Missing video.

While I was teaching vocabulary to the 4th grade the word 'dance' came up. The teacher, to make the point of the Thai word for dance, began to sing. As soon as she began singing all the students stood up and began dancing to her singing. It was obvious they all knew the steps and moves to go with the song. So why didn't I video it?

Home again with pictures.

1st grade twins.

1st grade supervising the fire.

Students cleaning up the school yard.

Yard clean up.

I'm pointing to the high water mark in the room where I slept.


Video of morning exercises.

Last call in Bangkok!

"What is the appeal of SE Asia?" I'm often asked. The answer to me is unclear. Of course during Minnesota winter I'm happy to be in the tropics. But, more than that, I continue to find Asia endlessly fascinating. That fascination does not dim with time and exposure. On the contrary, it actually grows as I am able to become more deeply immersed in life here. My work at the school, Wat Klang, and living with a family gives me, at least, some glimpse into Thai life.

Soon after I arrive at home I'll post pictures from this trip on this blog. For the next day and a half I'll be in some stage of transit.

Reflections.

The send off that the teachers gave me yesterday has caused me to reflect on what my presence may mean to them. The depth of the feelings expressed and the heartiness of their hope that I return makes me wonder about its meaning. Here are some thoughts about it.


Wat Klang is a small school in a poor neighborhood in an out of the way place. Perhaps the fact that I have chosen to volunteer there for three successive years really touches them. Yesterday, before I left, they asked me to write a "To whom it may concern" type letter about the school and my experience there. I understood that they were hoping for a positive reference letter they could use. Readers of this blog know that I've been somewhat critical of the school and its practices. Relying on my years of writing personal references I did what I had often done in the past...I emphasized the positives. Primarily I focused on the teachers genuine concern for the students and the esprit de corps among the teachers.


Perhaps it takes three years before one is more fully accepted and established. It does make me wonder what a fourth year will be like if I'm able to return next year. My Thai vocabulary has doubled this year and that with my other learning's does also make me more effective, too.

All will be reavealed......

Homeward bound!

WOW! The teachers gave quite a send off lunch with gifts. Lunch was Pad Thai, steak, roasted chicken and several desserts. The best dessert was ripe, sweet mango with sweetened sticky rice.
We all laughed a lot. Some was at me and some was with me. :) My Thai pronunciation sometimes cracks them up. There is no 'th' sound in Thai so that gives them fits with 'the' or 'thirteen'. So the laughter goes both ways. They gave me strong encouragement to return next year.
One little mystery was solved. Often when I'm teaching students ask to go to the toilet. I always say yes, and always two students go. Yesterday I asked one of the sharpest 6th grade students why, for either boys or girls, it always took two? The answer was there is no latch on the door so the 2nd person goes to guard the door. I just love Thailand....that is so Thai!
It's Friday afternoon and I'm in Bangkok on my way home. I'll arrive in Minneapolis on Monday, Jan. 30.

Remedial education Thai style.

A 4th grade student transferred to from another school to Wat Klang It became apparent that this 4th grader can't read. The solution? He's now in first grade learning to read with the 1st graders. It doesn't appear that he has a disability and the theory is that he was an unmotivated student in a very large class.

Saying goodbye!

Today was my final session with the 5th and 6th grades. Sort of sad because the 6th grade will scatter to different schools next year so I won't see them again. There are some very sweet 6th graders and I'll miss them. I did run into a former student from Wat Salapoon on the street yesterday...fun.
The 5th and graders wrote letters to students at Noble School in Minneapolis where I volunteer. They included their Thai address hoping to get a pen pal relationship started. There are twice as many students in 5th grade at Noble than in 5th and 6th at Wat Klang so not every Noble student will get a letter.

The year of the dragon!

Thai love to celebrate so they make a big deal out of Chinese New Year's. The family took me to see the excitement last night. The main street of downtown was closed off with hundred's of booths selling, exhibiting, promoting, etc. Several stages were set up for a variety of types of entertainment; Chinese opera, Thai Dancing, singing and more.
The food court had tables and chairs set on the street with 26 food vendors on one side and 12 on the other. I'm guessing that the whole street was closed for a mile and there were many more food vendors interspersed throughout the entire street.
Not only do Thai love to celebrate they also love to eat and shop.

