Early this year we had an awesome volunteer teacher--Faye Jackson from England--who stayed at the kindergarten school in Muong Khong for two weeks, acting as an observer for our organization and teaching the children some songs/dances etc. She had a blast. Here's the story of her experience...
Report by Faye Jackson
Arriving at the school on the first day was awkward to say the least--no one spoke English and my Lao was limited to "hello," "thank you very much" and "it's hot." I said that last one a lot as it was extremely hot! But once I sat in front of the children with their big brown eyes looking at me, hanging off my every movement, the awkwardness soon vanished!
The children are amazing and so happy to play and be silly (something I had no problem with!). The teachers have also been fantastic and, despite the language barrier, made me feel welcome with their warm smiles and patience; they even managed to teach me some Laos!
It gave me such a thrill to walk up to the gate of the school each morning and be greeted by the cry of "Sabaidee" and lots of happy faces coming to meet me! The children would walk me up to the building of the school, sometimes 2-3 in each hand and a couple dangling off each hip or leg--it was great to feel so welcome! I managed to teach them how to count from 1-20 and recite their ABCs, which, by the Tuesday of the second week, I heard a couple of the kiddies singing as they played outside (apart from a couple of mis-pronunciations--they got it!). It was brilliant! I also taught them a couple of English songs, such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "The Hockey Cockey." They loved these songs and got very excited when they knew I was about to sing them!
All in all, it was an amazing experience being part of their lives, even if it was just for two weeks. It's something I know will stay in my heart forever. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity by Shawn and Thanou at Jai Dee Children's Fund to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
1 comment:
I have kn0wn Faye Jacks0n since i was eight and that was twenty three years ag0. I Can h0nestly say she truly has a heart 0f g0ld, and always warms pe0ple hearts with her friendlyness and will always leave y0u feeling great ab0ut y0urself! She lives life t0 the fullest! I'm s0 pr0ud 0f her, that after reading this article it br0ught tears t0 my eyes, and she said that she'll never f0rget th0ses children at the MU0NG K0NG kindergarten, but i kn0w that th0se y0ung children will always remember faye f0r the rest 0f their lives, as she brightens every0nes w0rld! well she d0e's mine, she'll always be a friend f0r life, and i wish her truly successful and happy life if there's 0ne pers0n that deserves it she d0e's x x x x
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