Another day in the Classroom

Today at PlaPak Noi, I decided to do a crazy art day with my 31 Aaunaban(Kinder), P.1, and P.2 students. The very limited time I have seen some of my co-teachers in the classroom (most of the time students are roaming around playing sports or doing chores) the teachers are sitting in chairs while the students copy from workbooks. I want to make sure my students are having fun while also learning so my goal is to try to integrate some art style teaching lessons into our unit themes. My youngest students have had very few experiences with art and I'm not talking about the meticulous art with rulers and copying images in which yes they have a lot of practice with that. You can guarantee everything you write on the board with my older students will be copied EXACTLY, even random marks on the board or if you run out of room and continue underneath. Thai students are taught to copy and they are good at it. Because of this, I wanted to do a creative, messy, "hands-on" art project. I realize these types of projects do require materials which my schools can sometimes not afford but we can still be creative with the materials that are available.

For the past few weeks my A, P.1 and P.2 students have been working hard at learning body parts. We have been singing "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" "Hokey Pokey", using pipe cleaners and foam letters to spell out words and practicing the phrase "Where is your__(arm)__? My_(arm)__ is here.". Today I decided to do paint hand prints. Judging by the reaction of their faces I don't think they have ever had paint on their hands before. "Messy projects" aren't very thai. Most of the time when students are drawing they have a ruler in hand to make sure all their lines are perfectly straight. I wanted to try and break some of that mold and show different ways students can process information while also having fun. When I put the paint on their hands (with a spoon, no paint brush!) most of them squealed with excitement and a few were actually a little nervous about it. The paint was very thick like chalk which was pretty funny trying to spread it around with a spoon. After they made their print they ran around showing their friends their nice green hand. This could seem like a pretty ordain project for most American children but it was a special for my students.

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While some students were getting their hands painting another group was making rice letters. To make letters they glued rice on to a piece of paper then wrote the corresponding body part Ex. H-head E-ear L- leg. Rice covered the floor by the end of class, but it was fun and got them writing.

Overall I had a great day teaching and am still finding splatters of green paint on me! With all that said it might be a little while until I bring out the paint with them because it was exhausting. At dinner tonight Amanda was telling me how she was trying to explain to her Thai teachers how tiring it can be for us teaching and adjusting to a new culture. I think many times they forget that our day isn't the same as theirs and even the simplest activity requires a great amount of time and energy for us trying to explain. This of course goes along with we aren't lounged out on fold out chairs while we are teaching but are jumping around trying to act out the procedures or repeating ourselves 10x with the simplest "write your name." or direction of "come here". Teaching days can be quite exhausting mainly because any type of communication I try to have, even with my co-teachers, is very difficult. I talk in slow fragmented sentences most of the day with the small amount of Thai I am slowly learning "Saturday..go..nakhon phanom...volunteers...fun". Sometimes I enjoy the break during my lunch where they sit and talk thai and I can zone out for awhile and relax, however I always feel like they are talking about me! hahah oh well. Here is to another great Tuesday!

My P.6 at Wang Yang very concentrated at "fishing for letters" game after school on Monday.

*Game my parents sent to me last week, Thank you!

Gkai, Gkai, Gkai....no TURKEY!

I thought I'd attempt to give my students a small cultural lesson on Thanksgiving, nothing too detailed. It was quite a challenge to explain but I went with it anyways. I had pictures of pilgrims, native americans, a boat, turkey, corn, and potatoes. Using a map I acted out how the pilgram went on a boat and sailed to America to meet the natives. They said, "Hello, hello. How are you?" became friends and ate a dinner that consisted of Turkey.Thats about how far I went. There are chickens about everywhere you look in PlaPak wandering the streets sometimes with little chicks following them or one under a basket that will be tonight's dinner so the word Turkey they thought for sure was Gkai (chicken) in Thai. After several attempts of trying to explain that it wasn't a chicken even after having them look it up in a dictionary they were still walking around saying gkai, gkai, gkai....oh well. I had my younger students make hand print turkey labeling the colors of the feathers and my older students write one sentence of "I am thankful for____." I translated "thankful" in Thai so they could understand and I ended up getting answers of I am thankful for: animals, apples, tennis, soccer, sister, family, rabbits, and guava...? humm

For my students at plapak noi I had make Indian and Pilgram hats to wear around at school. They thought this was a blast. By the end of the day the whole school was walking around as a pilgram or indian even if they had no idea what it was for. It definitely made my day feel like Thanksgiving even though my thanksgiving dinner consisted of...you guessed it, RICE! It was fried rice which is very yummy so I wont complain. Tomorrow I'm having a thanksgiving feast with the other volunteers where supposedly no rice allowed!

Here are my adorable Indians and Pilgrim students who I'm very thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!

