I love that in Bangkok, you can wake up while it’s still dark, but there’s a good amount of humidity. It’s certainly not a struggle to wake up in this weather and even though I’ve slept terribly for the last 5 days, I’m not too tired today. Some children were crying, in fact I recognized Vasyn being the loudest. I was ready by 7, said a quick hello to the children, before leaving with Saovanee. Today she has been invited to attend a Fun Run fundraiser, organised by the teachers at Niva International School. I don’t know anything about this school, I am only going if she needs help with speaking English.
The first taxi she hailed, we hop in. The elderly driver is extremely talkative, so he and Saovanee chatted the entire time. Even though I can’t understand most of the language there are a few words I pick up on. Chai, mai, mai dai and some numbers are the things I recognize now. I love the way Thai sounds musical, with the tones.
It took us a while to travel to the park. Inbound traffic is so bad, the cars are lined up as if they are in a parking lot. It’s B̂ā! (crazy).
We hopped out and started walking around the side, towards a large group of people wearing blue and orange. Along the way, we were stopped by Hannah, one of the teacher’s aids who recognized Saovanee. We were correct in assuming the mass of people were participating in the fun run.
This park is quite big, though not as big as Lumpini. The track runs around the outside of a large pond. Today the trees in the distance are shrouded by fog (probably some fumes too). There are groups of people wearing orange and blue scattered over the park. Some are running, some are playing games.
On the other side, there is a marquee set up for the school. T-shirts and raffle tickets are on sale and the prizes (bikes, a scooter and sports equipment) are also on display. When we arrive, Hannah introduces us to Scott, who is also organizing the event. We meet Nathan, who is from India and owns the school. They broke the children up into grades and had them run around the park in batches. There were so many people participating; parents, students and teachers.
After everyone had run their laps and they presented medals, they asked Saovanee to speak. Even though she was nervous, she spoke so graciously.
After the presentation we caught the bus back to FFAC. It was a long, slow drive, made worse by the traffic. Even without peak hour, it always amazes me how busy it is in Bangkok. We stopped quite close to the Babies Home, but stopped at a food court so that Saovanee could buy some food. Tomorrow we will be travelling by van to the western province of Kanchanaburi. Here we will be visiting some minority groups, who come from across the border looking for work and eventually citizenship. Tonight will be a quiet night, so I can pack my bags again.
Beneath The Hair 