The Philosophy of Volunteering

Okay, I'm going to add to this post as I see fit over the next few weeks or so.  For some folk, a post is a post, but I like to chop and change.

A thought came to me the other day about just how we came to be here. A little insight: A lot of people I talk to say how much they would like to do something like this, but the daily grind keeps them tied down. For us, ironically, it was the lack of employment/commitments that actually enabled us to be able to say "let's do it". That's a bit bizarre, when you consider that it must cost a fortune to be here. Nope, we actually live cheaper here. One almost can't afford not to be here! Okay, we may not earn much over the next few months, so what else is new? And sometimes it's just nice to be free enough to live wherever. I can say that because I'm a gypsy at heart. When your email address begins with "oceangypsy", you know that settling down is always going to be tough!

Another big change for me was going from being quite isolated in Germany to living in a house of 13 others. Not a gradual ease-in, but straight into the thick of it. The house we live in is about as large as a big Queenslander, and roughly the same design. Downstairs is kitchen, bathrooms (2) and living area/classroom. Upstairs has 6 bedrooms in dorm-style layout, 3 to a room. Fairly basic, but comfortable enough. No hot water in the kitchen or bathrooms. Cold showers only. If you've ever lived in the tropics you know that cold showers aren't so cold. It's simply refreshing, whereas a cold shower in Germany would be classed as a form of torture.

Local boys fishing in a creek/drain

 I bought a bike yesterday, which cost 1,500 Thai Baht. 1,500 Baht! Whoa! Well, that translates to around 35€, or about $50 AUS. Not that pricey, just sounds like a lot. A cheap guitar from the market costs 450THB, or about 11€ ($16.50AUS). I'll lash out and buy a really nice one for 1950 Baht, or 49€ ($70 AUS). The cheap ones we have two of here already, and they're, well, cheap. The intonation is very dodgy, so it's very hard to tune them, balanced, over the whole scale. And when we play the two together - it's cringe material! At least one of the students is a good player, with another 5 in various stages of learning. I'm going to teach basic music theory while I'm here. Chromatic scales, chord progressions, pentatonic scales, and chord structure, etc. And they're keen to learn - like sponges! So much so, that when we have movie nights on Friday and Saturday, a handful of them actually sit with pen and paper to write words or phrases from the dialogue for later processing. Keen.
 Everything we buy is really a gift to the school, as we'll leave it all behind when we leave. So, having experience in a bike shop or instruments means that I can sort through the crap, and the school can benefit. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about - giving these kids opportunities.(unfinished post)