TAXI RIP OFFS, SO ANGRY

I AM SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW. OH MY GOSH.

Today has been a terrible day for transportation. L and I tried going to Paragon to get our shop on but the traffic on the freeway was so bad that after sitting in one spot for 20 minutes, with the fare steadily increasing, our driver and others reversed out of the traffic and onto the faster part of the highway so that we could be dropped off at a BTS to then walk to our destination.

Think that was bad? No. NO. Just now, after watching "Avatar" for the second time, but this time in 3D at the Paragon Cineplex, we got a taxi back. I wish I could elaborate more about how much I adore that movie, but my anger is presiding over that sentiment right now. Anyway, our ride back normally costs 130 baaht MAX, seriously MAX. But this cab driver decided to play dumb and take the longest route possible. I did not recognize any of the landmarks and I have taken this route back many times before. To make matters considerably worse, the meter was RIGGED and the fare increased every 2 seconds, I timed it. I was getting so angry during the drive that I muttered that my father is in the mafia to try and deter him from his evil ways, but he didn't hear me and even if he did, he didn't understand English -- er, "he didn't understand English." UGH.

A ride that should have cost 130 baaht cost 277 baaht by the time we arrived at our apartment.

I. was./am. fuming.

I know it's not a smart decision for two foreign girls to get in an argument with a Thai taxi driver who knows where you live, but I couldn't help it; I do NOT like being taken advantage of especially when you now that the other party knows what he is doing but acts stupid, which is exactly what this guy did. I yelled at him for a good five minutes about how he took the wrong way; the price he was charging us was exorbitant; and that we should go by the KM charge, which was like 180 baaht (still too much). But he just played dumb the whole time.

He acknowledged that his meter was broken but "he no know!" And that "he meter, he meter!" Right, I'm sure you metered it but you RIGGED your meter. BS. Complete BS. He was acting like my 9th grade students who act like they have no idea what I'm saying, but I know they're just too lazy to speak in English and act dumb. At one point I remember him saying "I need money." Ya, and so do I.

I am still fuming. I stayed outside on the curb after he dropped us off and I paid the lesser amount of the half I supposedly owed (Linnea gave in a paid the difference, which I can't say I'm grateful for because I almost wish she had held her ground too...someone needs to show them they can't keep taking advantage of farangs) and glared him down and pretended like I was memorizing his plate number so I could call and complain. I wanted to go Avatar on him and shoot a bow-and-arrow through the car window, straight into his scheming chest.

I HATE that these taxi drivers have the upper hand on foreigners, especially as women. It's scary to know that all these random guys know where we live so we're at a disadvantage when our modes of transportation rip us off like tonight. I get particularly angry because I'm on a tight budget as a teacher here who wants to travel. I can't go around dishing out all this cash every time I need to get home!

Need to do something to calm myself down. This is just unacceptable. "Mai Pen Rai" (Whatever/No Worries/Hakuna Matata) just won't cut it right now.

Pollution

I don't want to complain, but I'm going to justifiably complain. The pollution here has really started affecting my health. It's a factor of Bangkok that I was prepared for but also of which I was frightened because I really despise dirty air and loud vehicles (the latter is one of my biggest pet peeves).

I'm located about 30 minutes south of Bangkok in an industrial area. My apartment is right under the highway. I am greeted in the morning by a thick brown-ish haze, the thickness of which is highlighted by the sun's unrelenting rays. It's utterly disgusting (and I mutter that probably every day, by the way). I step out into the street with a grimace and try to hold my breath as I close my eyes when trucks, motorbikes, and cars barrel down the street, put-put-putting and spewing black smoke straight into the faces of pedestrians like yours truly.

I dislike exercising outdoors. Hell, I sort of dislike being outside near the street. Anyway, back at home, I'd rarely get sick, even though Los Angeles's air isn't of the best quality either. But here, I've experienced a scratchy throat on multiple occasions; my eyes get dry and red; and lately, I've been coughing - no, heaving - up stuff from the depths of my lungs.

I could very well be getting sick from being around all my snotty and dirty children (PS - the students' bathrooms at school don't have soap. WHY.), but I doubt it because my other friends here have also experienced similar symptoms. One of my friends, Jo, got an eye infection and had to get eye drops because they were so swollen and red (a similar thing happened to a kid I knew at USC who moved from Australia and wasn't used to LA's pollution). Yuck.

This is literally one of the biggest reasons why I feel compelled to escape the city every-two-weeks and relax on the beach. Fresh air!

