Reflection January 10th

 

Molly in her own way tells us how life is
for her.

This morning I woke up with a nasty cough, that
was sure enough to wake up all of Myanmar. For breakfast, the ladies shook it
up a little and brewed up a tasty fried rice. I am currently craving a cheesy
beano, a Domino’s barbeque meat lovers’ pizza and Jesters chips with their
barbeque sauce. I am still missing people from home and wanting to be around
them and being in my own bed, but I’m at the point of not wanting to go or leaving
the people and community here. I have newly found relationships with my fellow
pilgrims and will keep in contact with a lot of them. Also, I have come to the
realisation that we actually have a cool deputy and Dianne is so lovely.

Who knew I could actually educate people?

The past 2 days have been my favourite so
far, as I have finally adapted to being sleep deprived. Yesterday morning, Grace
and I worked with a Year One class and they were so cute and cooperative. I had
a favourite little girl who couldn’t get enough of hugging me and apparently I
was the fun teacher. Today I was partnered with Katie. We worked with a Year 7
class in the morning, and a Year 9 class in the afternoon. Every one of them
are so smart and individually contributed in our discussions and games. They
loved competition and we really encouraged them to use English as much as
possible which was no “problem” for them. We had a few familiar faces in our
year 9 class who come and visit our house in the afternoon to interact, learn and
play with us. All of the kids were very responsive to our activities and are
genuinely always happy which really reflects on our attitudes. As we left, they
sung us a song and that was just a cherry on top of the cake to a smashing day.


Bayley, Molly’s partner in comedy, has a
different slant on life in TDG

Leading up to the trip all the planning,
preparation and all the expectations has just been thrown out. Everyone says
it’ll be an experience of a life time, a chance you want to take and you’ll
enjoy every second of the trip. You don’t really realise and understand all
that until you are here and just in the moment of it all. It’s taken me a
couple of days to adapt to the lifestyle of the way to live, I was feeling a
bit home sick and just always curious to know what everyone would be doing back
at home but honestly, being in Thandaung Gyi I haven’t thought about anyone
else since and I have just enjoyed every moment I have been granted. Yesterday
and today were the best two days of the whole entire trip, being partners with
Jazmin has really grabbed me out of my comfort zone and made it easy for me to
keep my energy levels lifted. There is moments when I am just spent and tired
and just honestly can’t be bothered but as soon as you walk into a classroom or
even walk past a kid, they just have the biggest smile ever and it really lifts
your spirits up. Although I think it’s safe to say I am missing Mum’s home
cooking and just craving the biggest bowl of pasta when I get back!! I don’t
think I would ever say I miss having pasta or just even the nibbly platter at
5:30 every night but I really do miss Mum’s cooking!! On another note I am
never going to complain to Mum about the amount of food she brings out, I am
never, ever, ever, going to say to her that she has bought out way too much
until being here in Thandaung Gyi I have experienced over load on food.

Emma sums up some of the events of the past
few days, perceptively

The past few days have been some of the
most rewarding, challenging and emotional days I’ve experienced. On Friday we
woke up early in order to arrive at a supposedly ‘nearby’ village. We started
our hike with high spirts and I was excited for a new day and a day to relax
walking through the jungle. Ha well, it was not very relaxing as we were told
it was going to be a 2 hour walk and turned into over 4 hours in the hot sun!
Although it was a long walk it was a beautiful place to walk through. Walking
through the jungle up and down hills and along rough roads, made me think and
realise how hard getting food and medical attention would be for the isolated
villagers. When we finally arrived at the village around one-ish, we were
greeted with local group of villages sitting in the jungle waiting for us
playing traditional instruments. After listening to their beautiful music we
walked up another steep hill to the entrance of the village. As we walked
around the corner there was another hill with a long line of children with
flowers and garlands for all of us. After meeting pretty much the whole village
we had a lovey lunch. That night after our slow hike back we were all exhausted
and had a good night’s sleep. The experience of the day really made me feel
special and loved when meeting new people. The people are all so happy and
always smiling. The next few days were definitely times which I will always
remember.

Chris and I taught at a pre-school along
with the rest of the pilgrims. We worked very well together and had so much
fun. The following day was much harder as the students were older and didn’t
speak much English. Reflecting on the day, I believe it has built my confidence
and resilience up more, thanks to the support of the adults but I knew I could
have improved on a few aspects of the teaching.

The last few days have definitely tested me
on my confidence and encouragement towards others when times get tough. Overall
the past few days have been moments of realisation and gaining a better
understanding of many more things in life.