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.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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.
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