Welcome Class. I am teacher Maggie...

According to Lizzy, one of my New Year’s resolutions should be to stop putting things off.  While I would like to protest, it is partway through my third week of teaching and I have yet to write any update as to how it’s been.  So for anyone who’s curious…

The days (weeks) leading up to my first day teaching left me somewhat of a nervous wreck.  Then I actually had my first day and realized that my class is more or less the student’s lowest priority and that I really don’t have to do all that much to make it through the semester.  As terrible as that sounds, I don’t feel the need to pour all I’ve got into this semester knowing that, no matter what, the kids really couldn’t care less about listening and speaking classes. 

Another thing is that I came in expecting these kids to have terrible English, which is definitely not the case.  I teach at one of the oldest EP (English program) schools in Bangkok, one that serves as a model for other schools around the country.  The kids take all of their core subjects in English along with a few more supplementary English classes and one or two in Thai language and culture. The students I have are in Mathayom 3 and 4, essentially 9^th and 10^th grade in the States.  Therefore, they have been studying English for quite some time and have been in this particular EP program for at least 2 years already.

You would think that since this is the oldest EP program in Bangkok that they would have everything all sorted out.  It just so happens that I am here during a semester that was not only affected by the worst flooding this country has seen in over 60 years (pushing the semester back by 6 weeks) but also the semester they decide to implement a new system for their listening and speaking classes.  In an effort to reduce class sizes to promote increased participation from the students, each L&S class has been split in half.  This also means that there are twice as many classes as there are available rooms so 1 of every 2 classes they have each week is spent in either the Sound Lab or E-Learning.  While it is awesome that this school can afford such amenities and are actually putting them to use, they both have terrible atmospheres for a teacher trying to hold her student’s attention in a subject they have already written off as unimportant.

That said, most of my students are enjoyable to have.  However, I now understand a bit of the predicament that some of my fellow classmates put my teachers through in high school: some of the most entertaining students are also the laziest or hardest to control.  I also have a group of girls that sit off to the side and talk amongst themselves all class, but when it comes time for them to hand in the worksheet it is filled out and not copied.  I’m pretty sure that all of my students’ families are just rolling in money so they already have the mentality that they are set when it comes to their futures.  They will be going to great colleges either here in Bangkok or abroad in the US, Europe or Japan.  Their dads are the CEOs of some of the biggest companies in Thailand or hold government positions.  A decent portion of the students will spend at least a semester abroad in high school.   They also know that essentially, we can’t fail them.  There is some law in Thailand that allows kids to keep retaking tests they have failed until they get a passing grade.  Normally they take it once or twice and then the teacher will just grade in a way that is just above failing so they don’t have to deal with it anymore.  This in turns promotes me to think that if they aren’t going to try, I really shouldn’t as well.  I know that some effort is necessary.  Time drags by when you have to pull teeth to get students to go along with what you are trying to teach, but I also know that they will only humor me and participate for so long.

Overall, I’ve stopped worrying about how things will turn out.  Unless there’s another natural disaster or political unrest, I will be here through the end of my contract in March.  Once I finally get paid, I’m hoping that I’ll also have to desire to go out and actually get to know Bangkok a bit more.  I’ve basically been broke since I got here and cannot wait to know that if I wanted to, I could treat myself to a nice $4 dinner instead of my typical $1 of chicken and rice that I eat every meal I am not at school.

From sun to smog...

Aside from my little rant a week or so ago, I last left off with me leaving the gorgeous island of Phuket heading towards the big city of Bangkok.  We arrived in Bangkok 5am on a Thursday, by 6am I was waiting outside the GOT Building about to head into an interview in yoga pants and in need of a shower.  Thankfully, AYC has some pretty low standards and had no problem with how we looked seeing that they were hardly awake mainly due to the fact it was 6am.  Anyway, I signed my life away and was told to report back to the same place 5:45am the following morning.  Blake, Lizzy and I set off to an apartment/hotel that someone from AYC set up for us and proceeded to sleep most of the day away.