It's just so Thai......

Asked to teach 4th grade first hour I was nicely started when the 4th grade teacher, who is also my supervisor, came to the room. She said that all teachers in Thailand had to watch something on TV. She went to the back of the room and, joined by the principal, turned on the TV. They spent the hour watching as I attempted, with some success, to hold the students interest in the front of the room.

Labor practices in Thailand.

Chinese New Year's is quite a big deal here. Although, when I said "Happy Chinese New Year's" yesterday I was told that all the teachers were either Buddhist or Muslim, as if Chinese could be neither. Anyway, many people celebrate Chinese New Year.
Poo, the twenty five year old daughter in my family, who works in accounting in a building firm, was given Chinese New Year's Day off. The catch was that she had to work Sunday because Monday was the holiday...mandatory.

A turn of events!

Perhaps walking out of class was the right thing to do. Today both the 5th and 6th grades were very attentive. It was actually possible to do some teaching. The teachers are now staying in the class room with me. That not only helps student behavior but it gives the teachers a non-threatening way to practice their English.

Teachers at Wat Klang

The elementary teachers at Wat Klang, grades 1-6, are very good friends. When they pay for things...I wasn't able to determine what it is they pay for...they add 1% and that goes in a kitty. They take money from the kitty to pay for things like their planned trip to Chaing Mai.
The principle is male but all the other teachers are women. The first grade teacher is 56 and wears her hair short in a western style. The other teachers wear dresses or skirts but she is always in slacks. She likes to portray her self as a tom boy and is a widow. It really surprised me to learn today that she is Muslim. When I asked her why she didn't wear a headscarf she said "it's too hot."
Perhaps my biggest influence at the school has been on the teachers proficiency with English. I suggested that next year I just teach the teachers. The designated English teacher has shadowed me much of the time this year. It helps me because I can ask her what a word is in Thai. It helps her as she asks meanings or pronunciations. Her English has improved during the three years I've taught at Wat Klang.

Random observations.

The temperature is mid-nineties, relative humidity in the nineties, dew point at least 80, the sun is out and the woman ahead of me on the sidewalk is wearing black tights.
Eating with Thai is a very communal event. There's an old legend, which may have some truth in it, that in the late nineteenth century the Thai king arranged that a distinguished British clergyman would invite the king to a formal dinner. At the dinner the king carefully observed all of the silver and how it was used at each place setting and coures. One can imagine in British society how many various pieces that would be. After the king dinner said that he had decided to use the two important eating utensils, a fork and a large spoon, and discard the rest. To this day, Thai eat with a spoon, table spoon size, in the right hand and a fork in the left to push food unto the spoon.
Most Thai meals are what we would call family style, with a number of bowls on the table holding a variety of foods. Each person has a shallow bowl or plate filled with rice unto which the food from the bowls on the table is added. All the females at the table, and especially those closest to me, take the responsibility of ladling food from the bowls to my plate and I'm never asked. It only ends when I say I'm full; "Im lau, kup". With most of my meals, either at school with 6+ female teachers or at home with 2 females, I never have to worry about getting enough to eat. I think this practice is a sign of honor.
There are no serving utensils in the entrees on the table. Everyone uses his/her spoon to ladle onto the bed of rice. This means that the food being given me is served with the same spoon with which that woman is eating.
At school the school lunch, which is cooked at school and I usually find very good, is supplemented by snacks provided by the teachers. Some are very good and others?.... Boiled sweet corn is considered a dessert served cold with no salt or butter and individual kernels peeled off and eaten...no treat for me. Deep fried bananas are very good, soy? beans in the pod not so good.

All in the pursuit of science.

"Be at school at 8:00" I was told. "Is that Thai time or American time" I asked? Of course it was Thai time so about 9:00 Kindergarten through 6th grade boarded saung taos, literally in Thai "two benches". These are trucks or pick-ups that have two benches in the back for passengers with a roof, sides with open windows and a standing area in the back. The destination was a science center.
The morning program consisted of two or thee schools with all their students K-6, sitting in one big room watching German science/environmental movies dubbed in Thai. One of the movies was creative enough to hold some attention, the others not so much.
Last night I watched an English language program on TV related to the 8 SE Asian nations, ASEAN cooperation. The focus was the state of education in Thailand. The researcher concluded that Thai schools were not very effective. It reinforced my perceptions after having been in a couple of Thai schools.
The morning left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand I feel bad that these students aren't being served better. On the other the experience was a lark for me. It again gave me an inside experience in Thai culture as the token foreigner.
The teachers are encouraging me to extend by stay because in February they are all going to the northern resort city of Chaing Mai. That would be a very interesting experience. I don't know the purpose of the trip.
Oh, by the way I'm in Bangkok...a real bed for two nights!

