Water, Water Everywhere

"Alone" and "lonely" aren't the same thing.  One is a physical state of being and the other is 100% emotional.  However, the two go so closely hand in hand that that differentiation isn't always evident, or even existent.  Being one without the other is either a frightening predicament or an incredible achievement.  Basically, it can come down to your own way of looking at life but it can also be a product of circumstances outside of your control.

For the past three Christmas seasons (I'm including this one), I have been outside of the states, but not once yet have I been alone OR lonely.  That first year in Mexico, Friedly trip abruptly cancelled, Colleen still made it down, ergo neither of us was alone at all.  The second year, my family was able to make the visit and it felt like any other Christmas because, really what is Christmas, anyway, but time with Family?

This year, even with my countless Christmas "lessons" for my Mathayom 3 classrooms, it still shocks me that I have found myself, today, writing a blog on Christmas eve.  I'm used to the lack of white wonderland (I may not like it, but I have learned to accept that the season isn't always snowy or cold), but the lack of anything is strange.  Even before my American visitors arrived, the office at INAOE was always more than festive.  We had a Christmas tree and we had a gift exchange and Cholula was lit up with Christmas lights for weeks before the day and weeks after.  It was present in my life.  Not here.

I'm sitting in a café, alone and maybe a little lonely, trying to get in the spirit but it's not so easy.  This cafe looks the same as always and the music dancing through the speakers isn't even Christmasy.  It's not all in Thai but even the English stuff is what they always play here.  Nothing has been altered in any way to acknowledge what today is.  Tonight I am taking an overnight bus to Bangkok to see some friends from training and while I'm excited to have plans... there is still this nervousness present in my heart.  While I am going to, presumably, meet up with people, I'm still going alone.  The hostel I booked, is for me, alone.  I won't even have a seat-mate on the 9 hour bus ride.  It's a strange feeling and it reminds me of the moment I realized that the Thai language was a challenge that I had not fully appreciated or anticipated.  This aloneness wasn't avoided (and maybe it couldn't have been anyway) but I didn't think it would affect me this much.

Yes, missing holidays with family is hard no matter where you are.  It doesn't matter if all the people around you are overdoing it with their own joy or if they barely recognize that the day is something significant for you at all; the people that know "your" traditions and do all the right things to make Christmas what it is for you aren't there to fill in the picture.

Outlook is everything, right?  And Christmas is "just a day."  That means I'm going to have to try and take control of the "circumstances out of my control" and remember, once again, that I chose to be here and I'm genuinely glad for it (every other day of the year).  I might be more alone than I've ever been before (holiday or no) but I refuse to be lonely.

Allow me to wish everyone the best Christmas possible and an amazing entry into 2017!  Photos to come.

Just one of those days...

Today was kind of rough.

It was one of those days where you wake up and you just know that every waking hour is going to make it hard on you.  It was the kind of day where all the little pieces of the world you live in are varying shades of black and white, you can't help it, of course, because who'd rather watch only the first part of The Wizard of Oz knowing how much better the second part is?  It's just the way it is and all day you have these little moments where you tell yourself, "You made it to the light at the end of the tunnel, this day wasn't as bad as you thought" and then your internet goes out and you think, "Internet is a luxury anyway what do I need it for?" but your coteacher sees you struggling and then kind of hijacks your computer to "fix" the problem and 2 hours later the problem isn't fixed but all the tabs you've been carefully hoarding for months are definitely deleted and the screen looked a little different and you can't figure out how and you definitely can't be mad about it because she was trying to help.

It's the kind of day where you are taking attendance and you notice that one of your students keeps raising her hand for several similar sounding names in a row and that she is very confused about who she is or what her number is and you come to find out that you've been working with an attendance sheet that is not up to date so even the kids don't know what you are talking about and not only is your entire attendance record for the semester ruined (it's been 7 weeks) but the test you gave them might be trash as well because you'll never be totally sure whose is whose.

It's the kind of day where your last class is 15 minutes late so you're sitting outside waiting and a Thai teachers breezes over to you and tells you, "You can't sit like that" and you are so surprised and affronted and, yea, mad too because, 1. In YOUR culture it's not ok to just tell a coworker how to be, and 2. You honestly didn't know there was a more polite way to sit than "legs crossed."  And you try and be like, "Wait, what? Why?" but your students show up at that exact moment (to save you?) so you let yourself get swept into the classroom leaving her outside, and you think you could have maybe hurt her feelings and most of you cares about that but a small little Benedict Arnold part of you doesn't because she hurt yours first and you know it's petty and elementary school but does she know what kind of day you've had?

