Poy Hospitalized

Poy in the hospital.

    Poy is the 14 year old girl about whom I wrote when I was in Thailand.  Readers of my blog may remember the stories about Poy.  She is the foster daughter of Gai and Mai, the Tuk Tuk taxi drivers.  They took her in when her family collapsed because of addiction to methamphetamine.  While I was in Thailand we got Poy to her first visit to the dentist where she had cavities in two teeth filled. She's the one who broke into tears when I bought her a phone telling her foster mother "no one's ever given me anything."

   Now Poy has been hospitalized in Bangkok where she had surgery.  She needed surgery because while she was still living with her family she drank toilet cleaner.  The surgery was something that could not be done in the local hospital in Ayutthaya so she went to Bangkok.  She should be released this week.

  It is the custom in Thailand that families take care of their own.  If parents can provide then extended families; uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. step in.  In Poy's case the entire family is addicted to meth so there was no one to help.  That's when Gai and Mai stepped in.  It is very unusual for non-family to get involved in a case like this.  But, not only did they get involved, they got her to medical care and have been bearing the costs out of their own meager income.  They may have even surrendered their Tuk Tuk to pay the hospital costs.  In addition  they have been traveling to Bangkok regularly to visit Poy.  Bangkok is an hour away.

   Our congregation, Grace University Lutheran Church, has joined us in providing financial support to Gai and Mai as they have cared for Poy.

Book Report

    Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, copyrighted 2012, is our book club book this month.  It took me a while to get into it but once I did I pretty much read the rest in a sitting.  From a Family Systems perspective it is fascinating while both it's whimsical and humorous.
   Part of the book is set in Ushuaia, Argentine though the basic setting is Seattle.  Two of the characters while in Ushuaia are told that the main tourist attraction in town is the prison which has been turned into an art museum.  Lars and I visited that museum when we were there and I'd almost forgotten about it.
  Having the opportunity to choose the next book I selected The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. It maybe the best book no one has ever heard of.  Joanne gave it to me a few years ago because it is set in Penang, Malaysia a city that I  had visited. The time setting is before, during and after WW II.  It is one of my favorite books and I reread it recently finding it as good the second time as the first.  I'll read it again before book club meets.

Lars in front of our guesthouse in Ushuaia the worlds southern most city.

With penguins on Tierra del Fuego south of Ushuaia. 

Pen Pals

    On my recent teaching gig at Wat Klang School, Ayutthaya, Thailand, I was presented with six letters written by 5th grade students.  The 4 girls and 2 boys are hoping to establish pen pal relationships with American students.  During the school year here in Minnesota I volunteer regularly in the 5th and 6th grade classrooms at Noble Academy, a Hmong Charter School.
   In conversation with one of the 5th grade teachers at Noble 6 students were chosen as pen pals.  It was fun working with these students as they composed and decorated their return letters.  The letters from Thailand were adorned with much art work.  Thai students receive significant art education in school so the letters were nicely designed.  Noble students were inspired to respond in kind and took seriously the task of creating visually attractive letters.  Writing took perhaps 20 minutes but the drawing, coloring, etc. went on for hours.
  The process of selecting the students and crafting their responses with the accompanying art work stretched the process over 3 weeks.  Knowing that the Thai students would be anxiously awaiting a return letter I wrote to each of them so they would know that they had not been forgotten.  Then, too, I thought they would enjoy getting two letters.
   Next year when I return to Wat Klang I'm going to bring labels with my address and invite students to write to me with the promise that I will write back to them.  This will enhance the connection and provide incentive for practice in English...I will not encourage them to write to me in Thai.  :)
    Perhaps with all these new ideas for teaching and connecting I shouldn't wait a year........ :)

My Thai School, Ayutthaya.

My Thai School's official name.

Noble Academy 40th & Thomas N., Mpls.