My discussion with Khet,city tour, more about SFL & others

I spoke to Khet last nite and this was what transpired:

1. Trekking - About 1 to 1.5 hour. Some kids will take us there. As tips, we should give to each kid 100 baht for every hour. We can have about 5 to 10 kids. Mostly the older ones, they are also the big sisters and brothers to the rest of the kids in the school. You will enjoy their company very much.

2. city tour- As SFL is located up in a mountain, to travel to the city can be expensive and time consume, unlike Singapore, it is common to spend 1-2 hour on the road. So after much thought over it, i felt the best way is for us to go to the city on arrival day before going to the school. Since Khet will be there with us, she can tell us what first aids to buy. So our arrival in the school maybe in the late afternoon. We should already have some food on the plane b4 arrival so maybe some snack is enough. We may need to give some food to the driver and those coming to fetch us, though. We may also need to pay for some extra petrol, but it is still better than taking a trip all the way from the mountain and back.
3. adaptors for power points - Khet said they do have some adaptors in the school. If needed, we can purchase when we arrive, it maybe more expensive to buy here.

Regarding our discussions yesterday:

1. sports game: I proposed a captain's ball match between the Thai teachers versus Singapore teachers.

2. Camp fire - Khet said it is possible if there is no rain. They just need to gather the woods. other equipment they already have. Maybe we can pay for some of the equipments like fuel.

3. Group song - Lay Khoon, is it possible to download the song and lyrics to everyone so we all can practice. My feel is that the song you chose; Child, is a very nice song, only i concern is that it is more suitable for solo performance than group performance because of the rythem. Is it possible to also stand by another catchy song which the kids can clap along. . .

4. canteens - there are 2 separate canteens, one for the children and their teachers and another for guests. We will dine in the guest canteen where some children will serve us and a teacher will cook for us. We can also dine in with the children if we like.

5. Housekeeping - everyday some children will come and clean up our rooms, change bedsheets and towels. It would be nice if we give them some tips. These are some ways for the kids to have some pocket money.For peace of mind, please keep all valuables in your hand carry lugguage bag. I don't think they have safe deposit boxes.

6. Yesterday i found out a slightly better exchange rate at the shopping mall next to Boon Lay MRT : 23.1 baht to a sing dollar.


More about School for Life.

Because it is a German-Thai foundation started by home-stay owner, Mdm Joy and Dr Zimmer from a German university, this school is better established with some supports from German donors. For example, some rich Europeans have started projects like organic farming, sports facilities, etc. The SFL video you saw earlier was done by a German company. Even a princess from Germany had visited this school.

In a sense, the children are given the best opportunity to grow and learn, hence, they are more expressive, more intelligent and happier. Due to their frequent contacts with group visits from schools and volunteers from Germany and other parts of Europe, these kids have some western influence. I would say that they are the more fortunate ones. Emotionally, they seems happier and more cheery. They learnt a lot about recycling, care for nature and the environment. They have some very dedicated teachers like Khet, who taught them good values, manners and life skills. Even my Chiangmai professor friend told me that these kids are more polite from kids in other schools in Chiangmai. Kids from Singapore would gain much by spending some time with these children.