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noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:02:00 +0000

Staying at the Oryx lounge at Doha aiport was such a good idea. 10 hours at the airport was daunting at first but I slept most of the time in the comfy chair. I'd wake up now and then to use the internet and eat some crazy desserts. I'm so glad they have computers here because I left my laptop cord back in Pu Wiang.. Anyway, there's also this sweet coffee machine. I'm going to go eat more free food and relax. I'll head to my gate in about an hour and I'll fly home (sweet home!). I hope my luggage doesn't get lost somewhere in the Middle East...

P.S. Big thanks to Taurin for letting me know that I didn't have to rough it at the airport or pay for a $500 hotel to get a few hours of sleep. I had such good layover here at Doha but this couple seriously did not: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/connieyc/1/1207474800/tpod.html

I feel like they had all sorts of wrong information. U.S. citizens can get visa on arrival but we don't have to get a visa to stick around the airport. There are nice free sleeping quiet rooms with comfy chairs (it was kind of crowded so I didn't stay there), prayer rooms, various other facilities like the Oryx lounge (where I stayed and there is a shower here so no one has to be smelly).

In conclusion, internet is great and so is Taurz. Please buy me a fresh sandwich!

Qatar!

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:10:00 +0000

So I'm here at Doha, Qatar again. I arrived around Sunday 11 PM Doha time = Monday 3 AM Bangkok time = Saturday 4 PM DC time

All I know is that I am going to be incredibly jet-lagged when I finally get home! I have no idea how I am going to be awake for my summer classes. Oh god physics.. I'll worry about that later. For now, I am concerned that I have a very long time here in Qatar which is cool but exhausting. Waiting is exhausting. You have to wait around constantly at airports. Waiting alone is lonely. Which reminds me..

Everyone in Qatar has been so friendly and nice! I met this cool Persian/Qatarian (is that how you say that?) family really randomly. Ever since I lost my cell phone somewhere between Cambodia and Vietnam, I've been asking around for time a lot (as in, I'm really good at pointing at my wrist). Well, I asked this man in front of me and it led to a conversation which led to other conversations. And then I met his whole family (well, his wife was really quiet and hiding in the cloak so I couldn't really see her face either). His kids (12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl) started feeding me snacks and talked to me about everything. The boy really wanted to talk about soccer and I am proud to say I held up my side of the conversation because I've been following the games as of late! Well, actually. I've been sort of watching the games because I can't understand anything else on television and soccer is one of the only sports I get really into watching. I tried to watch Thai soap operas and I tried to watch game shows but I just can't understand the language enough to enjoy them.

My brain is going dead now. I'm at the first class lounge. It's pretty nice. But some guy keeps talking to me. He has poor flirting skills. His lines are so weak! I have to save all my best lines for Taurz. Soon! Well, I think I'm going to go to sleep.

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:39:00 +0000

I'm here in Bangkok now! I wanted to post photographs and everything but I forgot my laptop cord back in Pu Wiang. My laptop is now out of battery...

It's good to be in the city again. I was really surprised by how much Thai I can understand and speak now. It's not that much but it's so much more than the last time I was here. I can even follow conversations pretty well! I wish I had more time here. So many good people with such warm hearts. Too many goodbyes!

Goodbye! Goodbye!

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:46:00 +0000

I'll write more once I get into the city tomorrow but I am overwhelmed with all the farewells. I can't believe just how close I have gotten with so many people here. Everyone keeps crying and I am giving lots of Sewon hugs.

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:36:00 +0000

I am so happy about teaching here at Wiang Wong Kot. My students are so amazing and I've gotten so close to everyone.

This week is full of farewells..

Edit: A bunch of students came up to me today with like 12 photographs of my face and asked me to sign them. And then they handed me 40 more photos...of MY FACE. That is so bizarre and cute and crazy!

Busy Last Days in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:21:00 +0000

I've been battling my poor self-image despite all the nice compliments I get here in rural Thailand. So I decided I needed to be pampered. Well, where else could I have gone in rural Thailand but the village hair salon! I don't even know how to describe that place. It was just like a little space next to the rice field. And the hairdresser literally cut my bangs straight across which surprisingly turned out well. And the shopkeeper kept speaking to me in Issan! My students' parents always do that, too. But anyway, it was really relaxing and I don't look all that different but I think my hair is lighter. Also, there was a parrot there screeching "Sawadee Kap!" It reminded me of Melie's parrots except hers said, "What's up!"

I'm teaching all of my classes for the last time. It's a lot of goodbyes and funny requests like, "Teacher ka, could you sing a song?" Or "Teacher, please speak Issan!" I'm eating so much tropical fruits because I told everyone about how we don't really have all the different fruits in Virginia and if we do, they're not as fresh or delicious. I'm invited to dinner at a teacher's house today. Tomorrow I am teaching a lot of classes because all the students want to say goodbye. We don't have classes on Thursday because of the Wai Kru Ceremony. I'm really excited about participating in that! And then I think there's a big farewell party planned for me. It's going to be sad!

