Hello again to all. It is extremely hard for me to believe that I have been teaching 4th grade for seven weeks now. I am happy to report that the more time that goes by, the more I "get" them and the more I enjoy it. I have never been with a group of kids who are this honest. "Mr. Jooooon...you need to get some gum because your breath always smells like you are drinking coffee! Why do you drink so much coffee?" said one of my wonderful students this past week. I just let it slide and said that I like drinking coffee and I need to not drink as much. However, when I was told this I really wanted to reply, "Look, I don't want to mince words here Emilia but you're drivin' me nuts. Maybe I have to drink so much coffee so I can keep up with 15 nine year-olds for five days a week...ya little shit!" :) Hahaha. Seriously, these kids have so much energy that at times I feel old at 25. However, one of the things that I am learning quickly is how to run learning centers/stations. For reading, writing, and math I have 3-4 stations set up that helps improve skills. Each group of 2-4 students is told to start at a station and they rotate every 10-20 minutes depending on what we are doing. Once I get all the materials needed for ths stations, the most work that I do in that 40-minute period is say, "ROTATE!" Needless to say, station days are great.
Now that I am done rambling on about my class and how it is going, I need to tell this story. This event is one that I don't ever think I can or want to forget. In science we I planned a unit on "living things." We are talking about cells, fruits, flowers, plants, animals, and fungi. We get to the part of the unit on fungi and I plan a fun experiment for the students to do and get a chance to look at spore prints of different mushrooms. So, I go to the store and buy two different types of mushrooms to use for this experiment. So we start the experiment and it goes very well and the kids really enjoy it. One of the questions that I was asked was, "Mr. Jon, can't you get a poisonous infection if you touch mushrooms?" I just about replied, "Yes! That is why I am having you touch them. I don't like a single one of you," but self-control got the best of me. Instead of saying that, I had to reply, "If they are wild mushrooms it is possible, but I bought these from a store so you don't have to worry about anything." So we continued the experiment for the rest of the hour and it was just about time to end the day. "Fourth graders!", I said loudly. "Before we get ready to go home, everyone needs to go to the bathroom and wash their hands!" One of my students also asked if he could use the toilet as well. I said yes but he has to make it fast because it is time to go home. Now, this child is a nine year-old Indian boy from Bombay. His accent is the thickest, funniest, and cutest accent I have ever heard. Every stereotype you have heard when it comes to an Indian accent he fits to a T! However, this child is very gullable (you can imagine that I have quite a bit of sarcastic fun with this one). All the kids go wash their hands and come back into the room. I am standing outside the door trying to hurry them along when all of a sudden I see a small Indian boy with tears in his eyes as if he found out the world had just run out of Indian food. I also noticed that the front part of his uniform shorts were a little darker then the rest. The first thing that came to my mind was that this kid had pissed all over the front of himself! "Aaksh, what is wrong buddy? What happened?", I asked him. " He replied with the tears slowly flowing down his face (please picture this response with thick Indian accent), "Mr. Jon, I was going to toilet and then I got done with toilet and then someone told me that if I touch mushroom and then touch veener that I would get poison infection of my veener so I take spryer and spray off my veener!"
For the next 30 seconds I could respond. I was just appalled and stunned. All I could say was, "It's ok buddy, I am just glad it isn't pee. I mean, I am not saying peeing your pants isn't cool, look at me. If peeing your pants is cool, then consider me Miles Davis!" He looked at me after I said this as if I was speaking a different language. The good thing was that he pretty much forgot about his situation because he was trying to figure out what I meant. I am just glad that I didn't have to talk with a parent about the situation.
Well, that is all for now. I hope that everyone is doing well and that any Bears fans out there that read this start getting used to what happened last Sunday because it gonna be happenin' all year long. Until next time, remeber that if peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A New Year...
Hello to all. I know I have been back in Thailand for a month now and I haven't had any new posts. I have started teaching 4th grade for the first time and it really takes a little while to get used to it. However, being that I teach reading, writing, math, grammar, social studies, science and spelling, I feel that I have gotten a little smarter in the last month.
Being back in Bangkok and starting to work again is a great feeling. Not having any income for three months had its stressful moments. I literally am crossing off days in my calendar to reach the day marked "PAYDAY!" I am very excited that once September comes I will be able to start golfing again.
As far as the teaching is concerned, my students are great. I have 15 kids from all over the world. Eight of them are boys and seven are girls. It is funny to be around students who don't hold back their emotions when they have to sit by a classmate of the opposite sex. For example, last week we had a new seating chart and I said, "Koki, you are sitting by Apoorva." "Whaaat? Nooooooooo! She's girl!" he said back. I will admit that I know these reactions are going to take place before they happen. That is why I plan things FOR these reactions. It is one of the places I get my daily humor.
I also get another dose from kids just being kids. This is my first story of the 09/10 school year so I hope you enjoy. One of my student is from Japan and his name is Koki. He has a younger brother in first grade name Soma. Soma is a minature version of Koki, only a little chubbier. This kid has this round Japanese face with these puppy dog eyes. When he looks at you it is as if he doesn't know if he is coming or going. I have to chuckle every time I see him. Anyway, I have outside duty during lunch on Wednesdays so I have hang out by the soccer field and make sure nobody gets killed. As I am watching some students play a game of soccer, I get this little tug on my pant leg. Of course it's none other than "Soma Puppyface." I start asking what he needs and if anything is wrong, but he doesn't say a word, only looks at me. Finally he lifts his arm and points his finger towards the sky. "Soma, what do you want me to see?" I said. "I know times are tough, but you have to say something buddy." He still doesn't say anything, but he instead leads me closer to what it is he wants me to see. He continues to point to the sky when finally I notice some hanging in a tree. "Soma?" I asked. "Is that your wallet stuck in the tree?" He says nothing and nods yes. I then asked him, "How much money is in there, and why is your wallet stuck in a tree branch that is 30 feet high?" Finally he musters up a response, "I don't want to be a girl." "What?" I replied. "I am not following you. Why don't you walk me through how your wallet is now best friends with the tree." "Ummm, accident." he stated. "Didn't mean to doo dat. Someone told me that if I can't thlow it up like dat I should be girl." After he told me this, he just felt it was time to not talk about it anymore. He just looked at me like he had no idea he was actually on earth. He walked away and started walking in a circle for the last 10 minutes of lunch. I had no choice but to go back to my classroom and almost pee my pants from laughter.
Well, that is it for now. I hope this post finds you all doing well. Before I go, however, I need to get something off my chest. I haven't been able to talk with many people back home about this yet, so when I do talk to you you will know exactly where I stand. Over the past few days I have come to the conclusion that from this moment on disapprove of Brett Favre's very existance. I have thought about coming home and ending it myself on several occasions, but self-control has gotten the best of me. Until next time, always remember that if you are a first grade boy and cannot throw your wallet 30 feet high into a tree, it doesn't mean you should have been a girl!
Being back in Bangkok and starting to work again is a great feeling. Not having any income for three months had its stressful moments. I literally am crossing off days in my calendar to reach the day marked "PAYDAY!" I am very excited that once September comes I will be able to start golfing again.
As far as the teaching is concerned, my students are great. I have 15 kids from all over the world. Eight of them are boys and seven are girls. It is funny to be around students who don't hold back their emotions when they have to sit by a classmate of the opposite sex. For example, last week we had a new seating chart and I said, "Koki, you are sitting by Apoorva." "Whaaat? Nooooooooo! She's girl!" he said back. I will admit that I know these reactions are going to take place before they happen. That is why I plan things FOR these reactions. It is one of the places I get my daily humor.
I also get another dose from kids just being kids. This is my first story of the 09/10 school year so I hope you enjoy. One of my student is from Japan and his name is Koki. He has a younger brother in first grade name Soma. Soma is a minature version of Koki, only a little chubbier. This kid has this round Japanese face with these puppy dog eyes. When he looks at you it is as if he doesn't know if he is coming or going. I have to chuckle every time I see him. Anyway, I have outside duty during lunch on Wednesdays so I have hang out by the soccer field and make sure nobody gets killed. As I am watching some students play a game of soccer, I get this little tug on my pant leg. Of course it's none other than "Soma Puppyface." I start asking what he needs and if anything is wrong, but he doesn't say a word, only looks at me. Finally he lifts his arm and points his finger towards the sky. "Soma, what do you want me to see?" I said. "I know times are tough, but you have to say something buddy." He still doesn't say anything, but he instead leads me closer to what it is he wants me to see. He continues to point to the sky when finally I notice some hanging in a tree. "Soma?" I asked. "Is that your wallet stuck in the tree?" He says nothing and nods yes. I then asked him, "How much money is in there, and why is your wallet stuck in a tree branch that is 30 feet high?" Finally he musters up a response, "I don't want to be a girl." "What?" I replied. "I am not following you. Why don't you walk me through how your wallet is now best friends with the tree." "Ummm, accident." he stated. "Didn't mean to doo dat. Someone told me that if I can't thlow it up like dat I should be girl." After he told me this, he just felt it was time to not talk about it anymore. He just looked at me like he had no idea he was actually on earth. He walked away and started walking in a circle for the last 10 minutes of lunch. I had no choice but to go back to my classroom and almost pee my pants from laughter.
Well, that is it for now. I hope this post finds you all doing well. Before I go, however, I need to get something off my chest. I haven't been able to talk with many people back home about this yet, so when I do talk to you you will know exactly where I stand. Over the past few days I have come to the conclusion that from this moment on disapprove of Brett Favre's very existance. I have thought about coming home and ending it myself on several occasions, but self-control has gotten the best of me. Until next time, always remember that if you are a first grade boy and cannot throw your wallet 30 feet high into a tree, it doesn't mean you should have been a girl!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pros and Cons...
Hello to all. I know...long time, no post. Nobody has said they miss my writing, except for Matt Harvey, so this one is for you buddy. I hope everyone is enjoying the end of spring and anxiously awaiting summer. Out of all the posts that I have written, I really haven't gone into detail about the pros and cons of living here.
Let's get first things first. I have said it many times before and I will say it again, "I love living here!" However, being from Western culture, there are things that I miss and don't miss. My biggest beef with Thailand is the concept of space. I will give you some examples. Sidewalks are about half the size for sidewalks back home with twice as many people. I feel that you can do the math. Now imagine being at the weekend market, with over 1,000 shops in 100 degree heat. If you go to clubs here, there are these little rool-away table trays that you can put your drinks on, has the bucket of ice, extra glasses, etc. This tray is about 18 inches by 18 inches. We had a group of 10 people. How can you seriously expect 10 people to fit around something the size of a handtowel? And on top of that, throw in about 400 people surrounding you.
My second beef might sound a little dumb, but too bad. This isn't something that really bugs be, but just something little that I miss about being back home...NAPKINS! Anytime I go somewhere to eat, the Thai napkin is squares from a roll of toilet paper. However, they refer to it as tissue. I am serious, the dispenser at the table ACTUALLY contains a roll of toilet paper most of the time. I guess there is nothing like adding that "extra touch of class" to an evening meal.
My last beef that I have (that comes to mind right away) is the issue of music. It is as if Thailand is not allowed to listen to anything outside the "Top 40." I realize that I made mention to the song "Lo" in a previous post, but the list goes far beyond that. I don't hear "Lo" as much any more because it has now been replaced with "Dangerous", "Too Late to Apologize", "Right Now", not to mention about seven more songs by Akon, and T-Paine, JT, Lil' Wayne and "Zombie" by the Cranberries. At times I just want to go up to "DJ Kill-A-Party" and ask if it would kill him to play some Snoop, Jay-Z, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, I believe you get the idea. Basically if I have to hear about Lil' Wayne getting licked like a lollipop one more time, I am going to light the lollipop on fire....and by "lolipop" I really mean building. I am not sayin'.....I'M JUST SAYIN'!
Now let's get to the pros of being here. I am a man who loves watching movies, especially in the theater. I can buy a VIP movie ticket (cuz I am smooth like that) for B150. That is just over $4. If I feel like watching it at home, I can buy a good quality, pirated copy for just under $3. A little better of a deal that back home. Basically the price of goods in general is worth the admission to live here.
Although I will say that I do miss the changing of the seasons, I will also say it does not beat being able to wear shorts and t-shirts for 12 months of the year. I was talking with a teacher whom I will be working with more next year, Aaron, from Indiana, about certain things that we missed about the midwest. He couldn't understand how I didn't miss the weather and I couldn't understand how he could miss the cold. I would much rather deal with 110 degree heat and humidity than -20 degrees and windy. I get to see the sun shine every day, short shorts and tanktops, and have the ability to go to the beach every weekend. How can not enjoy that? Ohh yeah, I forgot that I don't deer hunt :)
The last pro about being here is the best of all...the kids. I have said it before and I will say it over and over and over again. Students here don't compare to students back home. For you teachers out there, how many middle school students come into class everyday and ask what they are going to learn about with a smile on their face? How many middle school students are sincere when they ask how your weekend was or tell you good morning and have a good day? How many middle school students get asked to do things and NEVER ask "Why"? Students here help other students without being asked. They do it because they see a friend who is not understanding something. How much more could a teacher in the U.S. get done if he/she never had to send a student to the office or stop a lesson when a kid is doing something bad? I feel all these questions are easliy answerable without help from me. I thought was a very fulfilled when I actually left Wisconsin to move to Thailand. However, have the opportunity and the privilege that I have had to teach these wonderful students has been the most fulfilling and rewarding thing I have ever done in my short 25 years.
Well, that is all for now. Again, I hope everyone is doing great. I do want to send happy birthday wishes to Emily Lea and Matt Harvey. I know it is a little belated, but I blame my forgetfullness on the time difference. Until next time...Nibb High Football Rules!!!
Let's get first things first. I have said it many times before and I will say it again, "I love living here!" However, being from Western culture, there are things that I miss and don't miss. My biggest beef with Thailand is the concept of space. I will give you some examples. Sidewalks are about half the size for sidewalks back home with twice as many people. I feel that you can do the math. Now imagine being at the weekend market, with over 1,000 shops in 100 degree heat. If you go to clubs here, there are these little rool-away table trays that you can put your drinks on, has the bucket of ice, extra glasses, etc. This tray is about 18 inches by 18 inches. We had a group of 10 people. How can you seriously expect 10 people to fit around something the size of a handtowel? And on top of that, throw in about 400 people surrounding you.