It's the kind of day where you go to buy another GB on your phone (no internet at work, remember?) and you tell the lady 200 baht and you know you said it right because the same thing that always happens when you ask for 200 baht happened- she says something in Thai which you have come to decide means, "There's a promotion" and she shows you that she will be charging you only 150, lucky you!  But then she tries to give you 300 baht change for your 500 and instead of thinking you misunderstood how much the 200 baht top-up cost (it's obviously not 150 baht for a 200 baht phone plan) you try to tell her that you need 350 back.  So what she does instead is CHARGE you 350 for your phone instead of the 150 you thought you were paying.

It's just one of those days.

But then again...

...you didn't ask for help with the internet but your friend not only recognized that you were frustrated about something, she figured out what about and went out of her way to try and turn it around for you.  Who cares if she didn't succeed?  Isn't there still such a thing as "it's the thought that counts"?

...the attendance thing was certainly annoying, but one student randomly (and thankfully) just happened to have a copy of the updated version for you.  Then, all the girls in the class spent the last few minutes filling in all of the nicknames for you in English so that the next time you came to class you wouldn't be woefully unprepared without even realizing it.

...yea, god we're all adults, but bottom line about the inappropriate sitting thing is you definitely don't have Thai faux pas radar yet.  In fact, that's probably not something you can ever achieve (did you ever figure it out 100% in Mexico?), so it's probably possible that you got told in the sweetest possible way that you were offending everyone in the world (your feet were showing after all and aren't those incredibly undesirable in Thailand) and now you know for next time.

...are you gonna use 350 baht on your phone eventually?  Oh, god yes.  You've already spent 300 baht more than you thought you should this month, you just saved yourself a trip to the store for the next time you burn through a G in a super short amount of time (but whose counting and keeping track, really?).  So must we complain about a simple little miscommunication?  I mean... you never claimed to speak Thai but you clearly spoke more than that woman spoke English and you kinda achieved your goal anyway.  Let's take a win on this one.

Oh.  Huh.  Maybe my day wasn't so bad after all.

Capital of the North

Normally, my blogging happens on the weekends.  You'd think, therefore, that having two 3-day weekends in a row would mean an overwhelming number of posts.  Instead, I've been busy working on memories to write about.

It's taken 2 months, but I've finally made it to the capital of the north, otherwise known as "the whole reason some people go to Thailand," or what you'll find on the map- Chiang Mai.  In the past 2 weeks, I've spent a total of 6 days there and that adds up to about a million and three moments where I had to stop and think, "You're in Thailand, girlfriend."

Even the bus ride from Phrae to Chiang Mai (a windy 4 hour trip) is like a person tour of a national park.  I felt like we were disrupting a rainforest, everywhere I looked was green, green and more green.  I think my jaw went a bit slack at times and I certainly couldn't look away for most of the entire trip.

When you get to Chiang Mai, the beauty continues but what you see more in the Old City is the human-made variety.  I honestly felt like you could havae given a monkey a go pro and sent her out to haphazardly take random pictures of the city and more than 80% of those pictures would be Time magazine worthy.  There is something to be said about putting down the iPhone and letting the sites surround you, taking it all in and I know that even those pictures carefully framed and shot aren't as good as the real thing, but I had to make it a point at times because I was so driven towards the documentation aspect.

The first weekend that I headed up, I was mostly on my own.  I did meet up with some friends on the last night but the first 2 days were spent with me, myself and I.  Something that I've been able to realize about myself here in Thailand is that I can be independent when need be.  I feel like a growth curve of my life (age on the x-axis and personal strength on the y) would show an insane leap in these past few months and most of that has to do with this forced solitude.  When you are not in a group of people all the time and bound by the whims of the majority, you see your own desires and personality pretty clearly in a way that you didn't even realize you were missing out on.  There is definitely a stigmatism to it- when is the last time you went out to eat at a restaurant by yourself?  To the movies?  But, god, when you get over that, there is certainly something liberating about it too!

What did Jesi decide to do with Jesi that first weekend?  Well, a lot of temples and coffee houses were visited.  But, when you are in Chiang Mai, there are a lot of temples and coffee houses to check out so the pressure to see and try them all is pretty real.

