Week two of being back in school (and my being back in the blogosphere) and much is going on. Due to the delayed start, school is extended to 4pm everyday and 5pm if you teach the extra period (which I do twice a week). Monday through Thursday I also tutor from 7-8 (7-9 on Thursday) but as it is far away I have to leave by 6:30. This makes for an awkward 1 to 2.5 hours in which I must finish any planning of my lessons and eat dinner. I usually come home from tutoring ready to go right to sleep, but I also have to find time to do grading and planning for my regular classes, grading of the student journals, and other various chores/errands. Additionally, we have had class on Saturdays in December (again to make up for missed time) and all this week and last we have had to come in a half hour early to work in order to do reading aloud tests with the students for an hour each morning.
So, my schedule is a bit hectic to begin with, but because I’m awesome (I only surmise this is the reason), I have had to miss classes—and more importantly my free planning periods—to record vocabulary lists or write up memos, letters, etc. for Miss Pat. Yesterday and today, Ashley and I do not have to go to Read Alouds but instead are giving dictation tests to the Secondary 5 and 6 students (my students). Apparently this is a largeish portion of their grade. Basically we read a list of 25 vocabulary words and the students write them down, give the Thai translation, and group every 5 into a subject category. For me this is kind of fun and a nice change up from the monotony of Read Alouds.
Also in the category of extra work I am made to do is exam correction. Supposedly, starting today, I, and a handful of other teachers, will be reading and editing the Formulative and Mid-Term exams. This means I will be missing my classes through Friday which is a shame because I’ve actually been teaching a lot this semester.
That, in a nutshell, is my day to day life these days. Now onto things of special note that occurred in the last week: I had my first class with my new Period 9 class, Primary 1 or first grade. They are adorable!! I have had them twice now and they’re great. They were so much better behaved than I was anticipating and than the third graders I had initially were. Also, some of them are very, very smart. I love my new class.
I also acquired new tutees on Thursday nights. I have three new Vajiravudh students who will not be leaving for New Zealand in January like all of my other tutees. They are in M3 or 9th grade and they are a pretty funny group. They’re fairly willing to talk, but less willing to write or do other “work” than my other tutees. But I like them a bunch so far and they remind me of my old Period 8 M3-ers at St. Gabe’s whom I no longer have.
Hilarity ensued this week when I had two really fabulous moments of both dazzling my M6 students with my knowledge of Thai language (of which I think they assumed I had absolutely none) and of bonding with them. The first was in 6/1. My teacher had stepped out of the room briefly and I was doing the vocabulary exercise with the class who was being decently behaved; only talking some. Then I was interrupted by a few students in the back corner causing a bit of a ruckus, shouting “Teachaa!! Teachaa! He farted!” and pointing—while smiling broadly—at their friend. I turn from the board, look their way, and hit them with a “Kai tot?,” a phrase I learned from my very mature neighbor who took it upon himself to learn only the most sophisticated phrases in Thai and which means “Who farted?” I think “awed and inspired” accurately sums up how the students felt about my employment of this phrase. They laughed heartily while simultaneously being very impressed. A quality bonding moment.
In 6/7 that same day, I had started the class alone because Miss Pimjai had to run an errand and she wasn’t sure she’d make it back in time. This is not too bad because 6/7 is always a small class and as it was Saturday, there were several absentees. Anyway, I get class started and everything is going fine and then Miss Pimjai returns to the usual chorus of “Krou PimJAI!” (This class loves to joke around with my coteacher, but as it is in Thai I don’t often have more than a vague idea what about.) A student said something about “krou farang” which I know to be me (“foreign teacher”) and Miss Pimjai said something back also about me. Then a student said both “krou farang” and “soi,” then Miss Pimjai said “krou farang,” some words, “soi,” some words, and “na ka?” to which another student responded with “krou farang” and “soi mak.” At this point I interjected with a laugh and an “I know what you’re saying!” (The exclamation because I was excited to understand). They had been saying I was “soi” meaning “beautiful” and “soi mak,” “very beautiful.” To this I gave a small curtsey and said “Thanks, guys!” and then moved on with the lesson.
