Seeing more of SE Asia

I'm sitting here in my sweatpants, socks, and sweatshirt - and still a bit cold. Mornings in Thailand are now quite cool! And for those who don't believe it can get chilly here - I have proof!

Bundled up in the back of the truck on the way to Thanksgiving dinner in town.
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A couple weeks ago I got to go to Singapore and Malaysia. It was a really good trip and satisfied my travel bug (for the time being).

Singapore
We only spent about 2 1/2 days in Singapore. My favorite place was Little India. The first night I had to walk over to buy a towel at the Mustafa center. What was interesting was seeing all the people and the cramped place and it was so clean! You could smell all of the things in the place - an odd assortment smacked together - of spices and lotions, and new shoes.

On our last night in Singapore we also ended up in Little India when it seemed that all the inhabitants were outside for the night - milling around and talking. The open areas were teeming with people as was the market.

Another highlight of Singapore was the zoo. Mostly because it was so beautiful and well kept. I also saw a Komodo Dragon for the first time. It has a looooong tongue.

We also went to church there and the people were so welcoming and friendly! They loaded us down with all the leftover food from the snacks. Definitely nice in a pricey place like Singapore.

Me sleeping while the guys try to figure out where church is.

On Saturday night we went to the Raffles Hotel, a swanky place, and home of the Singapore Sling (a drink). After that we headed down to the Quay and checked out all the bars and restaurants. We didn't actually stop anywhere, since it was soo expensive! It was definitely impressive with all of the lights and people, though.


Ben and I trying a Singapore Sling.






Malaysia
We took the night train up to Kuala Lumpur and arrived blurry eyed the next morning. After hitting up a Dunkin' Donuts that didn't have donuts we grabbed a taxi and were on our way to our guesthouse. As I recall we spent most of the day sleeping! I think we also saw Chinatown and walked around a bit.


Picking up fruit our first day in Malaysia.

The next day we went to a Butterfly Park and then to see the Petronas Towers (I've wanted to see them since they were built!) and up one of the tall communication towers for views of the city.


Ben, me, Elainea, and Nathan


The last night Elainea and I were in Kuala Lumpur we had a fabulous steak dinner!

Another really good trip. It would be nice to go back with more money! I think our next stop will be a beach in the south of Thailand for some R & R in December. Because, you know, traveling extensively is not exactly relaxing! We'll see.

Photo credits go to Ben and Nathan since I forgot to bring my camera!

Feast 08

I have almost sufficiently recovered from the Feast this year! I didn't get sick like last year! School (as a teacher) started up last week and was pretty good. We lost two students, though, this week, which made me a bit blue. Otherwise, those that remain are really making good progress. School (as a student) starts in a couple weeks. I am enjoying not having to read so many articles and just reading for fun!

So, the Feast this year was a really good time! I enjoyed all of our activities and I felt like I got to relax a little. It was fun to stay in the hotel (last year I didn't), but now I miss nice hot showers and good water pressure! I also miss the pool and soft mattress.

Activities included:
- elephant farm
- monkey farm
- talent show
- bowling
- soccer game (although it was rained out for the 2nd half)
- school tour
- Thai cooking class
Whew! A group of us also had a fancy dinner at the Chedi.


This year my mom and dad got to see Thailand. It was great having them there, even if just for a short time. It was also fun being a bit of a tourist in my own city. All in all, a great time!

Beka and Mom choosing the perfect ball to get a strike.

Mom and Dad on the elephant.

Saow and I riding along.

Norah's daughter, Myula, in her cute green hat.

A monkey making a little shopping trip for coconuts.

I was so excited to hold a monkey, but when I finally got to, he peed on me!

Ben and I in Lahu dress for the traditional dance we did.

Just another manic...Wednesday?

Booo hooo. What a week! Actually, I'm just thankful it's the Sabbath and things are winding down. You know its gotta be a little crazy when you get in a motorbike accident, spend a couple days in the hospital (not as the patient, fortunately for me), and then learn that 11 armed convicts escaped from a local prison and are roaming your village. What!?

Well, first things first. Yes, I was driving and we got hit by another motorbike. I am fortunate enough to have gotten out with a scraped up and sore leg. My passenger was not so lucky and broke her leg. Grrr, there goes my perfect driving record - and on a motorbike no less, where it is way more dangerous! Anyway, keep my passenger Lainy in your prayers. Hopefully she'll be out tomorrow and on the mend quickly.

