Community Service

Last Friday, the whole 8th grade went on a field trip to do community service. We needed to do community service because the Thai Ministry of Education required us to interact with the Thai culture. The students were able to chose to go to either the day care center, the school for the blind, or farming and painting. I chose to go to the school for the blind because I wanted to face my fears. 

There were a lot of blind people in the school for the blind. I noticed that some of their eyes were grayish-white, including the pupil. When we arrived, one of the teachers at the blind school played a video for us about their students. From the video, I learned that some of the students were abandoned and were orphans. At the end of the video, six blind students went up on the stage and played traditional Thai music with a Thai flute, a Thai drum, and a Thai xylophone. I was amazed because I didn't know that the blind could play an instrument. The first activity that we did, was to talk to the blind by introducing ourselves. I got to know two blind girls named May and Cake, and they were really kind. I also got to know a blind boy, and his name was Aomsin. 

We played fun games with them, such as copying their dance and playing a hand game, which required five to six people. At the end of the game session, we went up to play soccer with the blind. When I arrived in what they call a field, there was no grass. It was an indoor field, with three goals at each end. The coach said that there needed to be one person in front of each of the goals. The players needed to try to roll the ball and shoot it in the net. Because they were blind, there had to be lines on the ground, in which they could feel to know where their position was in the game. I was so amazed because even though they couldn't see the ball, they were able to catch it. I learned that the blind has a very good sense of hearing. Three of the students from my school went up to try to play soccer with the blind. Unfortunately, we didn't do as well as the blind, because we never tried it before. At the end of playing soccer, we were able to walk around the school and explore the place. 

Because of this trip, I have learned a lot of things about the blind. I've learned that the blind can play instruments, have a good sense of hearing, and that they can play sports, such as soccer. Also, in this trip, I was able to face my fears. Before, I was terrified of blind children, but now, I find them as kind and caring people. I totally underestimated them, and I shouldn't have. This trip was fun and educational.

Patriots or Terrorists?

In the American Revolution, there were groups of people called patriots and loyalists. The patriots were a large group of people who fought for the colonies to become a new country, and the loyalists were people who were loyal to the British monarchy. I have heard that some people call the patriots terrorists. In my opinion, I would never use the term terrorists for the patriots. I believe that the people, who call them terrorists, are the people who support the British monarchy very much. Because I’m not a very big supporter for the British monarchy, I wouldn’t call the patriots terrorists. I think it was the right thing to do, when the patriots fought for their liberty. The reason for that is because, it was wrong of the British to only allow the colonists to trade with the them. In 1773, the patriots were brave enough to go onto the British ships to throw out the tea, so that the colonists would boycott from buying goods from the British. If they hadn’t done what they did in 1773, I think it would affect what America would be like today. Now, America is an independent, developed, strong, and civilized country because of the patriots and the colonists. In conclusion, I wouldn’t call the patriots terrorists because of the fact that they did the right thing for the colonies. 

Hi There! (:

Hey, my name’s Matthia. I'm currently studying at Ruamrudee International School, or RIS, in short. I’m partly Indonesian and partly Filipino. I’ve been living in Thailand since I was 2, but I can’t speak the language very well. It’s already December, but the sun is still shining bright, and it's incredibly hot! I’m guessing that in your place it’s already snowing. I’ve always wanted to go to a Western country and see real snow. Whenever I go to an amusement park, I always go to a snow-house, and there will be artificial snow, a snow man, and many more winter decorations. It might as well be called the "human refrigerator". I wonder what it’s like to live in a country that experiences real snow. What's it like to be living in a country that experiences snow every year?

My most favorite thing to do is play instruments. I can play the piano, the flute, and the guitar. When I was about 3 years old, I came across a music store in a mall, and the music playing was one of Pachelbel’s famous piano piece, Canon in D. After hearing that song, I was inspired to play the piano because of how smooth the sound of the notes connect and become one amazing piece. I begged my parents to allow me to learn the wonderful instrument, and the next thing I knew, I was learning how to play the piano. In 6^th grade, I joined the band, and my instrument was the flute. Now, I’m in 8^th grade, and I’m still in the band playing my flute. As for the guitar, I taught myself how to play it. 

Those are some of the things that I like to do when I need to relax or to be in peace. What instruments can you play? Do you have another favorite activity that you enjoy doing? What kind of music genres do you like? Wherever I go, I always listen to music. I love listening to rap, R&B, and pop songs. I'm really excited to be participating in a Quad-Blog, and I can't wait to see what will happen in the future. (:

Thai Innovations

The flooding in Thailand has affected many families. Some families have houses, which are submerged in water, and some families have lost everything from their houses. In my opinion, I believe that the most creative innovation, invented by the Thais, is the above-knee waterproof boots. It's very handy, and you can bring it any where and it really helps the people of Thailand walk through the flood waters. We all know that the flood waters are very, very dirty. There's bacteria and other disgusting things in the flood waters.

If I could invent something that would be fun and would be needed during the flood, is a waterproof blow-up house. It's similar to a floaty, which children use in the pool, when they don't know how to swim properly. The waterproof blow-up house is about the size of a big single bedroom. There will be windows, and it'll come in different colors. The waterproof blow-up house is used to float on the flood water and you can sit in it, and lie in it. The floor of the waterproof blow-up house will be made of wood, similar to the wood that's used to make ships or boats.