"My" house is about half finished in construction. The basic structure is poured concrete with two floors. The downstairs floor, where I sleep, has been tiled but the upstairs has not. Nothing has been painted either inside our out. The plan is to paint the outside peach, the downstairs yellow and the upstairs a combination of blue and yellow.
When the sun gets to the western sky after noon it shines on the west wall of the house. Being dark, bare concrete the wall absorbs the sun's heat. If you put your hand to the wall it feels beyond warm, almost hot, to the touch. This adds a significant amount of heat to the house. When the exterior is painted I think the house will be cooler.

The old water bucket!

The class schedule this morning meant that I got to the teacher's lunch table while the three year-olds were having lunch. Children begin school when they are three. After lunch I noticed that they were lining up for something so I went to investigate. They were lined up in front of a water bucket and there were two cups. They took turns dipping one of the two cups in the bucket for a drink of water before they went out to play.

"Just hit him" she said.

Leading the sixth grade class wasn't going well even with a Thai teacher, though not the sixth grade teacher, in the room. I wrote on the board "If you do not behave I'm leaving." The teacher translated my message so everyone understood. About three minutes later no student was paying attention so I walked out and went to the office and sat down.
About ten minutes later the class came to me with a written statement which they read "Please come back. We are sorry we will behave." I went back and finished the hour with no more problems.
When I saw the sixth grade teacher later she said "You should hit them." "No, I said, I won't do that." The other teachers said that they have similar problems with lack of respect.
My analysis is that they use too much verbal and physical force with meager results. If I were to hit someone I would have had to hit every student in the room because none of them were paying attention. Long, loud lectures don't change student behavior. I'm very interested in helping these students learn English but I'm not interested in forcing them to do it against their will.
It was interesting that this hour followed a very productive one with the 4th grade.

From the floor to a table.

I'm not sleeping on the floor anymore. When I returned home Monday a large 6'X4' with 18" legs had appeared at the house. It's my new sleeping platform, which I understand was borrowed from neighbor. The top of the table is as hard as the floor but it is easier for me to get up.

Whew, passed that test!

It was obvious that something was up at school this morning, even the teachers were dusting and cleaning. There was an air of excitement. My supervision said that an educational official was going to visit the school in relationship to the recent flood. She was due at 11:00 and I was assigned to teach the 5th grade beginning at 10:30.
About 11:10 as I was teaching the class;
"There was a student who went to Tacoma
Intending to earn a diploma
Who said 'because of the rain I cannot remain.
I think I prefer Oklahoma.'"
our distinguished visitor stopped at the door of my classroom. She asked if she could observe from the back of the room and of I course I said "Yes." She watched a little while with her large entourage and then they moved on.
Over lunch I learned that she is the Thai Minister of Education! She told the teachers she liked what I was doing. Perhaps my contract will be renewed. :)

The downside....

The cool dry winds out of China have been replaced with tropical heat and humidly. All I have to do to break a sweat is sit. Understand, I'm not complaining.
After teaching 4th grade this morning I moved over to sixth grade. The first 40 minutes went well but then attention was beginning to slip. I broke out a puzzle, perhaps you've seen it or one like it, this one of antique tractors to be arranged to complete the picture.
The girls got to the puzzle first but before long they were muscled out of the way by the boys, which is typical. So, while the boys struggled unsuccessfully to complete the puzzle, I had a very productive educational time with the girls...who have more intrinsic interest in learning English.
Students are given much opportunity to lead at school. Most of the leadership is done by the girls. I'm going to ask the teachers their interpretation of this.
It appears that women's lot is not easy in Thailand. On the one hand their is very little public harassment of women. Watching Thai movies, which are very violent, with my family I commented on how often women are struck or violently attacked. This led to a discussion of Thai domestic abuse which they say is very common.
Thai Buddhism has some wonderful attributes among which is a racial inclusively. Unlike the Shintoism of Japan which reinforced racial purity there is the opposite in Thai Buddhism. It reflects in the openness in society to other races.
On the other hand Thai Buddhism is very misogynistic. There are nuns but they have very little status. Monks, on the other hand, are deeply revered and accorded great respect. It a woman touches a monk he must go through elaborate purification rites. It seems to me that this dichotomy gets played out in Thai society at the expense of women. This attitude about women is traced back to Buddha, himself. Unlike Jesus, who, properly understood, was the first feminist treating the women of his day as equal to men.

