Rainy season has begun! We had a pretty big storm last night (minor flooding in the hotel) and this afternoon an even bigger one. Before the storm started the wind was blowing a bunch and the pressure change kept blowing our classroom door open--a little bewildering for the students trying to give their ecology presentations. Then the sheets of rain began to fall. It was a pretty impressive storm. I can't say I have seen that much rain in quite some time. Apparently light rainfall is common here, but big storms like these don't come around often.
Well after the presentations I had to make my way to my M.1 class. Luckily I had an umbrella. The unfortunate part is that the M.1 building sits pretty low and when I went toward my classroom I realized there was ankle deep water between me and my students. Teacher Jaran (an English teacher I like a lot) had his students build him a bridge out of bricks and planks to get over the water. I had farther to go. Well, dignity went out the door, and the shoes came off. I wasn't about to ruin my only pair of comfy shoes by wading through the water in them! Besides, all the kids run around without shoes anyway. I think I surprised my students, but I got there with dry shoes and my feet dried quickly. We made it through class without generalized flooding and the lights didn't go out despite persistent flickering. Today was a good day :D
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
We interrupt this programming...
Slight detour from normal blog activity--Andrew had an awesome evening last night and I thought I should share. There was a fancy soiree for his work, and after he realized it was business formal rather than black tie (reading comprehension fail?) he decided to go. It turned out to be pretty cool, although significant others were specifically not invited--too many deep dark government secrets might come out over a glass of champagne it seems.
But the cool part was the planes. Apparently it was a hangar full of awesomeness (don't know if that was the precise quote).
That last one was a direct quote, by the way. Ah well, it's like the old saying goes--while the cat's away the mice will play. I'm glad Andrew is having fun too while I'm gone. Plus we are already starting to make plans for the October visit--it seems that elephants are on the top of his list. Anyway, back to normal stuff now. See you all later!
But the cool part was the planes. Apparently it was a hangar full of awesomeness (don't know if that was the precise quote).
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| "Aww yeah, sitting in an aircraft with the suit on :P" |
That last one was a direct quote, by the way. Ah well, it's like the old saying goes--while the cat's away the mice will play. I'm glad Andrew is having fun too while I'm gone. Plus we are already starting to make plans for the October visit--it seems that elephants are on the top of his list. Anyway, back to normal stuff now. See you all later!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Long Awaited Chiang Mai Post
Sorry for the amount of time that this has taken, I have just been pretty busy since I spoke with you all last. As you know, last Thursday night I left for Chiang Mai. We had a 3 day weekend for Visakha Puja, or Buddha's Birthday! Although it is kind of funny how little lead up there was to the day, considering that it's one of the most important Buddhist holidays of the year. Anyway, the bus ride to Chiang Mai was long (6 hours) but relatively comfortable. We got into the city around 11 p.m. and took a songtaew into the city to meet up with everyone else--in total there were 10 OEG teachers in Chiang Mai for the weekend. Tricia and I dropped our stuff at the hostel, gathered with a couple other new arrivals, and ended up at the only eating establishment still open at that hour--McDonalds. Yeah, you heard me. And honestly, the rest of the people were over the moon about this. I think a lot of the people were really sick of Thai food already (I had heard many people lamenting the lack of cheese in the Thai diet), but I am not really at that point yet.
After the first Western meal in town, we began a wild goose chase to find the rest of the group. It was already 1 a.m., so I was running out of energy (normal bedtime here is ~9 or 10), but I went along with the plan anyway. There were a series of garbled calls, ambiguous directions, and shouting matches, but we finally found everyone at something I hesitate to even call a bar. The best I can say is that it was a really shady reggae themed dive bar catering to Westerners--I think there might have been 1 Thai in the whole place. Definitely not a place to hang out when stone cold sober, and it wouldn't be a place I would want to hang out even in my drunkest of moments. But the other half of the group (the ones who had been drinking for ~5 hours) were having a good time, so I hung around for a bit. After about 30 minutes, a few other people realized how unpleasant this all was and a group of us trekked back to the hostel. Finally, some sleep! Most of the hostel was set up in individual rooms, but I was in the dorm room with 1 girl and 2 guys from our group, as well as a random guy and girl. By the time we got back to the hostel I couldn't even care less that I didn't have a private room--I stumbled into bed and fell into the sleep of the dead.
Happy Buddha Day! Friday was the holy day, which meant no alcohol sold all day (much to my companions' chagrin). Considering the level of inebriation the previous evening and the late return to the hostel, I am surprised we even got moving as early as we did, but the magic happened and everyone was up and moving by around 10:30 a.m. With the help of Gina, the hostel owner, we decided to go to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This wat sits perched on the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai and is impressive in its own right. To reach the pagoda, you must ascend 309 steps along the Naga staircase. We were particularly excited to head up there because there would be ceremonies held at the temple for Buddha Day.
So we set out by songtaew. The ride up to the wat takes about 45 minutes along a curvy mountain road, and I definitely was green by the end. Luckily we made it with no incident. The temple grounds were packed--everyone had come to worship and be blessed. So many people were dressed in white for the holiday, I felt kind of embarrassed being so obviously a tourist. However, there were many other tourists there are well--Western and Asian alike.
The whole experience was nothing short of magical. I wonder what my impressions would have been had I not seen the wat first on a holy day, but everything just drew me in. It was amazing to see all of the people engaged in ceremonies that are such a mystery to me. Some are already becoming familiar to me (getting blessed by the water on the lotus flower), but there are new customs and practices around every corner. I enjoyed being able to step back and watch. We did get to sign a bit of fabric to be wrapped around the pagoda. Interestingly enough, one of the projects the wat is raising money for is to build another wat in Chino, California--just a few miles from Pomona! I thought that was pretty cool.
I wish I could explain everything I saw and experienced to you, but that would be impossible, so I will just include some of the pictures. Try to imagine the sounds of the bells and the smell of incense/candles.
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| Ronald showing his respect with a wai |
After the first Western meal in town, we began a wild goose chase to find the rest of the group. It was already 1 a.m., so I was running out of energy (normal bedtime here is ~9 or 10), but I went along with the plan anyway. There were a series of garbled calls, ambiguous directions, and shouting matches, but we finally found everyone at something I hesitate to even call a bar. The best I can say is that it was a really shady reggae themed dive bar catering to Westerners--I think there might have been 1 Thai in the whole place. Definitely not a place to hang out when stone cold sober, and it wouldn't be a place I would want to hang out even in my drunkest of moments. But the other half of the group (the ones who had been drinking for ~5 hours) were having a good time, so I hung around for a bit. After about 30 minutes, a few other people realized how unpleasant this all was and a group of us trekked back to the hostel. Finally, some sleep! Most of the hostel was set up in individual rooms, but I was in the dorm room with 1 girl and 2 guys from our group, as well as a random guy and girl. By the time we got back to the hostel I couldn't even care less that I didn't have a private room--I stumbled into bed and fell into the sleep of the dead.
Happy Buddha Day! Friday was the holy day, which meant no alcohol sold all day (much to my companions' chagrin). Considering the level of inebriation the previous evening and the late return to the hostel, I am surprised we even got moving as early as we did, but the magic happened and everyone was up and moving by around 10:30 a.m. With the help of Gina, the hostel owner, we decided to go to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This wat sits perched on the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai and is impressive in its own right. To reach the pagoda, you must ascend 309 steps along the Naga staircase. We were particularly excited to head up there because there would be ceremonies held at the temple for Buddha Day.
So we set out by songtaew. The ride up to the wat takes about 45 minutes along a curvy mountain road, and I definitely was green by the end. Luckily we made it with no incident. The temple grounds were packed--everyone had come to worship and be blessed. So many people were dressed in white for the holiday, I felt kind of embarrassed being so obviously a tourist. However, there were many other tourists there are well--Western and Asian alike.
The whole experience was nothing short of magical. I wonder what my impressions would have been had I not seen the wat first on a holy day, but everything just drew me in. It was amazing to see all of the people engaged in ceremonies that are such a mystery to me. Some are already becoming familiar to me (getting blessed by the water on the lotus flower), but there are new customs and practices around every corner. I enjoyed being able to step back and watch. We did get to sign a bit of fabric to be wrapped around the pagoda. Interestingly enough, one of the projects the wat is raising money for is to build another wat in Chino, California--just a few miles from Pomona! I thought that was pretty cool.
I wish I could explain everything I saw and experienced to you, but that would be impossible, so I will just include some of the pictures. Try to imagine the sounds of the bells and the smell of incense/candles.
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| The Naga staircase |
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| Nearing the top |
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| So many shoes!!! |
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| Signing the fabric |
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| Young monks |
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| Walking around the shrine and praying |
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| Offerings everywhere you look |
It was quite the sight to see. As we headed down from the temple, it began to rain. Slowly at first, then it picked up speed. As all the rain flowed down the massive staircase, there was actually a bit of flooding at the bottom! Intense. We took shelter in a shop and I actually got a wall hanging for my room--a canvas painting (black and white) of a Buddha head. Simple, but it looks nice on the bare wall I had.
As we headed down the mountain we encountered 3 separate wrecks and one motorbike accident. It made me glad the idea of renting motorbikes and riding them up the mountain had fizzled out--we would have been in real trouble considering the high grade of the road and the wet pavement. We made it back in one piece though and had a quick lunch (Western of course--Mexican to be exact) before proceeding to our next activity--massages! Since we had a free afternoon we had decided it was high time for a traditional Thai massage. Some people wanted to get a massage from the women's prison and others wanted to go to the blind massage school. Gina once again steered us in the right direction--she said while these were popular choices and "interesting," the massage quality was only so-so. She recommended a spa that would pick us up and that she had gone to, and it was still less than $15 for an hour massage. Sounds like a plan to me! In fact, it turned out to be much better than anticipated. The facilities were lovely, the staff was attentive, and the massage was excellent. I have never felt so many parts of my body pop--strange at first, but quite nice. it was rejuvenating.
So we enjoyed our "day of beauty" as my father would say. I think everyone enjoyed it. There was much talk of coming back for another massage before leaving the city, but to my knowledge I am the only one who actually did. Ah well, their loss!
We finished off the evening with a visit to the night bazaar--basically an outdoor market selling all kinds of clothing and souvenirs. Tons of stuff. I got a few things there, but it was more fun to look around than anything else. You wouldn't believe the kinds of stuff they have. One of the more entertaining things to look at were the knock offs. Unlike the Chinese knock offs, these are all really high quality--you honestly can't see the difference on some of them. But I will say it is odd to be looking at North Face jackets and Burberry scarves when it is 90+ degrees out!
