English Camp

For three days I was asked by my company to participate in an English Camp at a government high school outside Bangkok. 400 students! Ten hour classes of 40 students each. There where 5 teachers including myself and we each had different stations and the students rotated on the hour from one to the next.

It was not as bad as it sounds. I just focused on the class in front of me and then waited until the next group came my way.

The assignment? Create a puppet show using finger puppets and tell a story in English. At the end each group would do their show and we would judge them on Vocabulary use, Grammar, Story, Pronunciation and the creativity of their puppets.

I first I thought it was kinda lame and these cool Thai high school students would not be into it. But was I ever surprised. They turned out to be very creative.

One was a rock band and they introduced the band and played a song from an IPOD. It was really funny. 400 students pretending they were at a rock concert and cheering like mad fans and in reality they are watching a bunch of finger puppets shake and act like they were playing guitars.

Two very good Cinderella stories.

And one story where a group of friends went swimming in the ocean and saw a shark. "Tin swam fast. Duang swam fast. Pon swam fast. Tommy swam slow. The shark ate Tommy. We were sad. We went home."(Not a lot of points for grammar - but very funny.)

The winner? A boxing match between one of the students and Mike Tyson. The turned the box on its side and used strings to create the ring and even had one puppet as the girl who carries the round card. They asked us what her name was and none of us could think of it. I finally suggested - showgirl. The puppets were very well drawn and the kids were really into it.

I had a blast but they were long days and I am looking forward to returning to my regular schedule.

Ko Samet

I took my first overnight excursion outside the city and where did I go? The beach, of course! The island of Ko Samet - 200 km southeast of the city of Bangkok. Three and a half hour bus ride from Bangkok directly to the pier at BanPhe in Rayong and then an hour ferry ride to the island.

I knew I was in for an adventure when I sat on the top of the ferry for a better view and two guys - one from Cambodia and the other from Laos invited me to join them in the bottle of Brandy they brought.

There are many beaches to choose from. I chose Ao Phai because this women I met from Minnesota told me that's where returning travelers often go.

The beaches were lovely and the guest house was cheap and clean.

Unfortunately the weather was not that great. Cloudy the first day and it rained all day the second. But it was still warm enough the first day to go swimming and get a massage on the beach. And of course, I walked for hours around the beaches - exploring the island and ended the evening shooting pool on the beach with guys from Australia, Wales and San Francisco.

But I got a taste for the place and I will definitely be back. Perfect for an overnight trip away from the city. And the perfect thing about going to the beach in Thailand - it isn't seasonal. It's there all year.

Dusit Zoo

Today I went into the city and spent almost the entire day at the Dusit Zoo in downtown Bangkok. Because I have been on safari in Africa, I must confess that a couple of zebras, a couple of giraffes and a hippo or two is not such a big deal to me. But I did get to spend a lot of time with my friends. These elephants were a family - Dad and Mom and Son and they did a short show in which they played with balls and danced and did silly things, but I spent most of my time just hanging out with them - backstage. These animals mesmerize me and it was nice to get acquitted with three new beauties and I'm sure I will visit them again.

Oh, and the white tiger was pretty cool.

The Teaching Adventure Continues

I was asked to fill in for a teacher at a school out in the suburbs of Bangkok. The same school that I had visited a couple of weeks ago. They had offered me a job there - but I decided not to take it because the commute would have been to much.

I was told there was no lesson plan and no textbook. I had no idea how many students I was to be teaching or what age.

And it turned out to be such an exciting day.

The head teacher met me at our regular school and escorted me there. The school was hidden among backstreets and turn arounds. We took a cab down the main road and then a motorcycle taxi to the school. (Thank heavens one of the teachers who worked there full time lived near me and helped me get home or I would have been so confused.)

I was given a schedule. Two classes of first graders, then lunch, then one class of third graders and another of first graders.

I was told not to enter the class until it was time to start teaching. OK (?) So that's what I did. I entered at exactly 9 to class of about 40 first graders and said a casual hello. At that point all the students stood up like soldiers and shouted at the top of their voices, "Good Morning Teacher. How Are You?" I was so taken back that I just smiled and said, "That was very good." Before I could get another word in -they screamed in unison, "I'm Fine And You?"
It was so funny that all I could do was not laugh out loud. I then started teaching:

Hello my name is...

What's your name?

Her name is...

His name is...

And then I reviewed the alphabet but writing random letters on the board and had them yell them out and then I started spelling out school vocabulary.

Teacher

Students

School

Class

Desk

Board

And they shouted out the letters while I spelled each word.
then we would go over the word together.
then I would spell the word and leave a blank for one letter

S C _ O O L

And they would have to guess the letter.
By the last 15 minutes of the class;

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

they would shout out letters till they formed the word.

These kids were amazing. They were so energetic and fun. They would scream with delight each time the got a letter right and when they could start to see what word it was - they got so excited and were screaming E E E and I kept smiling and saying "Are you sure?" "YES. YES." They would come up and hug my leg in the middle of class. One boy just wanted to keep shaking my hand. The day flew by. But was I ever tired. I was very glad to go back to my regular school and just stand at a whiteboard and talk about clauses and sentences. But what a great day. Every day? I dont know.

I was waiting for the other teacher to finish up his class and I sat and watched girls play jump rope after school and had one of those moments. I'm here. I did it. And I love it.

Random Observations Continued

1) When you go to a gas station in Thailand, everyone must get out of the car when it is filling up with gas - it's the law.

2) What Mickey Mouse is to the US, Winnie the Pooh is to Thailand.

3) Pringles are available in crab, shrimp and seaweed flavors.

4) The Thai language has 50 different sounds which can be spelled in less than 100 ways. The English language has 44 different sounds that can be spelled over 1,ooo different ways.

5) When going to the movies, you are asked to stand before the movie starts for a short film about the King. Any negative remarks about the King can land you in jail. Last year an American drew a moustache on a picture of the King and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The King pardoned him.

6) American country and western style is very popular in Thailand. The boots, the shirts and the music. I constantly hear Johnny Cash being played in malls. There are many boutiques that specialize in "Country."

Chatuchak Market

All over Bangkok there are markets with tiny passageways where you can easily get lost for an hour pouring over a variety of goods and delighting in the low cost of things.

Chatuchak weekend market is the big daddy of them all.

Over 6,000 stalls. The size of five football fields. It is shopping heaven.

Rarely do I have weekends off, so this was my chance. Luckily, I got there early ( about nine ) because you really need all day.

Everything; jeans, dress shirts, t shirts, casual clothes, formal clothes, wedding dresses, dress shoes, sneakers, and boots - tons of boots, toys, PETS, antiques, books, housewares, cookware, ceramics, furniture, handcrafts, plants, flowers, gardening supplies, and of course food- tons of food.

And at one corner, there are the most amazing art galleries with some of Bangkok's best artist. I saw beautiful paintings and sculptures that really blew me away. Right next to a guy selling puppies!

It is so cramped in these large warehouse-like pavilions and there is no air conditioning but it was incredible. It just goes on and on and just when you think that you've seen everything in one building, you discover a new aisle of stalls you never noticed.

And what did I buy?

A used children's book for learning the Thai alphabet.

My new years resolution. To be fluent in speaking, writing and reading.

Wish me luck.

Personal note - Kathy, I really missed you today. You would have loved this place. But you were with me in spirit. And when you visit me - we gotta go!

More Random Shots

More Beauties


The workers treated them with such respect and love it was amazing.
All the elephants seemed healthy and alert.

This is a homemade gas station.
Out in the country.
And its illegal.
And I saw a cop stop and get gas.





Kids feeding turtles.
(OK, I fed them too.)

Random Shots

Here are some random shots that didn't make it to other blogs.

Monument in front of the Royal Plaza.

Wat Pho

The Reclining Buddha in the Ancient City

The view from outside my apartment.

I think this guy recognized me.