I love temples for many reasons.  Maybe you'll recall in a previous blog the cameo of the words "I love cathedrals," and a lot of the principles to both statements are the same, but if possible I love Buddhist temples even more.  How can you not love a place where you are obligated to remove your shoes to enter?  In all seriousness, I've always been comforted by traditions and I like to learn about Buddhism in general.  Every time I go to a new temple, I feel like I learn something new.  Ever realize there are 7 forms of the Buddha?  Those are for the seven days of the week.  Ever realize that people always donate food?  That food is not for the Buddha, or the King, or dead ancestors (my mind always went to Día de muertos), it is for the person donating said food to eat in the afterlife.

This canal wraps all the way around the Old City of Chiang Mai which, for geographically oriented people like myself is thankfully shaped in a perfect square.

Rest in Peace.

Did I said I did Chiang Mai all alone?  Maybe I had company for a lunch or two.  This is Noodle, named for floppiness.

This is a picture of a scene inside of my favorite temple compound, Wat Lok Molee.  How does one pick a favorite temple? you may ask.  I think it's safe to say that you just know because when I walked into to this temple I just did.

The other thing I made a point to do on my weekend alone was hit up all of the famous night markets.  On Saturday, that was the Night Bazaar.  We're talking entire streets of stands and then giant market buildings along the side which are also filled with everything from painted elephant keychains to the flowiest, most colorful pants you can imagine.  What do both of those things have in common?  They have great smile inducing properties for your humble blogger.  What else did the Saturday Night Bazaar have to offer?  Food.  More food than you could ever imagine.  Now you don't come 24 hours on a plane hating the food of the place you're going and I love Thai food as much as, if possibly even more than, the next guy, but when you eat nothing else for 2 months, guess what?  Mexican food sounds really good.  As luck would have it, at the end of the street of shops, I stumbled upon the most beautiful beer garden.  I happily overpaid for a beer and a Mexican burrito bowl (nowhere near the caliber of Chipotle, I'm afraid, but still tasty) and sat on the hay bales that had been laid around to be used as benches.  Because the world is a beautiful little ball of happy coincidences and terrific moments, the DJ made sure to play song after song after song in Spanish.  Tears were imminent and part of being alone meant that I honestly didn't care if anyone looked at me sideways for my excessive smile and over the top joy because I was already the only weirdo without a buddy.  Let them wonder what they were missing out on.

As much of a success as the Nigh Bazaar was, I didn't buy much and although I was impressed, I was completely floored by what Sunday night had to offer.  I thought I'd seen it all, you see.  Sometimes you get cocky when you travel.  A night market?  Sure, I'm always down, but please don't expect to blow my mind or anything.  Oh man, was I wrong.   To be honest, there is no way to describe it so I won't even try.  All that I can say is that at the end of the day there is a reason Chiang Mai is on the map for one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world and I think any travel blog will tell you that one of the main reasons for that is this Sunday night market.  Forget about it if you struggle with decisions, like I do, but even that and the crowds (my kryptonite) could deter me from spending hours there trying to see every booth; a task I soon learned was impossible.

This event was so big that when the time came to make plans for the second weekend, I convinced myself that I needed to leave Monday morning instead of Sunday night.

Now, even I will say that no matter how much I loved Chiang Mai the first time, it was very unlike me to show up a second weekend in a row.  However, when some of my friends from training who are teaching in Krabi (a Thai city in the south an hour from the beach where it, apparently, never stops raining) told me that they would be there since they had the week off school, I couldn't resist the opportunity to meet up with them.  We had a total blast!

Saturday morning, we shared a delicious breakfast at a Mexican restaurant that had huevos rancheros on the menu- cue the "homesicknessy" tears that come with the universe aligning to give you a small little hug to let you know that its got your back.  Afterwards we went to the Grand Canyon.  That's right, folks, we popped onto a plane headed for Arizona and 24 hours later got to see the deepest pit in the world just in time to catch another day-long flight back.  That's not really true, of course, but I bet you didn't know that there is a Thai version of the Grand Canyon and can be found in none other than Chiang Mai.

Although they made the Human Lifejacket (I'm still just not totally satisfied with my superhero name, but this will do for now) wear a lifejacket, I still had a wonderful time swimming in this beautiful pit that wasn't quite as big as the one in the US.  There was even a spot for some cliff diving but I respectfully declined the opportunity.