Later in the lesson, the vocabulary word was “delicate” which I told them was a synonym of “fragile.” Miss Pimjai then began to explain in Thai that while “delicate” means “fragile” it can be used otherwise. She asked the students (as far as I could gather from context and the use of “Miss Jennifer” and “delicate”) what “delicate” means if it were used to describe someone like me in terms of frame or build. (Side note: I have never in my life been described as delicate and I think it might be among the more hilariously inaccurate descriptions of me ever.) One student day, rather enthusiastically declared “Sexy!” which was again hilarious. Miss Pimjai then corrected him saying it meant “slim.”
But a big thanks goes out to 6/7 for really inflating my ego on Saturday! It was hysterical and I loved it.
The last matter of note from this week was our John Mary Christmas celebration held on Sunday. We residents of John Mary (the American teachers) had set up a Secret Santa gift exchange. On Sunday, our only day off, many of us went to Chatuchak or Khao San or Central World to shop. We then reconvened in the evening to exchange. Despite some initial worries from some of us about others, it worked out so well! Everyone did a great job shopping and picked perfect gifts for their Secret Santa. I had had Stoll and since I’m around Stoll a fair amount, I got her all things she said she needed/wanted plus an ice cream bar she loves and a random cute dress for kicks. It was most successful! Connor had me and he gave me cash designated for a dance class at Rumperee (a studio in Bangkok where I have taken one ballet class before)! It was perfect! I was so surprised because I don’t know Connor very well, but he knew I like dance and looked up studios in Bangkok and how much classes were and gave me the “gift certificate” of sorts. I was so happy! We all laughed a lot together and took a group photo. It was a great time.
Now I really need to stop writing this and get ready for another busy day. I’m very much looking forward to Portugal at the end of this week!! Though, at the same time, it seems so unreal that Christmas is nearly here.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Oh My God, We're Back Again...
Let’s try this again; shall we? I’ve been back in Bangkok almost exactly a week now and things are already hilarious and stressful and everything they were before, and I would love to tell you all about them!
I would not even begin to try to recapitulate everything that happened between when I last blogged sometime in July and now as that would be a daunting task which would comprise the longest blog post of all time, one which I have less desire to write than you would have to read. Nevertheless, allow me to briefly fill you in on the last few months:
The term closed back in September. While the students took their finals, we foreign teachers were tasked with writing a semester’s worth of lesson plans in English for the St. Gabriel’s Foundation. This involved two weeks of sitting in a large board room doing much cutting and pasting (as I had both Grammar and Writing for M5 and M6 and they were given to fairly consistent lesson structures with only a change in the subject matter covered) and even more sporcle quizzes. What we did most, however, (at least in my case) was eat. Here at St. Gabriel’s, extra work is sometimes rewarded monetarily, but always rewarded with food…and in excess. The basic feeding schedule for this all day everyday project was as follows: 7am – 9:30am breakfast consisting of peanut butter toast, bananas, and yogurt; 9:30am morning snack consisting usually of some sort of cake-like pastry, but sometimes mayonnaise and ketchup covered mini hotdogs wrapped in a slice of white bread; 10:40am lunch consisting of a buffet of rice, soup, sometimes noodles, and either chicken and vegetables or waterfall pork with a fruit of some kind for dessert; 1:30 or 2pm afternoon snack which was something reminiscent of morning snack but more likely to involve meat; and on certain special days, 3:30pm dinner of pizza, garlic bread, and wings from Pizza Company. Needless to say, I gained approximately 20lbs in those two weeks.
October then consisted of my planned travel to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. About half of the photos are on facebook and I will put the rest up soon. All three countries were beautiful and definitely worth spending more time in than I was able.
November was when we were supposed to begin school again, but due to impending and occurring flooding in Bangkok, the reopening of school was pushed back, initially for two weeks. So arriving in Bangkok from Laos on the morning of the 29th of October, I booked a flight that afternoon and departed at 1am that night for the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave! That’s right; I went home for Halloween (for which I was completely jetlagged) and with the intention of instituting a faux Thanksgiving. I really wanted some time to relax after all the traveling I had done and to spend with my family. Also, winter is my favorite season and I knew I was going to miss the cold, so I went home for fall which was the closest to it I could get.
