Last
I left off, I had just reached Thawangpha. It’s been 11 days since then, and a
lot has transpired. Ideally, I’d be writing more often so I wouldn’t have to
try and cram so much into one post, and in the process, probably leave things
out, but I’ve just been too busy.
The semester started on Wednesday,
May 14. Every morning, we are required to report in at 7:30 AM, 7:50 at the
latest. There’s a sheet where we have to write our names, initials, and the
time, except not the actual time. I still don’t really understand. Cody and I
arrived at the same time, so I put in the same time on the first day, but this
was wrong, so now I always look at the time above mine, and put at least one
minute later. Something about Thai time.
I wore my long sleeve dress shirts
and an undershirt the first week, which I’ve learned is very uncomfortable and
unrealistic. Even in shorts and a t-shirt I’m always sweating. I sweat so I
shower. I sweat while I shower. I get out of the shower and I sweat. I always
sweat. I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that I’ll always be sweating no
matter what. That’s what 90 + degrees on the reg does to you.
However, I am incredibly grateful
that we had air conditioning units installed last week, so that helps mitigate
some of the sweat at night while I’m sleeping. Unfortunately I can’t get the
full benefit of the unit because my room isn’t sealed so there’s plenty of ways
for the cool air to escape and the hot air to get in. It’s still way better than
nothing and I will take it any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Speaking of my apartment, it is a
single room with a bathroom and a balcony of sorts out back that overlooks
fields and hills. The view is stunning. As I mentioned before, the apartment
isn’t sealed, so along with the hot air, there’s plenty of room for all types
of critters to get in and out as they please. Some of them I’m cool with, but
others leave me feeling a little unsettled that they might be crawling all over
me in the middle of the night. The first week I was covered in bug bites and my
skin was irritated all over. Last weekend I got a bug net though, and that has
gone a long way in saving my skin.
Bug bites galore!
One
of the teachers, Kru Noi (the second), was nice enough to give me Systral
Cream, which I’ve been applying to the bites when I can remember. Some of the
insect denizens include lots of ants (I actually just found out today that
they’re eating one of my desks), crickets, moths, spiders, caterpillars, and
beetles. To help combat their numbers, I also have plenty of geckos that roam
the walls. There are your average, run-of-the-mill geckos, and then there are
the big daddies, the Tokays. I’ve got one that regularly sleeps in my room
during the day since they are nocturnal creatures. At night he goes on the
hunt, and he’s usually nowhere to be found in the morning. However, come lunch
time, he’s usually right back behind the mattress propped against the wall that
he calls home. Sometimes he chills behind the mirror in my bathroom as well. He’s
keeping me company as I type.
In his usual spot behind the mattress.
But
I digress. Back to school. So after we check in, there is an assembly every
morning where the students line up outside building 4 (the main administration
building that also houses the English department office on the second floor),
everyone sings what I believe is the national anthem, and announcements are
made. Cody and I gave brief introduction speeches on the first day that went
something like this:
“Sawatdee
khrab.
Sabaai
dee mai khrab?
Phom
cheu Ben khrab.
Phom
maa jaak America khrab.
Yin
dee thee dai ruu jak khrab.”
Some
jazz in English about being happy to be teaching English there…
“Khawb
khun khrab.
Khao
jai mai khrab?”
Translation:
Hello.
How
are you?
My
name is Ben.
I
am from America.
It’s
nice to meet you.
Thank
you.
Do
you understand?
One thing to note about this copy of
my speech is that there are no tone marks on the words. Thai is a tonal
language with five tones, and the tones are extremely important, but I don’t
want to get too much into that (not that I could if I wanted to).
You already know what time it is! Thawangpha STAND UP!
First period starts at 8:20 AM, and
there are eight periods throughout the day with a break for lunch from 12 PM to
1 PM. I teach Matthayoms (secondary school grades) 3-6. Within each grade, the
students are divided into sections by skill level with 1 being the highest, and
8 being the lowest I believe. The majority of my classes are Matthayoms 3 and
4, but I do teach Matthayoms 5/1 (this is actually a Science class in English),
5/6, 5/7, 5/8, and 6/1. In addition to
English and Science, I teach ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)
studies. The students I teach range in age from 14 to 17. In total, I teach 19
class periods a weeks with anywhere from 35 to 50 students per class. It’s
difficult, but I’m trying to learn as many of my students’ names as possible.
I’ve got about three down. Just another 700 some odd to go.
Teaching is exhausting! Usually by
the end of the day, all I want to do is eat, take a shower, and go to bed!
However, I think it’s just a matter of adjusting. I’m typically finding myself
with more energy at the end of each day as time goes by and I’m falling into a
rhythm of sorts. I’ve been so tired that I’ve completely neglected any kind of
exercise other than what I get walking around the school’s campus or riding my
bike into town, so I’m going to have to do something about that soon.
Lastly, as a minor footnote, there
was a military coup this past week, so there’s been a curfew from 10 PM to 5
AM. Other than that, not much has changed other than us getting this past
Friday off from school. Cody and I took advantage of this day off by doing some
sightseeing in Nan and meeting up with some friends from OEG!
Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant!
