Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Bangkok!

And to think that for 12 hours, I will be a year ahead!

My Favorite Buddha

This is from Wat Pho.

He is my fave buddha.

I mean, look at him.

So enlightened.

So happy.

Just chilling under a tree.

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

This is the bottom of the feet that contains the mother of pearl images.

Paintings on the wall of the hall.

Once again, pictures do not do it justice. It was such a small hall for such a huge object.

But at least you get an idea.

More Wat Pho

Wat Pho

Today, I went into the city and took the ferry to see Wat Pho.

Wat Pho is Thailand's oldest and largest temple. From the 16th century, it predates the city of Bangkok. It is also home to the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. Of all the gestures of the Buddha (including Touching the Earth, Meditation, Reassurance, Exposition, and Restraining the Waters ), the Reclining Buddha represents parinivana, or ultimate nirvana. The 150 foot long gold gilded plaster and brick image fills the entire hall. On its feet are the most amazing mother of pearl images which represent the auspicious signs of the true Buddha. There is even a tree that is said to have been grown from the cuttings of the original tree that Buddha sat under. Unfortunately this section was closed do to construction.

These temples are amazing! I could walk around in them for hours. And I do.

In America, I use to delight in the historic feeling of a place like Boston, but this place is from the 16th century. I walk around and imagine the monks over the ages that called this place their home. Could they imagine that years later, tourists would be wondering the grounds shooting digital photographs to post for their friends in seconds halfway around the world?

Christmas in Bangkok

Although it is not a traditional holiday in Thailand - they certainly have embraced the holiday. Especially commercially. Christmas is everywhere.

Santa gave me -

1)My first full time paycheck ( well part of it. - let me explain. Everyone in Bangkok gets paid once a month, but if you work for a good company like I do - you get an advance halfway into the month. So I do get paid every two weeks. My salary is 36,000 baht a month. I get an advance of 10,000 baht on the 25th and the balance of 26,000 baht on the 12th. So, its a little strange but easy enough to get used to and it is certainly better than once a month.) I spent some money on much needed things for my apartment. (A trash can, a rack to hang my clothes on -laundry places dont use dryers, why bother?? its so hot you just hang them on racks and they are dry in 1 hour,- towels, bath stuff and a good book on teaching yourself to read and write in Thai for my new years resolution.

2)The discovery of a 24 hour diner about a 15 minute walk from my apartment that has American Breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, toast and juice) for about 2 dollars.( Sometimes you just want food - not an adventure.)

3)The discovery of an awesome neighborhood called Chatuchak which is full of fabulous authentic antiques from all over the Far East and.. hold on to your hats.... A street vendor who has tons of used books in English. Now, those of you that know me well know that of my favorite things to do in life - browsing antique stores and used books are way on the top of my list. Thank you Santa.

My school, ECC, had a Christmas Eve party for all its teachers from all the branches on a rooftop in Bangkok with free food and free beer. It was great meeting all the other teachers and the more I share my experience with them - how I landed a great job in three days and how much I paid to get certified- it becomes clear to me that someone has truly been looking out for me and I am grateful.
Drinking Thai beer, eating great food on a roof top, looking at the Bangkok skyline all lit up at night - not a bad Christmas Eve.
At school on Saturday and Sunday we also had Santa give out gifts and take pictures with the kids. Some of the younger kids even learned some carols and sang them in front of the tree at school. It was all very sweet and surreal at the same time.

I couldn't help thnking - Where will I be next Christmas?
I wonder as I wander.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Bangkok!

Here Comes The Judge!

I was invited to judge an English speech contest today for a Tech College far away on the outskirts of town. There were about 15 students who had prepared a five minute speech from memory in English on topics ranging from Global Warming to what they love about their hometown. It was so much fun!

I was informed at the last minute that I was to give a speech and I spoke briefly about the big differences between Thai and English.

As my Thai is getting better and better everyday, it has occurred to me that the biggest gaps between the two are verb tenses, the use of articles ( the , an and a ), and the use of prepositions. None of these exist in the Thai language. Also pronunciation - most obvious being r's and l's. But there are more. I was talking to one of my classes about my love for jazz and they looked very confused and I kept saying "Do you know the word - jazz? " And they kept saying, "Yes." But they were still confused. Finally I wrote the word on the board and it turned out they all thought I was talking about "chess." So now these have become the perfect practice words for the difference between the j and ch sound and the s and z sound. And of course, they still call me Matchew.

The biggest problem still is getting them to be bold in their attempts to speak English. They are so afraid of making mistakes. I have started telling them, "Don't wait to be perfect to speak English, it will take too long. Just try."

Of course, my learning their language has helped me understand how they must feel and I am certainly bold about my broken Thai.

Random Ramblings

1) Thai people drink out of bags. If you go to a store and you buy a soda, unless you stop them, they will pour it into a clear plastic bag and add ice and a straw. I see people walking around Bangkok all the time - sipping soda out of a clear plastic bag. Soups are also sold on the street in the same way.

2) Thai people will nap anywhere! Often if you go to a large outside market you will see someone on a break sprawled out on a table just taking a nap. My kind of crowd!

