Ayutthaya at last!

On Sunday I finally made it to Ayutthaya! As one of the three past capitals of Thailand (the other two being Sukhothai and Thonburi), it's a pretty popular destination. Only 90 minutes to the north by train or bus, Ayutthaya boasts acres of ruins (or should I say 'rai' of ruins-FYI, Dad: 2.5 rai=1 acre). Unfortunately, I took the slowest route possible. I left my apartment before 7am and 'just missed' various modes of transportation all day. I just missed my van and had to wait twenty minutes for the next trip to Bangkok. I just missed a ferry boat to the train station and had to wait 15 minutes. I just missed the 9:25 train (the bell sounded as I bought my ticket) and had to take the 10:05 train which didn't pull out of the station until 10:30ish. Thankfully, I made it to Ayutthaya by noon. Being the penny-pincher that I am, I decided to walk to the ruins and by-pass the over-priced tuk-tuk drivers waiting for fresh meat at the train station. I walk for about 30 minutes in the sweltering, 90+ degree heat until I happened upon a bike rental place. For just over $1 US, I had a bike for the day! I zoomed (well, slowly rolled) across town on my one-speed two-wheeler. I could practically feel the wind in my face! I stopped by the most-photographed site- Buddha's head surrounded by overgrown tree roots. Ayutthaya is definitely a city of ruins: mostly piles of bricks and decapitated Buddha images. By the end of my trek, my face was beet-red, and I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion. All in all, a good day, and I'm alive to tell about it.

Since my last post, I:
- voted absentee in the Texas Democratic Primary. I really feel like my vote might count in this one. I sent my ballot on Saturday, but the post office sent it to the return address rather than to Texas despite the fact that I paid for international shipping. Ugh. This time, I highlighted the address and had a Thai teacher talk to the post office, so hopefully, it will get to the US by March 4!
- traveled around with some grad students and a professor from Silpakorn University. We went to a floating market, a Catholic Church, and a few wats (temples). The three Thai women were very nice and excited to practice their English. The Chinese grad student was sleazy and kept throwing pick-up lines at me in Thai. It was awkward.
- went to a monk's funeral, or part of it anyway. Since this monk was under royal patronage, the funeral lasted for seven days. I went to a one-hour prayer session and listened as monks chanted about birth, aging, pain, and death. The picture below shows the funeral display with a huge urn flanked by royal symbols.
- changed the 'comment' settings on my blog. Anyone can make comments (even anonymously), but I just check each comment to avoid spam with links to silly advertisements. So, feel free to comment! I love comments! :)
- have been proctoring final exams!

Hanging Around

My weekend shenanigans began with a field trip and photo shoot. Ajahn Penny, ten M-1 students (7th grade), and I crammed in the school van with our sights set on the wonderful attractions of Nakhon Chaisi. This trip was the second of its kind. Ajahn Penny wants me to create an English brochure highlighting places of interest in the area (i.e. temples, markets, and markets at temples). I had to be physically present because Ajahn Penny wanted to be sure to capture my foreign face in all the shots. It's weird how whiteness is such a big deal here.
First stop: Sisatong Temple- a giant, half-bodied demon changes the luck of petitioners who make an offering of eight black things (coffee, jelly, sticky rice, whisky, grapes, etc.); caged monkeys in the parking lot
Second stop: Klang Kuveyung Temple- located by the Tajeen River; lots of golden orbs; people like to feed the fish (see photo) and the turtles
Third stop: Baang Pra Temple- features a glass coffin (with mother of pearl inlay) containing the decaying body of a revered monk who died five years ago
Fourth stop: Lampaya Floating Market- busy, authentic, not-so-touristy floating market
Fifth stop: Tajeen River at Huay Ploo- delicious chicken noodle soup (10 baht! = 33 cents); great place to get friendly with the huge fish (see photo- you can put your whole hand in a fish's mouth!)

On Sunday I went to the Dusit Zoo in Bangkok. Though it was not nearly as big as the Chiang Mai Zoo, the animals were incredibly entertaining and animated. I spent about 30 minutes staring at the primates. One of the monkeys was totally intentional with all of his actions: he analyzed each of the bugs he picked out of his buddy's armpit; he slumped off by himself to be lonely for a bit; he struck up a conversation with another monkey after a while. I was amazed at how thoughtful the little guy was. I caught another primate planning his escape (see photo). I got a kick out of the playful jaguars, the hungry giraffes, and beautiful exotic birds. Only an inch or two of glass separated me from the giant nose of a lazy hippo (see photo). I have some great pictures, but I chose three of my favorites for the blog. The picture of the yawning tiger barely beat out the picture of a peacock fanning out all his feathers. So even though I stayed close to home this past weekend, I had a wonderful time.

Classroom Chronicles

Despite the bulk of this blog's content (my crazy weekend adventures), I do spend most of my time in the classroom. My kids (all 500+ of them) are both incredibly sweet and terribly frustrating. They greet me with such polite smiles and give me little candies before turning into Thai terrors who spend more time doing makeup and doodling than learning English. However, I do have some stellar students who make my time worthwhile. They visit me after school, ask me for help, practice speaking in English conversationally, and show genuine interest in exploring life outside Thailand.

