The trip was excellent, but I must admit it is nice to be back in Nan. Even if the bus ride was 6.5 hours rather than 5. And there were no taxis available when I got back, nor was I able to get one by calling the number. Luckily a teacher from Pua who had been on my bus gave me a ride home--saved me a 2 mile walk with all my stuff!
Nice dinner at the walking market, complete with the release of a bunch of lanterns for no apparent reason. Also some home cleanup--apparently Rhea and I have different ideas of cleanliness (leaving the cooking implements dirty for a week really isn't ok by me, but she isn't home yet so maybe there were extenuating circumstances?). Anyway, now it is time to relax before tomorrow--lesson planning, laundry, and blog posts! There will be several in order to catch you up with my travels, but it will take me a bit of time to sort through everything, so be patient. Until then, goodnight!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
My first foray into Thai cooking
As you know I took a cooking class while in Chiang Mai. I cam home with a full belly and a recipe booklet, which I figured would sit in my suitcase and then on a bookshelf back home. Well now that I have a kitchen (sorta), I figured I would try my hand at cooking some of the Thai food. So I settled on tom yum kung, or spicy and sour soup with shrimp.
Well, when I tried it I realized how bland it was. None of the spice I remembered! I had gone really light on the chili because I was scared of making it super spicy, but this was nowhere near hot enough. So I added a ton of chili jam. This definitely helped, but next time I will start with more chili peppers.
The ingredients weren't too hard to get. Some shallots, garlic, tomatoes, lime, straw mushrooms, chilis, lime, lemongrass, Thai ginger, Kaffir lime leaves, shrimp, chili jam, and fish sauce. All easy to get at the evening market. The only frustrating part is that the mushrooms go bad immediately, a fact I only discovered right as I was about to begin cooking (and after I had already made my daily market trip). So I had to go back for a new batch, since the old ones were a day old.
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| My ingredients |
Also, peeling shrimp with a knife is an odious task. I always love peeling shrimp...weird, I know, but it is my favorite menial kitchen job. But without a peeler, it actually felt like a chore. If I hadn't needed the shells to make a shrimp stock, I totally would have bought them shelled.
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| Even more irritating with a dull knife |
Anyway, you cook the shells in some boiling water to make a stock, and then pretty much remove the shells and add everything else except for the lime and shrimp. This cooks over medium (difficult setting--the pan is either on or off it seems) for a couple minutes until everything seems cooked, then the shrimp go in briefly. At the end the lime is squeezed over and voila! Dinner is served.
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| Cooking |
Well, when I tried it I realized how bland it was. None of the spice I remembered! I had gone really light on the chili because I was scared of making it super spicy, but this was nowhere near hot enough. So I added a ton of chili jam. This definitely helped, but next time I will start with more chili peppers.
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| MUCH more chili jam |
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| Not bad! |
In the end I think it was a success. Definitely not bad for a first try. I look forward to trying this and other dishes in the future!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
My afternoon with the monks, and other stories
Yesterday turned out to be a day of new experiences for me. The morning was normal enough--just a couple classes to teach. They actually went well too. Even my most difficult class (1.3) seemed to be understanding the material better than usual. No paper airplanes today!
The real surprise came when Pee Neat invited me to go to the wat with her and the other English teachers. It turns out that some monks were being ordained that afternoon and she was the sponsor of the ceremony (she contributed the money for it). So we all set out to see the new monks. We got to the temple and squeezed in. This was difficult in the small space, but everyone found a spot. Everyone giggled when the monks-to-be were presented: three of the seven were old! This was a surprise, since most new monks are young--either boys or young men. The giggling at these octogenerian monks continued throughout the ceremony. At first it felt odd, but it actually was kind of amusing, particularly since some of the monks coordinating the ceremony would "baby" them--pull their robes into place, adjust their donation buckets, etc. It was cute.
For those of you wondering about the "new" monks, it is very common for men to be monks at some point in their lives. In speaking to teacher Jaran, he estimated that about 95% of the boys in his village were monks. Most monks are ordained and live as a monk temporarily--a week, a month, 3 months, etc. This often happens after high school, and pretty much always before marriage. Hence the shock with 3 older monks. The duration of monkhood varies, but it is seen as fulfilling your duty to your family and also preparing you for your life ahead. Teacher Jaran told me that it is also believed that if a boy's parents die and he has been a monk, then he can escort their spirits to the afterlife. So the time spent as a monk is very important in Thai society. Teacher Jaran spent 1 month as a monk in his 20s, a few years before he got married. Here is an interesting description of the life of a young monk.
The ceremony was quite long and my knees got tired...I am not used to sitting on the floor. You also have to be careful to sit with your legs folded a certain way, since pointing your feet at Buddha is highly offensive. Also, I didn't understand what was going on for most of it. However, it turns out that nobody else did either--the ceremony is conducted in the ancient Bali language. Regardless, it was enchanting to observe.
It was a beautiful ceremony and quite intriguing to watch. I am so pleased that Pee Neat thought to include me--it was truly special.
The second experience of the afternoon was significantly less dignified. So as I was walking to teach my 4/1 students about the scientific method, I saw a HUGE lizard on the wall. I mean huge. Apparently they call them geckos, and technically they are, but when I think of a gecko, I think of the little things that run over walls like in Florida (they have those too, by the way). This thing was a freaking DINOSAUR by comparison. Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a little bit...but it was big. And me being me, I obviously had to try to catch it. Which I did. With all my students, Pee Mam, and Rhea watching.
Now since this was a big lizard, I wanted to go for behind the neck so I could pin the jaws--those suckers have strong jaws and bite pretty hard when given the chance. Unfortunately it moved at the last second, I grabbed a bit behind the neck, and it wriggled out of my hands. But not before activating its defense mechanism--detaching the tail. Which left a large lizard tail thrashing and bleeding on the floor of the hallway. And my students squealing. And me just horrified. Pee Mam kept saying "oh, it will grow back, don't worry." This is true, but if the lizard encounters a real predator in the meantime, it will be totally screwed because it already lost it's tail to me! I felt terrible about it...I just wanted to show it to my class.
