Rural Diaries pt.2

Alas! The pictures of the famed "town of monkeys" are here! It was nice having no wifi, and visiting the countryside in the northern province of Lopburi. I was in love with the absolute peace there was. We stayed at my buo's (father's father) house.

With my lovely grandmothers!

I learned how to basketweave (barely)

The community fishing net in our backyard. It's monsoon season currently in Thailand. But to climate change, there hasn't been much rain in the country. I can count on my hand the amount of times it's rained since I've been here. Anywho, typically, the water levels would be higher than this picture and the net would be filled with fish!

We later drove into the city to visit Lopburi's famed Khmer Temples.

So all around the town of Lopburi there are Macaques freely walking around. They've completely lost any fear of humans so they have no problem stealing food from you (if you're not vigilant!) 

The tale is that if anyone kills the macaques they will have eternal bad luck, hence their history of roaming freely. There's an annual festival, or as my host brother calls it "monkey meeting"  to feed and celebrate the macaques.

Rural Diaries pt.1

This weekend, we headed to the Lopburi province to visit my buo (father's father). Prior to heading there, we had to take my younger brothers to their monthly weekend schooling. In addition to their regular school schedule, every few weeks, they attend a "saturday school" in physics and English. While I've been here, I have quietly and keenly observed my parent's dedication to their children's education. A few days ago, I attempted to express my gratitude for my parents' willingness to give their children a great education but my tears made it difficult. I had to cut my words short for fear of balling in front of them.

To cut it short: I am enamored by the love that they hold for their children. It's awe-inspiring. It's a love that I wish for any parent for family member to have for their younger ones.

Roadtrip and temple pics below:

overlooking the town of Nakhon Sawan

A novice monk circling the temple

While my brothers were in Saturday school, my host parents and I went to a temple located in the mountains of Nakhon Sawan.

My gorgeous host parents!

One of the reclining Buddha Statues in Lopburi

best,
Sade

"To educate a girl and is to educate an entire community"

My co-teacher Ann, took this picture of my fifth graders.

I feel like it captures my mission and values while I'm here. I keep finding myself tied back to education in some realm or position. Being an African immigrant to the US, I learned to value education at a young age. Very quickly, it became very real to me the sacrifices that I made and were made on my behalf in order to get to this place. For a while, I imagined myself working in international education policy world and working to decrease the opportunity gap in education. During my first year at university, I interned at an international education NGO and found myself at the fore front of these issues. Two years later, with considerable experience, I still find myself tied to this content area. I'm interested in how education can be used as a tool of poverty alleviation and an increase of access. I look forward to the remainder of this experience.