Hard to believe that I have been here well over a month now, but I am feeling so much more settled in. Things are going very well and I've started getting really busy with everything going on.
I'm enjoying teaching a lot more and quite enjoy my job. I've also got a lot more of a social network going. I've become friends with a girl who lives in my apartment complex and also another girl who just started working at my school. Also have spent a lot more time outside of school with the guys I work with and their friends. But it's very nice to know two foreign females who are both exactly the same age as me.
Things are also quite busy at school. Last week had many things to do on top of the usual marking and lesson planning. Had to make midterm exams, do these 20 point evaluations on each child, plan my English project and also plan games and activities for this "Academic Day" held by the school. On top of that many of my classes seeemd to get cancelled. So it's a lot of juggling around and multitasking, but I really like that. Thats a big thing about working here is being flexible, since things change so much. It's not unusual for me to go to class and my class doesn't show up, or else I'm told class is cancelled when it's not.
But my classes are a lot better now and I'm getting a lot better at teaching the material. I still have one kind of out of control class. But they are getting there. Usually they're the worst on Monday mornings, but get better. I don't have to yell as much. Usually I just put my finger to my lips in the "shush" motion and they get the idea. Or else I kick them out of class, haha.
As mentioned, I am also doing an English project. It's just a two week project with my P5 class. I decided to have them write short story books with illustrations in groups. Each child has to write a chapter and I tried to engineer the groups so the smartest kids were split up. But this project has still been soooo difficult. Some of the children are really into it and have already produced really good stories. One of them I was laughing most of the time I was reading it. But some of the children just won't do anything and it gets really frustrating. Mostly it's just because I don't know what the problem is. Whether they don't understand what we are doing, whether their English isn't good enough to write anything or whether it's just their intellect level. So with some of them I just have to push them everyday, but am starting to figure it out. Just trying different things works. Also just talking to one child and talking about their chapter and what will happen, who is in it and what they say. Usually they still stare at me blankly, then I just start feeding them things to write and hope they continue.
But it's a lot more difficult of a project than I thought it would be. I thought I would just sit back as they wrote their own stories and drew all these pictures. It's a good break from the usual course work though. Also, it's a lot more fun and less structured.
One thing that happened that was very amusing was with the characters. I made out worksheets to do with character profiles -- things about their character, age, gender, what they like etc. The kids will ask me often how to spell things or what a good word is. This group of girls comes up to me and say "Teacher Lindsay, how do you spell 'gay'??" I said "What?!?!" Hoping that it's not the word I think they said. They say "You know, boy-girl??...... kathoey??"
Kathoey is the word used for the transgendered people in Thailand that are so prevalent that they are just considered a third gender. I was so shocked though that not only did my 10 year old children know this word, and what it meant, but also wanted one in their story!! I just said "No kathoey!!! Man or woman!!!!" hahahha
One group also put "Dr. Lindsay" as a professor in their story's university. I was okay with that character. Gives me a promotion!!
My other classes are good too. I really like the kids, some of them are so cute. They are at a really good age too. I can do a bit more interesting things with them and they understand more than the really young ones, but they are not old enough to have attitudes. They get really excited about things too. I had the day off when all my P4 students went to scout camp for the day. When I was leaving I kept walking by some of my students. They would say "Teacher Lindsay!! Scout Camp! Scout Camp!!!" And I'd try to talk to them about it and they'd just look at me blankly. Then smile and walk away.
They get enthusiastic about really strange things. For example, I'd ask them to open their books to a page and it would take forever to find their books, get them on the desks, and get them on the right page. So I'll say "Open Student Books!! P. 50!! QUICK QUICK!! 2 POINTS!!" And they all rip them open and scramble to get them open. Two classes have now caught on and place their books opened to the right page inside their desks and then just rip them out and slam them on the desk. It's pretty funny.