My second beef might sound a little dumb, but too bad. This isn't something that really bugs be, but just something little that I miss about being back home...NAPKINS! Anytime I go somewhere to eat, the Thai napkin is squares from a roll of toilet paper. However, they refer to it as tissue. I am serious, the dispenser at the table ACTUALLY contains a roll of toilet paper most of the time. I guess there is nothing like adding that "extra touch of class" to an evening meal.
My last beef that I have (that comes to mind right away) is the issue of music. It is as if Thailand is not allowed to listen to anything outside the "Top 40." I realize that I made mention to the song "Lo" in a previous post, but the list goes far beyond that. I don't hear "Lo" as much any more because it has now been replaced with "Dangerous", "Too Late to Apologize", "Right Now", not to mention about seven more songs by Akon, and T-Paine, JT, Lil' Wayne and "Zombie" by the Cranberries. At times I just want to go up to "DJ Kill-A-Party" and ask if it would kill him to play some Snoop, Jay-Z, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, I believe you get the idea. Basically if I have to hear about Lil' Wayne getting licked like a lollipop one more time, I am going to light the lollipop on fire....and by "lolipop" I really mean building. I am not sayin'.....I'M JUST SAYIN'!
Now let's get to the pros of being here. I am a man who loves watching movies, especially in the theater. I can buy a VIP movie ticket (cuz I am smooth like that) for B150. That is just over $4. If I feel like watching it at home, I can buy a good quality, pirated copy for just under $3. A little better of a deal that back home. Basically the price of goods in general is worth the admission to live here.
Although I will say that I do miss the changing of the seasons, I will also say it does not beat being able to wear shorts and t-shirts for 12 months of the year. I was talking with a teacher whom I will be working with more next year, Aaron, from Indiana, about certain things that we missed about the midwest. He couldn't understand how I didn't miss the weather and I couldn't understand how he could miss the cold. I would much rather deal with 110 degree heat and humidity than -20 degrees and windy. I get to see the sun shine every day, short shorts and tanktops, and have the ability to go to the beach every weekend. How can not enjoy that? Ohh yeah, I forgot that I don't deer hunt :)
The last pro about being here is the best of all...the kids. I have said it before and I will say it over and over and over again. Students here don't compare to students back home. For you teachers out there, how many middle school students come into class everyday and ask what they are going to learn about with a smile on their face? How many middle school students are sincere when they ask how your weekend was or tell you good morning and have a good day? How many middle school students get asked to do things and NEVER ask "Why"? Students here help other students without being asked. They do it because they see a friend who is not understanding something. How much more could a teacher in the U.S. get done if he/she never had to send a student to the office or stop a lesson when a kid is doing something bad? I feel all these questions are easliy answerable without help from me. I thought was a very fulfilled when I actually left Wisconsin to move to Thailand. However, have the opportunity and the privilege that I have had to teach these wonderful students has been the most fulfilling and rewarding thing I have ever done in my short 25 years.
Well, that is all for now. Again, I hope everyone is doing great. I do want to send happy birthday wishes to Emily Lea and Matt Harvey. I know it is a little belated, but I blame my forgetfullness on the time difference. Until next time...Nibb High Football Rules!!!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I like potato and tomato...
Good day to all of the my faithful readers. I must say that I am happy to hear (for the sake of all of you) that it is starting to get a little warmer back home. It is no fun having to try and survive 5-6 months of weather that isn't fit for man nor beast.
I am happy to report that I finally signed my new contract for August. My report date for school is July 29th and for the next two years it is nice to have a sense of job security. Although fourth grade will be a challenge, I am looking at it as an exciting challenge that will make me a better educator. I realize many of you are asking yourself the question, "How can you get any better?" Don't worry, I constantly ask myself the same question. Believe it or not, even I can make improvements (I hope everyone is reading this as sarcasm, not arrogance, unless your name rhymes with Matt Harvey).
During the second half of the month of April, my uncle Gary came for one of his visits to this wonderful country. For his birthday we spent three days in Koh Chang and it was a lot of fun. On Satruday we were able to take a boat cruise for an entire day and visit some of the neighboring islands. There were quite a few people on this boat so it made for good people-watching as well. On this boat trip we were graced by the presents of four gentlemen from Italy. Two of the men were ok, but the other two were quite rude to the staff and also very loud. One of the men, I would say, was about 55 and felt that everyone would enjoy seeing him in a speedo. Just to help you paint a mental picture, this man was wearing a WHITE speedo. After observing this man for a short period of time, Gary and I came to the conclusion that he needs to re-think his choice of color when it comes to speedos. There was a top deck to the boat that made for a really great view so we had to go up and take a look. After we had gotten down, "Speedo Sam" decides that it is time for him to head back down as well. As he is coming down the latter, Gary and I noticed that there is a slight color variation in a certain area of his speedo. Remember watching Sesame Street and they played the game, Which of These Is Not Like the Other? Well, the part of the speedo that was not like the other happened to be the brown streak that went straight down the crack of his ass...no kidding...cannot make this up. At first we gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that once he gets in the water the "dirt" would wash away. However, this was not the case. I can laugh about it now, but for a good hour I was simply appaled.
The second man we were "lucky" enough to have on board was one of the most disgusting men I have ever seen personally. He boarded the boat with no shirt and had the biggest man-boobs I have ever seen. When we were served the buffet-style lunch, he easilly heaped enough food on his plate that could have ended hunger in Ethiopia for at least a period of 36-48 hours. He then proped the plate on his stomach and started inhailing his meal and breathing like he had just ran a marathon. After the meal was over, trays of pineapple and watermelon were brought out for us to enjoy. This man single handedly ate AT LEAST five boats of pineapple by himself. Then, when one of the staff members was taking away the empty boats, "Little Italy" thought that he was taking away full boats of pineapple. "Meestaa....MEESTAA (Mr. Mr.)! I WILL HAAAVE DAT!" he said to the staff member, in a tone as if someone had taken away his right to a fair trial by jury. Once the nice Thai man was able to explain to him that he was taking away the empty ones and replacing them, John Gatti calmed down a bit.
Once we got off the boat, we had to take a truck-taxi back to our resort. Who do you think we had to share the ride back with? You have three guesses and the first two don't count! For the entire trip back this fat man was talking extremely loud in Italian. Well, Gary and I decided to do our own translation from Italian to English:) So after a few whispers and laughs, the Italian man said something that sounded like "I LIKE POTATO AND TOMATO (tomaato)!" I was happy that shortly after that the four gentlemen got off the taxi because I think they started to figure out they were being mocked.
Well, that is all for now. I have sixth graders that are eagerly awaiting to do Ancient Roman Gladiator simulations. The ASB Gladiator champion receives ice cream courtesy of Mr. Jon, so the competition is fierce!! Until next time, if you ever consider buying a white speedo with the added butt-crack racing stripe......ummmm.....DON'T!
I am happy to report that I finally signed my new contract for August. My report date for school is July 29th and for the next two years it is nice to have a sense of job security. Although fourth grade will be a challenge, I am looking at it as an exciting challenge that will make me a better educator. I realize many of you are asking yourself the question, "How can you get any better?" Don't worry, I constantly ask myself the same question. Believe it or not, even I can make improvements (I hope everyone is reading this as sarcasm, not arrogance, unless your name rhymes with Matt Harvey).
During the second half of the month of April, my uncle Gary came for one of his visits to this wonderful country. For his birthday we spent three days in Koh Chang and it was a lot of fun. On Satruday we were able to take a boat cruise for an entire day and visit some of the neighboring islands. There were quite a few people on this boat so it made for good people-watching as well. On this boat trip we were graced by the presents of four gentlemen from Italy. Two of the men were ok, but the other two were quite rude to the staff and also very loud. One of the men, I would say, was about 55 and felt that everyone would enjoy seeing him in a speedo. Just to help you paint a mental picture, this man was wearing a WHITE speedo. After observing this man for a short period of time, Gary and I came to the conclusion that he needs to re-think his choice of color when it comes to speedos. There was a top deck to the boat that made for a really great view so we had to go up and take a look. After we had gotten down, "Speedo Sam" decides that it is time for him to head back down as well. As he is coming down the latter, Gary and I noticed that there is a slight color variation in a certain area of his speedo. Remember watching Sesame Street and they played the game, Which of These Is Not Like the Other? Well, the part of the speedo that was not like the other happened to be the brown streak that went straight down the crack of his ass...no kidding...cannot make this up. At first we gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that once he gets in the water the "dirt" would wash away. However, this was not the case. I can laugh about it now, but for a good hour I was simply appaled.
The second man we were "lucky" enough to have on board was one of the most disgusting men I have ever seen personally. He boarded the boat with no shirt and had the biggest man-boobs I have ever seen. When we were served the buffet-style lunch, he easilly heaped enough food on his plate that could have ended hunger in Ethiopia for at least a period of 36-48 hours. He then proped the plate on his stomach and started inhailing his meal and breathing like he had just ran a marathon. After the meal was over, trays of pineapple and watermelon were brought out for us to enjoy. This man single handedly ate AT LEAST five boats of pineapple by himself. Then, when one of the staff members was taking away the empty boats, "Little Italy" thought that he was taking away full boats of pineapple. "Meestaa....MEESTAA (Mr. Mr.)! I WILL HAAAVE DAT!" he said to the staff member, in a tone as if someone had taken away his right to a fair trial by jury. Once the nice Thai man was able to explain to him that he was taking away the empty ones and replacing them, John Gatti calmed down a bit.
Once we got off the boat, we had to take a truck-taxi back to our resort. Who do you think we had to share the ride back with? You have three guesses and the first two don't count! For the entire trip back this fat man was talking extremely loud in Italian. Well, Gary and I decided to do our own translation from Italian to English:) So after a few whispers and laughs, the Italian man said something that sounded like "I LIKE POTATO AND TOMATO (tomaato)!" I was happy that shortly after that the four gentlemen got off the taxi because I think they started to figure out they were being mocked.
Well, that is all for now. I have sixth graders that are eagerly awaiting to do Ancient Roman Gladiator simulations. The ASB Gladiator champion receives ice cream courtesy of Mr. Jon, so the competition is fierce!! Until next time, if you ever consider buying a white speedo with the added butt-crack racing stripe......ummmm.....DON'T!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Why can't we all just get along?
What's up everybody? I hope everyone is doing well. Things have gotten a little interesting to say the least here in Bangkok. I am not sure if everyone has seen anything on the news about what is going on over here, but there is a slight bit of political turmoil.
Starting Monday the 13th thru the 15th, Songkran is celebrated throughout the contry of Thailand. The Songkran Festival, known as the Festival of Water, is the Thai New Year. During these three days, people pretty much drench everyone with water and then throw white powder on them (there MIGHT be a little beverage consumption involved...just a hunch). I have already been doused a couple times and I will say that it is fun to throw buckets of water onto complete strangers. However, I think one guy that I soaked got a little angry because when I threw water on him he was using his cell phone...oops :)
However, during this year's festival, instead of celebration, we have turmoil. This political situation has been getting worse and worse since about 2005/2006. When the Bangkok airport closed in December, it was the yellow protesters who caused the closing. Now with this protest, it is the red protesters retaliating. School was actually closed on Friday because 20,000 taxi drivers refused to work. There was an Asean Summit meeting in Pattaya scheduled for Monday but had to be cancelled and the leaders of the other countries could only leave via helicopter from the roof. On Friday, I decided to go downtown to run some errands. When I got to Sukumvit Road I saw a group of red protesters in the middle of the street listening to this guy who must have been one of the protest leaders. Some of the people who were listening were sitting on an oil tanker that they overtook and have threatened to blow up. Others were sitting on the tops of busses they took over to use as barricades.
Anyway, I just thought I would give you a taste of what life is like in my neck of the woods. So, to my friends back home, please don't complain about your government too much. I don't remember anyone dying on the 4th of July due to political problems since 1776, just before the George Washington Administration (I am a history teacher, I find these references funny ok!).
I realize that I did not give much detail about what is ACTUALLY going on because I am positing a link below that can explain in much better than I can. Well that is all for now. With all this going on, I think I will head out and go to the beach for a couple days :) Life is tough, right? Hahaha. Until next time, in Thailand we don't have snow days, we have political turmoil days :)
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13478816
Starting Monday the 13th thru the 15th, Songkran is celebrated throughout the contry of Thailand. The Songkran Festival, known as the Festival of Water, is the Thai New Year. During these three days, people pretty much drench everyone with water and then throw white powder on them (there MIGHT be a little beverage consumption involved...just a hunch). I have already been doused a couple times and I will say that it is fun to throw buckets of water onto complete strangers. However, I think one guy that I soaked got a little angry because when I threw water on him he was using his cell phone...oops :)
However, during this year's festival, instead of celebration, we have turmoil. This political situation has been getting worse and worse since about 2005/2006. When the Bangkok airport closed in December, it was the yellow protesters who caused the closing. Now with this protest, it is the red protesters retaliating. School was actually closed on Friday because 20,000 taxi drivers refused to work. There was an Asean Summit meeting in Pattaya scheduled for Monday but had to be cancelled and the leaders of the other countries could only leave via helicopter from the roof. On Friday, I decided to go downtown to run some errands. When I got to Sukumvit Road I saw a group of red protesters in the middle of the street listening to this guy who must have been one of the protest leaders. Some of the people who were listening were sitting on an oil tanker that they overtook and have threatened to blow up. Others were sitting on the tops of busses they took over to use as barricades.
Anyway, I just thought I would give you a taste of what life is like in my neck of the woods. So, to my friends back home, please don't complain about your government too much. I don't remember anyone dying on the 4th of July due to political problems since 1776, just before the George Washington Administration (I am a history teacher, I find these references funny ok!).
I realize that I did not give much detail about what is ACTUALLY going on because I am positing a link below that can explain in much better than I can. Well that is all for now. With all this going on, I think I will head out and go to the beach for a couple days :) Life is tough, right? Hahaha. Until next time, in Thailand we don't have snow days, we have political turmoil days :)
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13478816
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Not exactly the way I planned it...
