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Published: July 22nd 2007
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I haven't been as good at blogging as I would have thought, so here's a quick catch-up from the past few weeks.
Teaching has gotten a lot better. Everything everyone told me has come true in terms of the kids testing you at first then all of the sudden coming around once they like and respect you. I made the mistake of trying to be too funny and friendly at first so had to bring out the mean teacher for a while to get them into the classroom mode. i credit most of the discipline to the whistle which i now employ like my right arm. i could yell myself hoarse and they wouldn't be quiet but you toot that thing once and its silence. they especially hate it when you blow it right in their eardrum. i figure that that's a better course of action than dropkicking some of the 7 year old boys, which was the preferred method in my fantasies. i have a feeling that the presence alone of that fantasy means i'm probably not cut out for teaching in the long run.
i've had a great couple weekends recently. met up with a group of
River boat at floating market
After we bought all the food, we got on this boat and cruised up and down the river eating. the teachers from my tefl course in bangkok to watch the opening game of the asian cup: thailand vs. iraq. great energy in the stadium and a ton of fun to watch. the following weekend, candida came to ayutthaya. we took a long bike ride through the ruins that ended with lunch on the river in the sleeping grounds for the monks of a nearby wat. that night one of the teachers had a bonfire and bbq at his house. the next day the principal from my school took us to the floating market outside of bangkok. it felt like stepping back into the 1800's. there were about 30 floating huts with longboats in between and rails to walk on. merchants sold food from the longboats and huts. we bought bags of food and took it onto a boat which took us on a 2 hour tour down the river while we ate. thai culture is based around the act of eating. they eat six small meals a day and its almost always communal style. food is always a part of a social experience-there are very few bars here, only restaurants.
Kimmy, my friend from san francisco who has
Erawan Waterfalls
Most thai ppl don't wear bathing suits. They go in fully clothed then just air dry. Nuts! been living in australia for the past year and is now traveling, got here on the 16th. It has been amazing to have her here, not only as a face from home but to have someone to share experiences with. i came to thailand to be on my own after so many years of having such a wonderful network of people around me at all times that i was worried i had become too dependant on it. in a way i've realized that i had because it's been much harder than i was prepared for. however i do think that a major factor playing into that is the cultural and language differences as well. not being able to communicate with anyone on a daily basis on any real level, while not connecting that well with any of the other teachers in ayutthaya has definitely led to some feelings of isolation. however, i think ill look back on that greatfully as its pushed me to spend a lot of time thinking and reading, which i probably wouldn't have done if i had automatically jumped into a comfortable scenario.
kimmy stayed in ayutthaya for a few days and we explored the
ruins and restaurants on the river. last thursday night we came into bangkok to see a muay thai match. we sat with about 300 old thai men shouting bets and smoking cigars around a caged pit arena where the boxers fought. each fight lasts only about 10 minutes and is based on a point system. they do a traditional dance beforehand giving respect to their teachers and buddha then fight. it's interesting because the fights always start out restrained and deliberate and slowly move towards animal instinct. on friday we took off for kanchanburi. we stayed on the river kwai in a floating hut for 3 dollars a night. on saturday we went to the erawan waterfalls and took a 3 km hike up the mountain through seven tiers of waterfalls. we climbed the last tier through the waterfall and slide down the natural rock slides of the second tier. that night we smoked a hookah at a reggae bar and got massages. tough life. today we took an eight hour train ride over the bridge over the river kwai (which is the start of mae khong) and over the death highway. the railway is called that because 60,000 POWS
and over 200,000 asian laborers built it for the japanese during WWI in order to allow them to connect thailand to burma. the laborers worked in extremely dangerous and cruel conditions and over 20% of them died. it's breathtakingly beautiful and unbelieveable to think of people constructing it as it literally snakes around steep rock for miles. the landscape of the trip was amazing. i felt like i was in the 1920's on this old creaking train and almost completely uninhabited wilderness.
phew, long entry. hope everyone is doing great. love you guys. off to sports day at school tomorrow. tug of war and ball hops. considering kimmy and i are about four times the size of the thai teachers and eight times the size of the kids, we're a highly sought after commodity.
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