A little background on AYC: AYC is a teaching agency that also does a lot of English Camps, mainly during school breaks.  We just so happened to be getting to Bangkok right when the first semester was ending and their  break was starting, leaving us with the impression (well, that and the many reassurances from our boss) that October would be a crazy month filled with long stretches away at camp allowing us to rake in enough dough to make a decent enough living for the time being...  more on this in a bit.

Friday morning, Lizzy and I crawled out of our box of a room just after 5am after a cold shower and drying off with shirts due to a lack of basic amenities in our room.  We arrived, got our beautiful orange staff shirts and set off towards a school of screaming 6-9 year olds!  The kids were nuts!  Thankfully it was just a day long camp, but it help once again remind me that teaching loud, snotty kids is not the thing for me.  After struggling through lessons on shopping and professions with first graders more interested in coloring whatever worksheet I gave them, I got to try and teach them field day activites in the hot sun.  Around 4pm we got back into a taxi to head back across the city in rush hour to collect our 1,000 Baht (just over $30) and head back to get ready to celebrate/mourn Blake's last night in Thailand.  We tried to enjoy a night out on Khao San, but it fell a bit short of our last experience there, plus the fact that we all knew goodbyes were in order the following day.

Saturday started off strong with Lizzy having one of her worst skype (or any) conversation ever and dragged on in a bleak mood until we could wait no longer and had to bid farewell to Blake.  After a few tears and promises to meet back up stateside, our group was once again downsized until it was just Lizzy and I left.  Sunday was spent inside with the curtains drawn and only a few necessary food runs outside.

Monday marked the start of my first 3-day English Camp.  Lizzy and I were assigned different camps so while I boarded a bus headed to Khao Yai a few hours north of Bangkok, Lizzy was headed south to Hua Hin or some other beach resort.  The design of these camps is to allow the students to pay a decent chuck of money (which is nothing to them since most of their parents are loaded) to spend 3 days at a resort a few hours from the city to speak English and have a good time.  The resort I was at was just outside a national forest and our field trips on the way there included a stop at a mock Italian village in the middle of nowhere, a dairy farm (where the smell and sight of spotted cows made me miss home) which included a rodeo, petting zoo and an animal talent show.  During the camp we taught lessons on volcanoes and other natural disasters, built volcanoes, witnessed a terrible Halloween themed skit show and had a dance party.  After 3 long days where I worked nearly 15 hours every day and put up with some pretty odd coworkers, we arrived back in Bangkok and I received my envelope with 3,000 Baht (about $100) not nearly as much as I think I deserved.

One more night was spent in "the box" the hell-hole of a room in the middle of nowhere and one more morning was started with our alarms blaring before 5am.  Thankfully, Lizzy and I got a spot on the same camp.  It was nice to have an ally and the next group was a bit older, better at english and put on an entertaining talent show.  We got to tape fake news segments on the beach and the convenience store down the street had a cheap bottle of gin which made the talent show/blacklight dance all the more fun.  

One of the funnier moments of the camp came during an activity called "Pandora's Box".  The idea is that one person has a disease and the only cure is the box in the middle of the circle.  The catch is that in order to get rid of the first disease, you have to pick up a new one to pass on to another person in the large circle around the box.  To indicate your disease you have to walk, crawl, roll or just act goofy between the circle and the box, a different act to and from the cure.  Lizzy, as clever as always, decided her "disease" would be to stand in the middle of the room and clap.  The MC, Michael, proceeded to say "It looks like Lizzys got the Clap".  She then walked to another staff memeber in the circle and passed it on, thus giving James the Clap.  He began to clap quite feriously which prompted Michael to say, "And James has a serious case of the Clap"  Sadly, Lizzy and I were the only two to get the joke.  This is definitely a "you had to be there" moment, but I hope it brings a smile to one of your faces.

Well this post has dragged on long enough, I'll be back again soon to add more updates and stories.

Please excuse this break from our normal programming...