Hey everybody. I promised myself that I wouldn't take so long between posts this time, so here I am. I was going to wait until my contract is actually signed, but I feel secure enough with my position next year that I will just spit it out. However, instead of just telling the news, I am going to tell the story.
As I told everyone in a previous post, I am working at the American School of Bangkok teaching 6th, 7th, 8th, and two sections of high school social studies. I cannot say enough how much I love every aspect of my job. When I interviewed for this position I was told that if I do well I would be offered a new two-year contract starting in August 2009. Well, since I have been here I have worked my ass off in efforts to be hired on for next year. I have gotten involved, developed a good relationship with the staff as students and done everything I possible could to get that two-year contract. I got this job thanks to someone being bi-polar. The teacher before me was bi-polar and the doctor he was seeing here in Bangkok came up with the BRILLIANT idea he shout be "slowly" taken off his meds. Well, this man eventually had an episode that caused him to leave his apartment otally naked, go to the 7/11, but a Coke and throw 300 baht at the cashier. He was eventually arrested and put into a mental hospital and the school needed to find a quick replacement. I would never wish this mental condition on anybody, but a part of me wants to send a basket of treats to his doctor as a "thank you." However, self-control has gotten the best of me:)
Anyway, about 6 weeks went by and nobody had said anything about whether or not I was going to be hired for next year. I was getting a little nervous when finally the principal came and told me we need to talk. "Jonathan you are doing a great job and are a good teacher, but I wish I had met you before I went to the recruitement fairs." As soon as she said that, I knew the bomb was about to drop. My heart just sank because I knew what was about to be said next. "Unfortunately, I was recruiting when this whole situation happened with the gentleman you replaced. I didn't know what to do, so I paniced and hired someone before I was told that the school had hired a really good replacement. I would love to keep you in the position you are in, but I cannot call up the person I hired and tell him the contract he signed isn't on the table anymore." I told her I understood and I would be interested in teaching anything they needed to be able to stay on board. "If the person you hired for next hear has any questions," I said, "feel free to give him my information and I will be as much of a help as I can." She then gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me she appreciated me and my attitude. Even though it would have done much more harm in the long run for me than good, everyone has been in the situation where they just want to start to cuss. I WAS IN THAT SITUATION. I felt like I was lied to at my interview, I felt like I had been strung along for the last 6 weeks, and felt like I was taken advantage. However, I immediately remembered some words of wisdom that have been given to me over the years; everything happens for a reason. Attitude is everything, so choose a good one. Do not let your heart be troubled.
After telling myself these three things, I felt better an just thought, "If I am supposed to be here, I will be here. If not, it is nice to know I can get another job tomorrow." I kept telling myself that for about the next week until the principal told me she wanted to speak with me again.
"Jonathan," she said, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. I have been trying to figure out a way to keep you here, but I just simply can't, bottom line. I really appreciate your attitude in the last week because I know you want to stay here, have worked very hard to stay here, and the news I gave you last week I am sure was not easy to take. The good news is there is a 4th grade position open on the downtown campus. You would still need to interview for the position, but at least you would have an opportunity to stay. We realize you are not qualified to teach elementary, but when it comes to good teaching qualifications don't mean jack. You either got it, or you don't. Are you interested?" I tried to be funny in my response by saying, "Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?" She didn't get it and I felt like an idiot, but I told her I am very interested.
The only problem with the interview was that it was the next day. I could help but make myself nervous because I was going to sit in an interview room with a locked door, with three people (the principal who is very good, his wife who has taught 4th grade for about 20 years, and Jen, who teaches 1st grade, but has a stare that rivals that of my mother when she is not a happy camper). I kept asking God for favor because it was all I could think to do. Now, I don't get intimidated by situations much, but in this case, I have no problem saying, I WAS FRIGGIN' INTIMIDATED. I was being throw questions left and right about elementary principles that I have never learned. Thank God for Damon again who educated me with some basics so I knew a little bit of what they were asking. It was the toughest interview I have ever had. The entire interview only took about 30 minutes but I felt like it was three hours. It also didn't help that Martin, the counselor at the downtown campus whom I play basketball with gave me a big confidence booster right before I went in (I hope you are picking up my sarcasm at this point). "Jon, what are you doing here?" he said. "I am actually interviewing for the 4th grade job, so we will see how that goes," I replied. "You are 7-12 certified right?" he asked me. "Yes, and I have never taught 4th before so I am quite nervous for this." I shyly told him. "Hahaha, wow! You aren't qualified to teach the grade AND you have no experience. AND you have huge shoes to fill Good luck man!" he stated with a grin, and a slight roll of the eyes. When I saw him roll his eyes, I heard my father's voice whisper in my ear, "Tell him that if he rolls his eyes again you are going to knock him into next week!" I remember hearing that from my dad ONE time, and believe me when I say I never rolled my eyes again:) So, all in all, Martin's little comments didn't help in the matter. I always make sure to tell him thank you when we see each other.
After the interview was over, I walked out and told myself that I couldn't have done any better. If someone else gets the job I will not blame myself because I just got beat out for the job. I was told that I would find out the next day what their decision was. Well, at about 3pm the next day I got a call from Mr. Simon the principal. He told me that they saw a couple of concern areas in my interview and explained what they were. I told him I understood that I am not educated enough in these areas. "However," he stated, "we feel that this can be solved by doing some research and homework, observing classes, and spending some time with it before August. Also, even though we are have some concerns, we feel you have a great attitude, and my wife really liked how eager you were even though we knew you were shitting your pants. Good teachers are good teachers no matter what level. With this being said, we would like to offer you the job." I think you can figure out by now that I have taken the job. With the job, I get to be on the new salary scale and am signed on for two years. So, we will see how 4th grade treats me.
Well, that is all I have for you this time. Songkran is next week so I am sure I will have some funny stories of being doused with water and then convered in white powerder for three days. It will be pretty fun, and I am looking forward to it. Until next time, attitude is everything so choose a good one (right Gary?!)!
As I told everyone in a previous post, I am working at the American School of Bangkok teaching 6th, 7th, 8th, and two sections of high school social studies. I cannot say enough how much I love every aspect of my job. When I interviewed for this position I was told that if I do well I would be offered a new two-year contract starting in August 2009. Well, since I have been here I have worked my ass off in efforts to be hired on for next year. I have gotten involved, developed a good relationship with the staff as students and done everything I possible could to get that two-year contract. I got this job thanks to someone being bi-polar. The teacher before me was bi-polar and the doctor he was seeing here in Bangkok came up with the BRILLIANT idea he shout be "slowly" taken off his meds. Well, this man eventually had an episode that caused him to leave his apartment otally naked, go to the 7/11, but a Coke and throw 300 baht at the cashier. He was eventually arrested and put into a mental hospital and the school needed to find a quick replacement. I would never wish this mental condition on anybody, but a part of me wants to send a basket of treats to his doctor as a "thank you." However, self-control has gotten the best of me:)
Anyway, about 6 weeks went by and nobody had said anything about whether or not I was going to be hired for next year. I was getting a little nervous when finally the principal came and told me we need to talk. "Jonathan you are doing a great job and are a good teacher, but I wish I had met you before I went to the recruitement fairs." As soon as she said that, I knew the bomb was about to drop. My heart just sank because I knew what was about to be said next. "Unfortunately, I was recruiting when this whole situation happened with the gentleman you replaced. I didn't know what to do, so I paniced and hired someone before I was told that the school had hired a really good replacement. I would love to keep you in the position you are in, but I cannot call up the person I hired and tell him the contract he signed isn't on the table anymore." I told her I understood and I would be interested in teaching anything they needed to be able to stay on board. "If the person you hired for next hear has any questions," I said, "feel free to give him my information and I will be as much of a help as I can." She then gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me she appreciated me and my attitude. Even though it would have done much more harm in the long run for me than good, everyone has been in the situation where they just want to start to cuss. I WAS IN THAT SITUATION. I felt like I was lied to at my interview, I felt like I had been strung along for the last 6 weeks, and felt like I was taken advantage. However, I immediately remembered some words of wisdom that have been given to me over the years; everything happens for a reason. Attitude is everything, so choose a good one. Do not let your heart be troubled.
After telling myself these three things, I felt better an just thought, "If I am supposed to be here, I will be here. If not, it is nice to know I can get another job tomorrow." I kept telling myself that for about the next week until the principal told me she wanted to speak with me again.
"Jonathan," she said, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. I have been trying to figure out a way to keep you here, but I just simply can't, bottom line. I really appreciate your attitude in the last week because I know you want to stay here, have worked very hard to stay here, and the news I gave you last week I am sure was not easy to take. The good news is there is a 4th grade position open on the downtown campus. You would still need to interview for the position, but at least you would have an opportunity to stay. We realize you are not qualified to teach elementary, but when it comes to good teaching qualifications don't mean jack. You either got it, or you don't. Are you interested?" I tried to be funny in my response by saying, "Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?" She didn't get it and I felt like an idiot, but I told her I am very interested.
The only problem with the interview was that it was the next day. I could help but make myself nervous because I was going to sit in an interview room with a locked door, with three people (the principal who is very good, his wife who has taught 4th grade for about 20 years, and Jen, who teaches 1st grade, but has a stare that rivals that of my mother when she is not a happy camper). I kept asking God for favor because it was all I could think to do. Now, I don't get intimidated by situations much, but in this case, I have no problem saying, I WAS FRIGGIN' INTIMIDATED. I was being throw questions left and right about elementary principles that I have never learned. Thank God for Damon again who educated me with some basics so I knew a little bit of what they were asking. It was the toughest interview I have ever had. The entire interview only took about 30 minutes but I felt like it was three hours. It also didn't help that Martin, the counselor at the downtown campus whom I play basketball with gave me a big confidence booster right before I went in (I hope you are picking up my sarcasm at this point). "Jon, what are you doing here?" he said. "I am actually interviewing for the 4th grade job, so we will see how that goes," I replied. "You are 7-12 certified right?" he asked me. "Yes, and I have never taught 4th before so I am quite nervous for this." I shyly told him. "Hahaha, wow! You aren't qualified to teach the grade AND you have no experience. AND you have huge shoes to fill Good luck man!" he stated with a grin, and a slight roll of the eyes. When I saw him roll his eyes, I heard my father's voice whisper in my ear, "Tell him that if he rolls his eyes again you are going to knock him into next week!" I remember hearing that from my dad ONE time, and believe me when I say I never rolled my eyes again:) So, all in all, Martin's little comments didn't help in the matter. I always make sure to tell him thank you when we see each other.
After the interview was over, I walked out and told myself that I couldn't have done any better. If someone else gets the job I will not blame myself because I just got beat out for the job. I was told that I would find out the next day what their decision was. Well, at about 3pm the next day I got a call from Mr. Simon the principal. He told me that they saw a couple of concern areas in my interview and explained what they were. I told him I understood that I am not educated enough in these areas. "However," he stated, "we feel that this can be solved by doing some research and homework, observing classes, and spending some time with it before August. Also, even though we are have some concerns, we feel you have a great attitude, and my wife really liked how eager you were even though we knew you were shitting your pants. Good teachers are good teachers no matter what level. With this being said, we would like to offer you the job." I think you can figure out by now that I have taken the job. With the job, I get to be on the new salary scale and am signed on for two years. So, we will see how 4th grade treats me.
Well, that is all I have for you this time. Songkran is next week so I am sure I will have some funny stories of being doused with water and then convered in white powerder for three days. It will be pretty fun, and I am looking forward to it. Until next time, attitude is everything so choose a good one (right Gary?!)!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Poking Fun...
Hello hello hello. I hope this post finds everyone well. I apologize that I haven't written in a while but I have had much to do in the last three weeks. Thailand continues to be very good to me and I continue to love my new home more and more each day. It is interesting going out of the country for whatever reason (visa run usually) because of the places I have been while living here I am eager to get back after about three days. I start missing the food, the cheap prices, and the cute faces:) I am also happy that I have developed quite a few friends and we all enjoy making fun of everyone else's home country. For instance, our elementary and middle school PE teacher is from Honduras. We all know he is from Honduras but we make jokes about him being Mexican. Another teacher and myself were in my classroom talking about possible coaching ideas for the new school year and we needed to talk with Diego about them because the "Mexican" is also the athletic director. So, me and Dan are talking and Diego comes into the room. "Ahhh...waiter, there you are!" I say to him, "I will have the enchilada platter with two tacos and no guacamolie, Dan would you like anything?" "Why not!" Dan says right on cue, "I will take a chinchilla!...What took you so long to get here man? Is there a sombrarro sale going on somewhere or what?" "Ha ha ha," Diego says back. "You know Dan, with how busy you Canuks are with getting drunk, playing hockey, and puting maple syrup on your ham, where do you find the time to make "mexican" jokes?" This is what goes on all the time. It is a riot because we have Americans, Canadians, Mexicans (ha ha ha), Brits, and Danes so everyone gets their shots in at each other. When I get made fun of it is usually about cheese.
The students are also wonderful as well. They are so kind and respectful it is amazing. I haven't had one discipline problem the whole year. The biggest problem a teacher faces is reminding students not to use Thai in the classroom (when in class they MUST use English). How easy is that huh? I still am amazed at the nickname situation over here. Students have very long names and are given a nickname when they are born and they are known by their nickname. Being that I do my best to find humor in every situation, I made a discovery when looking at the nicknames of my 8th grade students. In one class I have students who have the following nicknames: Off, Time, Phuk (pronounced Fook), Yoo, Best, and Mahn. I am so tempted to have the counselor make an announcement over the loud speaker (however, I don't think he would get it and ACTUALLY make the announcement), "I need to see students at lunch in the following order: Time, Yoo, Best, Phuk, Off, Man, thank you!"
Well that is all for now. I hope that everyone found the "Obama Special Olympics" comment as funny as I did. Until next time, it's not about what you have, it's about what you don't have (it's a thinker).
