Elephant

Gary and I were in a taxi recently, going out to dinner to celebrate a coworkers birthday.  We were stuck in after work traffic so I was a bit bored.  I glanced out the window and there right beside me was an elephant!  With one person aboard.  Just moving slowly with the cars, taxis, bikes and motor scooters.


Apparently they are trying to reduce this type of sighting, on high traffic roads.  It is also a bit of an attraction for tourist so folks were begging with elephants, so it is illegal.  However, I am curious just how one removes an elephant from a 8 lane highway during rush hour!

Hired Help

Today we paid our Mae Bon for her first month of employment.  She works for us 5 days a week, and we pay her the equivalent of $300.  I have struggled with this small amount of pay for quite a while- yet here is what I know now:
-this is the going rate in our community, if a mae bon is paid more than others she may have trouble with the other mae bons who will try to sabotage her work ( put bleach in the washer) so she will be fired and then they can get her job which has a better salary
-some mae bons work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day
-there is a pecking order for mae bons, based on your nationality and who you know
- if one mae bon helps another get hired, then the newly hired mae bon is expected to repay the first mae bon with some hours of labor
-they do like to take a long lunch and visit  :)
- the $300 we pay our mae bon is close to what a college graduate earns in Thailand...
so it is all relative

The bathrooms tell it all

In my 25 years as a teacher, I've been to a lot of high schools.  If you showed me a couple of boy's bathrooms first, you wouldn't need to show or tell me much else to give me a feel for what the high school was like.  ISB is no exception.  Check out the stone counter tops, the glass mirrors (rather than polished metal), the absolute lack of graffiti.  These are the three bathrooms closest to my classroom.

I Saw The Glass Half Empty

       After two days of teaching the academic lab class, I can see that the glass is really half full.  There are only 1-5 students each class and they are generally students that had low grades last year.  A teacher from the states might assume that most would be a handfull, but that is not the case.  This may be the "honeymoon phase" teachers are so well aware of, but they have all been polite and for the most part extremely hard working.  One student had open heart surgery last year so her grades slipped.  Another girls is taking a full load so has to come in after class.  She is half Swiss and half Thai.  She speaks Swiss, Thai, French, Italian, and German.  She just happened to overload herself and fell behind.  September 15th is the first grade check.  I should be up to about 10-15 students per class at that point.  I'm sure there will be a few goof-offs but in most american classrooms they would not be considered much of a problem.  I'll keep you posted on this topic. 
       I currently have one to two periods each day with no students.  I would go stir crazy if the lack of students continued all year.  At this point it is a blessing because I'm trying to take care of things like getting a computer and printer for myself, computers, books and supplies for the class, and learn where things are and how they work. 
       I also get a feel for what the support teachers go through that work at Cascade High School.  Some of the teachers here keep repeating "Johnny just has to work harder".  Of course, that part is a no-brainer.  Most so far have been very helpfull and have given me good insight to how there class works and what is expected of the students.

Working Man

Sawat dee khrap,                                                                                                       Aug 19, 2010

