"Are you afraid to return to your village?"

I've learned a lot in the last week. I had no clue that I could begin learning a language, particularly a non-Germanic or tonal language so quickly (thankfully this one is closely related to Thai, which I had studied in the past). Yet I have found myself in those wonderful moments in which 25 or so "teachers" sat around me pointing to objects, telling me their names, correcting my tones, and repeating questions multiple times until I learned how to answer them correctly. I felt like a real linguist, trying to quickly scribble things down in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) until eventually the Shan alphabet began to unfold itself into consonants, vowels, and tones to me that actually made sense and which I could read. Don't get me wrong, I can only utter the most basic phrases, but this last week caused me to learn more and quicker than I ever imagined. In this regard, I give all the credit to my teachers, the young female community health worker and medic students at the clinic, who took me under their wing. These girls, valuing education highly, know how to study, and they know how to guide studying. They will go hours with me, without pause, studying, reviewing, laughing, and studying more. We've now entered the stage, where they will allow me to play games with them as part of my learning, but they never ease up on their intensity regarding my own learning of the Shan language. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude enough for these girls (most of them between the ages of 16 and 21). They look out for me, and because of them, I am learning to express myself in their language.

One particular lesson stands out to me however. I had previously learned the word "afraid," and they just taught me the words "return" and "village." I took a risk and attempted to ask them if they were afraid to return to their villages. I must have succeeded, because, without any hesitation, all four girls sitting around me nodded their heads. Then one girl (my closest friend of these girls) went a bit further and told me in Shan (and lots of hand motions) that she's not afraid if the Burmese military never knows she was here, but if they find out, they will shoot her. I asked them then if the military had ever attacked their villages, she drew a map and pointed to one dot which she told me was her village. She drew a line and wrote "3 miles" over it and connected it to another dot, which was another village. She then said that her village had not been attacked, but this other one had.

Every one of these girls intends to take their medical training back to their villages. I'm selfish and wish they were a little less brave so I would fear for my friends a little less.