Cola shine.

At breakfast this morning I discovered that we were out of bottled water. The family all drink tap water but all the advice is for us farang to do that. I do wonder how much difference it makes given that the dishes are washed in tap water and it's also used in cooking. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side I brushed my teeth in Cola today...a first for me.
Riding on thew back of the motorbike I noticed that we were coming up behind a JCB front end loader motoring down the street. Riding in the bucket were three female construction workers in typical dress for their work; big floppy hat, bandannas around their faces so only their eyes showed, long sleeved reflective jackets and baggy trousers. As we passed them I glanced down and saw one had brightly painted and manicured nails.

Morning in Ayutthaya

Today's teacher day gives me an opportunity to hang out in Ayutthaya which is typically a one or two day stop on most tourist's itinerary. History is the attraction as Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand until it was destroyed by the Burmese in 1776. Thailand then moved it's capital to Bangkok to be further from Burma.
The old capital was built on an island, one by two miles wide. The island was created by digging a moat where three rivers come together. The Thai resisted the Burmese invasion of the island for a year before finally being defeated. The Burmese then wreaked havoc on the island destroying the temples, palaces and building. It is the remnants of these structures that draws the tourists. The island has been made a special historical district by Thailand and much effort has gone toward preservation and improvements.
"My" house is off the island and looks a bit like pictures of housing developments devastated by foreclosures. There are more vacant or uncompleted houses than ones that are finished. The flood and loss of income stopped construction. Perhaps people will return and complete construction when they have more money.
This morning a Caterpillar road grader was working on the gravel street. Eventually it will be paved with concrete.
Riding on the back of a motorbike to this internet cafe we came up behind an old dump truck loaded with garbage belching black diesel smoke. At least some garbage is being picked up because off the island there is garbage strewn every where. Not very pleasant air to breath on the bike, however.

No wonder I'm having trouble!

With my annual trips to Thailand I've been struggling to learn a bit of Thai. I can say hello and goodbye, order a meal and get what I expected and do a few other things in Thai. However, Thai has 44 consonants and 32 vowels which makes it very difficult. Then, added to the difficulty, there are 5 tones which can change a word spelled the same way to five different meanings. If they used the same script we do it would be a bit easier to learn but they use a writing that has more in common with Sanskrit which I cannot read at all. A few years ago traveling in Malaysia I picked up some words because they used our alphabet.
So...Ill keep trying but have no hope that I'll ever become conversant. With my family at dinner, the only meal we all share, we have lively conversation with much laughter as they work on their English and me on my Thai. Poo and I sit with Thai/English and English/Thai dictionaries and point out words when all else fails. She did study English at the University but does not use it at work so she struggles with pronunciation and vocabulary. When I've communicated and idea to her, often with the aid of my dictionary, she then translates into Thai for her parents. Or, if one of them wants to say something to me and their English isn't adequate, she'll translate for me. We laugh a lot...at my pronunciation of Thai and at their attempts at English.
Wondering where I am? Bangkok for the weekend. (Saturday here.)

Again, it's so Thai.

