Sticks and Love

Yesterday I saw almost all of the teachers carrying a stick around at some point during the day. The woman who used to give me some of her home cooked lunch is almost always carrying something to hit the kids with. She taps it on the wooden posts and railings and even I get scared. I guess the rumor’s true that the Thai teachers hit the kids with a stick to discipline them. That would explain why the kids are not as behaved with us- they know we won’t hit them.

4th graders at Lam Pi

The other day, this woman chased “Bubba” around and whacked him on the butt. It made him cry and I wanted to take the stick away from her and tell her there are less violent ways to discipline that can be just as, if not more, effective. At the same time, I must admit there have been a few times when I wanted to throw the volleyball we have at some of the kids just to get them to turn around and pay attention.

The other night the guy who gave me a ride home had given me a ride home once before. He kept speaking to me in Thai, but the English words he did manage to get out were “Chai (his name) loves Koura”. It reminded me of the kids at school. I wonder if they have several different words for love, or if they only have one word that describes liking and loving someone.