The students are also wonderful as well. They are so kind and respectful it is amazing. I haven't had one discipline problem the whole year. The biggest problem a teacher faces is reminding students not to use Thai in the classroom (when in class they MUST use English). How easy is that huh? I still am amazed at the nickname situation over here. Students have very long names and are given a nickname when they are born and they are known by their nickname. Being that I do my best to find humor in every situation, I made a discovery when looking at the nicknames of my 8th grade students. In one class I have students who have the following nicknames: Off, Time, Phuk (pronounced Fook), Yoo, Best, and Mahn. I am so tempted to have the counselor make an announcement over the loud speaker (however, I don't think he would get it and ACTUALLY make the announcement), "I need to see students at lunch in the following order: Time, Yoo, Best, Phuk, Off, Man, thank you!"
Well that is all for now. I hope that everyone found the "Obama Special Olympics" comment as funny as I did. Until next time, it's not about what you have, it's about what you don't have (it's a thinker).
Sunday, March 8, 2009
NIMBY...
Hello everyone. I hope you are all well and are having a happy March. Everything is pretty much the same over here, except that I am writing this post in Malaysia. I am getting my non-Immigrant B visa (so I can ACTUALLY get a work permit and work here legally...shhhhhh) and got a great deal on a ticket, get to miss a couple days of school and explore more of SE Asia. Ohh...and its on the school's tab!! Anyway, I will talk more about Malaysia in my next post, but I would like to tell you another story.
I think I have mentioned that people here like to play a little game I refer to as "cutsies." For those of you who don't know, it is when people cut in line. I am going to put this as plainly as I can, I DO NOT LIKE THIS GAME!!! It is one of my main pet peeves. Well, being that I am an outsider, I have tried to deal with it as best as I can, but I have finally had enough and made the decision to not put up with it anymore. Lately, I have been telling certain individuals stories to get their response and if it is humorous to them I will post it on here. So, I ran this story past my friend Sinem (who informed me that she tends to occasionally play this game...Simem I am so disappointed in you) and she seemed to find it funny.
Last week I was at Tesco-Lotus buying some items I needed. Tesco-Lotus and Big C are like the Wal-Marts of Thailand. There are always full of people. So, I spend about 45 minutes there and I head to the counter to pay for my "merch." The line that I get into is about 10 people deep, about the same length as every other line. I am in the line waiting patiently and a couple minutes later a woman (slightly heavy and around 50-55) gets behind me in line. I turn to look at the woman and give her a friendly smile. When she smiled back at me, I felt a touch of non-verbal communication. As soon as I turned back around, I KNEW this woman was going to try and pull some shenannigans!! We continue to get closer to the counter and I am always keeping a keen eye on "Cutter Kathy." She is trying to be sneaky by walking over to the gum, looking at a pack of it, but then not buying it. She did that about three different times. As I am seeing all of this, I am just thinking to myself, "Lady, I know you have no idea that I realize what you are up to, but I HOPE you try and cut in front of me. I HOPE YOU DO!"
Well, we are getting close to the counter and she is starting to see she is running out of time. Throughout this time, I have been trying to figure out a way to position my cart in a way that if she tries to "pull a quick recon" I can use the cart to cut her off. Let me say that I positioned my cart better than General Patton positioned his army to secure victory in WWII. This lady figures out that it is now or never and tries to play cutsies. In her attempt, I gave my cart a little nudge and nailed this lady square in the hip. That's right...you can say whatever you want about me but I am proud to say that I knocked a middle age woman SQUARE IN THE HIP FOR TRYING TO CUT IN LINE!!!!
Bottom line is that this woman was not happy! She started yelling at me in Thai (which I cannot understand) so I calmly started replying in English (which she could not understand), "I don't think so hunny. NIMBY. N-I-M-B-Y. Not In My Back Yard. I knew the whole time you were gonna try some shenannigans and you paid the price. We may be living in Bangkok, but where we are at now is called "Bang-Hip". I hope you have a wonderful evening." Of course I said all of this with a smile on my face. Again, I will say that I left with a smile on my face and quite proud of myself. I even had to tell my senior economics class about it and they thought it was funny too.
Well, that is all I have right now. I am glad I remembered I needed to publish another post. I am trying to hang out in Malaysia, but right now it is pouring outside. Until next time, at times it is easiest to make a point my knocking someone...no matter what age...in the freakin' hip:)
I think I have mentioned that people here like to play a little game I refer to as "cutsies." For those of you who don't know, it is when people cut in line. I am going to put this as plainly as I can, I DO NOT LIKE THIS GAME!!! It is one of my main pet peeves. Well, being that I am an outsider, I have tried to deal with it as best as I can, but I have finally had enough and made the decision to not put up with it anymore. Lately, I have been telling certain individuals stories to get their response and if it is humorous to them I will post it on here. So, I ran this story past my friend Sinem (who informed me that she tends to occasionally play this game...Simem I am so disappointed in you) and she seemed to find it funny.
Last week I was at Tesco-Lotus buying some items I needed. Tesco-Lotus and Big C are like the Wal-Marts of Thailand. There are always full of people. So, I spend about 45 minutes there and I head to the counter to pay for my "merch." The line that I get into is about 10 people deep, about the same length as every other line. I am in the line waiting patiently and a couple minutes later a woman (slightly heavy and around 50-55) gets behind me in line. I turn to look at the woman and give her a friendly smile. When she smiled back at me, I felt a touch of non-verbal communication. As soon as I turned back around, I KNEW this woman was going to try and pull some shenannigans!! We continue to get closer to the counter and I am always keeping a keen eye on "Cutter Kathy." She is trying to be sneaky by walking over to the gum, looking at a pack of it, but then not buying it. She did that about three different times. As I am seeing all of this, I am just thinking to myself, "Lady, I know you have no idea that I realize what you are up to, but I HOPE you try and cut in front of me. I HOPE YOU DO!"
Well, we are getting close to the counter and she is starting to see she is running out of time. Throughout this time, I have been trying to figure out a way to position my cart in a way that if she tries to "pull a quick recon" I can use the cart to cut her off. Let me say that I positioned my cart better than General Patton positioned his army to secure victory in WWII. This lady figures out that it is now or never and tries to play cutsies. In her attempt, I gave my cart a little nudge and nailed this lady square in the hip. That's right...you can say whatever you want about me but I am proud to say that I knocked a middle age woman SQUARE IN THE HIP FOR TRYING TO CUT IN LINE!!!!
Bottom line is that this woman was not happy! She started yelling at me in Thai (which I cannot understand) so I calmly started replying in English (which she could not understand), "I don't think so hunny. NIMBY. N-I-M-B-Y. Not In My Back Yard. I knew the whole time you were gonna try some shenannigans and you paid the price. We may be living in Bangkok, but where we are at now is called "Bang-Hip". I hope you have a wonderful evening." Of course I said all of this with a smile on my face. Again, I will say that I left with a smile on my face and quite proud of myself. I even had to tell my senior economics class about it and they thought it was funny too.
Well, that is all I have right now. I am glad I remembered I needed to publish another post. I am trying to hang out in Malaysia, but right now it is pouring outside. Until next time, at times it is easiest to make a point my knocking someone...no matter what age...in the freakin' hip:)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Innocence...Ohh Sweet Innocence...
What's up? What's up? What's up? I hope everyone is doing well as can be expected. Even though I have always enjoyed my time here, it is even better being able to hang out with a good group of people who like to have fun...even if the majority of them are Canadian (and I mean Canadian Canadian, not Flava Flav Canadian...I know Vic and Karl with understand what I mean). It is nice to sit back and have a few cold ones with people where there is no language barrier. The school and the staff are great (as I have mentioned before) and I feel like I am finally starting to get into the swing of things.
I would like to tell you all a little story. This happened yesterday and I am still laughing over 24 hours later. One of the things that I haven't noticed and/or appreciated until late is how much younger kids are here than back home. By younger, I am talking about their innocence. Kids here are still kids and enjoy being kids. One of the classes I teach is sixth grade Ancient Civilization and we are learning about the Mayans. The students have done very well at learning and one of the lessons we did was on Mayan art. So, for a fun activity we are making Mayan masks out of paper mache (?). We started these on Tuesday and will be done by the end of the week. The kids love it and I am very happy to see that they are having fun while learning from my teaching. Anyway, one of my students' name is Kris. His dad is from the States and his mom is Thai. When I first began teaching I noticed that he really liked to be in charge and he is ALL BUSINESS!!! I get such a kick out of him every single day. He wears these thick, dark-rimmed glasses and always has a serious look on his face as if he is creating nuclear biology formulas for the government. He was going to be gone for a day last week and came to let me know. "Mr. Jon!" he said, "Ya know you got some pretty good stuff going on over here and the concensus (he ACTUALLY used this word) is you are OK. I would love to stay the rest of the week, but I got business elsewhere that I need to take care of. I just wanted to let you know what is going on so we are on the same page." He says this to me without cracking a smile. So I told him that I understood, appreciated him letting me know, and I would see him next week.
Kris is back in time for the making of the masks. I let him help me set up and explain how things are going to be organized. We get started and it comes time to blow up the balloons. Everyone has no trouble blowing up their balloon except Kris. Luckily enough, he is standing right next to me and I get to watch everything close up. He finally gets it blown up and now comes the part where the balloon must be tied. He starts trying to tie it but can't get the end of the balloon through the hole he made to finish the knot (this is when it gets funny). As he struggles to make the knot, he starts saying, "C'MON GET IN THERE! GEEET IIIIN THERE! THE HOLE IS TOO TIGHT AND THE THING IS TOO BIG!" I am trying as hard as I can not to laugh out loud and then he finally ties the knot. "You know Mr. Jon, getting it in the hole is much easier the second and third time than the first," he said. "Well, Kris, " I replied, "I have a feeling you will be saying those words again someday." By now I am about ready to pee my pants. "Explain to me what you mean Mr. Jon. I don't understand," he said looking confused. This was the question I didn't expect him to ask and caught me off-guard. "Ummm....Ummmm," I muttered, "Have you ever played golf?" "No," he said. "Well...try playing golf once and you will understand...just make sure you have a wife first!" He smiled happily (still not understanding...Thank God) and went to his station and worked on his mask. I then stepped outside my room for about 30 seconds and had a great laugh.
Well, that is all I really wanted to share. I hope that you found it humorous, because I sure did. Take care of yourselves and keep livin' the dream. Until next time, don't forget to appreciate the innocence you can only find in a child. We were like that once too.
I would like to tell you all a little story. This happened yesterday and I am still laughing over 24 hours later. One of the things that I haven't noticed and/or appreciated until late is how much younger kids are here than back home. By younger, I am talking about their innocence. Kids here are still kids and enjoy being kids. One of the classes I teach is sixth grade Ancient Civilization and we are learning about the Mayans. The students have done very well at learning and one of the lessons we did was on Mayan art. So, for a fun activity we are making Mayan masks out of paper mache (?). We started these on Tuesday and will be done by the end of the week. The kids love it and I am very happy to see that they are having fun while learning from my teaching. Anyway, one of my students' name is Kris. His dad is from the States and his mom is Thai. When I first began teaching I noticed that he really liked to be in charge and he is ALL BUSINESS!!! I get such a kick out of him every single day. He wears these thick, dark-rimmed glasses and always has a serious look on his face as if he is creating nuclear biology formulas for the government. He was going to be gone for a day last week and came to let me know. "Mr. Jon!" he said, "Ya know you got some pretty good stuff going on over here and the concensus (he ACTUALLY used this word) is you are OK. I would love to stay the rest of the week, but I got business elsewhere that I need to take care of. I just wanted to let you know what is going on so we are on the same page." He says this to me without cracking a smile. So I told him that I understood, appreciated him letting me know, and I would see him next week.
Kris is back in time for the making of the masks. I let him help me set up and explain how things are going to be organized. We get started and it comes time to blow up the balloons. Everyone has no trouble blowing up their balloon except Kris. Luckily enough, he is standing right next to me and I get to watch everything close up. He finally gets it blown up and now comes the part where the balloon must be tied. He starts trying to tie it but can't get the end of the balloon through the hole he made to finish the knot (this is when it gets funny). As he struggles to make the knot, he starts saying, "C'MON GET IN THERE! GEEET IIIIN THERE! THE HOLE IS TOO TIGHT AND THE THING IS TOO BIG!" I am trying as hard as I can not to laugh out loud and then he finally ties the knot. "You know Mr. Jon, getting it in the hole is much easier the second and third time than the first," he said. "Well, Kris, " I replied, "I have a feeling you will be saying those words again someday." By now I am about ready to pee my pants. "Explain to me what you mean Mr. Jon. I don't understand," he said looking confused. This was the question I didn't expect him to ask and caught me off-guard. "Ummm....Ummmm," I muttered, "Have you ever played golf?" "No," he said. "Well...try playing golf once and you will understand...just make sure you have a wife first!" He smiled happily (still not understanding...Thank God) and went to his station and worked on his mask. I then stepped outside my room for about 30 seconds and had a great laugh.
Well, that is all I really wanted to share. I hope that you found it humorous, because I sure did. Take care of yourselves and keep livin' the dream. Until next time, don't forget to appreciate the innocence you can only find in a child. We were like that once too.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A little nutty but whatever...
Hello to everyone on the other side of the world. I would just like to remind everyone that it is my 25th birthday on Saturday and if you don't send me anything I will understand. I have heard from a few people that there is a global economic crisis going on right now, so I realize "times are tough!"
Two weeks ago I had to make a visa run to get a 30-day extension on my passport. I decided to go to Singapore since it is close and cheap...or so I thought. The flight there was cheap, but everything else was not. Til and I took the late flight and did not get in until about midnight. When it is midnight, the subways shut down as well as the public bus lines. Great...now I have to spend extra money on a taxi. Well, we ended up meeting a couple who are missionaries in Chiang Mai and we all agreed on a place to stay and split a cab. We stayed at this place called "Backpacker's Inn" because it was late and we only needed a place to sleep for a few hours. Til and I stayed in this room with no blankets or air conditioning and two people we didn't know (not the two we split the cab with). I will never forget the look on Til's face when we entered out sleeping quarters for the evening. He noticed four beds, the belongings of two other individuals, and gave me a look and a little smirk that asked, "What the ....?" I couldn't help but laugh and the only response I could muster was, "WELCOME TO SINGAPORE!" We found hotel accomadation the next day, saw some sights, and on Sunday went to Joseph Prince's church before our flight left (I do have to give credit to my mother. She is the one who turned me on to Pastor Prince and I told her that I would go see him while I was in Singapore. I told myself that I was going to keep a mental tally of how many times she REMINDED me to make sure I go and see him. She only told me once...and that was a week before I left...to "remember to go see Joseph Prince." So, mom I am very proud of you.). Overall, Singapore is the CLEANEST place I have ever been. Spitting results in a fine (if caught), as well as littering. I would feel comfortable eating off the sidewalk (just to give you a better understanding of the cleanliness). However, it isn't too exciting. The food is bland (but I credit that to eating Thai food all the time) and it is EXPENSIVE.