Oh, speaking of which, I'm going to Phuket and Pi Pi tomorrow for a week for the holidays. Joy!

Christmas - the Buddhist Way

Everyone's been asking me if Thais celebrate Christmas. The answer is: sort of. Sort of because Christmas is more of a commercial event here, and with the bjillion mega-malls there are in Bangkok, it's safe to say that Christmas really is all around, with the blaringly cheery music, Starbucks's Christmas-beverage-line, and monstrously erected Christmas trees and odd decorations (the other day we saw a snowflake with Barbie dolls pinned all over it) that all Thais pose in front of with their classic “peace” signs (how fitting, for once!).

At the entrance of my town are Christmas lights and festive sayings, so at least it's something. When I say “Christmas”, my students say either “Santa Claus”, “reindeer”, or they sing “Jingle Bells” in an unintelligible language that is definitely not English but, according to Pe Tuk, not Thai either, because there is no Thai version of “Jingle Bells.” However, they have no idea what Christmas actually means; after all, Jesus does not exist in Buddhism – but then again, I'd say the majority of people around the world don't either (or, they don't choose to acknowledge it).

Regardless, I've already received some presents from my students, ranging from a Lipitor flier (LOL that was a hilarious one), to braided ribbons (below), to cookies, to stale donuts from none other than Mister Donut himself (no, kidding, it was from a kindergarten teacher), to a hugely wrapped gift from my 3/2 class, whose homeroom teacher presented to me today. It's a light on a frog stand (I just opened it)!!! It was very sweet. =)

This past Monday, I wore lent reindeer antlers to the morning assembly as I recited a speech that was written for me, and this morning, I spoke about the colors of Christmas. Below I will write the original transcript of what they wanted me to say -- typos and all. You'll understand how confused I was when the script landed on my desk; the English makes no sense at all and it took me a long time to edit it (and I'm usually pretty good at editing) because I didn't want to alter the speech's true saying.

Student: Good morning teachers and friends. It's closer time to Cristmas day in next week. When we talk about Cristmas day, what do you think of it? Ms. Kristina will introduce what people thinking on Cristmas day.

Kristina: Cristmas day is the celebration day to Yesucrist was born. At first mostly people twill think to Christmas tree. Second is Santa Claus. The third is Jingle bells song and colors. The forth is Raindeer. Finally is Christmas card to bless to anyone you respect or love.

On Wednesday, I am to speak of the meaning of the colors of Christmas. In class, I've been teaching simple sentences like “Santa says 'Ho Ho Ho!'”, “Reindeer runs”, and “Snowman melts”, to which the students act out the sentences. They're also making Christmas cards...very simple ones, that is.

Thursday is Christmas eve. Pi Aoy wants us to go to the temple to celebrate Christmas with her, which I want to do just to experience such an oxymoronic event, haha, and then Linnea and I will probably attend the 11pm service at Christ Church in Bangkok.

HO HO HO, children.

Crisis of Communication: Pi Aoy

One of the most endearing but equally as frustrating factors of being a foreigner in Thailand is my inability to communicate. I've learned some key words and phrases, like the names of food and words to direct a taxi driver, but other than that, I stare as blankly to most Thais as many of my students do to me.

Pi Aoy is the lunch lady and she has become quite fond of Linnea and me. She speaks minimal English but that doesn't hold her back from attempting to talk to us. She's a very vivacious and expressive 30-something who wears her poorly dyed hair in scrunchies and frequents how "chuh-beeeee" she is while slamming her palms onto her belly fat (to which we respond, "Whatttt?! Noooo.") and points to Linnea that she is "skih-neeee!" (to me she says nothing. haha.).

What gets frustrating is that we can't understand 98% of what she's saying because she keeps talking in Thai despite our silences and raised eyebrows. The remaining 2% is her English, but oftentimes it takes us about two minutes to comprehend a word because the accent is way off (i.e. the movie "Avatar" = "Aaah-wahhh-taahhh". Imagine how difficult it was to understand.) And then she looks at us, expecting an answer, and when we are like "Sorry! Um..mai kao jai, I don't understand! No understand!", she jokingly scowls at us.

With that said, it's pretty amazing that Linnea and I have been able to hang out with Pi Aoy and her friend, Pi Pen, twice for dinner. Pi Pen speaks about five words in English. Our meals are hilarious because they speak rapidly in Thai; we speak hesitantly and slowly. It's an expressive meal, too. Linnea and I flail our arms about and our faces are hilariously expressive. The four of us usually end up "talking" about the food they've ordered for us (Translation: we point to a dish. They say the name. We nod and go "ohhhh!" and attempt to pronounce it. They laugh at us. We laugh. Repeat X4 because they order a ton of food for us.)