Next up, the convicts. This I don't know a whole lot about other than we were supposed to evacuate our farm because military personnel were swarming the area and there was worry about cross-fire. How much of that was dramatized? I honestly don't know. However, all escaped convicts have been apprehended and we are safe again.

Just another week I guess. Today was normal - I went to class, I came home. I like normal. : )

I hope everyone is well!

The Thai Cook

I've been in Thailand for more than a year and have finally had a chance to learn about Thai cooking. It's possible to learn a little here at the school but here it is more of a fusion food - influences from Burma and India thrown in with whatever vegetables and meats are purchased. Also, most of the students don't really like spicy food (much to my surprise).
So, a friend is starting a cooking school here in Chiang Mai and wanted some guinea pigs. The teachers eagerly agreed to help as much as we could. There were 4 classes of which I went to two. I had a great time and it was so nice to learn how to cook food that doesn't require an oven.

What we made:

Day 1:
Fried Rice (Kao Pat)
Sticky Rice (Kao Neeow)
Papaya Salad (Som Tom)
Grilled Chicken (Gai Yaang)
Minced Chicken Salad (Laab Gai)
Mango and Sticky Rice (Kao Neeow Mamuang) Mmmmmmm!

Day 2:
Black Soy Noodles (Pad See Eew)
Red Curry Paste (from scratch)
Red Curry (Panang)
Fish Cakes and Corn Cakes (Tod Man)
Grilled Chicken Strips with Peanut Butter Sauce (Satay)
Indian Salad and Bread (Salad Kak)
Banana in Coconut Milk (Goui Buat Chi)

After a trip to Wawarot Market to get supplies we relaxed with some Thai style snacks.

We learned a little bit about the different kinds of rice and learned how you could make rice the old way. We just used a modern rice cooker, though.


After relaxing for a bit we moved over to the cooking area. Have you ever cooked sitting down before? It comes in handy when you have to pound so many things - but it's awkward when cutting!

Look at all these veggies - and red chilies - and garlic!

We got a chance to try cook in a more authentic Thai way. This included making our own coconut milk, which we did with the wooden contraption in front...

See the metal piece at the end? It has little grooves that shave out the inside of the coconut. Then you squeeze it and strain the juice to make first coconut cream, then coconut milk.

Here is 3/4 of the crew making fish and corn cakes. My job when not wielding the camera was to wield the strainer.


It was a great time and I would love to take the other two classes. We all got in the mood to cook and therefore had a home made dinner Friday night. However, I can't take any credit for cooking that one - only eating it!

Misty, Beautiful Mae Hong Son

This land that I find myself in just got a little more interesting. I'm not sure how much I've let on, but Thailand just hadn't held the charm of say, France. Not to say I didn't like it, but it can be hard to compare to quaint coffee shops, amazing food, and a strong franc (when I was there!). To be fair, I just haven't seen a lot of my newly adopted home. My trips to this point had mainly been to get out of the country on a visa run. This past week I finally got a bigger glimpse of Thailand - and I loved it!

A view from our trip up to Mae Hong Son.
We journeyed 5 hours up and down windy, twisty, roads. At the end we arrived at Romklawpangtong School which is in one of the Royal Projects. The day was beautiful and sunny. We passed Pang Tong Palace (although I didn't actually see a palace) and the King's project with its beautifully manicured lawns and numerous animals. Some of the animals, by the way, are released back into the wild after each year and are only there for the sake of conservation. Just past the palace and up another steep and windy hill was the school.

The main classroom building.
The school consists of several large classroom buildings, dorms for boys and girls, a community room, a farm, and a large garden. In the morning the students get up at 5AM, get ready, and head to the community building for singing and exercises. At 6AM (most of) the students are busy working. They rotate their jobs every two weeks and do things like take care of the animals, sweep, cook, and clean.

At this school they are trying to teach children to be self-reliant. All of the children who go here come from families that are too poor to pay for education. The school has about 243 students and about 180 stay at the school. The rest come from a village just over the mountain. The students learn about farming and taking care of animals. They are encouraged to try to succeed with what they grow and then it is sold at the market. The students get to keep the money.

