So I bought a camera. A nice camera at that - and I feel both extremely guilty about the purchase and extremely happy. I never made large purchases like this in the States so making one in Thailand, where I wasn't even expecting to see ice, leaves me feeling undeserving....but I am happy that I now get to share pictures from my life with you all! The picture to the left is where I get to run every day. A couple of weeks ago I needed to go to school and instead of being picked up by someone, I needed to get there by myself. I wasn't entirely sure which roads through my village led to the school but as I was exploring the area, I found this forest and an incredible expanse of green fields. I feel like I have written about this somewhere so excuse me if it was through a previous blog. I was told not to come this way though because "it is dangerous". Why is it dangerous? I asked "because there are bad men that drink whiskey" they replied. Me: But you are drinking whiskey right now (and in fact everyone drinks whiskey at every opportunity they get) Them: Oh it is dangerous because of the dogs. Me: The dogs in the village chase me more than the dogs over there. Them: Staring at me "it is dangerous over there, don't go". Needless to say, I still run over there.
The next picture is at one of my schools. This is the school that is in my village - Baan Kok Udom. I love being here. I get such an amazing feeling when I walk into the building. I WANT to come to school to work and to be with the people.
This was on one day I just came to do some lesson planning. It started to pour just before I wanted to leave so I waited for a while until it passed and decided for a photo op instead. While I am on the topic of school - I have spent the last week and a half lesson planning with my co-teachers. Here is the list of what we have actually planned: Let me just say that if this were the United States, our lack of planning would not fly. It is quite a challenge for me to not have an organized plan, but this is through my own choice. I have so many ideas of what to do in the classroom -l esson plans, games, songs, classroom organizational tips - but I don't want to just tell the teacher my ideas. I want them to, at least in part, come from her. So I hang out. We talk about what we think about the curriculm and how we should start the school year. I throw out questions in an attempt to get my co-teachers to think about other ideas but if they don't necessarily get to my idea, thats ok. For example,
I think it would be a really good idea to start of the year with some sort of syllabus so that the students have a wide angle lens at what the school year is going to kind of look like. The problem here is that there is absolutely no concept of a syllabus. There is absolutely no collection of strategy teaching from previous years. So in addition to it being impossible on the teachers part to come up with a syllabus, it is impossible for me to even help come up with a syllabus because there really isn't even a curriculum. It is all so scattered and brain boggling. On the first day of school there will be no teaching - not because of our lack of plan but because in Thailand the students are required to do the maintance of the school alongside the teachers. Most of the classrooms, with three days before school starts, are not anywhere near ready - but that's ok because the first day is designated to clean and organize which the students must help with. Students are also required to clean and sweep the grounds of the school as well. At the school I worked at in Sakeo, classes were cancelled because things needed to be cleaned. Anyway, enough of that. The above picture is of one of the bathrooms at Kok Udom.
The next picture is of me and some of the kids in the village. The little boy that I am holding is just about the cutest kid I have ever met in my entire life. He has the biggest smile on his face all the time and asks me question after question - most of the time they are repeats from previous days but it is adorible nonetheless. This was taken the day I got my camera. They love taking pictures and were thrilled at the idea. I really wish I could tell you their names but I can't. Thai's all have extremely long and difficult names to pronounce so all are given a chu len (literally name play - nickname) at birth as well. If I can't remember their one syllable nicknames, I don't think I'm ever going to remember their full names either!! Whenever I meet someone and tell them I live in Moo 9 (which is the village number) they always respond with "Oh, there are many children there!" My god are there ever! I don't think I could be placed in any better village. I have such a great opportunity to continue learning after school for the students if they want and also to be connected to the families of the students as well. Apparrantly, divorce is a very prominent problem here and it seems, similarly as in the States, any support the children can get is needed. I have so many ideas of things to do in my village outside of scho
ol and I look forward to the progression of things in general to initiate my ideas. This next picture is one of the garden I made in my backyard. Not only am I a teacher and a community worker but also "dichan ben chow suan" (a farmer!) I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya, and green beans (which are just about the best vegetable here in Thailand!) I made this garden about a week ago and already (thanks to the constantly pouring rain) all have already begun to show leaves. the green beans are already about an inch tall. I had a fun experience making this garden though. One neigher comes up to my fence and though it is obvious what Im doing she asks "what are you doing?" I tell her I'm making a garden and that I'm planting these things. She said "Oh no you shouldn't do that. If you bend down you are never going to get back up because you will have a sore back". I told her I was young and that I won't get a sore back but even if I do, its ok, I'm just planting for fun anyway - I have nothing else to do today. She responded "Oh no, you shouldn't be planting. The manwees (gnat like bugs) are going to eat everything all up". I told her that if the manwees eat everything all up, its ok, I'm just planting for fun. I have nothing else to do anyway. Then she says "Oh no, you shouldn't be doing that. you should be sleeping or reading. that is much more fun" I told her someti
