BrainWorks

Waking up early seems to be the common denominator on this trip in Myanmar; at first i didn’t like it all, but now i don't mind; there’s so much to do and so much to accomplish. Our plan for the day involved going to TLA 2 and watching their assembly; they had been preparing this for us. Getting there before school started allowed us to connect with the kids, play with them in the playground, and learn about the school. The kids were jumping on the trampoline, going down slides, and running around - who ever thought someone could have that much energy at 8AM!! The play was called “Bossy Mary” - it included a girl that was very bossy and how they stopped - the message/ lesson was shared at the end of the play. I felt so involved with the play as i answered the questions that the teachers asked and participated in the activities, the little kid inside me came out. A girl named FiFi lead the group with motivational phrases and incantations: 

Now I am the voice

I will lead not follow

I will believe not doubt

I will create not destroy

I am a force from good

I am a leader

Defy the odds

Set new standards

Step up - step up - step up

I was absolutely mind blown because she was only 3 years old, and she was already stepping up to become a leader. Her confidence was phenomenal and she inspired me for sure. All around the classroom there were motivational quotes, drawings and pictures [[ kids are visual people]]. This really opened up my mind because normally the word “school” is associated with boring, long, and tiring, but here in Myanmar [[BrainWorks]], kids love school. “SCHOOL IS THE BEST PARTY IN TOWN”

The second school we went to was Su’s school where we were going to watch their assembly. We arrived and there were 3 boys an 4 girls dressed up in the traditional Myanmar dress, a Laungi, with a bouquet of flowers; not only that but they had drawn pictures of us and put them on a board with our name attached. It was honestly the cutest thing i’ve ever seen, my jaw dropped. Each kid grabbed us by the hand and took us upstairs to the classroom; the girl that took me was named Noe Noe [4 years old]. The look on the kids faces when the performance was happening was in aw, they sat there full of curiosity waiting for the next move. What i loved the most was the fact that the kids had FUN, and they were learning at the same time. It wasn’t FAKE at all, they came from the heart and only mean well.


Relaxed afternoon/evening that day; sat by the pool for a couple of hours; did some work; listening to music; and then got a pedicure! Fan and I went to the spa around the corner at Diane’s hotel, and treated ourselves to massages and pedicures! It felt so great to relax and my toes look nice now ;]
The team decided that we wanted a break from the regular thai, chinese, and myanmese food, so we switched it up and went to an Italian restaurant, La Opera. It was honestly a mission and a half trying to sort out reservations, taxi’s etc, but we finally got through it and came to a conclusion. We got one taxi for 6 people and squished; Chris and George sat in the boot.

Arriving at the restaurant, which was quite fancy might i add, in a batted up taxi and 6 people getting out was priceless!!
The restaurant offered a deal for 22,000 chet, you could get unlimited pizza, pasta, drinks, and ice cream! TALK ABOUT A DEAL!!! we were quite confused because we couldn’t possibly wrap our heads around the fact that you can get that much food and drinks for the price that it was at. Ajay and Chris ordered that, and Chris ended up ordering 2 full pizza’s, 2 plates of pasta etc. - I was sharing with him but the waitors just thought he ate a lot! During dinner we shared magic moments, and reflected over the trip so far and it was basically a trip down memory lane. On the way back to the hotel, we did the exact same thing with the taxi but we couldn’t fit anyone in the boot at all so we just all squished in the car. The driver was absolutely crazyyy, speeding like crazy and we swurved so many times to the point where we all thought we were going to crash.