Well, apparently most of my class saw me trying to catch it anyway. It is so unusual for someone to do something like that...it seems that all the teachers think I am incredibly brave or something. Rhea claims that most people around here are incredibly squeamish, the girls especially, so me going after the lizard like that was very unexpected. I suspect everyone just thinks I am a freak job, but mai pen rai. Regardless, it caused quite a stir at school. As a walked around that afternoon, I was followed by chants of "gecko! Gecko!" How embarrassing! Hopefully it will die down after the vacation.
Anyway, that is all for now. More adventures to follow, but hopefully no more humiliations for at least a few more days. See you later!
The real surprise came when Pee Neat invited me to go to the wat with her and the other English teachers. It turns out that some monks were being ordained that afternoon and she was the sponsor of the ceremony (she contributed the money for it). So we all set out to see the new monks. We got to the temple and squeezed in. This was difficult in the small space, but everyone found a spot. Everyone giggled when the monks-to-be were presented: three of the seven were old! This was a surprise, since most new monks are young--either boys or young men. The giggling at these octogenerian monks continued throughout the ceremony. At first it felt odd, but it actually was kind of amusing, particularly since some of the monks coordinating the ceremony would "baby" them--pull their robes into place, adjust their donation buckets, etc. It was cute.
For those of you wondering about the "new" monks, it is very common for men to be monks at some point in their lives. In speaking to teacher Jaran, he estimated that about 95% of the boys in his village were monks. Most monks are ordained and live as a monk temporarily--a week, a month, 3 months, etc. This often happens after high school, and pretty much always before marriage. Hence the shock with 3 older monks. The duration of monkhood varies, but it is seen as fulfilling your duty to your family and also preparing you for your life ahead. Teacher Jaran told me that it is also believed that if a boy's parents die and he has been a monk, then he can escort their spirits to the afterlife. So the time spent as a monk is very important in Thai society. Teacher Jaran spent 1 month as a monk in his 20s, a few years before he got married. Here is an interesting description of the life of a young monk.
The ceremony was quite long and my knees got tired...I am not used to sitting on the floor. You also have to be careful to sit with your legs folded a certain way, since pointing your feet at Buddha is highly offensive. Also, I didn't understand what was going on for most of it. However, it turns out that nobody else did either--the ceremony is conducted in the ancient Bali language. Regardless, it was enchanting to observe.
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| Outside the temple |
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| The monks-to-be in their white clothes |
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| Receiving their new orange robes |
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| The abbot is in the center |
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| Younger monks |
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| The old monks |
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| Collecting donations in the buckets |
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| Teacher Jaran assisting the abbot |
It was a beautiful ceremony and quite intriguing to watch. I am so pleased that Pee Neat thought to include me--it was truly special.
The second experience of the afternoon was significantly less dignified. So as I was walking to teach my 4/1 students about the scientific method, I saw a HUGE lizard on the wall. I mean huge. Apparently they call them geckos, and technically they are, but when I think of a gecko, I think of the little things that run over walls like in Florida (they have those too, by the way). This thing was a freaking DINOSAUR by comparison. Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a little bit...but it was big. And me being me, I obviously had to try to catch it. Which I did. With all my students, Pee Mam, and Rhea watching.
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| VERY blurry pic--note the weird double-tail growth |
_adult_male_and_juvenile.jpg/532px-Tokay_gecko_(Gekko_gecko)_adult_male_and_juvenile.jpg) |
| The Tokay Gecko, the type I believe I encountered |
Now since this was a big lizard, I wanted to go for behind the neck so I could pin the jaws--those suckers have strong jaws and bite pretty hard when given the chance. Unfortunately it moved at the last second, I grabbed a bit behind the neck, and it wriggled out of my hands. But not before activating its defense mechanism--detaching the tail. Which left a large lizard tail thrashing and bleeding on the floor of the hallway. And my students squealing. And me just horrified. Pee Mam kept saying "oh, it will grow back, don't worry." This is true, but if the lizard encounters a real predator in the meantime, it will be totally screwed because it already lost it's tail to me! I felt terrible about it...I just wanted to show it to my class.
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| The tail :( |
Well, apparently most of my class saw me trying to catch it anyway. It is so unusual for someone to do something like that...it seems that all the teachers think I am incredibly brave or something. Rhea claims that most people around here are incredibly squeamish, the girls especially, so me going after the lizard like that was very unexpected. I suspect everyone just thinks I am a freak job, but mai pen rai. Regardless, it caused quite a stir at school. As a walked around that afternoon, I was followed by chants of "gecko! Gecko!" How embarrassing! Hopefully it will die down after the vacation.
Anyway, that is all for now. More adventures to follow, but hopefully no more humiliations for at least a few more days. See you later!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Wai Kru and the EIS Seminar
So I realized that I didn't ever share the details of last week since I have gotten so caught up in my housing woes. Side note: we do have water now, the 21 gallon bin has been filled, and the water company has been contacted to work on the problem since many teachers are having serious problems. Progress!
Last week was hectic. The first part of the week was spent preparing for the EIS (English Integrated Studies) Seminar that we were hosting from Thursday-Saturday. Our school is the EIS headquarters for this area of Thailand (Nan, Phrae, Pua, etc.). So for 3 days we hosted about 160 teachers at our school and a hotel in town. The idea of this seminar was to help the teachers learn English skills for the classroom and practice writing English lesson plans for math/science/computers. There were several Thai EIS teachers from Srinan involved, and Rhea and I did a ton of work on it. One morning we also had Gina (Filipina) and Linda (Canadian) join us--they are 2 English teachers at the school.
