Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Hello!

This is my official holiday message to you all out there reading this and people everywhere. I wish nothing but the best for you all this holiday season.

I've been trying to come up with a message for my family and friends and could not piece it together in any coherent way so I'll leave you all with thoughts that have been on my mind the past few weeks during Christmas and New Years. These thoughts are a reflection of my being away from home during the holidays, being in a foreign country over the holidays and other things happening in my life.

1. Take the time this holiday season to think about the things that mean the most to you in the world and hold on to them.
2. But also use this as a chance to try new things and embrace the unknown.
3. Take a risk and don't be afraid of failing.

Happy Holidays!

Ryan Marks

P.S I'll be posting more about my holiday adventures soon so be sure to check back in soon.

A little bit of home...

One of the things that I've always prided myself on is my ability to withstand the cold. Having grown up in the mountains of Colorado, I was accustomed to cold weather and have been know to play in the snow in shorts (there are pictures to prove it). I'm a mountain boy - cold weather is in my blood. But it appears that my blood is thinning and this warm and tropical climate that I find myself in is converting me. Here is Thailand we are officially in the cold season and the weather has markedly become colder in the past two weeks. I heralded the official arrival of the cold season in the middle of October as a break from the hot temperatures of the rainy season and in November basked in the brilliant temperatures - the mornings and evenings were very pleasant and the days were warm but bearable. The air-conditioner was turned off and I was cooled by a nice breeze blowing through the office and the classrooms. It was wonderful. But the start of December brought with it a cold snap that has left me chilled to the bone. The first sign that it was becoming too chilly was the wind chill I felt as I rode my motorcycle around at night. What was once heralded as a blessing has now become a miserable reason to limit my travel as much as possible. It's been cold for about 2 weeks now and I've just started to remember to wear a jacket when I go out. Because the weather is still pleasant during the day, the thought of having to carry a jacket around all day only to wear it for 10 minutes on my way home was unappealing. So, I grinned and bared it and suffered through those miserable rides home in the evenings and mornings. After all, I'm from Colorado - if I can't handle a little cold weather, I'd never live it down. So bucking the jacket for the sake of convenience and my pride, I continued to ride in shorts and short sleeve shirts and shouted,"take that cold season" as I rode about town. I lasted about 3 weeks until one particularly cold trip early one Saturday morning sent me straight into bed (clothes and all) after arriving at home. As I lay there shivering for a good 10 minutes before I warmed up I resigned myself to wearing a jacket.

So for the past couple weeks I have donned the jacket as a part of my daily attire and nicely store it beside my desk during the day. For a few days it was still regarded as essential attire only for the motorcycle ride, but the past few days however have given me reason to wear the jacket most of the day. We have been hit by what appears to be the annual cold snap and (brace yourself...) it is cold. For a country that spends most of the year above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures in the 40's are cold. Houses here are not built to keep heat in, quite the contrary they are designed to keep them cool. The government has declared a national emergency in several of the northern provinces because of the extremely cold temperatures (which in some places at or below freezing). Here in Lampang we are seeing night and morning temperature in the 40's and 50's and that's cold enough to send me to the store to buy another blanket for my bed (my house doesn't have a heater or any source of heat other than the gas stove I use to cook with and I've decided that it's a bit risky to use that as a source of heat). So, for the past few days I've bundled up and have worn my fleece jacket around pretty much all day. At night, I crawl into bed with my clothes on and wrap myself in my blankets and attempt to stay warm as the temperature plummets and upon waking have to force myself to get out of bed and into the shower. That takes about 20 minutes. While I do have a hot water heater on the shower, the water only reaches about 90 degrees and needless to say my showers have gotten shorter and shorter and I'm thankful for my longer hair now which means I can get away with only washing it every other day. As soon as I've showered I dry off and it's back into bed for a few minutes to warm up and then into my work clothes and jacket before I cook breakfast and devour my steaming hot bowl of rice porridge. This morning I even went as far as to dig deep down into my trunk and pull out the gloves that I brought that I never thought I'd use and wear then. I've even bundled myself in both my jackets (my fleece and soft shell) for the motorcycle the past few days.

As I mentioned, I was hesitant to admit that temperatures in the 50's were cold, but recently I've been thankful for the cold weather as it's assisted me in transitioning into Christmas. What would have been unheard of without these cold temperatures (hot cups of tea in my cold hands, bundling up in my jacket and gloves, wearing a hat to bed and other such cold weather activities) have transported me back to the cold winters in Colorado. As much as I resisted this transformation into warm weather person, I have enjoyed being able to live in the cold again. Especially after hearing about the incredible winter that they are having in Colorado and the feet of snow being dumped on this as I write. While I still hold to the statement I've made many times that I'd much rather have cold weather and snow to cold weather without snow, I'll gladly take this short cold snap were having here and use it as a vehicle to take me back to the winters of Colorado.

