The Periodic Cameo Blog with your pal, Nick Watt

I’d like to start by thanking Lisa for letting me cameo in her Thai blog. We can all agree, her blogging is wonderful and I couldn’t be happier that she has so many readers. That being said, I feel it’s necessary to have a second opinion on our amazing experiences in Thailand from time to time. So, here’s my crack at it..

At last, we are completely moved in to our final apartment in Thailand. I honestly can’t recall the how many living arrangements we’ve had over here. Ballpark figure? Nine. Also, we’ve started full-time teaching. Well, it’s not completely full-time; just summer school, so our Monday to Friday is a simple 7:30-Noon with the new school year starting on May 16^th.  I’m pretty sure Lisa’s already brought all that good stuff up, so I’ll jump into our newest adventure: The Songkran Festival.

It’s Thailand’s new year, and celebrated with ample supplies of water and grey clay. To join in on the festivities we visited a popular area in Bangkok for tourists from all over the world, along with thousands of Thais, of course. Almost everyone participating is armed with some form of water gun. If you find ice-cold water for loading, use it. Cold water reigns supreme in most battles. Those unarmed should be holding a small pail filled with the grey clay. The basic routine is: you shoot them with water, they smile and walk over to you while covering their fingers with the clay, then they wipe it anywhere on your face while saying either, “Happy New Year!” or “Thank you, sorry!” The oceans of water used by everyone celebrating represent the washing away of the year’s sins, and all that good stuff. The clay used in the event is a sort of a “spin-off” of the holy clay used by the Monks to bless Buddhists with good luck. So, with three full days of non-stop face smearing and water drenching I should be pretty set for the New Year, 2554.

The festival was better than I thought it would be. In fact, it was spectacular! The Thai people are overly gracious and light-hearted, and their hospitality towards foreigners is remarkable. Regardless of the obvious translation gap, it’s very easy to tell that they are filled with pride seeing so many walks of life joining in on their favorite religious ceremony. To sum it all up: I loved Songkran and I love Thailand. Happy New Year, Everyone!

The Good. The Bad. and The Ugly.

Hello my friends, I apologize for the delay in post but as soon as I posted my last message we had a meeting with our boss and were told it was time to move.... AGAIN!! 

The Good.

I was not excited for this at all, but I was really trying to trust that everything will work out. It's just that after 3 months we were finally beginning to settling down.  And here we are, 2 days later were were moving again, leaving all of our friends, and moving into the middle of no where, Bang Phao.  About 2 hours outside of  Bangkok.  

It was finally pay day and we went to get our money from our Boss, is always a production as she is a very popular woman especially when it comes to pay day. However she has grown quite fond of our little group. (And that IS an understatement) She actually refers to the 4 of us (Nick, Me, Michelle, and Cas) as  "Her Angel Crew". She is so thankful that we are working at her school, because we are so "smart, professional, and beautiful" (and these are direct words lol) After receiving more money than we actually were supposed to get,  she gave us even better news. 

[to be read in an Asian accent]

"I want you and teachuur Nicholas to be team leadars, and I want you to know dhat I am looking out for you, and care about you vewy much, so because of dhis I am going to let you keep your room here in Bang Bon. Dis way you can come back on dhe weekends to hang out with your fwiends and go in dhe swimming pool." 

This news was amazing, but I did feel a little guilty, there was no need for us to take up a room only for the weekends, but what Boss says goes! The following day, 8 new teachers piled in to a van taking all of our belongings. We were keeping our news a secret, we didn't want anyone getting jealous, or start any unnecessary drama.  

We pulled up to our brand new apartments and unloaded our things. In the Thai tradition when there is  a new building or home there is a ceremony that takes place. There were monks praying and blessing the rooms and a big tent and tables set up with more food than you could imagine. Many new foods I have been very curious to try but wasent sure exactly what it was. It was so sweet. The apartment building is run by a very big Thai family of which 2 speak English.  Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. 

To the left is a collection of Thai Desserts, mostly coconut and rice flavored, all very delicious. 

