As I was sitting in the office yesterday afternoon, I heard a loud noise and looked out the window to see a huge white cloud enveloping campus. Apparently it was time to fumigate the school grounds as it's the beginning of the rainy season. Of course, no one was told - not parents, teachers, or students - and all over campus you could see children running from the white cloud. It smelled sickly sweet; another teacher remarked that it smelled like peaches gone wrong....as long as you were inside with closed doors. As soon as you stepped outside, it was an overpowering smell. It's amazing that something potentially so toxic isn't even considered a health risk here. Safety isn't a priority, and it seems that learning isn't either. As soon as the fumigating started, classes were essentially canceled because of the smell and 2000 students were roaming the campus before they were allowed to leave.
Today brought another interference to English learning on campus as M. 1 had evaluative testing all day - in the new English building. Us teachers were told to 'find our students and teach them wherever we could'. But word had spread even by first period that there was no English classrooms today and the students disappeared. I was told that they 'ran way' and we wouldn't find them again. This is nothing new though, students 'run away' all the time according to my Thai teachers, and there's really nothing you can do about it. Even after 8 months, I have a hard time coming to terms with this. My last class of the day yesterday was a full 35 minutes late to my 50 minute class and I just about lost it with them. When asked why they were late, the students said that they 'didn't know what time class started'. After some stern talking to (none of which they understood) and a threat that I would go to the director, I finally found out that another teacher had been teaching them during my class time. When I asked who I could go to to get this figured out, I was told 'no problem ajahn, do not worry'. My thai co-teacher ended up telling the English director, so hopefully everything will be straightened out again by class next week.
Friday was another interesting day here at N.P.W. The students had a twice as long morning assembly to talk about safety! It sounded great in theory but in practice proved to be quite unsafe. All of the students sat in a plus formation (+), with the center of the cross empty for teachers and directors to speak in. On Friday morning, the fire department came to visit. They were doing a fire safety lesson that involved propane tanks and fire extinguishers. At first, all seemed well as the firemen showed the students how to work the fire extinguishers. However, afterwards, they bring over a propane tank, set it in the middle of the students, and light it! Then students were able to take turns using the fire extinguisher on this extra large flame that had the potential to burn multiple people. For about an hour, students kept lighting and extinguishing the propane tank. It was definitely one of those things that you would just never see in the States. Imagine the uproar if you had 12 and 13 year olds playing with propane tanks on school grounds...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"The world is so narrow"
On Friday, I will have been outside the United States for exactly 8 months. It's hard to believe as it feels like time has either completely flown by or crawled at an excruciatingly slow pace. What's even crazier to think about is that I'm more than halfway finished with my program and I only have 4 more months before I head home. For that reason and probably a bunch more I haven't though about, I'm prepared to be much busier this semester, both at school and on the weekends. I want to make sure I hit all the spots in Thailand I want to go to (within reason, of course) as well as make sure I make the most of my situation at the school. As a volunteer, I'm given almost free reign to do whatever I want with the students. While it bothered me for quite some time, as I prefer to have structure than to be making my own schedule, it's turning out to be beneficial with my group of students this semester. I came 'wanting to make a difference,' as I'm sure almost everyone else did, but it's nearly impossible to see the difference with 500 students. So I've taken that idea back a notch and hoping that I at least influence some students' interest in studying English. This means making my English class fun and engaging while trying to put some educational value into it.
One of the things we've been doing recently is tongue twisters, and they're a huuuuge hit. It also manages to get almost the entire class engaged, which is a struggle for me sometimes. One of the favorites is "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" It's one of those sentences that's fairly easy for an English speaker to say quickly and clearly, but it's difficult for ESL students. I'll read the sentence slowly for the students, have them repeat it and checking their pronunciation, and then say it really fast for them. Immediately the class explodes into cheers or laughter or incredulous faces. It helps in class for them to see my acting silly or making mistakes, because it means that they're able to, too. In Thailand, as far as I can understand it, making mistakes causes you to 'lose face' which you never want to happen. One of the hardest parts of class is getting the students to participate because they are 1) nervous speaking English in front of a native English speaker and 2) they don't want to be wrong.
I'm trying to spend more time on the English floor but recently it's truly been too hot for me to stay up there after I'm finished with classes. On cooler/breezier days, I'll just hang out with the other Thai teachers or any groups of students that are wandering around. I've started tutoring one of the Thai English teachers in conversation three days a week and it's a blast. Yesterday we worked on spoken English, and understanding native English speakers, since they speak so fast - things like 'wanna', 'gotta', etc. A couple of the new Thai English teachers were around and we had fun just joking around. They say a word in Thai, Isaan, Lao or some other Thai dialect and have me repeat it. I never know what I'm saying and I'm always saying it wrong as made clear when they are nearly on the floor laughing. It's a good time though and I'm always surprised with how much time has passed when I'm chatting with the Thai teachers.
Last weekend I went to Sakhon Nakhon (one of the neighboring provinces) with Haley, Tew (English director of the school Haley works at as well as a member of the family Haley lives with), and Nan (12 year old girl, another member of the family that lives with Tew). We picked up another teacher along the way and then had lunch at the pizza company! It apparently is the place to go on holidays/ weekends. Tew saw about 7 of her old students, we ran into Caitlyn (another volunteer) who was with a family we know from Nakhon Phanom, a teacher and her family from my school, and a couple other teachers Tew knew. Afterwards, I saw several teachers from my school in Big C (the huge department store...sort of like Thailands Target), and then 5 of my M.6 students eating lunch. I hardly ever see that many people when I walk around Nakhon Phanom! Haley and I got some pepperoni pizza, which was wonderful. I also accidentally ordered this seafood loaded pizza when I was trying to explain what kind of crust we want. oops, got lost in translation. Turns out no one really like seafood either! I ate a piece as I was the one that actually ordered it and the rest we took to go. We had a good time shopping around Big C and then it was back to Nakhon Phanom. The rest of the weekend was fairly quiet and very relaxing.
Next weekend I'll be helping out a couple of the other volunteers with an English seminar that one of the teacher's we know is helping to organize. I'm not quite sure what it entails yet, but it usually means some games or songs. The following weekend is a joint birthday/ early 4th of july celebration party with a couple us volunteers have grown close with over the past few months. It's a Western guy and his wife, and while I actually have never met them, I've heard they're awesome people and they offered to host a party for us. It's the little things that sometimes hit you the hardest, like being away from home on the 4th of July for instance, or missing someones birthday. I've been okay for the most part, but these get-togethers and parties are always very welcome and a wonderful chance for us to check in with each other. It also feels 'normal' in a way that teaching and living here doesn't, if that makes sense. And then, it's off to another area for an English camp at a temple the following weekend! I'll be taking pictures for sure and I've still got to add the ones from Vietnam and Cambodia so I'll try to be a bit better about posting. It's off to lesson plan for the rest of the week. Until next time.