Up to the knee waterproof boots in Thailand

The Flood Situation in Thailand

The flood situation in Thailand is very devastating for many people. Some families have lost homes and are trying to find food and water to eat and drink. Many people have evacuated from their homes and are now trying to find a safer place to live in. The flood has affected my family, and we are still in panic because of the disaster.

At present, my family and I have moved out of Bangkok and are currently staying in Pattaya. Before we decided to move to Pattaya, a loud siren was released, which meant that everyone needed to evacuate from their homes and move to a safer place. When my mom heard the siren, the whole family was in panic, and we were packing our bags furiously. Everyone was moving around the house, grabbing this, and grabbing that. We had to move everything from the first floor to the second floor of the house. The only item that we weren't able to move was my piano, because it was incredibly heavy. My mom called Peterson, a piano shop, and asked if we could leave the piano there, but the price was too expensive. Because of that, my dad decided to move the piano far away from the entrance door.
The whole family was ready to go, but we couldn't leave my dog, Felix, behind. To solve that problem, we had to put him in a cage and bring him along with us. On the way to Pattaya, I saw the water gushing out of the drainage. My mom was beginning to get paranoid when she saw that. After two stressful hours, we arrived in Pattaya and we hurried to a vet. The vet where we brought my dog to was like a pet hotel. I wasn't fond of the idea of leaving Felix in the vet for a month, but that was the only reasonable option. My dad booked a hotel for us to stay in, and we hurried into our hotel rooms. After a very stressful day, we could finally rest. Since that day, my mom has always been calling the security in our village to see if it was safe to move back to Bangkok.

The flood situation that is currently happening in Thailand, will definitely affect the country's future in many ways. In the news, I heard that the Government is releasing the water very slowly. After that being said, I predict that the flood situation won't be at rest for a long time. The reasons for that is because the water won't dry up fast, and it will take months until the water has completely evaporated. Also, since the Government is releasing the water slowly, the water will keep on coming. The waters around my dad's work place, AIT, is very high. I presume that it's around two meters because the flood water is almost at the same level as the roof. Close friends who live on the first floor of AIT have lost everything. All their things are now floating in the flood.

I hope the flood waters will end soon. I feel so sorry for the people who have lost their homes and are struggling to find a better place to live in. I hope the Government will be smarter next time, if another big flood is going to approach Thailand. I also hope that the Government will do their best to resolve the flood situation.

Flooding in a near by Tesco Lotus

My Identity

Identity plays a big role in everyone's life. Your identity is who you are and how you act. Sometimes, your physical traits affect your identity and your environment can also affect your identity. The things that affect my identity the most are my family, friends, nationality, physical traits, and music. Different things affect everyone's identity, so in that case, the things that affect my identity, might not be the same as other people.

Like I said before, my family, friends, physical traits, and music affect my identity the most. My family affect my identity because they taught me how to act around people. Since birth, they have taught me good manners, so that I won't be rude to people. My mother and father taught me how to walk, how to talk, and how to be polite. My parents and my other family members have taught me a lot of things since birth.
In addition, my friends affect my identity because they affect the way I dress, the things I own, what I like, and how well I do in my studies. Now a days, I wear many silly bands and friendship bracelets around my wrists because some of my friends outside of school wear them. Because I wear the bracelets everyday, it has become part of my identity. Also, my friends affect the things I own. Some girls in my grade have tote-bags, which are bags that are worn over the shoulder. In fourth, fifth and sixth grade, I owned a back-pack for school. In seventh grade, the girl bag "trend" in school changed from a back-pack to a tote-bag. Because of the change in "trend" at school, I now own a tote-bag and that has become a part of my identity. Many of my friends adore the color aquamarine. Whenever I hang-out with them, I always see the color aquamarine. Now, I adore the color aquamarine, as well. Also, if you hang-out with people who have high grades, you tend to have high grades too. The reason for that is because they talk about how they get their grades and how they do their work. Once you pick-up on their techniques on school work, you usually tend to do the same. Jan, Vicky, Milky, and Shashank are one of my best friends and they all do very well in their studies. I eat lunch with them and I have a few classes with them. I hang out with them a lot, which means that I try to get high grades like them.
My physical traits affect my identity as well. For example, my hair is naturally curly from birth. My mom nor my dad has curly hair, but my grandmother has curly hair. Also, I'm short compared to my peers because my mom is short and my dad is kind of short for a guy. Many people who know my family, say that I have the same smile as my mother. They also say that I look like my father.
Music has affected my identity a whole lot. My mom has been singing to me since I was a baby. I tend to sing a lot and that has been a part of my identity since birth. Since I was six months, I've been listening to Mozart, Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and more. I was in love with piano when I turned three, after I listened to those composers. I begged my mom to allow me to enter piano lessons and she agreed. Now, I can play piano, guitar, flute, and drums. Music has been a part of my identity since birth and that will never change - ever.

My family, friends, physical traits, and music affect my identity a whole lot. All of those categories have shaped me to what I have become to this day. I am very happy to be the person I am today. Even though I might grow-up to look like a total different person, my personality and my identity will never change. (:

Who Are You? - Music Video (:

This is my YouTube video on my "Who Are You?" project. This video is about my identity. I have 6 categories in my video, which are very important in my life. After you watch this video, I want you to know that I am a cheerful person and I am a happy person. I love my friends as well as my family. When I was in the procedure of creating my video, I didn't know how to start my video. To solve that problem, I watched the tutorials on creating an iMovie video. Later, I finally knew how to create my own video. From that point on, I had no problems on finishing this movie project. I had so much fun doing this project! I never knew I could do it, until I tried.