Random Pictures

Student teacher raking.

Random student.

Daily flag raising at school.

Students sitting.

With the 6th grade.

Noi, grade 6, took the previous pic so I took her pic.

Fish on ice at the supermarket. 

Mango frosty.

Sewing machine man  doing business at a rented spot on the sidewalk.  He's there  6 days  a week.

A Nice Surprise!

    With my day off from school the family planned an outing to a temple...no surprise there. When in SE Asia the locals always want to take visitors to the temple.  Perhaps I've seen 1000 temples and there is a fair amount of differences between them. For example ethnic differences make Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese, and Chinese, etc., temples unique.
    It was a significant drive.  We left the house at 9;30 a.m. and, with a stop for lunch, arrived at 1:00. The main temple did not open until 2:00 so we looked around the complex which is huge.  It boasts 127 toilets, though I suspect they counted stalls as a toilet, and of course, none of which have paper. It's property includes 48,000 acres.
   2:00 p.m. arrived and we entered the main temple.  This cynical curmudgeon was pleasantly surprised.  It is the most beautiful Buddhist temple that I have seen.  Approximately 60 feet wide and 300 feet long there are seated Buddha statues at each end.  The ceilings and walls are covered with mirrors and the floor is polished marble.  The supporting columns are covered with small, diamond shaped mirrors...and there are hundreds of columns.  Lights glisten everywhere with sparkling brilliance.  I could congruently tell my hosts that I thought it was spectacular.  I'll include some pictures, which of course, do not do it justice.
   After 15 minutes of looking, and few prayers by the Buddhists, we were ready to head for home. A long drive for a quick look.
   The family wanted to try out a new restaurant, near the house, on our way home.  It was a lovely setting on a small lake, with good food at reasonable prices as we enjoyed the sunset.  A fine end to an interesting day that took a little chip out of my cynicism.

Spectacular inside.

The other direction.

More.

Floating restaurant. 

Whole fish.

Duck cheeks. 

   

For Noble Students

At the Tiger Temple

Dogs in Shirts

   Thailand is over run with dogs.  Seeing all the dogs it was easy for me to think that they were strays.  Then the weather turned cold and suddenly I'm seeing many dogs wearing shirts.  Apparently dog owners think that temperatures dropping into the lower 60s makes it too cold for their dog.  At least it shows that someone cares for them.
    The family went rice shopping today and came home with a 15 kilo bag.  Figuring about 1.8 lbs. to the kilo that should be about 25 lbs. by my estimate. (You can do the math.)  This will last them one month and cost 350 baht or about $10.00.  Unless there are noodles, every meal features rice.

Phy Ed class with student teacher.

15 kilos of rice.

Asian Cold Wave

  Snow in Burma, Laos and Taiwan and here in supposedly tropical Thailand this morning it was 61 degrees.  Having only tropical clothes with me I did shiver a bit.  But the teachers were traumatized. They though I came to school without a coat because I'm immune to cold.  They still think that, but the truth is that I don't have anything heavier to wear than a shirt.
   The wind was whipping around the school but I thought that once we got inside the classroom, closed the doors and windows it might be quite comfortable.  I'd forgotten that both sides of the room have only lattice work walls beginning at the door top and reaching to the ceiling.  So, even with the doors and windows closed the wind blew through the room.
   My solution was to keep the students on their feet and moving for the hour.  Naturally they were happy with that.  Perhaps I even accomplished a bit of teaching.

Third grade (left side). 

Third grade (right side).

