Travelling Teacher!

Deciding to Go is the hardest part

2010-03-18T02:48:00.001-07:00

I won't lie, I had a lot of offers. None of them paid well, so right out of the gate I could eliminate that as a concern. Two were in pretty wonderful cities, which, I can't lie, added to their appeal. The two front runners though were Cultural Canvas, a volunteer organization that offered me a position as Assistant Director, and Pepyride, an education NGO that offered me a position as an education development officer.

Ultimately Pepy won, being in my field and an all around amazing organization. I've turned in my letters of resignation to Westwood and am super excited about going! I just have to work out a few travel plans and then I hope to have my tickets purchased by the end of March!

A New Way

2009-10-22T03:45:00.001-07:00

At the request of a dear friend, I have decided to begin a blog about the new math system I've enacted in my math class. I'll start with a brief description and some updates as to how it's going so far, and then continue to update over time.

Essentially, I've broken the class down into packets or groups or, as I call them in class "certifications." Each sunshine state standard benchmark has been turned into a type of self-directed unit.

Units are broken into three groups, practice, checklist, and review.

Practice: This is designed to be fast and self-driven. Students can quickly work through this section on their own, reviewing the material from last year and reminding them how the concept works.

Checklist: This is more traditional direct instruction. Students work through this portion as I give direct instruction in class as usual.

Review: This is again more independent. Students should be able to work through this section with occasional nudgings and reminders from the teacher.

In between each section students are allowed to take a 15 question test that is entirely FCAT style. For those of you reading this who are non-Florida educators and totally anti-standardized testing, I offer this. The FCAT provides questions that are, in many ways, better than any found in the book. Students are required to be flexible in their knowledge and apply it over a broad range of situations and in many different ways. If they can be successful on an FCAT test, they have really mastered the concept.

The students then get their grades. A 70% or better allows them to become "certified" on this topic and move on to the next one. Their grade determines the quality of certification, however. A "C" is a Bronze certification, B is Silver, and A is Gold.

That's it in a nut shell.

Singapore!!

2008-05-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Singapore is amazing. It is... perhaps... Utopia... yesterday I decided I would wander aimlessly and let fate decide what parts of Singapore I saw. As I walked, I decided it would be fun to look for pollution and dilapidated buildings in the downtown area. I found one building that had obviously had a lot of posters put up and taken down over a few months... and one patch of one building with peeling paint.... for the first half of the day I counted 4 things on the ground that weren't tree leaves and flower petals that had fallen that day... during the latter half it picked up a bit, which I suppose means the streets are cleaned nicely. At one point I saw some dirtiness in the water and thought that I had finally caught Singapore's dirty secret, only to look up and see someone netting out of the water at that very moment...
It's unreal. All the best parts of every city I've ever been to have merged in Singapore... Excellent public transportation that uses it's advertising space to promote earth friendly living instead of ipods and whitening cream. It's clean and beautiful. Every where you turn you see beautiful art installations and amazing architecture. The skyline is breathtaking from every vantage point I've seen it from.
Singapore now ranks with my favorite cities in the world... and is certainly the best of it's kind (although Chiang Mai, San Francisco, and Asheville are very nice for totally different reasons).
So, yesterday I wandered the streets for the morning, including Fort Canning Hill Park. It was beautiful, and had tons of informational plaques to inform me of the history of the place. I spent a good bit of the afternoon in the Asiatic Cultures museum. I probably saw less than half the museum, focusing yesterday on Singapore and the Vietnam special installation. I hope to go back... although time is at a premium. Today, the Art Museum and the national museum have free entry at specified times, so I hope to hit those up.
in the evening I ran into a very nice local who decided to vie me a tour of the Buddhist temple in China town.... A very nice place with 5 stories including a museum and a rooftop orchid garden.
As I said, I'm staying in little India, which last night really lived up to its name. It was absolutely packed with south Indians... Truly, just like being in Channai, only very very clean. I stayed at a place called "Inn Crowd" which has a lot of hip backpackers and free wifi, but everything else about it leave alot to be desired. 12 beds to a dorm room and only one bathroom for the whole place (there are at least 6 dorms). Although the communal area is much better, I've decided to go back to the other place tonight because it had only 6 people per room, you could keep your bags in your room, and the bathrooms were very very nice. It's only $2 more... but no wifi... perhaps I'll come back here for my 3rd night?
Today, as I said, I hope to hit the two museums, hit the merlion statue, and have dinner at the China town night market... which looked great last night but I'd already eaten... I have to say I've been disappointed with the food, so far. I've had Indian food for every meal, and none of it has been very good. Hopefully I'll hit paydirt soon...

Singapore!

2008-05-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first night out in Singapore (and probably only)... it was pretty successful... and ridiculously expensive... I ordered a drink, and he held up his hand with some gesture, i was in an agreeable mood so i just nodded without thinking.... then he put 2 pitchers on the bar and started pouring booze into them... i was like, whoa... and he said 2 for one... then I got to thinking, "this ain't Thailand... if he's giving me two for one, how much must one cost?" Low and behold, 40 bucks! 30 american or so.... jeeze and crimminy! I ended up just putting one on a table and drinking the other... deciding that being able to walk home was better than making the most of my money.

Otherwise, I danced, chatted and had a good time. I talked to some Cubans and grew increasingly frustrated as my Spanish kept coming out as Thai. Halfway knowing two languages will take some getting used to... Singaporeans are a world apart from Thailand. So far my impression of it is that it is very much like New York City... only that it is very clean and all of the various ethnicities are replaced by asians of different types. Everybody speaks flawless well-educated English, which is an interesting experience after being in Thailand for so long. I'm staying in little India and liking it so far... just checked into a little hostel that seems to have a pretty cool crowd, although it's got some inconvenient rules (I can't bring my bags to my room?) Not sure if I'll stay here, but the free wifi is nice...

Songkran and Sarawak

2008-04-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Thailand for Borneo, I, Daniel, and soon Trevor, spent a week (or so) in Chiang Mai. I had heard that Chiang Mai is the place to be for Songkran, the Thai New Year... but I had no idea why: Songkran is a water festival where you throw water on passersby to bestow blessings on them for the year to come... Chiang Mai is surrounded by a mote.

When you put these two things together you end up with a city-wide water fight... that lasts for 5 days. It was crazy and you couldn't possibly leave your room without getting absolutely soaked. It's an amazing holiday and we don't have anything that even comes close to being as fun. I spent a couple hours each day just walking around the mote and "soaking up" the blessings. For obvious reasons, I don't have any pictures... which is unfortunate... but it was definitely the most fun I've had at a festival or holiday to date.

As you walk around the mote, usually with some sort of bucket or cup, you get splashed by people who have set up permanently on the mote, by other nomads, and also by people who drive around in trucks. I was basically a water leech, using a cup to steal water from other groups and use it against them. The best part about the holiday was the genuinely happy, light-hearted mischief. When you nailed someone (or when you got nailed if you were in the spirit of things) you smiled and said "thank you" or "happy new year" or "good luck!"

After a 10 hour bus ride, a too short stay in Bangkok, and a few flights, Trevor and I ended up in Borneo. When we first landed in Kuching I have to admit I was a bit disappointed... I expected Borneo to be one of the wildest and least civilized places on earth... Kuching, in reality, is exactly what it would look like if Sarasota colonized a small region in Southeast Asia. It is incredibly clean and beautiful... and the waterfront walk and parks by the river remind me (strangely) of the parks by Sarasota bay... eerie.

Kuching is beautiful and I highly recommend Borneo for anyone who wants to see Southeast Asia from a clean and comfortable place. Surrounding Kuching are 3 major parks. Trevor and I visited two (Bako and Gannung Gading) and I visited the 3rd on my own (Kubah) while Trevor was at his conference.
Bako was amazing. I have never felt so much as though I were truly in a crazy-exotic-tropical-rainforest as in Borneo. While in Bako we saw three types of monkeys, Macaques who lived at the camp area and were incredibly mischievous, Probiscus, the funny looking giant-nosed monkeys, and Silver leaf eating monkeys... they just kind of sat in the trees and ate leaves. Also there, we saw mud skipper fish (walking fish!) and a couple monitor lizards.
Truly, I travel the world looking for exotic places to go swimming, and Borneo has no shortage of them. We skipped the beach at Bako and headed down Tajor trail, which has a waterfall that fills several consecutive pools of amazing beauty. We swam there, had lunch, and visited the beach at the end of the trail before backtracking and swimming in the pools again. It was amazing.
Next was Gannung Gading. The hostel in the park was full so we had to sleep at a hotel in nearby Lundu and travel in both days. On our first day it rained, which brought out alot of the life and let us see things we probably wouldn't have been able to find otherwise. Highlights included the world's smallest squirrel (a bit shorter than your hand, tail and all) and a centipede that had two glowing "eyes" appear on it's rear end when you disturbed it. Also at Gannung Gading was a crystal clear pool and waterfall to swim in, very very nice.
Finally, was Kubah, which I did on my own. Kubah certainly had the nicest hostel, which was more like a summer cottage that you had to share with other travelers. When I first arrived I met Nickolay, the only other person staying there, said my hello's, and then headed off into the forest towards the waterfall for.... you guessed it, swimming. The waterfall was quite beautiful but the pools were quite small, so I only stayed for about an hour before heading back.
At this point I ate a late lunch/early dinner, and took a short nap. When I awoke, I noticed my roommate had a ton of field guides on various reptiles and amphibians of Borneo, so I took the liberty of looking through them while he was away. When he returned I asked if he was a biologist, and yes, he is a Russian Entimologist (bug guy) who, secretly (like all boys who go into biology, I think) wishes he was a herpetologist (reptile guy). In fact, he's been collecting specimens at this park in the hopes of securing a job with an Indian herpetologist this year.
After some discussion he asked me if I wanted to go to the nearest view point to watch the sunset. I'd had relatively little time to hike that day so without much thought I said "sure!" A few minutes into the hike I realized the "nearest view point" was about 40 minutes into the jungle... and 40 minutes into the jungle at sunset, means at least 40 minutes out of the jungle at night.
Various thoughts went through my head, not the least of which was that I was hiking into the woods with a giant Russian man (at least 6 inches on me) that I knew nothing about. I put these fears aside, and hiked on, reaching the vantage point just in time to see an amazing sunset, and a group of 3 hornbills. He was very excited about them, it was the first time in his life he had seen the famous birds.
For the trip back he had plenty of lights, and we stopped every now and then to inspect various flora and fauna. I pointed out to him some of the glowing bugs and the phosphorescent fungus around, and he pointed out to me some reptiles and amphibians including 2 frogs, a gecko eating gecko and... the highlight of the night, a Wagler's pit viper... It was amazing, and beautiful, and he caught it and brought it back to be photographed.
So, not only did I see a pit viper in borneo, I handled it, touched it, and got my picture taken with it... which I am pretty excited about. As soon as I get the pictures sent to me by Nickolay you can expect to see them up, along with the rest.
And that, plus my first leech bites, was Borneo!

Teacher Training, and a big surprise!

