So let me go off a little bit and give a shout out to all you CANADIANS. Yes, I said it. I might sometimes come off as a bit racist to the ginger race, but I do openly enjoy all cultures. Canada, while a serious neighbor to my homestate isn't something I'm familiar with. I just don't know many canadians. Straight up. I've met quite a few here and they are by far some of my favorite people. Aside from the "eh"'s, the "faaack"'s, and their lack of understanding for the Farenheit system, they rock my world. Thanks for opening my oh-so-non-cultured eyes. I've also got to give a similar pound to the brits. You guys talk and talk and talk and I understand everything but the way you organize your sentences makes me crazy. It is just.. bloody brilliant. Having friends from all over the globe is an amazing thing. Last night I made friends with a 22 year old Israeli male traveling through Thailand solo... almost talked him into getting a tattoo, and he was honestly dumbfounded that I had already graduated college and live in Thailand.. as if that is a remarkable feat.. which, yeah, made me feel like a superstar. haha. After high school, in Israel, you have to go to the army (or organization like it.. can't remember) for 3 or 4 years before you can go to a university. I also met a 19 year old british doll of a girl who's father now lives in Pattaya with his new thai wife so they come visit about twice a year. She is in university in England and was asking me about not knowing what she wanted to get her degree/s in. Holy Hell. Story of my life. She looked at me with innocent eyes, "so I'm ok? I'll be fine?" HECK YES YOU WILL SISTER. I mean I was more than lost at that time in my life and I'm ok, right?? haaaaaaaaaaaa The title of this blog is dedicated to a crazy night in Kanchanaburi. It involved a group of travelers form Eastern Europe. One ginger had a Mr. T haircut and ended up COMPLETELY naked in the bar (many pictures were captured including a measurement of his manhood, but I will spare you such a horrifying experience). One guy swapped clothes with me, meaning he strut around the bar in a halter top dress. Most notable was the kurt cobain meets clockwork orange English man. What a nut. I love people. Clearly, I'm drawn to the crazy ones.
The people I meet when I travel are a breed of their own. Of course, for example with my course group of around 30, there are bound to be a few duds and people that I just don't really care for. Generally, one tends to open up much quicker and less painfully than normal. Maybe it is because you have limited time together, to really get to know each other, so you go deep after the name exchange. I really do cherish these moments and the beauty these conversations bring out of people - I sure have learned a lot about myself (first in Spain, now in Thailand). Even if it does boil down to my sheer discontentment for lazy people, and as mentioned earlier, love for the crazies. I think the cool thing about being able to meet and really get to know so many people from around the world, which I'm sure appeals to everyone, is the ability to experience new things vicariously. Not to say you aren't cool/smart/cultured enough, but rather that the things that are not a part of your character and who you are can still be a part of your life. Oh - that guy in the bar just got naked and you know him? Cool. Check that one off the list. You love the way New Zealanders talk but aren't and never will me a Kiwi. Welp, you've got a kiwi friend, so check that off the life list as well.
Aside from these obvious chances to dive into the pool of your thoughts and compare stories and beliefs with others (essentially realizing you aren't, in fact, crazy and you are not alone in such existential and seemingly bizarre thoughts), travels offer the chance to understand and experience other cultures. Living in a new culture is on a whole other magnitude of cool. The way of life in Thailand is like none I have seen before. I'm sure it starts way back when - a life that has evolved over many hundreds of years. It is much simpler than America, and that is part of its beauty. Sans welface, Social Security, day-care centers and old-age homes. For some reason, they just don't really need them. They just need their families (and the monks). Most households have three generations living together. The grandparents help to raise their grandchildren. The adults in the middle put the food on the table. Relationships are a force to be reckoned with here - nothing like America where communicating is both a means to keep in touch and to not keep in touch. With so many mediums such as internet, phone, text, etc., one cannot come up with a good excuse not to keep in touch, but at the same time these are excuses for true "communication" ... It would be absolutely foreign for people in this part of the world to NOT have relationships. It is so easy for us to go days at a time without really talking to anybody. Much of American life is impersonal - Shopping. Driving on the freeways. Watching TV. Sure, the Thai system may not be perfect, but it is stable. Maybe more than we can say for American society at times? I'm loving my chance here to let everything just sink into my bones. From the relationships with thai families to the difficulty and tensions that come with trying to get from point A to point B, everything opens new doors and sometimes shuts others (for the best).
Drumroll. Had the thought today... How the HELL am I going to do this for another 4-5 months? I literally wanted to strangle a kid today because he didn't understand the concept of "Who is SHE?" "SHE is my mother" and so I just did the kid's work for him. Not to mention his name is MJ but looks like a mexican drug smuggler. He's 5 and has a legit stache growing. Breathe, Laura. Do all teachers have days like this? Or is it just the Kindergarten teachers? Or is it because I'm speaking gibberish to them and can't even explain a simple grammar structure such as he vs. she in their native tongue?
I only get upset with the kids when they don't understand because sometimes A) they don't pay attention and are goofing off when I'm trying to teach, B) they just copy off of their friends (damn kids are smart for 5 year olds!) or C) I feel that their level of understanding directly reflects my ability to teach them.
Immediately following this thought I had a conversation with my agency about next semester. Basically negotiating my ability as a teacher and my good relationship with my school and why I should get a hefty raise and a free apartment. Then I remembered why I do love it here, even on the days when I want to rip my own hair out or when I want to yell at the kids for smelling like urine and making fun of them for spitwads or for, a more recent activity, "playing" with themselves. Everyday I get my name chanted by a group of kids when I enter school (teacher larrrrrla). Usually, on good days, the teachers tell me how beautiful I am...not because I am beautiful but because my face is looking particularly white that day or I'm wearing a very colorful outfit. And also because I am beautiful. I come and go as I please, if I need time off, I take it, no questions asked (but, for all I know they are talking mad shit about me behind my back and I'm just not aware of it). Best of all, I have pictures drawn of me daily - some of them I hope are the result of poor art ability, but some are really good - I look like a princess (without legs).
I was recently reminded, while talking with my mother on the phone about being a teacher and if the kids are learning and if I feel bad giving bad grades (to which I responded.. hell, no), my school etiquette circa 1999. I know what kids are going to get good grades on exams and what kids aren't. I know which of the devils is mocking me and those that are actually learning and enjoy english. I know who studies for their 6th grade grammar tests and who doesn't, especially when they laugh and brag to their friends that they got a 44%. Talk about role reversal. Bless her heart, my mother reminded me about my freshman english teacher, Blake Etheridge, who, during a parent/teacher conference, told my parents that "if Laura would just read the book, she would be doing fine.." Hard to remember if I was too cool to indulge myself into Lord of the Flies or The Old Man and the Sea or what i'm sure was the most obvious of excuses I gave my parents for my slacking grades - I didn't have enough time...my life was sports (and experiencing everything every teenager thrown from a Catholic school of 18 classmates to a public school in a small town tries to find time for in his/her new life). Back to the little guys that don't understand he vs. she. They are just children. Although I don't want to admit, I see myself in a lot of these kiddos, especially the rebelious but eager to learn ones. Always testing the limits of my teachers, proving to them that I know more than the other kids without seeming to have to try, and extremely curious about things I was unfamiliar with (for them, being taught by a foreigner... awkward as it is they love to touch me, look at the hair on my arms, and get so close to my face that I think we are swapping spit just to get a good look at my skin).
So what has been happening in my life lately? ** I wrote this a few weeks ago.. so much more has happened, but I'll post that later out of lack of time and motivation, this is thailand baby ** Lots of Bangkok. Went to an ICE Bar in Bangkok a few weekends ago - hello winter. A side bar to an Irish Jameson Bar (how I miss Jameson), this bar actually gave you PARKAS to wear to withstand the negative temps inside. Everything was made of ice, from the bar, to the shot glasses, to the seating. Spent 20 minutes in there, got some good pics and headed out to another club. Farangs everywhere, a pretty normal, but crazy, and energetic party scene in Bangkok. Come here and you can get a taste. Other than that, I've been plugging away at school, a lot of work with the end of the semester right around the corner. Holy crap, can't believe that the time has already come and gone - I have to admit that it really doesn't feel like I've been gone that long. While I do often think about what I'm missing out on, I am quick to remind myself that I'm also gaining so much more by being here and experiencing what my life can offer when I open up to opportunities and situations that expand my horizons, contradict my fear of change, and provide new insights. I don't think I'm ever going to get rid of this passion to travel and lack of desire to "stay put" and commit to just one thing. Maybe a curse of some sort, but I've come to terms with who I am, even if that does mean that I fear being stuck in one place or situation for too long...I need to see the end, in some form or another. My father (such a wise man) has a saying (although NOT at all applied to a situation of this kind) "paranoia will destroy ya". I think I'm paranoid about choosing one path - I want to try them all. We'll see where that takes me, but for now that path is Thailand, and I'm okay with that.
I often hope that this doesn't mean that I am designed to be slightly dissatisfied with everything.. always trying to better my situation. I satisfy one desire and it agitates another. But then again, desire is the fuel of life, right? If we never wanted anything, would we never be unhappy? But then again, not wanting anything is a symptom of depression. Buddhists say rid your self of desires and you will find you already have everything you need. Wanting more than the basic "need to live" needs is kind of invigorating. Hmm.
I watched Groundhog Day the other day and a few points of this movie really struck me as both ironicly hilarious AND food for thought.
"What would you do if you were stuck in one place and everyday was exactly the same and nothing that you did mattered?"
"What if there were no tomorrow? That would mean there would be no consequences, no hangovers and we could do whatever we wanted."
Wait, no hangovers? Sign me up!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Awkward Turtle
So, pretty sure I should win for most outstanding farang fuck up day. I don't even know where to start. Woke up feeling good, 20 times better than the day before (Monday, which are FOR THE BIRDS) since it was Tuesday and I already had my school outfit picked out - a new black skirt I bought and some shoes that I repaired that I also bought and broke the next day. That shoe got through two classes. Awesome. Luckily I wear (surprisingly) the same size shoe as my teacher friend, Da, so I wore her shoes at lunch. Lunch is the real disaster - when I had to go to the bank to finally get my bank account. So I jump on my red headed stepchild of a scooter (which is another story about the awkwardness of my existence on such a catastrophe of a machine) and nearly fall off because my skirt had little give and I couldn't spread my legs far enough to guide myself around the other mopeds. Now, everyone and their mother knew that I was off to the bank to get my account. A solo American Farang Mission. Banks close super early here so my lunch period (when no one else had time to join me) was the only time I could find to go. One of the thai admins at my school called ahead to let them know that I would be coming. They sent me off telling me I was a brave sole to do this - I mean, I couldn't imagine how hard it could be... I had my passport, work permit, and enough thai to say yes/no/etc.