Mission Partially Accomplished

      In addition to the mission of teaching school here in Ayutthaya, I bear gifts, from Grace University Lutheran and other friends, for the benefit of people in Thailand.  Last year we paid a year's tuition for Mai, now 17, as she pursues her education at a high school/junior college.  Today, using funds entrusted to me, I paid for another year of school for her.  We also provide emergency financial support for Mai's family so that she can continue her studies and not have to leave school to work full time. She does have a part time job.
     Perwa is Mai's sister who is in grade 4.  Using the same source of  funds I paid Perwa's annual school fees.  Both girls are very motivated students and Perwa is number 1, in her class.  She also works part time.
    Mai's and Perwa's family operate a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled taxi). Their mother, Gai, also has a full time job with typical Thai pay...$300. per month.  The tuk-tuk business is tourist dependent.  Tourist numbers are down for a variety of reasons; army coup, violence in the beach areas, competition from neighboring countries and the collapse of the Russian rouble.  The family struggles to stay afloat financially but with our help they are able to send their daughters to school.  They are profoundly grateful for the support they receive.

Paying Perwa's school fees.

Perwa with her teacher...he has 45 students in his room.

Perwa in her classroom.

Depositing Mai's tuition.

With Mai (on my left) and her friends at KFC<

Things are different,

    At Noble Academy, the charter school where I volunteer in Minnesota, computers are every where.  Even the white board at the front of the room is computerized.  Students do much of their study using computer programs.
   In Ayutthaya there are no computers in the classroom.  There is a computer lab now and there have been some updates in it.  It is the only room in school that is air conditioned.  Shared by the whole school students don't get much time in it. The primary teaching aid in the classroom is a white board with dry erase markers.
  When groups of students are to be transported to another school no one reserves a school bus.  The custodian piles them into his pickup and if they don't all fit he makes two trips.  Safety is not a major concern...things happen, karma, it's just the way it is. On one field trip we did take a "saang tauw", literally "two bench" which is a truck with two benches in the back.
   When I complete a lesson in a class I leave even if there is no teacher in the room.  Students are often left during school time with no adult in the room.  When I enter a room to begin a lesson the students stand and say in unison "Good morning teacher, how are you?"  They remain standing until I've greeted them and told them they may sit. When I've completed my lesson the stand and say "Thank you teacher.  Goodbye."
   If I ask a student a question he/she cannot answer the class will inevitably give the answer.  It is almost impossible to get them to refrain from doing this.  If there is a teacher in the room she will often give the answer.  Discovering what an individual students knows or understands is very difficult. Rote learning, repetition and memorization as a group and favored learning techniques.
   The teachers tell me that they like my methodology but I don't see any evidence that they are willing to copy it.

Ready for a ride.

All aboard.

Third grade in the computer lab.

Always ready to pose.

Pictures

Student s bowing.

Cat's favorite sleeping place is the dust pan.

Sweeping, a daily duty of students.

With 17 year old Mai for whom we provide tuition.

Student.

Bangkok sidewalk...elevated train track in upper right.

Slow Recovery

       In 2011 Thailand suffered a devastating flood.  For three months my family lived on the 2nd floor of their house while the downstairs held 7 feet of flood water.  They could only leave their house by boat, exiting from a 2nd floor porch.  Many people have still not recovered from the effects of that flood.
        My house is at the end of a dead end street with 4 or 5 blocks distance to another street.  There are over 20 partially completed,  but abandoned houses, in that distance. They were under construction at the time of the flood.  After the flood the owners have not returned to finish construction. Some, like the house nearest us, are just a skeletons (see picture below).  Last year there was work on it but after a little was done it now stands abandoned again. Others abandoned houses look almost complete.  
         Recovery has been hampered by the military coup a year and a half ago.  The junta has seriously mismanaged the economy so many suffer.  The old adage "that when elephants fight ants suffer" aptly captures in metaphor the situation here.

My street.

My house.

School yard dog.

Students.

Skeleton house next door.

Students listening.

Changes

    A blog post recently mentioned that for the first time in my years of teaching here I have a printed schedule.  Today was my second day using the printed schedule and before classes commenced I was told the schedule was changed.  Another opportunity to employ my mantra "All will be revealed."
    There are changes in the lunch room this year.  Now there are two cooks and they do all the cooking.  No more teachers and students leaving class to help in the kitchen.  They also do all the clean up including washing dishes, stacking chairs and sweeping the floor.  Students used to all of that.  I observed one of the cooks using the same broom to sweep the floor and the crumbs from the table.  I had wondered with the teachers last year if it was good use of teachers and students time to leave class for kitchen work.