Some parts of the seminar were easy and required very little effort, but others were incredibly exhausting. On the first morning we had "stations" to teach the teachers basic English--they would rotate between the stations. We were given material to teach and told to prepare a 35 minute fun/interactive lesson. Which we did. However, speeches went way over time, so our 35 minutes was cut down to 15 minutes per station. Needless to say, the quality suffered. Hopefully my "students" got the gist! Anyway, we will have to give the same presentations for another seminar in a month, so at least I have the materials prepared (assuming we have adequate time).
Another big challenge was helping the teachers with their lesson plans. Some of them have very good English skills, so helping them was just a grammar/spell check. Very nice! Unfortunately others were very weak. This led to situations where they wrote Thai lesson plans and tried to translate to English. Let me just say that this approach really does not work well. I had one guy I struggled with for some time, and even with the help of 2 very proficient English speaking Thais, the best I could understand of his topic was "you can't always trust what your eyes see." Ok. Don't know what to do with that. It had something to do with how you might see double if you hold your hand close to your face, but there really is only 1 object--I decided to call his project "the subjective nature of eyesight." Really the whole thing was a mystery to me. Way too many teachers with weak English skills, not enough Thai teachers to help me and Rhea with the lesson plans. But we did survive.
The last day several of the teachers were asked to give presentations on their lesson plans. There were presentations both from the EIS faculty at our school (prepared ahead of time) and also the "students" at the seminar (the best lesson plans were selected from the day before). These went surprisingly well, and Rhea and I had a rather relaxing day. I, however, did not miss my daily opportunity to humiliate myself. Pee Poi, a chemistry teacher at our school, was doing a presentation on the alkali metals and wanted to demonstrate their reactions with water. So Rhea and I had to go on stage and pretend to be metals dropped into water--they fizz, spark, and burst into flame, depending on the metal. We alternated examples, and the first few were harmless enough--just shake our limbs/jiggle a bit. However Pee Poi specifically requested that I do cesium, the most violent reaction. For this I had to totally spaz out on stage. I mean shake my arks, my head, my body, and shriek like a banshee. Very professional. Apparently they figure that an American is more willing to totally humiliate herself in public than another Asian, and to be honest they are probably correct. But it was sooooo embarrassing, yelling and flailing on stage in front of ~200 teachers. Classy.
To make matters even worse, I don't think I will ever live it down! After the seminar was over, the vice-director wanted to take me, Pee Mam, Rhea, and Ping Pong (English teacher) out to dinner. He speaks no English, but the first thing he did when we arrived was point at me and start flailing his arms. Yeah, as I said, super professional. This happened several more times throughout the meal, accompanied by enthusiastic giggles. Oh well, it's not like I ever have to see these people again or anything. Oh wait...
The one big downside of the seminar is that it fell on Wai Kru Day, or teacher respect. This is the day that students pay respect to the teachers by giving them beautiful handmade flower arrangements. I had really been looking forward to seeing this, but at least I got to see the arrangements in the morning. They were nothing short of spectacular. It is truly amazing what these kids can do! Rhea and I got a small lesson from some of our students the day before in the construction of the flowers. Or rather, I asked to see, and they showed me how to fold the leaves. I was horrible at it, but it was nice that they showed us. I have never seen anything like these arrangements before. On the day itself, the arrangements from each class are judged in a competition. Then they are given to the class advisor by a boy and girl from the class. It would have been nice to observe, but I am lucky to have seen what I did.
Linda's (the Canadian) reaction to all this? "The don't even need to know English...they can do this!" I will admit it was very impressive. I wish I had this kind of skill, but I guess doing it every year for your entire life does make you pretty good at it! Anyway, that is all for now. More fun stories to come!
Last week was hectic. The first part of the week was spent preparing for the EIS (English Integrated Studies) Seminar that we were hosting from Thursday-Saturday. Our school is the EIS headquarters for this area of Thailand (Nan, Phrae, Pua, etc.). So for 3 days we hosted about 160 teachers at our school and a hotel in town. The idea of this seminar was to help the teachers learn English skills for the classroom and practice writing English lesson plans for math/science/computers. There were several Thai EIS teachers from Srinan involved, and Rhea and I did a ton of work on it. One morning we also had Gina (Filipina) and Linda (Canadian) join us--they are 2 English teachers at the school.
Some parts of the seminar were easy and required very little effort, but others were incredibly exhausting. On the first morning we had "stations" to teach the teachers basic English--they would rotate between the stations. We were given material to teach and told to prepare a 35 minute fun/interactive lesson. Which we did. However, speeches went way over time, so our 35 minutes was cut down to 15 minutes per station. Needless to say, the quality suffered. Hopefully my "students" got the gist! Anyway, we will have to give the same presentations for another seminar in a month, so at least I have the materials prepared (assuming we have adequate time).
Another big challenge was helping the teachers with their lesson plans. Some of them have very good English skills, so helping them was just a grammar/spell check. Very nice! Unfortunately others were very weak. This led to situations where they wrote Thai lesson plans and tried to translate to English. Let me just say that this approach really does not work well. I had one guy I struggled with for some time, and even with the help of 2 very proficient English speaking Thais, the best I could understand of his topic was "you can't always trust what your eyes see." Ok. Don't know what to do with that. It had something to do with how you might see double if you hold your hand close to your face, but there really is only 1 object--I decided to call his project "the subjective nature of eyesight." Really the whole thing was a mystery to me. Way too many teachers with weak English skills, not enough Thai teachers to help me and Rhea with the lesson plans. But we did survive.