One of the things we've been doing recently is tongue twisters, and they're a huuuuge hit. It also manages to get almost the entire class engaged, which is a struggle for me sometimes. One of the favorites is "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" It's one of those sentences that's fairly easy for an English speaker to say quickly and clearly, but it's difficult for ESL students. I'll read the sentence slowly for the students, have them repeat it and checking their pronunciation, and then say it really fast for them. Immediately the class explodes into cheers or laughter or incredulous faces. It helps in class for them to see my acting silly or making mistakes, because it means that they're able to, too. In Thailand, as far as I can understand it, making mistakes causes you to 'lose face' which you never want to happen. One of the hardest parts of class is getting the students to participate because they are 1) nervous speaking English in front of a native English speaker and 2) they don't want to be wrong.
I'm trying to spend more time on the English floor but recently it's truly been too hot for me to stay up there after I'm finished with classes. On cooler/breezier days, I'll just hang out with the other Thai teachers or any groups of students that are wandering around. I've started tutoring one of the Thai English teachers in conversation three days a week and it's a blast. Yesterday we worked on spoken English, and understanding native English speakers, since they speak so fast - things like 'wanna', 'gotta', etc. A couple of the new Thai English teachers were around and we had fun just joking around. They say a word in Thai, Isaan, Lao or some other Thai dialect and have me repeat it. I never know what I'm saying and I'm always saying it wrong as made clear when they are nearly on the floor laughing. It's a good time though and I'm always surprised with how much time has passed when I'm chatting with the Thai teachers.
Last weekend I went to Sakhon Nakhon (one of the neighboring provinces) with Haley, Tew (English director of the school Haley works at as well as a member of the family Haley lives with), and Nan (12 year old girl, another member of the family that lives with Tew). We picked up another teacher along the way and then had lunch at the pizza company! It apparently is the place to go on holidays/ weekends. Tew saw about 7 of her old students, we ran into Caitlyn (another volunteer) who was with a family we know from Nakhon Phanom, a teacher and her family from my school, and a couple other teachers Tew knew. Afterwards, I saw several teachers from my school in Big C (the huge department store...sort of like Thailands Target), and then 5 of my M.6 students eating lunch. I hardly ever see that many people when I walk around Nakhon Phanom! Haley and I got some pepperoni pizza, which was wonderful. I also accidentally ordered this seafood loaded pizza when I was trying to explain what kind of crust we want. oops, got lost in translation. Turns out no one really like seafood either! I ate a piece as I was the one that actually ordered it and the rest we took to go. We had a good time shopping around Big C and then it was back to Nakhon Phanom. The rest of the weekend was fairly quiet and very relaxing.
Next weekend I'll be helping out a couple of the other volunteers with an English seminar that one of the teacher's we know is helping to organize. I'm not quite sure what it entails yet, but it usually means some games or songs. The following weekend is a joint birthday/ early 4th of july celebration party with a couple us volunteers have grown close with over the past few months. It's a Western guy and his wife, and while I actually have never met them, I've heard they're awesome people and they offered to host a party for us. It's the little things that sometimes hit you the hardest, like being away from home on the 4th of July for instance, or missing someones birthday. I've been okay for the most part, but these get-togethers and parties are always very welcome and a wonderful chance for us to check in with each other. It also feels 'normal' in a way that teaching and living here doesn't, if that makes sense. And then, it's off to another area for an English camp at a temple the following weekend! I'll be taking pictures for sure and I've still got to add the ones from Vietnam and Cambodia so I'll try to be a bit better about posting. It's off to lesson plan for the rest of the week. Until next time.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Pictures from Thailand
So I know I promised more updates and pictures sometime last week. Sorry for the delay! Last week was the first week of school and it proved to be much more exhausting than I remembered - after traveling and just hanging out for two months, it was quite the adjustment to going back to teaching and staying in school for 8 hours a day. To top it all off, it was perhaps the hottest week (at least it felt like it) and there was little to no relief. I think I ended each day with some amount of heat exhaustion and to top it all off, I got sick on Friday. Either a long and painful case of food poisoning or a nasty bug that just wouldn't go away. In any case, I went to the local pharmacy and the owner (who speaks English) asked me about my symptoms and then just handed me some antibiotics and anti-spasmatics, as well as some rehydration packets. This cost me a grand total of 115 baht! About 3 USD. Amazing. Today (Wednesday) marks the first day I've felt myself in over a week so here are the those pictures I promised. Bear with me, there are a lot of them!
So if you didn't read the captions, hopefully you enjoyed the pictures. More on Vietnam and Cambodia in the next few days, as well as school life. I'm off to lesson plan. Goodnight!
One of the first places I went to in Chiang Mai was 'Tiger Kingdom'. I went with a group from my hostel and we were able to hang out with the large tigers, as well as the cubs. They large ones were awesome and the small ones, well they were adorable.
6 week old tiger cubs!
The owner of Spicy Thai Backpackers Hostel, Noom, took a group of us to Doi Suthep, a reknowned wat on the top of a mountain. It's quite high and we were told that it is one of 5 temples that Thai people try to get to within their lifetime. This picture is of a part of the temple where you can pay a certain amount of money and be immortalized into the stone of the temple when you die.
This is the 'old city' in Chiang Mai, which is bordered by a wall. The picture doesn't do it justice though, as the wall is quite immense.
Ko Phi Phi! It's a gorgeous island and had some of the most beautiful landscapes I saw when I was in Thailand.
While Ko Phi Phi boasts beautiful sandy beaches and terrain, it also boasts one of Southeast Asia's biggest (free) beach parties. There are three bars on the beach and each one has it's own promotions as well as it's own fire show. This is one of the Thai men doing the limbo (we're talking about a foot and a half off the ground) and lighting a cigarette. Astounding. And something I would never do.
While on Phi Phi, I went with a group from my hostel to Long Beach, which was about a 45 minute walk from the main pier. It was much more calm and quiet, really peaceful. This was on our way there, passing all the boats rolling into Phi Phi.
Monkey Beach! Notice how this guy (I called him Grandpa Monkey) has a pepsi bottle.
Cliff jumping! Such a rush :).
Sunset on the boat after going to Maya Bay, where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed
I took a day off of the beach parties and craziness to go rock climbing on Railey Beach after several days on Phi Phi. It was a wonderful decision, and I ultimately ended up going back to take a rock climbing course. The area is actually one of the top 10 rock climbing area's in the world, which I didn't know when I started.
