I've decided attempting a Thai language ban on my students while they are in my classroom. Objections have been duly noted, but I am convinced that it is the proper way to go. A large part of the Thai I have learned so far comes from them repeating the phrases, "I don't know" and "What the hell is he trying to say to me" (loose translation), so I've taught them the difference in "I don't know" and "I don't understand". It is a starting point for science and a positive step in making me understand what is getting through to them.

My other ESL experience was at a private academy in South Korea, where our rules were no Korean once they entered the building. Those kids started out at a more advanced level, but from what I've seen the degree of mixing languages is greater here than it was there. Korean + English = Konglish because of many technological words they used like handupone (meaning hand phone or cell phone) and aerocon (meaning air conditioner, which is present in a few languages I think), but here they do that and then some. I've noticed that if you talk to my kids for any period of time, they start to use Thai, which happens naturally of course, but I think the teaching style here of learning English while using your native language exacerbates that.

It's also quite difficult to teach science because I have very little contact with the Thai science teachers and no access to facilities or materials. The fact that I've been told laboratories are there but I've never been shown them only makes it worse. I did get to jump up on a desk today while teaching about gravity, though.

This is where we had lunch by the river.
These are the mudflaps I think Stuart needs on his rig. I'm not sure whose picture it is, maybe Eric Clapton or Kenny Loggins.

teacher appreciation

Strange Thai thing number 1 was at school this week as we had Wai Kru, or teacher appreciation day. The ceremony begins with all of the kids lining up in a very orderly fashion on the floor of our gymnasium/gathering hall. They do this without any direction from teachers and they are quite good at making this quasi military formation because its the first thing done every morning at the beginning of school. Meanwhile, all of us teachers are sitting up on the stage in two long rows, with foreign (called falang, because apparently the French were the first exposure to white people Thais had, they pronounced French as falang, and the name stuck for a few hundred years) teachers in the back row and many of the Thai teachers in their best military dress.

There was some nice music and a few speaches, then the procession began, which means that every student walks by (another aside here; when students pass a teacher, it is customary for them to stoop a little and bow their heads as a sign of respect. This was done a lot more in the past, but is still considered polite behavior) and then kneels in front of the teachers for a one to one sign of respect. They give you a gift of flowers and maybe some incense, bow their head down and await words of wisdom or encouragement. I don't know the students well yet, but I am vaguely aware of their English ability and the fact that any advice I could give must be very simple and easy to understand. I tell them good luck, work hard, and study what makes them happy. Good advice, but its very likely that they don't understand what I mean. They politely wait for me to stop talking, then get up and move on, probably wishing that they had been luckier and gotten to kneel in front of someone who spoke their language. Because all of the hundreds of students bring flowers, it is expected that we won't keep all of them and helper students are waiting nearby to relieve us of the unwanted gifts. These students remain on their knees to show even more respect.

I find it difficult to describe how strange the scenario is, but I was raised in the US where we don't have these customs. Most people consider it a good thing that Thais are so respectful, but I'm not convinced. I am aware that some American students would more happily punch a teacher in the face than physically lower themselves in the presence of educators, but with that disrespect comes the desire to question authority and think for oneself. Kids are better off learning early to be an individual and respect adults after it's been earned. Of course, a lot of it comes down to the cultural differences regarding what is considered rude and polite, but I'm tired of that excuse. Maybe it's the science teacher in me that wants to make sure my kids question accepted wisdom and authority. Actually, a major milestone was achieved yesterday because I successfully taught one of my students to say "I don't understand" as a response to my question. That statement lets me know what is and is not getting through to them, and it's the first step towards finding something interesting to learn. Realizing you don't understand something is the first part of the scientific method, but it's the least talked about in classes.

Getting settled in

Apologies all around for not keeping in touch, taking pictures, etc. but it is quite a task to get things in order as a foreigner in Thailand. I have rented a house near my school and across the street from a mountain full of monkeys. Their behavior is comparable to thunderstorms; sometimes the skies are clear and there are no monkeys while other days they can be all around, drinking leftover cokes on the street curb, or performing acrobatics on the powerlines. My local monkeys are much more relaxed and peaceful than the ones at school. School monkeys are on the hunt for junkfood left by children, shot at with pellet guns by the gardeners, and chairs get thrown at them if they enter our classrooms. My first class of my first day started with a monkey in the room, but I told him I needed the room and he left. Others have been more combative.
My domestic fauna consists of ants that taste a little too strongly of formic acid to be pleasant, lazy house geckos, a giant spider I haven't bothered to identify or evict, and a few of the biggest cockroaches I've seen outside of the Bahamas and South Carolina. At least the roaches are not big or numerous enough that I can hear them scuttle around like I did in Eluthera.
The house has character and needs a little work, but it should give me something to do. I've already gotten to know the nice ladies at the hardware store, just down the road. If my dad were here, he would have plenty of jobs to work on between my house and little yard, but he would be quite frustrated at the lack of foresight in Thai construction, and he would immediately start putting in new electrical outlets (some rooms only have one). Funny side note, the most ingenious engineering I've seen in Thailand lies in the electrical outlets that are designed to fit American and Korean type plugs. Brilliant idea, but in practice it makes nothing fit right and there are some pretty sizeable sparks that fly out sometime. I think someone told me electric shock is the second most prevalent cause of death here.
I bought a refrigerator recently and am on my way to being properly domestic. Part of that will also be figuring out the local produce. Aside from learning new names, there are fruits and vegetables here I've never even heard of. I had something the other day that seemed to be a cross between eggplant and tomato.
I have not taken many pictures, despite trips to the beaches, a national park, pineapple farm, Cambodia and Bangkok, but I will fix that soon.