The Gallery

The village, in pictures.

Ban Nam Khem School, the kids, the Swan Princess Band, Mr. Seldon in pink argyle, the interns who came and stayed in our hearts.

I.

The school.

โรงเรียนบ้านน้ำเค็ม — Ban Nam Khem School. Purple walls, blue roof, the smell of sea air rolling in by lunchtime.

Ban Nam Khem School gate — The gate — Ban Nam Khem School, Phang Nga Province.

Students cheering with interns at the welcome assembly — Welcome assembly — Mr. Seldon Young and interns, greeted by the whole school.

Students lining the road with pink argyle flags — The welcome line — kids line the road with pink argyle flags when Seldon comes to visit.

School assembly in a circle with teachers and interns — Morning circle — students sit, teachers stand, the day begins.

Kindergarten classroom with kids coloring — Kindergarten — crayons, backpacks, flashcards on every wall.

II.

Music, argyle, & Mr. Seldon.

The Swan Princess Band, born at Ban Nam Khem — and the man in the pink argyle pants who started all of this.

Mr. Seldon in pink argyle pants on stage — Mr. Seldon — pink argyle pants, yellow shirt, sunglasses indoors. The uniform.

Seldon and the music team in matching pink argyle — The band — matching argyle, fresh leis, Lunar drums on the floor. "Musical Instruments, 9 November 2015."

Swan Princess and partner in costume at the school gates — The Swan Princess — characters walking the road, tour bus behind, kids lining the street ahead.

Entire school posed with the music program donation — The Journey of Hope & Future — the entire school posed with the donated instruments. Drums, snares, melodicas, brass. 20 December 2014 — ten years after the tsunami.

Seldon from behind leading students — From the back — Seldon leading the assembly, arms wide. The kids are a sea of blue.

Students in blue smocks with interns — Blue smocks — the uniform of the younger kids. Interns pop in, listen, help.

Interns and students and teachers group photo — Family portrait — teachers in yellow, interns in the middle, kids all around.

III.

The interns, & the kids who made them stay.

Not photos we staged — photos the kids asked for. Peace signs, tongues out, little hands on shoulders.

Intern selfie with two young students — First selfie — peace signs, tongues out. Day one, already family.

Student hugging intern in a classroom — The hug — unannounced, mid-sentence. It happens twenty times a day.

Intern and students wearing novelty glasses — Glasses day — plastic hearts and squiggles. Vocabulary lesson: pink, green, orange, yours.

Intern selfie with students pulling funny faces — Between periods — earbuds still in, kids already climbing over the desk.

Intern eating lunch with kids in the cafeteria — Lunch — stainless trays, rice, fish, watermelon. The best English class of the day happens here.

Student holding up a crayon drawing of a house — My house — "Teacher, look — my house, my dog, the sun." Creative writing, age 6.

IV.

Beyond the village.

Board meetings, sister-city visits, cultural exchanges. The work that makes the work possible.

Board meeting around a table with Seldon and interns — Around the table — partners, principal, Seldon, interns. Planning the next term.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, Korea — Gyeongbokgung, Seoul — cultural exchange trips keep the "world" in Waves of Words.

Be part of it.

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