Chatachak

Chatachak. JJ. Weekend Market. Whatever it is called. I love it.

The Chatachak Market is one of the largest markets in the world and it is just a 100 baht cab ride from my apartment. You can buy anything and everything. Clothes, puppies, dishes, souveniers, toys, coi fish, soap, towels. I could go on. But I won't.

After my inexpensive cultural outing to Ayuthaya, I had to go shopping with all that money I saved. I felt like I was playing with monopoly money- haggling for this and that, grabbing 3 shirts to get a better deal, refusing to pay 20 more baht for an item but having no qualms at buying coconut after coconut for 30 baht each. Being rich is fun! I got all my presents, plenty of new clothes, a manicure and pedicure, two delicious meals and I don't think I spent 100 dollars.

The United States needs more markets and less malls. It is much more exhilarating weaving through clothing stalls, with a coconut in one hand and spicy crab on a stick in the other, underneath the hot sun than strolling through an air-conditioned, sterile mall.

Ayuthaya

Ayuthaya, a former capital of Siam, is just 1 hour north of Bangkok- perfect for a day trip with friends.

Sick of wans and taxis and buses, we decided to take the train. It added 1 hour to our journey but it only cost 15 baht or 50 cents. The ride up was uneventful. And so was the ride down. I like trains.

Ayuthaya was severely affected by the flood. The town was submerged in 3 meters of rancid, flood water for several weeks. Thailand's precious ruins from the 14th century took a beating. But I can confidently say that the temples and palaces are still standing and still are breath-taking. On bikes, (oh yes, I am a whole new person now!) we toured around the old city. Debris and trash were piled on the sides of the road but efforts were made to clean the ruin sites. The ancient temples were lined with aging Buddhas, grass covered the sides of the palaces, and young trees embraced the once prominent statues.

The temperature has been on the rise here in Thailand (moving from 85 degrees to about 100 degrees) so us girls took frequent ice cream and coconut breaks in the shade in between ancient ruin visits. We concluded our trip in Ayuthaya with dinner at the night market along the river. I ate garlic chicken with rice (obviously) and suplurged for a Pepsi. Total cost of the meal, 60 baht or 2 dollars. My inexpensive trip made me feel a lot better about my shopping binge the next day at the Weekend Market.

Koh Chang

For the New Year's Weekend, I decided to take advantage of two days off of school at a nearby island. Koh Chang is a less "touristy" island than some of the other islands. So for poor teachers that means CHEAPER.

I traveled by taxi to the bus station, then by wan to the ferry, then by boat to the pier, then by song tau (truck with seats in the back) to the guest house. The guest house sat along the rocky cliffs of the island. At first glance, this was an upscale place. There was a bar area that was full of hammocks and cushions for lounging while listening to the waves crash against the rocks. But the guest cottage was quite a steep climb from the mellow hangout and it was just a wooden hut with a fan, a bed and a mosquito net. Needless to say, I slept very little the whole 4 days. When I did it was during a siesta in one of the hammocks.

Since it was New Year's Eve, I met up with several friends at "Lonely Beach", where we were far from lonely. We ate a typical Thai meal (can you say fried rice with crab) then lounged at a live music bar. But by 10 pm we realized it was time to start the party. So 3 of ordered a "bucket" of vodka and red bull. Yes, it is literally a bucket full of liquor. Promise I didn't drink it all alone. After the bucket, it was time for the beach. Or should I say beach rave.

The beach was full of Westerners and Thais alike. There were smoke machines, strobing lights and raging DJs. People were jumping through hoops of fire (normal people, not trained professionals), turning flaming jump ropes and chugging buckets like it was going out of style. We decided the best way to start the new year was by dancing like maniacs in the sand. 10 seconds 'til, the DJ cut the music and everyone in unison counted down. My first act in 2012 was running into the waves and scream-singing Auld Lagsine. Unfortunately, I don't know many of the words.

On New Year's Day, I skipped the cabbage and black-eyed peas for plenty of coconuts (to treat the hangover) and noodles (because they are my favorite). After a slow start and a long breakfast, 5 of us headed to one of the National Parks for some easy hiking and sunbathing by a waterfall. The waterfall, of course, was stunning, the water- cool and crisp. It was wonderful to just enjoy the sun with other teachers. Teaching is a frustrating profession, but it is hard to discuss with people who have never taught before. Finally, we all could vent about our daily frustrations with students, teaching and complicated Thai practices. But, just like at home, the conversation ended on the positive, wonderful aspects of teaching - interactions with students, impressive student work and when that light bulb finally turns on in the students' minds. Isn't it amazing that for teachers, those little moments are so much powerful, than the hours of head-banging annoyances?

After the visit to the waterfall, we headed to the beach for more relaxation. We ended the night by watching the sunset, eating more fried rice with crab, laying in hammocks and talking about everything except teaching.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Beach, read, sleep, talk with friends, eat. But leaving day. That is something to write about.

