Prang Ku

My school is in a very small town called Prang Ku (or Prangku).
It is not as small as some of the towns I've been to, but it is small.

I arrived here on a Thursday, after spending the night with the parents of the founder of Volunthai -- getting briefly acquainted with Thai food and life -- and a bus ride that began at 4am and arrived in Si Sa Ket (or Sisaket) at about noon.

My host, Mook, and another teacher from the school, Ju, took me to lunch (where I had noodles -- basically a thin broth with noodles in it and various other things, this time various fish and animal parts -- I was trying not to think about what I was eating), and then to buy a yellow shirt! I am now prepared to teach on Mondays. (I have since acquired about 4 more yellow shirts, so I basically can wear the same thing day in and day out! It is restfull having a uniform! I am a large or extra large in this country by the way -- as opposed to a small or extra small in the US -- I'm on the tall side for a woman, too. All of which is a bit strange to think about.)

When we arrived at the school, we went to the canteen to eat again and meet all the teachers. I have never been good with names, and having a bunch (I mean about 10 or 15) names like Nit, and Nan, and Nun(Naung), and Et (or Ed (actually Ad)-- who is a woman) all at once was a bit over whelming. I recognize everyone, but am still sorting out who is who. I also met Jacob -- another volunteer, a Korean from Canada, who is here teaching English, Korean, and doing chiropracticy on anyone who needs it. He and I have been hanging out a lot, as the two English speaking Farange (foreigners). It is very nice to have someone that I can talk to at a normal rate and not have to struggle to make myself understood!

The rest of my first day was spent settling in to my room and meeting people, the head of the English department, the Director and Assistant Director of the school, etc. I took a nap, still being jet lagged from the flight 4 days before. That evening they had a party for me where I got to meet the rest of the teachers. Very nice, though again, a bit over whelming. Then on Friday, I stood in front of the school (about 1000 students) and introduced my self on the PA. I've never really spoken into a Mic. before, so it was a bit daunting. Everyone laughed, so I guess it was OK. On Monday of last week I started teaching. I have basically one lesson that I use over and over again. I'm a bit tired of it, but it works very well for all levels and the kids seem to enjoy it.

The school is very different from NNMS. For one thing, it is huge! There are about 1000
students in 6 grades (from ages 12 to 18 or so). We have a morning assembly every day where they raise the flag and sing and hear announcements. After the flag rasing, the students crouch or sit on the ground. The teachers are much more laid-back about arriving to class than I was in the US. Jacob said that when he first arrived, he would show up early or on time to class and no one would be there, so he took to showing up about 5-10 minutes late. I have adopted his stratagee and it seems to work -- though a couple of times I have walked in on the teacher starting to teach the class. Oops! At the end of class, the bell rings, and the teacher keeps them for a few more minutes, so I guess everything balances out in the end. But it is very strange to me. My first day went well -- the first class was great, the second was rough, and the third was also great! So 2 out of 3 is not bad. The students are much noisier than I am used to (banging things and talking to each other) and I don't know how much of that is because I don't speak Thai, or because that is accepted in Thai culture. There is a lot of talking during the assembly and no one seems to care very much. Another major difference is that while the classrooms are enclosed, nothing else is (the hallways are open, as is the canteen, and the auditorium). Also, the students take off their shoes before entering the classrooms. One of the perks of being a teacher is that I get to continue to wear shoes, even inside. Though, being raised by a southern mother I love going barefoot and often take my shoes off under the table anyway.

I'm staying in a teacher house on campus, which is much more primitive than my US homes, but not so much more. The bathroom is very different, of course. The whole room is for taking a bath (which is done by scooping water out of a huge ceramic vessle with a small plastic dish and pouring it over myself). And there is no flush toilet (or toilet paper), but there is running water that gets "warm"(meaning just a few degrees above "cold") so bathing in the morning is not too bad. And as the weather gets hotter, the cold water feels wonderful! We do dishes out the window (there is a table just out side and we lean out of the window when we wash the dishes). The stove is connected to a gas cylinder rather than the wall and is only a single burner, rather than a stove-top and oven (I have yet to see an oven, though there is a teacher here who likes to bake, so they do exist here). So far my host, Mook, has prepared all my meals for me, so that is very nice! (though I miss western style food! -- Jacob and I periodically indulge in fantasies of bread (me more than him) and milk and other western foods.) Last night we had a dining adventure: Fried crickets as a before dinner snack (actually very tasty, if I didn't think about what I was eating -- the fat ones are best) and then I cooked morning glory which we ate over red rice. Very good if I do say so my self (though to be fair Mook helped a lot). We are having an English Club/Department party on Thursday. All the teachers are making "American" food -- I'm eager to see what that turns out to be. Jacob and I decided to make something together -- so we are making spaghetti (Thai style).

It doesn't seem all that much different, here. Not really. Except for the food. The food is very strange. LOTs of fish and things that I've never eaten before (and some of which I am trying not to think about). The teachers and students all wear western style clothes. Ride bikes and motorcycles and cars. And there is a TV (two of them in my room) and a DVD player in the English Department and computers and cell phones and all kinds of other western things, so most of the time it doesn't feel all that much different. For better or worse.

