So my day started with going to the Charter International School http://www.charter.ac.th/ in the city. Aarti and I took the Sky Train and a taxi to the Charter International School. As you know, the traffic in Bangkok is ALWAYS a nightmare! In fact it took us 1 ½ hours to get there!!! Aarti, the Principal of Principles, was beside herself that we were late, because “as a principal she couldn’t possibly be late.” The end of our journey was interesting … She was speaking Marathi/ to the taxi driver, he was speaking Thai and I (the American) just contributed a few words of helplessness and humor. Listen to Aarti speak Marathi (one of 22 languages spoken in India) as the cab driver responds in Thai... It was quite the ride!
Thankfully, we got there and it was quite an interesting, beautiful and well-run school. Together with another school from Indonesia, we were special guests at Charter International, which is relatively new (since 2004) and has no more than 150 students. The great majority of the student body is Thai but the administration hopes to increase its enrollment to students from other ethnic backgrounds.
The school grounds were beautiful, well-maintained and clean; all the students had uniforms which differed depending on their grade level.
When we all assembled in the auditorium, the "guest students" from Indonesia had a prepared presentation. I was so impressed and exited with what they had to say and how well they presented the material, through PowerPoint, to their peers! Aarti took this picture as I was taking pictures of the children interacting. It was awesome seeing two groups of students from two different religious backgrounds shyly interact. The non-verbals were priceless! And as you can see, I could hardly contain my excitement!
I loved how all of the children wore uniforms and how the girls wore ties. They looked neat, "smart," and classy. Of course, I could be a bit biased because I love ties and on a rare occasion may even wear one!
Look at these middle school children as they present. I'll tell you, they were something else ... learning 13 subjects, getting involved with their community, partaking in all sorts of student clubs ... 
Afterwards, they exchanged trinkets with each other that were representative of their culture and school and then took pictures together. Regardless of where they come from, you can see here that children will always be children! ;o)
A group photo! Faces representing different religious backgrounds, different cultures, different countries yet all working toward one goal – that of getting an education and, hopefully, gaining a global perspective on life through cultural exchange.
Making connections with the teachers from Indonesia over lunch! Here, one of the parents gave us all durable, hand woven bags - perfect for shopping!
In the evening, I attended a Rotary meeting where we had dinner. As with every meal, the food is always spectacular! 90% of their cuisine is super healthy! Look at what I ate tonight – periwinkle-colored rice! Apparently, the rice is steamed with a special blue flower from Thailand, (butterfly pea flower) which is placed in the rice cooker, giving it this beautiful color. It didn’t taste noticeably different but the color is absolutely beautiful, don’t you think?
My presentation went very well and the Rotarians were very impressed with the rigorous curriculum, valuable field visits and NGO visits that we participated in as well as the ongoing obligations that we have to our sponsoring clubs and my future plans in “Peace Education!” This is all part of the Rotary Peace Fellowship!! I later found out that Rotary International invested about $10K in each Rotary Peace Fellow!!!
Of course ... group photo! Here is the club of my host counselor, Srifa, who is seated on my left (your right). I can’t wait to share my experiences, show my pictures, and talk about how I’m going to “give back” after such a wonderful opportunity!!!!
