Andi's Adventures in Thailand: Making Memories

Andi's Adventures in Thailand: Making Memories: I haven’t written in awhile. I’m at the stage now where I’m pretty used to things so I have to look a bit harder to find something to write ...

Making Memories

I haven’t written in awhile. I’m at the stage now where I’m pretty used to things so I have to look a bit harder to find something to write about.  First, thank you Grammie, Sherry, and Mom for the birthday cards and money. It was so cool to get those in the mail! And of course, Mom thank you so much for the care package! What a hassle! 

School is going well, except 1 class that’s driving me nuts with their constant talking (actually more like screaming), but after 3 years of teaching I expect that.  This past Thursday was my birthday and besides the birthday cards and birthday messages on facebook my favorite class brought me a cake, sang to me, and even had candles, 3 pink ones and 4 white ones for my age. That made my day.  I believe that I will find it very hard to go back to teaching in the United States after dealing with teenagers that are so much more respectful, on the other side of the globe. Maybe I won’t teach anymore when I get back, who knows?  I don’t remember if I mentioned in my last blog that I finally am able to pronounce my bus stop well enough to be understood.  If I’m mentioning it again it’s because it’s really quite a milestone after trying daily for weeks! J  I’m hoping the reason they understand me now is because my pronunciation has gotten better and not just because they may recognize me now and know my stop!?  Let’s just assume it’s the former! 

I never wrote about my trip to Kanchanaburi which was 2 weekends ago. I did post a ton of pics on facebook. It was amazing. Trekking through the jungle past beautiful waterfalls, giant trees and monkey’s was my favorite part.  At the last waterfall, which was the most beautiful, there was this milky blue pool at the bottom overlooking the jungle below. So imagine if you look one way you are gazing at this huge waterfall and if you look the other way you are taking in vast jungle that reminds me of all the pics we see from Vietnam. Ray 3 & Mylee would know - if you’re reading maybe you can enlighten me on the jungles there? There were these fish called cleaner fish that attach themselves to your feet and nibble away the dead skin. I couldn’t do it because it felt too weird and it was really fun watching all the people bravely stick their feet in and then quickly pull them out again because of the sensation. We all spoke a different language, and yet we understood each other during that cleaner fish episode. J The funny thing is, people pay to have their feet cleaned by cleaner fish. I saw a man doing it today outside a spa. Him and his son had their feet in a big aquarium with the cleaners attached to their feet. I took a picture which I’ll post below. I loved it there; not only for Erawan Falls and the beautiful scenery, but also for all the unique WW2 history, and the great floating guesthouses on the river, with amazing prices.  The bridge on the River Kwai and Hell’s Pass are there, which is the main reason for the tourism in the area. It has so much more to offer though. On the back of a motorbike, I rode past farms and tropical fruit trees, huge mountains, little roadside stands selling fruit. But to describe it doesn’t do it justice. I believe it will always be a cherished memory to me. I will probably remember it vividly when I’m 80 (if I make it that long!) 

So today I went to Lumpini Park; Bangkok’s equivalent to Central Park. It’s pretty, but the best thing about it is the wildlife! I saw many of those huge lizards that I’ve been dying to see again. I saw one briefly during my longboat ride in the Bangkok canals about a month ago. They look like Komodo dragons (if you watch Animal Planet, you know what I’m talking about). The birds in the park are cool too. There are these big crows or ravens that all sit in this one huge tree. At one point there were 2 on this rod iron fence, and I swear I was right in the middle of an Edgar Allen, Poe story. It was the raven, “knock, knock, knocking at my chamber door.” J 

This week will be a busy one work-wise. Final exams are coming up and have to be completed by Friday. Even with lots to do though, there is really no stress involved because I have a planning period for every class I teach, so I can actually get my work done at work and not have to take it home, both physically and mentally --what a change! 

I’m missing my Ismail a lot now and sometimes it gets to me. It’s hard to be away from someone you love so much. I can imagine how military wives feel! I also miss my mom, and having my cats around. I’m very happy though, and am so glad that I’m here and doing something I’ve wanted to do for so long. 

Thanks for reading! Talk with you soon!

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The Not So Buddhist Way of Life

Scammers everywhere!

A few weeks ago my friend Melissa and I were heading in to Wat Po and this older guy approached us and asked us where we were going. We told him, and he proceeded to tell us that Wat Po was currently closed, but that we could go to some other places in the area instead. We thanked him and kindly moved on and entered Wat Po, which was very much open.  Later Melissa mentioned how she wondered what that guy was talking about. I thought the same but then didn’t think any more about it.  So today I took the Chao Phraya ferry boat to the stop which has all the major tourist destinations and I was heading towards The Golden Mount, where you can climb to the top and see a nice view of Bangkok’s skyline. This seemingly friendly man approached me (I did have a map in my hand so I must’ve looked like a tourist with a big sign on my forehead that said, Easy Target). He asked me where I was going and I told him. He then proceeded to tell me that today was a Buddhist holiday and that he was a teacher. Then he said the Golden Mount was closed. I casually told him that I was a teacher too. He asked me if I taught in Thailand and I said yes. He asked me again if I was a teacher in Thailand in a less friendly, more straight-to-the-point way and again I replied, yes. He then quickly pointed down the street and said Golden Mount’s that way and then scurried off in a hurry. I proceeded on my way, very confused by what had just happened.

So then after Golden Mount I headed on the long walk back towards the Grand Palace. Of course as I was walking at least 10 tuk-tuk drivers harassed me with constant “where are you going?” “Tuk-tuk, cheap.” They get aggressive too, it’s super annoying. I’m going to have to just start ignoring them instead of just politely declining. You’d think a “no” would be enough, but, sadly, it’s not. Most of them are really rude anyway once you tell them a final no for the 3^rd time. So as I’m approaching Grand Palace, what do you know, another friendly Thai man comes up to ask me where I’m going. At this point, I do sorta need directions so I point to the Grand Palace on my map and he tells me it’s closed but that I should go see some big Buddha statue and then some other place. He actually takes all this time to circle places on my map and write them down and make sure I know how to get there. I’m thinking, wow, that’s nice of this guy. And Grand Palace was actually closed for the day and I did know that, I was really just trying to find it so I’d know how to get back to the river. At the end of his whole schpeel, he asked me if I wanted a ride there in a tuk tuk for cheap. I told him no, again maybe 3 times, and proceeded on my way.

So I get home and am really wondering now about this whole deal with being told something is closed when it isn’t and I figured it must be some sort of scam, but I could not figure it out since I hadn’t given them any money. I was discussing it with Ismail who agreed it must be some sort of scam. I was especially skeptical of their “good intentions” after the weird way that guy reacted after I told him I was a teacher in Thailand and he just changed his tune and pointed the way to the Golden Mount. So I looked up Scams in Bangkok online and found out that it is the most common scam in Bangkok. Here is what it says online:

One of the most common scams is the Tuk Tuk Scam. If you are walking near the Grand Palace, someone will come up to you and say that it is closed at the moment for a ceremony. They then suggest you take a special tuk tuk ride for only 20 baht to the nearby Big Buddha and Lucky Buddha. If you fall for it, they end up taking you to tailor shops and gem shops where the tuk tuk driver gets a nice fat commission. Some people have reported that the pressure is high to buy and that the products are often overpriced. If someone tells you that a tourist attraction is closed, don't believe them. Go and see for yourself. If a Thai person comes up to you and starts speaking excellent English then be suspicious. Normally Thai people are shy and wouldn't do something like that.

So now I will know that if anyone approaches me to ask me “where I’m from?”, or “where are you going?” I will just ignore them and keep walking, which really sucks because it’s not like me to be rude and ignore someone if they speak to me, but I realize that 9 times out of 10 the person asking me questions is just trying to scam me out of my money.  I was lucky enough to experience the hatred that many Thai’s feel towards “farangs” like me when I was in Kanchanaburi. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love that place and will go back, but the majority of the Thai’s I dealt with there were so beyond rude it was unbelievable. I won’t go in to the specifics because it’s a long story, but I no longer am naïve enough to think that most Thai’s actually like tourists. It seems that most will try and swindle you out of your money while they are giving you their nice, big, Thai smile. Of course I have encountered many genuinely helpful Thai’s, but today I had my fill of scammers and needed to vent.

Some pics from today’s total tourist outing:

1. Mythic creature statue at National Museum

2. Me at Nat. Museum

3. That is a red & white squirrel! Have you ever seen such a thing!?

4.Bells on way up to the top of Golden Mount

5. Golden Mount

6. Street seller

The Good & Bad of Bangkok

I’m sitting here on my bed at 8pm listening to a pack of stray dogs bellowing outside as they chase the truck that gets them riled up every afternoon and early evening. I don’t know what the guy in the truck is actually doing, but he drives up and down the little lane twice in the evening speaking into his megaphone. It drives the dogs nuts and it’s definitely a distinctive group of sounds that I won’t forget. First it’s the high pitched howling and barking, then I know I will hear the Thai man speaking in his megaphone in a low-toned voice that seems to speak deliberately slowly. He’s probably selling something, but to me it just seems like some cruel plan to get the dogs going. 

I’m getting REALLY sick of all the rain. The last 2 nights in a row I got caught in the torrential downpour that happens every freakin day. Dripping wet, with my huge backpack carrying my computer that weighs a ton, I come walking up the steps to my apartment, squeaking as I go from all the water. My shoes are soaked through and so yet another pair is ruined. I’m getting low on shoes, which sucks because I can’t fit my American sized feet into the tiny Thai shoes.

I like to take walks after work (which is why I keep getting caught in the rain) and I just watch people and how they interact. I finally got a picture (for Ed) of a monk getting his food and that whole process, which I will post below. I noticed a group of teenage boys do a quick, half-hearted “wai” to the spirit house as they were walking by. They were engrossed in talking and generally messing around like teenage boys do, but they didn’t forget to do a quick bow past the spirit house. I don’t know why, but that stuck with me. It was just like a Catholic genuflecting as they pass a Catholic Church, or when Muslims do their daily prayers. I’ve watched Ismail and he says the prayer so fast, it’s like buzzing out of his mouth, and I know it’s second nature.  I enjoy seeing small things like that. Another thing that stuck was a father I saw holding his young son; he was using his shirt to protect the boy’s nose from the cloud of pollution spewing their way from passing busses. It was a nice sight and sort of ironic because on the one hand you have the ugly side of life in Bangkok – all the nasty pollution that you can’t get away from, and on the other, it brings out a father’s love and protection towards his son - Kinda beautiful, in a super cheesy way. J 

Back to the ugly side - today I was lucky enough to see a full on Thai girl fight on the bus! These 2 ladies screamed at each other for the longest time, with others jumping in so that by the end there were like 4 angry Thai ladies screeching at each other. I sure do wish I knew what the fight was about! I suppose there’s no real “good” side to the fight, although it was a real treat on an otherwise dull 40 minute ride.

Lastly I will tell you about the latest plight of the kittens. As some of you know I took a semi-adoptive role in the life of some small kittens living in the roof next door. I won’t bore you with the long details of that because it’s plastered on my facebook in the form of videos. Long story short, the mom moved the kittens awhile ago and I hadn’t seen them until yesterday morning on my way to work. I saw the 3 babies running across the lane together and hiding under a car. I was so happy to see that all 3 looked healthy and the black one and the stripped one’s eyes had healed. Now the bad news…this morning on my way to work I saw the orange one dead. L  Life in Bangkok can be cruel. 

Pics: 1. Monk gathering daily food, 2. Drink stall in the school cafeteria. I always have the coconut.

3. Student's shoes line the outside halls because they don't wear their shoes inside.

4. Motorcycle taxi leaving school

5. On the bus - on Tuesday.

5.

Mother's Day Thai Style

This past Friday was the national holiday of Mother’s Day here in Thailand, which is on the Queen’s Birthday. On Thursday I got to witness my first real Thai cultural celebration of sorts in the form of a ceremony preformed by the students at the school. I suppose you could equate it to a Christmas play in Elementary, but obviously not the same.  First, the whole school was dressed in blue to represent the Queen. We all stood in the big courtyard outside and on the stage an altar was set up with a big picture of the Queen and some sort of Buddhist ceremony began. This consisted of a boy and a girl walking up to the picture carrying some sort of round statue thing, bowing, and placing the statue in front of the Queen’s picture. This was done in a very slow, solemn, respectful way. Then another 2 students, male and female would come out, bow before the picture and pick up the same statues and place them next to the Queen’s picture. This was done about 5 times so that there were 5 of the statue things lined up next to the Queen’s picture.

Next, dancers dressed traditionally in beautiful blue costumes with a large flower in their hair, came out and preformed a slow-graceful dance.  After that, some students and teachers came out and gave speeches. One teacher started to cry as she was speaking and most of the other Thai teachers in the audience were dabbing their eyes. So of course myself, and the other non-Thai speakers, are dying to know what she was talking about. Later I asked my students and they told me the teacher was relating some sort of story about her mother, which was all I could gather. The price we pay for not understanding Thai. L

Other than the celebration at school, I’ve seen more than the usual amount of “Long Live the Queen” signs and billboards up lately in honor of the Queen’s birthday. As I was riding the bus home on Wednesday there was a procession of trucks driving by, decked out with streamers and each with a loud speaker and a large picture of the Queen in the bed of the truck. Each picture was different and there were depictions of her younger days up until recently. The speakers were playing some type of traditional music.

The last interesting thing I saw relating to Mother’s Day was a special table put up in front of one of the spirit houses that had an entire prepared Turkey as an offering, along with the typical incense and drinks that you always see sitting on the spirit houses as gifts to the spirits. I wonder what they do with the Turkey after the fact?

Language and Culture

I’ve been in Bangkok a little over 3 weeks now and I’m starting to learn bits and pieces of the Thai culture and way of life. I’m picking up a bit of Thai finally as well – Sawadee Kah, Sa-bai-dee-mai = Hello, how are you? Sa-bai-dee kah = I’m fine, Check bin kah = check please, kawp-kun-kah = thank you, mai-kow-jai = I don’t understand.  It’s funny though because just like my students I am usually too shy to actually use any of it other than the standard hello. This is because often when I say it I am not pronouncing it well enough to be understood by the Thai’s. The language is very tonal and the same word said in a different tone can mean something totally different. For example the word for milk is also the same as the word for breast, the meaning is conveyed in the tone. It’s very intimidating to try and use it, especially when most don’t understand me anyway! The worst is trying to pronounce my bus stop for work. I just can’t do it – I have resorted to simply showing a tattered piece of paper with the bus stop name written in Thai. It’s like I’m a mute. J  I was telling this to my students today and I acted the whole thing out --me getting on the bus and attempting to say “Mueng Eke” but butchering it and getting a blank stare from the bus attendant, then giving up and showing her my tattered scrap of paper with the name written in Thai, having the bus driver say the name to me and smile, me repeating the name while smiling and nodding my head, then of course I forget the next morning and it starts all over. The kids got a good laugh out of that one, especially when I again attempted to say it to them and butchered it. J I think it made them feel better about having such a tough time with English.

The Thai’s cannot pronounce an “r” to save their life; It comes out as an “L” so words like Farang, which means foreigner, come out as “falang.” Melissa taught me that one, and it’s been so true. Another language thing I’ve noticed is that the people sort of drag out the last syllable of any word in a slow soft sort of way. So when they say, thank you it sounds like this – kawp-kun-kaaaahhhhh, with the last kah stretched out. They also speak in a soft, mild mannered way, even the men I’ve seen. It seems to be a part of their culture  - very non-confrontational, quiet, almost meek, but in a nice way. They are very opposite from Americans in this way. I feel like a firm handshake would be seen as somehow too abrasive. The bow, or “wai” in Thai is much more suitable.

Another interesting thing I’ve noticed regarding culture is the abundant amount of monks. Every morning when I’m on my way to the bus stop I see them out collecting their food for the day. They are not allowed to beg, and they do not use money so they walk up and down the street slowly and the food stall vendors come out bringing them large portions of food for the day. The monk then stops and the vendor kneels on one knee and offers up the food to the monk, who is dressed in an orange robe (which is more like a bed sheet draped over one shoulder) and wearing no shoes. I will have to look up what the color orange symbolizes; I’m curious now that I think about it. I will try to get some pictures of this (especially for you, Ed. J).