Anyway, that was the end of our first full day in Chiang Mai. After the night bazaar and dinner (pizza) we headed back to the hostel. Most people drank beer there (no bars open for Buddha Day) and I hung out for a bit before heading to bed. I was pretty tired and wanted to do a bunch of sight seeing the next day, so this turned out to be a good plan. Others stayed up most of the night.
Unfortunately it is late now and I need to get some sleep, but I will tell about the rest of the trip tomorrow. Until then, good night!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Checking in
I am back in Nan and back at work. It was a whirlwind weekend but quite enjoyable in many ways. I would love to tell all about it right now, but I am at school and don't have all the photos now. Tonight will begin the epic blogging! I did get to see some pretty amazing wat (temples), including one up on the mountain above Chiang Mai. I had a lovely massage--2 in fact!--and even got to do a Thai cooking class. Exploring the town was nice as well. All in all it seems like a lovely city. I can't say I have much (errr, anything) in common with the people I traveled with--they literally spent the entire trip drinking. The only cultural activities they did were visiting 1 wat and going to a Muay Thai fight. But to each his own. After the first day I pretty much split off from them and left them to their pubs/bars while I explored the area on my own. Also met some other people from the hostel and did some things with them, so it worked out fine. Anyway, it is time to prepare for class, but I will work on getting some photos up this evening.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
I love my coworkers
They are so sweet. Today I got a headache mid afternoon. At first they just thought I was tired and tried to get me up, then realized it was a headache. They immediately rushed out and got Tylenol, but insisted that I eat some Pad Thai first ("not spicy!"). They also had me drink a bunch of water. After a while I was feeling much better, thanks to all my fabulous new Thai friends!
We even had an impromptu English lesson later--all about the different fruits in English. It turned out quite nicely. If only I could learn Thai so well!
We even had an impromptu English lesson later--all about the different fruits in English. It turned out quite nicely. If only I could learn Thai so well!
Slowly but surely
So things seem to be
getting a bit easier. I was introduced to yet another uniform today--some
boys were wearing a military type outfit, complete with combat boots. For
some reason they get to wear those in school, not really sure why. I was
hoping to upload all of the pictures today, but they are on my phone and the
connector is at home (I am at school now).
I was called in at the last minute again yesterday to give a test to the 10th grade ecology students. However, it was a much smoother experience this time. I told them I wanted no talking, no sharing papers, and no cheating in general. I also mentioned that the other class hadn't listened to me, and that I had written down their names and reported them--a collective gasp at this. Anyway, they were very diligent and moved their desks to different parts of the room without being asked. There was no talking, no cheating, and I really didn't have to do anything. They even turned in the exams early! When I went to grade the tests, I was pleasantly surprised to find VERY high scores--many perfect grades and the lowest one was only 32/36. Note: in 4.3 the highest grade was 33/36--the lowest was 21. So either this class is much smarter than the other one (possible), or the first class gave a dire warning to their buddies (more likely). Either way, the scores (and the answers in general) were so much better. There really weren’t any nonsensical responses—they at least seemed to comprehend the material.
Chemistry was another story. I finally met with my M2 classes, and I had been told by Kru Aoff that I would be teaching the English vocabulary. So that is what I prepared for. The topics were distillation, crystallization, filtration, and chromatography—not the easiest. Well, as it turns out, pee Aoff wanted me to teach the lecture in English, and he would explain confusing parts in Thai. Doesn’t quite sound like explaining the vocab, does it? Ahh well, keep calm and pretend this is on the lesson plan, right? So I did my best, tried to be clear, and went for it. Turns out they really didn’t understand and were too shy to say anything, but I will be more prepared next time and hopefully we can improve on the situation. It was just a pretty hectic few hours to say the least.
I did make some advances in the living department yesterday—I officially opened a Thai bank account! This means I have now opened accounts on 3 different continents…kinda cool. I also went to the bus station and got my tickets for Chiang Mai. We have a 3 day weekend, so I head out tonight and get to have a nice mini-vacation now! I am pretty excited for Chiang Mai—lots to see, plus I need to get some much needed shopping done. I might even get to see Star Trek (no movie theater in Nan).
Anyway, things are going well here. It seems that rainy season is about to begin—it has been cloudy for the last few days, and sprinkling a bit. We just had some pop up rain too. I know it will get tiring, but it will be nice to have some cooling off too. I will be out of contact while in Chiang Mai, but expect tons of pictures when I return. Until then!
I was called in at the last minute again yesterday to give a test to the 10th grade ecology students. However, it was a much smoother experience this time. I told them I wanted no talking, no sharing papers, and no cheating in general. I also mentioned that the other class hadn't listened to me, and that I had written down their names and reported them--a collective gasp at this. Anyway, they were very diligent and moved their desks to different parts of the room without being asked. There was no talking, no cheating, and I really didn't have to do anything. They even turned in the exams early! When I went to grade the tests, I was pleasantly surprised to find VERY high scores--many perfect grades and the lowest one was only 32/36. Note: in 4.3 the highest grade was 33/36--the lowest was 21. So either this class is much smarter than the other one (possible), or the first class gave a dire warning to their buddies (more likely). Either way, the scores (and the answers in general) were so much better. There really weren’t any nonsensical responses—they at least seemed to comprehend the material.
Chemistry was another story. I finally met with my M2 classes, and I had been told by Kru Aoff that I would be teaching the English vocabulary. So that is what I prepared for. The topics were distillation, crystallization, filtration, and chromatography—not the easiest. Well, as it turns out, pee Aoff wanted me to teach the lecture in English, and he would explain confusing parts in Thai. Doesn’t quite sound like explaining the vocab, does it? Ahh well, keep calm and pretend this is on the lesson plan, right? So I did my best, tried to be clear, and went for it. Turns out they really didn’t understand and were too shy to say anything, but I will be more prepared next time and hopefully we can improve on the situation. It was just a pretty hectic few hours to say the least.
I did make some advances in the living department yesterday—I officially opened a Thai bank account! This means I have now opened accounts on 3 different continents…kinda cool. I also went to the bus station and got my tickets for Chiang Mai. We have a 3 day weekend, so I head out tonight and get to have a nice mini-vacation now! I am pretty excited for Chiang Mai—lots to see, plus I need to get some much needed shopping done. I might even get to see Star Trek (no movie theater in Nan).
Anyway, things are going well here. It seems that rainy season is about to begin—it has been cloudy for the last few days, and sprinkling a bit. We just had some pop up rain too. I know it will get tiring, but it will be nice to have some cooling off too. I will be out of contact while in Chiang Mai, but expect tons of pictures when I return. Until then!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Slow the F#@& Down!!!
So the reviews of my teaching thus far: my students love me, but I talk WAY too fast and they can't understand what I'm saying. Awesome. At first I was pretty stoked. The day after I started teaching, Pee Mam got calls from her students saying they liked me, and she just said to slow down my talking a bit. So I did. Or so I thought. It seems that even when I think I am speaking painfully slowly (Heeeelllloooooooo. Myyyyy nnnnaaaaammmmmeeeee iiiissssss Aaaaaallllllllllllllllllliiiiisssssooooooooooonnnnnnn), they just hear mumbo jumbo. I feel like Dori in Finding Nemo--whale speak!
Uggh, it can be so frustrating at times! I work very hard to speak slowly, and in every class I teach I have told my students on multiple occasions that if I am speaking too quickly or they don't understand, to tell me. I also learned how to ask them in Thai if they understand--"kow jai mai." The other Thai teachers thought this was fabulous as it would help me figure out whether things were going smoothly or not.
Let me just say this--it isn't helping. The students thus far are not willing to say they don't understand. Even when I have told them to say if I speak too fast for them, they just let it go and tell the Thai teachers later that it was too fast. When in class I ask if it is too fast or ok, they say it is ok. When I ask "kow jai mai?" (do you understand?", they automatically respond "kow jai" (I understand). They don't seem to think of it as a question, more like one of their rote memorization drills--when teacher says this, I respond with this. I honestly don't know how to figure out if they are understanding or not when they refuse to interact. Even when I am asking comprehension checking questions it seems like short term memorization--they are able to regurgitate whatever I have just said, or parrot it back in the correct fashion, but the true comprehension is missing.
I am not trying to sound overly negative, I just came up against these hurdles in the last 2 days. I realized that the class I was teaching ecology truly had no comprehension of the topic. Yesterday I was supposed to coteach the class with pee Mam, but she was running late handing out P.E. uniforms to lower level students. So she handed me an exam and sent me off to proctor the test.
When I arrive in class, they are running around, acting like average 10th graders. I try to get them to settle down as quickly as possible, especially since I am already 10 minutes late for class (pee Mam had no inkling of the time). Step 1: tell the students to put their notebooks away. I only want to see pencils and pens on the desks. No response. We are having a test today. <Waves tests in air> Put everything away so we can begin. Finally there is some shuffling and groaning, as understanding sets in.
I finally get everything off the desks (this takes longer than it should) and begin to hand out exams. There is tons of talking. Step 2: "No talking!!!" The students quiet down for a moment as I continue to pass out the tests, but the conversation quickly escalates again as I move about the room. I have to stop again to remind them no talking. I really should have thought this through a bit better, but I hadn't known about the test or planned for any of it.
The test begins, all heads are down and for a brief moment the only sound in the room is that of pens scratching on paper. And there it is again. Talking. I notice that here and there throughout the room there are two, three, four students looking at each other's tests, sharing answers and pointing. Really? So I walk over to a group of three chatty girls in the front of the room, slamming my hand on the desk. It startles them. "Stop it!" They nod guiltily, and actually they do stop for the rest of the test. Others are not so respectful. I have to tap 2 girls on the shoulder to tell them to stop sharing answers, and when they continue after that I take down their names. Yet another girl copies form both her neighbors. I tell her to stop and loom over her, not leaving her side. She then proceeds to cheat off her friends again. Welp, another name for my list. How can you be so stupid? Or do they think I am that stupid? Apparently so.
It was an incredibly painful 40 minutes. There were others who cheated, but not enough that I could catch them. Never again will I allow something like that to happen. Reah always puts her students as far apart as possible when testing so as to discourage cheating. I will be doing the same in my classes. This co-teaching is difficult--you have this odd shared authority and the students feel they can get away with anything since you aren't the "real" teacher. Although maybe they pull the same crap with the Thai teachers...I doubt it.
But back to the real story here. I graded the tests today, and the results were eye opening. I would like to say that the students failed, and some of them certainly did. Some of them just didn't study--I can't tell you how many times we discussed the definition of a primary producer (i.e. plants/algae...not the sun). But some of it was definitely me. We need to go back to square one with parts of the lesson--the concept of detritivore, decomposer, and scavenger was completely lost on the majority of my students. So yeah, time to reevaluate.
