Monkeying About Town

Lop Buri. A place where monkeys run the town and the locals protect themselves with long wooden sticks. A place where sunflowers stand tall in fields as far as the eye can see, backdropped by mountainous landscapes. This is where I spent my weekend. Getting there wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do though. A 2 hour long bus ride to Bangkok followed by a 2 and a half hour long train ride to Lop Buri, and I had to stand the whole time. When I arrived, I met up with my four favorite people from my program: Ian, Lexa, Joe, and Deb. We've been close since orientation and have stayed in touch really well. I checked into my hotel and then went off to see the town. It's a small place, mainly just one street with hotels and restaurants along it, smaller streets off to the sides and end-capped with the famous monkey temple where they all congregate. From outside my hotel room window you can see the monkeys hanging out on power lines, telephone poles, and on the monkey cages that protected the room. I even had a tug of war with a monkey over a bottle of water through the cage. We quickly went over to the temple, and almost immediately this happened to me....

That's right. I was surrounded by monkeys and a few of them even jumped on me!

We met up with a few other people, making our total 8 and hopped in the back of a pickup

truck, setting off to the sunflower fields. It felt great being in the back of that truck. Sun on my skin, wind in my face, and scenery you'd have to see to believe. Really one of the best moments I've had in Thailand so far. We arrived at the fields and spent lots of time walking around, and posing for cheesy pictures. I mean, really, what's more cheesy than being in a field of sunflowers? Afterwards, we hopped back on the truck, went up the mountain to a Wat and prayed with a monk. No one knew what they were saying obviously, we just repeated what the guide told us to say. An unbelievably cool experience nonetheless. On the way back into town we stopped at one more sunflower field, not as big as the other one, but the flowers were much more vibrant in color.

We went back into town, met up with a whole bunch of other people, most I hadn't seen since orientation ended. There were probably about 30 or so people there from CIEE. It was a little overwhelming to see so many of them. I had the same conversation with most of them, "How's teaching going, etc..." It was really good to see some people though. We ate dinner, had some drinks and then went off to a bar, but I was exhausted and I actually fell asleep in the bar. I rested my head on my hand while I was sitting in a chair, and I must have just passed out. I woke up when my roommate Jon tapped me and told me to go back to the hotel. So I did. The

next morning was the start of the big monkey feeding festival. There were people everywhere and everything was all set up for the monkeys to feast. It was quite funny to watch the monkeys binge eat on junk food and soda but it got old kind of fast. After about 45 minutes, I had enough. I left Lop Buri with Ian, Lexa, Joe and Deb. We hopped on a bus back to Suphan Buri, where they lived and where I would catch another bus to my town. Once in Suphan Buri, ate lunch and then went to the big Wal-Mart-Esque store called Tesco Lotus. They have them all over Thailand but this one was the biggest I had seen so far. It had everything, but I only wanted one thing... Peanut Butter. I got myself a big jar of Jif, extra crunchy. I also picked up some Nutella and bread, and my goodness was I excited. We said our goodbyes and I caught a bus back to Kamphaeng Saen. I had a peanut butter and nutella sandwich when I got home, and it was just as gloriously wonderful as I could have hoped. Next weekend I'm meeting up with the same group and heading off the Ko Si Chang and then to Ko Samet for a week of beaches and sunshine and relaxation. The weekend cannot get here soon enough.

Thanksgiving- Thai Style

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wish I was home for just one day to celebrate and eat lots of tofurkey, corn bread, stuffing, and drink David Gordon's pineapple soda. Instead I am in Kamphaeng Saen, went to the outdoor food market and ate pad thai and drank a watermelon/apple smoothie for dinner. Not really the same. Oh well. A bunch of us are going to Lop Buri this weekend for the infamous monkey festival, so I am sure all us crazy Americans will go out and have a nice dinner to celebrate the holiday. I also can't believe I am going to miss the football game this year! This will be the first time in many years that I have not participated in the yearly ritual... the VB's better win again! Good Luck friends! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great holiday, eats lots of tasty food and has fun at the awkward family reunions. Enjoy!

