Monday in Hle Bee School

Fiona and Irvine today taught Kindergarten B how to play Heads Down, Thumbs Up.

Their teacher is the little teacher who used to teach underneath Thazin's house.

She is a really fast learner

and soon had the whole class doing Heads Down Thumbs Up

on her own.

Irvine gave out the letters from Forthview children

then tried to translate them into pigeon Burmese!

We teach our new Toothbrushing song to Grade 4, 5 and 6
in Burmese and English
then show the actions.


Teachers talk teeth while children write teeth!


Emma in the background is the Canadian volunteer at Hle Bee this year.
Sheila hopes she will help Louise when she comes in August for 5 months.

The Grade 4 teacher helps his pupils.

You can see Thazin rushing off.

She is teaching Grade 6 and Grade 3

in 2 separate building at the same time just now!

Hle Bee is short of one teacher.

The girls work hard.

Later Grade 6 are all noisily memorising a text.

This girl is trying to find some peace so she can learn.

This is not easy in Hle Bee.

It's a very noisy school with children chanting and reciting loudly always.

However, in the afternoon, Kindergarten A babies still sleep and sleep..

Awwwwwwww.....

Home visits on Sunday

Si Si Win with a much cherished photo of her Forthview friend, Sophie. Irvine and I were very privileged to have the chance to visit four Hle Bee children at home with their families.

We set off on Sunday morning, collected our bikes and then headed off to the first house.

First stop was Si Si Win's house. She lives within sight of the factory where her father works and her home is owned by the factory. We sat with Si Si Win and her family in their room and talked about their situation, which brought home the global impact of the recession: the factory is looking like it may shut down, which means there will be no work and therefore no income and worse, no home. They have family back in Burma but are unable to return there as they have no home and no way to earn a living. There is no means of support from the State in Thailand as they have no legal status. They talked about their hopes and dreams for their daughter's future, adding with sadness that she may soon have to leave school to go to work. Si Si Win is 13 and dreams of one day becoming a nurse.

Next we went to Htet Wai Yan Kyaw's house. He is on the left of the photo. His friend in Forthview is Juan. As we cycled up we drew into the driveway of a very imposing house. 'Surely this can't be where they live?' I wondered to myself. I then noticed a row of small wooden shacks where six families live down the side of the big house - so marked in contrast. A small room, but with everything neatly in its place and again a very warm welcome. Htet Wai's mother came home from her sewing job during the middle of our visit - for her lunch break - before heading back to work. They told us how a family member had just arrived with a degree from Burma and was now looking to attend the local Migrant Workers' school. On the way out I remarked how it

must be hard to get much light since they live so close to the big house. Htet Wai's mother told me that her employer does not like them to use much electricity so they often sit in the dark.

By now, our little party of three had grown in size, as Si Si Win and Htet Wai joined us for the visit to Zar Chai Aye and her family of 8. Their home has an empty shop front and a further three floors - all the rooms are empty, save for their sleeping mats and a few posessions.

We were sat down and almost immediately mohinga was served! Again such generosity. I recounted the story of making mohinga with the nursery and, Murray, Zar Chai Aye's mother laughed out loud at your recipe!! It was good to taste the authentic version and Irivine was able to revise his opinion of the dish after tasting my 'boggin' version!

Zar Chai Aye and her mother (right)

Finally we headed off to Zin Zaw's new house which Sheila has talked about in the blog. It was lovely to meet her Mother, who is usually working away near the Border. She talked about how hard she finds it having to leave her family and also about her dreams for Zin Zaw's future. Although initially in jest, she asked several times for us to take her daughter back to Scotland with us. Oh that we could!

Irvine gained inspiration from the pin up on the wall to pose for a group photo - with much giggling from all!

It was an amazing day and one we would not have missed. Although we heard heartbreaking stories in each home, the thing that struck us was the immense dignity of all the families, the interest they took in our visit, and above all, the warm welcome we received.

We both returned home feeling very humbled and with our own worries very much put into perspective.

A look at Dr Thein Lwin's Weekend School

Charity, the young teacher, is a Burmese woman who has studied hard in Chiang Mai and has sponsorship to go to Hong Kong to study Law this year.

Irvine was totally impressed

with her enthusiasm for teaching these Burmese children on a Saturday

after working all week

and by her commitment to her people.

Introducing ourselves with an action.


Fiona and Dr Thein Lwin visit the second class.

Kindergarten loved Fiona's camera.

Irvine getting stuck into the lesson.

"Superb!"

