First of all: I've just heard about the plane crash, I was not on the plane, I don't know any one on the airplane and I have not gotten scared of flying back home. So, it's been a while since my last blog. Though I have internet here at the homestay, it's quite slow and when it rains (and it is the rainy season) I have no internet at all.

I'll write a bit of what I have been up to. I have been volunteering for two weeks now and I enjoyed it very much. I'm staying at the homestay. The house is from Pee-Tim, a sweet Thai lady who teaches during the weekdays at a secondary school and at the weekends at her house. I sleep in a luxurious little wooden Thai house next to the main house. The two weeks I stayed there with Julie, now Yvonne has joined me because Julie left. During the weekdays I've been teaching at different primary schools. The schools are completely different from the Dutch schools and so are the children. They are well disciplined, polite and sweet. They all stand up when the teachers walk in the class and start chanting: 'Good morning teacher, how are you?' The school staff are also so grateful with volunteers and show their appreciation by stuffing with food during lunch time. I have been saying 'Ihm maa' ( I' m stuffed) repeatedly. The level of English of the children isn't good, so it can be trickey teaching them why it should be 'at school' and not ' in school' when you cannot translate it to Thai. But my acting and mediocre drawing skills have come in handy : )

I would usually teach with another volunteer from the homestay. The first week only me and Julie were staying here, the second week we were joined by 4 four other girls which was sort of an annoyance since I liked the serenity of this place. Now were only with four girls, two of whom I'll be traveling with to Koh Chang (bounty Island!!! :D) Friday.

The weekends have been the best though. The children come to the house, where they are being taught in the small but well maintained classrooms. The parents from the children work in the factories so they send their children to the homestay. The children are more like the Dutch children, cheeky at times. But I have connected really well with some of the children and I shall never forget them nor the homestay with sweet Pee-Tim :)

I have also volunteered at the hospital of Singburi for two days. Though I would not call it volunteering. Me and Julie were allowed to look while Doctor Pet (26 year old doctor O_o) made his rounds. It was such a neat experience. I saw some Influenza infected patients (the patients were being discharged by Doctor Pet because they were better and I wore the mouth masks a la Micheal Jackson style) I witnessed 2 pregnant women getting a echo scan and saw their babies :D, I saw a patient getting a root canal treatment up-close and was even allowed inside the surgery room while they were operating a woman having a sterilization. Imagine being able to see al that in a hospital in Holland O_o

I have also joined a political party in Thailand :D We were invited to an information meeting by a nurse from the hospital with the local community about the negatives of smoking. We had to sit for nearly 2 hours in the heat listening to people preaching in Thai about smoking, really exhausting. Afterwards we were dragged around the province taking pictures everywhere with some random important locals… Four girls got fed up with it and declined any other showcase. Me and Rianne didn't mind that much and before we knew it we were in a building in the middle of nowhere signing up for a political party. It was al very weird but also fun :D

I'm looking forward to next week, to the island. lying on the beach with a pinapple with a small colourful umbrella filled with pina colada while being massaged Thai style with a little bit of oil whatching the sunset, I'll think of home :P Haha, anywayz, I'll keep ya'll updated ^_^

Xx Sanna