I roll up on a smoking heap and waltz into the bank like I own the place. Even though I took the less sweaty way by not walking, I still had to wipe off my sweat stache - very attractive. Don't even take a number for the queue... but then when I ask for help someone gets me one and just hands it to me. Talk about a slap in the face. My number gets called and I try to explain to the very handsome and nice (but femmy) thai man that my paperwork should be done and saved for me and that I just needed to bring my work permit to get my account. Fast forward 20 minutes, 4 calls to my school, and enough awkward silences to make even michael cera squirm, and I'm still sitting there trying to explain myself. That's when I find out he had everything he needed for the account and I just needed to sign some papers (fucking paperwork in thailand, i tell ya!). Phew. Done and done. THEN I realize I don't have the 500 baht necessary to open the account, aduofauodfh;lwahefuihasljgafhewiofjpawjf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I try to tell him I will come back and bring it in an hour, epic fail. So I call my agent, Pook, and tell her I NEED her to transfer my salary immediately because I am at the back, epic fail. Fast forward another 20 minutes, 4 MORE phone calls, and several angry thai people waiting, and one VERY angry thai bank assistant and I FINALLY have my "bahtage" in my account. I say my goodbyes, try to apologize to everyone, grab my backpack and walk out, feeling pretty freaking cocky for getting this shit done - solo mission (ish). Of course, my hard plastic bottle filled with iced coffee from school falls out of the side of my bag and lands with a shattering crash all over the piercingly white bank floor. Chocolate brown liquid dripping from my skirt, filling up DA'S shoes, and making a mad dash to every part of the bank. The music stopped at the bank, and all eyes were on me - the farang fuck up. My new best friend and bank assistant just gave me a look of shock and in broken english said, "it ok. go now" So I did, leaving a caffeine footprint and a whole lot of my confidence in being the only white girlie in this damn town.
Field Trip! Kindergarten 2 went to the large dragon descendants' museum in Suphan Buri. I have been before with the boy I tutor and his mother, where I got an English guided headset for the tour inside the dragon (again, super attractive especially paired with the blue plastic booties we wore). Four teachers were in my group of 40 students. Piece of cake. Except the floor moves like a ship in parts of the tour, there are dragons that hiss while you walk by, and it is basically pitch black throughout the entire thing. Not so fun for 4-5 year olds. Picture these 40 kids either crying and clinging to one of us, plugging their ears because the guide's microphone was turned up to MAX and was essentially bursting all of our ear drums, or screaming their friends' name to try to find them amongst the group of midgets to stand next to and hold hands. Dragon in thai is 'Munggorn' which was said a substantial amount of times during the tour. However, it is also a popular nickname for thai children. Imagine being 'Munggorn' in the 'Munggorn' - talk about either feeling like a celebrity or a nut job for having a nickname like 'dragon'... it kind of makes me think about an american child having a nickname like 'fairy' or 'darkwing duck' or 'ninja turtle'.... 3 of them wouldn't leave my side throughout the day - not that I cared because the kids are so damn cute - but it's like your first date with a guy in the theatre, you are just a teenager, and you hold hands, gets freakin sweaty you are so nervous (well, maybe that was just me, and maybe it was because said movie was CAST AWAY aka nearly 4 hours of silence on a beach). It's so interesting to watch small children interact, no matter the culture/language/etc. It reminded me of when I was young and would try to play the 'mother' kidlet to the smaller ones. At one point I looked to my left (while I had one child clinging to my neck and one sitting on my lap) and saw the smallest and quietest girl, Mew, in the arms of one of the bigger boys, Mek. So cute. Kids really do look out for each other. Maybe it is because they see each other as the same. It doesn't matter if you are a boy, girl, ladyboy, fat, thin, smart, slow, or whatever; everyone deserves a friend. These feelings seem to morph as we grow, so seeing them in their most innocent form is quite eye-opening to the manipulations the outside world has on our relationships.
In other news, we had another 4 day weekend. I'm all for the thai teaching lifestlye, I mean "teaching" 27 hours each week, which is often dumbed down to about 20, is about the equivalent to finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk, winning olympic gold, or any other occurrence that makes you feel that way :) considering my salary and cost of living here. I decided this time I wouldn't do something as outrageous as going to Chiang Mai so I went with the very Laura-like 'don't plan a thing and just roll with the wind' option. My vice principal, Nee, wanted to take me shopping and to a movie in Bangkok for some time, so we made plans to do that on Friday. Oh, Thursday was Mother's Day here, so Wednesday my school had a big ceremony and I also go that day off. (Happy Mothers Day, Madre G!) I went to Kanchanaburi Wednesday - I've been there 3 times now and absolutely love it. So peaceful, full of nature, and loads of chill people ready to take your baht to send you on a boat, to a nearby waterfall, to the bridge over the river kwai, or to the tiger temple or some other exotic animal getaway. I did a Safari on Wednesday with 5 non english speaking europeans - it wasn't awesome but it was pretty cool to feed and hang out with giraffes and zebras. It's amusing how many times I was told by the thai tour guides about the deer and how I could feed them. I just laughed to myself, I mean I'm from Wisconsin, I think I know what a deer looks like. My father has a giant head hanging on the wall that you must duck under to get to the downstairs at my parent's farm house - my friend Margie looooooves it :-P Hung out in Kanchanaburi for the next day and a half and then headed to Bangkok with Nee and the principal's daughter, Sam. It really is exhausting hanging out with thai people all day, that's really all I have to say about that trip.
The feeling of missing out on things back home, and just plain old missing my relationships, schedule, and surroundings of my life before Thailand has presented itself a few times since I've been here. In between the crazy nights with farangs drinking "gatorade" outside clubs and the days filled with thai children and thai families that, although we cannot communicate the best, have taught me so much about life and myself, there is the reminder of what great things I have in my life back home (and some not so great things that are part of my reason for travelling) and everything that has gotten me to this point in my life. There have been a lot of battles in the past few years, and looking back I realize how much my friends and family has helped me through the ups and downs. Let's be honest, my life is more of a rollarcoaster than anything, even if it is sometimes more equivalent to the Giant Drop - at least in my head. You know those really down times where you can't see the light and although you remind yourself things will get better, you really don't believe what you or anyone else is telling you? A slump - maybe. I kept saying I was in a rut back home. Did I think I'd be living in Thailand and wanting to stay past my contract 5 years ago? Not sure. I am thankful that I've had this opprotunity and thankful that I can make the decision on my own to stay longer. Your perspective (during the good and the bad times) changes, and you find yourself considering something that would never have occurred to you, and, I have to say, it can be very pleasant. Life-changing? No, but I wouldn't necessarily want to go back. A little insight from Mr. Gordon Ramsay. The ultimate error is to disregard earlier actions because in there is guidance that you have paid for, sometimes at an eye-watering price.
Pictures to follow... Don't have my camera right now.
I roll up on a smoking heap and waltz into the bank like I own the place. Even though I took the less sweaty way by not walking, I still had to wipe off my sweat stache - very attractive. Don't even take a number for the queue... but then when I ask for help someone gets me one and just hands it to me. Talk about a slap in the face. My number gets called and I try to explain to the very handsome and nice (but femmy) thai man that my paperwork should be done and saved for me and that I just needed to bring my work permit to get my account. Fast forward 20 minutes, 4 calls to my school, and enough awkward silences to make even michael cera squirm, and I'm still sitting there trying to explain myself. That's when I find out he had everything he needed for the account and I just needed to sign some papers (fucking paperwork in thailand, i tell ya!). Phew. Done and done. THEN I realize I don't have the 500 baht necessary to open the account, aduofauodfh;lwahefuihasljgafhewiofjpawjf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I try to tell him I will come back and bring it in an hour, epic fail. So I call my agent, Pook, and tell her I NEED her to transfer my salary immediately because I am at the back, epic fail. Fast forward another 20 minutes, 4 MORE phone calls, and several angry thai people waiting, and one VERY angry thai bank assistant and I FINALLY have my "bahtage" in my account. I say my goodbyes, try to apologize to everyone, grab my backpack and walk out, feeling pretty freaking cocky for getting this shit done - solo mission (ish). Of course, my hard plastic bottle filled with iced coffee from school falls out of the side of my bag and lands with a shattering crash all over the piercingly white bank floor. Chocolate brown liquid dripping from my skirt, filling up DA'S shoes, and making a mad dash to every part of the bank. The music stopped at the bank, and all eyes were on me - the farang fuck up. My new best friend and bank assistant just gave me a look of shock and in broken english said, "it ok. go now" So I did, leaving a caffeine footprint and a whole lot of my confidence in being the only white girlie in this damn town.
Field Trip! Kindergarten 2 went to the large dragon descendants' museum in Suphan Buri. I have been before with the boy I tutor and his mother, where I got an English guided headset for the tour inside the dragon (again, super attractive especially paired with the blue plastic booties we wore). Four teachers were in my group of 40 students. Piece of cake. Except the floor moves like a ship in parts of the tour, there are dragons that hiss while you walk by, and it is basically pitch black throughout the entire thing. Not so fun for 4-5 year olds. Picture these 40 kids either crying and clinging to one of us, plugging their ears because the guide's microphone was turned up to MAX and was essentially bursting all of our ear drums, or screaming their friends' name to try to find them amongst the group of midgets to stand next to and hold hands. Dragon in thai is 'Munggorn' which was said a substantial amount of times during the tour. However, it is also a popular nickname for thai children. Imagine being 'Munggorn' in the 'Munggorn' - talk about either feeling like a celebrity or a nut job for having a nickname like 'dragon'... it kind of makes me think about an american child having a nickname like 'fairy' or 'darkwing duck' or 'ninja turtle'.... 3 of them wouldn't leave my side throughout the day - not that I cared because the kids are so damn cute - but it's like your first date with a guy in the theatre, you are just a teenager, and you hold hands, gets freakin sweaty you are so nervous (well, maybe that was just me, and maybe it was because said movie was CAST AWAY aka nearly 4 hours of silence on a beach). It's so interesting to watch small children interact, no matter the culture/language/etc. It reminded me of when I was young and would try to play the 'mother' kidlet to the smaller ones. At one point I looked to my left (while I had one child clinging to my neck and one sitting on my lap) and saw the smallest and quietest girl, Mew, in the arms of one of the bigger boys, Mek. So cute. Kids really do look out for each other. Maybe it is because they see each other as the same. It doesn't matter if you are a boy, girl, ladyboy, fat, thin, smart, slow, or whatever; everyone deserves a friend. These feelings seem to morph as we grow, so seeing them in their most innocent form is quite eye-opening to the manipulations the outside world has on our relationships.
In other news, we had another 4 day weekend. I'm all for the thai teaching lifestlye, I mean "teaching" 27 hours each week, which is often dumbed down to about 20, is about the equivalent to finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk, winning olympic gold, or any other occurrence that makes you feel that way :) considering my salary and cost of living here. I decided this time I wouldn't do something as outrageous as going to Chiang Mai so I went with the very Laura-like 'don't plan a thing and just roll with the wind' option. My vice principal, Nee, wanted to take me shopping and to a movie in Bangkok for some time, so we made plans to do that on Friday. Oh, Thursday was Mother's Day here, so Wednesday my school had a big ceremony and I also go that day off. (Happy Mothers Day, Madre G!) I went to Kanchanaburi Wednesday - I've been there 3 times now and absolutely love it. So peaceful, full of nature, and loads of chill people ready to take your baht to send you on a boat, to a nearby waterfall, to the bridge over the river kwai, or to the tiger temple or some other exotic animal getaway. I did a Safari on Wednesday with 5 non english speaking europeans - it wasn't awesome but it was pretty cool to feed and hang out with giraffes and zebras. It's amusing how many times I was told by the thai tour guides about the deer and how I could feed them. I just laughed to myself, I mean I'm from Wisconsin, I think I know what a deer looks like. My father has a giant head hanging on the wall that you must duck under to get to the downstairs at my parent's farm house - my friend Margie looooooves it :-P Hung out in Kanchanaburi for the next day and a half and then headed to Bangkok with Nee and the principal's daughter, Sam. It really is exhausting hanging out with thai people all day, that's really all I have to say about that trip.