Anyway, I'm going to head out now.

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:30:00 +0000

Only few days left here. I am eating a lot of delicious Thai deserts wrapped beautifully in banana leaves! I don't think I can find most of these back home. I'll have to go searching for good Thai food in DC. This calls for adventures (pssst pssst friends back home!).

So on Thursday the school-wide task (envisioned by the Vice Principal P Nitnoi who is also my "Thai mom") was for all the teachers to visit all their homeroom students at their homes and meet their guardians. P Nitnoi thought that this would be a great way for the school to connect with the students/parents and also find out how the school could better provide for the needs of the students, etc. P Wan and I took a motorcycle out early in the morning to various villages to visit about 10 students. None of us (not even the teachers) realized just how impoverished most of our students were. A lot of them live in these houses that don't even have all four walls. Just like some fabric hanging by a pole and a mosquito net on the floor where they sleep. None of the students I visited lived with their parents..just with a grandparent or another relative. A lot of their parents are divorced, gone, or laboring in Bangkok. I found out that one student worked multiples jobs (making straw mats, picking pineapples, and planting rice) to support herself and her grandmother (who could barely lift her head to say hello). I was trying really hard not to cry most of the time. I returned with a heavy heart and a lot of fresh tropical fruits from my students' families trees.

These are my students picking a fresh coconut for me. They were so good at chopping at the coconut with this big knife. And the coconut was so delicious!

Maybe it's all related but I've been wanting to try planting rice. I mentioned it again at dinner and at first everyone thought it was a joke. But after we ate a ton of food and had a drink or two everyone decided that a farang (a foreigner = me) CAN learn to plan rice. And we all got really excited and decided to do it together. So the next day P Wan, P Pla, P Thui, and I went off to a student's field to plant rice!

We went through this jungle to reach my student's field.

And it was so beautiful!

This is me getting started and my student looking at me skeptically. Everyone kept saying, "Can a farang really plant rice?"

But look, I did it! And everyone finally decided, "The foreigner CAN! (Dai! Dai!)"

And this is how I became a Thai farmer:

They asked me to bless the land in Issan language. Well, I was kind of delirious from trying to farm for the first time so I just said everything I could remember in Issan language: "Hello, thank you, let's go, delicious." I guess that wasn't really a blessing so P Wan helped me out and I repeated something really difficult-sounding and everyone was very satisfied and asked me to come to dinner (with chicken or beef!) at their houses. I should ask her what I said!

Gosh, beautiful rice fields really do take a lot of work. My body still kind of aches. I'm also kind of out of shape since I ride the motorcycle all the time. Also, I'm really afraid that the parts of the field I worked on are ruined and the rice won't grow! I hope the rice grows and all the farmers have a good season!

Last not but least...I hungout with snakes this weekend at the King Cobra Village. Everything was free:

It's a shame I wasn't wearing a cool outfit!

Sewon is a Thai farmer

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:12:00 +0000

I'm going to go get in a cool farmer gear and go plant rice today! I'm really excited about it. Tomorrow morning I leave very early to Laos. We're going to King Cobra village on the way back. I'm not sure what that is but I'm pretty sure I will get to play with cobras or something.

Right now there are these kids staring/giggling at me and hiding behind a tree. All the little kids in my neighborhoods know me even though I don't teach them! I was walking around the other day and some brave boys started shouting, "Ajarn Sewon! Ajarn Sewon! Hello! Good morning!" Also, it was like 5 PM! Haha, I'm going to go out and talk to the kids!

Memories to Keep

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:37:00 +0000

I had a very emotional morning visiting about 10 students at their homes and meeting their families. I'll write about it later after it sinks in more.

Until then, here are a couple things I want to jot down so I don't forget:

1) The VP of Education of Khon Kean was very kind and said that I was his "daughter" and took me to all these places (announcing to everyone that I was his daughter). My favorite was this beautiful temple in the mountains where young artist monks live. The mountains were breathtaking and the monks were blasting this beautiful Thai buddhist music (I don't know how to explain what it sounded like). I wonder where I can find that music.

2) My whole school planted trees together! I think I posed for a lot of photos pretending to plant trees and didn't really plant all that many trees... And then there is this photo of me being really silly next to the principal.

3) This is me and some of my favorite students! I'm really stoked that the students are warming up to me. Well, I think they're realizing that I'm a non-threatening goofball. I can't believe I'm leaving so soon! I'm going to really miss not hearing "I love you teacher Sewon Ka!" everyday. As Mike warned me, these students really steal your heart!

4) We went to this beautiful garden next to some library and this little girl followed me around. P Wan says she thought I was a celebrity! Well, I'm quite good at non-verbal communication now so I taught the little girl how to give high fives and I think she really liked giving high fives.

5) I would like to just say that P Wan is one amazing little lady and I'm such a big fan of her. She calls me "my little sister Sewon" and she brings me little surprises like frappucinos (I have no idea where she found that in rural Thailand!) or desserts and says "Su Su!" Thanks to her I can have conversations with everyone even though I can only speak Thai in simple sentences or words (well, at least I can put together sentences now!!). She is always full of energy and ideas for adventures. She also cooks really delicious Thai food and taught me how to make a couple essential dishes including som tam (essential for real Thais) and pad thai (essential for the farang like meee). She is also stylish and finds all the coolest things for me to wear (like a beautiful Lao silk skirt). And she is just so much fun to be around. Her dream is to be a fully billingual traveling storyteller and study children's literature. I hope she comes to D.C. sometimes soon so I can spoil her with delicious ice cream, fresh coffee, second hand/antique shops, e-street cinema, and spicy Korean restaurants...

I am counting the days until (not in any particular order) I can give my family a big hug, eat all the Korean food (I want some hot spicy soft tofu soup and kimchi and jjambong and kalguksu), eat at all the greasy chain restaurants (namely this particular bowtie mushroom pasta at the Cheesecake factory and a big hamburger at Three Guys), eat falafel and pizza in DC, try out American Thai food/make snobby comments about the lack of somtam, wear bootyshorts, speak English at a normal pace (with my usual slangs and expressions added), drive my car, watch television I can understand, watch movies not dubbed in Thai, and see my Taurin again (finally). And then move to Williamsburg, celebrate 4th of July with a bang (with courtney on skype on the table), and ace all my summer class courses (I hate science I hate science I hate science but I think I'm good at Physics). Et cetera. Et cetera.

BUT STILL I'm going to be soooo sad about leaving Wiang Wong Kot!

Becoming a Thai Celebrity and Wedding Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:25:00 +0000

I guess I didn't mention this but I am a T.V. star! Well, not really a star but I was/am (not sure) on Thai television! I'm proud to say that my name on Thai television's history will forever be associated with...DINOSAURS.

E-TV came and filmed some of my school's Tourism Club students around the Dinosaur museum and fossil sites. And I was invited along to see the sites and participate (pretend to be a tourist...it was an easy task). I got to meet all the staff at the museum and we ate somtam and padthai together. Thanks to P Wan's interpretation, I told them witty stories about Korean food (some of the museum staff were big Korean culture fans). What would I do without P Wan?

Climbing all the hills and mountains to see the fossil sites was exhausting but the students were working so hard with smiles on their faces. I really like the Tourism Club students. I taught them about firm handshakes and small talk the other day.

Mountain Resort

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:02:00 +0000

My weekend began with drastic changes in plans. Instead of heading to Lao on Friday morning, I went to a mountain resort with all my school faculty and administration. As in, my school closed on Friday!

As I mentioned before, my school here is undergoing a huge change. The new principal has great visions for improving the school and I think the trip had two main goals: First, to communicate with school staff, neighboring schools' administration, and appropriate authorities about planning for the change (well, I couldn't really participate in this one). Second, make an opportunity for everyone gathered to relax, have fun, and recharge for the hard work ahead.

I think I am at Wiang Wong Kot at a very critical and exciting time. It's really amazing to be part of it. The mountains were breathtaking and I had such a good time. Everyone treats me like family and says, "Oh, Sewon is my beautiful daughter!" or "My little sister Nong Sewon!" This place is so special. I am going to be very sad about leaving Thailand! I promised everyone I'd return and I will! Also, let me add that I sang the Titanic theme song in front of everybody. No kidding! AND I got flowers from all the male teachers, including my school principal! By the way, the skirt I'm wearing was handmade by a minority group that lives in the mountains here. I got it as a present!

We came back Saturday night and all the English-speaking Thai teachers left town so I hungout with my Thai friends who don't really speak any English. We didn't realize how much of a language barrier we had because we've always had the P Wan or P Pui translating for us. Anyway, it turned out pretty fun and absurd. We were communicating in fragments of English, Thai, and Lao words mixed with grunts and gestures. I showed them photos of everyone at home so we could take a break from the rather exhausting conversation. The next day we woke up early to go to the bay to go swimming. Everyone thought I was crazy for only bringing a swimming suit... I had to borrow a t-shirt and long shorts (that's why I'm wearing over sized clothing in the photo)! We also ran into these two girls (well, one girl and one ladyboy) working on promoting some sort of a cell phone service who recognized me from Wiang Wong Kot. They took some photos with me and everyone thought I was a celebrity(?!). Oh Thailand!

I taught three classes today. I'm going to miss my students so much! And uh, I Sang Jingle Bells for my 3-2 class. I have no idea why everyone wants me to sing all the time (or why the requested song is always so strange...jingle bells in 85 degree weather?)! All I know is that Chris Robinson should come here so we can do a Pathetic Fallacy show. P.S. This photo is of my students after they took a bunch of photos of me with their cell phones. I started taking their photo and most of them ran away! They are so cute.

This weekend I'm going to Laos with P. Wan and some Thai teachers! I think they have plans to take me to some other places...I'm really excited. Plus, I'll get to avoid the foreigner price (sometimes I can pass as half Thai). I think everything turned out very well. As for what happened with Alice. I will only say that we had a much-needed long, honest, healthy conversation and I think we can drink some delicious tea together soon. In the meanwhile, we are both happy and comfortable in Thailand and headed home way way soon. Which reminds me, see you all so soon!

How's it going?

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:25:00 +0000

Thai English classes always begin with a ritual with one student commanding, "Stand up!" And the whole class stands up to say "Good morning/Good afternoon teacher. How are you?" and they wait for the teacher to reply, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" They answer, "I'm fine, thank you." And they wait for the teacher to command them to sit (I always forget this part and my students just kind of stand there).

I taught my students that we don't always say, "How are you?" and that sometimes we say, "How are you doing?" or "How's it going?" And that we can answer in different ways.

So today all the students got up and said, "How's it going, teacher?" and it was really the best thing ever.

I really love teaching and my students are really great. I'm really happy that my students are more confident about speaking English and becoming more comfortable with me. More students are stopping by to practice a few phrases and saying hello when I walk past them (instead of running away). It gets a little bizarre sometimes like when students get in little groups to wave at me through the tinted window, come in shyly to take photos of me (or with me), or ask me for my signature! I don't really understand it all so I just laugh and go along with it. And then there is always the excited screams and giggles in class. It's so cute and precious. And then they tell ME that I'm super narak (cute). Like I said, teaching in Thailand is awesome and bizarre!

The administration and the other Thai teachers are also really great. Some of them even bought little phrase book so they can have conversations with me. I am picking up Thai and Lao phrases/words so I can understand what is going on sometimes. But it's hard to pick up two languages at once. I have no idea what language people are speaking most of the time.

I'm headed to Laos Friday morning at 5:30 AM. I hope we make it there and back safely. I have no guidebook (remember I lost my Lonely Planet?) and I'm just going by what the teachers are suggesting. The teachers are so concerned about me getting some horrible foreigner price so they're telling me how much everything should cost. I still can't believe the foreigner price can be as high as 10 times the local price. I hope I don't get jipped.

P.S. Taurin suggested that I just chill at the Qatar airport for the night. That sounds pretty cool to me and I'll probably be awake because of the time difference. Free wifi! Quiet rooms! And I'd save $300+$15 (visa). But my dad says money is not a concern (this is why I never realized the value of money until I convinced my parents that I should get a job) and safety is #1. We'll see what I decide to do. I'm not worried about it either way. I've been safe my whole entire trip and the Doha airport is pretty nice.

Also, remember the 4th of July celebration at 804! I'll cook Thai food! Bring fireworks!

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:47:00 +0000

I am so excited about going to Laos this weekend. I'm actually wearing P. Wan's silk skirt from Laos and I have my hair up high in like a Lao woman. So that's a photo of me from today with some of my students. They are so cute. They always peek into the door and wave shyly. Most of the time they run away but sometimes they come inside to say, "Hello teacher!" Or sometimes they take photos of me. I think it's pretty funny that I'm the same height as my students and I'm in Asia! I stopped growing in 6th grade...

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:43:00 +0000

So I FINALLY successfully changed my flight! Life in rural Thailand is great but I am looking forward to being at home. I kind of miss stuff like packaged meat at grocery stores with prices I don't have to bargain. And a big hamburger. The cool thing is that I get to stay the night in Doha, Qatar. But there are no bargain hostels in Doha near the airport! They are all basically $300-700 USD which is not so good for a budget traveler's pockets. With luck, I will find a hotel closer to $100-range and it'll have airport pick up so I don't have to worry about taxis.

P.S. I'm going to Laos this Friday with Alice! AND I'm staying at this hotel built in the 60s. Hunter S. Thompson stayed there. Sweet. It's also only $15. Why can't I have that for Qatar?

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Sat, 31 May 2008 10:48:00 +0000

I'm in Mahasarakham Province, my host teacher P. Wan's hometown! And I love it here! It's feels like a nice college town and I feel very much at home. Last night we drove through the campus to pick up P. Wan's boyfriend and there were guys breakdancing on the street. P. Wan's boyfriend is the art professor there and he gave me a contemporary Thai art piece that he did which is so awesome. P. Wan, P. Huan, P. Jiap, and I went to this cool cafe owned by this friendly dude with a giant fro. He was playing funky music and all the college students were chilling there. He even came by to take a photograph of us to put on his website. We ate so much delicious Thai food!

Today I met up with P. Wan's good friends and ate at two western chain restaurants with a Thai flair which made everything extra delicious. By that I mean, Thai KFC is great. You get this delicious fried rice with edamame, bacon, and carrots! The chicken is spicy and you can eat it with chili sauce. And there are waiters. And real silverware. Svensons ice cream is sooo good!!

And then we went searching for big sized clothing. Even though I have proof that I am totally a size S/M back home, I am big in Thailand (more to love, baby). Well, I bought one of those Thai "I love the King" yellow polo shirts except mine says "Love the King, Love the World" which is sweet. I'm excited to wear it to school! I also bought nice conservative black dress-up pants because my big butt causes too much scandal at school amongst silly adolescent high school boys. Hmm~ I am all about scoping out good teacher outfits these days!

After shopping, I met P. Wan's grandmother, a small friendly old lady who gave us a huge bag of mushrooms and greens from her garden. And I went to P. Wan's house to eat a delicious Issan meal. I am pretty good at eating with stick rice/my hand now. P. Wan's younger brother (who is an artist in Bangkok) kept asking me to go dancing but I went to a Thai wedding instead which was really interesting! And then I went to a night market and got some really neat souvenirs for all of you I love back home! ;)

P.S. I love being a discreet foreigner/Korean-American. I can escape the foreigner price (which I realized is sometimes 10 times the local price..) if I keep quiet. And everyone is astonished to hear me speak English and excited to practice a few phrases with me. And when they realize I am Korean (Kaolee) most people excitedly share their love of Go Eun-Chan/Coffeeprince/Daejangguem. Also, I don't stick out as much in public places which makes me feel less like a weirdo farang.

Also, I am going to take Claire's idea and buy some fly swatters for a pronunciation game. My students have such a hard time distinguishing "food," "fruit," and "foot." I think it'll be good to work with the "th" sound, etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:35:00 +0000

Living in rural Thailand is indescribable. There are these looming tropical trees all around, at least four cows live in front of my house, crazy roosters cry every morning around 6 am, about a thousand dragonflies swarm around at night, and little geckos sit on my ceiling. In the evening, we sit outside and eat spicy som tam with sticky rice. I am getting good at eating the Thai way--spoon in my right hand and fork in my left. I am also pretty good at taking showers with buckets of cold water but I can't seem to get used to the squatter toilets. I am learning to speak a bit of the Laotian language because Issan is so close to Laos. And Alice is planning our weekend trip to Laos right now!

My room is so quiet and peaceful. I don't remember having this kind of space and time to think and relax. Last year feels like a blur. I read my diary entries and realized how secretly turbulent last year was for me. I just wanted to escape. So I bought my plane ticket to Bangkok without leaving much time to finish up the semester properly or really prepare for my trip. And I arrived just like that. Over a month and three countries later, I am here in rural Thailand. Finally peaceful, tan, and resolute (resolute that I must continue to be peaceful and not overload myself again).

The funny thing is that I also scheduled my return flight so that there would be no time to kick back and relax after my trip, pack to move into a brand new house, or make it to the beginning of my summer classes (I would miss the first few days of classes). I am way too crazy sometimes! But I am trying to calm down for a change...I'm changing my flight so that I can be home a lot earlier so I actually have time to run errands and see all the people I miss. So watch out America! I'll be back so so soon (not THAT soon)!

Last night I talked to my family for the first time in over a month. It was so good to hear voices from home. Tomorrow I'm going to my host teacher's hometown! I can't wait!

Also, so many people take photos of me here (5-20 photographs everyday)! It leaves me bewildered. Someone explained that they take photos because I look like a celebrity! Which is very nice of them and flattering but to be quite honest, I think I look pretty bad these days. My hair is growing out all crazy and it desperately needs to be dyed again. I don't have a lot of nice clothes (backpacking 4lyfe) or jewelry. Plus, everyone thinks I am really fat! This is place is confusing for my self-esteem.

Well, I'm done with teaching for the day so I'm just hanging out at the school office using free wireless that is FINALLY working. Students stop by sometimes to say hello and practice English with me. Otherwise they wave and run away giggling. It's so cute.

Yesterday I went to the Dinosaur museum with the Tourism Club and it was a lot of fun to get to know some of the students more individually. There are these two ladyboys in the Tourism club who are very good at English and very enthusiastic about speaking English with me. They also have perfect eyebrows and love using words like "hot chick" to describe themselves! I have English Club this afternoon and I'm so excited to meet more students.

The challenge lately has been trying to convince the Thai teachers that I am not too tired to teach, etc. They keep canceling my classes if I seem exhausted. And give me a ton of medicine and honey tea. Even today they suggested that I go home today and skip English club because I seem tired. I don't need to sleep all the time! Blah!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:57:00 +0000

Today was my first official day of teaching with my own teaching schedule and I am so exhausted. I have 2 or 3 classes per day (with about 30-40 students in each class). I am realizing how unfortunate it is that I will only get to teach any given class twice total before I have to leave. But I don't think I could do as much as 4-5 classes per day..

Today was fun and kind of disastrous. I think I will try to do more constructive games from now on especially with the older students. The teachers didn't really communicate the English levels of their students or describe their needs. They just said, "It's up to you!"

Everyone thinks I am an expert here and trusts me to create complete lesson plans for all 21 classes! But the truth is that I've never actually taught real high school classes before. So I'm reading a lot a lot and I am pretty sure of what to do for tomorrow. I am trying to figure out activities for pair/group work. Thai students are drilled a lot on grammar, to be sure, and I don't need to really focus on that. My focus, I think, is to get them to SPEAK...which is sort of hard because Thai students are so shy! They are so good but they freeze up.

There's just a lot of pressure on me. I am the first foreigner this school has ever invited and they really want to see change in the English education at the school. I hope I at least leave a good impression but I don't quite know all the Thai customs and Thai people are too polite to point out my mistakes!

I kind of want to go shower and take a nap..

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Last night I watched Amelie dubbed in Thai and ate street pad thai that cost less than $1. P. Oh says he has a great recipe for pad thai that will impress all my farang friends. Oh oh oh man. Watch out Lafayette block. I'll have to figure out sweet vegan versions of these dishes.

Finally, a picture of me and my dearest host teacher! This morning I took a bus with P. Wan for about an hour into central Khon Kean area. A beautiful ladyboy did P. Wan's makeup and we were in a great mood so we got some delicious chocolate ice cream! There are cute ladyboy students in my classroom, too. I love how beautiful and graceful they are. I think it's wonderful that ladyboys are appreciated in all of their fantastic grace even in rural areas.

So much happened today...it ended with an epic lesson on how to make som tam (papaya salad) and Thai green curry with coconut milk. Yum! Eeem mak mak! The best ending.

The good news is that I've started constructing basic sentences in Thai language and picking up on familiar words in conversations. I watch (or try to watch) Thai soap operas at night and try to listen to conversations more carefully. I can write my name in Thai now! I wish I had more time to dedicate to the language but I spend my time imagining ways to get my shy Thai students out of their shells and confidently speaking English. My teaching schedule for the rest of my time here has been set after a meeting with all the school English teachers. It looks like I will be teaching all 21 classes at least twice before I leave. My purpose is to make English fun and exciting!

I feel like I am at Wiang Wong Kot High School at a very exciting/critical time. They have a very new administrative staff and the new principal is a man of great vision. Yesterday all the faculty and students got together to plant trees around the school and had a massive clean-up. They are building a brand new library, renovating the faculty housing, and opening an English center. I am proud to say that I get to be a part of the great new vision to improve the English language education at the school (or I hope I leave feeling proud)! Alongside the 21 classes, I am also working on the English Club and the Tourism Club. I met the President of the Tourism club and he was really fantastic. Very bold and well-spoken. I'm so excited about all the changes that are to come!

I am getting used to the little geckos that live in my room and strange bugs. The food is delicious and everyone is so nice! The school community is really so good to me. I hope the mutual enthusiasm continues!

P.S. There is this funny dog that lives around the faculty housing and her name is Dengue Dengue. Like Dengue Fever! It's because the school principal thinks Dengue Dengue brings disease but the teachers take really good care of her. They wash her, feed her, and talk to her! And there are these big old cows that live next door to keep her company...

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:22:00 +0000

I am at this magical place of dinosaurs and mountains! Finally settled down to teach at Wiang Wong Kot High School and it is surrounded by a beautiful mountain called Pu Wiang. I arrived yesterday from Chaiyaphum and woke up early this morning. It is about 10 AM and I have already given a speech in front of the entire school and taught two upperlevel classes.

I am the first foreigner to ever come to this school so I think it's very important for me to leave a positive impression. Everyone is very excited. Lots of giggles and photographs!

My host is another young English teacher named Wan and she is really adorable. She actually moved into another teacher's room to give me her room. We live in the faculty housing located right next to the school and I think about 4 teachers live in one house. The house has four separate rooms and everyone sleeps on the floor. The school especially bought a brand new bed, furniture, appliances, and bedding just for me! They are so nice. The only part that is uncomfortable is that the bathroom is sort of outside in the dark with all the things that creep and crawl. Yes, the toilet is a squatter and it doesn't flush. And I have to shower with buckets of cold water! The great thing is that I am going to probably overcome my fear of bugs/insects. Or I am getting really good at trying to not seem like a squeamish silly foreigner...

I am excited about my time here! I hope I can come up with more ideas for fun games and lessons!

This weekend Wan is taking me to the city so I can get more teaching gear and then we're going to the dinosaur museum! She says she'll also take me to her hometown to visit her family and I hear her mom cooks some delicious Issan food! Everything feels like a dream!

Back to Thailand...

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Sawaddee Ka! I'm back in Bangkok! So I guess I have been traveling nonstop for the past three weeks now. That's almost a month. I haven't been robbed and I haven't been raped. I don't want to jinx myself but I think it's been pretty great/safe traveling everywhere alone. Girl power, etc. Whoo! Well, I have a pseudo-travel partner now so it's even safer.

What crazy three weeks. I'm getting tan (even though that might not be a good thing in this country), making some progress on my Thai (enhanced experience with the taxi driver and impressing him with my skills and getting to my guest house super fast), getting strong, and becoming a hardass woman traveling woman (you can't scam me, bitches). But not so jaded, really. But I do miss home. I miss people who know me and appreciate me and care about me. I miss the hugs and the warmth. I miss my car and my bed. I miss ice cold water fountains and shopping without the stress of bargaining. But bargaining is fun.

Overall, there have been really wonderful people on the road. I write about them constantly in my moleskin. Traveling makes the world feel smaller!

It's strange to be back in Bangkok. It was my first destination and now it feels almost like home. I've been needing to run some errands so today will be dedicated to that. You know, getting more shampoo/contact solution/etc. Also, I lost my debit card. And my cell phone. AND MY LONELY PLANET SOUTHEAST ASIA ON A SHOESTRING. So I've been trying to bargain a bootleg copy of lonely planet for $5 but vendors just don't budge. I e-mailed my dad to take care of my card. I've needed a new cell phone anyway... (I'm just trying not to feel too bad about losing stuff).

Anyway, I am definitely ready to settle in one place so I can stop the unpacking, packing and just RELAX. I think we definitely need a big 4th of July party at 804. I gotta talk to Courtney, BESTFUTUREHOUSEMATEEVER. I'm so stoked about all our neighbors, guests, friends, lovers, all that. It's gonna be a supersweetsweetbomb year no kidding.

And hey, (I'm being so random..my head is everywhere) I've been coming up with exciting exercises to do with my Thai students. I can't wait until I meet them!

Communism?

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:07:00 +0000

These little kids are dancing to Backstreet Boys next to me. It's great. Also, Communism here in Vietnam is really interesting. There are these great propaganda posters everywhere and every morning around 6:30 AM this insanely loud announcement comes on. Our first morning in Hanoi Alice and I woke up in pain. We opened the window to our beautiful balcony and stared out the window. Some sort of horrible inspirational elevator music and a soothing female voice saying something in Vietnamese. And this message repeated itself at least 5 times. It would NOT stop. We stared out into the street. No one seemed fazed.

Later, we asked the hotel. Oh it's some message about health from the government. It comes on every morning. EVERY morning.

Hanoi, Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:19:00 +0000

I'm drinking a bottle of coke at a rooftop cafe in Hanoi. There are stylish young Vietnamese, some foreigners, and free wifi. And Korean pop songs. Always Korean pop songs. Forever. And American Idol late night re-runs. We watch that every night. Sometimes we miss the good old States and need a dose of these things. Like cheesy teen flicks. Yum! Macdonald's! JK!

I've been out in the Halong Bay for the last few days which was incredibly beautiful. Alice and I went kayaking and went to some caves. The food was not so ideal (seafood dinner = cheapass frozen fish cakes) and I got sick but I am not complaining. I drank a Hanoi beer and I kind of passed out at night (traveling exhausts me sometimes) so I don't really know if sleeping on the boat was any different but waking up to a breathtaking view was amazing.

Today we walked around some new parts of Hanoi and got insanely lost but still managed to see Ho Chi Minh's dead body at the Mausoleum. We got lost again and found the Temple of Literature as well as a number of other really neat temples. Some parts of town has no foreigners and no one spoke English (I had to pee so baaaad!!!). It took so long to convince one Vietnamese lady to please let me use the restroom. She just stared at us really suspiciously and shook her head. A nice man helped convince her that we were harmless. We didn't mean to be suspicious-looking foreigners!! I need to learn how to say toilet in different languages. Seriously.

It's funny because Alice and I stand out so much here in very different ways. I'm starting to get sick of all the "Konichiwa" and "Hello" but I am sure that won't stop especially when we're in Northeast Thailand.

I leave for Bangkok early tomorrow morning. We'll go to training together and part ways for homestay and teaching. I'm excited to get settled as I need a bit more stability in my life. It's nice to have Alice with me. Finally, someone to laugh with whenver the Numa Numa song comes on at a cafe. I don't know what it is about Asia and the Numa Numa song. They love it.

I really like Vietnam. I'm going to miss it. Hopefully I'll return. The food here is so good. People are nice enough. I am stoked about Thailand! I posted a lot of photos on facebook and I'm uploading some videos now. I miss everyone especially a lot today!

Oh hey and there are actually photos of me now, thanks to Alice! They are http://picasaweb.google.com/alice.mcelhinney/Hanoi so you can check them out. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:39:00 +0000

I've arrived in Hanoi. I'm pretty hungry and tired so this is going to be short. But I have to say. Vietnam is pretty awesome. I think you should all come here. Hanoi has streets filled with fantastic architecture. I love it. My hotel is like that which is really cool. Also only $9. Sucks the wifi doesn't really work though. Anyway, I can't wait until Alice gets here. I'm going to the airport to pick her up, actually. To be honest, I am really nervous about our travel partnership. I am so worried that she is not excited at all about this trip. She hasn't said a thing about it so I've just been e-mailing her to inform her of my decisions. Just like that. I feel like I am the only enthusiastic one!. But I''ll try to be more positive about this. Maybe she's actually kind of excited. I hope so. I really hope so.

Saigon, Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:26:00 +0000

Within getting into Ho Chi Minh City I went off to explore the area on foot. If you know anything about Saigon, the traffic is overwhelming. I had no idea why the city even had crosswalks because they weren't really crosswalks. I avoided crossing the street but I mean, I couldn't avoid it forever. I watched what the locals were doing and well, they just bravely went for it. I decided that was probably the only way and that I wouldn't die. So with swarms of motorcycles coming at me from all directions, I took a step onto the road. A frightened British girl trailed after me and muttered things under her breath. I just laughed and said, "Just keep taking steady steps, you know? They'll pause for us." And they did. When we got to the other side of the road in piece, she turned to me and said, "Do you live here?" I laughed and said, "I arrived an hour ago."

(Shoutouts to Allison Corbett for helping me become a global pro-jaywalker.)

It's funny how I have gotten used to the traffic, the honking, the motorcycles, the hassling, etc. I think Cambodia was a huge learning experience. HCMC feels somehow familiar and comfortable. And I am so excited that I am in Vietnam for awhile because the food is so intensely delicious. I ate a big, delicious bowl of Pho and drank some sort of sugarcane drink. And I ate some sort of pudding that was more like flan. All of this only cost me $2-3 total. Oh, how I missed you cheap delicious food! (Honestly, Cambodia is not so good for cost-efficient delicious local food.)

I also went shopping at Chợ Bến Thành and the night market. I haggled poorly but I don't feel like I lost anything. I badly needed short sleeve shirts. For some reason I thought that people only wore long sleeve shirts in Southeast Asia. I was wrong. Tomorrow, I am shipping home the jackets I brought with me along with some other heavy things I am tired of carrying. The Notre Dame Cathedral is right next to the post office so I'll go there as well as a couple of pagodas. I'll go to the HCMC central area and walk around. Find cool places to eat. Gin and tonic with Natasha in the evening. Obviously, I'm skipping all those war and weaponry museums. But I might go to art exhibitions.

I don't have much time in HCMC but I'll have plenty in Hanoi. It's strange to think that I'll have a travel partner in two days. I am booking the hostel for Hanoi right now. I am not really sure what's been going on with Alice.

But anyway, this was my first time crossing the border via land (except for Canada but that's easy for Americans). Our bus was interesting because half was upperclass Cambodians going on a family vacation and the other half was Europeans in their late-twenties with those hugeass backpacks/tevas/shell necklace/sunburn. This girl named Elisa (also a rising Junior in college) and I bonded. We're both traveling through Southeast Asia solo and we are both younger than most of travelers we meet along the way (she's 19 and I'm 20). It was really nice to talk to her about psychedelic 70s Cambodian music and food. And yes, I have 70s Cambodian music now. I'll WAMSHARE that shit.

At the border, the Cambodians got through quickly in the beginning. And then the Europeans. Canadians. Older Americans. Everyone got on the bus. And then there was this long pause. Elisa and I were the only ones left. We waited and waited and then they finally let us through.

We think it's because they don't really understand why young American girls would travel through Cambodia/Vietnam without their parents, etc.

Anyway. I am getting really sleepy. I haven't been sleeping much. Still strangely jet-lagged. Everyone still thinks I am Japanese. And the Vietnamese I have met so far have been so excited about practicing their Japanese with me. I need to consult Tachibana-san about this. I mean, Koreans don't even acknowledge me. Japanese tourists still talk to me. And everyone asks me, "How do you speak English so well?"

noreply@blogger.com (Sewon) — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:48:00 +0000

I'm back in Phnom Penh just for the night (mostly because I didn't want to be on a bus for such a long, long time). There is a rooster walking around in the internet cafe. And the internet cafe owner is singing karaoke with her headphones on. It's really endearing and she has a cute voice. She also sells all sorts of handmade bags and scarfs here.

It's funny to be back here. I got off the bus and recognized where I was. I didn't get overwhelmed by the crowd of moto and tuk tuk drivers trying to hassle the bus passengers and I easily negotiated a decent price. But my tuk tuk driver tried to pull some fast moves by suggesting that my hostel was too expensive (I told him it was $5 and he was quiet for a minute) and told me bus ticket to HCMC was hard to get (I purchased it in like 2 seconds through my hostel). And then he told me he wanted to take me to Tuol Sleng. All these tricks don't faze me anymore. And I'm done with tourist traps. Byebye Russian market. What up, Cambodia.

I also bought a Cambodian funk cd or at least what I hope is that. I'll share it with you guys if you are interested! Heading to HCMC super early tomorrow. I hear it's hectic but you know I keep my cool.

I still have questions about what I am supposed to do about beggers--especially small children and disabled beggers. A German guy that I met told me that I should carry candy for the children but I shouldn't give them money because they should be playing outside, not selling things.

The thing about Cambodia that is so different is that places (cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, etc.) that are cited to be cool according to other expats or Lonely Planet have absolutely no Cambodians. The only Cambodians I see in these places are few workers who speak English and drivers who linger outside. My question is: Where do young Cambodians hang out? Why not these places?