Step 1: Speak slowly. Even if it seems too slow, it isn't. Even if they say it's ok, they are probably lying. Think whale speak.
Step 2: Continue asking if they understand--maybe you will get a truthful answer at some point. It is better to ask than not.
Step 3: Try to determine if they actually understand. Usually easier said than done. This step often causes extreme frustration--proceed with caution.
Step 4: Show students you are in control!!! You are the teacher, not them. This means no blatant cheating, no talking during exams, and no paper airplanes (yet another treat from today). Being a foreign teacher means you have the novelty factor, but also means students will test the boundaries in ways they never would with a Thai teacher. Keep order in the classroom--death stares are good, but blackmail with grades and/or reporting them to their parents is always best.
Step 5: Keep calm. Take a deep breath. Tomorrow is a new day.
Uggh, it can be so frustrating at times! I work very hard to speak slowly, and in every class I teach I have told my students on multiple occasions that if I am speaking too quickly or they don't understand, to tell me. I also learned how to ask them in Thai if they understand--"kow jai mai." The other Thai teachers thought this was fabulous as it would help me figure out whether things were going smoothly or not.
Let me just say this--it isn't helping. The students thus far are not willing to say they don't understand. Even when I have told them to say if I speak too fast for them, they just let it go and tell the Thai teachers later that it was too fast. When in class I ask if it is too fast or ok, they say it is ok. When I ask "kow jai mai?" (do you understand?", they automatically respond "kow jai" (I understand). They don't seem to think of it as a question, more like one of their rote memorization drills--when teacher says this, I respond with this. I honestly don't know how to figure out if they are understanding or not when they refuse to interact. Even when I am asking comprehension checking questions it seems like short term memorization--they are able to regurgitate whatever I have just said, or parrot it back in the correct fashion, but the true comprehension is missing.
I am not trying to sound overly negative, I just came up against these hurdles in the last 2 days. I realized that the class I was teaching ecology truly had no comprehension of the topic. Yesterday I was supposed to coteach the class with pee Mam, but she was running late handing out P.E. uniforms to lower level students. So she handed me an exam and sent me off to proctor the test.
When I arrive in class, they are running around, acting like average 10th graders. I try to get them to settle down as quickly as possible, especially since I am already 10 minutes late for class (pee Mam had no inkling of the time). Step 1: tell the students to put their notebooks away. I only want to see pencils and pens on the desks. No response. We are having a test today. <Waves tests in air> Put everything away so we can begin. Finally there is some shuffling and groaning, as understanding sets in.
I finally get everything off the desks (this takes longer than it should) and begin to hand out exams. There is tons of talking. Step 2: "No talking!!!" The students quiet down for a moment as I continue to pass out the tests, but the conversation quickly escalates again as I move about the room. I have to stop again to remind them no talking. I really should have thought this through a bit better, but I hadn't known about the test or planned for any of it.
The test begins, all heads are down and for a brief moment the only sound in the room is that of pens scratching on paper. And there it is again. Talking. I notice that here and there throughout the room there are two, three, four students looking at each other's tests, sharing answers and pointing. Really? So I walk over to a group of three chatty girls in the front of the room, slamming my hand on the desk. It startles them. "Stop it!" They nod guiltily, and actually they do stop for the rest of the test. Others are not so respectful. I have to tap 2 girls on the shoulder to tell them to stop sharing answers, and when they continue after that I take down their names. Yet another girl copies form both her neighbors. I tell her to stop and loom over her, not leaving her side. She then proceeds to cheat off her friends again. Welp, another name for my list. How can you be so stupid? Or do they think I am that stupid? Apparently so.
It was an incredibly painful 40 minutes. There were others who cheated, but not enough that I could catch them. Never again will I allow something like that to happen. Reah always puts her students as far apart as possible when testing so as to discourage cheating. I will be doing the same in my classes. This co-teaching is difficult--you have this odd shared authority and the students feel they can get away with anything since you aren't the "real" teacher. Although maybe they pull the same crap with the Thai teachers...I doubt it.
But back to the real story here. I graded the tests today, and the results were eye opening. I would like to say that the students failed, and some of them certainly did. Some of them just didn't study--I can't tell you how many times we discussed the definition of a primary producer (i.e. plants/algae...not the sun). But some of it was definitely me. We need to go back to square one with parts of the lesson--the concept of detritivore, decomposer, and scavenger was completely lost on the majority of my students. So yeah, time to reevaluate.
Step 1: Speak slowly. Even if it seems too slow, it isn't. Even if they say it's ok, they are probably lying. Think whale speak.
Step 2: Continue asking if they understand--maybe you will get a truthful answer at some point. It is better to ask than not.
Step 3: Try to determine if they actually understand. Usually easier said than done. This step often causes extreme frustration--proceed with caution.
Step 4: Show students you are in control!!! You are the teacher, not them. This means no blatant cheating, no talking during exams, and no paper airplanes (yet another treat from today). Being a foreign teacher means you have the novelty factor, but also means students will test the boundaries in ways they never would with a Thai teacher. Keep order in the classroom--death stares are good, but blackmail with grades and/or reporting them to their parents is always best.
Step 5: Keep calm. Take a deep breath. Tomorrow is a new day.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
BUGS!!!
To answer the question I know is burning in your mind: no, it did not rain. Another tease! Ah well, it will be raining more than we want it to soon enough.
So on Friday night I finally took the plunge. After seeing them at the evening market every time I went, I worked up the courage to buy some fried bugs. Now I don't know anything about which ones are better or any vocabulary concerning them, so I just went over to the lady and gestured at them, asking "aroi?" (delicious?). She offered to let me try each of them (a worm/grub type thing and crickets) to decide, but I figured I might lose my nerve, so I declined. After determining that they were both equally "delicious," I opted for the crickets. She decided to throw in some of the worm things, just so I could try them too. So here was my next big food adventure! (sorry for photo quality--these are from my phone)
So on Friday night I finally took the plunge. After seeing them at the evening market every time I went, I worked up the courage to buy some fried bugs. Now I don't know anything about which ones are better or any vocabulary concerning them, so I just went over to the lady and gestured at them, asking "aroi?" (delicious?). She offered to let me try each of them (a worm/grub type thing and crickets) to decide, but I figured I might lose my nerve, so I declined. After determining that they were both equally "delicious," I opted for the crickets. She decided to throw in some of the worm things, just so I could try them too. So here was my next big food adventure! (sorry for photo quality--these are from my phone)
So the experience was a little odd at first. I had to get over the fact that I was eating bugs, but once that was gone, the flavor was actually quite good. They tasted a bit like nuts with good spices. I preferred the crickets because they had more of a crunch to them, while the worms were a bit squishier (they were still completely fried, but they weren't as nice and crispy). And, as luck would have it, I hopped on to CNN today and found this as one of their featured Eatocracy articles--eating bugs in Asia! So I discovered that it was a cricket and a silk worm that I had eaten--both popular snacks in Thailand and Laos. Very exciting!
Anyway, I don't think I will be converting to a diet of bugs, but it was a fun thing to try and they tasted much better than I expected. In other news, I had to go buy bug spray for my bathroom today because roaches and ants have a talent for getting in--need to get that under control. Just kind of a pain to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and have to chase down a roach. Oh well. Anyway, time to do some lesson planning. Later!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Walking Market
So after a fairly uneventful day (just a shopping trip and foraging for dinner), I decided to head out again. I had heard there was a walking market this evening just down the street from me. Apparently there was one last Saturday too, but I missed it since I was just getting settled in. Maybe this is a weekly thing?
Anyway, the walking market has quite a different atmosphere from the morning and evening markets. While those markets mostly focus on fresh fruits/veggies and meats, they also sell some clothing and prepared foods. This market was all about strolling around, shopping for clothes and other amenities, and enjoying food/music. The close of the street starting from the wat near my house and going for several blocks. There are musicians all over the place and tons of different foods to try. I had a new dessert tonight--crushed ices, gelatin cubes, some fruits (I know there was a prune in there at least), and god knows what else. There are many variations on this theme--it is quite similar to ro mit, and I do enjoy it quite a lot.
One interesting thing I had learned before heading to the market is the way Thais buy clothing. Most places you get clothing you can't try it on. Because of this, you pretty much guess and hope that you are buying the right size and that it looks good. However, you can't always be right, so people end up with clothing they can't wear, don't love, or are just kind of tired of it. Add to that the fact that Thais love to shop, and you end up with a pretty huge wardrobe. The solution? Recycle it! During markets like this one, people will bring out all the clothing that didn't work out for some reason or another and sell it really cheap. It's a good way to pick up interesting clothing if you are willing to take a risk with sizes (I am larger than the average Thai, so this is not a great option for me).
It was a lot of fun wandering the streets. Everyone was out since the sun had set and it had cooled down a bit (still relative--it was 95 F not factoring in the humidity). I also stopped in a (real) shop and got yet another Thai outfit. The blouse was really pretty--it has flowers embroidered on it, so it is a bit more interesting that the other one I got. And unfortunately the first shopkeeper was right--I am definitely an XL when it comes to Thai garments. But I did find a nice one, so that is good. I also got a matching skirt, this time a purply-red. Now here comes the catch--this one wasn't a wrap skirt with ties. Instead it is a giant tube with some ties on the back. I tried to get them to show me how to wear it, but as far as we got is them miming stepping into the tube. Ah well, I decided I would use the vast resources of the internet to figure it out.
It turns out that this type of skirt is called a pha sin. It is (probably) originally from Laos, and is a very traditional garment in Northern Thailand. In fact, I found out about it in a book called Things Thai--these skirts are shown in a mural in the most famous wat in Nan. However, it is not commonly used anymore except for traditional ceremonies. I did find out that you fold in over much the same as a wrap skirt and then roll the top--thank you random book! So hopefully I won't embarrass myself too much. All in all today was definitely a splurge day--spent about $70 on all the clothing. However, considering that I only just ran out of the $500 I came with, and that includes paying my first month of rent, I guess I can handle it.
Oh, and guess what else I stumbled upon...the red stick! It must be that the troop leader carries one of these staffs, but it was funny to see them for sale on my stroll around town. I also think I have picked out where I am getting my bike. They have a bunch of decent ones with baskets, bells, kickstands, and decent looking seats that aren't too hideously expensive. Maybe I will grab one tomorrow so I can do some more exploring.
As of yet no rain. I am not too hopeful anymore.
Anyway, the walking market has quite a different atmosphere from the morning and evening markets. While those markets mostly focus on fresh fruits/veggies and meats, they also sell some clothing and prepared foods. This market was all about strolling around, shopping for clothes and other amenities, and enjoying food/music. The close of the street starting from the wat near my house and going for several blocks. There are musicians all over the place and tons of different foods to try. I had a new dessert tonight--crushed ices, gelatin cubes, some fruits (I know there was a prune in there at least), and god knows what else. There are many variations on this theme--it is quite similar to ro mit, and I do enjoy it quite a lot.
