This week has certainly been my most interesting and busy week yet (excluding the orientation weeks when everything was new and surreal). Starting last Thursday, my life has been full of activities spanning as many as 3 days. Activities or sporting events seem to be loads more important than schoolwork or at least more thought out. There are plans and schedules to follow that actually get implemented, versus the school schedule which, by the end of the day, seems to be run by the students instead of administration or the teachers.
In any case, the activities I witnessed last weekend were entirely different than any I had seen yet and actually quite fun to take part in. It started with "Boy Scout camp" which encompassed Boy Scouts, Girl guides, Red Cross girls/ volunteers and the young volunteers. Each group was about a fourth of the school and they all have different uniforms to wear. Scouts (for both boys and girls) is a lot more important here than it is in the States and continues on into adulthood. Every thursday, the students that are a part of these groups wear their given uniform and they have activities once a month or something. The young red cross volunteers also do something every month (I think). As Friday morning rolled around, there were groups of students scattered around campus. They were to partake in several activities throughout the day, cook their own food for dinner, have a bonfire (depending on the group) and sleep on campus in hundreds of tents. The girl guides and boy scouts had an 8 km walk around the city for their first activity. They also went to one of the local wats (what for, I couldn't tell you). Their walk ended at a 'du sho du' camp right behind our school so it was entirely unnecessary for them to walk all that way! The 'du sho su' camp behind our school is actually where border patrol sets up camp and lives in sometimes. It actually wasn't something I ever thought of, but we do happen to have border patrol here in sleepy Nakhon Phanom as Laos is only a couple hundred meters across the river.
I ended up spending most of my time with the girl guides. They were separated from the rest of the students and spent most of their day behind school at this border patrol camp. Border patrol also helped out at the camp - they were guides for the students and set up an elaborate ropes course for them to do! There were 12 stations, ranging from web crawls (they called it spiderman) to barbed wire crawls with actual barbed wire about a foot off the ground that the students had to shimmy under. So many of the stations were a huge liability and never would have been allowed in the US! Some were 12 feet off the ground with no harness and others were just silly like crawling through a long tube like a snake. But because Kara and I knew most of the students (they were M. 1, 2, 3) we participated in these crazy ropes course stations! It was fun and honestly, pretty exhausting. Most of the courses were built for students of Thai size and kara and I sort of bumbled through some of them but the children loved it. They thought it was great and cheered us on the whole way. We tried at least half of the stations and by the time we finished, I was tired out. It was worth it though and we won some brownie points with the students...always a good thing.
That night brought pandemonium to my front doorstep. I had left the scout camps for several hours Friday night to get some dinner with the other volunteers and just hang out. As I came back with another volunteer who was staying with me for the weekend, we were met with kids covered in mud and dirt and doing more activities in the football (soccer) field. They were having a ton of fun and it felt like I was back at Camp Nonesuch helping out with the camp overnight. Teachers were standing around talking with one another and watching to make sure the students didn't hurt themselves badly and the students were running around, getting the last of their energy out before 'lights out'. I had heard that the festivities were supposed to end around 9 PM...they didn't end until 10 or so (typical...we call it 'Thai Time'). Pandemonium occurred when the entire campus ran out of water - both to bathe with and to drink - at about 11:00. Students were knocking on my door asking to use my 'hong nam', bathroom, or to get some drinking water becuase they were thirsty and the water filters on campus were empty. Even if you could drink running water, there was absolutely none on campus! I didn't have that much to spare, but I gave what I could to soem of the students and they ended up taking bucket showers behind our house. Many of them were wandering around campus until 12 or 1 looking for any water they could find...It was crazy, to say the least. Most of the students who actually came to my house, I had never seen before. It was a little worrisome having over 1000 students on campus with no water but it had returned by the next morning and things went back to normal.
Saturday morning brought the end of the camp and students were packing up, lining the street outside of our camps and waiting for their rides. They were leaving around 8:30 or so and the only reason I saw them was because I was on my way to a two day English camp at a school up the road. (Pictures and stories on that soon). Myself and two other volunteers helped out at this English camp and just had to play games and sing songs with the kids. It was all weekend but really worth it.
