First few art days

It's been slow starting classes here this first week. Here are some common issues that have prevented classes so far.

Rain
Because everyone rides a motorbike here, as soon as the downpours start, everything is cancelled. The older students who I teach (age 14 and 15) didn't show up until much later to class on Friday due to the rain. We started late, but still managed to have a decent introductory class as they dried off inside.

Immigration

My students and their families are Shan Burmese, and they haven't been granted refugee status and are here illegally. Their lack of official status as refugees disallows them to legally work, own land, own a home, drive, and more. They are usually ok, and have found ways to continue working despite restrictions. Every once in a while, though, Immigration pays a visit from Mae Hong Son, and the community members have to make themselves scarce. This week immigration was here for two days so Kwah Dao's Thai lessons for the older individuals in the Shan community was cancelled. Additionally, one of our Saturday classes was cancelled because the woman who allows us to use her home was paid a visit by immigration, and she was spooked (understandably).

Kids are kids
Our after-school and weekend classes are coordinated by talking to the students beforehand, and through word of mouth. Needless to say, this turns into low attendance and late arrivals as our program picks up after the school holidays. Many of my students' parents are not around when we visit - either working or unavailable for other reasons.

Despite all of these challenges, classes have begun, and paintings have been painted! More in the next post!

Photos:
After the rain in Pai.

1st class : Introductions with art and English

I met my first class yesterday, at The Banyan Center. The students are the oldest group, aged 12 to 14. Yesterday there were three boys and three girls in the class, and all of them were very polite and eager to chat.
Since class started late, we did a simple introductory art making activity with some English conversation tied in.
I had the students use coloured pencils to draw one thing about themselves, or one thing that they liked.
After drawing, the students introduced themselves and explained their drawings. It was a really nice simple way to start getting to know the students and sharing interests.
Following this, each student was told to ask me one question in English, and I would ask them the same question back. This was a fun way to encourage conversation and to build background about each other.

One student in particular was a strong character. Instead of drawing on his paper, he spent the ten minutes fake drawing in the back of the room. When it was his turn to present, he showed his blank paper and said " Hi! My name is ... And I like Paper, because you can do anything with it, like draw, and write". Very clever, yeah?
And when it was his turn to ask a question he was the last student so all of the easy "where are you from?" "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" questions were all gone, so he was at a loss. He kept on asking "how are you?", but we wouldn't let him off that easily so my coteacher let me ask him five of my own questions, which he did very well at answering. Apparently he has "many"  girlfriends and his favourite colour is black because its dark. :)
Here are the photos of their drawings of things they like and their explanations
1.  " I like trees!"
2. " I like computers and playing video games"
3. " I like birds" (picture of him with his bird in a cage)
4. "I like cars and fixing cars. I want to be a mechanic when I grow up" ( picture of her in the car shop)
5. " I like listening to music"
6. " I like paper..

7. My coteacher: she likes her baby!

8.Me:  I like being outside!

First days in Thailand

After three days of travelling I've made it to Pai, where I will be teaching for three months.
Although I haven't met the students yet I wanted to share some photos and thoughts to provide some context to these next few months.

I spent two days getting over jet lag in my old stomping ground, Chiang Mai. The city has changed tremendously in ten years - with a host of new malls, endless congestion, and a sense of rush. But, it's still the same charming city that I loved as a teenager. Full of color, hidden temples, and beautiful architecture.

As I wandered I attempted to pull some basic Thai from my memory: and promptly failed. This is the first time I've experienced a country without a basic language background. It's alienating, but a true learning experience. As I stumbled through the embarrassment of my bare-bones Thai I couldn't help but think of my future students, and others who have resettled into foreign countries. What is it like to arrive in a new home and be unable to communicate? How do you cope in this new unknown world? I'm sure everyone has their own strategies and techniques, and I'm curious to learn more as my research continues.

I was happy to find two art stores that carried a lot of wonderful supplies. (See photos). But what was most exciting was meeting with Sarah Lovett, the director of Art Relief International , an art outreach Program in Chiang Mai. We met at The Free Bird Cafe, a non profit café that supports Thai Freedom House, which is an educational and cultural-preservation focused group that works with Shan refugees in Chiangmai. It was wonderful to chat with Sarah about her work with Thai Freedom House, and other groups including orphanages and juvenile detention centres in Chiang Mai. We are working on getting a team of ARI volunteers out here at some point in the summer to teach a workshop!

On Saturday I took the bus to Pai on the road with 726 curves ( yes someone counted!) and was immediately blown away by the beauty of the mountains and the landscape surrounding Pai. It's a small quiet town with only a few stoplights (maybe three), lots of Chinese tourists, a lovely Thai market with fresh fruit,  mountains all around, and rice fields by the calm Pai river. I'm excited to paint this awe inspiring landscape and to work with the students in thus setting.

This morning I met with my coteacher\boss to get a better sense of my role within Kwah Dao. The students have just returned from Summer break so it's apparently a nice breaking point for the start of a new program. I'll be teaching three different groups twice a week each,  for six days a week. I'll be focusing on English lessons during the week with arts integration, and the weekends will be art focused. The students are all Shan refugees who have settled in the villages surrounding Pai over a range of time. On a motorbike tour around town, my coworker told me that some students have grown up here while others have just recently arrived, fleeing from conflict in Burma.
A lot of the Thais in Pai are also Shan (the Shan lived in this area long before borders were established), but there can be some animosity towards the Burmese Shan. Some feel that the Burmese Shan are taking jobs that are meant to be for Thai's. I don't know much about this and am curious to learn more and perhaps use art to explore some of these issues.
I'll start on Wednesday and can't wait to meet the students and make some art with them!

Art on a Bike

Challenge:  If you were biking to different villages each day, to teach art lessons, what would you take in your backpack? 

 I'm leaving for Pai in less than a month, and preparations are underway. 

One of the biggest challenges is thinking about what art supplies to bring. 

I'm asking everyone I know the question "What would you take in your backpack?" and am receiving some great answers. 

Answers so far include: brightly coloured materials, lots of good paper, pastels, sketchbooks, powdered paint, home-made glue. . . . 

A local creative re-use center, Stuff Redux, has generously donated some powdered paint. I can't wait to use them with the students. 

Powdered Tempera

I'd really like to focus on incorporating the local arts and materials into my curriculum. When I was in Guatemala last year, the students were extremely receptive to a lesson that utilized local materials. I gathered some sawdust and dyed it multiple colours, and the students made a wonderful collaborative temporary sculpture out of it. The lesson was inspired by the Mayan tradition of creating "Alfombras" out of flowers and coloured sawdust in the streets during festivals. 

Alfombra in the streets of Guatemala

Students working on their collaborative sculpture

Students answered the prompt "What would your dream community look like?"

Do you have any ideas about must-have materials to take?