My Brush with Death

I got a new bike. Cost me an extra pretty penny, but at least it won't fall apart on me like the last one did. The night I got it, I took it out for a nice ride around campus, but it was dark and I couldn't always see where I was going. This resulted in one of the most truly terrifying moments of my life. I had accidentally biked near a house which is the stomping grounds for a pack of wild dogs. At first it didn't appear to be a problem, I saw one dog barking but I wasn't concerned because there are dogs barking everywhere here. But slowly, one by one, more dogs came, barking louder and louder, and pretty much blocking off the road so I couldn't bike by them. I'd say there was about 7 or 8 dogs barking at me at this point, and they were staring me down much like a Mexican Standoff. This is where panic mode kicked in. How will I get by them? Will I get by them? Am I about to be torn to shreds by wild dogs in Thailand? These are the questions I asked myself before I decided to just go for it. I could out bike them, couldn't I? I was about to find out. I saw a clear patch of grass to the right, where I thought that if I pedaled fast enough I could get by them with ease. Off I went! Pedaling faster and harder than I ever have before. With my fear at an all time high, thinking I was about to be torn to bits by crazy dogs, I sped past them. I quickly turned around and saw that it was not over yet, the dogs started chasing me. So there I am, riding my bike down a street in Thailand, being chased by dogs. This was probably the most hilarious thing in the world to anyone who saw this happen, but for me, this was truly one of the most terrifying situations I have ever been in. Eventually, the dogs backed off and I rode home, heart beating like crazy, and my legs sore. But I emerged as the victor from the showdown... and if those dogs ever come around my territory I will give them a taste of their own medicine. And by that I mean hide in my apartment and look out the window until they leave.

Malfunction on 2 Wheels

So I got a bike last week. I was excited to finally have some freedom to go where I want, when I want. I was looking forward to leisurely rides around campus, wind in my face, music in my ears, and just some good old fashioned exercise. Some things are not meant to be, however. First, the chain came lose on the bike, which made it impossible to ride, so I took it to get fixed. 20 Baht later, I was back on the bike, and ready to start over again. The next day, the chain broke again, but this time it just came totally off, falling onto the pavement. At first I didn't even realize what had happened and I was just pedaling really fast and realizing that I wasn't really going anywhere. I turned around and saw the chain just lying there. I was not pleased. So, again, I took it to get fixed at the bike shop. They told me I needed a new chain cause the one I had was a piece of junk. 2 hours later, and 100 Baht less in my pocket my bike was rejuvenated once again. Another 2 hours go by and I've enjoyed a ride around town and I'm heading back to my apartment when the pedal breaks off, so I pick it up and start pedaling with the one remaining pedal. About 1 minute later, the seat gives out and I fall off the back of the bike. But I have to say, the bike mechanic did a heck of a job fixing my chain, because that didn't break at all this time. So, in conclusion, I bought the biggest piece of junk bike in the entire world. When I get a new one, I want to beat the old bike to a pile of metal scraps with a baseball bat, Office Space style.

A Week in Review

Hello all, nothing really too exciting to report today. The past week has been pretty boring. I didn't go on any trips this weekend, had to stay in and save up some money for this coming weekend and every other weekend after it. I honestly can never stay in my town again on the weekends, there is not a single gosh darn thing to do. So, I have already booked myself every weekend until New Years.

Luckily, I did go on a couple quick journeys this weekend so I would be able to keep my sanity. Friday night, my roommate Jon and I went to Nakhon Pathom, met up with our friend Lauren and went back to our favorite restaurant, Lullaby. We had a nice dinner, made plans for future trips, and then went to a cool bar which had live music. For a moment, it almost felt like I was back in DC, hanging out with Josh at a concert at the 9:30 club. Oh, memories. Sunday I went to a floating market and tried some delicious Thai desserts, walked around, and explored a little bit. I came across a family of kittens that I wanted to keep, but I thought that I couldn't bare to part with any more cats after my emotional goodbye with Smelliot. I started to walk away, but they followed, and as I looked back I wanted to scream something dramatic and emotional to make it easier. You know, something like "Go on, live your life! You are better off without me! Be free!" But I didn't, I just walked away, and that was that. When I got home, I spent about 5 hours grading 360 students tests, not my idea of a lazy Sunday.

One of my kitten friends.

Today has been good so far though, I've had two classes already and they both went really well. I started teaching them about life events, like being born, graduating, buying a house, falling in love, etc. We played a scavenger hunt where students had to ask each other certain questions to see what they have done or want to do in their lives. It seemed to work well and the students enjoyed themselves. I also noticed lyrics to a certain Spice Girls song written on one of the desks in the classroom, evidently the students in Thailand still think its fun to sing this...

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever, friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

I'm not kidding. This was really written on a desk. Someone needs to give the kids in Thailand a pop-culture lesson. A few weeks ago, one of the students told me their dream was to meet Michael Jackson, but I didn't have the heart to tell them the truth.

