Hot Town, Summer in the City...

The end of the school year with my class wasn't quite as emotional as I was expecting it to be. Coming at the very end of school (for both teachers and students) meant that my kids were coming off 4 straight days of testing, and that I was running around like a madman trying to get all my grading done, my copious amount of useless end-of-the-year paperwork completed, and print out certificates for my kids, while fighting off all the other teachers trying to get all of their paperwork done and printed on our one printer. So I was frazzled, and the kids were off the wall! 2 days of English tests, 2 days of Thai tests...they finished at about 2:30 and spent the last hour and a half in the cafeteria for an end of the year party. Which consisted of all the left over candy and snacks from the whole year, along with eleven birthday cakes from the combined first grade classes summer birthdays. Straight mayhem. And because it was the afternoon of the last day, and everyone was so wound up and ready to get out of there, we escaped an emotional parting like my one a few days earlier with my ESL class. And honestly, it was better that way, cause I don't think I could have handled another one! Got some hugs goodbye, and we were all out the door an onto summer, a child's (and teacher's) best friend.

My lazing around was short lived though, as Lex's sister arrived from San Fran on Monday. We did the cooking school with her (my third time - the staff was actually having me help out.) Hung around Chiang Mai, helped show her around. OK, I guess mostly Lex and Adam showed her around, and I helped a little but was mostly just super lazy. And I don't know what it was, maybe I was recalling my time before I got a job here when I just laid in bed all day and was pretty depressed and didn't even know it, but I was done with doing nothing after like 3 days. Which was perfect, because on Friday we left for our vacation!

TPWWLT - 'Summer In The City' - St. Lunatics

National Elephant Day

Today is National Elephant Day, so when I opened up Google, this is what the image was. Bet you didn't know they had different images for the holidays of different countries, did you? Oh Google, you are the best.

Sett Laou

The last day of the school year is of Thursday. We had English tests the second half of last week, and the next three days are all taken up by the kids' Thai tests. So all that's left for me to do is grade, and finish up my portion of their end of the year report cards. Mostly I'll just spend the next three days sitting at my desk in the room, marking tests, entering scores in my computer and helping Mai with anything she needs. But I'm done teaching. And while I'll still be with the kids in my homeroom for the next three days, today I had my last class with the other classroom I teach, P1 Pink. And it was tough.

While my desk is in my homeroom, and I teach my homeroom 6 different subjects (12 hours of class) throughout the week, they aren't the only class I teach. I have had these other 31 rascals everyday since last May. I don't see them nearly as much as my homeroom, but everyday for 8 months is still plenty of time to develop a bond. And since I'm not the one disciplining them all the time, or writing their names on the board under the sad face, or snapping at them on a Friday afternoon while awaiting the weekend, I might be just as close with them as I am with my homeroom. They are the ones that get me out of my classroom for an hour everyday when I'm sick of yelling at the same kids over and over (I'm looking at you, Miyuki.) They are the class they tried to take away from me last December when they switched around my schedule, and I put my foot down. They are the ones that want me to throw them in the air, the ones that hold on to my legs and won't let me leave the classroom, the ones that stand on my feet so they walk when I walk. They are the ones that love to play Bau Yung Choop (Rock Paper Scissors) with me, that aren't good at Simon Says, but still love it anyways. Last class ever today.

I had made up some awards for the class (Best Speller, Best Test Taker, English All Star, etc), so I started off class with those. Went outside, took a bunch of pictures, came back in, played 2 games of Simon Says, and it was over, just like that. 10 months, poof. I remember the first day of class, I only managed to learn one girl's name, and then found out that she switched classes two days later. I was convinced I would never learn them. But I did, and I now I doubt I'll ever forget them. So here goes

Dear P1 Pink

To each of you, in turn:

Otto - You never behaved, you can't speak English, and I'm pretty sure you have ADD, but I never minded.

Pear - Haha you are partially deaf, and said maybe 3 words to me all year. I'll never forget trying to give you your speaking tests, having to yell over the movie I was showing to the rest of the class, and looking over and seeing Kru Mon almost fall off her desk laughing at me.

Win - You are a smart boy, excellent speller, and someone I could never figure out in Bau Yung Choop

I-Nam - So cute. Thank you for your hugs, your smiles, for trying so hard and for always being scared of snakes.

Both - Such a smart girl. Best student in the class. Thank you for always having the answer and being patient enough to wait till no one else knew it before I called on you. And for always bringing me the book to sign at the end of class. And I'm sorry that I would forgot how short you are and have to pick you up so you could write in the answers on the board.

Tong Tong - So happy, all the time. You loved to speak English, got way better throughout the year. Loved to read, thank you for always coming up and asing me the English words in the Thai comic books you were reading.

Name and Fai - So alike that I still mentally mix you guys up sometimes. Name, I'm sorry for making you cry that one time you cheated on your spelling test, but thank you for never doing it again, and for becoming such a good speller. Fai, as always, I love your earrings. And your smile.

Ben - Aiyiyi. You may not have understood a single thing I was saying all year, and refuse to stay in your chair or stop talking or stop kicking Name's desk. But at least you did it with a smile on your face.

Phet - Thanks for being patient with me as a native English speaker. You are a smart boy that loved cars and fighting things, like most 7 year old boys.

At - Oh At. Finally learned to tell you and your identical twin Aut (in a different class) apart. (He's got the freckle on his forehead.) You definitely weren't the brightest, but you never caused trouble, just sat in your desk and stared off into space. You also got a lot better as the year went on. And you have a belly that rivaled the Pillsbury doughboy for making one want to poke it.

Soman - So much personality. I'm sorry that you didn't get an award this morning. You tried so hard, and you loved to speak English. Thank you for always making me laugh by imitating me. :)

Aut - Aut Aut Aut...my little movie buff. Your English was great, even if I still never could get you to just raise your hand silently instead of yelling out the answers. I could ask you every Thursday what movie just came out, and talk to you every Monday about it, knowing you had just seen it, even if it was something way too scary for me to ever go see. How you were so well adjusted despite seeing so many horror movies at the age of 6, I'll never know. But you sure loved to talk about them with me. 'One, two, Freddy come for....AUT!'

Pleng - Thanks for always answering the higher up questions on the board. You are super smart, did great on tests, and were the first one to tell me my bum was big.

Lita - Thank you for always waiting by the door for me to leave so you could be the last one to say goodbye to me for the day. Love the flowers in your hair and never lose that smile.

Poom - I'm sorry I always yelled at you for talking. I know everyone was doing it but you had the unfortunate seat of being directly in my vision in the middle of class. And you also talked a lot. But you get so excited to see me around school that I always loved running into you.

JJ - Oh JJ...could never keep you in your chair, you don't speak a word of English, and you never shut up. Ever. But you really were a sweet kid. Thank you for all the times you ran up to say hi while I was eating lunch.

Dragon - Thank you for leaving me with that look on your face where you pretended to get something I was talking about, and really had no idea what I was saying, I don't think I'll ever forget that. And I'm sorry that I always called you 'dragon' instead of however I was supposed to say it with a Thai inflection. It's much cooler my way.

Davy - Haha if there is one kid that needs some ADD meds, its you. But thanks for always being excited to see me, I'm sorry you could never see from your seat in the back, tuck in your shirt and yes, you can go to the toilet.

Nice - Sorry you were too big for me to pick you up, and you need to be a littttle quieter, but thanks for always being super happy.

Pin - I really will miss your mock indignation over everything. Thank you for being sneaky smart and for always being willing to come up and answer something on the board.

Nam King - Thank you for always knowing the day, and always being a little saucy with me. You have a great smile and you wear your heart on your sleeve. You stay happy, and keep curling the bottom of your letters.

Champoo - If there are two things I will never forget about you Champoo, its the constant crusty boogers you had around your nose every single day this year, and the way you would shout, 'Teacher Mike, Oh No!' every time you got had made a mistake. You are loud and slightly disheveled always, but are super sweet.

Stang - When you started loving me, I'll never know. You didn't like me at all in the beginning of the year, and got super mad at me when I made you play that game. But something changed, and I'm not looking forward to pulling you off of my leg the next three days. Thank you for trying so hard at spelling, for working on your spoken English. Thank you for the hugs at the coffee shop, and everyday thereafter. I'm sorry that I made you cry today, and that I couldn't take you home with me when I went home for Christmas. I'll miss you..