Today is student day in Thailand so I went with my school to the sub-district gathering that included three other school. There were games for the children like bingo, ring toss, darts but my favorite was bowling with odd shaped coconuts. It was typical Thai happy chaos.
Told to be at school at 8:00 a.m. I arrived at 7:50 and found many students present, About 8:10 the first teacher appeared and around 8:30 we walked the six blocks to the gathering. As each student registered they were given a stuffed animal and their name was put in a box for a door prize.
After the students were registered some official gave a long speech which was totally ignored by everyone. Next up was a 2nd and 3rd group of dancers from another school. They were all gussied up in frilly dresses, make up including lip stick and fancy hairdos. They danced several numbers with a lead singer who looked a bit older. When the music stopped people came forward and gave the singer money. The boring official thanked them and each one in turn curtsied, waied and said "kappen ka"...thank you. But, wait a minute...those last two said "kappen krup" not "kappen ka"....that means they're boys! They sure looked like girls they way they were dressed and made up....it's just so Thai!
Being the only farang , Caucasian, present I became a photo op. Mothers, many families were present, wanted to take my picture with their child or students would ask me to take their picture.
The day ended with drawing for door prizes which lasted an hour. There were stuffed animals, games, toys, canned snack food and a dozen new bikes. Every child left the event with an arm load of toys, stuffed animals, coloring books, etc. There were eight different games and every child came away from every game with a prize. These were four small school so when one thinks of this done all across Thailand it must be enough to create a national economic boost.
Oh, yes, there was food. Thai people don't do anything without eating. Ice cream, snacks of all kinds, and then bags of sticky rice and drumsticks were available around the gathering area. Away from the games there were serving tables serving fulls meals of rice and noodles, I had some good Pad Thai...no one left hungry.
It is much fun to be on the inside of these events which are so much of the Thai school children's experience. It sure beats lying on a beach!

Mai pen rai

A phrase that one often hears in Thailand is 'mai pen rai'. If you ask a Thai to translate it you'll probably hear it means 'cool heart' which is nothing like what we mean when we say cold hearted. Rather it is much more like 'don't get your undies in a bunch' or 'don't sweat it'. There is great value placed on calm demeanor and not getting angry or upset which causes you to lose face. It seems like this is very fundamental to Thai culture. It can create something of a lackadaisical attitude.
This casual attitude is evident at school. Even while a teacher, or the principal himself, is addressing the students in assembly it is obvious that most students are not paying attention. In addition the teachers who are not leading sit at a table nearby an visit loudly with each other. Students and teachers wander around the premises while classes are in session. Usually while I'm teaching there are a cluster of students from other grades standing outside the door watching. A bell rings to begin the day and again after lunch but other than that classes run an our more or less. Students not listening? mai pen rai Students wandering around? mai pen rai Class not start on time? mai pen rai

Teaching mojo returns.

After a few days I'm on track with the students; don't expect them to be where they were at this time last year, change gears regularly for short attention spans, don't worry if they're not all paying attention all the time, work with the willing/eager, stick to the basics, employ tricks to get them to commit individually and when I'm done quit even if there is time left in the hour. Oh, yes, be ready to shake every grubby hand that's offered outside the classroom.
It's a blast!

Teaching mojo returns.

No wonder their socks have holes.

Students take their shoes off outside their classrooms. A quick glance at the number of shoes lined up tells how many students to expect in the room. During the noon free time many go out to play without bothering to put on their shoes. Yesterday there were ten students playing soccer on the concrete in their stocking feet.

Jingle Bells at Wat Klang.

The letters from American students to the students at Wat Klang really challenge the Thai student's English ability. I was helping a student read his American letter the writer wrote about music class and singing. When I came to the word 'singing' I began singing Jingle Bells to illustrate singing and the whole class joined me.
I shouldn't have been surprised. The day I was at Tesco buying my sleeping pad Gai's ten year old son and his friend were singing Jingle Bells on pitch with all the words. Who knows maybe they'll see snow some day.

Just soooo Thai!

There's a new email cafe where tourists hang out that I like because it's not over run with noisy Thai boys playing video games. It's small, 5 computers, and also serves food. Today 4 computers were occupied when I entered and the 5th one would not access the internet.
The owner tried a couple of things which didn't work and then she told me that in ten minutes one that worked would be available. So I took a seat off to the side to wait and she brought me a menu for food! Just soooooooooo Thai.

A cool wind!

Since being in Thailand I've had more time below than above my temperature comfort level. Of course my range is quite high, maybe about 70 as my low and 95 as my high. There's been a cool wind blowing out of China the last few days. Their is no a/c in my house and I wouldn't have turned it on if there was.
It's easy to figure out the relative elevation around Ayutthaya, just look for the high water mark on the fence, tree, wall or post. There are many sandbags, all of which were over run, rotting in the sun. Some of students waited out the flood on the roof of their house.

