meh.

On January 24, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, Uncategorized

They had parent day at school today. Parent day included a lot of speeches about what, I don’t know. It also included some strange video that looked like it was about on-line predators, but again, I don’t know. And it included an introduction of and a speech by their new western teacher – yep – me. Don’t sign me up for the speaking tour. All in all, it was about 4 hours long. They fed me lunch – guess?

After, I was going to work on lesson plans, but the internet wasn’t working. So, I decided to take my nook up to the dam and read. There are two entrances to the dam. The one I went to was closed. It just so happens to be next to the stairs that go up to what looked like a temple on the top of the hill. I debated taking the challenge since it was overcast. I wasn’t sure if it was worth it if I couldn’t get photos. But, my other choice was to go back home and sit in my house.

The stairs looked like they went on for ever, but they didn’t. In fact, the stairs ended too soon. Then it turned to log stairs and then to steep switchbacks not meant for humans to walk up. It wasn’t a wat, but a stupa (or maybe a pagoda – not sure of the difference). There was an older lady sweeping the floor that insisted in asking me questions even though I had no idea what she was saying. There was another lady there also sweeping. I took some pictures and enjoyed the breeze. Even though it was overcast, the view was amazing. The lady kept talking. Coming down the trail/stairs was even sketchier than going up, but I survived it. At that point I gave up and went home.

I read for awhile on my porch until too many bug bites said to go in. I made a salad with the stuff I got from the market the other night. I didn’t have salad dressing, but put some watermelon in there and it worked quite well. Then I ate what I thought were doughnuts that I got the other night as well. They were fried dough with sugar and scallions on the out side. There was something that looked like meat on the inside, but might be red bean? And it had a spicy after taste. Why? Why would anyone think those things go good together?

I booked a flight to Bali for two weeks of my upcoming break.

This evening’s house guests are ants and very large cockroaches. I should work on lesson plans, but I’m giving up on the day and going to crawl into bed at 7:30pm.

20160124_082016 — Every chair was full later

20160124_141953 — At the bottom of the long set of “stairs”

20160124_141958 — That’s a lot of stairs

20160124_142123 — No more stairs, just logs

20160124_142250 — Steeper and less like stairs

20160124_143006 — Steeper and no stairs at all

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20160124_143547 — But the views are not too bad

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20160124_143721 — Looks like they are building a temple

20160124_143801 — Looks like they are building a temple

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20160124_161220 — Uninvited House Guests

First day off

On January 23, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Thailand, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’d like to say it was wonderful to have a day off. But, I’m still struggling with all the changes. I still had homework to do from TESOL class. Because they cut our class a week short, they let us turn in the last assignment today. With all the internet problems I’ve been having, I was way behind on the project. I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon finishing it up. It feels good to have it done.

I woke up in the middle of the night to music. I put ear plugs in, but could still here it. I wondered who would be playing music at that hour. Now, as I sit here listening to chanting off in the distance, I wonder if that is what I heard last night. I was told that the monks would be telling the story of Buddha through chants for two days. I’m not sure if that is what I am hearing or if it’s something else. Right now, it sounds great to me. In the middle of the night, it didn’t.

After finishing my homework, I headed up to the coffee shop (I think there’s only one). It’s not too far by bicycle. I stayed there for awhile enjoying a latte, some air conditioning, and good wifi. I tried to find the local bus station. There doesn’t seem to be one. I tried to find local taxis or any transportation between here and somewhere else. There doesn’t seem to be any. I find that hard to believe. So, I’ll have to ask someone else later. Then I saw a post from one of the girls in Sukohthai. She was up at the top of the dam which looked so beautiful. I asked if she was still there because I live so close. She said our agent took here there and she was almost back to Sukohthai already. Wait, that’s my agent too. They had to drive right past my house. Did it not occur to her that I might want to go too? I’ve been trying to get a hold of my agents about renting a scooter, getting better wifi, travel in the area. I haven’t gotten any answers yet. And it would have taken her 10 minutes to stop and talk to me. I feel so stranded and now abandoned. How am I ever going to leave here? I supposedly live in one of the prettiest parts of Thailand, but I can’t experience it. I feel so helpless. Then I realize stranded, helpless and abandoned are inseparable for me. They all feel the same – one triggers the other and then the other.