The third activity of the weekend was called 'kao kai' which can sort of be translated into 'boot camp'. As I've said before, attendance is extremely hard to enforce and consequences are almost nil. Except when you have boot camp. About 250 students who habitually skip class and school activities were made to stay on campus all weekend and attend this boot camp. It was almost like re-education. They were up super early in the morning and went to bed super late, spending all of their time in the grand hall and chanting for hours on end. Saturday they sang a little bit and Monday (yes, they had to skip school to attend the boot camp that was punishment for skipping school in the first place...) they sang some more. Soldiers were running the camp, and the students had to wear special shirts designated them part of this camp. Another thing that most likely wouldn't have been allowed in the US. The fallout from this type of punishment was that the students were too worn out to come to class on Tuesday...I fail to see the logic in this plan as the students missed two more days of regular classes. Either way, it didn't seem to do that much good as the students who participated in that activity still didn't show up in class this week.
This weekend brings yet another English camp, though this one isn't in Nakhon Phanom. It's down in Ubon with an organization called 'dragonfly english camps'. It should be a great experience - we (three volunteers) have paid travel down there and are put up for two nights and also get paid!
Before I'm able to go to Ubon, however, I've got to be a drum leader in a parade tomorrow. It's teacher sport day (no school for the students...) and we have to get all dressed up to walk through town. For some reason, Kara and I have to be cowboys and it's been the mission of some of the English teachers to find us cowboy boots...a mission which has failed miserably. They simply do not have big/ western style shoes here and it's extremely hard to find any that fit! But I do have a cowboy hat and plaid (sort of) shirt and jeans to wear. So, should be an interesting day - I'll take lots of pictures for sure.
I didnt have my camera for most of the activities this past week so I'm going to take some from kara and the other English teachers and those will be posted soon.
Happy end of January!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Who doesn't have time for a party?
This past week has passed quickly and mostly without interruption (at least during the school day). After a frustrating week last week where the communication barrier seemed somehow worse than other weeks, this one has been a breeze and a joy to teach. Last week was our first full week of school since I have been here - about three months - which probably accounted for the problems. No one, teachers and students alike, were used to having class all day every day! By the end of the week, behavior problems were in full swing and the attention spans were almost nothing.
Many of my students in Mo. 3 (equivalent of 9th grade in the US) will not be returning to school next year. Mo. 3 is the last year of required schooling in this area and many of the students are needed at their farms or in the villages. Especially in the lower level classes, they don't see the reason for high level education and will most likely stay in this province for the rest of their lives. This fallout from this in class seems to be that the students have little to no interest in any sort of written work. Worksheets? Not gonna happen. Getting to class on time? Forget it. It's similar to senior's in High School during their last month of school who aren't going to go to College/University. For this reason, I've changed most of my lessons into activities or games and it's been working well. With the lower level classes, I've simply been doing acrostic poems and I'll put a book together for the classes. For the higher level classes, I've been doing a vocabulary review Bingo game which they love. It's great to teach, especially when all the students are excited.
As the weeks have gone on, I've finally started to accept that you can't expect anything but the unexpected. For a long time I would ask our English Director, Surachat, if we had class the next day and it became a bit of a joke between the teachers because no one ever knew. While in the beginning, this bothered me immensely and was a source of great frustration, I've become pretty used to it now. Classes/ lack thereof are announced in the morning, at 8:00, during the morning assembly. Activities are commonplace and as a bigger school in the city, we've got facilities that other schools use almost every day. Sports are a huge deal here and there are provincial sports, color sports (intramurals), district sports, etc. They all seem to use our football (soccer) fields and eat in our canteen! Almost every morning, Surachat will call over the "native" speakers and we have a "3 minute meeting" where he fills us in on what was said that morning. Just this morning I was told that we would not have first period as all the students have to meet with their girl scouts/boy scouts coordinators. Surprise! Then I was told that this weekend, 250 students who have been perpetually absent for all of the sport games will have to be on campus playing sports. After that, I was informed that I will be part of a parade on Wednesday - what for, I still don't know - where they will dress me up in traditional Thai dress and I will have jewelry and loads of makeup on! Should be an interesting day...I actually can't wait!
