As Aretha says..."RES-PE-CT"

You think Thai students are respective of their teachers? YOU HAVE NO IDEA!

1) When seeing a teacher in school they constantly "Wai" them. (like a mini bow). And this happens all the time, from class to class, on the way to the bathroom, etc.

2) When students walk past the teacher (after wai-ing them) they always duck to be lower than the teacher. Some of the students are DEF taller than me also!

3) When talking to the teacher and the teacher is sitting, the students sit on their knees. Not on chairs, but on their knees. I had a student come to me this week (with his mom) to make up everything he hadn't turned in. While I went through all my grades and lesson plans he just sat on the floor waiting.  And he's the tallest kid in my class!

4)  At the start of each class, the whole class stands up to greet the teacher in unison. At the end of each class, the class stands up and thanks the teacher. Oh, You're So Welcome Class!!

So yeah, do Thai kids respect their teachers? I would give a big thumbs up.

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes :)

New Year Resolution(s)

While everyone starts the New Year with crazy Resolutions like "I will work out everyday" or "I will only what chocolate on Sunday" and blah blah, I USUALLY don't participate in making false promises.

Until this year....I made 2 resolutions. They were more like "to do" lists.

Resolution 1) GET A BICYCLE (aka Pushbike)

I was told there was a free used bike in town from a fellow teacher.  The catch? I just had to go pick it up. Not so hard, right? Well, months have gone by, and still no bike in my possession. I decided that I would make this 'project' my resolution. So, as of the first of the year - the bike has moved and is at a different house. Not a problem, the teacher who is watching over it now said to just come on by and pick it up. We made arrangements for me to come by, and what do you know - he tells me he looked at the bike and there are NO PEDALS! So there's no way for me to ride it home. So - I've got to find pedals, which will be across town by Tuk Tuk. I obv. haven't been to do that yet, soooo no bike.

BUT - what do you know....a new opportunity arose! On my ride home from school, my boss told me he had a Mountain Bike he was selling for 1000baht (about $30) if I was interested.  I asked if I could try it out over the weekend, and if I liked it I would buy it. He said that was no problem, and I can just keep it until someone wants to buy it. EVEN BETTER!

So I headed to his place, picked up the bike, and was on my way!

Resolution 1 - CHECK! (for now)

Resolution 2) GO TO KOH LAMPHU

If you follow me on twitter (@ammislan) then you know every weekend I post about something called Koh Lamphu. You probably are wondering WTF is that? Well, it's an island in my town that is like a huge park. You get there by a little bridge (no cars) and they have tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic areas, canoes, and running paths. So of course, I have been DYING to go. It's just a little far to walk, and I feel silly taking a Tuk Tuk to get there. Take a taxi to the gym? Crazy!

Whelp, since I got the bike on Friday, I took it STRAIGHT TO KOH LAMPHU! Over the Surat Bridge, lame a left, over the footbridge, and I was there! On the island! I rode around and saw how AWESOME it was. I parked the bike by some tables, and sat down with Barbie (my Kindle) and had dinner (I brought myself). I took some pictures while I was visiting:

Entrance to Koh Lamphu

The sun setting through the tree while I take a dinner break

Tons of trees on the water

Loking at Surat bridge while standing on Koh Lamphu bridge

It was quite a peaceful place, and I am QUITE looking forward to going back. Maybe a few evenings a week I'll ride up, or even ride up and hop off for a run!

Resolution 2 - CHECK!

I hope the rest of you are being as productive with your resolutions as I am!! :)

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes :)

To have a knife, or not to have a knife. THAT is the question.

 Let's talk Thai utensils. When eating, what do westerners usually use? A fork, knife, and spoon, right? Correct. Mostly just a fork and knife though. We save the spoon for soup or ice-cream.

Well...NOT IN THIS COUNTRY!

When eating in Thailand, the utensils used are spoon, fork, and occasionally chopsticks. Missing something? You mean a knife? Yup...those are pretty much non-existent.

Pork? Use a fork and spoon
You want to buy breaded meat (from the market), and have a Thai person cut it? That's what scissors are for (YES - SCISSORS!).


I think I have used a knife a few times...in western style restaurants.

Oh - but not only are there no knives, but they use spoons and forks the exact opposite way we do. Eating a rice dish? Use the fork to push it into the spoon. Yes, THE SPOON is the main utensil here. Unless it's soup - then you use chop sticks. Anyone find that weird? I did...but now I am used to it and I won't need to buy any knives as part of a kitchen set once I'm back in the USofA.

Biggest disappointment in all this? Knife is the only utensil I know how to say in Thai - and I can't even use it :(

Meet = Knife

Random post, I know.

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes

Class Superlatives!

So I had to teach my M2 students (13-14year olds) about comparative/superlative adjectives. So here's what I did....CLASS SUPERLATIVES!!!

I started off nominations. To get nominations, I gave the class a worksheet where I had them all write a sentence with the superlative form of 13 given adjectives, and use their classmates as the nouns.

Then I tallied up the "nominations" and made a "ballot" the ballot was the follow-up worksheet. I had the adjective, and the top classmates that were nominated. They had to formulate a comparative sentence.

Example:
Words provided: quiet, ninja, prang
Sentence they formed: Ninja is quieter than Prang.

Then I counted up the "votes" and it was presentation time!!!!

The winners are (I'm posting these so you can see what some nicknames are)...

