Updates and News

At the moment, my students are taking their final exams. They have about 11 exams to take over the next few days and I'm not jealous. Right now it is much better to be the teacher than the student. I finished creating my exams for the first semester and will see how the students do when they take them on Wednesday and Thursday. It was interesting to look back at the past few months and review what I had taught and compare that to what I should have taught and there are definitely things to do differently next time. It was also hard to work around my not being here the first month of classes. That added to the confusion and I know I missed a few lessons here and there because of that. I'm excited for next semester to see what happens when I have the whole semester. I will hopefully be done soon and on October 4 will go to Bangkok to meet Peter.

This weekend I traveled to Chiang Mai to visit my host family. It was wonderful to see my host brother and meet some of his friends. I met him on Saturday and I spent the afternoon with him and his friends at the mall and later we went to go see a movie. It is his first year at university and he has changed a lot since last year. He is much more independent know and I really enjoyed spending time with him. We did make it back to the house for dinner and as usual this reunion dinners was just as much fun as the others. And again they asked me if I had a girlfriend (it seems they are more interested in that than anything) and don't seem to believe me when I tell them no.

The most beautiful resort

I thought I would quickly write about my weekend trip to the resort. The trip was a blast. The resort was incredibly beautiful and it was very relaxing. The resort consisted of amazing wood houses and incredible landscaping and wonderful meals. We spent the weekend as guests of the owner and were treated incredibly well. We ate, relaxed, went to the national park for a dip in the hot springs, rode bikes, played in the river, watched movies, ate some more and really enjoyed ourselves. Throughout the weekend, I was able to chat with the owner and his son and was able to get a grasp of their vision for the resort. The son, Jo, has studied tourism and natural resource management and is very interested in creating a eco-tourist destination here (which I loved to hear). His father studied landscaping at a university neat Chiang Mai and is incredibly knowledgeable about the plants and flowers throughout the north and made a great hiking companion. The rumor that there was going to be "lao khao" at the resort was in fact true and we all took part in this Thai tradition ("lao khao" is rice whiskey). Anyway, see below for pictures. The first is a picture of the people who came up to the resort. On the left is Da (my friend who just got the job), Adam (an English teacher from Ireland), Leah (an English teacher from Canada), Khun Jo (the son of the owner) and Chris (an English teacher from Canada). The second picture is a picture of the guest house. The third picture is of the Lahu (a ethnic minority in northern Thailand) dance that the resort arranged. The fourth is a picture of the resort and the last picture is of Da and Adam (note the plate of bamboo worms...they are AMAZING). Speaking of food, that weekend we also ate steamed bee hive (bees included) and fried crickets (both of which were delicious).

RM

Coup in Thailand

Hello Friends,

As some of you may have already heard, there was a peaceful military coup in Thailand yesterday. At around 10 PM on September 19, the military entered Bangkok and took control of the key government buildings. There was no resistance. As of the morning of September 20, the leaders of the coup, who call themselves the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), had taken control of the government. At that point they declared the 1997 constitution abrogated and dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court. They also declared a national holiday and closed all of the government buildings, the schools and the banks. All the schools have been re-opened today. There has not been any violence associated with the coup and life here is no different than normal. The leaders of the coup have been very adamant about their intentions and say that power will be returned to the people as soon as possible. The military will remain in power for two weeks as an appointment for Prime Minister is chosen and a Parliament created. Over the next six months to a year, a new constitution will be created and once that is completed elections will be held. The CDR has also declared loyalty to the King of Thailand, who is very revered, and all of the soldiers in Bangkok had wrapped yellow ribbons (the color of the monarchy) around their guns and the tanks. This morning, the King endorsed General Sonthi which is a sign that the peacefulness of the coup will continue. The CRD claimed that the coup was necessary to put an end to corruption, national divisions, and the undermining of independent agencies and the monarchy under Thaksin's rule.

The coup is led by the heads of the army, navy, air force and the police commander. The general leading the coup, General Sonthi, is close to the King of Thailand and has been endorsed by the King as the leader of the coup. It appears as though the coup was successful in taken control of the government. Military coups have been common in Thailand. There have been 17 coups since 1932, when a group of army officers and government officials overthrew the absolute monarchy and installed a democratic system under a constitutional monarchy. The last coup took place in 1991.

The former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was in the US at the time of the coup and is now in London. The coup comes after months of escalating political conflicts between the government and the military and between pro-Thaksin supporters and anti-Thaksin protestors. The prime minister had been increasingly seen as very divisive and had been criticized on numerous fronts from corruption to mismanagement of the government and had been widely seen as critical of the King.

Most of the criticism began after Thaksin sold off his share in Shin Corp, Thailand's largest telecommunications conglomerate, to Temasek Holding of Singapore in January. This earned Thaksin and his family $1.9 billion in tax-free gains, many claim through a manipulation of the system (Thaksin pushed though telecommunications legislation three days before the sale). Amide the growing protests and in an effort to regain legitimacy, Thaksin dissolved parliament in February and forced an election in April. Thailand's three main opposition parties boycotted the April 2 electron, which Thaksin's won. The results, however, were annulled by the constitutional court in May. Most recently, the three Election Commission officials were imprisoned on charges of corruption and bias. Another election was scheduled to be held in mid-October.

There is a lot more to be told and much more to the back story and the events leading up to this, but I think this is a good synopsis of events. Rest assured everything is fine and there is no need to worry.