One interesting thing I had learned before heading to the market is the way Thais buy clothing. Most places you get clothing you can't try it on. Because of this, you pretty much guess and hope that you are buying the right size and that it looks good. However, you can't always be right, so people end up with clothing they can't wear, don't love, or are just kind of tired of it. Add to that the fact that Thais love to shop, and you end up with a pretty huge wardrobe. The solution? Recycle it! During markets like this one, people will bring out all the clothing that didn't work out for some reason or another and sell it really cheap. It's a good way to pick up interesting clothing if you are willing to take a risk with sizes (I am larger than the average Thai, so this is not a great option for me).
 |
| Wat Hua Wiangtai |
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| Wat at night |
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| So much food! |
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| Some of the "recycled" clothing |
It was a lot of fun wandering the streets. Everyone was out since the sun had set and it had cooled down a bit (still relative--it was 95 F not factoring in the humidity). I also stopped in a (real) shop and got yet another Thai outfit. The blouse was really pretty--it has flowers embroidered on it, so it is a bit more interesting that the other one I got. And unfortunately the first shopkeeper was right--I am definitely an XL when it comes to Thai garments. But I did find a nice one, so that is good. I also got a matching skirt, this time a purply-red. Now here comes the catch--this one wasn't a wrap skirt with ties. Instead it is a giant tube with some ties on the back. I tried to get them to show me how to wear it, but as far as we got is them miming stepping into the tube. Ah well, I decided I would use the vast resources of the internet to figure it out.
It turns out that this type of skirt is called a pha sin. It is (probably) originally from Laos, and is a very traditional garment in Northern Thailand. In fact, I found out about it in a book called Things Thai--these skirts are shown in a mural in the most famous wat in Nan. However, it is not commonly used anymore except for traditional ceremonies. I did find out that you fold in over much the same as a wrap skirt and then roll the top--thank you random book! So hopefully I won't embarrass myself too much. All in all today was definitely a splurge day--spent about $70 on all the clothing. However, considering that I only just ran out of the $500 I came with, and that includes paying my first month of rent, I guess I can handle it.
Oh, and guess what else I stumbled upon...the red stick! It must be that the troop leader carries one of these staffs, but it was funny to see them for sale on my stroll around town. I also think I have picked out where I am getting my bike. They have a bunch of decent ones with baskets, bells, kickstands, and decent looking seats that aren't too hideously expensive. Maybe I will grab one tomorrow so I can do some more exploring.
As of yet no rain. I am not too hopeful anymore.
So many uniforms
So this week has been an adventure in figuring out the way things work. Part of that has been the uniforms. My first day at school I thought I pretty much had it down. The girls wear mid calf length navy skirts with belts, and a very pale blue/white shirt with Thai writing on it (probably the name). The shirts are slightly different style based on their age--younger girls have almost a sailor-style shirt with a bow, the older ones have a simpler collar. If their hair is long enough, it has to be tied back with a white ribbon. As for shoes, they are all the same black shoes--the only difference is they all have different color/style buckles. This is pretty important, since they all have to leave their shoes outside the classrooms...how else would they recognize their shoes??? As for the boys, They wear knee length navy shorts and a collared shirt with embroidery, much like the girls. There really isn't the same variation in the boys uniform like there is with the girls. Below is a picture of the typical Thai uniform--ours is the same except the writing on the shirts is green, since the school colors are green and white.
Ok, so seems, pretty straightforward, right? Wrong. In addition to these uniforms, I also started seeings some green pants and shirts running around school. Ok...so what is that? Turns out those are the P.E. uniforms. I don't know exactly how that is set up since maybe only a few people in each class will be wearing the P.E. uniforms, but each day there are people in them (except I didn't see any on Friday). So they have it worked out somehow.
Next! So I come into school on Wednesday to see a whole new set of uniforms! In addition to the basic uniforms and the P.E. uniforms, I now see some boys wearing a khaki uniform with yellow scarves and magenta caps. Also, some of them are carrying giant forked red sticks...weird. Despite the odd description, it was pretty clear to me that these were boy scouts. I didn't realize how closely scouting was associated with school, but hey, whatever. You can see one boy carrying his cap, but no good example of the stick sadly.
As for the girls, they were wearing a blue pseudo-sailor uniform with a red cross on the back. Yep, they are part of the Thai Red Cross. It is basically the girls equivalent of scouting--no Girl Scouts per se. Can't seem to find any good pics, so I will just take some around school this week and upload them later.
Thursday was relatively normal--just the basic uniform and P.E. Friday I was in for a surprise though. All of the girls came to school in green wrap skirts (patung) and traditional white blouses. The boys had sort of green capris and traditional white tops as well. It turns out that on Fridays throughout Nan, all students must wear traditional Thai dress to school. It was pretty amazing. Teachers are also encouraged to do this, and some do. Others aren't so enthusiastic because the long wrap skirt can get quite warm--the boy's uniform is definitely more heat friendly! Anyway, below is sort of a rough approximation of the uniform. The blouse is made of cotton, but it would have longer sleeves (3/4 length). The buttons are more traditional (the Asian knot/loop type) and they are off center, so one side of the blouse folds well over the other. It does have the square collar. The teachers often have quite elaborate lacy tops--quite beautiful to look at! As for the skirt, it is made of a heavy cotton and wraps tightly around you, tying in the back/side. The free edge should sit on the front left, as shown in the picture here.
So, on Friday I talked a bit with my bio coworker who speaks the most English, pee Prauw (yeah, spelling these names is rough--I actually have no clue how to write her name). When I say she speaks the most English, this means she kind of speaks it, but she speaks WAY more than anyone else, and WAY WAY WAY more than I speak Thai. So yeah. Anyway, I asked her whether it would be weird for me, a Westerner, to wear the Thai clothing on Fridays. She didn't understand that, so we went to the thumbs up/down on me wearing it on Friday. She gave it a thumbs up. So today I went in search of the appropriate clothing. Now, I knew I had seen the skirts around--they just look like folded bits of fabric. But I also needed the blouse and a friendly person to help me out by showing me how to wear it all. So I went wandering this afternoon. I actually ended up stopping in a shop to buy some colorful and loose blouses (I need certain colors for different days of the week). The shopkeeper there was particularly nice, so I attempted my miming/dictionary routine with her. I managed to convey that I was a teacher in town and I needed the skirt for Fridays. She got quite excited and showed me a stack. We picked out a couple, and she showed me how to tie them on--way simpler than some of the online instructions made it seem! She also realized I needed the top so took me over and picked one out. I tried it on and thought it fit, but she wasn't happy so went to the back to get an XL. Welcome to Asia, fatty teacher Allison! Ahh well. The XL fit fine, and so I had put together my first truly Thai outfit! I even managed to get a skirt in sort of a pale yellow/green since our school color is green. It was a good day.
I will say I am a tad nervous to wear it. It looks lovely, but when other Thai teachers mentioned how hot the outfit is, they weren't lying. The cotton is quite heavy, and can make you sweat a good bit. When I am in my office or a classroom, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but outside is going to be an issue. Plus Friday is my day for gate duty--I have to be there from 7-8 a.m. and greet the students arriving. It is also to say hello to the parents as they drop their kids off. Bottom line: teacher Allison is going to be a sweaty hog by the end of gate duty. Definitely a good idea to keep a small cosmetics kit at school like the other teachers do.
In other news, it has been thundering for about an hour now. The sky has looked menacing and the wind has been blowing. Even a few hours ago when I was at the market many of the vendors were packing up early. It seems everyone thinks it might rain. Have my prayers been answered? Or will it be another disappointment? Tune in next time to find out!
Ok, so seems, pretty straightforward, right? Wrong. In addition to these uniforms, I also started seeings some green pants and shirts running around school. Ok...so what is that? Turns out those are the P.E. uniforms. I don't know exactly how that is set up since maybe only a few people in each class will be wearing the P.E. uniforms, but each day there are people in them (except I didn't see any on Friday). So they have it worked out somehow.
Next! So I come into school on Wednesday to see a whole new set of uniforms! In addition to the basic uniforms and the P.E. uniforms, I now see some boys wearing a khaki uniform with yellow scarves and magenta caps. Also, some of them are carrying giant forked red sticks...weird. Despite the odd description, it was pretty clear to me that these were boy scouts. I didn't realize how closely scouting was associated with school, but hey, whatever. You can see one boy carrying his cap, but no good example of the stick sadly.
As for the girls, they were wearing a blue pseudo-sailor uniform with a red cross on the back. Yep, they are part of the Thai Red Cross. It is basically the girls equivalent of scouting--no Girl Scouts per se. Can't seem to find any good pics, so I will just take some around school this week and upload them later.
Thursday was relatively normal--just the basic uniform and P.E. Friday I was in for a surprise though. All of the girls came to school in green wrap skirts (patung) and traditional white blouses. The boys had sort of green capris and traditional white tops as well. It turns out that on Fridays throughout Nan, all students must wear traditional Thai dress to school. It was pretty amazing. Teachers are also encouraged to do this, and some do. Others aren't so enthusiastic because the long wrap skirt can get quite warm--the boy's uniform is definitely more heat friendly! Anyway, below is sort of a rough approximation of the uniform. The blouse is made of cotton, but it would have longer sleeves (3/4 length). The buttons are more traditional (the Asian knot/loop type) and they are off center, so one side of the blouse folds well over the other. It does have the square collar. The teachers often have quite elaborate lacy tops--quite beautiful to look at! As for the skirt, it is made of a heavy cotton and wraps tightly around you, tying in the back/side. The free edge should sit on the front left, as shown in the picture here.
So, on Friday I talked a bit with my bio coworker who speaks the most English, pee Prauw (yeah, spelling these names is rough--I actually have no clue how to write her name). When I say she speaks the most English, this means she kind of speaks it, but she speaks WAY more than anyone else, and WAY WAY WAY more than I speak Thai. So yeah. Anyway, I asked her whether it would be weird for me, a Westerner, to wear the Thai clothing on Fridays. She didn't understand that, so we went to the thumbs up/down on me wearing it on Friday. She gave it a thumbs up. So today I went in search of the appropriate clothing. Now, I knew I had seen the skirts around--they just look like folded bits of fabric. But I also needed the blouse and a friendly person to help me out by showing me how to wear it all. So I went wandering this afternoon. I actually ended up stopping in a shop to buy some colorful and loose blouses (I need certain colors for different days of the week). The shopkeeper there was particularly nice, so I attempted my miming/dictionary routine with her. I managed to convey that I was a teacher in town and I needed the skirt for Fridays. She got quite excited and showed me a stack. We picked out a couple, and she showed me how to tie them on--way simpler than some of the online instructions made it seem! She also realized I needed the top so took me over and picked one out. I tried it on and thought it fit, but she wasn't happy so went to the back to get an XL. Welcome to Asia, fatty teacher Allison! Ahh well. The XL fit fine, and so I had put together my first truly Thai outfit! I even managed to get a skirt in sort of a pale yellow/green since our school color is green. It was a good day.
