Monday, 31 January 2005
The day flew by today. Can't believe it's nearly February already. Highlights of the day:
* Game's 9th birthday was today - His dad brought KFC buckets of chicken and a decadent coffee ice cream cake from Swensen's for a 3:30 pm treat for all of us.
* Phu ate like there is no tomorrow, then tried to pull his classic whining/crying manipulation to get the empty bucket (yet he turned it off like a water faucet in a second when we told him to go outside if he was going to cry). Besides, it's not YOUR birthday....Our precocious student Mon later wrote a cute message on the board in English telling Game thank you for the chicken and cake and depicting us talking to Phu.
* Creativity followed with Mint making a cape with the empty cake box. Little did we know once again birthday party garbage can create hours of entertainment, more than the party itself.
* The kids proceeded to marvel at the dried ice (used to keep the ice cream cake cool) in the bowl for nearly 20 minutes, then gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday" (to the bowl, not to Game) and blow out the smoke it emitted at the end. They thoroughly enjoyed this activity, as they sang the song 4 times (again, to the bowl, not to Game).
* The kids decorated themselves as robots with the empty boxes and cardboard pieces. Meanwhile, others cut up pieces of future board (plastic boards we use for bulletin boards) to create blue robots, and Game wanted to take the chicken buckets home for drums.
* Came home after 8 pm to peer in the kitchen and see a rat eating the cheese I left him in the glue trap! After running and screaming to Christy, Paint, P'Charn, anyone I could find, not in vicinity of the rat, P'Charn disposed of the rat (telling us that he hit it first before dumping it to make sure it was dead).
Good thing we ate the late birthday snack because neither Christy nor I wanted to touch any of the dishes or food in the kitchen after actually seeing a rat with my own eyes in there!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Yes, There is a Mouse in the House!
Sunday, 30 January 2005
This weekend consisted of a lot of laziness, watching DVD's, eating, and shopping....and of course, looking for the mouse that is in our house. Some of the movie titles that were watched: "Princess Diaries 2" with Aw, "Bridget Jones Diary 2: The Edge of Reason" that shows the chedi in my town! (But that was the only exciting part of Thailand they depicted in the movie, as the rest of the storyline showed the Hollywood sterotypical parts of Thailand that I have not associated with the culture of Thailand while living here- drugs, sex, and prostitution), and "Van Diesling" with P'Lek on his brand-spanking new 5 speaker boombox combined with 3 disc DVD changer. In his little 10x10 room, it was hilarious to see this 40 year old man cowering in the corner as the surround sound was so loud, I swear all of Nakhon Pathom could hear the movie all the way to the chedi. He finally let me borrow the movie, either because he wanted me to go home so he could listen to his slow song American hits cd, or because he was too scared to continue watching a movie about vampires reverberating the walls in his room.
Saturday, Aw and I went to the morning market at Soi Sawng at 7:30 am and I found myself in a shopping spree as I bought two Chinese embroidered blouses (many vendors are selling Chinese shirts and lycee for Chinese New Year's on February 9th) for $5 each, a silver necklace with a huge turqoise gem for $7, a dress shirt for my brother, pad see iew and two hom bows for my 50 cent breakfast, and a coconut filled with shredded, chilled coconut jello for dessert. Later, Matt stopped by to take me and Jill out for ice cream. For lunch, Ku Ai and Wondee took us to get noodle soup and more ice cream. Then, they took us to visit Ajarn Ong-Ard and Ajarn Kanisnee's house about 15 minutes away. Although they have had the house for 2 years, they are still renovating and fixing it up so that it's ready when they retire to live in it full-time. We looked at baby pictures of the kids, talked a bit about school stuff (how they want me to teach summer school at the end of March and beginning of April, and how the curriculum books from America we ordered are too expensive to get -so it's back to the drawing board!), and then headed home. I was so full from my day of eating, I just ate saimin for dinner.
Today, I cleaned the cupboards, as I discovered the mouse had eaten through a saimin package and one of my snack bags, right through the ziploc bag. There were mouse droppings in the kitchen and on the dining room table, that weren't there last night! So, after the workers spent last week sealing holes in our house and replacing old window screens, I convinced them today (after showing them the eaten packages) that they have "sealed" the mouse in our house. P'Pau came to look through our cabinets for the mouse, but I tried to tell her that it comes out at night, so she probably wouldn't find the critter. I told her we should probably get a mouse trap, but I know they just want to find it, as it would be against Buddhist principles to kill anything (hence all the wild, rabid dogs all over Thailand). So, I tried to clean out as much food as possible, moving some things to our school fridge, as our house fridge will need to be fixed tomorrow anyway due to its neverending iceberg building up in the freezer, constant defrosting puddles that remain on the floor, and with a door that never seals completely tight.