Also, I have been reading some of the coverage by CNN and BBC and find that it is often times presenting a different perspective on the recent happenings here and are misleading. The coup, while not an ideal method for eliminating a corrupt leader and restoring democracy, is attempting to create a positive change in Thailand. The corruption, the divisiveness, the mishandling of the conflicts in the south of Thailand amongst other actions has been created a Thailand that is much less democratic than the 1997 constitution and the King envisioned. There is a feeling of hope among many people I have talked to that this will create a situation where democracy under the constitutional monarchy can be achieved. Polls released by the Bangkok Pose support this and say that roughly 80% of people in Thailand support the coup and the changes they wish to bring about.

I'll try to keep you updated as things change.

RM

Ahh! Confusing Finals

My head hurts! Today was a very confusing day as I tried to wrap my head around all of the different things I need to do to get ready for finals. I was told several different things about what is expected of me and what I need to test and still have not gotten a definite answer. I also just found out that I was supposed to have been teaching a foundations class and an intensive class (which focus on different things) for each level. I, of course, haven't been doing that since I had no idea that I was supposed to. Now, it looks like I have to create six different tests for my three classes which effectively doubles my work load. My students now have to take three science tests (two in English and one in Thai) which seems ridiculous to me. I was going to work on creating my exams tonight but in lieu of the ongoing confusion I am putting that off for a day or two until I can sort things out. My goodness...

RM

Fun with fire!

Here are a few pictures from an experiment I did with my M2 class last week. We are learning about calories, food and nutrition and so we did an experiment to determine the amount of energy in cereal and cashews (to compare the energy in carbohydrates versus fats). It was a blast! The kids loved lighting the cereal and nuts on fire and watching them burn. It was great to see their reaction as they saw the difference between the cereal and the nut. Enjoy!

A friend with connections!

Just a quick note before I head out for the weekend...One of my Thai friends here just got a job at a "resort" near Jae Son National Park (about 1 hour from Lampang). The "resort" just opening this year and consists of a bunch of bamboo bungalows in the woods near the national park. As part of the incentive package (and as a way for them to test out the new facilities), her boss invited her to bring her friends up to the resort for the weekend. So in about 2 hours a car will pick us up and drive us up there to spend the weekend as guests of the resort. I'm told there will be hiking, a ticklish tree, Macadamia nuts amongst other things (not to mention the homemade vodka). I will be sure to write once I return. Hope all is well.

RM

Bamboo Rafting and Private Classes

Life has been normal for the past two weeks and often times I do have to remind myself that I am in Thailand. My life has taken on a nice routine and I'm very comfortable living and working here that it's hard to believe I'm in a foreign country, halfway around the world from where I grew up. The development of a "routine" has been nice and I'm definitely filling my time well. Unlike when I first arrived, having an abundance of time is no longer a problem. My afternoons and evenings are filled with students, dinner, friends, practicing the guitar and impromptu Thai lessons. Speaking of Thai, I have noticed that over the past several months my listening, reading and writing have gotten better while it seems my speaking ability has remained unchanged. My guess is this has to do with me speaking English and listening to students speak Thai all day.

I have started to teach private/extra classes to several of my students and really enjoy them. It is a great chance to chat with them one-on-one and really start to talk. I have developed relationships with the students, but it is nice to have time dedicated to this small group where we can all get to know each other better. I have been teaching them for about two weeks and we are really covering a wide spectrum of topics. I told them that I would teach them anything they wanted. They first said science and English. Gradually, they took the idea further and have claimed to want me to teach them to dance, to speak Thai amongst other things. I may have to re-think my "I'll teach you anything" statement. More importantly, during these classes we have been able to ask questions about each other and learn about the other culture. Yesterday we spend a bit of time talking about school uniforms. We talked about the different uniforms in Thailand and how the uniforms are different for primary and secondary school. We talked about how there are no uniforms in the US and which is better.

I have also (I believe) secured another position teaching English after school. My music school (where I am learning guitar) is opening a language school as well and they asked me if I wanted to come to teach there twice a week. I said sure and according to the "plan", I'll start teaching once my semester break is finished.

Speaking of semester breaks, I have only two weeks left before the end of the semester. Next week will be the final week of classes and then the following week will be filled with final exams and then I'm finished with half the school year. I remember always complaining about how teachers would cram material into the last few weeks of school and now understand how it happens. It seemed to jump from having six weeks left to only having two.

I am excited for the break. I have a good friend coming out to visit over my break (Peter Reding for those who wanted to know...And now Peter is famous!) and we are going to travel around Thailand together. Right now the plan is to have no plan and figure it out as we go. I am meeting him in Bangkok and then we are going to move on from there. This trip to Bangkok will be my first trip into the city. I have been in the airport at least a half-dozen times, but I have never left. It shocks most people.

And the last story, I went bamboo rafting last weekend and that marked my second trip to do just that. I returned to the same spot as before, so for those of you who joined me last time you know what I'm talking about. It was much more exciting the first time and you have no idea how you are going to navigate this river with nothing more than a large pole. Then you see the first rapids and think there is no way this is possible. That unknowingness was absent the second time around, but nonetheless it proved to be an enjoyable outing. I went rafting with many of the students who are now studying in Thailand with the school that I studied with. It was good to meet them and talk to them about their experiences so far and try to share a few nuggets of wisdom. I tried not to share too much since most of the really meaningful knowledge came from self-discovery. It was a wonderful trip back in time and was great to meet them.

Well, I should actually work seeing as I am at work, so I will end this update and hope that satisfies you until next time.

RM