2008-04-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been trapped in a crazy course for the past month or so. From March 10th through April 4th I was taking the CELTA course, "the" certification for English teachers. It's run by Cambridge University and is the tops, and I can see why. The course was truly amazing. I feel that I learned so much in just the first week, and have really become a better teacher by completing it.
This particular course was run at a small resort just outside of Chiang Mai. The benefits of this were that we were able to focus entirely on the course and not have to worry about any distractions (even food was provided). The downside was that we were very very far away from anything to do. About half-way through the course I realized that on 90% of the days I didn't go more than 100 yards from my front door.
Still, I'm a homebody at heart, so it really didn't bother me too much. The course focused on making teaching student centered. Instead of the teacher being the provider of information, the teacher facilitates students in discovering and practicing the language on their own. The following sequence serves as the core of the method:
1. Elicitation: Use pictures and/or context to "elicit" the target language (whatever you're teaching). Usually, someone in the room will have some vague knowledge of what you're discussing and they will be able to produce it on their own. If not, you can feed it in parts or in whole.
2. Drill: Repeat the language orally
3. CCQ: Concept Checking Questions: ask questions (without using the target language) to make sure they understand.
4. Drill agian
5. Discuss grammar and pronunciation in detail
6. Practice within strict/easy guidelines
7. Freer practice... they make up their own dialog using the language.
To use an example from one of the tutors, "He used to drink champaigne." We discussed a man in prison who was very rich "in the past." He asked us how we could say that, in the past he drank Champagne, but doesn't now. We, of course, said "he used to drink champagne." Then he drilled it, followed by questions: Does he drink champagne now? Did he drink champagne in the past? Did he drink champagne more than once? We went through this with several items (a mansion, champagne, cavier, etc. Then went through "didn't use to" using things from prison, "biff" "bread and water" etc. We drilled and did grammar and pronunciation, and then did practice using the pictures. Everyone had a picture and walked around, when you met someone you would say one of the sentences "He used to live in a mansion" or "he didn't use to know biff."After that activity we talked about our own lives using used to and didn't use to.
It's a really amazing method that shifts the focus away from the teacher and onto the students, who, if done correctly, provide most of the information and do most of the talking. In my graduate program they said things like "Make your teaching student centered" and "Ask questions to lead your students to the answer" but never got told how to do it. Now I know... and it is amazing and it really works.
That's the course in a nut shell. Of the two trainers, one was amazing and the other left a lot to be desired. I really think that being able to watch John teach was worth the whole course in and of itself. The other tutor, in many ways, served as an example of what not to do. Her lessons weren't a total waste of time, but compared to John it was drastically inferior.
I did very well in the course. Halfway through we switched tutors (my group had John upstairs with an intermediate class and the other had Gabby downstairs with the Elementary for teacher practice for the first two weeks, then we switched for the second two weeks). Upstairs I started off very strong... I later found out that John went up to the other student teachers during my lesson and said "It took me 10 years to pick up ICQ's [Instruction checking questions] and this guy picked it up in 3 days." During the feedback for that lesson (which was only my second) John said it was an excellent example for the other students.
Although I hit a few snags after that (I didn't get another "above standard" for a bit) I kept a solid core of great methodology and was able to work on fine tuning the rest. When we switched downstairs my first lesson was methodologically flawless, there was really only one criticism the tutor gave, but it was big enough to deny me an above standard. My lesson "checked all the boxes" but it did it with meaningless, disjointed exercises. I taught everything, but it didn't flow together or create anything meaningful for the students to work with.
The downstairs tutor's feedback was very harsh in general. She pretty much let me have it and knocked me off of my horse, putting what I thought was a perfect lesson way down on the totem pole. At first I was dejected, maybe even a little hopeless. But when I read her comments and realized that that was the only thing she could say bad about it (despite her harshness during feedback) I took heart.
"Pony up" became my mantra for the next two weeks along with "WHEAT" (John had given myself and another student a talk about how we were in the running for an above pass, and told us what 'separates the wheat from the chafe'). My next three (last three) lessons were, if I do say so, phenomenal. I went way out of the box and did an amazing job on two out of the three. For the one that was only standard, the tutor (the harsh one who never says anything positive) came up and told me that my lesson was incredibly ambitious and she thought it was great and didn't want me to think I was being punished for trying something a little more out there.
Here are the 3 lessons, these are all with elementary level adult students:
1. Writing: I had the students brainstorm famous figures from Thai history. Then they had to write about the figure without saying who it was and get the other groups to figure out who they had written about. I led them through brainstorming, fastwriting, revising, all the way up to the final product which was, in general, a rousing success. I was the only student teacher to try a full writing lesson and I did it very well. Above Standard.
2. Reading: I gave the students two sides of a ghost story set at New College's "Old Caples" mansion. One half of the class read about a student who saw a ghost there and the other half read about the security guard who saw a ghost there. The trick was that they had seen each other in the bushes, and they were going to read and discuss and look at clues and try to figure out who the ghost was. I ran into a timing issue and this one didn't go quite so well, although we definitely got through it. Standard
3. Grammar and Listening: This was my grande finale. In this lesson I used realia to discuss countable and uncountable nouns, as well as a/an vs. some/any. I went through a list of objects with the students and had them determine which were countable and uncountable in pairs after giving them an example (a banana, some water). Then we checked it together as a class. I had a countable basket and an uncountable bowl. If they said it was countable, I put it into the basket. If it was uncountable, I poured it into the bowl. If they made a mistake, they realized it immediately as I threatened to pour milk or yogurt or flour in the basket instead of the bowl. I had them do some practice and then went on to listening. For this part I read about Oobleck, a mixture of cornstarch and water that creates something that is neither a solid or a liquid: it can tear and melt, it is hard and soft, etc. They were given the opportunity to listen three times, with different tasks to guide them to understanding the instructions, and finally make Oobleck in groups. It was a blast. Above Standard.

All in all, I got 3 above standards and did some really adventurous lessons. I have been anxiously awaiting my grade all week and finally got an email from John. I got an A! It's a very high honor that only 4% of trainees achieve!!! Admittedly, I worked my behind off, perhaps became a bit obsessed (alternating between "pony up" and "wheat" with gusto), but it paid off in the end. I am so thrilled!
So I now have a major distinction to put on my resume and a full arsenal of great teacher training at my disposal... it was totally worth it.

After the course, I went into a sort of laziness coma. After spending a month of literally working all day every day (a 45 minute break was considered a luxury... i only left the center 4 times in the whole month) I just wanted to chill out and do nothing. Now, There is a major festival coming up in Chiang Mai, and Trevor will be here to celebrate for a couple days before we go off to Malaysia for 10 days!

And finally... I think I'll be back stateside in June. I'm still keeping my ear to the ground for jobs in the big wide world... but a smallish class of students in a well-resourced room sounds great, and is almost a guarantee in the US. So... I'll see everyone soon and keep you posted!

Up for Air...

2008-03-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

On March 10th, I began my CELTA course. When I signed up for it, and even in the days leading up to it, I had no idea just how rigorous it would be. It's not necessarily difficult, but the pace is incredible. Just the other day I found myself thinking: "Wow, I have 45 more minutes to work on this lesson plan than I did on the last one!"
They begin teaching you the CELTA method, and on the second day you are expected to start demonstrating it in your lesson plans. After that, you teach every other day, incorporating more and more from the input sessions you've had thus far. Which, essentially means, you get told something on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and on Wednesday night you are expected to teach a lesson using what you've learned. This, of course, is happening while you're attending lessons from 11:30-8:00 at night... giving you about 4 waking hours to assimilate and design lesson plans in.
Alongside, of course, 4 additional assignments.

I've always considered myself a slow and steady sort of person. This course is incredibly different than anything I've ever done before. The pace is almost blinding. But the more time that goes on, the better I get. From the very first input session I knew that this course was worth it, no matter what. John, one of our two trainers, gave a lesson on Hungarian. He never spoke a word of English and taught us all the words for water, tea, coffee, beer, wine, how to introduce ourselves, offer a drink, and accept it or reject it. Having not even glanced at the words again, I can still remember most of them. Sensational.
In many of my methodology classes at USF they mentioned student centered teaching, but I was never presented with a real "how," or even solid suggestions. The CELTA course, and especially John, has it down to a science. His teaching is an art, and I hope to emulate his teaching methods completely. Although we certainly have different styles, his skill is undeniable.
The people I am at the center with are wonderful. It's a wide range of English speakers from all over the world. English, Australian, American, Irish, even an Iranian English teacher. I was worried that I wouldn't have a friend, or someone that I really connected with here, and find that all 12 of the people I am with are great. I couldn't have been luckier.
All in all, I'm doing great. I am learning so much and getting so much practice and great instruction on student centered learning. I'm surrounded by amazing people who are consistently amazed at my teaching skills... which is an incredible ego booster.
I feel healthy, and successful, and accomplished. Sometimes, in positions like these, I tend to take on a leadership role. Here, that's sort of impossible because everything is individual and so fast paced. Instead, what's happening, is that I am excelling at my work tremendously(I was even pointed out as an excellent example to the rest of the students, as John said "It took me 10 years to get ICQ's down, this guy picked it up in 3 days") and while I am excelling I'm supporting and helping those around me.
I've never felt so at peace with my work and my own abilities. I've excelled at things before, but never at something that I saw as so challenging and so worth learning. I'm finding myself more at peace with the people around me, more patient with things that would normally bother me, more accepting and loving and helpful...
This course has been amazing for me.

I upload some pictures later this week or weekend. The course actually takes place at a sort of resort... which is so helpful. I can't imagine taking this course and commuting back and forth and trying to do other things at the same time. It would be impossible.

Leaving Nong Chang for a while...

2008-03-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

I just enjoyed the last week of the semester. I'm not sure why I enjoyed it so thoroughly. It wasn't at all due to leaving, by the end of the week I was decidedly glad that I will be coming back next semester, if only for a few months.
I had an amazing week though. I loved my kids, even the classes I don't normally love. I found out who my real friends were, or at least which Nong Changers would miss me enough to make a show of it. The week was just great.
First, the kids. It turns out, fourth grade is my favorite again. After many struggles, I finally figured out my job. The truth of the matter is, I am not "The English Teacher,'' I am one step in a long (and horrendously flawed) assembly line of English instruction. My hour a week will not move mountains, will not flood little minds with a sudden realization of past progressive tense (or even the names of body parts), it is one of many hours a week they spend learning English, and, I hope, the one they care about and enjoy the most.
I know this is true of my fourth graders, who have grown to love me in a way that would be suffocating if they weren't under 4 feet tall (literally). When I enter the fourth grade floor it's an explosion of children. I become a great comet of English instruction, with a long tail of children glittering behind me in the distance.
Many attempt a coveted show of manhood: the "Shake Hand stand off," where we shake hands in an attempt to squeeze the other's hand so hard that their knees buckle. A few kids actually get the better of me (thanks to a trick they've passed around about moving their hand in such a way to make my knuckles rub one another, very painful).
The rest simply walk beside me and hold my hand, even the boys, a show of affection far beyond the coolness of American fourth graders. (Indeed, grown men are very affectionate in Thailand and also India, and I have heard the same of the Middle East and Africa.) Those that have completed their shake hand test, or who have failed to score the coveted hand, or arm around the shoulder, simply trail behind me, screaming, poking, and prodding me playfully, sometimes painfully, but always in good humor.
Outside of school, Anno and I had a series of goodbye dinners, all of which were lovely. One was a little telling, however. Anno will not be coming back, and was very much looking forward to having a dinner with Somran and Noom, two of our friends from the office. Both were informed and seemed enthusiastic.... neither showed up. They had their excuses the next day but still, it was disheartening.
Two of my friends were very sad to see me go, however, even for only two months. One, a Dr. who plays basketball with me, was shocked and disappointed (admittedly, I broke the news to them rather late, the day before I left). His English is excellent, he's educated and youngish (probably not too much older than me) and an excellent candidate for a good friend when I return.
Another is "Nes" who runs the new internet shop in town which has quickly become my favorite. He's supposedly working on a degree in communication technology, but mostly he drinks and plays video games. He's invited me to share a beer on several occasions, and I less occasionally agree. Always it's been nice, and he insisted that I stay my last night and drink with him and his friends. I'm not sure if I'll have many opportunities to interact with Nes outside of video games or drinking, two activities I don't hope to spend a lot of time on, but it's nice to be liked.
So, here I am, already in Chiang Mai, waiting for Trevor to come (appallingly late). I don't miss Nong Chang, but I'm happy that I am going back, even if only for a month or two before heading to the states.

Pictures Galore... First, several pictures of my students:

And two of me in Uthai Thani, at the Temple on the hill...

Destroying my faith in Humanity

2008-02-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

I didn't mention it in my last post, but my bike was stolen from the school two weeks ago. It was shocking. Stolen? In Nong Chang? But how could this be?
Nonetheless, it was gone and I was hoofing it everywhere. The walks were nice, and I was even able to notice a few new things about Nong Chang. One of which was a bike identical to mine with a new home in front of a mobile phone shop. I noticed this specimen while walking to the Sunday night rehearsal for my Monday night modeling debut.
I was running a little late, so didn't have time to do much about it. I, quite visibly, inspected the little green sticker on the back fender, the light attached to the front wheel, and the strongest evidence, the broken bell installed backwards on the right handle bar (perhaps the only one of it's kind in the world). The man working out front saw me examine these things as our dialogue commenced in my broken Thai:
"My bicycle... who did it?"
the man simply looked exacerbated and pointed downward, as if to say "here"
"who? who?"
pointing here, pointing here
after a minute or so a woman came out, relatively irate, and made it clear that I was to leave. I tried to contact a Thai friend of mine to come and speak on my behalf, but to no avail.

When I got to the rehearsal I explained to my director and fellow teachers what happened. They didn't seem interested at the time, but the next morning my director went with me to get my bicycle back.
I eventually found the shop again, but, alas, no bicycle. He questioned them and apparently they had taken it to get fixed. Somewhere through the course of the conversation I was asked if my bicycle had a basket "like this one" and the director pointed to a new, black basket. "Yes... well, not like that one, but it had a basket."
Eventually we left the scene, with me very much in a state of confusion. Apparently someone stole her bicycle and replaced it with mine (right), and we were going to the shop to see if it was really my bicycle.
When we arrived, I saw the light that I had pointed out the night before sitting in the basket. The bell had been removed, and the sticker on the back fender covered with another sticker. I got emphatic, "Yes! I am sure this is my bicycle! Look what she's having done!" and I explained the three signs of "mineness" that she was having removed.
From there we proceeded to our third destination, to speak to her "cousil." What he meant by cousil I have no idea. Perhaps "cousin" (which can generally mean any relative outside of immediate family) or "council" (but having a lawyer seemed unlikely).
He sat and talked to the "cousil" for a time and the woman showed up seeming very angry and shooting me daggers. Eventually we left to retrieve the bike, only to find the final insult. She was having the old rusty (and bigger and better in my opinion) basket replaced with a brand new black one!
I was shocked when my director paid for the chop job, but I have learned better than to argue with anyone, especially my boss, over his willingness to spend money (trying to get out of paying for it would have lost him terrible face and it was not my place to interfere, it was his money and his bike).
At some point during this process the woman drove up, furious, and began talking to the bike shop owner about me. I'm not sure exactly what was said, but apparently I had wronged her some how in the process of getting my bike back.
Now, whenever I see her in town, she is either on a motorcycle or another bicycle (while I was obviously confined to walking by her theft) and she gives me the nastiest look the human face can muster without being obviously hostel and losing face.
I had noted that a pink (obviously a lady's) bike had appeared near my bike the day it was stolen (though it had been hidden behind cars on that particular day). I thought perhaps this was her bike that she believed stolen. Although this didn't justify her taking my bike, I saw no reason why she shouldn't have her bike back. I attempted to explain, and she became irate, and rude, and shooed me away, unwilling to hear what such a villainous farang would have to say to her.
What shocks me is not that she stole my bike. That was obvious from day one. But that she resented me for getting it back. That she felt that I had wronged her by attempting to retrieve my bicycle from the thief who just happened to be her. It baffles me still, and goes against everything I have violently held onto of my naivete about human nature.
I had convinced myself that everyone does things because they think they are good, and now I have found a woman who is simply a ball of malice and selfishness and refutes everything I held on to.

Perhaps I'll have to rethink politicians now as well...

International Super Modeling and other adventures...