...28 Days Later

I have now been in Thailand for one full month. But instead of rage infected man eaters like the title of the post suggests, I have prepubescent wild Thai kids. Today I gave my first test to a class, and caught two kids cheating. I walked over to them, pulled out a big red pen from my pocket and drew a giant zero and wrote FAIL on their paper. Then I simply said, "don't cheat," and walked away as they put their heads down in shame. Yesterday, I joined the art club at school and helped monitor all the little primary school kids as they made little paper mache bowls. I may have made one too. I can't wait till next monday when I get to paint it!

I find it interesting that after a month of being here in Thailand, I no longer think of myself as being in Thailand. I don't know if that makes sense, but it seems like the novelty of it has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and the places I have been so far are beyond awesome, and I'm sure I will go to dozens of equally awesome places. But it seems that I have just accepted that I live in Thailand now, and I can't really imagine it being any different. I wake up in my apartment every morning, try to chase the geckos out of my room, take the trash out cause it's covered in ants from the one microscopic piece of food that was left in it, and I shower, get dressed, and go to school. I have fallen into a routine, and even though I am in this new and exciting place, I no longer really think about it. I'm just in Thailand, this is where I am right now. I'm sure my friends back home who have traveled and lived in foreign lands understand what I mean when I say this, and I am by no means saying I don't like being here. Honestly, I can't even imagine leaving anytime soon. I'm starting to doubt that I will end up staying an extra semester here at the school, but I have no intentions of coming back to America any time soon.

To mark my one month anniversary here, I am going to watch the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight. It should be a dazzling spectacle for the eyes as hundreds of meteors will whiz by the night sky, and then quickly burn up in the earths atmosphere. Try to catch some stardust.

Into the Wild

Another weekend, another adventure... but such is life here in Thailand. It all started when I arrived in Kanchanaburi at about 5:30 Friday evening. Checked into an incredible little guest house on the Kwai River called the Sugar Cane. All the rooms are built onto a dock over the river, so you walk outside of your room and you're immediately on the river. There were some amazing views of the sunset, and everyone knows that I am a sucker for sunsets. I don't think I have ever seen sunsets like these though, the sky looked like it was red with fire, and the reflection on the water really added that little something extra.

I met up with a bunch of other people from my program, and I had the most delicious Panang Curry you could ever imagine. We had an early morning, so the night didn't last long, a few beers

and some relaxing times went by quickly. Up early the next morning at 7am, we took a bus to Erawan Falls and hiked up the 7 levels of waterfalls. Along the way, swam in crystal clear water, fish nibbling at my feet. Stood under a towering waterfall, soaked up the sun, ran into a family of wild monkeys, and had some delicious American french fries.

The next day was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Off to the Tiger Temple we went. A place where they rescue endangered Tigers and help breed them with the hopes of increasing the number of Tigers in Asia. Currently there are about 1,200 Indochinese Tigers in the whole continent, down from about 80,000 not too long ago... The place was well organized and the tigers seem genuinely loved and cared for by the monks who run the temple. It was an unforgettable experience being so close to these massive animals. I got to put my head in between a sleeping 7 month old tigers paws, posed for pictures with many adult tigers, and watched them play and exercise. These gigantic cats are really no different than your average house cat, they love to play and jump at things dangling in front of their faces. Seeing the tigers really made me miss Smelliot back home, and I laughed at the idea of her playing with these tigers that are about 10 times her size.

Enjoy the video below of the tigers playing and exercising at the temple. And don't forget about the Leonid meteor shower tomorrow night! It's going to be a pretty awesome display of shooting stars... don't forget to make a wish when you see them! Catch you all on the flipside.

Office Hijinks

It is friday, and it is the end of my 2nd week of teaching. I would have to say that this week was overall considerably better than the last. I've got this teaching thing down, and the kids seem like they might be starting to pay attention. I guess I will see how much they actually learned when I give my first test next week. I assigned a homework assignment this week, and in 9 classes with 360 students, about 25 students did the assignment. So, what do they get? They get a test a week early! They didn't seem too pleased about that, but hey, it's their own fault, right? The students that did their homework get an automatic 5 bonus points on the test, which resulted in many of the other students trying to do their homework super fast to get the bonus points. No dice though, too bad for them.

