January 13, 2017
Today was another beautiful morning here in Chiang Mai. The Starfish staff served a delicious breakfast and we were on the road by 8am. We traveled by bus with the 6th grade Starfish students and met the rest of the students at an Akha Hill Tribe school. For Hamline students this was our first visit to a Hill Tribe School, but it was also most of the Starfish students first time to this school. All of the students wore their cultural clothing and we were surrounded with beautiful colors and patterns. The Hill Tribe School welcomed us to the school with an Akha dance performance followed by the Starfish students performing a dance. Our reason for the visit was to celebrate national children's day with all of the students. We divided into groups and played a variety of games in celebration. I'm not sure what was more fun, playing and interacting with all of the kids, or just watching all of the contagious smiles spread throughout. It was a great experience to watch and be a part of the Hill Tribe school and Starfish students having a blast!
When we returned to Starfish the students performed a piece of their Alice in Wonderland ballet. I think all of the Hamline students had a consistent smile across our face as we watched all of our new friends dance and smile in their costumes and makeup to put on a show just for us.
Following the ballet performance we had some free time and then reconnected with the students for dinner and they threw a going away dance party for us. The night was filled with laughter and dancing until we sweat! The Starfish students made Letitia a box filled and decorated with hand made origami birds flying down a river. We then handed out and tied bracelets that we made for the kids. They loved it and wrists were coming our way from every direction. As the night came to a close the sense of our visit coming to a close was kicking in. Some of the students started feeling emotional and sad about the thought of us leaving tomorrow. The feelings spread and tears were shedding from the eyes of many of us. We have all made some incredible connections with these children that we will cherish forever. As some of the kids noticed we were tearing up, they were so caring and came to comfort us with smiles. These children have impacted our lives in amazing ways and we will carry the relationships with us forever. I will be leaving this amazing school with high hopes to some day return. My heart is so full.