The feeling of missing out on things back home, and just plain old missing my relationships, schedule, and surroundings of my life before Thailand has presented itself a few times since I've been here. In between the crazy nights with farangs drinking "gatorade" outside clubs and the days filled with thai children and thai families that, although we cannot communicate the best, have taught me so much about life and myself, there is the reminder of what great things I have in my life back home (and some not so great things that are part of my reason for travelling) and everything that has gotten me to this point in my life. There have been a lot of battles in the past few years, and looking back I realize how much my friends and family has helped me through the ups and downs. Let's be honest, my life is more of a rollarcoaster than anything, even if it is sometimes more equivalent to the Giant Drop - at least in my head. You know those really down times where you can't see the light and although you remind yourself things will get better, you really don't believe what you or anyone else is telling you? A slump - maybe. I kept saying I was in a rut back home. Did I think I'd be living in Thailand and wanting to stay past my contract 5 years ago? Not sure. I am thankful that I've had this opprotunity and thankful that I can make the decision on my own to stay longer. Your perspective (during the good and the bad times) changes, and you find yourself considering something that would never have occurred to you, and, I have to say, it can be very pleasant. Life-changing? No, but I wouldn't necessarily want to go back. A little insight from Mr. Gordon Ramsay. The ultimate error is to disregard earlier actions because in there is guidance that you have paid for, sometimes at an eye-watering price.
Pictures to follow... Don't have my camera right now.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
my thai style, insults, and condiments
Little things make my day. Prime example: this morning I spoke for a solid 45 seconds with my mother. Unfortunately, although a highlight of my day, not the point of this story. I explained to her that I was going to school 'early' because my internet at my apartment wasn't working and I was going to use it at school, to which she replied how her internet ALSO wasn't working... in a tone suggesting that perhaps by some coincidence BOTH of our Internets (although on opposite parts of the world) were being constricted by means of a similar catastrophe. Yeah, pretty intense conversation for 45 seconds.
The following excerpt of my life is a tad feminine, so maybe skip this part if you aren't down with the masses (err.. i mean menses).
Before traveling to Thailand, I obviously needed to get my personal pharmacy in order. Not only did I need my malaria pills (of which I forgot I had and have never taken), thypoid shots, and Hep A and B shots, I also needed all my prescriptions filled for 7 months. Holy balls. That took some finagling with both my doctors and pharmacists at Walgreens :P Talking it over with my parents was a piece of cake. Until my mother brought up my birth control, to which I replied I had stopped taking and was going to not fill a prescription and bring it to Thailand. A) I was saving money as I had already shelled out over a grand to complete my first aid kid and to organize previously mentioned personal pharmacy. 2) I wasn't taking any at the time, plus I figured I wasn't going to Thailand to make babies. My father happened to be in the room at the time, and literally muted the television to gawk at me in astonishment. "Laura, it's not about what you PLAN to do. What about the 'heat of the moment'" Haha. Sorry, Dad. You are too funny to not tell that part of the story. Fair enough... I know there are several reasons to go on the pill and what not but I tried to give my own reasons at the time. I recently read a lot about the history of birthcontrol and about several studies from the introduction of this 'natural' means of menstruation for females. One such study proved that it is not, in fact, normal for women to menstruate every 28 days (or once a month). Over a course of several years, research was done on a large group of females that had never used any form of contraception. Remarkably, these woman hand only around 100 lifetime menses, about 7 per year from puberty to age 20...over the next decade and a half, women spent most of their time either pregnant or breast-feeding (which eliminates menstruation)... from age 35-menopause these woman averaged around 4 menses a year. We, on the other hand, because of this shift towards a monthly cycle rock it about 400 times in our lives. So, our bodies are basically being subjected to changes and stresses that they were not necessarily designed by evolution to handle. Oh, and one of the founders of birth control was a devout Christian (that is a whooooole 'nother story).
You mean to tell me I don't HAVE to have ALL those symptoms after all. WTF?! Incessant ovulation serves no purpose except to increase the occurrence of abdominal pain, mood shifts, migraines, endometriosis, fibroids, and anemia - the last of which is "one of the most serious health problems in the world." Is that a good enough reason, Padre?
So, back that ass up two weeks:
We had a 4 day weekend recently for the Buddhest Lent Day and I took a bus up to Chiang Mai with a few friends. Despite having JUST got
ten my wisdom tooth pulled and going to a place in my head where it would NEVER heal (ha, Katy), I had an AMAZING time. The best. Not only because I fell in love with a thai fire throwing, mask wearing thai man. At least I don't think so. A quick synopsis of that weekend, noting the highlights, are organized below in an simple and readable bulleted format. You're welcome.- Sketchball of a bus ride coordinator on Khao San road in Bangkok lead us astray for about 2 hours past our "departure time"
- 11+ hour bus ride there and back (the ride back being the most painful... insert annoying asswipe of a british man talking for 6 straight hours, NO air conditioning, and a throbbing hole in your mouth where your wisdom tooth once was)
- Day long excursion with the girls:
- Extreme nauseousness sitting on the back of a pick up truck up a mountain for 45 minutes
- Visiting native thai tribes, including the "long necks" that I have been so interested in seeing since I was obsessed with them at the age of 11 watching my national geographic VHS's
- Acquiring the nickname "White Chicken" while aboard a white water raft. Of course I was sent to the front as one of the 'strongest' links in our group of 4 girls. Our 'captain' was deemed the "black cat" by me after being given such a strange nickname; apparently, because I have white skin and had goosebumps on my arms?? Either way, we had a GREAT team, which included two random Brazilian girls that we met.
- Bamboo rafting. Awesome. Especially with the "black cat" captain that kept tipping us over.
- Wearing bob the builder helmets and intense orange life jackets on the river while white water rafting. Taking said helmets and life jackets off ON the SAME river to bamboo raft. Doesn't quite add up.
- Lunch at the elephant camp, where I was "recognized" because they thought I had been there before. HOW many times does this have to happen to me.... apparently I do NOT have a very unique face.
- Woody. Woody. Yes, that was the name of our thai tour guide for the day. He slapped me in the arm at the end of the day. Clearly he has very legit thai manners.
- Reggae bars; smuggled alcohol to save money
- Mexican dinner. Seriously best meal ever (even though I could barely eat any). The portions were American-sized!
- Unfortunately lost my Blackberry :(
- Without said phone and my new found love for mr. thai fire thrower on Sunday evening, I was no where to be found or reached. Thus... Bridget called the Thai Police to check to see if they knew where I was??? Yeah... I'm sure that doesn't sound supa sketchy at alllll.
- HUGE walking markets where I got lost several times, often making those I was with angry at my "deer in the headlights" looks I gave when I finally wandered back to them explaining how I got stuck in a group listening to a thai band, or tried to buy some shoes without finding my size, or just plain forgot what I was doing.
Fancy Day. A Kindergarten drag queen meets Richard Simmons meets "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" on crack. Pictures can really only describe the trash massacre that hit Supaluck School. Hundreds of kindergarten students, a solid 20+ thai teachers, and one farang (me) all dressed in our finest of hand made garbage outfits. Little girls (and boys) decked out in makeup that would make Dede from the Drew Carey show jealous. Honestly, I felt like a celebrity with about 10-12 video cameras pointed in my direction. Every time I turned there were more people taking pictures of me, as I was the first and only "non-thai" addition to this not-so-fancy day.Balloon Market Day. Not sure the beginnings of this, but I walked out of my afterschool class and saw several students running around the play garden with balloon swords. I followed them until I found a table of about 5 thai teachers pumping away selling their knife like creations for 1 baht. I threw my bag on the ground and put my "i'm the only farang in this damn place so of course I should help" face. Essentially, I ended up with nothing but bloody (not in an english way) hands. I realized I had just spent 1 hour pumping balloons (the little kind clowns make poodles out of) with a mini hand pump. I was basically putting a tiny condom on a magnum plus sized dildo and pumping away like lindsay lohan on meth. Turns out, I'm a fantastic mini balloon pumper - my sheer determination to succeed. I have three band-aids on my hands to prove it and all we made the damn kids were some genitalia looking swords. I couldn't even shampoo my hair (not that I normally do) because the soap burned my cuts. Talk about a class clown.
I finished my first round of after school classes. 7-8 kindergartners every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for about an hour after normal classes end. I got paid... bonus (cha ching). I got my second crew as well... gonna be hell. 12-13 students that enjoy touching each other and rolling around on the dusty floor of the classroom more than anything.
Last but not least, I'd like to embark on my current fashion [dilemma] in Thailand. What some might call odd, I find fitting and nece
ssary to add to my wardrobe. I found a wonderful red shirt at a second hand store that I've worn a few times here. A friend of mine (NOT thai) asked me if I was 'serious' by wearing it one Saturday in Bangkok. Of course I was. That same day, and thai friend of a friend said to me... "your shirt... in Thailand... mother or grandmother wear." Ha. I love the shirt and I don't really care too much what people say, it'll probably be on the cover of Vanity Fair soon. I made a few skirts here as well out of material I bought. One of which I wore to school last week. The thai teachers loved the thai print, but told me that 'usually' that print was worn by grandmothers. How nice of them. They called me ugly when I came to school in flip flops from Old Navy the other day. Called me beautiful when I showed up in an obnoxiously large purple flowing skirt. Without a doubt, I am a fashion leader. Follow me.... unless of course you are looking for compliments.Oh, random side-note. I was just thinking about my LOVE for condiments (and parallel hatred for mayonnaise). My reasoning for such hatred lies within a childhood snack that my mother used to make. Apples+mayonnaise. 2 ingredients. Sick. I can sometimes be found eating up to 4 apples in one day (obsession - maybe found in the next edition of disorders) and now HATE mayonnaise. Khap Khun Kha... mf's
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Team Suphanburi
I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and tell you how I fell into a boat on an island called Koh Samet. (Ohhh, Fresh Prince)
There are forces in the universe that are just beyond our capacity to understand. Do things really happen for a reason? Should Karma be taken more seriously? What separates the mind from the body? Assuming gravity is one of these forces, I begin my descent into a tale of how Thailand broke Laura Guenther.
I had a catastrophic run in with the force of gravity in Koh Samet, an island off the coast of Thailand. First of all, it was a fabulous weekend. I took Friday off and headed to the island Thursday evening (planned on meeting the rest of the crew coming there Friday night). Such a relaxing day on Friday, just laying on the beach, watching as people slowly filtered out of their bungalows, hotels, hostels, and shacks right on the beach to enjoy some breakfast with friends or family. The vendors were getting their ancient bamboo-over-the-shoulder-carriers ready for the day, filled with eggs, fruits, fried chicken, and other foods unrecognizable to my foreign eyes. I got my first "thai massage" since I've been here and it was... orgasmic. I miss my weekly visits with my chiropractor and the chiropractic masseuse that I would see in the States and my body was missing her too. Owner of truly the hardest of all shoulders and neck muscles in the world, I gladly accepted the elbows and feet applying massive pressure to all points on my back, legs, and even my arse. Friday night brought a storm, meaning my friends would be arriving much later than expected. Upon arrival, most were already drunk from their "booze cruise" from Bangkok and their extra drinks while waiting for the "okay" from the boat taxi to take them to the island once the storm had passed. It was a fun night playing in the rain, dancing to OLLLLD american pop music, and meeting random americans also there for a weekend away from their respective concrete villages and school sanctuaries. Saturday was much of the same, nothing too exciting. Sunday was exactly what I wanted... an early start for home because it would be about 4 hours to get to bangkok and then another, almost, 2 hours for me to make my way back to Suphanburi... I wanted to get there before dark because I had a few loose ends to tie together for the following week at school. A group of us were grabbing a ferry at 12:30. I took one step off of the dock, reached for the hand of a friend, and all giggles, not paying any attention to the distance between the dock and the ferry, nor the measure of the drop into the boat, my foot basically missed anything solid and went (i think) in between the two objects and my body flew forward. Having my heavy backpack and huge purse on my right arm probably didn't help my fall, but then again maybe their weight carried me INTO the ferry as opposed to just falling straight down into the water. Unsure of the specifics, I know I hit my left shin hella hard on the edge of the metal ferry step and threw the rest of my body onto my right thigh as I landed on it on something equally as hard. Ouch.