I will say I am a tad nervous to wear it. It looks lovely, but when other Thai teachers mentioned how hot the outfit is, they weren't lying. The cotton is quite heavy, and can make you sweat a good bit. When I am in my office or a classroom, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but outside is going to be an issue. Plus Friday is my day for gate duty--I have to be there from 7-8 a.m. and greet the students arriving. It is also to say hello to the parents as they drop their kids off. Bottom line: teacher Allison is going to be a sweaty hog by the end of gate duty. Definitely a good idea to keep a small cosmetics kit at school like the other teachers do.
In other news, it has been thundering for about an hour now. The sky has looked menacing and the wind has been blowing. Even a few hours ago when I was at the market many of the vendors were packing up early. It seems everyone thinks it might rain. Have my prayers been answered? Or will it be another disappointment? Tune in next time to find out!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Praying for rain...
So I will probably regret this later when the entire town is flooded for weeks, but we need rain. NOW. I find myself spending more and more time staring at the sky, hoping, praying, waiting for some rain to fall. A few evenings it has taunted me, looking like a storm was about to roll in. But it never does.
It is just too hot. Yesterday was 42 C (107 F) with Real Feel of 45 C (113 F). Yeah. It's that hot. So yes, even with the risk of jinxing myself in the future, I am looking for rain. We need to cool this town down. One of my Thai coworkers was telling me that this is the hottest summer he can remember. As he sees it, this is our punishment for paving over the earth rather than leaving it natural. Same for the floods--pavement reflects the sunlight and makes us hot, but when the rains come they have nowhere to drain and it floods.
It is 103 F right now (not even considering Real Feel/humidity), but it should be "cooling off" to the mid/upper 90's next week. Every day there is a 60% change of storms. Let's just hope that one day it comes true.
It is just too hot. Yesterday was 42 C (107 F) with Real Feel of 45 C (113 F). Yeah. It's that hot. So yes, even with the risk of jinxing myself in the future, I am looking for rain. We need to cool this town down. One of my Thai coworkers was telling me that this is the hottest summer he can remember. As he sees it, this is our punishment for paving over the earth rather than leaving it natural. Same for the floods--pavement reflects the sunlight and makes us hot, but when the rains come they have nowhere to drain and it floods.
It is 103 F right now (not even considering Real Feel/humidity), but it should be "cooling off" to the mid/upper 90's next week. Every day there is a 60% change of storms. Let's just hope that one day it comes true.
I made it through the week
So today marks the end of my first week as a teacher here at Satrisrinan School. It has been an adventure! As luck would have it Kru Mam returned from Chiang Mai last night so I only had to teach one class today--my M.5 group. Since it was my first session with them we just went over class rules, played some games, and got used to each other. I need them to adjust to my accent, since most English they have heard in the past is either from Thai of Filipino teachers. If today is any indication, I think I will really enjoy this group--they were really willing to interact with me. Plus I got a whole new list of great nicknames! Note: I finally discovered where to get class rosters so I had them all write their English nicknames on it for me--that way I can grade based on participation. Some of my favorite names from the class: S.M., Milk, Oil, Jubjib, Cat, Fifa, Piano, Guitar, and Yaya. There are a bunch that I don't know how to say, but those are some good ones. Now I just need to get my list filled out for every class section!
I also broached the subject of the Minecraft "ecology" handout with Kru Mam. I don't know that she fully understood what I was saying, but she understood that it was a bad idea to use it. I told her I would come up with an alternative handout to use for next week and she was very pleased, so that should work out. I am a bit sad not to be seeing that class today to be honest. Yes, it is work to teach them for a few hours, but they are pretty fun. Now I will only see them for 1 hour most weeks (3 hours on the weeks Kru Mam wants some extra help). Ahh well, it does lighten my load a bit. If I had kept the current schedule I would have had over 20 classes a week--now I only have 12 most weeks. Pretty similar to Reah's schedule this year (I think she has 14?).
This weekend will be a bit busy with lesson planning, but I am glad to have some downtime--no getting up at 6:15 for me!! I have found that I am waking up before the roosters are crowing. That is unsettling. Then again, I never get a good night's sleep because I wake up multiple times each night with my arms fast asleep from having rolled onto my side. I think there should be some law against beds so hard they cut off circulation when you roll on your side. <_<
I also considered going to a movie this weekend since the new Star Trek movie just came out. Well, don't think that is going to happen. From what I can tell the nearest movie theater is a 6 hour bus ride away in Chiang Mai. I feel pretty humiliated admitting to this, but I even looked into flights to Chiang Mai--most expensive movie EVER! But alas, I will save a trip to Chiang Mai for another weekend.
Anyway, I am a bit hungry now so I think a trip to the canteen is in order. I am adjusting to the Thai method of eating--i.e. eating at every single opportunity! How they stay so thin I have no idea...
I also broached the subject of the Minecraft "ecology" handout with Kru Mam. I don't know that she fully understood what I was saying, but she understood that it was a bad idea to use it. I told her I would come up with an alternative handout to use for next week and she was very pleased, so that should work out. I am a bit sad not to be seeing that class today to be honest. Yes, it is work to teach them for a few hours, but they are pretty fun. Now I will only see them for 1 hour most weeks (3 hours on the weeks Kru Mam wants some extra help). Ahh well, it does lighten my load a bit. If I had kept the current schedule I would have had over 20 classes a week--now I only have 12 most weeks. Pretty similar to Reah's schedule this year (I think she has 14?).
This weekend will be a bit busy with lesson planning, but I am glad to have some downtime--no getting up at 6:15 for me!! I have found that I am waking up before the roosters are crowing. That is unsettling. Then again, I never get a good night's sleep because I wake up multiple times each night with my arms fast asleep from having rolled onto my side. I think there should be some law against beds so hard they cut off circulation when you roll on your side. <_<
I also considered going to a movie this weekend since the new Star Trek movie just came out. Well, don't think that is going to happen. From what I can tell the nearest movie theater is a 6 hour bus ride away in Chiang Mai. I feel pretty humiliated admitting to this, but I even looked into flights to Chiang Mai--most expensive movie EVER! But alas, I will save a trip to Chiang Mai for another weekend.
Anyway, I am a bit hungry now so I think a trip to the canteen is in order. I am adjusting to the Thai method of eating--i.e. eating at every single opportunity! How they stay so thin I have no idea...
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Minecraft, Furby, and my first motorbike ride
So today was long beyond belief. I kind of felt like I might die in the middle. Mostly because I was covering all of kru Mam's classes today, which ended up with me teaching 5 sections without much of a break...yuck! Add to that the fact that I didn't even know which sections I was supposed to be going to, and the day was doomed to be a bit rough. Thanks to Reah calling pee Mam, I did find out which sections to teach. Unfortunately, this also led to the revelation that not only was I supposed to be giving my M.4 students a follow up handout, but also giving them a test today? Wait, what? I may miss a lot in translation, but I KNOW we had discussed having the test when pee Mam returned from Chiang Mai next week. Anyway, there was no way in hell I was giving them a test today, so I just ignored that instruction. Not happening! I did go pick up the handout from pee Mam's office, but upon reading the first few lines, I realized I was also going to ignore that part of her instructions. Below is the opening paragraph to the handout:
Biome Types
There are 10 biomes as of Minecraft version 1.2.5. They can generally be distinguished by the grass and leaf colors in the biome, along with the types of block present (e.g. types of trees or other plants like cacti, sand coverage in deserts). The biomes are pseudo-randomly generated using the map seed.
OMG, this is a manual for the computer game Minecraft!!!!! For those of you not familiar with the game, you literally run around a boxy looking world, collecting resources and building things. Then monsters appear and you have to fight to survive (sorry if the description is bad--I don't actually play it!). Below are some other fabulous excerpts from the "ecology" handout:
--Sugar cane can be found next to pools of water. It has been claimed that more hostile mobs like zombies and skeletons spawn in the dessert than in any other biome; whether or not this is true, the lack of visual obstruction and light colored sand make them very easy to see at night.
--The lily pads floating in the water present an obstacle to boat travel, as collision can easily break the boat.
--No mobs (including hostile mobs) other than Mooshrooms spawn naturally in this biome. This also applies to caves, abandoned mine shafts, etc. below mushroom biomes, meaning exploring underground is relatively safe. However, Monster Spawners will still be able to spawn mobs, Golems can still be created by players, and Spawn Eggs can still be used to spawn mobs.
Yeah. That's right. They wanted me to hand out a video game manual as "science." Whatever. I guess I will just find something else and get copies made, since I learned how to do that today! That and I got my username and password for the internet here. Super high tech, mine is just my name! The Thai teachers have really complicated login credentials though, so I count myself lucky.
Other than the test/handout snafu, classes were mostly ok today. I met my M.1 students, and to be honest I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Since I don't really have the recommended syllabus or any information about grading (there is a set grading pattern we have to follow within the department), I didn't want to start with any particular material. So the plan was to go over the class rules and play some icebreaker games. Well, my first M.1 class was a bit painful. We went through the rules really quickly, and the icebreaker didn't go as well as planned--nobody was willing to participate. So I eventually switched to hangman. However, every Thai class seems to be expert level at hangman. They just guess a few letters and then are able to guess the word...it's uncanny. So I ran out of energy and ideas, leading me to let them go a few minutes early. So much energy for such little people!
My second M.1 class went considerably better. They were more willing to interact with me, and I was more prepared for the situations when things fizzled out. So as part of the icebreaker activity I got everyone saying "My name is ________. What is your name?" And so we went around the class of 46 like that. To be honest, I didn't even hear most of the responses, but it got them all standing up and actually speaking in English, so that was a success. One name I did hear was Furby. You got it, Furby--like the little fuzzy toy. When I asked him to repeat it, he was like "FURBY!!" and cupped his hands around his ears, doing the flapping motion. So yeah, his parents named him Furby because of his protruding ears. Both a bit twisted and highly adorable! He also turned out to be really willing to participate in class--I think he is going to be a great student.
I also made some progress with some of my fellow biology teachers. They started flipping through my beginner Thai book and trying to teach me things. Note: the vast majority of what they taught me I will have NO recollection of come tomorrow, but it showed great improvement in our communication. They also asked where in America I come from, so I drew a rough map of the U.S. and some landmarks (Texas, California, New York, Florida). They were amazed by how big Atlanta is, and seemed quite impressed by the size of the U.S. in general too. The people here are just very provincial--they are all from Nan, and while some of the teachers have studied in other parts of Thailand, their knowledge is pretty limited. Only a select few have ever left the country.
