6.13.12

Patricia got a text at 11pm on Tuesday night.

Tom’s gotten the sack. Finally. I was wondering how long the school and ABA were going to tolerate his outrageous behavior.

Somehow, the day seemed sunnier…

This does come with mixed feelings, however. We were already one teacher short. Now we are two teachers short. And there is no way that myself or Pat can cover his schedule since all the classes overlap. A new teacher is arriving on Monday (he was supposed to be the 4th teacher) with Khun Apple. So, I guess Tom’s classes are just out of luck for the rest of this week. Which is unfortunate. But I don’t think they were really getting any good out of them anyhow.

We are still petitioning for a transportation allowance or something to ease our financial burden of getting to and from school each day. Our new method will save us 2,000 a month each, but that still leaves us both paying 1,000 a week on transport. When I spoke to Phil today, he said he is definitely still working on it, the priority at the moment is getting another teacher. He did make a point of saying that what we are doing for them is very much appreciated and will be taken into consideration. And that if he doesn’t revisit the issue when things have “calmed down”, I should remind him. yay.

Thought about going to Big C (Thai Walmart equivalent) since I am running out of body wash. However, the wen stops running at 6pm. I think shopping is best saved for the weekend.

I shocked and awed my first class. They saw the tattoos on my feet and were like “Teacher, teacher! Tattoos so beautiful! How many?” So, I told them I had around 50. They misunderstood and thought I meant that was the cost. I clarified. Wrote it on the board and explained the difference between ‘I have’ and ‘they cost’. Then I got the “Ooooooooh”. You can’t see any besides the ones on my feet and the one on my wrist. They still seemed skeptical and probably thought they were still misunderstanding what I was saying. I pulled my collar slightly to the side so you could see a fish tail. THAT got a response. Squeals and applause and laughter. I turned it into a teaching experience. “Do you have a tattoo?” I asked each student individually and they had to give me a complete sentence response. Each one said “No, I don’t have a tattoo”. Then they asked to see the others. I said I couldn’t because of where they are. I gestured down my sides and my back. Another round of “oooohs”. Then I went back to the board and, while writing and talking, casually lifted the corner of my shirt so you could see just a peek of my back. I love getting a rise out of them. Absolute glee. Huge applause and cheers. I was then able to easily get the class under control and had a very productive lesson. I think I won this class over.

My second class (with Donut and Patty) was really good too. I asked about their favorite “American” foods. Lasagna, French fries, sushi, hamburgers, hot dogs, waffles, spaghetti carbonara (that was Patty), pizza, ice cream, etc. Then I had them tell me what country some of the different foods were from. That was fun. Of course, they got sushi right. But they were shocked about Italy for most of the others and Belgium for waffles and French fries (they hadn’t even heard of Belgium). I explained that ‘French fries’ was kind of a trick. After observing and interacting with Donut for the second time, I think he may be slightly special needs (which was confirmed by Frista later). They do look out for him and really cheer him on. Thing is, he has the best pronunciation out of the entire class. Go Donut!

The rest of the school day was uneventful. I am tiring easily because I don’t feel like eating in the heat in the middle of the day. I had prawn crackers in my desk drawer.

Patricia is now running a fever and not really getting any better. But she is rallying like a champ. I am going to take her my Vitamin C tablets in the morning. It’s easy to get fresh fruit, but not to get fresh veggies. She just needs to be able to relax, which we haven’t truly been able to do. She isn’t getting run down, she is continuing to be run down.

I chatted with Spencer for a bit when I got “home”. Also, had a good phone call with Phil. He asked what could be done to ease some of the pressure. I said transportation allowance, for a start. Having someone here dedicated to helping us. And clarifying some things with the school that they keep asking Patricia and myself about (that we have nothing to do with). So, he said that an allowance would be a priority, he will make Fon available to us this weekend to take us around, and he will talk to the school to remind them of some of the particulars of the contract they have with ABA. I get things DONE!

When I said ‘a bit’, I meant that I spent three hours in my room before heading out to finally get dinner. My plan was to go to the little grocery and then 7-11 (Spencer said I had to try these banana chips they have there) and then maybe get some noodles or something. Grabbed a motorcycle taxi and told him “Saiburi Soi sib-ed (11)” and then pointed down the street and said “7-11”. He started in the right direction but then made a right and then a left and then another right and then a left on to the main road Saiburi. He drove a little ways and I could tell he was looking for the right Soi. I knew that he should have just continued down Thanon Rad-uthit Neung, but, hey, at least I was getting my 15 baht worth. He finally turned down the right Soi and slowly made his way. He gestured, wanting to know if this was where I wanted to go. I pointed down the street to 7-11. I handed him 15 (didn’t even ask the price). Walked across the street to the grocery and purchased lotion, body wash and two containers of chocolate coins. I needed some classroom rewards.

Side note: lotion. It actually took me a while to find lotion that didn’t say “whitening”. Almost every bottle had something about “whitening” or “lightening” on it. I think it’s funny that in America, there are lots of lotions for bronzing or getting a “sun-kissed glow”. Here, they wouldn’t even dream of trying to market something like that. Complete opposite. I ended up buying Johnson & Johnson baby lotion.

Walked back to 7-11. I decided to forgo the noodles. I figured I would just get a toasty and my banana chips. BUT, I opted for the grilled pork sticky rice burger instead. Ok, Brian (if you are reading this), it really was delicious. Grilled pork patty between a bun that was actually, well, two sticky rice cakes. Highly recommend it.

While I was browsing the desserts, a man got my attention. “Excuse me, miss, where are you from”. I thought that he just wanted to practice his English. I told him “America”. Then he asked me what state. I told him “Colorado”. Then he asked me what religion I am. I told him. He said, “I am a Christian, too”. He went on to tell me his name (Sam), what church he went to, how old he was (37), that he was single, that he had family in America who were missionaries in Texas and that he dreamed of also being a missionary. He currently is a carpenter. He said it is hard work. He chatted with me for about ten minutes before we parted ways. On my way out he asked if I would remember him the next time I see him. I told him I would.

I had wanted to take a motorcycle taxi to get back to the mansion. The streets were usually lousy with them, but not tonight. Oh well. I knew my way home. Headed down Rad-uthit. Realized that it wasn’t very far between the intersection at Saiburi Soi 11 and the noodle shop I had been eating at. I bought my pineapple (I didn’t even have to ask for it. “Two slices, two bags?”), handed her 20 and continued on my way. I like this neighborhood. I really hope I am able to continue staying at the Greenview (which really has no view at all) on a monthly basis.

Got to my room, cracked a Fanta, devoured my “burger”, and settled in to do some writing. Oh yeah, have to do my lesson plans too. Anything to do with teaching is the least stressful part of my day. Which is a great thing to be able to say.