Presents for Simeon

Each of the girls were thankful and happy with their birthday presents this year, but Simeon's excitement and delight with his surpassed them all. There's just something about the simplicity of a two year's old joy. After five birthdays in the last few months where Simeon got to give presents, at first he didn't understand that these gifts were for him. He kept trying to give them to someone else. On the third or fourth package, he understood - all these are for me!

So what are these wonderful presents with which Simeon is so enthralled? Twelve little, plastic kittens to carry around, put in and out of containers, and play pretend with his sisters.

 A set of plastic farm animals, including a Thai water buffalo, to join his farm set. His own leather wallet to put cards in and out of, to snap open and closed, and to smell. New shorts that fit; his favorite have a shark on them. A pillow and sleeping mat for sleeping in the big kid room with his sisters. Two new books. A little stuffed dog named Timothy that was Mommy's when she was little.

Socks - he likes socks but hasn't owned a pair since he was three months old. A colorful xylophone to play a complete octave; he can join in with Mommy and Meriel now. And two race cars to zoom down the pvc pipe ramps on the stairs.

                                                      No two year old could be happier!

The best part of his birthday was seeing the love his sisters lavished on him. They were so excited for his first taste of ice cream, to give him his gifts, to have him sleep in their room, to give their brother an extra special day. We are blessed!

Thailand: Developed or Developing?

Some people have asked me whether or not Thailand is a developing country. The quick answer is yes. Of course, there must be a long answer, or I wouldn't be writing this. There are several different measure of development, and the main ones do not merely divide countries between developing and developed. The UN uses the "Human Development Index" encompassing life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and quality of life. The countries then fall into one of four categories of development: very high, high, medium, or low. The countries in "very high" are developed, those in "high and medium" are developing, and those in low are underdeveloped. Thailand in is the lower end of the "High Human Development Index" group. The World Bank classification is the other major  measure; this focuses more on economy than indices of living. It also has four divisions based on income: high, upper-middle, lower-middle, low. Any country that is not "high income" is considered developing. Again, Thailand falls in the lower end of the upper-middle group.

So what does all this really mean? Basically it means that the basic standard of living in Thailand is quite different than that in the United States, Western Europe, Japan, or even South Korea but not as drastic as that in East Africa or Haiti. Thailand is in that middle ground where some people live very well indeed and others live quite poorly. My personal experience only extends to Bangkok. I don't know anything about rural Thailand since it requires a personal vehicle to explore, but I imagine the standard of living there is lower than most of Bangkok. Bangkok presents an interesting amalgam of developed and developing worlds.

A visitor to Bangkok could fly in to the main airport, take a taxi to a ritzy hotel, travel around only by Skytrain to see fancy malls and expensive restaurants. Another visitor could stay in our house, travel by non-air conditioned bus, shop in the stinky "wet market," and eat in open air neighborhood restaurants. These two people would experience totally different cities. The second would see how more people in Bangkok actually live, though many more are crowded into small apartments and shacks along the canals with fewer amenities than we. I think the reality of Thailand's "upper-middle" categorization is that most Thai have enough to eat, the majority receive some sort of education, many are literate, most have access to some sort of health care. Definite room for improvement, especially as far as quality of life and safety for children, but overall not horrible.

I feel that this sign in our church bathroom gives a pretty good idea of the mix of lifestyles in Bangkok:

Some people have never considered that one should not throw toilet paper into the toilet to flush; it needs to go into a separate trash can. Others have never seen any sort of toilet other than a squat one on the floor and need to be instructed to sit on the seat. This is the development rating for Thailand in a nutshell.

Five to Six

Each child develops differently with spurts of growth at various ages. For Meriel, this past year has been one of rapid maturation. She has gone from a cute, little girl to a beautiful young lady. She is becoming aware of the world beyond being the center of the universe. Learning, loving, praying, wondering.

She is beginning to learn the value of hard work. She has struggled to read, making great progress, delighting her younger siblings by reading "Peter and Jane" to them. She has pressed through daily tin whistle practice, successfully mastering two fun tunes. Many days, I have to make her read to me and mandate her whistle lesson. But the joy on her face as she plays for Daddy makes it all worth while.

Meriel's self-control has increased greatly, as well. Yes, she still has her tantrums, but they are less frequent and often shorter and less boisterous. She is responsive to a gentle reminder to calm down and, if caught in time, often manages to avert a tantrum completely. She thinks of others above herself - sharing special treats, including her little brother in a game, making room for another sibling beside her in the rocking chair.

When Meriel asks a question, she will keep asking until she understands the answer. She really wants to understand the world around her, what a Bible story means, what Mommy and Daddy are discussing, what Eris is talking about. If she doesn't comprehend the answer, she won't pretend she does. When she finally "gets" something, she won't forget it; she is beginning to be able to incorporate what she learns one day into a different concept another day. She listens and really cares about what each person has to say.

Meriel loves Jesus but is also honest about her limitations. She explains that she is not ready to get baptized yet because she does not really understand enough about what is means to follow Jesus. She realizes that she does bad things and sometimes is not ready to try to not do those things. She knows she can pray and talk to God. She remembers prayer requests and daily brings others to the Lord. When she decides to follow Jesus completely, it will be her own choice from which she will not turn back. I am so proud of my six year old!