Shivering and shaking,

Ryan

A Mother's Disbelief

Good morning!

I just had a real neat/funny encounter with a student and I thought it fit to share. My M2 students had taken a test last week and on Tuesday I had told them what their scores were. I wasn't able to return the tests since two students were absent and were going to take the test Tuesday afternoon. One student, a student who has struggled, did particularly well on his test compared to his previous performances. He was thrilled about his score and so was I. We had been working together on his note taking and would meet once a week to chat about the material for that week for the past month and I was very interested to see how he did on the exam. When I graded his test and I saw that he did well, I couldn't wait to tell him. I told him and he was very excited and that evening he told his mother. He came in this morning and asked for his test back and I told him that I was planning on giving them back in class on Friday. He politely asked again if he could have it today because he wanted to show his mom because she didn't believe him. So I gave it to him. Anyway, that just made me laugh and happy and I thought that I would share that with you all. Enjoy!

RM

My Christmas Tree!

Happy Holidays from Thailand!

As promised here is my Christmas tree that was transported home on the back of my motorcycle. It's a pretty small tree, but I don't have that many ornaments to decorate it with, so it works out quite well. My parents sent out a box with the presents you see there (and anyone who doubted that my family loved me look at all the presents they sent). They sent a few with the tag "open ASAP" and so as per their instructions I did and found that they had sent out a few CD's with Christmas music, a few ornaments for my tree and The Night Before Christmas storybook. I went out to buy the tree and picked up the lights and a few more ornaments (which are few and far between given that this is a 95% Buddhist country...but they are out there). I even found an ornament which reads in Thai "Happy New Year" which I was thrilled about! After planting my tree and a few Christmas songs later, I had my own Christmas tree and had effectively created a new Thai/American tradition of my own...the only thing missing was the eggnog. Boy, eggnog...if anyone knows how to get that in Thailand or has any ideas as to how to get that to me let me know! Anyway, there's my Christmas story.

Despite all of the Christmas related activities described above, it appears that Christmas has once again snuck up on me and it's hard to believe that it is that time of year again. The past few months have flown by and I can't believe it's December much less a week from Christmas. This month marks the several anniversaries for me and I thought I'd write a bit about them to as it's been hard for me to grasp that these periods of time have elapsed already. This week is the middle of the second semester of classes here in Thailand - that means I have 9 weeks to go until I'm on summer holiday. It's been 5 months since I left for Thailand and last was in the US and saw my family. December 9th marked my 1/2 birthday and December 10th marked 6th months since I graduated. It's unfathomable that I've graduated already much less that I've been out of school for 6 months now. I can't believe that much time has passed since then but when I think about trying to write an essay I can't believe that it's only been 6 months! How quickly we forget! Today, December 18th, is the day I left Thailand last year and began the journey home (and some would argue began this journey that I'm on right now).

So there's that entry! I hope you all enjoyed it!

Until next time,

RM

Pictures of my new house!

Hello!

As promised I'm posting some pictures of my new house! These were taken the day I moved in so there is some stuff still lying about so please don't mind that. It's much cleaner now and my bed is made! It's a wonderful little house and I'm really enjoying myself here. It's great to have a bit more space to spread out and it really feels like I'm home when I'm here as opposed to the apartment where I just felt away from school. It's real quiet and peaceful here. The weather right now is quite pleasant and the evenings are perfect. I was surprised the other day when I woke and was actually cold in the morning and had to add an extra blanket. But I guess that's why they call it the cold season. I've been cooking and have really enjoyed that and going to the market is also wonderful. There is a great vegetable and fruit market about 2 minutes from my house so I've been there a few times to buy vegetables, eggs and other assorted items. It's wonderful to attempt to cook Thai food and expand my menu as well as make some classic favorites from home. I just made spaghetti the other night and it was wonderful. I love Thai food and really enjoy eating and cooking it, but there is something about spaghetti and food from home...it's hard to describe, but that spaghetti tasted real good and I was transported back to the US for a bit. I've had the same experience with the Christmas cookies that my Mom sent out to me in the package that my family sent. I turn on the Christmas music, take a bite of a Christmas cookie and close my eyes and I'm back in my living room in Conifer over Christmas break with my family. The mind truly is an incredible thing and it's amazing how our sense of smell and taste are so closely tied to memory. It appears that I've gotten a bit off track for this entry, but that's OK. Here are the pictures as promised.


