Wish me luck!

Posted on May 17, 2026 by connieinasia

It’s been 3 months of Connie, the overly ambitious teacher, thinking, planning, strategizing, researching, tweaking and fussing over this coming week.

Why so different from any other week? Read on.

Shaloom, my Global Mission Fellow (GMF) intern, is completing his 2-year service here at the Center as an English teacher. He’ll be returning to his home country, Pakistan, on June 16.

As part of the program, a full week of Zoom sessions with all 2024-2026 participants (over 40) and the GMF staff has been scheduled from May 18 – 22. These take place 5- 6 hours per day, at all hours of the day and night since so many GMFs are located all over the world. Supervisors were asked to let their Fellows off the entire week, meaning for me, taking over Shaloom’s classes along with my own. I’ll have Shaloom’s junior high and Level 2 learners, plus my Level 1 learners as well as the adult English Corner evenings and private lessons. Added to teaching, there are administrative duties running the Center as a director.

For my teaching duties, it’s been a bit of a challenge. With some of our classes meeting at the same time, it’s a matter of creating one group lesson for multi-level learners of different ages and maturity levels that will create a productive educational environment.

Sure, the Center’s done this before (Halloween, Christmas, Lao New Year) but not with so many students meeting together. This term has us at 20 for Level 1 and 2 learners, which is the combined class I have been pondering over these several months as well as figuring out junior high. Those of you reading who are US elementary education teachers are most likely rolling your eyes, thinking it’s just a week and probably wishing for a mere 20 on a daily basis in your own setting.

For me, not a trained elementary ed teacher, I’ve had to learn the hard way these past 2 years in instructing kids whose English is basic or zilch: through trial and error. It ain’t easy, folks. I’ve struggled how to control young learners, hold their interest, gauge attention spans, strictly enforce classroom rules, create spare tires galore (those extra worksheets when someone finishes earlier than someone else) and structure lessons carefully so chaos doesn’t reign.

My saving grace was the advance heads-up from the GMF program staff who gave me plenty of notifications concerning Shaloom’s week off.

And now? It’s here!

My Lesson Creation: Cellphone Apps

I had my brainstorm after week 1 of lesson topic ruminating : Let’s learn the English names of popular cellphone apps, those that Lao students use on a daily basis. A few are the same in the Lao language (TikTok, for instance) but many others are not.

Like anyone in the world, cell phones are a necessary item of today’s modern world. Junior high, high school, elementary ed and even adults are fanatics when it comes to their phones.

What better way to engage so many in a useful, productive and fun way than to center on what is important to them in their daily lives: their cellphones.

I’ve spent the last 3 weeks perfecting my power point (with Lao translations added by my office manager, Santi), adjusting worksheets, pondering spare tires, designing team groups, devising student-centered segments and pondering classroom management.

Thursday had me picking up my App booklets from the copy shop. Friday I spent the entire day preparing the main hall for our lesson. As you can see, all is ready to go.

I have also enlisted the help once again of  Phimphone Muenpanakhone   (whose English name is Esther) to assist me for the week. Her presence in the classroom for previously combined class lessons is vital for our success. Thank goodness she announced she’d be free during class times to help me out. That young woman is a true gem!

Thoughts and good wishes always appreciated

Please send lots of triumphant educational thoughts and wishes my way as Esther and I work our way through the week. Those will be greatly appreciated.

And don’t forget to check out my Facebook page which actively updates all about numerous goings-on here in Laos. I’ll definitely be including visuals of how the week is going. https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5

Take care, all!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Pi Mai 2026 Comes to a Close

Posted on April 19, 2026 by connieinasia

If you’ve been keeping up with my Facebook page, you’ll know that our Pi Mai celebrations are now officially over. All the below inflatable pools and water dispensing gadgets have now disappeared from supermarkets and roadside stalls until April of 2027.

Yes, it’s back to work tomorrow for all of Laos, including schools re-opening their doors — those public, private and international. The Center, however, has a brief respite from this as registration begins for a week and our 3rd term actually starts on Monday, April 20. Shaloom, whose internship ends June 11, asked for an additional week granted to his holiday while he enjoys a last hurrah of seeing the country, enjoying its people and having a special closure to his 2-year time here.

