This
space is dedicated to our students at R35 so that they may share their stories
with the rest of the world. Here you will learn about their dreams and the
intricacies of their day-to-day lives. Enjoy!
The children of R35 lead very busy lives. Their responsibilities go well
beyond the classroom. The older students look out for the younger students
making sure that they have showered and are wearing clean uniforms. Everyone
helps out with serving meals, cleaning the dorms and washing their own clothes
just to name a few of the daily chores.
Most days begin at 5:00 a.m. with exercise and do not end until 10:00 p.m. After exercising, the students wash-up behind their dorms using large metal basins that collect rainwater. The girls wear sarongs and the boys shorts. They use buckets to dump the water over their heads. Eventually when plumbing is completed, the students will use the dorm showers.
At 7:00 a.m. the students walk over to the dining area where every day one class is put in charge of serving the meals. Boys and girls eat separately. Students own tin plates and spoons that they carry around with them to have on hand for mealtime. As is customary in Thailand every meal includes rice, even breakfast. At 8:00 a.m. the students go to assembly where they recite the national anthem.
Morning classes begin at 8:30 a.m. The students enjoy their studies and feel that they have a close bond with their teachers. There is a break for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Classes begin again at 12:30 p.m. and do not end until 4:30 p.m. Unlike many western students their age, finishing classes for the day is not necessarily something to look forward to. The students of R35 are sad that they cannot go home to their families and for many of them this is the hardest part of their life at R35. They do very much enjoy however, the many new friends they have made and the sense of community provided by the dorms.
At 5:00 p.m. the students go to dinner and at 6:00 p.m. they once
again recite the national anthem. Afterwards they go back to their dorms
to wash up and do homework. At 8:00 p.m. each dorm says Buddhist prayers
together. Afterwards the students are free to watch T.V. and listen to music
until they go to bed at 10:00 p.m. Many like to watch the news because they
feel that it keeps them informed about the outside world. While the day
has been long and busy, the students appreciate the challenge it has offered
them. They feel that at the end of the day learning how to be self-sufficient
makes them better people.