1I just went to the school and got my schedule for my first week of teaching. It turns out that I'm mostly doing private lessons. I got the course books & notes on my students and will spend the rest of today figuring out what exactly to teach them tomorrow. My first week is actually really light - only 10 hours total. But I have a 3 hour business English class on Tuesday and I don't have the profile for that class yet. Should be interesting.
Still alternating between panic & elation on a moment by moment basis. The people at the school are really nice, and one of them just gave me my first motorbike lesson. I didn't crash! Elation! But it's a new city and I don't know where anything is. I'm hungry and I don't know where to go for lunch. All my clothes are dirty, but I don't know where the laundromat is. My notebook is out of blank paper and I don't know where the book store is. Panic! But in exploring I successfully crossed 8 lanes of Thai traffic... terror followed by elation. AHHHHH!!
Last night when I was out looking for the internet cafe a big storm blew in. It was like something out of a movie. It was breezy, then there was a HUGE crack of lightening that caused the power to blink out for a second. Next came huge gust of wind bringing a few sprinkles. Shop owners were rushing to bring their products inside and close up shop. Before I could figure out what to do or where to goI as completely drenched. I ducked into the pub just as their power went out. I felt so stupid and awkward, the soaking wet farang who can't communicate anything to the bar staff. I turned around and left but the rain was so bad it almost wasn't safe to walk. The waitress brought me back inside and brought me a beer. The power came back on, but so did the AC. So I sat dripping and freezing drinking over priced beer all by myself watching cute Thai couples dash easily from their cars into the bar. I wondered, not for the first time, what on earth I was doing here.
I think once my classes start and I have a purpose for each day, I'll feel a little better. It'll also help when I learn my way around. Until then though... it's a challenge.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
No Expectations
September 20, 2008
During one of my nights out for beer with the boys, the Brit and the Short Aussie were eating pastries they’d picked up at 7/11. Not unlike Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, when it comes to baked goods in Thailand – you never know what you’re going to get. Could be chocolate, could be taro root, could be shredded pork with mayonnaise. The Brit was saying, in reference to the pastries, that the key to enjoying them was to have no preconceived notions about what might be inside*. He went on to say that in life when he goes into a situation with negative expectations, he’ll have a negative experience, when he goes into a situation with positive expectations he’ll have a positive experience, but when he goes into a situation with no expectations whatsoever – he has an amazing experience.
I don’t totally buy into that philosophy, I mean, I get that what you bring into a situation effects what you get out of it, but sometimes crappy things happen right out of the blue and you have to roll with it. But I have been trying to keep my expectations minimal and not to worry so much about what’s going to happen. Which is why I tried not to think too much about what Rayong would be like. It was fairly easy given how quickly the whole thing came about… but now I’m here and honestly I never ever could have imagined how this whole day would have unfolded.
For one thing, I’m in a country thousands and thousands of miles from home, where I don’t speak the language, I stand out in the crowd and I never really know what’s going on anyway. But somehow, on the basis of little more than word of mouth and one phone call, I decided to pack up all my belongings (again!) and move to a city 400 miles away where I don’t know a single soul, have no place to stay and don’t even know where the school I’m supposed to be working for is located.
With much comedic struggling and a bit of help from the kindest Thai people imaginable, I managed to get myself and all of my luggage to the bus station exactly 16 minutes prior to departure and figured out where to go. The VIP bus was pretty high class indeed. First off, the seats were comfy, with an ergonomic head rest and the ability to recline quite a bit. There were two TVs in front playing Thai Karaoke videos.
The bus was thoroughly air conditioned, which was nice because in the process of maneuvering all my luggage I had worked up quite a sweat. Unfortunately, as in the US, people here feel the need to use the AC to bring the temperature down to near arctic temperatures. So as soon as I cooled off, I began to feel a little too cold. I had, in my haste to pack, forgotten to keep my towel with me in my carry-on, so all I had as far as extra layers were a couple tank tops, my PJs and a sleeveless button up shirt. I did the best I could with the extra shirt.
After a while, the Thai Karaoke was replaced with a DVD of “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” which was, of course dubbed into Thai. Nevertheless, I think I got the full impact of the film.
I had brought some crackers with me because I didn’t know if they’d be stopping along the way, but they actually provided dinner. I’m pretty sure it was the same dish I enjoyed at CMU, the yellow rice and seasoned chicken. It was soooo good! (btw, I’m learning to love sweet chili sauce, it’s great with rice dishes, but also with french fries.) After dinner, the lights went out and the hostess handed out blankets – each individually wrapped in plastic and smelling of fabric softener. That was a good defense against the sub-zero A/C. I was really comfy then.
Unfortunately, so were the couple in front of me who reclined their seats practically into my lap and began cuddling. I attempted to ignore what may or may not have been going on under the blankets, but seriously – they were so close I could have joined in. I attempted to sleep, but mostly just started out into the night. There was not a lot to see, some stretches of dark road broken up by gas stations and the lights of other vehicles (mostly other tour busses actually).
I had nearly dozed off when the bus came to a stop. The lights came on and everyone started going through their purses & wallets. As usual, I had no clue what was going on. I attempted to ask the woman next to me, but she didn’t seem to understand English and was more interested in searching through her purse than in talking to me. Eventually I figured out that everyone was getting their ID out, so I pulled my passport out of my money belt. You know, I’d been getting a bit lax about my money belt. As soon as I was settled in my residence I just kept it and my passport in a drawer bringing only the cash I needed for the day and a copy of my passport in my wallet. But fortunately I had the good sense to put it on before leaving so I wasn’t rooting around in my carryon bag like the gal next to me. So the police boarded the bus and started looking around. They didn’t check everyone, just a few random people. It was bizarre. The closest experience I’ve ever had to that was when the Tri-Met fare checkers all swarm the max. Somehow this felt significantly more serious. I have no idea who or what they were looking for, but I felt relieved when they left.
Back on the road, back to trying to sleep. The roads were actually kinda crappy – it looked all well paved, but there must have been some ruts because it was a very bumpy ride. Somewhere around 2am the roads got noticeably smoother – a different province maybe? At around 3am we stopped at a rest stop. As per usual, I just followed the herd & ended up at the women’s toilets. There were 3 stalls and the line moved closer I could see that the first one was a western toilet but the other two turned out to be squat potties. Guess what my luck was? The really funny thing was – there was a poster on the wall with very detailed instructions (in Thai of course) and cartoons describing how to use (and how not to use) a western toilet. I was standing there about to go into a squat potty thinking “Where’s my poster????” I mean, I get the general idea, but I did not have the benefit of a Thai mom teaching me the specifics as a child so I’m a bit confused about the logistics. Fortunately I remembered reading Korean Heather’s blog and she had mentioned just this experience. I did what she did – strip from the waist down & balance your clothes on your head as you do your business. It’s the safest thing to do, but far from the most practical I’m sure. Then there’s the whole bucket of water thing… I did my best. I still don’t quite get it – are you supposed to just drip dry? Sorry for the TMI here, but if you have any information at all on the subject, it would be of great practical value to me!!!
That was an end to the excitement of the evening. The sun was up as we drove through Pattaya and somewhere along the way I spotted the ocean. That was reassuring. Around 7:30 – 8am we arrived at the Rayong bus station – I think it was scheduled to arrive at 8:30am. The gal I had spoken to on the phone had said she would pick me up so I just waited. It occurred to me, as I waited, that I didn’t actually know her phone number. I mean, she had called me so it was in my phone – I just hadn’t added her name to it. I found the calls from the morning we’d talked… but it was a 50/50 shot which number was hers and which was the motorbike shop. It didn’t matter in the end as I had used up all my minutes drunk dialing my mom & J. the other night when I was drinking. =P Live and learn.
So I just waited… the only farang in the place, sitting there with all my brightly colored luggage. I could only have stood out more if I’d gotten up on my chair and started singing show tunes. As it was the songthaew drivers came up to me and asked where I needed to go. Honestly… I didn’t have a clue, not a street name, not a building address, nothing. I just waited. And surprisingly I didn’t freak out. I’ve been reading this book “Peace is Every Step” that was recommended to me by someone in Portland. One of the first things it talks about is just being aware of your breath and knowing that you’re alive. So I took a few deep breaths and thought about it. I was alive, I was safe. I had snacks, I had money, I had some books to read and a note pad to jot down a few of the above thoughts for my blog. There was no reason at that particular moment for me to worry. This is kind of a new concept for me. I’m kind of getting into the swing of ‘mai bpen rai’ – it doesn’t matter/no big deal.
At around 8:30, “Big” (not her real nickname) showed up wearing a shirt with the school name on it. I waved and she came over and helped me get my luggage into her car. From there we went to the apartment she had checked on for me. They’d had a room available the day before, but now it was full. Mai bpen rai. We went to the school and she introduced me to one of the teachers – he’s an American but I didn’t have time to formulate a nickname for him (“the Other American” is already taken ;) ). It was funny; I’d been listening to Thai almost exclusively after my course ended, and speaking in slow clear basic English when I used it, but as I shook the teacher’s hand “Howsitgoin” slipped right out of my mouth. I was relieved because between analyzing sentence stress and ‘grading my language’ I was beginning to fear that I’d forgotten how to talk like a normal person. =P
We picked up one of the other office gals – lets call her “Pink” and went over to her apartment building to see if they had a room. They did… but frankly it was frightening, dingy, dirty and a bit bare. I took a second though and realized it was mostly just dirty. The room was big, had A/C, a ceiling fan, a balcony, and a bathroom. I said it was fine, but it needed to be cleaned. I mean, I wasn’t in much of a position to insist that they cart me all over the city looking for another place. Especially considering that Pink lives there with one of the teachers, and another teacher lives right across the hall. I figured – how bad could it be? We said hi to the other teachers, but they were both off to class so I didn’t get to really talk to them.
But let me tell you a little story about hospitality. I’d spent the night traveling, I was tired and smelly and a bit out of sorts in general. I didn’t actually have access to my room – it still needed to be cleaned, and the women from the school all needed to get to work. But one of the teachers offered to let me store my stuff in her room and to take a shower. Her sister Blossom was staying with her on holiday so she just checked with her and gave me the okay. I brought all my stuff inside (have I mentioned how much luggage I have???) and Big & Pink told me to just relax and they’d come pick me up around lunch time to take me to Tesco’s to get stuff for my apartment. Blossom showed me to the bathroom & told me to go ahead and use their soap etc. so I wouldn’t have to go digging through my bags.
Let’s just review that. Blossom’s asleep. Her sister wakes her up and says “There’s a strange stinky girl here who needs someplace to hang out for the morning – how’s that with you?” To which Blossom replies, at least to me “Hi, nice to meet you. Here’s the shower gel, and let me get you a chair to put your clothes on while you shower.” ?????
It gets better from there. I showered and changed clothes and felt a lot better. Blossom sits and chats with me… both she and her sister are from the Philippines and she tells me that she’s just visiting and mostly she just likes hanging out in her room watching movies. She offers me breakfast, but I don’t want to impose any more than I already have so I decline. She then suggests that I “take some rest” which after a couple offers I do accept. I climb right into bed and doze off for a while. When I wake up, Blossom has showered & gotten dressed. She asks if I want to go to the market with her. It’s just a gas-station minimart, but we pick up some pastries (the kind where you never know what you’re going to get) and I get a bottle of water. We walk back to her apartment and eat & talk. My pastry was chocolate by the way, hers was some kind of vegetable mixture I wasn’t familiar with, but she said it was common in the Phillippines too. She pushes a banana cake on me too which I enjoyed thoroughly. And then she offers to put in a movie. Hands up if you would have guessed that I’d spend my first morning in Rayong eating yummy snacks and watching Poseiden with my new neighbor’s sister? Yeah… me neither.
After the movie both Blossom and I take a nap. Pink & Big arrive around 2pm and the four of us all go to Tesco Lotus. This is a big BIG everything-under-the-sun type store, like a Target or Fred Meyer. After four weeks with the boys and their potty mouths & drinking stories it was really nice to go shopping with the girls. Another universal concept. We went through the housewares section and headed into the grocery store part… the gals cracked me up stopping at each of the free sample dishes and loading up. They also pointed me to better deals so I could save a little money stocking up my apartment. It was really fun.
By the time we were done, my room had been cleaned and looked significantly better. Pink signed all the apartment rental paperwork for me – it was all in Thai, I have no idea what she just agreed to for me “mai bpen rai”, and I paid my first 10 days rent. I spent a bit of time unloading my purchases, and allowed myself the freedom to panic, just for a minute or two, about how crazy it was that I was actually in yet another new city with less than a clue about anything. It’s so funny. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the city… and yet still the anxiety creeps up on me.
Tomorrow I need to go to the school and get my teaching schedule, then spend a fair bit of time actually planning my lessons. I’m trying not to panic about that… but honestly I have no idea what I’m getting into.