One of the cheapest ways to travel between islands in Southern Thailand is to take night ferries. Basically, they are cargo ships that cram as many beds/ mattresses on the top floor as possible. They generally leave around 9 pm and get to the islands at 4 or 5 am. I can't say it's one of the most comfortable things, but it's definitely an experience. Each boat is a little different too, so you never really know what you are getting into. I think on this boat there were 60 people lining each side. I was traveling from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan
I was on Koh Phangan for about a week which gave me plenty of time to explore. Just one of the beaches on the other side from where I was staying.
I met a really great group of people in Phangan, and some of us rented a Jeep for the day to see the other parts of the island. That's Justin, Mijke and I hanging on in the back!
My own little secluded beach! Okay, not really, but it was fun to pretend. In any case, there were hardly any people out here.
Of course, we ran across some elephants. It's a strange thing when seeing elephants wandering around doesn't surprise you anymore. This happened to be an elephant camp of sorts that one of us knew about. They let us take pictures and feed them (for a price of course).
Travel pals in Koh phangan! There was a group of 8 of us or so that got food and went out together every night which definitely made the week.
Mijke and I traveled together for about a week and a half and had a blast. She and I were both traveling alone and wanted to make sure we knew people on Ko Phangan. Turned out to be great - we had our own room (with A/C) and didn't have to do the dorm thing.
The full moon on the night of the full moon party on Koh Phangan!
After Koh Phangan, I went to Koh Tao, just a couple hours north. This picture is from a viewpoint on an island right off of Koh Tao.
To get to the viewpoint, I kayaked out with two guys I had been traveling with. It took longer than I thought it would and was much farther than it looked. But we made it and it was well worth it.
After a few days on Koh Tao, it was back to the other side of Southern Thailand to go rock climbing again on Tonsai!
Rapelling out of a cave.
The view from the cave - you can see both Railey West (right) and Tonsai beaches.
Climbing...notice there is no rope above me!
Sunset on Railey West...I don't think I will ever tire of taking sunset/sunrise pictures.
This was something called Deep Water Solo - you climb on cliffs above the water with only climbing shoes and chalk - no rope. It's relatively safe. I had taken a pretty hard fall a few days before so I only went up a couple meters but this guy in the picture is hanging off of that stalagtite in the picture. He was an amazing climber and a little nuts.
Viewpoint on Tonsai
The group I spent most of my time with on Tonsai (minus a couple key people). My and Linda (on the left) did the rock climbing course and then would meet up with the others for dinner and drinks afterwards. Every night we went to a bar called Small World to hang out. Incredibly relaxing and a lot of fun.
This is Songkran - Thai new year. I was under the impression that it lasted for 3 days in Phuket but it was only one day so I got all of two pictures. This was the view from my van as I arrived in Paton Beach. It was, in one word, insanity. But the best part was that it was a holiday celebrated by Thai's and foreigners alike. Everyone had supersoakers and was just tossing buckets of ice water on each other.
So if you didn't read the captions, hopefully you enjoyed the pictures. More on Vietnam and Cambodia in the next few days, as well as school life. I'm off to lesson plan. Goodnight!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Profile Placement
We had to write up a profile placement for WorldTeach so I thought I would share it with everyone. It's a pretty comprehensive view of what I'm doing here.
**I also want to add that I AM SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY AND GRATEFUL THAT MY MOM AND AUNT MADE IT TO NAKHON PHANOM LAST WEEK. SEEING THEM WAS BETTER THAN TRAVELING FOR TWO MONTHS......okay maybe not :). BUT. seeing you guys made my month! And just think, you got to be a part of history by seeing all the happenings in Bangkok! For those who don't know, KK and Mom came up here for just three days, but I was able to show them everything of importance. They were able to meet most of Haley's host family (who has become like my family), eat some wonderful Thai food, see my humble abode, and just hang out with me. We stayed at a hotel on the river and got to walk in the riverbed of the Mekong, as it's still fairly dried up...we are just now hitting the rainy season. Thanks for coming guys and see you in about 5 months!
Community
I live in the capital city of Nakhon Phanom province in Isaan, Northeast Thailand. There is a population of about 30,000 people living in this city. The ‘downtown’ is fairly small and just 1 km walk or bike ride from my living arrangements at the school. Despite being classified as one of the poorer provinces in the area, we have electronic stores, restaurants, hotels, and all kinds of convenient stores. There is also a bus station, a police and fire station, as well as numerous government halls and a provincial library. Most of the shops and restaurants are within a few square kilometers and border the Mekong River, which Nakhon Phanom resides on. It’s a beautiful place to go for a walk or hang out with the locals and it’s always much coolor on the water. While Nakhon Phanom literally means ‘city of mountains’, the land here is quite flat, with the mountains actually being across the river, in Laos. Many of the people here are store owners or have food stalls in the nightly night market, which is a central attraction for the town.There are also a lot of local farmers who come in daily to sell their goods in the town. It’s a big enough town that I haven’t explored all there is to explore, though it is also small enough that I run into at least 10 people I know when going to the night market or running errands in town. It’s an incredibly friendly town, and wonderful place to live.
Host School
I work at Nakhon Phanom Wittayakhom (high school), which has about 2500 students this year. There must be around 100 teachers, though I’m not sure of the actual number. It is one of the bigger schools in the area (perhaps the biggest) and draws a number of students from the surrounding villages. Our school boasts the first English Program in the area, complete with English immersion and foreign teachers, though I work in the general program. In the general program, there are 10 Thai teachers, Kara (another WT volunteer) and I, and Vince (a foreign teacher from Australia). On campus, we’ve got three three-story academic buildings, and one four-story academic building. There is also a swimming pool as well as a driving range that is open to the public when school isn’t in session. Many of the teachers live on campus, and the teacher housing is on the periphery of the campus. There are also two free standing buildings devoted to the English Program. We’ve got running water and a somewhat reliable internet connection. There is air conditioning available in the English Program office and in the administrative offices. The food on campus is quite cheap and very good. Besides lunch, the vendors in the canteen sell food for breakfast and snacks throughout the day.
Teaching Assignment
I have anywhere between 30 and 52 students in my classes this year. Last semester I taught Mattayom 3, which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US. This year, I’m teaching M. 4 (10th) and M. 6 (12th). The curriculum was changed this year, so I’m only able to teach my M.4 students once a week but I’m able to teach my M.6 students twice a week. It gives me a total of 19 class hours per week so I’m usually teaching 4 classes a day. Our school day goes from 8:00 to 4:00 and I’m generally finished teaching by 2:30. Every morning we have morning assembly in which we sing the school song, raise the Thai flag, and pray to Buddha. Any announcements that the school has are made at that time and the English Director takes this time to translate the announcements as well as let us know of any upcoming events. The semester’s generally last about 4-5 months with the first day of the Thai school year occurring on May 17. There is a month break in October, and the second semester begins in the beginning of November. The end of the school year usually falls in mid March. The levels of the classes differ significantly between grades as well as within the grade. Most of the students are advanced beginners and the higher grades are at an intermediate level. However, interspersed in each class are several students who still don’t know how to read or write. In each class I teach, I’ve got a Thai co-teacher with me, which helps immensely. In the beginning, we had some trouble with the Thai co-teacher’s actually staying in class with us, but it’s gotten much better this semester.
Living Arrangements
I live in a house on campus with another volunteer. It is a one story house that is divided into two separate rooms. They aren’t connected, so we each have our own front door and our own (western) bathroom. Our kitchen is outside, with a sink, refrigerator, and a propane tank to serve as our stove. We don’t have hot water, but it’s really not needed as most of the time the weather here is hot and humid. We do have a western toilet that flushes though, which is a luxury here. Our rooms came furnished with a bed, two desks, and a dresser. We are located on the outside edge of campus, but right next to one of the EP buildings and the girl’s bathrooms. It’s just a minute walk to get to our office and to the academic buildings on campus. We also have several water filter systems on campus, which we use to fill up our water supply. School is considered to be in town and is just a kilometer outside of the main cluster of stores and restaurants. It’s also about a kilometer to get to the hospital/doctor, in the other direction.
Language Issues
For the most part, learning Thai has been a lot of fun. Fortunately, there are a fair amount of teachers at my school that speak English well enough, and my English Director speaks great English. When I arrived in Nakhon Phanom, I knew a couple key phrases, but that was it. I was an absolute beginner. Thai is a tonal language so it takes a little while to get the hang of it and you will undoubtedly make a few mistakes. There have been many times in class when I’ve attempted to say something in Thai and I hear a collective gasp go through the room as all the students go ‘ohhhh, teacher!’ – then I know I’ve said something wrong! At this point, about halfway through the year, I know enough Thai to get by in daily life. I can talk to the market vendors and have brief conversations with my students and teachers. I know about half of the letters/ the writing system, so I’m working on that more these days. I find that the more I try to speak Thai, the more receptive (Thai) people are of me. Just making that little effort to speak their language goes a long way.
Greatest Challenges
During my first semester here at my school, we didn’t have class on a regular basis and that was possibly the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with here. The students were practicing for something called ‘Dream School’, which took up almost all of their free time and class time. Dream School is an achievement/ recognition that looks at all aspects of the school and is judged by officials all over the country. We had several dress rehearsals, and preparations could take weeks. Needless to say, both the students and the teachers (myself included) got stuck in a cycle where we weren’t used to actually having class. Weeks would go by when I wouldn’t see a certain class because of practices and holidays. It was difficult to motivate myself to make lesson plans and worksheets when 50 % of the time, the students wouldn’t show up to class. I also hadn’t taught before this year and felt a little out of my element.To top it off, about half of my students were not going to be returning to school the following semester, so they had the mentality of 2nd semester seniors. Despite this, it was a great year and I enjoyed my students. Their graduation day was harder for me than I anticipated and I found I was going to miss them much more than I thought!
Greatest Rewards
It’s hard to say what my greatest rewards are, because the smallest things make the biggest difference. One of the things that Thai students learn at the beginning of their education is that when someone asks how you are, the response is always “I’m fine, how are you?” The first lesson I taught last semester focused on greetings and synonyms for the word ‘fine’. When I came back to school this semester, my old students came running up to me and thought really hard about what they wanted to say before shouting out, “I’m great! I’m wonderful!”. It’s such a small thing, but we worked on that for a long time and I was always correcting them. When the students remember what we’ve worked on, it’s such a wonderful feeling.
Another thing that’s been wonderful about living here is realizing that I have my own little family here. Whether it’s the students, the teachers, or other volunteers, I know that I’m taken care of. While it’s not a direct reward of teaching, it’s certainly a reward of putting my time and effort into living here. In just 7 months, I’ve made a life for myself.
**I also want to add that I AM SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY AND GRATEFUL THAT MY MOM AND AUNT MADE IT TO NAKHON PHANOM LAST WEEK. SEEING THEM WAS BETTER THAN TRAVELING FOR TWO MONTHS......okay maybe not :). BUT. seeing you guys made my month! And just think, you got to be a part of history by seeing all the happenings in Bangkok! For those who don't know, KK and Mom came up here for just three days, but I was able to show them everything of importance. They were able to meet most of Haley's host family (who has become like my family), eat some wonderful Thai food, see my humble abode, and just hang out with me. We stayed at a hotel on the river and got to walk in the riverbed of the Mekong, as it's still fairly dried up...we are just now hitting the rainy season. Thanks for coming guys and see you in about 5 months!
Community
I live in the capital city of Nakhon Phanom province in Isaan, Northeast Thailand. There is a population of about 30,000 people living in this city. The ‘downtown’ is fairly small and just 1 km walk or bike ride from my living arrangements at the school. Despite being classified as one of the poorer provinces in the area, we have electronic stores, restaurants, hotels, and all kinds of convenient stores. There is also a bus station, a police and fire station, as well as numerous government halls and a provincial library. Most of the shops and restaurants are within a few square kilometers and border the Mekong River, which Nakhon Phanom resides on. It’s a beautiful place to go for a walk or hang out with the locals and it’s always much coolor on the water. While Nakhon Phanom literally means ‘city of mountains’, the land here is quite flat, with the mountains actually being across the river, in Laos. Many of the people here are store owners or have food stalls in the nightly night market, which is a central attraction for the town.There are also a lot of local farmers who come in daily to sell their goods in the town. It’s a big enough town that I haven’t explored all there is to explore, though it is also small enough that I run into at least 10 people I know when going to the night market or running errands in town. It’s an incredibly friendly town, and wonderful place to live.
Host School
I work at Nakhon Phanom Wittayakhom (high school), which has about 2500 students this year. There must be around 100 teachers, though I’m not sure of the actual number. It is one of the bigger schools in the area (perhaps the biggest) and draws a number of students from the surrounding villages. Our school boasts the first English Program in the area, complete with English immersion and foreign teachers, though I work in the general program. In the general program, there are 10 Thai teachers, Kara (another WT volunteer) and I, and Vince (a foreign teacher from Australia). On campus, we’ve got three three-story academic buildings, and one four-story academic building. There is also a swimming pool as well as a driving range that is open to the public when school isn’t in session. Many of the teachers live on campus, and the teacher housing is on the periphery of the campus. There are also two free standing buildings devoted to the English Program. We’ve got running water and a somewhat reliable internet connection. There is air conditioning available in the English Program office and in the administrative offices. The food on campus is quite cheap and very good. Besides lunch, the vendors in the canteen sell food for breakfast and snacks throughout the day.
Teaching Assignment
I have anywhere between 30 and 52 students in my classes this year. Last semester I taught Mattayom 3, which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US. This year, I’m teaching M. 4 (10th) and M. 6 (12th). The curriculum was changed this year, so I’m only able to teach my M.4 students once a week but I’m able to teach my M.6 students twice a week. It gives me a total of 19 class hours per week so I’m usually teaching 4 classes a day. Our school day goes from 8:00 to 4:00 and I’m generally finished teaching by 2:30. Every morning we have morning assembly in which we sing the school song, raise the Thai flag, and pray to Buddha. Any announcements that the school has are made at that time and the English Director takes this time to translate the announcements as well as let us know of any upcoming events. The semester’s generally last about 4-5 months with the first day of the Thai school year occurring on May 17. There is a month break in October, and the second semester begins in the beginning of November. The end of the school year usually falls in mid March. The levels of the classes differ significantly between grades as well as within the grade. Most of the students are advanced beginners and the higher grades are at an intermediate level. However, interspersed in each class are several students who still don’t know how to read or write. In each class I teach, I’ve got a Thai co-teacher with me, which helps immensely. In the beginning, we had some trouble with the Thai co-teacher’s actually staying in class with us, but it’s gotten much better this semester.
Living Arrangements
I live in a house on campus with another volunteer. It is a one story house that is divided into two separate rooms. They aren’t connected, so we each have our own front door and our own (western) bathroom. Our kitchen is outside, with a sink, refrigerator, and a propane tank to serve as our stove. We don’t have hot water, but it’s really not needed as most of the time the weather here is hot and humid. We do have a western toilet that flushes though, which is a luxury here. Our rooms came furnished with a bed, two desks, and a dresser. We are located on the outside edge of campus, but right next to one of the EP buildings and the girl’s bathrooms. It’s just a minute walk to get to our office and to the academic buildings on campus. We also have several water filter systems on campus, which we use to fill up our water supply. School is considered to be in town and is just a kilometer outside of the main cluster of stores and restaurants. It’s also about a kilometer to get to the hospital/doctor, in the other direction.
Language Issues
For the most part, learning Thai has been a lot of fun. Fortunately, there are a fair amount of teachers at my school that speak English well enough, and my English Director speaks great English. When I arrived in Nakhon Phanom, I knew a couple key phrases, but that was it. I was an absolute beginner. Thai is a tonal language so it takes a little while to get the hang of it and you will undoubtedly make a few mistakes. There have been many times in class when I’ve attempted to say something in Thai and I hear a collective gasp go through the room as all the students go ‘ohhhh, teacher!’ – then I know I’ve said something wrong! At this point, about halfway through the year, I know enough Thai to get by in daily life. I can talk to the market vendors and have brief conversations with my students and teachers. I know about half of the letters/ the writing system, so I’m working on that more these days. I find that the more I try to speak Thai, the more receptive (Thai) people are of me. Just making that little effort to speak their language goes a long way.
Greatest Challenges
During my first semester here at my school, we didn’t have class on a regular basis and that was possibly the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with here. The students were practicing for something called ‘Dream School’, which took up almost all of their free time and class time. Dream School is an achievement/ recognition that looks at all aspects of the school and is judged by officials all over the country. We had several dress rehearsals, and preparations could take weeks. Needless to say, both the students and the teachers (myself included) got stuck in a cycle where we weren’t used to actually having class. Weeks would go by when I wouldn’t see a certain class because of practices and holidays. It was difficult to motivate myself to make lesson plans and worksheets when 50 % of the time, the students wouldn’t show up to class. I also hadn’t taught before this year and felt a little out of my element.To top it off, about half of my students were not going to be returning to school the following semester, so they had the mentality of 2nd semester seniors. Despite this, it was a great year and I enjoyed my students. Their graduation day was harder for me than I anticipated and I found I was going to miss them much more than I thought!
Greatest Rewards
It’s hard to say what my greatest rewards are, because the smallest things make the biggest difference. One of the things that Thai students learn at the beginning of their education is that when someone asks how you are, the response is always “I’m fine, how are you?” The first lesson I taught last semester focused on greetings and synonyms for the word ‘fine’. When I came back to school this semester, my old students came running up to me and thought really hard about what they wanted to say before shouting out, “I’m great! I’m wonderful!”. It’s such a small thing, but we worked on that for a long time and I was always correcting them. When the students remember what we’ve worked on, it’s such a wonderful feeling.
Another thing that’s been wonderful about living here is realizing that I have my own little family here. Whether it’s the students, the teachers, or other volunteers, I know that I’m taken care of. While it’s not a direct reward of teaching, it’s certainly a reward of putting my time and effort into living here. In just 7 months, I’ve made a life for myself.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Backpacking SE Asia: Thailand
It's been about two months since I last posted...did you miss me?? Despite my best intentions to keep up my blog while traveling, I found that I was too busy or just didn't want to pay at internet cafe's. I had assumed at most hostel's that there would be free internet, but when you're on a backpacking budget for a couple months, free internet becomes a thing of luxery.
After Chiang Mai, I went down south to Phuket which took me about 48 hours. The overnight train to Bangkok was amazing and incredibly comfortable - completely exceeded my expectations. I then bought a plane ticket to Phuket from Bangkok as it was not much more expensive than the 12 hour overnight bus ride. Regardless, I had to wait around in the airport all day. I have to say it was nice to be in air conditioning for all that time though. I spent about 3 and a half weeks total island hopping in the South. It's very easy to get around - ferries can take you absolutely anywhere. I was in Phuket twice (at the very beginning and the very end of my trip) and I can't say I love it there, it's just too skeezy in some parts. I spent time in Ko Phi Phi, Ko Phangan (home of the full moon party), Ko Tao, and Krabi province. I was in Krabi twice and I loved it. It's definitely a place I would go back to. It's home to one of the top 10 places to go rock climbing and one of the most beautiful beaches I saw while traveling. Tonsai beach, the rock climbing mecca, is a strange mix of laid back hippies rock climbers and partying backpackers who managed to find their way to this little known beach. I fell somewhere in the middle being a backpacker and also being interesting in rock climbing. I ultimately decided to take a three day course and spent about a week on the beach. It was relaxing to have some sort of schedule after a month of traveling. Each morning I would wake up and go down to the 'chicken lady' for a hearty breakfast of muesli, fruit, and yogurt and then make the half hour hike to the other beach for a day of rock climbing. It's an amazing feeling to be so high up and eventually I was leading my own climbs, which was such a rush. I met a great group of people on Tonsai which was the icing on the cake. I was reluctant to leave but had made plans with others to meet up in Phuket. If I hadn't, who know's how long I would have stayed down there!
