It's The End.... of April, of summer session, of....

Near the end of April is a special date for those from Down Under. April 25th , ANZACS Day, is a time for remembering those in the military who died in service to their country. In Kanchanaburi there are 2 big services for the ANZAC soldiers who died as POWs forced by their Japanese captors to build the Thai-Burma Railroad. It was my great honor to attend both of those services. The first is a sunrise service at Hellfire Pass, about 80km from town. There is a small monument in the pass where the tracks once ran and a graveled path through the jungle that follows the route cut through by those POWs 65 years ago. I arrived at 4:30 and was disappointed to find a large crowd already gathered and by 5:30 when the service began, the crowd had doubled in size (the number I heard was over 700). The service was brief yet moving. Wreaths were layed at the base of the monument; an honor guard stood silently around the monument throughout the service; bagpipers played Amazing Grace on a rise just above the cutting; Royal Thai Army buglers played a soulful taps. All the while a light drizzle of rain tried to penetrate the heavy canopy of bamboo trees, vague morning sunlight forced its way through the heavy leaf cover, and birds sang out their resentment to our early intrusion. I cried. I wasn't the only one.

Later that morning an even bigger crowd gathered at the Don Rak Cemetery in town where over 9,000 POW dead are buried. Chairs were set up under tents for visitors and in the hour or so before services began people wandered through the graves reading markers and looking for their relatives. As the memorial began those same pipers marched in behind a guide on carrying the Australian flag followed by an honor guard who took up their post around the large cross in the center of the cemetery. Speakers were eloquent but thankfully brief (it is extremely hot in the middle of the day in the hot April sun here). The longest speech was from one of the 5 survivors who were in attendance though I doubt that anyone cared how long he spoke. It was a privilege for me to shake the hand of those 5 men - I would have sat there all afternoon had they wanted to tell their stories to me. Finally the service ended with the Royal Thai Army buglers following by the pipers leading the guide on and the honor guard off the field to the tune of what else? Waltzing Matilda! And a hearty round of applause. A great way for me to end the month of April.


Today was a bittersweet day at school. The last day of April is the last day of summer session and I really hated to say good bye to so many of the darling little P1 kids that I had come to know. This past month was really the first time I have taught first grade every day. It has got to be the hardest job here (my hat is off to Brad and his Thai teacher partners who do this all year) and the most rewarding. The first day there were 3 in tears clinging to mothers and fathers. Today they were running, playing, laughing, and ignoring the urging of mothers and fathers to get in the car and go home. I also taught in the upper elementary grades and had some adorable and very bright students there, but as far as I know none of them cried first or last day. So my first "summer school" experience has come and gone. I learned a lot about trying to teach a 45 minute lesson to a room full of 5 minute attention spans (oh and the fact that I'm teaching in English which only a few of them understand even a little bit) and how to talk a little, play a little, talk a little more, write a little, play some more. Like I said, Brad is my hero! And as the saying goes, all good things (and even some not so good things) come to an end. About 4:00pm today the school was quiet as a tomb with students gone and exhausted teachers sitting, staring into space.

And finally, with the end of April comes the end of my time as a teacher in Thailand - for now. I am returning to Tennessee the first week of May - not sure when I will return to the Land of Smiles but sure that I will. It is another bittersweet ending for me for although I do look forward to being back home with my family and friends, I am struggling with leaving my Thai family of teachers and friends that I have come to love so quickly. More tears - just like the P1 students (maybe I do belong in that grade?). But I know we will keep in touch. Perhaps some of them will come to visit me in Tennessee. So much to do in so little time: pack, give things away (no more room in the suitcase), write thank you notes, clean out my room, ship boxes home (things that don't fit in the suitcase but I don't want to give away), plane reservations, etc., etc.

If it's the end, then why is there so much to do?