Earlier this week, we had a guest speaker here at Nakhon Phanom Wittayakhom. A professor from a University in Australia came to speak about SME's (Small Medium Enterprises). The connection between the University and NKP is that one of the professor's students is from this province and he happens to be the districts education director's son. The lecture was scheduled for 5:00 on Tuesday though it started more around 6:00. (That's something else I've gotten used to - Thai time. Everything is either earlier or later than you think!) I showed up to the lecture in jeans and a polo shirt, having changed from my pink Nakohn Phanom shirt and black skirt that I had to wear for school and I was sorely underdressed! Of course, I hadn't been informed that it was a formal speech - something I guess I should have known. All of my teachers were dressed in black and red formal Thai silk, and the guests at this lecture were government officials and directors from schools all over the area - wearing their school uniforms or traditional silk suits. Whoops. I stuck out with a sore thumb, but that's nothing new. Despite my fashion faux paux, they were appreciative of the fact that I went and I think I earned some brownie points. The speech was in English which was great for me but troublesome for all the Thai guests so each presenation slide was translated into Thai, and then questions translated back into English - it was an exhaustive process and the presentation had to be cut short as translating took so much time.
Afterwards, we had a party! We had a party this weekend to attend which ended up being a "100 days funeral party" as well as about a week ago for the ending of color sports. Our school seems to have no limit on the number of parties they throw and they are always wonderful affairs. I am constantly impressed with the way that our school/ students are able to decorate buildings and rooms for presentations or parties. This one was better than most that I've been to as they were honoring their Western guest. The food was wonderful - they even had salad!! A rarity here. The food was not as spicy as to be considerate of the Western guest and I have to say I really enjoyed it. While I knew we were having dinner after the speech, I was unaware of how big a deal it was. Many of my students had been absent for the past few days doing dance and singing and I didn't know why. Well, this was the reason! We had our Nopowo band playing and some students singing. The cheerleading team did a dance as did other dance teams. The Nopowo traditional band also played traditional Thai music. There were hours of performance. It was very well done and fun to be a part of. Originally, the speech and dinner wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to, but turned into a wonderful night. This tends to happen a lot as the people I work with don't have the English vocabulary to truly explain what will happen at the various functions and I don't have nearly enough Thai to ask questions about it. So I go to an event I think will be boring or normal and am usually pleasantly surprised with a grand affair and wonderful food.
Tomorrow, we have no school again as there is girl guides and boy scout camp. They are doing adventure activities and camp at night. Most of the teachers are involved and while I haven't been told that I need to do anything, I may tag along with the girl guides and see what it's all about. I think it would be an interesting experience and the students appreciate it when I try to learn some about their culture. Sometimes in class I have to write the vocabulary in Thai or explain in (broken) Thai so that they will understand and a cheer almost always arises from the students when I do so, even if I'm wrong. Many time the students have to correct my letters or my tones, but hopefully they see that it's okay to make mistakes (something not taught in the Thai education system...to make a mistake means to lose face).
One last thing I've gotten used to - wearing long sleeves and 'jackets' in 80 degree weather! It's winter here now and I admit, the mornings are truly cold. Sometimes you can see your breath in the air which I absolutely never expected here! However, as my face tends to get red whether I'm hot OR cold, my students have taken to telling me, 'teacher, gam daeng'! meaning, "teacher, red cheeks!". They think it's great, for whatever reason and love to tease me about it.
Other than that, life goes on as usual. This weekend, after the scout camp, I'm going to be helping out at an English camp. It's held at Annubahn, the school Haley teaches at, and I'm looking forward to it.
Many of my students in Mo. 3 (equivalent of 9th grade in the US) will not be returning to school next year. Mo. 3 is the last year of required schooling in this area and many of the students are needed at their farms or in the villages. Especially in the lower level classes, they don't see the reason for high level education and will most likely stay in this province for the rest of their lives. This fallout from this in class seems to be that the students have little to no interest in any sort of written work. Worksheets? Not gonna happen. Getting to class on time? Forget it. It's similar to senior's in High School during their last month of school who aren't going to go to College/University. For this reason, I've changed most of my lessons into activities or games and it's been working well. With the lower level classes, I've simply been doing acrostic poems and I'll put a book together for the classes. For the higher level classes, I've been doing a vocabulary review Bingo game which they love. It's great to teach, especially when all the students are excited.
