Picture: Kik and Mac backstage at Simons!
As most readers of this blog might now, Mac is, as they call it here our 'son' or 'student' (fosterchild, whatever).
Mac stays with his grandparents in Si Bun Ruang and is spending his 'summerholliday' here before a new year starts at his school back in Si Bun Ruang, North East Thailand.
I must admit, his arrival, accompanied by his grandfather, 2 uncles (of which one was kiks father), an aunt (Kiks stephmother) and nephew (who only stayed roughly 24 hours before driving all the way back again!), caused quite a change in our daily routine.
Its a gem though to have around, I can assure you that! he's as stuborn as Kik, by the way as most Thai are and in just as a polite way as everyone else, haha.
Ofcourse I would like to have him here all the time, to have him go to school here as well.... but that seems to be an impossibility to my surprise! I would like Mac to enter the international school here on Phuket, so he gets a good education, and not only in English ;-) In general when one manages to finish International School, one can enter any other higher education anywhere in the world and so makes oneself stand out and as such create much better chances on advancing oneself in life as a whole. That in itself would also benefit the family in a constructive way for the long term.
Now it seems very hard to convince the family that that should be the way to do things, specially when a boy is still 13 years old. At that age one learns simply much easier... the older one gets the harder it becomes... as we all know I think ;-)
Now Kik tries to explain to me that such can not be, that he has to finish his first period of 3 years at his school before he can change to anywhere else and that also the Abbot of the monastry near Si Bun Ruang syas it would be much better for mac to stay there in the countryside of North East Thailand. And this Abbot ofcourse is a waise, much respected and all knowing figur in the community of Kiks 'homecountry' (thats how Thai describein English the area/province where they come from within Thailand.
Ofcourse I disagree!
I believe, as most of us 'farang' would, that the earlier one starts the best education one can get, the better it is, specially if it involves also the learning of a foreign language! The more chances of advancement one can realise in futur life.
When I look for instance to Jeroen, my godson, who, by the way, is getting married next month (by me!!!) I realise that he has much better chances on life than lots of contemporaries who got their basic education in their home country The Netherlands. Ofcourse getting these advantages doesn't guarantee a good endresult, only the chance of a good one increases. And for sure that's the case when one lives here in Thailand.
Whatever direction Mac would like to take with his education, I would really like him to get the best chances and opportunities.
Not sure though I will succeed in convincing his/my Thai family about this....
after all, its a pretty stubborn people ;-)