Both legs throbbed and I was in shock.. i thought i broke my femur.. and when i saw the blood it REALLY started to hurt.. then i got dizzy and started throwing up/gagging over the boat and almost passed out while people tried to bandage me and apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Instantly bruised quad on my right leg and the large gash on my left leg required 3 stitches.
Thank all that is immortal that I had friends with me to take care of me and to "hold my hand" because the hospital was painful.. numbing shot didn't work too well. Anyway, I'm fine. I was more upset about my stupidity and how much this was going to affect my ability to get around. In the end, it was MUCH less painful throughout the next few days than expected. I went to the doctors that I know in Suphanburi that speak english and are parents to one of my students and checked for breaks/fractures, got new bandages, and realized that although extremely painful the first day the pain went away quickly and wasn't as much of a nuisance that I expected. Phew.
Khru Da (who I have talked about quite a bit, which I will refer to as Da, and is probably my best teacher friend at Supaluck) calls me a lot. I am usually hesitant to answer phone calls, even in America, because I just don't like making small talk sometimes and here it is especially difficult to understand a foreigner like myself. Let alone trying to understand the broken english/thai coming from the other end. However, I know that Da means well and she is HILARIOUS. I honestly find her more and more 'western' like by the day. She actually just called me (it is about 8am) and said, "Laura, come to school NOW" and I asked why. She laughed and said "I MISS YOU" Sounds cute, right? I just laugh, because I taught her the word miss and how to use it, like that she "misses" her husband during the week because he stays in Bangkok where he works and only comes home on weekends. We've basically started to refer to ourselves as long lost twins from opposite sides of the earth. At the EXACT same time I had my accident falling into the boat on Koh Samet, she fell off of a chair during the "Teacher Sports Day" and busted up her lip. We wear the same size shoe, love the same food (aka anything spicy, basically everything here), and we have similar senses of humor.
Da: "Laura I have speak with you, have talk...tell you"
Me: "umm.. ok
"next week. you have time? I have time. you have time?"
"time for what?!"
"ummmmmm... have time. weekend this you go koh samet. next week, have time?"
"oh yes.. I have time" realizing she meant to ask if i had plans for the next weekend or not
"we go beach. i tell husband. he say 'ok' ... take children sister, she say 'ok' ..."
"OK!"
Just a little insight to some of our conversations (difficult to try to type out, they are much more confusing and in depth than I alluded to, but once we DO understand each other it is giddy excitement).
So Cha Am Beach, here I come with my new Thai family. The first excursion we went on to a nearby temple and the 100 year old market in Suphanburi calmed my nerves with regard to spending time with this family. Now I'm quite inclined to sing along with the English songs they play while driving... hone in on their thai conversations when I recognize a thai word I know... and tickle the two sons, Leo and Levi, until they almost cry. I've referred to us as Team Suphanburi, and they think it is hilarious. What I find hilarious is their explanations for the nicknames of their sons. Leo, a popular beer in Thailand, and Levi, "like the jeans"
I'm awake and ready for our 4 am departure on Saturday morning, meaning I had a lovely Friday night alone in my apartment. That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't smell it. I was about to pull my hair out I was so bored. After the week (Tuesday-Friday) of teaching requiring me to stand and walk all day left my legs the antithesis of dainty. They were swollen and about to pop and I had some serious fluid build up around my stitches teamed up with new bruising under my right ankle. The thais at my school got a kick out of touching the fluid pocket and stopping me wherever I was walking to tell the nearby thai people about my condition (in thai, so I really had little idea what they were saying, if it even had to do with my injuries at all). I was done with work at 3 pm on Friday so I came home to elevate my leg, knowing this was the best idea ever. I looked at the clock at 4:25 pm and thought I should just take a sleeping pill and call it a night because laying on my bed wasn't keeping me interested. I reached for my book (one of the three I'm attempting to read right now) and read about 2 pages... blah. Turned the tv on to watch yet another random American movie, it was "Teeth" (just a plug about this movie.. which I actually have already seen... it is about a teenage girl that makes a holy vow to not have sex until marriage and her vagina then grows teeth, eating anything that enters its "cave" Not exactly the material I was looking for) so I turned off the tv. Went to my computer thinking I might have a few words to type out, but nothing. So I lay back down, put my leg in the air, and start texting (might as well see what everyone else in Thailand is up to while I self indulge in my solitude). Ultimately, I end up ordering food from "The Pizza Company" and because my salad and bread sticks weren't enough baht for them to deliver, I order 2 salads. And, yes, eat them both. 8:30 rolls around. I drink a beer instead of a sleeping pill and sleep through the night... well, until 3:20 am when my alarm went off. Nothing like magic, my leg had lost about 10 pounds and I was packed and ready for my day at the beach.
3.5 hour drive. Not bad at all. You don't see many thai people wearing bathing suits, especially women. Boys wear tight shorts and a shirt usually, to protect them from the sun. I had my bathing suit on but wore a dress, well knowing that I would likely not be flaunting my American skin as a guest with this fam. I actually wasn't supposed to go in the sea at all because of my stitches but the doctor gave me a waterproof bandage so I managed to get in just enough to splash with Leo and Levi, and what do ya know... ran into one of my students there. Very random when you are 200+ kilometers away from your school and you hear "TEACHAAA LARRRRLA" It was the first time for Leo and Levi to see or be in the sea and they loooooved it. We ate tons of seafood and upon further review decided it would be best to go back to Suphanburi that evening instead of spending the night in Cha Am. That way, we could all go to BuengChawak (http://www.hotsia.com/suphanburi/bueng%20chawak.shtml) on Sunday! (They all knew how badly I've been wanting to go there, so I was absolutely for it and very appreciative) We went to some more beaches, they names escape me, and had some lunch, stopped at a crazy candy shop where I definitely overindulged, and headed back, where I made them take us out for dinner so I could treat. OH MY GOD. I love the food here. But I seriously need to stop eating so much of it.
Funny I should mention that... I WILL HAVE to stop eating it come next week when I get my first Wisdom Tooth pulled out, thai style. Oh yeah. Bring on the local anesthesia (I asked for general just to see, and they laughed). It's an "easy" case for the specialist, seeing as my tooth has already shown its nasty little white head, and honestly, I'm not that nervous/scared/worried at all. I'm actually kinda proud of myself, maybe for my parent's sake, that I'm saving so much money in getting it done in Thailand. Medicine, Dentist visits, and teeth pulling (all-inclusive) will cost me around 100 dollars max. Holler.
At Bueng Chawak - Indigenous Gardens
(Leo, Da, Me, Sin)
Definitely picture worthy.. A fish named Gunther!
Watching the Thai scubadiver feed the big ones...
Jan, one of my fellow Kindergarten teachers. Such a nut.
Da's son, Leo, wearing my glasses on our trip home from the beach.
There are forces in the universe that are just beyond our capacity to understand. Do things really happen for a reason? Should Karma be taken more seriously? What separates the mind from the body? Assuming gravity is one of these forces, I begin my descent into a tale of how Thailand broke Laura Guenther.
I had a catastrophic run in with the force of gravity in Koh Samet, an island off the coast of Thailand. First of all, it was a fabulous weekend. I took Friday off and headed to the island Thursday evening (planned on meeting the rest of the crew coming there Friday night). Such a relaxing day on Friday, just laying on the beach, watching as people slowly filtered out of their bungalows, hotels, hostels, and shacks right on the beach to enjoy some breakfast with friends or family. The vendors were getting their ancient bamboo-over-the-shoulder-carriers ready for the day, filled with eggs, fruits, fried chicken, and other foods unrecognizable to my foreign eyes. I got my first "thai massage" since I've been here and it was... orgasmic. I miss my weekly visits with my chiropractor and the chiropractic masseuse that I would see in the States and my body was missing her too. Owner of truly the hardest of all shoulders and neck muscles in the world, I gladly accepted the elbows and feet applying massive pressure to all points on my back, legs, and even my arse. Friday night brought a storm, meaning my friends would be arriving much later than expected. Upon arrival, most were already drunk from their "booze cruise" from Bangkok and their extra drinks while waiting for the "okay" from the boat taxi to take them to the island once the storm had passed. It was a fun night playing in the rain, dancing to OLLLLD american pop music, and meeting random americans also there for a weekend away from their respective concrete villages and school sanctuaries. Saturday was much of the same, nothing too exciting. Sunday was exactly what I wanted... an early start for home because it would be about 4 hours to get to bangkok and then another, almost, 2 hours for me to make my way back to Suphanburi... I wanted to get there before dark because I had a few loose ends to tie together for the following week at school. A group of us were grabbing a ferry at 12:30. I took one step off of the dock, reached for the hand of a friend, and all giggles, not paying any attention to the distance between the dock and the ferry, nor the measure of the drop into the boat, my foot basically missed anything solid and went (i think) in between the two objects and my body flew forward. Having my heavy backpack and huge purse on my right arm probably didn't help my fall, but then again maybe their weight carried me INTO the ferry as opposed to just falling straight down into the water. Unsure of the specifics, I know I hit my left shin hella hard on the edge of the metal ferry step and threw the rest of my body onto my right thigh as I landed on it on something equally as hard. Ouch.
Both legs throbbed and I was in shock.. i thought i broke my femur.. and when i saw the blood it REALLY started to hurt.. then i got dizzy and started throwing up/gagging over the boat and almost passed out while people tried to bandage me and apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Instantly bruised quad on my right leg and the large gash on my left leg required 3 stitches.
Thank all that is immortal that I had friends with me to take care of me and to "hold my hand" because the hospital was painful.. numbing shot didn't work too well. Anyway, I'm fine. I was more upset about my stupidity and how much this was going to affect my ability to get around. In the end, it was MUCH less painful throughout the next few days than expected. I went to the doctors that I know in Suphanburi that speak english and are parents to one of my students and checked for breaks/fractures, got new bandages, and realized that although extremely painful the first day the pain went away quickly and wasn't as much of a nuisance that I expected. Phew.
Khru Da (who I have talked about quite a bit, which I will refer to as Da, and is probably my best teacher friend at Supaluck) calls me a lot. I am usually hesitant to answer phone calls, even in America, because I just don't like making small talk sometimes and here it is especially difficult to understand a foreigner like myself. Let alone trying to understand the broken english/thai coming from the other end. However, I know that Da means well and she is HILARIOUS. I honestly find her more and more 'western' like by the day. She actually just called me (it is about 8am) and said, "Laura, come to school NOW" and I asked why. She laughed and said "I MISS YOU" Sounds cute, right? I just laugh, because I taught her the word miss and how to use it, like that she "misses" her husband during the week because he stays in Bangkok where he works and only comes home on weekends. We've basically started to refer to ourselves as long lost twins from opposite sides of the earth. At the EXACT same time I had my accident falling into the boat on Koh Samet, she fell off of a chair during the "Teacher Sports Day" and busted up her lip. We wear the same size shoe, love the same food (aka anything spicy, basically everything here), and we have similar senses of humor.
