CM slowly becomes familiar

I am warning you up front that this blog will be low on information and high on visuals. For some reason I feel tired today. It might have to do with the onslaught of computer problems, lack of electricity, and the deluge of rain. Does that sound sufficiently worrying? In all honesty, the lack of electricity was only for the evening, the deluge was nothing worse than one would see in Minnesota (and it made playing soccer a blast!), and the computer problems...well, I'll figure it out eventually!

This past Sunday I went to Chiang Mai to try and find a book (A Brave New World) and to check out the Sunday night bazaar again. I find that place fascinating. After being in a village all week, it is so strange for me to see all the tourists that surface in Chiang Mai on weekends. I get no end of entertainment from people watching - and then I am happy to come home!

I haven't discovered all of Chiang Mai yet - I'm sure not even close. But I have walked a good portion of the Southeast corner (my preferred way to discover a city). And now I will take you on my trip.

If I don't go to Chiang Mai on the motorbike I take a yellow Sawng Tao (literally means "two benches"):


This is just a pickup with a cover and a bench down each side (hence the name). They can get rather full, in which case people just hop on the back and ride standing up (people here must cultivate an amazing balance). This is not even close to as scary as I would have thought. In fact, it's fun, and there is less danger of touching a monk. (I did that, by the way, as I got on a Sawng Tao. I have yet to find someone else who has. Needless to say, I felt bad, as this is considered very offensive. In my defense, however, I was just trying to keep my balance!)

Continuing on.... I get off the Sawng Tao at Wawarot Market and head towards the old city.


It's not a bad walk and I enjoy looking at all the food and clothes. Sometimes, however, the smells leave something to be desired! There is a fruit here called durian that is actually banned from some hotels and some public places. I've eaten it and don't actually mind it, but the smell gets in the way and prevents a general approbation.

The Sunday night bazaar is full of tourist items, but there can be surprisingly good deals as bargaining is the norm.

Other than the bazaar, my walk in this part of the city is of interest to me because I enjoy getting my bearings, and I like watching the people and traffic.

The other part of Chiang Mai that I am familiar with is across the river. This is where they have their nice touristy restaurants. The nice thing about these restaurants is that they are right on the river, and while I can't say one gets really beautiful views, it is relaxing. An interesting side note is that they actually spray a light mist from fans in the ceiling. At first I found it annoying and then gave into my two-for-one spa/restaurant experience.

Stay tuned for more Chiang Mai adventures. This next weekend I intend to be in the vicinity of the University. I'm sure this little preview will have you coming back for more. : )

Roosters and other such ramblings

Good morning! It's just after 6am and I've just jumped out of bed excited about another day in Mae Sa Luang (our little village). Did you know that it is not a rare morning that I wake up to a rooster? And at this precise moment I am congratulating myself that I woke up to a rooster and not the King's anthem. It is presently blaring from the village PA system and I must say it is not to my musical tastes. Oop, and now it is time for the news - again broadcast loud enough to offend the ears. I'd much rather be up and writing to you than jamming a pillow over my head in frustration! : )
I don't know if all have heard my theory, but I used to say the reason I could get up most mornings at 3:30 am for my job was because I found getting up at any time of day distasteful - so I preferred to be half numb to the idea that I was leaving my cozy bed (maybe it has to do with Minnesota winters?). Somehow that mentality completely escapes me here and I mostly use my alarm as a security measure. It's a pleasure to wake up naturally.