While he’ll be gone this week with no classes yet starting, this leaves me, office manager Santi and caretaker Suher to start up our weekly Monday meeting tomorrow morning. We’ll be sharing our holiday highlights, preparing the registration room, talking of special projects and lessons I’m planning and working as always on completing the process for our language school’s business license. That has been an ongoing struggle for the past 3 months, with numerous documents needed and 25 pages of detailed forms to complete. From my end as director, this had to be done in my native language, English, and Santi’s job has been to translate. The English major in me took over when it came to outlining major goals, 3-year plans, curriculum details, lesson creation, managerial outlines along with numerous other requirements listed which needed completed. In other words, hard to be to-the-point and succinct without all those well-crafted, well-worded sentences and oh-so-specific vocabulary choices which egotistical writers such as myself thoroughly enjoy composing.

Poor Santi had his work cut out for him re-crafting my creative sentence structures into Lao . Before Pi Mai, he had 80% done. Now we just need signed documents with stamps from local officials, along with a few other items, before we can formally hand in to the District Education Bureau.

I was told if all on the checklist is sufficiently adequate, we should pass. Send lots of fervently successful wishes our way for that to take place by May 1st.

Today’s Facebook Post

If you haven’t been keeping up, the below I just posted on Facebook for my Sunday evening. I include it here for non-Facebook fans.

==================================================================================

Sunday has arrived, and with it, our Lao holidays for Pi Mai come to a complete close. The past Thursday, the last day of Pi Mai, had me driving about on my motorbike, buzzing the gut of the city through water-splashing revelers that parked in pick-up trucks along streets in front of Buddhist temples. Water hoses and squirt guns in hand, families crowded in the back of these vehicles enjoyed watering us all down as we inched by due to traffic jams.

Women in Lao skirts who sauntered in and out of temple entrances were exempt from water splashing. Yes, it seems there is a protocol to follow for those who are in religious mode to be blessed or give blessings to our monks inside.

Later in the evening, Winnie and I attended our Center duties to turn lights off and on where we enjoyed my Pi Mai celebratory preference, that of neighborhood families.

A very frightened Winnie was not up for this so she stayed behind in the Center, gate closed. I, meanwhile, took a quick walk to the main street. The family that runs one of our roadside restaurants had positioned themselves on the sidewalk, dancing away. Their water balloons bobbed about in tanks of floating flowery concoctions and they happily hosed me down with water. Such a relief in our 101 degree heat!

Why the Facial Paint?

You’ll notice their faces with white paint. People paint faces with white powder (often mixed with water) during Pi Mai (Lao New Year) to symbolize purification, protection from evil spirits, and the blessing of good luck for the new year. This tradition is part of the broader cleansing rituals, alongside splashing water, that wash away bad luck, sins, and sickness from the previous year.

Quietness Follows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday

I had hoped maybe some who didn’t want holidays to end would continue on Friday since pretty much no one would be returning to work but Friday was so very quiet. Streets quite empty with city clean-up crews still in holiday mode. Only the gas stations suddenly sprung open, filling tanks that had remained somewhat empty due to the city’s hope that people wouldn’t be driving all over, wasting precious gas due to the Iran war that is still affecting us here. No wonder numerous gas stations closed for 3 days: 1/2 gallon of gas cost me $4.30! That is double what it was 10 days ago.

My caretaker duties likewise ended this weekend with Suher’s return on Saturday, around noontime. He and his brother journeyed together from their week visit to Mom where he announced they did absolutely nothing: Just hung out, ate good food, helped Mom with small household chores and relaxed in their rural setting. Now that to me sounds like a great holiday.

I did have one worthwhile back-to-work venture and that was to buy new floor mats for the corridors and main hall. One year of use had them filthy, worn and looking pathetic. Can’t begin the new year with crappy floor mats. I informed Suher to throw the old ones away and, when he felt so inclined after cleaning, put them down to begin the new term. (Thank you, overseas monetary supporters, for those extra dollars to help us bring in the new year in style. Much appreciated!)

As a “Welcome back!”, and a thank you for the huge task at hand dealing with a 1-week pile up of leaves and dropped mangos, I left him something special in the freezer: Ice cream sundaes and 1 plain vanilla as a possible choice.

I included his brother in the sundae treat as a possible incentive for brotherly love to take over and lend a hand in the leaf-raking. As you can see below, that was going to be no simple task, especially in this heat.