Tiger - Oh man. Thank you for helping out with the class and translating when I would need. Thank you for saying hi to me on the fourth of July, and for telling me every day for the last week how much you will miss me. Thank you for chatting with me when we were supposed to be doing our speaking tests, and for always trying to make me laugh. Thank you for always offering me some of your lunch, but you need to eat it kiddo. I hope your mom was right and you really will have a new little brother or sister soon. (Don't worry, I know you weren't supposed to tell me, I won't tell anyone.) You be good, remember not to yell at anyone else, and try not to talk to Champoo so much in class. Take care of yourself Tiger Lily.

Zen - Don't tell anyone, but you were my absolute favorite. Thank you for the look on your face every I announced you got a smiley face on your test. Thank you for following me around all the time. Thank you for always trying to come with me back to EP1 Blue after class was over. Thank you for always making me throw you in the air, for sitting on my knee and for all the times you would kiss your hand and reach up and touch my cheek. Thank you for making me feel loved, even 8000 miles away from my family.

I wish you guys could see me right now, and see how I can barely see my computer through these tears. I wish all of you were old enough to know how much you meant to me, and how much I'm going to miss you. And I know someday when you are old (like 25), you won't even remember 1st grade, I know I hardly do. But I'll remember you guys. So good luck, have a good summer, enjoy P2, remember to make sure that 'Simon' says and not just Teacher Mike, remember the three rules of taking tests (no talking, no copying, stay in your seats), when you get your paper, first thing, write your name (Name, you can just write 'name'), and if you have any questions, remember, raise your hand!....And good luck. I'll miss you guys.

Love Always

Teacher Mike

TPWWLT - Chris Brown - 'Forever'

Birthday!

Turning 25 is actually kind of a bummer when you think about it. Sure I can rent a car when I come home, but it also means I'm a quarter century old! Whoa, quarter life crisis. But my day was turned out to be pretty excellent. It was on a Friday, and for about a week and half, we had a countdown on the board in my classroom. And to be honest, I think my kids were about four as excited as I was. Every day that week, as soon as I entered the classroom, they immediately swarmed me and demand that write the new number in the countdown. So as you can imagine, I was a little excited to show up that morning.

At the beginning of the school day, all of the classes line up in the courtyard outside for the prayer and the National Anthem. So on my birthday, I was running about 5 minutes late and the kids in the primary grades had already started lining up. So as I was making way through all the kids, I noticed that no one from my classroom was in our line. I was a little perplexed as to where everyone was, but as I started walking up the steps outside my classroom, it became pretty obvious. The kids had attempted to hide in our classroom and surprise me. Unfortunately, there were some eager beavers who had to run down the stairs and start pulling me in the classroom. Regardless, once I made it into the classroom, I was greeted with shouts of 'Surprise' and 'Happy Birthday Teacher Mike!' and mobbed as soon as I walked in the door. And really, I wish I had a camera sitting on my shoulder, because I swear I have the best job in the world and this would have just helped convince the rest of you. Seeing dozens of adorable Thai children 17 times more excited for your birthday than you are....it was awesome, there is no other word for it.

Anyways, the day went great, we had classes and stuff all day, so we didn't get to have cake until the afternoon. As is our tradition in EP1 Blue, the birthday boy (me) sat in a desk while everyone else in the class surrounds him (or her) and sings Happy Birthday as the teacher (usually me, but Mai in the case) brings over the cake, candles alight. Mai was great and managed to get some pictures of me about to blow out the candles with everyone. (Usually we make a rule that only the birthday child can blow them out, to avoid tears and multiple relightings, but you can see me asking everyone to help starting to count down in the picture.) Then we cut up the two cakes I had bought and ate till our hearts content.

I also got plenty of presents, which, admittedly, was 40% of the reason I made a big deal out of my birthday in the first place. Obviously getting anything is awesome, and honestly, I like all the homemade cards best of all, but the presents I got were just....interesting. A quick list: A suede wallet sized picture holder, a leather wallet, 3 things of chocolate, a 12 pack of vitamin loaded prune juice, a brown coffee cup and saucer with a picture of a cowboy and 'Rodeo' stamped on it, a set of elephant salt and pepper shakers, a brand new music manuscript notebook, two clutch type things (both rather girly), a four pack of soap, a pen from Universal Studios Singapore, a wooden beaded bracelet, a wooden beaded keychain doll, and my favorite, a silver, script, 'M' keychain with like fake diamonds on the whole front of the M...just so random and funny. But very awesome. (And I did get some real gifts, tshirts from Lex and Adam, Mai, and the Thai teacher in my other class, Kru Mon.) I also finished the day up with a delish meal of tapas that Lex and Adam were nice enough to treat me too. Overall, it was a pretty excellent day. And I'm a pretty lucky guy.

TPWWLT - Big Pun - 'Still Not A Player'

And the flip side

I've been home two weeks, so its had a little time to sink in...

10 Things I Missed About Thailand While I Was Home In America

10. Thai - I'm getting pretty good at it. I'll have whole conversations with people, I'm picking up idioms, flirting with girls...It feels kinda cool to speak a another language (semi) fluently.

9. The Time Zone - Chiang Mai and Chicago vary from being 12 and 13 hours apart, depending on Daylight Savings Time. In other words, its like the worst possible distance to adjust too, as day becomes night and night becomes day and your body has no idea whats going on. At home, I would go to sleep normally but was waking up for a few hours in the middle of the night before going back to bed. It wasn't until the last night I was home that I got a good 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. When I got back to Thailand however, my extremely confused body settled on sleeping hours of 5pm to 1am. This was puzzling as that would correspond to times of 4am to noon back in Chicago. Like my body wasn't sure which way to go so it just split the difference. I mean it was doable, I basically get home from work and go right to bed, but it's not very social, as there are not many people to hang out with from 1am when I wake up till about 6:30 when I have to get ready for work. I have managed to break this in the last two weeks, but it was a pretty bizarre feeling when your body was dead tired everyday at 5pm.

8. My Kindle - OK this one is cheating because I didn't actually get one until Christmas and I had it at home for a while, but I've really grown to love it here. It's awwwwwesome. When of the few electronic toys I've ever owned and I just love it love it love it.

7. Bake N' Bite - Being home meant I had to break my streak of like 22 consecutive weekends having brunch there. Luckily Lex and Adam were gone as well so I don't feel as bad. Don't worry, we started up a new streak.

6. My Commute - Yes I love driving, and it was good to be behind the wheel. And I love my job, but its not like I spring out of bed every morning at 6:45 itching to go to work. But I will admit that I really enjoy that 25 minute bicycle ride every morning. Kinda wakes me up, gets me ready for the day, and I usually spend the time to and from school listening to a podcast.

5. The People - I tell ya, something that I definitely take for granted living here. Everyone is just so friendly and nice. It was a little better at home than I thought it would be (I think because it was Christmastime), but here, you walk down the street and everrrryone smiles and says hello. It takes me half an hour just to walk around the corner to 7/11. Back home, I unthinkingly was smiling at people as I was walking past them on the street, and I got quite a few strange looks. Not that I stopped doing it...just way different than Thailand.

4. My Bicycle - Yes, it's pink, and yes, it looks like something straight out of Wizard of Oz, but I really do like transporting myself on my own motive power (Objectivism alert!). That, and its cheap (the El + cabs + Metra + filling up the gas tank once = around $70) and is pretty much the only form of exercise I get, aside from maybe once a week basketball. And that hour on the bike everyday is about an hour more than I got at home.

3. Food - Mu gatiam, kao soi, khao man gai, milo dip, nagi khao mu, mam saparod....really just white rice in general. When I got here, I could only eat Thai food like every other meal, I needed something western. The longer I've been here, the bigger and bigger (or smaller and smaller) that ratio got, until now I have western food maybe twice a week. And being home, I found that I missed the simplicity of just some meat and white rice.

2. Weather - I got off the plane at midnight, it was 75 degrees. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and sandals. On January 4th. Um, awesome.

1. (Tie) - Sai, Nammon, Nakoa, Don, Sim, Nina, Bam Bam, Miyuki, Jaja, Chan, Aomsin, Bella, Aueng, Tata, Thee 1, Nine 2, Kaning, Tee 2, Pet, Emma, Panda, Asmee, Yok, Pooh, Shumie, Poon, Dominique, Nine 1, Bible, Pear, Win, I-Nam, Both, Tong Tong, Fai, Name, Stang, Guy, Phet, At, Tiger, Champoo, Zen, Gun, Nice, J.J., Pin, Nam King, Soman, Aut, Pleng, Lita, Poom, Ida, Dragon, Davy, Lily, Nalin, Bew, Mengjai, Boss, Jetty, Khreena, Pang, Indy, Ja, Numfah, Gorkaw, Champoo, Numwan, Katang ,Tonnum, Almond, Kimmy and Uki.