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| Presentations at the hotel |
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| Working on the lesson plans |
The last day several of the teachers were asked to give presentations on their lesson plans. There were presentations both from the EIS faculty at our school (prepared ahead of time) and also the "students" at the seminar (the best lesson plans were selected from the day before). These went surprisingly well, and Rhea and I had a rather relaxing day. I, however, did not miss my daily opportunity to humiliate myself. Pee Poi, a chemistry teacher at our school, was doing a presentation on the alkali metals and wanted to demonstrate their reactions with water. So Rhea and I had to go on stage and pretend to be metals dropped into water--they fizz, spark, and burst into flame, depending on the metal. We alternated examples, and the first few were harmless enough--just shake our limbs/jiggle a bit. However Pee Poi specifically requested that I do cesium, the most violent reaction. For this I had to totally spaz out on stage. I mean shake my arks, my head, my body, and shriek like a banshee. Very professional. Apparently they figure that an American is more willing to totally humiliate herself in public than another Asian, and to be honest they are probably correct. But it was sooooo embarrassing, yelling and flailing on stage in front of ~200 teachers. Classy.
To make matters even worse, I don't think I will ever live it down! After the seminar was over, the vice-director wanted to take me, Pee Mam, Rhea, and Ping Pong (English teacher) out to dinner. He speaks no English, but the first thing he did when we arrived was point at me and start flailing his arms. Yeah, as I said, super professional. This happened several more times throughout the meal, accompanied by enthusiastic giggles. Oh well, it's not like I ever have to see these people again or anything. Oh wait...
The one big downside of the seminar is that it fell on Wai Kru Day, or teacher respect. This is the day that students pay respect to the teachers by giving them beautiful handmade flower arrangements. I had really been looking forward to seeing this, but at least I got to see the arrangements in the morning. They were nothing short of spectacular. It is truly amazing what these kids can do! Rhea and I got a small lesson from some of our students the day before in the construction of the flowers. Or rather, I asked to see, and they showed me how to fold the leaves. I was horrible at it, but it was nice that they showed us. I have never seen anything like these arrangements before. On the day itself, the arrangements from each class are judged in a competition. Then they are given to the class advisor by a boy and girl from the class. It would have been nice to observe, but I am lucky to have seen what I did.
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| Rhea and one of our students |
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| Making the arrangement |
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| The collection prepared for judging |
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| Just wow |
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| One of my favorites |
Linda's (the Canadian) reaction to all this? "The don't even need to know English...they can do this!" I will admit it was very impressive. I wish I had this kind of skill, but I guess doing it every year for your entire life does make you pretty good at it! Anyway, that is all for now. More fun stories to come!
Monday, June 17, 2013
The water saga...
Current Running Water Status: Negative
ETA: Unknown
So today our washing machine was installed. I thought this was a humorous concept, considering we didn't have enough water to wash ourselves, much less our clothing. But they just continued with "the plan." Before I went home I was contacted by Pee Mam who wanted to know if I was free to meet with her and the Vice-Director after school. Sure thing, if it solves anything I am all in. So they came over. Turns out when they arrived there was no water. FINALLY. Every other time someone has been here there has been some flow, so they say that it is just fine and to use the bucket. But now they were forced to admit that there was a problem. As it turns out the water has been a problem for all of the teacher housing, including the Director's. You would think that would make me feel better, but in a way it makes me feel worse...why would they build this place and have us move in if they already knew they had a problem with the water? There just isn't the infrastructure necessary to support this many people in this area.
Well, we will be getting buckets and scoops for the time being, but the water company is being contacted. They have said that for this week it will be bad, but after that it should be ok. I hope that is correct. I am ok with the bucket situation as a temporary thing--I totally understand that sometimes water is going to be a problem in a town like this. However, I don't really accept that as a permanent solution to the current issue. I know that bucket showers are normal in rural Thailand, but I don't think that this is normal.
Anyway, turns out that they are going to be contacting the water company to try to sort this out. Which I think is a good idea, since it will be hard to fill my bucket with no running water. And to do laundry. And cook. And any number of other things that I need to do on a daily basis. But that will take a few days, so Pee Mam has said to call her when we want to shower. <_< Yeah. Hope the water comes back so I can at least fill the bucket.
The Vice-Director did seem keen on helping though, and they do in general seem to want to make things work. When he realized that only the bedrooms had A/C and that the main room was hot (his observation), a teacher showed up at my front door with a fan. And he is finally getting someone to fix Rhea's leaky A/C, so that is a plus. It feels like we finally have someone's attention. Also Rhea told me that if we aren't happy with the internet, we can get our own put in for about $20 per month. Seeing how the next few days go (they are adding a new hotspot near the house), I think this may be a very viable option. So there are some things that are getting much better. It really is just trying to get this one bit worked out.
On the lighter side of things, I will be making my first foray into solo Thai cooking in the next couple days. I have begun to gather my ingredients, and all that remains is a time and coming to terms with the distinct possibility that my food will be inedible. Ahh well, that is what the evening market is for. See you later!
ETA: Unknown
So today our washing machine was installed. I thought this was a humorous concept, considering we didn't have enough water to wash ourselves, much less our clothing. But they just continued with "the plan." Before I went home I was contacted by Pee Mam who wanted to know if I was free to meet with her and the Vice-Director after school. Sure thing, if it solves anything I am all in. So they came over. Turns out when they arrived there was no water. FINALLY. Every other time someone has been here there has been some flow, so they say that it is just fine and to use the bucket. But now they were forced to admit that there was a problem. As it turns out the water has been a problem for all of the teacher housing, including the Director's. You would think that would make me feel better, but in a way it makes me feel worse...why would they build this place and have us move in if they already knew they had a problem with the water? There just isn't the infrastructure necessary to support this many people in this area.