My Krabi buddies had to leave after breakfast on Sunday, but me and my fellow Piriyalai English-teacher, decided that we wanted to take full advantage of being in a big city and do things that one can't do in Phrae.  We went to the movies and saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in English!  The traffic was horrible and we arrived "late" but there are definitely more commercials in Thailand than I've ever seen, not to mention there is a King's song where all in the theater are compelled to stand to show fealty.  It was the first time I'd seen the new official "King photo" of the new King and I have to admit I was a little confused initially.  I never did make it to the movies when Bumihbol's face was on the big screen and I'm a little sad about that to be honest.

Of course I hit up the Sunday market again and made it home in time on Monday to get some work done.  Not to beat a dead horse (and also, not to merely repeat anything you'll ever find on tourist websites about Thailand) but if you do make it to Southeast Asia anytime soon, CM needs to be on your list.  Amazing!

The Flautist

When I was a kid (ok, I was in high school) the trumpet really confused me.  You see, I always pictured a piano when I thought of all the different notes to play and I only saw 3 "keys" on a trumpet.  It didn't add up.  I knew it was ridiculous to 1. assume I knew anything about music, and 2. ignore the fact that not only was I proven wrong by every jazz song ever written, but the history of trumpet playing went far back before I was even born, but it, for some reason always bugged me.  I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it still kind of trips me up if I think about it too long and that a trumpeter can play as many sounds as a pianist is a fact that I merely tolerate and not fulling understand. 

Well, the Thai language is like a trumpet.  Sometimes, I feel like there are only 3 different syllables that make up the entire language; It's the order they are said in and, of course, the tones that are employed that give you different words. 

This beautiful (albeit, byzantine and perhaps baffling) analogy is brought to you by Piriyalai School Sports Day 2016.  For weeks now, since the beginning of the semester, we have sacrificed teaching our B-level important subjects like math, science, English, Thai, history, Buddhism, etc. so that the students could practice for this insane event whose magnitude I had not even pondered, let alone fully comprehended.  Basically, there was a mini-Olympics in the making, complete with opening and closing ceremonies, in the making and I had no idea.  

One of the Thai teachers explained to us that we had to come to "Sports Day" and, I'll admit, I was a little disappointed.  What I was expecting, you see, was not at all what we got.  For one, I anticipated unbearable boredom in the hot sun.  When we got a text asking us if we wanted to participate in a 3000m race among the teachers, "mildly irked" almost turned into "full-out panic mode."  I really need to learn that things that would normally be uncomfortable or downright miserable elsewhere, are actually made into completely magical wonderlands in Thailand.

The first thing to tip me off to something truly special, were the costumed students lined up in a parade.  

These are STUDENTS.

Again, STUDENTS!!!!

The best analogy of the event depends on which part you look at.  The beginning parade was Hunger Games.  All of the costumed kids were the tributes from each district.  After the parade, the ceremonial torch was lit (I kid you not)- the olympics.  And all of the teachers sitting righteously in the stands, lording over the peasants performing amazing physical feats for our enjoyment?  Straight out of "A Knights Tale."  I half expected them to announce the joust!

We have parades in the states.  Heck, he had parades in Mexico.  This was, somehow, not even a parade.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced.  I had a moment when I realized that even if I'd had the day off while the other teachers and students observed "Sport's Day," I could not have paid to have so much fun!

We arrived at 8am, but the event didn't start until 9:09.09.  I'm not being silly and I'm not exaggerating.  My Thai teacher friend, Rabbit and I were walking around the food booths (because what's a sporting event without fried food and more cotton candy than anyone can imagine?) and something said in Thai over the loud speaker made her giggle.

"What's that?"  I asked (I know you are all waiting for the blog post when I say otherwise but I still can't speak Thai).

"They just announced that they've decided to wait to start until 9:09.09.  Nine is a lucky number here..."

I'll say.

The best thing about watching a line of incredibly extravagantly dressed people representing their school, community and nation, was that I recognized a lot of them as my own students!  I felt like I knew celebrities.  The event was so big that thats how they all looked to me- olympic athletes or Hunger Games tributes.  The best moment was when one of my favorite students walked by making up a leg of one of the gestorial thrones.  I waved at him, not thinking about his huge responsibility to safely carry another student, and he casually readjusted the handle and waved back.  His teammates threw mini fits and yelled at him for throwing off their balance but the regal student atop his throne wasn't even perturbed.