TPWWLT - Fall Out Boy - 'Chicago Is So Two Years Ago'

PS - It's my birthday tomorrow, and if you think we aren't having a party at school then you are sadly mistaken. I have to admit its pretty awesome though, my kids are wayyyy more excited about my birthday than I am. We actually have a countdown on the board counting down the days, and the first thing my kids do every morning when I get is tell, nay demand, that I change the countdown to one less than yesterday. Imagine how excited you were for your birthday when you were 6, and now imagine that you have 32 six year olds that are all that excited about someone else's birthday. And it happens to be yours. Do I have a great job or what?

Rabies? No thanks.

So I got bit by a dog yesterday.

First, let me drop a little knowledge on you. Dogs lounging around on streets are a way of life in Chiang Mai. This isn't a country where pet care includes a lot of leash walking and pampered indoor beds. Most people that own a dog will put food out for it once or twice a day, but the majority of a dog's time will be spent roaming streets and lounging around where it sees fit. I spend an hour on my bike every day going to school and back, and I see dozens of dogs outside in that hour. 40, 50 maybe? 60? I really have no idea, I honestly don't even notice them anymore, they are so prevalent. And even with my ever increasing knowledge of Thai society, I could not even begin to guess how many of those have owners in the truest sense, how many maybe have someone that feeds them semi regularly, and how many are truly wild. I would say....35% have some sort of owner, the rest are wild? But wild only in the sense that they have no regular place to sleep. (I feel like I should watch Lady and the Tramp for some research into what exactly constitutes a 'wild dog'.) They don't range in packs, terrorizing the city or anything. They are just forced the fend for themselves, find their own food, and try not to get hit by a car or motorbike. And this country is full of people on two wheel vehicles, so even on my pink bicycle, I hardly merit a second glance. In the year I have been riding my bike, I have had maybe a dozen instances where a dog saw me ride by, and started to run along side me while barking. But 11 or 12 instances in a year is pretty good, and I have never had one so much as take a chomp at me. Until yesterday.

I was biking home from work, right around the corner from my place, almost home, and I see a mangy looking mutt laying down on the side of the road. He looked pretty beat down and mean, even before I saw he was wearing a muzzle. And as I said above, I really don't even notice dogs anymore. So by the time I realized he was chasing after me and that maybe I should be a little more worried considering the muzzle, he was right next to me. With nary a bark or growl, he managed to open his jaws enough to jab a single canine (pun/irony fully intended/realized) into my left ankle as I was pedaling past him. All the while while wearing an, admittedly rather ineffective, muzzle. With the bite, he stopped chasing me and melted back to his vantage point overlooking the road, waiting for his next victim.

The bite hurt pretty bad. He had bitten me through my sock and/or pant, and as I was almost home, I figured I could wait to see if he had managed to break the skin. But I had a pretty good idea. So I was hardly surprised when I got home and pulled off my sock to find one little wound and a little blood dripping down my foot. My first thought was almost annoyance. Knowing the status of most dogs in this country, and knowing the Thai's in the area I was biking through weren't likely to be ones that spoke much English (and my Thai knowledge does not include the word 'rabies'), I realized heading back there to see if I could A) find the owners and B) find out if the dog had been vaccinated wasn't really an option. (And quite frankly, I am not going anywhere near that dog again. I was a little scared biking to work this morning passing all those dogs. None of whom even looked at me. Though I was convinced they could smell my fear.) The fact that the dog had a muzzle on meant that not only had he probably done this before, but that he most likely had owners or someone who cared enough to muzzle him and not just put him down after the last incident. Still, not really a factor in the vaccination status either way. So, after much googling into the effects of untreated rabies (ie, DEATH), I resignedly made plans to go to the doctor.

Went to work today, talked to Mai, learned the word for 'rabies test' (pitsooknakbaa dtrooah, spelled phonetically), covered my last class, and left school after lunch. Came home to change real fast, ended up sitting around for 2 hours, because honestly, who really wants to go to the doctors? Forced myself to google 'rabies' some more (did you know that in the end stages it warps your brain so you are actually afraid of water? crazy), realized that dying by rabies because I was too lazy to go to the doctor would have to rank in the top 5 most idiotic ways to die of all time, and finally got down to it.

And it was easy as pie. I had been to the hospital before for work, so I had my registration card and insurance and everything. Made it known what I needed, sent me to the ER, took my vitals, met with a doctor who spoke excellent English, and got the first of what will end up being 5 shots over the next month. Insurance even covered the first visit, though the next four will end up costing me about $100. And really, I'm just annoyed. It's definitely the wrong attitude to have, but I have literally like the smallest bite possible that still broke the skin. It happened yesterday, the doctor took one look at it and didn't even bother to clean it out. And this one little bite is costing me all this time and money. And rabies? What is this, the 1820's? The Office did a whole episode mocking the idea that people get rabies. (PS, so hard not to quote that episode this whole post. 'Myth: 3 Americans every year die from rabies. Fact: 4 Americans die every year from rabies.') Oh well, I'm not complaining. Just a silly occurrence in this zig zagging path we call life. I dated a girl used to say, 'If this is the worst thing that happens to you all day, you are probably doing pretty good.' And it makes a lot of sense. If a minor dog bite/mild rabies scare is the worse injury/most grievous bodily harm/closest I've come to death in my 14 months here, I guess I'm doing pretty well.

But seriously, rabies?

TPWWLT - Kanye West and Chris Martin - 'Homecoming'

PS. 'A woman shouldn't have to be hit by a car to learn that she may have rabies. But that is where we are in America. And that does not sit right with me. And that is why I'm hosting a fun run race for the cure for rabies. To raise awareness of the fact that there is a cure for rabies. A disease that has largely been eradicated in the U.S. But not very many people know that.'

Ruminations on America

10 Things I Missed About America

10. Winter - HA! Just kidding, it was miserable. Like seriously, I don't miss it at all. Wearing all those clothes, having to pack gloves, a scarf, a hat, extra socks...blah.

9. My boots - That being said, I did really love stomping around all week in my boots. The only times I put on socks and real shoes in Thailand are for work and to play basketball, so it was nice to put on some heavy duty work boots and stomp around Chicagoland. Makes one feel much more manly than wearing white flip flops.

8. Christmas! - I think I like the Christmas season more than the actual holiday, and I only got to experience the last 2 days of it, but I loved it. Everyone is happy and nice and its the best time of the year.

7. My bed - We have done so much room switching at my mom's that I'm not even sure whose mattresses they are, but the bed I was sleeping in while in 'my room' at home was huge and soft and incredible. It was a rude awakening getting home and sitting on my bed here and brusing my tailbone.

6. Driving - Wasn't planning on driving at all when I was home, but after plans changed and I averaged 3 hours behind the wheel each of my first 4 days home, I realized how much I miss being in control of your destination like that. Just not the same as on my bicycle here.

5. Food - Chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips (thanks Joe!), deep dish pizza, burgers at Five Guys, Frisco Melt, Mom's bacon and eggs, Pancakes with real syrup, Resse's PB Cups, HC-Orange from McDonalds, Chili's Queso Dip, Portillo's hotdogs/vanilla shake, Dad's lamb-chops, buffalo wings with lots of bleu cheese dressing, Potbellies ham and cheese, and crab cakes and a medium rare ribeye from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.... My tongue and heartstrings loved it, my newfound potbelly, not so much. (Also, dad cooking on Christmas Eve and mom cooking us breakfast that one morning were the only two, home cooked, not-eating-restaurant-food meals that I had all week. No wonder I got fat.)

4. Gambling - Sure I lost and came home smelling like smoke, but being able to throw dice and sit at a blackjack table for an hour with my friends was like scratching a much needed itch. (And one that would get me arrested in Thailand. Hey, if I have to leave the country to gamble, might as well head home to do it, eh?)

3. Live Sports - Went to a Hawks AND Bulls game. Atmosphere for the Hawks was so much better, even if only the Bulls managed to pull out the win. Still, both were awesome. And seeing D Rose in person...speechless.