2008-02-20T04:15:00.000-08:00

When they asked me to "model some thai clothes" at the festival on Monday I had no idea what I was getting into. I had thought that I would simply wear some thai clothes and walk in a parade, or something equally similar and mundane.
Oh no. As it turns out, I was to play the part of a model to the full. Walking a catwalk to trendy music while done up in clothes far too tight, with far too much makeup, sashaying, turning, and otherwise being a model. What I thought was going to be a little festival turned out to be a huge 9 day extravaganza, with our show being the opening nights main event.
Preparations occured in the school music room, and I was fully done up in a horribly uncomfortable costume by 5:30... the show wasn't until 8, my particular walk wasn't until around 9:30... Which means sitting around for over 5 hours (with the curtain call and time until changing) factored in) in my finery.
It was definately worth it. How many people can say they've seen a small town Thai festival, let alone been in one? However, it was this experience that showed me that my days on the stage are over. Although I'm still very interested in working in theater (either as a drama teacher and/or director) life on stage has lost its luster.
In other news, my director has now squashed any and all hopes of a mini-english program next year. That leaves me with what seem to be two options. About 20 minutes after talking to Daniel about how I would like to live in Chiang Mai, I found that I had recieved an email expressing interest in hiring me at a school there. Nothing is definite yet, but it's still a possibility.
Even less definite is the prospect of working at PK Yonge, the University of Florida's research school. Essentially, it's a specially designed school that is technically a part of the Gainesville public school system, but also part of the UF campus and is used to conduct educational research.
This seems like a dream job because it would in the same town as Trevor and I would be working close to educational research, a field that I may one day find myself working in. Still, they haven't even posted their openings for the next school year yet, let alone expressed interest in hiring me... so, who knows if it will pan out.
Both jobs sound like they would be great... If I definately had offers at the two, I would probably jump at PK Yonge in Gainesville, although I did have a dream last night where I went back to America to live and instantly regretted it... so who knows.

Finally, my long anticipated intestinal illness has struck. I still managed to get to work today, and even ate twice, but those have been small blessings that I have not taken for granted.

Anno (my fellow farang teacher) is sitting next to me and touching up the photos he took of my modeling debut (he's also a professional photographer and director). whenever he finishes and sends them to me (maybe tonight, maybe not) I will post them.

Here are some photos, by Anno:

Me with my modeling entorage

Me on the catwalk, yeah, on the catwalk.

Never has my director been more accurately depicted.

Somran and Noom, two high ranking soldiers for His Majesty, the Director.

The Life and Times of a Nong Changer

2008-02-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

So, I've been here in Thailand, "land of the free," for 5 and a half months. I often find I could write about this, or that, or the other thing, but all in all it just boils down to a relatively humdrum existence so I don't bother. Occasionally I go on a trip for a weekend or more, but usually it's either mostly business related (now I am in Bangkok to put in a deposit for my CELTA course which will beef up my resume nicely) or just like everything else in Thailand which I'm finding doesn't have quite the zest and variety of India.
I went to Chiang Mai last weekend, to apply for the CELTA course. Chiang Mai is like the Asheville of Thailand... lot's of coffee shops, international restaurants (i.e. Mexican, Indian, American) and white people... but all in all pretty much like the rest of Thailand. One experience of note was seeing a group of Novice monks (probably all around 10-12) jumping over the wall of their temple for a day out on the town... one by one a bald head poked up, looked around, and down came a little monk landing with the resounding clap of sandals on pavement.
So, what have I been doing with my humdrum existence? What fills my days with meaning? I've picked up a couple new hobbies, revived a couple old ones, and have been reading tremendously...
I've taken up basketball... or rather, the guys who play basketball down the street from my house are nice enough to let me on the court - and even pass me the ball - without making fun of me. I don't ask to be passed the ball... and I certainly don't deserve it, but I enjoy playing very much and have even showed improvement. I don't expect to ever become a "good" player, or even not the worst player, but I hope to get worthy of the game.
I feel like it's good for me to be doing something totally outside of my experience, I have never played a team sport... at least not worth mentioning, and also that I am totally inept at. It takes no small degree of willpower to go back every day, and an awful lot of personal fortitude to enjoy the game... but all in all I think it's building character.
Online courses? UF has several online courses that I have been looking at. They have several certification programs for teachers, and even an Ed.S. (Educational Specialist) and Ed.D. (Educational Doctorate) program available via the internet. I would have never considered going for an EdD in Technology in Education... but as something to fill up my time in a small town it seems like a worthwhile endeavor. I could take courses as diverse as web design, digital photography, psychology of technology, and gaming and education... and probably tack on some computer programing courses...
I do love technology, and if I can take a wide variety of interesting courses that just happen to also give me an Ed. D... why not? If one day I had loftier goals I could still go and get a PhD... and probably have a stronger application at that (assuming I do well)... This is of course all in the fictional planning stage in my mind as of yet. I will sign up for a certification in... something, and if I like it transfer to the Ed.D. track and keep my delicious credits.
And of course, books. My god I've had access to some wonderful books, fiction and non-fiction, and would suggest all of the ones I had the inspiration to finish:
Poisonwood Bible: A family of 5 missionaries from the south move to Africa. This book is amazing and beyond description and gives a fascinating account of America's involvement in the Congo... If you've ever wondered why everyone hates Americans, this book will make at least some of it vividly justified.
Sacred Games: Set in India... a small time cop goes after an international mobster... the plot is amazingly more complex, as it's a book significantly wider than my forearm, but anything else would give too much away. If you want to really feel like what India is "like" with none of the glitz and glamour of a "far away place" this book has it. Also, the writing is brilliant and the plot thrilling.
Acacia: The best fantasy novel ever written, ever. Written by a historian who usually focuses on historical fiction, this book accurately creates a kingdom with small traces of magic and a lot of political intrigue.
Trilogy: His Dark Materials - Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, & Amber Spy Glass - This is mainly a children's book, about half way through you begin to wonder whether any novel, for any age, could be so lofty as to take on the theme it attempts... and then find your self astounded at how well it was done.
Robertson Davies: This is, quite possibly, my favorite author of late. I first read the Cornish Trilogy and couldn't get enough and immediately after finishing it had to find the willpower not to immediately re-read it. For Christmas, Trevor scored a copy of his Deptford Trilogy, which I am now consuming with a deep, almost unfitting for literature, euphoria.
The Moral Animal: An account of evolutionary psychology that is well written, educational, and very insightful. If you've ever wondered why we do what we do, this lays out some pretty decent theories... considering it 's psychology.

Jobs Schmobs...

2008-01-24T04:44:00.000-08:00

Well, as time passes I'm getting less enthusiastic about the international schools. It seems as though I really do have too little experience to score such a job... now. All is ont lost yet, but the two that have bothered to respond have said no.

On the bright side, my boss in Nong Chang has finally talked to me, asked for a written proposal, and will talk to his boss about it on February 1st. He will then let me know the following Monday if it is a go or not... or at least he'll talk to me about it again.

We shall see...
Michael

Deadlines and Life

2008-01-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday I discovered that the deadlines for most international schools hiring for the 2008/2009 school year is sometime around January 20th-25th. So... I have decided not to wait around for my director to find time for me. This, of course, doesn't mean that I have given up entirely on the idea, but I'm certainly not going to let all of my viable options flutter away, leaving me stranded in Nong Chang for another year.
Some of the schools I have applied to are faaaaaaancy... A few offer a competitive western salary (36k-50k USD per year) in addition to housing... and this is in Thailand... I can't imagine what it would be like to live in Thailand with 30k+ pure spending cash a year, I'm doing quite well on an 8-12k per year salary... I guess I could start investing in my retirement and taking weekend 5 star trips to Singapore? Not my style, more likely save (and invest a touch) and do on again off again work-volunteering-education/self growth...
So, to break the news to everyone, I don't particularly see myself living in the USA long term anymore. Trevor's job will always have him working internationally, and now, so will mine. I'll be able to see him pretty much as often by coordinating countries as I would by sittin' around waiting for him in the US of A... so there's no conflict there... and... well, America is great, but so are a lot of other places, and I have an opportunity to see them all as a first hand resident (with a darn good income!).
It seems the main thing my resume is lacking at this point is experience (most schools ask for 2-3 years, which I have, shakily, as a substitute teacher) which leads me to think I should take any decent job I can get my hands on, especially at an international school... I am seriously considering making international education my lifelong career. Which would mean that a year or two in an international school is the next big thing to put on my resume...
I have applied to mostly 3 types of jobs. Upper Primary homeroom teacher, highschool drama teacher, and general English/ESL teacher (Primary and Secondary). I am shocked to see how many Drama positions there are out there, and since I actually have a decent background in the field + a Masters in teaching, perhaps I can actually overcome my lack of experience and get them to hire me?
So, I've re-polished my CV and portfolio, and am working on buffing it up a bit. I have applied to take a CELTA course in March. CELTA, run by the University of Cambridge, is an English teaching course so prestigious that you actually have to apply and interview for the honor of taking the course. I have no doubts that I will get into the course, so long as my application is in early enough to get me a slot...
So, 2008's goals are mainly career oriented. I've been toying with writing some articles, getting some things published... etc. etc. I will probably be getting my own computer shortly, which will mean being able to work on projects in the comfort of my home rather than amidst kids playing computer games and listening to Thai cheesie-pop. Maybe then my writing career will be more prolific?

Much Love... I'll visit for next Christmas, and... as always... keep you posted.

Oh director, Mine director

2008-01-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

So, now that I'm waiting around for my director to be willing to have a meeting with me, I thought that I would take a few moments to discuss the charming man.
When I first arrived to Nong Chang it was very evident that my director aimed not only to please, but to seem like someone who had the power to please. I had to sit through a four hour lunch with him (during which he got me very drunk insisting that on a day when I'm not teaching classes it was perfectly fine to be drunk at around noon. There was no saying no.
Since then, it has become very apparent that he is quite a creature of his ego. He constantly discusses how grand his school is, how it is the biggest in his district, and how he has Farang (read: white) teachers. He insists that we dress nicer than any of the other teachers, and also that we wander about in the mornings so that everyone can see how gloriously white we are.
He also refers to himself as "Big Boss," especially when discussing how he wants to help us if we have any problems, which he seems himself doing (helping us with problems) at apparently every turn. Every conversation with the Big Boss ends with him saying "you are welcome." Conversations with new farang arrivals (as at English camp) begin with "I am happy that you could meet me." They felt very honored, I'm sure.
He's a nice enough man, I do like him and don't mind working under him, but I have to be sure to always know my place. That is one reason, the main reason, why I haven't had much chance to talk to him (and am afraid I may not get to any time soon). Meetings with him must be very formal, and unless I have a problem to be fixed, I'm not worth bothering with... and often when I do have a problem to be fixed he tells me to speak to one of the assistant directors (I.E. his relatives and friends he has given high paying jobs and don't do much).
He is almost never at school, perhaps 15% of the time or less, and when he is stays well secluded in his air-conditioned office (the only room that has the aircondition on most of the time, the assistant directors get the privilege occasionally, and the secretaries did once. Our office has an AC but we've never been so blessed as to turn it on.).
All in all he runs an excellent school, although he tends to see things like giant fountains more important than new books or televisions for the students, which is a little disheartening.

Oh director, Mine director...

Children's Day and Teacher's Day

2008-01-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

In the past week our school has celebrated two holidays, Children's Day and Teacher's Day. After seeing both of them, I have decided it is probably better to be a child in Thailand than it is to be a teacher.
Children's day was a full day of unorganized do whatever you want and eat a lot of free food. The whole campus was left open and kids just wandered around and did as they pleased for the day. Not a single planned event or activity, other than the opening of the day which included the usual flag raising and prayer with an added on bonus of feeding the monks.
Teacher's day, by contrast, was long and boring. We still had to go do to school (the students had the day off). We were instructed to be there a 8 am... sharp. Well, of course, nothing of significance happened until just after 9. Then it was 2 and a half hours of prayer and speeches that I didn't understand. Of course, we were given seats of honor in the front row with the Nong Chang officials so everyone was watching and could not if were weren't paying due attention. Unfortunately, they didn't think to put someone next to us who could speak English well enough to give us some idea of what was going on.
After the speeches, prayers, and awards were passed out (none of which I understood) we had lunch. Then, in the afternoon, were sports games where teachers from the school competed against each other. In the beginning of the day we had agreed to participate, thinking it would be a fun, un-competitive and friendly game.
As the afternoon progressed, we watched about 8 games (2.5 hours) before we got to play ourselves. As each game passed I said to Anno, "They're taking this pretty seriously." No smiles, lots of strategic huddles, and what seemed to be the very best players from each school. All for volleyball.
Well, we waited nonetheless, even though we could have gone home as early as 11:00... and finally our time came. We went in there, not really knowing the rules or having any experience with the game to speak of, and began our pre-game warm up. It was at this point that I got blindsided square in the face with a very hard volleyball. For some reason, it hit me just right that it didn't do any damage or even really hurt all that much, but it certainly surprised the hell out of me and disoriented me for a few minutes.
When I finally got my bearings, Anno was laughing so hard he was crying (which continued the rest of the day whenever he looked at me) and apparently the person who had thrown/hit the ball had gone into hiding. I was fine, and everything continued as normal.
So, after waiting for hours and sustaining head injuries, we got kicked off the team within two minutes. Neither Anno nor I knew what to do, and what we were expecting to be a friendly slow passed game was a fierce competition. 3 points into it they stopped us and told us to leave...

Well, I thought. Well indeed.