You know how else I know Thailand is different from the states?  Temperatures reach 100+ degrees Fahrenheit and 12 kids (and those are only the ones I saw) pass out as a result?  You better believe things are reconsidered and perhaps even postponed.  Not in Thailand.  There was a quartet of uniformed high school boys who ran out on the field with a stretcher every time one of their classmates lost consciousness and they were whisked away so the remaining events could continue as normal.  A joke was even made (translated for me later) that the young EMTs in training could have won all of the running races themselves.   

Rabbit told me that it isn't uncommon for schools to spend 100,000,000‎฿ on one of these events.  See how the Olympic comparisons never stop?  It's like a school version of a wedding but it's private.  It's not even an inter-high school competition!  To be honest, although I was at first, I'm no longer curious about where that money went, (why is went, yes, but not what it was spent on).  Apart from fireworks, there wasn't a stop that wasn't pulled out.  The cheerleading competitions used dry ice for god's sakes and released birds.  Their human pyramids were 40 people high and their dances couldn't have been more in sync if the kids were literally robots.  The band and color guard performances could have easily been on battle of the bands.

Me and Rabbit!

All in all, Sports Day may be one of my favorite things yet!  I can't wait for the next time Thailand comes out of nowhere to put that ^^ crazy smile on my face!

Return to blogging...

There is a great Jim Gaffigan joke where he voices his frustration with Catholic Mass; "Ever been to one?"  He asks, "Well, it's still going on!"

The same, apparently, can be said about a Buddhist ceremony.  I would even go as far as to say that the one I went to a couple weekends ago would rival any religious service in any country on any continent when it came to length.  Remember how we wandered into a temple and met a great monk who spoke amazing English and invited us to a ceremony for the King?  It would be from 1-3pm he told us but, come early!  There would be food.  Well, lets just say I only left around 5pm and in the words of Gaffigan, "It was still going on."

Don't get me wrong.  The day was by no means wasted!  In fact, I am was very happy I went and it wasn't just the endless mounds of free food and delicious drinks (Thai, green, and honey teas to name a few, that were the most amazing things I've tasted in forever) that make me say that.  It was all in all, just the kind of cultural experience I love to stumble upon.  I would say that even as the service slipped well past the aforementioned 3pm end time, I remained super calm, sitting upright and proper with one end of a white string tied around my skull and the other end dangling from the ceiling of the tent we were all under.  My patience and apparent Buddhist behavior got me lots of approving looks from all the old Thai ladies seated around me.  Many began to outright grin at me after the 4th hour, but by the 5th, they could have threw Baht at me and I wouldn't have stayed.

The thing that was most frustrating about sitting in the heat, outside of the temple (no women are allowed inside during the ceremony lest the monks get distracted by our beauty and guiles), was the Return of the King number of fake endings that we all had to suffer through.  I understood not a single word that was said (I'm not even sure it was all Thai) but I haven't lived abroad all this time without learning how to comfortably and blatantly copy the behaviors of everyone around me to reach a certain end.  That being said, when everyone else started to unravel the yarn from their crowns and roll it in a little ball hanging from the tent, I didn't miss a beat, calming doing the same as if I was the one leading by example.  It did sound like things were wrapping up, anyway, the incessant chanting was significantly slowing.  No sooner had everyone successfully disentangled themselves, did the chanting recommence.  Minutes later, I noticed we were all returning to our former positions to continue listening, unloosing, once again, the white thread from where it hung.

The cycle repeated itself about 4 times, with an uncharacteristic zen attitude overcoming my generally restless self.  I was genuinely impressed with my ability to sit (and practically meditate as it's not like I was able to mentally participate in the sea of Thai) for so long.  Yes, I reminded myself that part of chi is not complimenting yourself on it, but I couldn't help notice how I was making some sort of break through.  When the clock struck 5, however, almost on the dot, I fell apart.  There is no other way to put it.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough and I haven't been back since.  I was next door at my favorite cafe a week later and it occurred to me to take a quick peak to see if the shriveled, sun dried corpses of the other partitioners (is this a cross-religious word that is applicable in this instance?) were still lined up around the temple, bodies maintained erect by the thin, white chord laced like a crown around their scalps.