1) Tallest - Gun
2) Funniest - Gigi
3) Prettiest - Praew
4) Most Handsome - Gun
5) Most Talkative - Ninja
6) Quietest - Bonus
7) Fastest Runner - Ninja
8) Smartest - Tun
9) Most Honest - Tay
10) Most Disciplined - Tay
11) Most Dedicated - Ninja
12) Most Talented - Tay
13) Most Generous - Ing

As you can see - Tay and Ninja cleaned up shop!!

Here's a pic of my proud Superlatives!

(from left to right: Gun, Bonus, Ninja, Tun, Gigi, Praew, Ing, Tay)

But don't worry - I didn't leave the rest of the kids out of the picture. Here are some of the munchkins I teach 3 times a week:

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes :)

Scooter Time!

Since my boss went out of town for the weekend, his scooter was up for a weekend rental. So of course, I JUMPED at the chance to use it.

So Monday morning I woke up, put some gas in the bike, and I was off. FREEEEEDOOOMMMM!!! Well, more like MOOOOBBBIIILLLIIITTTTYYY. I headed out of town for a much needed grocery store visit and picked up some necessities: toilet paper, instant noodles, instant potatoes (to go with some gravy Claire sent me in a package), and etc. Then I stopped to pick up my laundry* and my errands were done. Time to have some fun!

I headed out to the outskirts of town - to the mountains. I drove up to the top of the mountain, hoping to catch a banging sunset. Well, I was there at the right time, but there wasn't a gorgeous sunset :( Because of where the mountain was, it was more of watching the sky turn from light to dark. Oh well. I got a few pix of my town....

Afterwards, I headed back to town to meet some of the ladies for dinner. I met up with Julie and Jenn at King Crab - which is now our new favorite restaurant, AND our new "Sunday night dinner" spot. The place was GORGEOUS. It was very relaxing, with the tiki feel, and live mellow music playing. It wasn't crowded, and the food was phenomenal!! We even got a live show!


Having a scooter for a day REALLY lifted my spirits and now I want one for real! But alas, I have to watch my finances so I can travel on my break. So I'll stick to using a scooter when it's available. (I hope my boss leaves again this weekend!)

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes :)


*Most places do not have laundry machines. Instead, you drop off your laundry with a Thai person, and they clean your clothes for you - it usually takes about a day. I usually drop mine off every few weeks, and its about 100baht or so.

Teachers Day

This weekend is a 3 day weekend. Why? Does Thailand celebrate MLK day? No silly, Monday is "Teachers Day". They honor the teachers and close all the schools on Monday. So how did I celebrate? A small trip to a little town close by...

Khanom.

Khanom is less than an hour away, and is home to beautiful secluded beaches that are out of the path of tourists. I went with another teacher at my school, Angie. She taught in Khanom for 4 years before coming to Surat Thani. So we stayed at her "Thai family" house. The house in on the school grounds, and reminded me of a secluded jungle cabin. When we got there, Angie fixed us some lunch (egg, sausage, tom yum goon) and since it was pouring rain, we spent the day reading and relaxing. It was quite zen, with the souund of the rain, and the wooden windows propped open. Once the family came home, they cooked us some Thai food (luckily it wasn't too spicy for me) and had some drinks before we retreated to our beds for the night.

When we woke up on Sunday we had hoped for sunshine so we could make it down to the beach and hunt for the pink dolphins (and I could work on my tan) but no such luck. It continued to rain, and was just a gross day. Once the rain lightened up some, the family took us into the town so I could see what Khanom was all about. They took us to the various beaches, and while it was overcast and rainy, I could still see how they would be gorgeous once the rain stopped and the sun made an appearance.

After we explored the rainy town, we headed back to have some Chicken Soup and Green Curry for lunch, then headed back to Surat.

It was a short trip to Khanom, and while it rained the whole time - now I know how much I want to go back for when the weather is hot and sunny.

Sawasdee Kha,
Apes :)

Heartbreak

I guess I can finally write about it....What's IT you ask? The breakup. Yes, that's right. My boyfriend, travel partner, best friend, etc. has decided I am not the person he wants to share his future with.

As with every breakup, it sucks. It sucks a lot. I was with the person who I thought I'd be with for the rest of my life, and it was ripped away from me. One day he is saying he loves me, and the next he is breaking my heart. I am still confused about the reasoning, and he can't seem to make it clear to me.

We have spoken since, but from our talks, it does not sound like he is looking to have me back in his life as the person to share his future with. Apparently he has been unhappy in our relationship since about the time we got to Thailand, and while he has never expressed that to me, he was surprised that I wasn't aware of his unhappiness. He has said he doesn't regret breaking up with me, nor has he expressed why he would want to get back together with me.

As much as my heart is shattered, I have to move on. I can't keep hoping one of his phone calls or emails will be full of words or signs of how he wants to be with me, as each time I receive one, it never shows that.

A breakup in a foreign country? Just the same as a breakup in America - except minus your girlfriends. Still hurts a ton, but I know over time it will heal.

All I can do is look back and remember the good times, learn from the bad, and move on. Focus on my amazing adventure that I am living. Live for me, no one else. Look forward to the next place I will travel, and hope that I will come across someone who does want to share all this with me, now and in the future.

Mai Pen Rai,
Apes

Midterms!!

Whelp - it's that time of the semester. MIDTERMS! Let's see how different midterm week is in Thailand in the states.

Here is Thailand, the students get a full week of midterms. A full week as in, they come in to school, sit in a classroom for a full taking about 5-6 midterms, and then go home. The teachers sit in the rooms and make sure the students "don't cheat". Thai teachers do this in many ways. Some teachers read a book in the front of the class, some sleep in the front of class, and others just leave the room.

Not to strict out here in the Land of Smiles.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!