Was it successful? I’ll find out on Monday at our morning meeting. Enjoy the last of the pictures for Pi Mai 2026. For us here in Laos, it’s back to work.










Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Check Out our End-of-Term Video performances on Facebook!

Posted on April 10, 2026 by connieinasia

Performances completed! Lao New Year begins.

Check out my personal Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5)

along with our Center’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/suntisouklvc)

for all the updates, videos and highlights of the week. Yes, rejoicing here despite the 104-degree heat. Even Winnie is ready for a holiday, as you can see.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Successful lessons; Lao New Year Holiday is here!

Posted on April 10, 2026 by connieinasia

I hope you have been visiting my Facebook page often. You will find I’ve been posting once or twice a week, giving a great many of you stories of my life in Laos. I encourage you to continually check that page.

The above was posted a few weeks ago along with this story:


Last year, my first attempts at teaching Easter to our junior high students and lower level learners went well but improvements were definitely needed. Our Easter Egg hunt fell rather flat, with colored eggs taped to the walls by the junior high for the children to find. It fell flat due to a speedy find by the children and then nothing much afterwards. This year, a readjustment had new students enjoying a revised Easter lesson which took me weeks to prepare. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Vocabulary included: egg, lily, cross, bunny and Easter Egg hunt. Wednesday was learning Easter customs, traditions and vocabulary along with coloring an egg on paper. Thursday was classes taking turns hiding symbol-designated paper eggs around the main hall. Was it a success? You bet! Just look at the excitement of our class Easter bunnies and our hunters. The SLVC Facebook page has more to offer. Take a look in a few days, after we’ve had time to post. https://www.facebook.com/suntisouklvc. But for now, here are the highlights of our lessons together. (It was very hot, by the way, around 97 F, so if our energy level looks a bit low, that’s why.)

A Facebook Page Highlights Success

You’ll see from my Facebook page that we’ve had several wonderful happenings here:

The roof has been repaired! Thanks to donations to the Center from overseas’ supporters, a father-and-son team came to spend an entire day (in the sweltering heat) screwing down the roof metal sheets by hand with over 300 nails along with sealing the holes. We are now ready for the rainy season, which will be coming next month. Whew!

Check out my Facebook Page for our Lao New Year Lesson updates!

Connie Wieck Facebook page will bring you more news. https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5 Please pass it along to others, including enjoying all the reports of our Lao New Year (Pi Mai) English language lesson unit.

As a last note from here: Take care, all. Stay cool. We certainly aren’t here (uhg). Temps are to hit 104 for 5 days straight during our 1-week holiday, beginning this weekend, for Lao New Year. Shops, schools and government offices are closing down but streets, sidewalks and house gates will be busy with residents splashing passers-by and one another with water. Trying to dodge the buckets of water along with garden hose spraying is a challenge. This is the tradition for Pi Mai: Wash away the old and the bad; refresh with the new and the good. (Yes, that includes water pistols, which the Center graciously handed out for our term’s closing ceremony last night)

Wishing you the best for Lao New Year, everyone!

Connie in Southeast Asia

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Merry Christmas!! Come on in

Posted on December 25, 2025 by connieinasia

Many of you are 12-13 hours behind me, if in the States, so I’ll wish you an early Merry Christmas from Laos!

If you’ve been keeping up on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5), you’ll notice I’ve been busy even after our term ended. Meetings still have continued onward at the Center every Monday morning as we wind things down, discuss building repair work needing to be done, complete lesson plans for the files and plan for the next term. Suher (caretaker) and Santi (office manager) left already for holidays at home. Suher for Hmong New Year (Hmong is an ethnic minority, of which Suher is one) and Santi for his hometown, a very long 18 hour journey away. Days off for the Center are officially December 25, 26 and January 1, 2. Laos, being a non-Christian country like China, only gives January 1st as a day off to governments and schools, along with cultural days of significance. For Santi and Suher, they both added extra days from their 10-day-a-year vacation time allowed to spend longer with loved ones.

Quiet at the Center

For myself and intern Shaloom, it’s been rather quiet at the Center. I’ve been turning off and on lights at the Center for security reasons at night and dashing over early morning to turn them off again. With Suher gone until today, that’s just a part of the duties a director has, yes?

Open Houses: Still continuing!

Then we have all my open houses and visits to my Christmas home.