It turns out the flooding was more severe than originally anticipated, so I was able to stay home into the beginning of December! This was good because it gave me the chance to see a lot of my friends (some more than once), have TWO Thanksgivings, and do nothing for about a month. What was not good about the length of time home was that I began to get used to it, and leaving to come back to Bangkok was harder than it would have been had I left after two weeks.
On December 5th, Thailand’s Father’s Day and 84th birthday of the great Rama IX, King of Thailand, and longest reigning monarch EVER (I kid you not), I arrived back in Bangkok. My flight got in a bit later than planned, but between baggage claim (my bags had to be the last among thousands of bags as it seems the people aboard my flight took it upon themselves to check all the tiniest mini suitcases and random cardboard boxes of stuff) and the line to wait for a taxi (no BTS after midnight), I wasn’t back in my room until close to 2 am. I did, nevertheless, enjoy the ride back to John Mary because much of the part of the city in which I live was lit up for the holiday much like Christmas here; it was fabulous!
The next day was the start of school and I remember very little of it because I was so tired the whole day. After nearly falling asleep at my desk during the last period when I had a free period, I went straight back to my room after school and promptly fell asleep around 4 pm. The whole week basically consisted of me going to sleep before 6pm and waking up at around 3am ready to start my day. By the second day of work, I was already being asked to write signs to pass on messages about things we would have to do, create grading rubrics, and teach Miss Pat yoga (this last I have yet to do and I’m hoping if I don’t inquire further it will just go away). By Friday, I was back to the fabulous compliments characteristic of Thailand from Miss Pat who said I looked beautiful, to Miss Pimjai who said my outfit was cute, to Bence who said I’d make a good teacher in the U.S.
Over the weekend, I did a lot of cleaning and organizing and planning. We had a “Christmas Tree Lighting” in the common area where we each hung up a handmade ornament and then plugged in our mini plastic Christmas tree. We also set up Secret Santa which should be fun, but there is not much time for gift purchasing as we are exchanging this coming weekend because some people are leaving for break early. In fact when I did attempt to make purchases at Chatuchuk on Sunday with Emily and Amanda, we cut our trip short after Emily’s wallet was stolen out of her purse. Nothing like a pickpocket to say “Welcome back to Thailand! You’re still a farang.”
Yesterday, another holiday from regular school, I began tutoring again in the evening. It was my most awkward tutee and a painful hour. He just nods excessively to indicate understanding when he doesn’t understand, he is a bit antsy, he won’t look me in the eye, and he mumbles. Maybe it’s just because he is a 7th grade boy who goes to an all boys boarding school but doesn’t like it because he’d rather be at home with his mom and I am a twenty something American lady who is trying to read him stories that are both too easy and too difficult or his level. Anyway, most of my tutoring students will leave for New Zealand in January with the exception of a group of three new students whom I will meet on Thursday, so I will have more free time then. Tonight I have to tutor the triplets, so I need to go prepare something for them now.
Oh! Lastly, my period 8 class, which was basically five 9th graders whom I loved and who loved me, was changed. Starting tomorrow I will be teaching 1st graders I have yet to meet who are likely to be adorable but crazy and not particularly comprehending of the English language. Oh, Thailand, why does nothing ever make any sense…
I would not even begin to try to recapitulate everything that happened between when I last blogged sometime in July and now as that would be a daunting task which would comprise the longest blog post of all time, one which I have less desire to write than you would have to read. Nevertheless, allow me to briefly fill you in on the last few months:
The term closed back in September. While the students took their finals, we foreign teachers were tasked with writing a semester’s worth of lesson plans in English for the St. Gabriel’s Foundation. This involved two weeks of sitting in a large board room doing much cutting and pasting (as I had both Grammar and Writing for M5 and M6 and they were given to fairly consistent lesson structures with only a change in the subject matter covered) and even more sporcle quizzes. What we did most, however, (at least in my case) was eat. Here at St. Gabriel’s, extra work is sometimes rewarded monetarily, but always rewarded with food…and in excess. The basic feeding schedule for this all day everyday project was as follows: 7am – 9:30am breakfast consisting of peanut butter toast, bananas, and yogurt; 9:30am morning snack consisting usually of some sort of cake-like pastry, but sometimes mayonnaise and ketchup covered mini hotdogs wrapped in a slice of white bread; 10:40am lunch consisting of a buffet of rice, soup, sometimes noodles, and either chicken and vegetables or waterfall pork with a fruit of some kind for dessert; 1:30 or 2pm afternoon snack which was something reminiscent of morning snack but more likely to involve meat; and on certain special days, 3:30pm dinner of pizza, garlic bread, and wings from Pizza Company. Needless to say, I gained approximately 20lbs in those two weeks.
