Fun Stuff and Traveling

Ya know almost every day I think to myself, "oh yeah, I want to write a blog about what just happened. Great idea, Nick. Smashing." And then Wednesday rolls around and LOST comes on, and I realize I have to write the LOST blog first! Then by the time I finish that, I have already forgotten about the blog about me living in a foreign and exotic land. Okay fine I'll admit it I am still WAY more interested about what is going on on the Island than I am about what is going on in Bangkok. Or the Islands that I will soon by visiting.

You can't blame me. The Islands in Thailand aren't magical and mysterious....at least not that I know of.......

So let's start with the Photo Shoot. A few weeks ago my boss Ploy told me to make sure I looked extra handsome for school tomorrow. I calmly replied, "Ploy, I always look handsome." She agreed, but said to make sure I was EXTRA handsome for tomorrow. A photographer was coming by to take pictures for the school's new brochure. Well I got to school that day, and like she said, the photographer took pictures of our department, and then Ploy said later they would need a few more photos with me. I said sure. Waited in the office for three hours (classes were canceled that day, how can you expect students to concentrate on showing up to class when something as exciting as a DIGITAL CAMERA comes into town?), and then decided that they didn't need me after all, and headed home. Only then I got a phone call from Ploy asking me to be in the school library for further pictures in half an hour (I had only learned our school had a library a few days prior to this.)

So I get to the library expecting other teachers from me department and whatnot there, ready to take pictures. No no. It's just some of my IEP students, and a bunch of other seemingly randomly selected students. Oh and ONE other teacher. Roger. The Brit. The only other white person at the school. We were the only two teachers present for the next three hours of photography that took place. Even though I find it hilarious, I am not surprised.

So for the next few hours we took picture after picture of us ridiculously point to things and having an expression like, "See! That means THAT!" While the students have similar, fake, shit-eating grins on their faces saying things like, "Ohhhh Teacher! I understand!" Ha. It was silly. But it was fun. It took longer than a normal school day would, but it was far less work. And it felt silly to all of a sudden be the center of attention just because I am white. Isn't it normally the exact opposite? But I mean, you can see how it is. It's a school that teaches English, it doesn't hurt to prove you have native English speakers teaching there. Like I said, it's not surprising, it's just silly.

I used the same book for every shot. It was a book about the history of popular American music, so whenever I am explaining something to the students, it's really something, "so Bob Dylan was the grooviest cat ever." I know. I teach because I care.

So now on to exciting venture number 2: My friend Dave and I went to a SHOOTING RANGE! I have never fired a gun before in my life. And now, I have. Boom. It really was a lot of fun. We shot a revolver, six shooter with a wheel (a 45 I believe), a 9mm, like a regular 'ol cop gun, and then we fired off some SHOTGUN SHELLS. Ha. It was awesome. My aim wasn't too bad either. Nothing spectacular, but I hit some stuff. It was really cool. I need to go again, just so I can get pictures of me holding a gun. Most important.

Number 3 on exciting things: I took a Thai Cooking class! My friend Dave's good friend Ning just opened up a little shop to teach different Thai dishes. We went on the first day of classes and learned how to cook quite a bit. First we learned how to make an actual curry paste. I was really excited to learn how to make curry, because before that I was never really sure what it was. Like, I had eaten curry before, but...what WAS it? It's just different asian herbs and spices and vegetables all ground up together with different chiles, and then mixed usually with coconut milk to give it a rich thick saucey flavor. It's quite delicious. And there are about 40 million different kinds of curries, depending on what chiles and spices you use. We learned how to make green curry.

After the curry we made some different vegetable and chicken dishes. One was called Chicken Sate, and that was quite delicious. It was chicken marinated in this one kind of curry powder sauce and then dipped in another kind of curry sauce. It was fantastic. I have wanted to take a cooking class since I've been here, so it's great that I actually know some people who are doing them.

So my travel plans have changed considerable since the last blog. I was being a bit unrealistic with the amount of places I wanted to see in such a small amount of time. As of now, I am leaving for Ko Pa Ngan (ko pan yang) on Sunday for two weeks. That is the Island with all the crazy fun beach parties. There's plenty of internet bars and places like that, so I will be on the internet still, and will be able to tell everyone about how much fun I'm having. The bus trip there is a doozy of one, and will take all night. That won't be fun, but the rest of it will. I'm going alone, but Ko Pa Ngan is kind of like Farang central in South Thailand. However, it's not as touristy and gimmicky as Koh Samui (a nearby Island). And I know a lot of people in Bangkok who have been there a million times and will help me figure some stuff out when I am there. It will be very exciting.

Next month I am going to go to (hopefully) Cambodia, and maybe even Chang Mai for part of Sonkran (the new years). I will hopefully be able to update this blog while I am in Ko Pa Ngan! Until next time!

Holidayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

It's about that time again for another one of these.