The English Corner adults enjoyed their potluck in my home as did the Lao staff for our special Christmas gift exchange gathering.

For those not a Facebook fan, I’ll include my Christmas Day morning post here:

                    

It’s here!! Christmas Day has arrived in Laos. I’m getting ready for yet another visitor welcome, a Christmas potluck with my New Guinea neighors, a Lao family of 4 kids and a few others. A wonderful woman from the Philippines (on the access road adjacent to mine) makes special platters called Pancit Palabok. Loaded with a noodle base, shrimp, pork and hardboiled eggs, this was a huge hit at the English Corner potluck. I have no doubt it will be the same for this evening. Pictures will follow.

Winnie already knows something’s happening as I’m moving furniture around, which means I’m not watching her. She continues to steal stuffed animals from under my tree to entertain herself with. One of them didn’t fare too well, the miniature reindeer. I won’t share that picture with you. It would have to be followed with a warning before viewing. When all come down next week, tucked away into my many bins, she’ll be bored stiff. 

 

Here’s hoping your Christmas Day is one full of joy, merriment, family, friends and the spirit of God’s love sent to all. Merry Christmas!!

P.S. Hard to see as she blends in so well, but in that open-door photo above, there is Winnie in the chair around the table, awaiting guests. Come on in, folks! And be sure to pick up your Santa and reindeer head adornments as you enter, on the coffee table to the left.

               

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Our end-of-the-term celebrations: Fun, laughter and excitement

Posted on December 16, 2025 by connieinasia

If you haven’t been checking out my Facebook page (Connie Wieck), please do. There’s a lot reported. As a summary of the most recent post, let me walk you through our end-of-term performance night.

What a great ending to our term! After last week’s Christmas bingo with Jason’s visit, our students spent 2 days preparing for their performances as a closure to the last day of the term. Performances were done on stage with the following: Santi’s ABC learners did card tricks.my Level 1 gave all their classroom cheers with a finale of We Wish You a Merry Christmas with different motions; Shaloom’s Level 2 sang a song about peace and junior high did a short skit.

A special surprise entailed, for the first time, the staff doing a humorous rendition of Jingle Bells. If the students are required to perform, then it’s only fair we should, too.

       

Before leaving for the evening, we had a group picture, one quite formal . . .

and the other more expressive of our jovial mood of celebration.

We also added that if students wished, they could take home their Christmas tree ornaments from our Deck the Halls night. Some did while others decided to let theirs remain on the tree. As mentioned on my Facebook page, for a majority of the youth, this was the first time they’d ever decorated a tree, much less created on their own Christmas ornaments. With no tree at home to adorn, a few felt it more appropriate to grace our Center tree than just to take home and perhaps throw away. (I will note here that I did NOT throw away what worthy drawings were left when we took down the hall on Friday. I’ll save for next year, as examples to show new students.)

For the very last event, everyone lined up to select their end-of-term gifts: one Christmas window decal and two Christmas pencils.

                      

For the decals, those were purchased with donations from you overseas supporters. As for the pencils, those are the ones many of you sent throughout the years to China for my college students. I was so relieved the moving company folk that packed up my boxes sent to Laos made sure everything was mailed, including all those hundreds of holiday pencils. They are being put to great use here, believe me!

As you can see, the students were hard pressed to choose which decal to take home with them and what Christmas pencil designs as well. There were so many to choose from.

If you’re interested in seeing the videos of our evening together, go to the Center’s Facebook page. Office manager Santi expects to have them loaded by Friday. (https://www.facebook.com/suntisouklvc)

The Next Task

Now it’s on to the next major task: Having the main hall re-roofed and all electrical work re-done to make it safe. I had the estimate done yesterday by the boss and his friend after they inspected the hall, took note of my asks and we collaborated on what needed done.

The construction crew boss said it’ll be about a 2-week project so we should have time to clean up before the new term starts on January 12. All I care about is safety. No more sparks flying from light fixtures, water gushing from ceiling panels during the rainy season and exposed wiring causing explosions. (Yes, I’ve had it all during the past year and am eager to NOT have any of that happen again.)

If we start this week or early next week, we should have time to get it taken care of in a timely manner before registration begins on January 5. Be looking for updates soon how our major task is going.