2. Culture - Saw 2 plays ('The Importance of Being Earnest' and 'Who's Afraid of Virgina Wolff?') and a musical ('Million Dollar Quartet'). And I'll even include going downtown to sing Christmas carols and watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' on the big screen. I really do get an inordinate amount of enjoyment from being able to digest different types of culture like that, and considering I get very very little of that here, I was very fortunate to be able to do so much when I was home.

1. My Family and Friends (duh) - From walking off the plane to hug from my 8 foot tall little brothers and a 'Welcome Home' reception (complete with a sign), to a trip the casino and a New Year's Eve party with some of my oldest friends, to seeing two plays with my best friend, to spending some time with my brothers and them letting me win at Ticket to Ride (not to mention treating me to lunch!), to not one but TWO breakfasts with my aunt and grandparents, to a burgers/True Grit/Hawks game boy's day with my dad and brothers, to Illini Bowl watching and New Year's Day football watching parties filled with catching up with college friends and old roommates, to having my mom spend a day treating us to a play and a very fancy dinner downtown, to numerous lunches and dinners spent catching up with random people, to finally having an extended family Christmas with all 30 of there (and being the last ones to leave), to a concert downtown with my sister...it really was an incredible week.

I am incredibly incredibly fortunate and my week was super busy and packed with some very fun activities - I mean you go to one sporting event or play or nice dinner, and its a good week...I went to what seemed like 15. (And thank you very much to everyone who helped make all those happen, esp you Mom and Dad. I know everyone worked really hard and planned a ton to make my week fun, and even though I had crazy high expectations, it was like a million times better than I could have hoped for, so thank you.) But even despite getting to do all these things, (and I know this is super cliche) it's perfectly clear to me that it's not what I got to do, but the people I got to do it with that made it such a great week. Just being able to see and spend time with the people that I care most about in the world was what made it so good. So thank all of you for taking the time out for me and working with me as I tried to squeeze all of you in to my crazy busy week. I have an incredibly tough decision coming in the next few weeks (which I will try very hard not to agonize about on this forum) and regardless of if I decide to come home or not, the biggest thing in my pro list for returning to America, the thing holds more of a pull than all the other factors put together, is the ability to be near those I love. So I guess I just want to say thanks for making the decision so hard.

TPWWLT - 'Hey Jude' - Across the Universe Soundtrack

PS I've tried to thank them numerous times, but one last public shout out to Mom and Dad. Besides making my week home so enjoyable, you were the ones responsible for financially getting my home. I really appreciate it, and I love you.

Halloweeeen!

We are having a Halloween Party on Friday in my class. They don't celebrate it here, except in some bars where creepy old me go to hang out. And since I won't be going to one of those, I figured the least I could do was bring it into my classroom. And no, my students (with the exception of a few half farang kids) don't know what it is, but thats not stopping me. I talked them through it, and while the spooky parts are a bit tough to convey, the concepts of dressing up in a costume and eating lots of candy were picked up pretty quickly. Spent 6 hours Saturday on my bicycle, traipsing around town to 4 different locations looking for decorations. (Anyone who says teaching is an 8 to 4 job is lying.) No dice on those, but no matter, I have started allocating our normal class hours into impromptu art periods involving solely the creation of Halloween decorations. During social studies yesterday, we all made pumpkins that were then taped up around the room, and tomorrow during health we are going to try and tackle some of the more scary aspects of the holiday, ie witches, mummies and vampires! Because this is Thailand, and everything is backward, we cant wear our costumes to school, but we can bring them to change into. So after snack on Friday afternoon, we all put on our costumes, and bust out our candy that we basically will just share with each other. Play some games, maybe watch a movie. Heck, maybe I'll find a pumpkin to bring in and we can carve it. Regardless, its going to be awesome. And if you suspect that I got this by the school administration and my bosses by disguising it as a 'way to experience American culture and interact with fellow students while practicing English in a fun and unique way,' [taken directly from my letter home to the parents that was approved by my boss] but really just want an excuse to celebrate Halloween, see my kids dressed up in costumes, and eat lots of candy....well then, you are absolutely correct.

TPWWLT - The Raconteurs - 'Carolina Drama'

PS I'm going as Ben 10, a cartoon character that is HUGE over here with my students. See the picture below. Already have the jeans, black tee, green sweatshirt, and watch. Still working on the Chuck Taylors. I've actually spent more on this costume than I have in sometime, and all I needed to buy was the watch and t-shirt!

Dad and China

Last month, my dad made the long trek over from America. He was in Asia for 13 days, and we spent the first 6 in Chiang Mai. I hate to use a tired, clichéd phrase, but its really was a lot of fun. We did some of the touristy stuff that I've never done around here because I have been waiting for visitors (hint hint). We rode a zip-line course through the jungle, saw a traditional Thai show, took a cooking class at the cooking school next door, and even got up early to watch the Bears lose to the Giants. And while we had a great time doing it, I think the thing I enjoyed the most was getting to show off my life to my dad. I'm only 24, but I have to imagine that no matter how old you get, the desire to make your parents proud never really goes away. And while I stopped looking for their (or anyone's) approval a long time ago, I will admit that just being able to show my dad that I was making it over here brought me a unique sense of pleasure that cant really be equaled by anyone else's praise. He got to see where I teach and meet most of my kids, and their adoring shrieks of 'TEACHER MIKE! TEACHER MIKE!' when we walked up couldn't have been better than if we had practiced it for week and I had bribed them with candy. He got to walk around my neighborhood, eat at the places I eat at, and meet my friends, both fellow teachers at the school, and the numerous Thai's I have come to know on my street. He even got a ride a bicycle with me along the same route I go to school! (Highway and all.) And talking with him while we were here, it made me see my home again with new eyes. I've been here almost a year, I don't notice the difference or strangeness of Asia, but being with him allowed me to realize just how different it is from where we come from. He also made a statement about how he didn't think he could have done what I did. And I know that doing something like this certainly isn't for everyone, but just the way he phrased it when talking about how different it was and how crazy it is to come to a country where you don't speak the language, are unemployed, and know literally 1 person within 1,000 miles (and you just met them three weeks ago)... Like I said, I came over here for myself, but to have someone acknowledge all that, and to be here and realize what exactly it entailed, and to praise you for it...and then to have that person be your dad...well, I can admit that selfishly, it felt pretty good. :)

Anyways, after a few days in Chiang Mai, we flew to China, which was awesome. (Man, my positive adjectives need work.) I mean, OK, it is very polluted (I didn't even see the sun till the morning I left the country...literally 4 straight days of smog), the average person is loud, aggressive, and not very friendly, and it was crowded and a pain to get around. BUT, we walked around Tiananmen Square, saw the site of the Beijing Olympics, visited the Forbidden Palace, saw to entombed body of Mao, visited a jade factory and climbed the Great Wall. I mean, who cares how polluted it was, we climbed the Great Wall! It's one of the 7 wonders of the world! We were in China! You know when you are a kid, and you go dig a hole in your backyard? You know where you say the hole is going to? CHINA! You know why? Because its the farthest and most exotic place in the world for a kid growing up in America! And I was there! I climbed the Great Wall! Its 2600 years old! Thats 11 times as old as our country!

I will say, as cool as it was to do all of those things (and it was very cool), I was very glad that things worked out the way they did and I ended up in Thailand as opposed to China. After 4 days there, I had a cough and constant eye irritation from the pollution. Not to mention Thai people and Chinese people are night and day. Thai people have got to be the nicest people in the world. If I am walking down the street and I pass someone and they don't smile and say hello, it is an uncommon occurrence. (I was talking with Adam the other day, it is just so different here, you talk to everyone. And its such a communal culture that everyone knows everyone else, and they all stop to chat and say hello...just very friendly. I brought up that its going to be weird being home over break and having people look at me like I'm crazy when I try and stop and say hello to them on the street.) Chinese people on the other hand, not so much. Not rude exactly, but definitely nothing like as friendly and welcoming as I'm used to. And granted, I should not have been surprised by this revelation. All week my dad was confusing China and Thailand and Taiwan and god knows where else. 'Let's go get some Taiwanese food.' 'Well dad, we might be pretty hungry by the time we get to Taiwan.' (Admittedly, my knowledge of Asian geography and distance relationships when I got here was probably as bad as his was, but as a much more informed American at present, I was working hard to bring him up to speed.) I mean, Chiang Mai and Beijing are a little over 4000 miles apart, or just 200 miles closer than Chicago and London. So for me to expect Thai and Chinese people to be similar just because they were Asian is pretty ridiculous. But I think it was more that it never occurred to me that the culture here is Thai and not Asian. And considering that grief I gave my dad all week for being an ignorant America, I would be remiss if I didn't admit it when I did it myself.

