How many people does it take to get 1 hair cut?

With this hot weather, It was time for a change. So, after much consideration I decided to cut my hair short again. Simple task you would think. Go to the beauty salon. Tell them you want a "bob cut" pay the girl and call it a day. 

Well, as easy as that sounds, when you are in a different country and the only hair dresser around speaks ZERO English, you have to make due with sign language and the little Thai that I do know. 

In the past I have just had a short trim, but my hair was pretty long. Below my shoulders for sure. So I simply gestured what I wanted, showing an angle and short hair! The woman knew what she was doing, but when you are chopping someone's hair off you want to be sure that it is right. 

Luckily, there is a little boy that lives in our building who is half  Thai half American. Over the past few months he has taken a liken to me, and follows me where ever I go.  I thought he would come in handy this time, because he can speak very good Thai and English. So picture it 2 grown women trying to explain to a 6 year old boy what I want to do to my hair. 

"Mai Kow Jai" = Do Not Understand. 

I think my hair dresser was just very hesitant. I am a forang, she does not want to screw it up! So she left to look for the 1 other person who speaks good English. Luckily she was here. Mai, our apartment manager. She is all of 24 years old, and has her BA in accounting. Very smart, funny and sweet girl! She came in, her English is the best out of everyone but still not perfect. So she tells me to tell William (the little boy) what I want, then William told Mai what I wanted (in Thai), then Mai told the hair dresser! 

At this point I was beginning to feel a little nervous, who knows how this hair cut could get lost in translation. When you have 3 people trying to explain in a different language, and one of them being a 6 year old boy!! She kept saying "Bob tail, Okay?" 

I'm like a Bob Tail, I hope I don't walk out of here with a rat tail mullet! 

Cross your fingers XX

I just told myself, It is only hair and it can grow back.... In the end I think it turned out fabulous!

and for 80 Baht- a little under 3$ You can't complain. 

 On a side note I haven't dyed my hair since I have been here.

Side view, Classic Bob!

Random Blog I know, just thought some may enjoy! 

Cheers! 




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QOTD: Would you have had as much trust in the hair dresser as I did? 

Home Sweet Home

This little girl is the daughter of one of the construction workers on the property. She has the most contagious laugh and the biggest smile. 

Sa Wa Dee Ka! My friends, sorry for the delay on this blog. The internet has been very touch and go at our apartments and has taken hours to upload pics etc. Speaking of our apartment, I thought I would take you on a little tour of our living quarters as I'm sure most of you are curious to what sort of accommodations we are living in.


 So let me introduce to you, ST Apartments :

It is a brand new building filled with 30 other foreign teachers from around the world. To date we have friends from, Great Britain, The Philippines, Ireland, Holland, America, Romania, China, Russia, Canada and Mexico. The rest of the rooms are filled with Thai Rubber factory workers or random Thais who only frequent the apartment on weekends. Our rent (which is paid for by the school) is a little under 3,000 Baht a month fully furnished. Let me blow your mind for a second and convert that to dollars for you: 3,000 Baht = approx. $95 a month.

Our "Kitchen"

Here is Nick's "Man Cave" 

But what exactly does that get us? A/C, refrigerator, clothing amour, vanity, nightstand, full size bed with 2 pillows, small balcony, a bathroom and unreliable internet (all provided by the apartment complex).


On top of that, the school provides free bedding, a microwave, a desk, and a set of dishes. Find me a job in America that does all that including health insurance and I'll apply for it. Nick and I were both given our own room, for two people it could be a little snug. With no kitchen we are forced to get creative, which is the only downfall. Oh, how I miss cooking in a proper kitchen.  We use Nick's room for cooking, and my room for everything else! As usual, I tried to make it as homey as I could.

My bedroom, complete with a picture 
of the King and Queen! 

 

The Apartment complex is actually really nice. (In my opinion) It is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, so it can get very boring. But getting to Bangkok is just a 45 min taxi ride away... not too bad really. It makes saving money that much easier. 
To make up for the lack of entertainment we are forced to figure it out ourselves. Many of the teachers gather downstairs to share stories about their day. Kick around the "football" [Soccer Ball] for hours with the kids who live in the building, sometimes we play badminton, or volleyball too.  There are also shops on the first floor of the building which I feel I had a big part in creating. IE: recommending a massage parlor.... hahah. There is also a mini mart, a hair salon, coffee shop and stationary store. It is rumored that there will be a gym which I also had a little hand in influencing, as one of the foreign teachers is opening it up! For somewhere to eat, they have been in the process of building a food court where we can purchase dinner. For now we have been cooking our own food or buying delicious grilled chickens from the market across the street! 

The apartment building is brand new. We are the first people to live in our rooms which is really comforting, don't have to deal with another person's mess. Every day they are building something new, whether it is a parking lot, or a cafeteria the workers are kept busy. It is actually pretty interesting the way they work; basically they live where they work. They just build a little community on the land. 
 The little girl at the top of the post lives
there,


and despite what you may think leads a pretty normal life. She goes to school every day and plays at home riding bikes and kicking the ball around. There is also this game called "Sepak-takraw" it is just like volleyball except you cannot use your hands, and they play with a little wicker ball. The kids are my form of entertainment. I have a lot of fun chasing them around and pretending to be a bear as instructed by them. They run and scream from me and I pretend to eat them. Hahah

                                   This is where the builders live. 
                     Complete with a swing and moat for when it rains. 

