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27 December

Page history last edited by PBworks 18 years ago

Tuesday 27 December

Ban Kuku School

Losing a Good Egg

 

Nice sunny morning, but I think it's going to turn very hot and humid later. Despite Linda telling us last night that we didn't need to leave before 9.30 for a 10.30 start at Ban Kuku School, San, the man with the van, obviously has not been given this message and he arrives at 8.00 am, just as the others are setting off for breakfast at the hotel. We try to explain, and he settles down happily to watch the television while I catch up with the emails.

 

Steve the Translator, and more ...

Steve our translator

 

STEVE GROH EXPLAINING TO THE CHILDREN IN THAI WHAT THE MORNING IS ALL ABOUT AND WINDING/WARMING THEM UP FOR THE SHOW, WHICH IS ABOUT TO START

 

Steve arrives at 9.00 as arranged, with bad news and good news. The bad news is that he has to go back to Bangkok tonight as his sponsor is coming over earlier than he thought, and he needs to spend time with him (boo hoo!), but the good news is that he will, after all, be able to come and join us for the Khao Lak leg of the Tour, joining us in Phuket on 10th January for the journey up, and staying with us till the 22nd - this is excellent news (hooray!)

 

Not only is Steve a very good egg, and a good workshop leader - he is also the only one among us who speaks any Thai - and pretty good Thai at that. San of course speaks excellent Thai, but absolutely no English. Short of managing to find another translater, we are going to have to rely on Somchai in the next few days - it is wonderful that Steve will be coming to join us in Khao Lak - a translator is almost the most important person in our Tour!

 

There are 2 main roles for the translator - both of which Steve is able to perform - firstly, being there when we arrive at each day's school and ensuring that we can set up a suitable space for the performance, making sure that the teachers are clear how many children of what ages to send us at what times, and generally being there to problem-solve and assist with translation in the workshops. The second role is in sitting the audience down, gearing them up to being a good audience who will clap and laugh (in the right places, if possible!) and introduce the show, compere it and close it, etc.

 

How to replace him?

It is very hard to find someone who can satisfactorily do both jobs. Somchai can hopefully do all the school logistical side, but we really need someone pretty "oomphy" for the other bit. Steve knows a nice Thai guy called Pat who might be able to join us - the other possibility is asking Kevan, our dive shop friend, to release Nam, a really nice dive master who might well fit the role. We shall see!

 

Either way it is quite worrying having to get through the next 6 days (3 more schools in Phuket on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, another Sea Gypsy Village on Saturday evening, and the first two days of Khao Lak visits that we will be commuting up to next Monday and Tuesday) without a really "hot" translater. Steve will be able to join us again 10th-22nd and hopefully we will be able to "wing" Krabi, Koh Jam and Phi Phi as we will be so relaxed and confident by then!

 

Only 250 children

We set off for Ban Kuku School at about 9.30 and arrive and set up for the first show. Although we had been told there would be 400 children, there turn out to be only 250. It is far too hot to perform or do workshops outside, so we have to set up in a small hall with a nice wide corridor outside it. We decide we will have to do two shows for 125 children at a time, as there will not be room for them all in the hall at the same time..

 

Bella making badgesThe first show runs really well and the children love it. We had distributed paper badge bits around the classrooms, and the children hand their finished artwork in to me as they enter for the show, and San and I make up the badges during the show.

 

ME SITTING AT A DESK AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM WHERE THE SHOW IS TAKING PLACE, MAKING UP THE BADGES THAT THE CHILDREN HAD DRAWN EARLIER

 

Pyramids and Broomsticks

We are given lunch in a side room, and then we run workshops for about 75 children - Steve running pyramids and boomsticks in one part of the playground, Haggis running juggling workshops in another shady part, and Jo and Jake doing spinning plates, ribbon twirling (ribbons now attached to long chopsticks courtesy of Haggis!) and diabolo in the school hall. These children present Talent Show bits to each other and then we perform the show again for them (75 being all there are for the second show, as the nursery apparently aren't coming after all). The show goes great and the children are very happy.

 

Jo, Jake and Rooben head off to Patong for the evening, and Hags, Jess and I have a quiet evening, sorting out photographs, for the web page and making more beanbags, etc.

 

28 December

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