Elephant Stomp

Friday after school got out Amanda and I hopped on a Sawng Tao to the city to meet up with the other WT volunteers and begin our Adventure to Surin to see the Elephant Round-up. The Round-up is an annual show hosting over 300 elephants performing a number of different acts held in Surin Province nicknamed "Land of the Elephants". Anyways we made our way into NakonPhanom around 5pm and our van ride didn't leave till Midnight so we had about 7 hours to kill in the city. We did what most people do in the city wonder the night market picking up some Kanoms (snacks), sit at the river and say hello to Lao, watch Takraw which is "an explosive mix of football, volleyball and Kung Fu, where two teams battle over a net with a rattan cane ball", wander around more and pick up street food. 12 rolled around soon enough and we began our 6 hour van ride through the night to surin. Arriving around 6:30am, I got a few restless hours of sleep and was ready for a jammed pack day of elephant watching.

The show was amazing to watch and consisted of several different acts displaying cultural and religious beliefs, talents of the asian elephant, and the epic battle between Thailand and Burma.

This is an elephant dressed in the traditional war garments heading off to "battle". In this act they had cannons shooting real explosives and bow n arrows lit of fire. I was surprised that the sound and action didn't scare the elephants!

The Beginning of the show where they filtered in all the elephants to the arena at once. Lots of elephants!

Elephants doing tricks. They had them hula hooping, standing on their back legs walking, painting, shooting darts, playing tug-o-war against 50 adults and easily winning, and having a soccer match at the end of the show. It was pretty incredible to watch. However during this time I couldn't help to think about how the elephants where being treated and being forced to perform in ways very unnatural for them.

Soccer match! They played a game of soccer ending in a shoot out. The elephants were able to kick the ball with their front and backs legs and even drop kick it using their trunk!

After the show we had some time to explore the city of Surin. However most of us were completely exhausted from teaching the whole week and getting no sleep on the van during the night. This was the first time that I went out of our city of Nakhonphanom and I was expecting it to be simpler. Due to this festival, there were so many farangs in town which surprisingly caught me off guard, so many white people! I am now use to the whispers, stares, and people trying to sneak pictures of me as I walk down the street but it Surin we completely blended in. The culture of the city was also very different with many people being able to speak fairly decent english and showing far more skin than our more traditional town.

Bright and early at 6am we were in the vans again ready to make our 6 hour journey back to our home city. My van however had a little more adventure in store than what was planned. About an hour outside of Nakhon Phanom the van starts to break down and the transmission failing to shift out of first gear. I knew this was not a quick fix problem as smoke began to spew out and the car quickly came to a stop. We jumped out and helped roll the car off of the road and took the next hour sitting under a tree waiting for a bus heading toward NKP or a friend to pick us up. The driver's sister ended up coming in her pickup truck to transport all 8 people back. 4 of us ended up sitting in the back of the truck which was actually a refreshing but windy trip back. I grabbed a quick lunch of Pad-Thai and headed towards the sawng tao station for another hour ride back into Pla Pak. Around 4:30 we made it back and completely exhausted.

The trip was a great first experience outside our home city and gave us a small glimpse of what Thailand has still waiting for us. Here other volunteer, Rita, and I take a ride on an elephant around the arena (which we got ripped off for...oh well) The most amazing part of the trip for me was how the elephants wandered the streets after the show walking right beside us and traffic weaving in and out around them!

Here comes the bride

On Friday night I had the opportunity to attend my PaaAah's (principles) daughter's wedding. Excited about the chance to see a Thai wedding I accepted and attended the wedding with my co-teachers at Pla Pak Noi school. Having no idea what to expect, I was surprised at the western, christian traditions that have made their way over to rural Thailand. As you can see in the picture the bride was in a western white wedding gown and the groom in a white tux. I was hoping to see the actually ceremony but I guess they split them up and it was conducted in the morning on a Friday (weird) and the party was that night. It ended up being a pretty typical Thai party with a twist of wedding in it. The standard location for most bigger parties is at a High school gym that they line with round tables and plastic outdoor chairs. This was a little bit more formal because they put a lace slip over the plastic chairs and the table cloth was nicer also. During the dinner there was an exchange of flowers that you can see hanging around the neck of the bride and groom and the parents. As far as the wedding kiss only a peck on the cheek for a picture was seen which I think was a big deal. Immediately after that my co-teacher turned to me and said she would never kiss her husband outside their house. In Thailand PDAs are not appropriate and I have yet to see someone kiss or be affectionate with another. After this we all stood and raise our glasses for a cheer (I forget what it was) and sat down to continue our conversations. Overall the wedding was very very informal compared to US standards, seeing it took place on a high school campus and mostly was a dinner social. The bride and groom did come around to every table and say thank-you to the guests and take a picture. This was a little bit awkward for me since I had never met either of them but yet I was at their wedding. In most cases it doesn't seem to matter what party I show up at because I'm a foreigner and that is considered a big deal. Whenever I walk into a party pretty much everyone turns to look at you for awhile and throughout the party there are whispers and stares from every corner of the room. This is something that I have had to get use to and now I just smile the whole time and have a drink. I wish I had the chance to see the morning ceremony to see exactly how the Wedding progresses. Having a western white gown looks to be a trend in Thailand right now because there is a wedding gown store in Pla Pak that sells white gowns along along with more traditional thai dresses

