A Letter from Annette George in Thailand
June 2012
Dear Friends,
This is the time of year when we welcome the new students and begin the school year with many parties and ceremonies. As students and teachers settle into new schedules, sounds of music majors practicing on their major instruments and on instruments they have never played before fill the air around the music college halls and parking lot by my house. Those sounds compete with the cicadas, which make such a loud racket this time of year that the birds and bullfrogs cannot be heard. This city campus nurtures lots of critters because we have large trees and grassy areas. Now most mornings around 5 or 5:30 am I am awakened by a loud chorus of "wok, wok, wok" called out in raspy voices. I could not identify the sound at first. Ae, my part-time housekeeper, thought it was tree frogs but then found it was coming from three baby birds demanding their feedings.
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new students in new school year
This is rainy season, so soon the swampy areas will be filled with "uehng ahhng," large toad-like animals that cry out their name loudly with a voice that seems to be a cross between a cow and a pig. We are praying that neither ChiangMai nor the rest of the country will have problems with flooding this year. If it floods, the students will rush to lift the pianos (and drums and other large instruments) off the ground floors of our buildings, and then I'll call them over to help me lift the furniture and keyboard to another floor of my house. Both College of Music and College of Theology students practice their various instruments indoors and outdoors in an effort to add even more music to God's creation. We ask them to stop practicing at 10 pm so that those of us who live on campus can have quiet time for sleeping, but that seems to be the hour for the nearby bars and restaurants to crank up the volume of the speakers for their karaoke and "background music."
One group that is practicing particularly hard right now is the 35-member choir that will be traveling to Cincinnati in July. The World Choir Games, in which they will participate, start on July 5, and our students will be competing on July 12 and 13, and then singing in the final ceremony. The students gave us a sample performance of their contest pieces last Saturday, and I must say I was touched by their music and their precise singing of very difficult pieces. They are hoping to return home with gold medals, but whatever the results, they will never forget their experiences in the U.S.A. Many of the pieces they will perform were written for Christian worship, so I am praying that the words and meanings of the songs will also stay in their hearts and souls.
Ae has fully recovered from her recent tonsillectomy (mentioned in my previous newsletter). She is an excellent cook and insists on helping me prepare whenever the College of Music Christian cell group will be coming for dinner. Last week was our first gathering for the school year. I wasn't sure how many to expect, so Ae made a pot of food called "kanom jin," which can always serve a large crowd. It consists of special rice noodles that look like spaghetti but stick together fiercely and have a certain sour smell. The sauce for these noodles can be of several types, one of which looks like "sloppy Joe" sandwich filling, but the sauce that Ae makes is fish-based and yellowish in color. The students are always glad to know that Ae has had a hand in preparing the food, and they particularly like her "kanom jin." The 22 who attended last Thursday night left only a little bit in the pot. It seemed like a good initial meeting for the school year. I was particularly happy that two who attended were not Christian—just curious—or maybe lonely or maybe hungry.
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new students in new school year
I am both contented and challenged each day as I wake up, take an early-morning walk with the dog, then prepare body and soul for a day of teaching. In a typical day I have one lecture class and several private lessons to teach. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach an ensemble class, and on Mondays I squeeze six students into my tiny office to have a "studio" class for the woodwind majors. My house has larger rooms, but the office has air-conditioning, so we prefer to meet there. My private students this year are studying flute (3), beginning bassoon (1), oboe (1), and saxophone (1). Early in the semester it is a challenge to have the proper music and assignments ready for the various instruments and classes. I make a lot of trips to the copy store, and many runs up the steep stairway to the library (on the 3rd floor of the theology building). I thank you for supporting me in my work. Each semester is different; each day is different; and each student carries the stamp of God's image.
Because I dropped my camera, the pictures in this newsletter are not recent. They are of our current senior class—back when they were freshmen. They have survived three years of music school and are now the ones who plan all the welcome activities for our newest group of 50 music-makers. The young man on the right is our College of Music class president. He is preparing for a future as a church musician. Please keep all of our students in prayer. Thanks so much.
Truly,
Annette George
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 183