Dr Thein Lwin takes us to Chiang Mai bus station.

Before we start to show you Hle Bee this year, let us give you a glimpse of Dr Thein Lwin's Weekend School. Last year, The Thinking Classroom Foundation ran 2 schools in Chiang Mai but many difficulties with the Thai authorities meant they had to close these schools. Now they can only run a reduced service to the children on Saturday and Sunday. We visited there on Saturday morning before we went to Chiang Mai at 11am. It was a great introduction for Irvine to learning with Burmese children. He thought it was brillliant.

Sunday night

Just back from my favourite restaurant in the world, Casa Mia, where we enjoyed lovely food including Penne Al Forno. Waited a year for this!

After the meal, we met the Pirniehall teachers and shrieked our way through Mary's tales of going to Burma. Any of you who know Mary Ryan Gillespie, know that she can talk for Scotland and she will stick up to the bitter end for what she believes in.

She had us in stitches describing how she told the Burmese Immigration Officers that she was NOT leaving her passport with them while she went into Burma! "I Scotland Headteacher. I do not leave passports." Eventually she realised even she can't beat down the Burmese powers and they worriedly set off into Myawaddy without passports! See her blog for the rest of the story. www.pirniehall.blogspot.com

Zin Zaw has a new home

Today Geoff and I set off to buy lots of bits and pieces while Irvine and Fiona were home visiting. We walked through the market where we saw live fish being sold for eating but also bags of big frogs that weren't dead yet. Really horrible!

On our way home, we were looking at Zin Zaw's house when she ran over from the next lane. "Teacher, teacher, come to see my new house." Her new house has 2 rooms and she has a room which she shares with one sister. Last year so many people lived in one room.

Her sister and her husband were so hospitable. Somebody ran quickly to the shop to buy us a bottle of coke each. Icy cold, we were rubbing it all over our freezing cold faces much to their delight. How totally generous of them was that. They earn so little, no more than 50 bahts per day (£1) and yet they spend more than half of that on buying us juice. So humbling when they treat us with such great honour.

Zin Zaw is now in Grade 6, having stayed at school because a Forthview teacher has funded her for the last year.

Check the Mae Sot hairdo and beamer!

Sunday in Mae Sot

We arrived safely in Mae Sot yesterday at 6pm, after a lovely bus journey through the mountains surrounding Mae Sot. We were amazed at the beauty of the mountains on the last lap of the journey between Tak and Mae Sot. The first 4 hrs are through flat land and then you enter a place that always reminds me (Sheila) of the Scottish highlands. Irvine and Fiona had the front seats on the bus, which gave them a great view of the scenery and the mad driver's antics. He drove perpetually on the wrong side of the road and was determined to overtake the Bangkok to Mae Sot bus. We also saw a really horrible accident coming down the mountain road where a lorry had swerved off the road. Scary.

Coming into Mae Sot is always exciting. Seeing familiar places on the landscape, knowing loads of our friends will be waiting for us at the bus station. Leaving Chiang Mai, I declared that sitting on the Mae Sot bus in Chiang Mai waiting to leave CM to go to Mae Sot is one of my favourite places in the world - full of hope and excitement - whereon my travelling companions all offered to scatter my ashes on the bus one day! Great to have friends like this!

Sure enough, there they all were led by Thazin, our Burmese Headteacher and our Guardian Angel. Teachers and students from the school and children of Thazin's extended family who run the school - all so eager to see us. After a beautiful reunion and many introductions of Teacher Irvine to everyone, we all piled into a big pick up truck. Sheila and Geoff inside with Thazin, Irvine and Fiona and our 14 bags and 4 teachers and many children on the open back. Yen Yen , the young teacher set off on his motorbike with the 2 children! Off to our Rujira Hotel, right next door to Hle Bee School.

We are never ever allowed to carry any bags. Little tiny Toto set off with the biggest suitcase, determined to carry it upstairs! The children are always awed by the beds in the rooms and by the magnificent toilets. Fair to say we were less awed. We have 3 double rooms and Irvine very very generously gave his room to Geoff and I as we are staying 2 weeks. It has windows all round. His is smaller and darker. Thank you Irvine. However, we all have air conditioning and a fridge and a TV and it is very clean. I did lie in bed in a tupour/tupor of exhausting imaginging mosquitos all over me so got up and sprayed Jungle Formula liberally before scolding myself, "Sheila Laing, you could be sleeping in the street on top of a chest freezer, like the guy you saw tonight, so get to sleep and be grateful!" And that's what I did. Slept for 11hours. Everything always looks so much better the day after the first night!