On Tuesday through Thursday my first class does not start until eight,so I get a little down time. It is extremely relaxing and a good time to reflect. Today I have decided to use some of this time to communicate with the outside world - something I have been very remiss in all week - I'm sorry!
We are in the middle of our fourth week of classes. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I am still really enjoying my classes and my students. It is so exciting to hear the new students start to speak English here and there. In my Beginning English class we work a lot on phonetics and it seems to be paying off. I have fun making the different sounds and trying to explain where they will feel it in their throat or mouth. I hardly treat it as the science I'm sure it is -but we have fun making our faces and figuring it out together. Their ability to read simple passages (even though they don't really understand) is getting quite good. Considering they are coming from the Thai language where they use symbols instead of letters, I'm impressed. I appreciate it even more because the Thai alphabet is as much a mystery to me today as it was when I arrived. Some of the sounds however are not.
My latest "problem" class has been choir. By a "problem" class I hardly mean the students. This means that I find it hard to be an effective teacher. Therefore, I am trying to figure out the best way to make it interesting and fun while getting results. In this class I am besot with minor challenges. First and foremost, it takes talent to be a choir teacher/director and if I possess it I certainly haven't cultivated it. In addition, trying to direct while playing piano tends to overload my one-tracked brain. And again, I haven't really cultivated my piano playing talent either. (Although, Mom and Dad, you will be thrilled to know that I am now forced to practice about an hour a day - this should help make up for all those 1/2 hour practices I skipped out on.) After choir last Friday I felt like we hadn't moved forward at all. I identified a couple areas to work on (Monday it was correct notes and timing, Wednesday correct breathing and blending), turned to the internet for free and helpful advice and then implemented some of the exercises. This week in class has been fun and I am happy to report that by the end of class yesterday I had two songs that had (almost!) all the correct notes and just traces of a voice departing from that of the choir. (Satisfied sigh...)
There are still little frustrations that stem from cultural differences. For instance, many times my classes don't understand something (frequently in Music Theory) it is because it is about a broad concept. The Thai system is based on rote learning, therefore the students are very good at vocabulary quizzes because they just memorize the definition. When it comes to theory, it is very difficult to explain a rather "simple" concept. For example, we are learning about note duration - whole note, half note, etc. When I tried to explain that we have a measure that has four beats and all need to be accounted for (with one whole note, two half notes, etc)- I got blank looks. (Smiles, actually, but here that is showing the embarrassment that they are not at all understanding!) This does not really bother me, however, because in this case I know what is required of me - patience!

In other news, I am pleased with myself for playing a loud and clear C chord on the guitar. Some may agree that this takes a little practice and I am very excited to have achieved it. I just may learn guitar this year yet.

Lastly, I want to share this website I found last night. I know there are at least a few of you who will want to know more about my place of residence. I'm excited about the site because it is in English but does not cater to tourists. It will help me tap into different events taking place around town. It's a great resource for restaurants, events, a map, travel schedules, expat stories, etc.

Since I have resorted to admitting the trivial little things that make my day like guitar chords and websites I will sign off! : )

Nothin' like learnin'...

Last week I began to realize that being here has helped me to get outside myself and do things I would normally be wary of.

For starters, two Sabbaths ago I ended up singing a Burmese song with two of my students for special music. I am trying to find ways to talk to all of the students, which led me to ask Naung Naung to teach me a short tune. Saturday morning he worked with me and patiently helped with pronunciation along the way. While we were practicing the other students told us we should sing for special music - so we did, along with Hkawn Din. It actually went well and the students enjoyed hearing me sing in a different language. It also served its purpose of helping to generate conversation of a more substantial nature than "hi" and "good afternoon, how are you?".

Next on my list of out of character moments was on the 4th of July. We had the day off and I had to plan an afternoon of activities and fun in celebration. Unfortunately, Ajarn Leon got sick so we didn't have the truck to carry all the food from the school to the farm. This was excellent incentive to hop on the motorcycle and finally learn to use it. In all honesty I had been hesitant because it kind of scared me. I got on and instantly realized that driving the motorcycle would be a fun diversion while here. Plus, a day of cleverly strapping food to the back made me feel like one of the locals.

I am particularly fond of my helmet...

The afternoon at the farm was a nice little break from the classroom. Highlights were the water balloon toss, fireworks and ice cream. The fireworks were particularly enjoyable. As a few can attest, I do not do well with fireworks displays unless they're put on by the city or professionals I can't see. I curiously watch as others walk to light the firecracker and then dodge behind whatever partition is fortuitously around. For our display this year we were presented with a pair of nine fireworks strapped together. I took one look and worried for whichever student was going to set them off. To my surprise the most obliging and gallant of my students decided the ajarns should set them off. After my requisite jokes of "I see, this is how you plan to be rid of us, etc" I realized he was serious and put on a brave face. It wasn't until later that I realized to the students they were really giving something up so that we could have a chance to go out and light the things. In the end, it was no big deal. My main problem was just getting the lighter to light in the first place. The resulting fireworks were worth it.


Yes, that is Monopoly Thailand...


All in all I would have to say it was a very enjoyable week.