The past week has been really marvelous. I'd say the beginning of the excitement began on Wednesday when we had a day of exhibitions. Think CFI Spring Fling but during the day so the classes were all cancelled (I'm learning more and more how easy it is to find reasons to do that here). There were booths, there was food, there was dancing (we're still talking Thailand after all), and music galore. Still, the best part for me was the Spelling Bee!
It is possible that I was a little forceful with my desire to attend in the Bee. By that I mean when it was clear that the event wasn't starting at the originally proposed time, I annoyingly followed all of my Thai coworkers around so that none of them could sneak off without me. An hour and a half later, I discovered that not only did no one have any intention of excluding me from the event, but that I was actually meant to be a crucial part of it! That's right folks! Yours truly has discovered a new passion for slowly pronouncing words multiple times with silly inflections. It's a calling.
The Piriyalai Bee was not what we have all come to understand a Spelling Bee to be back home in the US, let me just start off by saying that much. First of all there are 3 different rounds, in each of which students get eliminated until there is a final winner. The first was a worksheet with 30 words written once correctly and once incorrectly. The students then had to choose which word was properly spelled. Embarrassingly, I only just saw half of this worksheet and was horrified and uncomfortable with how incorrectly the words were spelled. I thought, "Is this just for fun or should I say something about how literally only half of these words are spelled right?" Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and offended no one, eventually discovering that there was a reason for the misspellings.
Round two (embarked upon only by the students who accurately identified at least 20 of the 30 correct spellings) was a little closer to what we are familiar with. I was to read a list of words aloud and the students then wrote them correctly on a sheet of paper. Finally, the 6 remaining students were instructed to, individually, spell aloud the words which I dictated to them. It was really quite fun, and since I was in the Mathayom 3 Spelling Bee, all of the students in the competition were in my classes.
The rest of exhibition day went by without a hitch. The English booth had quite a few fun activities (2 of which I designed) and for the most part we teachers just kind of sat there under the tent out of the unrelenting heat. Something else that I have noticed about Thailand is this shared level of trust and understanding. For example, when I say we sat there shielding ourselves from the sun, I mean to say that the students had total free reign. Yes, they are "high school" aged kids but secondary school actually starts a lot earlier here and there are tons of kids who, in my opinion, should probably be watched by hawks, or the human version of a hawk. However, everyone did their own thing and no one worried about liability issues (I wonder if there is a word for that in Thai...?) adopting the "live and let live" mindset for the day.
The Friday after the Exhibition Day (I don't really know what else to call it), I went to my Pad Thai ladies for some bomb ass noodles. I've been going less and less lately because I've been exploring more food options, not to mention the sushi I get after class usually fills me up and let's me call early nights quite often. Furthermore, I've gone several times recently and these girls had been uncharacteristically absent from their posts and I certainly don't know enough Thai to ask about them. Anyway, one of the PDLs speaks really good English. We always chat a bit when I show up. The conversation always kind of goes something like this...
Me: Sawat dee kaaaa!
Her: Hello! You go swimming?
Me: Not today.
Her: Suaaay. You are beautiful.
Me: Thank you! Kob khun kaaa!
So, she's kind of stellar at building up your self esteem. Not only does she pay attention to you and your life (all it took was stopping by ONE TIME wet after a wee dip and she always asks about my swimming habits), but she doles out these compliments like none other. It doesn't matter if I ever find another Pad Thai place, even if it were closer to where I live, I will always be her loyal customer.
This particular time she told me I was pretty and then got a bit nosier. She said it in Thai first, her Pad Thai partner sniggering behind a hand but also looking up interested from cracking eggs into the wok, and then in English; "Boyfriend? You have?" I laugh cause it's cute and I've long since stopped getting offended when this comes up in cross-culture bilingual conversation. People are just curious and for whatever reason asking after someone's marital or relationship status is not taboo anywhere in the world (except, maybe, the US). What I haven't learned how to do is properly answer the question.
I tell her, "no" which is fine and the truth but then without being able to stop myself I open my mouth again to try and explain. But what is there to explain? It's not something I'm ashamed of or even particularly bothered by and it's certainly not feminist to search for an excuse, but Valentine's day is around the corner and I don't want these women to feel bad for me or anything.
