As we are not leaving at the same time it proved quite difficult to organise a leaving party, but we managed to have two parties (one for teachers from NaKae Pitt. and one for friends) and a meal with teachers from St. Jo. The first happened on Wednesday 13th July and was organised by us with the help of our friend, Thitima, for our friends in Na Kae who aren't involved with NaKae Pitt. We thought that teachers from St. Jo would be coming, but instead they decided to have a meal with us instead. About 15 people turned up at a BBQ restaurant called Pilein, and we had a great time! Some of our friends brought us presents which was really sweet of them. It's amazing how many people know each other in Na Kae - we invited friends that we had met from all over the place, but almost everyone knew almost everyone else although we hadn't known that they were friends! This was brilliant because we were slightly concerned that if some people came not knowing anyone they may feel awkward, but of course in Thailand this never happens! After the BBQ Caitlin and I went to a bar in Na Kae called the Albian along with Tony (a teacher from the other secondary school) and his friends Yai and Yui, and Ruth and Laura who volunteered in Na Kae last year with Project Trust and were visiting. Again this was lots of fun - Yai brought his guitar and despite the fact that it was missing two strings we still managed to have a really fun sing-a-long with him playing, Caitlin and I singing and Tony rapping.
The next day Caitlin and I didn't teach and Caitlin was busy packing and we both wanted to spend time with each other before she disappeared. Somehow she managed to get all her packing done in one day - I now realise that this was possible because she left me with all her junk!! That afternoon we went to St. Jo to have lunch with the father and sisters of the school, and some of the teachers in the English department. As always the food was delicious, but there was so much of it! For some reason whenever Caitlin and I eat there they seem to think we need enough to feed an army! In the evening we had a party at NaKae Pitt., to saw goodbye to Caitlin and I as well as another teacher who was leaving, and to welcome two new staff to the school. We had a huge blessing ceremony and got blessing ribbons tied round our wrists by all the other teachers - my mission to to keep them on until I get home, but I don't know how possible this will be! We had lots of lovely food and got some of the teachers to sign our friendship books which was nice. After this, Yai invited us to his house to continue the singing session with a guitar which had all it's strings, so we went there. His house is huge, and his sister can speak very good English. She went to NaKae Pitt. but managed to take part in an exchange programme to Florida while at university in Sakhon Nakhon. The next day we headed to Ban Phon Sanuk in Yai's car, stayed the night there so that Caitlin could say goodbye to everyone, and headed to Ubon on Saturday to see the Candle Festival. Luckily Caitlin could leave her bag in the bus station.
The Candle Festival was brilliant and I really wish we'd been able to stay longer as it was much larger than we realised. There was, of course, a huge market, but in the evening a huge art show was set up with installation art, puppet shows and stalls along with a parade of giant candles sculpted to look like amazing dragons and Buddhas. Several people were doing questionnaires and surveys and as we are white we got asked to do them all. We found out pretty quickly that the art exhibition was huge and had been going on all month, so it would have been nice to be able to see more of it. Later on in the evening people started to set off lanterns which were beautiful - I managed to get some photos of them and they don't look too blurry which is good, and there were also AMAZING fireworks! Really huge ones that exploded several times in different colours, I wish we had ones like that in the UK!
When I arrived back in Na Kae after saying goodbye to Caitlin, the mice in our house decided to rebel and show their protest at Caitlin leaving, along with their obvious dislike for me, by dying. In my rucksack. In my rucksack, which was packed with all the things I'd bought from markets and wasn't going to use in Na Kae. He didn't even die at the top, he died in the middle of all my things! The only reason I found him was because I went to put on a DVD after getting back from Ubon and was near the rucksack which stank so checked through everything. While I was checking everything I was also smelling things to see if I really could smell dead mouse, and all that was going through my head was: "No... it's not dead mouse I can smell. It's not. Nope. No, no, no. Wow that's getting stronger, but I am still reasonably convinced that I can't smell dead mouse. Stay positive. Reasonably convinced. Reasonably convinced. Reasonab- oh. Hi mouse." This lovely discovery was made at about 1am, so, while on the phone to my mum and sister VERY annoyed, I upturned the rucksack releasing the dead mouse so I could dispose of it (also releasing a lovely aroma of death into the house...), left my things on the floor in a heap and went to bed. The next morning I got to work bagging up everything that could be washed into bin bags to take to the laundrette, and called Tony who can with Yai to help me take these items to be washed. For some reason I wasn't feeling well, and felt dizzy and sick so got taken to Yai's house to sleep. I managed to sleep for most of the day, then went to Tony's house to spend the night. I could have stayed at Yai's, but I thought it would be better to be with a native English speaker as I still wasn't feeling great. Later on that evening my muscles started to ache so I went to the hospital in Na Kae. After running the most technologically advanced tests of "weight", "blood pressure" and "heart rate", they announced that I was fine, gave me three packs of free drugs ("This one good for sleep. This one stop you dizzy. This... same same paracetamol?") and sent me on my way. Thankfully the next day I felt much better and, with encouragement from both the in-country rep and my Desk Officer on Coll, began the process of moving everything I owned out of my house as it was decided that it was probably best I don't like there anymore. I may have forgotten to mention that the rucksack mouse was the 5th dead rodent we'd found in a few days due to the school janitor putting down piles of rat poison, despite the fact that Caitlin and I had both said to our host that we really didn't want the poison anywhere near us. This moving process took 2 days, but now, finally, all of my things except my jewellery which I have just remembered is hanging on the window, the fish and the turtles are safely at Joe's house. Next years volunteers are getting a new house, so the school janitor/handyman is taking everything that doesn't belong to me out of my house to move it to the new house. So far his contribution to the moving efforts has been to move the mosquito a grand total of 8 steps, leaving them halfway down the stairs. Hopefully he will speed things up...
Now that I have no house I am having to stay with my friends in Na Kae and of course in Ban Phon Sanuk, meaning that things like where to keep washing, where to keep clean clothes for each day and where to keep toiletries is proving slightly difficult. And I have just remembered that I have left my bag of clothes for wearing in Na Kae in the smaller rucksack (with the lit and all possible entrances firmly closed), so I'll have to retrieve that and find somewhere accessible to leave it! Only 1 week left of teaching before I leave Na Kae, I really am going to miss so many people so much.
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