MY FASCINATION WITH BOOKS
AS A YOUNG GIRL… my exposure to books can be attributed well to the way I was brought up. My mom, probably a Librarian in previous life, started building our family library since the time I was able to handle books. Not old enough to read them but rather to play with them and chew on its pages when I felt hungry. Eventually, I learned the difference between paper and real food. I did not learn about it by reading the books though. As I grew older and started going to school, the books played an even more important part in my existence.
AS A YOUNG STUDENT… when I started to learn the basics, I found joy in reading and writing. The school library had always been a quintessential venue of incessant discoveries. l the Encyclopedia collections have always been a favorite and ate up most of my time in the place. Those heavily bound volumes of book where the richness of the world are recorded and kept, definitely treasured in pages upon pages of those sleek papers the most important events that the world has yet achieved.
AS AN EDUCATOR… the books have been my loyal and faithful partners in life. They have fueled my desire to educate and my life-support system as well. They are my devoted companions that help me enlighten the minds of my students. That is why it is not only my dream to be able to write one… it is my life’s goal to leave a legacy behind.
And so I came up with the first manuscript of my travel to Thailand. It is my first unpublished book and here is the Introduction to that book.
SAWASDEE: The Amazing Experience
THE INTRODUCTION
This WORK is my first attempt. I know that to be able to convey [in writing] an idea across does not necessarily make one a writer. And being able to drive home a message does not obviously make one either. But his particular work is a personal account of one of the most memorable trips I had in 1998. And though, everything about that travel is captured in pictures and the memories will forever be kept in my heart to cherish… sharing those wonderful moments [that are not preserved in photos] and countless learning that I gained is good as nothing if it is intangible as time.
And so I came up with this manuscript to preserve the memory of that exciting rendezvous I had for a short period of time in the land of friendly people, elephants and crocodiles. You will find bits and pieces of Thai history injected into the events for the purpose of educating my students, who are first and foremost the very reason for writing this and the direct beneficiaries of this work.
Lastly, with hopes that this particular work will be considered as an essential reference for the study of Thailand, I personally believe that telling history from the point of view of a traveler is effective and substantial. That is why this is intended to enlighten my students on Thailand’s rich cultural background and overwhelming history. And thus… was conceived to make them dream dreams.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This book is still awaiting publishing. This has been a manuscript for quite awhile now (since 2003) and still have not reached its beneficiaries because the author lacks the necessary resources to have the book published. This is still a dream waiting to come true. Hopefully, when the author finds the opportunity to have it published… it will be donated to LILIW NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL [the only Public High school in the district of Liliw, province of Laguna in the most beautiful country in the fast east... the pearl of the orient... Philippines] where the author taught for 11 long years. This supposedly, is her legacy to the youth… her inspiration.
Ruthinian Gavar Oroña
Liliw, Laguna Philippines 2003
Excerpt from the unpublished book entitled: SAWASDEE: The Amazing Experience