Well, we will be getting buckets and scoops for the time being, but the water company is being contacted. They have said that for this week it will be bad, but after that it should be ok. I hope that is correct. I am ok with the bucket situation as a temporary thing--I totally understand that sometimes water is going to be a problem in a town like this. However, I don't really accept that as a permanent solution to the current issue. I know that bucket showers are normal in rural Thailand, but I don't think that this is normal.
The Vice-Director did seem keen on helping though, and they do in general seem to want to make things work. When he realized that only the bedrooms had A/C and that the main room was hot (his observation), a teacher showed up at my front door with a fan. And he is finally getting someone to fix Rhea's leaky A/C, so that is a plus. It feels like we finally have someone's attention. Also Rhea told me that if we aren't happy with the internet, we can get our own put in for about $20 per month. Seeing how the next few days go (they are adding a new hotspot near the house), I think this may be a very viable option. So there are some things that are getting much better. It really is just trying to get this one bit worked out.
On the lighter side of things, I will be making my first foray into solo Thai cooking in the next couple days. I have begun to gather my ingredients, and all that remains is a time and coming to terms with the distinct possibility that my food will be inedible. Ahh well, that is what the evening market is for. See you later!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
My new house
Well, it is a mixed bag. Parts of it are kinda nice. I am making my room comfortable, and the super huge cupboard is nice because it means I can finally put things out of sight. Wifi was an issue for a while--lots of bitching ensued. But the director sent his daughter and a computer teacher over to look at it last night, and honestly it has worked fairly well since then. Better than my last place at least. Which is not saying much, but whatever. The door lock situation was also remedied. In addition to the sliding locks on the inside of the door and the padlock space on the outside, they added a normal doorknob with key...success! So that was a plus. We have our kitchen pretty much set up, complete with fridge, rice cooker, tea kettle, microwave, and electric pan. We bought our dishes, silverware, and glasses and even got a cute tablecloth and some silly curtains for the windows. So parts of the house are shaping up quite nicely.
The real issue is the bathroom. At first we thought the major issue was hot water--they never installed any hot water machine on the shower, and we weren't looking forward to a year of cold showers. So we asked that they install one. Which they did. However, this was before we even tried the water. When we did, we found that it flows barely more than a trickle. In fact, the shower is mostly unusable. In the morning my "shower" consists of getting damp with the trickle and filling the sink at the same time. I then do most of my bathing with the sink water. Not really what I had in mind when I was forced to move here. When we reported the problems, the "solution" was that the supply teacher would get us a bucket to store water in, so when the water flow was low we could use that to bathe. Yeah, not cool. I was kind of hoping they would FIX the problem, not just cover it up. It got even worse this morning when I went to the bathroom. No water at all. I tried to flush the toilet--nothing. No toilet, no sink, no shower. Solution? Bucket. That way we can manually flush the toilet if we need to. Or so I am told. Yes, I understand that it would work, but what about actually trying to do something about the water? Am I being absurd here? I know that as an American I am used to more "creature comforts" than most, but I really don't think that running water is negotiable. Or it shouldn't be. And won't be. If they don't fix it then I am moving back to my old place. I am just so tired from this week that I can't even imagine moving again.
Anyway, here are some pics from the new place. Hope you enjoy them!
Anyway, here ends the guided tour. Hope this gives a better idea of where I am living. I will try to keep you updated on the progress. Hopefully we resolve the water bullshit soon. See you later.
The real issue is the bathroom. At first we thought the major issue was hot water--they never installed any hot water machine on the shower, and we weren't looking forward to a year of cold showers. So we asked that they install one. Which they did. However, this was before we even tried the water. When we did, we found that it flows barely more than a trickle. In fact, the shower is mostly unusable. In the morning my "shower" consists of getting damp with the trickle and filling the sink at the same time. I then do most of my bathing with the sink water. Not really what I had in mind when I was forced to move here. When we reported the problems, the "solution" was that the supply teacher would get us a bucket to store water in, so when the water flow was low we could use that to bathe. Yeah, not cool. I was kind of hoping they would FIX the problem, not just cover it up. It got even worse this morning when I went to the bathroom. No water at all. I tried to flush the toilet--nothing. No toilet, no sink, no shower. Solution? Bucket. That way we can manually flush the toilet if we need to. Or so I am told. Yes, I understand that it would work, but what about actually trying to do something about the water? Am I being absurd here? I know that as an American I am used to more "creature comforts" than most, but I really don't think that running water is negotiable. Or it shouldn't be. And won't be. If they don't fix it then I am moving back to my old place. I am just so tired from this week that I can't even imagine moving again.
Anyway, here are some pics from the new place. Hope you enjoy them!
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| Pink elephant bed (chosen for me) |
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| My window--no glass, only wood shutters |
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| Looking back towards the door. I love A/C!!! |
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| Our living room, kitchen, and breakfast room |
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| The dreaded bathroom |
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| Standing by the kitchen table |
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| By the front door. My room is the one with the door closed |
Anyway, here ends the guided tour. Hope this gives a better idea of where I am living. I will try to keep you updated on the progress. Hopefully we resolve the water bullshit soon. See you later.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
The end of a very long week
So glad this week is over. Between Thursday and Saturday we hosted the EIS (English Integrated Studies) Seminar for northern Thailand. And since Rhea and I are the only foreigners in the EIS department, this meant a ton of work for us. Hello super long days all week long. Seriously, 4 hour nights are irritating the first time around, but after 3 or 4 in a row it gets really miserable.
But today was our final day, and I am breathing a sigh of relief. Unfortunately we have to host another similar seminar in just a month, but at least now we have a lot of our materials prepared and know what we are doing. On top of all of this Rhea and I had to move to our new home on Thursday night. There are quite a few kinks to work out there...internet, hot water (any water actually), A/C leaks, etc. But we are doing our best and making it into a comfortable home. Pics will come soon--probably tomorrow, I am just way too tired tonight.
