‘Curvy’ is In. ‘Fat’ is Out.

20 Friday Jul 2012

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7.18.12

I’ve always said that the best way to start out a Wednesday is with a runway fashion show. I’m glad someone finally figured that out.

It was a beautiful morning but they were assembling on the top floor instead of on the basketball court. Of course, we had no prior knowledge of this. Wish we had. I would have brought my camera. When we got up there, we noticed there were a whole bunch of art objects and things like cowboy hats and visors made out of coke cans. Khun Wanchai explained that the students had made these things, all from recycled materials. They were really great. We sat down on the couches and listened as usual. Patricia got up and spoke English, imploring the students to get their ABA textbooks (they have had them available for three weeks and she is still having classes show up with half of them missing their books). Typically, once we are done speaking English to the assembly, we head back to our office. Something told us to hold off today. I’m really glad we did. Continue reading →

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for a Ride to the Bar.

20 Friday Jul 2012

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I decided not to mope about on Saturday night. After spending most of the day lounging about and doing my lesson plans for the following week, I thought I would go out to the Buzz Stop for a cider and maybe a snack.

I left the mansion at around 8pm or so. Started walking down Raduthit 1 to get a motorbike. There didn’t seem to be any about. Had been walking for a couple of minutes when a man with an ice cream cart flagged me down. He spoke no English but he was offered me a ride. I told him I was going to get a motorbike and made the ‘handlebar’ gesture. He nodded and said something in Thai and indicated again that I should get on the back of his motorbike. Which was attached to a sidecar with an ice cream cooler and awning. I rode side-saddle for the first time. It was really comfortable, but I don’t think I would have had the courage to do it without the cart to hold on to. I told him where I had planned to go and he nodded. I expected him to take me to the next taxi stand, but instead he took me the entire way. When I hopped off at the Buzz Stop, I took out my wallet to pay him and he waved me off. “No, no!” Another Thai first for me. Instead, I wei-ed him and thanked him and he went on his way. George had a laugh at me arriving via ice cream cart. Continue reading →

“Boo” for the Bamboo Bar.

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

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7.13.12

Friday was Ellie’s last day of teaching at HIC. I decided to hang out with her after school and take a taxi back to Songkhla later. We caught a motorbike to Wangburapa. Then she and I and her friend, Ocean, hung out for a bit before we headed out to the Bamboo Bar. I had really been wanting to smoke a cigarette lately. I have no idea why. I failed to bring my e-cig with me to Thailand. I didn’t think I would want it. Now I wish I had brought it with me. No, I have not had a cigarette. But I really wanted to smoke some shisha to stave off the craving. William had said that this place, the Bamboo Bar, had hookah. It is owned by a Welshman and is where William and his fiancé spend their weekends.

I left my backpack in Ellie’s room so that I wouldn’t have to lug around my laptop. We had found the bar on the map I carry around with me. But didn’t think we would need to take it with since it was popular enough to be put on a map. Not the case. We stopped two tuk-tuks, both of whom had no idea where to take us. Walked back to the room and got the map. This time the driver was able to figure out where to go. I hadn’t ever had to actually show it to a driver before. I usually just use it for my own reference, to get my bearings. Continue reading →

C’est la vie.

12 Thursday Jul 2012

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7.11.12

Although there are 7-11s in abundance in Thailand, it did not occur to me to have a Slurpee today. And since they write the date as 11-7-55, I don’t think it would have been free anyhow. Oh well.

The toilets worked all day. Small blessings.

My birthday is coming up in August. We happen to have a 4-day weekend the 2nd-5th. Which would encompass my birthday. However, I think it is just our school, so any other teacher-friends outside of HIC wouldn’t have that time off. BUT, the queen’s birthday is the following weekend, which in Thailand is referred to as Mother’s Day. And that is a 3-day weekend. Two long weekends in a row! Had been contemplating Phuket, but it is eight hours by mini bus and airlines don’t fly between Hat Yai airport and Phuket airport. I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either. Phuket is out of the question then. Had also thought of going to Krabi. Five hours by bus. Then Teacher Da told me about Koh Lipe. Continue reading →

No toilets? No Problem.

12 Thursday Jul 2012

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Oh Monday. Monday, Monday, Monday…

Ellie started teaching Patricia’s classes and William had returned from Malaysia.

My first class went swimmingly. I wanted them to start the class speaking in past tense (usually I ask what they did on the weekend). But I was tired of hearing the same answers (I went to waterfall, I went shopping, I chatted on Facebook). Yes, chatting on Facebook on the weekend is its own distinct activity here. Instead, I asked them what they ate for dinner. When they told me, I asked “How was it?” An enterprising student had found the page in the book titled “How does it taste?” On page 45. I hadn’t read that far ahead. Didn’t even know it was a lesson. Good for her. They were all able to tell me what they ate and how it was. After warming them up, I handed back their quizzes. I cleared up a common mistake. Q: “How are you doing?” A: “I am student.” Explained the difference between ‘what’ and ‘how’. I think they got it this time. At least, I hope so since they get it right when I ask them ‘How are you doing?’, individually, every class…

My second class on Mondays I have come to think of as one of my ‘Maybe, Maybe Not’ classes. As in, maybe they will show up and maybe not. Continue reading →

Ants are not Bears.

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

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7.7.12

Ellie did end up coming to Songkhla on Saturday. Yay! First stop, the Songkhla Aquarium. It is located on the north end of the peninsula, fairly isolated from anything else. Now, it’s not really something to write home about (even though that’s precisely what I’m doing), but for 200 baht ($6-ish), you can hardly go wrong. There is also a go-kart track, for those of you who go to the aquarium to ride go-karts. Mostly, the exhibits seemed to be freshwater fish. Lots of groupers and catfish and that sort of thing. They had one standalone tank containing two different couples of two different types of clown fish. The smaller, “Nemo” clown fish were trying to defend their anemone from the other two. As Ellie said, “It doesn’t seem like a fair fight.”

Another standalone had two frog fish. Those are really strange looking. Pretty small, sand-colored and they look spiny and they just sit on the bottom of the tank. But their fins really do make them look like frogs. The stone fish was scary. I was looking right at him and knew what I was looking at and still couldn’t register that it was really a fish. Won’t be stepping on any rocks in the ocean with bare feet…

Sea turtles! They had a whole tank full of adolescent sea turtles. They have got to be one of my favorite ocean creatures. Their faces are so calm and sweet and they just glide through the water. I could have watched them all day.

We were ushered in to the area with the large tank that houses the sharks and the one ray and some very large sea turtles and a variety of angel fish and groupers larger than a 3-year old child. The feeding show was about to start… The theme song to Mission Impossible started up and a scuba diver rode in on a shark. Yes, a shark. Continue reading →

New Teachers. New Bank Accounts.

08 Sunday Jul 2012

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Fourth of July means nothing more than Wednesday here. I know of no Americans in my area. Nor do I particularly care. I like to barbeque with my close friends.

We were ‘gifted’ Teacher William last Thursday. He is in his early twenties, from South Africa, and a rugby player. I am pretty sure that every girl and ladyboy in the school has been drawing hearts in their notebooks since last week. Students who never ventured into Foreign Language before are now coming by just to look at him. He is the rooster in the hen-house. Sorry, ladies and ladyboys, he’s engaged.

It’s very nice to have a third teacher. We never considered Tom to be a teacher at all. He was just a body. An angry, rude, arrogant body who did more harm than good being here. Last we heard, he was on a train to Bangkok sharing a sleeper car with a monk. Poor monk. Continue reading →