daily routine

This morning I woke up a little late. There was a chill in the air pouring through our screen doors, and it seemed a little nicer to dig further under the covers than to go take a cold shower at six in the morning. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes late. Rin finally pulle the covers off me and with a series of grunts told me to get into the shower.

Freezing water pouring onto my head. 'Note to self-buy water heater.' As I ran upstairs to get dressed I felt the cold wood under my feet. 'Feels like home,' I thought.

I quickly got dressed in my 'Thursday' uniform (black suit with the schools crest). Normally a little warm, but I was thankful for the coziness today.

Walking back downstairs looking for my brush, I noticed Rin was still snoring away, head under the covers, not going anywhere. Revenge time...I pulled the covers off him and turned the fan on full blast. He was up in a second.

Within a few mintues we were out the door, Rin complaining about the cold, myself enjoying the feeling of home. We rode out of the soi, taking our usual route consisting of wizzing through sois and taking about twenty five rights and lefts, without a stopsign in sight. Fun.

When we came around one of the last corners, it occured to me that we were really late. The monks I usually see a few turns later were already receiving alms at a house closer to mine. Without thinking, I said to Rin, 'hurry up, the monks are here already.'

Throughout the rest of my ride, diggin my face into Rin's shirt to avoid bus fumes, hitting him a few times for going to fast or cutting someone off, lifting my butt off the seat when he would go onto the sidewalk, I kept thinking about how different this feeling of home is from the one I grew up with, but it still feels right.

Sleepy Thursday morning thoughts.

Happy New Year! (Though it is precisely two weeks late.) My part two weeks have been filled with the work involved in starting up a home-business. Rin and I have been working for the past three months advertising, getting resources, buying furniture, making tables, booking students, writing receipts, collecting fees, organizing schedules, buying books, getting snacks, cleaning our house, and trying to keep calm through it all. We have recently opened a small business at home. It is a small school, tutoring children and some adults on Saturday and Sunday. As of right now we have nine students who are coming into our home every weekend for two hours a piece (some in groups) and I teach them. It is a really relaxed environment and has made really great progress so far. But with me still teaching my regular job, which is becoming more and more demanding, I am feeling the stress. I still have Sundays, as I only teach two students on Sunday, and I am able to have time out. It is great fun. Sometimes I feel like I am playing dress up as the parents drop off their students and wai me, calling me “khun krou” (teacher.) It has been an amazing experience, but hectic as hell.

Over the holidays Rin and I took Santé on his first road trip down to the south to deliver money from a fund raiser we have been doing for the past few months. Rin raised money for a rural school in Chuphon province to help them buy food, books and anything else they need. The school has 27 students and three teachers, and happens to be the school he went to as a child. The school was amazed at his efforts as he happened to raise quite a bit of money for the school. I am so proud of his work. It was great to watch him gain back the respect of former teachers, as he was a bit of a handful as a child.

And now, for the future. I think I am coming home. I still have to plan out a few things but I think I am going to be going home in March for two weeks, around the beginning of the month. I haven’t been home in a year and a half, and I can’t wait. Rin unfortunately won’t be joining me; we will have to wait until next year. The thoughts of going home to visit are amazing…I can’t even imagine what I would do first. It will be a great adventure.