Then I see some toast with some weird stuff on it being served and I realize I am starving. So I ask if they have any food and they say no. She’s holding a piece of cake in her hand as she says no. I can’t hold it all in anymore. I went back to where I was sitting and burst into tears. I’m stranded here. I will never be able to leave and now I can’t eat either. Later I tried again and said Do you have food in Thai. One lady said yes and the other said no food, but bread. So, food and bread are not the same thing. Granted, I’ll agree that white bread with a large amount of sugar on it shouldn’t be food, but I’ll take my chances. So, I said yes, bread. She showed me a picture of the bread with something ridiculous on it and I said yes. I got a slice of white bread with what looked like powdered hot chocolate and chocolate syrup on it. Not too bad for white bread.

Enough with the coffee shop. I rode my bike up to a set of stairs I had seen that had a dragon on them. I figured it led up to a temple (wat). They did. They led up to a wat I had seen from the other side a few times, but had never gone in. It was quiet and no one seemed to be around. I took some pictures of some of the pretty buildings. Then I noticed a monk sitting in the shade watching me. I did the proper wai for a monk. He asked if I was alone and told me to go up to a building with a second story deck to get better pictures. So, I did. The lighting wasn’t great because it was late day, but the view was a nice view of the lower dam and river. I thanked him and he told me to go into a smaller temple building. He said it was nice. I did. As I was coming out of the building, he was playing the drums. It was relaxing. Sorry the video is sideways. It’s too late for me to figure out how to flip it. Just lay on your side and watch it. Or close you eyes and just listen.

I then rode off toward music I could hear in the distance. Maybe something was happening in town. I found a different road up to the dam. The gardens around there are nice. I never found the source of the music. There’s another wat at the top of a huge hill. I decided to make that trek another day because it might get dark before I got all the way up there.

I worked on a speech for the parents tomorrow. There’s a parent teacher conference tomorrow. I think it’s just so they can meet me. This is such a strange experience to feel two such opposite feelings at the same time. I feel very welcomed and wanted by the school, teachers, students (and probably the parents) and at the same time I feel completely helpless, stranded and abandoned. And hot, I feel hot.

20160123_165050 — Yes, that is white bread with powdered chocolate and chocolate syrup

20160123_172334 20160123_172344

20160123_172444 — Wat greeting committee

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20160123_174821 — Same wat from the other side of the river

20160123_175335

Sports Day

On January 22, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, Uncategorized2 Comments

This whole week has been sports week. All the schools in the area get together and play sports. Today was the big day of the week. So there were no classes. Before going to Sports Day, we went by the phone shop to see if I could get a mobile hot spot. No. Off to Sports Day. We got there and each school was on the field in formation. They were dressed in all different bright colors. Some were in sports attire and some were dressed to the nines like they were going to a pageant. I’d heard of this, but it was a sight to see. All schools in the area were there and all ages. On one side of the field were a bunch of tents that looked like “official” tents. On the other side of the field were bleachers. Each school had their own bleachers. The bleachers weren’t for spectators, they were for the cheer team. We went under the bleachers. Most of the teachers were there. Someone asked if I had eaten. I had. That didn’t matter, a bag of sticky rice and pork was given to me. I’ve heard so much about sticky rice, but never tried this treat so I was a little excited. For a minute. It’s just rice that’s stickier than all the other rice I’ve had. Then the processional started so I watched that. Each school, and their bands walked around the track. The costumes, makeup and high heels were interesting. It appeared that a lot of groups chose traditional clothing of various Asean countries. Then, after the processional, the cheering started. All schools were cheering. They cheered for at least 4 hours. They were basically cheering for the sake of cheering. There was no game happening. I think cheering might be the most popular sport. I spent most of the morning under the bleachers helping the other teachers putting together bags of food for the kids. The amount of plastic bags used in this country is astonishing. Everything goes in a bag and then usually another bag. They gave me a bag with water, a sandwich, and some candy. I figured this was lunch. No, that must have been second breakfast. Lunch came later – soup and rice. They had some fresh greens too so I stuffed my soup with lettuce instead of rice. After lunch, the cheering resumed. There were ice cream, cotton candy, and soda vendors around the field. The kids were coming and going and having a great time. I never saw a sports game. Was this just the celebration after a week of sports? Were sports being played somewhere else? At some point, there was running though. Ok, that’s a sport. I found it fascinating that some kids had running shoes and the rest ran barefoot. It was so hot I thought I might pass out. Some teachers had hoodies or jackets on. I felt my t shirt had way too much fabric. I’m not sure I will make it through the summer.