October then consisted of my planned travel to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. About half of the photos are on facebook and I will put the rest up soon. All three countries were beautiful and definitely worth spending more time in than I was able.
November was when we were supposed to begin school again, but due to impending and occurring flooding in Bangkok, the reopening of school was pushed back, initially for two weeks. So arriving in Bangkok from Laos on the morning of the 29th of October, I booked a flight that afternoon and departed at 1am that night for the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave! That’s right; I went home for Halloween (for which I was completely jetlagged) and with the intention of instituting a faux Thanksgiving. I really wanted some time to relax after all the traveling I had done and to spend with my family. Also, winter is my favorite season and I knew I was going to miss the cold, so I went home for fall which was the closest to it I could get.
It turns out the flooding was more severe than originally anticipated, so I was able to stay home into the beginning of December! This was good because it gave me the chance to see a lot of my friends (some more than once), have TWO Thanksgivings, and do nothing for about a month. What was not good about the length of time home was that I began to get used to it, and leaving to come back to Bangkok was harder than it would have been had I left after two weeks.
On December 5th, Thailand’s Father’s Day and 84th birthday of the great Rama IX, King of Thailand, and longest reigning monarch EVER (I kid you not), I arrived back in Bangkok. My flight got in a bit later than planned, but between baggage claim (my bags had to be the last among thousands of bags as it seems the people aboard my flight took it upon themselves to check all the tiniest mini suitcases and random cardboard boxes of stuff) and the line to wait for a taxi (no BTS after midnight), I wasn’t back in my room until close to 2 am. I did, nevertheless, enjoy the ride back to John Mary because much of the part of the city in which I live was lit up for the holiday much like Christmas here; it was fabulous!
The next day was the start of school and I remember very little of it because I was so tired the whole day. After nearly falling asleep at my desk during the last period when I had a free period, I went straight back to my room after school and promptly fell asleep around 4 pm. The whole week basically consisted of me going to sleep before 6pm and waking up at around 3am ready to start my day. By the second day of work, I was already being asked to write signs to pass on messages about things we would have to do, create grading rubrics, and teach Miss Pat yoga (this last I have yet to do and I’m hoping if I don’t inquire further it will just go away). By Friday, I was back to the fabulous compliments characteristic of Thailand from Miss Pat who said I looked beautiful, to Miss Pimjai who said my outfit was cute, to Bence who said I’d make a good teacher in the U.S.
Over the weekend, I did a lot of cleaning and organizing and planning. We had a “Christmas Tree Lighting” in the common area where we each hung up a handmade ornament and then plugged in our mini plastic Christmas tree. We also set up Secret Santa which should be fun, but there is not much time for gift purchasing as we are exchanging this coming weekend because some people are leaving for break early. In fact when I did attempt to make purchases at Chatuchuk on Sunday with Emily and Amanda, we cut our trip short after Emily’s wallet was stolen out of her purse. Nothing like a pickpocket to say “Welcome back to Thailand! You’re still a farang.”
Yesterday, another holiday from regular school, I began tutoring again in the evening. It was my most awkward tutee and a painful hour. He just nods excessively to indicate understanding when he doesn’t understand, he is a bit antsy, he won’t look me in the eye, and he mumbles. Maybe it’s just because he is a 7th grade boy who goes to an all boys boarding school but doesn’t like it because he’d rather be at home with his mom and I am a twenty something American lady who is trying to read him stories that are both too easy and too difficult or his level. Anyway, most of my tutoring students will leave for New Zealand in January with the exception of a group of three new students whom I will meet on Thursday, so I will have more free time then. Tonight I have to tutor the triplets, so I need to go prepare something for them now.
Oh! Lastly, my period 8 class, which was basically five 9th graders whom I loved and who loved me, was changed. Starting tomorrow I will be teaching 1st graders I have yet to meet who are likely to be adorable but crazy and not particularly comprehending of the English language. Oh, Thailand, why does nothing ever make any sense…
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