For now, internet access will be a bit hit or miss. There’s no service through the apartment building, but there’s something to do with a new cell phone, blue-tooth and a sim card that is supposed to make that happen. It all sounded a bit expensive though, so tonight I’m going to try to hunt down an internet café. If you’re reading this, it probably means I found one**.
T.A.G. for today – Mango. There’s a part of me that wants to panic… but there’s just no reason.
*I related to the boys a tid-bit I learned from J’s travels… that in India those pastries would just as soon have a bit of spicy fish inside as anything else and they both agreed “That’s just wrong.”
**unfortunately the internet cafe I found doesn't allow you to use USB sticks, so I had to use someone's computer from work. I have a couple of pictures but didn't want to spend an hour uploading them.
During one of my nights out for beer with the boys, the Brit and the Short Aussie were eating pastries they’d picked up at 7/11. Not unlike Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, when it comes to baked goods in Thailand – you never know what you’re going to get. Could be chocolate, could be taro root, could be shredded pork with mayonnaise. The Brit was saying, in reference to the pastries, that the key to enjoying them was to have no preconceived notions about what might be inside*. He went on to say that in life when he goes into a situation with negative expectations, he’ll have a negative experience, when he goes into a situation with positive expectations he’ll have a positive experience, but when he goes into a situation with no expectations whatsoever – he has an amazing experience.
I don’t totally buy into that philosophy, I mean, I get that what you bring into a situation effects what you get out of it, but sometimes crappy things happen right out of the blue and you have to roll with it. But I have been trying to keep my expectations minimal and not to worry so much about what’s going to happen. Which is why I tried not to think too much about what Rayong would be like. It was fairly easy given how quickly the whole thing came about… but now I’m here and honestly I never ever could have imagined how this whole day would have unfolded.
For one thing, I’m in a country thousands and thousands of miles from home, where I don’t speak the language, I stand out in the crowd and I never really know what’s going on anyway. But somehow, on the basis of little more than word of mouth and one phone call, I decided to pack up all my belongings (again!) and move to a city 400 miles away where I don’t know a single soul, have no place to stay and don’t even know where the school I’m supposed to be working for is located.
With much comedic struggling and a bit of help from the kindest Thai people imaginable, I managed to get myself and all of my luggage to the bus station exactly 16 minutes prior to departure and figured out where to go. The VIP bus was pretty high class indeed. First off, the seats were comfy, with an ergonomic head rest and the ability to recline quite a bit. There were two TVs in front playing Thai Karaoke videos.
The bus was thoroughly air conditioned, which was nice because in the process of maneuvering all my luggage I had worked up quite a sweat. Unfortunately, as in the US, people here feel the need to use the AC to bring the temperature down to near arctic temperatures. So as soon as I cooled off, I began to feel a little too cold. I had, in my haste to pack, forgotten to keep my towel with me in my carry-on, so all I had as far as extra layers were a couple tank tops, my PJs and a sleeveless button up shirt. I did the best I could with the extra shirt.
After a while, the Thai Karaoke was replaced with a DVD of “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” which was, of course dubbed into Thai. Nevertheless, I think I got the full impact of the film.
I had brought some crackers with me because I didn’t know if they’d be stopping along the way, but they actually provided dinner. I’m pretty sure it was the same dish I enjoyed at CMU, the yellow rice and seasoned chicken. It was soooo good! (btw, I’m learning to love sweet chili sauce, it’s great with rice dishes, but also with french fries.) After dinner, the lights went out and the hostess handed out blankets – each individually wrapped in plastic and smelling of fabric softener. That was a good defense against the sub-zero A/C. I was really comfy then.
Unfortunately, so were the couple in front of me who reclined their seats practically into my lap and began cuddling. I attempted to ignore what may or may not have been going on under the blankets, but seriously – they were so close I could have joined in. I attempted to sleep, but mostly just started out into the night. There was not a lot to see, some stretches of dark road broken up by gas stations and the lights of other vehicles (mostly other tour busses actually).
I had nearly dozed off when the bus came to a stop. The lights came on and everyone started going through their purses & wallets. As usual, I had no clue what was going on. I attempted to ask the woman next to me, but she didn’t seem to understand English and was more interested in searching through her purse than in talking to me. Eventually I figured out that everyone was getting their ID out, so I pulled my passport out of my money belt. You know, I’d been getting a bit lax about my money belt. As soon as I was settled in my residence I just kept it and my passport in a drawer bringing only the cash I needed for the day and a copy of my passport in my wallet. But fortunately I had the good sense to put it on before leaving so I wasn’t rooting around in my carryon bag like the gal next to me. So the police boarded the bus and started looking around. They didn’t check everyone, just a few random people. It was bizarre. The closest experience I’ve ever had to that was when the Tri-Met fare checkers all swarm the max. Somehow this felt significantly more serious. I have no idea who or what they were looking for, but I felt relieved when they left.
Back on the road, back to trying to sleep. The roads were actually kinda crappy – it looked all well paved, but there must have been some ruts because it was a very bumpy ride. Somewhere around 2am the roads got noticeably smoother – a different province maybe? At around 3am we stopped at a rest stop. As per usual, I just followed the herd & ended up at the women’s toilets. There were 3 stalls and the line moved closer I could see that the first one was a western toilet but the other two turned out to be squat potties. Guess what my luck was? The really funny thing was – there was a poster on the wall with very detailed instructions (in Thai of course) and cartoons describing how to use (and how not to use) a western toilet. I was standing there about to go into a squat potty thinking “Where’s my poster????” I mean, I get the general idea, but I did not have the benefit of a Thai mom teaching me the specifics as a child so I’m a bit confused about the logistics. Fortunately I remembered reading Korean Heather’s blog and she had mentioned just this experience. I did what she did – strip from the waist down & balance your clothes on your head as you do your business. It’s the safest thing to do, but far from the most practical I’m sure. Then there’s the whole bucket of water thing… I did my best. I still don’t quite get it – are you supposed to just drip dry? Sorry for the TMI here, but if you have any information at all on the subject, it would be of great practical value to me!!!
That was an end to the excitement of the evening. The sun was up as we drove through Pattaya and somewhere along the way I spotted the ocean. That was reassuring. Around 7:30 – 8am we arrived at the Rayong bus station – I think it was scheduled to arrive at 8:30am. The gal I had spoken to on the phone had said she would pick me up so I just waited. It occurred to me, as I waited, that I didn’t actually know her phone number. I mean, she had called me so it was in my phone – I just hadn’t added her name to it. I found the calls from the morning we’d talked… but it was a 50/50 shot which number was hers and which was the motorbike shop. It didn’t matter in the end as I had used up all my minutes drunk dialing my mom & J. the other night when I was drinking. =P Live and learn.
So I just waited… the only farang in the place, sitting there with all my brightly colored luggage. I could only have stood out more if I’d gotten up on my chair and started singing show tunes. As it was the songthaew drivers came up to me and asked where I needed to go. Honestly… I didn’t have a clue, not a street name, not a building address, nothing. I just waited. And surprisingly I didn’t freak out. I’ve been reading this book “Peace is Every Step” that was recommended to me by someone in Portland. One of the first things it talks about is just being aware of your breath and knowing that you’re alive. So I took a few deep breaths and thought about it. I was alive, I was safe. I had snacks, I had money, I had some books to read and a note pad to jot down a few of the above thoughts for my blog. There was no reason at that particular moment for me to worry. This is kind of a new concept for me. I’m kind of getting into the swing of ‘mai bpen rai’ – it doesn’t matter/no big deal.
At around 8:30, “Big” (not her real nickname) showed up wearing a shirt with the school name on it. I waved and she came over and helped me get my luggage into her car. From there we went to the apartment she had checked on for me. They’d had a room available the day before, but now it was full. Mai bpen rai. We went to the school and she introduced me to one of the teachers – he’s an American but I didn’t have time to formulate a nickname for him (“the Other American” is already taken ;) ). It was funny; I’d been listening to Thai almost exclusively after my course ended, and speaking in slow clear basic English when I used it, but as I shook the teacher’s hand “Howsitgoin” slipped right out of my mouth. I was relieved because between analyzing sentence stress and ‘grading my language’ I was beginning to fear that I’d forgotten how to talk like a normal person. =P
We picked up one of the other office gals – lets call her “Pink” and went over to her apartment building to see if they had a room. They did… but frankly it was frightening, dingy, dirty and a bit bare. I took a second though and realized it was mostly just dirty. The room was big, had A/C, a ceiling fan, a balcony, and a bathroom. I said it was fine, but it needed to be cleaned. I mean, I wasn’t in much of a position to insist that they cart me all over the city looking for another place. Especially considering that Pink lives there with one of the teachers, and another teacher lives right across the hall. I figured – how bad could it be? We said hi to the other teachers, but they were both off to class so I didn’t get to really talk to them.
But let me tell you a little story about hospitality. I’d spent the night traveling, I was tired and smelly and a bit out of sorts in general. I didn’t actually have access to my room – it still needed to be cleaned, and the women from the school all needed to get to work. But one of the teachers offered to let me store my stuff in her room and to take a shower. Her sister Blossom was staying with her on holiday so she just checked with her and gave me the okay. I brought all my stuff inside (have I mentioned how much luggage I have???) and Big & Pink told me to just relax and they’d come pick me up around lunch time to take me to Tesco’s to get stuff for my apartment. Blossom showed me to the bathroom & told me to go ahead and use their soap etc. so I wouldn’t have to go digging through my bags.
Let’s just review that. Blossom’s asleep. Her sister wakes her up and says “There’s a strange stinky girl here who needs someplace to hang out for the morning – how’s that with you?” To which Blossom replies, at least to me “Hi, nice to meet you. Here’s the shower gel, and let me get you a chair to put your clothes on while you shower.” ?????
It gets better from there. I showered and changed clothes and felt a lot better. Blossom sits and chats with me… both she and her sister are from the Philippines and she tells me that she’s just visiting and mostly she just likes hanging out in her room watching movies. She offers me breakfast, but I don’t want to impose any more than I already have so I decline. She then suggests that I “take some rest” which after a couple offers I do accept. I climb right into bed and doze off for a while. When I wake up, Blossom has showered & gotten dressed. She asks if I want to go to the market with her. It’s just a gas-station minimart, but we pick up some pastries (the kind where you never know what you’re going to get) and I get a bottle of water. We walk back to her apartment and eat & talk. My pastry was chocolate by the way, hers was some kind of vegetable mixture I wasn’t familiar with, but she said it was common in the Phillippines too. She pushes a banana cake on me too which I enjoyed thoroughly. And then she offers to put in a movie. Hands up if you would have guessed that I’d spend my first morning in Rayong eating yummy snacks and watching Poseiden with my new neighbor’s sister? Yeah… me neither.
After the movie both Blossom and I take a nap. Pink & Big arrive around 2pm and the four of us all go to Tesco Lotus. This is a big BIG everything-under-the-sun type store, like a Target or Fred Meyer. After four weeks with the boys and their potty mouths & drinking stories it was really nice to go shopping with the girls. Another universal concept. We went through the housewares section and headed into the grocery store part… the gals cracked me up stopping at each of the free sample dishes and loading up. They also pointed me to better deals so I could save a little money stocking up my apartment. It was really fun.
By the time we were done, my room had been cleaned and looked significantly better. Pink signed all the apartment rental paperwork for me – it was all in Thai, I have no idea what she just agreed to for me “mai bpen rai”, and I paid my first 10 days rent. I spent a bit of time unloading my purchases, and allowed myself the freedom to panic, just for a minute or two, about how crazy it was that I was actually in yet another new city with less than a clue about anything. It’s so funny. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the city… and yet still the anxiety creeps up on me.
Tomorrow I need to go to the school and get my teaching schedule, then spend a fair bit of time actually planning my lessons. I’m trying not to panic about that… but honestly I have no idea what I’m getting into.
For now, internet access will be a bit hit or miss. There’s no service through the apartment building, but there’s something to do with a new cell phone, blue-tooth and a sim card that is supposed to make that happen. It all sounded a bit expensive though, so tonight I’m going to try to hunt down an internet café. If you’re reading this, it probably means I found one**.
T.A.G. for today – Mango. There’s a part of me that wants to panic… but there’s just no reason.
*I related to the boys a tid-bit I learned from J’s travels… that in India those pastries would just as soon have a bit of spicy fish inside as anything else and they both agreed “That’s just wrong.”
**unfortunately the internet cafe I found doesn't allow you to use USB sticks, so I had to use someone's computer from work. I have a couple of pictures but didn't want to spend an hour uploading them.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Vocabulary lesson & good bye Chiang Mai.
TAG - Watermelon
For good or for ill, I’ve been able to get by in Chiang Mai speaking only English. I have actually tried to pick up and use a few words… but it’s been hard. I’ll ask what something is, someone will patiently repeat it umpteen times until I can pronounce it more or less correctly. Then ten minutes later I completely forget the word. Sometimes if I can hear it again I’ll remember it… but it’s really hit or miss.
