as to why. My jaw dropped as I read it. It was like a hard punch to the stomach, a feeling that would have difficulty subsiding over the next several days.
This put us in an awkward situation because our plans for a vacation to Thailand started on Thursday, giving us 3 days before we went to Seoul to leave the next morning. That's not much time to do any sort of job searching and try to get hired. Let's just say that our anxiety levels went through the roof, at the same time battling the feelings of guilt, shame, confusion and anger. So over the next few days, we managed to get one strong lead on a job prospect and went for an interview in Daegu on Wednesday night. The interview was Thursday morning so we stayed with friends of friends down there.
Anyway, all this goes to say that from Monday night forward to arriving at the Bamboo School on Friday night, we hardly had a chance to speak to each other because we were so focused on finding jobs and making Thailand arrangements. Needless to say, my stress level was high and my brain was on overload.
In the words of Bill Cosby, "I had to tell you that story to tell you this one." So now you know our mental status upon arriving in Thailand. Stressed, overloaded, and in desperate need of a vacation. Right now, I"m really glad we booked this trip so far in advance because it may not have happened otherwise.
The Bamboo School is an incredible place for so many reasons. If you don't know already from the attached blog on the left, the Bamboo School exists as a refugee/orphanage/school for children of the Karen tribe surviving on the border of northern Thailand and Myanmar. At least that is where the persecution is happening now. Currently, there are about 55 that live there as permanent residents. The school has existed for about 10 years, so there are some students that have gone to college and occasionally return to visit their family. I use family in the sense that this is the most dynamic family that I have ever encountered. They are a church, a school, an orphanage, a work crew. They have chores, responsibilities, but they also have fun too. I think many people think of an orphanage as a bad place, a place as a shelter from something. But this place doesn't feel anything like that. There is calm at times, there is chaos at times. But they exist as a family. Their knowledge of their situation is strong, but it does not paralyze them from living normal lives. In fact, I am learning that many of these kids, should their abilities and talents be listed next to 9 other random people in the world, theirs would probably be twice as long. Most of the kids speak 3 languages: Thai, Karen, and English. Depending on when they come in, their English may be fluent. I have had regular, opinion-based conversations with some of the high school boys. And the very little ones are developing their English skills at the same rate as their native languages.
The kids work for each other. The older kids take monthly turns working in the kitchen, preparing the meals. One child is blind and deaf, so he has an 11-year-old to look after him during the day. All the kids have morning chores, including carrying 40 gallon trash bins full of water from the nearby river an eighth mile up for washing. It's amazing how little these kids need me in their daily tasks. But what the do still need is love.
Anyway, I came into all this Friday night, late and quiet. Saturday is their sabbath, meaning that they don't work at all. And with 35 kids (some have gone to an English conference), it is inevitable that we should play. That was a great first day for us because it allowed us to ease into the life at the Bamboo school. We got to take a nap in the afternoon. There are hammocks under bamboo canopies. At times, it feels more like a retreat than an orphanage. I love it here and wish we were staying longer. Maybe we will get to come back for longer next time. It would be great to be a consistent presence in their lives.
Some things we have done so far:
- eat all vegetarian meals until this morning when I got some barbeque chicken.
- keep a 3-month-old baby overnight.
- sleep on a bamboo bed, in a bamboo hut, under a mosquito net.
- chop down bamboo poles with a machette to use as stilts for a hut.
- set up a slackline for the kids to play on.
- burn brush to clear land that will be used for farming.
- bathe in the river.
- play soccer in the yard in front of the main house/hospital.
- go to the market for buying fresh food for daily meals.
My anxiety has melted away. I do not miss Korea at the moment. We are rich in fellowship.
