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!