When I got home, I so badly wanted to take a cold shower (If I had hot water, I would not have used it) and a nap. But, if I did, then I wouldn’t go to the market and I wouldn’t have the fresh veggies I wanted for the weekend. So, I took my tiny bike up to the market. Holy crap that is far away by bike, but I made it. I got some veggies, fruit and a shrimp omelette. I also go what looks like doughnut holes. I also bought some “slippers”. The teachers take their shoes off when they get to school and wear plastic slippers instead. So, I got a pair of fake crocs for my school slippers. I also got slippers for the bathroom – constantly wet bathroom floor problem solved! Thai bathrooms are constantly wet. I won’t say more – google it if you want.

Time to get to the Real Work

On January 22, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Awakening, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Time to get to the real work – why am I really here. This has been so hard. I knew it would be. The whole time, I’m asking myself, why is it so hard. Beyond the obvious culture shock, new job, bugs, drastic change in standard of living, etc. I’ve done my inner work. I know that if I’m suffering, it’s a lie in my head. But I still can’t get out of hole of despair. My job here is to teach English, but the bigger job is to continue to Wake Up (and take my readers with me).

Last night when I was riding my bike up some ridiculous hill I just started crying. I can hear everything my next door neighbor does so I know if I just start screaming or crying at home, I’m going to have to answer some questions or at the very least, that information will go into the rumor mill and people will think I’m unhappy. I am unhappy, but not because the school isn’t taking care of me. I’m unhappy because it’s a giant change and a little too much to process all at once. I’m unhappy because I have my own unresolved issues that are coming to the surface because I am worn too thin to keep up the defenses against the issues. So, I was trying to push this tiny bike up a hill it wasn’t fit for and I just couldn’t hold back the tears again.

I’m unhappy because the people I want to love me, don’t reach out to see how I am doing. Everyone’s life went on as normal without me, as if they didn’t notice I left. These are the feelings coming up, not the reality of it. I have had amazing contact with some of my ATP classmates. I know people are reading and following my blog. I’ve talked to my family more that I use to. I know I have a bunch of friends planning to travel with me when I have time off. And now I have an entire school that will do anything to make me feel welcome so I will stay here. Ok, it’s not because they know and love me, but still, it’s an entire school. I’ve spent most of my life taking care of myself, physically and emotionally. I’ve spent most of my life craving and wishing for that someone special, that knight in shining armor to come and save me and take care of me because I’m so tired of doing it myself. I know that’s never going to happen, but I keep hoping for it anyway. Can I let go of the “need” for it to be one person, a mate, a knight? Can I let go of wanting it to be the person that is not interested or capable? Because if I can, I might be able to enjoy the fact that I’m being taken care of. It’s not a man that I find attractive with the promise of a life partnership together. It’s not happily ever after. It came in a different package. It’s a staff of teachers and a bunch of students.