The Bad and The Ugly.

Time came for the passing out of the keys and picking of rooms. After a quick speech of how, important it is to represent ourselves correctly and if we are going to bring a prostitute home to make sure that she is a "Nice girl, and speaks good" Of course Boss comes to us first and asks which room I would like, and which room Nick would like. Hold up, we get our own rooms? Hmm.. Interesting. Well they are much smaller than our apartments in Bang Bon, but was that really necessary? Boss said that we could use one room as a hang out room or kitchen since that was the only thing lacking from these BRAND NEW apartment. Fully furnished and stocked with a refrigerator, microwave, iron/board, air con, plates and silverware and bedding! [All provided by the school] So up we go to our new places. As we head up we see some sad faces! Our Philippino foreign teachers were forced to share  a room, and a bed. Why? Because they aren't westerners. So here we are, sitting on 3 pieces of prime real estate and the Philippinos have to share a room, and a bed, with someone they didn't know, and to top it off , if they wanted to get their own room they both had to pay 2,000 Baht.  This didn't sit well with me at all! SO racist, I spent the greater half of the day trying to accept the situation but there was not much I could do. If I gave up my room to one of them, they would make them pay anyways. Here I am being treated better than a King, and they are being treated like dirt. Many rationalizations crossed my mind.... " Well there flight was only 3 hours, compared to our 28?" "  English is OUR native language, it is their second..." But nothing made me feel better. I talked to them and expressed that I did not agree with how they were being treated, they didn't like it either, but that is the way it goes. This is Thailand and they do things their way, and there is not much else you can do than Smile and carry on. 

 Having our own rooms is going to be interesting, like I said in my previous post  I am excited to finally get settled in [for real this time] decorate, and start making Thailand feel more like home. Nick of course calls his room "The Man Cave" and plans on decorating accordingly, I just want my room to be cozy and make sure it smells good. Im a sucker for candles and such, Now if only I could find some Glade candles ANYWHERE in Thailand I could be happy. For now I will settle for scented oils, and tea light candles. The next couple of weeks are going to be very exciting. Summer school started on April 1st and we moved in the weekend prior. I am teaching kindergarten again, and 2 classes of pre-school, subjects English and Drama! Hahah This should be interesting! :) Nick is teaching 2nd, 3rd,4th,5th, and 6th Social Studies and Science. Summer school is only a month long and then we get ANOTHER 2 week vacation. Life is pretty rough at this point ;)  [Sarcasm of course] To make things even better we have 1 day off for the Thai Memorial Day in the first week, than the following week is the Thai New Year, also known as The Songkran Festival, this tradition started with the cleansing of the Buddah. They would pour water over all the statues to cleanse them and make a good luck wish. As the New Year is during the hottest month of the year, this tradition eventually turned into a country wide water fight. No one is safe. Elderly, police men, woman, children... if you walk outside at any point during the week, [oh yeah, did I mention it is a week long celebration in which we, yet again get the entire week off from school] You will get SOAKED! Buckets, Guns, Balloons, everything is an option! I have been looking forward to this event since the moment I chose to come here! The week is finally upon us, and to Bangkok we go!! Our friends are actually joining us from Cambodia and I am very excited to see everyone again!! :) 

More to come, pictures, stories... I hope I survive this one and yes I will be safe! :) 

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Question of the Day!

If you were to become a teacher, ideally which grade would you want to teach and why?

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Monkey Business

Sa Wa Dee Ka! Or Hello !  

It’s been over a month now and we are slowly getting into a groove of things. We have been working at our new job for a week and a half and enjoying every minute of it! The school year will be over, the middle of next week…Just in time for our 2 week vacation! Haha! Talk about timing!

 In the mean time we have been observing other teachers, and for the past couple of days helping recruit at the new school about 45 min away from our current one. Our day basically consists of sitting around for hours waiting for parents to bring their children in for “testing”. We then evaluate their knowledge of English by asking them questions like “What is your name, what animal is this? How many are there? What color is this?” Etc. Very simple, kid stuff… The cool thing about this new school is that it is still in the process of being built. There are a good amount of trees on the property right next to us, and a group of monkeys that greet us every morning. We were told that the workers feed them everyday, probably not the best idea, but hey! When in Thailand.... We decided we would take full advantage of the situation, and bought some peanuts the day before, so we could interact with them too!

 [ Just to be safe we did ask permission, and the director said it was okay! ]

                 

They were pretty funny, and very cautious! But, boy did they love these peanuts!

Look how tiny their little hands are, it was like feeding furry humans. 

         




      Our first actual day of work was Valentines Day,
 and we weren’t sure if we should expect any sort of celebration. But something we are quickly beginning to realize is that Thai’s will use any excuse to celebrate.  The kids took very kindly to us, giving us lots of chocolate and enough stickers to last a lifetime. Every time I turned around “Chur! Sticker!!!" They usually don’t address you by your name,  mostly “Teacher" or "Chur" for short.  By the end of the day, I looked like such a fool with all my stickers, see for yourself..

Nick got a couple of stickers, but the girls thought he was cute, and decided that stickers wouldn't cut it, he left with 6 roses! Quite the stud on campus! ;) 

  

    The school is a very well known private school in Thailand. The campus is tremendous, with over 14 buildings, including a swimming pool, tennis court, track, and any other amenity you could possibly think of! We really lucked out! We get just about 2 months paid vacation, which leaves us plenty of time to plan our holiday or what the rest of the world calls a vacation.  Our salary is way above average for most Thai people. We make twice as much as the Thai teachers do, for half the amount of work. It’s kind of sad, but I didn’t make the rules, I just play by them! ;)  Most cities do make up for it by charging “Farongs” (foreigners) a higher price for most things, at least in Bangkok and other touristy areas! Luckily for us, our school is on the outskirts of the "Jersey side" of the city; not touristy at all, meaning no reason to jack up the prices! If you are a farong and live here you are either a teacher or a Old Fat divorced man, married to a beautiful Thai woman who waits on you hand and foot. The people in this town are very kind, some rarely see a foreigner and walking down the street we get the occasional, point and stare! Especially parents with younger kids, they will literally point at us and bow, kinda like we are celebrities or zoo animals, I can't decide.  Nick and I went to the mall the other day and I am willing to bet we were the only foreigners in the entire place.  It doesn’t really bother me, and for some reason I don’t feel out of place. I usually can’t understand a word that is spoken to me, but body language and context clues really help when you are trying to figure a situation out. And when in doubt, I just like to make up dialogue in my head. 

Since the school year is pretty much over, Nick and I have been shadowing other foreign teachers, and learning the ropes. Being a private school, they have a really good English Program, and over 50 foreigners on staff. The students get taught all subjects in both Thai and English, which I feel really helps them get a good grasp on things. However, teaching in Thailand is not the same as it is in The States. The purpose for teaching is mainly to make money and to look the best. There is no such thing as failing a kid even if they behave badly, or refuse to do the work. You are to pass them to the lowest degree. So kids being kids (and I can't blame them) know that they can’t fail, no matter what. Having no real consequences is something I am going to struggle with but trying to accept ahead of time. Your teaching ability is judged by how well you grade their homework, and how neat and in line your check marks are. (Seriously) We are playing by an entirely different set of rules, and going with the flow is something that is in my best interest to do. On the plus side, you won't get sued or fired for hitting a child.  Most Thai teachers walk a round with a ruler or stick in their hand and are NOT afraid to use them. And when a ruler is out of reach the old Back of the hand works just fine!

Over all, I am excited for the school year to begin in the end of March. I have no other choice but to take the situation for it is, a well paying job, with great time off to travel and see the world. Which essentially is what we came here to do! We are currently in the process of planning our next trip. The game plan is starting in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand and then Checking out one of its neighboring countries Laos. I've heard many great things about both and am getting excited about seeing more of Asia! 

 Till next time,

     Cheers!

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   *Question of the Day*

   Im curious what do you think?

Should teachers in the states be aloud to use physical force with problem students or do you think the way The US does it is more ethical?
If you were me, if a student was acting up would you take advantage or play it safe?

Respond in a comment below. {It only requires a Gmail account, So please log in, subscribe and let me know what you think, if you take the time to read, I want to hear your opinion!}

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Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Cambodia anymore...

It was almost the instant we crossed the border from Cambodia to Thailand, life got better. The food actually had flavor, the scenery went from huts and cows on the sides of the road to beautiful homes/bungalow. Now don't get me wrong, I feel as though I left a little piece of my heart in Cambodia. There was just something about the simplicity in the lifestyle there that I just really fell in love with. Sure the food was bland, but when you are a country just getting over mass genocide, and all the people who could actually cook were killed off, and the crops were burned other than ones that would make the dictator money.... ya have to stop and think.. <3 (Promise to get pictures up from The Killing Fields soon)

Moving on, right after we crossed the border we stopped at this little restaurant, and saw this amazing view. Our teacher/tour guide Rick said to me "This is going to be the worst view you see". I was slightly amazed. After a 4 hour bus ride from Cambodia to Thailand we hopped on a ferry and went to one of the biggest island in Thailand, Koh Chang. 

As soon as we got here we went out to dinner, literally on the beach. The waves were coming close to our table! It was really funny we sat down at the table and our chairs and we were all lopsided from the sand, and before we could even complain about it, servers from the restaurant came behind each leg of  our chairs and evened it out so we were all sitting evenly.. quality service! After dinner we went to this little bar with a live band that Rick (our teacher/tour guide) said was the best guitar player he had ever seen. I was doubtful, but as soon as he started playing, I could see where he was coming from. Ya know its really funny and somewhat annoying, but I'd say that 98% of the music we've heard has all been American music, or typical music you would hear in any other tropical area or cruise line. IE: Margaritaville, Brown Eyed Girl, Hotel California.. etc. Except when you hear an Asian rock and roller singing it sounds more like " Bown Eyed Giwl" Makes me laugh a little inside every time. 

We then had the morning to ourselves and decided to spend the entire day with our feet in the sand. The Thai's come up and down selling fresh fruit we went for the Mango! De-lish! After my stressful day of sun bathing and wading in the water.. I decided it was time for my 3rd massage this week! (HAHA) Except this time, my view looked a little something like this ....

Not too Shabby... Oh yeah and it only cost me $8. Funny side story, after I was done with my massage I went to pay the lady and accidentally grabbed my "Riel" ( Cambodian Currency) and handed it to her.. Aside from the conversion being less to nothing, Thailand and Cambodia aren't on the best of terms right now.. the woman looked at me like I had 8 heads.. we chuckled and I ran back to my towel and got her the proper form of currency. (Thai Baht) 

I've never been to an island that had mountains so I was really taking in the views...

Hahahah All of them.... God I love Europeans! <3 Speedos!

Living the life! :)

Swinging over the water... 

By around 4 we met back up with Rick, and he took us to this Seafood restaurant on stilts. Here we watched the sunset over the water and did a little shopping! I successfully bought a cute dress for about $7, and haggled the woman down from about $12, all in Thai. It was a very proud moment, as I was practicing how to say "Discount for me please" all during dinner. 

After dinner the group decided to go back to the beach for a little hookah, fire dancing, and music! 

<3 

All in all, I'd have to say, today was a great day. Much needed relaxation before our busy week ahead. Tomorrow we leave Koh Chang and head off to Pattaya Beach where we will be for the next 2 weeks. Here we will finish off our training and observation hours in real class rooms, I think I mentioned that I have been assigned to Kindergarden. I was a little nervous at first, but now I'm just getting excited. They wont know much English at all.. but as I will be taking baby steps into this whole teaching thing, it will be nice to start fresh with them too! Tomorrow, we will head to Waterfalls, and eat lunch at one! Anticipate beautiful pictures! :)

Thanks again for reading! Cheers!