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An unexpected skill developed

Hello folks,

Well, the past few weeks I have been moving into my new house and that involved moving everything I owned from one place to another using my only means of transportation - my motorcycle. During my time in Thailand, I have seen just about everything on a motorcycle. People here literally grow up on them and are often driving as soon as they can reach the handlebars and foot pedals. I'm still a bit unnerved seeing what appears to be a 10-year-old driving a motorcycle on the highway. These modern beasts of burden are used to transport people (up to 4 people have fit on a motorcycle...5 if you count the baby they sometimes squeeze in there), food and merchandise (it can be carried in the basket in the front, by the person riding, dangling from the handlebars, held in one hand while using the other to drive or tucked in between your legs as you drive) and any thing else one could imagine (rice, wood, chickens etc...it's all been seen before). These little motorcycles (more aptly called motorbikes) are an all-purpose machine and every last cent is milked from them.

As I began packing, I contemplated my options for transporting my stuff from the apartment to my new house (which is about a 10 minute drive from the apartment). It turns out that initially I was in luck - the owner of my new house offered to help me move and use his truck. Problem solved. But being the procrastinator I have the tendency of being when it comes to packing, I wasn't completely ready by the time he arrived. So I moved my trunk and suitcases in his truck leaving what seemed like only a little amount behind to be transported on my motorcycle later. A good plan I thought at the time. The next day I dragged a fellow teacher back to the apartment and we planned to move the rest of my stuff. I was going to drive and she was going to hold things on the back. Well, I had a bit much and here is what the motorbike ended up looking like...there was a large backpacking backpack on her back and my smaller day pack on mine, she had a chair in one hand and a large plastic bag full of stuff in the other and wedged in between my legs was another bag of my junk. It was quite the site and after a little thought about our safety (see Mom, I did think twice) we decided to give it a shot. New experiences like this are what living abroad is all about. We took of and it was a bit shaky at first, but much less so than I thought. As we got going it became easier and the drive was a breeze and we were rewarded with looks of confusion and astonishment from our fellow drivers on the road. I like to think they were a mix of "what are those foreigners doing?"and "wow, I didn't think foreigners could do that!". We arrived at my house unscathed and incredibly proud of ourselves. Unpacking was simple and that was that - I was moved in to my house!

But no, it did not stop there - there was actually one item that I forgot at the apartment. Before leaving I had asked the owner if I could store a folding table I had acquired in the storeroom until I could figure out how to get it to my new house. She said yes and there it sat for a few days. She gave me a call to remind me that it was still there and not having figured out any better alternative I set out for the apartment with the intention of riding back with the table. Now, this is not a huge table but it is by now means something that will fit in the basket of my motorbike nor did I have someone riding with me. That meant that the only option was to hold the table in one hand and drive with the other following the example of countless others. Now, I've driving one handed before around town and it's enjoyable and I'm comfortable doing so, but I've never attempted to do so with something in the other hand especially something that would provide additional air resistance. But I did it anyway. Again, like the first ride it was a bit shaky at first, but as I got going it was much easier. The one challenge to this was the fact that the table wanted to act like a large wing and I had to constantly wrestle with the table to keep it in the most aerodynamic position or face the real possibility of it flying back out of my not-so-tight grip. Again there were more looks and smiles and I gave them a huge grin back and I eventually made it home safe and sound without dropping the table once.

My skills were tested again as I went shopping for all the household essentials I needed to acquire to make my house a home. Yui was in town that weekend and came with me and we shopped like we had a car. While we were shopping we gave little to no consideration to the fact that we came by motorcycle and made many purchases - some of which were bulky (sheets and pillows) and heavy (sauces and pots). We arrived at the bike and were honestly a bit stumped at first and we both had our doubts about our ability to get all of this home at once. But after a few minutes of reorganization and shifting we managed to get everything on the bike and were off. Again, there were bags in the basket, in Yui's hands, dangling from the handlebars. The pillows and sheets were between my legs and the rice cooker was in Yui's lap wedged in between the two of us. We made it home, but as we got closer to my house the number of cars on the road decreases as do the number of street lights and it became very obvious very quickly that my headlight was blocked by the bags in the basket. But Yui (the incredible person that she is) found a way to add the bags to her load and off we went and we completed that last 2 minute drive without any problems.

At that point I felt like I had successfully completed my motorcycle training and was officially "Thai" on my motorcycle. It was a wonderful feeling and another step/accomplishment during my adventures here.

