Itsara

Since I always have so much trouble trying to figure out what to tell you and what not to tell you, and of course everyone wants to know what life here is like, I figured I’d start doing these posts that I’ll call Wan Tii (it’s Thai, maybe I’ll explain later, or maybe I’ll decide it’s stupid and change it). Every once in a while, I’ll just walk you through a day of mine, and maybe Cindy or Sean can do the same, if they want to. I hope I can make it interesting.

This morning I woke up early. Really early. And inexplicably stressed out. Probably it was some blowback of whatever it was I was feeling last night, when I felt lazy, tired, and thoroughly unproductive. This happens a lot more than I’d like. My male, goal-oriented brain has significant trouble seeing “Playing With Kids” as being productively equivalent with things like “Fixing a Computer” or “Writing a Book”. This is especially true when the kids don’t seem particularly interested in listening to me.

Anyway, I thought sleeping, and praying in the morning, would help. Sleeping didn’t. Praying did. I’m re-reading through Purpose-Driven Life, and it often helps me focus on what’s really important. Today it was God’s glory, and it talked about how I can glorify God simply by doing what I was designed to do. Simply by serving Him the best way I know how.

Today was a slower day. We took a couple weeks off school while my parents were here, and now the school is almost too busy to have us back. So we’re still out. Hopefully next week we’ll be able to start at 2 days a week - it’s cheaper, but I’m anxious to finish schooling so I can focus on something else (like the aforementioned Kids, or the Computer, or the Book). So for me, slower is not necessarily better. Maybe I’ll be wrong and get attached to the freetime. So I spent most of the day catching up with the mound of accounting work that I haven’t done in the past month. Everyday, people buy stuff in the name of Im Jai, and eventually those receipts find their way to me so I can enter them in the computer. Not exciting work, but it’s needed and I do end up feeling productive afterwards, so I don’t complain.

Around 2 or so, when we’d normally be in school, I decided I was done for the day and started reading Up the Line. Actually, I finished reading it. It was pretty interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the potential paradoxes of time travel handled so thoroughly. Around then, the kids started getting back from school while I went to take a shower (having no hot water means taking showers when the day is as hot as possible).

When I got back, the staff had dinner together with Ladda and her brand new fiancee. She’s been single all her life, but has been praying recently for a husband to help her in all the work she’s been doing. On one of her many trips to America (and one of his many trips to Im Jai), they found each other and will be getting married in December.

Afterwards, I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with Deer about cartoons - specifically about Naruto. Who would have thought that I’d ever be talking about an anime series with an eight year old girl in another language? I didn’t.

Friday evenings we would normally take the teens out somewhere, but we couldn’t today. Ladda’s engagement party is on Saturday and they had to practice singing for it. Instead, I went with Cindy to the Night Bazaar so she could find a dress for the same engagement party. I don’t like the Night Bazaar, but I love Cindy so I went. Plus I got some Rotee, so I guess I got a pretty good deal after all.