Moving to a different topic, I was recently in Chiang Mai this past weekend. I found a cheap ticket and got the opportunity to fly out of the old international airport (Don Muang) instead of Suvarnabhumi. I left my apartment about two hours before my flight left because I knew traffic there would be horrible. I told the driver where I needed to go and he nodded that he would take me there (in Thailand, if taxis don't want to take you where you need to go, they will just shake their head and drive off). When we got into one of the many traffic jams he would say, "Don Muang. Noo Gooood! Suvarnabhumi Goood." I figured out that was all the English he knew and/or could understand. Knowing this information, and knowing that I would be riding with this gentleman for a decent period of time, I was going to ammuse myself (I know it sounds bad, but get your head out of the gutter!!). So, whenever he would repeat these words, I would tell him what I always told Rick when he was having a stressful day, "I know buddy, TIMES ARE TOUGH! You have six cars, a great house, three businesses, a 40-foot boat, and a wife that loves you. Times are tough." He would then respond by saying, "Mai kaao jai (I don't understand). Don Muang Noo Gooood. Suvarnabhumi Gooood." I would then continue speaking in English and telling long stories of about my grandfather. I think he was happy when he finally dropped me off because once I paid him he drove off before I could shut the door. I am still laughing about it five days later.
I finally get to Chiang Mai and had a great time. I love that city and enjoy myself whenever I am up there. On the 14th, Jom, two of here friends, and I went to this restaurant in the mountains that looked over the city. The establishment was beautiful, the view awesome, the food was perfect, and they even had live music. By live music I mean four men with instruments going from table to table singing random songs (some in Thai, most in English). When I finally spotted the singing group it was when they were playing "Country Road" by John Denver (why Thai people like this song still boggles my mind). I noticed they were wearing cowboy hats. Being that it was dark, their tan skin made them look Mexican, which I thought was funny. We eventually got our food and about half-way through our meal, the "Mexican Cowboys" made their was to our table. Out of all the songs to sing, they chose "Before the Last Teardrop Falls" by Freddie Fender. Now, when I was bartending at The Frog, my CCD ladies would come in every Wednesday night, have some drinks, chat, and listen to music. One of the artists they ALWAYS played was Freddie Fender. After three years I grew a strong dislike for Freddie Fender. With this being said, you can imagine the irony when they started to play this song. When it was over (THANK GOD) I had to have a laugh and remind myself that God has a wonderful sense of humor. Well, that is it for now. Until next time, always remember that CCD ladies (or "my ladies of the cloth" as I called them) will never let you forget about them.
Two weeks ago I had to make a visa run to get a 30-day extension on my passport. I decided to go to Singapore since it is close and cheap...or so I thought. The flight there was cheap, but everything else was not. Til and I took the late flight and did not get in until about midnight. When it is midnight, the subways shut down as well as the public bus lines. Great...now I have to spend extra money on a taxi. Well, we ended up meeting a couple who are missionaries in Chiang Mai and we all agreed on a place to stay and split a cab. We stayed at this place called "Backpacker's Inn" because it was late and we only needed a place to sleep for a few hours. Til and I stayed in this room with no blankets or air conditioning and two people we didn't know (not the two we split the cab with). I will never forget the look on Til's face when we entered out sleeping quarters for the evening. He noticed four beds, the belongings of two other individuals, and gave me a look and a little smirk that asked, "What the ....?" I couldn't help but laugh and the only response I could muster was, "WELCOME TO SINGAPORE!" We found hotel accomadation the next day, saw some sights, and on Sunday went to Joseph Prince's church before our flight left (I do have to give credit to my mother. She is the one who turned me on to Pastor Prince and I told her that I would go see him while I was in Singapore. I told myself that I was going to keep a mental tally of how many times she REMINDED me to make sure I go and see him. She only told me once...and that was a week before I left...to "remember to go see Joseph Prince." So, mom I am very proud of you.). Overall, Singapore is the CLEANEST place I have ever been. Spitting results in a fine (if caught), as well as littering. I would feel comfortable eating off the sidewalk (just to give you a better understanding of the cleanliness). However, it isn't too exciting. The food is bland (but I credit that to eating Thai food all the time) and it is EXPENSIVE.
Moving to a different topic, I was recently in Chiang Mai this past weekend. I found a cheap ticket and got the opportunity to fly out of the old international airport (Don Muang) instead of Suvarnabhumi. I left my apartment about two hours before my flight left because I knew traffic there would be horrible. I told the driver where I needed to go and he nodded that he would take me there (in Thailand, if taxis don't want to take you where you need to go, they will just shake their head and drive off). When we got into one of the many traffic jams he would say, "Don Muang. Noo Gooood! Suvarnabhumi Goood." I figured out that was all the English he knew and/or could understand. Knowing this information, and knowing that I would be riding with this gentleman for a decent period of time, I was going to ammuse myself (I know it sounds bad, but get your head out of the gutter!!). So, whenever he would repeat these words, I would tell him what I always told Rick when he was having a stressful day, "I know buddy, TIMES ARE TOUGH! You have six cars, a great house, three businesses, a 40-foot boat, and a wife that loves you. Times are tough." He would then respond by saying, "Mai kaao jai (I don't understand). Don Muang Noo Gooood. Suvarnabhumi Gooood." I would then continue speaking in English and telling long stories of about my grandfather. I think he was happy when he finally dropped me off because once I paid him he drove off before I could shut the door. I am still laughing about it five days later.
I finally get to Chiang Mai and had a great time. I love that city and enjoy myself whenever I am up there. On the 14th, Jom, two of here friends, and I went to this restaurant in the mountains that looked over the city. The establishment was beautiful, the view awesome, the food was perfect, and they even had live music. By live music I mean four men with instruments going from table to table singing random songs (some in Thai, most in English). When I finally spotted the singing group it was when they were playing "Country Road" by John Denver (why Thai people like this song still boggles my mind). I noticed they were wearing cowboy hats. Being that it was dark, their tan skin made them look Mexican, which I thought was funny. We eventually got our food and about half-way through our meal, the "Mexican Cowboys" made their was to our table. Out of all the songs to sing, they chose "Before the Last Teardrop Falls" by Freddie Fender. Now, when I was bartending at The Frog, my CCD ladies would come in every Wednesday night, have some drinks, chat, and listen to music. One of the artists they ALWAYS played was Freddie Fender. After three years I grew a strong dislike for Freddie Fender. With this being said, you can imagine the irony when they started to play this song. When it was over (THANK GOD) I had to have a laugh and remind myself that God has a wonderful sense of humor. Well, that is it for now. Until next time, always remember that CCD ladies (or "my ladies of the cloth" as I called them) will never let you forget about them.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A slight change of pace...
Hello all. It has been quite a while since my last post, so for all of my faithful readers out there, I apologize. Things are wonderful as usual and I am very excited to be at my new school. I must say, however, the new job is quite a change of pace from the last.
Instead of waking up at 7:00am and take a 15-minute bus ride to school, I now get up at 5:30 and take a 35-minute taxi ride to school. The school day starts with all the students and staff listening to the Thai National Anthem and watching the raising of the flag. This begins at 7:30am and the first period starts at 7:50am. I am now responsible for teaching five classes each day with one prep period. While teaching at the Thai school I taught two or three classes a day with four or five preps. I teach five seperate classes to four different grades. The classes I teach are 6th grade Ancient Civilizations, 7th grade Western Civilization, 8th grade Regional Studies, 12th grade Economics, and 12th grade Global Issues. My largest class is 20 students and my smallest is Global Issues with three students (they are all girls; one from Thailand, one from Japan, and one from Oman; I call them my pearls of wisdom). The students I teach, I can honestly say, are the most wonderful, respectful students I have ever taught...not to mention the richest.
In order to go to ASB, unless a parent is a staff member, the tuition cost for a year is $10,000. I paid less a year to go to college. Almost all of the students' parents own their own business. One of my students in my 8th grade has a father who owns a wine distribution company, another parent owns a resort in Phuket, another student has a father who is the Phillipino Ambassador to Thailand, and another who's father is the the Oman Ambassador to Thailand and Vietnam. I think it is safe to say that these are the people to get in with. The great thing about it is that I get to network through their children.
The school staff is a wonderful group as well. I continue to be amazed at what a small world we are a part. One of the math teachers is my same age, from Appleton, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. The elementary and middle school P.E. teacher is from Honduras but lived in Wisconsin and graduated from Madison West HS while his father earned his doctorate degree. I believe in all there are six teachers from the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan area. It is nice to be around people who are into state sporting rivalries. I was asked to be on the staff basketball team and play against other international schools on Thursdays. We are a pretty good team and have a good squad of guys. The staff has been nothing but friendly and very accepting of me into the ASB family. I think some of them feel a little bad for me because I teach the most classes out of all the staff. All the other teachers teach four 55-minute classes with two preps. I don't mind having to teach five classes, but I must say that it is VERY difficult to do so when you are hired midway through the quarter and only have a general idea of where the previous teacher left off. I feel I also put some unneeded pressure on myself to perform. Being that I am only employed until the beginning of June, I need to do well to get offered a two-year contract. After only being here a week, I really can't see myself going back to teaching English, so I need to perform.
That is about all for now. I have a couple stories to share but I am saving them for my next post. I will say that they involve Singapore, Thai cowboys, and Freddie Fender. Before I sign off I am just wondering if anyone would like to take bets on the lenght of Brett Favre's second retirement? Well, I am off to write lesson plans and get ready for another exciting week. Until next time, always remember that 90% of teaching is half mental.
Instead of waking up at 7:00am and take a 15-minute bus ride to school, I now get up at 5:30 and take a 35-minute taxi ride to school. The school day starts with all the students and staff listening to the Thai National Anthem and watching the raising of the flag. This begins at 7:30am and the first period starts at 7:50am. I am now responsible for teaching five classes each day with one prep period. While teaching at the Thai school I taught two or three classes a day with four or five preps. I teach five seperate classes to four different grades. The classes I teach are 6th grade Ancient Civilizations, 7th grade Western Civilization, 8th grade Regional Studies, 12th grade Economics, and 12th grade Global Issues. My largest class is 20 students and my smallest is Global Issues with three students (they are all girls; one from Thailand, one from Japan, and one from Oman; I call them my pearls of wisdom). The students I teach, I can honestly say, are the most wonderful, respectful students I have ever taught...not to mention the richest.
In order to go to ASB, unless a parent is a staff member, the tuition cost for a year is $10,000. I paid less a year to go to college. Almost all of the students' parents own their own business. One of my students in my 8th grade has a father who owns a wine distribution company, another parent owns a resort in Phuket, another student has a father who is the Phillipino Ambassador to Thailand, and another who's father is the the Oman Ambassador to Thailand and Vietnam. I think it is safe to say that these are the people to get in with. The great thing about it is that I get to network through their children.
The school staff is a wonderful group as well. I continue to be amazed at what a small world we are a part. One of the math teachers is my same age, from Appleton, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. The elementary and middle school P.E. teacher is from Honduras but lived in Wisconsin and graduated from Madison West HS while his father earned his doctorate degree. I believe in all there are six teachers from the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan area. It is nice to be around people who are into state sporting rivalries. I was asked to be on the staff basketball team and play against other international schools on Thursdays. We are a pretty good team and have a good squad of guys. The staff has been nothing but friendly and very accepting of me into the ASB family. I think some of them feel a little bad for me because I teach the most classes out of all the staff. All the other teachers teach four 55-minute classes with two preps. I don't mind having to teach five classes, but I must say that it is VERY difficult to do so when you are hired midway through the quarter and only have a general idea of where the previous teacher left off. I feel I also put some unneeded pressure on myself to perform. Being that I am only employed until the beginning of June, I need to do well to get offered a two-year contract. After only being here a week, I really can't see myself going back to teaching English, so I need to perform.
That is about all for now. I have a couple stories to share but I am saving them for my next post. I will say that they involve Singapore, Thai cowboys, and Freddie Fender. Before I sign off I am just wondering if anyone would like to take bets on the lenght of Brett Favre's second retirement? Well, I am off to write lesson plans and get ready for another exciting week. Until next time, always remember that 90% of teaching is half mental.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A New Opportunity...
Hello hello again everyone. I am happy to report that life keeps getting better and better. I have been talking quite a bit with one of my co-teachers about applying at an International school. All of them state on their websites that in order to be considered for a position all applicants MUST have teaching experience. Applying at one of these schools is on the top of my "to-do" list but I figured I would need to pay my dues and teach English for a year before I would be hired for a social studies position (in case anyone was not aware, social studies is what I ACTUALLY went to school for). The more we would talk about the subject the more he would stress that even without experience I would be hired by a good school. "There are 75 International schools in Bangkok alone," he said. "If you think that each teaching position is filled by someone with three years of experience and a license you are kidding yourself. You are a native speaker who is young, has blonde hair, blue eyes, and has a teaching degree. That is what these schools are looking for. The only way you would be better is if you were 17 years of age and had a master's degree!" I had to laugh a little at the statement but really took the advice to heart. I will never have a chance if I don't try. Plus, I like the school I am curently teaching at, so if I don't get hired I would be content to stay where I am.
Almost all International schools run on the American/British calendar so I figured that I could start looking now and be able to apply for many opportunities by the time August would come around. However, I have been feeling a little stress because my contract only goes until the end of March and would start again the beginning of May. That means I would have to go through all of April without a solid stream of income.