Overall it was a great break. I talked in my last post about loneliness and missing my family, and I was curious as to the effect my dad's visit would have on me. I figured that it would either help a lot with those feelings (filling up that 'hole' I was talking about), or else make me even more lonely and homesick. And I'm pretty happy to say that it was the former. Still very excited to visit home in December (and I'm sure that will only increase as it gets closer and closer - less than 2 months!), but even just seeing one person in my family made me feel a lot better. If as humans, we are have this innate need to occasionally see those we love and have close relationships with, seeing my dad was a nice family fix. It's almost like it will tide me over for a while. Hopefully right until the holidays hit - which is perfect because that's a tough time to be away from home. Anyways, its probably time for bed. Hope everyone is doing well back in the States. Enjoy fall (so sad I'm going to miss it) and stay warm. Winter is coming on here too, it got down to 75 the other night - a real cold front!

TPWWLT - Blues Traveler - 'Run Around'

Free At Last, Free At Last...

Admittedly, it might be being a bit dramatic to compare the end of the first semester to the civil rights movement. And yes, I still have to go in for a half day (no students though) on Monday for meetings and such. But I'll be darned if I don't feel like a million bucks right now. Spent the last week furiously catching up on grading and entering scores and tracking down kids who were absent when we took a certain test and trying not to go insane. And the last 2 days...well I'm surprised there aren't more murders among teachers during the last week of the term. Between the fighting for kids time, waiting for a printer or computer to open up to input your scores or print out the finished copies (we have 3 computers and 1 printer for all 60 teachers who work there), or dealing with the rage that 5 inches of put off tests waiting to be graded and entered causes to bubble up inside you like baking soda and vinegar in a 4th grade science fair volcano...I will admit that I almost took a life or two myself this week. (And you know you have a lot of work when you are measuring tests to be graded not by number or chapters, but by the stack's height in inches.) But it's over, and you don't want to hear about that. So on to some better new...My dad's coming on Thursday!

Having not seen a member of my family for over ten months, I will admit that I am a little (read: incredibly) excited to see my dad. Lately, I've been thinking about being away for so long and just the nature of loneliness in general. When I first got to Chiang Mai, I knew one person in the entire town, and I had met her exactly 4 weeks earlier. In the months to come, the amount of people I knew grew pretty slowly (read: not at all), and my days were spent either not getting hired for work or laying in bed wasting the day away inside. And like all things, eventually it got better, and I met more people, and I got a full time job, and now I'm pretty much too busy living my life to be lonely. But looking back, it's interesting to me to think how lonely I was. And I look at it now, because at the time, its one of those things that you can't really think about. In the back of my mind, I had a little voice telling me how miserable I was and how I should just go home. But then you have to think about what is coming and have faith/confidence/trust that its going to get better. You have to be able to banish those thoughts and take pleasure where you can find it (ie, pleasure from that fact that I was living in friggen Thailand.) If you don't, if you listen to that voice, then you are miserable. Or you go home. Or (like I did once) you break down while talking to your dad on Skype and just cant stop crying. And all the time people are asking you how you are, and isn't Thailand amazing...and you lie to them, and tell them you are fine, and its great and beautiful...and eventually, like with me, things get better (just like you knew they would), and it starts to be true when you tell people that. And you get less lonely, whether because of friends or work or whatever. But it never really goes away, just changes. Or maybe a better way to say it would be that you learn to deal with it.

But the interesting thing (and the reason I told you all that stuff above was that I wanted to talk about this) is that the closer I get to having my dad come, the more and more I realize how much I miss my family. Like, I'm past it, and I'm not miserable anymore (and I'm not lying about it either now), but the careful covering I had built over that emotion (just not letting myself feel lonely or miss them) is like coming apart like nobody's business. And I realize that I have a huuuuuuge hole inside me without my family and friends. It's been covered, I haven't been upset for a while, I'm fine, I love my job, I have some great friends, I live in Thailand, I haven't closed my windows in like 8 months...I'm great. I have so many other things that I would never have had if I didn't come. I mean, all those other things were pretty much the reason I came to Thailand. But no matter how many other things you have, they can't replace what you are missing. And you can adapt and become used to something, but its pretty hard to make it go away entirely. And that having a person come visit makes it all come out in the open again. But hey, its OK, because my dad is coming to fill that hole! I know this is kinda random, but the last few weeks, as my dad's visit gets closer and closer, I'll have pangs of loneliness/homesickness/missingpeopleness that are almost physical. And I just find it fascinating how good humans are burying something 99.9% of the time that can be such a powerful feeling. And also how having someone come who is going to help with that feeling a great deal is making me realize its even there!

Anyways, sorry for the tangent, I might have been better off telling you about the 545 tests I graded this week. Also sorry for the lack of posts recently. Living in Thailand is exotic, and adventurous, and blah blah blah. I mean, it is, but bottom line, I'm an adult, I have a real job and I'm at the office 40 hours a week, so there isn't much time left over for the tropical paradise I currently call home. Like anything in life, from school to work to prison, it quickly becomes routine and you want to read about my daily routine as much as I want to type about it. (Not at all). With my dad coming and us heading to China (wooooooooo) along with our adventures in Chiang Mai, I should have some more stories coming up soon. And I do have things to relate that I am going to try and get on here in the next week, mostly because I want them on here before I forget them. Hope everyone is doing well back home, and I will see you all in exactly 3 months!

TPWWLT - B.O.B. - 'Magic'

PS - I just want to say again I'm not looking for any retroactive sympathy. I knew that was going to happen, I thought about it before I came to prepare for it, I knew what was going on while it was happening, and I knew it would get better. It's just tough sometimes to get your brain to control your emotions, or your head to overcome your heart. And thats why I brought it up, because I have been fascinated by that dynamic lately, especially as it pertains to loneliness.

Pictures of Me and Small Children

Throughout the year, I have been randomly taking pictures of my classroom and students, both with the low pixel camera on my computer and my actual camera. Figured I should throw them up in an album before I have too many that it becomes unwieldy. First half of the album is pics from my computer (you can notice the different days by my different shirt and tie combinations), followed by better quality pictures of our classroom, an art class, and finishing up with the pictures from the field trip last week. Hope you like it!

Pictures: Click Here

Field Trip!

Had our first field trip of the year today. Grades 1-3 in the English Program (about 175 kids) came to school in our PE uniforms, loaded up in small vans and headed out on the town. We were originally supposed to head to a pottery making camp out in the forest, but because of dengue (still no, but I got bit three times today, so I'm 97% positive I've contracted it), being in the forest, and this being the rainy season, we changed plans and instead headed on a tour of some of Chiang Mai's more famous wat's. (temples). Walked to three of them throughout the morning, then loaded back up in the vans and headed to the Chiang Mai National History Museum, for both lunch and a tour of the museum. About to head out for burgers, some thoughts on the day:

Have been looking forward to this field trip for weeks, since they announced it. Day out of the classroom, no teaching, it was on Thursday, my busiest day of the week. Pretty much a win-win...win. Plus we are going on a field trip! But on about Monday I realized, wait a second, I am not going on this as a student, or even as an observer. No, I'm the teacher, and I'm going to be leading 32 six year-olds around town, crossing streets, and then into some of the most holy and reverent places in Northern Thailand. This wasn't going to be a rest day, if anything it would probably be way more stress and work than on a normal day. In truth, it was somewhere in the middle. No, I couldn't take my time after lunch or peruse ESPN.com on my free periods, but it was nice to get out of the classroom, and nice to be able to chat with some of the grade 2 and 3 teachers who I don't get to see that often. The kids were mostly very well behaved, and they had fried chicken legs and sticky rice for lunch...and I had 4 of them.

I guess I should know this because it the same for me and I'm 24, but is amazing how much young children's moods are affected by being hungry. We were walking through our first wat at 9:30 and they were already moaning about being hungry! At each wat we would go into the main part of the temple, the students would wai and bow and sit down and we would listen to a monk who lived at that particular temple talk about the temple and its history or Buddhism or whatever he was talking about. This is all in Thai of course, so I'm sitting in the back with Mai and she is roughly translating whats going on for me if it was interesting. So at the first temple, its maybe 9:45, this monk is talking forever. And he is telling this long beautiful story about this goat that outwitted a tiger, some metaphor for something or other. And he is going on and on and the kids are kinda losing interest. So finally he stops, and he asks if there are any questions. And this little girl Lily stands up and goes, 'When do we eat?' Haha, brought the house down.