Da: "Laura I have speak with you, have talk...tell you"
Me: "umm.. ok
"next week. you have time? I have time. you have time?"
"time for what?!"
"ummmmmm... have time. weekend this you go koh samet. next week, have time?"
"oh yes.. I have time" realizing she meant to ask if i had plans for the next weekend or not
"we go beach. i tell husband. he say 'ok' ... take children sister, she say 'ok' ..."
"OK!"
Just a little insight to some of our conversations (difficult to try to type out, they are much more confusing and in depth than I alluded to, but once we DO understand each other it is giddy excitement).
So Cha Am Beach, here I come with my new Thai family. The first excursion we went on to a nearby temple and the 100 year old market in Suphanburi calmed my nerves with regard to spending time with this family. Now I'm quite inclined to sing along with the English songs they play while driving... hone in on their thai conversations when I recognize a thai word I know... and tickle the two sons, Leo and Levi, until they almost cry. I've referred to us as Team Suphanburi, and they think it is hilarious. What I find hilarious is their explanations for the nicknames of their sons. Leo, a popular beer in Thailand, and Levi, "like the jeans"
I'm awake and ready for our 4 am departure on Saturday morning, meaning I had a lovely Friday night alone in my apartment. That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't smell it. I was about to pull my hair out I was so bored. After the week (Tuesday-Friday) of teaching requiring me to stand and walk all day left my legs the antithesis of dainty. They were swollen and about to pop and I had some serious fluid build up around my stitches teamed up with new bruising under my right ankle. The thais at my school got a kick out of touching the fluid pocket and stopping me wherever I was walking to tell the nearby thai people about my condition (in thai, so I really had little idea what they were saying, if it even had to do with my injuries at all). I was done with work at 3 pm on Friday so I came home to elevate my leg, knowing this was the best idea ever. I looked at the clock at 4:25 pm and thought I should just take a sleeping pill and call it a night because laying on my bed wasn't keeping me interested. I reached for my book (one of the three I'm attempting to read right now) and read about 2 pages... blah. Turned the tv on to watch yet another random American movie, it was "Teeth" (just a plug about this movie.. which I actually have already seen... it is about a teenage girl that makes a holy vow to not have sex until marriage and her vagina then grows teeth, eating anything that enters its "cave" Not exactly the material I was looking for) so I turned off the tv. Went to my computer thinking I might have a few words to type out, but nothing. So I lay back down, put my leg in the air, and start texting (might as well see what everyone else in Thailand is up to while I self indulge in my solitude). Ultimately, I end up ordering food from "The Pizza Company" and because my salad and bread sticks weren't enough baht for them to deliver, I order 2 salads. And, yes, eat them both. 8:30 rolls around. I drink a beer instead of a sleeping pill and sleep through the night... well, until 3:20 am when my alarm went off. Nothing like magic, my leg had lost about 10 pounds and I was packed and ready for my day at the beach.
3.5 hour drive. Not bad at all. You don't see many thai people wearing bathing suits, especially women. Boys wear tight shorts and a shirt usually, to protect them from the sun. I had my bathing suit on but wore a dress, well knowing that I would likely not be flaunting my American skin as a guest with this fam. I actually wasn't supposed to go in the sea at all because of my stitches but the doctor gave me a waterproof bandage so I managed to get in just enough to splash with Leo and Levi, and what do ya know... ran into one of my students there. Very random when you are 200+ kilometers away from your school and you hear "TEACHAAA LARRRRLA" It was the first time for Leo and Levi to see or be in the sea and they loooooved it. We ate tons of seafood and upon further review decided it would be best to go back to Suphanburi that evening instead of spending the night in Cha Am. That way, we could all go to BuengChawak (http://www.hotsia.com/suphanburi/bueng%20chawak.shtml) on Sunday! (They all knew how badly I've been wanting to go there, so I was absolutely for it and very appreciative) We went to some more beaches, they names escape me, and had some lunch, stopped at a crazy candy shop where I definitely overindulged, and headed back, where I made them take us out for dinner so I could treat. OH MY GOD. I love the food here. But I seriously need to stop eating so much of it.
Funny I should mention that... I WILL HAVE to stop eating it come next week when I get my first Wisdom Tooth pulled out, thai style. Oh yeah. Bring on the local anesthesia (I asked for general just to see, and they laughed). It's an "easy" case for the specialist, seeing as my tooth has already shown its nasty little white head, and honestly, I'm not that nervous/scared/worried at all. I'm actually kinda proud of myself, maybe for my parent's sake, that I'm saving so much money in getting it done in Thailand. Medicine, Dentist visits, and teeth pulling (all-inclusive) will cost me around 100 dollars max. Holler.
At Bueng Chawak - Indigenous Gardens
(Leo, Da, Me, Sin)
Definitely picture worthy.. A fish named Gunther!
Watching the Thai scubadiver feed the big ones...
Jan, one of my fellow Kindergarten teachers. Such a nut.
Da's son, Leo, wearing my glasses on our trip home from the beach.
Da, her mother, and myself
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Bald Eagle Pride
quick photo i got of my stitches in the hospital 3 days after the "incident"
props to the thai ER doc's in Rayong... pretty decent job!
Koh Samed; a bit overcast so it is hard to see the beautiful rolling hills/mountains in the
background
My Kindergarten 3-2 class on "casual friday"
A few photos of the "thai" Independence Day...
Beer and a free mug!
The infamous Katy Trunckwalter and myself at the "cold bar" in Bangkok... given the name by us Farang only because it has air conditioning and is a much needed relief from the heat outside... even though the prices are ridiculously too high
MMMMMM... Best breakfast ever.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Mai Rue
So quite a bit has happened since my last post... Well, naturally. I hope that you all weren't expecting a dull and adventure-less update from me (I use the word "you" with a grain of salt not knowing at all who I refer to, but alas not the point). I cannot believe that it is already July. Independence day right around the corner, the corn just about up to the knee, and here I am in the middle of my first semester of teaching in Thailand and am finally swinging comfortably like the monkeys in the trees that I teach my children about. I don't know where to start with this update so I'm just going to type and hopefully it rolls off the keyboard making some sort of haphazard sense.
I like the idea of being alone but not alone at the same time. I love that I can come home to my apartment after school or at lunch and just be. Have some time to think. I really do cherish this time, but have been realizing lately that I don't NEED to go home and be by myself because there are many other things to do. I'm often asked to go for dinner or to sit and talk english with some of the thai teachers and parents at my school but have often declined thinking about how it will interrupt my "safe" time. It is soooo tiring after teaching 6 classes to think about using your native english in a dumbed down way to get adults to understand you for hours afterward. However, I've realized it is very much worth it. I've become very good friends with several of the thai teachers, including the principal and vice principal at my school (they are sisters). Monday evening I went over to their house, which is just up the road from Supaluck school, and ate dinner with them. Their house is AMAZING for Thailand, obviously, because they are loaded beyond belief. Tuesday, after my "after-school" class that Chin, the little boy I tutor, decided to join to see if having peers around him would encourage him to pay more attention, I went for ice cream with Chin and his mother to celebrate. Wednesday, I finished at school around 5 and was sitting around the outdoor cafeteria near the play garden talking with some teachers and letting the students climb all over me until about 5:45. Da, the teacher that I've become very good friends with and talk to daily, "forced" me to go with her and her son, Leo, to eat dinner. She always orders the best food so naturally I was dropped off at my apartment around 7 pm with a full belly. I am thoroughly enjoying the relationships I'm making here. I think a lot of it has to do with the humor that comes out of it. I am constantly being laughed at... not in a bad way, but I just do crazy things in class and make faces at the children to get their attention in a way that isn't common for Thai teachers... additionally, I try to speak thai all the time and I goof up a lot. I love making them laugh, especially when I'm the one laughing at them for them trying to speak english. One of my favorite things, and I honestly can't help but laugh when they do it, is when they grunt in agreement. The thai language is very tonal and a lot of times it sounds like they are talking out of their noses, so when they are doing the equivalent of our "ah, yes" agreement, it is more like a solid grunt, or throat clearing noise. It gets me every time.
Ok, let me backtrack a few weeks and talk about what I've actually done and where I've visited lately.
Hua Hin Jazz Festival: An absolutely breathtakingly beautiful beach on the Eastern border of Thailand. Took about 4 hours to get there by bus from Suphan Buri, longer than necessary because we had to make a stop to get the correct bus in Bangkok. Arrived Friday evening just in time for the USA World Cup game (I'm very sad that there are no longer USA games to watch after Saturday's pitiful display of football... err, soccer). Saturday was spent laying on the beach with friends where we were bombarded by vendors selling everything from hairbands to bed spreads to horses. Really didn't allow for much sleeping, but it was a wonderful day and AWESOME to be back on a beach, especially because it was a much smaller group than our normal 20+ posse. I rode a horse along the beach for a bit, ate delicious food, and come dusk, the music began and people came out of every corner and piled on top of each other amidst food stands, bright neon lights, port-a-pottys, and the sound of rushing waves as the tide went down. The music was phenomenal, I mean it would have to be the equivalent of all the live shows I'm missing back home (ahem... serious sad face) but it really was great. I declared it more of a Jam/Blues/Funk/Jazz Fest, so yeah, right up my alley. Sunday was the trek back home (after VERY little sleep in a hot box of a room) and so I was completely down for some American therapy with two girls from my training group, Randi and Katy. We got dropped off at a huge mall on the outskirts of Bangkok - 6 stories (wait, maybe 4?) with a water park on top. We ate some delicious dim yum and tofu soup and who knows what else, followed immediately by ice cream sundaes from Swensen's. Walked around the mall, obviously being gawked at not only because we were the only farang in the area, but we were trekking with huge backpacks wearing our finest backpackers apparel and eating enough food to feed a small army. People tend to smile in delight when they see us though, it's interesting, like "hey, people like our country, so they come to our mall?!" Anyway, the main attraction of that Sunday was going to the movies. LOVE THEM. It is a wonderful and relaxing way to spend 3 dollars in Thailand. We saw Prince of Persia. I'm telling you, the theatres in Thailand are twice as nice as America's and I'm not just saying it because they are a mere fraction of the cost. They really are great. They have sooo many flavors of popcorn, and best of all they have the national anthem that plays before every movie so you get to stand up and pay respect to the country (geek alert). All in all, a fabulous weekend and another Sunday that I didn't want to make the trek back to Suphan Buri.
The week after, Katy (from New Jersey), didn't have classes all week (LUCKY!!) so she came Tuesday to stay with me for the night. Suphan Buri is a bit more of a trek for people who live in the greater Bangkok area, so it was nice that she had a few days off and could come up. Naturally, my lovely apartment and hospitality and great company lead her to stay for what ended up being 4 days, followed by her impeccable persuasion skills to return back to Bangkok with her on Friday after school. We're a duo straight from the nut house. Seriously.. (Katy, if you are reading this, you know I mean this in the best, and most hilarious way) Aside from Katy's arrival to Suphan Buri, there was much more chaos in my school life. YWAM (Youth With A Mission.. formerly Cowboy's With A Mission) had entered my Supaluck School bubble, which would last two weeks. I was aware of there arrival weeks ago, but still didn't understand their purpose as missionaries in a private school in Thailand. Either way there are about 13 of them, from Canada and USA mainly, that come from a discipleship school in Montana. The school is 5 months and the last 2 are spent abroad. Anyway, 2-3 of them follow me around all day, thank goodness I came to the conclusion earlier that I didn't NEED to be alone haha.