mes, smiled and then walked away. In a couple of weeks, I'll bring her some of my green beans. The next picture is at a wedding that I went to a couple of days ago. I had no idea who the people were - I just get dragged to these things. Thai weddings are all the same - well, I should say, all large Thai events are all the same. A large stage is set up, a singer and dancers, and a catering group is hired. The dancers dress up in very non riap roy clothing and dance in a style more reminiscent of MTV rather than traditional Thai dancing. The music is ridiculously loud and obnoxious and the food is served in the same fashion - Chinese family style where appetizers are served first and rice served last. Without fail the appetizers include some form of egg, typically boiled, some sort of port, usually hot dog type blobs, some other strange things that I choose not to eat, and peanuts. We are given a spoon, a bowl, and chop sticks. In this picture I am eating a peanut with chop sticks. The girl next to me is named Bao. She is the daughter of the landlord and the one that I mentioned in a previous blog. I said that she was 27.......yah, she 17. I don't know how I mixed up "sip jet" and "yee sip jet" She could pass for 27 though don't you think? The wedding ended up being quite a frustrating night, as many Thai events end up being. Thai events become a place to drink and pretty much everyone partakes in drinking whiskey. I was told many times by men that I was going home with them which is very frustrating but I can simply say no and walk away but the drunk women pose more of a frustration simply because it is appropriate for them to touch me. So they will grab my arm and pull me where they want me and constantly talk in my face. This is a strange place to end but it is almost dark and I need to get on home so I hope that everyone is well!!
So I bought a camera. A nice camera at that - and I feel both extremely guilty about the purchase and extremely happy. I never made large purchases like this in the States so making one in Thailand, where I wasn't even expecting to see ice, leaves me feeling undeserving....but I am happy that I now get to share pictures from my life with you all! The picture to the left is where I get to run every day. A couple of weeks ago I needed to go to school and instead of being picked up by someone, I needed to get there by myself. I wasn't entirely sure which roads through my village led to the school but as I was exploring the area, I found this forest and an incredible expanse of green fields. I feel like I have written about this somewhere so excuse me if it was through a previous blog. I was told not to come this way though because "it is dangerous". Why is it dangerous? I asked "because there are bad men that drink whiskey" they replied. Me: But you are drinking whiskey right now (and in fact everyone drinks whiskey at every opportunity they get) Them: Oh it is dangerous because of the dogs. Me: The dogs in the village chase me more than the dogs over there. Them: Staring at me "it is dangerous over there, don't go". Needless to say, I still run over there. 
The next picture is at one of my schools. This is the school that is in my village - Baan Kok Udom. I love being here. I get such an amazing feeling when I walk into the building. I WANT to come to school to work and to be with the people. This was on one day I just came to do some lesson planning. It started to pour just before I wanted to leave so I waited for a while until it passed and decided for a photo op instead. While I am on the topic of school - I have spent the last week and a half lesson planning with my co-teachers. Here is the list of what we have actually planned: Let me just say that if this were the United States, our lack of planning would not fly. It is quite a challenge for me to not have an organized plan, but this is through my own choice. I have so many ideas of what to do in the classroom -l esson plans, games, songs, classroom organizational tips - but I don't want to just tell the teacher my ideas. I want them to, at least in part, come from her. So I hang out. We talk about what we think about the curriculm and how we should start the school year. I throw out questions in an attempt to get my co-teachers to think about other ideas but if they don't necessarily get to my idea, thats ok. For example, 
I think it would be a really good idea to start of the year with some sort of syllabus so that the students have a wide angle lens at what the school year is going to kind of look like. The problem here is that there is absolutely no concept of a syllabus. There is absolutely no collection of strategy teaching from previous years. So in addition to it being impossible on the teachers part to come up with a syllabus, it is impossible for me to even help come up with a syllabus because there really isn't even a curriculum. It is all so scattered and brain boggling. On the first day of school there will be no teaching - not because of our lack of plan but because in Thailand the students are required to do the maintance of the school alongside the teachers. Most of the classrooms, with three days before school starts, are not anywhere near ready - but that's ok because the first day is designated to clean and organize which the students must help with. Students are also required to clean and sweep the grounds of the school as well. At the school I worked at in Sakeo, classes were cancelled because things needed to be cleaned. Anyway, enough of that. The above picture is of one of the bathrooms at Kok Udom. 