Here is the view of the factory across the street,
with a crazy storm rolling in. 

Overall, I am satisfied with our situation. We could be in a high rise somewhere in the middle of Bangkok surrounded by a bunch of Westerners, but I think we have a great community of friends. We are surrounded with plenty of culture to soak up, from Thai-to all over the world! I shall leave you with this beautiful sunrise that we watched from the hallway window right outside my room.

Thank you for reading, Hope you enjoyed!

 Cheers!

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QOTD (Question of the day): Would these free accommodations be enough for you, or would find a different job so you could live in a high-rise in Bangkok ? 

A School day in Thailand.

One of the random signs, around school. 

It has been about 2 solid months of teaching, and I can finally say I feel like a teacher. I am currently teaching 3 grade levels, and 2 subjects: Math and English. I teach 2 classes of F/C [First Class, or as we call it in the west, Pre-K] 1 class for KG-2, and KG-3. Before the school year started, I was hoping to have a little bit older. It is quite a challaege trying to teach kids about math when they do not understand basic English words. I am starting from scratch, and this can make teaching much harder. Luckily, I am never alone in the classroom, and my Thai is getting better and better each day. There is usually a TA [Teachers assistant] and the regular classroom teachers.

The school day is made up of 9 periods (including Lunch and nap time- for me and the students) Hahah. I actually have a blow up pillow in my desk for when I am finished with my work for the day. It is completely acceptable for me to put my head down and nap. As long as my work for the day is complete, and all my books are up to date with "Marking". 

                                There are 4 things foreign teachers have to do to keep their job. 

1. Show up  

2. Dress nice 

 3. Do not get behind on your marking.

4. Do not cause any problems. 

(This one is easier said than done, Thai people can be very finicky! )

Here I am at my desk. [I felt this caption was absolutely necessary ;) ]

Simple task you may think, but the word Tedious does not begin to describe the way Asians work. It's no wonder they are so good at math. A 5 page word problem is like crack to them. They use their rulers for everything, even to write the straight edge of a letter, for word searches they make 2 lines with their ruler around the word and then connect them free hand. SO, you could imagine what our books have to look like. 

Rules to Marking your workbooks:

 1. Must be in Red Pen. 

2. All ticks, or check marks must be perfectly aligned and proportional. You must sign and date every page. {I had a stamp made with my name on it, and attached it to a date stamp.} 

3. IF the student did not finish, you may write "Please finish" on the page, if they then return it incomplete again, it is YOUR responsibility to finish the work. CrAzY I know, but at the end of the year these books go home with the students and the parents want to see good news, not bad. Or in reality, they want to know that their money is well spent. If you do all these things, you will succeed. 

Now that we understand the rules, let me walk you through our school, and a day in the life of a foreign teacher in Thailand. 

The green uniforms are for P.E.

The day begins, when all the students are lined up in the center of the school. {I think it looks like prison. haha} The morning greeting is spoken in Thai and English, at separate times. It begins exactly like this, " Good morning teachers, students, parents, and everyone." [Who else is there?!?] A short paragraph is spoken about something western, this week we spoke about the weather, and the 4 climates. 

Then on some days a short Chinese lesson, followed by marching in place like little soldiers.

 (I recorded this, and will post it soon.) It is quite entertaining, and somewhat gives off the vibe of a concentration camp of some sort. They repeat Sai, Qwa, Sai. (Left, Right, Left) It was pretty creepy  at 

first but I am slowly beginning to realize its purpose, when they walk around the school it keeps the

students in line, and teaches them discipline. 

Finally, it is announced "Please return to your classrooms under the direction of your teachers" This is the best part, they all march in unison back to their classrooms while It's a Small World is played over the loud speaker.... Every. Single. Day. 

As foreign teachers we do not have our own class room, we just float from room to room teaching.  

One of Nick's classrooms while the kids were at lunch. 

           And while he is teaching! Nick is fortunate to be teaching the older grades. He also teaches 2 subjects, Science and Social Studies to 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th, and 6th grade. He is able to speak English all the time, they may not fully understand but most get the gist. 

This is one of the playgrounds for children under 7 to play on. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Here is the Boy's Nurses office, Not a day goes by that I don't wish I was sleeping in these beds as I walk by..... [Hahah, don't judge me]


























Today's lesson, writing the letter "B". 

This little girl is the cutest!

My kids hard at work! This picture is from Songkron (Water Festival) hence the floral shirts. 

I find this picture very entertaining, mainly because these kids are playing swinging back and forth on this white man who happens to be a pirate. 

They had a blast, they were having so much fun that one of the girls actually threw up from excitement!! Oh to be a kid again!

Peace out from Thailand <3 

Cheers!