This weekend I’m going to check out Ayutthaya, the old capital city of Thailand, about an hour and a half north of here. It’s got many beautiful ruins (destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, those jerks). The thing I’m most excited to see there is that famous large Buddha head growing in a tree trunk. I will get lots of pictures and report back to you all.  One last thing, I will try to post a video on here of one of my class’s skits that I was telling you about in my last blog. It’s great to listen to their English which is spoken with such a heavy accent that it is only recognizable as English when you really listen.  I’m sure that’s about how my Thai sounds to them.

Teaching in Thailand

I've been teaching a little over a week now and am constantly amazed and awed at the differences (as well as similarities) between high school students in the US vs. students here. To get an idea I will take you through my day today. The set up is similar as far as the periods and bell schedule - 8 period's here, 7 or 8 in the States, about the same time and same amount of hours in the day. The difference though is that here, the students remain in 1 class all day and their teachers come to them. This means just like in Elementary school, they only have 1 group of classmates. They still have different teachers for the different subjects but teachers here do not have their own classrooms, they share and essentially the classroom belongs to the students. It seems to work just fine that way. The downside is that teachers can't hang up student work. The plus side though is that teachers don't have to go through all the trouble of decorating their room, etc.

So back to my day, I have a first period class today (my schedule is different each day of the week), 8:10-9:05. The group is class M.3/7, meaning M for Mathyorn, which is secondary students (High school equivalent), the 3 is 9th grade level and the 7 is the class because there are more than 1 group of 9th graders, for example I have 2 groups of 9th graders so my classes for that level are M.3/7 and M.3/8. When you walk in the students rise out of their seats and in unison say, "Good Morning Teach"ah." I then tell them Good Morning and to be seated (they will remain standing until I direct them to sit down, it's amazing). After that they are talkative just like any high school class in the states and I often have to shush them or tell them to stop talking, put the cell phones away, take out their books, pick up your head from the desk, etc. Some classes are much better than others, you know, the typical. This morning my group of 3.7 was supposed to present a skit in which they act out a situation where you'd call 9-1-1 in English. I assigned the skit last time we met and told them to put something together in groups of 3 or 4. I really wasn't expecting much, assuming they'd all think the assignment was lame and I thought I'd have to pull teeth for the first group to go. When I asked the class which group would like to go first, hands from all over the room shot up in the air with such enthusiasm I was taken aback. They were all so excited and had seriously planned and written out scripts longer than I expected. One group even used the computer to put up a picture of a high rise and then one of the girls got on a chair and acted out a scene with her friend where she was distraught over the breakup of her boyfriend and was threatening to jump. It was a riot and the class was loving it and all the skits. That group is my favorite so far. It was so refreshing to see 15 and 16 year olds so enthusiastic about something at school.

The kids are very shy to use their English when I call on them in a typical classroom discussion but if called on, they will answer. I have not yet had a student attempt to not answer me. Those that don't know will turn around to get aided by their friends, but they will never ignore me, or not answer me, which is a big difference. I have not yet had one shoulder shrug or annoying glare from any student.

So that was my first period. My next period I had off so I did some planning and while walking to my planning office, the kids move aside for me, and other teachers, and say, "Good Morning Teacha" they can't pronounce the "er". My day is pretty much spent between office hours and teaching hours. Typically I have 4 classes a day and the same amount of planning time, except on Tuesday when I have only 1 class. I love that here they give you so much time to plan and grade, etc. I do have more students in each class, roughly 30 in each and they can get pretty noisy. Overall though I notice that here there is something more innocent or less mature about the teens. It just seems that they are less, I don't know..pessimistic, or disrespectful. I'm not sure yet what it is, but there is a difference. The kids here just seem younger. The culture too is very respectful of teachers in general. The students give up their seats for me on the school bus, or the driver has me sit up front with him. I don't wait in line because the students automatically give me their space. The also bow to you often and are very polite when passing. It's nice.  I realize though that I am at a relatively good school, and perhaps I'm being naive about the students, it's only been a week after all. So far though, I've been pleasantly surprised though.  Will keep you updated!