Saturday was a first for Rodney (although he was so like a previous sponsor who also came from Hawaii, I couldn't believe we hadn't met before), Phil (Rodney's friend) and Tom, so there was a quite large band of pilgrims who toddled off to Tesco Lotus for lunch at Pizza Hut and then for shopping.
He arrived bang on time at the office, and delivered three boxes of gourmet lollipops (See's) - individual ones for Boonying and myself, and a bigger box to share around the office - so guess who's going to be very popular at the weekly meeting on Wednesday?
It was interesting, as the boys hadn't ever had pizza before they chose individual seafood pizzas, but when the Italian sausage one which the rest of us said we'd share, came first - they decided to try that!
The eldest boy was so mature, taking good care of his little brothers - particularly Vorapol. I should think Mum had probably given him instructions, but he clearly didn't mind and was just so caring of him. As quiet as he was, Yudsaporn was at first very shy, but as the time went by he smiled readily and laughed lots - especially when Tom used the shopping trolley like a scooter, and zoomed into the store. (Grandma Shepherd immediately told him not to teach the boys bad habits, of course!) As the day progressed and the boys became more relaxed with us all, it was the two younger boys who proved to be the comedians of the family.
We learned over lunch that Dad or Grandad gave them a lift to school each day and that Mum is now a security guard. Their nicknames are Thanathat 'Khong'; Yudsaporn ' Tam'; and Vorapol ' 'Buk'.
Rodney wasn't sure about a budget, so we had a chat beforehand, giving him several options.
Although the two elder boys took a long time to choose something, Buk was soon sorted with a Ben Ten outfit. The only thing was that they didn't have a pair of shorts small enough for him, so he needed a belt - which they didn't have there. Rodney gave us the money (100 B which we though would well cover it) and we put that on Tom's list for later.
It was good we had Tom with us, as being a young with it Thai, he was able to help the boys sort out suitable items. At first Khong said he wanted Dr. Scholls - which astonished me. I wouldn't have thought he'd even heard of them, let alone consider wearing them. However, I explained that they wouldn't have them in Tesco, but possibly in Central Festival - and we didn't do that with our Scholarship students. (I think Rodney would have gone along there, but I pointed out that we didn't want to encourage a lifestyle which the family couldn't sustain or have the children upset the parents if they couldn't provide Brand Names for them and nor did I want the sponsor exploited - all of which he accepted, although he said he understood how 'important' Brand names were when you were a teenager.) I did suggest that a reasonable alternative, if he'd like, was to take Khong down to the basement in The Outlet Centre and see if there might be another Brand name he might like - at a discounted price. However, before that happened, Tom had sorted a stylish outfit for him (a very nice black, grey and silver T shirt, grey cotton trousers and a pair of soft black and white lace up canvas shoes, which went high up over the ankle) and he appeared to be satisfied.
Tam, having found a nice T shirt and shorts, wanted a pair of sports shoes and after we had decided that we would need to go to Naklua for them, he found a suitable pair of jazzy football boots in red, gold, and black.
When we turned our attention to grocery shopping, we went along with the food they suggested as being what the family normally ate. Even then, after buying Cooking Oil, Fish Sauce, Tinned Fish, Noodles, Bread, Milk, Jam, Bread, Rice, Chocolate Milk, Eggs, Grapes, Water Melon, Apples, Bananas and Chicken - when we got to the checkout and Rodney was very surprised to be so far under his budget, he asked if he could buy the telephone for Mum, since it was something we had suggested we do. So - another 1200 B went to Tom's list "To Do" list for later!
Since it had taken rather longer than we had expected (the boys never having had such an opportunity before, were somewhat overwhelmed), Rodney said he was quite happy to be dropped off first (we'd left the car and driver in the Car Park at Big C when they arrived) and we took the boys home with their goodies. However, it was something to be added to the list for his next visit, so I think we can say that the students and the sponsor thoroughly enjoyed their day - and I can only thank Rodney for his patience.
Registered Charity No. 1104335
100 Years From Today
It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child
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