As for my teaching methods, I try to incorporate a variety of fun activities with substantive lessons. I wasn't given any guidance from school as to what I was expected to teach. So, I took the broad title of each course (Reading, Listening & Speaking, General Knowledge, etc.) and went with it. I've had lessons centered around songs: fill-in-the-blank for "Do You Hear What I Hear?" at Christmas (the Carpenters version) and scrambled lyrics of "The World's Greatest" (R. Kelly, from Kami's mixed CD). Lessons have featured body parts, descriptions, advice, likes/dislikes, cultural stuff, and more. Activities have included games, songs, dances, puzzles, and worksheets. Nearly every aspect of Thai education is handled differently than US education. Students are hierarchically divided by skill level into set sections for the entire year. The sections of 32-48 students vary greatly in ability, with the M1/1 and M1/2 students greatly out-performing the M1/7 and M1/8 students.

For my M4 and M5 (10th and 11th grade) students' final project, I'm having them creatively retell a fable in English. My M4/2 students rocked my world when they whipped out giant posters, skits, and even a DVD slideshow with hand-drawn pictures and voice-over narration. They truly wowed me. Then, the very next period, my M4/3 students showed up completely empty-handed. Seriously, NO one turned in a final project. I was floored. The other teachers have stressed that I'm not supposed to fail any students (if my grades even matter), but how was I supposed to deal with their unabashed disregard for the assignment? The students (in the most challenging class I teach) finally got the message because they suddenly fell silent and listened. I agreed to give them until Friday to put something together, an attempt at redeeming themselves after three weeks of inaction. They spent the rest of the period working like busy bees, so I think they got the message. There's a brief update from the teaching front. While teaching has its highs and its lows, I am definitely still glad I came.

Pause for a Cause

With a month to go in Thailand, I'm looking ahead to an event the month after I return to Houston- the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. If you have a moment, please take a look at my support website:

http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1420&px=3873265

I'll be walking over 39 miles in two days and raising $2000. I read about the walk in a magazine that my sister sent me, and I thought it would be a great way to honor the memory of my Aunt Jane Rasmussen. Though I don't intend to turn my Thailand blog into a bunch of solicitations, I think this cause is worth the pause. :)

Parents, Part Two

On Monday we went our separate ways: my parents went on an eco-tourist adventure in the jungle, and I trudged through the treacherous terrain of Thai secondary school. While my parents rode elephants, I battled the beast of uninterested students. Then, I woke up to the sound of machine guns on Wednesday. On my walk to school I realized that the scary machine guns were, in fact, fun red firecrackers. The noise scares away evil spirits who bring bad luck on the eve of the Chinese New Year. After school I went to Chinatown in Bangkok with one of the Chinese teachers and rang in the Year of the Rat. While wandering through the congested streets, we saw crowded Chinese temples, the color red everywhere, people burning gold paper, and more!

Mom and Dad arrived in Nakhon Chaisi on Friday afternoon. They observed my teaching expertise (hah! a third of the students showed up five minutes before class ended). They looked in amazement at the giant Valentine's Day poster I made. They graciously greeted my fellow teachers who were shocked by Dad's height. They endured the stares of curious Thai students who had never seen so many Westerners (with such pointy noses!) at once. They waited patiently and sighed through waves of frustration at the school's slow internet connection. It was the complete afternoon of 'a glimpse into Becky's daily life.' Then we went to the river and fed the catfish. We ate pomelo, my town's famous sweet grapefruit-like commodity. Then we ate the world's best pad thai and a variety of other Thai delicacies (kao lam or honey-infused sticky rice in bamboo, a Thai dessert of taro in milk, roti, et cetera, et cetera).

On Saturday we went to Ratchburi's floating market, visited the Siriraj Hospital Museum, and indulged two-hour Thai massages. Over the course of these excursions, we gathered many memories and funny stories about the culture clash between East and West. Finally, on Sunday we went to the Grand Palace and the flower district. We spent dinner with my friend Peach and her parents. I think everyone really enjoyed this gathering despite the language barrier. I couldn't help but smile through the delicious home-cooked Thai meal as I was surrounded by five of my favorite people from around the world. The evening made it all the more difficult to bid farewell to my parents, who headed to the airport as I headed to school this morning.

Explore, Examine, Exhale

My parents and I left Koh Phi Phi on Monday morning bound for Krabi. While we were waiting for the hotel room to be cleaned for check-in, we called my brother Sam in Idaho. It was fun to put him on speaker phone and hear the updates on the Superbowl and the weather (with all the snow at home, it's a good time to be in Thailand). When our room was available, we stashed our stuff and took a boat trip up and down the river. We stopped at a neat cave where Japanese soldiers camped out during WWII.