As I finish the book, Mai Pen Rai, I laugh and can associate with many of Carol Hollinger's stories of living with the many critters of Thailand that keep you up at night, or that you know have visited your house sometime in the night. Besides those accounts, her book is one that is definitely a must-have for anyone intending to spend a good amount of time living in Thailand, to understand its people, culture, driving, social system, and, well, just a little bit about everyday life.
This weekend consisted of a lot of laziness, watching DVD's, eating, and shopping....and of course, looking for the mouse that is in our house. Some of the movie titles that were watched: "Princess Diaries 2" with Aw, "Bridget Jones Diary 2: The Edge of Reason" that shows the chedi in my town! (But that was the only exciting part of Thailand they depicted in the movie, as the rest of the storyline showed the Hollywood sterotypical parts of Thailand that I have not associated with the culture of Thailand while living here- drugs, sex, and prostitution), and "Van Diesling" with P'Lek on his brand-spanking new 5 speaker boombox combined with 3 disc DVD changer. In his little 10x10 room, it was hilarious to see this 40 year old man cowering in the corner as the surround sound was so loud, I swear all of Nakhon Pathom could hear the movie all the way to the chedi. He finally let me borrow the movie, either because he wanted me to go home so he could listen to his slow song American hits cd, or because he was too scared to continue watching a movie about vampires reverberating the walls in his room.
Saturday, Aw and I went to the morning market at Soi Sawng at 7:30 am and I found myself in a shopping spree as I bought two Chinese embroidered blouses (many vendors are selling Chinese shirts and lycee for Chinese New Year's on February 9th) for $5 each, a silver necklace with a huge turqoise gem for $7, a dress shirt for my brother, pad see iew and two hom bows for my 50 cent breakfast, and a coconut filled with shredded, chilled coconut jello for dessert. Later, Matt stopped by to take me and Jill out for ice cream. For lunch, Ku Ai and Wondee took us to get noodle soup and more ice cream. Then, they took us to visit Ajarn Ong-Ard and Ajarn Kanisnee's house about 15 minutes away. Although they have had the house for 2 years, they are still renovating and fixing it up so that it's ready when they retire to live in it full-time. We looked at baby pictures of the kids, talked a bit about school stuff (how they want me to teach summer school at the end of March and beginning of April, and how the curriculum books from America we ordered are too expensive to get -so it's back to the drawing board!), and then headed home. I was so full from my day of eating, I just ate saimin for dinner.
Today, I cleaned the cupboards, as I discovered the mouse had eaten through a saimin package and one of my snack bags, right through the ziploc bag. There were mouse droppings in the kitchen and on the dining room table, that weren't there last night! So, after the workers spent last week sealing holes in our house and replacing old window screens, I convinced them today (after showing them the eaten packages) that they have "sealed" the mouse in our house. P'Pau came to look through our cabinets for the mouse, but I tried to tell her that it comes out at night, so she probably wouldn't find the critter. I told her we should probably get a mouse trap, but I know they just want to find it, as it would be against Buddhist principles to kill anything (hence all the wild, rabid dogs all over Thailand). So, I tried to clean out as much food as possible, moving some things to our school fridge, as our house fridge will need to be fixed tomorrow anyway due to its neverending iceberg building up in the freezer, constant defrosting puddles that remain on the floor, and with a door that never seals completely tight.
As I finish the book, Mai Pen Rai, I laugh and can associate with many of Carol Hollinger's stories of living with the many critters of Thailand that keep you up at night, or that you know have visited your house sometime in the night. Besides those accounts, her book is one that is definitely a must-have for anyone intending to spend a good amount of time living in Thailand, to understand its people, culture, driving, social system, and, well, just a little bit about everyday life.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
We Have Curriculum!