Today is a lovely day. Cloudy and sunny. Irvine and Fiona got up and left at 8.30am to visit the homes of 3 or 4 children of Hle Bee School. They will blog this when they get back. We could hear them playing hopscotch/peevers in the street with Hle Bee children when they were waiting for Guardian Angel to bring their bikes. Then it went quiet and we knew they'd gone. Right noisy pair they are.

BAck to yesterday.....

When we arrived, we dumped bags. There is never time to settle in because our friends always want us to go straight to school so we can see everyone else who lives in the school and see the changes in the school building.



Irvine was very taken aback when coming in to our rooms to see a book by an old classmate of his, Irvine Welsh!

The school is now full of buildings, having been greatly extended. In one place there are 2 new buildings made of concrete. 1 has 2 classrooms and 1 is a room for teachers. The school have also taken over the big house that was right by their grounds and Yen Yen, the young teacher, lives there with the contruction workers. The new playground is fabulous and I can just imagine our more active Forthview children having a ball there. Photos will follow.

However, Yen Yen is teaching Grade 1 with 42 children and no desks! He is only just out of high school himself. He has impeccable English but no teaching experience so it must be extremely difficult for him. Hle Bee doesn't have a teacher for the Grade 3 class to Thazin and a variety of others are teaching them.

Thazin tell us that the new funder found last year has now come to the end of their funding commitment and so the money some of us raised over the last year will have to be used for salaries, rent, transport etc. And they face an uncertain future again. Thazin just keeps going on with hope and trust that it will work out and it has so far......

Thazin herself has lost 4 kilos in the last month because she is so busy. She is very thin but actually is looking great, despite the fact that she went to be a nun for a month and shaved her hair. She now has a hairstyle that looks like Twiggy's from the 60s. In fact, she looks like Twiggy from the 60s! She was so happy to hear me laugh HA HA HA! She has been waiting to hear this for a year!! Nobody every said that to me before!!

After seeing the school, we set off for a 20 min walk to town for tea about 7pm. It was starting to get dark and was very clammy. We walked past a paddy field, which moved Irvine hugely as he'd never seen one before. Then we walked through the huge market.

The market in Mae Sot bombards you with sights and smells you have never ever seen or could imagine. I felt quite sorry for Irvine having to process so much in such a few hours. He was feeling very overwhelmed with it all. Our few days in Chiang Mai were really helpful in introducing Irvine and re-aquainting the rest of us with Asian culture. Going through Mae Sot market slams you right into the middle of local Burmese culture.

Then into Ban Thai restaurant for beer and food and a chance for Irvine to ask Guardian Angel some of the stream of questions he said were flooding his mind. It's so so good to see him again. He is a dearly loved friend and has been just brilliant in getting everything ready so we are comfortable when we arrive and for our stay.

The walk back through the market in the dark at 9pm was full of pungent smells and strange sights. This is where I saw the young man sleeping on a freezer. Was that his home? Many dogs runnning around us. A trip to 7/11 for water. Then home to Rujira to crash in bed and Guardian Angel rode off on his motor bike to his own home.

What a day! It felt like it lasted a week!

Friday Night in Migrant Learning Centre

Newbattle Abbey College have generously enabled a pilot project this year. The project is that the Scottish Qualification Authority will accredit some students from the Migrant Learning Centre of the Thinking Classroom Foundation in English, if they meet the required standard.

Tonight (and earlier today as you saw) we visited 2 classes in the MLC. These are Burmese migrants who are learning English and aiming for Scottish accreditation so we showed them this photo of Dr Thein Lwin organising their learning at Newbattle Abbey with Depute Nora Fitzcharles.

Then we taught them about Scottish life and ways, which ended in more Scottish Dancing of the Gay Gordons and the Dashing White Sergeant. We showed some videos of our Kilts n Longyis ceilidh last September. It was a great laugh and THEN....

... right at the end one of the students said that we should read a lady's English homework. She had written a full adn moving account of her love for Burma and her wishes for the future. This lady has recently come to Thailand, having spent 3 years in prison. She has come out of Burma to tell her story, which was humbling and shocking.

And this is the essence of this trip. The juxtaposition of fun and laughter in exchanges of culture with the sad and painful experiences all the Burmese people experience, whether it's because they can't go home to see family they love or whether it's the sense of hopelessness about Burma's future.

We are so honoured, students, by your kindness to us tonight. You are so generous to us daft Scots and we salute your courage. Jesu chin barry!