some new beginnings

i walk into my room tonight and i can't help but notice that our whole room carries the musky aroma of sweat. lounging in puddles of my own perspiration isn't exactly my idea of swimming yet it's unavoidable.
thailand is on the verge of a heat wave as may has proven to be hotter than april which is usually the hottest month of the year. so we all rush to find solace in air conditioned rooms, sipping cha yen [thai iced tea] and daring to take the occasional dip in the pool.

May brings the end of summer break and at Agape we celebrate the coming of a new school year with new shoes and the mending of last year's school uniforms at an attempt at making them last as long as possible. we ask the kids if they're excited to go back to school and with shaking heads they pout and say 'mai sanuk' [not happy], which means they've had a good break, we volunteers have played our part well.

and for a final hoorah before backpacks are once again seen strewn about the front patio we held a carnival for the big kids. with painted wooden boards depicting monkeys eating bananas, kids threw bean bags through holes or darts at balloons to win prize tickets to later be traded for toy cars and jump ropes at the 'store'. with pride i manned the toilet toss. kids had four rolls of toilet paper and four chances to land those paper missiles into an old toilet, a feat surprisingly more difficult than what the eye first assumes. we lucked out, it was a cloudy day but each one of us were melting beneath drips of sweat as we chugged water like frat boys and cheap beer. i looked down at one point and noticed that lines of sweat were even dripping down from my knees, i didn't even know my knees could sweat.

on the first day of school i was knocked down by too much ridiculous cuteness as our preschoolers got to wear uniforms for the first time. they walked around showing off their new shiny shoes and telling us they were 'nakrian' [students] with grins full of self-accomplishment. they were just like their older brothers and sisters even though they don't leave on the big blue bus every morning to the far off land known as public school. the 20 yards from their bedroom to the Agape home school building is far enough for now.

not only is this a time of transition for our kids, but my own house and the general group of acquaintances i've built up is changing as well. the end of the month beckons kelsey and christina to their respective homes and countries. both have been here for roughly the same time, one coming before christmas, one shortly after. their voices play a major part in the chorus of laughter and sighs ringing through out our house, kelsey with her love for uncomplicated movie plots and fear of cockroaches, christina with her ridiculous accidents and questions we all laugh at. I will miss them both.
along with them will go various missionaries/teachers/super heroes that i've had brief yet privileged chance to meet, it seems to be high season for people to home and start a different and new adventure. i'm going to need to start making new acquaintances soon or else i might get bored with sarah and amy, they are kind of lame [NOT]. however i do look forward to the new wave of faces that are sure to come each in their own timing.

soon enough i'll be one of the faces fading out of the chiang mai world. strange.