The garden at the school.
The school only goes up through the equivalent of 9th grade. Then most of the students go back to their families and/or get married. Only a few will go on to finish grade 12. Even fewer will go to university. A big problem is that most students do not have ID cards and therefore cannot leave this area.

The students playing religious songs at night before bed.
It was a very fun experience. We were able to teach a couple classes and observe. Mine main reason for going was to see get some background on where my students potentially come from. For example, how is it that all the Thai students in my class have had 9 years of English and barely knew the alphabet when they got here? How are they taught? What do they respond to? I also wanted to learn more about how the school was run. Our students are older to there are going to be definite differences. But I wanted to get an idea of what is expected of students at these schools.

We also went to Ban Rak Thai, which is a small village with a heavy Chinese influence. It looked like it caters to tourists, but when we were there it was almost dead. They sell a lot of tea and dried fruit. The first dried strawberry I ever had came from this place.

Hmmm, which sign is important? Ahhh, yes, the one in Roman script...

Delicious dried fruit sold here!.
Hopefully in the future Legacy will be able to help that school by sending students there to teach a little bit. If not that, I at least have every intention of going back. It would be great if I could go a couple weeks a year to teach - and my Thai would improve dramatically as well!

We were only gone for 3 days, but I feel like I've seen a bit more of my current place of residence. Thailand is no France, and nor would I ever want it to be. My being here is making more sense the more I see of the place.

Having a BLAST!

Being that I am in Thailand, the 4th could not be quite like at home - but it was close! I had class all day but was able to make it back in time for the majority of the fun. Some of the students played games, I mostly talked, and then it was dinner time! We had hamburgers and french fries, potato salad, grilled chicken, and lots of ice cream! Then, there were fireworks! Like last year, they did not disappoint.
Myula plays with her doll while waiting for dinner.
At last!
Ben knows how to enjoy a burger!
We came around the corner and look! - both with a cob of corn and a cone. I guess we're related...
Ben kindly bought 10 kilos of ice cream - a little over 20 pounds. It's the tradition in Thailand that on your birthday you buy others gifts.
Everyone got to participate in the fun this year with sparklers.

Academia et al

Has it really been almost 2 months??? I knew it had been awhile, but that's ridiculous.

The last couple months have not been without their fun and points of interest. In fact, a lot happened which would account for the lack of posts.
I am now a grad student at Payap University. I am working towards a Masters in TESOL. I have a great class. There are a total of 15 (excellent class size in my opinion) students and every one of them is interesting. We have just completed the second week of classes (its all day Thursday and Friday) and already I think we feel at ease. I have been doing a lot of academic reading, but am happy to find that I believe it will end up quite practical as well. Our class is also diverse in terms of native and second language English speakers so it really aids in discussions.

I've also moved into an "apartment" of sorts. Basically a room with a bathroom (and a wee little back "porch"). It has been full of pillows and other miscellaneous bedding. Therefore, no pics - it's a disaster! However, this week I finally was able to get a shelf home on the motorbike (I'm getting the hang of this Thai transportation thing!) and so now there is beginning to be order. Pics to come.

Student-wise things are okay. The students appear to be enjoying their classes. Frankly, I feel a bit out of touch. I only teach three classes and all to the 1st year students. We've had some issues with health. Nothing too major, but still, a few students (or kids as it were) out of 20 and it seems like a lot. relatively speaking, I've spent a bit of time in local hospitals.

Getting out and going to school has increased my proficiency with a motorbike. Prayers for my general safety are of course appreciated! If I think about it, it kind of scares me. But if I want to live here and actually feel a little bit independent - well, motoring around it is. And I do find it fun.

This past summer Ben and I instituted weekly fahrang nights. This entails going out on Wednesday night for food that is more like what we are accustomed to. Now our group has grown to include two of the new teachers and another guy that is staying here as well. It's fun to be able to get out. Having all these native speakers around has done wonders for my vocabulary! It had been on the decline, but I'm happy to see it pick up. I'm sure my masters level reading helps a bit too. ; )

I should really post some pictures and will probably do so in the next couple days.

Just in general, to all those at home that I have done an awful job of emailing, I'm sorry I haven't been keeping in touch! I do think about everyone often!