For a little taste of home, a friend coordinated a 3v3 basketball tournament at her pad (obviously, she has a full court basketball court in her apartment complex) the following weekend. It was an intense Saturday, especially after an intense Friday night of drinking in Bangkok, filled with too much sweat, skinned knees and elbows, and sheer realization of how out of shape I am. Nevertheless, my team won! 300 baht richer, we decided to end the day with free margaritas (for girls, haha) and some mexican and some odd dancing at a few places. I planned to take a 6 am bus home, so I didn't make arrangements to 'sleep' anywhere. I typically find that when I actually do make arrangements to sleep somewhere in Bangkok, I don't usually end up getting anything close to being defined as sleep. More often than not, I find myself awake by 6 or 7 in the morning after getting in around 3am, and waking others up to join in my solitude. Either way, I got a tad bit of shuteye on my bus ride home. I suppose I should mention my reasoning for taking such an early route home... I had made plans with a thai teacher and her family to go visit a nearby temple and visit Suphanburi's infamous 100 year old market, Samchuk. I was told I would be picked up at 9am and didn't want to be late. On just a few moments of sleep I had a fabulous day and was very thrilled to have seen a few other parts of my town and to have a wonderful family to share it with, all ending with a delicious meal, several souvenirs, and a multitude of pictures. I even got to present gifts to a monk and chant with the family in a buddhist ceremony. The rest of my Sunday was spent sleeping, leading into my next week to be named "Laura's sleep-a-thon"
I literally spent more time asleep than awake. Averaging about 11 hours each night, and at least one nap (usually during my lunch period) each day, I had no idea what was going on with my body. Mono? Again? Did basketball really tucker me out that much?! Or was I bored? I welcomed my new hobby remembering the sleepless nights I spent on countless occasions throughout my college career and life in general. It really is amazing how the mind can just shut off sometimes. Not only was I sleeping through this week, I wasn't doing much of anything else, including my typical journaling or meditating or exercising or reading or general moving at all.
So, I've vowed to give up killing for a week. Jokes aside, it is difficult. I'm used to swatting at any insect (i.e. mosquito that tempts me with the possibility of typhoid if bitten) that lands on me and when I see a spider in my room or ant on my balcony my first instinct is to end it's life so I don't have to look at it anymore. Let me tell you HOW many ants live on my balcony. I could spend hours just watching them march around on and between the cracks of my walls. They line up and begin a descent to the ground, but there is always one or two that is going in the opposite direction. Interestingly enough, it stops and "chats" with each and every ant on it's way. I always wonder what they are saying, or maybe they are just kissing good-bye? "Hey man, I'm pretty sure you're gonna get killed by that white giant down there, but don't let me be the one to squash your dreams.. pun intended!" Yeah, I guess I'd like to think that even the smallest of animals have a sense of humor. Or maybe, "Hi, what's your name, what tribe do you come from? Oh, okay, well have a good look around and we will meet at the tribal festival at dusk." Anyway, I've decided that in karma induced enlightenment to no longer kill these little guys. I was speaking with a thai friend about how for 4 years she stopped killing mosquitoes around her and she is no longer bothered by them. According to the Buddhist way of life, each ant/insect/bug/snake/etc could have been my (or your) mother in a previous life. Either way, it has been haunting me (at least I think so). I haven't been attacked by so many bugs/mosquitoes/i don't know what's since I've been here (well, maybe except for when I slept outside on Phi Phi Island and woke up with what I thought was severe chicken pox on my legs). I'm constantly scratching my legs, shoulders, neck, and head, but I'm confident that this is just a test - I'm sure there must me some sort if hazing or initiation for such a vow. Ha. I even had to shower with a spider the other day. Then again maybe I'm just going crazy; I couldn't find my deodorant this afternoon and later found it in my fridge?! Cooly fresh armpits might be my new favorite thing.
Happy 4th of July to everyone... I am now continuing this post on July 5th. I had a decent weekend; some definite highs and lows. Passed through my largest bough of homesicknesses. Not at all certain what triggered it as I have had a wonderful week where I really realized how great the relationships I've made here are. Spent a lot of time with different teachers and thai families doing "cultural" things around Suphanburi, and eating out with them at various "restaurants" with the best food. I did, however, unfortunately get to experience a thai funeral as well. A very good teacher friend of mine, who actually spent a few years living in California so hwer english is great, lost her brother just a few days ago. The cermony was during the evening so I went with a few other teachers to show support. Of course, I was the ONLY America, but because I was surrounded with people that knew me (and would actually talk to me... i.e. weren't actually embarrassed to be associated with me [what a nice feeling! ha j/k]) I didn't feel that out of place. It was interesting, especially in the end when everyone got a surprise box. Thinking we would offer the food/drink inside to the monks in honor of the recently deceased, I didn't think much of it. Then I asked... and soon found out... we got to feast! Cultural surprises make my time here very interesting and fabulous.
I spent my 4th of July weekend a bit differently than normal, even for me here in Thailand. I actually stayed (gasp) at home in Suphan Buri friday evening. Wasn't feeling the best after the week of nonstop sleep and was talked into going out with a fellow kindergarten thai teacher that is about my age and some of her friends to "dance" and meet her sister who was visiting from Switzerland. Long story short, dinner was FABULOUS, and everyone was very nice, especially after a few 'towers' of Leo beer followed by some slushy whiskey/vodka concoctions that kept coming like kids in a candy store. I swear, I could have just stood up and everyone in the place would have burst out in laughter, oh wait, that DID happen. There are a plethora of videos and pictures documenting my night with the thai locals, none of which I have access to... scary. A few of them that were captured on the phone of one of my co-workers surfaced in the middle of the funeral... this being the one where we were eating a chocolate bar and made it cover our teeth so we looked like homeless and dirty old men. Classy, really glad people here are starting to get to know the 'real' me?! Saturday I headed for Bangkok and met a few friends at an International school that was throwing an "Independence Day" fiesta for all the Americans in the area. It was interesting to say the least. The beer was delicious, and so was the free Dairy Queen ice cream cones, but I was realllllly bummed that I didn't win the egg toss. :( Pretty uneventful 4th of July... the evening was fun, though, ending in more dancing and chanting the National Anthem while running the streets holding the America Flag.... oh, crazy americans.
The GIANT dragon in Suphan Buri. I traveled inside it, which is a vast trek into the history of Chinese and Thailand relations reaching farther back than "The Art of War" times...
My little buddy, Chin, and I inside the dragon... I'm wearing the super trendy American/English tourist gear to get the full enjoyment out of my little adventure.
My 6th grade class. Oh so excited to learn... NOT
Wat Mueng (literally translated to 'Purple Temple')
I like the idea of being alone but not alone at the same time. I love that I can come home to my apartment after school or at lunch and just be. Have some time to think. I really do cherish this time, but have been realizing lately that I don't NEED to go home and be by myself because there are many other things to do. I'm often asked to go for dinner or to sit and talk english with some of the thai teachers and parents at my school but have often declined thinking about how it will interrupt my "safe" time. It is soooo tiring after teaching 6 classes to think about using your native english in a dumbed down way to get adults to understand you for hours afterward. However, I've realized it is very much worth it. I've become very good friends with several of the thai teachers, including the principal and vice principal at my school (they are sisters). Monday evening I went over to their house, which is just up the road from Supaluck school, and ate dinner with them. Their house is AMAZING for Thailand, obviously, because they are loaded beyond belief. Tuesday, after my "after-school" class that Chin, the little boy I tutor, decided to join to see if having peers around him would encourage him to pay more attention, I went for ice cream with Chin and his mother to celebrate. Wednesday, I finished at school around 5 and was sitting around the outdoor cafeteria near the play garden talking with some teachers and letting the students climb all over me until about 5:45. Da, the teacher that I've become very good friends with and talk to daily, "forced" me to go with her and her son, Leo, to eat dinner. She always orders the best food so naturally I was dropped off at my apartment around 7 pm with a full belly. I am thoroughly enjoying the relationships I'm making here. I think a lot of it has to do with the humor that comes out of it. I am constantly being laughed at... not in a bad way, but I just do crazy things in class and make faces at the children to get their attention in a way that isn't common for Thai teachers... additionally, I try to speak thai all the time and I goof up a lot. I love making them laugh, especially when I'm the one laughing at them for them trying to speak english. One of my favorite things, and I honestly can't help but laugh when they do it, is when they grunt in agreement. The thai language is very tonal and a lot of times it sounds like they are talking out of their noses, so when they are doing the equivalent of our "ah, yes" agreement, it is more like a solid grunt, or throat clearing noise. It gets me every time.
Ok, let me backtrack a few weeks and talk about what I've actually done and where I've visited lately.
Hua Hin Jazz Festival: An absolutely breathtakingly beautiful beach on the Eastern border of Thailand. Took about 4 hours to get there by bus from Suphan Buri, longer than necessary because we had to make a stop to get the correct bus in Bangkok. Arrived Friday evening just in time for the USA World Cup game (I'm very sad that there are no longer USA games to watch after Saturday's pitiful display of football... err, soccer). Saturday was spent laying on the beach with friends where we were bombarded by vendors selling everything from hairbands to bed spreads to horses. Really didn't allow for much sleeping, but it was a wonderful day and AWESOME to be back on a beach, especially because it was a much smaller group than our normal 20+ posse. I rode a horse along the beach for a bit, ate delicious food, and come dusk, the music began and people came out of every corner and piled on top of each other amidst food stands, bright neon lights, port-a-pottys, and the sound of rushing waves as the tide went down. The music was phenomenal, I mean it would have to be the equivalent of all the live shows I'm missing back home (ahem... serious sad face) but it really was great. I declared it more of a Jam/Blues/Funk/Jazz Fest, so yeah, right up my alley. Sunday was the trek back home (after VERY little sleep in a hot box of a room) and so I was completely down for some American therapy with two girls from my training group, Randi and Katy. We got dropped off at a huge mall on the outskirts of Bangkok - 6 stories (wait, maybe 4?) with a water park on top. We ate some delicious dim yum and tofu soup and who knows what else, followed immediately by ice cream sundaes from Swensen's. Walked around the mall, obviously being gawked at not only because we were the only farang in the area, but we were trekking with huge backpacks wearing our finest backpackers apparel and eating enough food to feed a small army. People tend to smile in delight when they see us though, it's interesting, like "hey, people like our country, so they come to our mall?!" Anyway, the main attraction of that Sunday was going to the movies. LOVE THEM. It is a wonderful and relaxing way to spend 3 dollars in Thailand. We saw Prince of Persia. I'm telling you, the theatres in Thailand are twice as nice as America's and I'm not just saying it because they are a mere fraction of the cost. They really are great. They have sooo many flavors of popcorn, and best of all they have the national anthem that plays before every movie so you get to stand up and pay respect to the country (geek alert). All in all, a fabulous weekend and another Sunday that I didn't want to make the trek back to Suphan Buri.