Thursday, 27 January 2005
Never thought I would be so happy about curriculum, but yes, we have curriculum now (Well, at least we have it ordered.). Today, Ajarn Kansinee and Ajarn Ong-Ard asked us to come to the other campus to view curriculum books. It took several hours (Ajarn Ong-Ard later treated us to a late lunch at the hospital across the street since we missed one teaching period and our lunch.) A vendor had come to our school with an assortment of textbooks in Reading, Math, Science, Health, Social Studies, Art, etc. from American publishers we were familiar with as well as those from Singapore that we already use in our English Program. As the days fly by here and we keep busy with day to day lesson planning and teaching, Christy and I were both feeling the pressure of our responsiblities which have extended not only to daily teaching (and the 10 hours we spend with the students everyday) but also to finding new teachers and the curriculum, making the curriculum map, lesson plans, etc. I had been looking online, emailing colleagues in Seattle, and had been wondering how in the world we were going to order all the curriculum from America and expect it to come on time to Thailand by the start of the new school year in May. But, today, the vendor had everything we needed, and although it will be expensive (the school pays upfront, but the parents and families are expected to pay for their child's curriculum out of their own pocket, outside of tuition costs), we selected good titles that are user-friendly for teachers who may not have much teaching experience and background. It will alleviate the many hours spent choosing clip art and making our own assessments and worksheets. Some of that will still have to be done, but at least we have already done some of it since we've been here. We selected new English books for the regular Thai English program as well, so that the students are better prepared in Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2, and Kindergarten 3 (In Thailand, there are 3 classes of Kindergarten - the first two are like preschool) before they reach us for the Grade 1 English Immersion Program. We've got what we need for our Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 classes this May, and we'll have to re-evaluate at the end of next year.
Never thought I would be so happy about curriculum, but yes, we have curriculum now (Well, at least we have it ordered.). Today, Ajarn Kansinee and Ajarn Ong-Ard asked us to come to the other campus to view curriculum books. It took several hours (Ajarn Ong-Ard later treated us to a late lunch at the hospital across the street since we missed one teaching period and our lunch.) A vendor had come to our school with an assortment of textbooks in Reading, Math, Science, Health, Social Studies, Art, etc. from American publishers we were familiar with as well as those from Singapore that we already use in our English Program. As the days fly by here and we keep busy with day to day lesson planning and teaching, Christy and I were both feeling the pressure of our responsiblities which have extended not only to daily teaching (and the 10 hours we spend with the students everyday) but also to finding new teachers and the curriculum, making the curriculum map, lesson plans, etc. I had been looking online, emailing colleagues in Seattle, and had been wondering how in the world we were going to order all the curriculum from America and expect it to come on time to Thailand by the start of the new school year in May. But, today, the vendor had everything we needed, and although it will be expensive (the school pays upfront, but the parents and families are expected to pay for their child's curriculum out of their own pocket, outside of tuition costs), we selected good titles that are user-friendly for teachers who may not have much teaching experience and background. It will alleviate the many hours spent choosing clip art and making our own assessments and worksheets. Some of that will still have to be done, but at least we have already done some of it since we've been here. We selected new English books for the regular Thai English program as well, so that the students are better prepared in Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2, and Kindergarten 3 (In Thailand, there are 3 classes of Kindergarten - the first two are like preschool) before they reach us for the Grade 1 English Immersion Program. We've got what we need for our Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 classes this May, and we'll have to re-evaluate at the end of next year.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
The Students Constantly Amaze Me
Wednesday, 26 January 2005
As Christy and I discover the new responsibilities of our job of advertising, screening, interviewing, and selecting new teachers for the second year of our English Program to start in May, we discuss our past 5 months of teaching and how far the students have come. All eight of our students are at different levels of speaking, reading, and writing ability, and yet they have all improved in their English skills so much! Even the most quiet and reserved ones speak English everyday, and are becoming such bilingual individuals. Both Christy and I use a lot of songs in our teaching, and the students just absolutely love them! Plus, they actually understand the concepts better and know what they are talking about when they sing them. Their current favorites: "Little Planets" (to the tune of "Ten Little Indians") as they are learning about the solar system in Science, "If You Love Our World, Clap Your Hands" (to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It") as they learn about recycling and protecting our Earth, and "BINGO", which they are learning in English. We are now at a point where the students are in guided reading groups and are doing literacy centers, plus we do an hour of varied subject centers after school where they practice the content they are learning. The students mimic the teachers (and with three teachers, they hear a lot of different things) as all students do, and their favorite phrases include: "Are you listening?", "Sit down, right now!", and "That's not okay." There's Mon, our precocious leader of the class who would flourish in an American classroom because of his ability to speak, read, write, and understand both English and Thai fluently; he constantly keeps the teachers in check and corrects us when our Thai pronunciation is wrong by spelling it phonetically in English and sounding the word out. Mint is as hyperactive as always (in our Open House video, he was constantly bouncing around and usually can be seen with a popsicle for breakfast) but loves to do incredible number equations in his head, going from numbers in the thousands to a million, to make today's number in math. Then, there's Phu who has less tantrums and crying fits because he can understand more English, and Ploy, who just joined us a few months ago, but is coming out of her shell and speaking more and more English daily. It has been a joy to teach a group of kids who share their snacks with each other (and me!), play together without cliques, and are becoming more exposed to thinking and solving problems on their own in both English and Thai. I'll miss seeing them grow over the years.