First. It was raining. Remember the previous post about the rain. Just like that. The owner of the guest cottages took us to the song tau stop to catch the ferry. We had to throw all of our stuff in the back of the truck, so everything ended up getting soaked anyway. The driver of the song tau decided to pack as many people into the back of his truck as humanly possible. We were stuffed like sardines. He whipped around rocky curves, splashing water everywhere. I couldn't move. At one point, a Swedish man started screaming for the driver to stop. A Thai woman, who was pregnant, had been sitting at the back of the truck was vomitting as she was getting soaked with rain. All the men on the truck got out so that she could sit on the bench and have some space. I still don't know why they didn't just get another truck. There was a need.

The trip through the rain took 1 hour. So of course we had to rush onto the ferry. There we grabbed some Mama (instant noodles) and prepared for the next leg. Which was worse. By the time we got back to the mainland, we had missed the wan back to Bangkok. So we had to take the slow bus. That means we were stuffed onto a coach bus that literally stopped for every person standing on the side of the road during the journey north to the capital. A trip that took 4 hours in the wan, took 7 on the bus. Nightmare.

But I liked Koh Chang!

Photo: Mary at the Waterfall

Interactions with Students

During Art class I walked to the back of the room to find two students, a boy and a girl, painting each others' arms. My presence caused them to stop and everyone around them to start giggling.

Me: What is going on here?
Whisky (Yes, that is his name): He paint she. She paint he! Hahahaha.
Nammon: Mai chai! (No in Thai) He paint her. She paint him!'
All the students: Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Me: Is there anything else wrong with his sentence?
Grace: PaintED, PaintED!
Me: Right, he painted her. She painted him. Now go wash off the paint.

Whisky hold his hand up to his face. And then proceeds to make a joke. Except only Thai people get it. Apparently, watch and wash sound exactly the same. And it is amusing.

Whisky: Teacher I wash my hand! I wash my hand. Hahahahahaha
Me: Watch.
Whisky: Wash
Me: Chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Whisky: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me: Watch and Wash sound really different, Whisky.
Whisky: Same!
Me: Ok, Whisky. Go washhhhh your hands.

Rain

I witnessed my first Bangkok rain last night. Rain poured from the sky in sheets. It hit the tin roofs with so much force that I did not even recognize the noise coming from outside as rain. It started raining at 5:30 pm. I remember thinking that I will head out to dinner when it slows down. But an hour passed and the rain out not let up. Realizing that I had to brave the rain to get food, I rolled up my pants and put on my jacket. Little good that did.

Outside the apartment, the water was ankle deep already. No wonder this country floods so often. At home the meteorologist would have surely been interrupting television programs saying, "Conditions good for flash flooding" but people seemed to be going about their business. I sloshed down the street through the cold water. The glowing lights of the market seemed so far away as I was hopelessly trying to dodge the splashes from the motorcycles zipping by me.

At the market, the rain sound like a thousands hammers hitting the thin metal of the pavilion. Vendors had wrapped all their goods in plastic. Consumers were bundled in rain gear. But all else was the same. I purchased dinner and some fruit for breakfast, then started the wild, wet journey back down the street.

This morning there was no hint of water. Except for the moistness of the air and the students learned the English idiom "It's raining cats and dogs" during English Club.

Sports Day

It is not what you are thinking. No wheelbarrow or three-legged races where students when cheap 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbons. Sports Day in Thailand is an elaborate event designed, developed and delivered by the students. Preceding the event, all I had heard was that it was "fun" and that I needed to wear my red teacher shirt. On Friday morning, I put on that red shirt and headed to Sattriwittaya 2 where students had started preparations for the day as early as 5 am.

The day began with a bang. Literally. They shot off one of those start guns used for track races. Teachers got a free breakfast which included hot Ovaltine (yes, you heard me right) and a corn cake wrapped in banana leaves. Not the worst breakfast I have ever had in Thailand. I settled into my seat to watch the students march onto the track.

Each class is placed onto a team- Blue, Orange, Pink, Green or Yellow- each team has their own shirt and their own theme. My homeroom was on the blue team, so I appropriately painted my nails blue. The students appreciated it.

After honoring the King, his mother and the Queen each team marched onto the track. High school students were wearing elaborate (and revealing) costumes and the middle school students were following behind them doing some sort of cheer/step/march. The students were perfectly in sync. I was quite impressed. Once all the teams had marched onto the field, the high schoolers took over. Students performed dances to unedited American Hip Hop songs. (Think of high school girls wearing show girl costumes and a couple boys in drag dancing to "Shots" by LMFAO featuring Lil Jon)

Once the ceremony was over, it was time for the sports. Normally, the students would have been played in various games all semester and the final matches would have been played on Sports Day. However with the delay of school because of the flooding, Sports Day was diminished to just track and swimming. All the other students had to earn points by cheering for their respective colors.

So I am thinking Manual pep rally, whoever screams "Give me a red red red!" the loudest wins . No. These students have practiced complex, highly structured cheers equipped with props and intricate hand movements. It was incredible. I sat there thinking about how American students would never ever ever (newa ewa ewa) practice cheers after school just to sit in the heat all day watching a few of their classmates run around a track.

The games lasted all day but the farang teachers were able to sneak away at 3 pm. Not a bad way to end 2011.

Photos: The orange students marching during the opening ceremony. Student dressed in a traditional Thai costume.