As the weeks have gone on, I've finally started to accept that you can't expect anything but the unexpected. For a long time I would ask our English Director, Surachat, if we had class the next day and it became a bit of a joke between the teachers because no one ever knew. While in the beginning, this bothered me immensely and was a source of great frustration, I've become pretty used to it now. Classes/ lack thereof are announced in the morning, at 8:00, during the morning assembly. Activities are commonplace and as a bigger school in the city, we've got facilities that other schools use almost every day. Sports are a huge deal here and there are provincial sports, color sports (intramurals), district sports, etc. They all seem to use our football (soccer) fields and eat in our canteen! Almost every morning, Surachat will call over the "native" speakers and we have a "3 minute meeting" where he fills us in on what was said that morning. Just this morning I was told that we would not have first period as all the students have to meet with their girl scouts/boy scouts coordinators. Surprise! Then I was told that this weekend, 250 students who have been perpetually absent for all of the sport games will have to be on campus playing sports. After that, I was informed that I will be part of a parade on Wednesday - what for, I still don't know - where they will dress me up in traditional Thai dress and I will have jewelry and loads of makeup on! Should be an interesting day...I actually can't wait!
Earlier this week, we had a guest speaker here at Nakhon Phanom Wittayakhom. A professor from a University in Australia came to speak about SME's (Small Medium Enterprises). The connection between the University and NKP is that one of the professor's students is from this province and he happens to be the districts education director's son. The lecture was scheduled for 5:00 on Tuesday though it started more around 6:00. (That's something else I've gotten used to - Thai time. Everything is either earlier or later than you think!) I showed up to the lecture in jeans and a polo shirt, having changed from my pink Nakohn Phanom shirt and black skirt that I had to wear for school and I was sorely underdressed! Of course, I hadn't been informed that it was a formal speech - something I guess I should have known. All of my teachers were dressed in black and red formal Thai silk, and the guests at this lecture were government officials and directors from schools all over the area - wearing their school uniforms or traditional silk suits. Whoops. I stuck out with a sore thumb, but that's nothing new. Despite my fashion faux paux, they were appreciative of the fact that I went and I think I earned some brownie points. The speech was in English which was great for me but troublesome for all the Thai guests so each presenation slide was translated into Thai, and then questions translated back into English - it was an exhaustive process and the presentation had to be cut short as translating took so much time.
Afterwards, we had a party! We had a party this weekend to attend which ended up being a "100 days funeral party" as well as about a week ago for the ending of color sports. Our school seems to have no limit on the number of parties they throw and they are always wonderful affairs. I am constantly impressed with the way that our school/ students are able to decorate buildings and rooms for presentations or parties. This one was better than most that I've been to as they were honoring their Western guest. The food was wonderful - they even had salad!! A rarity here. The food was not as spicy as to be considerate of the Western guest and I have to say I really enjoyed it. While I knew we were having dinner after the speech, I was unaware of how big a deal it was. Many of my students had been absent for the past few days doing dance and singing and I didn't know why. Well, this was the reason! We had our Nopowo band playing and some students singing. The cheerleading team did a dance as did other dance teams. The Nopowo traditional band also played traditional Thai music. There were hours of performance. It was very well done and fun to be a part of. Originally, the speech and dinner wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to, but turned into a wonderful night. This tends to happen a lot as the people I work with don't have the English vocabulary to truly explain what will happen at the various functions and I don't have nearly enough Thai to ask questions about it. So I go to an event I think will be boring or normal and am usually pleasantly surprised with a grand affair and wonderful food.
Tomorrow, we have no school again as there is girl guides and boy scout camp. They are doing adventure activities and camp at night. Most of the teachers are involved and while I haven't been told that I need to do anything, I may tag along with the girl guides and see what it's all about. I think it would be an interesting experience and the students appreciate it when I try to learn some about their culture. Sometimes in class I have to write the vocabulary in Thai or explain in (broken) Thai so that they will understand and a cheer almost always arises from the students when I do so, even if I'm wrong. Many time the students have to correct my letters or my tones, but hopefully they see that it's okay to make mistakes (something not taught in the Thai education system...to make a mistake means to lose face).