New Horizons

2008-01-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks I've grown unsure of my long term success here in Nong Chang. It started, primarily, when my land lady stopped by and asked if I would be here next semester. I believe so, I said, more or less. Then she went on to tell me that the director had called the teacher from last year, and she wasn't sure who of us, Jack, myself, and Anno, would be working next year.
That got me thinking... perhaps my position here isn't quite as stable as I had thought? If it's not, would it be so bad to leave? Perhaps not...
As I was evaluating my place here, I began to realize that a full year of this job maybe isn't the best thing for me anyway. Having 800 students, seeing 50 of them at a time for only an hour a week, am I really even a teacher? At times I feel much more like a favorite TV show than a teacher. Truly, my students are learning, but am I really making the kind of impact--changing lives and enriching the community--that I had hoped for?
No, I'm not. I don't even know my students names, let alone guiding each of them towards academic and lifelong success and happiness. 800 students is just too much, 1 hour a week is just too little.
So what now? Leave Nong Chang. I had begun revamping my resume and cover letter (and it's quite a beaut now!) and searching for jobs online. I am now planning to get more certifications, CELTA (Cambridge University's international English teaching program), and eventually the YL extension (CELTA is for teaching adults, but is still the most respected program in all types of education).
Also, I've been looking into getting more academic. Living in a small town as a mute really encourages reading. I've plowed through more novels in the past 2.5 months than I had time to read during the entirety of my 2 year masters program. But still, I want to be enriching my mind in a more direct way. Pushing for something, rounding out my career. I want to be a thriving, successful educator, perhaps even a force within education itself.
So, I've begun those adventures, and now may be staying in Nong Chang after all (although that doesn't dissuade me from further certification and education). Saturday we had our English Camp, a mostly silly and mostly fun day of English games for kids who signed up (and I assume paid) for the privilege.
After the camp, the director invited us all out for dinner (the instructors that is) and got quite drunk. In his ramblings, he mentioned that he would very much like to open a mini-English program in his school. One class of thirty students with one teacher learning in English all week.
He spoke about it as if it were a distant and unattainable pipe dream, but it put a glint in my eye... a hunger that consumed me for the rest of the weekend. I could put this program together with no problem. I could get books donated, perhaps even money for such fanciness as a television and DVD player for English movies, I am qualified to teach all subjects, and would be willing to do so at my present salary (or close). I would be overjoyed to hand-pick 30 students to have under my wing for a full year.
I could build the perfect class, the perfect learning environment. I could develop the curriculum and frame the program and do it all... if only he will let me.
Currently I'm trying to get him into a meeting to tell him this. He's a very difficult man to pin down, and is often not at school at all... But as soon as I can, I will pin him down and get a yes or a no and get to work...

Wish Me Luck!

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get any time off for Christmas, but for New Year's we got a 4 day weekend. Trevor and I decided (after much waffling) to go to Um Phang, the site of Tee Lor Su, Thailand's most beautiful waterfall. It was quite a trip and full of ups and downs...
The trip began with a bus ride to Nakhon Sawan which was supposed to be immediately followed by a bus ride to Mae sot. Unfortunately, New Year's weekend is a huge travel time for Thais and every bus was full. Eventually we got on a bus to Tak (on the way and close enough to get another bus the next day) with standing room only. After about 4 hours of standing on a bus at night, we arrived in Tak, spent the night, and made our way to Mae Sot the next day.
That's where the fun really started. From Mae Sot to Umphang is a 4 hour ride by Song Tiew (a pick up truck converted to take passengers... the conversion consists mostly of adding a roof and two benches on either side of the bed). But, these were also full, so for the first 45 minutes we stood on the back hanging on to the roof. After that, Trevor asked if we could climb on top. That was much nicer, and, surprisingly enough, probably safer.
So, for four hours on winding mountain roads with no inlets or outlets, we rode on (not in) a song tiew. Finally, we arrived in Um Phang the city, not the park. We were dropped at a resort that arranged expensive trekking packages. We weren't up for a 5,000 baht package that would have a guide following us the whole way through, but we negotiated a 3,000 baht package that just got us to the waterfall via raft and back via truck.
The raft ride was amazing, much of it was walled on either side by beautiful cliffs and overhands dripping with water to create a very impressive effect. By that afternoon we were at the main campsite just a half hour hike from Ti Lor Su. We set up our tent, and hiked, and enjoyed a few hours swimming and basking in the sun while climbing from pool to pool of a very beautiful waterfall.
This is a very popular tourist destination for Thais so it was incredibly packed. Every one of the many pools had Thais swimming and having a good time. Trevor and I were virtually the only farangs living in the shanty town that had built itself up at the main campsite (i saw about 4 others in the throng).
I hurt my thumb while swimming, which was unfortunate. It actually approximated a type of Chinese torture that involves shoving bamboo shoots under a man's fingernails. It was dirt, though, and only my thumb, but it hurt immensely. That, combined with the freezing cold mountain night that we were totally unprepared for led to a miserable sleepless night.
That morning our ride never showed up. We arranged to ride back with another group from the same company amidst a good deal of confusion. They kept trying to figure out who our guide was, who had abandoned us and who should be in trouble... but we didn't have one, we had only arranged for a ride which never came. But, they let us in the truck nonetheless.
About halfway back we stopped at a fruit orchard where they told us we wouldn't make it in time to get back to mae sot if we stayed with them, so we had to climb onto a pick up truck full of rubber. This was terrifying, as I laid down on a pile of rubber with absolutely nothing holding me in and very little to hold on to on the windy roads.
But, another couple had done the same thing and they had room in their very nice SUV to give us a ride all the way from Um Phang to Mae Sot (circumventing the terrible 4 hour song tiew ride that I was too sick, tired, and injured to be very happy about). The ride was lovely, very VIP for two unkempt farang's who had been traveling by bus and songtiew for months now...
We spent New Year's eve in Mae Sot. I spent most of it in the hotel room, although Trevor dragged me out around 10:30 to go out and ring in the New Year... We never found the big parties or packed bars we expected to, but we ended up at a nice little restaurant and wiled away most of the time, ending up outside for the fireworks a few minutes before new years.
The ride back from Mae Sot to Tak to Nakhon Sawan was just as it was coming up, standing and long, but we made it. I got up early this morning and left for Nong Chang so I could be at work mostly on time (I am supposed to be there at 8 but don't start teaching until 11). When I walked up to the house I realized that I had left my key with the bag that stayed behind while Trevor slept in.
I eventually got into the house, after having my fellow farang and thai teachers scour the school for an extra key (the sister of my land lady works at the same school, and she eventually rescued me). In the end, I was only 2 hours late for school and still a full hour before my first class, so it worked out just fine.
All in all, the trip was stressful, but I got to see many beautiful things and experience the mountain towns of Thailand I may not have made time for otherwise, so it was certainly worth it.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful New Year and a Merry Christmas!

Michael

Teaching In Thailand

2007-12-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

Just the other day I was walking through one of my 18 classrooms and it hit me... "Holy c****, I'm teaching in Thailand!" Once you get settled into something, it quickly becomes un-exotic, and even unexciting, but here I am, teaching in a small town in Southeast Asia; teaching in classrooms where every head of hair is black, every pair of eyes is brown, and nobody speaks English worth a lick.

I suppose one of the first things that I have learned, and perhaps the most important, is that kids are kids no matter where you go. There are many many many more prescriptions of respect that students must follow here. Some of the more interesting include: 1. when students come up to me to show me a finished piece of work or to ask a question they come on their knees, or scoot along the floor. Keeping their head lower than mine is a sign of respect.

2. Whenever I hand them anything, before they touch it they must "wai." Bring their hands together as if in prayer, and bow with their thumbs on their forehead. They must also wai to me in the hall... although my white skin makes running up and yelling "shake hand" just as viable...
Which leads me to my point. Sure, they do those things. They bow and scuttle around beneath me like peons, but once they're back in their seats they're just like a bunch of American kids, if not worse. Yelling, getting out of their seats, passing notes, rulers, books, pictures, phones, you name it. Thai teachers are much less persnickety about classroom behavior than Americans. Much much less.

In a way, they have to be. Each class has 40-50 students. There are six classes in each grade (which gives me, a teacher for 3 grades, roughly 800 students). The classes range from X/1, the cream of the crop, to x/6, which any number of adjectives can apply to. X/1 is fairly manageable, after that, it's a mixed bag. My 5/6 class is my favorite. For some reason, those kids love me and I love them. I can tell (by the way their desks are moved and isolated and from other signs of punishment) that they're not an inherently well behaved group, but for some reason we get along swimmingly. 4/6, on the other hand, makes me want to die.

It's strange to me, in the states, 4th grade is my favorite. Here, I seem to be powerless against them, they are my kryptonite. Of course, I have the bulk of the 4th grade classes on a Friday, which says volumes on its own... 4/6, by the way, is the last class of the day on Friday.

My favorite lesson so far, the culmination of my work here, has been a game I call "the dance of death." It began as the riveting game of "stand up, sit down." Students had to listen to me say stand up, or sit down, and do so accordingly. After getting them in the habit of standing up and sitting down one after the other, I would repeat a command twice and a handful of students would do the wrong thing, and everyone had great fun with it. Of course with 18 classes a week I got tired of it quickly.

From there I taught them body parts and other actions/verbs (raise, lower, touch, open, close) and the game grew exponentially. I started them off easy, and got more difficult. If a student messed up, it was time for the "dance of death." I, quite dramatically, say "maaahhhneeeee" 'come here,' cackling, or wringing my hands, or dancing with glee, as they reluctantly come to the front of the room. Then, I give them instructions one by one. "Raise your hands" "clap" "Turn" "Jump" and so forth, until their doing a very ridiculous combination of movements and giggling uncontrollably. Everyone applauds the dancer, and listens very carefully from that point onward.

Now I've added a new element since most kids should know most of the commands. I have everyone stand and I point to one student with a command: "jump" "turn" "clap" etc. If they don't do it, they come to the front of the room and repeat that command over and over. Eventually, I have a line of students: one jumping, one clapping, one turning, one looking up, one looking down, and so on. We, as a class, say each action out loud as I point to the growing line.
This works even with the fourth graders (although more than 10 minutes of it turns them into animals), and is by far my most popular event. Everyone tries to finish their work quickly so that we can "play game..." "dance of death" is a bit beyond their understanding at this point...

Outside the classroom things are extraordinarily different. Leaving students unattended doesn't raise the slightest eyebrow here. As I have no transfer time between classes, I often walk into rooms of unsupervised students yelling and walking on chairs (which are always falling apart), going wherever they please, and otherwise doing things students do when they are unsupervised.

Coming from Southside, which locked itself up like Fort Knox during its construction period, to Anubanwatnongkunchad was quite a culture shock. Nongkunchad is also building it's own brand new building, smack dab in the center of the courtyard. No fences, no eyes making sure students stay clear, nothing. I've seen welding sparks fly and land a few feet from where kids were playing. Scrap wood built into bonfires for disposal a stones throw from kindergartners. Heavy machinery? Construction workers? Obviously, the kids know better than to get hurt...

In the mornings, there is no quiet orderly procession to the classroom. Students wander into campus and do as they please until morning assembly (which almost always includes buying ice cream sold at the school snack store). There is a marching band (shockingly good for 6th graders) that approaches just before the assembly, and I've seen kindergartners running around, dancing, laying on the floor and kicking their feet in the air, to the throng.

The morning assembly is long and terrible. We all stand outside, facing the flag. Listen to the band play the anthem as the flag is raised, pray, and then listen to a litany of speeches and announcements I do not understand and nobody pays attention to. Thai's don't seem to care if people are listening to speeches, nor do they feel inclined to respect a speaker with silence. I've seen a great many assemblies (especially at schools) where someone is talking into a microphone and may as well not be there as they audience chats and does as they please, totally oblivious to the oratory.

After that, the day starts as usual. I have 18 classes a week, one hour a piece, so it gives me a lot of time for planning and grading. Planning isn't so bad since I only see a given class once a week and generally the same subject matter is taught with modifications for ability, although the week gets repetitive quickly. Grading is terrible. I have given 3 written assignments and the 3rd may be my last. 800 papers is a lot to grade.

My latest tactic is to give a participation grade... Rather than grading the paper itself, I walk around the classroom and make sure everyone is engaged in the task. So long as they are, they get a good grade.

Accurate testing is a farce here. When I tried to enforce a no-copy rule, the students looked at me like I was clinically insane. Completion of every assignment occurs in the same way past x/2: 3-5 students try and the assignment gets completed in an expanding pattern radiating from those 3-5. But, it's Thailand... "MaiPenRai" "Nevermind, don't worry"

Loi Kratong

2007-11-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

So, a week after the food festival there is another festival called Loi Kratong. It takes place on the first full moon of the lunar calendar and in my little town it is an excuse to have a great big party. Somran, one of the Thai teachers at my school who has become a great friend, became my personal tour guide through the events, and even conspired to get me into the parade through town. But I'm getting a head of myself.
As I walked through the morning market (ah yes, I found a new market in town. Not only is there a night market, a Monday and Thursday market, and a weekend market, but there is also a morning market where you can get everything you would ever want in the way of food preparation). So, I was walking through the morning market, and saws dozens of cute little banana boats with flowers, candles, and incense stuck into them every which way. I didn't know too much about the festival yet, but eventually decided to purchase one and have on my desk throughout the day until I knew what to do with it.
At that, Somran saw it and invited me to meet him that night to learn how to make my own, I happily accepted and went out side for the morning announcements which were, I found out, to be more than usual. Every child in the school had a boat and after announcements they walked them to the temple, all 1750 of them, to be blessed by the monks there.
After that, school proceeded as normal until the afternoon sports (it's still sports weeks) which were begun with mock-up parades. I was told it was as practice for the festival tomorrow, but I never saw students in the parade, so who knows.
At the appointed meeting time, 6 o'clock, I went to meet Somran at his home with Ruth Yndra, the Philipina who teaches English to kindergarten students at my school. From there he took us to a little shop/house on the main drag of Nong Chang and taught us how to make the banana boats (Pictures next post). At the same time, the women of some organization (of which there are 6 doing the same) were making a float out of banana leaves to be in the next day's parade.
The next day was the parade, and, I found out, I was to be in it with the ladies who's float I watched being made. At first I was nervous, being terribly under dressed, but, it's a small town and everyone knows me anyway so that fell away quickly enough.
Like Jesus with loaves and fishes, Nong Chang is with parades. They managed to turn a 15 walk into a 2 hour procession. Each group had to stop and do a dance in front of what must have been judges, although no winner was mentioned for the dancing (my group did win with their float though).
After the parade was a large party, with 3 stages and a small vacant lot turned into a kind of bar with a rock band playing. I spent time at all three, all the while being fed and boozed by Somran, who must have no greater pleasures in life than feeding me and getting me drunk. I ended up home by midnight having had a marvelous, marvelous time.