On a slightly different issue (but still related, somehow), I’m frustrated with the wifi here. The possible solution is an hour’s drive away and I have a bicycle that doesn’t like hills. I supposedly live in the land of waterfalls, but I have no way to go find any of them. I have fellow TESOL teachers 2 and 3 hours away (by car, not bicycle). I feel stranded. I miss my car. It’s a frantic panic-y feeling. I was noticing it and questioning this correlation between freedom and mobility. One of the questions I’ve gotten a lot the last few days is am I lonely. It seems funny to me. No, I’m not lonely. I’m around teachers and students all day long. I can hear every time my next door neighbor sniffles or someone walks by. Back home, I was alone and isolated. I would spend about 90% of my week alone. I got lonely sometimes. The difference here is not lonely or not, it’s mobile or not. At home, if I was feeling isolated, I’d just get in the car and drive somewhere else. I have no issue roaming around Thailand, seeing the sights and scenery alone. I mind that I can’t roam. So, this connection/correlation/realization is still coming together, but since I just put them together today, I figured I’d write about it since it’s at the point where it will probably come together in the next week or so.

New Wheels

On January 22, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Last night I discovered a pretty large frog in my bathroom. There are lots of cracks and holes in my walls, but I haven’t seen one big enough for him to fit through. Where did he come from? How long has he lived here? I think they eat bugs so maybe I should keep him. I looked for him this morning, but didn’t find him. How did he just appear and then disappear?

I had a rough evening last night with bugs, but it prompted me to put up the bug net they gave me. I did a pretty crappy job of putting it up, but it helped. I think I might re-do it this weekend and maybe rearrange or even move into the other bedroom. It was also hot last night. I had really been enjoying the cool evenings. Where did they go?

School went ok today. I had 3 classes and they seemed to get into the lesson even though they are shy to speak English. I was told that the Director of my school thinks I’m too serious. Now I have to try to remedy that. There are a lot of times of the day where I’m just exhausted from not knowing the language. I think the teacher that has been assigned to me is exhausted too. I still have a homework project for my TESOL class that is due Saturday so I’ve been working on that in the evenings and then I’m to tired to learn Thai. You’d think that if you didn’t know the language, you could just zone out and relax, but it’s not like that. I feel like a fish out of water, a really tall fish.

I have to go to a teacher parent thing on Sunday. They want me to give a speech. I was told today that if I could do it in Thai, that would be great. That makes me tired just thinking of it.

The wifi here is awful so I struggled all day trying to do lesson plans. I didn’t get anything done in between classes. I have lost internet connection 7 times while writing this. (It took me over a half hour to upload photos last night before I gave up). I asked for advice from other western teachers in Thailand. The advice I got was to buy a mobile hot spot. There’s no phone store here. I think there’s one in another town, but I can’t get there, even if I remembered where it was. And they didn’t speak English, so we are back to the issue of the day.

I tried to have my agent arrange a motor bike rental for me. Then I was told the school would lend me one. Today, I was told that wouldn’t work. I think they are still working on it, but don’t know how to get it here. I asked if I could take a bus to Tak and then drive it back. They looked at me like I was nuts and said no. I feel so struck. Amazing how attached to our cars we are. And how we equate mobility with freedom. Today, one of the teachers gave me a bicycle to borrow. I still feel a little stranded, but it’s better.

After school, I rode my bike up to the dam area to help a girl with kayaking. Wow, that bike was not made for those hills. I got a serious workout in. But, that’s the first exercise I’ve seen in months. So, now I feel a little better about the bike. It will be nice to get in shape again. And I can go to the market and get food because I have a basket.

Then I got home and Pat had a refrigerator delivered to my house. It was her old one before she moved to a new house. Stuff is in there cooling down right now. I hung up a wind chime that sounds like a frog. I bought it in Hua Hin. It sounds great. I tried to upload a video of it here. Not sure if it will work…..

The Thais often have a spirit house out in the front of their house. The house is intended to provide shelter for spirits that may cause problems if not appeased. They often leave offerings of food and drink on the house for the spirits. After all the bug drama, my friend and I decided I needed to make an offering. I don’t have a spirit house, but tonight I left a small offering of fruit, a gummy worm and fruit milk. I like gummy worms so spirits might too.