Now with that extra confidence and experience nothing seemed like a challenge. So the most recent adventure on the motorcycle happened today as I went shopping for my Christmas tree. My parents had just sent a package out and they had included a few Christmas ornaments and few other assorted ornaments and presents and it seemed very appropriate to get a Christmas tree (plus I just really wanted a Christmas tree to celebrate however I could...more to come on this later). Knowing that I could get a real tree like at home, I stopped at a plant market on my way home from school. I found a perfect little tree (I'll post a picture when it's decorated) to be my Christmas tree and another tree which was just really pretty. So I bought the two of them for about 100 baht (or $5) and began the process of getting them home. But after buying them, the owner brought out the two pots and two bags of soil that I had also purchased and proceeded to ready my motorcycle. He first placed the two trees in the basket and made sure to spread them apart so I could peer out from behind them as I drove and them placed the soil in a larger bag and balanced that between my legs. Finally, he flipped the pots upside down and tied them to the seat where the second passenger should sit and I was ready to go. I jumped on and placed the soil between my legs and I was off Christmas tree and all! The looks this time were a bit different and a young boy couldn't take his eyes off of me but it was simple and almost normal.

So that's that. I do realize that I just talked about carrying things on a motorbike for a while, but thought it appropriate for the blog and plus I wanted a written record of it. Plus it's my blog and I can write what I want (and I'm really not sure if anyone is still reading this).

RM

Happy Birthday to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej!

Today marks the 79th birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol and celebrations have occured all over Thailand as it is a full moon tonight (an auspicious sign) and this is the 60th year of his reign as King. Schools were closed today in honor of his birthday and today is also Father's Day so children made cards and presented them to their fathers along with the ratchapruek flower (a yellow flower and symbol of the King).

Here in Lampang they celebrated Thai style with a parade down the middle of town with yellow shirts stretching for kilometers intermixed with school marching bands and students.

Happy Birthday HM King Bhumibol!

If you're interested in reading more about the king and his rule check out Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej)

Oh, neat trivia or fact or something like that...the King became the King on June 9, 1949 which is my birthday (well, June 9th is...I was born in 1985). But anyway, I thought that was interesting and thought I would share that with you all - that is if anyone still reads this.

Long Live the King!

RM

Check this link out for pictures

Hello!
Well it's about time I started posting some pictures and found this really neat website that allows you to share pictures, add captions and audio clips so I put my pictures up there. Follow this link for pictures of Peter's visit and our travels around Thailand!

Click on "This album" link on the bottom or the pictures themselves to view the album!

Let me know if the link doesn't work

Another update coming soon!

RM


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Parade interrupts class and students shouting "don't sell roti!!"

Good morning all!

I've stopped regularly updating the blog because there is so much that I have to catch up on and wanted to return the regularity to the blog, so I'm going to resume that and add my adventures in as I write them. So, it's going to loose a bit of the flow that it's had, but you'll be more up to date!

School is going well. I'm a bit more than a month into the second semester and things are going really well. This semester has been much more enjoyable as I feel my lessons are planned more quickly and easily. I also feel like I'm having much more fun in class with the students and can shift the mood of the class as I desire (which make it easier to joke around and have fun and then get back to work). Those two things combined have made for a very enjoyable semester. I've been teaching a Cell unit to my M1 students and just this week switched over to an Ecology unit which I'm really looking forward to. In M2, I've been teaching an Earth Science unit and will continue that for a while. I've been teaching plate tectonics and everything related to that and have moved into rocks and minerals and will stay there for a bit before moving on to soils (thrilling, I know - but we've had fun so far). In M3, I've been teaching kinematics and that's been really neat. It's been wonderful to teach the theory, do demonstrations, have the students experiment and work through problems all in the same unit. I've enjoyed teaching this unit more so than any other and will be sad to end this unit, but I've still got a lot more to teach before I call it quits for this unit.

As for the subject of this blog 'Parade interrupts class', there was a parade in the street in front of the school during my class and classes across campus stopped and all of the students went down to watch the parade which lasted for about 45 minutes! It was neat though, as I went down to join them. It was a parade put on by the Chinese-Thai residents of Lampang and lasted all day. It was a special day in China (no one could translate exactly what the celebration was all about) but there was some celebration. People would walk down the streets and would pray in front of people houses (mostly Chinese-Thai families) if they had laid out a red table with offerings. There were dragons and water being sprayed and general merriment during the parade and so it was neat, but it put a big hole in the middle of my class. The next subject of the blog ' students shouting 'don't sell roti'' during class is a bit more confusing. While I was teaching, one of the students quietly asked me to not sell nuts. I was confused and I asked him what he had said. He repeated it and I asked him what it meant trying to figure out what exactly he wanted. Of course, everyone in class was now listening and eventually the whole class was trying to explain to me what he meant by that. It was ridiculous. I couldn't understand anything they were saying cause they were all talking at once. First the students tried to explain the nuts part of the expression. "People who sell things sell nuts", they said, "they also sell roti (a crepe like dessert that is sold in stalls along the street)". Since I knew roti and understood that they started shouting "Don't sell roti!". I still didn't understand why and eventually one of the students was able to explain that the word for 'sell things' is similar to the word for 'block' in Thai. So the student was trying to tell me to not block the board so that he could read what I wrote and take notes. But the whole thing was hilarious and several of the students where almost crying they were laughing so hard...I thought it was funny, but not that funny so I think I was missing something else. Anyway, it made for quite the class.

