Bangkok-The Final Days (Part 2- The Dedication)

I recently made another dedication to AMCHAM's Adopt-a-School program, and they were able to schedule the dedication so that I could be there before leaving town.

This school was in Saraburi, about an hour and a half drive outside of Bangkok. Two friends and I gave money to build a new playground. We arrived at the school and were greeted by the children, as usual. We went through all the ceremonial stuff- speeches, presentations, etc. Then, I asked if we could take a picture on the playground, so we walked over there and all the adults got in a big group to take the picture- while the kids stood on the side and watched. Well, a picture on a playground with no children just seems depressing, so I called the kids onto the playground. They hesitated for a moment, then all ran onto the playground with such force, it was amazing. I later found out that the playground had been finished for about a week and the kids weren't allowed to play on it, so they had to sit in school all day long and just LOOK at it. Talk about torture!

We took pictures, played on the playground, and they practiced their english. The practice went something like this. Liz: Hello! 25 Children: Hello! Liz: What is your name? 25 children, one by one: My name is *insert really long unpronouncable Thai name here*! Liz: My name is Liz! 25 children: LIZ! Liz: How old are you? 25 children, all at the same time: I am ten years old! Now, I can promise you that about 5 of them were probably 10, and I'm sure the rest were anywhere from 6-12 years old. It was cute.

One child decided that they wanted my autograph, so then they all desperately wanted it. I was signing my name on scraps of paper, on hands- anywhere. Then, when I started to walk across the school yard to go to the restroom, about 20 kids decided they would walk with me, wait for me while I, ahem, did my business, escort me to the sink, turn on the water, hand me the soap, turn off the water, then walk me across the school yard again. It was simultaneously hilarious and exhausting.

I now know how Angelina Jolie must feel!

We finally pulled ourselves away from the children long enough to get on the van. One little girl was sobbing, so we asked what was wrong, and she was sad because she didn't get an autograph. Wow. So we signed something for her.

It was a great day, and although it was fun to feel like a rock star, I am glad that this is not something that I would have to live with on a regular basis. They can keep their fame, as far as I'm concerned! I'll just take the free clothes that come along with it...