Short week coming up. I have to give a couple tests, but we end on Thursday and then have our week long break for sports week. So I will be meeting up with cousin Eric and seeing some of Northern Thailand. Anyway, that is all for now. Desperately need some rest. Tomorrow I need to get a bike, get some storage shelves, and write a test for my M5 students. Hope all is well on the other side of the world!
But today was our final day, and I am breathing a sigh of relief. Unfortunately we have to host another similar seminar in just a month, but at least now we have a lot of our materials prepared and know what we are doing. On top of all of this Rhea and I had to move to our new home on Thursday night. There are quite a few kinks to work out there...internet, hot water (any water actually), A/C leaks, etc. But we are doing our best and making it into a comfortable home. Pics will come soon--probably tomorrow, I am just way too tired tonight.
Short week coming up. I have to give a couple tests, but we end on Thursday and then have our week long break for sports week. So I will be meeting up with cousin Eric and seeing some of Northern Thailand. Anyway, that is all for now. Desperately need some rest. Tomorrow I need to get a bike, get some storage shelves, and write a test for my M5 students. Hope all is well on the other side of the world!
Monday, June 10, 2013
My future home...
...is definitely the sketchiest place I will have ever lived. Which is saying something, considering my humble abode in Spain. When I checked it out yesterday I found that there were two sliding locks on the inside (think really old school bathrooms or a broom closet) and a space for a padlock on the outside. I went to tell my coordinator this morning that we needed an actual lock on the door, not just a padlock--the idea that someone could theoretically lock me out of (or in to) my own house is a tad disturbing. She agreed, but when I went to check it out today it seems that all of the teacher houses are set up with this same locking arrangement, including the director's home. Yeah, I dunno. Magical holes are appearing in the walls as spaces for various wires appear--at least the a/c is getting put in today. Beds were also added today. Lights are in, and we do have a table. The table takes up a good chunk of our "sitting room." I put that in quotes because when they were telling me about moving here, they were talking about having a couch and a t.v. This is an absurd concept--the wardrobes take up so much space there is barely room for the tiny table we have. And the wardrobes are in the living room because the bedrooms are too small for them, meaning that we have to go out into the living room to get our clothing for the day. Somehow magically we are supposed to have a washing machine...this I am guessing will be out back somewhere. And who knows about the internet (a total deal-breaker if absent). Gah. On the plus side it means a 20 second walk to school rather than 3 minute. And a kitchen counter space--ideally home to the rice cooker and hot plate we were promised, plus a fridge? Although who knows where that will go. I think the thing that is going to get to me is the lack of light. There is no glass in the windows--only screen and wood shutters. So in order to keep things cool, shutters stay closed. So all light comes from fluorescent overhead bulbs. I don't know how to deal with that.
God I hate politics.
All bullshit aside, I might get to go to Bali in a few weeks! Pee Neat and Pee Noi (English Dept., not Bio) invited me to go for the June break. So if we can get my visa extension processed in time, I am off to Bali with ~20 other Thai teachers!
God I hate politics.
All bullshit aside, I might get to go to Bali in a few weeks! Pee Neat and Pee Noi (English Dept., not Bio) invited me to go for the June break. So if we can get my visa extension processed in time, I am off to Bali with ~20 other Thai teachers!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
RIP Clothes
Casualties: 1 Green Pha Sin
2 White Thai blouses
1 Turks & Caicos dive t-shirt
Wounded: 1 Green and white dress
1 30 year old Art-Deco t-shirt
All my light colored underwear
Note to self--never EVER wash dark colored Thai fabrics with my clothing again. The costs were too high to make that mistake again!
2 White Thai blouses
1 Turks & Caicos dive t-shirt
Wounded: 1 Green and white dress
1 30 year old Art-Deco t-shirt
All my light colored underwear
Note to self--never EVER wash dark colored Thai fabrics with my clothing again. The costs were too high to make that mistake again!
Exceedingly Displeased
So everything I own is now some shade of pink. I am no longer so enamored of my fancy new Thai clothing.
Filling in details about school
So it has come to my attention that I never really explained exactly how the school is organized. Which, as it turns out, is kind of interesting. And kind of weird. But I digress. So I guess I will take some time now to explain the basics of daily life at Satrisrinan School (or just Srinan, as it tends to be called).
The school day begins anywhere from 6:30 until 8 a.m. I really have no clue why any students get there so early, but believe me, they do. On Friday I have gate duty, which involves sitting with some other teachers while the students file into school. They have a specific line they stand on in front of us, and when they are all in line, the curtsy, wai, and say "Sawatee ka", and then "Good morning" to me. If any of them are not wearing the appropriate uniform for that day, one of the Thai teacher takes down their name and they get some sort of punishment. Note: this doesn't mean they aren't wearing a uniform, it just might mean they are wearing the basic navy skirt rather than the traditional Thai outfit, or something like that. The same teacher (don't know her name, but she is rather intimidating) also will make the girls wait on the line for more students to arrive so there is a larger group greeting us at once...frankly it sometimes is absurd the amount of time she has them wait. But oh well, that is the way it goes. I only do this once a week, but every morning works the same way. The boys enter through a separate gate, and anyone entering after 8 a.m. is considered late, since that is when the morning assembly begins. Late students get written up, and if a teacher is in a bad mood, they might also get a swat upside the head.
There are about 3,000 students in the school, but every day except Tuesday we all gather in the main field for assembly at 8 a.m. The students are seated together by class, and their advisor checks for attendance. There is a lot of speaking in Thai that I don't understand, so I just sorta hang out for most of it. I usually stand with Pee Oil (biology colleague) and her friends since she doesn't advise a class, but sometimes I will talk with Pee Neat or meet other teachers. It is amusing to watch the students--most of the field is in the sun, and although they have to stay in a line, they definitely stretch the rules as to the distance between students. There might be 20 feet between one student and the next so that part of a class can sit in the shade. Some of the more discipline minded teachers (mostly P.E.--seems like some things are the same worldwide) make them move when they notice these gaps in the line, but it is pretty funny to watch. As a teacher I have the luxury of staying in the shade!