      Tomorrow I start my first job in Thailand.  I'm the academic lab support person.  If a student at ISB has poor grades they are placed on academic probation and required to come to academic lab during their free period or after school.  Some students have learning differences that cause the poor grades but most that come to my class have poor study habits or are choosing not to do the work.  Sounds like a tough position but I'm ready to take it on.  Hate me or love me, they'll work while I have them. 
       I won't make as much money as Kristy but there is no planning or papers to grade.  Just a 7am - 3pm position.  Except Fridays I can leave at a little after 2pm.  It's sort of an unwritten rule that teachers can bug out early.  I'm hooking up with a group that plays golf on Fridays.  I wont play every Friday but it's nice to know I can leave early if I want. 
       The weather has cooled a bit here and I think I'm getting a little used to the heat so the last few days have felt pretty nice.  The air conditioner isn't being used as much in the girls rooms so I think they are getting used to it too.
       Our mae baan (maid) has helped make the transition easy.  She works very hard and is a fabulous cook.  But on the cleaning side of things I've had to reprioritize her energies, she was doing things like ironing T-shirts and pillow cases.  She was cleaning the toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and vacuuming and washing all the floors EVERY DAY.  This in addition to washing the sheets once a week, and bath towels and pool towels any time we don't hang them up. She washes clothes, windows, makes beds, you name it.  I'm afraid to pick my feet up for any length of time for fear she might try washing my heels and toes.  She is scheduled from 9-6, but is here by 8:45 and has already gone to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.  She has a wonderful dinner on the table every night at 5:00 unless we go out.  There is a board next to the little American market a few blocks away that is mostly posted with advertisements for mae baans needing work, so I'm sure she appreciates having a job.  All this for $320 per month.
       Sawat dee khrap is a general phrase for good morning, good bye, good day, good evening, hello, later, see ya, etc.  And for the ladies it would be sawat dee kha

So. . . Sawat dee khrap,

Woods in Thailand



   

So far, so good

First day of school picture, the girls were a little apprehensive this year.

I'm just starting my first blog.  This is meant to be as much a diary as a way to connect with family and friends.  I've tried facebook, and I'm not sure it's my cup of tea.  I'll continue with it for awhile.  Most of what you see on facebook will be taken from this blog.

So here we go.

Friday night August 13th
Several days ago I was shopping at Carrefour, a French version of something like Fred Meyer.  They've got a little of everything.  When I'm shopping here I talk with caucasians who can speak both Thai and English to help me with my shopping.  In this regard I met a women named Audrey.  She has a daughter Ahnika's age, so she asked for my phone number in the thought of getting the two daughters together.  You see, the expat population is so transient here that you have to be proactive when it comes to making friends.  Every year you lose about 1/4 of your friends.  If you didn't work hard to constantly replace them you would soon be out of friends.  This is the way it has been since we arrived.  People come up to you and introduce themselves.  They constantly offer help and advice.  They give you stuff, invite you on bike rides, take you out for a beer, loan you tools, loan you bikes, and invite you to wonderful dinners as Audrey and her husband did Friday night.  What a beautiful house, 6 bedrooms, 8 baths, a swimming pool etc.  We had a great time, but . . .

Saturday morning August 14th
I woke up about 4am with Montezuma's revenge.  I'm now the third of the Wood house to have this intestinal battle between Thai and American microorganisms.  For me the battle was quick (about 24 hours).  I'm hoping the Thais won so that I don't have to go through this again.  The battle in Kristy has raged for 7 days now. 

Sunday night August 15th
Usually our Mae Baan (maid) does the laundry, but there was some collateral damage from the intestinal wars that I thought I should take car of myself before she came in on Monday.  I was on my way back from the laundry room for the third time when a night guard held up his hand as if to say stop, and called out "snake".  Needless to say I immediately heeded his warning.  Two guards were in the process of trying to capture a 3 foot long cobra that was within 6 feet of where I had walked on my earlier trips to the laundry room.  I watched as they tried to root it out and capture it or kill it.  We've been told they can sell the snake and get more money for it when they capture it alive.  These guys didn't seem to have the tools to capture it so they kill it with an 8ft piece of bamboo.  The picture I will attempt to post shows the snake dead, or so we thought.  Just after the picture was taken it moved again so they whacked it a few more times.  Then they made a noose out of some twine that they attached to the end of the stick.  I left at this point but wow that was exciting.  You're probably thinking that I was lucky not to have been bitten by this snake.  Keep in mind that they are not out hunting people.  It was obvious it wanted nothing to do with these guards and only showed its hood and teeth when they were poking at it to get it out of its hiding place.  We are to big for them to eat so they won't waste their precious venom on us unless provoked, stepped on etc.  Either way, I'm glad there is one less cobra around our apartment.

First day of school pictures are such a pain