Generalizations, but interesting

Lately I have had the opportunity to interview prospective students for the school. I am amazed at how much I am getting to learn about the culture. There are basic questions that I realize I never had the answers to. Whether this is due to lack of curiosity on my part when I first arrived, or to having asked, but not gotten a satisfactory answer, I am not sure. At any rate, now my students are providing me with good answers - to my plethora of questions!

In order to remember what I learned I wrote it all down. I'm just going to paste what I wrote here. Some of you might find it interesting, because it shows how what we do here is actually a real service to communities and ethnic groups in Thailand and Burma. Hopefully we will be able to become more efficient so that our students will reap greater rewards for their time.

School Systems

America

	Grade	Age
	Pre-school	4
Elementary School	Kindergarten-6	5-12
Junior High	7-8	12-14
High School	9-12	14-18

Public School – Free
Private School - $$$$
Homeschool - $

Thailand

	Grade	Age
Pre-school	1-3	3-6
Level 1 (ป)	1-6	7-12
Level 2 (ม)	1-3	12-15
Level 3 (ม)	4-6	15-18

Public School – Families pay for tuition/uniforms/housing (where applicable). It sounds like there isn’t any free school. Tuition increases each grade. Students in the hilltribes/mountains often start Level 1 later (around 9 years old) and get to some point within Level 2. It doesn’t seem like many get through Level 3. It appears many who do not get through Level 3 go on to Bible Colleges a year or two after leaving school. Often missionaries start these schools and they are inexpensive or free. Some have requirements that the students need to pass Level 2 or be 18.

An example for tuition would be B5,000 for 2 girls (one in pre-school and one in Level 1.1) for one term (6 months). This does not include costs for uniforms, which are about B350 apiece. This is about $380 US for one year. That doesn’t sound like much but it is if the average income is about 150B/day (we’re only talking about in the mountains here – not cities), than that is a lot. One of my students guessed that people in the mountains make between B30,000-50,000 ($938-$1563) per year. She also said, though, that there are many who don’t make that much. Also, their income depends on their crops. Farmers here also end up buying seeds and supplies on credit, only to go into debt or have to pay those off when the crops come in.

Literacy: Online the figure I found was a 93% literacy rate in Thailand. After asking about it, that seems right. It’s just that most older people read and write in their native languages not Thai. Among the younger generation, most read Thai and their tribal language.


Myanmar/Burma

	Grade	Age
Pre-school		3-5
10 Standards	1-10	5-15,16,17

Students have to pass each standard. Many students do not pass every one, so they repeat standards until they pass. This is why it’s hard to put an age on when they graduate from school.

Government School – Tuition, Uniforms
Boarding School – Tuition, Uniforms, Housing

Apparently many students in the cities are able to go to school. Most students now want to complete all 10 Standards, otherwise getting a job is very difficult. My students said that one way people are able to pay for their children is by negotiating prices with boarding schools. Some headmasters apparently try to be nice, others want to charge a lot. It also seems like tuition is greatly influenced by the help students get. Many students (who have the money) get tutors and more materials. This seems to affect the average student more than it would in the US.

For those outside the cities it is very difficult to get a good education. There are many fees that must be paid throughout the year. An estimate from one student was $1000/year/student for the 10th Standard (each level costs more). Although each level costs more, I think this seems high. Online it appears that students pay closer to $200/year. Either way, it’s a lot of money if you have 5 kids. My student explained that for every little fee the family must figure out what they can give up so it can be paid. The students guessed that most in the villages just make it to the 4th Standard and then work on the farm.

They also explained that the 10th Standard exams are out of synch with what they learn. Students who are often at the top of their class might not ever pass the test. Students who did not have good grades might actually pass. (It doesn’t seem like this has much to do with bribery or cheating, since this happened within my student’s family. The youngest sister had the best grades and couldn’t pass, three others didn’t have the best grades and did pass.)


That's my research for the day! I hope it was of some interest.

PS - If someone knows how to increase the width of my tables in Blogger, please let me know. I cannot figure it out!

Getting My Feet Wet...and Then Some!

I made it back to Thailand safe and sound. My trip went "quick" and I was able to adjust back to life here pretty easily. Of course, it was a bit of an adjustment going from snow to 90 degree days!