My Boat, finished.

The float, nearly finished.

Close up of the float head,
spouting water.
My group at the parade.
The parade, my vantage point.
The festival beginning.
People launching their boats.
Two of my friends with their boats,
one borrowed.

Boats floating away.

The boats after the floating
and subsequent theft of the coin inside by children.
Aforementioned children.
Having a great time throwing firewords at each other.

Ladies waiting to dance.

Samron in between feeding me and
getting me drunk.

Mermaid float.

Birthday cake float.

Boat float.

Girl in a country-western marching band?

Local scavenger dog,
meekly enjoying the festival.

My group on stage doing their dance.

Sports Week

2007-11-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

This week, I have seen what may be the most amazing thing I've seen since coming across the ocean. For two whole weeks the last hour or two of school is taken off for sports. There are very few actual games played, most of the kids just do drills and exercises while about half of the students sit in rows clapping while girls dance a well known dance to a well known song.

The amazing thing is, however, not an ounce of fighting. No arguments over the rules, cheating, who gets to start, who plays on what team, someones success or failure, just 1750 kids having a blast. Games that would be reduced to redfaced battles to the death in America, continue happily and without incident with almost know attention paid by the supervising teachers.

Another thing that surprised me was the lack of organization and the overbearing concern for the children's safety. Children ran across the street after balls, where in America they're not allowed to enter the parking lot on penalty of death. Children scampered up rickety ladders to the rooftops to get down balls, children wander about without anyone knowing where they are going, or why.

Terrifying? Not at all. It was surprisingly safe and comforting. The school, in general, operates on a rule of chaos. Children are expected to be responsible for themselves. To look before they go across the street. To not wander off. To not be stupid enough to lean out of a bus. It's a small town, a very small town. The rules don't keep the children safe, we do, and of course they keep themselves safe.

Children certainly don't seem to get into accidents any more here than they do in America. Perhaps depending on rules to keep our children safe isn't any more effective than expecting the community to keep them safe, especially in such a small town.

I will certainly write more on this topic, and on teaching in general, soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

A very cool Thai game. Essentially very much like volleyball

but with the no-hands rule of soccer: feet and heads only.

Americans can stop feeling cool about hacky sack now.

One of my students.

And another.

A soccer drill.

The well-known song and dance...

Food Festival...

2007-11-23T05:29:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed with this first month in Nong Chang in so many ways. Not the least of which is the occurrence of two festivals within the first month of my working here. Although I was hoping that my next post would be a long intricate description of my first impressions of teaching in Thailand, I find my thoughts too difficult to organize into one post, and too much is happening now to wait any longer.

The food festival happens once a year. So far as I can discern it has no more religious or cultural significance than a county fair, but it sure is a blast. This is very similar to the food festival in Nong Khai and leaves me wondering if it is some sort of travelling group on a circuit, or if it is something many local regions put together on their own. Either way, it's a huge draw for all sorts of people, and has live performances going throughout the night... which even included my very own students...

My Home and School

2007-11-17T00:22:00.001-08:00

This is the outside of my school... remember, open doors and windows... No AC!

This building is currently being built,

as the director hopes to expand the school...

Myself and Samkorn (Thom). He teaches

Mathematics to the upper grades.

Noom and Anno. Noom teaches computers,
Anno is my fellow Farang English Teacher.

My House: Living Room.

Bed Room

Master Bathroom: Hot water Shower,
freshly installed

My Kitchen, quite cluttered, but with no

cabinets or shelving, one has little choice.

I Was Disappointed...

2007-11-11T06:38:00.001-08:00

that children did not play in fields beside and behind my house. When I first looked out the windows and explored, with my eyes primarily, the empty fields land marked by mounds of dirt and sticks, mazes of tall grass, and other interesting geological features, I thought for sure this must be a favorite of the local children.
It evoked, quite strongly, "the mountain," which rose at the center of an abandoned field (construction site in waiting) littered with wondrous locals and enchanted glens that only a child could possibly enjoy to the fullest. Surely, "the mountain" could not have been as grand as I remember it, nor the piles of rubble so elegantly arranged, nor the trees so mysterious and powerful.
The fields around my house, unimpressive to my adult eye, must have looked very similar to my mountain and it's encompassing kingdom. This, I thought, was evidence enough that it was a favorite play-place for the children of Nong Chang.
But there were no children. Was the magic of such things lost on Thai children? Were they too interested in television and video games (which, surely, were no less popular in my childhood, but the notion held a sort of older generation superiority)? I was baffled, although not too concerned because of the many other affairs that had filled my life.
Today, however, my first weekend day at home, no fewer than 5 children (that I noticed) in two separate groups made the fields their special place, whatever name they may have put to it, and I felt a sense of gratification and relief that far outweighed any sense of annoyance that may have bubbled up due to their intrusions.

On another note, my hot water heater was installed today. At a few minutes before 10, I locked myself out of the room that contained the bathroom where it was to be installed. No problem, I thought, I have until 3. Well, the installation men had the audacity to overlook the Thai habit of being a little late, and rang my bell no later than 10:05.
I panicked, and the neighbors, who have some attachment and reign over my house that I don't quite understand, summoned up several sets of keys, none of which opened the door in question. Finally, one of the workers scampered through the acoustical tile in the ceiling, crawled to my room, and dropped down in like fashion, opening my door. I removed the key from the room to be stored in the living room, and will make a copy at the next weekend market.
The heater itself is passable, although I can either have a very hot shower, or a very strong one, but not both at the same time. I feel a twinge of regret not purchasing a more powerful unit, although this is sated by the thought (as the lights dim whenever it is turned on) that perhaps it is a limit of my little house and not the heater itself as I have had showers better from less impressive machines.
Ah yes, by the way, "hot water heater" is by no means in the western sense. It does not provide a store of hot water for my entire house, but rather sits in my bathroom, quite dormant, until I take a shower. Then, and only then, the coils heat up the water passing through it.

Bare Necessities...

2007-11-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

Today I have completed my quest for the bare necessities of life. First, and foremost, I achieved fire. That all powerful gift handed down from my forebears is now under my control in my very own kitchen.
I had been fretting and worrying about how to get the gas tank to my house for days. Finally, I was at a restaurant and saw a young man pull up, roll in a full gas tank, and roll out an empty one. Eureka! They delivered. I had only seen them at one shop, which, upon visiting, I saw the very youth of the night prior. After much meddling and muddling in Thai so poorly pronounced I could not be understood, and hand signals, the message was received and shortly their after I was followed home with a full tank of glorious fuel for my little burner.
Next, I was on a bus for an hour and half to the nearest mall/department store complex. Many malls here are simply an extension of one or two large stores. The nearest to Nong Chang is in Nakhon Sawan, a neighboring provincial capital.
There, I purchased a properly warm comforter for my bed. Now I had a warm place to sleep. Though, surely, you must think, Nong Chang has blankets? Indeed they do dear friends, indeed they do. However, I've found that once you leave the fashoinista-rich environs of Bangkok, you quickly find yourself among rural Thais for whom color and style have no meaning.
When I first purchased my bed and asked about sheets I was confidently handed a set of garishly pink "Hello Kitty" sheets. Now, I wasn't in the mood to be terribly picky, but that was just not within my realm of acceptability.
"Do you have another" I motioned and asked. Rapid pointing to the bed and sheets and indications that it was the right size. "I don't like the color" (unable to utter the phrase "anything but pink hello kitty"). A confused look of defeat, that was all they had.
So, I found myself trucking to Big C, the titan that competes with a fellow titan, Tesco Lotus, for the coveted position of "The Walmart of Thailand."
I arrived, wandered about the attached mall with disinterest, and came across my third necessity, although to anyone but a Westerner it is sheer luxury: a how water heater. The price was large (at least 4,000 baht, installation included), but the allure was strong. I told them I would be back to see how much Big C would suck out of me.
I also purchased some sketchbooks--why not pick art back up in my little town?--before hitting the Big C.
It was everything I had expected, a giant gleaming well-organized warehouse full of everything from televisions to fresh meat. I had run into a fellow teacher (an overwhelmingly shy Filipina who taught English to kindergartners at my school) and her cousin, and we decided to make our way to bedsheets. Everything that wasn't hideous was over 1,000 baht, and included a full set (but not a simple sheet, only a fitted one, to my dismay). Finally I decided on the middle of the road 1300 baht set (around 40 dollars) that was pleasant enough. Success.
I had decided that I would stay in the middle of the road, where it seemed safely comfortable but not bordering on excess, in my purchase of a hot water heater. 4,900 baht, installation included, would suit me just fine. They will install my glorious contraption tomorrow at 3, assuming they can find my house using the drawing I made.
Ah yes, my landlady, when asked to give me my address, seems to have given me something different entirely. The road she wrote down was certainly not mine. I shall have to inquire again.

And there we have it. I can cook (although not yet keep food cold), I can sleep and bathe comfortably, and I have a place for the vast majority of my belongings. The cultivation of beauty shall come with time, and more paychecks, for now, I shall simply enjoy the bare necessities of good living.

"Peht"

2007-11-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

Spicy(Peht) is a highly subjective thing in Thailand, I am finding. I consider myself at least reasonably well tempered against spices. I can easily eat anything they would dare create in a Thai or Indian restaurant in America for someone who asked to have it made "spicy"
Here, it's hit or miss, and I find that Thais have a great variety of concern for me and my Farang tongue. Just tonight, was hastily brought a meal without fuss that caused me great concern, drinking several glasses of water, marked by the occasional full green chili pepper found within the fearsome plate.
Later in the evening, I found myself the customer of a wary and reluctant Thai woman who insisted that it was spicy, in Thai, and made several hand motions to ensure that I knew what I was getting myself into. I bought it, fearfully, and took a bite of the strange creation ( a kind of crepe folded into a cone with the "spicy" filling. The first bite was harmless, the danger must be at the bottom I thought.
I was able to eat the entire thing, never once detecting that pepper of any kind was even an ingredient. Perhaps my tongue had been tempered by its earlier experience? Certainly, though, this was nowhere near as spicy. The variation makes ordering food very difficult.
Do I want it spicy? Yes. Very spicy? I don't know... what is very spicy for you? Will you tone it down for me even if I say very spicy? Will you absentmindedly produce a maelstrom of fire without even asking if I want it spicy?
So far, I haven't had anything I can't eat, or even didn't enjoy on one level or another, but I thought I would share.

Life is Good

2007-11-05T19:07:00.001-08:00

I've moved to my new town and begun work at my new school and things are going quite well. Nong Chang is a very beautiful, friendly, and blessedly small town. It is the capital of the district of Nong Chang which is in the province of Uthai Thani, Thailand.
The "downtown" area consists of a main drag that has experienced a slight sprawl to one or two parrallel streets and to the main highway going to the provincial capital, but otherwise remains quite centralized. I can walk across the whole down town strip (even with my slight hobble) in about 15 minutes. From my home, about a half mile east of "downtown" to the school, about a quarter mile west of downtown, I can bike in 6 minutes... it's a very tiny and concentrated little existence, and I love it dearly.
When I came here I had my choice between 4 places. A townhouse, 2 studio apartments, and a regular house, all unfurnished except for one studio which came with a bed. The townhouse was nice, came with a/c (in one room) hot shower and western toilet. But, it was dreadfully dark, and large and felt like it would swallow me whole and leave me feeling lonely. The studios were both very similar, although one was certainly nicer than the other. Neither had a/c or hot showers, and I figured for 30 bucks a month extra, I would get the cute little house.
My house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a very large living room. This costs me about 2,500 baht per month, or 75 dollars. Much to my surprise and chagrin furnishing the home is turning out to be quite expensive, and will surely outweigh the cost of 4 months rent, although I plan to sign on for another semester, extending my stay.
I plan to get my own hot water heater (although installing it is a mystery...) and simply live without air conditioning, at least until the cool season ends (and I've had a chance to save some money).
The school is just lovely, although huge and rather basic. I teach grades 4, 5, and 6, seeing each class for one hour per week. Each grade level has 6 classes, and each class has 40-50 students. In total, I have about 750 students to whom I must give grades and with whom I must make progress... it is a bit daunting. Although, no FCAT, no real standards whatsoever, simply the expectation that I show up and produce some sort of grade at the end of the process.
Anno, my fellow farang teacher from the Netherlands, and myself are the only white people in town, perhaps for several towns. This gives us a good degree of celebrity status, especially among the students. At Southside, I rather liked the special status being a substitute teacher gave me. I saw each class just long enough to really have fun with them, but not long enough to sour many students against me. Walking through the halls I enjoyed a tremendous popularity.
In my school in Nong Chang, it is staggering. Shaking hands with Anno and I is quite a big deal. Students are either terrified of it (having not yet met us) or entirely over eager. Either way, there is always some sort of very strong reaction to us.
If anyone would like my new address, you can email me for it, posting it wholesale via internet doesn't seem wise (especially after finding out someone has been buying subscriptions to online dating sites using my check card, which I just had to cancel). Know that I am quite well and quite happy in my new home.

