In Year Two, we have been busy exploring the local environment, comparing village life to city life and becoming more aware of the lives of others. Recently, we visited Ban Chark Mark, a traditional Thai village.
First, we visited the Chinese Temple, which was very colourful and eye-catching. It was covered with pictures of animals. Next, we looked at the local shop and it sold a really wide variety of products. There were so many things that you would not be able to get at the supermarket. It was fascinating! It was a very hot day so we took the opportunity to buy ice cream and drinks. They were surprisingly cheap, compared with city prices.
“We have been busy exploring the local environment, comparing village life to city life,”
After that, we visited the laundry house which was also extremely interesting. We found out that the laundry house has a high season, when more people visit the local area. During high season, more clothes need to be washed, dried and ironed. The lady in the laundry house sometimes has to launder over a hundred different items of clothing each day.
Later, we visited the village temple and were lucky enough to be shown around by one of the monks. The temple was really beautiful and had some elaborate decorations on it. It was interesting to hear that the Singha (golden lions) were positioned in front of the temple to protect it from evil spirits.
“There were so many things that you would not be able to get at the supermarket. It was fascinating!”
Finally, we visited the local school in Ban Chark Mark. It was great to meet new friends and to learn alongside the Thai students from the school. We were made to feel very welcome. We noticed many differences between our school and the village school.
We were fortunate enough to see our new friends again one week later. This time, it was our turn to be the hosts. We had a great afternoon taking part in a variety of activities such as cake decorating and making Valentines crafts with the children from Ban Chark Mark. We really enjoyed this experience.
“The temple was really beautiful and had some elaborate decorations on it.”
