They might call me "Teacher Em" at school, but I feel like I'm doing way more learning than the kids are. I'm learning about Thai language, schools, food, and people, in interesting ways and in surprising places. And every day I teach, I learn more about how to be a better teacher, which is pretty important to me.

The kids seem to be warming up a bit. There are still some "deer in the headlights" moments when I call on a student who has absolutely no idea what to say, or maybe even what the question was, but that may have more to do with learning a scary new language, and less to do with that funny-looking teacher asking the question. We've added "Head and shoulders (... knees and toes...)" to the song lineup, though "The Happy Song" still tops the charts. "The ABC Song" (which - come on, admit it - some of us still have to hum in order to alphebetize things) was an abysmal failure. Needed actions, I guess. We still play a lot of games, and the younger ones do a fair amount of coloring, but we're starting to slip in more of the serious business of phonics, spelling, reading and writing. Particularly with the older students, the gap in ability levels is difficult to overcome. A few in each class read really well (they mayhave had some private tutoring, which is common here with any family that can afford it) while for others who have maybe just transfered from a public school, my class may be their first introduction to formal English education. This is making reading and writing activities very interesting. How we learn a new language, and in particular how kids learn a new language, is fascinating. Even when a lesson or activity is a total flop, I learn a lot that can be applied to the next lesson.

Between classes, we hang out in the office planning lessons and putting together materials on the computer. It's a family-owned and run school, with the mostly toothless but sweet (and non-English-speaking) patriarch always puttering around building, painting, or fixing something. His wife teaches Anuban (kintergarden), his daughter is the secretary/receptionist, and his granddaughter is an Anuban student who likes to hang around Pitt and me and learn new English words. They're a nice family and have been having a good time introducing me to new Thai goodies. Today Ann (the secretary) bought me 2-ft long piece of bamboo stuffed with sweetened sticky rice. Pitt explained that after adding the rice, water, and sugar, they roast the bamboo over a fire, then hack away the outer part of the bamboo. What's left can be peeled down in strips, exposing the yummy rice inside. Who'd a thunk it?

I've also developed a taste for jack fruit, which Im now completely in love with. There's a little market a minute's walk from the school that sometimes sells it. Jack starts out watermelon-sized, covered with thick, spikey-looking skin. Then someone cuts it apart, and out come these tastey little nuggets of fruit, each with a pit inside. I think someone local must just wait for the fruit to fall, and when it does, it translates into about ten full baggies of fruit for sale, each with about 15 pieces. If I don't see them first, someone in the office usually buys a baggie for me.

When Pitt was sick last week, Tor from the Smart English office was my assistant for a couple of days. She's really sweet, but her training was as an accountant, and she feels a bit out of her league as an English teacher. Between classes she was so patient and helpful teaching me Thai words... and she really wants to work on her English... so we've started meeting up for a lesson-swap in our free time. It's amazing how much faster you learn when you have someone to help you practice and focus, and (gently) explain when you don't have it quite right. I also went out and bought some of those preschool style trace-the-letter-then-write-it books of the Thai alphabet. I've decided that I should at least try the reading and writing end of Thai, and it's supposed to really help your pronunciation. For a little taste of it, Learning Thai the Easy Way has some nice introductory material. So... you can see what I'm up against. I can't even write my own name yet, but I'm practicing.

While Trevor was here, I bought a fish (two, actually, but one didn't exactly make it). Right now fishy's living in the bottom one of the 2-gallon jugs I buy my water in, but come payday he's getting a dee-luxe 15-gallon palace. And maybe a couple of friends. When I walk into town on the weekends, I go through a little pet market, where a cluster of vendors offer up fish, turtles, birds, rabbits, hamsters and mice. I recognize some of the fish from my aquarium-keeping days back in ND, and it's funny to think about having to have a heater for them, and all the care I had to take to keep my "tropical" fish at the proper temperature. Here you could throw them in an outdoor pond and they'd be fine. I lot of what I had in my tank were probably native to Thailand. My fish (no name so far) has proven a very poor roommate substitute after Trevor left - we (Trevor and I) both wish we could make those visits happen much more often. Maybe a turtle would help. (Just kidding. Although they are the cutest little turtles...)

I've started tutoring two university students twice a week, and that's been interesting. We got off to a typically, comically Thai start. Pitt mentioned that P Noot had a relative whose daughter needed a tutor for a couple months. I said I would be interested, and suggested Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour. Pitt said she'd tell them. Monday rolled around, and she let me know they'd be fetching me at quarter to five. Um... Tuesday? No, Monday and Thursday. Okaaaaay. Gib (my student) arrived to pick me up before 5, and we went to her house, where we were met by the other two students (What other two students?) for a two-hour class. It all worked out ok, and I ended up with two students total in the end, for two hours twice a week. It's tough to shift geers into the finer points of subject/verb agreement and pronunciation after small-kid, big-energy classes all day, but they're nice girls, and it's also nice to make a little bit of extra money. I actually ended up having Thanksgiving dinner with their family. Although they didn't really know it was Thanksgiving, and it was fish curry and rice on the menu.