Then we visited a fish farm and saw a variety of tropical fish. The old man running the place put on a nice show for the three of us. He fed the hungry shark-like fish, let us touch the slimy and spiky fish, and provoked three different types of puffer fish to blow up like balloons. Though a bit inhumane, it was very interesting. Then we got back in the boat to see more wildlife in their natural habitat. We saw a couple monitors (the family of large lizards including the Komodo dragon) and four funny monkeys playing and monkeying around on the beach. Hopefully, the video below works! (*NOTE: since I couldn't get the video to work, I've substituted a different monkey picture from a different day*)

Before I knew it, I found myself at the tiny Krabi airport waiting for my delayed flight. I took the chance to read, look at the beautiful scenery, and prepare for the week ahead. Despite the 'adventure' content of this blog, I do, in fact, spend most of my time teaching English to Thai children, haha. While flying above the cloud cover, I was suddenly very glad for the delay because my timing was perfect for the sunset. Watching the breathtaking scene unfold, I felt incredibly lucky. I feel like the last 4+ months have been a welcome pause... a refreshing breath of time to think, relax, evaluate, and recharge before coming back to my old life with new eyes.

Parents, Pampering, Paradise!

Friday, February 1 marked the auspicious and much-awaited arrival of my beloved parents. For our first night together, my parents went all-out and sprung for a room at the Oriental. When Mom and Dad checked in, they found out their room had been upgraded (yay!). After 24+ hours of traveling to Thailand, they freshened up in their room overlooking the Chao Praya River. A butler waited patiently outside to tidy their room any time they left- bringing in fresh tropical goodies like ripe mangoes and passion fruit. Because I had secretly given the hotel a heads-up about my parents' 30th Anniversary (FYI, actual date- 10/22/07), presents began popping up in the room including a little cake, a breathtaking bouquet of orchids, and a heart-shaped display of rose petals. When I finally caught up with my parents for our gourmet dinner (picture above), they were ready to pass out from all the traveling and pampering. While they slept soundly, I spent a few hours exploring the amenities of the super-sized bathroom. I'm not kidding.

My parents' trip marks their second journey to the Land of Smiles. Some things haven't changed since the time they were here eight years ago: terrifying traffic, exposed electrical wires dangling in the streets, Bangkok's pollution, crazy drivers, and tourist traps/scams. In an effort to provide a different view of the country I've called home for the past four months, I deemed myself their personal cultural guide. Though my Thai language skills are shaky at best, I hoped to provide an all-encompassing experience beyond the bounds of the guidebook. Lesson One: Make an offering to the spirit house (the colorful little birdhouse-type structures next to the buildings they protect).

On Saturday we flew to Phuket for some island-hopping fun. Immediately, I experienced a dizzying wave of sticker-shock in this tourist hotspot. I could not believe how expensive everything was- from the transportation to the meals. In the afternoon we visited a sobering memorial to 8,000+ people who died in the tsunami on December 26, 2004. Then we stopped by the beach and dipped our feet in the Andaman Sea. Finally, we spent some time by the swanky swimming pool at our hotel before retiring to our bungalow.

On Sunday we took a ferry to Koh Phi Phi, home of Leonardo's utopia in The Beach. We spent most of the day slurping fruit smoothies, wading in the crystal-clear water, sipping beer, and reading on the white sandy beaches. Unfortunately, we soaked up a bit too much sun and ended up with a painful, pink reminder from head-to-toe. Nonetheless, we took our sunburned selves out to a seafood dinner on the beach. We watched sun sink below the horizon and paint the island paradise with warm shades of orange, red, pink, and purple before revealing a glittering display of stars. Ahhh...

Teachers Take a Trip

A rowdy bus full of Pattarayan's teaching staff made our triumphant return to Saraburi (home of the Scout/Red Cross Camp we visited around Halloween). Along the way we stopped at Thailand's longest dam and a waterfall (which was really just a bunch of rocks because the water levels were low). While we were at the dam (see photo above), one of the Philippina teachers had to excuse herself from the excursion. While the bus took her to the nearest bathroom, the Thai teachers went on and on about 'Bella's diarrhea.' This lack of privacy is pretty standard in Thailand despite the embarrassment it creates. Though I would have been mortified, Bella handled it like a champ and smiled through the stomach cramps and audible whispers about her bowel movements and eating habits.

After arriving at the retreat area, we frolicked in a nearby waterfall. In the evening we sang karaoke, gambled, and played rummy until 2am. Bad news: I lost 15 baht, or about 50 cents, in a game similar to blackjack (instead of 21, the magic numbers are 8, 9, 18, 19, 28, or 29). Good news: I won 3 out of 4 rummy games. Bad news: nobody will play rummy with me anymore. In the morning we gambled a bit more. I won 15 baht and decided to quit while I was even. Then an adventurous group of us went to the ATV place again and took an ambitious ride over some dusty terrain. On our way back to Nakhon Chaisi, we revisited places from the last trip- a vineyard and another dam. I hopped off the bus in Bangkok and hurried to meet up with my parents at the Oriental!