Usually when Pi Aoy (right, above) says something to us, Linnea and I nod our heads as if we understand, then turn to each other and mutter, "Did you catch any of that?" "Nope." We joke now that having a conversation with Pi Aoy is one of the most exhausting parts of our day, but she has been one the friendliest staff members at Amnuayvidhya to us. She constantly showers us with gifts and is never afraid to get chatty!

In a way, it's good to have a friendly Thai speak to us in her native tongue as we do to our students. It puts us in our students' shoes and reminds us to speak clearly and use other means of communication to convey a point, because the most simple message could easily get lost in translation with this immense language barrier.

I will own at charades by the time I get back home.

Feminism in Food

Masculine food I've spotted here:

Mr. SF
Mr. San's babies
(sorry I haven't figured out how to rotate pics yet)



Mr. Bun
There's also a Mister Donut


THAILAND, what's up with this. Where are the Misses?!

(But that doesn't mean their goods aren't delicious!)

Bewitched; it's love.

Right now, I'd like to quote Mr. Darcy from “Pride and Prejudice” when he says at the end of the movie to the lovely Keira Knightley: “You bewitch me – mind, body, and soul.” And how every woman sighs a romantic sigh as she bracingly clutches her heart when she hears that line, I sigh a bittersweet sigh whenever I pause and reflect on my experience here.

Thailand has bewitched my mind, body, and soul.

At this point, I can easily confess that I love the Thailand that I've gotten to know. During my first month here, I was having fun and appreciating my experience, but I was still slightly homesick and would sometimes think about life back at home: how much I missed it, how happy I'll be to be back, etc. But something recently changed; I woke up one morning after Koh Samet and realized how hard I'm falling for this place.

It's hard to live in the present, for when I'm in it and am having the time of my life, I only think about the future and how much I'll miss this current life I'm leading. Does that make sense?

When I look at my students or pictures of my students, I get nostalgic and start missing them, even though I'm currently teaching them. I see them every day in the halls but am getting attached to their cheery greetings and how they'll drop everything they're doing just to run outside and yell “TEACHAH!” down the hall if they catch a glimpse of me. I'm getting attached to their exuberant cheers and the applause by which I'm greeted when I enter their classrooms. Attached to their high-fives, stickers, hugs (so many hugs), smiles; getting attached to singing “I want nobody, nobody but YOU!” by the Wondergirls (a famous song in Thailand right now) with my kiddos, and training them to do the “cha-cha-cha” whenever I say the word, “dance!” The other day after school, I witnessed the 2^nd and 3^rd graders practicing their dance for our upcoming Sport Day in January (these girls can dance, by the way, wow! Danger...haha). They are SO adorable shakin' their “thangs”, clapping and sweating as their braids bounce up and down, that I got teary-eyed at the thought of leaving them. Already they've taught me the importance of patience and not taking life too seriously (no one likes an angry teachahhh!). Let loose, have fun, and smile. I will miss them so when my five months are up.

Each week here flies by. If time here were the equivalent of an animal, it'd be a hummingbird, for it zooms about and pauses for a brief few moments – suspended in time as it forces you to think and reflect, as traveling/living by yourself often makes you do – but then it's moving, moving, moving once again. The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of my life; the constant traveling and seeing new things with just one other (cool) person (Linnea) is liberating, exciting, eye-opening, refreshing, introspective, and fun. I get a high from it. On a Saturday/Sunday at home, I might read three chapters of a book, run, go to church, eat a good meal, watch a movie, spend time with friends and family (which is always awesome), and sleep in. Nothing special, nothing too boring, nothing too exciting.

But consider this: I write this post on a Sunday night back at my apartment in Phra Padaeng. Yesterday morning I woke up in this same apartment, left for Kanchanaburi (3 hours away), arrived, rode bikes in the countryside, visited a museum and war cemeteries, explored a cave, hiked to 7 different waterfalls, came back to Bangkok, and then sat in on a Swedish Lucia/Christmas festival. All within two days, one night. Brother Time must be impressed with how Linnea and I have made use of him during our travels.

There's still so much that I want to do while I'm here and I'm getting nervous at the thought of how little time I have left. In the meantime, I will continue to let myself fall in love with Thailand and all its natural wonder, historical stupor, personable charm, and culinary surprises. I'll continue to get lost in appreciative reflection during long bus rides overlooking Thailand's majestic mountains, greenery, and snaking rivers. I'll gladly continue to contentedly nap – full with fresh mango juice and papaya – under palm trees and the blanket of the sun, on Thailand's breathtaking beaches. Everything's awesome. Any foolish doubt that I may have had when entering this program and choosing Thailand over, say, a country in South America (I still really want to go there, though!), has been erased. I'm so glad I chose to teach, for it has been one of the most enriching parts of my experience here.

I fall asleep many nights thinking to myself, “if I died right now, I would die happy.” I'm blessed to have a supportive family and this fortunate opportunity. Not everyone can afford to do this, but I wish they could. Traveling with an open mind is the best education and the easiest way to fall in love with life.

Sunflower Field, Lopburi

Yesterday was Constitution Day, so in addition to having Monday off this past week, we also got Thursday off. It broke the week up pretty awkwardly in terms of work, but it's all good because L and I went to Lopburi to see the sunflower fields, which stop blooming in December/January! Tor, our Thai friend here, graciously drove us and took us to a delicious dinner after.

If you recall, I went to Lopburi a few weeks ago to see the monkey festival. While that was surreal in a crazy way, being in these sunflower fields was surreal in a dreamlike way. Pictures for proof:


We went during sunset and the pictures turned out fine (more importantly, the petals were still open!), but apparently they're more beautiful during sunrise. But Lopburi is a 1.5 hour drive away from BKK Central, so that wasn't going to happen.

I know, the pictures seem fake and the backdrop seems like it's from a Windows desktop, but the flowers are real. They're really real.

Who knew that Thailand has sunflower fields? This country continues to pleasantly surprise and amaze me every day. :)

KOH SAMET <3

It was paradise.

If I ever meet the King of Thailand, I must remember to thank him for being born and affording me this three-day weekend, during which Linnea, Stacy, and I took the four hour trip south to the beautiful, relaxing, heavenly island, Koh Samet.

Jetted out of Central BKK after work on Friday and four hours later, situated ourselves in the port town of Baan Phe, ready to tackle the ferry to Samet the next day. By Saturday 11am, we were on the island, but with no accommodation plans, took to finding a place to stay (kind of an important task). We secured TuTu for Saturday night and Jep's Bungalow's for Sunday night. Prices were higher than normal because it was a holiday weekend, but I'd rather not discuss that.

What I would like to discuss is the “agenda” we followed for the next three days.

8:30am – Wake up. Early, it seems, for being on vacation, but hello? Why sleep in a mosquito-ridden bungalow when you could sleep on the BEACH instead.

9am – Jep's Bungalow's buffet breakfast on the beach. Croissants, wheat toast, Thai noodles and rice and curry, Chinese porridge – all while the waves lap mere inches away from your front-row table and as your toes wiggle in the sand. I felt a bit hot because I chose a seat facing the sun, so I took a bite out of my toast and jumped into the water for a minute, then sat back down to finish my meal. Um, amazing.

10am – Walk one minute away, order $1 beach chair/umbrella/table, and start basking away.

11am – Oh, look. The fresh fruit vendor is walking right past me. I'll get a $1 plate of fresh, fresh, fresh, delicious, AMAZING papaya and snack on it as I read.

12pm – Nod off to The Beach Boys's “Kokomo” on your ipod as the sound of waves gently crashing in the background lull you to sleep. Wake up, swim in the perfectly blue water. Float and let the sun wrap its rays around you. No matter what they say, you are a sea otter.

1pm – Massage on the beach. One hour for 200 baaht (a little over $6). Ignore the publicness of the massage and you'll be fine zoning out as you're pounded into blissful submission.

2pm – The vendor with the fresh som tum (papaya salad) just walked by. Get some (50 baaht = $1.50).

3 pm – The vendor with the MANGOES walked by. Best mangoes I've ever had. Sooooo juicy and sweet and tender. Ahhhhhh.

3:30pm – Chat with the Swedes who just settled in the cabana next door. They tell you they're getting tattoos on the island tomorrow. Kinda crazy. Lounge and swim some more. Ponder as you look out into the horizon (sigh!).

4pm – Afternoon snack @ Jep's Bungalow's Restaurant. Peter Pan, the waiter there, might take a liking to your group as he did to ours, and he'll chat you up. Good french fries there, by the way, and garlic bread and coconut shake. Oh, the chicken pita sandwich is great as well.

6pm – Walk to Ao Phae, the west side of the island that's known for its sunset. Cool pictures.

7pm – Dinner at Pray Talay or Ploy, where you sit on cushions on the beach and eat delicious seafood. Fireworks will light up the sky, as will the fire dancers who perform right on the water's edge. Unfortunately, not many stars to be seen.

8pm – Roti with nutella & bananas, or a crepe. Perhaps ice cream. Stroll along the water's edge and watch as couples give in to the tourist trap and purchase a lantern to light up and let float away for good luck. Live band in the background. Romanticallllll.

10pm – Perhaps a beer, perhaps some dancing at the lively restaurants/bars that were so chill during the day.

11pm – If not catching up with friends at Jep's one last time, sleep. Drift off to sleep and believe that if you died then, you'd die happy. Tan and happy. :)

(Repeat X3)

//

Samet is like going home when you're in college. It's your time to get away from the hectic and crazy nature of Bangkok. No more stuffiness or pollution. Just clear thoughts and things you know and love, like the gentle, motherly sun; healthy food and fresh fruit; plenty of relaxation and sleep. Reading for pleasure – something you rarely do at school or in the midst of your busy work life. You get antsy with nothing to do for the first day or so, but then as you settle back into this “routine” of doing nothing, you dread going back to your work life and try to soak in as much of this new home as possible. Indulging in the food, the sand, the sun, the water. Knowing you're in paradise.

This weekend helped me get over my “homesick hump”, a period of time I believe everyone experiences to truly appreciate their new life in a foreign place. It's made me so excited to go back (I'm already having withdrawals) and explore more of the beautiful places Thailand has to offer.

Samet has so far been my favorite.

Life's a beach.

"Long Live the King" & Cruisin the Chao Praya

December 5^th marks the King's birthday, and celebrate Thailand does. During the week leading up to his birthday, carnivals and posters of the King & his wife were erected and hung around towns. Tagged on taxis and cars were “Long Live the King!” slogans. We got Monday off of school to honor his birthday. I heard the Thais went even more “all out” than in previous years, particularly because the King is ill and currently hospitalized.

The King is like a god here, so much so that on his birthday, Thais also celebrate Father's Day. I heard that the Grand Palace would be decked out in dazzling offerings to His Majesty and that it was a sight worth checking out, but I never got around to it.

What I did do during the week leading up to the King's birthday, though, included teaching action verbs at school (oh boy) and then taking pictures of the students with their Father's Day crafts. My favorite one is below:

[drats. i must rotate it, but it says "he is tall. he is fat. i love father." haha! my student's hilarious.]

On Friday, the day before the King's birthday, our school hosted an assembly during which the hundreds of Thai kids bowed, chanted, and prayed to an enlarged poster of the King while teachers and admins gave offerings to him. It was quite incredible because Americans would never do such a thing.

[us with Chawewa, Amnuayvidhya's Head Mistress]

I learned a lot about the King while browsing a gallery of info posters that the Thai teachers had made about the King. Why his country reveres, worships, and loves him so became quite understandable to me, because he is a genius and quite the role model. Taking the throne in his twenties, the King accomplished much in both his personal and public life, from learning to play three instruments (guitar, piano, saxophone); sailing in his free time; writing three books (can you imagine!); drawing and painting; taking care of his dogs; introducing radio communications to his country; and implementing systems to improve agriculture and sustainability, among many others. I'm too lazy right now to check how old he turned, but he's in his 80s, and, as mentioned, is hospitalized due to old age. He has a son who is positioned to take the throne.

I got to see where the King is hospitalized on Thursday, when Linnea, Joanna, Tor, and I went on a dinner cruise around the Chao Praya river at night. It's a pretty big thing for tourists to do and I highly recommend it! Our three-hour cruise was peaceful and the night air was absolutely perfect. Tor arranged for us to sit on the top deck level so we had full-on views of the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the King's hospital, and the majestic Chao Praya bridge, all of which were splendidly lit up. Adding to the night were the live music, traditional Thai dancers, and of course, the food. There were rolls (ooh, carbs that aren't rice or noodles!)!

Thursday was also great because I got to see my best friend, Kimmy's, mom, Mrs. Ishikawa! She's in Thailand on a family trip and stopped by with a gift from home. Luckily she's Thai and owned a restaurant, so when she took me out to dinner, she knew the right things to order. :)