The send off that the teachers gave me yesterday has caused me to reflect on what my presence may mean to them. The depth of the feelings expressed and the heartiness of their hope that I return makes me wonder about its meaning. Here are some thoughts about it.
Wat Klang is a small school in a poor neighborhood in an out of the way place. Perhaps the fact that I have chosen to volunteer there for three successive years really touches them. Yesterday, before I left, they asked me to write a "To whom it may concern" type letter about the school and my experience there. I understood that they were hoping for a positive reference letter they could use. Readers of this blog know that I've been somewhat critical of the school and its practices. Relying on my years of writing personal references I did what I had often done in the past...I emphasized the positives. Primarily I focused on the teachers genuine concern for the students and the esprit de corps among the teachers.
Perhaps it takes three years before one is more fully accepted and established. It does make me wonder what a fourth year will be like if I'm able to return next year. My Thai vocabulary has doubled this year and that with my other learning's does also make me more effective, too.
All will be reavealed......
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