Hmmm… I keep thinking that I *must* know more than this, but I really really don’t. Well, I’m pretty sure I know how to say “Where is…?” and “It’s here/there.” but I haven’t used it because I can get away with pointing at a map or just telling the driver the name of the place I want to go to. Honestly, I find this embarrassing… but like I said, so many people speak basic English that I can get away with it. I anticipate needing to know quite a bit more Thai in Rayong, since it’s not a tourist spot. It’ll be interesting (to me) to see how quickly this list expands.
For good or for ill, I’ve been able to get by in Chiang Mai speaking only English. I have actually tried to pick up and use a few words… but it’s been hard. I’ll ask what something is, someone will patiently repeat it umpteen times until I can pronounce it more or less correctly. Then ten minutes later I completely forget the word. Sometimes if I can hear it again I’ll remember it… but it’s really hit or miss.
My current Thai vocabulary:
Hello.
How are you? Fine.
Yes, No
Thank you.
Excuse me.
10 baht
20 baht
1, 2, 3, (I have a very tenuous grasp of #s 4-9, I really have to think about it)
I would like…
glass
water
chicken
pork
fried rice
pineapple
a little bit
tuk-tuk
songthaew
island
temple
It doesn’t matter.
Hmmm… I keep thinking that I *must* know more than this, but I really really don’t. Well, I’m pretty sure I know how to say “Where is…?” and “It’s here/there.” but I haven’t used it because I can get away with pointing at a map or just telling the driver the name of the place I want to go to. Honestly, I find this embarrassing… but like I said, so many people speak basic English that I can get away with it. I anticipate needing to know quite a bit more Thai in Rayong, since it’s not a tourist spot. It’ll be interesting (to me) to see how quickly this list expands.
spend quality time at the beach,
learn to ride a motorbike,
learn enough Thai to get by,
make a couple of friends,
have more fun!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Nobody's perfect
Last night the Short Aussie and I decided to go out for a drink to celebrate the fact that I got a job. He met me at my place and I was like "Where should we go?" "Don' know." So we crossed the street, walked half a block and found a bar - but it was pretty dead. We walked half a block in the other direction and saw a nice small pub with a bunch of guys already there drinking. Perfect.
After our waiter comes to take our order, the Short Aussie informs me... "This is a gay bar, you know." which, of course I didn't know. I asked if he wanted to switch venues but he was fine with it. It really turned out to be a good call.
So we're drinking, and Short Aussie's regaling me with all of his drinking stories. After about three beers he's ready to go home. I say "Come on! One more drink and I'll have a good story!" Short Aussie really doesn't need much convincing. This also turned out to be a pretty good call, because moments later the guys at the bar start talking to us. One of the guys - in the cool hat - is relating to me the story of his farang ex-boyfriend who lives in San Francisco and we bonded over the fact that we both just want to find a good man. Cool hat guy tells me we'll both find someone and to take heart because "Nobody's perfect!" Which becomes out toast for the evening.
Suddenly the lights go out, and I'm a bit concerned, until I turn around and notice the waiter coming out with a birthday cake and everyone starts singing "Happy Birthday" (in perfect English btw)
I will admit, that my fifth beer was probably the first bad call of the evening. Turns out the birthday boy is a 70 year old British guy, and of course I start hugging him, Cool hat guy, the waiter, and a bunch of other people. They then all start hugging the Short Aussie... who was surprisingly cool with all the attention. Then they bring us a slice of cake... eating it was the second bad call of the evening. Back somewhere around beer 2, Short Aussie had been telling me that sweets are not drinking food... but I didn't believe him.
After the cake came the cake fight, and after that came the very helpful waiter to clean up the Short Aussie. I was mostly a spectator for this part... but it was hugely entertaining. Somewhere around here I went to the bathroom - which had a tile floor covered in about a half inch of water (dear god I hope it was just water) where I proceeded to slip and fall flat on my ass as soon as I opened the door. One of the waiters saw me fall & proceeded to help me back up - laughing the whole time in true Thai fashion. I'm learning that if you do something stupid... just be the first person to start laughing and the whole situation is easier to handle.
I get back to the table - now soaking wet, and Short Aussie decides it's really time to go. I think he's got a finely honed sixth sense about these things because he manages to get me back to my building and we say our goodbyes while I'm still feeling pretty awesome. I get to my room, collapse in bed, drunk dial J, and then discover- all is not well. I spent the next hour or so learning the hard way that beer & birthday cake are not to be mixed. Oh man!
So yeah... TAG for last night - Mango all the way. TAG for this morning is borderline Durian. I need some breakfast in a bad way.
After our waiter comes to take our order, the Short Aussie informs me... "This is a gay bar, you know." which, of course I didn't know. I asked if he wanted to switch venues but he was fine with it. It really turned out to be a good call.
So we're drinking, and Short Aussie's regaling me with all of his drinking stories. After about three beers he's ready to go home. I say "Come on! One more drink and I'll have a good story!" Short Aussie really doesn't need much convincing. This also turned out to be a pretty good call, because moments later the guys at the bar start talking to us. One of the guys - in the cool hat - is relating to me the story of his farang ex-boyfriend who lives in San Francisco and we bonded over the fact that we both just want to find a good man. Cool hat guy tells me we'll both find someone and to take heart because "Nobody's perfect!" Which becomes out toast for the evening.
Suddenly the lights go out, and I'm a bit concerned, until I turn around and notice the waiter coming out with a birthday cake and everyone starts singing "Happy Birthday" (in perfect English btw)
I will admit, that my fifth beer was probably the first bad call of the evening. Turns out the birthday boy is a 70 year old British guy, and of course I start hugging him, Cool hat guy, the waiter, and a bunch of other people. They then all start hugging the Short Aussie... who was surprisingly cool with all the attention. Then they bring us a slice of cake... eating it was the second bad call of the evening. Back somewhere around beer 2, Short Aussie had been telling me that sweets are not drinking food... but I didn't believe him.
After the cake came the cake fight, and after that came the very helpful waiter to clean up the Short Aussie. I was mostly a spectator for this part... but it was hugely entertaining. Somewhere around here I went to the bathroom - which had a tile floor covered in about a half inch of water (dear god I hope it was just water) where I proceeded to slip and fall flat on my ass as soon as I opened the door. One of the waiters saw me fall & proceeded to help me back up - laughing the whole time in true Thai fashion. I'm learning that if you do something stupid... just be the first person to start laughing and the whole situation is easier to handle.I get back to the table - now soaking wet, and Short Aussie decides it's really time to go. I think he's got a finely honed sixth sense about these things because he manages to get me back to my building and we say our goodbyes while I'm still feeling pretty awesome. I get to my room, collapse in bed, drunk dial J, and then discover- all is not well. I spent the next hour or so learning the hard way that beer & birthday cake are not to be mixed. Oh man!
So yeah... TAG for last night - Mango all the way. TAG for this morning is borderline Durian. I need some breakfast in a bad way.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Well, that was quick.
Today's TAG - Pineapple? Watermelon? I'm gonna go with Fruit Salad for today.
So, um... I think I have a job.
I had heard about the job in Rayong before I finished the CELTA and at the time I'd said no, because I thought I wanted to stay in Chiang Mai for a while. But then I figured out that I want to be near the beach, so I went ahead and applied for it, and boom - I start on Monday.
I had to pack up and move from my monthly-rent room to a daily rent room today because I kinda figured I wasn't going to be staying here for another month. I do not enjoy packing. AT ALL. And you know, it wasn't until I was all unpacked again that I got the call about the job. So I get to repack all my crap on Friday.
I'm excited about having a job lined up because that means I'll actually have an income. But I'm also incredibly nervous. I mean, I've only had 6 hours of teaching experience so far, and I'll probably have 4 hours of teaching on my very first day. It looks like I'll be teaching adults at various levels, at least one Business English class, and at least one class of young learners. I'm not sure this will be the best fitting job in the world for me, but I'm taking an experimental view of it all. It'll give me a chance to get some experience and to work for a company that I know is legit (it's another branch of the school that I took the CELTA from). It's 25 contact hours a week at an entry level salary. The school will help me get a visa, and actually they're going to help me find an apartment too. The down side is that I'll only have one full day off a week. But as I don't anticipate having much of a social life - that shouldn't be a problem.
It's all exciting and scary... I really don't know what to expect.
Rayong is not really a tourist destination, so I don't anticipate meeting a lot of English speakers. Which means I'll really need to learn the language. Chiang Mai on the other hand is the second biggest city around, and famed for all the arts & crafts. There's a part of me that wants to do some serious shopping here before I move... but I really don't want to have to carry any more than what I already have. Such a tough call. Obviously, I have a lot of stuff... arguably more stuff than I really need. But for the month that I've been here I've worn nearly all the clothes I've brought and have not regretted bringing any particular item.
Except my notebook. Oi vey. I don't think I've mentioned that little tid-bit yet.
On the left, your standard American 8 1/2" x 11" three ring binder folder, on the right, your standard Thai A4 sized two ring binder. D'oh! You really should have seen me trying to shove sheets of A4 paper into my 8 1/2" x 11" folders. They just don't fit. Apparently A4 is the standard in Europe as well as Asia, the US really needs to get with it.
I still haven't learned to ride a motorbike... I keep getting told "come back later." I should probably take that as a Thai "No." and go someplace else... but I can't be bothered - this place is closest to my residence and the guy speaks English. I supposedly have an appointment for a lesson tomorrow at 4pm, but we'll see. I'd really like to learn while I'm here because I already kinda sorta know my way around. But I guess I can learn just as easily when I get to Rayong. I just think I'd have more fun on my last week here if I had my own wheels.
Ok... that's enough rambling for today.
So, um... I think I have a job.
I had heard about the job in Rayong before I finished the CELTA and at the time I'd said no, because I thought I wanted to stay in Chiang Mai for a while. But then I figured out that I want to be near the beach, so I went ahead and applied for it, and boom - I start on Monday.
I had to pack up and move from my monthly-rent room to a daily rent room today because I kinda figured I wasn't going to be staying here for another month. I do not enjoy packing. AT ALL. And you know, it wasn't until I was all unpacked again that I got the call about the job. So I get to repack all my crap on Friday.
I'm excited about having a job lined up because that means I'll actually have an income. But I'm also incredibly nervous. I mean, I've only had 6 hours of teaching experience so far, and I'll probably have 4 hours of teaching on my very first day. It looks like I'll be teaching adults at various levels, at least one Business English class, and at least one class of young learners. I'm not sure this will be the best fitting job in the world for me, but I'm taking an experimental view of it all. It'll give me a chance to get some experience and to work for a company that I know is legit (it's another branch of the school that I took the CELTA from). It's 25 contact hours a week at an entry level salary. The school will help me get a visa, and actually they're going to help me find an apartment too. The down side is that I'll only have one full day off a week. But as I don't anticipate having much of a social life - that shouldn't be a problem.
It's all exciting and scary... I really don't know what to expect.
Rayong is not really a tourist destination, so I don't anticipate meeting a lot of English speakers. Which means I'll really need to learn the language. Chiang Mai on the other hand is the second biggest city around, and famed for all the arts & crafts. There's a part of me that wants to do some serious shopping here before I move... but I really don't want to have to carry any more than what I already have. Such a tough call. Obviously, I have a lot of stuff... arguably more stuff than I really need. But for the month that I've been here I've worn nearly all the clothes I've brought and have not regretted bringing any particular item.
Except my notebook. Oi vey. I don't think I've mentioned that little tid-bit yet.
On the left, your standard American 8 1/2" x 11" three ring binder folder, on the right, your standard Thai A4 sized two ring binder. D'oh! You really should have seen me trying to shove sheets of A4 paper into my 8 1/2" x 11" folders. They just don't fit. Apparently A4 is the standard in Europe as well as Asia, the US really needs to get with it.I still haven't learned to ride a motorbike... I keep getting told "come back later." I should probably take that as a Thai "No." and go someplace else... but I can't be bothered - this place is closest to my residence and the guy speaks English. I supposedly have an appointment for a lesson tomorrow at 4pm, but we'll see. I'd really like to learn while I'm here because I already kinda sorta know my way around. But I guess I can learn just as easily when I get to Rayong. I just think I'd have more fun on my last week here if I had my own wheels.
Ok... that's enough rambling for today.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Reality bites
TAG - Watermelon
I spent the weekend just relaxing. I took a nap which is actually pretty exciting considering I've been dealing with insomnia for about two years and can count on one hand the number of times I've been able to fall asleep without medication. Yay for sleep!
The Short Aussie gave me his copy of The Alchemist and I finally got a chance to read it. It's the right kind of book for me to read at this point in my life. Basically it's about a young boy learning to follow his personal legend and the costs / rewards of doing so. Some have said it's more of a parable than a novel... but whatever - it got me thinking. The main character talks about learning to understand the unspoken language of the world, the language of the soul, the language of the heart etc. When he talked about listening to his heart I took a minute to be quiet and really listen. And I heard something interesting that went something like "Rebecca needs to be near the ocean."