3) The Thai have invented a new word in English - "edutainment." At first I thought it was education misspelled, as many English words are; on products and on signs, but this actually means something. Many malls have little private schools for learning a new language, acting schools, music schools and computer schools. (Which is exactly the kind of place I teach - a learning center. ) The area where all of these are located is called the edutainment center. Education and entertainment. I think its a great word.

4) Just because it is called a bus stop - don't expect the bus to actually stop. It will pick you up and drop you off - but a full stop is rare.

5) Thai people think all farangs (white foreigners ) are rich.

6) Even Thai people complain about the heat. (And its winter!)

Assumption Cathedral

Near the Oriental Hotel is this beauty. Built in 1910 this cathedral has a high vaulted ceiling and this amazing marble altar brought in from France and is the principal Catholic church in Bangkok. The ceiling is patterned with all these gold starbursts. The rose window has two large towers on each side.

The Oriental Hotel

Repeatedly voted the world's best hotel for its service, The Oriental Hotel was established in 1876. The white room you see is called the Author's Suites. It is located in a narrow wing of the hotel lined with white shutters. Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and Joseph Conrad all stayed in the hotel and spent time writing in this room. They still serve high tea old-school style and when I told them I was just here to look around they were so accommodating - "Please enjoy and take many pictures."

It is located right by the river among side streets and alleys. And at the end of the cramped city maze this fabulous place appears.

There is an enormous garden in back that follows the river. My camera ran out of batteries but trust me this place is breathtaking!

It is amazing to me how quickly I have become accustom to a new life. I left the house today and was going over things I had to get done in my head and felt sort of blaze about the day's errands and then I stopped and said to myself - You're in Thailand!! You are doing these things in Bangkok! It really made me giggle. How quickly we take things for granted.

I started a new class today. It is a private class so it will be just one student every Monday thru Friday from 9 to 12. He is about 15 and his family is moving to Gainesville, S.C. and he wants to perfect his English before he leaves. He is a wonderful student and very eager to learn. I think we will enjoy our time together very much. Private classes are the best. The three hours flew by.

Saw something disturbing today.

I went to my neighborhood market to get my favorite pad thai and saw the woman who cooks from the cart get hit by what appears to have been her husband - in public. I had noticed him on several occasions as I have been there repeatedly in the last couple weeks. He always shyed away from me and hid in the back of the kitchen and occasionally would peek around the corner and smile at me. He is a small man about 30 years old at the most and honestly I thought he was flirting with me and just terribly shy.

But today was different. I always sit at one of the tables outside the restaurant near the stand where she cooks so that I can watch her as I still find it fascinating. I ordered my lunch and after waiting only about two minutes, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and came up to her and yelled and proceeded to smack her in the face repeatedly. She did not attempt to fight back. She simply closed herself up and got backed into a corner. I rose from my chair and was about to get involved when an older man from the street shouted something at him and split them up. Both men proceeded to walk away as if not much had happened. She immediately returned to cooking with tears in her eyes. Every time I had been there before she would always smile and when I would pat my stomach with satisfaction we would both smile. After this man hit her, she never looked me in the eye.

There is another woman who works with her and when the girl was being hit, she backed away and refused to get involved. When it was over, she looked at me and shrugged. There was another woman in her fifties buying something to go when this happened and she gave him the look of death and then went on her way. No one comforted the girl.

I sat there and ate me lunch angry and heartbroken. He kept walking by me as he was setting up other tables preparing for the rush and I so desperately wanted to do something. But I didn't. I did not have my passport on me because the office where I work is using it for my work permit application and there are police all over this area and I figured the last thing I needed to do was get involved in an altercation without my passport on me.

What shocked me most was people's reaction to it. I seemed the only one horrified. I think it is dangerous to make assumptions about Thai people with this one incident, but I couldn't help being deeply saddened by the apparent lack of outrage and concern for the young woman's well being.

I must point out though, I do not know their relationship. It could be her brother, cousin, boyfriend or boss-I don't know. Not that it much matters.

One thing I know for sure, it appears he is the owner of this place and today will be my last visit.

This is a picture of her.
God Bless her and keep her safe.

More Golden Mount

The Golden Mount

The Golden Mount sits atop a man-made hill that overlooks all of Bangkok. Up until the 1960's this was the tallest point in Bangkok. And then the skyscrapers arrived. However, the view is still astounding. You walk up steps that go around the outside of the temple. Surrounding the temple is a wooded area with odd monuments and tombs all dedicated to the benefactors who helped in its construction. The wooded area is oddly Gothic with a Buddhist flair. The Golden Mount is located at the Wat Sacket which for thousands of years served as a crematorium.

After climbing the circular staircase you arrive at a small sanctuary which holds a shrine in the middle where people pray and meditate. The grounds of this place and the panoramic view are well worth the climb. Along the climb to the top are a series of bells and gongs that you are encouraged to ring as they are known to keep the deceased quiet. Some of Buddha's remains are said to rest somewhere in the sanctuary.

At the very top - on the roof - is a large gold point with a shrine on each side for further meditation.

This is considered a particularly sacred place for the Buddhist because its height and view are known to offer perspective.

And they are right!

When in Thailand - ya gotta go!