20160121_180310 — picnic tables near the lower dam

20160121_185023 — offering to the spirits

Fruit Milk

On January 20, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, UncategorizedLeave a comment

So, after I posted my blog last night, I went downstairs and saw a huge spider. Not the largest spider I’ve ever seen (I grew up in Florida), but large enough he could have starred in a horror film. He was larger than the palm of my hand. Now all my childhood survival skills are kicking in. From now on I will check the sheets before I go to bed, check under the toilet seat before I sit down, and shake my shoes before I put them on. No, I didn’t get a picture of him. I was too busy with the long handled broom trying to get him out of the house as fast as possible before he killed me.

Today, same “I don’t want to get up”. I suspect that will continue for awhile. I’ve never been a morning person and was never fond of getting up for work back home either. School was better. My next door neighbor, Teacher Q, gave me a ride to school on his motorbike. He insisted that I don’t have to walk that far (2 -3 blocks). I taught 3 classes today. It went fairly well. Some stuff was easy and some was too hard, but it gave me a great feel for what to do with their next lesson.

Pat and her husband took me out to lunch with a local missionary who is also a westerner, one of the few in town. Lara is funny and just delightful to talk with. She has lived in Thailand for 20 years and has been friends with Pat and Dam for 10 years. It was so nice to have an easy conversation for a change. It was also nice that Pat and Dam set it up, knowing I would like to meet here. Lara and I are going to have coffee next week.

After school, I came home and decided to try some of the fruit I picked up at the market last night. Since I now have a large amount of milk from what the students brought me last night, I figured fruit and milk would be a good snack. The box of milk said 2% and has a picture of fruit and milk on it. Huh? Guess what? Yep, it was fruit flavored milk. It wasn’t good enough to run out and go buy more, but it was good enough that I will have a fruit milk snack every day until it is gone. The red fruit I ate was kind of like a spiced apple, but less sweet. Not high on my list of favorite fruit.

There is a huge wasps nest in one of the trees next to my house. It’s probably 3 feet long by 1 foot tall. It’s been a slight concern to me and at night 10 -15 wasps are always at my window screens trying to get in. Tonight I was sitting out in front of my house drinking fruit milk when a very loud whir sound happened, loud enough to block out all other sounds. Then the sound moved. It was a swarm of thousands and thousands of wasps all moving away from the nest. I tried to run inside, but was mesmerized and stood staring. Well, if I’m not going to run, I should at least video this. Unfortunately the video didn’t do it justice so I’m not posting it. Then all together they flew off in the same direction. I looked up at the wasp’s nest and couldn’t see it. I think what I had thought was a nest before was actually a mass of sleeping wasps. I wonder if they do this every day. Will they be returning or did they take off for good?

Shortly after that, a teacher and student showed up with two frying pans, cooking oil, sausages and more pork chips.

I wanted to call someone at home, but it was the middle of the night there. Brandon had put me in touch with his friend, Chris who lives in Thailand so I called him. We had a nice long conversation. Having lunch with Lara and having a conversation with Chris, have helped balance something. I feel a lot better than I have in a long time.

Then another teacher showed up with a slice of cake and asked if I wanted her to take me to 7-11. There’s one 7-11 in town and a tiny (4-5 food vendors) market next to it. So, I went and got chicken on a stick. Meat on a stick is quite a popular thing in Thailand. I bought two pieces of chicken and as I was walking away, the lady gave me a third for free.

So, now I sit here writing and battling the mysteriously appearing beetle like bugs. I’m just sitting here minding my own business and one crawls across my computer. I check everywhere around me and there are none. Then a few minutes later, one crawls across my shirt. This has been going on for at least a half hour now. They aren’t on the ceiling, walls or floor and then one appears. Where are they coming from? Magic bugs. This is a poor use of magic.

20160120_091927 — Rocks on pedestals; I don’t know why

20160120_091934 — More rocks on pedestals

20160120_091940 — Pedestals for future rocks, and a dog

20160120_164726 — Truth in advertising – That is fruit flavored milk

Brain Fog

On January 19, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, Uncategorized2 Comments

Well, I woke up this morning with the words”I don’t want to” on my lips……again. I put off getting out of bed and moved so slowly that I was almost late for school. But, I only have about 2 blocks to walk so it’s hard to be late. One of the other teachers saw me walking and gave me a ride on her motorbike so I was actually early.