The temples are beautiful, but when we come in and sit down, its on a hard floor. And its very impolite in Thai culture to point your feet at someone. So when you sit, you have the option of sitting cross-legged, kneeling, or in this sort of, on the side of your legs with your feet to the side and pointing back behind you, position. All of them...terribly uncomfortable. I could not be Thai, if only for my lack of floor sitting aplomb.

The museum was cool, but most of my time was spent herding children and trying to keep them from running ahead or falling to far behind. I joked to the other 3 1st grade teachers that I felt like a sheep dog trying to heard sheep and keep them in a pack. And by the end of it, I could tell my kids were pretty tired and worn out from the day. We trudge back to the hot van and all 16 boys in my class climb in. Scarcely had we sat down when the whining began. 'Teacher Mike, Chan is annoying me.' 'Teacher Mike, Poon move AirCon.' 'Teacher Mike, Teacher Mike, Teac...' 'ENOUGH! EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE QUIET FOR TWO MINTUES! SONG NATEE! SHUSH!' (Silence) And after channeling my inner father, I literally climbed in the back of the van to reallocate all of our air vents. And what do you know, by the time we got back to school, half the van was asleep.

TPWWLT - Anamanaguchi - 'Jetpack Blues Sunset Hues'

Hello Dengue

Got back to my classroom today after lunch and the entire class was dousing themselves in bug spray/lotion. Why you ask? Oh because of the recent outbreak of dengue fever. What is dengue fever? Also known as bone crusher disease because of the incredible pain it puts in victims in, it is a life threating, tropical fever spread by mosquitoes. According to Wikipedia, its symptoms include; headache, muscle and joint pains (the pains that give in the 'bonecusher' nickname), a distinctive retro-orbital pain, rash, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting coffee-grounds-like congealed blood, and diarrhea. (It can also lead to DHF, which leads to variable hemorrhagic pneumonia including bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth and ear, blood oozing out your pores, fluid in the blood vessels leaking through the skin and into spaces around the lungs and belly. And finally shock from the blood loss and death.) Oh and 3 teachers and who knows how many students have already caught it, and a language center in town was shut down because of an outbreak. I mean, I think a large percentage of my life is the same as it would be back in the states, but sometimes you get put in situations that make you appreciate the good ole U.S. of A. Oh, and give me some of that bug spray.

TPWWLT - Hootie and The Blowfish - 'Only Wanna Be With You'

No Water?!

So many little moments in my life here that I wish I could bottle up and share with everyone back home, just had one with my kids.

Sitting at my desk after lunch, headphones in, working on my afternoon lessons. The kids are playing in the classroom, when suddenly I notice a commotion in the corner of room. From their reaction, my first thought is that someone is hurt. I start to half stand up to see whats going on as half dozen kids run up. 'Teacher Mike, Teacher Mike! Water!' Uh oh. The water jug is empty.

I stand all the way up, straighten my tie, and clear my way through my entire class, all of whom have immediately made a beeline for the water dispenser. (There is nothing like a lack of water to make ever kid in class immediately need a drink.) 'Move back, move back!' I call out as I reach the spare jug on the ground. I lean down and slowly unscrew the cap. I can hear an intake of breath as I bend down and wrap my arms around the jug. Kids in the front of the mob are yelling 'Move back, move back!' at their fellow classmates. Gasps shoot through the crowd as I stand, full water jug in my arms. As I slowly tilt the open nozzle into the bowl, I can hear the boys in my class groaning and flexing their arms. As the tilting continues, the groaning and gasping reach a crescendo. The fear that I am going to miss and spill water all over the floor is almost palpable. I complete the placement of the jug and am instantly mobbed by my class. "Yeaaaa!" "Teacher Mike stronng! Teacher Mike strong!" They gimme five's as they stream past me, metal cups extended in to get some of that sweet delicious H2O. My mission complete, I make my way back to my desk with the satisfaction of a conquering general.

Now, I know some people may disagree with me on this one, but for my money, there is nothing that makes you feel stronger than replacing a water jug in front of 30 gasping first graders. :) Hope everyone has a great week!

TPWWLT - B.O.B. - 'Airplanes'

Moviestar Naoka

For the current unit in my English classes, we are studying professions. So for one of their homework pages, my kids had to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. The boys were almost all pilots and policemen, and the girls almost all doctors/nurses and teachers (naturally, considering their role model.) Except for Naoka. Now, Naoka is one of my favorite students (granted, this applies to about 70% of my students...but still true in her case). She is maybe the chubbiest girl in my class, and is about as close to a diva as a 6 year old Thai girl can get. At least once a class, she will raise her hand and call out, 'Teacher, waaater' in her high pitched voice, giving the impression that if she doesn't get some soon, she faint away dramatically in front of the class. But she is always smiling, and when she smiles really big, her cheeks cover her eyes so it looks like they are closed. I mean, adorable.

But anyways, I'm flipping through the homework, making sure that everyone has done it, and idle curiosity is making me take note of what they want to be when they grow up. I get to her's, flip her book open without much thought, and what is staring back at me but a picture of a tall skinny woman in sunglasses, standing a stage holding a microphone. Hearts and bows abound, and above the picture there is one word: Moviestar. I just had to snap a picture of both the homework and one of me and her. (Though we were making up a test, so I couldn't quite coax out that legendary smile.) But I mean, so precious, and so perfect for Naoka. And Naok (her nickname to her nickname, pronounced Nah-oak), you go girl. :)

TPWWLT - Timba ft Katy Perry - 'Until We Meet Again'

Happy Birthday America

The local VFW in Chiang Mai (est. 2007), in conjunction with the US consulate and a local restaurant, threw a big 4th of July bash today. We had bought our tickets a few weeks ago, so after laying in bed all morning, I headed over to the bash, being held on the grounds of the Chiang Mai municipal stadium. Hopped in line for some food, waited for quite a while in the hot sun, but after about an hour, finally reached the front of the line. The local western restaurant had catered the event, and had such offerings as pasta salad, chicken, baked beans, ribs, hot dogs, sausage, fruit, onion rings, burgers and corn on the cob. Loaded up a plate with all of the above, and a second one, for my friends who were much farther back in line. Finished eating, walked around till they got their food, and we all grabbed a table. Sat and hung out, played some cards and waited around until the fireworks.

It was really a pretty great day. I ate until I feel semi nauseous, in true American fashion. (As Julia said, we were 'comfortably uncomfortable.') And not only that, but gorged on some good old fashioned American comfort food. (Also washed that down with a lemonade, and followed it up with some watermelon and double scoop waffle cone of ice cream.) Got to play cards with friends, first time in a while I have played cards. Saw one of my students, this adorable mixed race girl named Tiger. Got to hear the national anthem, and it was awesome. And got to see fireworks. Which despite them being about 2 min long and having no finale whatsoever, I couldn't help but love. I really do love fireworks. Great day, great job by the VFW, and happy birthday America.

TPWWLT - Jim Gaffigan - 'Holidays' ('I normally don't have a burger, a brat and a steak, but it is 4th of July. Annd I need the energy if I'm going to start blowing crap up...Its what the founding fathers would want.)

Who Knew?

Laying in bed grading 1st grade spelling tests, eating rambutans, lychees and magonsteens that one of my student's mothers brought in for me, going crazy by myself because New Zealand just scored in the 93rd minute to tie Slovakia in their group stage match of the World Cup...I mean really, sometimes just have to laugh at where life takes you. 18 year old Mike would not have predicted this!

Tao rai?

Recent payday + first weekend not teaching at the language center = finally being able to do some shopping. The final haul: Computer cover, computer cooling stand, external hard drive, whiteboard markers, red pens, clipboard, fruit mentos, file folder, 2 notebooks, stick on hooks, double sided tape, black leather belt, black slip on loafers for work, black sandals for in the classroom, 3 pairs black socks, 2 pairs basketball shorts and USA soccer jersey. (World Cup starts in 5 days! USA! USA!) Pretty productive weekend. Hope everyone else's is just as good!

TPWWLT - Bone Thugs - 'Guess Who's Back'

PS - 'Tao rai?' means 'How much?' in Thai. Something I was saying a lot this weekend.