I've begun teaching an extra class to 5-year-old students this semester as well. I started about 3 weeks ago and it has been an adventure but I'm absolutely loving it. First, I'm teaching English which is very different than science and it's neat to have the opportunity to teach English and see what it's like. Second, they're 5 and fun and have a ton of energy. Third, it's also an opportunity for me to learn Thai (not speaking with them, though I do, but making sure I know the words and lessons in Thai before I teach it if we have problems and so they can double check to make sure they're getting the right word). I teach 2 little kids, a little girl and a little boy. I come to class and we play games and use flash cards and right now they repeat everything I say. Mostly I've been teaching the alphabet, pronouns, colors and numbers. I started with a few verbs the other day and soon maybe we'll get a sentence or two!

Other news, I've moved into a house! I found a place to rent and have moved out of my apartment into the house (today actually). It's a great little house outside of town. It's a brand new one bedroom house with a bathroom and kitchen. The owner built the house for himself as a weekend getaway and retirement house, but wanted to rent it for a while (lucky me!). It's fully furnished with new and nice furniture and the owners are really nice. It's a beautiful little brick house out on the edge of a village outside of town so three of the four sides of the house don't face other houses. One side is a little field/meadow and the others look out onto rice fields and the mountains in the distance. It's perfect! I'll be sure to post pictures here in a few days once I get settled.

English Camp (unabridged)

It has now been over a month since my last (real) blog entry and there is much to write about and it’s now become a very daunting task trying to write about it all. I first wanted to finish writing about my adventures with Peter. I promised that I would come back to English Camp and write about my time there and what better time than now to do that.

From Bangkok Peter and I traveled to Pattaya with Global Link Education to work at an English Camp that they were putting together. Global Link is the company that Peck and his friends started and run, so we spent the weekend with them helping them out. Essentially, English Camps are 3-day retreats where students get to travel to some fun destination with the intent of speaking English for at least some of the trip. It’s really just a way to get students excited about speaking English and give them a chance to spend some time with English speakers in a more casual setting.

We met up with the staff in Bangkok early in the morning and began the trek to Pattaya (it’s about a 2 ½ hour drive from Bangkok). We arrived at the hotel (the camp was hosted by a hotel/conference center) and checked in. The whole morning we spent getting to know the rest of the staff and figuring out what exactly we were expected to do at this camp. I guess a quick run down of the staff is in order – most of the staff consisted of Thai university students from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The rest of the staff consisted of Peck and his colleagues, Boy and Sign – all of whom work at Global Link Education. We were also joined by one other person, Yui, who is a friend of Peck, Boy and Sign (they all studied together at Thaamasat University).