Turns out, the explanation is completely unnecessary. She nods slowly and wisely. It doesn't seem to phase her one bit and it doesn't even look like she thinks there is anything to feel bad for. She tells me she understands and explains it better than I ever could;
"You just love Thailand more than boys."
 |
The Piriyalai Bee was not what we have all come to understand a Spelling Bee to be back home in the US, let me just start off by saying that much. First of all there are 3 different rounds, in each of which students get eliminated until there is a final winner. The first was a worksheet with 30 words written once correctly and once incorrectly. The students then had to choose which word was properly spelled. Embarrassingly, I only just saw half of this worksheet and was horrified and uncomfortable with how incorrectly the words were spelled. I thought, "Is this just for fun or should I say something about how literally only half of these words are spelled right?" Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and offended no one, eventually discovering that there was a reason for the misspellings.
Round two (embarked upon only by the students who accurately identified at least 20 of the 30 correct spellings) was a little closer to what we are familiar with. I was to read a list of words aloud and the students then wrote them correctly on a sheet of paper. Finally, the 6 remaining students were instructed to, individually, spell aloud the words which I dictated to them. It was really quite fun, and since I was in the Mathayom 3 Spelling Bee, all of the students in the competition were in my classes.
 |
| All the Mathayom 3 participants of the Spelling Bee and the (dare I say, "awesome"?) teachers who lead the way. |
 |
| Here are the ones who made it to the last round. |
 |
| Obligatory dorky picture. |
 |
| And we have a winner!! I think the paper I'm holding says as much but I think someone wrote it on there and I'm not sure it makes the picture look any better... |
The rest of exhibition day went by without a hitch. The English booth had quite a few fun activities (2 of which I designed) and for the most part we teachers just kind of sat there under the tent out of the unrelenting heat. Something else that I have noticed about Thailand is this shared level of trust and understanding. For example, when I say we sat there shielding ourselves from the sun, I mean to say that the students had total free reign. Yes, they are "high school" aged kids but secondary school actually starts a lot earlier here and there are tons of kids who, in my opinion, should probably be watched by hawks, or the human version of a hawk. However, everyone did their own thing and no one worried about liability issues (I wonder if there is a word for that in Thai...?) adopting the "live and let live" mindset for the day.
 |
| This was one of my activities! I drew a comic without words and the students were supposed to write their own words and color it. Even though this student of mine only got half of that taken care of, what he did do was fabulous! Make sure you read what he wrote above. |
 |
| This kid is entirely appropriately called Game. I say it that way because he is one of the several Mathayom 6 students who play board games with me on Wednesdays. Here, he is shown at the exhibition listening to a song and putting the lyrics in order. Although I don't actually teach him in a classroom setting and he and his fellow board gamers started off with really great English as it is, one of the things I am most proud of from my time here is the connection I made with them. |
The rest of the week was filled with kittens and sweet old ladies.
The Friday after the Exhibition Day (I don't really know what else to call it), I went to my Pad Thai ladies for some bomb ass noodles. I've been going less and less lately because I've been exploring more food options, not to mention the sushi I get after class usually fills me up and let's me call early nights quite often. Furthermore, I've gone several times recently and these girls had been uncharacteristically absent from their posts and I certainly don't know enough Thai to ask about them. Anyway, one of the PDLs speaks really good English. We always chat a bit when I show up. The conversation always kind of goes something like this...
Me: Sawat dee kaaaa!
Her: Hello! You go swimming?
Me: Not today.
Her: Suaaay. You are beautiful.
Me: Thank you! Kob khun kaaa!
So, she's kind of stellar at building up your self esteem. Not only does she pay attention to you and your life (all it took was stopping by ONE TIME wet after a wee dip and she always asks about my swimming habits), but she doles out these compliments like none other. It doesn't matter if I ever find another Pad Thai place, even if it were closer to where I live, I will always be her loyal customer.
This particular time she told me I was pretty and then got a bit nosier. She said it in Thai first, her Pad Thai partner sniggering behind a hand but also looking up interested from cracking eggs into the wok, and then in English; "Boyfriend? You have?" I laugh cause it's cute and I've long since stopped getting offended when this comes up in cross-culture bilingual conversation. People are just curious and for whatever reason asking after someone's marital or relationship status is not taboo anywhere in the world (except, maybe, the US). What I haven't learned how to do is properly answer the question.
I tell her, "no" which is fine and the truth but then without being able to stop myself I open my mouth again to try and explain. But what is there to explain? It's not something I'm ashamed of or even particularly bothered by and it's certainly not feminist to search for an excuse, but Valentine's day is around the corner and I don't want these women to feel bad for me or anything.
Turns out, the explanation is completely unnecessary. She nods slowly and wisely. It doesn't seem to phase her one bit and it doesn't even look like she thinks there is anything to feel bad for. She tells me she understands and explains it better than I ever could;
"You just love Thailand more than boys."
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