I wouldn't say I've been very busy lately, but I have found myself getting into a bit of routine, which is nice. My own little Bangkok routine. I have been going to work out after classes are done. If i go home to get my stuff, I'll never get back out of the house. I pretty much have to go directly from school to the gym, otherwise it's just not going to get done. LOST has been going for a few weeks now. That's been great. I've been writing a weekly blog on that, and that is keeping me busy. I puppysat for a friend for a little less than two weeks. He is an adorable tiny little bastard. It was fun having him, but I wasn't upset when it was time for him to go. He's still a young pup, and did quite a bit of whining pretty much all the time. Now that he's back at his home I can take a nap when I want to. Or just relax, dog free for a while. Having him didn't make me change my mind about wanting to own about a million dogs in the future, but I know that I probably wouldn't get a tiny baby puppy. I'd probably get a shelter dog that was at least a little bit older. And a girl. I just like girl dogs better.

I made my final exams and I am ready to give them. The school year is practically over, and I can't wait. I have decided I am going to stay for the second semester as originally planned, because that means more $$ and more importantly, paid holiday. I've only just started to prepare my travels.

I am going to go to Chaing Mai first. That is in the North of Thailand (where they talk about how COLD it is there, when realistically it's still like 72 degrees everyday). It's got a lot of beautiful nature, mountains, and most important: elephants. I pretty much just plan on riding elephants every day. Don't worry. There will be pictures.

After that I am going to go to the South of Thailand. It's tricky going down south because so much of it is just expensive and touristy. A bunch of my farang friends who have travelled all over are helping me out with destination ideas and suggestions. I am going to go to some different islands for sure. I can't wait to just sit on the beach and do nothing. It will be just like what I do here all the time, except...on the beach.

Then hopefully I'll have enough bhat left to go Cambodia and Viet Nam. I've got a lot of ideas and a lot of plans for my two month holiday, but I am going to have to wait a little bit and see how feasible it all is. Luckily all my all farang friends have gone to all the places I plan on visiting a whole bunch of times. My original plan was to go to India with my friend Brett who is (hopefully) going to be able to come visit, but that might be a little too much (money, time, plan-wise).

What else what else what else. Well it seems more difficult to write these blogs because things are becoming pretty normal out here. I am sort of falling into a pattern. Not in a boring way at all, just in a, I am starting get get a feel for Bangkok. I know what there is to do (at least, more than I did), I know how to get to some places (at least, more than I did), and I have a group of some different people I like to hang out with (at least, more than I did), so things are going pretty easy ya know, smooth. I go to work, I work out, I like to try new places to eat, I relax at the Marina House and have some drinks on the riverfront. I'm pretty much doing a lot of the same stuff I would be doing in Chicago, just hangin out and digging and trying to find some new stuff. Lately I'd say I haven't done too much exploring. In the back of my mind I know I am gonna need to save as much $$$ as I can before these trips, so I've been trying not to just spend and spend (it's an ongoing battle, there is no clear winner or loser yet).

Oh! In some VERY exciting news, my friend Dave has a Thai friend who is starting a cooking class program right off of Koasan Road. A bunch of us from the Marina House (Dave, Jessica, the Freds) are going to all take some cooking classes together. It's like 1000 bhat (30 bucks) and you go in for a few hours and she'll teach how to make a paste (green curry, kapow, etc) and then show how that paste or sauce can be used in three or four different dishes. I am really excited to start learning how to cook the food I have been eating for almost four months. I already have a pretty good idea of the ingredients and such, but I want to get really deep into learning these flavor profiles, so that when I come back to the states and start learning modern American and classic French techniques (oh yeah, I'm gonna do that too, I decided) I will be able to make a Fusion, making classically prepared dishes with Thai and Asian flavor profiles. Sounds pretty fancy right? Well, I watch a lot of Top Chef.

I suppose that's all for now, or at least all I can think of. Finals start this week. When the semester is over I'll write a rather reflective entry about how I think my first crack at being an educator (sorta) went. Hope everyone is doing just lovely.

Oh fine here. This is the dog. Isn't be so damned cute you want to eat his face?

S.F. Sorrow is Born

I think it's the fourth week of class since the midterms. I write this blog as I wait for my IEP class to get to their 8 am class. It's Tuesday. Today is my friend Jessica's birthday, so I'll go over to the Marina house later. Right now I'm just waiting for the students.

Classes have been patchy since midterms. I wouldn't say that the kids are all generally checked out for the semester, but...yeah no, that is exactly what I would say. There are still those few good kids in each class (who get about 84% of my attention while I teach), but for the most part I think most kids have kind of seen what they can get away with. It pisses me off sometimes, but I try to just not let it bother me.

I'm complacent with the job most of the times, but every now and then I get into a fit or irritation and annoyance. Like when there's 25 minutes left in class and three students all come in, immediately walk right up to me and (in their rather young shrill Thai voices) scream "Teacher, CHECK NAME!"

Yeah. You're only an hour and a half late. Of course I'll mark you down on the attendance. Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So that's where that stands. I haven't been formally told I am hired back for a second semester. My contract is only for one semester, but when I discussed this with my boss prior to moving to Bangkok she seemed pretty intent on having me around. So, we'll have to see where that stands. I should probably actually ask about that, huh. Honestly, I don't even know how I'd deal with teaching another semester. I feel like by the end of teaching two semesters I wouldn't even say anything during class. Just sit with my feet up on the desk and the attendance sheet next to me. And I'd be wearing sunglasses.

