By Kendall Diehl – 1 week intern

If you had told me a week ago that one of my favorite memories from this week would have been teaching the village women and children English, I never would have believed you. As someone that is very introverted and an animal lover, I didn’t expect to make and enjoy the connections with the locals in such a short time.

We all gathered in Nee’s beautiful house. Each of us practicing our Pakinyaw, the Karen language, while the women practiced their English. They will all tell you their English is not very good, but don’t listen to them. They can carry a conversation in English much better than we can in Pakinyaw.

The night started with nerves as this was my first-time teaching English as well as my first time attempting many of these Pakinyaw words and phrases, especially in front of so many people. By the end of the night, we were all bent over with fits of giggles. It didn’t matter that we spoke different languages, laughter bridged the divide and filled the rooms of Nee’s house, spilling out into the night.