Let’s go to school

Inle Lake is located in the center of Myanmar (Burma). The people of Inle Lake called Intha row a small boat with distinctive rowing style of using one leg and live on fishery and farming. The word ‘Intha’ means ’Dwellers on the lake’ and not only their houses but also temples and schools are built on the water. Boats are the necessity of people’s life. Even monks go about asking for alms on boats. The colorful vegetables seen at markets are grown on water. When the water level drops in the dry season, a vast view of countryside appears in the middle of the lake. Most of the houses on the lake do not have electricity. It is naturally the same with school and the lesson is done under the light coming from a window. The children sharpen the pencil by themselves with cutter knives. They play games with coins or rubber bands at a recess. In the lunch time, they gather happily together to have the lunch that they brought from home. They do not need cell phones or Nintendos. There are much wonderful things and happier matters here. If there wasn’t, they always could find one or make one by themselves. The playground is on the water as well. The ground shakes a little when the children run around. It is made of hardened soil plastered on the duckweeds that were fixed by bamboo poles. The class room and corridor become playground for the schools without playground or submerge in the rainy season. There were many children in school on holidays because there was no open space like a vacant lot or a park on the lake. The children go on boats to the friend’s house to play or play on the boats but they all love to play in school where they could run on their feet like playing soccer, volley ball or a jump rope.