Caaaaake

Not to bump my serious post down the page, but one of my 2nd graders had her birthday today, so she brought me down a piece of cake! Nothing like wrapping up the week with an unexpected baked good from a 7 year old. :) I would have taken a picture, but well, it was delicious and I couldn't wait.

Insanity Loves Company

The beginning of last week, the school started an after school phonics class for some of the students in the two EP first grade classes. The majority of my students came from the kindergarten at Varee, and as such, they have a pretty good understanding of letters, sounds and phonics. But there is a small contingent (maybe a fourth of them) who have little-to-no previous experience with English. And since what I'm teaching assumes the students know the alphabet and sounds, the school set up a class to get these kids up to speed. The class is being taught by one of the 2nd grade teachers, Ms. Kim. She is getting paid to do it, but I have been trying to stay after school and help out, partly because they are my students in my subject, and partly because the the mix of kids she has is a nice combination of the hyperactive, non responsive, over (or under) medicated, and never-been-exposed-to-English-before-3-weeks-ago kids from both of the classes. Basically we took all the children from each class who require the most attention and combined them into a class at the end of the day, when they haven't eaten in 5 hours and just want to go home (and after a 45 min homeroom consisting mostly of them running around the classroom.) Basically what I'm trying to say is that Kim is a saint for teaching this class, and I'm just trying to be there as an extra set of eyes, ears and hands to help her out.

Anyways, the other day, after we finished dealing with our most-in-need-of-special-ed-student, Peter (don't think I wont get into him later on in the year), I was chatting with Kim as we cleaned up her room. She was asking questions, and she is very good listener, so I just kept going on and on about why I came to Thailand, what my mindset was, my plans later in life, etc. And naturally I started asking her the same questions. She is married, middle age (I won't even guess in case she ever reads this :) ) with 2 teenage kids, I want to say 15 and 16. She is Australian, and her and her husband had done a little traveling a while back, came to Thailand, loved it, and just decided to move their whole family here. Took them 2 and half years to sell their house, they were from a small Australian town that she had lived in her whole life. They finally sold, packed up, and have been here for a year and a half. Her kids both love it here, her daughter says that its the best present she has ever gotten. And they aren't really sure when they are going back. They paid off their debts, are just living month to month, with no mortgage or any other bills to worry about.

And as we are sitting there chatting, I started to realize that it was nice to talk to someone who is doing what I'm doing. I mean, I know this seems like common sense, but its still nice to be able to commiserate with someone that has a lot of the same ideas and views on moving to a whole new country. I still sometimes get the sense that people back home think I'm a little crazy for coming here. And don't get me wrong, I'm agree with that. But along the same sense, when you think about growing up in the suburbs, going to a school 2 hours away in the same state, graduating, moving back up the Chicago, getting a job, falling in love and getting married, and moving back out to the suburbs...well maybe its the pot calling the kettle black, but that sounds a little crazy to me! Your whole life, you never live more than like 3 hours away from where you were born. I love it here, but I certainly don't plan on staying here the rest of my life. And I love Chicago, and I would be ecstatic if I ended back up there in years to come. Hearing all my friends talk about summer in the city makes me miss it every time I think about it. But at the same time, its not going anywhere.

People ask me all the time, when are you coming home? And since I have no idea, I jokingly tell them next week. My contract is up in March, so I know I'll be here till at least then. (And realistically for at least a month after, I would like to do some traveling after the long school year.) Honestly, one of the things that I really like is that I don't know when I'm coming home. (I mean, where even is home?) (And don't misunderstand me, I miss everyone back in the States a ton. The fact that everyone always asks when I'm coming back and works hard to keep in touch...it means more to me than all of you will ever know. So thank you.) Maybe I head back to the States next May. Maybe I go to Europe. Maybe I join the Navy. I don't know, and I really like not knowing. And I think the coolest thing about talking to Kim was being able to share that with someone. Hearing about friends from back in Australia ask her when she is coming home, and hearing how she tells them she will figure it out when the time comes. Hearing about the skepticism of her friends and family, asking her if it was really a good idea. ('Think about the kids, Kim!') And just hearing how someone with a husband and two kids to boot can just pick up and leave for a completely alien place...well its pretty cool. And to put it in perspective, if someone in her position can do it, well then a recently graduated 23 year old should have no problem. (And realistically what I'm doing now is wayyy easier than having two teenagers and trying to tell them we were moving Asia. Sheesh, no thanks. But hats off to you Kim.)

Anyways, time for bed, lights off by 10 so I make sure I get my 8 hours. And I'm assuming this is true for all jobs, but I've quickly noticed it's very true for mine: the difference between my energy on Monday and Thurs/Fri is remarkable. Chasing around 6 year olds all week wears....me....out! Take care everyone. And enjoy the nice weather...I biked home in 108 degree weather today. Woo Asia!

TPWWLT - New Found Glory - 'Hit or Miss'

Mo Money, No Problems

Got paid today. Since I don't have a bank account, they paid me in cash, 34,000 baht. Or a nice roll of 34 1000 baht bills. I felt like a drug dealer biking home today. Each one is worth about 30 bucks, so its about $1,050 American dollars. Spread that on your sandwich!

End of an Era

Today was my last day teaching at the language center I've been working at for the last few months. I have been regularly teaching 3 classes every weekend, kids ranging from 8 to 13, only like 4 to 6 kids per class. The teaching is easy and the money was fine, but working full time, it wasn't nearly good enough to make me give up my weekends and teach 7 days a week. So when I got the job at Varee, I told my boss that she needed to start looking for another teacher. My boss is a grandmotherly Muslim Thai who runs this small language school all by herself. She might be the sweetest lady in Thailand, and I felt bad leaving, but these kids wear me out during the week, I need a break. She can be a bit, shall we say, choosy, when it comes to teachers, so I knew if I stayed on until she found someone she liked, I could be there another two months. So I followed the American custom and told her I would give her two weeks. And today was my last day.

I have to say, I'm kind of going to miss that place. The kids were good natured, the teaching was easy, and it was nice leaving with cash in my pocket every weekend. Like I said, my boss, Suda, was incredibly sweet. Her English was pretty good, and she loved to sit down and talk about her life and ask me questions about mine, sometimes to the detriment of me starting my classes on time. She let me use a bicycle that used to belong to her maid, and even though it was small and pink and had fairies on the seat and my knees couldn't take it for more than a week, it was still a very nice gesture, and one I'm finding is typical of people in this country. She was always pushing drinks upon me, including one memorable time where I went with her family to the store to look at class books, and I ended up with 4 different juice boxes. I was riding in the front seat of her daughter's car, with her and her grandson in the backseat, trying to hold 4 different juice boxes, all of which for some reason I stupidly put the straws in at the same time. So I had to suck down two types of juice and two types of tea in order not to spill all over the car. But regardless of my perilous beverage tales, I will miss seeing her and my students twice weekly. Though the lazy days at the pool I have been missing because of it will help ease the pain I think.

TPWWLT - Billy Joel - 'Scenes From An Italian ResTAUrant.'

PS The kids I have been teaching, hard at work. The little girl, Hanwa, was my favorite. Only 8, she was probably the second smartest student I had. I tried to tell them today was last day, but I don't think they got it. That must have been the reason there were no tearful goodbyes and depressed wails as they filed out of the classroom. Had to be.

PPS They just look ecstatic to be in school taking English classes over the weekend, don't they? :)

Burma...Check

Today, I took a little trip up to Burma (aka the Union of Myanmar - not to be confused with Miramar, or where Maverick and Goose get to go because Cougar looses it and turns in his wings.) With my trip to Laos back in March, I got a double entry visa, and today was the 2nd of those two entries. (The first of course being when I reentered Thailand from Laos the day I got the visa.) Basically what I needed to do was leave the country, get stamped into another, and turn around and come right back in for three more months in Thailand.

The easiest way to do this from Chiang Mai is a trip up to Mae Sai, a town to the northwest of me on the Thailand/Burma border. By bus it takes about 4.5 hours, so after leaving Chaing Mai at 8, I found myself there shortly after lunchtime. I had read in a few travel blogs to buy your return bus ticket right when you got in, but after heading to the window, was told the only bus that had seats was the next one, leaving at 2pm. So I had a little over an hour and half to go through the Thai exit/Burma entrance and then return through the Burma exit/Thai entry. (Leaving a country is not like crossing a state line. Governments like to keep track of the people coming and going, and this usually leads to lines and frustration.) Further complicating my task was the fact that the Burma immigration officers supposedly take a very dim view of people who walk into their country, get their passport stamped, and turn around and try and leave right away. As in, they don't let you do it.

