Pee-wee's and Pooches

Here are reasons why today was EXTREMELY good:

1. Today I taught my first lesson to a third and fourth grade class. I was super nervous. I have taught kids before, but never from my own lessons. I woke up feeling slightly doubtful: what if they had no idea what I was doing? What if they badmouth me in Thai and I'll have no idea what they're talking about?

I biked to school, got into my work clothes, and looked in the mirror: Woah, I look exactly like my mother, I thought. My mom, the teacher. Come to think of it, my other mom is a teacher, too. And so is my sister. And my half sister. Then, it hit me: Jeez! What am I so worried about?! Teaching is in my blood! I have the most incredible teacher role models in the world, and I know each and every one of them are in my heart and want me to succeed. I wasn't so nervous after that.

I taught the students animal vocabulary. I made them laugh when I told them that "frogs" say "ribbit," and I joined in with them when they growled like "bears." We giggled often. They were almost always confused. But we were all smiling the whole time. 

2. I had a major, MAJOR breakthrough with this pooch you see in the picture above! Since starting PST, something that I have struggled with is the dogs in Thailand. Most of them are strays, and enjoy chasing passing bikers and even biting them. The ones who have homes are often times even more aggressive because they feel they have something to protect. Since some of them are rabid, we've been instructed to call the medical office immediately if we are bit. Overall, the message is: don't trust dogs. As an American who has had nothing but dogs her whole life, this is hard for me. I panic every time a dog chases me while riding a bike. I've never felt this way about dogs and it disheartens me. 

My host family has three dogs: MonMem, which means Stinky, is 11 years old, blind in both eyes from fighting, and quite crippled. There's DukDik, which means Naughty/Can't Sit still. He is fluffy and deceivingly cute, since when you go near him he growls and barks. But then, there's Bua, or Lotus, who is a Thai Ridgeback. When I first moved in with my host family, my sister told me "Bua is friendly but might not be to foreigners so be careful." I went up to the cage and put out my hand, and she growled at me, so I let it go. Days after that, I would toss a cracker in the cage that she'd gobble up, but was still hesitant. 

Today, Bua got let out of her cage without my sister knowing that I was outside. Bua saw me about fifteen feet away from her, and she started galloping. I froze, since every dog that has come at me so far is trying to bite me. Bua rushed over, almost without stopping in time, and just booped her nose into my leg. She started jumping on me and licking my hands. I ran inside and got her some treats, which she again scarfed down. After that, she didn't leave my side the rest of the night. We played, her almost knocking me over. I would scratch her head, and if I stopped she'd look up like "Um, you are not finished." 

This was a long post to say that I might be nervous in my new environment, and I might miss the comforts of cheese and tequila from home, and I might have mosquito bites on each butt cheek, but I am here. In this place that I call home for 2 years. And I would not trade it for anything.