From: Cyn Smith [mailto:c.smith@stpauls.school.nz]
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2014 4:24 PM
To: Pat NZ Study (Thailand)
Subject: Re: Nakom at Tihoi
Hi Pat. Thank you for your email; I am pleased there is a role such as yours. We have several Thai students here at Tihoi over time and I had not known of such a service. The international department at St Paul's is superb and are very helpful. They do no know Nakom very well as he has only been in NZ for a short time.
It is a huge change for a Thai student to come to NZ and then to Tihoi (an outdoor residential campus) and takes some time to adapt. Nakom is finding it very hard. He is a shy boy and this with his limited language makes things difficult for him. I have spent time trying to get to know him. Today we were doing fitness together, he talked to me about his mum and his sisters. He said he likes the food here but not the cold. I have gotten him some gloves for running and am trying to ensure he has one positive reflection each day.
He is eating. The boys in his house were worried because he was not eating much but this has improved. I have been looking closely at Nakom every day and looking for signs of depression. It is hard to say, I was concerned about this and will continue to watch him carefully. He has some friends here and is doing all the activities, they are challenging for NZ students so very challenging for Nakom. He has not had any mail yet and misses his family a lot. I think they communicated daily before coming to Tihoi. Getting am email from his mum will really lift his spirits. I have asked here to email to this address.
Would you like to talk to Nakom?
Your support is appreciated.
Regards Cyn
Sent from my iPad