My final excitement for the day was my shopping trip. I decided to walk to Nara, a smaller shopping center that is close to my house. It is probably about 15 minutes away, but feels much longer in the heat. I didn't find any clothes I wanted (I need a pink, yellow, and orange tops or dresses--there are different colors for each day of the week), but I did get a laundry hamper, fabric softener, and other household items. On my way home a guy on a motorbike stopped and asked where I was going, so I pointed. It turns out he is a retired teacher from my school, so he offered me a ride on his motorbike. It was quite exhilarating! To be honest I spent most of the time worried I was going to fall off, but it was pretty fun, and certainly more enjoyable than walking in the afternoon heat. Maybe a motorbike is doable after all!
So now the eyelids are coming down. It has been a long day and I don't even know what to do with my students tomorrow morning--AGGG! It is an adventure! Until next time.
Biome Types
There are 10 biomes as of Minecraft version 1.2.5. They can generally be distinguished by the grass and leaf colors in the biome, along with the types of block present (e.g. types of trees or other plants like cacti, sand coverage in deserts). The biomes are pseudo-randomly generated using the map seed.
OMG, this is a manual for the computer game Minecraft!!!!! For those of you not familiar with the game, you literally run around a boxy looking world, collecting resources and building things. Then monsters appear and you have to fight to survive (sorry if the description is bad--I don't actually play it!). Below are some other fabulous excerpts from the "ecology" handout:
--Sugar cane can be found next to pools of water. It has been claimed that more hostile mobs like zombies and skeletons spawn in the dessert than in any other biome; whether or not this is true, the lack of visual obstruction and light colored sand make them very easy to see at night.
--The lily pads floating in the water present an obstacle to boat travel, as collision can easily break the boat.
--No mobs (including hostile mobs) other than Mooshrooms spawn naturally in this biome. This also applies to caves, abandoned mine shafts, etc. below mushroom biomes, meaning exploring underground is relatively safe. However, Monster Spawners will still be able to spawn mobs, Golems can still be created by players, and Spawn Eggs can still be used to spawn mobs.
Yeah. That's right. They wanted me to hand out a video game manual as "science." Whatever. I guess I will just find something else and get copies made, since I learned how to do that today! That and I got my username and password for the internet here. Super high tech, mine is just my name! The Thai teachers have really complicated login credentials though, so I count myself lucky.
Other than the test/handout snafu, classes were mostly ok today. I met my M.1 students, and to be honest I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Since I don't really have the recommended syllabus or any information about grading (there is a set grading pattern we have to follow within the department), I didn't want to start with any particular material. So the plan was to go over the class rules and play some icebreaker games. Well, my first M.1 class was a bit painful. We went through the rules really quickly, and the icebreaker didn't go as well as planned--nobody was willing to participate. So I eventually switched to hangman. However, every Thai class seems to be expert level at hangman. They just guess a few letters and then are able to guess the word...it's uncanny. So I ran out of energy and ideas, leading me to let them go a few minutes early. So much energy for such little people!
My second M.1 class went considerably better. They were more willing to interact with me, and I was more prepared for the situations when things fizzled out. So as part of the icebreaker activity I got everyone saying "My name is ________. What is your name?" And so we went around the class of 46 like that. To be honest, I didn't even hear most of the responses, but it got them all standing up and actually speaking in English, so that was a success. One name I did hear was Furby. You got it, Furby--like the little fuzzy toy. When I asked him to repeat it, he was like "FURBY!!" and cupped his hands around his ears, doing the flapping motion. So yeah, his parents named him Furby because of his protruding ears. Both a bit twisted and highly adorable! He also turned out to be really willing to participate in class--I think he is going to be a great student.
I also made some progress with some of my fellow biology teachers. They started flipping through my beginner Thai book and trying to teach me things. Note: the vast majority of what they taught me I will have NO recollection of come tomorrow, but it showed great improvement in our communication. They also asked where in America I come from, so I drew a rough map of the U.S. and some landmarks (Texas, California, New York, Florida). They were amazed by how big Atlanta is, and seemed quite impressed by the size of the U.S. in general too. The people here are just very provincial--they are all from Nan, and while some of the teachers have studied in other parts of Thailand, their knowledge is pretty limited. Only a select few have ever left the country.
My final excitement for the day was my shopping trip. I decided to walk to Nara, a smaller shopping center that is close to my house. It is probably about 15 minutes away, but feels much longer in the heat. I didn't find any clothes I wanted (I need a pink, yellow, and orange tops or dresses--there are different colors for each day of the week), but I did get a laundry hamper, fabric softener, and other household items. On my way home a guy on a motorbike stopped and asked where I was going, so I pointed. It turns out he is a retired teacher from my school, so he offered me a ride on his motorbike. It was quite exhilarating! To be honest I spent most of the time worried I was going to fall off, but it was pretty fun, and certainly more enjoyable than walking in the afternoon heat. Maybe a motorbike is doable after all!
So now the eyelids are coming down. It has been a long day and I don't even know what to do with my students tomorrow morning--AGGG! It is an adventure! Until next time.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Captain's Log, Day 2
My foray into teaching continued today when I substituted for 2 of pee Mam's classes. The first one in the morning was actually the same class I co-taught yesterday, so I knew for sure where they had left off and where to begin with them. Of some difficulty was the explanation of pyramids of number, energy, and biomass. However, they did seem to understand the concepts in the end, since they managed to get my concept checking questions right...yay! There was some confusion when I was working on one pyramid, but it turns out it wasn't with the concept, but with the words frog and eagle. I was asking them to raise their hands if there were more frogs or eagles in an ecosystem, and I got blank looks. They didn't know the words! Now don't jump on me just yet--I had seen students draw/label both frog and eagle just yesterday, but I guess it was in a different class. Anyway, through miming (complete with squawking and arm flapping for the eagle) I was able to show what I meant. Then we were able to move on and learn about the pyramids of number, biomass, etc.
There was another slight mishap in that first class--there are only fans and I was wearing sort of a flowing sundress. Yeah...the fans definitely blew my skirt up. That got a lot of laughs from the class! Luckily the class captains scurried to turn off the necessary fans to save me from future embarrassment. I also learned the necessary greeting script, so the "Hello teacher/Hello everyone" charade went much better today.
So I thought my second class of the day was the same group I had seen yesterday (neither one is exactly on my schedule, jsut substitute teaching). So I showed up for class and had them pull out their handouts, then asked where we left off last time. They said page 1. Thinking they just didn't understand I repeated no, where did we leave off, not where did we start. Page 1. Ok, so perhaps this was a new class, or perhaps they were confused, or maybe I was going crazy. Whatever. Looks like we were starting on page 1! Now before anyone jumps on me with the eww, you think all Asians look the same comment, just wait--these are classes of 40-50 students, all wearing the same uniform, with pretty much the same haircut, in identical classrooms. So yeah, I'm gonna own it: they kinda did look the same. I thought I was teaching the same class as yesterday. Oh well. It definitely turned out to be a new group (after class they ran up to me and asked my name and where I was from--they were all very excited and it was quite cute). The lesson itself ended up going pretty well. I think that they like how energetic I am, and I guess that Westerners tend to be less traditional in their teaching than the Thais are (I don't use the mic, I walk around and gesture a lot, definitely not concerned about embarrassing myself with bad drawings or acting, etc). It is sorta like what they told us in our training: to be a good teacher you need to be part entertainer/clown. Well, with the number of laughs I get from my students, I am doing well on the clown front!
In other news, most of the laughs today were actually from my fellow teachers rather than the students. In my attempts to learn more Thai, I am apparently quite amusing. The other biology teachers really speak no English, so most of the time they just chatter to themselves, and I feel kinda silly. Then when I ask them words, they laugh at my butchered attempts. I am a very slow learner...
Another interesting thing: all school assembly occurs every morning except Tuesday. Hence not knowing what happened yesterday. On Tuesdays the students stay in their homeroom. Every other day we go down to the main yard, they sit in orderly rows of some sort, and there is a bunch of talk in Thai. There is the raising of the flag, we wai to the flag, and we wai to Buddha. I don't know all the details of the assembly since the teachers just chat through most of it (except anthem/flag raising and the wais). I did meet more of the chemistry faculty, and one of them seems desperate to set me up with teacher Aof, the guy I will be teaching M.2 chem with. Weird.
Anyway, all in all a good day. I now have books for both of my solo-teaching classes, I made it through everything without complete humiliation, and I hopefully have a viable plan for tomorrow. I had lunch with pee Neat and pee Nura at the canteen--quite tasty, but you have to eat at 11 to get there before the students. We also made a car trip to Tesco Lotus. This was fun, but I am not sure that a bike is going to be a viable option...I might have to learn how to ride a motorbike. EEKKK!!! I will keep you updated. For now have a good night!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Totally Legit
So I showed up at school this morning at 7:30, ready to begin my first day as a teacher. Oh, and a side note for everyone who was aware of my "appropriate attire" drama before I left--open shoes are TOTALLY fine...in fact all of the teachers wear sandals (just not flip flops). Anyway, at the beginning of the day the students line up outside the gates and enter in groups. They stop to greet and wai the director (and other important people) before moving on to their homeroom class. At 8 there is a whole school assembly, but I don't really know what this involves since it seems most teachers don't go. I know there is a prayer, I think the flag is raised, and other than that your guess is as good as mine!
Reah (my Filipino teacher neighbor) was the one who brought me to school and was showing me around, and she took me upstairs at this point to find my new office. We found the biology faculty. but they said there was no desk for me...awesome. So at this point we just went and found pee Neat, who then tracked down pee Mam (the head of the sciences department). What ensued was a whirlwind tour around campus with introductions to tons of different "important" people. I don't doubt they are important, but I don't really understand who they all were, and I certainly don't remember most of their names. I was relieved to learn, however, that not only do the teachers not know all their students' names, they don't even know the names of a lot of their fellow teachers! So that takes some of the pressure off me.
Anyway, we continued the tour around school but really made not progress in getting me actually settled in. I am very thankful to Reah for her prodding--without it I doubt I would have ever gotten a schedule or a desk. In the end I was told to take pee Mam's old desk in the biology department (she has a new one in the "Discipline Room"--super odd). As for my schedule, it has been worked out that half of my classes will be taught by me alone, and half will be co-taught with a Thai teacher. Rhea was a bit surprised by this since she co-taught all of her classes last year, but I think I will prefer to teach alone. Anyway, I will be teaching matthayom 1,4, and 5 biology (so 7th, 10th, and 11th grade) as well as matthayom 2 chemistry (8th grade). There is still a chance I will have to pick up a physics class, but it isn't on my schedule yet. All told I only have 12 class periods a week (there are 9 in a day), so it is a pretty light load. I have more this week because I will be subbing for pee Mam's classes while she is in Chiang Mai with family. Also, even though 12 doesn't seem like too much right now, more of that will be filled with planning for the co-teaching sections. Reah has 16 sections this year, but they are all individual.