The Post of a Thousand Titles, Part II

2007-10-30T04:15:00.000-07:00

So, I was there in bed, letting the painkillers and my first real chance to relax finally sink in. I decided that I could not come all this way for nothing, I had to see the balls of fire. Despite everything, I would go back again that night. I talked to Trevor, and he agreed. I was going to go.
I hobbled my way to a tuk tuk and got a ride to the bus station only to find out something terrible. I could get there, but I would not be able to get back, this was the last bus to or from Pon Pisai. What would I do? It would be bad enough to be there for a couple hours on crutches, but all night? I wasn't very keen on the idea of visiting my adopted family again, accommodating as they were...
As I stood there contemplating my decision a "friendly stranger" (which should have been my first clue) suggested I take a taxi. I asked how much that would cost and he said I would have to negotiate... next thing I knew, he was running off to get someone for me to negotiate with.
He arrived with a gentleman and we began discussing the terms. He would take me there and bring me back at 11pm for 800 baht. It was expensive, but again, I couldn't have come this far not to see the naga fireballs, so I accepted.
He walked me to his truck, collected the money, and left me there to make preparations. As I sat there, I realized that this was exactly the sort of thing that can get you into some trouble, or at least stranded. I should have only paid half, but I didn't have the correct change to do that, and didn't want to make a fuss. I quickly pushed the idea of any shenanigans out of my head. Thais can be annoying, and even greedy, but they would not leave a crippled man stranded in a strange city...
A few minutes passed, and later a man got into the car, saying he was the driver's friend. Fair enough, I thought, he'll be stuck there for 3 hours, might as well have someone to hang out with. No problem, mai pen rai.
As our trip began, the friend in the back pulled out a bottle of whiskey and handed it to me. It was still sealed, so I knew it would be safe to drink. This worried me a bit, but it was a small bottle, certainly not enough to get someone drinking a 3rd of it too drunk to drive, so I took a swig and passed it back.
The driver hit it like a pro, draining a sizable portion of the bottle with every turn, and definitely got more than his 3rd. Still, he didn't seem drunk in the least, and we were almost there.
Finally, we turned off somewhere. We pulled into a dark parking lot near a little shop, and the friend in the back told me "fireball" and pointed at the river. I insisted they take me to Pon Pisai, at which he remarked, "oh, you've been there?" I said yes. He tried to get me to accept this location but I very emphatically insisted on Pon Pisai.
The friend talked to the driver who returned with a much bigger bottle of whisky, and we were on our way again. I stopped sharing at this point. Another 10 minutes, and the friend (who I guess was the nominated liar/sleazebag) said "only there, you pay to come back." I once again got emphatic, although they didn't seem very convinced, and I knew I didn't have much power at this point.
So, when they stopped and let me off, I hobbled to the back of the truck, got my crutches, and very visibly entered their license plate number into my cell phone. Then, I said "If you're not back in 3 hours, I call the police." I began to hobble towards the river, really hamming it up, and they quickly followed with a matt to sit on and the whiskey. The expressions on their faces were feigned concern for me, overshadowed by concern for themselves. Thank god I had the license plate number.
At this point, I didn't even want to ride back with them, I certainly didn't want to sit by the river with them for 3 hours. But they were faster than me, and if I told them to leave me alone I probably wouldn't see them again. They kept trying to offer me whiskey, and I refused most of the time, although I had begun to decide riding back with them was not an option and I may as well get something out of the deal.
Shortly after sitting down, they began harassing girls around us. Telling them to come sit with me. Saying loudly I should go home with them. It was horrible. I looked visibly distressed, and pathetically stranded, and luckily, one of the girls spoke just enough English to compliment my Thai.
We talked and I explained as much as I could. I told her not to worry, "I'm not a bad person like them." I eventually even told her I had a boyfriend, so she wouldn't think I would try something untoward. It turns out, she was at the river with her girlfriend and little brother, and was from Nong Khai (where my hotel was), and yes, she would give me a ride home.
I quickly told the two guys to go away. It took some doing, and I had to put up with what I'm sure were off-color comments about going home with the girl, but finally, they left.
The girls and little brother were incredibly kind. We hung out, talked, the brother was sent to buy me food and water since I couldn't walk, and eventually we even sent up fire balloons for good luck. They gave me a ride home and I couldn't have been happier for my second adoptive Thai family.
On my final day of the long weekend, I went to Laos which was uneventful and uninteresting. I walked around Vientiene long enough to say that I had done it, and went back to Nong Khai after about 3 hours.
That evening, I went to the final night of a food festival in Nongkhai. I hobbled there, expecting a smallish gathering of food stalls and a few dozen families. Oh no. A few hundred meters down the bank of Mekhong was covered with food stalls, stages, and even a small carnival.
The first stage I walked past was preparing for something, I wasn't sure what, and I just walked on by. The stage at the end of the strip, next to the carnival was a full on Thai rock band concert. I grabbed a few odds and ends no the way (one of which, I think, was fried chicken cartilage, another was a corn kernel sundae. Yep. Steamed corn kernels with coconut milk, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and a candy cherry-like ball on top) and sat down for the show.
After about 5 minutes, two boys asked if they could sit with me, and I told them sure. Another few minutes passed and I had been enveloped in a very large Thai family that immediately insisted on getting me drunk and feeding me. My 3rd adoption. I shared whiskey and beer with them happily, but the food I tried my best to politely refuse.
You can only refuse so much, unfortunately. I had vaguely wanted to try squid (I think that's what it was? maybe octopus?) so, I went for that one to ease their pestering. Oh it was terrible. Salty and fishy and it was all I could do not to spit it out or throw it up. I chewed and swallowed as quickly as physics would allow and drowned it with a considerable amount of beer. I thanked them, and was rather persistent about refusing anything else...
On my way back, I ran into someone who worked at my hotel and sat with them for a bit. He asked me if I had seen the lady boy contest. Lady boy contest? Apparently, that was what the stage was set up for. Thais of all ages and persuasions were seated around a giant stage (in the center of the festival) where 30 or so lady boys competed (I guess for the most beautiful?).
I watched for a bit, although it was much more like a beauty pageant than anything else, and I lost interest quickly. On my way back I ran into some Europeans (a healthy mixture of Germans and swedes and I'm not sure what else) and got invited for a beer. I went, ended up discussing politics and travel over a beer and a football game and finally went home to bed, ending my weekend in Northeast Thailand.

Pictures will be up soon, although not many. The conjunction of camera problems and computer problems are working against me...

The post of a thousand titles... Part I

2007-10-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a ridiculous mix of amazing highs and terrible, terrible lows. As the weekend progressed, I rattled dozens of possible titles through my head, none of which could hope to capture what has happened to me... This will be a long post.
It has been a while since my last post. Trevor has been in town which has occupied much of my time, and we moved to a new part of Bangkok where Internet access is more expensive and less accessible... and I've been a bit lazy and not much has happened...
But! On Thursday night, Trevor sent me a message telling me that the following evening in Nong Khai, a small town in northeast Thailand, there would be the bang fhaa naak nom festival. Once per year, so legend says, a gateway to the underworld opens up under the Mekhong river allowing the Nagas who live there to breathe balls of fire out of the river and into the air. Of course, there are various scientific theories about what the balls actually are, but nothing has been proven.
So, I hoped on a bus--totally unplanned--on Friday morning and began my 11 hour trip to Nong Khai. The bus for the majority of the trip, from Bangkok to Udon Thani, was very luxurious. Meals were served, the seats afforded plenty of room, and there were movies played. Despite the length it was certainly bearable.
Eventually I reached Nong Khai, only to find out that the festival was actually an hour away in Pon Pisai and started in 2 hours. I panicked and got a tuk tuk (rickshaw) to a recommended guest house which was full. Posted on the door was a sign "If you are going to the fireball festival, be in the courtyard by 1:30. Due to traffic we will have to leave early in order to make it on time."
Needless to say I panicked. It was nearly 6:00. Could I possibly make it to the festival so late? I ran to the road and got another tuk tuk back to the bus station where I immediately got on a bus to Pon Pisai. I talked to a few people on the way, asking the sorts of questions you would expect. Have you been before? Do you know when to get off? Where did you come from? I was the only westerner on the bus, and the Thais didn't seem the least bit concerned about making it on time, which was very relieving.
I arrived at the Pon Pisai bus station a little after 7 and got a tuk tuk to the festival which, truthfully, I could have walked to. I wandered around what appeared more like a county fair than a spiritual festival, with food stalls, cheap toy vendors, various mini-stages and displays set up by companies like Nokia, real estate agents, etc., all spanning the length of the Mekhong river where people were seated and standing by the thousands staring out into the river.
I began to wander around, realizing that truly, there was no need to have hurried. The festival was obviously here for the evening. Although I may not get a great seat, the river was visible from quite a ways a way and the slope allowed for plenty of people. I wandered up and down the river, talking to people and looking for the mythic bursts of flame. After a couple hours, I began to ask around, and chatted with various thai families, groups of drunk teenagers, and 1 or 2 fellow foreigners. No one had seen any yet. I was told by one gentleman from England that the last time he was here they started at 9:20... it was 9:45, they must be late he concluded.
10:00 came, then 10:30, and finally 11... still no fireballs. People were beginning to give up, the festival was emptying. I had no hotel and all the ones in Pon Pisai were booked full (tents were scattered about the river and on vacant lots everywhere). I had traveled 13 hours for nothing.
After 11:00 I decided to make my way to the bank of the river and sleep in one of the few unlittered patches of grass (left behind by some large families' mat). And then, the worst thing ever happened.
I took one step, then another, on the stadium seating-type cemented levels. On the second step there had been some stones jutting out of the cement, my foot landed just wrong, twisted, and the next moment I was on the floor in shock from the pain.
Some English speakers were nearby and asked if I was okay. In my sock and embarrassment I said yes, I would be fine. Eventually they left, asking once more and once more I said I would be fine, and then I was left alone. There were a few groups of drunks around me who assumed I must be drunker, and began to laugh and say something about the farang in Thai.
I must have been there, lying on the cement for a half hour to an hour. Filled with a torturing mixture of shock, terror, and pain, and totally hopeless. What would I do? Where would I go? I could crawl further down, and sleep on the grass hoping to be better by morning, but then I would only have further to climb up if I wasn't.
I could go up, hope to make it to a tuk tuk (at least a block or two away) with my heavy bag... or should I leave my bag? If I did make it to a tuk tuk, then what? Hotel? none to go to. Bus straight to Bangkok? Would there even be one this late? Hospital? No insurance, how much would it cost?
Finally, I decided the bank of the Mekhong was not the best choice. Still unsure of what I was doing. I made my way to the top of "steps," and froze. I saw a few motor bikes go by, but didn't feel confident enough to ask for a lift, or confident that I could ride one with my ankle, and eventually began to hobble down the street with a bag full of clothes and books.
About halfway down the block, I saw three white guys sitting with a Thai family. Maybe they could help? I looked at them, and they tried their best to ignore me. The Thai family, however, wasn't going to let me pass. I was adopted, thank god.
They gave me a place to sit, and showered me with (mostly unwanted) kindness and hospitality. They insisted on giving me sodas and beer, which could not be refused. Nor could the pressing of the ice into my ankle (which was torturous), nor the foot massage (which was skilled and not as bad).
I had essentially been given a harem. 6-10 women, all doting on me, flirting with me, telling me how handsome I was. Asking if I had a girlfriend. I said "yes." Was it serious? Where was she? Was she Thai? Did I want a Thai girlfriend? They wanted Farang husbands... Did I like them? Did I like the lady-boy in the back? What about the man to my left?
"No, no thank you. Yes, we're very serious. You are just as beautiful but I love her more."
Finally, they offered me a place to sleep. I would be sharing a tent with someone's son, who looked none to pleased, but he seemed to be a generally angsty teenager and not upset about this particular situation, just life in general. So, I said yes, if it was okay with him.
I awoke the next morning, trapped by the sleeper. I waited for him to shift so that I could crawl around him, and hobbled to the nearest chair where I sat for about an hour. One of the white men, who I learned were from Norway, was still awake with one of the women. They were enjoying a breakfast of beer and potato chips. Eventually I made my way to their table, and was trapped once again.
"Are you okay? Foot better?"
"No, I need crutches, where can I get crutches?"
No further discussion. Forced to drink coke and eat potato chips. I was asked several times throughout the morning if I was hungry, if I was better. If I said yes, I'm hungry, they just smiled. If I said I need to go to the hospital, they just smiled. I didn't want to impose, but I was completely trapped.
The Norwegian tried to convince me not to go to the hospital... to wait it out. Put tiger balm and ice on it and I would be fine. As nice as they were being, I was not excited about being trapped with them for 3-4 days. "No, I need to get crutches."
Later, the other two Norwegians joined the table. One was quiet enough, but the other was visibly upset. Eventually, he went into some sort of tirade, gesturing towards me and saying the word American in between all the Norwegian babble. He got to the point where I though he would cry, or stab me, and then put his hands down and began eating his breakfast and looking hopeless. Definitely not the actions of a stable, rational person. I can only guess that he thought I was imposing, but the way they were treating this family it was hard to take it seriously. They ordered them about like servants, not a single please or thank you as they informed them they wanted breakfast, or more coffee, or this or that. I was certainly the more gracious guest.
Eventually I was told someone would take me to the hospital. With every passing hour I asked "can you just get me a tuk tuk, I'll be fine." No, they insisted, Pi will take you, 10 minutes. 20 minues. 10 minutes. 15 minutes.
Finally, Pi arrived with his wife and they took me to the hospital. I got my x-ray, my ace bandage, some painkillers, and blessedly, crutches. The whole thing cost about 500 baht, 15 dollars. Thank God.
They began to take me back to the house in a tuk tuk and I asked to be dropped off at the bus station. I'd had enough hospitality for one day. Everyone I met was immensely helpful, I made it back to Nong Khai, and made my way to the Mut Mee guest house which had been full the night before, but looked like the type of place I could get some help.
The owner (a farang) was wonderful. He called a guest house nearby and got me a room. Two other guests offered to carry my bag for me and accompanied me to the Ruang Thai. The people at the guest house looked shocked. The owner of the Mut mee hadn't told them about the crutches, the room they had was on the second floor.
I said I could manage, but they insisted otherwise and arranged a first floor room for me, helped me carry my bags. I would have to move the next day, but again, they would help me. I laid down for a bit, ate, took my painkiller, and finally felt better.