It was one of those things that's so obvious I can't believe I've gone this long without realizing it. I didn't get a chance to go to the coast before I left Oregon and now I've been in Thailand (world renowned for it's beaches & islands) for over a month and still haven't been to the beach. So now I don't think I really want to stay in Chiang Mai to teach. I'd like to go down south (maybe Rayong... not necessarily a resort town) and see if I can find something there for a while. Chiang Mai will still be here if I don't like it.
So, essentially I spent the weekend reading, sleeping, doing laundry, and trying to figure out what my personal legend is. And now I need to get a job. I also need to sort out my living situation. My one-month's rent is up as of tomorrow. I had planned on staying in my residence for another month while I looked for a job - so I could have just paid up for one more month. But if I'm going to go to Rayong, I don't want to be locked into another month's contract. So I went to the office and said, let me stay on for just a week. Which they'll do. But not in this room. Now I need to pack up all my crap and move. If I'd known that I might have just tried to find a cheaper back-packer place. I guess I still could... but it's at least easier to just drag my stuff down a few floors than it would be to cart it to the other end of the city.
I've made the barest of tip-toes into job search mode. I posted my resume online and emailed a school about a job in Rayong. I've looked at a couple of other jobs in Chiang Mai... but haven't made a serious endeavor yet. I hate this part. In theory there's a teacher shortage in Thailand so I should be able to get a job very easily... but we'll see.
I also need to sort out my transportation needs. I've been getting by just fine on tuk-tuks and songthaews because I'm mainly going between well known landmarks. But as I start looking for jobs, I'm going to need to explore the city a bit more on my own. Which means..... it's time for Rebel to learn to ride a motorbike! I actually went to the shop today to rent one but there was no one available to teach me. I was told to come back tomorrow morning for a lesson. I'm excited, but also terrified. Wish me luck!!
I'm editing this post to share a picture from dinner Friday night. It's not everyone - but you get the idea. =)
I spent the weekend just relaxing. I took a nap which is actually pretty exciting considering I've been dealing with insomnia for about two years and can count on one hand the number of times I've been able to fall asleep without medication. Yay for sleep!
The Short Aussie gave me his copy of The Alchemist and I finally got a chance to read it. It's the right kind of book for me to read at this point in my life. Basically it's about a young boy learning to follow his personal legend and the costs / rewards of doing so. Some have said it's more of a parable than a novel... but whatever - it got me thinking. The main character talks about learning to understand the unspoken language of the world, the language of the soul, the language of the heart etc. When he talked about listening to his heart I took a minute to be quiet and really listen. And I heard something interesting that went something like "Rebecca needs to be near the ocean."
It was one of those things that's so obvious I can't believe I've gone this long without realizing it. I didn't get a chance to go to the coast before I left Oregon and now I've been in Thailand (world renowned for it's beaches & islands) for over a month and still haven't been to the beach. So now I don't think I really want to stay in Chiang Mai to teach. I'd like to go down south (maybe Rayong... not necessarily a resort town) and see if I can find something there for a while. Chiang Mai will still be here if I don't like it.
So, essentially I spent the weekend reading, sleeping, doing laundry, and trying to figure out what my personal legend is. And now I need to get a job. I also need to sort out my living situation. My one-month's rent is up as of tomorrow. I had planned on staying in my residence for another month while I looked for a job - so I could have just paid up for one more month. But if I'm going to go to Rayong, I don't want to be locked into another month's contract. So I went to the office and said, let me stay on for just a week. Which they'll do. But not in this room. Now I need to pack up all my crap and move. If I'd known that I might have just tried to find a cheaper back-packer place. I guess I still could... but it's at least easier to just drag my stuff down a few floors than it would be to cart it to the other end of the city.
I've made the barest of tip-toes into job search mode. I posted my resume online and emailed a school about a job in Rayong. I've looked at a couple of other jobs in Chiang Mai... but haven't made a serious endeavor yet. I hate this part. In theory there's a teacher shortage in Thailand so I should be able to get a job very easily... but we'll see.
I also need to sort out my transportation needs. I've been getting by just fine on tuk-tuks and songthaews because I'm mainly going between well known landmarks. But as I start looking for jobs, I'm going to need to explore the city a bit more on my own. Which means..... it's time for Rebel to learn to ride a motorbike! I actually went to the shop today to rent one but there was no one available to teach me. I was told to come back tomorrow morning for a lesson. I'm excited, but also terrified. Wish me luck!!
I'm editing this post to share a picture from dinner Friday night. It's not everyone - but you get the idea. =)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Smokin' Hot
Today's TAG - Code Mango... all the way!
Friday was the end-of-class party, and really fun. One of the gals from the front office made us Pad Thai (and it was wonderful), and there was a lot of other yummy food as well… all served on big ol’ banana leaves. The students gave us gifts… which was awesome. We all got loose weave cotton scarves (mine was in the exact shade of blue as most of my teacher clothes), the boys got gorgeous silk ties. 
It was funny, the Brit got a gold & burgundy striped tie and when he put it on a few of the students were like “Oh! Harry Potter!!” LOL. It was hilarious, he really did look the part. The girls got silk wallets which was great because I really really needed one. One of the gals gave us all pressed-flower bookmarks with a thank-you note written (in absolutely perfect English) on the back. We were all very touched. Finally, one of the gals made me a bracelet. We were spoiled. But that was only the beginning.
A few of the students had invited the teachers out to dinner & drinks. The girls told me to wear a dress - so I wore the one little black dress I packed. I got picked up by a student, and rode to the restaurant on the back of her motorbike. The bar/restaurant was fairly western… it had kind of a ‘wild west saloon’ vibe and it was about 50/50 Thai/Farang. The group at the next table over were from
A few of us went to "Fashion Club" for more drinks & dancing afterwards. There were 8 or 9 of us all on motor bikes (some of us doubled up), driving around Chiang Mai... passing each other... whacking each other upside the head as we sped past golden temples & ancient walls etc. It was awesome. It felt like when I was a kid and all my friends and I would ride our bikes around town… just playing & chasing & yelling at each other; except a
And live it up I did. The club was just incredible. On the one hand... I could barely understand a word of what was going on in the bar. We got our own little section of seats & a little table… and that’s where you dance. There’s not like a big dance floor where everyone just goes crazy. It was weird… and it took a LONG time for people to loosen up. I’m not a huge party girl… but it was about the mellowest dance club I’d ever been to. But on the other hand, it was a bar - there was music (a mix of live music & dance mixes – a fair amount of American Hip Hop), and eventually there were drunk girls dancing & a line for the bathroom. I knew *exactly* what was going on. Earlier in the evening before the rest of the teachers got there, I had been gossiping with the students. A couple of the girls have a crush on one of the teachers. They were also sharing their insecurities about their figures. I could so relate. It was all so universal.... so... I don't know, fundamental. As much as I love seeing how things are different here, it’s seeing all those things that make us human that really blow my mind.
I know it’s been all sunshine and rainbows from me for the past month… but I kinda think reality’s going to start creeping in around the corners now that the course is over and I have to get down to business. I’m still going to aim to have more fun in life, to say “yes” to more, and generally get as much out of this experience as possible. And if I’m unhappy for any length of time I’ll know it’s time to change things up – either internally or externally. But for now, life is good and I’m very happy.
* In case you were worried, I was pretty drunk, but the teacher driving me wasn’t. He had, in fact, talked me out of riding with the student who’d driven me there as she was a bit tipsy herself.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
We live in a beautiful world...
Today's TAG - Mango baby... all mango.
I got up this morning, not nearly as hung over as I expected to be. That night out was far better for me than I can adequately put into words... but you know me.... I'll try. ;)
There I was sitting in a bar, in the middle of a Buddhist country, shit faced drunk, listening to a sworn atheist tell me how much Jesus loves me. And really believing it for the first time in a very ... very long time. It was one of those strange and beautiful things I never could have predicted would happen here.
Tomorrow night all the teachers are going out with the students. I really don't know what to expect. But you can trust that I will give a full report on both my last day of practice teaching, a review of the course overall, and of course whatever happens at this party.
I got up this morning, not nearly as hung over as I expected to be. That night out was far better for me than I can adequately put into words... but you know me.... I'll try. ;)
There I was sitting in a bar, in the middle of a Buddhist country, shit faced drunk, listening to a sworn atheist tell me how much Jesus loves me. And really believing it for the first time in a very ... very long time. It was one of those strange and beautiful things I never could have predicted would happen here.
Tomorrow night all the teachers are going out with the students. I really don't know what to expect. But you can trust that I will give a full report on both my last day of practice teaching, a review of the course overall, and of course whatever happens at this party.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
wasted in the afternoon...
eccept its not afternoon id's evening.... but I am a bit wasted. Today was -- oh... today is mango by the wya.... totally mango. But todaywas supposed to be my last class but not enough students showed up (so much for all the good wishes - which I appreciate... but..) anyway... not enough students so we just played games and I still have to do my lesson tomorrow.... screw it... I could make it better but I'm just going to do what I have and whatever happens happens.
Just had a few (too many, love - as the short aussie woudl say) with the boys... talked to hte Brit about life the universe and everythign.... I LOVE talking to the brit about life the universe and everything.. because he says things liek I have my head sorted... which I kinda do. but anyway... had an awesome time... and should go to bed now.
Thqanks for the good wishes. Kisses.
Just had a few (too many, love - as the short aussie woudl say) with the boys... talked to hte Brit about life the universe and everythign.... I LOVE talking to the brit about life the universe and everything.. because he says things liek I have my head sorted... which I kinda do. but anyway... had an awesome time... and should go to bed now.
Thqanks for the good wishes. Kisses.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Your challenge, should you chose to accept it....
T.A.G. for today - Pineapple. I've got some work to do!
Ok kids... tomorrow will be my last practice teaching lesson... my last chance to shine on the CELTA course. It's been an intense experience on a personal level, and academically I've just been told that I'm right on the edge between a Pass & a Pass B. All through the course I have said that I didn't need to be perfect, but I just needed to pass so I could get a job. And ultimately all I want to do is learn to be a good teacher.
But today I found out that someone who's been doing really bottom of the barrel work, and who should probably fail the course, will probably also receive a Pass. So suddenly, with one lesson to go, I actually care about my grade. I don't want potential employers thinking the two of us are in the same league when I actually care about being a good teacher.
So... I am going to sign off for the night, and I'm going to work my little brains off on coming up with a Reading Skills lesson that will knock my students socks off. I've already got the stages written out, and a few ideas about what to do with the text... but I could use all the good vibes I could get.
Send me good vibes for my instructions to be clear, my tasks to be appropriate, my students to be engaged with the material. Basically, send me as many 'don't screw up' vibes as you can, and I will do my part to work really hard tonight to make the best lesson plan possible. It's my plan to go to bed by midnight so I'll actually be fresh and ready to go tomorrow.
I'll be teaching at around 3pm Thai time tomorrow (Wednesday for me)... so send me some good thoughts before you go to bed on Tuesday night. =)
Ok kids... tomorrow will be my last practice teaching lesson... my last chance to shine on the CELTA course. It's been an intense experience on a personal level, and academically I've just been told that I'm right on the edge between a Pass & a Pass B. All through the course I have said that I didn't need to be perfect, but I just needed to pass so I could get a job. And ultimately all I want to do is learn to be a good teacher.
But today I found out that someone who's been doing really bottom of the barrel work, and who should probably fail the course, will probably also receive a Pass. So suddenly, with one lesson to go, I actually care about my grade. I don't want potential employers thinking the two of us are in the same league when I actually care about being a good teacher.
So... I am going to sign off for the night, and I'm going to work my little brains off on coming up with a Reading Skills lesson that will knock my students socks off. I've already got the stages written out, and a few ideas about what to do with the text... but I could use all the good vibes I could get.
Send me good vibes for my instructions to be clear, my tasks to be appropriate, my students to be engaged with the material. Basically, send me as many 'don't screw up' vibes as you can, and I will do my part to work really hard tonight to make the best lesson plan possible. It's my plan to go to bed by midnight so I'll actually be fresh and ready to go tomorrow.
I'll be teaching at around 3pm Thai time tomorrow (Wednesday for me)... so send me some good thoughts before you go to bed on Tuesday night. =)
Monday, September 8, 2008
To standard for this stage
T.A.G. for today... Pineapple? (Pineapple upside-down cake maybe?) I still have a cold, but it's not horrible.
Warning - I'm just going to whine for two paragraphs... you can skip ahead to the good stuff if you'd like.
It's been said before, but I'll say it again - the CELTA course is really intense. In some ways I haven't found it to be nearly as difficult as I was anticipating, and I really don't spend every waking second doing homework & lesson plans like I was warned... but it is intensive in that we learn a great deal and are expected to keep building and building our skills in each lesson. I really feel like getting 'above standard' feedback so early in the course really set me up for disappointment. I came into the course with the motto "I don't need to be perfect, I just need to pass." but at the mid-point evaluation I was told "Keep doing as well as you're doing and you'll get a Pass-B" but since then I've had to resubmit an assignment and the only two lessons I've taught have been graded 'to standard' with a lot of problems in them. So I feel like a failure... even though I'm not at all. You know, it's all to do with perspective. I would have rather just stayed "at standard" throughout the course.