Ko Phangan was another great place to visit and a place I would recommend it to anyone. While it's got a reputation of being a major party island as it hosts the full moon party every month, it is also a gorgeous place to explore. Up in the North, there are many secluded beaches and areas to check out. I truly lucked out while traveling and managed to find great groups of people wherever I was that I ended up traveling with for a week or two. Usually it was a mix of solo travelers and those traveling with just one other person. 5 of us rented a jeep on Ko Phangan and explored for the day. We hit up the local markets, secluded beaches, sandbars; it was a wonderful day and one of my best memories. While I loved meeting everyone and completely enjoyed sharing stories with other travelers, some of my favorite moments were exploring the islands. They were all beautiful in one way or another. Ko Phangan had beautiful white sandy beaches, Tonsai had these huge rock cliffs, and Ko Phi Phi is home to some of the craziest limestone rock formations you can imagine. Ko Tao is also great as a place to chill out a little after the partying on the other islands. It's also home to an incredibly amount of diving schools. I toyed with the idea for about a minute, thinking I would stay awhile and get my scuba diving license but ultimately figured I wouldn't be using it anytime soon. I guess it just means that I've got to go back!
After playing on the islands for those weeks, I made it up to bangkok and had an unexpected mini reunion with some of the other volunteers! I had just left Haley down south to meet up with Matt, Caitlyn, and Steph as we were traveling Vietnam and Cambodia together. Turns out that Val, Tricia, and Kate were stopping by bangkok for the day. I rolled into BKK at about 330 am (after having 3000 baht stolen from me on the bus, about 100 USD) and promptly crashed as soon as I got to our hotel.
I don't want to overwhelm with pictures or stories, so more on Vietnam and Cambodia in the next few days! I meant to put up pictures (I easily took a couple thousand....), but my internet connection isn't strong enough. I'll try again tomorrow.
As far as being back in NKP after traveling, I'm finding I am enjoying myself. For the first few days after getting back, things were very quiet here as all the students were still on vacation and I missed the hustle and bustle of traveling and meeting people. After two months on the road, it was strange to be back in one place for a prolonged period of time. I can't imagine how it would feel to those who are backpacking for 6 months or more. I returned to my little house with an incredible number of ants, spiders, and various other bugs waiting for me. As the hot season literally heats up, bugs seem to be taking refuge in my house! It's become a necessary to always have a can of bug spray near me. I've alos become used to tiny bugs hanging out with me while I'm on my computer or eating dinner. It's just a way of life now but I can deal with them as long as I'm not getting bitten.
It's quite hot up here and there isn't much relief. While we've got a pretty substantial 'city' with dozens of convenient stores and electronic stores, etc, air conditioning isn't something that is normally installed. I'm slowly adapting, though not without some miserably sweaty days. It's best to stay inside, and when my room (which acts like an oven) is too much, I head to the one coffee shop, that is air conditioned.
Today was the first day of classes and it was great to be back. I was a little bit apprehensive as last semester was incredibly frustrating, but I've got a different group of students this semester. I also teach my students from before, but they have switched up the classes a bit, which brings some relief. I've also been assured that class shouldn't be canceled nearly as much as it was before. I had a great day, a fun day even, talking with the students and having broken english conversation with teachers. Returning to NKP after two months away made me realize how much of a life I have up here. Just biking to the market today I ran into a few teachers I know from other schools as well as Haley's host family. Turns out they had bought me dinner tonight! We sat and ate dinner at the table outside their house and just had a blast. One of the police officers in the night market loves to call me by my Thai nickname (gulaap - rose) and then start talking to me, though Ive got no idea what he says. The school supply store is great and it's run by a very sweet family who always gives me a discount. Simply put, I love it here, and love the friends I've made in just this short time. Already we're halfway finished with the year and I can't imagine leaving. (Don't worry family, I am actually coming home in October!).
On another note, the political situation is heating up here as many of you have heard. Bangkok is a 'urban guerrilla warfare zone' but only in certain places and I've heard from some that the rest of the city is moving around as usual. I'm living in an area of Thailand that is almost 100% red shirts, as most of the population would be classified as the rural poor. The provinces around NKP have been put under a state of emergency, but we aren't there yet. Even if we were, it just means increased security personnel in the streets. I feel safe, but I do worry about what will happen elsewhere in Bangkok if the situation continues to deteriorate. I've been keeping up with the news, but that doesn't exactly paint the most accurate picture. It's not really talked about up here, at least not with us foriengers, though we do have our very own little red shirt rally in front of the goverment buildings. There's maybe 100 people that just set up camp and sit watching the news and wearing red. You can see support elsewhere such as red flags on tuk tuks and outside homes. Some of my students did mention wanting to go down to Bangkok and be a red shirt, which I didn't quite know how to respond to.
That's about it for now, pictures and other stories soon!
ra tri sa wat, goodnight!
After Chiang Mai, I went down south to Phuket which took me about 48 hours. The overnight train to Bangkok was amazing and incredibly comfortable - completely exceeded my expectations. I then bought a plane ticket to Phuket from Bangkok as it was not much more expensive than the 12 hour overnight bus ride. Regardless, I had to wait around in the airport all day. I have to say it was nice to be in air conditioning for all that time though. I spent about 3 and a half weeks total island hopping in the South. It's very easy to get around - ferries can take you absolutely anywhere. I was in Phuket twice (at the very beginning and the very end of my trip) and I can't say I love it there, it's just too skeezy in some parts. I spent time in Ko Phi Phi, Ko Phangan (home of the full moon party), Ko Tao, and Krabi province. I was in Krabi twice and I loved it. It's definitely a place I would go back to. It's home to one of the top 10 places to go rock climbing and one of the most beautiful beaches I saw while traveling. Tonsai beach, the rock climbing mecca, is a strange mix of laid back hippies rock climbers and partying backpackers who managed to find their way to this little known beach. I fell somewhere in the middle being a backpacker and also being interesting in rock climbing. I ultimately decided to take a three day course and spent about a week on the beach. It was relaxing to have some sort of schedule after a month of traveling. Each morning I would wake up and go down to the 'chicken lady' for a hearty breakfast of muesli, fruit, and yogurt and then make the half hour hike to the other beach for a day of rock climbing. It's an amazing feeling to be so high up and eventually I was leading my own climbs, which was such a rush. I met a great group of people on Tonsai which was the icing on the cake. I was reluctant to leave but had made plans with others to meet up in Phuket. If I hadn't, who know's how long I would have stayed down there!
