Finally settled

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Well here I am, two months later, finally somewhat acclimated to Thailand. Pre-departure, I was kindly warned that you're basically thrown into the lions den immediately upon arrival. While several refer to the "lion's den" to be a slighted negative connotation, it's more so my own personal encryption of capacities. In this case, my capacities were how quickly could I adapt to a brand new foreign culture? Considering i'm 100% linguistically and phonetically challenged in the Thai department, how do I communicate? After 30 hours of travel, can I really sit through a week of orientation fresh off the plane? And then there's that point, the key point, the all mighty premise of why I came to Thailand in the first place..... to teach. Not only are you fresh off the flight, thrown into a week of orientation (mind you i'm highly confident that we all could have done without 5 of those 6 days) little time to breathe, eat, and actually see Bangkok, I flew straight to Phuket on the final day of orientation and began lesson planning for the school's starting date ; which was just a few days shy of my arrival. Yea.... that my friends was my lion's den. But, like everyone else, I made it through much better than anticipated. So two months later, i've sorted out my apartment, work permit, purchasing a motorbike (learning to drive in this traffic, is a other topic), medical test, becoming a teacher for these beautiful, insane kids, and creating a sense of normalcy in order to just live this life! My lion's den, is my justification for not providing an update sooner (wink wink).



In truth, I feel that skimping on the details from orientation is far from depriving anyone of what my life was that week. So, in order to efficiently deliver my perception of Bangkok, I give you this; Energetic, hot, smoggy, hustling, cosmopolitan city, architecture to the 9's enveloped in a culture that resided below. I've seen this before, i've walked through streets and communities that don't merge fluidly. Instead, one walk of life is clearly distinguished from another, all in the same 20 feet. All the same, I appreciate this. It's so far fetched from life at home. Yes, there's always the unofficial social caste system, in every single country visible in this world. The difference is, at home, the "social caste systems" are divided, extremely divided. And they are divided here too, and some areas completely divided just like home. But here, in Bangkok there's a chance, because like many other cities i've walked, there's a developing immersion, and that is encouraging change that we all need to witness.



During orientation, I was extremely fortunate to room with a girl Brittany. She turned out to be one of my kindred spirits (did I not call that or what in my last post?!) and one of those people that I know i'll stay connected with throughout life! We both arrived early so we explored Bangkok for a bit before orientation and checked out Wat Pho temple with a few others. Additionally, throughout the week orientation took us to the Grand Palace. I will say this, Wat Pho Temple and the Grand Palace are kickass, majestic establishments with so much history, design, and colorful detail. However, the heat is killer which caused me to epically fail at retaining any valuable information. I've actually never sweat so much in my life. I drank liter after liter after liter those days, and not once needed the bathroom. Why? Because I was drenched head to toe of salty, sticky sweat. It was a beautiful experience.... truly. On another up, we went on a river boat ride through Kwae river and spent the night in the Kachanaburi province which with the additive of cold beer, was absolutely serene bliss. Did I mention beer is always served with ice here? It's an essential that actually becomes quite enjoyable! Another noteworthy topic, you gotta respect the feet here. Take your shoes off before going into stores/shops/offices etc. with the exception of some places such as government agencies. My students always take their shoes off before entering my classroom, as I am the Teacher, I get to keep mine on!