Since Thais will make up any excuse to have a party and be able to sing Karaoke here in a list of key parts to how to party Thai style. As a few other volunteers and I got to experience this weekend, at a String tying ceremony at Heather Johns house that was held for us, if they have a chance to crack open a bottle of whisky and moonshine at 10am there will be no hesitation!

Components of a Thai party:

1. Karaoke! lots of Karaoke. Almost any night of the week you will hear someone blaring their karaoke machine singing the night away. One Thai favorite is "Can you feel the love tonight". A party is not official unless there is karaoke till the early morning hours.

2. A table equipped with Leo Beers, a bottle of whisky, mixers of coke and soda water, and pink sky wine coolers for the women. This is the standard set up on a dinner table. I have yet to see something different.

3. Someone talking on a microphone at all times and nobody listening.Thai people LOVE to have a microphone even in the most unnecessary situations. Also at the string tying ceremony this weekend we had a small group of around 10 people yet there was someone annoucing using a microphone on high. This doesn't mean you have to listen to them. Nobody will pay attention to what is being said but anyone will jump at the chance to be able to say a speech.

5. at least 5 different dishes and not enough room on the table. Having lots and lots of food at a party is also key. Usually there will be a whole fish, fried rice, a seafood soup, a meat (pork or chicken) dish with veggies, and dessert of fresh fruit (guava, bananas, watermelon are favorites). By the end there is a stack of plates somewhere on the table because there is never enough room for all the food!

6. Thai dancing. Once the karaoke starts going it is not an option for a farang to be sitting. They insist that you show off your thai dancing skills and think its hilarious to watch us struggle. Any effort is appreciated though. Usually a circle forms, like in dance of situation, and you take turns pushing someone in the circle to do a solo. This use to be one of my biggest fears but now I'm use to it and will quickly enter the circle do a little twirls and shove someone else in.

At the wedding with the other 2 female teachers from Pla Pak Noi, Pi Med and Pi Tok

*Pi means older sister in Thai and you use it for being polite and respectful to people older than you.

my humble house

My house! I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of my house for the year. I've only been living here around 11 days yet it already feels like a home to me. After long days of teaching I look forward to being able to have some quiet time at home usually consisting of catching up with my roommate Amanda, who teaches at the high school, exercising, dinner, lesson planning, shower, and dishes. Being around Thai speakers and students all day can be quite exhausting and having a space to relax around english speaking has been wonderful to have.

My house is located on the high school campus of Pla Pak Wit where all the teachers from the school live. It's the back entrance of the highschool consisting of one street of houses.

As mentioned before I live with another volunteer and a thai women named Pi Yok. Pi Yok teaches drawing at the high school and also is in charge of making sure we have food for breakfast and dinner. She is a very nice lady however very quite and reserved making it a little harder to get to know her. However she cooks the most amazing dinners for us every night from only a gas camping-like burner. Since there is no counter top we see her squatting chopping up the vegetables using a cutting board and knife on the ground. Our house is no where near the American standard of clean so we have located a hanging dead mouse from the kitchen ceiling...mai pen rai. The walls are made of metal sheets so we usually hear our neighbor who shares a wall with us next door cooking too!

Here is our breakfast quarters consisting of a toaster, hot water heater, and microwave. We have decided to stick to the American breakfast and have one meal without rice. In our "living area" next to the breakfast table we have a little wooden table where Amanda and I sit and have dinner at everynight while cha dam(pictured below), one of the many neighborhood dogs joins us usually with one of his paws on our laps begging for food.

In a previous post I have talked about the bathroom situation which is probably the biggest adjustment house wise that we've had to make. After being in Thailand for about 6 weeks now I feel it is pretty natural and when we do come across an American toilet in the city it is weird. We are lucky to have a shower head hose but since we are in "cold" season in Thailand I have been opting to take a warm bucket shower. This consists of boiling a pot of water on the stove dumping it into our shower tub bucket, adding cold water ( = more warm water!), and using our scoop to douse yourself. It is definitely a process but I'll take it rather than a cold. shower. The one thing really missing is a sink. We have no bathroom or kitchen sink which makes things a challenge. When brushing your teeth you usually just spit on the ground and then wash it through the hole in the wall with the bathroom scooper. Also washing your hands is difficult.