My school shining in the sun.

Twin third graders.

Fun on the playground.

 

Now THAT was different!

   There are similarities between my life at the house here in Thailand and at home in America. Sometimes I'm in the information loop, sometimes I'm out of it and other times I don't even know there is a loop.  Yesterday was probably the latter.
   Imagine the scene.  Having finished teaching for the day I'm in my comfortable clothes at the computer catching up on my email.  A man carrying a large bag comes to the door.  Met welcomes him and shows him to a sewing machine table.  Putting 2 and 2 together I get 5.  With 4 commercial sewing machines in the room I assume he's here to repair one of them.
   Continuing on online I'm aware that Met and man are holding a cat.  "That's odd" I think suddenly paying attention.  The man pulls a syringe from his bag and sticks the cat.  The cat lets out a piercing shriek and violently struggles to free itself.  It soon passes out and a second cat gets the same routine. Finally, I'm told that he's here to spay these young cats, which he does on the sewing machine table.
    It's not over with spaying.  When the anesthesia begins to wear off the cats go berserk, attacking everything in sight. One of them is still frantically paranoid this morning.  However, 4 cats in the house are enough so I sympathize with the plan.  
    You may ask what this cost...will if you didn't you should.  The fee was 200B per cat so the total bill was less than $12,  I'd love to know the man's credentials, but, I never will.  

Doing surgery.

In thr recovery room.

Teaching

        A printed schedule for the week?   In eight years of teaching school in Thailand, today, for the first time, I was given a printed schedule...or as it says "schedual".  Now I know which grade I'll teach and what hour for the whole week. I think it is because the students haven't been testing very well. To address that issue the 6th grade class is going to another location apparently for intensive instruction three days a week. Our 4th grade teacher who is my supervisor(?) leaves our school to do some of the instruction.  That, of course, leaves our 4th grade students without a teacher. Perhaps you can read my dubiousness between the lines. Something does need to be done because there are some 6th graders here who can neither read nor write.

     Whatever the problems I continue to have fun teaching.  There are occasional glimpses that I've taught them something over the years.  There certainly is a difference between the third graders, whom I met with for the first time today, and the sixth graders.  Naturally this is not all my doing.

Fifth grade students responding to something funny.

Posing.

The school seen from the temple.

Too Much Will Be Revealed!

     Taking my mantra the next step, too much was revealed.   It was a wonderful warm reception when I arrived at school from both teachers and students.  The teachers report that students often ask when I'm coming.  There was one new student in class and a few have left.  Sixth grade has a new teacher. Knowing that the teachers draw from their own resources I thought I could contribute help to students and families in need anonymously in that way.  During lunch I gave a hundred Baht ($3.00) to test it out,  At the afternoon assembly a teacher called 5 students forward and gave each 20B, Then all the students turned to me and applauded. Well,,,back to the drawing boards on that one.

Hua Hin and back again.

   It was a long mini-bus ride, 4 hours one way, for a short stay at the beach.  But then how long would I want to sit under an umbrella, on an uncomfortable beach chair and watch the surf?  I surveyed the family and we all agreed that we preferred last years destination, Cha Am, to Hua Hin.
   Speaking for myself I found Cha Am to be better for a number of reasons.  It's smaller and much more laid back.  Most of the visitors are Thai.  Hua Hin is populated by a large number of European retirees with few Thai visitors.  Norwegian flags abound and some store list their special sales offerings in Norwegian.  If I want to see Norwegians or other Europeans I'll go to Europe.
   We had a quaint, inexpensive (cheap) hotel which was very clean.  Our rooms were on the 6th floor and there was an elevator.  However, the elevator only ran between floors two and seven.so you had to climb the stairs one floor to use it.  The rationale for such a design escapes me.

On the beach.