Thursday, November 3, 2011

Things are looking up….

So after my second and third days of teaching, I believe I may finally be getting the hang of things.  Its still tough, but way less stressful.  

Some of the students are absolutely adorable and one class even gave me this:

Well, but, I AM lovely, so who can argue such sound reasoning?  And that there is some seriously talented paper folding!

Also of note:  We were told in orientation that playing hangman with our classes is a good way to kill time at the end of the period.  I haven’t played hangman for quite a few years so I forgot about the cacophony which can ensue from such a simple game.  Like what is the point of raising your hand if you’re just going to scream out letters anyhow?  And is screeching “M!” twelve times in a row really going to make me hear it any better when you blew out my eardrum with the first screech? 

I thought not. 

Here’s something:  Seventeen-year-old Thais are just as hormonal as seventeen-year-old Americans.  People’s exhibit A:  I handed over the chalk to the kids in one class to let them continue the game of hangman once I realized that they were a bit more advanced than I originally thought.  Big mistake.

First a girl came up and did “I love you.”  Okay, harmless enough. 

A boy was next and his said “You are sexy,” and I was like oh crap, this is about to get inappropriate.  Side note:  The kids are so shy that they giggle and flee when you look at them, and yet they have no problem writing “you are sexy” on a chalkboard.  Figure that out.

Then I gave the chalk to a girl forgetting for a second how dirty my own mind is and thinking erroneously that she might save the class and clean it up. 

Her puzzle said “condom.” 

Of course it did.

Digression:  This is my full name in Thai:

The alphabet is so beautiful!  I really want to learn it, but there are like five symbols just for the “kh” sound.  It’s a bit tedious.

There are so many things that we as Americans never think twice about that are such a big deal here in Thailand, things you have to be so careful to do or avoid doing that it becomes a little worrisome.  Every time Thais pass a statue of the Buddha, for instance, they stop and wai to it (to "wai" something or someone is to hold your hands as if praying and bow your head, deeply for the Buddha or a monk, shallower for a person of higher authority than you and just a little dip for peers). 

Shoes are never worn inside.  I’m still not clear about this so I'll have to learn a bit more, but Thais always take their shoes off before going in their own or someone else’s house….which creates a bit of an issue for Americans who can’t handle dirty feet!  It feels like every few hours one of us goes, “Ick, my feet are so dirty!”  We're getting over it though!  The kids only wear their shoes to walk around the campus outside, but when they are in the buildings, they leave their shoes under a bench outside the classroom.  Teachers are permitted to keep their shoes on thank goodness.

Sitting with your legs crossed is dangerous as this means your foot is always pointing at someone which is considered insulting.  I believe there was an instance when former President Bush was visiting Thailand and spent nearly the entire visit with his legs crossed so that his foot was unfortunately pointed right at the King!  And putting your feet up on a piece of furniture is definitely something you don’t do!

The thing about the Thais though is that they would never correct you when you are doing something offensive to their culture.  They are far too kind and non-confrontational to ever say anything that would cause you to lose face.  They may say something to you in private, but they would never tell you in front of others.  The dress code here is not really enforced and while it is implicitly stated that teachers should wear skirts that come to at least right above their knees, I have seen many Thai teachers in tight skirts that barely come to mid-thigh.  This makes me a bit less tense about some of the skirts I was worried might be a tad too short.  No women wear pants ever though.  Not really a problem for me though since just the thought of putting something on my legs in this heat sounds like a terrible idea.

One thing I have noticed though is that all the teachers wear pretty high-necked shirts.  Even at the vendors selling clothing on the streets, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything low cut.  It’s amazing how things I wear at home that I would never consider risqué, make me a little nervous to wear here. 

I was in class today and I was leaning over the students’ desks as they did their work, and after giggling with a table of boys, the girl in the class with the best English came up to me, gestured to the boys to make it clear that she was passing along a message, and said “Teacha sexy.”  I was like ohhhh shoot, I think I might be giving these boys a peep show.  In a country where there are no giant billboards of Victoria Beckham clad in nothing but Armani lingerie, my shirt falling a bit forward was probably the equivalent of a porno flick!  Note to self:  Don’t let that happen again!

****

The charade with our housing situation (hopefully) seems to be coming to an end.  The manager of the apartment complex who doesn’t like foreigners came through and offered us two rooms, one with two beds and one with one bed, but right before that happened, we had set our hearts on two rooms in a waterfront hotel in Krabi Town.  Our coordinator had talked the manager there into giving us a better price on the rooms, but because it is in Krabi Town and not Ao Luk, the school will only pay for part of it.  We have to chip in about 1300 baht per month (which really only works out to about $43, so I think we can swing it). 

Since we really are so much happier in Krabi Town as there are actually things for us to do – bars, shopping and a night market with amazing street vendor food (The place we were living originally had no where for us to eat anywhere close, and in Krabi we got pineapple shakes, pad thai and vegetable spring rolls for dinner for only $2 each!) – we figure that the extra little bit of money will be worth it if we are happy and entertained.  Plus, we thought the cash we would be saving would be a wash , since what we would save by living in Ao Luk would be spent constantly going to Krabi!

We are holding out being too over the moon until all the I’s have been dotted and t’s crossed, since we’ve already seen how quickly plans can change, but as of right now, the emotional rollercoaster we have been riding is on an upswing!  We are as I write checked in and settling down in Krabi town pending a contract we have to sign.  Carlyn had to go by herself with one of the teachers and ALL of our luggage to check in since Stacy and I both had class, but she held her ground better than I think I would have been able to when the principal of our school and a few teachers tried to manipulate her into backing out of our Krabi town plans.  

Since we spent the other night at the hostel in Krabi Town, we woke up extra early (as we will have to from now on) but we got to see a pretty spectacular sunrise off our balcony:


I now have an address if anyone wishes to be so kind as to send me a package or a letter or a bit of American food, although I can’t promise it won’t take twelve years to get here and cost you a small fortune to send.  Anyhow, here’s the addresess:
Sarah Miller
Aolukprachasan School
(2 Moo 7)
Petkasem Rd, Aoluk Tai
Aoluk, Krabi  81100
Thailand

Also, here’s my phone number.  Won’t cost me a dime if you call, but it will probably be a car payment on your end.  Or not.  I actually have no idea.  Just remember there is an eleven hour time difference from Eastern Time:
089 227 8912 (the country code for Thailand is 66) 

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