I thought I would share with you some funny things that have happened in my office the past week. One of the other English teachers from South Africa consistently goes on YouTube throughout the day and listens to crank phone calls. The way he laughs at them, is certainly one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. But wait, it gets better! There is a teacher here named Ajaan Egg (Ajaan=Teacher), who has a very limited knowledge of English, but has a passionate love for classic American rock. The other day he comes strolling into my office and asks if I like John Denver, before I could even reply he starts singing a John Denver song in a stereotypical American Western accent. I almost died laughing. He probably had no idea what he was singing, but he knew all the words, and you know what, he wasn't half bad. His next song was You've Got a Friend by James Taylor, which was if possible, funnier than the song before it. I don't know if he knew I was laughing because I was enjoying it, or because I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Probably a mix of both, but he didn't seem to care either way. He told me that he sings on Wednesday nights at a place called "Cowboy Land" here in town. He dresses up like a cowboy and sings western songs for a couple of hours. This is something I simply cannot miss. The picture I have in my mind already has me on the floor laughing.

Oh yeah, one more thing... My coordinator Pat told me that her favorite singer is Lady GaGa. Keep in mind that Pat is over 50 years old.

The Silent Treatment

Over the course of the past 2 weeks, I have done more yelling and screaming than I have ever done in my entire life. My throat was bound to get sore sooner or later. Well, it happened sooner. This morning I woke up with an incredibly sore throat and it was not easy to speak. I was worried because today is my busiest day of the week with 5 classes throughout the day. How would I be able to teach 200 kids if I can barely speak? I'll tell you how... force the students to run the class. I took it easy today and made the students do most of the work for once. And in the process, I learned an incredibly powerful new way to discipline the students when they misbehave. The Silent Treatment. Any time they were out of control during a class, instead of yelling at them, I just sat down in a chair, stopped talking, and stared at the students who were misbehaving. Basically what happens is a chain reaction, one student sees that I am staring, then they tell another, and another, and another, until the whole class is dead silent. Apparently, Thai students hate to make eye contact, and they have no idea what to do if you just sit there and stare at them. This means that my voice should be better in no time, and the silent treatment has become my weapon of choice.

PS- Today at the food market, some (well behaved) students ran into me when I was wearing my street clothes and they told me that I looked cool. Huzzah!

History Lesson

Friends, followers, admirers, devotees, and dreamers... this was the best weekend yet. After a long, tiring and stressful first week of teaching I was ready to get as far away from school as I could. Far away turned out to be about 2 hours northwest, but my goodness, was it ever far enough. It all started when I took a bus up to the province above me, Suphan Buri, to meet up with my friends who I had not seen since orientation. We had a quick catch-up and then we hit the road. A private van we hired picked us up and off we were to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, which fell as the Southeast Asian superpower a little more than 300 years ago. A seemingly ordinary ride quickly took a sharp turn towards awesome when the driver turned off the lights, cranked up the music and turned on the party lights. That's right, we had a mini dance party in a van cramped tight with 9 people. Flashing disco lights, techno, fun times and the occasional cheese and cracker quickly ensued and lasted until we arrived at our destination.

We stayed at a beautiful home-stay called Baan Are Gong which was right on the river that surrounded the island of Ayutthaya. We checked in, unwound, jumped on the bed, and had a nice dinner along the river. We awoke the next morning ready for fun, ready to learn about the history, ready for anything. We went to Wat after Wat after Wat, each one in ruins, each one amazing to admire. I couldn't help but think to myself how magnificent this place must have been in its heyday. The things that went on here, the battles that were fought when the Burmese tore it down. Many important decisions of Thailand were made here, and many important people of Thailand made them. It's strange to think that now this

ancient and strong capital is relegated to a tourist attraction, full of people and their cameras, snapping away.

The day ended as we relaxed at the foot of the final Wat we went to, hanging out and taking mid-air jumping pictures (my new favorite thing to do), and watching the sun set. Later that night, we had dinner at a market, and then took a boat ride around the island and saw some of the Wats lit up with dramatic light, something I won't soon forget. My camera wasn't working well with the darkness and the swift movement of the boat. It didn't matter though, I put it away and just admired the wonderfully lit Wat's for their pure magnificence, and it was kind of nice not clicking away at my camera. I was a mere observer looking at them, but we quickly moved on and I only had the pictures in my mind to remember them.

The next day was short and sweet. We went to 2 more Wats that were located off the island. Highlights include the biggest ancient Buddha in Ayutthaya, and a 7 meter long reclining white buddha wrapped in a yellow fabric.

We ended our excursion at a floating market and munched on the most delicious food that I have had so far in Thailand. However, as all great things do, the trip had to come to an end. We took a bus back to Suphan Buri and said our goodbyes, luckily I will see them all again next week when we go to Kanchanaburi to see the Erawan Falls and go to the Tiger Temple.