I feel a lot more at ease with my classes, and while before I struggled to get through 50 minutes with them, now the class flies by and I have to keep my eye on the clock. When the newest teacher started, the manager had her watch other teacher's classes. And he asked if she could watch my class and I was kind of like "why??". He said "well I want to show her that even a teacher who has only taught for a month can be confident in the classroom and a very effective teacher" So that was quite flattering.
Outside of school, things are going really well. There are still many things to get used to, but I feel a lot more at home. The thai people are very nice, but it's strange to just be stared at all the time. Some of them have gotten used to me on my walks to and from school, but it's still weird. There are really very few foreigners in my area and females are even rarer. I think I just have to remember that it's not really staring in a bad way, even though it can feel like that. Many times I will be somewhere and a group of women will be staring at me and talking and giggling. I will just think they must be saying horrible things about me, how the farang just come in and get amazingly high paying jobs and are still cheap... ahha or something. But then the person I am talking to in English will say "they think you are very beautiful" and they will all giggle.
So it's quite different. They really like white skin here too. You see advertisements for skin bleaching lotions and things everywhere. It's the complete opposite of North America where tanned skin is better. I guess it's like the Victorian notion that whiter skinned people had enough money to stay indoors, while tanned people are the labourers who are always outside.
And the other weekend I went with my friends Emily and Lauren to a teacher's house we work with. We were sitting on the patio and so many people kept walking by . The guys said they probably have never seem three young white females at the same time and would probably start taking photographs, haha.
I've also done a bit more exploring of Bangkok but not too much. Have been done to Koh San Road a few times which is
the backpacker's area for like all of South East Asia. It's quite a small street actually. But sells all the cheap, counterfeit things and all this food and other shops. Was the most English I've seen here though!! On all the signs, was strange.
I've also gotten a lot more used to the food and am starting to really enjoy it. I'll go into Bangkok on the weekends and there you can get any food you want. Really from any country it seems, there is so much choice. But I will just think about what thai noodle or rice dish I'll get. My favorite food so far is this dish called "phat see ew". It's these thick noodles with greens and pork in this sweet brown sauce, which tastes like teriyaki/black bean kind of sauce. It's soooo good. Also I have fried rice a lot... It's pretty standard, but can get boring. I also have pork practically every meal, since the choice is usually pork or chicken. But the fried rice is really good, big chunks of meat, egg and vegetables. I also like the noodle soups. And this other noodle dish with the fat noodles, pork, big chunks of tomato and onion and greens. Also, the spicy pork and basil on rice. I am starting to have quite a few favorites... The food at school is good too, unless it's something that contains congealed blood. Which is exactly what it sounds like.... The fillipino teachers told me how it's made and I almost puked.
The next month will be pretty slack, since we only have about 9 days of review classes and then midterms. Then a week of midterms and then christmas break of about 10 days. We have a long weekend on the 15th and also a day off for the king's birthday on the 5th. I think the king's birthday will be a big deal. He is turning 80 years old and there are a lot of people thinking it'll be his last birthday... He just got out of the hospital from a stroke, (well the papers just said a part of his brain was bleeding..) so there has been a lot of anxiety about that. He has been the king for 60 years, which is a world record. It's crazy how much he is a part of the culture here though. His photographs are everywhere!! His sister was also in the hospital at the same time.. And apparently the successor is not generally well liked. So there has been a lot of tension about that... And apparently some people are freaking out.
So that is a nice little update of the past couple of weeks. I'm sure there is much more, but can't think about anything at the moment.... Miss you all!! Hope Canada isn't too cold!!
The Pratom building.
Academic Day. Mostly just booths and things. The English teachers had no idea what was going on.
My best class, I love them so much. Once I left the room and I came back and they were still in their seats!! I was shocked.
Working hard!
What part of 3500 kids looks like.
Look at these construction workers standing at the edge of an unfinished 5 story building!! No hard hats, ropes, anything.. Had to take a photo. 
Mmmm fruit. I love the dragon fruit, soooo good.
Art work from kids. Soo funny. It says "The giraffe kick turtle and began tornado! Sudenly the turtle began to spin! It's went up to the air." Quite good sentences!! I just told them to draw. 