The students arrived at about 11 and we met the in front of the hotel and ushered them in and got them registered and checked into their rooms. We had lunch shortly after and this marked Peter’s first attempt to create a conversation with the Thai students. There is only so much these students can talk about and you have to phase questions in a particular manner or else they don’t understand. You can be asking the same question, but using different words or word order and get those blank stares back and after a while you just hit a wall and can’t think of anything else to ask. You can only talk about their families, hobbies and classes for so long before they run out of answers. But it was interesting and hopefully Peter was able to get something out of the weekend and his conversations with the students. We spent the rest of the afternoon with the students playing games and teaching the students about the different English speaking countries in the world. Peter and I ended up teaching about America and it was nice that Peter had just come from there as he had several different denominations of the dollar which we should the students and taught them about the presidents and the building in D.C. It also was convenient that Peter had brought a baseball bat, baseball and football with him from America. Hans, a teacher at Bunyawat asked if Peter could buy and bring these with him for him to have out here, so before Peter made it to Lampang to give them to Hans they were used to teach students about baseball and football and the traditions that go along with those all-American sports. At one point Peter and I were singing “Take me out to the Ballgame” and had the whole room watching us! That evening the students attended an etiquette dinner and were taught the finer points of western etiquette. It was a treat for me to see the students struggling as they attempted to eat with the fork instead of the spoon. That may seem mean, but after having learned how to eat like a Thai and gone through the same process the students were going through, I had a special appreciation for what they were feeling and going though as they merely attempted to eat their dinner. Lessons on which fork to use when, how to fold the napkin, the proper way to signal for attention amongst others were taught throughout the meal. That evening we entertained ourselves by dancing a Greek dance called “sutagi” but before that began we had to kill time and Peck looked to me. I told him I would try to fill up the 30 minute hole, but I didn’t know if I could make our trivia game last that long. 50 minutes later I was about to wrap up the game and couldn’t believe my ears when Peck told me that I had just spent 50 minutes playing that silly little game. I guess I’m better at killing time that I thought…I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. We then started dancing this Greek dance which Peck had picked up during his time in Europe and the students had a blast. It’s apparently the same dance that they do in the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and involves putting your arms around your neighbor, getting in a circle and moving your feet along with the music which gets progressively faster as time goes by. We had several rousing rounds of this before the kids (and staff) were exhausted from the day and the dancing and we called it a night (at least for the English Camp part of the night). Once the students were in bed the staff decided to hit the town and headed into downtown Pattaya. Pattaya has a reputation of being a popular destination for a particular type of tourist and in addition to the numerous night clubs, bars and restaurants there are plenty of the more illicit and exotic venues and they are mixed in with everything else and very visible. We found ourselves a decent club, bought a bottle of tequila and kicked back for a few hours dancing and chatting. Before we headed back to the hotel we stopped for food and a round of waters and made it back to the hotel at about 3 am with about 3 hours to spare before we woke the students up for morning exercise.

The next day was almost surreal. You may be thinking this had something to do with the lack of sleep, but trust me it didn’t. I’m going to attempt to elaborate and provide sufficient context, but this story is one that must be told in person for it is far too ridiculous to be told only in writing. My only regret is that I have no pictures. We awoke early for morning exercise and breakfast and boarded a bus headed for our first destination of the day - the local military base to take a tour and play some games. Prior to boarding the bus, Peck pulled Peter and I aside telling us, in a very nonchalant way, that foreigners weren’t allowed on to Thai military bases. Before we could say anything in response, he said, “but that’s not a problem, I’ve taken care of everything”. Peter and I looked at each other and at Peck and he continued to reassure us that the officer he had been working with knew we were coming and was prepared for us and that our entering the base was no problem. “Ok”, we said and we were off believing that everything was taken care off. We reached the base and were stopped at the gate and as the solider walked through the bus he spotted us and asked us to step off the bus. Now, I feel the need to remind you at this point that Thailand had just recently had a military coup and the entire country was being controlled by the military and martial law was (and still is) in effect. We are asked to step off the bus and are escorted by this solider towards an office back towards the gate. We meet Peck and he again reassures us that everything is under control and the man we are supposed to meet is on his way. At this point the bus pull out and leave us behind standing at the gate with Peck. A few minutes pass and Peck tells us that we need to go somewhere else to meet his contact. We walk through the gate and out of the military base around the corner and wait along side the road. Peck’s contact, an officer in the military, arrives with his truck and we’re told to get into the cab of the truck in the back. We do so. Peck sits up front and we begin to drive. As we drive away from the front gate, the officer hands us two baseball caps and instructs us to put them on. We do so and Peck tells us those are our disguises. He then instructs us (as per the instructions of the officer) to duck our heads and avert our eyes once we enter the base. We enter the base through a side entrance and are meandering out way through the residential part of the base making our way to where the students are. We wear our caps, avert our eyes and keep our heads low and we make it to the busses. As we exit the truck we go to give the caps back to the officer and he instructs us to wear them all so we “blend” in and “look Thai” and were quickly brought inside out of view. Eventually we have to go outside to lead the games with the students and make our way out into the parking lot (cap and all) and begin to play our games with the students. We’re out there for a good two hours and despite our wearing of the hat (surprise surprise) we attract the attention of every solider who walks by. The games were fun and the students had a blast and after lunch we boarded the bus and made our way back of the base (through the front gate and all) without incident. So, it appears as though we were snuck onto (what turned out to be) a navy SEAL base in Thailand less than a month after a military coup.

