Me? MC? Yup!

Well, I can't believe I only have another month in Chiangrai. There are still so many details to get taken care of! Please remember I need someone to be willing to drive to Bangkok with me (preferably a Thai person), visa issues need to be taken care of, and I need housing issues to be finalized.

In more exciting news, I got the opportunity to be the MC for a pretty big speech competition. There were students from 9 or 10 universities who came to CRU this past Friday to deliver speeches on 3 topics: 1) Children need to enjoy thier childhood, so they should not have too much pressure to do extremely well in school, 2) What adverse affects has the internet had on Thai youth and what practical steps can be taken to fix those adverse affects, and 3) Thai universities do not prepare their students for the challenges of the real world. I

t was my first time to be an MC and I'm sure it showed. Between pronouncing Thai names, reading a script (that I wasn't sure how closely I had to follow until the heat of the moment), and additions to the script that no one told me about, it was an interesting day. However, it was another wonderful learning experience as to how things are conducted in Thailand that I have now tucked under my belt. I will be much more prepared if I'm ever asked to fill this position again. In addition, several of those putting on the speech competition also work at KU (the university I will be teaching at). It was good to get to meet them. Everyone I have met from this university have been very nice and excited that I am coming to teach there. I'm looking forward to the new adventure, yet there are always nervous feelings as well.

Many of the speeches were quite good. I was also surprised that out of the top 4 finalists, only one of them was from Bangkok. Those who study in Bangkok are generally assumed to be the best, yet 3 students proved them wrong. Sadly, none of my students were in the top 4, yet the students from CRU were not as well prepared as the others. Those who won truly deserved to win.

Currently, I am writing the final exams for my students and preparing a review session for our final classes together. Everything seems to be happening so fast! My students have been wonderful and they were all sad to hear I am leaving. I will miss them, but I'm also looking forward to all the students and people I will get to meet in Bangkok. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Just for fun, I've put some random pictures up for y'all to look at.

I took this picture one night after it finished raining. I think it's so beautiful!

These are so good! And straight from the farm. I love this market.

One of the many Buddha statues in one of the many temples here.