That's only half of it!
To be Continued!!!

Some New Sights

2007-10-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I found myself in a new part of Bangkok. Essentially it is of very little interest to tourists, but I was there to interview for a "just in case JP education turns out to be totally whack" job. I got the job, paying a little less than the great one I turned down but also working alot less... In general, though, I wasn't impressed with the school or the headmaster (who's only criterion for hiring seemed to be that I had a legitimate master's degree...)

Anyway, after I left the Interview I wandered around and snapped some pictures... Earlier in the day I went to the amulet market (for the second time) with "Mr. Canadian," as I like to call him. He was dressed in a bright red hat (with the Canadian maple leaf), a bright red shirt (with the Canadian maple leaf) and was wearing shorts which showed off his bright red Canadian maple leaf tattoo... very stunning. Below are some pictures of my journeys.

First in the day was the amulet market, Which begins on a street

running along a Wat and continues and spreads along the river.

One of the larger amulet stalls. Amulets come in all shapes and sizes. Usually once you purchase one you also purchase a plastic circular container and a cord to hang it around your neck with....

For lunch I ate at one of the many vegetarian stalls around right now. There is a Thai-Chinese holiday (which has a handful of origin legends) during which Thai-Chinese eat vegetarian and a vast array of vegetarian-only food stalls can be found around the city. They each fly red and yellow banners letting prospectives know they can find all vegetarian fare here.

Later in the day, I found myself in the cleaner upscale business district...

and found the face of fear.

Later on I met "Mr. Yes" who seemed nice enough...

Until I found him stalking me.

This picture is in honour of my friend Daniel. I have often heard him speak about the "white hats" at construction sites. The bosses who don't do much work themselves but always expect you to look busy... By the looks of their clothes, it seems that some things are universal...

And...

2007-10-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

For my second post of the day, Here are some pictures I haven't gotten to upload...

Leaving Ko Chang...

And some "Magic Lamps" that seem to be popular in Thailand (at least for the tourist sections...). You essentially buy a jigsaw kit and construct them to your liking... I may have to get a few kits before I come home, if I can find them cheap (so far they're around 20 bucks for a pack of pieces, and I have no idea how much of a lamp that would make...

Even the gas stations on the highways have markets here. Of course, there was the standard "mini mart" one would expect, but surrounding it was a market of delicious street food. This was on the way from Cambodia to Bangkok.

A New Day

2007-10-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today I'm feeling great. Yesterday I figured out the bus system (at least one bus, anyway), found an Thai language class I'm willing to give a shot for a bit, and went for a lovely walk in a nearby park. Accepting the idea that Bangkok was to be my home for a bit was a great idea and I've found myself a new sense of purpose.

Here are some pictures of Lumphini Park in Bangkok:

A Bird in the Hand is Worth 2 in the Bush...

2007-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

and... A Rolling Stone Gathers no Moss.

When I made my decision about the job I failed to figure in the fact that I would be stuck in Bangkok for another 2 weeks with very little to do. Also, it now seems that Trevor's research permit may take quite a while to process, possibly longer than my job will last.
The headhunter who is hiring me for the school seems to be a bit of a fly-by-night operation. I went in to sign my agreement with them on Saturday and there were 4 large bottles of beer emptied on the desk which was situated in a very messy office. Granted, I won't be working with these people, and they have no baring whatsoever on the school, but it sure does a great deal to lower my confidence about the whole affair. I was supposed to go to the school with someone from their office to say hello and finalize things today, but they've put it off until next Wednesday...
So, now I am again in Bangkok with just enough responsibilities spread out just far enough to not make it worth it to leave, but not have much to do while I'm here. I've begun researching various courses I can take and have decided to swing by a Thai language school today and inquire about classes (I think it's a drop in pay-as-you go system... so perhaps I can just fill up most of my time there) and I'm beginning to look into cooking courses. Although certain Thai dishes seem like they would be easy enough to approximate, others are a complete mystery to me.
I've started reading a good bit on Buddhism and if I had the next 2 weeks sans responsibilities I would definitely be looking into a couple weeks of meditation retreat. Gloriously, such retreats are usually free and include accommodation and food. Although, one has to be willing to live like a monk in most respects, and a donation is suggested (not by the monastery, but in general).
That's my check in... for the most part I'm listless and bored, but motivated to not stay that way.

A Visa Run and a Very Difficult Decision

2007-10-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind couple of days. My last day in Ko Chang was relatively uneventful. I spent most of the day relaxing and planning a lesson plan (introduction to Sensation and Perception) for a demo lesson I was going to do for a very fancy job in Bangkok.
The next day I left on a package deal to make a Visa Run to Cambodia. The "free visa" you get as an American in Thailand only lasts for 30 days at a time. You can renew it 3 times in every 6 month period, but doing so means leaving the country (if only for a minute) and coming back in. Because I had an interview to get to, I did the hop-out hop-in scenario. Everything I had read warned of scores of child beggars at the border. Of course there were some, but certainly fewer than I had expected.
In general, from what little I saw of it and heard from other travellers, Cambodia is a much dirtier less "pleasant" place than Thailand. Once you cross the border everything just seemed dirtier and run-down. The difference wasn't striking, per se, but certainly noticeable.
The whole process of getting a Cambodian Visa, getting across the border, and getting back took about 2 hours and 35 dollars (although it should only have cost 20, I later found out). This, of course, doesn't include transportation, the grand total of which cam out to another 30 dollars or so from Koh Chang to the Cambodian border and then on the Bangkok.
Having found out that a pre-purchased 2 month Visa costs only 40 dollars with no day long grueling visa runs, I wish that I had planned ahead a bit better...
I arrived in Bangkok at about 7 pm, checked in to my hotel, and found an internet shop to type up my lesson plan. Early to bed, early to rise, and before I know it I'm on my way to Wells International School in Bangkok. Quite the establishment.
Wells is a secure campus, with gates and only one entrance during school hours. It has an indoor basketball court, pool, delicious cafeteria food (including vegetarian options), air conditioned classrooms, an auditorium, and enthusiastic staff. The Headmaster was a wonderful man who welcomed me warmly and made me feel very comfortable at Wells.
The class I taught was wonderful, and quite small (12 students). The students were shy but well behaved with good personalities and seemed to know each other quite well. I had a great time teaching the class, as the subject matter was something I am very interested in (psychology). Overall the school was great.
Then, he told me about the pay. A clean double what I would make teaching in a village. More than enough to live in the lap of luxury in Bangkok, generally wanting for nothing, and still saving about 500 dollars a month.
But, it was not meant to be. After talking to Trevor, and also Daniel about it, I decided that I would turn down the job... painfully. In the end, I did not fly to the other side of the planet to teach at a highly westernized school. I came here to learn Thai, teach Thai kids, and even live in a Thai village, which is what I will do.
Today, I will go to an office in Bangkok sometime in the afternoon and sign a 4 month contract to teach in Uthai Thani. The pay is less, the classes are larger, and the village is very remote. But, I will be teaching an age I am much more comfortable with, and getting a genuinely "Thai" experience. It's not Wells, but it's one of the best jobs I've seen in a village.
In the end, it's only for four months, and jobs in Bangkok, even fancy high-paying ones, are a dime a dozen. I wasn't even looking for a job in Bangkok and I found a great one. If I decide I should have worked in the big city I can just do it in May...

Hostel in the Thailand...

2007-10-07T04:18:00.001-07:00

My new room doesn't have AC, a lot of space, bountiful shelving, or even sealed walls. It's a bamboo hut on a beach and it is my favorite so far. I arrived on Ko Chang and made my way for the most populated beach "White sands beach." I had planned to stay at a place called Bo's Bungalows but the tide was in and I would not be able to walk to it for 2 more hours. Rather than wait, I decided to check out where I had planned to stay the next night, Tree House Hotel.

For those of you who have been to the Hostel in the Forest, this place is about as close as I would expect Thailand to get. Although the rooms aren't actually tree houses, more like bamboo huts on stilts, it is amazing. The atmosphere is decidely bohemian, with a wonderful deck, complete with thatch roof and hammocks, overlooking the bay. The restaurant attached to the place, although expensive, is excellent and I have met some really great travelers. All this for a whopping 80 baht ($2.40)!

The deck/restaurant

And, of course, this is on a beautiful tropical island, the center of which is a nationally protected tropical rainforest. Today, I made a trip to Nam Tok Klong Plu. Although it didn't take me through much tropical forest... I did get to spend about 3+ hours swimming in an amazing pool underneath the falls... and pay 400 baht for the privelage. 400 baht was definately a bit pricey. Thais only pay 20 and although I understand paying more, 400 is quite stiff for a 20 minute walk to 1 waterfall with no other attractions. The same price could get you an overnight stay at a national forest in the US!

Regardless, the swim was amazing, and the first truly good swim I've had since I got here, which made it well worth almost any price.

And I thought I made a poor choice forgetting my hiking boots in Bangkok...

My first Faux Pas

2007-10-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the beach and, as I usually would, put most of my belongings in my shoes. I hung out and swam for a few hours, and then headed back to my hotel on one of the "baht Buses" that run along the main strips of smaller towns... You hop on or off at any time along its trip and pay a meager 10 baht for the privilege.
My shoes and belongings were still in hand as I wanted to let my feet dry and de-sand before putting them back on. A little ways down the road I started to get some change out of my left shoe when a woman explained to me how that was disrespectful and, apparently, illegal. Coins in Thailand all carry an image of the king which "must be respected like Buddha, like a god. Put in shoes is disrespectful" she sternly told me.
I immediately fished the remaining coins out of my shoe and placed them in my pocket, thinking I should have known better. The feet are an unholy, dirty part of the body in Buddhist thought. The king is very respected. I knew I might get a few upturned noses from putting anything at all in my shoes, but hadn't realized I'd been so crass as to put the king there!
It made me feel a little better when after she got off the bus the guy sitting across from me (also a Thai) told me she was mean. "It's not like you keep money there all the time" he said. When I told him that it was okay and that it just never occured to me that it was a symbol of the king, he told me that he doesn't think of it that way either and insisted that she shouldn't have said anything...
Either way, I will refrain from making the same mistake again so as to not offend anyone.

Today will be my last day in Pattaya... Truly, I've been staying here much more for the luxury and kindness at my hotel than for the littered beaches and crowded nightlife. Tomorrow, I will be heading to Ko Chang, a much more pristine and deserted island in the far southeast. From there, I will make a quick jump into Cambodia to get my Visa renewed for another 30 days. I may try to make a trek to Angkor Wat, although it won't be convenient to my point of entry. I will probably have to make the run one more time, so perhaps I will see Angkor Wat then...

Pattaya, Where Swank Meets Sleaze

2007-10-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

-or-
Pattaya, where the girls hoot, holler, clap, whistle, slap, and grope you.

Today I got totally fed up with Bangkok and decided I had to get out. On a whim, I decided to go to Pattaya, the nearest beach-vacation spot to Bangkok. I knew it would be sleazy and expensive... but... wow. When I first arrived, I made a bee-line for the nearest cheap hotel in my guidebook (which I found out is a bit dated). In the spot where my 450 baht per night hotel should have been was a very expensive looking set of high rises...
I walked and walked only to find a hotel with a similar name. Although it looked more expensive, I decided to give it a try. It was somewhere around 2,000 baht which was more than I was willing to pay for a place to put my head. As I left, a farang (white man... from the french word for "foreign") asked me what I was looking for.
I must have looked pretty destitute as I said "A place for under 500." As it turned out, his wife ran the place I originally looked for, and moved it about a year back. He introduced me to his wife who gave me a ride to the hotel in which I found an amazing deal. Although expensive for Thailand, it really is the best 15 dollars I could have spent.
The A/C is okay, the private bathroom is nice, the satin sheets are a plus, but what really appealed to me was the size of the room and the glorious amount of shelving. My last hotel room was about a foot larger than the bed inside and had absolutely nowhere to store anything. As one would expect, my tiny patch of floor, and eventually even my bed, became cluttered with all manner of junk.
This room has loads of space (enough for 3 king size beds at least), a very large armoire with enough space to hang all of my shirts and fold and put away all my things. I spent my first few moments gleefully putting away my clothes and other items which haven't had homes since I left America.
After about an hour, a shower, and some new clothes, I decided to head out in search of food. For some reason, I wanted Pizza. In my travels I unfortunately walked down "Soi 6." (Thailand has a wonderful street system. Major thoroughfares, such as Sukhumvit road have names "Thanon Sukhumvit" while side streets to that road simply have a number attached to them "Soi Sukhumvit 6")
Although there are bars throughout Pattaya filled with the friendliest women I have ever seen, all chanting "Welcome" or "I like you" or "come!," Soi 6 takes the cake. It's essentially like walking a gauntlet of prostitution. Door to door bars with no fewer than 5- 10 women outside of each establishment. At one point I actually had to jump and dodge out of the way of a prospective friend.
After that experience, I ended up topping off my evening with a luxurious dinner to match my hotel room, 6 dollar pizza and 3 dollar wine, at a Pizzeria on the beach. The pizza and decor was as good (or better) as any American place, which made up for the terrible house wine.
That about sums up my excursion thus far, minus some walking and talking to less tawdry locals.