As Christy and I discover the new responsibilities of our job of advertising, screening, interviewing, and selecting new teachers for the second year of our English Program to start in May, we discuss our past 5 months of teaching and how far the students have come. All eight of our students are at different levels of speaking, reading, and writing ability, and yet they have all improved in their English skills so much! Even the most quiet and reserved ones speak English everyday, and are becoming such bilingual individuals. Both Christy and I use a lot of songs in our teaching, and the students just absolutely love them! Plus, they actually understand the concepts better and know what they are talking about when they sing them. Their current favorites: "Little Planets" (to the tune of "Ten Little Indians") as they are learning about the solar system in Science, "If You Love Our World, Clap Your Hands" (to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It") as they learn about recycling and protecting our Earth, and "BINGO", which they are learning in English. We are now at a point where the students are in guided reading groups and are doing literacy centers, plus we do an hour of varied subject centers after school where they practice the content they are learning. The students mimic the teachers (and with three teachers, they hear a lot of different things) as all students do, and their favorite phrases include: "Are you listening?", "Sit down, right now!", and "That's not okay." There's Mon, our precocious leader of the class who would flourish in an American classroom because of his ability to speak, read, write, and understand both English and Thai fluently; he constantly keeps the teachers in check and corrects us when our Thai pronunciation is wrong by spelling it phonetically in English and sounding the word out. Mint is as hyperactive as always (in our Open House video, he was constantly bouncing around and usually can be seen with a popsicle for breakfast) but loves to do incredible number equations in his head, going from numbers in the thousands to a million, to make today's number in math. Then, there's Phu who has less tantrums and crying fits because he can understand more English, and Ploy, who just joined us a few months ago, but is coming out of her shell and speaking more and more English daily. It has been a joy to teach a group of kids who share their snacks with each other (and me!), play together without cliques, and are becoming more exposed to thinking and solving problems on their own in both English and Thai. I'll miss seeing them grow over the years.
Monday, January 24, 2005
As a Tourist in Bangkok
Sunday, 23 January 2005
Minutes after reading about Wattana School in Carol Hollinger's (who coincidentally happens to be from Hawai'i too!) account of her living and teaching experiences in Bangkok- in her book entitled "Mai Pen Rai means Never Mind"- we were sitting at Wattana Church for Sunday service. All the headphones were taken, so I couldn't listen to the translated English service, so once again had to listen for the few words I could pick out here and there - mainly numbers. Had McDonald's (at Jun's request, not mine) for lunch, and I have to admit, it was nice to eat some french fries. They taste the same here in Thailand, except they have an added dipping sauce, chili sweet sauce!
We drove through the dense traffic of Bangkok to get to Wat Pra Kaew, the Grand Palace, and took some beautiful pictures. Initially we entered through the "Thai only" entrance, but the guard was clever and spotted me out as a "farang". He asked, "Khun Thai?" ("Thai people?"), and I said "Chai ka" (yes), but perhaps my sunglasses (I forgot Thai people don't wear sunglasses) and my camera bag were a giveaway for being a tourist. He promptly pointed to the correct entrance and line I had to go to "for tourists" and told me I had to borrow some shoes. It is rude to show your toes in temples, and although my pink slip on heels were cute, he wasn't gonna have it (although it is okay for Thai people to dress this way. So I went and bought 15 baht gray socks and put a deposit down to borrow clunky orange and black reef shoes. All I needed was a snorkel and I'd be set! (I reminded Ajarn Suthep, Jun's father, not to take any full length pictures today, but he paid my 250 baht entry fee, so I suppose I shouldn't complain.) It was quite humorous though.
After a wonderful walk through the temple grounds, we were all tired, hot and sticky, and ready for naps, of course, after the nearly hour and a half drive through Bangkok traffic to get home. I was tired, but needed a little pick me up, so I dragged a 6 year old to the swimming pool. Yes, I had to actually drag Jun to accompany me to their community pool down the street. My shoddy Thai and not being a resident there were factors in that, but he didn't want to swim because he is getting over a cold, and so he had fun coaching me as I swam laps and entertained him with his "starfish pose" (face down, spread eagle pose in the water).
We went to dinner at a popular INDOOR restaurant (I'm so used to eating at street vendors outside) where they specialize in ostrich, from the ostrich farm in Nakhon Ratchasima, a province a few hours away, where Tik is from. On the way there, Jun and his father tried to explain to me what it was (as they didn't know the English word). Jun said, "It's a bird that runs very fast, but does not fly. It has black feathers and a long neck." I had some barbeque skewers. It was actually really delicious.
