Pondering........

     This last foray to Thailand was the most satisfying yet.  Why? You may ask and I'm not sure.  Likely  it was a combination of factors.  Eight years in the same school and seven living with the same family are certainly important factors.  Through trial and error and some helpful coaching I've learned much about teaching in an environment where teacher and student do not share a common language.  An increase in my rudimentary Thai certainly helps.  A principal who is interested in what I do in the classroom, dedicated to improving her English skills and wants to relate to me is a significant factor.
   "My" family is under stress.  Thirty year old Poe's husband left her seven months ago, just as their first child, a boy nicknamed 'Nice' because mom wants him to be nice, was born.  Thailand has no child support laws so she cannot count on any support from the boy's father.  He shows no interest in his son, this delightful child who quickly bonded with me.  Grandma Met, earns her income as a masseuse and in-home seamstress.  She's on call with many massage companies but at best gets two clients a day which earns her about $6.00 each.  She has had no sewing, for at least two months, because the man who supplies her with sewing was in a serious car accident. She expects to resume sewing soon.  This leaves a family of four dependent on the father/grandfather who makes $300. a month doing hospital maintenance.
   Relationships grow very deep over as much time as seven years.  While we continue to learn about each other there are so many ways we live in a deep level of comfort.  This is also a part of the satisfaction of this trip.
   It was easier to come home this time.  That reality seems to sit in opposition to "the best trip yet." It has not always been easy to come home.  Emotionally it is not always easy to make the transition from the reality that I so deeply to inhabit in Thailand to my "real" life in America.   This year I was more ready to come home, either 'in spite of', or, 'because of', it being the most satisfying yet.  This needs further pondering.

Holding Nice.

Grandma with Nice.

Nice in his favorite scooter chair.

Mother and son.

Sleeping in the hammock he uses at nap time.

On Age And Aging

   "Pastor Al, how old do you feel on the inside?'   Erma A., age 92 asked me.  Giving it some thought I replied "19 perhaps."  Then I asked "how old do you feel. Erma?"  She said "about 21."     That reflects my experience...with plenty o physical signs of aging, my internal clock doesn't seem to change much.
    Teaching in Thailand is a bit of a step back in time.  The primitive school. with wooden desks and chairs and no electronic aids, in many ways reprise the experience of my first eight years of school in a one room country school house.  We had electricity but only for lights, and, after 4th grade, for the fan of the new oil stove.   I have no memory of plugging anything into an electrical receptacle . There were paths instead of baths, no running water and no telephone.   It seems that Thai pedagogy is not much different from what I experienced in country school.  When the teachers in Thailand want to transport students it's customary to pile them into the back of a pick-up truck and drive off a practice that's recognizable from my youth.
   When I think of the circumstance of my childhood it makes me feel almost ancient.  School as I described it and life on the farm are far different from today's reality.  Dad would wait until the Kentucky Blue Grass, June grass we called it, in our yard headed it out.  Then he would mow the yard,..we had a large one...with horse mower, rake it with a horse rake and pitch it into a hay rack for cattle fodder.  Just imagine mowing a city or suburban lawn with a horse mower!
   Our farm was electrified when I was three but we didn't get indoor plumbing until I was ten...yes, a path instead of a bath. Ah yes, the olden days!     So how old am I to have lived that life?...and yet internally still a young man.  It still shocks me when  I hear people fifteen years my junior described as "elderly."  

Computer lab at Wat Klang.

Wat Klang school.

4th grade...notice the wooden desks.

3rd grade, I'm in the green shirt.

Taken when I was in third grade.