One last thing I've gotten used to - wearing long sleeves and 'jackets' in 80 degree weather! It's winter here now and I admit, the mornings are truly cold. Sometimes you can see your breath in the air which I absolutely never expected here! However, as my face tends to get red whether I'm hot OR cold, my students have taken to telling me, 'teacher, gam daeng'! meaning, "teacher, red cheeks!". They think it's great, for whatever reason and love to tease me about it.
Other than that, life goes on as usual. This weekend, after the scout camp, I'm going to be helping out at an English camp. It's held at Annubahn, the school Haley teaches at, and I'm looking forward to it.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Christmas, New Years, and Family visits :)
So it's been quite some time since I've updated the blog...I'm working on being better! I was on vacation for about 2 weeks for Christmas and New years and once back in NKP, work started up again fairly quickly.
Christmas was pretty uneventful, apart from getting sick for a few days (had to have my parents bring good old fashioned dayquil and nyquil out for me! Nothing beats American meds...) That week at school we were getting ready for the absolute final Dream School Presentation which was to take place on Tuesday the 29th. So we only had morning classes and students weren't quite in an academic mindset. For this reason, and also just holiday cheer, I did a Christmas lesson with all of my classes that week. I think they enjoyed it and I had a blast planning it. We had some holiday flashcards, some songs to listen to and fill in the words, and I downloaded Frosty the Snowman and other movies on my computer for the students to watch - sometimes they were a hit and then other times they weren't but that's how it goes! Christmas night I took the overnight bus to Bangkok to wait for my family (!!!) to arrive in Bangkok on Sunday. That meant I had two days to myself to travel and it was awesome. I stayed at this little hostel on one of the main roads, right next to a train stop, and met some great people. Lots of others' like me who were teachings and traveling for the holidays or people just traveling alone around Thailand. I hung out with these poeple for a couple days - went to Chinatown with them (most crowded place I've ever been including actual China....There were semi trucks and hundreds of people in the same alley that was maybe 9 ft wide. Oh. and it was raining!). The girls I met up with went out dancing one night to this small little club close to where we were staying. I got my haircut!! It was a little nervewracking to say the least as I've had long hair for a long time and I decided to chop it off seeing as the hot season is coming up soon. However, a liiiiitle more than I was expected got chopped off but I'm getting used to it.
Sunday night, my family finally arrived and it was wonderful. :). They ran into every possible problem getting here, including expired passports, and were delayed getting into Bangkok so they didn't make it in until 3 am or so. But I was ready and waiting at the hotel. I was watching TV - something that I don't get to do here. We spent 5 days in Bangkok and then flew up to Nakhon Phanom and they got to see where I live and work for 4 days, even managing to come to school with me on Monday the 4th!
The week in Bangkok was great, exactly what I needed after spending the last three months or so in smalltown NKP. We went shopping in the biggest malls I've ever seen. They're absolutely huge. There is one called Central World which apparently revamped itself over the past few years and is a megamonster of a mall. And there are others all around it. We went to Khao San road, which is a backpackers paradise - it's been named the gateway to southeast Asia (I'm definitely going back!). We took some river boat rides and I got to amaze my family at my Thai abilities :). Okay, not really but it was fun to use the little Thai that I know in the city. We also checked out the nightlife in Bangkok which is incredible. They've got crazy clubs and disco bars and decorations all over the place. As it was the holidays, there were more than usual. I walked through "Soi Cowboy" where all the go-go bars are, as well as Nana - one of the smaller red light districts. Tried to stay away from there as it's sad (from a Western standpoint, I suppose) and is crawling with creepy foreigners though it's accepted here as a way of life. I've been told a lot of the prostitutes in Bangkok come from Isaan as this region is so poor and it's one of the best ways to make money and send it back home. There are a lot of different takes on the prostitution industry here and it's very open and talked about - other volunteers have met former prostitutes and they aren't shy about their former profession. It's interesting, a little sad, and completely different than how we view it in the US.
New Years Eve was an event - almost all of the other volunteers were in the city as well and so we (and my sister!) all met up at my hotel and then went to RCA - Royal City Avenue. It's basically a street of bars and clubs that draw more of a Thai crowd than a Western crowd. Though more and more, it's becoming a tourist destination. We got there and it was this massive street party - 500 baht to get in (15 dollars) and you got drink tickets. We made sure there was hip hop and went on in! It was packed and loud and absolutely crazy. There were mostly Thai's but there were some foreigners and as we're in a group of 9 or 10 people, we tend to draw attention or at least questions from other foriegners as to what we are doing here. It was a great night, ending in the weeee hours of the morning.