The reason they don't let you do that is because they want you to spend money. Immediately inside the border is a huge market. Walking down the steps off the bridge, I was immediately besieged by Burmese (Burmian?) men trying to sell me things. Cartons of cigarettes, booze, packs of Viagra, and porn ('sex movie - Asian') were the most prolific offerings, but I'm sure there were many more that my virgin eyes missed. Pushing (literally) through these men with baskets of vices hanging around their necks, I made my way into the market. Tent after tent of knockoff clothes, purses, watches, jewelry, DVD's...pretty much anything you could ask for. Since one of the reasons the Myanmar border people won't give you your passport right away is that they want you to spend money in this market, I figured if I bought something, even if they gave me crap about trying to leave too soon, I could show them my purchases and have a better chance of getting my passport (and thus a better chance of making it to my return bus on time). And even though I have a need for a watch, some work shoes and a few other things, my dislike of shopping, aversion to spending any real amount of money and time crunch meant that I was mainly focused on the DVD's. Brand new movies for 60 cents, seasons of television for as low as $2. After loading my arms with about a dozen seasons of TV spanning about 4 different shows, I realized that it was silly of me to spend all this money when A) I haven't even watched the first season of Mad Men I have with me, B) its not like I have a lot of time to sit around and watch seasons of television, I am gone from 7-6 every day, and C) the quality with stuff like this is pretty hit or miss, so it was silly to spend like $30 on shows that might be kind of blurry or not even work in my computer/a US DVD player. I finally settled on just the 4th season of Dexter, which cost me $3.30. (On sale for $31.99 at Amazon.) And even that, I splurged for the 'originals' - I could have bought the 'copies' for only about 2 bucks.

My purchase and reentry into Thailand went smoothly. They had my passport waiting for me and didn't say a word. (So I guess about 45 min is enough time in the country.) And I hopped on my bus with 3 minutes to spare. It was a cheaper, lower class bus, so while the trip up had made me glad I brought my hoodie and a pair of socks to combat the AC (such an experienced SE Asian bus traveler by now), the trip back left me sweating and trying not to stick to the vinyl of the seat. Got back around dinner time, grabbed some garlic pork at my favorite stand and have just been laying around trying to fully recover from the throat infection I've been dealing with.

Overall, it was an interesting day. Not many people can say they've been to Burma/Myanmar, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. (Even if it was only 45 minutes.) Just interesting to see the whole set up they have in Mae Sai. I found out you can't actually get a real visa for Burma there, just a one day pass. So Thai people will basically travel up for the day, do all their shopping and come back. Pretty much the whole economy of the town, on both sides of the border, is set up for this. Why things are so much cheaper over there, I have no idea. (All that stuff I mentioned I saw there is definitely available in the markets here, but its not nearly as cheap. My season of Dexter prob would have cost me about $12 here. So a pretty big savings.) But it might not be a bad idea to take another trip up there before I come home, throw down $30 or $40 and stock up on some shows I've wanted to see. And on unrelated note, even though the trips were alternately freezing cold and sweltering hot, driving through the forested, jungled mountains of northern Thailand is still pretty breathtaking, and hopefully something I don't ever become too accustomed to to appreciate. (Too many 'to's' in that sentence, its 12:30, couldn't figure out how else to say it.) Hope everyone is doing well back home and enjoying the weather getting nice. Though I don't want to hear any complaints about the heat. High of 100 today, and I thought it was cool out. And go hawks!

TPWWLT - Lil Wayne - 'Every Girl' Worst song ever to have stuck in your head? Not because its annoying, but because of the awkwardness of singing the chorus out loud. Luckily I don't think anyone on the bus understood when I caught myself absentmindedly singing it under my breath today.

PS - The quality on Dexter is great. Hope all the discs/episodes work!

School Pics

My desk is in the classroom so yesterday after lunch I was on my computer, and this kid was watching me, so I figured I would snap a quick pic to amuse him. Well, it was quickly discovered and I only managed 3 pics before I was swarmed by 6 year olds and had to call them off. Figured I would post them so you can see who I'm hanging with all day!

Mike

PS The guy in the first picture is named Pet. He is from a village and speaks no English and a dialect of Thai that my fellow Thai homeroom teacher has trouble understanding. He is pretty cute though. :)

Guess What?

I got a job! Ok, let me rephrase that, I got a full time job. I have had a part time job for quite a while, teaching some classes at a language center on the weekends. However, since I haven't written in forever, you wonderful people don't know about it. I have a few stories to tell, and I will get to those someday, but just know that I was doing part time work teaching 3 different classes to students anywhere from 9-13. With only about 4-6 kids to a class. BUT, this new job...

My friend Lex works at a large school called Varee Chiang Mai School. She works in the kindergarten (which is separate from the rest of the school), and has been teaching summer school all summer, or since about March. Last week she was getting ready for the year (she is teaching math to the kindergarten levels, and school started on Monday), and she told me that one of the kindergarten teachers they were expecting back had not got in contact with anyone all summer or in the weeks leading up to the school. Her boss was starting to get nervous, and when he finally made the decision to look somewhere else last Thursday, she passed along my name as someone she thought would be good to look at. So Thursday night, I dropped off my resume, cover letter, et all to her to bring to him the next day. Friday, he set up an interview with me through her. Monday, I went in for the interview, Tuesday I went in to practice teach, and Wednesday I went in to meet the headmistress (a requirement for every teacher) and to accept a job as a kindergarten teacher, to start the next day.

So its shortly after I'm hired, and I am sitting in the teachers room, talking to the other kindergarten teachers trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to teach all these little 3-5 year olds the next day, when Simon (the man who had hired me and who had been my contact through all this) came in, and told me to follow him. Remember how I said the kindergarten was a little separate from the rest of the school? Well, turns out they had another vacancy in the English Program, which is for the more advanced older kids. (Very quickly, all KG students are taught in English, when they hit first grade, they can be put in regular First Grade, or in the English Program (EP) First Grade. This means that not only do they have English Class, but about 70% of their curriculum is taught in English, ie. Science, Health, Math, Social Studies. It also means their parents paid more.) Well, apparently, the EP is more prestigious and more important to the school than the kindergarten, and they had a vacancy for a first grade English/homeroom teacher in the EP. So when I met this headmistress, and she found me reasonably suitable (my suit helped a lot, everyone was really impressed that I was wearing one - thanks dad!), she decided that I would be better served there as opposed to kindergarten. So basically, I was a KG teacher for about 2 hours, and yesterday afternoon, got the call from upstairs to move up to English Program 1 - First Grade!

So, the EP is set up more like a high school, with different teachers teaching different subjects. The only difference is that the teachers switch classes as opposed to the students. So what I am teaching everyday is English to both of the EP1 classes (there are only 2) and to one of the regular first grade classes (so I am the only English they hear all day). I was also given a few other classes which I'll talk about at a later date b/c this is getting confusing, and I am the homeroom teacher for one of the two EP 1 classes, ie I'm a first grade teacher, as opposed to just teaching first graders, if that makes any sense. Now, its not as crazy as it sounds, I do have a Thai teacher in their with me, who realistically does a lot of the work, but my desk is in the classroom as opposed to with the other teachers, I'm supposed to go hang in the classroom when I'm not teaching, and try and help Khru Mai (that's my Thai counterpart) control 32 six year olds.

So today was Day 1. I had no syllabus or any notion of what these kids knew, or really any ideas...and frankly no idea what I was doing. My first class was a train wreck, but they progressively got better as the day went on, and by the time I had my last class during the 2nd to last period of the day, I think I actually taught them something. I got thrown into teaching 2 other subjects, both to 2nd graders. I had one of those classes today, and I think it went ok, though my second grade students nicknamed me Teacher Michael Jackson and refused to call me anything else all period. (All teachers go by their first names, so I am either Mr. Mike or Teacher Mike to all the students. Hence when I introduced myself as Teacher Mike, I became Teacher Michael Jackson. A far cry from the Michael Jordan I was back in Phnom Penh.) Overall, I would say the day was a success. I'm working full time and shaping young minds. So what if I got milk spilled on me, nicknamed after a famous (alleged) child molester, and had a student sneeze in my face? I'm a teacher!

TPWWLT - 'Don't Stop Me Now' - Queen

PS. Went to the grocery store after work and was biking home...got stuck behind an elephant on a bridge. True story.