If you were to summarize it on a schedule, my day-in day-out here sounds fairly routine, and completely devoid of outdoor recreation, which is usually a big part of what I enjoy. I go to school, come home, study or do class prep, read and go to bed. On the weekend I do more of the same, meet with Tor, and maybe go to Jim's place for a movie and a beer. Trevor's been hesitant to tell me about all the fun stuff he does - floating the river, going mountain biking, camping on pristine white beaches... because he doesn't want me to feel bad. And don't misunderstand, all of that sounds pretty darn fantastic, and I am a little jealous of all the outdoor fun. But I don't think I'd trade where I am right now. I'm loving what I'm doing, and looking forward to learning more.

Labels: teaching, Thailand

The visit to Hat Yai was fantastic...not so much because of Hat Yai but because of that special gal living there! While we are both really loving our personal endeavors, it is clear that we are much more whole when together. O.K., enough of the mooshy stuff.

Hat Yai was also quite fun as I got to visit with the people that take good care of Em. My first night there we went out...not talking about the going out Kuraburi-style sitting under a bamboo thatched roof at the only establishment that does not blare Karaoke. I'm talking about actual bars and do I dare say clubs. The first bar boasted 20' walls of glass with the latest Hollywood and Thai celebrities on large posters hanging from the ceiling. The food, drink, and atmosphere was great but I was a little spooked when one of the three bathroom attendants immediately started massaging my shoulders as I was trying to take a leak. After finally getting him to stop, I was able to relax enough to do what I intended. The next place was even swankier (and no bathroom attendants) with live music and a bar that glowed! Pitt and P Noot do a great job of inviting Em everywhere and it was real clear that this is not just out of courtesy but they really enjoy Em's company.

Besides those festivities, I relished in the luxuries of Em's city apartment. Just a twenty minute walk from the city center, it is only two minutes from markets and full-time vendors offering anything you want (fruit, baked goods, sweets, various Thai dishes, etc). More important than its location, is the comfort to be found inside the apartment. I basked in the A/C, granite tiled bathroom, and technological luxuries such as full-time internet and music! We even picked up a borrowed TV and DVD player towards the end of my stay.

I got back to Kuraburi Sunday evening and sure enough, the crew was celebrating the visit of an old volunteer by throwing a dinner party at Tu's place. It was great to hear comical stories of the last week and more progress with our current programs. For the latest and greatest at NATR, check out the recent update. The next day we spent a lot of time visiting Bret in the hospital as he contracted the weakest strand of Malaria (not to worry, he is real sure he caught it hiking in Cambodia, not cute-little Kuraburi). That evening a few of us hung out on Jo's (neighboring bungalow's) deck listenting to music and playing with cicadas. These large insects are crazy with their sounds!

Yesterday evening I jumped on a bicycle and had a great adventure in the foothills southeast of town. Admiring the crazy oranges and pinks illuminating different portions of the sky (a common evening skyscape here), I cycled through small villages exchanging consistent "Hellos" and "Sawadee kraps." I was hoping to somehow make a loop back above my bungalow, but darkness made me take the known (backtrack) route home. It turns out there is no connection as this road just keeps going deeper inland servicing small villages. Besides the couple unfriendly dogs who were difficult to see until they were at ankle knawing range, the ride home was very serene and complimented by distant lightning that helped illuminate the asphalt in front of me.

A couple updates on the bungalow front: I upgraded a couple weeks ago to a slightly larger bungalow (double bed compatible) and most importantly one that has a hammock on the deck. I am still in the same cluster, but now a little farther from the road which does reduce the car noise and increase the jungle sounds (currently dominated by cicadas). One moring before we went to work, Jo and I were interrupted from a morning cup of coffee by some commotion in a pond behind our bungalows. It turned out a neighbor had called in the local snake expert to help untangle this young boa constrictor from some fish nets.

The jungle theme is still foreign to this mountain man, but amazing in its abundancy to support life and I continue to gain new admiration for its beauty. I am very content but thinking I could stay content while also relishing in some snowy mountains later this season! The time of year and the fact I recently revised the India ski articles have me thinking there is no reason to miss skiing all together this year (thanks to many friends who have questioned my sanity when I stubbornly thought a high alpine visit could detract from my cultural experience here).

To those back in the US of A, have a Happy Turkey Day!