I'm listening to a record called "S.F." Sorrow by The Pretty Things. I've listened to it probably five times a day for the last week. Released in '68, it's one of the first concept albums ever recorded (and is WAY better than Tommy). It tells the story of a young man named S.F. Sorrow and his adventures through life, death, love, and himself. This doesn't really hold any bearing on anything related to Bangkok, but it's a really, really good record. You should give it a listen.

13 minutes late. IEP is usually either totally on time, or everyone is 45 minutes late. The problem with that is (and not to sound like an uninspiring teacher) but after waiting for 45 minutes I'm kind of done with the idea of teaching a class too. We'll see how it turns out. I bet a few of them will show within about ten minutes.

So tonight is my friend Jessica's birthday. As a kindness to her I won't put how old she is turning...She is is one of fine folk who live over at the Marina House, an apartment complex right on the river that is filled with farangs. (Oh damn, two just showed up, 8:16. They're on their phones. I'll finish this blog later.)

So our good Aussie friend Dave is in Singapore until the 4th of February. That's a long time. But since he was going away, last weekend before he left, he texted everyone saying it was Jessica's birthday. He had simply declared it her birthday early because he wasn't going to be there for the actual date. That night at the Marina House, every person came up to Jessica at some point to wish her a happy birthday. Mrs. Tim, who owns the shop directly next to the Marina House, brought her chocolate cake. Jessica was red and kept trying to explain to everyone that it was not really her birthday (every time she did, of course, Dave and I assured everyone it was). The strange old German couple (and I mean strange) would NOT believe Jessica that it wasn't her birthday, seeing as how they saw her holding a piece of cake. I kind of can't wait to go over there tonight and tell everyone it's her birthday again.

So one thing that is good about Dave being gone for so long, is that he gets back even AFTER LOST premieres! It might not seem obvious how that's good, but in my mind I think, well Dave isn't gonna be back for like over a week....then I think, but wait, LOST premieres on February 2nd! Dave will get back in like a week and LOST WILL ALREADY BE PLAYING?!

More and more of my waking hours are now spent thinking about LOST. It's coming back, finally, but for the last time. This is the LAST time I am going to nervously anticipate a series premiere. This is the last first episode of a season ever. I'm getting lightheaded just typing this. It's a bit of a shame that I have to watch it on my laptop, purchased from itunes (which means I won't be able to watch it at the same time as you greedy American bastards), but it's fine. I'm a half glass full kind of guy when it comes to LOST. I'll be able to put season 6 on my iPod, which is actually pretty badass.

Well all that doesn't have much to do with Bangkok either, but it doesn't matter what country I was living in or what blog I am writing, that has got to get there.

Final thought, I saw a bus-side advertisement for the CSB yesterday. It made me laugh. Like, I laughed pretty hard. It had fake student actors on it smiling. It was pretty funny.

Quick One

So I recognize it has been a while since my last real blog, with words and everything in it. I apologize for that and chalk it up to my own laziness. It seems so much easier to spend my free time watching television shows online than to actually have to think and write about things going on. But I'll write a quick one to keep it going.

I am back in class after having almost two weeks off (from midterms and a small holiday). The break was fantastic, but it was difficult getting back into the swing of things. I still haven't really gotten a solid lesson plan done for the week, or for the rest of the semester, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. While the kids aren't any worse behaved, many of them seem to be even more done with the whole "school" thing for the semester. I guess they smell the end of the school year approaching, and it's making their brains shut down (even faster than they were before).

Christmas and New Years were both very good on this side of the world. I hung out with my friends over at the Marina House (which is the apartment complex where my coworker Roger lives). I have met a few really cool farangs over there, including a brit named Jessica and an aussie named Dave. The Marina house is right on the river, and there is a big back porch, so it is the perfect place to just relax, enjoy the cool breeze, and drink some beer from the lovely Mrs. Tim (the woman who owns a shop next door to the apartment, and stays open till 2 or 3 almost every night, mostly to accommodate us drunk foreigners).

We went to Koa San (big surprise) a few nights over the break and had a lovely (if not debauched) time. Getting back to school was tough after spending a week being able to sleep late and lounge around watching movies.

I'm pretty sure there are no days off in January. Just straight-through classes all month. I'm sure I'll be able to handle it. I don't know what February looks like, but I think that finals begin at the very end of the month. Although I may be wrong considering I am getting this information from a student, I think the semester will be over at the beginning of March. I am not sure what the future will hold for me after that point, but there are several places in Thailand I still have not seen and really want to. Cha-am, Phuket, and Chaing Mai just to name a few. And I still want to see Vietnam, and Korea if possible. I still have time to figure it out though. There are about two hundred and fifty thousand travel agencies on Koa San Road, and I can find prices for trains, planes, and automobiles well in advance.

Well it's time to actually educate some of these bright young minds. Wish me luck.