Ballroom Bootcamp

On Wednesday I went to a ballroom dancing lesson with my host teacher and the two Philippina teachers at my school. Ajahn Nattamon's friend was in need of female companions for her students at the police academy. When we arrived, I felt like a mail order bride- an awkward outsider thrown into a sea of suitors. A group of guys in uniform crowded around me and barraged me with an array of questions. At one point, a guy asked me how old I was and the date of my birthday. He said something about his birthday and how I should get him a gift. I asked him what he wanted, and he said my telephone number. Talk about a pick-up line! Haha. Anyway, I danced the night away (with a different cadet who was too short to spin me properly), and it was loads of fun. I'll be taking a two-hour lesson every Wednesday and Thursday for the next six weeks.

I suppose I should offer an update on the classroom front: my students are both the most polite and disruptive high schoolers I have ever seen. They greet me at the beginning of class by standing in unison and saying, "Good morning teacher Becky." Class begins and they talk amongst themselves in Thai, while only five or six students pay attention in the class of 40+. At the end of class they stand again and say, "Thank you teacher Becky. See you next time." It would be so cute if they weren't so chatty with each other and silent when I ask them questions. Also, the classes are supposed to be 50 minutes long, but I'm lucky if I have 30 minutes of solid teaching time. There are no passing periods, so the time it takes for students to get from one classroom to another cuts into the period. One time, a math teacher held a class of students for 25 minutes after his class before they came to mine! Also, sometimes students just don't show up. One day only 14 students came to class while the other 21 were off doing who knows what. Did I mention the bell is the tune to "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music? I walk around thinking, "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..." everyday... every 50 minutes...

Despite this mini rant, I love it here. I've learned to go with the flow, and I'm trying to create opportunities to interact with students outside the classroom. I recently started hosting an English table at lunch. After about 5-10 minutes of sitting by myself at a table like the smelly kid who picks his nose, I am joined by a group of students who come up and ask me questions about the US, my nonexistent boyfriend, my eating preferences, etc. I'm looking forward to developing some after-school activities as well!

Lights, Candles, Action!

I feel like I have been celebrating for the past week! On Wednesday, I went to Bangkok for a meeting with the other Fulbright ETAs. On Thursday, we all went to the Rose Garden in Nakhon Pathom where we saw beautiful flowers, ate at a fabulous buffet, watched an elephant show, attended a traditional cultural show, interacted with animals (note the parrots), and experienced firsthand some crafts and handiwork by sculpting clay, weaving banana leaves, and cutting vegetables into flowers. Then we came back to Bangkok and had Thanksgiving dinner at the Banyan Tree, a fancy restaurant where the amazing buffet featured turkey and pumpkin pie! I ate so much I felt ill. But it was so, so good.

After a day of Fulbright meetings on Friday, I bought a train ticket to Phitsanulok to meet up with fellow ETA Brittny. My stay there was brief because I ended up in Sukhothai with McCaila (my roommate from Bangkok) for the Loy Krathong festivities. During the annual festival, Thai people put little banana leaf boats with candles (krathongs) into the water to thank the river for what it provides and to seek forgiveness for polluting it. Sukhothai is the place to be for the festival because the festivities are especially festive. We arrived at the 650+ year old ruins and walked around for a bit. In the afternoon students from around the province performed in a colorful parade that was the longest and slowest parade I have ever seen (but that's the Thai way of doing things).


In the evening as the sun went down, lights illuminated the ruins. People lit krathongs and cast them into the water. Large paper lanterns (like mini hot air balloons) were lit and set off into the night sky. I think they were better than fireworks because you could watch them float away until they looked like stars in the sky. Soon, the sky was filled with dozens of these floating orbs of light. McCaila and I watched the 'Lights and Sounds' show, which told the story of Sukhothai's history. The costumes and lighting effects were beautiful. It was crazy to see Thai people running all over the ancient buildings... I liked how visitors had such intimate access to the structures. In the US, they'd probably be roped off and behind plexi-glass or something. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and a very memorable night.

Traveling home on Sunday was another memorable experience, though not nearly as pleasant. Let's just say the 14-hour journey involved two rides from strangers, a non-air-conditioned train, and two bus rides (one of which involved standing next to the open door underneath a man with some serious B.O. while the toothless bus driver laughed like a madman as he swerved through traffic). My rock-hard bed never felt so good!

