A Minor Miscommunication

Usually, Mondays are the day on which I pay bills, organize and file paperwork, respond to emails and deal with any "action" items that need to be taken care of.  If there is time before the kids come home from school, I try to run a few errands. Rarely have I ever scheduled something (even just lunch with a friend) for a Monday because I like to have the entire day (uninterrupted) to catch up on everything and get back in the swing of things after our busy weekends.  It is amazing how far I fall behind and how much new "stuff" piles up in my in-box in just a couple of days!  Since I now go to the Babies Home every Monday (and Friday too) from 9 -11 am, I had to adjust my schedule.  Now, I run my errands right after I finish at the Babies Home (while I am out and about) and then come home and tackle my office.  Although it has only been three weeks, so far, so good.      

I met my new baby yesterday morning!  Wilma, the volunteer coordinator, told me his name last week but it was a very long Thai name and I couldn't even begin to remember what it was.  I waited until Wilma arrived and, after she sorted it out, I walked over to his building to pick him up.  Such a sweet little boy!  He was born on October 10th so he is just about 5 months old.  He has his two bottom front teeth already and it was so cute to see that flash of white when he smiled at me.  We gathered in the activity room with the other volunteers and he pretty much ate and slept during our time together.   As he drifted off to sleep, he would suck on the index finger of one hand and, with the other hand, he would twirl the hair at the nape of his neck. So sweet!  Remembering the incident of the overflowing diaper from the prior week, I was very cognizant of his fluid intake.  About 10:30, I went to change his diaper only to discover that HE was really a SHE.  Talk about something lost in translation!  I really wanted a boy to be assigned to me, although I am not sure why.  Anyway, I am very happy that I have her!  Her name is Phaphi Taya.  I am sure she has some sort of a nickname so I will try and find that info out on Friday.

After the Babies Home, I stopped by ISB to watch Christopher participate in an activity for his  "Environmental Stewardship" class.  There is a movement at ISB to ban the sale of disposable water bottles on campus.  His class put together a booth with different displays and activities to educate the school community about the impact of plastic on our environment.  His teacher is very passionate about conserving our resources, reducing pollution & waste and recycling and has developed some really great projects to get his students interested and excited about caring for the environment.  In fact, his class last year put together a very successful effort to ban the use of plastic bags at the food market in Nichada which (I think) was a pretty big achievement for students.

The focus of yesterday's activity was to highlight to the negative impact plastic has on water environments (rivers, oceans, etc.).  These were some of the posters  and displays the kids put together.  

 

 

 

Here are a few photos of Christopher working at the booth with his friends...

 

 

Christopher's volleyball team had their first game yesterday which they won.  He did not get to play and, while I think he was disappointed, he has never played volleyball before so he wasn't too surprised.  At least he was able to see how the game was played and can focus on practicing and developing his skills. 

Have a great Tuesday!