As for actually teaching today, I did 3 sections. Literally a few minutes after getting my schedule, pee Mam had a M.4 class that she wanted me to co-teach. Now let me just say that I hadn't had any chance to look at materials, see what they had done, or anything like that. We just went into a classroom of 50 students, she had me introduce myself, and we hopped right in. At least for this first class she spoke some and I spoke some, but it was kind of jarring. I really didn't know what was expected of me. Take for example the greeting at the beginning of class. This dialogue is copied from another web page, but it is exactly what happened today--every Thai student has this interaction drilled into them from a young age. However, I was not familiar with the proper response, so I stood there kind of confused.
Class Captain: "Please stand up." The students stand up.
Everyone: "Good morning teacher!"
Teacher: "Good morning everyone. How are you?"
Everyone: "I am fine thank you, and you?"
Teacher: "I am fine thank you. Please sit down."
Everyone: "Thank you." The students sit down.
Pee Mam had to explain it to me later, but it was a bit embarrassing and the class laughed a bit. The other thing is that all the teachers use microphones to be heard over a class of 50. This makes sense, but it can be both unwieldy and create a sense of distance between you and the students, especially with the squealing noises the microphones make. With my second class I didn't use the mic, and my throat hurts now, but I think it was worth it.
When it came time for the second class (a two-period class), pee Mam introduced me, told the class to behave, and left for Chiang Mai. EEEKKKK! She will be back Monday, so I get to cover her lectures until then. Luckily, it is basically the same lesson and and extension, just taught to different classes. As for the lesson, today we were discussing ecosystems, producers/consumers, and food chains/webs. It was interesting. I think for the most part it went ok, I just need to be sure I speak very slowly and clearly. And while Thai students are usually quiet/well behaved, the flipside to that is they are very hesitant to answer questions. I try to make it clear that it is ok to be wrong, I just want people to volunteer to answer, but they are just so shy. The Thai teachers have the same problem, even when they have been teaching for 30 years. So I ask for volunteers, and if I don't get any, I call out a number...thank GOD they all are numbered!!!! Even when they are called by number, sometimes they are too scared to answer, so they answer in a group, or I get someone else. The did like some of the interactive stuff though--drawing food webs/chains on the board. When it is just me in the class I hope they will get used to me enough to be more comfortable, and not quite as scared to volunteer ideas. We shall see.
So class went pretty quickly. I have 6 classes tomorrow--3 of my own, 3 of pee Mam's. So I will be busy. I did go after school to grab some whiteboard markers. Funny thing: the whiteboard looked like a blackboard, I looked for chalk and didn't see any, so assumed there wasn't any. Finally the class captain told me I could write on the board and brought me a marker. When I asked pee Neat where I could buy markers she acted quite surprised--"the students prepare the room for you, you don't need to get markers!" I explained to her that I liked to have spares in case any didn't work, so she took me to the school supply store. She is also driving me to Tesco Lotus tomorrow during a break in classes so I know where it is--that way I can get there on my own once I get a bike.
The school day officially ends at 4:10. I have to say, by that point I was pretty tired even though I had only taught a few classes. I had been running around trying to get my schedule and books. Yeah, the whole promise of a curriculum and book for every class? So not true. I still have no idea what I am supposed to teach my M.1 students. I have a vague idea that it is supposed to be parts of a cell and the use of a microscope, but I could be confused. And I think my M.5 students are going to be learning about plants, but then pee Mam also mentioned biotechnology? Color me confused.
At the end of the day I popped down to the English office (pee Neat's) only to find that yet again everyone was eating. The Thais eat constantly. No joke, this was the third "snack" during the school day, and those were just the ones I had encountered. And that isn't including the random cookies/snack bars thrown at me at undetermined intervals. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome. I just had no idea there was that much of a food culture. I knew food was a big deal, just not quite like this! I did get to try som tam, and it wasn't super spicy so I lucked out. Turns out that the biology faculty doesn't like spicy food very much, so when I eat with them I am pretty safe :D
Anyway, I think that is probably all for now. I am sure I forgot a ton, but hey, I have some time to tell you all about it. Think it is time to collapse for a bit now. Goodnight!
Reah (my Filipino teacher neighbor) was the one who brought me to school and was showing me around, and she took me upstairs at this point to find my new office. We found the biology faculty. but they said there was no desk for me...awesome. So at this point we just went and found pee Neat, who then tracked down pee Mam (the head of the sciences department). What ensued was a whirlwind tour around campus with introductions to tons of different "important" people. I don't doubt they are important, but I don't really understand who they all were, and I certainly don't remember most of their names. I was relieved to learn, however, that not only do the teachers not know all their students' names, they don't even know the names of a lot of their fellow teachers! So that takes some of the pressure off me.
Anyway, we continued the tour around school but really made not progress in getting me actually settled in. I am very thankful to Reah for her prodding--without it I doubt I would have ever gotten a schedule or a desk. In the end I was told to take pee Mam's old desk in the biology department (she has a new one in the "Discipline Room"--super odd). As for my schedule, it has been worked out that half of my classes will be taught by me alone, and half will be co-taught with a Thai teacher. Rhea was a bit surprised by this since she co-taught all of her classes last year, but I think I will prefer to teach alone. Anyway, I will be teaching matthayom 1,4, and 5 biology (so 7th, 10th, and 11th grade) as well as matthayom 2 chemistry (8th grade). There is still a chance I will have to pick up a physics class, but it isn't on my schedule yet. All told I only have 12 class periods a week (there are 9 in a day), so it is a pretty light load. I have more this week because I will be subbing for pee Mam's classes while she is in Chiang Mai with family. Also, even though 12 doesn't seem like too much right now, more of that will be filled with planning for the co-teaching sections. Reah has 16 sections this year, but they are all individual.
As for actually teaching today, I did 3 sections. Literally a few minutes after getting my schedule, pee Mam had a M.4 class that she wanted me to co-teach. Now let me just say that I hadn't had any chance to look at materials, see what they had done, or anything like that. We just went into a classroom of 50 students, she had me introduce myself, and we hopped right in. At least for this first class she spoke some and I spoke some, but it was kind of jarring. I really didn't know what was expected of me. Take for example the greeting at the beginning of class. This dialogue is copied from another web page, but it is exactly what happened today--every Thai student has this interaction drilled into them from a young age. However, I was not familiar with the proper response, so I stood there kind of confused.
Pee Mam had to explain it to me later, but it was a bit embarrassing and the class laughed a bit. The other thing is that all the teachers use microphones to be heard over a class of 50. This makes sense, but it can be both unwieldy and create a sense of distance between you and the students, especially with the squealing noises the microphones make. With my second class I didn't use the mic, and my throat hurts now, but I think it was worth it.
When it came time for the second class (a two-period class), pee Mam introduced me, told the class to behave, and left for Chiang Mai. EEEKKKK! She will be back Monday, so I get to cover her lectures until then. Luckily, it is basically the same lesson and and extension, just taught to different classes. As for the lesson, today we were discussing ecosystems, producers/consumers, and food chains/webs. It was interesting. I think for the most part it went ok, I just need to be sure I speak very slowly and clearly. And while Thai students are usually quiet/well behaved, the flipside to that is they are very hesitant to answer questions. I try to make it clear that it is ok to be wrong, I just want people to volunteer to answer, but they are just so shy. The Thai teachers have the same problem, even when they have been teaching for 30 years. So I ask for volunteers, and if I don't get any, I call out a number...thank GOD they all are numbered!!!! Even when they are called by number, sometimes they are too scared to answer, so they answer in a group, or I get someone else. The did like some of the interactive stuff though--drawing food webs/chains on the board. When it is just me in the class I hope they will get used to me enough to be more comfortable, and not quite as scared to volunteer ideas. We shall see.
So class went pretty quickly. I have 6 classes tomorrow--3 of my own, 3 of pee Mam's. So I will be busy. I did go after school to grab some whiteboard markers. Funny thing: the whiteboard looked like a blackboard, I looked for chalk and didn't see any, so assumed there wasn't any. Finally the class captain told me I could write on the board and brought me a marker. When I asked pee Neat where I could buy markers she acted quite surprised--"the students prepare the room for you, you don't need to get markers!" I explained to her that I liked to have spares in case any didn't work, so she took me to the school supply store. She is also driving me to Tesco Lotus tomorrow during a break in classes so I know where it is--that way I can get there on my own once I get a bike.
The school day officially ends at 4:10. I have to say, by that point I was pretty tired even though I had only taught a few classes. I had been running around trying to get my schedule and books. Yeah, the whole promise of a curriculum and book for every class? So not true. I still have no idea what I am supposed to teach my M.1 students. I have a vague idea that it is supposed to be parts of a cell and the use of a microscope, but I could be confused. And I think my M.5 students are going to be learning about plants, but then pee Mam also mentioned biotechnology? Color me confused.
At the end of the day I popped down to the English office (pee Neat's) only to find that yet again everyone was eating. The Thais eat constantly. No joke, this was the third "snack" during the school day, and those were just the ones I had encountered. And that isn't including the random cookies/snack bars thrown at me at undetermined intervals. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome. I just had no idea there was that much of a food culture. I knew food was a big deal, just not quite like this! I did get to try som tam, and it wasn't super spicy so I lucked out. Turns out that the biology faculty doesn't like spicy food very much, so when I eat with them I am pretty safe :D
Anyway, I think that is probably all for now. I am sure I forgot a ton, but hey, I have some time to tell you all about it. Think it is time to collapse for a bit now. Goodnight!
Monday, May 13, 2013
All About Nan
Or, more accurately, what I know about my new home thus far.
When I left off last Tricia and I had arrived at the bus station in Nan. Let me begin by saying we were a tad unsure we were in the right place at first, since it wasn't the last stop and the station is very small. However, we saw a sign and assumed we were in the right place, and in the end we were correct.
We did arrive early, and the bus wasn't even supposed to arrive until 6:15, so needless to say our coordinators weren't there yet. Tricia was concerned because she didn't have any contact info for her coordinators--mine had been given to me by the OEG staff shortly before leaving Bangkok. It wouldn't matter too much though, since it seems that most of the teachers here know each other, so even if we only were able to contact one we would be able to find the other.