A Day in the Life

6:00am Wake Up and watch 'Channel News Asia' to get up-to-date on world news (in English!)
7:20am Walk to school (a truly death-defying feat considering motorists here)
7:30am Arrive at Pattarayan Wittaya School and sign in
8:30am-5:00pm Teach at various times throughout the day, lesson plan, study Thai language with Ajahn Penny
6:30pm-7:15pm Aerobics, Thai-style
7:30pm Dinner at the market or from street vendors
9:00pm Watch Heroes (in English on the Chinese channel!)
10:00pm Write in journal, study Thai, prepare for tomorrow, read

My new address:
Rebecca Thilo
Pattarayan Wittaya School
Nakhon Chaisi
Nakhon Pathom 73120
THAILAND

This past weekend, I bonded with some people who were my own age! I met up with a teacher's son (Joe- 21, engineering student) and daughter (Peach- 22, computer science student). We spent the weekend together exchanging travel stories, riding bikes, going to markets, eating, and having a great time!

Tarot and Taro

Teaching has been going well, though the students' English level is quite low. Figuring out the way things work around here (i.e. making copies, opening a locked classroom, knowing where I am supposed to be, knowing when I am supposed to be there, etc.) has become my latest challenge. Thankfully, no major catastrophes, but, don't worry, I have still found myself in plenty of embarrassing and confusing situations.

This past weekend was laid-back and fun. I went to a market on Saturday morning with Ajahn Nattamon- the woman who shows me the ropes around here (except for the first two weeks when she was in Vietnam and then sick). After breakfast, she brought out her Tarot cards and offered to read my fortune. She told me to shuffle the deck with my left hand while thinking of my future, money, love, business, traveling, education, or whatever. Because I am me, I found myself curious about the future doom and misfortune of my love life. When the deck was cut and the 10 cards were revealed to forecast my romantic future, the results were quite surprising (and, dare I say, promising?). The 10th card, the most important indicator of future failure or success, was 'The Lovers' card! Maybe there's hope for me yet. Haha.

In the evening I went over to Ajahn Watana's house and had a feast with the other foreign teachers (see the picture of the leftover food). The two Philippina teachers (Bella and Liza), the two Chinese teachers (Zhoubo and Chai), and I stuffed ourselves until our belts wouldn't loosen anymore. Did I mention that my favorite song (Nothin's Gonna Stop Us)was playing when I went in the dining room? I was so excited, I busted a move right there and frightened everyone around me. Well, after dinner, people had grown accustomed to my insanity and we had a bit of a dance party, which consisted of listening to English songs while I made a spectacle of myself with my awesome skills in the art of awkward dancing. How else was I going to burn off all those calories?

Finally, on Sunday I made my triumphant return to Bangkok with the two male Chinese teachers. We shopped in Siam Square all day (their choice, not mine). Now, I'm ready for another week of attempting to break through the language barrier with my students!

Over the river and through the woods...

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week, the 7th, 8th, and 9th graders went camping at a huge complex in Saraburi with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Red Cross! The 10th, 11th, and 12th graders stayed at school for a Buddhist camp. I tagged along with the younger folks and had a blast! We had an opening ceremony with candlelight, challenge/adventure course activities like a zip line into the water, and group skits. I even got to show off my sweet dance moves during one of the group assemblies. I led half of the group while Boy, a "ladyboy" Boy Scout leader, led the other half. As always, I was the tall, awkward white girl trying to bust a move and everyone got a good laugh.

One afternoon, some of the teachers left camp to go on our own adventure. We rode around an ATV course. It was very user-friendly and fun for a first time rider like myself. Despite what the posed picture above may lead you to believe (Mom), I was wearing a helmet. :) One of the teachers said we may return in January for a longer, more intense ride. We also went to a vineyard run by a former Miss Thailand-turned actress. I had some delicious grape ice cream. Everyone went to "Nam Dtok Jet Sow Noy," Seven Young Girls Waterfall. Quite beautiful!

Finally, I had my first Thai version of the American breakfast (see the photo below). I got a huge kick out of having fried chicken drumsticks, scrambled eggs, and artfully prepared hot dogs before 8am. Just in case that wasn't enough food, there was rice and pork ball soup followed by papaya and watermelon for dessert.

Now I am officially teaching. Unfortunately, I only see each of my 517 students once a week. I have lots of lessons to plan for each of my 14 classes (or 17- they haven't decided yet). For my first class, I found out 20 minutes before it began that I would be teaching, so I am definitely kept on my toes here!