Alone once again

Saturday 7.45 pm

Well it has been a while since I lasted posted but I was busy and that's a fact. The course is finally over and I have passed it. Provisionally anyway; it has to go to Cambridge and be formally recognised before I receive my certificate. In some ways it was the longest four weeks of my life and in other ways it just flew by in the blink of an eye. We all left the compound at various times today as most people had planes to catch. I was one of the last to leave. Neng left me back to the guest house I originally started at. He helped me take my bags out of his van then gave me a hug and told me that I have a good heart. It was quite touching saying good bye to him as we got on very well together. I still have his phone number and I know I can call him anytime if I need him and he will come straight away. Other than having Neng at the end of a phonecall I am now alone again. It will be strange for a day or so after sharing a place with eleven other people for four weeks. I intend to see some sights before leaving Chiang Mai. I haven't decided where I am going yet. I may go to the south of Thailand, to the beaches, or I may just decide to leave the country from Chiang Mai airport. Perhaps I may go to Cambodia first. I had made enquiries to do volunteer work in Cambodia, working with kids who live and beg on the streets. I was accepted on the project for a four week stint but they wanted me to make a payment of 1100 US dollars first. I think that is a lot of money to pay someone so that they will let me work for free and therefore I have decided against it.

On our final night in the compound we put on a small scavenger hunt for the students. They were given clues and we teachers were placed all around the compound with further clues for them to solve. Each time a clue was solved they were given a word on a piece of paper. There were six words in total and when collected they formed a sentence which said 'Thank you for being our students'. The students really enjoyed the hunt, there was lots of running around and laughing as they looked for the clues. After this the students prepared a meal of local Thai delicacies, such as chicken's feet and grasshoppers. When Neng saw that I wasn't going to try the grasshoppers he made a point of putting a big spoonful of them on my plate and standing in front of me and insisting I try them. Tentatively I put one in my mouth and it was fine, no problem. I ate the rest of them and then helped myself to some more.

Everybody, both teachers and students, was running around taking photos of each other. I must have taken about fifty photos that night. We presented the students with certificates that stated they had studied English with us for four weeks. Each of us presented at least one student with a certificate and photos were taken with each one. Then the students presented each student with a bag, I think they may have been made by one of the hill tribes; I'm not sure. Each male teacher was presented with a bag too and some sort of cloth that you wear around your waste. Mine was presented to me by Neng. It was a really good and happy few hours that night. Afterwards myself and Aaron stayed up drinking beer until about 2 o'clock.

As I said everyone's gone now. I need a few days to get my head together and catch up on some much needed sleep. I will post some more pictures soon of my fellow students.