I'll leave you in suspense now, and hint at my overnight visit to a Buddhist Temple, a "Valentine" Party with the Governor of the province (Si Sa Ket or Sisaket), a weekend trip to Laos, and me (possibly) showing off my (limited) Thai dancing skills at the festival this Saturday.

Bangkok

My trip around the world, or at least off the North American continent, started with a shock! Checking in I handed my passport to the man at the counter who checked my bags and all that. He handed it back to me saying, "Your passport's not valid!"

What?! It has to be ... I'm leaving now!

"You forgot to sign it."

Huge sigh of relief!

My flight from SD to LA was uneventful. It was a tiny commuter plane, three seats wide. And the flight time was only about 25 minutes.

In LA I dashed through the airport to the international terminal to check into my flight and get a seat and a boarding pass, etc. Then dashed to meet Max and Cynthia for dinner at a very swank restaurant called Encounters. A bowl of soup and a salad -- both delicious -- cost $20! After dinner I dashed back to the international terminal and stood in line a lot. When I finally arrived at the gate (or actually the area where we caught the shuttle to the gate) I heard my name on the PA. Not a very reassuring start to my trip, especially after SD! But they had only forgotten to remove the ticket itself.

The plane was beautiful! Orange and pink and purple seats. Our own purple pillow and blanket. Water bottles waiting for us. I felt like I was in first class, even in the way back of the plane! They fed us real food, on real dishes, with real metal silverware and glass glasses. Gave us wine at dinner and an after dinner drink. An in-seat TV monitor where we could choose from about 40 different movies, or play games, or learn languages, or watch the plane travel around the world, or ... Swank! I either haven't flown on enough international airlines or Thai airlines is spectacular! Or both. Part of what made the trip so wonderful was that the plane was more than half empty. At least where I was. So I had two seats to my self and could "stretch out" and lie down when I wanted to sleep. The strangest part of the trip though was flying the whole way in the dark. I have never experienced a whole "day" of night. Every time I looked out the window it was pitch black outside. Not much to look at. Though I did enjoy seeing the cities of China lit up in the dark. And the reflection of the moon on the ocean below.

The airport in Bangkok was no problem. Other than the fact that I got confused about weather or not I needed a visa -- wound up not getting one, which was just as well (more on that later). And I managed to find a taxi to the city, and my hotel, even without knowing a word of Thai! This international travel stuff is a breeze!

My hotel was in the tourist part of the city (Kow San Road), but behind a temple, so a bit quieter than other areas. I have to admit it was nice to be surrounded by other tourists. It didn't feel quite so unsettling as being surrounded by people who I can't understand at all! The hotel it self is nothing special on the upper flours. Clean (which is a lot) but that's it. The common area, though was fab. Very tropical and exotic. Open air dining area and bar covered with colorful shades where tourists sit and write in journals or drink tea all day. I felt very much like the rich luxuriating tourist!

My first day I wandered around. I arrived on a Monday, and was surprised to see that almost all the locals were dressed in yellow shirts. Often with black pants or black skirts. Everyone. The taxi driver, the street sweeper, the businessman, girls, boys, women and men. It was like a uniform. (I am ironically wearing a yellow shirt and black pants now). A man on the street approached me and told me the reason -- Monday is the King's birthday. Every Monday. So all of Thailand honors the King (They LOVE the King) by wearing yellow on Monday -- and many other days of the week as well. I then proceeded to get scammed by a tuk-tuk driver (despite the warnings). I decided, though, that it was all part of the fun -- and I didn't actually wind up spending any money, only time driving around the city -- which is more or less what I wanted to do anyway.

That night I met up with a German woman, Mareike. She had a tick in her shoulder and together we went to the dermatologist to have it removed. Very strange experience to be surrounded by people waiting to have botox or something and try to explain to someone who speaks limited English about the tick. I'm still not entirely sure we all understood each other completely.

Mareike and I had dinner and then hung out again the next day. It was my first full day, and her last day (she got on a bus to the airport that evening). We had breakfast at the hotel and then took the tourist boat (unlimited rides for $100 BHT -- about $3 US) up and down the river. First to Wot XXXX to see the reclining Buda -- Truly spectacular! I took a zillion photos of the temple grounds. We also bought into the local tourist (and some locals) custom, of dropping $1BHT coins into 100 metal dishes. You drop one in each dish and it is good luck.


We had lunch on the street (soup) and then headed up to the tourist district for a snack of coffee and cheese sandwiches on croissants! (her first in months and my last) Then back down to the flower market where we wandered the streets looking at a world that is very different from the one I am familiar with in Chicago and the rest of the US. There were fried grasshoppers, and grubs of some kind (I was later told that they are silk worms). HUGE buckets of garlic, pepers, and all kinds of crazy foods. The flowered were even different -- the flower part sometimes wrapped in paper to protect it, other times very decoratively arranged.

We took our last boat ride back to the hotel and while she figured out how to get to the airport, I met with a woman from the volunteer organization (Volunthai) to figure out how I was to get to the bus to the town where I would have training and then to the school where I would work. Marike and I had one last dinner together and then, after she headed home, I hung out with the tourists and then went to bed -- still a bit jet lagged. -- Thailand is 12 hours ahead of the East Coast of the US 15 hours ahead of the West coast!

Next day, I wandered the streets, taking pictures and then headed to the bus station. I met Amy, the other volunteer, at the bus station and she and I (the only white people on the bus) headed to training.