Each morning I look on a website that has new listings for open teacher position everyday throughout the entire country. I usually look on there for part-time jobs (which there are quite a few) in order to try and suppliment my current income. I sent my information to a few schools, one of which is in Chiang Mai (can't imagine why I would apply for a job up there...hahaha) and got a response from a couple of them. I was happy that at least I would have the opportunity to teach part-time nights and make a little extra coin. Then, this last Tuesday, I was going through my daily job search and came across an opening for a high school/middle school social studies position. I read the posting about five straight times until I heard "someone" come behind me and whisper in my ear, "DUUUUUUUUDE! APPLY FOR THE JOB!" The posting stated that only applicants who have a degree in this field and teaching experience will be considered. I pointed to that line and stated to him, "You see this right here?! Do you know how GOOD this school is considered?" "Alright, I have a deal for you," he replied. "Apply for the job. WHEN you get a call for an interview, go in for the interview, and then get offered the job, a group of us are going out and YOU are responsible for the tab!" Well, I rolled my eyes and chuckled and said it was a deal.
The entire day went by and I didn't get a reply. The entire next day went by and I didn't get a reply. All of Thursday went by and I didn't get a reply. By this time I figured I could say "I told you so" and forget about it. However, at 8:20 am on Friday I got a call from the school administrator asking if I would be interested in coming in for an interview. Of course I accepted and had my time set up for Tuesday at 4:00pm. I was informed that there were five other people applying for the position and I was right in the middle of all the interviews. Well, I knew I had to keep a positive mindset and do everything possible to prepare myself. I reviewed my education philosophy, my classroom management philosophy, studied questions that might be asked, wrote down good questions to ask them if they gave me the opportunity, did my homework on the school and its philosophies and picked the brain of a very good teacher and principal who helped me tremendously.
I was very nervous (naturally) leading up to the interview but was given a blessing in disguise in the form of my taxi driver. My interview was at 4pm but I got in the cab at 2:20 because the least I was going to do is be on time. I knew how to get there and even had a map for the driver to go by so there wouldn't be any problems...or so I thought. First, he was going the wrong way and we couldn't understand each other due to the language barrier. I tried calling Til four consecutive times and he did not answer. By that time I seriously felt like taking a stick and shoving it in my eye. A couple minutes later Til called me back and I told him where I needed to go and to explain it to "Jimmy Mapquest." He explained the directions for about a good four minutes and said the driver understood...or so he thought. The guy goes the wrong way again and now my blood really boiling under my calm demeanor. I once again called Til and said, "I need you to explain to this gentleman the importance of this interview. If I am late, I am going to be in third-world jail due to the murdering of a cab driver!" He explains the directions again and finally got me to the destination at 3:40pm. The reason I say it was a blessing in disguise is because with the stress of just getting there I had totally forgotten about actually having an interview. I felt like I was already the big winner just because I made it on time.
During the interview process I didn't break a sweat. I actually overprepared by about 100 times because they didn't ask any of the questions I thought they would. However, they said they loved me and I was exactly what they were looking for; young, athletic (don't laugh please), and energetic. They said they had to interiew two other people the next day but hoped to be able to call me later in the week with good news. I finally got the call Thursday morning and I start on Monday. I was in the hallway of the school when I got the call and I think that a few of my students feel I am a little "left of center" because after I got off the phone I said in a fairly loud voice, "That's right baby!! GETTIN' PAID, GETTIN' PAID!" However, I was so excited I didn't care. I achieved my goal much sooner than anticipated. If any of you would like to see where I teach, feel free to go to the American School of Bangkok website: www.asb.th.edu and click on 'Campuses' and choose the Bangna campus.
Before I wrap this up I need to send out a very special thanks to Damon Lisowski. Damon is the teacher and principal I referred to earlier in this post. He is my former baseball and basketball coach is now someone I can proudly call a friend. I know he won't take credit for getting me the job, but he wrote a recommendation letter for me that almost put tears in my eyes the first time I read it. I was specifially told by the two men who interviewed me that the main reason they decided to give me a chance was because of that letter. Without that letter I would have never even been invited for an interview. There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am to have an individual like him in my corner. He is someone I look up to, admire, and respect more than he could imagine.
Thanks to everyone for their kind words, support, during this last week. It means a lot. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a tab that I am looking forward to paying. Until next time, let us not forget to respect our bodies, protect our futures, and roll up a fatty full of fellowship and fun.
Almost all International schools run on the American/British calendar so I figured that I could start looking now and be able to apply for many opportunities by the time August would come around. However, I have been feeling a little stress because my contract only goes until the end of March and would start again the beginning of May. That means I would have to go through all of April without a solid stream of income.
Each morning I look on a website that has new listings for open teacher position everyday throughout the entire country. I usually look on there for part-time jobs (which there are quite a few) in order to try and suppliment my current income. I sent my information to a few schools, one of which is in Chiang Mai (can't imagine why I would apply for a job up there...hahaha) and got a response from a couple of them. I was happy that at least I would have the opportunity to teach part-time nights and make a little extra coin. Then, this last Tuesday, I was going through my daily job search and came across an opening for a high school/middle school social studies position. I read the posting about five straight times until I heard "someone" come behind me and whisper in my ear, "DUUUUUUUUDE! APPLY FOR THE JOB!" The posting stated that only applicants who have a degree in this field and teaching experience will be considered. I pointed to that line and stated to him, "You see this right here?! Do you know how GOOD this school is considered?" "Alright, I have a deal for you," he replied. "Apply for the job. WHEN you get a call for an interview, go in for the interview, and then get offered the job, a group of us are going out and YOU are responsible for the tab!" Well, I rolled my eyes and chuckled and said it was a deal.
The entire day went by and I didn't get a reply. The entire next day went by and I didn't get a reply. All of Thursday went by and I didn't get a reply. By this time I figured I could say "I told you so" and forget about it. However, at 8:20 am on Friday I got a call from the school administrator asking if I would be interested in coming in for an interview. Of course I accepted and had my time set up for Tuesday at 4:00pm. I was informed that there were five other people applying for the position and I was right in the middle of all the interviews. Well, I knew I had to keep a positive mindset and do everything possible to prepare myself. I reviewed my education philosophy, my classroom management philosophy, studied questions that might be asked, wrote down good questions to ask them if they gave me the opportunity, did my homework on the school and its philosophies and picked the brain of a very good teacher and principal who helped me tremendously.
I was very nervous (naturally) leading up to the interview but was given a blessing in disguise in the form of my taxi driver. My interview was at 4pm but I got in the cab at 2:20 because the least I was going to do is be on time. I knew how to get there and even had a map for the driver to go by so there wouldn't be any problems...or so I thought. First, he was going the wrong way and we couldn't understand each other due to the language barrier. I tried calling Til four consecutive times and he did not answer. By that time I seriously felt like taking a stick and shoving it in my eye. A couple minutes later Til called me back and I told him where I needed to go and to explain it to "Jimmy Mapquest." He explained the directions for about a good four minutes and said the driver understood...or so he thought. The guy goes the wrong way again and now my blood really boiling under my calm demeanor. I once again called Til and said, "I need you to explain to this gentleman the importance of this interview. If I am late, I am going to be in third-world jail due to the murdering of a cab driver!" He explains the directions again and finally got me to the destination at 3:40pm. The reason I say it was a blessing in disguise is because with the stress of just getting there I had totally forgotten about actually having an interview. I felt like I was already the big winner just because I made it on time.
During the interview process I didn't break a sweat. I actually overprepared by about 100 times because they didn't ask any of the questions I thought they would. However, they said they loved me and I was exactly what they were looking for; young, athletic (don't laugh please), and energetic. They said they had to interiew two other people the next day but hoped to be able to call me later in the week with good news. I finally got the call Thursday morning and I start on Monday. I was in the hallway of the school when I got the call and I think that a few of my students feel I am a little "left of center" because after I got off the phone I said in a fairly loud voice, "That's right baby!! GETTIN' PAID, GETTIN' PAID!" However, I was so excited I didn't care. I achieved my goal much sooner than anticipated. If any of you would like to see where I teach, feel free to go to the American School of Bangkok website: www.asb.th.edu and click on 'Campuses' and choose the Bangna campus.
Before I wrap this up I need to send out a very special thanks to Damon Lisowski. Damon is the teacher and principal I referred to earlier in this post. He is my former baseball and basketball coach is now someone I can proudly call a friend. I know he won't take credit for getting me the job, but he wrote a recommendation letter for me that almost put tears in my eyes the first time I read it. I was specifially told by the two men who interviewed me that the main reason they decided to give me a chance was because of that letter. Without that letter I would have never even been invited for an interview. There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am to have an individual like him in my corner. He is someone I look up to, admire, and respect more than he could imagine.
Thanks to everyone for their kind words, support, during this last week. It means a lot. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a tab that I am looking forward to paying. Until next time, let us not forget to respect our bodies, protect our futures, and roll up a fatty full of fellowship and fun.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Why are you staring at me?
Hey Hey Hey. I hope everyone is well and people in the midwest are starting to warm-up a little bit. Once again, I would like to say that things are going well for me here in this wonderful country. This post will not be as long as the others but I coudn't pass up the opportunity to share another story.
During a typical week, I go to school, teach a few classes, come home, exercise, go and grab some take-home dinner on the street and enjoy the rest of the evening. Usually, when leaving my apartment, I take a left and walk down a few blocks where this lady sells really great fish, sticky rice, and other great tasting items to choose from. However, when I was on the bus last week about 4-5 blocks away from my building, I noticed a different area where there were many food vendors and told myself it is time to try something new. So, instead of taking a left, I took a right and walked to the area I noticed earlier in the day. When I got to this area the food choices looked amazing and was very happy that I made this decision. After I had looked at what a few different vendors were selling I stared to notice that the noise level started to go down. So, instead of looking at more dinner possibilities, I just continued to walk and look at what people were doing. Throughout my walk, I noticed that when I went by groups of people in conversation, it would immediately stop and I would be stared at as I walked by. At first I didn't undertand why everyone was staring at me and then I realized that not many farangs enter this area to buy food. When I continued to see for people stop what they were doing and stare at me I couldn't help but smile at the situation. It's as if none of these people have seen a white person before.
I eventually found some great glass noodles with vegetables and some fresh mango with sweet sticky rice. During my purchase I started to laugh out loud and the nice lady I was buying from gave me a look that said, "What is this foreigner laughing at?" To ease the situation, I paid for my food, asked her a couple questions in Thai (which she appreciated), said thank you and couldn't stop laughing as I walked back home.
What was a laughing at you might ask? I was wishing at that moment these people understood English. If they were weirded out by a foreigner just passing through to buy his evening meal, how FREAKED out would they be if all of a sudden I stopped, looked at all the gentlemen, and yelled, "HOW MUCH FOR YOUR WOMEN!!??"
Well, that is all for now. I hope you find my story humorous. If you do not, however, that is too bad because I think it's freakin' hilarious. Until next time, the beauty of any experience is enhanced if you can find within it a touch of humor.
During a typical week, I go to school, teach a few classes, come home, exercise, go and grab some take-home dinner on the street and enjoy the rest of the evening. Usually, when leaving my apartment, I take a left and walk down a few blocks where this lady sells really great fish, sticky rice, and other great tasting items to choose from. However, when I was on the bus last week about 4-5 blocks away from my building, I noticed a different area where there were many food vendors and told myself it is time to try something new. So, instead of taking a left, I took a right and walked to the area I noticed earlier in the day. When I got to this area the food choices looked amazing and was very happy that I made this decision. After I had looked at what a few different vendors were selling I stared to notice that the noise level started to go down. So, instead of looking at more dinner possibilities, I just continued to walk and look at what people were doing. Throughout my walk, I noticed that when I went by groups of people in conversation, it would immediately stop and I would be stared at as I walked by. At first I didn't undertand why everyone was staring at me and then I realized that not many farangs enter this area to buy food. When I continued to see for people stop what they were doing and stare at me I couldn't help but smile at the situation. It's as if none of these people have seen a white person before.
I eventually found some great glass noodles with vegetables and some fresh mango with sweet sticky rice. During my purchase I started to laugh out loud and the nice lady I was buying from gave me a look that said, "What is this foreigner laughing at?" To ease the situation, I paid for my food, asked her a couple questions in Thai (which she appreciated), said thank you and couldn't stop laughing as I walked back home.
What was a laughing at you might ask? I was wishing at that moment these people understood English. If they were weirded out by a foreigner just passing through to buy his evening meal, how FREAKED out would they be if all of a sudden I stopped, looked at all the gentlemen, and yelled, "HOW MUCH FOR YOUR WOMEN!!??"
Well, that is all for now. I hope you find my story humorous. If you do not, however, that is too bad because I think it's freakin' hilarious. Until next time, the beauty of any experience is enhanced if you can find within it a touch of humor.
Monday, January 26, 2009
An unexpected meeting...
Hello once again to everyone, I hope all is well with everyone. Things are still going well for me here in "Amazing Thailand", as many people refer to it. Before I begin, I would like to send out a warm Happy Chinese New Year to everyone. I was invited to a party on Sunday to celebrate the New Year and it was held at a restaurant called the "Golden Dragon." I found out that it is the largest in the country and one of the largest in the world. In 1991, it was actually given an award from the Guiness Book of Records for seating capacity, square footage, and people employed (somewhere around 1,200...so Rick, if you are reading this, think about that number the next time you get stressed about employee costs). There were about 25 of us total from all different parts of the globe. If I remember correctly, among us there was a total of 13 different languages within our group and most of us were meeting each other for the first time. It is great to be a part of events like this because I get to learn about more cultures as well as do some networking. One of the coolest events that take place at this dining establishment was watching a Thai waiter fly via cable from one end of the restaurant to the other with a food plate that also contained fire. We got to see perform on four occasions, but the first time I saw this gentleman in action I could not help but say, "Oh my gosh, it's the Asian Peter Pan!" All in all, a great time was had and I cannot wait for the next celebration.
Besides the celebration, I wanted to share with everyone the experience that I had on the way to the party. The unexpected meeting that I am referring to in the title was not meeting so many new people at the restaurant.