A week ago, was the festival of lights, Loy Krathong.  It is actually something that I've wanted to experience even before I knew it was a Thai tradition.  The way you picture it, everyone gathers to let off a million fire lanterns over some huge body of water somewhere in representation of releasing private demons.  Well, maybe you weren't aware, but the king died?  So... there was not really a Loy Krathong this year. 😒  I think it is safe to say that a proper answer for, "Why Thailand?" at one point for me could have been; "There is this fabulous festival that I want to check out!  Looks like I'll even be there for it this year!"  There was a lite version, though, and if I close my eyes and pretend that I never saw the pictures online of the full blown out affair, I'd say that it was rather special, after all.  We bought mini floats made out of hollowed out coconuts and flowers and lit candles and incense.

One of the coolest things about Loy Krathong night for me though, was getting called out BY NAME  by one of my students!  There were a lot of kids there and it isn't completely random to see some from my classes out and about in Phrae (it's small) but to be called by my name was a more moving experience than I had expected it would be.  Walking between classes and around school, everyone says, "Hello, Teacher!" or, their personal favorite no matter what time of day it is, "Afternoon, Teacher!"  It always makes me smile and wave, of course, but I kind of took it for granted that none of them had bothered to actually learn my name, since my mere title could be applied to many.  I'm just "Teacher" because it's not something everyone has to relearn every semester and I can't say I blame them.  Needless to say, when I saw the girl who said "Hi" again in class, I made a point to remember her name too (a feat harder for me since I have over 800 students).  It's "Ning" by the way.

Me and my white string.

Here's my Loy Krathong.  Look, I'm wearing black.

This picture was chosen to be featured on XploreAsia's instagram!  Yay!

New favorite café.  Check out the awesome color of the walls.

At first she was unsure of me.  She yelled and yelled, willing me to leave, but I obviously don't take kindly to being disliked by wee puff balls.  I made her love me instead, and it's just as well.  I mean, we have the same hair...

Delicious Thai Milk Green Tea.

I've been really needing to employ the use of the panoramic shot more and more here in Thailand.  You can't really get the full impression of how amazing this country is through the lens of a camera, much less 2D... this is only a little better.   

New friends who wanted pictures with the fulangs.  It's the Saturday market! 

Found another dog.  I've completely stopped apologizing for these puppy pics.

  

http://www.bloggingabroad.org/?s=Jesi

กระแต

When we were kids, did we really think our teachers couldn't see us when we had our phones in our laps?  I mean, was that supposed to be sneaky?  We weren't even looking up at the teacher and it was obvious that we weren't paying attention... Oh man, you know what it is?  Haha (this is a natural progression piece, I'm just writing as I think) In high school, I don't think I even had a phone like these new fangled deals we have today.  Even if I did though, I hope I would have been a lot smarter about it.  Like, hands awkwardly fiddling under a sweatshirt on the table?  Really?  Is that the best you can do?   Whatcha got under there?  A kitten?  Or (and this might be my personal favorite) hiding the phone inside the desk at the very back part under sheets of paper and pens.  You honestly don't think I'm gonna come by and bust you, with your attention so focused downwards like that?  What other reason could you have for being so fascinated by the inside of your desk that your head is all twisted and bent on your neck?  That position can not be less uncomfortable than learning some English.  

Rant over.

Oh, nope.  Wait a minute.  Another wave is coming...  I'm staring right into your eyes and my hand is gesturing directly at your body, do you really think I'm talking to the person behind you?  Or the one behind ME?  And person behind you, STOP trying to help a buddy out, I'm clearly not talking to you so don't answer me.  How do you kids not know who I'm talking to?  I will not yield until the chosen one has chosen to respond so you might as well bite the bullet already so we can move on.

This past week, I taught 10 classes about social media.  The irony was not lost on me.  After just the first time I made my class repeat, "Did you like my status?" I had a sharp moment where I was floored that it had come to teaching narcissism in two languages.  I hate facebook, yet here I am teaching little Thai kids how to properly pronounce the social media website's name.  At least I got "Instagram" and "Snapchat" across to them as well.  Bottom line is that they are learning sentence structure and new words no matter what.  "Social Media" was the topic that my agency suggested to me, I'm probably going to finish out the unit but I was told that it wasn't totally required to use their material.  However, it is the world we live in and it's not necessarily all bad anyway.

Most of my classes are delightful, or if not delightful than at least manageable.  I feel like, if I get through the majority of my lesson plan I'm a success.  Really, they are all repeating after me and I'm being diligent about pronunciation, so what else is there that I can do?