I've occupied myself with cleaning and getting my summer class organized. This past week has been atypical because there was a three day national holiday on the 13-15 called Songkran.

On Monday we went to Chiang Mai to take part. After lunch we loaded up the truck with garbage cans full of water and small buckets. Then everyone piled in around the cans and off we went. As we drove down the main road towards town Aj. Ben would slow down so that those on the side of the road could splash us and get splashed in return.
Everyone before we got drenched!
We pulled over, partly out of necessity as the truck had some issues, and partly so that those of us in front could get in on the action!

Once we got to Chiang Mai we walked down the main road towards the Old City. People on the sidewalks and in trucks would throw buckets, and shoot streams, of icy cold water (which felt pretty good on a sweltering day!).
If your bucket or water gun was empty you could fill up here. Or, if you just weren't wet enough yet, you could get caught up.

One of the best times was swimming in the moat and then dumping water on passersby and those in the trucks.
Aj. Ben with a couple students in the moat.
An example of the mayhem.
Those on motorbikes made their contributions too - and check out the prepared guy with the hefty pack.

All in all it was a good time. We returned late at night extremely tired. I think everyone slept very well - I know I did!

Lahu Wedding

I have been here a little over 9 months already and I finally made it to a small Thai village! One of my students invited Stacey and I to go with her to her cousins wedding. The wedding took place in a small village up in the mountains, not far from Mae Sai on the border with Burma. We were only in the village for about 24 hours - just a taste.
My student (Naley) grew up near the village and for me the best part was seeing her interact with her family. I couldn't understand what they said, but it was so nice to see her completely at ease. We were invited to stay with her aunt. They gave us our own room with a fan. They had electricity, a huge TV, a kitchen with a refrigerator, even a washing machine! I think that after being a here a year my standards have changed. Technically where they lived isn't what I would be used to at home. However, just the fact that is was clean (ie. no trash lying around) made my opinion go way up.
The main street through the village in Mae Fa Luang.
The wedding was not a traditional Lahu wedding. Usually Lahu people do not get married in a church. This was a church wedding with a wedding dress, tux, vows, music - in short just what I would expect at home. Afterwards we all walked down the hill to the brides home where there was a huge tent. We had a delicious lunch cooked by the women in the village. The couple changed into traditional Thai costumes and came out to greet the guests.
The wedding program in Thai, Lahu, and a smidge of English.
The inside of the village church.
The bride and groom singing during the reception.
Back at the house a few of the young girls were still in their traditional Lahu dress ready to ham it up for the camera.
We left shortly after the wedding and my visit was capped off with a thrilling ride down the mountain on a motorbike. This time it was fun, which I attribute to a good bike.

Today I head for home. I will see some of you soon!

Culmination Time

The last few weeks have been very busy, plus, I got my first taste of an extended period with no electricity! Fortunately, here in Thailand, that isn't a huge deal. But it did cut me off from my late night blogging and the relaxation of a good book before falling asleep. Apparently now our electricity is fine since the lights are on and my computer hasn't shut down.

One of the most exciting things for me since I last wrote was our graduation. We actually only had one student graduate this year. (Usually it is between 6 and 8, but his whole class left last year.) It was still pretty fun, though, because the students performed, choir performed, and two of my piano students played songs. I was pretty excited about that. It takes a bit of courage to get up and play. Especially when your hands shake and your palms sweat - both of which make playing piano difficult! One of the girls had never played in front of a group, but she did a nearly flawless job. It made me feel good when she said she decided to play because I had put in a lot of time so she wanted to show what we had done. Awwww.

Another highlight of the music show was a song that two of the students composed. It's just fun to see them get really involved and come up with their own ideas for things. Their song was actually pretty good and the Thai students especially liked the style.

One of the students was the MC, which put a smile on my face because she was so confident. Plus she came up with all of the transitions and comments herself.

Toward the end of the program I directed the choir and was a little nervous because our songs had started to fall apart just a couple days before the performance. On graduation day, though, it came together very nicely.

The graduation mainly consisted of the awards, music, graduate speech - and then a buffet. This year we also had a magician come and do an act. His son stayed with the school for a few months so he volunteered his time. He definitely had the students laughing.

These are all my students this year. It is kind of funny to think of how all my energy goes into those 13 people...