My lesson today was really tough for me. It was "functional language" rather than a specific grammatical structure. So instead of teaching verbs in the present perfect continuous, I was teaching a variety of "polite requests, asking for permission & polite replies" I knew from the get go that it would be a challenge, and looking at it I could tell exactly what my main problems were... but I had a complete mental block on how to fix them. In feedback the instructor went through and explained "you could have done xy and zed" and suddenly it was all completely clear. I'd spent hours and hours and hours going around in circles not able to figure out what to do... and in 2 minutes she had the answer. Of course, that's to do with experience... but still it's frustrating.
OK - no more whining.
Today was fairly busy. The Cambridge certified external-assessor was at the school today. He was just verifying that our portfolios were in order and that the grading thus far has been up to Cambridge standards. He observed two lessons - fortunately not mine. There was an opportunity to air our grievances about the program with him... but no one really said anything. I thought about discussing my problem with Daddy Dearest, but decided that my time was better spent finishing up my lesson plan.
I had gotten to school early because I was still sorting out my lesson plan. A few of us were working in the computer room when the Canadian came in and told us that it was the Quiet Australian's birthday today. I thought it would be nice to get a birthday cake for him and the guys agreed. There's a bakery two doors down from the school and they happened to have one whole chocolate cake in the display. It was 400 baht ($12, *not* cheap by Thai standards) but since I'm still feeling a bit rich from this weekend's unexpected windfall I bought it. Then I ran two doors to the other side of the school and picked up some candles & plastic forks at the 7/11, then hid all the goodies with the gals from the front office. (Before coming here I was all worried about what kinds of things they would & wouldn't have in Thailand but the reality is - they have everything I could possibly need.)
So after we all met with the assessor, everyone hung out for a minute and had a little birthday party. It was really fun to have cake & candles & everyone singing... I think it lightened the mood a bit. Maybe that's the Pollyanna in me... but the Quiet Australian did seem to appreciate the thought. I have to say though, the Thais do a great many wonderful things, but chocolate cake is not one of them. It was fine, but I've made better.
After class I had dinner with one of the students at Chiang Mai University. It was just so sweet. One of the other teachers did a lesson on Friday about making arrangements and had the students do an activity where they asked each other "Are you free on Monday?" "No, I'm playing tennis on Monday. Are you free on Saturday?" and after class one of the students came up to me and asked "Are you free tonight?" and I said no... thinking she was still practicing. But she asked if I was free on Monday and invited me to have dinner with her. I was so totally flattered. Now, I don't know if technically it's inappropriate to socialize with students outside of class. But I do know that a couple of the guys have gone out to a bar owned by one of the students, and have run into other students while out drinking. I figured, whatever ethical grey area I might have stepped into - the overarching moral propriety of my normal behavior would keep me out of trouble.
It was fun... and the student was adorable. She started out by saying "We need to walk one kilometer." and I was like "OK" and she laughed at me... "Just joking! We'll take the CMU shuttle." (Apparently Thais don't do a lot of walking) The shuttles are like the train/tram things like they have in the parking lot at Disneyland or Universal Studios.... like an extra long golf cart. Anyway we walked all of a block & a half then got on the shuttle. It wound around through campus - OMG it's so lush! There's a decent sized lake and huge trees everywhere. It feels very tropical. But it's also very much a campus... lots of students everywhere, playing soccer & basketball, riding around on scooters, sitting around talking. Lots of big dorm buildings with laundry hanging out the window etc.
Eventually we got to the food court. Like most places in Thailand, it's all open-air. There are roofs but you're essentially outside (with mosquitoes and stray dogs etc). The food stalls themselves seemed a lot more permanent than the food stalls across from my school. These were well lit and had full on concrete walls... not just a wooden frame. Still, they are a bit reminiscent of the 'snack shack' at a football stadium. She asked what I'd like and I just said we could get whatever was her favorite. It's so funny because her English is really good, but still somewhat formal. So she said "I recommend..." and of course she repeated it about 5 times but I can't remember what it was called. I didn't feel comfortable whipping out my camera to take a picture, but MAN it was good! It was some kind of saffron/curried rice with little bits of chicken mixed in, and a seasoned chicken drumstick on the side. YUM... it was spiced, but not too spicy, and only 25 baht. We sat down and she asked if I like fruit, and I was able to tell her one of the very few words I've actually learned since getting here "Samporot" (no idea how it should be transliterated) - and after a few of my attempts to pronounce it she understood that I meant pineapple. So she ran off for a minute and came back with pineapple smoothie type beverages for us. Very sweet and very refreshing. I love that the Thais have a sweet tooth... my kind of people. Just you know... they should leave chocolate to the Europeans.
There were also a few vendors with their wares lined up on the side of the campus road. Mostly clothes (jeans & T-shirts), wallets, hair clips & cute notebooks. I didn't buy anything, because despite my poker win, I'm still trying to hold back on buying anything until I have a job & a permanent address. OH! But she got me a present!
It's just a little note-pad from CMU... but how adorable?! (an interobang would be nice here, don't you think?)
First off, hello! It's pink!! =) Second, check out the adorable elephants... they're all wearing mortar boards. How sweet was that???
We sat and chatted for a while. She told me about her family and I told her a little about the US. She's visited Korea, so she was telling me a bit about the things she noticed there. It was not the deepest of conversations, but she can actually communicate extremely well - despite the fact that she says "I don't speak English very well." Lordy. I decided to teach her the word "Confident" and subsequently tried to tell her to be more confident, because her English was actually just fine. And bless her heart, she used some of the language I had taught in my lesson today. "May I sit here?" and "I'm sorry, this seat is taken." (she was joking) LOL... and I told her my lesson really wasn't very good & she tried to reassure me "But I remembered it!" which I guess is the most important thing.
Overall a good day... but not without it's ups and downs. A very pineapple day. =)
Warning - I'm just going to whine for two paragraphs... you can skip ahead to the good stuff if you'd like.
It's been said before, but I'll say it again - the CELTA course is really intense. In some ways I haven't found it to be nearly as difficult as I was anticipating, and I really don't spend every waking second doing homework & lesson plans like I was warned... but it is intensive in that we learn a great deal and are expected to keep building and building our skills in each lesson. I really feel like getting 'above standard' feedback so early in the course really set me up for disappointment. I came into the course with the motto "I don't need to be perfect, I just need to pass." but at the mid-point evaluation I was told "Keep doing as well as you're doing and you'll get a Pass-B" but since then I've had to resubmit an assignment and the only two lessons I've taught have been graded 'to standard' with a lot of problems in them. So I feel like a failure... even though I'm not at all. You know, it's all to do with perspective. I would have rather just stayed "at standard" throughout the course.
My lesson today was really tough for me. It was "functional language" rather than a specific grammatical structure. So instead of teaching verbs in the present perfect continuous, I was teaching a variety of "polite requests, asking for permission & polite replies" I knew from the get go that it would be a challenge, and looking at it I could tell exactly what my main problems were... but I had a complete mental block on how to fix them. In feedback the instructor went through and explained "you could have done xy and zed" and suddenly it was all completely clear. I'd spent hours and hours and hours going around in circles not able to figure out what to do... and in 2 minutes she had the answer. Of course, that's to do with experience... but still it's frustrating.
OK - no more whining.
Today was fairly busy. The Cambridge certified external-assessor was at the school today. He was just verifying that our portfolios were in order and that the grading thus far has been up to Cambridge standards. He observed two lessons - fortunately not mine. There was an opportunity to air our grievances about the program with him... but no one really said anything. I thought about discussing my problem with Daddy Dearest, but decided that my time was better spent finishing up my lesson plan.
I had gotten to school early because I was still sorting out my lesson plan. A few of us were working in the computer room when the Canadian came in and told us that it was the Quiet Australian's birthday today. I thought it would be nice to get a birthday cake for him and the guys agreed. There's a bakery two doors down from the school and they happened to have one whole chocolate cake in the display. It was 400 baht ($12, *not* cheap by Thai standards) but since I'm still feeling a bit rich from this weekend's unexpected windfall I bought it. Then I ran two doors to the other side of the school and picked up some candles & plastic forks at the 7/11, then hid all the goodies with the gals from the front office. (Before coming here I was all worried about what kinds of things they would & wouldn't have in Thailand but the reality is - they have everything I could possibly need.)
So after we all met with the assessor, everyone hung out for a minute and had a little birthday party. It was really fun to have cake & candles & everyone singing... I think it lightened the mood a bit. Maybe that's the Pollyanna in me... but the Quiet Australian did seem to appreciate the thought. I have to say though, the Thais do a great many wonderful things, but chocolate cake is not one of them. It was fine, but I've made better.
After class I had dinner with one of the students at Chiang Mai University. It was just so sweet. One of the other teachers did a lesson on Friday about making arrangements and had the students do an activity where they asked each other "Are you free on Monday?" "No, I'm playing tennis on Monday. Are you free on Saturday?" and after class one of the students came up to me and asked "Are you free tonight?" and I said no... thinking she was still practicing. But she asked if I was free on Monday and invited me to have dinner with her. I was so totally flattered. Now, I don't know if technically it's inappropriate to socialize with students outside of class. But I do know that a couple of the guys have gone out to a bar owned by one of the students, and have run into other students while out drinking. I figured, whatever ethical grey area I might have stepped into - the overarching moral propriety of my normal behavior would keep me out of trouble.
It was fun... and the student was adorable. She started out by saying "We need to walk one kilometer." and I was like "OK" and she laughed at me... "Just joking! We'll take the CMU shuttle." (Apparently Thais don't do a lot of walking) The shuttles are like the train/tram things like they have in the parking lot at Disneyland or Universal Studios.... like an extra long golf cart. Anyway we walked all of a block & a half then got on the shuttle. It wound around through campus - OMG it's so lush! There's a decent sized lake and huge trees everywhere. It feels very tropical. But it's also very much a campus... lots of students everywhere, playing soccer & basketball, riding around on scooters, sitting around talking. Lots of big dorm buildings with laundry hanging out the window etc.
Eventually we got to the food court. Like most places in Thailand, it's all open-air. There are roofs but you're essentially outside (with mosquitoes and stray dogs etc). The food stalls themselves seemed a lot more permanent than the food stalls across from my school. These were well lit and had full on concrete walls... not just a wooden frame. Still, they are a bit reminiscent of the 'snack shack' at a football stadium. She asked what I'd like and I just said we could get whatever was her favorite. It's so funny because her English is really good, but still somewhat formal. So she said "I recommend..." and of course she repeated it about 5 times but I can't remember what it was called. I didn't feel comfortable whipping out my camera to take a picture, but MAN it was good! It was some kind of saffron/curried rice with little bits of chicken mixed in, and a seasoned chicken drumstick on the side. YUM... it was spiced, but not too spicy, and only 25 baht. We sat down and she asked if I like fruit, and I was able to tell her one of the very few words I've actually learned since getting here "Samporot" (no idea how it should be transliterated) - and after a few of my attempts to pronounce it she understood that I meant pineapple. So she ran off for a minute and came back with pineapple smoothie type beverages for us. Very sweet and very refreshing. I love that the Thais have a sweet tooth... my kind of people. Just you know... they should leave chocolate to the Europeans.
There were also a few vendors with their wares lined up on the side of the campus road. Mostly clothes (jeans & T-shirts), wallets, hair clips & cute notebooks. I didn't buy anything, because despite my poker win, I'm still trying to hold back on buying anything until I have a job & a permanent address. OH! But she got me a present!
It's just a little note-pad from CMU... but how adorable?! (an interobang would be nice here, don't you think?)First off, hello! It's pink!! =) Second, check out the adorable elephants... they're all wearing mortar boards. How sweet was that???
We sat and chatted for a while. She told me about her family and I told her a little about the US. She's visited Korea, so she was telling me a bit about the things she noticed there. It was not the deepest of conversations, but she can actually communicate extremely well - despite the fact that she says "I don't speak English very well." Lordy. I decided to teach her the word "Confident" and subsequently tried to tell her to be more confident, because her English was actually just fine. And bless her heart, she used some of the language I had taught in my lesson today. "May I sit here?" and "I'm sorry, this seat is taken." (she was joking) LOL... and I told her my lesson really wasn't very good & she tried to reassure me "But I remembered it!" which I guess is the most important thing.
Overall a good day... but not without it's ups and downs. A very pineapple day. =)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Don't try this at home...
T.A.G - Code Pineapple. It's been a mentally tough day, and I have a cold... but other than that, all is well.