I received a call from my co-worker, Alexis, who invited me to the celebration and told me that I need to be there no later than 7pm. Now, I have never taken a cab by myself due to the language barrier but there is a first time for everything right? She told me to send her a text when I was leaving my apartment and she would tell me what information to give "Timmy Taxi." So, I clean up, put on my red colors, and am ready to go. I get out of the building and start writing a text and not paying attention to what is in front of me. All of a sudden, in mid-text, I ran into an object that was quite bigger than me and also had a hair and skin texture that is different from that of a human. I look up, and I see an elephant looking right at me. I couldn't help but smile, and the Thai man stared at me with a look that basically said, "Hey.....stupid foreigner! How do you seriously not notice a GIANT elephant on the sidewalk?" After that, I bought the elephant some bananas and went on my way. Every time I think about it I cannot help but laugh out loud and think of my two best friends, Dylan and Furda, saying to me, "Is today your first day walkin' retard?"
Well, that is about it for now. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to write more, but I actually have to get to work and make final exams. Until next time, remember that spotting the elephant in the room is not always as easy as it seems.
Besides the celebration, I wanted to share with everyone the experience that I had on the way to the party. The unexpected meeting that I am referring to in the title was not meeting so many new people at the restaurant.
I received a call from my co-worker, Alexis, who invited me to the celebration and told me that I need to be there no later than 7pm. Now, I have never taken a cab by myself due to the language barrier but there is a first time for everything right? She told me to send her a text when I was leaving my apartment and she would tell me what information to give "Timmy Taxi." So, I clean up, put on my red colors, and am ready to go. I get out of the building and start writing a text and not paying attention to what is in front of me. All of a sudden, in mid-text, I ran into an object that was quite bigger than me and also had a hair and skin texture that is different from that of a human. I look up, and I see an elephant looking right at me. I couldn't help but smile, and the Thai man stared at me with a look that basically said, "Hey.....stupid foreigner! How do you seriously not notice a GIANT elephant on the sidewalk?" After that, I bought the elephant some bananas and went on my way. Every time I think about it I cannot help but laugh out loud and think of my two best friends, Dylan and Furda, saying to me, "Is today your first day walkin' retard?"
Well, that is about it for now. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to write more, but I actually have to get to work and make final exams. Until next time, remember that spotting the elephant in the room is not always as easy as it seems.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
No need for coffee in the morning...
Hello to all once again. I hope that everyone enjoyed Inauguration Day and what I hope is a bright future. From what I have heard, the Inauguration Party was the biggest event since the Emancipation Proclimation:) Anyway, I was happy to hear the party was a hit because the next 4-8 years will be the EXACT OPPOSITE of that. However, now that I have commented on that, Go Obama!
In this post I want to share with all of you the joys of transportation. I feel that people in the U.S.A (as well as other countries) take for granted the enforcement of traffic laws. If this is not understood, let me explain. I wake up each morning at 6:30am and leave my building by 7:20am. I take the #113 bus to the front of the village where my school is located. When people get on and off the bus, it DOESN'T COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! Typically, at this time in the morning, there are never seats available and there are more people standing than sitting. The floors are made of wood that are tough to keep balance on when wearing shoes that could possibly be used for downhill skiing and all there is to hold on to is bars that are as thick as my thumb. This wonderful ride can be all yours for the price of about 10 baht (30 cents).
Once I get off at my stop, I get to take a motorcycle taxi from the front of the village to my school which is about 2-3 miles away. The driver wears a helmet, and the passenger (ME) does not get to wear one. There are quite a bit of traffic during this time because of school transportation, but these men drive like there is nobody else on the road. They dodge vehicles as if they are traffic cones and go over speed bumps as if they are driving MOTORCROSS in the Superdome! I am not quite sure about their lives at home, but a part of me feels as if they wake-up every morning and say, "I hate my job! I cannot stand my wife, and if today is the day it ends, I AM TAKING SOMEONE WITH ME!" They drive as if they have a complete disregard for life. This amazing ride can be all yours for the price of 17 baht (50 cents). The good news for me is that I get to do it all over again when school gets out. There were times I got nervous when Jom would be driving her motorbike, but in her defense, compared to these guys, she drives like she is in a parade.
Well, I believe that is all for now. I hope you enjoy visualizing me going to work every morning and also appreciate the enforcement of traffic laws back home. As you can hopefully understand, I don't need to spend any money on a cup of coffee in the morning:) Until next time, keep on rockin' in the free world!
In this post I want to share with all of you the joys of transportation. I feel that people in the U.S.A (as well as other countries) take for granted the enforcement of traffic laws. If this is not understood, let me explain. I wake up each morning at 6:30am and leave my building by 7:20am. I take the #113 bus to the front of the village where my school is located. When people get on and off the bus, it DOESN'T COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! Typically, at this time in the morning, there are never seats available and there are more people standing than sitting. The floors are made of wood that are tough to keep balance on when wearing shoes that could possibly be used for downhill skiing and all there is to hold on to is bars that are as thick as my thumb. This wonderful ride can be all yours for the price of about 10 baht (30 cents).
Once I get off at my stop, I get to take a motorcycle taxi from the front of the village to my school which is about 2-3 miles away. The driver wears a helmet, and the passenger (ME) does not get to wear one. There are quite a bit of traffic during this time because of school transportation, but these men drive like there is nobody else on the road. They dodge vehicles as if they are traffic cones and go over speed bumps as if they are driving MOTORCROSS in the Superdome! I am not quite sure about their lives at home, but a part of me feels as if they wake-up every morning and say, "I hate my job! I cannot stand my wife, and if today is the day it ends, I AM TAKING SOMEONE WITH ME!" They drive as if they have a complete disregard for life. This amazing ride can be all yours for the price of 17 baht (50 cents). The good news for me is that I get to do it all over again when school gets out. There were times I got nervous when Jom would be driving her motorbike, but in her defense, compared to these guys, she drives like she is in a parade.
Well, I believe that is all for now. I hope you enjoy visualizing me going to work every morning and also appreciate the enforcement of traffic laws back home. As you can hopefully understand, I don't need to spend any money on a cup of coffee in the morning:) Until next time, keep on rockin' in the free world!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
My First Week...
Hello hello again. Well, I have made it through my first week without any accidents (that sounds funny) even though there we times I thought there would be. In my first week, I taught a total of 11 classes and finally came to the realization that (as my friend Ms. Evers put it) this is teachers heaven. When talking to the other teachers in the English Program, they have all told me that they know I realize it is totally different from what I am used to, but I have to adapt and just enjoy your freedom. "What is the point of complaining when you get paid for teaching 2-3 classes a day? What is the point of complaining when you can leave whenever you are done and still write down that you clock out at 4:30pm? What is the point of complaining when you can slow your lessons down to 1/2 the speed they are done at in America?" Lars asked me (Lars is a social studies teacher from Denmark). I have never complained about the hours, just about the administration not giving me materials I needed to prepare myself (which I commented about in my last post). So, after he talked things over with me, as well as a few other teachers around my age I work with, I have came to the comclusion that this is the sweetest job in the world. I have a sweet schedule, and it gives me the opportunity to go and tutor for a minimum of B500/hour. Now, I can easily live on what I am making at the school, because I don't live really high off the hog. Do not get me wrong, I live well. However, the great thing about Thailand is that someone can live well withough spending much money. Transportation is cheap, GREAT (and healthy) food is cheap, a 2-hour bus trip to the beach at Pattaya is cheap...I think you are getting the picture. But, I am more than happy to teach kids (or adults for that matter) their ABC's 10-20 hours a week and double my income. Plus, it isn't difficult, it is just time. Can you say SAVINGS POTENTIAL?
Ok, I must apologize because I got a little off topic. Overall, the kids here are pretty good, except for M 2/1 class (9th grade). They are not very good at paying attention and they like to talk very much. THAT BOTHERS ME!! I got the pleasure of letting them know, in NO UNCERTAIN terms (as my father likes to say), that I really do not like my time being wasted. The good news is that in a class like this, there are always 2-3 "ring leaders". Luckily enough for me, when I was growing up, I was one of the ring leaders so I can pick them out faster than spotting a terd in a punch bowl:) These are the students who get to be the example. If their "calling" is to be the ring leader, then thier OTHER "calling' is getting to be my disciplinary example. What a lucky group of kids huh?:) With the teachers having Friday off, I only had them once during my first week so I don't have the pleasure of teaching them again until Wednesday. However, in their defense, there are students (in the USA) that I have had who are worse. The only thing that I would like to see more of is student-speaking confidence from all my classes as a whole. When I had them write, I must say I was impressed at how well they wrote (probably better than 50% of the students I had back home). The problem is getting them to speak up in class. The Thai culture is such a "shy" culture that they are afraid to use their voice. It is almost like pulling teeth trying to get a student to talk loud when I call one of them up to read. But, they better get used to it because that is how I operate. They are slowly getting better, but they just lack confidence in their speaking ability. I have told them I don't care if they mess up in pronunciation, or if I ask a question and they get it wrong, I just want them to sound confident when they are speaking.
I now want to focus on the school itself. The school consists of seven stories and almost 4,000 students. The school claims that you must score high on the entrance exam in order to be accepted to the school. However, corruption overcomes brain power. As a parent, your child will be accepted if you slip the principal B40,000 ($1,200) or so under the table. If you do not, it doesn't matter how well your child scores on the test. That money is above an beyond tuition fees. Everything is done here to look good on paper, even when it comes to teachers. Teachers are required to be at school between 7:45-8am...period. This is only because teachers need to sign in when we arrive. Take my friday schedule for example, I don't have a class until 12:40pm. But when I come and clock in at 8am, I can leave and go tutor and then come back (without the knowledge of the administration). Also, we teachers ALWAYS clock out at 4:30pm. Even if you leave at 3pm, you still clock out at 4:30. This was told to me by the head of the department. When I asked him why we did that, said it ws so if the principals check the logs, it appears as though we are here until that time. Again, it is fine as long as it looks good on paper. Now, I am not trying to run the school down. Overall, this is a very good school and actually one of the best Thai schools in the country, but the bottom line is M-O-N-E-Y it is quite interesting to learn about how things are really done here.
As far as the staff is concerned, they are wonderful. I came to work at Nawamin School at the right time. The school year for the students ends the last week in February and the staff has to come to school during the month of March, punch in (so it appears as though we are here) and then can leave. On Tuesday the EP staff had a New Year's party (yeah, I know it sounds wierd) at this really nice restaraunt/karoke bar and it was a lot of fun. We all got gifts for being part of the staff and got our picture taken with the principal. All the foreign teachers received towels ("I would like to thank the academy for this award...haha) and a yearly planner and the I have to say the meal was AWESOME! None of the Thai staff was brave enough to start doing karoke so we, the foreign staff, felt it was out duty to get the party going. The group consisted of Lars (from Denmark), Alexis (from Malaysia), Briggs (from the Phillipines), and me. We sang "I Will Survive" and got a score of 97%. We though that since we did so well we should form our own group and now call ourselves "The UN" (United Nations). After we did a few songs, more people started to go with it and it was a lot of fun. I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did when I watched our EP principal (a 60 year-old Thai woman) sing "Country Road" by John Denver. That's right...Mr. Sunshine On My Dang Shoulders JOHN DENVER! Can you believe it...JOHN FRIGGIN' DENVER! Well, I think that story is a good way to end this post since I have written a book. Thanks for the continued comments I am enjoying them very much...even yours Harvey:). Ohh, one more thing, if you are following this blog, can you please do me a favor and ACTUALLY sign up to be a follower? It takes less than five minutes. Thanks, I appreciate it. Until next time, remember that John Denver isn't dead...he just went home:)
Ok, I must apologize because I got a little off topic. Overall, the kids here are pretty good, except for M 2/1 class (9th grade). They are not very good at paying attention and they like to talk very much. THAT BOTHERS ME!! I got the pleasure of letting them know, in NO UNCERTAIN terms (as my father likes to say), that I really do not like my time being wasted. The good news is that in a class like this, there are always 2-3 "ring leaders". Luckily enough for me, when I was growing up, I was one of the ring leaders so I can pick them out faster than spotting a terd in a punch bowl:) These are the students who get to be the example. If their "calling" is to be the ring leader, then thier OTHER "calling' is getting to be my disciplinary example. What a lucky group of kids huh?:) With the teachers having Friday off, I only had them once during my first week so I don't have the pleasure of teaching them again until Wednesday. However, in their defense, there are students (in the USA) that I have had who are worse. The only thing that I would like to see more of is student-speaking confidence from all my classes as a whole. When I had them write, I must say I was impressed at how well they wrote (probably better than 50% of the students I had back home). The problem is getting them to speak up in class. The Thai culture is such a "shy" culture that they are afraid to use their voice. It is almost like pulling teeth trying to get a student to talk loud when I call one of them up to read. But, they better get used to it because that is how I operate. They are slowly getting better, but they just lack confidence in their speaking ability. I have told them I don't care if they mess up in pronunciation, or if I ask a question and they get it wrong, I just want them to sound confident when they are speaking.
I now want to focus on the school itself. The school consists of seven stories and almost 4,000 students. The school claims that you must score high on the entrance exam in order to be accepted to the school. However, corruption overcomes brain power. As a parent, your child will be accepted if you slip the principal B40,000 ($1,200) or so under the table. If you do not, it doesn't matter how well your child scores on the test. That money is above an beyond tuition fees. Everything is done here to look good on paper, even when it comes to teachers. Teachers are required to be at school between 7:45-8am...period. This is only because teachers need to sign in when we arrive. Take my friday schedule for example, I don't have a class until 12:40pm. But when I come and clock in at 8am, I can leave and go tutor and then come back (without the knowledge of the administration). Also, we teachers ALWAYS clock out at 4:30pm. Even if you leave at 3pm, you still clock out at 4:30. This was told to me by the head of the department. When I asked him why we did that, said it ws so if the principals check the logs, it appears as though we are here until that time. Again, it is fine as long as it looks good on paper. Now, I am not trying to run the school down. Overall, this is a very good school and actually one of the best Thai schools in the country, but the bottom line is M-O-N-E-Y it is quite interesting to learn about how things are really done here.