Assembly doesn't usually last too long--about 20 minutes. After all of the announcements the flag is raised and everyone sings the Thai national anthem. As anthems go, this one is challenging. A lot of high notes and what not. But it does sound pretty nice, and since I just have to listen I can't complain much. After singing the anthem we then turn around to pray to Buddha. There is a set prayer and we bow three times. I don't know what is being said exactly, but by now I do recognize the words during which I am supposed to bow, so that makes it easier. After this assembly is dismissed, and the students have a few minutes before 1st period (8:30).
There are 9 periods in the day, each 50 minutes long. We end at 4:10, there is one 10 minute break at 10:10, but otherwise it is straight through. This is very irritating since one period technically begins when the previous one ended. One of my classes always arrives about 10 minutes late because their other teacher lets them out late, and then they are all antsy and don't want to work. It is difficult since I have such little time with them and it keeps getting cut short. There also isn't an official lunch break--the school is too big to have the entire school eat at once. So the lower grades have lunch during one period and the upper grades during the following period. Teachers grab lunch either before or after in order to avoid the lunch rush, but if we are really rushed we can usually just go the head of any line we want.
As for food, it is all served in the school canteen. The canteen is a big open building, basically just a roof. We trade our money for coupons which are used at the different vendors inside. There are various types of food--chicken and rice, noodles, rice dishes, etc. You can also get all kinds of snacks like fresh fruit, popcorn, little hot dogs, or milkshakes. Nothing is over 20 baht (66 cents), so it is pretty cheap for me, although there has been a big price increase since last year and it has angered teachers and students alike. Many of you have asked what the food is like, and to be honest I really enjoy it. I am learning to like spicy food (in moderation), but I will say that there really isn't much of a distinction between meals. So curry or noodles for breakfast is perfectly normal. In fact, this was my breakfast on Friday. And no, the Thais don't normally eat with chopsticks. The normal utensils are forks and spoons (no knives) except when eating noodles/Chinese food--then chopsticks are used.
The food at school is pretty good, so I eat lunch there every day. And breakfast sometimes too. Most days I don't have distinct meals so much as a meal and various snacks. Oh well, it works. The school day is pretty relaxed most of the time. My schedule varies a bit week to week because I co-teach some of my classes. However, most days I have a lot of downtime. This works out well when I have functioning internet--I can talk to people from home or get my lesson plans done. Unfortunately my office seems to be a black hole for the internet, so it works only 1 or 2 days a week. This leads to some very boring days and long evenings since I have to do my lesson planning after work. But that is the way things work.
I also wanted to explain a bit more about how classes are organized. As I mentioned before, I teach secondary (Mathayom) school. So the grades are Mathayom 1-6, which corresponds to grades 7-12. Now we are the biggest school in Nan province, so even with 40-50 students per class, there are a bunch of classes in each grade. So each grade is divided into "point" and "slash" classes. There are three "point" classes (ex. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and then about 9 "slash" classes (1/1,1/2,1/3,1/4...1/9). Students are divided into these classes based on intelligence/test scores, so the smartest are in "point" 1 and the dumbest in "slash" 9. Also, within each class students are numbered based on intelligence, so student 1 in 1.1 would be the smartest kid in his grade. It is kind of odd to have such an overt ranking system in place.
The interesting twist to it is that the "slash" 1 students are very often brighter than the "point" 3 students are. I discovered the reason this occurs is because all "point" classes have additional class sessions on Saturdays, while "slash" students only have weekday classes. Therefore "point" students have to pay higher school fees than "slash" students do. So if a smart kid doesn't have enough money, they request to be in "slash" 1 rather than the "point" classes, leading to "slash" 1 being better than "point" 3 most of the time.
As for the uniforms, I think I do finally have them figured out. Monday is normal for the students, but the teachers wear a khaki colored uniform--somewhat military in style. The basic student uniform is navy and white, or the green P.E. uniform (as seen in the pictures above). Tuesday is also pretty normal, but no morning assembly to see everyone--students have homeroom instead. Wednesday is important for Boy Scouts and Red Cross. From what I understand, Boy Scouts is mandatory for M1-M3 and Red Cross is mandatory for M1 girls. It is built into the curriculum and you can't graduate without it. Thursday seems to have some pseudo military outfits for some M6 boys, but only a few. Don't know about that one yet. Friday is for traditional dress.
I also promised some pictures of me in my Thai outfit. Unfortunately these are not the greatest shots...I will try to get some better ones in the near future. However these will have to do for now.
The school day begins anywhere from 6:30 until 8 a.m. I really have no clue why any students get there so early, but believe me, they do. On Friday I have gate duty, which involves sitting with some other teachers while the students file into school. They have a specific line they stand on in front of us, and when they are all in line, the curtsy, wai, and say "Sawatee ka", and then "Good morning" to me. If any of them are not wearing the appropriate uniform for that day, one of the Thai teacher takes down their name and they get some sort of punishment. Note: this doesn't mean they aren't wearing a uniform, it just might mean they are wearing the basic navy skirt rather than the traditional Thai outfit, or something like that. The same teacher (don't know her name, but she is rather intimidating) also will make the girls wait on the line for more students to arrive so there is a larger group greeting us at once...frankly it sometimes is absurd the amount of time she has them wait. But oh well, that is the way it goes. I only do this once a week, but every morning works the same way. The boys enter through a separate gate, and anyone entering after 8 a.m. is considered late, since that is when the morning assembly begins. Late students get written up, and if a teacher is in a bad mood, they might also get a swat upside the head.