Motorbike Madness

   They call them motorbikes but we'd call them motorcycles.  They are mostly small to medium sized, beginning at about 1200 CCs and going up.  They are ubiquitous in South East Asia and no less so in Thailand.  Coming in a variety of  configurations, many of which are three-wheeled which they call samalors, they are the most common form of transportation.  As many as five people ride on the same bike and there are often riders in the sidecars.
   The samalors most commonly have sidecars which are used for everything from selling ice cream to hauling bricks.  Many are equipped as portable kitchens for cooking food for sale.  Some have the engine in the back with a two wheeled carrier in front.
   Motorbikes have their own rules of the road.  When other vehicular traffic stops these bikes do not. They are a particular hazard when pedestrians cross through stopped traffic as they zoom between the stopped vehicles heading for the front of the line at a traffic light.  If the street is too congested they often ride on the sidewalk,  One way street signs do not pertain to them.
  Many years ago I was riding on a motorbike taxi in Saigon during rush hour.  We hadn't gone very far when the driver reached back and pulled my knees into the bike.  Tolerances were small enough that this was necessary so I wouldn't bang my knee on another vehicle.
  These motorbikes even serve as wreckers moving stalled bikes.  With a rider on each seat the rescuing motorbike positions behind the stalled one and the rider of that bike extends his leg to push the dead one.
    On a Bangkok street I saw a motorbike equipped with a metal handle behind the driver.  Clinging to the metal handle was a woman in a wheel chair as they sped down the street.  It must have been an exciting ride, never mind the exhaust fumes from the engine spewing in her face.

A broom sellers pedal powered samalor.

The engine in the back.

Poe's motorbike which is typical.  Note the security chain.

Blog Hiatus

     Sunday, February 12, 20016.  Today I being my journey home after my 9th year of teaching English in Thailand.  I'll be in Bangkok a couple of days and arrive home on the 15th.  While I'm in transit I will not have access to my blog.  Back in the states I will resume blogging and post more pictures.
    The 5th graders at Noble Academy asked for pictures of any interesting critters.  There'a good one for them today.

We were having lunch by a pond when this Monitor Lizard came to visit. 

Well fed.

Banyan tree, perhaps like the one under which Buddha received enlightenment.   

Charitable Report

    Grace University Lutheran and other friends send money with me to help Thai people in need.  Here is a partial list of the uses of that money.  Cooking gas for a widow, motorbike tires for a student, a coat for a student, a year's school tuition for two girls, a water filter for a widow, aid for needy students, money for a 17 year old girl who hadn't eaten for three days, money for clothes for a widow, diapers and formula for a single mom, and cash gifts to destitute neighbors.  
   Recipients are brought to tears when they hear it is from unseen friends in America.  On their behalf a heartfelt THANK YOU!  KUPEN KRUP! to all who made this generosity possible.

With 6th grade Muslim girls.

My lunch; omelette, cashew chicken and rice. 

Girl weeping at my farewll.

Noble 5th asked for a picture of a village...this will have to do.

Driving Lessons

  I admit to being a bit of Nazi about some of the finer points of driving.  Riding with Met, who does the driving when her husband is at work, is a bit of challenge for me.  For the most part she does well, especially for a neophyte who has only been driving three years.  However, she has one habit which I could no longer tolerate.  When braking to a stop she keeps the brake pedal depressed until the car shudders to a stop,
   Why did I wait so long?  It only took about ten minutes to coach her into braking to a smooth stop. With that accomplished we decided it was time for Poo (pronounced Poe) to learn to drive.  We were at site designed for teaching beginning drivers, so why not?   She's 30, and has been riding motorbikes since she was about 12, so,  is both familiar with the rules of the road, and, with handling a motorized vehicle.  Piece of cake!   Driving, steering and stopping all came naturally.  Backing? Well, that is a work in progress but when she thinks of what she'd do with a motorbike it went well. We'll do some more practice tomorrow.  Met is grateful because she'd be too nervous to teach and father? too busy I guess.

Nice, age 7 months.

Sugar cane. 

Charcoal grill on table under cooking pot.

Greens boiling in water meat; bacon and pork liver grilled.

If One Buddha Statue is Good.....