I'll keep you posted!

Pictures... Back on Line

2007-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures I have been unable to post due to a mixture of computer and camera dilemmas. These show my first week in Bangkok and Ayuttaya.

My room at the Green House.
Khao San Road,

the center of Tourist life in Bangkok

A Pad Thai stall on Khao San

Cats in a pot...

The reason I won't eat fresh water fish in Thailand... These rivers were in the middle of Ayuttaya and looked very polluted...

One of the better preserved temples in Ayuttaya.

A Buddha, ceremoniously dressed.

A Thai Wedding

2007-09-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Serendipitously my friend Lance came to Thailand to get "remarried" to his wife in a traditional Thai ceremony this weekend. I got to attend, pretty intimately, every part of the ceremony, representing the entirety of the groom's guest list.
The wedding was wonderful. I was so lucky to have gotten this opportunity. Not only did I go to all of the events, but I got to hang out with Lance (a much needed friendly face) and travel with him and his wife to each part of the ceremony.
The first part of the day began at Lee's mother's house. They went to a studio to put on traditional Thai wedding attire and picked me up around 5:30 am. Shortly after we arrived at the house 9 monks strolled in, each carrying various adornments and tools to bless the wedding. Apparently, that's all they do. Unlike in the west, the monks don't actually marry the couple, they simply bless the union.
This part of the ceremony consisted mostly of chanting and feeding the monks in thanks. I was originally going to take pictures using Lance's camera, but Lee decided that one of her friends should do it, which turned out to be a very good idea.
I learned today that Thai religious ceremonies have alot of ritual but not alot of reverence. During the chanting, Mel (Lee's photographing friend) would walk around taking pictures, at times even getting between the couple and the monks! I would never have even considered doing something like that, so it's probably good that she was taking the pictures.
Also throughout the ceremony people would poke their heads in the window, walk through the room, talk, or even yell in the nearby kitchen... I was expecting holy, silent reverence, and it was anything but.
Immediately after the monks blessed the union it was time for the "money parade." Lance and "his family" (which consisted of me and a couple dozen Thai volunteers) paraded down the street with gifts and cash for Lee's family. As we approached the house, we found Lance blockaded by several rows of family members.
Each row had to be persuaded to let Lance into the house so that he may marry lee. Lee's grandmother acted as Lance's negotiator, and although I couldn't understand what she was saying, I got the impression that many of her statements were "off color" at best...
Once inside, the gifts were laid out along with the dowry and there was much whooping and cheering over the offering. Finally, Lee's mother wrapped the dowry up into a bag and ran up the stairs as everyone cheered, which I supposed symbolized the acceptance and therefore the marriage.
That evening there was a banquet at the Police club which was rather fancy. This was much more western seeming. There was a wedding cake, the lighting of candles, speeches, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, all of the pictures are on Lance's camera... as soon as he gets back I will hound him about emailing them to me so I can post some!

Chinatown... not that much different.

2007-09-28T06:38:00.001-07:00

I have to say, it was a little difficult to get excited about Chinatown in Bangkok. Whereas in San Francisco walking into Chinatown is like being whisked away to another world; Suddenly, you find yourself plunged into the farest reaches of Asia, no longer finding the familiar foods, faces, and even language that you have come to expect in American cities.
In Bangkok, for some reason, the change isn't quite as dramatic. People were still Asian. The food was still offered in street vendors. And I still couldn't read the signs.
One thing that was noticeable about Chinatown was the vast array of products available. If you want to buy something... anything go to Chinatown. An endless street market (geared more towards gizmos and gadgets than gastronomy) creeps in and out of the side streets all along the main drag. It's the only place in Bangkok that I have been able to find a battery recharger (which means pictures may be online soon!).
Otherwise, today I was quite proud of myself for further practicing taxi liberation. I walked from my "home" neighborhood to Chinatown and then up to the national stadium Skytrain station. It was quite a hike, but well worth it. I got to see quite a bit of central Bangkok and realized that it's not nearly so big as it may seem from the protective glass of a taxi.

Something to write home about...

2007-09-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I found an amazing restaurant. I have decided that since I am going to be in Bangkok for a few more days (my friend is serendipitously getting married here on the 30th) I would make it my mission to try a new neighborhood in Bangkok each day. Yesterday I travelled by bus and sky train to Sukumvhit road, which was an experience in and of itself.
I couldn't read where the buses were going (I am on a kindergarten reading level in Thai at best) so I decided to pick one at random and hope that I ended up near a sky train station. Buses are paid for based on destination, so when I got on I was asked where I was going... I said I didn't know. After about a minute of confusion he finally just let me ride for free, which was very nice. Eventually, I saw a sky train station and got off the bus.
The sky train (think monorail) is much easier to navigate. With two set tracks and many informational signs in both English and Thai, it is a breeze to use. I finally ended up in Sukumvhit, but then realized I didn't have any idea what I actually wanted to do there.
I whipped out my guidebook to see what was around and realized I was very close to "Cabbages and Condoms" a restaurant dedicated to raising money for HIV awareness, education, and prevention. I had read about it before and though it would be an excellent activity.
Boy was it. The place was much more upscale then I had expected. It was far away from the main road, about 100 meters down Soi 12 (sois are side streets that go off of the major roads). It is hidden away in a little garden surrounded by ficus trees that have beautiful brown and pink roots tendriling towards the ground and blowing in the wind along with the white Christmas lights strung around the premises.
Inside the decor was decidedly condom themed with everything from mannequins wearing dresses and suits made out of condoms to framed cases of condoms from around the world. It was, however, all surprisingly tasteful. I would have never thought that a theme like that could blend with an otherwise very expensive and extravagant decor, but it worked very well.
It turned out to be pretty expensive (for Thailand), I had the Chicken mussaman, rice, and bottled water which came to a grand total of 242 baht (about $7.50). It was well worth it. Not only is my money going towards a noble cause, but the food was some of the best Thai food I have ever had. I can't wait to go back.
This afternoon I will explore Chinatown. Remember, you can post comments on my blogs by clicking on "post comment" below!

Uncharted Territory

2007-09-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I left Lopburi and headed to totally uncharted territory. Uthai Thani is not in any guide book and is nearly non-existant so far as the internet is concerned. It was a nice little town, and I was able to find my way around well enough, although I'm not sure if I hit all of the places of interest (or any of them, for that matter... or if there even are any).
One thing that definately surprised me about Uthai was how unfriendly the people were. I suppose they just weren't used to Farang (foreigners) and the language barrier certainly didn't help. I even got turned away at two different internet shops... one because she didn't think I would be able to use the thai keyboard (it's easy enough to switch), and another because they were just punk kids who ran an internet game shop and didn't want me there...
But, now I'm back in Farang-friendly Bangkok. I stayed at the Green House again for my first night but upon talking to an Irishmen abuot hit place decided I should move to a cheaper hotel (Green had given me a terrible room this time with a too soft lumpy old mattress). This place is 100 baht cheaper and pretty nice, although it doesn't feel as secure as Green did... wish me luck!!

(F)Lopburi

2007-09-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

I came to Lop Buri today to decide if I would be willing to work here, i.e. live here. I think the answer is pretty much no. It's still a city, in the truest sense of the word, but not anywhere near as cool and exciting as Bangkok and nearly as polluted. What's worse, I'm assuming it will take almost as long (and be twice as difficult) to get from Lopburi to Uthai Thani, where Trevor will be (near). If I'm going to be in a city, then it's Bangers all the way... otherwise, somewhere off the major bus route or train route from Bangkok to Uthai Thani...

So it is Written...

Reflections on my first week

2007-09-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

***This Post is Incomplete due to computer issues... check back in a few days for more pictures!***
Thailand is wonderful. despite the difficulties of my first week I am very glad that I came and am enjoying myself immensely. As of yet I've done very few "touristy" things. For the most part I've been staying close to familiar territory and simply meeting people and taking in the culture. My first neighborhood in Thailand, Khao San Road, is very accommodating. It is essentially the hotbed of tourism in Bangkok. Home to guest houses, overpriced restaurants, and 1,001 tailors. Interestingly enough, it also shares the turf with Bangkok's Indian neighborhood, although it is not nearly as concentrated and noticeable as the various American chinatowns.
Almost all of the signs are in English and Thai and street food is delicious, plentiful, and available 'round the clock. My first home, "the green house" is guest house that caters mainly to Israelis although it's prices and amenities make it popular among visitors from all nations. It's internet access allowed me to use Skype to make calls to the US as well as upload pictures to my blog. The only thing it lacked was a laundry service which I was able to find in short order for relatively cheap.
My crazy sleep schedule had me wandering Khao San at all hours of the night, which was nice, being able to see it at all 24 hours without staying out all night. It's noticeably seedier around 4 and 5 am, with propositions changing from "massages" to more direct and persistent offers....
The seediest I've gotten in here is walking through the neighborhood where the go-go bars are located, which is quite harrowing. I had met an Australian and we walked through in all of about 1 minute, as each door had a band of merry men outside trying to get you to go in. Some even went so far as to grab and pull... needless to say I didn't go in and I haven't been near them since.
I did find a respectable massage parlor. Upon going upstairs my masseuse was so small I felt like I would be disappointed. Instead, I was in pain for about an hour. People have called Thai massage "passive yoga." I would akin it more to getting the snot beaten out of you by a professional wrestler in slow motion... for an hour. I can't really complain though, afterwards I felt like a million bucks and ended up going back the next day (at $7.50 an hour, who wouldn't?).
My final observation in Bangkok (at least for now) is that the taxi's are actually cheaper than the tuk tuk's, which is outrageous. The taxi's are on a meter, and the tuk tuks get to negotiate a price. For a fair that was 90 baht in rush hour traffic in a taxi (most of which is spent at a stand sill) I could not find a tuk tuk to take me for less than 200! They are so used to tourists over paying them that they simply refuse to go any lower. I had one accept an offer of 40 baht, only to say that I had to go with him to an emporium on the way... I got out of the tuk tuk.
Yesterday, I left Bangkok for a smaller, less polluted, more historical setting: Ayutthaya. It took about an hour and a half by bus to be free of Bangkok's sprawl, and I still don't feel quite free from the pollution.
Ayutthaya is beautiful, and the ruins are very impressive. I spent today walking around Ayutthaya historical park and soaking in the old capital of the kingdom of Thailand. The ruins are much less preserved than I would have expected after only being abandoned for a few hundred years, although war certainly had it's toll on the capital. (Thai museums and monuments tend to lack the descriptive plaques found in the west... so I'm not exactly sure of the historical details of each building)

Ayutthaya has many of these lizards living in the canals and sewer systems.

Ant piles are a bit bigger in Thailand...

The craziest food I've ever eaten... Imagine a Banana Omelett wrapped in philo crust and covered with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and chocolate.

Street food is King of the 'Kok

2007-09-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

I had been searching for delicious Thai food ever since my arrival. I had tried, in vain, to find a restaurant that would live up to the expectations set Oy's cooking at the drunken poet in Sarasota, only to be disappointed time and time again.

It was in between these adventures that I discovered the real secret to eating well in Bangkok: Street food. I had been led to believe that a restaurant, being 3X (or much more) expensive than street food simply had to be better. I was terribly wrong. I've found that if you spend more than a dollar for your meal, chances are it's not going to be any good. Below are some pictures of one day of street food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Breakfast, coconut pudding freshly made. Not particularly healthy, but very good.

Lunch from the nicest people around, about 3 blocks from my Guest House.

Best Pad Thai in town, excellent smoothies.

The best food in Bangkok, so far. 1 dish is 25 baht, 2 is 30, and 3 are 35.
(32 baht = 1 dollar)

Adjustments

2007-09-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been in Thailand for about 4 days now, and I finally got a good night's sleep last night. As much as I'm sure I will glamorize it in the coming months, international travel is tough. This is my first time in a totally foreign place all by my lonesome and it sure did take some adjusting.
The flight was quite pleasant, actually. From Atlanta to Seoul I had access to several movies I could watch whenever I pleased at a console in my seat. From Seoul to Bangkok the plane was so empty I got to lie out on a whole row and sleep the flight away. Still, it was 30 hours of travel.
I got in at around 11 pm shared a taxi with two very kind Australians which left me wandering in unknown territory (their hotel wasn't as close to khao san--the tourist district--as they had said). I ended up staying in a very expensive place for my first night (1200 baht, about 40 dollars). It was nice to have a luxurious hotel for my first night, complete with air conditioner and hot shower, but the price is not something I can live with in the long term. Having just slept on the plane, I decided I wasn't too tired to walk around a bit and check out the city. I'm not sure exactly when I got to bed, but I woke up around 11:20 (40 minutes to check out) with no intention of staying at this hotel another night. I scrambled to pull my belongings together and rushed out the door.
I was exhausted and overpacked, my head hurt and my stomach was none too pleased. I got lost, again, wandered for about an hour in agony, until eventually finding my new home away from home at the "green house." It's very acceptable, about 260 baht (8 bucks) a night, and has a cheap internet cafe and baggage storage so I won't have to lug my life with me in my first travels through thailand.
It took four days, but now I am approaching natural circadian rythms, and life is stabilizing again. I have a cell phone for job hunting (it was my big job for my second day, despite my abysmal physical state) and have contated prospective employers concerning my arrival.
I hope to have pictures to send soon, although I believe I used the wrong plug adapter and have broken my battery charger so it appears I will have to buy batteries (unless I can find another charger). I hate to use American (or western) based bussiness in foreign countries... I didn't fly to the other side of the world to go to 7-11's and Mcdonald's, after all. But, it appears that the 7-11's have pushed all the local convenience type stores out of business (at least in my corner of Bangkok.)