Finally, left all alone, I hopped on a bus back to Kamphaeng Saen, and

finished reading "The Lovely Bones," a really fantastic book. When I arrived back to my apartment, I immediately looked at pictures from the weekend and wished we had just one more day there. Many, many good memories that I wish I could relive, but I am excited and ready for the new ones that have yet to come.

Living the Dream

A students dream house:

20 Rooms in the house

10 Pools in the yard

5 Cars in the garage

4 Gorillas in the bathroom

2 Elephants in the closet

Also, an older student came up to me today and asked me this question...

"What does I am so wasted mean?"

The New Printshop?

Today I met the art teacher at my school, and before I could even properly greet him with a Wai, I saw a screen. Words cannot describe how happy I was to see that photo emulsion coated screen sitting there, propped up against the wall.

Do I smell late nights printing till sunrise, music blasting and hanging out with Jstrom? Probably not, but one can dream...

PS- Who is this new person, Books On My Shelf, following my blog? Speak up! Who are you??

Bunch o' Tricksters

Today I played a game of hangman with my students. They tricked me into writing "S.E.X." on the board.

I guess the joke was on me.

Survival

Well, I've done it. 2 days, 8 classes, and 320 students later, I am officially an English teacher in Thailand. It has not been an easy road, however. There are about 40 students per class, all between the ages of 11-16, and only one of me. They do not listen to me, they do not seem to have a strong desire to learn English, they hit each other with rulers, and they love to do math homework and sleep while I am trying to teach. Today was better than yesterday though, I feel like I am slowly learning how to gain control in the classroom. Although I have just been doing basic introduction lessons so far, the students do seem to understand English pretty well. Apparently, the students do not respect foreign teachers such as myself, but get them behind a desk with a Thai teacher at the front and they act like they are in the military. If it sounds like I am complaining a lot, I have to apologize. I have actually really enjoyed teaching the past 2 days, I just think it is going to be a lot more challenging than I had originally thought. A lot of the students are very friendly and want to learn English, they shake my hand and say hello, eager to please me. They Wai me (a Thai bow) as I walk through the school grounds, and say "Hello new teacher!" Probably the best thing that has happened so far in class happened earlier today. A student farted, rather loudly I might add, and then all the other students jumped back, knocking over desks and chairs pointing their finger at him and yelling "STINK!" I tried my hardest not to laugh and regain order in the classroom, but I must have let out a slight laugh or two. After all, farts are always funny. Last night I went to the Loy Krathong Festival in Nakhon Pathom, where Thai's place a candle in a boat made of banana leaves and ask for forgiveness for polluting the rivers. It was quite the spectacle to see, and it made me look forward to other festivals to come. Oh yeah, I also accidentally ate a banana yesterday, which I wasn't aware was in a Thai dessert, and I almost threw up.

Banana boats float down the river at the Loy Krathong Festival

A ladyboy strikes a pose at a beauty pageant

Lullaby and the Whale

I am back from my quest to the Northeast, a trip complete with old ladies with no teeth who spit blood, wild roosters, a lovable pup and really hard mattresses. The ruins at Phanom Rung were really something though, lots of interesting Hindi architecture and great views of the Northeast valleys.

Proof I am really in Thailand

The long ride back to school was not an easy one. Andy drives slow and talks a lot, a whole lot. Jon and I haven't spent any time with any other Westerner's since we left orientation so we were very eager to meet up with the 3 other people that are in our province. We needed a break to let loose a little bit, get some space from Andy and see some familiar faces. We met up with Kaitlyn, Lauren, and Jenny in Nakhon Pathom, and spent time around the Phra Pathom Chedi, the largest Buddhist monument in the world, and it's surrounding markets. In the late afternoon we set off to find a restaurant called Lullaby for a place to hang out and have a couple beers and get some grub. After an ill-fated cab ride, and lots of wandering through narrow streets and alleys, we finally found it. Beer never tasted so good. We spent a lot of time at the restaurant and also spent some time by a small pond nearby as the sun was setting. None of us knew how we were going to get back to our towns so we just decided to get a hotel for the night. After very sneakily getting all 5 of us into one hotel room, we went back out and hit the town again, I even got to talk to Josh on the phone!

Nights by the pond

We realized it was Halloween, and decided that costumed were in order. Funny looking glasses, regular looking glasses, army hats and bubbles quickly made our night even better than before. Nights have to end however, and we headed back to our hotel, The Whale, and fell asleep almost immediately. This morning we finally moved into our new apartment, bought some stuff to furnish the place, and have just been relaxing all day. Tomorrow is my first day of teaching, and I'm really excited but also really nervous. I'll keep those wild Thai kids in order.

The pond outside my new apartment