Until next report, here’s Winnie and myself saying Happy Holidays from Laos!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Getting Ready for Christmas

Posted on December 3, 2025 by connieinasia

Since my last November update, I’ve tried to keep folks informed of my goings-on via Facebook. That is quite popular here and among many of my USA friends. I hope you are keeping up. If not, see copied below the entry I posted today, regarding the Center’s upcoming December holiday events (Facebook, Connie Wieck)

“Well, the students on Monday went ga-ga over our Center’s Christmas foundation of trees, lights and wall hangings. Today will be the power point lesson of Christmas Symbols and their meanings. Tomorrow night is Deck the Halls, which means an all-day task of preparing the different stations for our students to enjoy making decorations. On Monday, office Manager and teacher Santi made the announcement in every class about Thursday night and also posted in the group chats for parents to see. This year, I opened up for parents, siblings and even friends to come and join in the fun. When this was announced, one of my student’s (age 7) got very excited, jumped up and down and said in Lao, “I am bringing 4 classmates!” Also included in the open invitation are the adults for our free English Corner. Like I did in China for our college-wide Christmas Activity Night, we’ll be wrapping apples as gifts to give to others. Thinking on that at this moment, I realize I probably didn’t buy enough yesterday if we have more guests participating. Can’t have someone going home in disappointment of not having a carefully wrapped apple to give to a friend, teacher or relative. I was loaded down on my motorbike yesterday with 90 but I think I’ll need more. Looks like another run to the market is in order. Be watching this space for more pictures and photos of our exciting Thursday evening. All year, I’ve been looking forward to doing this again, as have our staff. Merry Christmas!”

Connie’s Christmas Home

In between all the Center’s activities has been decorating my home. I’ll be having 3 open houses coming up. I am about 70% finished but still have more to go. My Christmas tree is done, highlighting the center of my room along with all the collected stuffed animals over the years.

The pet Christmas tree is up, surrounded by mechanical, battery-operated musical toys. I always enjoy preparing this table and tree in honor of current and past pets throughout the years. That of course includes all my rescues I had in China (Over 22!).

There’s the Advent calendar, counting the days until Christmas.

And I can’t forget my Chinese “Merry Christmas” characters, squirreled away at the bottom of one of my boxes from China. They found their way back to me after 4 years of my Covid exile. Such a lovely reminder of all those years I enjoyed in that country as a teacher.

When I finally get them all up, I’ll post again, most likely on Facebook.

Have an exciting countdown to Christmas, everyone! Think of me here in Laos, getting excited about sharing holiday traditions with students and friends.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Check out my Facebook Page!

Posted on November 12, 2025 by connieinasia

 

I’ve been feeling this space is a tad vacant since November 1, mostly as I’ve turned to Facebook to update others about events here. Facebook is quite popular in Laos and many here have a Facebook page. Rarely do I have my Laos students or friends check out the website so I’ve been posting pictures where I’ll get the most traffic.

Take a look at the below visuals. For full stories, go to: https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5

Note: My most recent purchases for the Center: Stick leaf rakes for the courtyard. Taking over Suher’s caretaker duties last week, while he was at home helping with the harvest, gave me a new respect and admiration for his work. He needed new rakes!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I’m Halloweened out! Well, at least until next year.

Posted on November 1, 2025 by connieinasia

Yes, it’s been 2 months since highlights in this space of all that I came back to as director of the Suntisouk Language and Vocational Center. Needless to say, just a lot going on upon my return.

I absolutely invite you to go to my Facebook page for more stories and pictures of my return. The most recent concerns my Halloween unit. https://www.facebook.com/connie.wieck.5

Here’s the story on why this particular tradition took up an entire 3 weeks of my classroom time.

Why the Big Halloween Unit?

I had much to dive into upon my return to Laos on September 21, including getting over a week of jetlag. All nighters with a final drift off at 5 a.m., then Winnie’s 6 a.m. “Time to go out!” perch on top of me, didn’t help much. I was tired but grateful to be back in my Southeast Asia home once again.

My biggest concern had been Shaloom, an intern with the Global Mission Fellow (GMF) program. His 2-week conference in Tanzania had me and Santi teaching all classes and the adult English Corner for me as well. A combination of classes was required since some levels meet together at the same time. Santi continued with his ABC learners and I combined lower and higher elementary to create a 3-week Halloween unit. Junior High’s Halloween lessons, those students being a tad higher level with teenager attitudes, were tweaked to meet their “We are not children. We are adults” mindset.