 |
| Gates are closing--late students! |
There are about 3,000 students in the school, but every day except Tuesday we all gather in the main field for assembly at 8 a.m. The students are seated together by class, and their advisor checks for attendance. There is a lot of speaking in Thai that I don't understand, so I just sorta hang out for most of it. I usually stand with Pee Oil (biology colleague) and her friends since she doesn't advise a class, but sometimes I will talk with Pee Neat or meet other teachers. It is amusing to watch the students--most of the field is in the sun, and although they have to stay in a line, they definitely stretch the rules as to the distance between students. There might be 20 feet between one student and the next so that part of a class can sit in the shade. Some of the more discipline minded teachers (mostly P.E.--seems like some things are the same worldwide) make them move when they notice these gaps in the line, but it is pretty funny to watch. As a teacher I have the luxury of staying in the shade!
 |
| All lined up |
 |
| Assembly begins |
Assembly doesn't usually last too long--about 20 minutes. After all of the announcements the flag is raised and everyone sings the Thai national anthem. As anthems go, this one is challenging. A lot of high notes and what not. But it does sound pretty nice, and since I just have to listen I can't complain much. After singing the anthem we then turn around to pray to Buddha. There is a set prayer and we bow three times. I don't know what is being said exactly, but by now I do recognize the words during which I am supposed to bow, so that makes it easier. After this assembly is dismissed, and the students have a few minutes before 1st period (8:30).
There are 9 periods in the day, each 50 minutes long. We end at 4:10, there is one 10 minute break at 10:10, but otherwise it is straight through. This is very irritating since one period technically begins when the previous one ended. One of my classes always arrives about 10 minutes late because their other teacher lets them out late, and then they are all antsy and don't want to work. It is difficult since I have such little time with them and it keeps getting cut short. There also isn't an official lunch break--the school is too big to have the entire school eat at once. So the lower grades have lunch during one period and the upper grades during the following period. Teachers grab lunch either before or after in order to avoid the lunch rush, but if we are really rushed we can usually just go the head of any line we want.
As for food, it is all served in the school canteen. The canteen is a big open building, basically just a roof. We trade our money for coupons which are used at the different vendors inside. There are various types of food--chicken and rice, noodles, rice dishes, etc. You can also get all kinds of snacks like fresh fruit, popcorn, little hot dogs, or milkshakes. Nothing is over 20 baht (66 cents), so it is pretty cheap for me, although there has been a big price increase since last year and it has angered teachers and students alike. Many of you have asked what the food is like, and to be honest I really enjoy it. I am learning to like spicy food (in moderation), but I will say that there really isn't much of a distinction between meals. So curry or noodles for breakfast is perfectly normal. In fact, this was my breakfast on Friday. And no, the Thais don't normally eat with chopsticks. The normal utensils are forks and spoons (no knives) except when eating noodles/Chinese food--then chopsticks are used.
 |
| Noodles with pork...yum! |
The food at school is pretty good, so I eat lunch there every day. And breakfast sometimes too. Most days I don't have distinct meals so much as a meal and various snacks. Oh well, it works. The school day is pretty relaxed most of the time. My schedule varies a bit week to week because I co-teach some of my classes. However, most days I have a lot of downtime. This works out well when I have functioning internet--I can talk to people from home or get my lesson plans done. Unfortunately my office seems to be a black hole for the internet, so it works only 1 or 2 days a week. This leads to some very boring days and long evenings since I have to do my lesson planning after work. But that is the way things work.
I also wanted to explain a bit more about how classes are organized. As I mentioned before, I teach secondary (Mathayom) school. So the grades are Mathayom 1-6, which corresponds to grades 7-12. Now we are the biggest school in Nan province, so even with 40-50 students per class, there are a bunch of classes in each grade. So each grade is divided into "point" and "slash" classes. There are three "point" classes (ex. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and then about 9 "slash" classes (1/1,1/2,1/3,1/4...1/9). Students are divided into these classes based on intelligence/test scores, so the smartest are in "point" 1 and the dumbest in "slash" 9. Also, within each class students are numbered based on intelligence, so student 1 in 1.1 would be the smartest kid in his grade. It is kind of odd to have such an overt ranking system in place.
The interesting twist to it is that the "slash" 1 students are very often brighter than the "point" 3 students are. I discovered the reason this occurs is because all "point" classes have additional class sessions on Saturdays, while "slash" students only have weekday classes. Therefore "point" students have to pay higher school fees than "slash" students do. So if a smart kid doesn't have enough money, they request to be in "slash" 1 rather than the "point" classes, leading to "slash" 1 being better than "point" 3 most of the time.
As for the uniforms, I think I do finally have them figured out. Monday is normal for the students, but the teachers wear a khaki colored uniform--somewhat military in style. The basic student uniform is navy and white, or the green P.E. uniform (as seen in the pictures above). Tuesday is also pretty normal, but no morning assembly to see everyone--students have homeroom instead. Wednesday is important for Boy Scouts and Red Cross. From what I understand, Boy Scouts is mandatory for M1-M3 and Red Cross is mandatory for M1 girls. It is built into the curriculum and you can't graduate without it. Thursday seems to have some pseudo military outfits for some M6 boys, but only a few. Don't know about that one yet. Friday is for traditional dress.
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| Monday teacher uniform |
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| Red Cross uniform |
 |
| Boy Scouts and their sticks!!! |
Anyway, time to go hang out my laundry to dry. Supposedly I am moving to a new house tomorrow, but I went by today and there is still no furniture, AC, or locks on the doors, so we will see. Oh, and there should be internet and washing machine (plus other appliances) at some point, but yeah, Thai time. It was definitely not my idea to move--I fought long and hard against it--but I am trying to make the best of the situation. But in the interest of having something to wear this week, I must go do my laundry. See you later!
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