From there we went to another military facility (not a base…not sure what it was but we were allowed on) which was home to the militaries sea turtle recovery effort. There were numerous tanks all which held sea turtles of various sizes which had been bread by this program and would eventually be released. It was an interesting project and was even more interesting since it was run by the military (not a institution know for their conservation efforts). Nevertheless, it was neat to see all the turtles close up. From there we headed to a ship yard where several battleships were docked and the students were able to tour them. Peter and I were allowed to look at them, but alas weren’t allowed on. We did however watch a group of monks board the battleship which was a very interesting sight. Moving on we had dinner at a nice restaurant on the beach and then boarded the bus for the next (and last) stop of the day – a night safari. These are the new thing in Thailand and several have opened recently (the newest in Chiang Mai opened when I was there last year). It was essentially a zoo tour at night on a trolley. You’re driven around and a spotlight highlight the different animals that you can see and so there’s that added thrill of not knowing what you’re going to see next and the fact that it’s dark which is neat. At the end of the ride, you have the chance to walk through several different sites house different lions and tigers (maybe big cats is a more appropriate describer). The students really enjoyed it and had a blast but as soon as we got back on the bus (at about 10) they crashed and the bus was silent as we made our way home. A long eventful day in Pattaya came to a close.

The next day was much less eventful. We woke up, had breakfast and then the students had a few hours to go to the beach, relax and swim in the pool. After our time on the beach we began the process of checking 90 students out of the hotel and getting them on the bus packed and ready to go. From the hotel we headed to our last destination, the Yellow Submarine. Now, many of you now immediately thought of the Beatles song as soon as you read “Yellow Submarine” and that’s what both Peck and I thought as soon as we found out about this and so…throughout the weekend we taught the song to the students and sung it as we traveled places on the bus. Anyway, back to the real Yellow Submarine…this is a contraption (a submarine) that takes a group of people underwater to see the fish and such and it just happens to be painted yellow. Peck had arranged for all the students to get a ride on the submarine and initially we were going to ride as well, but in the end weren’t able to due to capacity restrictions. So, alas I can’t claim to have ridden on the Yellow Submarine. Nonetheless the visit was fun and we ended up just hanging out with the staff in the lobby and walked up to an overlook and looked out over Pattaya and ate ice cream which wasn’t a bad substitute. From there the students head back home, the staff headed back to Bangkok and Peter and I headed to a guest house to spend the night before heading to Ko Chang. Our adventures there have already been documented, so if you’re interested go back a few entries and enjoy!

Thanks for reading! I know it’s long, but…anyone who knows me knows that’s how I tell stories!

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

RM

I'm still here!!

Hello!
For those of you who are actually reading my blog you may have noticed that I haven't posted an entry in quite some time. I realize that and am in the process of fixing that. But things have been busy. Peter's trip ended about a week ago and between school and the endless search for a house to rent as well as school trips to Chiang Mai and Bangkok, I actually haven't been around much. But, I see a opening on the horizon and will soon update you all. Until then know I am doing well and I hope the same is true for you.

