"Falang"

Imagine if everytime we saw a Latin American in the US we pointed and yelled "Foreigner" and our friends shouted "HOLA." That's what it's like in Thailand. Only they call me "Falang" and yell "helLO"

12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (ways I'm becoming Thai)

16. I prefer my omelettes on a bed of rice with chili sauce.
15. I like unripe fruit
14. I catch myself speaking Thai in my head.
13. I get frustrated speaking or emailing w non thais when I have to say certain things in English.
12. I can only afford $2.50 massages as a rare treat.

School

School started for the year last week and I am co-teaching 4th, 5th and 6th grade English at 2 schools: Wat Thamasopot and Wat Amaritawari. My real goal here is to work w the Teachers and give them techniques that they can use even after I am gone. We are working on "student centered learning." One teacher already has some good ideas and is good to work with. One is a lot more reluctant. I think she just wants me to teach for her so she doesn't have to.

Class sizes range from 15 to 35 and the students don't understand the concept of working individually. Even when I ask a question and say it is for just one student the whole class tries to answer. Sometimes it is great to get the whole class on one question, but mostly it means I can't hear individual pronunciation mistakes and most of the kids are just relying on others to know the answers.

In 6th grade we are working on "My Story." They are working on writing and speaking basic information about themselves. In 5th grade we are working on numbers. Saying, writing, and recognizing written numbers and time. In 4th grade we are working on writing and pronouncing the alphabet, and the concept of "this" and "that" with basic classroom vocabulary.

There are some sounds in English that they don't have in Thai (and vice-versus) so even when I say words, and brake them down a hundred times over many classes, they still struggle w pronunciation. Their ears aren't used to picking up those intonations, and their mouths aren't used to moving those ways. They have particular trouble w 'v, 'l', and 'r.' My name is a nightmare for them.

11

11. I instinctually look right when I get to an intersection.

This has taken me months to do. Try it next time you come to a road crossing; it's harder to look right than it seems. Takes a lot of mental cognition.

Top 10 ways I know I'm becoming Thai

10. At least 50% of my conversations include talk about what someone ate, how much something cost, and how hot it is.
9. There are words I know in Thai, but not in English.
8.I don't think twice about people picking their nose in public.
7. Five hour bus ride? That's short.
6. When it's time to clean my plate or bowl for more food, I just throw the bits on the ground.
5. I am starting to speak in Thanglish. Some of the favorite things I've said: " I am not Christ, I am not Buddah." "No, I am not boring."
4. No toilet paper? No problem. I didn't expect any anyways.
3. I grunt to acknowledge. Sounds like "Unh."
2. I can use chopsticks w my left hand.
1. My thermometer reads 100 degrees, and I think "Good weather to wear jeans."

soi dog excitement

I was bit by a dog last night on my way home from eating w friends. I am used to dogs barking viciously at my heals while I bike. In fact everytime I biked to or from my host family house I had to deal with about 15 dogs running after me at some point. When I ran I had to run w a stick in my hand to wave at them. Here in Uthai it's much less of a problem, but somehow I found the one crazy dog! It bit me on my lower left calf as I biked by. One good tooth indent, and one scratch. I already have the preventative rabies vaccine so I just needed one shot last night, and I go back for another monday.

Old Hat

They say once you've lived somewhere for 3 months it is no longer new. You stop seeing the idiocyncracys as anything special. It is so true. I have all but stopped taking pictures because things don't stand out anymore. Cochroaches in the restaraunt? No biggy. Stalls on the streets selling cochroches, and other bugs to eat, no biggy. Having a friend buy said bugs and eat them, no biggy. Being offered the bugs and popping one in. No biggy. Well, as long as you don't look first. ewwww.

don't help too much

Did you hear the one about the Thailand Peace Corps Volunteer who went down to Phuket to help build tsunami wrecked houses when her school was on vacation and she didn't tell Peace Corps???

She got kicked out.

I just heard about a friends friend who's with Peace Corps in Haiti. She had a rash and called to get it checked out, and over the phone she let the medical office know it probably wasn't too serious as she had gotten rashes in the states occationally. The officer checked her medical history which said nothing about rashes in the states and the next day, without even being seen by a medical profesional, she was on a plane back to the states.

What are our prioreties here people??

Trends

When I was traveling this fall if I liked to play the "where are they from" game in my head. If I saw a yellow "LiveStrong" bracelet it was an easy answer: American. But now the Thais have adopted this trend and are running with it. About 10% of teenagers I see, even out here in Uthai Thani, have a LiveStrong bracelet. They sell them at all the open-air markets, right in between the exotic fruits and hammocks. You can get them in any color you can imagine, but the price is not cheap. Always more than the equivalent $1. And sometimes they come in a small size, to better fit the asians. Just like the condoms do....