Where are you going?

As my days in Thailand wore on,

I know I now have a valid observation,

My students have difficulty saying

The ing-form of verbs, as in "GOING"

When they want to ask, "Where are you going",

They will say "Where do you go?"

Naturally the answer will also be leaning

and starting with the phrase, "I am go..."

I always tell them that to practice is wise,

Say words over and over again , not just twice,

They may not all become certified masters,

but tried and practiced hard, that's all that matters!

I thought of a game and soon I devised,

A quick way to practice saying it nice,

Where the class will ask aloud, "Where are you going?"

One by one each student will get a turn answering.

The rule of the game in the beginning, I told,

Think of provinces in Thailand, be unique, be bold!

They can mention provinces in the North tip or down the South tip,

"Just exclude the small islands, all of that, let us skip."

A name of a province may only be given once,

Once already mentioned, there is no second chance,

He who repeats, gets a piece of tape on his shoulder,

It's a mark that a punishment will be given when game is over.

The game started, I was amused, everyone was listening,

What a relief! For once, they all had quit talking!

They made sure they don't repeat any name of a province,

Maybe afraid that the punishment will somehow give a wince.

Where are you going? I am going to Nakhon Sawan,

Where are you going? I am going to Samut Prakarn,

Phetchaburi, Suratthani, Chonburi, Lopburi, Suphan Buri,

Phichit, Chumphon, Nan, Phattalung, Pattani.

Rayong, Khon Khaen, Songkhla, and Nakhon Nayok,

Loey, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, then somebody said Bangkok,

Everyone disagreed, that answer they cannot accept,

Bangkok is not a province, better say Sisaket or Kamphaengphet.

A nice part of this game , soon unexpectedly came up,

When one of the boys in the class mentioned Narathiwat,

"I am going to Narathiwat", he said, and they all laughed,

Because they know that in there, there's an ongoing combat.

In some of the classes where the students are bright,

They paid close attention and answered with all might,

So at the end of the game, there were only a few,

who had to be punished and told to dance on cue.

It was a very nice game, it brought a smile and glee,

Exciting, not boring, I'm sure everyone will agree,

A practice in saying the verb GO + i-n-g

With a little bit of lesson in learning Thai geography.

As I said goodbye to the class that I met on that day,

They wanted me to go on and they said "Please Ms. Jean, Stay"

I had to move to the next class, and had to leave them on that spot

Behind me, laughing and asked "Where are u going?"

I said "I'm going to NARATHIWAT.