This is a picture of our outside laundry room-dish washing area. We wash dishes by filling up a bucket of soapy water and another of clear, washing, then drying on that "sink shaped" drying rack. Clothes are usually done by hand or we do have a manual washer, which you fill with the hose, it shakes it around, turn to drain through a house coming out the front. We hang dry everything so the laundry process takes about a day if the weather is nice.

Finally...my room! Other than being spider, gecko, and overall just dusty, I love my room. I spent about 2 hours after school today with a bucket of water and rag wiping down the walls (which seemed to change from brown to a dull blue) tackling spiders, and cleaning the screens. Amanda and I have fairly large separate rooms consisting of a desk, bed, vanity, closet, fan, and drying rack. My bed is covered in a mosquito net which has become my safe haven from the pests that wont leave me alone! The mattress however is a styrofoam block that is very hard. Surprisingly it hasn't bothered me much, partly due to the fact I'm completely exhausted by night time and will sleep on anything. I also have a poster up of the Thai Alphabet that I'm still trying to master.

It's very refreshing living simply and I have everything I need. A TV or huge kitchen isn't necessary here and I've enjoyed the lack of technology driven life, internet is nice though :)

Almost forgot my 4th roommate:

He sits on my window every night catching months and other insects. It's actually pretty entertaining to watch haha

Teesha Teesha Bai Tuoy

Pla Pak Noi students in morning buddhist prayer and meditation

Three days of teaching down! "Teesha Teesha(teacher) Bai Tuoy (My thai nickname) " is what I've heard on a constant stream throughout my days at the 2 elementary schools. Everyday whenI arrive at school, students run to where my ride drops me off greeting me with flowers that they have picked from the road, pictures they have drawn, and any other miscellaneous objects they can conjure up. The past 3 days have been exciting, exhausting, and sometimes just crazy trying to figure out my classes, level of students, materials available to me, co-workers, and being around Thai all day. There is not a minute in my days at school when there isn't an adorable Thai student smiling at me wanting to say Hello.

First day of Class:

Monday seemed like a long day partly because I had no idea what was going on ( which is how most of my days are here). I arrive at 8:30am with my co-teacher Kim. Students start class at 9 so I had a half hour to sort through my lesson plan one more time which only consisted of some easy welcome activities, "about me" poster, and name tags. My next class was suppose to be at 10, however no students showed up. During this time I had no idea what was going on or whether to expect students or not. I heard a bunch of noise next door so I peeked in to find my 6th graders(who I just taught) just hanging out with no teacher. I asked where the teacher was and they said "working (pointing out the door)". This seems to be acceptable for teachers to leave students unattended for allotted amounts of "free time" if there needs to be an impromptu meeting or even I've caught teachers taking an afternoon nap. I wandered down the hall some ways to look into another classroom to see a teacher at her desk with a TV on behind her and students wandering around. This is one aspect of the Thai School System that will take some adjusting to and many "Mai Pen Rais" (no worries- in Thai) will have to be said. Anyways As my day continued I happily taught my Welcome lesson with many students being fascinated by the pictures I brought in of my family and friends. After going out to lunch with Kim I came back to find out that I'd be teaching grade 5 for the second time today because they decided to change my schedule and grade 5 will now be after lunch. Not having another lesson plan ready I had to make one up as we went through class. According to past volunteers these "change in schedules" happen frequently. I resorted back to subjects we planned during curriculum doing some Days of the Week and ABC activities that didn't need any pre-made materials. From 2-3pm I have prep time before heading home around 3:30 pm however many students end up filing in my classroom to say hello or just look at me. Having this amount of attention all day is oddly tiring, which is weird to say.

However being around the students makes me realize why I came to Thailand. Events in the US, even Halloween or the Giants winning the world series seem insignificant and not in my frame of mind anymore. Living in Thailand makes you live in the present. Planning is not significant but living by what the day gives you. A pertinent example of this is not having a school calendar or schedule. Besides the national Buddhist holidays there is no set time for when vacation starts or ends, what days you have off, and so on. This can already seem at times frustrating when you are handed these scenarios last minute but I'm learning fast not to dwell and keep going.

In attempts to learn all my students name I had them make name tags and take a picture. Students are required to wear some type of uniform to school everyday whether it be sports day, scouting, or regular, which makes it even harder to differentiate them. Also girls are required to have short hair till I think around grade 10 and boys are expected to have no hair around ears. This means almost everyone has similar haircuts. I'm pretty sure I butcher their names every time but it'll take some practice. Here are some of my adorable yet crazy students from my class of 31 kindergarden, 1st, 2nd graders.

**I also added a few new pictures under Photo page!

1st grader girl Pom:

1st grader Luck: