A special message...

Good Morning mama!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Village fun on Saturday night!

Tonight was a rare night...it was the yearly local temple festival so a giant murlow (sp?) show came to town! It's a thai/laosian dance/singing/carnival type show. Think big new year show in vegas... All the villages were there...prob. A good 1500 people! Perfect night for it...

My host student told me to where a nice dress ( I only brought 2) so I wore the black with a pink cardigan (can you believe it was chilly out!!?) So of course NO ONE else wears a dress and we have to sit cross legged on the floor...well...that is...all but me....I have to play contortionist all night so I don't flash someone on temple grounds... And after a 2 hour run (okay...so more like 90 min run 30 walk) it was quite painful...

The ride there as the scooter passenger was breath taking...all the stars were amazing!

Vegas has NOTHING on these costumes...every single costume for every song was different! For 5 hours!!!! I was very very impressed! Overall...a very cool thing to see...and because it was sponsored by the temple...it was free!! :). Glad I didn't see it in Bangkok!

So after watching me yawn (but happily!)...the girls figured out I was tired and decided to scooter brigade me home...another gorgeous ride! They deposited me safely into my mosquito net haven and went back to the fair...I told them not to worry about me, have fun and be good. I'm sure they didn't understand a word...but I really enjoyed saying that...a foreshadow of my parenting attitude (no Dan...this does not imply...)....this was good...

So a few photos...poor quality but I got better ones on my camera... And one of my fav. girls...wish I remembered her name...(see DY, you're not the only one!)...

Tomorrow we go to someone's house for lunch...and then the market in the evening to buy me fruit....they don't eat ANY in my family and I usually eat like 5 pieces a day....so I'm craving some...

Monday we go to watch mauy thai boxing by the school... Fun!

Teaching starts again Monday...not so fun!

Much love and an amazing November to all...may this month pass quickly yet be filled with happy memories...

xo - K

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Afternoon run...

I wandered far into the country on my long run today...just look how splendidly I was rewarded! Unbelievably beautiful!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Afternoon run...

I wandered far into the country on my long run today...just look how splendidly I was rewarded! Unbelievably beautiful!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sawadee-COW!

Floppy ears!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Kickin' it...

Belly full of rice and fried beef...I love that all three meals are the same...makes things easy!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The girls and the kitchen...

My girls:

The first one is hilarious...super fun and outgoing (she's a leo...surprise surprise!)

The second is the smart one...but also fun (dec. 4th...so a saggitarius! That's where the intelligence comes from!)

The third is my host student. She's nice...(Sept 25th...Libra like mom!)

The last two photos are of the kitchen and where we eat every day... The sun makes it pretty...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

My very first flower!

My very first edible flower gift from a student! I'm testing to see maybe if it's poison...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I love my mornings...

My favorite time of the day...how beautiful! And also a photo of the 8 am morning assembly... It's a batter day today...more on that later...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Side effect of life tastes goood....

Due to being forgotten at the school tonight...I came up to another teacher to ask if she knew where I could find a phone...I got to use the phone and get invited to an open house hoe down amongst the rice fields! They were cooking meet in crock pots....dropping it in "like it was hot"...(I know that wasn't funny...). I even got offered a wine cooler sip!!!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

This student made my day...

I liked this boy from the moment he sat down...smart...polite...and this is what he produced...a work of art of a cross-dressing photo (achieved with whiteout and a pen)...and parting words of, "I like boy". :)
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Another class down...

Haven't seen a teacher for a few hours...felt sad...then realized they scheduled me to teach a class over lunch which just made me way more sad...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Wow...I feel taken advantage of...

I usually don't say this...as a matter of fact...I can't remember the last time something like this has happened...

I totally feel taken advantage of.  All the other teachers teach 2-3 classes per day.  I teach 6.  back to back.  AND...I wasn't briefed on anything.  Just told "to to room 242".  So I did.  no teacher...just me and the kids.  I didn't even know what time they ended.  i just assumed i let them go sometime before my next class...who knows...

they did not speak ONE word of english...they didn't understand anything.  i asked them to do a simple activity of writing down (they are supposedly 6th grade) if they have brothers or sisters...they entire class ended up with 1 brother.  when i asked for what they like to do...i wrote on the board as an example "I like to run".  So guess what the entire class liked to do...yup.  they love to run too!  HUH!  What a coincidence!

And then of course they kept asking to go to the bathroom like every 2 minutes as an excuse to leave...  i just feel like i'm not teaching anything and they're not learning or listening.  and the teachers are just excited they get to get away for a class...  just seems like a waste of time...but maybe that's my purpose...to just hang there?  I don't know what to do...they don't even understand 'what's your name'...or 'good'...

last night was fine...slept fine in my net hut...got up at 5 am this morning for a run...it was still dark...i was chased by like every village dog...until one persistant toy poodle made me fall down.  Then the younger sister went out on the scooter to look for me because since i didn't come back in 30 minutes they thought i  was lost...(sweet gesture...).  I told them i was fine.  Shower of course consisted of pouring cold bowls of water on myself...

Then getting dressed...i have only very practical ugly clothes with me...no makeup...no jewelry...no heels...and i was told this was the way to pack...  But of course all of the teachers are super accessorized and in heels looking very metropolitan chic...  and then there is uber frumpy katherine.  it's just different...  and with this classroom teaching situation...makes me want to cry...  if the students understood me...or if i got ANY explanation from the teachers i could tolerate everything else...but they all just dissappeared...

I don't know...have to go...3 classes to teach...back to back...  :(  I hope these go better than the last one...

XO

My 5 AM farang run...

Despite being chased by like 15 dogs...and falling down due to a vicious and presistant toy poodle...the rice fields you see in the photo are beautiful in the AM!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The malaria antidote...

And it's pink! Which is great because I already got called a boy like 3 times today... :(
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

My bedroom for the next 6 weeks...

It's been an overwhelming day...their english is equal to my thai...and that's not good...will study for my debut tomorrow morning...then write about my evening...but at this point...6 weeks is looking really really long... I'm def. out of all my comfort zones...what I wanted...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Wow...talk about 'throwin' ya in...'

So I knew there wasn't going to much communication between all parties in this situation...certainly not at the level that I have grown accustomed to at the corporate level...but OH MY!

I'll spare you the details...but essentially...I arrive to the village this morning...the hosting teacher told me I had my choice of two families to live with...she drove past both houses...  Before we got to either she told me option #1 was living with 2 people: grandmother and grandchild (who was one of the students) - this house was 1 mile from the school.  Option #2 was living with 4 people and it was 2 miles from the school...

We drive by Option 1 and it's like a palace (at least by the standards of what I've seen in the village and Bangkok...  Then we drive by option #2...wow.  SHACK.  literally. as in made from scraps of metal found at the dumpster...

I didn't know what to do.  if I go with option 1 I'm being 'typically western'...  but #2 was much farther from the school...and with 3 additional people...  I asked if both homes have hosted teachers before...they had.  Then I asked her opinion of where she thought I should go.  She told me to go with Option 1.  So I did.  But I felt guilty.  I've had time to rationalize it now...and it's fine.  Mostly because I'm here to teach.  And to teach, I need to focus and plan.  To focus and plan I need to have the right tools...i.e. electricity, etc....

So then we go to the school and I'm introduced to about 15 teachers...one of which...Pee Fox is completely wasted.  no really.  COMPLETELY.  hiccups and all.  but the kids love him i guess...  he also took a special fondness to me...Pee Puy (my overseeing teacher) reprimanded him promptly (wooo!)

Then lunch time...everyone congregates around a table (like 15 teachers that i was just introduced to)...and I deduce that I should also bring my chair around (as my eyes bulge at the 3 bowls of fried maggots on the table...TRUE!)  So Pee Puy says "No...this is too spicy for you...here is some fried rice..."  So I just sat and ate at my little table.  A scenario that I am not too unfamiliar with...and rather enjoy...

So then she tells me that tomorrow I must make a speech in front of the entire school...that would be 900 kids (oh yeah...large school...another thing that I did not know...)  So that will be a good time...

Then...I go straight to teaching classes.  As in...by myself.  For the entire day.  Which is why i have spend the last two hours frantically making worksheets, homework assignments and anything else 'fun' that kids may like to do (which is quite difficult as I didn't exactly have a gamey/fun childhood...)

So...trying to learn the 10 pages of Thai conversation...make lesson plans for Thursday and Friday...do a little draft of my speech for tomorrow morning and attempting to avoid Pee Fox...(who now has started calling me meaow cat...and saying things like "Fox is Cat"...  

I don't really get it...but stand-by for Chapter 2 tomorrow...should be REALLY interesting...

Off to print lesson plans on Halloween...

I'm liking this teaching prep though...it makes you think...and be creative...we'll see how the teaching goes...

Feeling Good...

Miss you x-tra lots this AM annie, marci and dan...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Where the magic happens...

I like the flowers...
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T