Thursday, February 17

On My Way Back to Dallas

I left Yangon about three hours ago and have landed at Bangkok International Airport for a lengthy (overnight) layover. In order to get the flight I wanted to take out of Bangkok tomorrow, there was not a flight out of Yangon early enough to catch it. So I left Yangon at 7:45 PM (all times local) and will not catch the Thai flight to LAX until about the same time tomorrow morning (subtract 12.5 to 13 hours from all times).

The Last Day Was One of The Best

We began the final exam just before 9:00 and finished up by 11:00. The students seemed to understand the questions pretty well. Of course I wrote the test in English, so it was also necessary for Thang Bwee to do some translating on some of the questions. Basically he rewrote the exam on the white board. Most of the students answered in Burmese, so I left the exams with him for him to grade. He said he would forward the grades to me when they are posted and I will post them here for those who are interested.

After class we had a graduation party complete with cake and "coffee mix." Some who have been reading the blog since the time it was just an email broadcast will remember coffee mix. The name is half right -- it is a mix of some kind. The Burmese seem to like it and even mistake it for coffee. So the students all had coffee mix and I joined in with them. Burmese cake is not so sweet as we are used to and the texture is much coarser. But we had no trouble getting rid of all of it. Cake is a great idea and just having it makes the party....a party.

After the party we had "class pictures." I took a couple of digital shots which I hope to post to this blog when I actually make it all the way back to the US. Most of the pictures were taken by Ram Uk. Several of the students posed for pix with me until I complained about being hot (I was sitting in the direct tropical sun while they all took turns returning to the shade).

They have me a really nice 'picture' made of jade and other Burmese stones laid into a sort of mosaic. It is not really a mosaic, but I'm not sure how to describe it. I packed it as best I could and hope it makes it back to the States without being demolished. The rest of the day was spent in conversation with Jeff Easley of The Aquila Project and Wayne Curles of BEE. It was really a well-spent day.

But like all good things, it came to an end. U Khin took me to the airport around 5:45 PM and here I am in Bangkok. More when I reach the US.

RB

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