I thought it sounded like a liturgy.

Every morning the students (grades 1-6) at Wat Klang School gather in the under croft for opening exercises. An English word for the day is taught, today it was ate. There are some mild calisthenics and then some things that all the students say in unison. It's apparent that the upper grades know this very well by heart and the lower grades are learning but all participate. The first was a Muslim litany on some sort but rather lengthy. The second is a Buddhist litany of about the same length. I'd guess about 10% of the students are Muslim. It's hard to tell because they all dress alike. Occasionally a name like Farouk will give me a clue.
After lunch, which they call "eat rice", and play time they all head back to the under croft. Lined up in rows of boys and girls from 6th down to 1st grade they sit on the floor. Their long recitation in unison intrigued me. I learned that they were reciting the multiplication tables in a semi chant...again clear that the youngest ones were only beginning to learn them. This was followed by a long Thai poem again recited in unison.
Today was the big day when I gave they 5th and 6th grade students the American letters from Noble Academy. They were pleased but overwhelmed by the length of the letters. A few 6th graders could read the letter they were given with a little help. The other 6th and 5th graders were lost. My supervisor and I spent the time helping them. The 6th grade teacher has started the class on writing letters back. Given their grasp of English the letters back will be boilerplate. The exercise is a very good English learning experience. It is fun to be a conduit. Some of the students are including their Thai mailing addresses so there may be an on going exchange.

Wat Klang School again.

This morning my supervisor asked me to teach 4th grade the first hour followed by 3rd grade. As I headed off to the 4th grade she stopped me, pointed to the yard where students were busy picking up tree branches and changed the request to 3rd second hour followed by 4th.
The trees on the grounds in front of the school had been pruned and the students, grades 2-6, spent the first house taking all the branches to the end of the grounds where they were piled and burned. Several things struck me about this project. For example, all the students pitched in seemingly with out complaint, moving even the heaviest branches by group effort. There was minimal supervision and there were no students acting uncooperatively. The second grade class, with teacher, was left tending the fire with little obvious concern that some one might be burned. In a half hour the work was done.
While this was happening a band struck up at the temple across the grounds. Leading the parade were Thai women dancing, then the band, followed by a monk dressed in white robes. Bringing up the end of the parade were people bearing gifts. The parade circled the temple three times and then there was a ceremony ordaining the monk in white robes.
At some time in their life most Thai men spend time as a monk. Often they are a monk for three months but the time can vary. After their stint as a monk they return to their former life.
The 3rd grade teacher told me she had to go the the bank?, I think that's what she said, so I would be alone with her 20 3rd graders. At 9:30, the appointed time, I entered the 3rd grade classroom, the teacher was gone, and all the students were working in their workbooks. Class went fine without her. "Hello, my name is___. I am nine years old. I go to Wat Klang School."
Kathy W. gave me many tips on teaching ELL (English language learners) and she sent a cassette tape recorder with me. Today I used it with the 4th grade doing the exercise "Hello, my name is...." This recorder is going to come in very handy in the classroom.

What is different?

Something is different about teaching at Wat Klang this year. However, I'm having some trouble understanding exactly what it is. Some of it may be me. I have thoroughly enjoyed volunteering at Noble Academy all fall. It's easy for me because I don't have to worry about classroom management I get to work either individually with students or in small groups. When I received an email from them today I realize how much I miss them.
At Wat Klang I'm almost always the only teacher in the room. Besides I don't speak their language. With the 4th grade Thursday I was never able to help them understand the question "How old are you?" It didn't help that I didn't have my Thai/English dictionary with me.
While the classes are smaller this year it seems like the students are more distractable. They were just back from their New Year's holiday so that may be a factor. Perhaps the protracted flood may also have an effect. The teachers talk about the flood a lot. I think I can tell that the students are behind compared to last year. The letters that students at Noble Academy wrote to students at War Klang will take much interpreting. My hope that Wat Klang students could write back may be unrealistic.
A note to a Marine in Iowa recovering from back surgery...get over it! Soon, I hope :)