I missed my first class today only because I hadn’t received my schedule yet. I taught 3 other classes. I just went through basic introductions – how are you, what is your name, what do you like, etc. It went well for the younger class, but was way too easy for the older classes. I have a bunch more classes this week that are older so I have to figure out how to make it more interesting for them. They are all so shy. It’s very difficult to get some of them to speak and some won’t speak loud enough for you to hear them.

Pat brought me lunch today. It was vegetables and…..you guessed it…..rice. After lunch, I felt the brain fog again that I have been feeling a lot lately. I don’t think it’s just all the new information, culture, language, etc. I think it’s the food. I’m use to eating mostly fruits and vegetables. Now, there are fruits and vegetables, but not much – it’s mostly starch.

I found out that tomorrow I have the class I taught on Monday, again. So, tonight I am trying to come up with a new lesson for them. I really want to be doing something else.

After school, Pat and her husband took me to the night market that happens on Tuesdays and Fridays. There were so many wonderful things. There were also some things I’m pretty sure I’m never going to try to eat. I’m looking forward to having a kitchen so I can go back to the market and buy vegetables! But, I don’t have a table or gas for the stove or a refrigerator so it will have to wait. I got a lot of strange stares for sure. If I wai to the people I see, they stop looking so judgmental and smile and wai back. Then I’m not so scary. They put fabric up between the food stalls to keep out the sun. They were meant for Thai people, not tall foreigners. I had to duck 90% of the time there.

I got home and a table, some chairs and a desk were sitting in front of my door. Yay! Now I can get the little bit of food I have up off the floor onto the table. And I can prepare food in the future on it.

I was just about to post this when I heard a bunch of giggling and “Teacher Rraine” downstairs. I went down and there were 6 students standing there. They gave me milk and pork flavored chips. They asked me a few questions in English, but it was mostly giggling since they are quite shy to speak English.

Now I have lots of instant noodles and a ridiculous amount of milk. Hmmmmm…..should I mix the noodles with the milk?

20160119_162302 — Yay Veggies! I’ll be back for you next week!

20160119_080210 — Students gathering for assembly

20160119_201537 — My new desk and chairs

20160119_163303 — OMG – These are green beans

First Day

On January 18, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, Uncategorized1 Comment

What a long strange day. I was asked to do a speech before the entire school this morning. They said keep it short, a few sentences. I did and they they said, so short?

I taught a half a class. Then the teacher, Pat, who has been helping me took me to the cell phone store because my phone isn’t working. It turns out that the sim card I have won’t work in this area of the country so I had to get a new one (with a different company). It’s working now.

It’s sports day at the school so when we went back the students were all playing sports and there were no classes. Pat took me to get noodles for lunch. So, now it’s 10:30 am and I’m carrying around soup in a bag in a bag. Everything in Thailand is in a bag with another bag to carry that bag in. She tells me to go sit with Mae, another teacher. So I do. Mae then takes me to watch Wallyball (I’ll need to work on W and V apparently). After that she takes me to the library and gives me a book about the king written in English. She basically doesn’t know what to do with me. After awhile, Pat comes and gets me and brings me a bowl and spoon for my soup. So, I eat lunch even though I am so sick and tired of noodles and rice that I just have lost interest in eating. Then I meet with the School director and sign a ton of papers and my contract. Then we go to find out what my teaching schedule will be, but no one knows. One of the other teachers brings me a rice cooker. Oh yea – now I can make my own rice. She also gives me a small purse like bag because they all think my backpack is too big. There is no way I can put school things in that small bag. They take pictures of me as they are giving me the rice cooker and the bag. Then I get a copy of their text books so I can look at the type of stuff they have been learning in English. This will be helpful for later on. Now they are asking me if I will teach math and science. And will I teach the teachers after school? I don’t want to teach math and science, but have no issue teaching English to the teachers. There is supposed to be a closing assembly every day, but it was canceled for spots day so I go home a little early.