    It has to be the Crystal Palace (Cathedral?) of temples and, after having been to hundreds of temples I'd say it is the most spectacular I've seen,  The ceiling and walls are mirrors and there are about 180 pillars, floor to ceiling, covered with small, diamond shaped mirrors.  The effect is striking. The grounds are ringed with hundreds of 10 foot high Buddha statues.
    Karma was with us today.  We arrived at the temple at 11:30 and it closed for two hours at 11:45.  Suddenly the lights went out an we were all ushered outside.  It was worth a look but fifteen minutes was sufficient.
   A monk engaged me in conversation, and, when he learned I was American, as is often the case, he wanted to talk about American politics.  The consensus among those who have raised the issue is respect for Obama and distrust of Trump.  They see Trump as favoring whites over minorities, recognizing that they would not be on the "inside" group.  Trump's relationship with Russia puzzles them.
    Leaving the Crystal temple we drove to a mountain top, think high hill, temple for a view of the countryside.  The view was good but somewhat limited by smoke and humidity.  My temple quota is filled for another year (lifetime?)  But, tomorrow it would be much worse with Buddha's birthday on a Saturday.

Crystal Temple.

Temple Grounds.

Buy gold leave and smear on statue gives you heavenly merit.

Toss a coin in Buddha's navel for a year of good luck. I did five coins some I'm good for five years.

View from the hill.

Full Suitcase Full Heart

    My suitcase was full of gifts when I came to Thailand  and after the farewell at school it is full of gifts and cards for the trip home.  They sent me off in grand style again, at a full school assembly. Speeches from the principal, teachers and students expressed appreciation and affection.  Among the gifts was one that was particularly popular with the assembly; a plaid shirt like they wear as a uniform.  It delighted me, too.
   The 5th and 6th grades are about evenly divided between Buddhists and Muslims.  English took a backseat to hanging out. playing games, taking pictures and saying goodbyes while I taught(?) the Muslims the first hour and the Buddhists the second..  I'm not likely to see any of the 6th graders again, though, one of last years 6th graders came looking for me yesterday after I had left school.  I'm very sorry I missed her.
   Plans for the next two days have flipped so we'll go to the temple tomorrow and the palace Saturday. The palace is a shorter trip and a repairman is scheduled at the house Saturday.  Saturday being Buddha's birthday, the temple would be jammed so I like the change.

Some of the Muslim 5th and 6th grade,

Munid, who likes neither ice cream or pizza did 80 sit ups without a rest.

Muslim boys.

My special friend.

The princiapal making a presentation.

My new uniform.

 

Interesting Wrinkle

    Tomorrow, my last day teaching, the Buddhist students will go to the temple to make merit.  This disrupts my schedule of teaching the 5th and 6th grades.  The solution? I will teach the Muslim 5th and 6th graders together the first hour while the Buddhists are at the temple.  The second hour I will teach the Buddhist 5th and 6th graders.
    Who's who?   I have some idea of who are Muslim from previous experience and by some names.  Fahout, Ussama, Abedin, Fadine, Munid, Faraa, Kabem, Omasin, Nadeam, Aran, and Kabeem are Muslim.  It will be interesting to see who is and who isn't Muslim.  The girls do not wear ha-jibs and they all wear the same uniforms.  I can detect no fault lines based on religion with friendships between the groups. It all seems matter of fact with little attention paid.  I'm guessing that it will divide at about 50-50.
    There are no Christians, Hindus, Jews or other religions at school, When I engaged the teachers in conversation about other religions it's almost as if they had never thought about such a thing.  But, they assured me, that if there were others, they'd be given the same consideration as the Buddhists and Muslims.  In the all-school gatherings in the morning and at noon they all chant a Buddhist liturgy and then all chant a Muslim one.  Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand with basic religious tolerance.

Students giving me Thank You cards.

Fun with 3rd grade.

3rd grade with Anne, the teacher.

4th grade.

Twins May and Mot (Mot means ant.)

Holding Ice, she 3 feet tall,  I had the boys do push ups and asked the girls if they wanted to do it,  Ice volunteered and did five which was more than some of the boys could do.