I know I still have catching up to do, but I felt the need (more so for my own sake than anyone else’s) to update about my current situation.  First off, I sincerely meant to write a Thanksgiving post writing all about what I’m thankful for this year and all that stuff.  Unfortunately, I’ve let another week of sitting around doing nothing get in the way.  However, the past few days I’ve been in a bit of a funk again so I just want to take the time now to send out my deepest thanks to all my friends and family members who have taken the time to hear me out, put up with my (mostly useless, endless, childish) complaining, and offering up your words of wisdom, condolence, and support!

For those who care, here are a few of the things that have me feeling a little down:

• I’m been feeling incredibly homesick;
• It’s the holidays (part of the reason I think I’m feeling so homesick);
• I have no idea what to expect from teaching and the fact that the start date is now set and starts on Tuesday, I’m beginning to freak out,
• I’ve been part of the worst floods to hit Thailand in over 60 years, and lastly;
• I’m more or less broke and just found out that the money I was supposed to paid two days ago (only half on my normal monthly salary) will now be included in next month’s pay…if they decide to give it to me at all, that is.

I realize that most of these things are pretty superficial or materialistic and the fact that I am conscious of this makes me fall deeper into this little pity party I have been throwing for myself as of late.  Of course I miss my family.  Who wouldn’t miss getting to spend time, especially the holidays, with a group of people who support me no matter what, are entertaining as hell, put up with me when I’m acting my weirdest and insult me for no reason other than I’m easy to pick on.   Of course I’ll miss spending the holidays at home!  I personally enjoy the whole Christmas (or to be more P.C. “holiday”) spirit.  I’m bummed I don’t get to help cut down a tree, decorate my house, jam out to Christmas music in my car, and gorge myself on yummy food simply because it’s the holidays.  I have every right to be nervous to teach, most people go to school for 4+ years to be a teacher, I had 4 weeks of training.  My practice teaching was with 6-11 year olds and will now be teaching high school students.  I don’t have a book or set curriculum to go off of and have no freaking clue how to go about accurately assessing a student’s speaking and listening skills….yet.

Therefore, I’ve been trying to remind myself the positives of my situation:

• I’m in freakin' Bangkok;
• It is sunny and in the 80’s or 90’s everyday;
• It is early December and I am not all pasty white, but in fact have a nice tan;
• I’ve had the chance to explore the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, bask on the beaches and surf the waves in Phuket, snorkel off of Koh Phi Phi, sleep under a mosquito net in a bungalow less than 100m from the beach in Koh Samet, volunteer to raise money to help the many Thai people affected by the floods, made friends with people from all over the world, is on a first name basis with the food vendor down the street and can essentially nod my head to signal “the usual”

 I could go on, but it should be obvious by now that I have it pretty darn good and have no right to complain.  I have a nice apartment with an awesome roommate who puts up with me even when I decide it’s okay to wear my towel as a cape and hop from bed to bed or tell one of my meandering stories that struggle to reach it’s original conclusion.  I have had not one, not two, but three jobs in the past two months and while the pay hasn’t been all that great nor the work steady, I’ve at least had work to do and some money coming in.  Not only did my apartment stay dry in the floods, my neighborhood failed to see any water.  I have my great parents back home who are all too willing to help me financially…I’ve just refused to accept most of it.  Moreover, I have my health.  Besides the one scare where I thought I had malaria…I didn’t.

In the end, I just want to apologize to everyone who’s had to listen to me complain, but also thank you for just letting me vent for a bit.  I know that once classes start I will have significantly less time to just sit around and overanalyze.  While I hope that this means that time will fly by so I get to go home and help my friend, Cassie, celebrate her wedding, I also hope that I don’t allow this great experience I’ve been given just pass me by.  So I’m asking of anyone who reads this to encourage me to keep going out and seeing this great city and exploring what other parts of the country I can before I go…once I get paid again, though.  Thanks for hearing me out, and now I will get back to posting pretty pictures and telling funny stories as to make you insanely jealous of me! J