At last, let me introduce you to my school, Satree Phuket. It's safe to say I hit the karma jackpot with this one! First off, Satree is located in Phuket Town, in the Phuket province. That means i've got a plethora of beaches to drive to and am just minutes from the pier should I choose to visit an island on the weekend. Additionally, Satree Phuket is considered to be a mighty prestigious school in Thailand, which features its International Program (IP). This program is similar to our immersion schools back home, all the classes are taught in English (this is the program I teach in). Our students range from Mattayom 1 - 6 (7th - 12th grade). Side note: I'm going to tear down a stereotype right here, right now. I was assuming i'd be tall, its an Asian staple that most of us inherited in the states. Fact: 90% of my students are taller than me..... so there's that! Although the students are in an English program, their English levels definitely vary from no English to fluent. So managing a classroom with that variation is probably one of the most frustrating situations we are faced with here. However it's all the more reason to stay motivated as the teacher and push them to reach competitive levels. Originally when I arrived, I taught English to M1, M2, M4 and M5. But then.... BUT THEN...... I was provided with a brand new schedule, two weeks later. Nevermind the connections I made with the current classes, nevermind the lesson plans I had already structured, nevermind my long desired sense of routine! Admittedly, I was pissed. Absolutely pissed. Here's the thing though, the entirety of this endeavor is about acquiring the skills to assimilate to new environments, and accept the challenges rather than let them transpire into conflict. With this said, I let myself loathe in self pity for a solid 15 minutes, then let it go. After all, this is Thailand. So you smile and purge the negativity. As much as I really enjoyed the classes and students I had, I sincerely love my new ones. I now teach English and Social Studies to M1's M2's and M6's. Social studies/history is what I thrive in. This is the type of material that riles me up and allows me to finally execute my concepts, knowledge and passion with a purpose!



I also believe the deities have blessed me as the staff of the school is amazing. It's so overwhelmingly obvious that the people running the IP program are putting all of their effort and energy feasible. The IP program has a lot of potential, and they are capitalizing on every opportunity in order to further develop and create a truly remarkable program for these students. The schools in Thailand vary greatly from those in the states. The similarities and differences are polar opposites. Yes, there are students in every country that act out and create constant distractions. Thankfully, all my years of watching kids left me with no hesitation in implementing ways to address these circumstances. I will say that yelling works just about never. The difference in behavior here is that i've yet to experience any aggression. The kids are more conservative, but the chatter is un-fucking-believable. If you can manage to get all the kids to quiet down at once, for more than 5 minutes, you're a god and frankly not human. I've also noticed that the kids are absolutely fascinated with you, until you kick them out of class and make them lose face. Facebook and Instagram requests will start popping up left and right. They've got no filter, so they're opinion is for all to hear! Some of my M6's (seniors) have started calling me Kim Kardashian, "for fashion and other reasons Ajarn". Other reasons being they're not used to seeing so much junk in a trunk on this side of the world. Ajarn is the word for teacher, so during class you'll hear kids yelling "AJARN, AJARN, AJARN!!!" once in awhile they'll throw out your name, but majority of time we're just Ajarn. Now this next difference, is a bit difficult to fathom without any judgement whatsoever. Students here, are not allowed to fail. What do you mean they can't fail? I mean they can't fail. If they fail exams, they take them until they pass. If they don't do their work, or don't score high enough, you make damn sure to give them something so that you can give them points and pass them. Otherwise, someone else will. Holding a kid back a grade is just totally unheard of. Failing is an unrecognizable approach in Thailand. So what about the ones that just screw around all the time? How do you inspire a student who could care less about class work, homework and exams, if they know they'll move up anyways? I haven't figured it out yet. My most peaceful solution so far is this, "if you don't care about being here, I don't care. But that means you can't come into my classroom and ruin it for the kids who do actually care. So sit your butt down or leave until you decide you care". What I do know is managing several classes as a teacher takes an unanticipated amount of patience, confidence, intent and determination. If you know this, you'll figure out a solution that tailors to your classroom eventually. I finally understand what teachers go through. I finally have a minor grasp on how much work sacrifice and effort they put into their classrooms worldwide, its no joke. Needless to say, my classroom is always filled with a lot of hardworking sweethearts. I'm extremely fortunate to be working with a culture that genuinely cares about not only the well-being of their classmates, but of their teacher as well. And the care that my students show me, is unforgettable.



Two months. It's been forever, yet it's been no time at all. Constant change leaves little time for comfort. I find that once the flight stops, and the comfort becomes constant, there's nothing left. So on goes with the continuity of circulating change!

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