When I was back in
However, this whole experience of doing the CELTA course ‘in country’ is turning out to be extremely challenging, both emotionally & intellectually. I was expecting (dreading) some of this challenge, but still…it can be overwhelming at times. Intellectually, there’s a lot of information to absorb, and then apply in teaching practice. There are techniques to master and grammatical structures to learn. There’s a lot of prep-work to do before each lesson, and then a lot of feedback & analysis to deal with afterwards. Emotionally, it’s been a roller-coaster ride. There were lessons that I felt completely unprepared for that went extremely well, and then lessons I felt really comfortable with that didn’t go very well at all. I’m spending a lot of time around the same people… so much so that individual quirks become really irritating. I’ve had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone, but at the same time, I feel like I don’t have any ‘real’ friends. I feel like the guys on the course tolerate me at best, and actively dislike me in at least one case. The one person who seems most genuinely interested in talking to me is also the most likely to point out my personality flaws to me. It’s been really tough.
There are times when everything is wonderful, when I think “How amazing is this?” and then there are days when I spend hours playing solitare on my computer ruminating on all the things going wrong. One minute I’ll feel like I’m really going to be a good teacher, that it’s feeling very natural. But then I’ll spend two hours agonizing over what to do for a 2 minute warm up activity. I love working with the students… but I get so nervous before I teach that I want to throw up. And getting a really positive review from my instructor only made me feel more pressured to live up to his expectations. It’s insane.
Then there’s the fact that I almost never know what’s going on. There’s a freedom in that. Knowing that you’re probably doing something wrong, and that you’re probably going to offend someone means you just don’t worry about it. But it can also be humiliating. One of the guys on my course picked a Thai name to use in the class so the students could pronounce it easily. Every time he said his name, students would giggle – he’d ask “Isn’t that a Thai name?” and he’d get the reply that it’s the name of a Thai actor. Just yesterday he found out that it’s an actor who’s most famous for doing a string of condom commercials. So yeah, in an effort to pay respect to the Thai culture, he named himself after the condom man.
Oh, and then there was the Gyoza incident. I went out to lunch with two of the guys and ordered gyoza. The woman made some attempt to communicate something with me and I just clarified that yes, that’s what I wanted. As is customary in
I wouldn’t say it takes much courage to live abroad – it’s not all that scary – but it does take a certain kind of grit. You’ve got to find a way to deal with your own issues, as well as the issues of a country & culture that’s not your own. It’s not easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart. But for me, at this moment, I think it’s been worth it.
.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Texas Hold-em International Style
Let me tell you a little story about Texas hold-em and a girl they call Reb.
When the Brit started inviting people over to his place to play cards he asked if I wanted to come. I said I'd like to come by. He asked if I knew how to play poker and I hesitated ... I knew the general idea, but had only actually played once. He pressed on... "Do you really know how to play?" and I replied tentatively "When I played at bible camp (TUP) I won all the crayons." and mentioned that I'd be up for playing a hand or two. To this he gave a very short "NO! This is serious cards." And I said I'd still like to go to the party if possible, maybe just have a drink then leave early so the guys could just be guys.
The subject came up a few more times over the week as details were sorted out. The guys decided they wanted to play competition style poker (not that I even knew what that was), buy in 1000 Baht, top two players split the pot. It was made clear that I wouldn't just be able to play a hand or two, it was all in or all out, and most of the guys assumed I'd be all out. Eventually though, the guys decided that if I really wanted to play I could have a discounted buy in - only 500 Baht. But I was having none of that. I may not be able to play like the big boys... but I wasn't going to pansy out of it either. One of the guys tried to make sure I knew what I was getting into "This is serious... some people say they're playing for fun, but then they lose all their money and it sucks." I stood firm; it would be worth the price of the buy in just for the experience.
Before the party, I was able to locate some good German beer at the store... and also Kettle Chips!!! You know, Kettle Chips from good ol' Salem, OR! I figured if I was going to suck at cards, I could at least bring something to the party. Oh, and I picked up some vodka & cranberry juice for myself. I needed a girl drink. ;)
At the party I was again offered the discounted buy in, but refused joking - "But how would you guys felt if I ended up winning the whole thing?" To which they laughed... especially after I reminded them that at Bible camp I'd won *all* the crayons, and that was the sum total of my poker playing experience. I bought in and we played. The Brit, the Canadian, Short Aussie & I. They were far kinder than I thought they would be to me, playing a first hand as a demo so I could see how it went, and in the earlier hands prompting me as to what I needed to do. It took a few hands, I bet conservatively, but I caught on. And to my complete surprise, I was the only one who could properly shuffle the cards! So I had the tiniest shred of street-cred at the table. Half way through the game, though, I was the one telling the guys to put down the big & little blind before I would deal, checking & raising, burning & turning.
The guys were drinking gin & tonic (Tanqueray- J!); I'd had a few vodka cranberries... but I didn't really feel drunk. Until something funny happened (I don't have a clue what) and in some bizarre drunken slow motion fall I ended up on the floor laughing my ass off. Things were going well. I mostly played conservatively, winning a couple of hands on good cards alone. And then I remembered that there was a good chance everyone else was bluffing - at least some of the time- so I decided to give it a try. I bluffed against the Short Aussie and lost. He didn't have much, just an Ace high, but I had nothing at all. It wasn't a huge pot, just all part of the game.
Then... then the other American showed up. He walked in, saw the cards said "Texas Hold-em? Y'all know I'm from Texas don't you?" Yeah... we knew. He was right at home. He bought in and started playing hard core right off the bat. I chickened out and folded fast for a couple of hands. Tex picked up a couple pots and was looking pretty good. But I started thinking he might just be all hat & no cattle ... so I decided to go all the way on the next hand... regardless of what cards were dealt. Big blind & little blind were on the table, the Brit folded before the flop. The Canadian & the Short Aussie folded after the flop. I can't remember the exact cards on the table, but I know there were a few face cards and an 8. Tex raised the bet 20, I matched him. One more card - another 8. Tex raised again 40, I stared him down, I had a hunch he was bluffing, but I had no idea.
My heart was really pounding... I had absolutely nothing in my hand, a 9 & a 7, so basically just the pair of 8s showing. I'd managed to rack up quite a few chips early on (totally lucked into a straight) , so I figured it was time to go big or go home. I had enough chips to make him go all in. But I didn't have the heart. I matched his 40 and raised him 40 - that would be painful enough - for whoever lost. It was time to show the cards. I put down my 9 & 7. He put down a 9 & a 5! I'd won the entire pot on the basis of my 7 beating his 5!
My chips: black is 20, red 10, blue 4, white 2 - note the Canadian's pile across from me, and Tex's little stack of blue chips to my left.
The rest of the table just watched me raking in all the chips laughing in disbelief. "What the HELL just happened there????" from the Brit. "That is m*th*rf*ck*n' poker!" from the Short Aussie. Let me tell you - that felt good. It could have gone either way, I know. But it didn't. After that they started teasing me about winning all the crayons at Bible camp, saying that it wasn't fair - I had Jesus on my side. I'm fairly sure that wasn't the case. But I did just fine. Tex had blown through his chips in just a few hands and had to buy in another 500B worth of chips from me. I didn't really want to let him... I was kinda getting tired of playing and was concerned that the longer we kept playing the greater the chance was that I'd lose. I know I said it was worth the experience... but there's also something to be said for winning. But ultimately I didn't want to be a poor sport, so I let him buy back in.
There were several more hands. The Short Aussie was nearly out, but went all in on a good hand and won his way back into third place, taking the Brit for all his chips. But soon enough the Aussie was out too, and even Tex was down to just a few blue chips. The Canadian, surprisingly, held his own. He'd nearly gone out on an early hand but in what may have been an act of guy-love one of the other guys folded to him, letting him stay in the game.
Eventually though, Tex & the Canadian conceded defeat... and little Reb went home with AAAAALLLL the crayons - 6,0000B. I could not believe it. I just couldn't help laughing. I'd never expected to win, never expected to play more than a couple of hands. So yeah, the whole experience was well worth the buy in and then some. I almost felt bad for winning so I offered to buy a round of drinks next time we all go out. I just don't quite have the heart for poker.
If you haven't figured it out yet... that gives today a T.A.G of Mango. Life is good... life is spectacular.
When the Brit started inviting people over to his place to play cards he asked if I wanted to come. I said I'd like to come by. He asked if I knew how to play poker and I hesitated ... I knew the general idea, but had only actually played once. He pressed on... "Do you really know how to play?" and I replied tentatively "When I played at bible camp (TUP) I won all the crayons." and mentioned that I'd be up for playing a hand or two. To this he gave a very short "NO! This is serious cards." And I said I'd still like to go to the party if possible, maybe just have a drink then leave early so the guys could just be guys.
The subject came up a few more times over the week as details were sorted out. The guys decided they wanted to play competition style poker (not that I even knew what that was), buy in 1000 Baht, top two players split the pot. It was made clear that I wouldn't just be able to play a hand or two, it was all in or all out, and most of the guys assumed I'd be all out. Eventually though, the guys decided that if I really wanted to play I could have a discounted buy in - only 500 Baht. But I was having none of that. I may not be able to play like the big boys... but I wasn't going to pansy out of it either. One of the guys tried to make sure I knew what I was getting into "This is serious... some people say they're playing for fun, but then they lose all their money and it sucks." I stood firm; it would be worth the price of the buy in just for the experience.
Before the party, I was able to locate some good German beer at the store... and also Kettle Chips!!! You know, Kettle Chips from good ol' Salem, OR! I figured if I was going to suck at cards, I could at least bring something to the party. Oh, and I picked up some vodka & cranberry juice for myself. I needed a girl drink. ;)
At the party I was again offered the discounted buy in, but refused joking - "But how would you guys felt if I ended up winning the whole thing?" To which they laughed... especially after I reminded them that at Bible camp I'd won *all* the crayons, and that was the sum total of my poker playing experience. I bought in and we played. The Brit, the Canadian, Short Aussie & I. They were far kinder than I thought they would be to me, playing a first hand as a demo so I could see how it went, and in the earlier hands prompting me as to what I needed to do. It took a few hands, I bet conservatively, but I caught on. And to my complete surprise, I was the only one who could properly shuffle the cards! So I had the tiniest shred of street-cred at the table. Half way through the game, though, I was the one telling the guys to put down the big & little blind before I would deal, checking & raising, burning & turning.
The guys were drinking gin & tonic (Tanqueray- J!); I'd had a few vodka cranberries... but I didn't really feel drunk. Until something funny happened (I don't have a clue what) and in some bizarre drunken slow motion fall I ended up on the floor laughing my ass off. Things were going well. I mostly played conservatively, winning a couple of hands on good cards alone. And then I remembered that there was a good chance everyone else was bluffing - at least some of the time- so I decided to give it a try. I bluffed against the Short Aussie and lost. He didn't have much, just an Ace high, but I had nothing at all. It wasn't a huge pot, just all part of the game.
Then... then the other American showed up. He walked in, saw the cards said "Texas Hold-em? Y'all know I'm from Texas don't you?" Yeah... we knew. He was right at home. He bought in and started playing hard core right off the bat. I chickened out and folded fast for a couple of hands. Tex picked up a couple pots and was looking pretty good. But I started thinking he might just be all hat & no cattle ... so I decided to go all the way on the next hand... regardless of what cards were dealt. Big blind & little blind were on the table, the Brit folded before the flop. The Canadian & the Short Aussie folded after the flop. I can't remember the exact cards on the table, but I know there were a few face cards and an 8. Tex raised the bet 20, I matched him. One more card - another 8. Tex raised again 40, I stared him down, I had a hunch he was bluffing, but I had no idea.
My heart was really pounding... I had absolutely nothing in my hand, a 9 & a 7, so basically just the pair of 8s showing. I'd managed to rack up quite a few chips early on (totally lucked into a straight) , so I figured it was time to go big or go home. I had enough chips to make him go all in. But I didn't have the heart. I matched his 40 and raised him 40 - that would be painful enough - for whoever lost. It was time to show the cards. I put down my 9 & 7. He put down a 9 & a 5! I'd won the entire pot on the basis of my 7 beating his 5!
My chips: black is 20, red 10, blue 4, white 2 - note the Canadian's pile across from me, and Tex's little stack of blue chips to my left.The rest of the table just watched me raking in all the chips laughing in disbelief. "What the HELL just happened there????" from the Brit. "That is m*th*rf*ck*n' poker!" from the Short Aussie. Let me tell you - that felt good. It could have gone either way, I know. But it didn't. After that they started teasing me about winning all the crayons at Bible camp, saying that it wasn't fair - I had Jesus on my side. I'm fairly sure that wasn't the case. But I did just fine. Tex had blown through his chips in just a few hands and had to buy in another 500B worth of chips from me. I didn't really want to let him... I was kinda getting tired of playing and was concerned that the longer we kept playing the greater the chance was that I'd lose. I know I said it was worth the experience... but there's also something to be said for winning. But ultimately I didn't want to be a poor sport, so I let him buy back in.
There were several more hands. The Short Aussie was nearly out, but went all in on a good hand and won his way back into third place, taking the Brit for all his chips. But soon enough the Aussie was out too, and even Tex was down to just a few blue chips. The Canadian, surprisingly, held his own. He'd nearly gone out on an early hand but in what may have been an act of guy-love one of the other guys folded to him, letting him stay in the game.