Both juvenile and more advanced dialogues were created to give them understanding of the day as well as ability to talk through it with others. Even my free adult class, Wednesday’s English Corner Night, enjoyed a bit of history concerning the day with a Q & A afterwards.

This is my first time to create an entire 3-week unit. Thank goodness I had a Laos teaching assistant, whose English name is Esther, helping me out for 3 weeks.

She was with me in the classroom to translate and help control my larger class of 16. With different level learners, it is always a challenge to make sure everyone understands instructions. Esther’s translations and moving them along with difficult instructions kept the lessons on track without any confusion. It was also nice to see the older help the younger ones. Since they were in teams, the bond was quite strong among members. It was rewarding for me as a teacher to see them hep each other.

I’m definitely keeping that idea for any other events where I am combining classes together.

Last year was just a brief introduction in 2 days, some vocabulary and then a large Halloween Party for the students, their parents, and even friends. The staff and I spent and entire day to prep the hall, doing all the decorating ourselves. I will say, looking at the pictures from last year, I did have a tiny bit of regret not to have gone all-out this year but, to be honest, this year’s lessons gave a firmer grounding and understanding not only of the day but the customs and traditions that come with it. They likewise managed a better grasp of focused vocabulary not found in our regular class textbooks. The Let’s Go series I use is a foundation of daily English, not something that specializing in specific holidays or events that some in the world might celebrate.

Our bingo game had students making their own bingo cards of 16 vocabulary drawings on Wednesday and then Thursday had us playing the game itself. It demanded a shout and stand-up of “Happy Halloween!” if 4 Halloween visuals, which students drew themselves, were in a row. We teachers likewise made our own cards so we could join in the classroom community as just one of the kids. Students took turns being the one to call out the vocabulary according to the cards. Prizes were stickers or candy, your choice.

Here are some visuals of our classroom time together.

Now it’s back to the usual classroom routine and book on Monday. Hope you had as much fun as we did here in Laos. Can I outdo myself next year? I can certainly try.

Until next post, here’s me and Winnie saying thanks for joining us.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tuesday’s the Day! Back to Laos

Posted on September 23, 2025 by connieinasia

This sudden extended stay from my 4-week summer vacation, while worrying and anxious for me, is now a huge sigh of relief.

Visits to my mom’s doctor’s appointments have resulted in a back-to-normal lifestyle. She’s feeling great, with me feeling great that she’s feeling great. Mom Priscilla is busy engaging in her regular routines of gardening, town walks, church activities and visiting friends. In fact, she and the Golden Girls (her companions’ group) recently enjoyed their monthly gathering at a local bakery. Here they are below. (My mom is behind the woman in bright yellow.)

Marshall’s Fall Festival 

Yet another fun weekend event we both attended this past Saturday was the Fall Festival in my small town.  We participated in the parade, passing out flags and candy along with our political party members.

 My mom would have walked but the warm weather proved it was better for her to ride.   At 92,  she might not have been one of the most senior in the parade (we did have a few WW 2 vets on the American Legion float), but she definitely proved the most agile and “with it,” in my opinion. 

“We’re 60!”

For me personally, another entertaining happening had several of my high school classmates  dining out to celebrate turning 60 this year.  Organizer Pam, who lives not too far from my mom’s house, was our arranger.  Food was excellent along with story-sharing plus catching up on each other’s lives.

When it came to story-sharing, my classmate Scott Sutton had a surprising tale for me.  It seems I  had scarred him for life, not mentally by physically!   He was wearing shorts and pointed to above his knee, where he revealed a pin-prick of a scar.  

 “You threw a pencil at me!” he announced with indignation.  “You always kept your pencils really sharp.  Stuck me right here and I pulled it out. I’ll have this forever.   It’s a wonder I didn’t get led poisoning.”

Did I do that?!   Shame on me.

One of our best fits of laughter was at the expense of Herman Grindle who, sadly, is no longer with us.

Pam barrelled into the following narrative about our beloved classmate concerning Valentine’s Day. 

“Well, I remember in class giving out Valentines in grade school, ” Pam recalled.  “I got Herman’s, whose spelling we all know wasn’t the best.   Instead of ‘I like you,’ he wrote, ‘I lick you’. “

As we continued to chuckle at the thought of Herman “licking” his Valentine recipients, Pam went onward with this last bit.