The week after, Katy (from New Jersey), didn't have classes all week (LUCKY!!) so she came Tuesday to stay with me for the night. Suphan Buri is a bit more of a trek for people who live in the greater Bangkok area, so it was nice that she had a few days off and could come up. Naturally, my lovely apartment and hospitality and great company lead her to stay for what ended up being 4 days, followed by her impeccable persuasion skills to return back to Bangkok with her on Friday after school. We're a duo straight from the nut house. Seriously.. (Katy, if you are reading this, you know I mean this in the best, and most hilarious way) Aside from Katy's arrival to Suphan Buri, there was much more chaos in my school life. YWAM (Youth With A Mission.. formerly Cowboy's With A Mission) had entered my Supaluck School bubble, which would last two weeks. I was aware of there arrival weeks ago, but still didn't understand their purpose as missionaries in a private school in Thailand. Either way there are about 13 of them, from Canada and USA mainly, that come from a discipleship school in Montana. The school is 5 months and the last 2 are spent abroad. Anyway, 2-3 of them follow me around all day, thank goodness I came to the conclusion earlier that I didn't NEED to be alone haha.
For a little taste of home, a friend coordinated a 3v3 basketball tournament at her pad (obviously, she has a full court basketball court in her apartment complex) the following weekend. It was an intense Saturday, especially after an intense Friday night of drinking in Bangkok, filled with too much sweat, skinned knees and elbows, and sheer realization of how out of shape I am. Nevertheless, my team won! 300 baht richer, we decided to end the day with free margaritas (for girls, haha) and some mexican and some odd dancing at a few places. I planned to take a 6 am bus home, so I didn't make arrangements to 'sleep' anywhere. I typically find that when I actually do make arrangements to sleep somewhere in Bangkok, I don't usually end up getting anything close to being defined as sleep. More often than not, I find myself awake by 6 or 7 in the morning after getting in around 3am, and waking others up to join in my solitude. Either way, I got a tad bit of shuteye on my bus ride home. I suppose I should mention my reasoning for taking such an early route home... I had made plans with a thai teacher and her family to go visit a nearby temple and visit Suphanburi's infamous 100 year old market, Samchuk. I was told I would be picked up at 9am and didn't want to be late. On just a few moments of sleep I had a fabulous day and was very thrilled to have seen a few other parts of my town and to have a wonderful family to share it with, all ending with a delicious meal, several souvenirs, and a multitude of pictures. I even got to present gifts to a monk and chant with the family in a buddhist ceremony. The rest of my Sunday was spent sleeping, leading into my next week to be named "Laura's sleep-a-thon"
I literally spent more time asleep than awake. Averaging about 11 hours each night, and at least one nap (usually during my lunch period) each day, I had no idea what was going on with my body. Mono? Again? Did basketball really tucker me out that much?! Or was I bored? I welcomed my new hobby remembering the sleepless nights I spent on countless occasions throughout my college career and life in general. It really is amazing how the mind can just shut off sometimes. Not only was I sleeping through this week, I wasn't doing much of anything else, including my typical journaling or meditating or exercising or reading or general moving at all.
So, I've vowed to give up killing for a week. Jokes aside, it is difficult. I'm used to swatting at any insect (i.e. mosquito that tempts me with the possibility of typhoid if bitten) that lands on me and when I see a spider in my room or ant on my balcony my first instinct is to end it's life so I don't have to look at it anymore. Let me tell you HOW many ants live on my balcony. I could spend hours just watching them march around on and between the cracks of my walls. They line up and begin a descent to the ground, but there is always one or two that is going in the opposite direction. Interestingly enough, it stops and "chats" with each and every ant on it's way. I always wonder what they are saying, or maybe they are just kissing good-bye? "Hey man, I'm pretty sure you're gonna get killed by that white giant down there, but don't let me be the one to squash your dreams.. pun intended!" Yeah, I guess I'd like to think that even the smallest of animals have a sense of humor. Or maybe, "Hi, what's your name, what tribe do you come from? Oh, okay, well have a good look around and we will meet at the tribal festival at dusk." Anyway, I've decided that in karma induced enlightenment to no longer kill these little guys. I was speaking with a thai friend about how for 4 years she stopped killing mosquitoes around her and she is no longer bothered by them. According to the Buddhist way of life, each ant/insect/bug/snake/etc could have been my (or your) mother in a previous life. Either way, it has been haunting me (at least I think so). I haven't been attacked by so many bugs/mosquitoes/i don't know what's since I've been here (well, maybe except for when I slept outside on Phi Phi Island and woke up with what I thought was severe chicken pox on my legs). I'm constantly scratching my legs, shoulders, neck, and head, but I'm confident that this is just a test - I'm sure there must me some sort if hazing or initiation for such a vow. Ha. I even had to shower with a spider the other day. Then again maybe I'm just going crazy; I couldn't find my deodorant this afternoon and later found it in my fridge?! Cooly fresh armpits might be my new favorite thing.
Happy 4th of July to everyone... I am now continuing this post on July 5th. I had a decent weekend; some definite highs and lows. Passed through my largest bough of homesicknesses. Not at all certain what triggered it as I have had a wonderful week where I really realized how great the relationships I've made here are. Spent a lot of time with different teachers and thai families doing "cultural" things around Suphanburi, and eating out with them at various "restaurants" with the best food. I did, however, unfortunately get to experience a thai funeral as well. A very good teacher friend of mine, who actually spent a few years living in California so hwer english is great, lost her brother just a few days ago. The cermony was during the evening so I went with a few other teachers to show support. Of course, I was the ONLY America, but because I was surrounded with people that knew me (and would actually talk to me... i.e. weren't actually embarrassed to be associated with me [what a nice feeling! ha j/k]) I didn't feel that out of place. It was interesting, especially in the end when everyone got a surprise box. Thinking we would offer the food/drink inside to the monks in honor of the recently deceased, I didn't think much of it. Then I asked... and soon found out... we got to feast! Cultural surprises make my time here very interesting and fabulous.
I spent my 4th of July weekend a bit differently than normal, even for me here in Thailand. I actually stayed (gasp) at home in Suphan Buri friday evening. Wasn't feeling the best after the week of nonstop sleep and was talked into going out with a fellow kindergarten thai teacher that is about my age and some of her friends to "dance" and meet her sister who was visiting from Switzerland. Long story short, dinner was FABULOUS, and everyone was very nice, especially after a few 'towers' of Leo beer followed by some slushy whiskey/vodka concoctions that kept coming like kids in a candy store. I swear, I could have just stood up and everyone in the place would have burst out in laughter, oh wait, that DID happen. There are a plethora of videos and pictures documenting my night with the thai locals, none of which I have access to... scary. A few of them that were captured on the phone of one of my co-workers surfaced in the middle of the funeral... this being the one where we were eating a chocolate bar and made it cover our teeth so we looked like homeless and dirty old men. Classy, really glad people here are starting to get to know the 'real' me?! Saturday I headed for Bangkok and met a few friends at an International school that was throwing an "Independence Day" fiesta for all the Americans in the area. It was interesting to say the least. The beer was delicious, and so was the free Dairy Queen ice cream cones, but I was realllllly bummed that I didn't win the egg toss. :( Pretty uneventful 4th of July... the evening was fun, though, ending in more dancing and chanting the National Anthem while running the streets holding the America Flag.... oh, crazy americans.
The GIANT dragon in Suphan Buri. I traveled inside it, which is a vast trek into the history of Chinese and Thailand relations reaching farther back than "The Art of War" times...
My little buddy, Chin, and I inside the dragon... I'm wearing the super trendy American/English tourist gear to get the full enjoyment out of my little adventure.
My 6th grade class. Oh so excited to learn... NOT
Wat Mueng (literally translated to 'Purple Temple')
Thursday, June 17, 2010
"Achita, will you please come up and touch 'ball'?"
I almost lost it while reviewing with my Kindergarten 2 class after announcing what has been deemed the title of this blog. No, obviously none of the 5 year olds, nor the 3 other thai teachers and assistants in my classroom at the time understood my immature nature while acknowledging this phrase. I still get giddy when I draw all the toys I've taught those little shorties on the board and call them up one by one to "touch" the toy that I say. Achita, well that is just a name that sticks with me. It is so fun to say, try it - achiiitaaaaa. Not to mention he has no upper teeth right now and loooooves to smile. He also, during a thai class one day, drew a picture of me when they were asked to draw their favorite teacher. What can I say, out of 150+ students, someone has to like me, right??
So I want to talk about the little boy, Chin, that I tutor for and teach swimming lessons to (although I don't think there will be a lot of swimming going on because my schedule is very busy). I love him, but I sometimes cannot stand his attitude. I understand he is 3 1/2 years old and that must be tough. His attention is about that of a goldfish and his mother is nothing less than spoiling him. She continually tells me now how much he is to handle and I absolutely agree with her. However, her showering him with compliments and giving him whatever he wants isn't teaching him any sort of morals let alone discipline. If I try to scold him at all he will run away, refuse to hold my hand, or talk bad about me in thai. I want to tell this mother to get firm with that damn boy, but alas, there is more to the story of parenting that I obviously know. Her husband, Chin's father, lives in Bangkok for the week and comes home only on Fridays. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for her to only have her son all week without any help and NOT want to spoil him to make him love her (not that he wouldn't already, because he does). I'm not thanking my mother for scolding me in the supermarket or slapping me in the head when I made rude remarks or acted out foolishly in public (when I was his age... although I'm sure there have been several times during my "adult" life my mother has wanted to slap the daylights out of me... but we will leave that for another story time) but I do understand the magnitude of such discipline and the character traits each person might or might not develop dependent on the type of parenting or influences they have at a young age.
Anyway, I just got back from my first pizza hut excursion in Thailand with Chin and his mother. Yummmm. But those asians seriously eat one SMALL piece and are done - I could have eaten way more than the two pieces and chicken wing and salad that I had, but since I wasn't paying I was trying to be polite :) Chin has a GREAT memory so I am constantly quizzing him on items such as table, chair, square, triangle, etc. I thought it would be convenient to teach him how to say knife and fork considering they were on the table with us. However, after trying to get him to pronounce 'fork' I had an obnoxious 3 year old screaming "FUCK, FUCK.... FUCK" in the middle of this western restaurant. Oops.
I once read in a book, "..in order to make somebody laugh, you have to be interesting, and in order to be interesting, you have to do things that are mean. Comedy comes out of anger, and interesting comes out of angry; otherwise there is no conflict." However, we forgive comedians for their judgmental statements and one-sided explanations for life problems. Many people use comedy to express their anger. I think this it is funny and quite acceptable and healthy. But I'm not here to write any life rules; it is pretty consuming just living one's life.
The most recent comical situation I've been a part of would have to be a recent morning at school in my Primary 6-1 classroom. We were talking about vacations and it morphed into how long the kids have lived in Thailand. I thought I'd bring my experience to the conversation, considering I was supposed to be leading it, and said I've lived in America for... I paused thinking how many years... and one of the kids yelled out "40 years!!!" I was like, whoa. You think I'm THAT old?! SO another kid says, "35 years" then "30" Finally, I told them I was going to cry and screamed that I'm YI-SIP-SAM (thai for 23). Sheesh, maybe my hippie style flowy teacher clothes and my hair in a bun complete with glasses look isn't really benefiting my appearance. Then again, it is nice waking up and not worrying about how you look because regardless of what you wear, you WILL stick out like a sore thumb. You are a farang, Laura. Embrace it, even if it means you must age 15+ years.
It's weird when I think about how I wanted a super professional maybe corporate job and compare it to what I'm doing now... it is hard to sort out your emotions when everything around you and everything in your life is moving so quickly. I can honestly say that I'm not sure what "job" I want. I do know what I want with respect to fulfilling my inner need to explore, expand, and learn.