Eventually though, Tex & the Canadian conceded defeat... and little Reb went home with AAAAALLLL the crayons - 6,0000B. I could not believe it. I just couldn't help laughing. I'd never expected to win, never expected to play more than a couple of hands. So yeah, the whole experience was well worth the buy in and then some. I almost felt bad for winning so I offered to buy a round of drinks next time we all go out. I just don't quite have the heart for poker.
If you haven't figured it out yet... that gives today a T.A.G of Mango. Life is good... life is spectacular.
What to pack...
T.A.G - Mango
I didn't teach today, so it was pretty easy going. Tonight is poker with the boys. It's "high stakes" as in 1,000 baht buy in... but that's only about $29, and I'm prepared to pay that much for the experience. I need to go get ready now... but here's a little post I wrote up a few days ago. Have a fun weekend everyone!
If you've seen any coverage of the protests in Bangkok, you've probably noticed a plethora of yellow polo shirts. If you didn't notice it, you will now I assure you!
It seems that the 'traditional dress' of your average Thai person involves a polo shirt of some kind (not necessarily Polo brand, I've seen lots of different crests & logos) and shorts. It's weird actually. On a given day I'll notice a bunch of people all wearing the same color polo shirt and think - dang, I musta missed the memo! I've since learned that the colors are significant. When I arrived it was all teal blue shirts - and that was in honor of the Queen's birthday. I've also learned that yellow is the color of the day the king was born (Monday I think). So wearing a yellow shirt on Monday is really just their way of saying "We love the King." A while back I was sitting in the cafeteria and gradually noticed that more than half the people were wearing pink. At the time I noticed it but had no clue why. It turns out that the King was in the hospital and when he was released he was wearing a pink blazer. So the pink shirts were a way of saying "Yay, the King is better - I hope he stays healthy."
It's a really strange concept... kind of like Spirit day in High School when you wore your school colors to the pep rally. It's also one of the more basic things I wish I'd learned when I was researching Thailand because I would have packed a few polo shirts!!! As it is, one of my students noticed that I always wear blue and commented on it. She was mostly complimentary but now I realize I only have the appropriate color wardrobe for Friday (blue) and Wednesday (green). And the appropriate color for a career as a teacher is orange - and I have nothing for that. Oh well. Live and learn. If you come to visit Thailand, pack a polo shirt.
And a towel.... but that should go without saying ;)
I didn't teach today, so it was pretty easy going. Tonight is poker with the boys. It's "high stakes" as in 1,000 baht buy in... but that's only about $29, and I'm prepared to pay that much for the experience. I need to go get ready now... but here's a little post I wrote up a few days ago. Have a fun weekend everyone!
If you've seen any coverage of the protests in Bangkok, you've probably noticed a plethora of yellow polo shirts. If you didn't notice it, you will now I assure you!
It seems that the 'traditional dress' of your average Thai person involves a polo shirt of some kind (not necessarily Polo brand, I've seen lots of different crests & logos) and shorts. It's weird actually. On a given day I'll notice a bunch of people all wearing the same color polo shirt and think - dang, I musta missed the memo! I've since learned that the colors are significant. When I arrived it was all teal blue shirts - and that was in honor of the Queen's birthday. I've also learned that yellow is the color of the day the king was born (Monday I think). So wearing a yellow shirt on Monday is really just their way of saying "We love the King." A while back I was sitting in the cafeteria and gradually noticed that more than half the people were wearing pink. At the time I noticed it but had no clue why. It turns out that the King was in the hospital and when he was released he was wearing a pink blazer. So the pink shirts were a way of saying "Yay, the King is better - I hope he stays healthy."
It's a really strange concept... kind of like Spirit day in High School when you wore your school colors to the pep rally. It's also one of the more basic things I wish I'd learned when I was researching Thailand because I would have packed a few polo shirts!!! As it is, one of my students noticed that I always wear blue and commented on it. She was mostly complimentary but now I realize I only have the appropriate color wardrobe for Friday (blue) and Wednesday (green). And the appropriate color for a career as a teacher is orange - and I have nothing for that. Oh well. Live and learn. If you come to visit Thailand, pack a polo shirt.
And a towel.... but that should go without saying ;)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kow Pad Gai
T.A.G. for today is Mango. Life is good.
I just got back from a drink with the boys. I like that we have a regular place, that's the kind of thing I really enjoy... knowing that I can go someplace and friends will be there. No arranging, just show up. I'm really going to miss that when it's gone. Oh... and I didn't think I drank any more than normal, but I'm feeling a tad more inebriated than usual... so forgive.
I love the students. We have a great group. I sat down with one of the elementary students before class today and was showing her my "Learn Thai" book - it's a kid's workbook so I can practice writing out the letters. She was telling me the sounds of all the letters... but then she told me I got the level 2 book (consonant vowel combinations) and what I really needed was the level 1 book with just the alphabet, so she said she'd try to bring me a page with just the alphabet. She also wrote out my name in Thai script in my workbook. Then we chatted for a bit and it was just nice. I know it's not like having a 'real' Thai friend ... but now that I'm not her official teacher anymore, it does feel a little more like she's being nice because she wants to be, not because I'm the teacher.
Then between lessons one of my current intermediate students sat down next to me and started asking me questions. She asked me what kind of food I like and I told her I loved Thai food, so she taught me how to say Chicken Fried Rice (Kow Pad Gai) and Pork Fried Rice (Kow Pad Moo)... which are my two favorite meals so far.
She then asked me if I had a Thai nickname. Thais typically have really long names - very difficult for westerners to pronounce, so they all have a shorter nickname used for all but the most formal occasions. Nicknames are often related to personal characteristics like tall or short, or colors or fruits or something like that. I told her no, and asked her what my nickname should be - she said Ku Larb. A little inelegent when transliterated into English script... but apparently it means "Rose" - how sweet is that???? I know there's probably a bit of kissing-up to teacher (and I'm going to check with another Thai person to confirm it means what she says it does), but still...it made me feel good.
After class I went across the street and successfully ordered Kow Pad Gai! Yay for actually learning to say something useful! Oh, and it was yummy. Their 'fried' rice isn't fried like we do it in the US, it's more stir-fried, so it's not greasy, and they serve it with a lime wedge which gives it a nice kick.
Kow Pad Gia - 20 baht.
Then beer with the guys. Then home. Life is good.
Tomorrow is the big poker night. One of the guys is staying with a friend in an actual house. I won't actually be playing any poker, but I'm more than a little excited about the prospect of an actual sofa. I haven't had a soft place to park myself since I got here. It should be interesting. The ground rule has been laid down - no CELTA talk, but everything else is fair game. I've been on a mission for good beer, and I think I've found something. There were a few German imports at the grocery store so I looked them up on Rate Beer. The beers we've been drinking - Tiger, Leo, Chang & Singha all rate below the 10th percentile. The German beers however, Erdinger & Wiehenstephaner rank about a 55 & 95 respectively. Drop Top Amber, my current favorite, on the other hand only ranks a 29. So I'm hoping the German brews win me a few bonus points. Mostly though, it'll just be nice to drink good beer for a change. I will, of course, give a full report.
Thanks for all your comments on topics you're interested in. I'll start investigating & forming ideas about: Thai Silk, Thai dress, environmental awareness, and the roll of women in Thai society. Lots to think about there. I'll also do what I can to take more pictures of day-to-day life.... and of course, tell you all about the food! =)
As for the boys being sexist. I'd say more perverted than sexist. One of our instructors is a woman and they all give her a lot of respect both in class and when talking about her outside of class. I've been assured repeatedly that they give me a bad time because they like me, and if they didn't like me they'd just be polite. It's apparently a British / Australian thing - 'taking the piss' and all that. They were explaining this again tonight and I just looked at them and was like "I have no guile." and they were like "WE KNOW!" LOL. But I'll be a bit more judicious when repeating what they've said.
It's really really odd. There was a time when every little thing offended me. I spent most of my time in an indignant rage about something or other. I loosened up a lot after college, but now... practically nothing offends me. Well, not like it used to. Part of me feels like I probably should work up an indignant rage from time to time, but I don't know. It never got me what I wanted before, I'm not sure what kind of purpose it would serve me now. I was really unhappy back then. I'm happier now... I guess it's about learning to distinguish between 'my problem' and 'not my problem'. I will do what I can do to be a good person, and to put good energy into the world...I will do what I can do to surround myself with people and situations that make me happy... and that's about all I can do.
In any event... situation Mango, life is good.
I just got back from a drink with the boys. I like that we have a regular place, that's the kind of thing I really enjoy... knowing that I can go someplace and friends will be there. No arranging, just show up. I'm really going to miss that when it's gone. Oh... and I didn't think I drank any more than normal, but I'm feeling a tad more inebriated than usual... so forgive.
I love the students. We have a great group. I sat down with one of the elementary students before class today and was showing her my "Learn Thai" book - it's a kid's workbook so I can practice writing out the letters. She was telling me the sounds of all the letters... but then she told me I got the level 2 book (consonant vowel combinations) and what I really needed was the level 1 book with just the alphabet, so she said she'd try to bring me a page with just the alphabet. She also wrote out my name in Thai script in my workbook. Then we chatted for a bit and it was just nice. I know it's not like having a 'real' Thai friend ... but now that I'm not her official teacher anymore, it does feel a little more like she's being nice because she wants to be, not because I'm the teacher.
Then between lessons one of my current intermediate students sat down next to me and started asking me questions. She asked me what kind of food I like and I told her I loved Thai food, so she taught me how to say Chicken Fried Rice (Kow Pad Gai) and Pork Fried Rice (Kow Pad Moo)... which are my two favorite meals so far.
She then asked me if I had a Thai nickname. Thais typically have really long names - very difficult for westerners to pronounce, so they all have a shorter nickname used for all but the most formal occasions. Nicknames are often related to personal characteristics like tall or short, or colors or fruits or something like that. I told her no, and asked her what my nickname should be - she said Ku Larb. A little inelegent when transliterated into English script... but apparently it means "Rose" - how sweet is that???? I know there's probably a bit of kissing-up to teacher (and I'm going to check with another Thai person to confirm it means what she says it does), but still...it made me feel good.
After class I went across the street and successfully ordered Kow Pad Gai! Yay for actually learning to say something useful! Oh, and it was yummy. Their 'fried' rice isn't fried like we do it in the US, it's more stir-fried, so it's not greasy, and they serve it with a lime wedge which gives it a nice kick.
Kow Pad Gia - 20 baht.Then beer with the guys. Then home. Life is good.
Tomorrow is the big poker night. One of the guys is staying with a friend in an actual house. I won't actually be playing any poker, but I'm more than a little excited about the prospect of an actual sofa. I haven't had a soft place to park myself since I got here. It should be interesting. The ground rule has been laid down - no CELTA talk, but everything else is fair game. I've been on a mission for good beer, and I think I've found something. There were a few German imports at the grocery store so I looked them up on Rate Beer. The beers we've been drinking - Tiger, Leo, Chang & Singha all rate below the 10th percentile. The German beers however, Erdinger & Wiehenstephaner rank about a 55 & 95 respectively. Drop Top Amber, my current favorite, on the other hand only ranks a 29. So I'm hoping the German brews win me a few bonus points. Mostly though, it'll just be nice to drink good beer for a change. I will, of course, give a full report.
Thanks for all your comments on topics you're interested in. I'll start investigating & forming ideas about: Thai Silk, Thai dress, environmental awareness, and the roll of women in Thai society. Lots to think about there. I'll also do what I can to take more pictures of day-to-day life.... and of course, tell you all about the food! =)
As for the boys being sexist. I'd say more perverted than sexist. One of our instructors is a woman and they all give her a lot of respect both in class and when talking about her outside of class. I've been assured repeatedly that they give me a bad time because they like me, and if they didn't like me they'd just be polite. It's apparently a British / Australian thing - 'taking the piss' and all that. They were explaining this again tonight and I just looked at them and was like "I have no guile." and they were like "WE KNOW!" LOL. But I'll be a bit more judicious when repeating what they've said.
It's really really odd. There was a time when every little thing offended me. I spent most of my time in an indignant rage about something or other. I loosened up a lot after college, but now... practically nothing offends me. Well, not like it used to. Part of me feels like I probably should work up an indignant rage from time to time, but I don't know. It never got me what I wanted before, I'm not sure what kind of purpose it would serve me now. I was really unhappy back then. I'm happier now... I guess it's about learning to distinguish between 'my problem' and 'not my problem'. I will do what I can do to be a good person, and to put good energy into the world...I will do what I can do to surround myself with people and situations that make me happy... and that's about all I can do.
In any event... situation Mango, life is good.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Rolling with the punches
Notice anything new? Take a gander at the sidebar ------------------>
I'm instituting a new Thailand Advisory Guide that should help put my life here in perspective. Personally I'm aiming for my life to swing between Mango & Bananas. I can accept a few things going wrong here or there, but if I find myself deeply unhappy for any length of time, I'll need to re-evaluate things.