Winding Down

    Buddha has a birthday, who would have guessed?  And who might have guessed that it would be an occasion to call off school?  The birthday, observed, is Saturday so there is no school Friday.   Therefore, my last day of school is Thursday...two days left.
    I'll stay in Ayutthaya until Sunday, then go to Bangkok and fly home on Wednesday.  My reward for staying two extra days in Ayutthaya?  Perhaps you can guess?  Saturday we go to a temple. :) And it's Buddha's birthday and a Saturday so it will be overrun with people. Oh yes, and Friday I'm going to give Met a driving lesson,  That should be a stitch.
    For a neophyte she's a good driver.  Perhaps years of riding a motorbike was good training.  But, she holds the brake until a complete stop which makes the car shudder, is annoying and hard on the brakes.  Perhaps we should video the training?
 

Wid, 6th grade, wrote an essay in English about himself and recited to me from memory.  He wants to be an English teacher.

Teachers at lunch.

Teachers Ahm and Mariam.

This 5yr old really misses her mom but she finds me a good substitute for mom.

Wat Chia Wattanaram, lies along my route to school.

Modify the Environment

   Teachers know all about modifying the environment to change behavior.  I guess monks do too. There's a large concrete area in front of the school and next to the temple side chapel.  For as long as I've been teaching at Wat Klang, seven years until now, it had been the gathering place for the school's opening ceremonies.  But, not this year.
    The concrete slab is festooned with trees in planters effectively breaking up the open space.  The school's opening exercises have been moved unto the grass close to the school.  Soccer has moved to the large grassy area across the concrete far from the chapel...and that's the idea.  The head monk didn't like the soccer ball hitting the chapel so he modified the environment with the planters and trees.  There's no space left for soccer so they are forced unto the grass.
 
    With the class lined up boys on one side of the room and girls on the other we tossed a ball back and forth.  "I throw the ball to Saroh."  There are three times as many girls as boys.  However, they carefully distributed their throws so each girl was included...not all throws were to the most popular. Except, I stopped the game before one girl had been included.  Natachea said "Teacher, teach Samee no ball!"  I quickly tossed it to Samee and the all was well.

Soccer barrier.

Teaching 3rd grade.

With 3rd grade.

Mini-Bus Follies

    Minibuses are 16 passenger, Toyota Vans.  They run as faster alternatives to the regular, large buses that crisscross both cities and the countryside. With my limited use of Thai, navigating them has been much trial and error.  There are many minibus companies that ply the same routes charging identical prices.  For many years I always used the same company that operated from the Victory Monument in Bangkok.  Since they were moved to the huge bus terminal at Mo Chit I can choose from several companies.  The main difference for me is where they discharge passengers in Ayutthaya.  By trial and error I found the company that leaves me at my preferred place in there.
   This morning I took a taxi to the bus depot where I walked through the cavernous terminal building, outside past rows and rows of big buses. past the first company of minibuses to the ones I wanted.  At the ticket booth I tried to buy one ticket, $2:00, but, pointing to me suitcase they signaled my I must buy two. Reluctantly I bought two remembering last week when I did, and for the first time ever in my experience, the bus was almost empty...5 passengers.  They motioned me to an empty chair to wait.  Five minutes later the bus pulled up and I went to enter but they motioned me to the side. After loading some other passengers they took my suitcase and placed it beside the driver.  Then they told the man who was sitting in the front seat to get in the back and put me up front, which has always been my preferred seat, but they have never moved anyone for me.
  In countless trips I don't think I've ever had a driver who held a steady accelerator.  In a straightaway they constantly depress and release the accelerator.  How annoying is that?   With traffic using the left side of the road the right lanes are the fast ones.  Typically the drivers will try to drive at right lane speed but using the left lanes so they are constantly weaving around vehicles.  What's wrong with just driving in the right lane?  It's not unusual for them to refuel in-route...propane.   Could the bus be prepared before the trip?   I know, I know...I'm getting cranky.

Helping the principal with English.

6th grade girls checking their English.

Watering the boulevard on Silom Rd., Bangkok.

Breaking up curb in front of Guesthouse with pneumatic hammer.

Loading the truck by hand.

6th grade boys work on their English.