I'm a habitual over-thinker. I have sabotaged more than one relationship or even just different opportunities in my life because of it. I simply often get lost in my own head and get detached from reality. I'm not trying to imply that I'm also a habitually unsatisfied person but I swear my apartment is either too bright or too cold. I have these horrendous rotten lemon/stale urine colored drapes on my wall that is, yes, made entirely of windows. Pair that with the 7 am sun and it makes it almost impossible to sleep. However, come 6 or 7 pm and my lights aren't bright enough and make me feel like I'm in Amsterdam chilling out at a "cafe" on a Sunday evening. Additionally, I'm either sweating like a heroine addict in rehab or like an ice cold water bottle sitting on asphalt in Houston in July or I'm freezing in my air conditioning like Scanner Dan on State Street on a blistering winter day in December.
Today (June 2nd) I was sitting on my balcony at lunch and was thinking about how I originally had thought that I would only stay teaching here for a couple months and come home. How I had talked with friends about being back early and being able to maybe move to Chicago, and being able to go to the Badger game in Vegas in September, and being able to make it to some of the weddings in September, and being able to see Megan Grundahl's baby (she is so beautiful!!!). However, while sitting in 95 degree heat I couldn't think of another place I wanted to be (probably had a lot to do with the fact I was 6 inches from air conditioned paradise). I began at one small moment to not worry about "missing out" on things at home. However, today (June 7th) I had the absolute opposite, well maybe not 'absolute' but something along those lines, feeling. My life has interestingly enough been taken over by small children and my ability to teach them simple english sayings, making props to make their learning more entertaining (and maybe like me better as a teacher), relearning grammar to engrave into my 6th grader's heads, and preparing for quizzes and tests (aka making sure I know WHEN they are and that I actually have enough of them copied and the students are somewhat prepared for them). Wow. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Should I even care?
Thank GOD (or Buddha?) Kindergartners LOVE me (not to toot my own horn, but seriously, 4/5/6 year olds love everyone...). I don't think I'd be able to come back everyday without ending each day with several hugs from these tiny ferocious balls of... hmm can't really think of an appropriate word here so I'll leave that up to you. its kinda ego boosting having your name chanted as you leave and enter school and have tons of kids running up to you to hug you
"teacher larrrla"
i'm sadly obsessed with small children. People in my group are telling me it is becoming a problem, but maybe it's my christian upbringing showing it's true colors?
Buddhists everywhere say that the essence of all reality is dukhka, which translates as “suffering through incompletion” - the idea that nothing is ever enough. Some people experience this through obvious addictions to drugs or alcohol, but sometimes just the right about of something seems to eliminate all the dukhka for a while. I think a few sips of a nice cold Spotted Cow might take away all of my dukhka for a few solid minutes… I sometimes, however, get this feeling when I travel to new places, see new lifestyles, or embark on a new life mission (most of my missions are short-term, but I like to think that things like striving to be more organized like others is somewhat of a mission). I realize, like a chill, that all of this had been going on without me: Thailand was here and had been pumping away all while I was in America studying, while I was in Spain exploring, and while I was laying in the green grass on my farm - not to mention the rest of Asia, all of the Monks and Buddhists, India, Australia, etc. All of this has been going on without me. And no one cares whether I came or went, no one cares what I did or felt. This is a freedom that I find both rewarding and frightening. Everyone wants to be an individual, but realizing how easy it is to get lost into the crowd of the world is mind shattering to say the least. No one knows that I’m laying on my bed right now, books scattered everywhere because I can’t read just one book at a time, typing this message on my laptop. No one knows how I am perceiving the thai lifestyle or the strange construction workers I see everyday across my balcony. No wonder so many people crave fame - I suppose it allows you the illusion that you are someone. On the same note, a book I once read touched on this subject, “No wonder people need to pretend that God is watching them all the time. Any illusion would be better than this loneliness, this awareness of infinitesimal existence..” Hmm… time to start living I guess, stop talking about doing it, and stop talking about what I am doing, just do.
I'll end with that. Happy summer to you all. Didn't even realize that in America summer is upon you all, seems as if everything has continued back home as it was in April when I left, but then again, we know that isn't the case. Enjoy the cookouts, cold beer, friends and family, and most importantly, yourselves. XOXO
So I want to talk about the little boy, Chin, that I tutor for and teach swimming lessons to (although I don't think there will be a lot of swimming going on because my schedule is very busy). I love him, but I sometimes cannot stand his attitude. I understand he is 3 1/2 years old and that must be tough. His attention is about that of a goldfish and his mother is nothing less than spoiling him. She continually tells me now how much he is to handle and I absolutely agree with her. However, her showering him with compliments and giving him whatever he wants isn't teaching him any sort of morals let alone discipline. If I try to scold him at all he will run away, refuse to hold my hand, or talk bad about me in thai. I want to tell this mother to get firm with that damn boy, but alas, there is more to the story of parenting that I obviously know. Her husband, Chin's father, lives in Bangkok for the week and comes home only on Fridays. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for her to only have her son all week without any help and NOT want to spoil him to make him love her (not that he wouldn't already, because he does). I'm not thanking my mother for scolding me in the supermarket or slapping me in the head when I made rude remarks or acted out foolishly in public (when I was his age... although I'm sure there have been several times during my "adult" life my mother has wanted to slap the daylights out of me... but we will leave that for another story time) but I do understand the magnitude of such discipline and the character traits each person might or might not develop dependent on the type of parenting or influences they have at a young age.
Anyway, I just got back from my first pizza hut excursion in Thailand with Chin and his mother. Yummmm. But those asians seriously eat one SMALL piece and are done - I could have eaten way more than the two pieces and chicken wing and salad that I had, but since I wasn't paying I was trying to be polite :) Chin has a GREAT memory so I am constantly quizzing him on items such as table, chair, square, triangle, etc. I thought it would be convenient to teach him how to say knife and fork considering they were on the table with us. However, after trying to get him to pronounce 'fork' I had an obnoxious 3 year old screaming "FUCK, FUCK.... FUCK" in the middle of this western restaurant. Oops.
I once read in a book, "..in order to make somebody laugh, you have to be interesting, and in order to be interesting, you have to do things that are mean. Comedy comes out of anger, and interesting comes out of angry; otherwise there is no conflict." However, we forgive comedians for their judgmental statements and one-sided explanations for life problems. Many people use comedy to express their anger. I think this it is funny and quite acceptable and healthy. But I'm not here to write any life rules; it is pretty consuming just living one's life.
The most recent comical situation I've been a part of would have to be a recent morning at school in my Primary 6-1 classroom. We were talking about vacations and it morphed into how long the kids have lived in Thailand. I thought I'd bring my experience to the conversation, considering I was supposed to be leading it, and said I've lived in America for... I paused thinking how many years... and one of the kids yelled out "40 years!!!" I was like, whoa. You think I'm THAT old?! SO another kid says, "35 years" then "30" Finally, I told them I was going to cry and screamed that I'm YI-SIP-SAM (thai for 23). Sheesh, maybe my hippie style flowy teacher clothes and my hair in a bun complete with glasses look isn't really benefiting my appearance. Then again, it is nice waking up and not worrying about how you look because regardless of what you wear, you WILL stick out like a sore thumb. You are a farang, Laura. Embrace it, even if it means you must age 15+ years.
It's weird when I think about how I wanted a super professional maybe corporate job and compare it to what I'm doing now... it is hard to sort out your emotions when everything around you and everything in your life is moving so quickly. I can honestly say that I'm not sure what "job" I want. I do know what I want with respect to fulfilling my inner need to explore, expand, and learn.
I'm a habitual over-thinker. I have sabotaged more than one relationship or even just different opportunities in my life because of it. I simply often get lost in my own head and get detached from reality. I'm not trying to imply that I'm also a habitually unsatisfied person but I swear my apartment is either too bright or too cold. I have these horrendous rotten lemon/stale urine colored drapes on my wall that is, yes, made entirely of windows. Pair that with the 7 am sun and it makes it almost impossible to sleep. However, come 6 or 7 pm and my lights aren't bright enough and make me feel like I'm in Amsterdam chilling out at a "cafe" on a Sunday evening. Additionally, I'm either sweating like a heroine addict in rehab or like an ice cold water bottle sitting on asphalt in Houston in July or I'm freezing in my air conditioning like Scanner Dan on State Street on a blistering winter day in December.
Today (June 2nd) I was sitting on my balcony at lunch and was thinking about how I originally had thought that I would only stay teaching here for a couple months and come home. How I had talked with friends about being back early and being able to maybe move to Chicago, and being able to go to the Badger game in Vegas in September, and being able to make it to some of the weddings in September, and being able to see Megan Grundahl's baby (she is so beautiful!!!). However, while sitting in 95 degree heat I couldn't think of another place I wanted to be (probably had a lot to do with the fact I was 6 inches from air conditioned paradise). I began at one small moment to not worry about "missing out" on things at home. However, today (June 7th) I had the absolute opposite, well maybe not 'absolute' but something along those lines, feeling. My life has interestingly enough been taken over by small children and my ability to teach them simple english sayings, making props to make their learning more entertaining (and maybe like me better as a teacher), relearning grammar to engrave into my 6th grader's heads, and preparing for quizzes and tests (aka making sure I know WHEN they are and that I actually have enough of them copied and the students are somewhat prepared for them). Wow. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Should I even care?
Thank GOD (or Buddha?) Kindergartners LOVE me (not to toot my own horn, but seriously, 4/5/6 year olds love everyone...). I don't think I'd be able to come back everyday without ending each day with several hugs from these tiny ferocious balls of... hmm can't really think of an appropriate word here so I'll leave that up to you. its kinda ego boosting having your name chanted as you leave and enter school and have tons of kids running up to you to hug you
"teacher larrrla"
i'm sadly obsessed with small children. People in my group are telling me it is becoming a problem, but maybe it's my christian upbringing showing it's true colors?
Buddhists everywhere say that the essence of all reality is dukhka, which translates as “suffering through incompletion” - the idea that nothing is ever enough. Some people experience this through obvious addictions to drugs or alcohol, but sometimes just the right about of something seems to eliminate all the dukhka for a while. I think a few sips of a nice cold Spotted Cow might take away all of my dukhka for a few solid minutes… I sometimes, however, get this feeling when I travel to new places, see new lifestyles, or embark on a new life mission (most of my missions are short-term, but I like to think that things like striving to be more organized like others is somewhat of a mission). I realize, like a chill, that all of this had been going on without me: Thailand was here and had been pumping away all while I was in America studying, while I was in Spain exploring, and while I was laying in the green grass on my farm - not to mention the rest of Asia, all of the Monks and Buddhists, India, Australia, etc. All of this has been going on without me. And no one cares whether I came or went, no one cares what I did or felt. This is a freedom that I find both rewarding and frightening. Everyone wants to be an individual, but realizing how easy it is to get lost into the crowd of the world is mind shattering to say the least. No one knows that I’m laying on my bed right now, books scattered everywhere because I can’t read just one book at a time, typing this message on my laptop. No one knows how I am perceiving the thai lifestyle or the strange construction workers I see everyday across my balcony. No wonder so many people crave fame - I suppose it allows you the illusion that you are someone. On the same note, a book I once read touched on this subject, “No wonder people need to pretend that God is watching them all the time. Any illusion would be better than this loneliness, this awareness of infinitesimal existence..” Hmm… time to start living I guess, stop talking about doing it, and stop talking about what I am doing, just do.
I'll end with that. Happy summer to you all. Didn't even realize that in America summer is upon you all, seems as if everything has continued back home as it was in April when I left, but then again, we know that isn't the case. Enjoy the cookouts, cold beer, friends and family, and most importantly, yourselves. XOXO
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