The next picture is of me and some of the kids in the village. The little boy that I am holding is just about the cutest kid I have ever met in my entire life. He has the biggest smile on his face all the time and asks me question after question - most of the time they are repeats from previous days but it is adorible nonetheless. This was taken the day I got my camera. They love taking pictures and were thrilled at the idea. I really wish I could tell you their names but I can't. Thai's all have extremely long and difficult names to pronounce so all are given a chu len (literally name play - nickname) at birth as well. If I can't remember their one syllable nicknames, I don't think I'm ever going to remember their full names either!! Whenever I meet someone and tell them I live in Moo 9 (which is the village number) they always respond with "Oh, there are many children there!" My god are there ever! I don't think I could be placed in any better village. I have such a great opportunity to continue learning after school for the students if they want and also to be connected to the families of the students as well. Apparrantly, divorce is a very prominent problem here and it seems, similarly as in the States, any support the children can get is needed. I have so many ideas of things to do in my village outside of scho
ol and I look forward to the progression of things in general to initiate my ideas. This next picture is one of the garden I made in my backyard. Not only am I a teacher and a community worker but also "dichan ben chow suan" (a farmer!) I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya, and green beans (which are just about the best vegetable here in Thailand!) I made this garden about a week ago and already (thanks to the constantly pouring rain) all have already begun to show leaves. the green beans are already about an inch tall. I had a fun experience making this garden though. One neigher comes up to my fence and though it is obvious what Im doing she asks "what are you doing?" I tell her I'm making a garden and that I'm planting these things. She said "Oh no you shouldn't do that. If you bend down you are never going to get back up because you will have a sore back". I told her I was young and that I won't get a sore back but even if I do, its ok, I'm just planting for fun anyway - I have nothing else to do today. She responded "Oh no, you shouldn't be planting. The manwees (gnat like bugs) are going to eat everything all up". I told her that if the manwees eat everything all up, its ok, I'm just planting for fun. I have nothing else to do anyway. Then she says "Oh no, you shouldn't be doing that. you should be sleeping or reading. that is much more fun" I told her someti
mes, smiled and then walked away. In a couple of weeks, I'll bring her some of my green beans. The next picture is at a wedding that I went to a couple of days ago. I had no idea who the people were - I just get dragged to these things. Thai weddings are all the same - well, I should say, all large Thai events are all the same. A large stage is set up, a singer and dancers, and a catering group is hired. The dancers dress up in very non riap roy clothing and dance in a style more reminiscent of MTV rather than traditional Thai dancing. The music is ridiculously loud and obnoxious and the food is served in the same fashion - Chinese family style where appetizers are served first and rice served last. Without fail the appetizers include some form of egg, typically boiled, some sort of port, usually hot dog type blobs, some other strange things that I choose not to eat, and peanuts. We are given a spoon, a bowl, and chop sticks. In this picture I am eating a peanut with chop sticks. The girl next to me is named Bao. She is the daughter of the landlord and the one that I mentioned in a previous blog. I said that she was 27.......yah, she 17. I don't know how I mixed up "sip jet" and "yee sip jet" She could pass for 27 though don't you think? The wedding ended up being quite a frustrating night, as many Thai events end up being. Thai events become a place to drink and pretty much everyone partakes in drinking whiskey. I was told many times by men that I was going home with them which is very frustrating but I can simply say no and walk away but the drunk women pose more of a frustration simply because it is appropriate for them to touch me. So they will grab my arm and pull me where they want me and constantly talk in my face. This is a strange place to end but it is almost dark and I need to get on home so I hope that everyone is well!! 
1 comment:
I'm ecstatic that you have a camera of your own!
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