Labels: Kuraburi, sustainable tourism, Thailand

Before I dive into the last couple of weeks, I want to point out that I finally have some pictures from Jenny's wedding - hooray!

Before school started, I had to head for the Thai Consulate in Penang, Malaysia to get a new visa. The process is convoluted and annoying, but I hired an agent upon arrival (for all of 20 ringits - $6) who helped with the paperwork and took care of delivering my passport. Which left me free to go see the Penang Butterfly Farm! I did approximately zero research on Penang before heading down, so the Butterfly Farm was a totally random pick off the free tourist map - and a good one. They have about a dozen species of butterfly in huge numbers flying free throughout a sprawling greenhouse complex filled with lush tropical foliage, lovely koi ponds, and insect/reptile/animal enclosures. Aside from just blissing out watching the butterflies flutter all around, I learned quite a bit about the insect life of the Malay peninsula (which southern Thailand is also on). Mostly that they have some HUGE bugs. In the pictures with bugs on bananas and cucumber slices, please note that those are not mini fruits of some kind - it's the bugs that are skewing the proportions.

Arriving back in Hat Yai, I had a few days to get everything ready for school to start - last minute copying, planning, and shoe shopping - before catching the bus for my first day of class! Pitt (my Thai teaching assistant / all-round guide to Hat Yai) and I catch the bus every morning about 7:15. It takes about 40 minutes to get to our stop, then the school sends someone on a motorcycle to take us the last five minutes to the school. There isn't much out there - the classrooms out back open onto a field where the cows graze.

The kids are mostly sweet, and everyone at the school has been really nice to us so far. I think. No one there speaks much English, but they smile at me, and feed me well. They've even started giving me my own little bowl of cucumber slices with lunch every day - boy do they have me figured out! Lunch is a generous scoop of rice (carefully molded into a little upside-down bowl shape) along with a bowl of curry of some kind and a bowl of soup of some kind. Basic and yummy. We have two 2nd grade classes and two 1st grade classes, and one class each of 3rd, 4th 5th and 6th grade. Classes are mostly around 30 students, but we have one 2nd grade class of 21 (mostly because the room is so tiny they had to make that class small enough to fit) and the 3rd grade class is 42! I think they would have split it, but they're just completely out of room. I'm not sure what the timetable is on the construction of the new building, but they need it! The area is definitely not on the tourist map, nor is it any kind of major business center, so there's a pretty good chance I'm the first foreigner a lot of these kids have ever seen, let alone spoken to. They're warming up though. Umpteen million rounds of the Happy Song (if you're happy and you know it...) will do that. I only see each class twice a week, but they have English with a Thai teacher a couple times a week, too. Overall, it's really a lot of fun. We play games, sing songs, and generally try to have enough fun that the kids don't realize they're using English. I'm working on learning some of the names... Thai names are incredibly long (Natthapong, Wattanachai, Gsmmonchanok, Kalanachan... ) but luckily they all have one- or two-syllable nicknames, so I'm working on those. I'll try to get some school pictures when I have an excuse to take the camera to class - so far I haven't wanted the extra distraction - I'm distraction enough as it is.

Sunday was the much anticipated Loy Krathong festival. Sometimes translated into "Floating Festival" in English, highlights of the festival include the making and releasing of floating offerings to the river, a beauty contest for the littlest girls, and flying "floating lanterns" (more information on Loy Kratong).

Here's the song, which they pretty much play non-stop (the Thai version) in the run-up to the festival:

November full moon shines,

Loy Krathong, Loy Krathong,

and the water's high in the river and local klong,

Loy Loy Krathong, Loy Loy Krathong,

Loy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheer,

We're together at the klong,

Each one with his krathong,

As we push away we pray,

We can see a better day.

We kicked off the day by doing some shopping at the market. We got the fixings for chicken curry for lunch, and all of the pieces to make our krathongs. All day long, I kept finding funny little parallels with holidays at home - this tradition that felt a bit like something we do for that holiday, family all coming together to cook and celebrate... I even got my "usual" job of chopping up veggies!

After a delicious chicken curry lunch, Pitt taught me how to make a krathong. We started with slices of banana tree trunk, and cut banana leaves to cover them. Then we cut more banana leaves into little rectangles, and folded them into an assortment of little triangles, which are pinned to the wooden base in a number of different designs. Some flower decorations provided the finishing touches. As we were finishing up, Grace and Dia, two more of the cousins, showed up in all of their beauty pageant finery. About five years old, they looked adorable, but I didn't envy them their pancake makeup and fake eyelashes that would have to stay on until late that evening. I helped one of the aunties sort ribbon chain necklaces that would be used later for the pageant. There were several huge bags that needed to be gone through, the broken chains fixed, and all of the necklaces tied into bunches of five to be sold by the pageant organizers (I didn't know any of that until later - she just showed me to tie them into fives).

