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.
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