Bangkok R & R

After a night in a real bed and a hot shower I wandered out to see what's up on Silom Rd., a major street one block away. In the block to Silom I pass many sidewalk foodstalls. offering everything from sit down full meals to ala carte chicken, pastries fried as you wait, fresh fruit, fruit juices, fried eggs and omelets, a pastry in big pan they looks like Danish ebleskiever and more. The crowd on the sidewalk rivals the most dense at the state fair. One pedestrian rule prevails on the sidewalk; don't wait for anyone no matter how narrow the opening even as others come from the other way. I tried waiting once and I'd still be there if I hadn't given up and plunged ahead.
Silom Rd, three lanes of traffic each way with the Skytrain track overhead, is bumper to bumper as usual. That allows for foot traffic across the street as cars stop for the jam, just look out for the motorcycles scooting between the stopped cars. Oh, Yes, remember to look to your right because they drive on the right...but do glance left to watch for the motorcycles going the wrong way.
The sidewalks along Silom have stalls selling clothes, shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, lingerie, music CDs, flowers (for altars), etc. In addition there are always people selling raffle tickets. Today they were two sellers peddling sim cards for cell phones, one of which I noticed advertised 3G (I need to explore that.) There are also blind people who've been outfitted with music boxes to accompany their singing as they solicit money. A group of young people are collecting for UNICEF. I haven't seen the elderly woman who tells fortunes this year. Every block or so there is a beggar holding up his/her cup. One woman sells prepackaged sandwiches. All in all...never a dull moment!

A typical school day at Wat Klang.

After the school's opening ceremonies concluded this morning my minder asked if I would teach 5th grade from 8:30-9:30 and 6th grade from 10:30-11:30. Shortly after I began with the 5th grade my minder came to my room and said "The teachers have to go see the monks at 9:30 so will you teach 6th grade then?" This meant that the only class with an adult that hour would be mine...the 6th. At 10:30 after finishing the 6th grade class I was walking by my supervisor's room which is the 4th grade. When she saw me she said "The 4th graders want you to teach them so will you teach them until 11:00?"
Wat Klang is such an interesting comparison with Noble School where I volunteer at home. The students at Wat Klang can be left unsupervised for an hour and they don't get in trouble. Noble students couldn't do that. On the other hand classroom behavior with a teacher present is much worse at Wat Klang than at Noble.

Just like where I grew up!

Mai, Max and I were sitting on the front step when the neighbors across the street came over. We had an animated conversation using the Thai/English dictionaries when necessary. The conversation ranged far and wide and included my showing snow pictures from last winter. The talk had gone on for well over an hour when the neighbors just stood up without a word and walked home. No 'goodbyes' or 'happy to have met you', they just left. It made me feel right at home because that's what they do where I grew up...my personal version of Lake Wobegon .

School at last.

School reopened today (Wednesday) after the new year's holiday. Were the students hyper? Well...yes! The school withstood the flood very well....the ground level was flooded but is such that there wasn't much damage. All the classrooms are on the 2nd level and were not affected. School didn't open until November 29, and I can tell the students are behind compared to other years.
Classes are smaller now as some students have not returned. My 4th grade class has only 9 students and 3rd has 18. Each year gets easier as I learn from past experience.
The teachers gave me a rousing welcome back and clapped when I told them I could stay through January. They all spent the flood hanging out in the upper floor of their houses. School will now be six days a week until summer to compensate for the three months they missed.
Something irregular is happening in school this Friday and Saturday the precludes my teaching. I'm going to go to BKK for a bed and a hot shower. I'll return Sunday.

Shades of Peru!

Some years ago, after hiking some of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru, Lisa and I visited the Amazon rain forest. We stayed in an eco lodge run by indigenous people. Our lodge was in a small clearing and the back was open to the jungle which was just a few feet away. At various times, both night and day, Howler Monkeys would howl...an unearthly sound filtering through the jungle.
It seems Howler Monkeys have been reincarnated as Thai dogs. Dogs are an ever present reality in Thai residential neighborhoods and there's probably not a night that's not interrupted by at least one dog fight below my open window. But the dogs in this neighborhood are into howling, more daytime than at night. Something will set them off and for several minutes they all join in reminding me of Howler Monkeys in Peru.

Tears of gratitude!