“But that’s not the only thing,” she continued.  “You know what?  I kept it!!  It’s in a drawer somewhere with my elementary school things.” 

Pam’s anecdote, told with humor and heartfelt fondness, gave us all a lighthearted reflective moment of knowing a really great guy. 

Here’s wishing all in our 1983 high school class a happy 60th.

  

Departure Gifts:  My Pool Pals

This past week, I’ve been preparing departure gifts for those who have shown me great kindness and made my stay in the States special.  Aside from thank-you cards have been a few more meaningfully prepared bags for drop-off.  

As many know, I am never without my daily pool time so after our Marshall pool closed for the summer, I headed over to Terre Haute, Indiana (20 minutes drive)  to the Terre Haute Aquatics Center.  These folks know me from our Covid years as that was my de-stressing haven.  I went 4 times a week, which also saw me doing the same these past 2 weeks.

I admire the staff, who teach swimming lessons on a daily basis during school hours to all the Terre Haute school children. Every grade level comes to the pool on a rotation basis to have swimming lessons for 2 weeks.  Indiana deems it vital for all children to know how to swim, thus professional swimming instructors are present in offices at the  Center itself.  I am very impressed by their dedication and patience, especially while standing still in competitive-temperature water (it is cold!!) with little kids most likely shivering away along with their teachers.  

We’ve gotten to know one another quite well from 2020 to 2023 so returning to see them once again,  after my 1 1/2 year absence, has been a great treat.

Yet another welcoming sight for me was seeing once again Coach Teresa with  the Indiana State University diving team ladies.  This time around, I met a new team of diving divas, with only 1 I had known from before.  

As always, I am enamored by the  graceful skill and athleticism of these young women athletes.  I can swing my arms about quite adequately for my freestyle distance lap swims but when it comes to springboard diving, the best I’ve ever been able to do is a cannon ball.  

Because my last pool visit came on a Sunday, without staff or divers present, I was only able to leave their gifts hanging on the pool staff’s office door. Sorry to say, no pictures of us together will follow here.

Curious of what was given?  For the divers, I included chocolates and colorful choices of  beaded anklets/bracelets.  I took one of the gold ones to wear while in Laos,  in solidarity.

           

 

For the staff, more chocolates along with refrigerator magnet choices of encouraging words. I made sure to include enough for lifeguards and our police force security guards, Mark and Jessie, who are continuously present Monday to Friday to keep all protected.

A Totally Surprising Celebrity Gift Item

One of the best deliveries I carried out was to PJ Crowell, who adopted my rescue dogs, campus stray Lucy and Beanie the terrier, both from China. (If you don’t know that touching story, go to my previous posts, May 7, 2023 and October 15, 2023.)

In 2023, while searching for an adoptee before leaving for Laos, I entered terrier Little Bean (Xiao Dou-dou) in the Page-a-Day dog calendar contest. For those not familiar with this calendar, ordinary people send in pictures of their dogs along with a short write-up. If selected, the dog is featured on a specific day of the year. Entries are requested 2 years in advance so one never knows if his/her canine will be selected until 6 months before the calendar is released.

Well, guess what?! I recently received notice via email that Little Bean won the honor of having her picture in the 2026 calendar. February 24th is her day. Here she is below, at the Clark County fairgrounds where she used to chase groundhogs along with Lucy.

             

Those whom I graced with a Beanie celebrity-status purchase were: my vet, Dr. Yeley, who gave Little Bean her first USA medical check-up when she arrived, my mom, myself and (of course) PJ and Beanie. Here they are below, with Lucy included.

     

The Final Farewell

Can you make a guess as to the final goodbye individual?
Yes, none other than my mom, whose bag of small surprises I tucked into her bed where she’ll be finding it later tonight. (Just in case my mom is reading this now, if you want to know what’s in there, send me a note and I’ll reveal all the contents.)

Bye-bye, USA; Hello, Laos

My mom’s healthy self returned, I take my leave of the US knowing all is well. I’m now concentrating on the upcoming task at hand: arriving at the Suntisouk Language and Vocational Center where my directorship and teaching duties await. . . . . .

along with Winnie. . . .

and hopefully, no apartment rat invasion. (I got rid of them once. I pray I never, ever have to do that again. Ick!)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment