Wednesday blog - we're all behind!

Sorry to be so behind. We have been busy, busy, busy trying to get everything done before we leave. Everything takes ages when there are 5 Scots having breakfast then somebody needs the toilet so a few better go, we forget the suntan lotion/beastie cream/bum wipes/water etc and the rooms are 3 steep flights upstairs. Then we set off so everything is slower, why not? (as Guardian Angel would say.)

Wednesday 16th July was the Gillespie's last day here in Say Tar Nar School and we went along to do some etching work on Burma with the Grade 5 class. It was great to be seeing Pirniehall's link school and to spend time with the beautiful, committed couple who run the school and their staff. Here you can see Mary and Po Cho signing their Partnership Agreement for the Global Schools Partnership.


Maybe you are wondering where is Geoff in all this? Geoff has been industriously working behind the scenes turning the OUR LIVES exhibition into a book. No easy feat so far from home. On Wednesday he finally finished it and had 50 books 88 pages long printed in Burmese and English. This will be used in Hle Bee and Say Ta Nar as a context for critical thinking. There are almost no valuable books for this in Burmese and English for children so it's a groundbreaking venture. Thank you Geoff. Each copy cost 60 baht = £1. We hope to source funding to enable this book to be published and given to all the Burmese Learning Centres in Mae Sot. We also want to publish it in Edinburgh for Scottish children. Tha Zin was so excited to read it. She was very proud to see her students' work in print and the parents she showed the book to were amazed and quite overwhelmed to see their child's work in print. We gave Murray a copy of the book and you can see his delight here.

Wednesday was one of those days when you want to be in 2 places at once. Hle Bee were having a special Buddha Day celebration, which the Parent Council had been preparing for all day yesterday. The teachers had worked long and hard to prepare the school for the event. So Fiona and Murray left Sheila and Guardian Angel etching at Say Ta Nar and joined Hle Bee. Fiona found the whole event moving as she now explains....

Monks were invited to the school to pray and receive offerings. We arrived just as they were finishing their chanting/prayers to see the whole school community in action - Tracey Berry you would have been in your element! Teachers and parents set up a 'food station' in one area to feed the visitors and parents, whilst the classrooms at the back had been cleared to make a huge dining hall for the children which you can see in the photo. The nature of the buildings in the school mean that you have to be as flexible as you can - one minute the space is your classroom, next it's a dining hall, then it's a space for dancing. Older students and other teachers fed the 300+ children in two sittings. There was no fuss and everyone worked together to make sure things ran smoothly. The younger children, in their 'glad rags' were having a lovely relaxed time. The older children were the model of 'responsible citizens', helping with the food and clearing with no complaint. There were lots of friendly faces all keen to say 'mighla ba' and the atmosphere was just magic. For me it was my chance to finally taste an authentic version of 'Mohinga' - remember that, Forthview staff, my 'boggin' version? Well, there were a few added ingredients which we cannot get in the UK and they have been making it for a few more years than me...needless to say it was just delicious. Hmm funny how, however, Sheila arrived back just in time to miss it!

All throughout this week the generosity of everyone in the school has had me taken aback - children, staff and parents alike would willingly give you their very last bit of food or belongings with a huge smile. They are also superb at making a little go a long way - food, materials, entertainment and their kindness. Very humbling. We rounded the morning off with an informal singsong/karaoke and for about the hundreth time this week I was blubbing, as Sheila introduced them to 'Auld Lang Syne'...and it was only Wednesday!! A taste of things to come, me thinks.

In the afternoon, the older children gave us a dance show like they did last year when we saw the traditional Burmese Umbrella dance. This year we were amazed at the mix of Burmese and Asian/American rap music they danced to. We'll post a video of this next week. We were also treated to some teachers singing and dancing, which was very moving. Oh yes - and Sheila taught them all the Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper! It was all very 'Forthview' and rounded off a day which highlighted the many similarities between our two schools.