Journal entry by Al Negstad — 51 minutes ago
97 Degrees as 5:00 pm as I begin this post of random observations and this temperature report is the first one of those. 😉
A housewife was sweeping her driveway and when she finished she swept her side of the street, which was divided by a boulevard. Next she went to the other side of the street and swept up litter which she promptly deposited on the street across the boulevard. This was in Ayutthaya. Cities like Bangkok have their own system of litter control. People set their trash carefully away from foot traffic, by the curb, there are no trash cans. At night the women who sweep the streets and sidewalks sweep it up.
There is a new I.T. person at the school this year. Her name is April, and she replaces a man who held the position previously. When she comes to work she sweeps the office, which is the principals office, too, as well as break room/student teachers space, etc., dusts the furniture and makes tea. When I'm in the room she serves me tea and sweets. The man who held her position previously did none of those things.
April and the student teachers eat their breakfast after they arrive at school. After greeting me their first question is "have you had breakfast?" They always seem surprised that I have. One of them brought me a mini-hamburger today, cold, I think from Seven-Eleven. At my request she heated it in a micro-wave which rendered it edible, though holding little resemblance to an American burger.
Thai people complain about the heat. Their complaining is very similar to Minnesotans complaining about the cold. The students play as vigorously on hot days as they do on moderate temperature days. If the heat has any effect on them I can't tell.
Searching for a chair last night was fruitless. The small, downtown mall had no adult furniture, only some for children. Met, called a furniture place this morning and negotiated an acceptable price for a chair, $40. After she picked me up at school we drove to the open air store to pick it up. Had I been visible during price negotiations likely we would have paid more. When sellers see a westerner (farang) they are not willing to reduce the price as much as they do for Thai. While the store was "open air" there wasn't much air. It was covered by a blue, plastic roof that radiated heat and was at least ten degrees hotter than standing in the sun, even though there were no walls.
The subject of price negotiation reminds me of the two tier pricing of hotel rooms in Thailand. Thai people are given a significantly lower hotel price than foreigners and all hotels do it. If I plan to stay at a hotel I have a Thai friend call and make the reservation. The hotel then gives me the Thai rate with no questions asked even though no Thai person accompanies me. Many years ago this led to an interesting mix up. There are two hotels in Bangkok with similar names fairly close in proximity. When I sought to register there was no reservation. After a bit of conversation the clerk suggested I try the other hotel and I found I was registered there.
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: Old and new chairs, the new one is a Thai hardwood and very heavy; 6th grade girls doing some transcribing in the office, my tea and sweets, the 2nd floor outdoor hallway in front of the classrooms.
A housewife was sweeping her driveway and when she finished she swept her side of the street, which was divided by a boulevard. Next she went to the other side of the street and swept up litter which she promptly deposited on the street across the boulevard. This was in Ayutthaya. Cities like Bangkok have their own system of litter control. People set their trash carefully away from foot traffic, by the curb, there are no trash cans. At night the women who sweep the streets and sidewalks sweep it up.
There is a new I.T. person at the school this year. Her name is April, and she replaces a man who held the position previously. When she comes to work she sweeps the office, which is the principals office, too, as well as break room/student teachers space, etc., dusts the furniture and makes tea. When I'm in the room she serves me tea and sweets. The man who held her position previously did none of those things.
April and the student teachers eat their breakfast after they arrive at school. After greeting me their first question is "have you had breakfast?" They always seem surprised that I have. One of them brought me a mini-hamburger today, cold, I think from Seven-Eleven. At my request she heated it in a micro-wave which rendered it edible, though holding little resemblance to an American burger.
Thai people complain about the heat. Their complaining is very similar to Minnesotans complaining about the cold. The students play as vigorously on hot days as they do on moderate temperature days. If the heat has any effect on them I can't tell.
Searching for a chair last night was fruitless. The small, downtown mall had no adult furniture, only some for children. Met, called a furniture place this morning and negotiated an acceptable price for a chair, $40. After she picked me up at school we drove to the open air store to pick it up. Had I been visible during price negotiations likely we would have paid more. When sellers see a westerner (farang) they are not willing to reduce the price as much as they do for Thai. While the store was "open air" there wasn't much air. It was covered by a blue, plastic roof that radiated heat and was at least ten degrees hotter than standing in the sun, even though there were no walls.
The subject of price negotiation reminds me of the two tier pricing of hotel rooms in Thailand. Thai people are given a significantly lower hotel price than foreigners and all hotels do it. If I plan to stay at a hotel I have a Thai friend call and make the reservation. The hotel then gives me the Thai rate with no questions asked even though no Thai person accompanies me. Many years ago this led to an interesting mix up. There are two hotels in Bangkok with similar names fairly close in proximity. When I sought to register there was no reservation. After a bit of conversation the clerk suggested I try the other hotel and I found I was registered there.
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: Old and new chairs, the new one is a Thai hardwood and very heavy; 6th grade girls doing some transcribing in the office, my tea and sweets, the 2nd floor outdoor hallway in front of the classrooms.
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