I told P'Maiy and Ajarn Suthep last night about my early return to America, and although they were sad to hear the news, they were trying to convince me all night to sell all my things in Seattle, buy a house in Thailand, and then I can still teach at Bamrung Wittaya and go home to Hawai'i for vacations. Back at their house, we enjoyed a box of Chinese wedding pastries and looked at pictures with Jeab and Aek (who did not go on a honeymoon, as they have to go back to work in the morning). I had a restless sleep, as I was constantly mosquito bitten throughout the night - even though I had my racquet zapper to protect me (I'm investing in one of these soon and bringing one home to Hawai'i.) Left the house at 6:30 am Monday so we could get to Nakhon Pathom by 7:30 am all ready for school!
I had a busy, fun weekend with Jun's family and friends. It's nice to get away from Nakhon Pathom where I live and teach everyday. Throughout the whole weekend, they treated me to everything, and although I offered to pay many times, they were true to Carol Hollinger's account of the generosity and kindness of Thai people, and would always say "Mai pen rai!".
Minutes after reading about Wattana School in Carol Hollinger's (who coincidentally happens to be from Hawai'i too!) account of her living and teaching experiences in Bangkok- in her book entitled "Mai Pen Rai means Never Mind"- we were sitting at Wattana Church for Sunday service. All the headphones were taken, so I couldn't listen to the translated English service, so once again had to listen for the few words I could pick out here and there - mainly numbers. Had McDonald's (at Jun's request, not mine) for lunch, and I have to admit, it was nice to eat some french fries. They taste the same here in Thailand, except they have an added dipping sauce, chili sweet sauce!
We drove through the dense traffic of Bangkok to get to Wat Pra Kaew, the Grand Palace, and took some beautiful pictures. Initially we entered through the "Thai only" entrance, but the guard was clever and spotted me out as a "farang". He asked, "Khun Thai?" ("Thai people?"), and I said "Chai ka" (yes), but perhaps my sunglasses (I forgot Thai people don't wear sunglasses) and my camera bag were a giveaway for being a tourist. He promptly pointed to the correct entrance and line I had to go to "for tourists" and told me I had to borrow some shoes. It is rude to show your toes in temples, and although my pink slip on heels were cute, he wasn't gonna have it (although it is okay for Thai people to dress this way. So I went and bought 15 baht gray socks and put a deposit down to borrow clunky orange and black reef shoes. All I needed was a snorkel and I'd be set! (I reminded Ajarn Suthep, Jun's father, not to take any full length pictures today, but he paid my 250 baht entry fee, so I suppose I shouldn't complain.) It was quite humorous though.
After a wonderful walk through the temple grounds, we were all tired, hot and sticky, and ready for naps, of course, after the nearly hour and a half drive through Bangkok traffic to get home. I was tired, but needed a little pick me up, so I dragged a 6 year old to the swimming pool. Yes, I had to actually drag Jun to accompany me to their community pool down the street. My shoddy Thai and not being a resident there were factors in that, but he didn't want to swim because he is getting over a cold, and so he had fun coaching me as I swam laps and entertained him with his "starfish pose" (face down, spread eagle pose in the water).
We went to dinner at a popular INDOOR restaurant (I'm so used to eating at street vendors outside) where they specialize in ostrich, from the ostrich farm in Nakhon Ratchasima, a province a few hours away, where Tik is from. On the way there, Jun and his father tried to explain to me what it was (as they didn't know the English word). Jun said, "It's a bird that runs very fast, but does not fly. It has black feathers and a long neck." I had some barbeque skewers. It was actually really delicious.
I told P'Maiy and Ajarn Suthep last night about my early return to America, and although they were sad to hear the news, they were trying to convince me all night to sell all my things in Seattle, buy a house in Thailand, and then I can still teach at Bamrung Wittaya and go home to Hawai'i for vacations. Back at their house, we enjoyed a box of Chinese wedding pastries and looked at pictures with Jeab and Aek (who did not go on a honeymoon, as they have to go back to work in the morning). I had a restless sleep, as I was constantly mosquito bitten throughout the night - even though I had my racquet zapper to protect me (I'm investing in one of these soon and bringing one home to Hawai'i.) Left the house at 6:30 am Monday so we could get to Nakhon Pathom by 7:30 am all ready for school!
I had a busy, fun weekend with Jun's family and friends. It's nice to get away from Nakhon Pathom where I live and teach everyday. Throughout the whole weekend, they treated me to everything, and although I offered to pay many times, they were true to Carol Hollinger's account of the generosity and kindness of Thai people, and would always say "Mai pen rai!".
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