Friday brought us to NKP in which we took a small flight from Bangkok (up until about a month ago, the planes had been shut down and they were just reopened). It was only about an hour and a half but it was quite small and there was no a/c and many crying babies. But we made it and we checked into the hotel and I showed my family my town :). We went to the night market and got all sorts of food for them to try - veitnamese spring roll things, meat on a stick, pork things, salads, grilled corn, coconut desserts, loots of fruit. It was a feast by my standards, though I think my dad was missing his big american style meals...
We did a lot of walking around, wandering to the different markets and also going to the river. We got to have dinner with a teacher and her husband one of the nights and I showed them where I lived during the month of orientation. They got to see the cows and absolutely obnoxious chickens that live around here. Monday, they were able to experience a day of school with me and it was chaos. We weren't sure if we had classes that day and so teachers and students alike were confused. Some students showed up when teachers didn't and teachers showed up when students didn't. But it was expected and I'm glad my family got a taste of the craziness that can be a school day here! After it was determined that classes were over, two teachers took us out to lunch and then to a 'secret wat' along the Mekong. It was a great last day but also very sad. They left at 6:30 Monday afternoon and it was far too soon. I put them on the overnight bus to Bangkok (flight only operates on Thurs, Fri, and Sun) and went back to life as a volunteer. It was an amazing couple weeks and I can't wait to travel again. The school year ends the last week in February, so I'm planning some trips for the 'summer break' for sure. I've got about two months if anyone wants to come out to Southeast Asia! ha.
The week we got back to school was color sports week - basically intramurals. I've got lots of pictures and info on that I'll post later.
So take care and enjoy the pictures! More in a few days.
Christmas was pretty uneventful, apart from getting sick for a few days (had to have my parents bring good old fashioned dayquil and nyquil out for me! Nothing beats American meds...) That week at school we were getting ready for the absolute final Dream School Presentation which was to take place on Tuesday the 29th. So we only had morning classes and students weren't quite in an academic mindset. For this reason, and also just holiday cheer, I did a Christmas lesson with all of my classes that week. I think they enjoyed it and I had a blast planning it. We had some holiday flashcards, some songs to listen to and fill in the words, and I downloaded Frosty the Snowman and other movies on my computer for the students to watch - sometimes they were a hit and then other times they weren't but that's how it goes! Christmas night I took the overnight bus to Bangkok to wait for my family (!!!) to arrive in Bangkok on Sunday. That meant I had two days to myself to travel and it was awesome. I stayed at this little hostel on one of the main roads, right next to a train stop, and met some great people. Lots of others' like me who were teachings and traveling for the holidays or people just traveling alone around Thailand. I hung out with these poeple for a couple days - went to Chinatown with them (most crowded place I've ever been including actual China....There were semi trucks and hundreds of people in the same alley that was maybe 9 ft wide. Oh. and it was raining!). The girls I met up with went out dancing one night to this small little club close to where we were staying. I got my haircut!! It was a little nervewracking to say the least as I've had long hair for a long time and I decided to chop it off seeing as the hot season is coming up soon. However, a liiiiitle more than I was expected got chopped off but I'm getting used to it.
Family picture at NYE dinner and short hair! What do you think?
Happy New Year, 2010 haha. One of my favorite pictures for sure
Sunday night, my family finally arrived and it was wonderful. :). They ran into every possible problem getting here, including expired passports, and were delayed getting into Bangkok so they didn't make it in until 3 am or so. But I was ready and waiting at the hotel. I was watching TV - something that I don't get to do here. We spent 5 days in Bangkok and then flew up to Nakhon Phanom and they got to see where I live and work for 4 days, even managing to come to school with me on Monday the 4th!