At the pageant, they fed us tasty chicken and rice soup, some fried donut-hole type things, and glasses of soy milk while we were waiting for the show to start. Before the little queen hopefuls took the stage, there was plenty of long-winded talking by the MCs - nobody can drag an event out like the Thais. There were some songs by adults, and a few youth dance groups. The contestants were finally announced, making careful wais (bows) and pageant waves to the audience and judges. Members of the crowd were encouraged to buy those chains I helped with earlier, and I think the revenue from that paid for the prizes, food, etc. Then each girl's chains were counted up, for some kind of "popularity" award component. By the time the show was finally over, half of them were falling asleep, and poor little Grace had been sick for the last two hours. But they each got a brand new umbrella and a doll. Overall I think the event was much more for the adults than the girls - some of them seemed to enjoy it, but the majority looked less than impressed.

As the event was winding down, P Noot decided to launch one of her floating lanterns, so Kro lit the ring, and everyone held on until enough hot air built up for it to soar away. It took off in the direction of the full moon, and eventually disappeared from sight. The lanterns aren't as popular in the south as up in Chiang Mai, where they are a major part of the festival. It was P Noot's birthday, though, and she wanted some, so we did them. Happy Birthday P Noot!

After another dinner, it was finally time to float our krathongs. We went out to the edge of the city, where there were hundreds of other people doing the same in a park with steps leading down to the river. It was a lot like the ghats in India, even the smell of the incense from the krathongs. My candle and joss sticks lit, they aimed me at the river, with instructions to pray and send it off. I hadn't thought much about what kind of prayer to make... that bluegrass song by Alison Krauss popped to mind "As I went down to the river to pray..." and some thoughts about giving thanks for water, and showing appreciation to the river. I thought about the state of the world's fresh water, and how we take it for granted. There were people and krathongs everywhere, everyone jostling for position at the waters edge, and thousands of krathongs lazily eddying around in the river. I made my way to the front, and gave my krathong a nudge out toward the middle, with Get and Kro helping paddle the water out to send it off. I would have liked to stay and watch, but the space was in demand, it was late, and we were all sleepy. I had a great time, and learned lots of new Thai words!

Next weekend Trevor comes to visit on his way to Penang! We're having a late celebration for P Noot's birthday... something about going dancing. And I have a full week of teaching ahead. For now I'm off to bed!

Labels: butterflies, Loy Krathong, Penang, teaching, Thailand, visa

I got to visit the villages of Ban Talae Nok and Tung Nung Dam last weekend and experience the community-based tourism (CBT) products I am working on. First and foremost, both visits were successful as I walked away with invaluable experiences that can only happen when a guest truly feels like they are visiting/observing/taking part in a village's every day life. I also gained a better understanding of what more is needed to meet a typical guest's expectations from start to finish.

I personally felt that hands-on activities delivered far better rewards than the just watch-and-learn technique. A couple of my highlight activities were helping make soap with the ladies of Ban Talae Nok and assisting the young girls of Tung Nung Dam in making roti. Roti is a common flat bread among the local Muslim communities and quite tasty, especially when dipped in sweet condensed milk. The soap making is a new livelihood activity originally funded by the Thai government directly following the massive destruction to Ban Talae Nok from the tsunami. Similar to many government funded stories I've heard, that money left after only a few training workshops. NATR stepped in to assist with business development and long term sustainability of the endeavor. I am here at an exciting time as this product is starting to take off. Many Phuket boutiques are now selling it in gift shops and some higher class spas are looking at using it for everyday guests! For more on this, please see www.tsunamicrafts.com.

O.K....now that it is clear I am working on a marketing post, I am looking for grassroots marketing help for our CBT experiences. Please visit our site www.andamandiscoveries.com and forward me any good contacts who you think would be beneficial. We are currently targeting the independent traveller who can rough it a bit and education groups who want to learn more about CBT.

I have also got to experience my first couple business meetings with translators and learned how vital this extra step of communication is for efficient progress. Even though we have worked with the villages for almost a year in developing CBT, stepped away from villages not interested in pursuing it, and said no to some that didn't have the passion/ownership desires to successfully go for it, we are still faced with some uncertainty from the villages promoting and delivering successful products. It is all part of the major mindset difference here...people do not think past tomorrow. This is quite wonderful and a major reason for the smily, no worries, way of life here. But it does make it difficult to continue to educate villages on the long term benefits of CBT. It will continue to be interesting!!!

While life in Kuraburi is fantastic, the work is becoming more gratifying with time, and the people continue to be amazing, I am missing my lady and plan to head south next weekend for a multi-day visit!

Labels: Kuraburi, sustainable tourism, Thailand