Ko Phangan was another great place to visit and a place I would recommend it to anyone. While it's got a reputation of being a major party island as it hosts the full moon party every month, it is also a gorgeous place to explore. Up in the North, there are many secluded beaches and areas to check out. I truly lucked out while traveling and managed to find great groups of people wherever I was that I ended up traveling with for a week or two. Usually it was a mix of solo travelers and those traveling with just one other person. 5 of us rented a jeep on Ko Phangan and explored for the day. We hit up the local markets, secluded beaches, sandbars; it was a wonderful day and one of my best memories. While I loved meeting everyone and completely enjoyed sharing stories with other travelers, some of my favorite moments were exploring the islands. They were all beautiful in one way or another. Ko Phangan had beautiful white sandy beaches, Tonsai had these huge rock cliffs, and Ko Phi Phi is home to some of the craziest limestone rock formations you can imagine. Ko Tao is also great as a place to chill out a little after the partying on the other islands. It's also home to an incredibly amount of diving schools. I toyed with the idea for about a minute, thinking I would stay awhile and get my scuba diving license but ultimately figured I wouldn't be using it anytime soon. I guess it just means that I've got to go back!
After playing on the islands for those weeks, I made it up to bangkok and had an unexpected mini reunion with some of the other volunteers! I had just left Haley down south to meet up with Matt, Caitlyn, and Steph as we were traveling Vietnam and Cambodia together. Turns out that Val, Tricia, and Kate were stopping by bangkok for the day. I rolled into BKK at about 330 am (after having 3000 baht stolen from me on the bus, about 100 USD) and promptly crashed as soon as I got to our hotel.
I don't want to overwhelm with pictures or stories, so more on Vietnam and Cambodia in the next few days! I meant to put up pictures (I easily took a couple thousand....), but my internet connection isn't strong enough. I'll try again tomorrow.
As far as being back in NKP after traveling, I'm finding I am enjoying myself. For the first few days after getting back, things were very quiet here as all the students were still on vacation and I missed the hustle and bustle of traveling and meeting people. After two months on the road, it was strange to be back in one place for a prolonged period of time. I can't imagine how it would feel to those who are backpacking for 6 months or more. I returned to my little house with an incredible number of ants, spiders, and various other bugs waiting for me. As the hot season literally heats up, bugs seem to be taking refuge in my house! It's become a necessary to always have a can of bug spray near me. I've alos become used to tiny bugs hanging out with me while I'm on my computer or eating dinner. It's just a way of life now but I can deal with them as long as I'm not getting bitten.
It's quite hot up here and there isn't much relief. While we've got a pretty substantial 'city' with dozens of convenient stores and electronic stores, etc, air conditioning isn't something that is normally installed. I'm slowly adapting, though not without some miserably sweaty days. It's best to stay inside, and when my room (which acts like an oven) is too much, I head to the one coffee shop, that is air conditioned.
Today was the first day of classes and it was great to be back. I was a little bit apprehensive as last semester was incredibly frustrating, but I've got a different group of students this semester. I also teach my students from before, but they have switched up the classes a bit, which brings some relief. I've also been assured that class shouldn't be canceled nearly as much as it was before. I had a great day, a fun day even, talking with the students and having broken english conversation with teachers. Returning to NKP after two months away made me realize how much of a life I have up here. Just biking to the market today I ran into a few teachers I know from other schools as well as Haley's host family. Turns out they had bought me dinner tonight! We sat and ate dinner at the table outside their house and just had a blast. One of the police officers in the night market loves to call me by my Thai nickname (gulaap - rose) and then start talking to me, though Ive got no idea what he says. The school supply store is great and it's run by a very sweet family who always gives me a discount. Simply put, I love it here, and love the friends I've made in just this short time. Already we're halfway finished with the year and I can't imagine leaving. (Don't worry family, I am actually coming home in October!).
On another note, the political situation is heating up here as many of you have heard. Bangkok is a 'urban guerrilla warfare zone' but only in certain places and I've heard from some that the rest of the city is moving around as usual. I'm living in an area of Thailand that is almost 100% red shirts, as most of the population would be classified as the rural poor. The provinces around NKP have been put under a state of emergency, but we aren't there yet. Even if we were, it just means increased security personnel in the streets. I feel safe, but I do worry about what will happen elsewhere in Bangkok if the situation continues to deteriorate. I've been keeping up with the news, but that doesn't exactly paint the most accurate picture. It's not really talked about up here, at least not with us foriengers, though we do have our very own little red shirt rally in front of the goverment buildings. There's maybe 100 people that just set up camp and sit watching the news and wearing red. You can see support elsewhere such as red flags on tuk tuks and outside homes. Some of my students did mention wanting to go down to Bangkok and be a red shirt, which I didn't quite know how to respond to.
That's about it for now, pictures and other stories soon!
ra tri sa wat, goodnight!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
From NKP to Chiang mai - summer break travels
The past couple weeks have been amazing, both hectic and relaxing at the same time. I was finished teaching sometime during the first week of March and after going on a school field trip to a temple in Roi Et province with the graduating M.6 students, I packed my backpack and took off for Bangkok! From Bangkok I went back up to Isaan, to Khon Kaen, to help out with and English camp and then I was really on my way to Chiang mai, where I've spent the last week at this wonderful hostel right outside the Old City (where most of the tourist stuff is). I'll admit that I was a little worried about traveling alone - how would I meet people, would I have fun on my own, etc - but it hasn't been an issue at all. Even on day 1, I met people to travel with around Chiang Mai and may even meet up with some others down south. It seems most travelers are either going up through Laos from Chiang Mai, or they're headed South. In my case, I'm headed to Phuket this afternoon (gotta love overnight transportation) and then island hopping for several weeks. So that's the plan and here are some pictures from my travels so far
So you can't truly see the temple, but you can sort of see from this picture how far up it was - we were able to spot the pagoda about half an hour before we actually arrived at the temple, it's just built into the side of the mountain and surrounded by trees. Part of it was under construction. It's supposed to be one of the most important wats for the people of Roi Et. Uploading those pictures soon..
(The view from Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkhon in Roi Et)
So you can't truly see the temple, but you can sort of see from this picture how far up it was - we were able to spot the pagoda about half an hour before we actually arrived at the temple, it's just built into the side of the mountain and surrounded by trees. Part of it was under construction. It's supposed to be one of the most important wats for the people of Roi Et. Uploading those pictures soon..
With some of the M. 6 students in the Science Club (they test into it in M.4 and continue with the same students until they graduate).
Just a few of the students - about 200 students went on this trip - we had a 4 bus long caravan and as many of the students were late, we kept stopping on the side of the road to pick up straggling students even an hour into our drive! Roi Et is about a 4 hr drive from NKP.
Wat Benchamabophit in Bangkok - Haley and I stopped there to see Chokee - our monk friend who lives in New York and who we met in NKP!
With Chokee - women aren't allowed to touch monks nor are they allowed to stand too close....we never quite know if we are doing everything correctly or not...
Sitting down in front of the buddha image at the wat - you aren't allowed to stand in front of a buddha image as it's disrespectful.