During the tour of Gai's water damaged house discussion turned to government help. Such conversations are always fraught with the possibility of misunderstanding. Max speaks about as much English and I do Thai. Gai speaks more English but she's like Chihuahua with a pep pill and all these semi understandable words come pouring out so that I'm usually lost in the wake. Anyway, I came away with the understanding that each family would get 2000B, ca. $60. (A little PS to this paragraph; Last night Max said she was going to get eggs, a fact for which I was happy because she makes the world's best omelette's, and I mentioned cost. "No" she said "free." Turns out, I think, that they were a form of flood relief...30 eggs.)
Max and Gai were talking about repaying me for any help I gave. When I explained that, no, it's gift not a loan and that's it's from friends and my church in America who heard about the flood, they both had the same instantaneous reaction; they both burst into tears. The worry, stress and pressure of trying to recover is so great that this good news overwhelmed them. They also mentioned all the place to which they turned for help to no avail.

Breakast in Ayutthaya

The Thai concept for breakfast is a bit different than in America. Today it was stir fried (A little diversion here: seen on a Thai Menu "Friend Fried"...wonder if he was deep fried? :) anyway, as I was saying, today it was stir fried green onions and asparagus on a bed of rice. It works for me.
Poo left at 6am for her first day back on the job in about four months. She'll be home again at 6pm. I think I mentioned her monthly salary of $200. of which a third goes for bus fare. She's 25, with a university degree in computer science. Now she works in the office of a construction company and her duties include accounting and marketing.

Reality strikes.

Poo, the twenty something daughter, returned this morning from several days at the temple. Cheered by the good news that she can resume her old job in I.T. tomorrow I thought that now the family will take a huge step toward financial recovery. Silly me!
Reality struck when I learned that her salary is 6000B ($200) per month. Certainly that will be helpful but seems rather little in overcoming the effects of the flood. Oh, yes, there's also the fact that bus fare to and from work, and hour each way, is 100B...each way. So that's at least a third of her salary.

Courtesy visit.

Two years ago while I was here I lived with Nick, an American from Maine. We stayed in a little house in the compound of an extended family. It's the one I've of which I've posted pictures both before and during the flood. Nick, married a Thai woman and is still living and teaching here.
Yesterday I went to pay my respects to that family. They are the most solidly middle class of any of the people I know here and I wondered how they came through the flood. Their compound shows the effects of the water but they appear to be OK though they had to evacuate. He has a large Honda motorcycle and that was damaged. They have children, their daughter is 16 and their son is 17, and their English is quite good.

One mystery less more unexplained.

Knowing that my hosts spent three months living on the 2nd story of their house with over six feet of water downstairs I wondered ow they did it? Max cooks on a hotplate so moving that upstairs was not a problem. But how did they get food? Yesterday they showed me around the outside of their house explaining how they hope to finish it someday. Under the house was a small, perhaps 8', boat. There is a little second story balcony from which they could enter the boat and paddle off in search of food. But, as deep as the water was, where was food for sale?
How they kept electricity upstairs is also a mystery. The water line on the electricity post is clearly above their electric meter.

Obvious distress!

First time visitors to Ayutthaya likely would not notice much of the floods effects. The temples are again open to visitors and tourists are beginning to return. Many of the hotels and guesthouses are open and evidence of the flood has been excised. Thai cities always have a lot of litter and trash strewn about in open spaces.
However, now in my fourth stay here I can see a radical difference. Effects of the flood shows up in everything from the high water marks on walls, to more litter and trash and many abandoned buildings. The house where I stay is in a new development and about half of the houses on the street have been abandoned, at least for now, in various stages of construction. The same house abandonment was obvious on Gai's street as well...though those were all houses that had been completed.

No wonder I didn't like it!

Much of Thai food is wonderfully good. Part of the adventure of living with a family is eating what they eat minus my peculiar restrictions; no fish, cucumbers or extremely spicy food. At the table Max loads our plates with rice and then we take food from the other bowls on the table to eat with our rice. Last night there was something dark and gelatinous in the pork soup which I didn't like. The soup appeared again this morning and now with Poo, the 20 something daughter home from the temple, I asked her what it was. She answered in Thai, picked up the Thai English dictionary and translated "pig's blood." OK...I don't need to do that again, though the soup was good.
I've started keeping a notebook with me at the table to record the dishes I really like. Then when in a Thai place in America I'll know what to order.