First Week Completed

It's the weekend! My first week of work is over.

It was such an incredible week, made up of so many crazy and mixed emotions. I love working where I am, but at the same time, I wish I never had to see the place.

I am working at a place called Rainbow House. It the one resedential building in CCD. It houses many kids, but I only get to see the ones that aren't in school. The kids come from "wards" or government orphanages, or are abandoned by their parents. One child was abondoned this week. Two days ago in fact. I was shocked. The sense of rejectment this child must feel is unfathomable. . .for he has already lived with his parents for 13 years.

Anyways, some of the kids at Rainbow House have made enough progress to attend government schools, so this frees up space during the day. So CCD brings in a group of kids from the orphanages during the day and offers them a day care program. That is where I come in!

The first day for me was completely overwhelming. I rode to work on a bicycle for 4 miles on a busy road. Thai traffic is a sight to see in itself, no rules apply. Those first 4 miles was the most terrifying distance I have ever travelled! When I got there I was in for shock too. The language was still entirely foreign and the culture was difficult to understand. Khun-nok is a care giver at Rainbow house and has been my mentor the past week. She is fantastic with the kids, and speaks a tiny bit of English. I speak a tiny bit of Thai, so we can communicate a tiny bit (Pointing and gesturing enters into conversation quite a bit). We will teach each other the words for things and this has been incredibley helpful! My Thai is fastly improving!

This week I have mainly just been assisting the Thai staff. My heart breaks every day. One of my main areas of expertise now is the showers. The Thai volcabulary that goes along with showering is very familiar after this week. Many of the children are not potty trained, so you hose them down first.(They love this) Wash and rinse them (They love this as well) and then towel them dry (They love this the most). They tend to REALLY enjoy these activities because I am new, and they are not intimidated enough to not run away. I spend close to an hour chasing after naked children with towels and soap in hand. I should be able to catch them easily, but you would be surprised at their ability to move even though they may be paralized from the waist down.

Showering has been a lot of fun, but is has also been one of the times where I have gotten to see the abuse the kids deal with at the government orphanages. Sores on the wrists and ankles from being tied to their beds for hours, rashes galore from having to sit in their own urine all day, and bruises galore for being hit for misbehaving.

These are the mixed feelings I have.

I have a love/hate relationship with Thailand right now and my experiences here. The culture shock is unbelievable. There are so many more things to talk about so I will make sure to post again soon.



Me and Pet, a boy with down syndrome. He sometimes loves me, and sometimes hates me. I'm got the proof with a signature Pet bite mark on my arm, blood drawn and all! He kissed it better though. I always love him!




Pet again!