As far as the staff is concerned, they are wonderful. I came to work at Nawamin School at the right time. The school year for the students ends the last week in February and the staff has to come to school during the month of March, punch in (so it appears as though we are here) and then can leave. On Tuesday the EP staff had a New Year's party (yeah, I know it sounds wierd) at this really nice restaraunt/karoke bar and it was a lot of fun. We all got gifts for being part of the staff and got our picture taken with the principal. All the foreign teachers received towels ("I would like to thank the academy for this award...haha) and a yearly planner and the I have to say the meal was AWESOME! None of the Thai staff was brave enough to start doing karoke so we, the foreign staff, felt it was out duty to get the party going. The group consisted of Lars (from Denmark), Alexis (from Malaysia), Briggs (from the Phillipines), and me. We sang "I Will Survive" and got a score of 97%. We though that since we did so well we should form our own group and now call ourselves "The UN" (United Nations). After we did a few songs, more people started to go with it and it was a lot of fun. I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did when I watched our EP principal (a 60 year-old Thai woman) sing "Country Road" by John Denver. That's right...Mr. Sunshine On My Dang Shoulders JOHN DENVER! Can you believe it...JOHN FRIGGIN' DENVER! Well, I think that story is a good way to end this post since I have written a book. Thanks for the continued comments I am enjoying them very much...even yours Harvey:). Ohh, one more thing, if you are following this blog, can you please do me a favor and ACTUALLY sign up to be a follower? It takes less than five minutes. Thanks, I appreciate it. Until next time, remember that John Denver isn't dead...he just went home:)
Monday, January 12, 2009
My Job...
Hello to everyone once again. I am sad to report that my vacation is officially over and I now begin the experience of my first ever teaching job (in which I actually receive a paycheck that is), let alone a teaching job in another country. I am teaching at a school called Nawamin School. The full name is actually much longer, but if I cannot pronounce it, I am not going to type. I started on Monday and had to be in by no later than 7:45am (I arrived at 7:44 - holla atchaya boy!!) and have to stay until 3:30 pm. When I was told about the contract hours I assumed that I would have a schedule like I would if I were teaching in an International school or a school back in the good ol' U.S. of A. There are eight periods of 50 minutes and I would teach five or six periods a day and have two or three prep periods. Well, I was totally mistaken because I have the EXACT OPPOSITE of that! Yesterday and today, for example, I taught two English classes and have the rest of the day to "prepare". I called to my Thai friend Till after my first day was over and told him that I got really bored because I only had two classes. "Jon-a-tin," he said, "this is the way it is in Thailand, you don't teach many crass (class)." I was eating with some of he EP (English Proficiency) staff and one of the teachers is from Denmark and has been teaching social studies for over a year. He told me that at this job you will see that you have a lot of freedom to do other things. "They tell you that you need to stay until 3:30, but this is a seven-story school with almost 4,000 students. There are offices very close to the school that are always looking for tutors. Visit these places after school, tell them your schedule, and when you have a block of periods when you don't teach, go tutor, make some money and come back before your next class starts. Nobody will even know that you are gone." After hearing this, I started to wonder why I got so nervous on my first day.
Now let me talk more about the school. Here there are no breaks between classes. The first class starts at 8:30 and goes until 9:20. The second class starts at 9:20 and goes until 10:10...etc. Teachers do not take role. There is no set curriculum, so every teacher pretty much flies by the seat of their pants. Students are required to be at school by 7:45 for the morning flag ceramony followed by a 20 minute prayer session. It is cool to see a multitude of 4,000 students all at once. I am not taking any religious affiliation in this regaurd, but I am talking about the physical sight of it. Simply amazing. EVERY MORNING. FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
On my first day of teaching, as stated earlier, I was very nervous. I have wanted to do this for so long and the day is FINALLY here! I was at school on time, I looked sharp, and I was ready to teach. Oh wait...I don't have a single text book, or a schedule, or where the students left off in the text book. Excited nervousness soon turned to feelings of, "I am here to teach, but what do you expect me to teach them when I have been given nothing?!" I wanted to pull my hair out. If anyone knows me, and I mean ACTUALLY knows me, they will tell you that I am basically a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of guy...EXCEPT when it comes to teaching students. When it comes to education, you MUST have a plan and for me, that means very detailed and drawn out (Thanks Dad:)) or your students will sense weakness and walk all over you (it is as if they are trained by Jedi to sense teacher weakness...Mr. Shaw, I am sure, knows what I mean by this). How am I supposed to have a plan when I have been given nothing?
About 10 minutes before my first class, I was given textbooks for my 7-12th graders and made it through my first day. I am happy that I was given the gift of a powerful voice because that is what I needed to control my students on this day. Overall, kids are kids. They are good kids if you smile at them and let them know you are a human just like them. Anyway, that is all for now. I will write again later what I did on my first day...I think I will have some time:) Until next time, always stay classy!
Now let me talk more about the school. Here there are no breaks between classes. The first class starts at 8:30 and goes until 9:20. The second class starts at 9:20 and goes until 10:10...etc. Teachers do not take role. There is no set curriculum, so every teacher pretty much flies by the seat of their pants. Students are required to be at school by 7:45 for the morning flag ceramony followed by a 20 minute prayer session. It is cool to see a multitude of 4,000 students all at once. I am not taking any religious affiliation in this regaurd, but I am talking about the physical sight of it. Simply amazing. EVERY MORNING. FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
On my first day of teaching, as stated earlier, I was very nervous. I have wanted to do this for so long and the day is FINALLY here! I was at school on time, I looked sharp, and I was ready to teach. Oh wait...I don't have a single text book, or a schedule, or where the students left off in the text book. Excited nervousness soon turned to feelings of, "I am here to teach, but what do you expect me to teach them when I have been given nothing?!" I wanted to pull my hair out. If anyone knows me, and I mean ACTUALLY knows me, they will tell you that I am basically a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of guy...EXCEPT when it comes to teaching students. When it comes to education, you MUST have a plan and for me, that means very detailed and drawn out (Thanks Dad:)) or your students will sense weakness and walk all over you (it is as if they are trained by Jedi to sense teacher weakness...Mr. Shaw, I am sure, knows what I mean by this). How am I supposed to have a plan when I have been given nothing?
About 10 minutes before my first class, I was given textbooks for my 7-12th graders and made it through my first day. I am happy that I was given the gift of a powerful voice because that is what I needed to control my students on this day. Overall, kids are kids. They are good kids if you smile at them and let them know you are a human just like them. Anyway, that is all for now. I will write again later what I did on my first day...I think I will have some time:) Until next time, always stay classy!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Chiang Mai
Sawadee Kah everyone (that means hello in Thai). I hope since my last post everyone is doing well. I recently spent six days in Chiang Mai (very northern part of the country) and had an absolute blast, minus the arguments I had with Jonny Walker and Diablo Tequila. I figured out why they named it "Diablo" because until the next day it gives you a devil of a good time. Anyway, Chiang Mai is almost the complete opposite of Bangkok. I have been there before, but didn't really try and look for similarities and differences until my recent trip. It is a city of about 150,00 but the Chiang Mai Province is about 1,000,000. It is the second largest city in the country and a large tourist attraction to "farangs" (westerners) who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok city. However, there is still plenty to do, the nightlife is amazing, and it is quite a bit cheaper than Bangkok. Chiang Mai is a place where I could see myself living no matter what age. The schools are very good, the people are friendly, there isn't that much humidity, and the ladies are nice to look at as well. I mean, smart, very smart individuals who have amazing minds:) I think I almost got myself into trouble there. Chiang Mai is a city that I would recommend any farang to visit because it is a place that someone can really live like a commoner. I really get annoyed when people tell me they went to Thailand and stay in the "Enormo Hotel" or whatever it is called. If you are going to come to visit here, you cannot say that you experience anything when you eat Western food and stay in places that cost more than $100 a night. I am sorry, I just had to quickly get that out of my system.
One of the days here Jom and I went to the lake and it was beautiful. With mountains all around, the weather perfect, and learning how to drive a scooter (I know you might think it is lame, but I get nervous riding a bicycle so this was a big step for me), I couldn't have asked for a better day. When we sat down to eat, Jom ordered something in Thai and then told the waiter what I wanted. Soon after the man brough this sugar bowl with a top on it and some spicy sauce for dipping. I had no idea what it was and when I opened it, about four "things" started to jump and I almost felt like I had dropped a load in my pants. I have never seen two Thai people laugh so hard in their lives. It turns out that she ordered live shrimp which most Thai people like to eat and then asked if I wanted to try one. The last time I remember being that freaked out over a creature was when I was three and my uncles tossed a dead bird at me and I actually DID drop one in my shorts. I think it is easy to see that I didn't try the live shrimp and still shake my head in amazement watching her enjoy them.
Well, that is my latest good story and I hope you enjoy reading it. I will be writing again in the next couple of days and telling about my new job. Until next time, beware of sugar bowls!
One of the days here Jom and I went to the lake and it was beautiful. With mountains all around, the weather perfect, and learning how to drive a scooter (I know you might think it is lame, but I get nervous riding a bicycle so this was a big step for me), I couldn't have asked for a better day. When we sat down to eat, Jom ordered something in Thai and then told the waiter what I wanted. Soon after the man brough this sugar bowl with a top on it and some spicy sauce for dipping. I had no idea what it was and when I opened it, about four "things" started to jump and I almost felt like I had dropped a load in my pants. I have never seen two Thai people laugh so hard in their lives. It turns out that she ordered live shrimp which most Thai people like to eat and then asked if I wanted to try one. The last time I remember being that freaked out over a creature was when I was three and my uncles tossed a dead bird at me and I actually DID drop one in my shorts. I think it is easy to see that I didn't try the live shrimp and still shake my head in amazement watching her enjoy them.
Well, that is my latest good story and I hope you enjoy reading it. I will be writing again in the next couple of days and telling about my new job. Until next time, beware of sugar bowls!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What a start to 2009...
Hello all. Happy New Year to everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed the celebration, because I know that I did. It is strange that I got to see 2009 before everyone else back home. On New Year's eve, Till threw a party on top of the roof of his apartment building which is a sweet setup. I can say that I now have a total hatred for scotch, but a great time was had by all. There ended up being about 20 of us on the roof, and thank GOD I met with some other teachers that live in the building. Two were from the U.S., one from Canada, and two were from the UK. It was nice to be able to talk with people in my own language because at times I don't think the Thai people understand that I don't READ, WRITE, or SPEAK THAI! They will rattle off something in Thai and then look at me with this "you know what I am saying" look and all I can do is laugh. Anyway, it is quite the learning experience and I am enjoying every minute of it.
After the countdown we watched some fireworks and it is funny to see how crazy Thai people get when they see fireworks. Then a couple of the other teachers and I went to this club called "Barbie" and watched this band play songs that we cannot understand and finally made it home at about 4am. While at the club, I was using the bathroom and right before I started to pee these two gentlemen started giving me and my friend massages while we are trying to pee. I could only laugh because I have never felt more uncomfortable than I did being massaged by a complete strange while "rope-in-hand." Then while washing my hands I got my back and my neck cracked and figured that for the entertainment it was worth giving the two men 20 baht (about 60 cents) and they then bowed as if I had given them the gift of life.
On the 2nd of January I flew to Chiang Mai to visit a friend until the 8th and we are having a great time. However, she picked me and my giant suitcase up from the airport on her scooter and basic physics told me that there is no way this is going to work. However, we pulled it off, and although we make it safe and sound to any destination that we travel, I am always a little worried because she drives like a bat out of Hades. On my first ight here we met up with some of her friends and they said they would talk to some people they know that hire teachers if I was ever interested in teaching in Chiang Mai. I am so thankful for the connections I have made in my short time here. One of them is actually from France so I really had to change my opinion about them (at least this one) overall (I kinda always though of them to be a*******). Although the time has been fun, Jom is another one that thinks I have the ability to read and speak Thai as she told me to go to the Internet cafe as she continued to get ready. Let me just say that I ended up walking around for about 45 minutes before I got a call from here wondering how I was able to get lost. I have no idea. Again, maybe it is because I do not READ, WRITE, or SPEAK Thai:) Anwyay, I thought you would like these stories even though I have written a lot. I continue to have a lot of fun and am enjoying the experience. However, at all the clubs I have been taken to, if I have to hear about apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur, baggy sweat pants, reeboks with straps and some "dude" named Flo Rida givin' a big bootie a smack, I am just gonna snap! Hahaha, but seriously. Well, that is about it. I appreciate all of the comments from people. I am really enjoying this blog so far so please keep it up. Until next time, keep livin' the dream.
After the countdown we watched some fireworks and it is funny to see how crazy Thai people get when they see fireworks. Then a couple of the other teachers and I went to this club called "Barbie" and watched this band play songs that we cannot understand and finally made it home at about 4am. While at the club, I was using the bathroom and right before I started to pee these two gentlemen started giving me and my friend massages while we are trying to pee. I could only laugh because I have never felt more uncomfortable than I did being massaged by a complete strange while "rope-in-hand." Then while washing my hands I got my back and my neck cracked and figured that for the entertainment it was worth giving the two men 20 baht (about 60 cents) and they then bowed as if I had given them the gift of life.
On the 2nd of January I flew to Chiang Mai to visit a friend until the 8th and we are having a great time. However, she picked me and my giant suitcase up from the airport on her scooter and basic physics told me that there is no way this is going to work. However, we pulled it off, and although we make it safe and sound to any destination that we travel, I am always a little worried because she drives like a bat out of Hades. On my first ight here we met up with some of her friends and they said they would talk to some people they know that hire teachers if I was ever interested in teaching in Chiang Mai. I am so thankful for the connections I have made in my short time here. One of them is actually from France so I really had to change my opinion about them (at least this one) overall (I kinda always though of them to be a*******). Although the time has been fun, Jom is another one that thinks I have the ability to read and speak Thai as she told me to go to the Internet cafe as she continued to get ready. Let me just say that I ended up walking around for about 45 minutes before I got a call from here wondering how I was able to get lost. I have no idea. Again, maybe it is because I do not READ, WRITE, or SPEAK Thai:) Anwyay, I thought you would like these stories even though I have written a lot. I continue to have a lot of fun and am enjoying the experience. However, at all the clubs I have been taken to, if I have to hear about apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur, baggy sweat pants, reeboks with straps and some "dude" named Flo Rida givin' a big bootie a smack, I am just gonna snap! Hahaha, but seriously. Well, that is about it. I appreciate all of the comments from people. I am really enjoying this blog so far so please keep it up. Until next time, keep livin' the dream.
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