Tomorrow I am supposed to teach 4 classes. Wish me luck.

I get home and just want to take a nap. They tried to put a hot water thing in for my shower, but the water pressure is too low for it to work right. When I get home, the guy trying it was just leaving. I decide that a shower while it’s still warm outside is a good idea vs trying to take a cold shower once it’s cooler outside. It’s been very cool here in the evenings and very warm, but tolerable during the day.

I haven’t finished drying off when I hear my name being called. I throw on clothes and see who is at the door. It’s teacher Noi. She brought over the rice cooker that I wasn’t able to take with me earlier. She wants to know if she can help me in any way. I have no idea. She asks if I want to go for noodles for dinner. Oh god, no, I don’t. I tried gracefully to back out, but it was never going to work. I know that if a Thai invites you somewhere, you just have to go. No is not the correct answer. So I agreed. She drove me up to the dam which I hadn’t seen yet. We live near the largest dam in Thailand. We hung out there for awhile. Then she took me through a couple villages and took me to dinner. I haven’t paid for a meal since I got here. Most western teachers get a Thai mom at some point – someone who decides they want to take care of the foreigner. It’s not a set thing, it just happens. At one point she told me she was 53 and asked if I was sister. I told her I was 46 and she smiled and said “sister”. So, it appears that I don’t have a Thai mom, but a Thai sister.

I know that culture shock has set in and I’m depressed and wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea. So, I just have to try to learn Thai and say yes to invites and get involved or the culture shock will just be more painful for longer.

I am exhausted and my brain is foggy. I don’t feel clear and I’m having trouble remembering things. Granted, there’s a lot to remember. But, I’m thinking that the change in my diet is part of why I feel so foggy. I not getting nearly the same amount of vitamins I use to get when I ate mostly fruits and vegetables. Now, it’s mostly rice and noodles with a small amount of veggies.

At this moment, there is a wild band of pissed off wasps trying to get through the bug screen. If I turn the light off, they go away, but then I can’t see anything. It’s the most annoying noise. I didn’t get a nap so I’m going to bed. Enjoy the pictures of the day:

20160118_115840 — Thai fruit that tastes like an apple with a bad aftertaste

20160118_172729 20160118_172956 20160118_173056

20160118_173120 — Kids from my school practicing rowing

20160118_173142 20160118_173159

20160118_173242 — There’s a big mountain bike race that happens here every year

20160118_175618 20160118_175625 20160118_175809 20160118_180046

Sam Ngao

On January 17, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I moved. Friday we graduated. It feels too fast. Friday night we all went out for drinks. Wow, partying with 23 year olds is kind of boring. Who knew? Part way through the evening, I just decided to wander the bar and find someone else to talk to. I met Alan. He was drunk, but funny. Annalise, one of my housemates, Alan and I hung out and went to hear a live Thai band that played hard rock. The singer could really belt it out. Quite amazing. Eventually we met up with the rest of the group. A fight broke out in the bar (not people in my group) and someone got stabbed. This was the point where some of us decided it was a good time to go home.

I got about 3 hours of sleep and then got up to get on a van at 5:30am heading to Bangkok. Three other teachers were with me as all four of us have the same school agent. In Bangkok we had to get on a bus. The bus station was confusing and I had to drag my giant suitcases all over the place, but we managed to find the right bus. Then an 8 hour bus ride to Sukohthai. One of our agents picked us up at the bus station and took us back to their house. Everyone that lives on their street is family. The entire family bought all the land and built houses on this one street. At the end are some apartments where the agent’s teachers live. We met some of the other Western teachers. The three girls I was traveling with will be living there and teaching in Sukohthai.

An hour or two after getting there, one of the teachers from my school and her husband came to pick me up. Patty is an English teacher at my school and will be assisting me with everything until the end of the semester. She and her husband, Adam are real nice. They took me out for dinner and then drove me to my new home a few hours from Sukohthai. We drove by the school and some students were waiting for us. They followed us to my house and helped me take my bags in. I think they were the same students that painted and cleaned up my house for me.

