A long week of lasts, good-byes, and peace-outs!

Monday: We said good-bye to the Baan Phonsawan kiddos... even though I only went there for internship for about 2 weeks, those adorable, energetic little munchkins stole my heart and I'll never forget them! We had a party for our last day and we did our best to leave in such a way that the good-byes were minimally emotional, which was helpful! This was also the last day of art class! We got some of our stuff back so here's a few pics:

So, I didn't actually make the pottery, I just painted it.....

...and carved it =)

So, this was really fun (not). We used stucco to create these pretty flowers, most of which had much more detail than mine, and I didn't even do the work! I kept bringing it up and the professor kept fixing it, and I'm pretty sure he did most of it, haha.

Thank goodness I have the ability to trace! These projects were from two different days, but they were pretty fun, especially since I didn't have to do anything free handed!

For our silversmithing project (it's not actual silver though, haha) we used hammer and tools and it was loud.... but then they put our projects on pretty black boxes (excellent for gift-giving!)

Tuesday: This was actually not a good-bye or last day! After classes, a group of us went to the International Women's Day Conference. One of the Social work seniors doing her full-time internship here presented the Thai Woman of the Year Award to its recipient since she was the one who had nominated her! The recipient was a woman at her internship, Grandma Cares, who has done a lot of research and work in the field of HIV/AIDS.

Wednesday: Last day of normal classes! We said good-bye to our Thai writing professor, Aj. Anek, and for our final we have to mail him a postcard in Thai sometime while we are on spring break! He gave us all the useful sentences to write on the postcard, so how's that for an easy A!

Thursday: LAST EXAM! (Well, minus the easy postcard). We took our final in Thai culture class. Now, as far as classes, go, I will write one short paper in the village, but other than that I'm done with classes until August! CRAZY! For dinner on Thursday, I went out with my entire family for dinner (usually I only eat meals with my sister and mother, so this was a rare treat!). They gave me a beautiful skirt as a gift and we ate lots of fun seafood (including some raw shrimp!). All in all, a good day =)

Friday: We had a free day, so a friend and I headed to massage place and got 120 baht, 1-hour massages ($4!). We did a little shopping and hanging out too, and then Friday night was the lovely farewell dinner! We performed our skits for our families and a few girls did some musical numbers and we ate delicious food! Also, a good day =)

Saturday: Today has been a relaxing do nothing but packing day. It is also the last night with our families! My family was pretty busy today, but it was nice to have a quiet day to pack my stuff and prepare my gift for my family, which I will give them in the morning! It includes most of the art work I have pictured above and a few things from America (ie, Virginia Peanuts and a Virginia totebag!). Also, my little sister got her ears pierced this past week, so I got her some earrings from the mall =)

SUNDAY: Tomorrow we are leaving for our 12-day adventure through Thailand! We will be travelling as a group on a tour bus to Sukhotahai, Pitsanulok, Ayuttyah, Lopburi, and Bangkok. This trip ends Friday, and then we are let loose for Spring Break! A group of us are heading to Kho Samet, an island off the southern coast of Thailand for this part of the trip, which will end on March 24th. Then, we will be back in Chiang Mai for a night before we head off to the Lahu village for a few days and the Karen village for a few weeks! I will not have my computer except for that day in between the trip and the village, so consider this your break from reading my ramblings ;) I'll try to keep up with a written journal every few days to have something to look back on next time I post!

There's also been a little change in plans for my stay here in Thailand! I'm staying an extra month! I will be taking a course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) that will provide me with a certification enabling me to teach English in other countries. I don't yet have specific plans for how I'll use the certificate, but I do think it will help to open up doors in the future since I hope to, at some point, live and work abroad! So, I will be home on May 22nd instead of April 22nd! There are 5 other students staying, so we're working on finding some cheap lodging altogether and all looking forward to our extra time in Thailand!

Well, that's all for now. I ask that you keep Japan, Hawaii, and the west coast in your prayers as they recover from the recent earthquake and tsunami.... I don't know that there has been much effect here in Thailand, thankfully, but I do know many people are mourning their losses and suffering, so I pray for their quick recovery back to a sense of 'normal'.

I also pray you are all doing well! Have a blessed and meaningful day, my friends.