However, just as there are good classes, some are just dreadful.  After one particularly terrible experience in which I didn't even get through 3/4 of the material because getting responses was worse than pulling teeth, I went back, defeated, to my office.  A Thai teacher friend of mine asked what was up and I told her such and such class was miserable.  She exchanged looks with another teacher and went, "Oh, you mean the ghost team!"  This class had literally received a reputation among the teachers for sleeping all the time and not participating in class. Great.  At least I knew it wasn't just me boring the daylights out of them.

Found out the other day that we'd been lied to and that the "wear whatever you want outside of school after only a month of mourning" was a little, well, freaking wrong.  It must have been merely premature, telling us that after only a week in the mourning biz, but nevertheless the black wearing is here to stay.  I'm afraid that the principle of the whole thing is really putting a damper on a lot of stuff and I know that sounds very petty and small-minded but no one has every told any of you reading this that they have to wear or do something in your free time that entirely shuts out your freedom of expression.  Dressing professionally at work or in a uniform at school is not the same as telling you, "Ok, for one year you have to walk around being SAD about the loss of something that you've only known to happy about for a few weeks."  I wear black wristbands that say, "I was born in the reign of King Buhmibol" in Thai, I wear black clothes and when I wear white or brown I still have my black ribbon on to show my continued loyalty.

As I was feeling down about this, a Thai teacher friend of mine told me that 100 years ago, it was white that people had to wear when the King died.  They also had to shave their heads, so... I guess things could be worse.

On Thursday, we had a marty (mini-party) to celebrate the new teachers (that's me!).  It was after school and we ate delicious Thai food in a private room at a restaurant and they had us introduce ourselves to the other Foreign Language staff.  We were sitting with a Japanese teacher who warned us that there would be obligatory Karaokeing for the new teachers.  At first I was HORRIFIED but I had actually come around to the idea and convinced myself that as long as the song was in English I was going to rock it... until we were reminded that the King was dead and there would be no singing after all.

That same night, my Thai teacher friend gave me a Thai nickname!  She gave me options but the one that stuck the best was "Kra tae" which means "Treeshrew!"  I think I just like the ridiculousness of the English translation.

Yesterday,  a friend of ours took us all around Phrae!  We saw some really, truly incredible sights.  Here is evidence...

In the Pha Nang Khoi Cave, there is an awesome shrine (if you haven't figured out by now, it is pretty common in Thailand to sprinkle a little Buddhism on nature).

"Spread a little Buddha..." (to the tune of Pippin).

Outside the cave!  We're all trying to make tiny hearts with our fingers but they didn't come out very nicely.  Throughout the entire walk in the cave, we just "blended" in with a group of Thai tourists who wanted photo after photo of the strange, random South/Westerners.  It was adorable, and one man even showed us what to d with the incense at the shrine.  It's not uncommon in Thailand but it was to me.  It was refreshing and nice, however, to be welcomed into an intimate group of people without any discussion or thought.  I like that about being here, it happens almost every day. 

It's P'Tan!  This is our friend who brought us on this great adventure!  Love her!

An outing would be a total loss without a dog, am I right?  Meet Bobo!!!!

Love at first lick.

Here we are at the Phae Mueang Phi National Park with some pretty famous and special rock formations.  I'm not sure why they are either of those things but they sure are pretty!  Phrae is basically known for these bad boys.

Please don't comment on my closed eyes.  I have a condition called Modelcerreojos in which photo anxiety and exposure to the bright, bright sun make it almost impossible for me to keep my eyes open when someone is taking a snapshot of me.  Selfies and I work so much better... I don't mention the fact that since I'm in charge when I notice that my eyes are closed I just delete the picture, thereby rejecting all acknowledgement of it's existence.

Looking good.  We're sweaty too, thank god you can't take a picture of a smell...

Awesome temple with a chatty monk who didn't seem to realize the whole time that none of us understands Thai except for our escort, who also seemed to forget that we needed some sort of interpretation.  It didn't matter, we figured it out.

This reminds me of the Secret Garden.  Shall we refer to it now as "The Secret Temple?"  Yea?  Good.

Another Phrae specialty called Khoa soi.  I have no idea how I've been here over 2 weeks having not yet tried this.  It will not be the last time though.  I've found my new "Pad thai."

So the eye thing... it's real, folks.  I'd appreciate it if everyone just ignored it.

Selfie=open eyes!

Just, LOOK at this temple.  It's the most beautiful one I've seen since I got here.  I can't get over how lovely it it.  The panoramic worked really well too!

Buddha.

This was right after we found out that mourning wasn't over on Monday... you can tell that one of us is better at hiding our frustration than the other, haha!