Before meeting Chokee in NKP, I was extremely nervous around monks. I never know what was okay for me to do as there are all sorts of rules that monks have to follow regarding women. I would lower my head so that I wouldn't make eye contact or just wai to any monk I was passing. Turns out monks aren't so scary after all! It's polite to wai to a monk if you pass close to them and women really can't stand close to a monk. When receiving something, you must just put out your hand, as you don't want to be taking anything from a monk. There are all these intricacies to behavior around monks that I still don't understand, but at least they no longer make me nervous!
After spending a day or two in Bangkok I was off to the english camp, which was much like the one in Ubon though we did end up sleeping on the floor instead of a hotel. Still, just as comfortable. Only problem with this English camp is that on the way, I managed to lose both my phone and reading glasses. oops...
After khon Kaen i took off for Chiang Mai which was a bit of a long ride. But once I got here, everything has been wonderful. I'm hogging the computer so I'll just upload pictures later and give a brief outline...
Doi Suthep (wat in the mountains), Tiger Kingdom (got to play with baby tigers!!), a man made lake for some R and R, walked around the old city, met up with two people I sort of 'knew' here in Chiang mai (friends of friends), went to the SUnday walking street market - soooo much stuff - and just hung around doing nothing at the hostel with some poeple I've met here. All in all - awesome week.
Pictures for sure in the next post. Off to phuket! Wish me luck :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Chok Dee" to Mattayom 3 & 6
(With some of my Mattayom 3 students...3/9)
Friday was a special day for students and teachers alike. It was graduation day for Mattayom 3 and 6 students, and while I was aware of 'graduation day', I was blown away by the festivities. I really shouldn't have been so surprised, as elaborate parties and celebrations are the norm around here.
(3/8 students with their gifts)
Graduation days at home are full of formal outfits, caps and gowns, and speeches from professors and valedictorians. It's a very organized event, as are most in the US. Here, organized events are a rarity and I'm finding I like this less structured way of doing things more and more. Friday's graduation day was full of more flowers than I have ever seen, class-made t-shirts, dance performances by the students, and a lengthy gift-giving/ photography procession. Friends of the graduating students had made 'photo booths' for them, in which students could pose in front of and take pictures. Opening Assembly went on as usual, with one noticeable difference - every student had baskets of flowers, backpacks full of candy, and arms full of big stuffed animals. I was completely confused when I saw everything, but was quickly told that these were gifts for the graduating students. As it was M.3 and M.6's day, all of the other grades lined up, forming a tunnel that went from the morning assembly area to the grand hall on campus where the hall was decorated in honor of graduation.
photo area for students
students from my 3/5 class
3/10 students
As the other students were getting ready, I walked over to my M. 3 students and was greeted with smiling faces shouting 'teacher! teacher! take picture please!'. I received several roses and countless pieces of candy as I walked around taking pictures and congratulating the students. After months of trying to figure out how to teach these students and work around the countless behavior problems, I found that I was rather upset to be saying goodbye to them. While class could be unbelievably frustrating and trying, these students had become what I looked forward to each day when I came to school. I could always count on a bright smile or a wave from one of my 350 students and perhaps a conversation from some of the more courageous ones. Walking around and talking with them on graduation day was wonderful, and I felt fully appreciated as a teacher. They chattered at me in Thai (only some of which I understood), and thanked me for teaching them.
After the graduating students walked through the tunnel of other students, accepting loads of roses, candy necklaces and everything else you can think of, there was (another) picture opportunity. All of the students eventually ended up in the grand hall, singing along to the student band that was playing and excitedly talking to one another. After everyone had gathered, there were some amazing student performances. One of them involved 4 lady-boys dressed up in drag performing quite a provocative dance. It would have neeeever been allowed in the US! Of course, everyone loved it. There were many other dance performances, mostly by the boys. Here, dancing is something that everyone does from a young age, whether you are male or female. Singing is another thing that is just accepted here, everyone does it. Self - consciousness is not a term they seem to know in the realms of singing and dancing.
inside the grand hall
After the performances and a short presentation of diploma's to M. 6, we had a string tying ceremony, which I've discussed before. This time, I got to be one of the string tie-ers! Usually I'm on the receiving end and until now, hadn't truly understood the ceremony. P'mai, one of the Thai English teachers, explained to me that when you are tying the strings on someones wrist, you are basically saying 'out with the old, in with the new'...they are saying goodbye to the bad fortune and welcoming good fortune. To be super polite in Thai culture, to receive something you put out your hand and clutch that elbow with the other hand. For reasons I still don't understand, you hold a boiled egg or sticky rice in this ceremony. We had the opening speech/ song and then each teacher took some of the strings off of the altar like structure. (see picture). I sat in a chair and students just started running towards me! Some of them were crying, as it's the last time they'll be seeing on another for a long time. Many of my students are going to technical schools or going to another province, and it's not very easy to get from one place to another from the more rural villages. I brushed the strings over their wrist as I was taught, and told them "Chok Dee" (good luck), and congratulated them on their work this semester. It was very moving for everyone involved (I was definitely choked up during all this) and an honor for me to be part of the ceremony in this way.
the strings for the string tying ceremony
part of the ceremony
When the ceremony was finally finished (it took about an hour), there were more performances and students wandered around the grand hall talking to each other. I talked to my students and tried to comfort the ones that were more upset. Some of them ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and I think I felt my heart melting. As hugging isn't normal in Thai culture, once some of the other students saw that it was okay to hug me, I got accosted by students who wanted to say goodbye. Just the simple act of giving the students a goodbye hug seemed to open doors. They were more willing to try to have a conversation or just hang out around me. I found myself really sad that I wouldn't see them for a few months, and some ever again. It was a completely wonderful experience though and one I'm so glad I was able to be a part of.
That night, I was coming back from the night market with loads of food for the weekend, expecting to eat in my room, watching some American TV show as per usual. One of my more vocal students from 3/10 (most advanced) rushed up to me wanting to use my bicycle for some reason. I said okay and off she went. She returned just a few minutes later with another student and just started talking to me in Thai! They know that I don't understand most of it but I think she was just so excited. Eventually I figured out that she was inviting me to dinner with her and her friends! It was so unexpected and so sweet. I followed them to a 'bbq' restaurant (where you make your own dinner in a hot pot) and was reminded of what it was like to be 15 again. I didn't try to be the teacher during dinner, and instead just took in their conversation and asked them questions about summer (in Thai!). It was their celebration time and I was invited to take part in it, not asked to teach them things. They were having a blast and acting crazy as teenagers do when they are on their own. When they were on the phone, I could tell they were having a blast telling friends that the 'falang' teacher was at dinner with them. They spent a lot of time laughing at me as I had no idea what was going on most of the night and one of the students had taken on the role of translator. We said our goodbyes at the end of dinner and I wished them luck during their summer vacation. A perfect end to an amazing day.
some of the lower level students (3/1, 3/2)
I know teacher's aren't supposed to have favorites but I absolutely adore this class (3/9)
(3/8 posing for the class picture)
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