The week in Bangkok was great, exactly what I needed after spending the last three months or so in smalltown NKP. We went shopping in the biggest malls I've ever seen. They're absolutely huge. There is one called Central World which apparently revamped itself over the past few years and is a megamonster of a mall. And there are others all around it. We went to Khao San road, which is a backpackers paradise - it's been named the gateway to southeast Asia (I'm definitely going back!). We took some river boat rides and I got to amaze my family at my Thai abilities :). Okay, not really but it was fun to use the little Thai that I know in the city. We also checked out the nightlife in Bangkok which is incredible. They've got crazy clubs and disco bars and decorations all over the place. As it was the holidays, there were more than usual. I walked through "Soi Cowboy" where all the go-go bars are, as well as Nana - one of the smaller red light districts. Tried to stay away from there as it's sad (from a Western standpoint, I suppose) and is crawling with creepy foreigners though it's accepted here as a way of life. I've been told a lot of the prostitutes in Bangkok come from Isaan as this region is so poor and it's one of the best ways to make money and send it back home. There are a lot of different takes on the prostitution industry here and it's very open and talked about - other volunteers have met former prostitutes and they aren't shy about their former profession. It's interesting, a little sad, and completely different than how we view it in the US.
Just one small part of CentralWorld Mall - Each bell had a flag on it...pretty cool display, hard to capture in a picture.
Kelly making us take strange pictures in public...this one turned out well tho!
Yep, more strange pictures in public...also in CentralWorld. Sitting in Santa's Sleigh!
New Years Eve was an event - almost all of the other volunteers were in the city as well and so we (and my sister!) all met up at my hotel and then went to RCA - Royal City Avenue. It's basically a street of bars and clubs that draw more of a Thai crowd than a Western crowd. Though more and more, it's becoming a tourist destination. We got there and it was this massive street party - 500 baht to get in (15 dollars) and you got drink tickets. We made sure there was hip hop and went on in! It was packed and loud and absolutely crazy. There were mostly Thai's but there were some foreigners and as we're in a group of 9 or 10 people, we tend to draw attention or at least questions from other foriegners as to what we are doing here. It was a great night, ending in the weeee hours of the morning.
Big laying down Buddha at Wat Po - its something like 40 feet tall I think, pretty impressive
All the traffic in Bangkok! For that reason, best way to get around is moto taxi - but hang on cause it's a crazy ride.
Us Volunteers out in Khao San road
Friday brought us to NKP in which we took a small flight from Bangkok (up until about a month ago, the planes had been shut down and they were just reopened). It was only about an hour and a half but it was quite small and there was no a/c and many crying babies. But we made it and we checked into the hotel and I showed my family my town :). We went to the night market and got all sorts of food for them to try - veitnamese spring roll things, meat on a stick, pork things, salads, grilled corn, coconut desserts, loots of fruit. It was a feast by my standards, though I think my dad was missing his big american style meals...
Our night market meal! mmm sooo good.
We did a lot of walking around, wandering to the different markets and also going to the river. We got to have dinner with a teacher and her husband one of the nights and I showed them where I lived during the month of orientation. They got to see the cows and absolutely obnoxious chickens that live around here. Monday, they were able to experience a day of school with me and it was chaos. We weren't sure if we had classes that day and so teachers and students alike were confused. Some students showed up when teachers didn't and teachers showed up when students didn't. But it was expected and I'm glad my family got a taste of the craziness that can be a school day here! After it was determined that classes were over, two teachers took us out to lunch and then to a 'secret wat' along the Mekong. It was a great last day but also very sad. They left at 6:30 Monday afternoon and it was far too soon. I put them on the overnight bus to Bangkok (flight only operates on Thurs, Fri, and Sun) and went back to life as a volunteer. It was an amazing couple weeks and I can't wait to travel again. The school year ends the last week in February, so I'm planning some trips for the 'summer break' for sure. I've got about two months if anyone wants to come out to Southeast Asia! ha.
At Wat Po - giving money to the Monks - they get up at 3 or 4 am to walk around town and collect food for the day. They don't take money, I don't think. And these donations (half a baht each) helps to keep up the temple.
Playing Foozeball in one of the bars!
The super crowded club on New Years. It was a huge place too, and just one of many dance floors!
Aand of course, one last family picture. Miss you guys!!!!
The week we got back to school was color sports week - basically intramurals. I've got lots of pictures and info on that I'll post later.
So take care and enjoy the pictures! More in a few days.
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