I'd actually call today a Code Mango. Life is really really good. Could it be better? Maybe. Would I change a single thing? Not really.
My lesson today was graded "to standard" which is just fine by me as several things went wrong, a few which were under my control (specifics about my technique) and a few that were out of my control (several people came in late, the white-board markers wouldn't work, the overhead projector stopped working). Overall I kept rolling with the punches and survived the lesson. I don't need to be perfect, I just need to pass. I got good feedback that will help me in future lessons.
I got my assignment #2 back, and will need to resubmit it. It was a grammar assignment and I was pretty unsure about the last page - I didn't get it all wrong, but one thing from one exercise, something else from another exercise etc., so I'll need to correct it and turn it in again. I knew it wasn't my best possible work when I turned it in. There was some laziness/self sabotage going on and there's a part of me that's relieved that I didn't pass it first time through. It takes a bit of the pressure to be perfect off of me. Armchair psychologists - feel free to interpret as you like.
I went out for a beer with the guys which I love. We didn't talk about anything especially exciting, but I know that once the course is over I'm going to miss them terribly. And I got a ride home on the back of the Brit's motor bike which was fun, and saved me 20B for the songthaew. When he dropped me off he said "That'll be 2,000 baht." but I was like "You're going to have to do a lot more for that much." (Yay for a good come-back said while it was actually relevant!!!!)
So life is good. It's very good. I'm just loving this course, I love learning new things and getting to practice teaching in such a safe environment. I love the messy complicated human people who are on the course with me. I love the food (today's teriyaki chicken just about blew my mind), I love the weather - it's so warm and even the humidity is strangely comforting. The rain every night just clears the air and makes everything look clean in the morning. And yes, I know this is a *classic* case of the Honeymoon Phase of culture shock. I know it'll wear off eventually, so for now I'm just going to revel in it.
Now a question for you, faithful Work In Progress reader.... Is there anything you want to know about Thailand (politics / social issues / nature)? Anything you would like to see me try or to report on (I would rather not eat a bug, but I'd be more than happy to take pictures)? Is there anything I've been posting about that just bores you to tears and wish I wouldn't mention again? (Every time I talk about lesson planning you want to smack the computer?) I keep this blog primarily for myself, but I love that you wonderful people are reading it & leaving such supportive comments. So I want to do what I can to make it as interesting as I can for you. =)
I'm instituting a new Thailand Advisory Guide that should help put my life here in perspective. Personally I'm aiming for my life to swing between Mango & Bananas. I can accept a few things going wrong here or there, but if I find myself deeply unhappy for any length of time, I'll need to re-evaluate things.
I'd actually call today a Code Mango. Life is really really good. Could it be better? Maybe. Would I change a single thing? Not really.
My lesson today was graded "to standard" which is just fine by me as several things went wrong, a few which were under my control (specifics about my technique) and a few that were out of my control (several people came in late, the white-board markers wouldn't work, the overhead projector stopped working). Overall I kept rolling with the punches and survived the lesson. I don't need to be perfect, I just need to pass. I got good feedback that will help me in future lessons.
I got my assignment #2 back, and will need to resubmit it. It was a grammar assignment and I was pretty unsure about the last page - I didn't get it all wrong, but one thing from one exercise, something else from another exercise etc., so I'll need to correct it and turn it in again. I knew it wasn't my best possible work when I turned it in. There was some laziness/self sabotage going on and there's a part of me that's relieved that I didn't pass it first time through. It takes a bit of the pressure to be perfect off of me. Armchair psychologists - feel free to interpret as you like.
I went out for a beer with the guys which I love. We didn't talk about anything especially exciting, but I know that once the course is over I'm going to miss them terribly. And I got a ride home on the back of the Brit's motor bike which was fun, and saved me 20B for the songthaew. When he dropped me off he said "That'll be 2,000 baht." but I was like "You're going to have to do a lot more for that much." (Yay for a good come-back said while it was actually relevant!!!!)
So life is good. It's very good. I'm just loving this course, I love learning new things and getting to practice teaching in such a safe environment. I love the messy complicated human people who are on the course with me. I love the food (today's teriyaki chicken just about blew my mind), I love the weather - it's so warm and even the humidity is strangely comforting. The rain every night just clears the air and makes everything look clean in the morning. And yes, I know this is a *classic* case of the Honeymoon Phase of culture shock. I know it'll wear off eventually, so for now I'm just going to revel in it.
Now a question for you, faithful Work In Progress reader.... Is there anything you want to know about Thailand (politics / social issues / nature)? Anything you would like to see me try or to report on (I would rather not eat a bug, but I'd be more than happy to take pictures)? Is there anything I've been posting about that just bores you to tears and wish I wouldn't mention again? (Every time I talk about lesson planning you want to smack the computer?) I keep this blog primarily for myself, but I love that you wonderful people are reading it & leaving such supportive comments. So I want to do what I can to make it as interesting as I can for you. =)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
All is well
For those of you who've seen the news about Bangkok - yes there's a serious political situation going on, it's all over the news here. Fortunately there haven't been any (or rather, I haven't seen any) protests up in Chiang Mai where I am (300 miles away). I've talked to people who lived here through the last (bloodless) coup and I've been assured that I'm about as safe as can be here. I am registered with the US consulate and have been checking their travel alerts daily. In the unlikely event that situation turns unsafe, I'll do as they advise.
Old Lady Massage
It was, like most things I’ve done here, a somewhat surreal experience. Being a foreigner here automatically reduces my IQ by about 10 pts., I think I lose another 20 pts. for not knowing the language. So basically if I have about average intelligence in the
Anyway, I walk in the door and ask for a massage. “Old lady?” the manager asks “Old lady.” I confirm. I ask “How much?” and they point towards the door which has a complete price list in English and
Eventually I come back out and lie down on the mat…the wrong way of course. But no problem, she motions for me to lie on my back first and I’m catching on here – I do so. What happens next is no question the most literal interpretation of a full-body massage I could imagine. Not only am I getting the full treatment (well, the full old-lady treatment that is), but the whole process is somewhat… collaborative… for want of a better word. It’s a lot more like physical therapy than the relaxing massages I’ve gotten in spas at home. There’s a lot of contorting and stretching and pounding. The masseuse uses her hands & arms, but also elbows, knees, legs, feet, etc. At one point I’m lying on my back, knee bent kinda out to one side, and she puts both her feet on my inner thigh, she grabs my foot and pulls back. At another point when I was lying on my stomach she was kneeling on my butt, and I’m pretty sure she was walking on my legs for a while. That woman earned her pay tonight.
Did it feel good? Um. Not especially. I mean, the stretching was probably really good for me, there were some yoga-esque moves that I’m sure loosened me up in beneficial ways, but it was not very relaxing. Being overweight & out of shape made the whole thing rather awkward… she was trying to move me into certain positions my body just can’t achieve. So she’d laugh… and I’d laugh… and there you go. One of the weirder hours of my life. But, it was cheap – less than $10 and it’s worth that much just to add it to the collection of things I’ve experienced here.
Tonight I made it over to the night market next door early enough for a foot massage though, and that was a lot less sureal. It helped that there was a whole row of people getting massages so I could watch them and see what was going to happen next. There's a part of the whole scenario that just feels weird. I mean, there's this whole row of women (and it's always women) rubbing on people's feet. But I looked around and there were more Thai people getting massages than farangs... so I figured it okay. The girl rubbing my feet looked about 14... which means she was probably closer to about 20. People look YOUNG here. I thought most of my class was in their early 20s - college aged, but later found out that one of the 'kids' was actually 32 - only a year younger than me!
Anyway, the foot massage involved far less contorting than the full-body massage, but it was still a bit on the rough side... they really work the pressure points & try to get your Chi moving. Or something... I'm still completely clueless on the theory behind Thai massage. At the end they actually start punching your legs & feet... not hard, but still. Overall though,, 90% of it felt really good, and the chair was so comfortable I almost fell asleep at one point. And it was only about $4... so I'll be going back.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Smooth as Silk
I'm not sure if I've really gone into the specifics of the CELTA course, but here's a quick review in case you're all kinds of confused by some of my stories. Every morning we start with input sessions from 10am - 1pm. That's when the CELTA instructors teach us (the 8 trainees) about teaching. We learn about grammar, phonology, teaching methodology, lesson planning etc. etc. - stuff teachers need to know if they actually want their students to learn something. Then after lunch we break up into our two groups. Four of us with the male instructor (or as we've started calling him "Daddy-Dearest") and four with the female instructor (who I've just now decided to call Bird, simply because she's a British woman). So my group was with Daddy Dearest teaching elementary students for the first two weeks. The other group was with Bird teaching intermediate level students. But as of today we, the trainees, switch. So I'm with new students and a new instructor.
Today we just observed the instructors teaching our new classes. This was really important because it gives us some time to evaluate how much our students know, who's chatty - who's shy, etc. And this will help us fine-tune our first lesson plans. The first week, we didn't do that we jumped right into teaching and as I was first up I had *no clue* what they would know and what they didn't. Terrifying. Anyway it also meant that today was not very stressful at all. We had an assignment due this morning & from talking to some of the guys I think I may have to resubmit it... but oh well - wait & see. Week three is supposed to be the toughest week on the course but I actually only give one & a half lessons so it should be manageable.
Anyway my day was uneventful (had a good breakfast, lunch & beer with the guys though - so a good day overall). But in my old class, one of the students got outed! The student in question was pretty flamboyant - so it's not like it was a big secret but still. I'm sure it was hilarious when his classmate, as an example of Present Continuous Tense came up with "He always liking boys!" LOL. I loved those students... I'm kinda sad I only got two weeks with them. I can only imagine how I'll feel about my students when I have a real class.
Speaking of having a real class. I know the plan was that I'd stay in Thailand for a while, but I'm starting to rethink that plan. There are just some issues that are bothering me a bit more than I thought they would. I didn't think I would be so excluded from the social scene here. It's hard to say if it's actually something specific to Thailand, or to teaching abroad in general. And I'm not sure how much of that is reality, or if it's just because I'm not making enough of an effort. I'm going to do some thinking about it... and try to figure out if there's another country that would fit better with my lifestyle. In any case, I'll probably have to work here for at least a few months before moving... otherwise I'm going to run out of money. I've got some cogitating to do.
Ok - most boring post ever I'm sure.
Oh - I can share one funny thing. I was talking to the guys about an upcoming lesson plan and describing that I would use an authentic menu (Laurelwood Brewpub!) and tell the students "Joe loves seafood, Mary doesn't eat meat... what should they each order?" at which point the guys started giving me a hard time "WTF's up with Mary - sounds like a real bitch... what's Joe even doing out with her." and I was like "Hey - she puts out." to which one of the guy responds "You shoulda put that in the context. I wasn't even fucking hungry." LOL
Today we just observed the instructors teaching our new classes. This was really important because it gives us some time to evaluate how much our students know, who's chatty - who's shy, etc. And this will help us fine-tune our first lesson plans. The first week, we didn't do that we jumped right into teaching and as I was first up I had *no clue* what they would know and what they didn't. Terrifying. Anyway it also meant that today was not very stressful at all. We had an assignment due this morning & from talking to some of the guys I think I may have to resubmit it... but oh well - wait & see. Week three is supposed to be the toughest week on the course but I actually only give one & a half lessons so it should be manageable.
Anyway my day was uneventful (had a good breakfast, lunch & beer with the guys though - so a good day overall). But in my old class, one of the students got outed! The student in question was pretty flamboyant - so it's not like it was a big secret but still. I'm sure it was hilarious when his classmate, as an example of Present Continuous Tense came up with "He always liking boys!" LOL. I loved those students... I'm kinda sad I only got two weeks with them. I can only imagine how I'll feel about my students when I have a real class.
Speaking of having a real class. I know the plan was that I'd stay in Thailand for a while, but I'm starting to rethink that plan. There are just some issues that are bothering me a bit more than I thought they would. I didn't think I would be so excluded from the social scene here. It's hard to say if it's actually something specific to Thailand, or to teaching abroad in general. And I'm not sure how much of that is reality, or if it's just because I'm not making enough of an effort. I'm going to do some thinking about it... and try to figure out if there's another country that would fit better with my lifestyle. In any case, I'll probably have to work here for at least a few months before moving... otherwise I'm going to run out of money. I've got some cogitating to do.
Ok - most boring post ever I'm sure.
Oh - I can share one funny thing. I was talking to the guys about an upcoming lesson plan and describing that I would use an authentic menu (Laurelwood Brewpub!) and tell the students "Joe loves seafood, Mary doesn't eat meat... what should they each order?" at which point the guys started giving me a hard time "WTF's up with Mary - sounds like a real bitch... what's Joe even doing out with her." and I was like "Hey - she puts out." to which one of the guy responds "You shoulda put that in the context. I wasn't even fucking hungry." LOL
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