Which actually is more or less what happened. My coordinators showed up at the bus station but we hadn't heard anything from Tricia's, so mine began making phone calls. After many dead ends, they were able to speak with a teacher at her school (who happened to be an ex-student of theirs). This teacher then came to the bus station to get Tricia and we parted ways.
My coordinators are Pee Nura and Pee Neat. This is probably a good time to explain the concept of Pee and Nong. In Thailand instead of calling someone Mrs. or Mr., you call them by familial terms of endearment. So "pee" roughly translates to big sister or brother, and "nong" is little sister or brother. There are other titles that would be used for auntie/uncle, but in a social setting pee/nong is pretty indispensable. For a more formal situation, you would call someone by their official title (so "kru" for teacher or, more appropriately, their departmental title).
Anyway, Pee Nura and Pee Neat picked me up from the station and drove me around town a bit. My school is a "long way" from the bus station, way across town--i.e. 5 minutes by car. Yes, I am living in a very small town now. Goodbye Bangkok traffic! We drove by the river and then stopped for breakfast. They both were very worried about what I would and wouldn't eat and whether I liked Thai food and if I was ok mixing more than 1 food in a single dish (are all Americans this picky? Or did they just have a bad experience?). Anyway, we had a lovely breakfast, although Thai breakfast is quite different than what I would eat at home--2 types of curry (mild, pork and chicken), pickled eggs, and rice. We finished off with a dessert called ro mit, or many friends. This is a chilled coconut milk with various types of gelatin, fruit, and bread floating in it. I was stuffed when I started eating it, and it was a little odd at first, but I enjoyed it.
We continued our short tour around town. Let me just say this--it is sooooo quiet compared to Bangkok. I feel like I was plopped into a sleepy village after the chaos that has surrounded me the last few weeks. And I love it. I know I will get frustrated with how small it is, but hey, Chiang Mai and Bangkok are only short flights away!
My school building does look a bit grim. I am sure I will get used to it, but it is basically a giant concrete complex. Does not look like I will have A/C in the classroom, but I do believe I will in my office, so that at least is a plus. Oh, and as for classes, I will be completely in the sciences department--I don't think I will have any English classes. However, in addition to biology I probably will have to teach chemistry and physics, which will be interesting. We shall see!
After our tour around school we went to my new home in Thailand: Srinual Lodge. One of the biggest advantages is the proximity to school: it is literally a block away from the school, so very easy to get to and from work. Which is nice, since you have to be at school by 7:30, and even earlier when you have gate duty. In addition to the great location, my room at the guesthouse also has A/C, free wifi, and a Western style toilet. So I kinda feel like I won the lottery here! I was initially put in a room on the first floor with the understanding that I would be moving to a room on the second floor with a queen bed at a later date. However, my move was accelerated when my bathroom light stopped functioning, so I am now on the second floor (twin beds though, no queen). This move to the second floor is actually of great importance due to the floods that occur in Nan. Although this didn't happen last year, in previous years there have been serious floods in the town that have flooded out the ground floor of the hotel. So my coordinators are quite pleased I will be on the second floor rather than the first. Check out this video: the white building in the beginning is part of the school.
Another really great thing is that I live right next to a Filipino teacher from my school. Her name is Rhea and she teaches math, although she did physics/chemistry last year (now I get that job). She has been wonderful in showing me around and getting me settled. Everyone here is super nice--I love the people so much.
I will say that English is not spoken much around town. To be honest, I am really pleased by that--it means I will learn that much more Thai. The dialect here is a bit different than other parts of Thailand (strong Lao influence), but at least they speak more slowly than other regions (Northeast and South especially). I feel like I learn so much every day, but at the same time nothing at all. I have never lived in a place and felt so helpless to communicate. While I am trying my best to learn, I almost feel like I am being offensive in not being able to communicate here, like I should already know the language if I am going to be a teacher in this country. I know that it was preferred that I not know Thai before coming here, but the language barrier is already a bit frustrating. It will make me work harder to learn.
That being said, people here do see me as a bit of an oddity. My first afternoon in town I walked to the Seven 11 and a guy on a motorcycle nearly fell off from staring at me. Several others have approached me to ask if I speak Thai and if I live here, others just look at me kind of funny. A girl riding by on her bicycle this afternoon called out "Hello....Welcome to Thailand!" It is all quite cute, especially since it is more likely than not the same girl will be in my class.
There are so many more things to tell about, but I will end this entry by talking about the morning and evening markets. One cool thing about the town is that every day of the week there is a large market within 5 minutes of my house. It sells fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, clothing, even fried insects. It is a pretty impressive place to wander around and a great place to grab fresh fruit for breakfasts/desserts. The even more amazing thing is that around noontime this market closes up and a new one opens up just across the street from it. So no matter what time of day it is, you can go to either the morning or evening market to shop. In fact, I just got some shumai and lychees there this evening for dinner. Here are a couple pictures I got. And with that, I will say goodnight, since tomorrow is a big day--my first day of school! Wish me luck!
When I left off last Tricia and I had arrived at the bus station in Nan. Let me begin by saying we were a tad unsure we were in the right place at first, since it wasn't the last stop and the station is very small. However, we saw a sign and assumed we were in the right place, and in the end we were correct.
We did arrive early, and the bus wasn't even supposed to arrive until 6:15, so needless to say our coordinators weren't there yet. Tricia was concerned because she didn't have any contact info for her coordinators--mine had been given to me by the OEG staff shortly before leaving Bangkok. It wouldn't matter too much though, since it seems that most of the teachers here know each other, so even if we only were able to contact one we would be able to find the other.
Which actually is more or less what happened. My coordinators showed up at the bus station but we hadn't heard anything from Tricia's, so mine began making phone calls. After many dead ends, they were able to speak with a teacher at her school (who happened to be an ex-student of theirs). This teacher then came to the bus station to get Tricia and we parted ways.
My coordinators are Pee Nura and Pee Neat. This is probably a good time to explain the concept of Pee and Nong. In Thailand instead of calling someone Mrs. or Mr., you call them by familial terms of endearment. So "pee" roughly translates to big sister or brother, and "nong" is little sister or brother. There are other titles that would be used for auntie/uncle, but in a social setting pee/nong is pretty indispensable. For a more formal situation, you would call someone by their official title (so "kru" for teacher or, more appropriately, their departmental title).
Anyway, Pee Nura and Pee Neat picked me up from the station and drove me around town a bit. My school is a "long way" from the bus station, way across town--i.e. 5 minutes by car. Yes, I am living in a very small town now. Goodbye Bangkok traffic! We drove by the river and then stopped for breakfast. They both were very worried about what I would and wouldn't eat and whether I liked Thai food and if I was ok mixing more than 1 food in a single dish (are all Americans this picky? Or did they just have a bad experience?). Anyway, we had a lovely breakfast, although Thai breakfast is quite different than what I would eat at home--2 types of curry (mild, pork and chicken), pickled eggs, and rice. We finished off with a dessert called ro mit, or many friends. This is a chilled coconut milk with various types of gelatin, fruit, and bread floating in it. I was stuffed when I started eating it, and it was a little odd at first, but I enjoyed it.
We continued our short tour around town. Let me just say this--it is sooooo quiet compared to Bangkok. I feel like I was plopped into a sleepy village after the chaos that has surrounded me the last few weeks. And I love it. I know I will get frustrated with how small it is, but hey, Chiang Mai and Bangkok are only short flights away!
My school building does look a bit grim. I am sure I will get used to it, but it is basically a giant concrete complex. Does not look like I will have A/C in the classroom, but I do believe I will in my office, so that at least is a plus. Oh, and as for classes, I will be completely in the sciences department--I don't think I will have any English classes. However, in addition to biology I probably will have to teach chemistry and physics, which will be interesting. We shall see!
After our tour around school we went to my new home in Thailand: Srinual Lodge. One of the biggest advantages is the proximity to school: it is literally a block away from the school, so very easy to get to and from work. Which is nice, since you have to be at school by 7:30, and even earlier when you have gate duty. In addition to the great location, my room at the guesthouse also has A/C, free wifi, and a Western style toilet. So I kinda feel like I won the lottery here! I was initially put in a room on the first floor with the understanding that I would be moving to a room on the second floor with a queen bed at a later date. However, my move was accelerated when my bathroom light stopped functioning, so I am now on the second floor (twin beds though, no queen). This move to the second floor is actually of great importance due to the floods that occur in Nan. Although this didn't happen last year, in previous years there have been serious floods in the town that have flooded out the ground floor of the hotel. So my coordinators are quite pleased I will be on the second floor rather than the first. Check out this video: the white building in the beginning is part of the school.
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| All of my clothes |
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| Looking in from the front door |
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| Looking back out from the spare bed |
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| Western style bathroom--woot! |
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| Outdoor view. My room is to the right of the open window. |
Another really great thing is that I live right next to a Filipino teacher from my school. Her name is Rhea and she teaches math, although she did physics/chemistry last year (now I get that job). She has been wonderful in showing me around and getting me settled. Everyone here is super nice--I love the people so much.
I will say that English is not spoken much around town. To be honest, I am really pleased by that--it means I will learn that much more Thai. The dialect here is a bit different than other parts of Thailand (strong Lao influence), but at least they speak more slowly than other regions (Northeast and South especially). I feel like I learn so much every day, but at the same time nothing at all. I have never lived in a place and felt so helpless to communicate. While I am trying my best to learn, I almost feel like I am being offensive in not being able to communicate here, like I should already know the language if I am going to be a teacher in this country. I know that it was preferred that I not know Thai before coming here, but the language barrier is already a bit frustrating. It will make me work harder to learn.
That being said, people here do see me as a bit of an oddity. My first afternoon in town I walked to the Seven 11 and a guy on a motorcycle nearly fell off from staring at me. Several others have approached me to ask if I speak Thai and if I live here, others just look at me kind of funny. A girl riding by on her bicycle this afternoon called out "Hello....Welcome to Thailand!" It is all quite cute, especially since it is more likely than not the same girl will be in my class.
There are so many more things to tell about, but I will end this entry by talking about the morning and evening markets. One cool thing about the town is that every day of the week there is a large market within 5 minutes of my house. It sells fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, clothing, even fried insects. It is a pretty impressive place to wander around and a great place to grab fresh fruit for breakfasts/desserts. The even more amazing thing is that around noontime this market closes up and a new one opens up just across the street from it. So no matter what time of day it is, you can go to either the morning or evening market to shop. In fact, I just got some shumai and lychees there this evening for dinner. Here are a couple pictures I got. And with that, I will say goodnight, since tomorrow is a big day--my first day of school! Wish me luck!
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| The market can get crowded |
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| Those are live fish in the buckets |
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| Grabbing the fish to clean |
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