Most teachers have small efficiency apartments. I have a traditional Thai house. Although, they put mosquito screens on all the windows which doesn’t look completely traditional. No glass windows, just big wooden shutters. There are still lots of holes and cracks for bugs to come in so I’m just going to pretend it’s like camping. There are two rooms downstairs and a bathroom. I will use one room as a kitchen. Have no idea what to do with the other room. I have a gas stove, but no gas. I have one table not big enough to put everything on. I have dishes which I think were Patty’s. A refrigerator is supposedly coming next week. The bathroom has a flush toilet – ish. My shower doesn’t have hot water yet – next week. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms. One has a twin bed and a closet. They gave me a bug net for the bed, but I’ve given up for now on trying to get it hung up. Now the light in my room isn’t working – it should get fixed next week. I could move the bed into the empty room next door, but decided that is too much effort right now and I have a headlamp…..

Today Patty and Alan took me to Tak, the next town, which is bigger to shop at Tesco (kinda like Walmart). I got some stuff for the house. Should have gotten a bigger table for the room we will call the future kitchen. Then we went to lunch. By the time I got back this afternoon, culture shock had set in. Although Patty is an English teacher and speaks fairly good English, it’s still difficult to communicate. Not very many other people speak English. There are no other foreigners here and I was quite the topic of conversation (in Thai) everywhere we went. I’m nervous about teaching. I’m tired of eating rice and noodles. And I just want my temperpedic bed. I got depressed. I know this is part of culture shock and it’s just going to happen from time to time. I tried to nap the blues away, but that didn’t work. I unpacked most of my stuff. Then I went for a walk in town. I felt a little better walking around, but still quite low energy. Patty and Alan took me out for dinner and now I’m sitting in my dark bedroom writing this.

I start teaching tomorrow – eeeeeek! Commence ridiculous amount of photos:

20160116_220121 — My Kitchen or other room

20160116_220145 — The other other room or kitchen

20160116_220208 — Bathroom – FYI: The hole in the wall is where the shower drains to

20160117_114956 — The guy in front of us is taking a dining room table home on his moped

20160117_170449 — The front of my house where I will live for the next year

20160117_172304 — Another street in Sam Ngao

20160117_174132 — They are burning trash, leaves, grasses, and ? That’s why the sky is hazy

Last Practice Teaching Day

On January 14, 2016July 24, 2016 By rrainefioreIn Teaching, Thailand, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today was the last practice teaching day. We taught 4 classes by ourselves and observed 2 of our classmates teaching. I had 9-12 year olds. It wasn’t the mayhem of the first day we taught, but classroom management is still difficult for me. They liked repeating the words as I taught them. They knew a lot of the words I brought to teach. They can’t put words into a sentence to save their lives though. They lost interest at that point. About half of every class was attentive, but I could never quite get the whole class engaged. Some of the classes weren’t too bad and some were so out of control. The two classes I observed seemed to have the same issues I did – paper airplanes, cell phones, paper guns, glue, stealing things, hitting each other, talking instead of listening, leaving the classroom, drawing other things, talking to their friends…..

Tomorrow is our test and then at 6:00am on Saturday, I leave for my new home in North Thailand. I start teaching on Monday. It’s all too fast. I don’t even feel ready for the test much less the move and teaching high schoolers who probably have a low proficiency of English. It should make for some interesting blogs though.

I don’t have pictures from today, but I have a couple that are interesting:

20160113_184604_resized — The polite way to greet people is with a wai – Even Ronald knows how to wai.

20160114_161558_resized — This is a little market that is nicely decorated and Thais go here just to take pictures in front for the novelty of it. So, we thought we’d join in and take a picture too.

20160114_180019_resized — No dryers = laundry living room

	eaglegenuinec87d1476… on Going Home
	delicately4f6d967f14 on Going Home
	delicately4f6d967f14 on Icebergs
	delicately4f6d967f14 on ATV Tour
	eaglegenuinec87d1476… on Kluane

Rraine Drops

Tag: Teaching in Thailand