RM

By the light of a flash light and other adventures

I'm in Ko Chang right now and we have been here for about 2 days now. We left from Pattaya at about 8 in the morning and arrived in the afternoon after a long day of traveling. We were whisked away from the bus station to the ferry and from the pier on Ko Chang we jumped into bus bound for somewhere. We ended up reaching a fabulous resort, KB Resorts, right on the beach. We have a fantastic little bungalow and are in a perfect location. It's a bit more expensive than we were planning, but it's worth every baht. We have been worried that it would be rainy while we were here but today was a beautiful day and we spent all day in the sun. My legs and arms can attest to that as I got a bit burned. Yesterday morning we kayaked from shore to several islands of the coast and enjoyed that. It was a strenuous paddle, but was beautiful. We ended up at on a beach with a nice calm cove and stayed there for a bit and relaxed before the last crossing back to the beach. We were a bit worried about the current coming back as the winds were strong and the current seemed to be strong as well, but after asking a boat pilot we met on one of the islands we decided that all was well and made the crossing. Upon reaching another island, we realized that some water had penetrated my ziplock bag and had gotten several things wet. So, we dried that out and attempted to make do. My camera made it through okay, but my phone didn't. On the beach I saw that water had gotten inside and had condensed on the screen-not a good thing-but at that moment it seemed to still work. After we got back I opened it up to dry it out and noticed that it wasn't reading the sim card - not good. I thought that the phone was okay and it was the sim card that had been damaged and was really worried because I'd have lost all my phone numbers and text messages - something that would have been survivable, but no fun. It turns out that the sim card is okay and it's the phone that's shot. I've been thinking about getting a new phone, so in the end, I did and am only out 3,500 baht and have a new phone. So, it could have been worse. After dealing with the phone we showered and rented a motorbike to drive around the island. We headed up the coast and stopped at a restaurant along side the road. It was just us at this little restaurant and we ordered food and fruit shakes from the lady and ate. After she had finished cooking, she sat down and started to talk to us. It was great to chat with her. She moved to Ko Chang about 5 years ago from a province in Isan (northeastern Thailand) and runs this restaurant. I asked her about the changes over the last few years and she attested to the changes alluded to in the guide books about the rapid development of the island and the ever increasing influx of tourists every year. She talked of forests coming down and guest houses rising, but also of a greater income than she has had before because of the foreign tourists. She also talked about the slow and high seasons and how in a few weeks more and more tourists will come as the rainy season comes to an end. It was a fantastic conversation and we exchanged bits and pieces. I talked about my experiences here and teaching and she talked about her family (she has two sons; one drives a bus from her home town to BKK and the other has a farm). We talked about whether or not I had a Thai girlfriend yet or not and if I wanted one. As with most every other Thai, she was very curious to know about my relationship status and many jokes were made. A friend of hers came to the restaurant and told me that she didn't have a boyfriend and asked if I wanted to be hers (I'm assuming she was joking...). It was just wonderful to have that conversation and to be able to communicate like that. I still surprise myself sometimes at how much Thai I do know and how much I can communicate with others. It's moments like that which help to erase the moments where I wasn't able to communicate or struggled - we really had a conversation. After lunch, we continued on around the island and ended up at the entrance to a trail in the national park. I spook Thai to the women working the gate and she immediately asked me if I worked in Thailand and told me that I could enter in the national park for the Thai price (20 baht). Peter, a foreign tourist, would have to pay 400 baht. It's crazy how that works, and I'm glad I can take advantage of the Thai price (it doesn't always happen like this - getting this rate was easy. I tried to get a similar deal at the Grand Palace in Bangkok but to no avail). We decided that we didn't have enough time to do that and continued on to another waterfall further down the island that was free. We got there and hiked a bit in, but it started to get dark before we got there. The island has some very neat roads and are very steep in some places. We had made it there find, but it appeared that some o f the hills coming back would be very steep. We attempted these hills and we were almost flung back down the hill (figuratively). The first hill was a challenge and our bike stalled half way up. So, we turned the bike perpendicular to the hill, started it again and continued up in first gear. The bike worked hard, we thought of fluffy cotton and other light objects and we made it. We certainly put on a show for the others on the road and while you may be thinking this is one of those moments where, at the time, it's not funny but in hindsight it is. In reality it was a moment that was as hilarious then as it is now. We were laughing our way up that hill as well. On our way back, as it got dark, I (as most people would) turned on the headlight on the bike. Unfortunately nothing happened - it was getting dark and we had no head lamp. After discovering this, I did the prudent thing and pulled into the next motorcycle repair shop and asked them to change the light (assuming it was a burned out bulb). Upon closer examination, they realized that the whole light assembly needed to be replaced. Now, keep in mind this is a rental and I'm in Thailand - that combination does not work in the renters favor if something breaks while renting. So, instead of spending the money (almost 3 times what is cost to rent the bike for one day) we went to 7/11 and bought a flashlight. So, by the light of our blinker and the light of a 55 baht ($1.15) flashlight we found our way home (about 10 km). It was a slow but exciting ride. It was one of the few times in my life when I found myself thankful for development and the light pollution that exists in cities as it made driving without a headlight much easier.

Today was a much less eventful day. It was the first day that really felt like vacation and I enjoyed simply laying on the beach and relaxing. After a lazy morning and a phone call home, we decided to start our day by driving into the next town, White Sands, and go shopping. There were a few gifts Peter wanted to pick up, so we did that and returned from where we can the night before (the drive during the day is much easier with light). A quick shopping trip and a short hike to a waterfall rounded out the morning and we headed back to put on our swimming suits and lay on the beach. After looking forward to jumping in the ocean (it was another beautiful morning), right as we walk out our door it starts to rain. All we can do is look at each other in disbelief. But, luckily for us after about 30 minutes the rain let up and we were rewarded with yet another beautiful afternoon. As the sun began to set, Peter headed back to the bungalow for a surprise and returns with two bottles of Sunshine beer, one of my favorite beers bottled in Colorado by the New Belgium Brewing Company. I was delighted to have one and we spent the next half hour sipping our beers (which tasted amazing by the way) and watching the sun set.

And thus that wraps up our time in Ko Change. We are planning to leave tomorrow afternoon after another relaxing morning and head to Ayudhaya (an old capital of Siam).

Hope all is well,

RM

If you can't find a restaurant what do you do? Our Story

Okay, so to continue with the adventures as of late I'll finish writing about our last day in Bangkok. Our last day was relatively relaxing and laid back compared to the first few. We spent the early part of the morning at an internet cafe writing emails before heading down to the pier to catch the river taxi. This morning, we took to taxis - one down river and one across the river. We ended at Wat Arun. This temple is famous in part because it is the temple featured on the back of the 10 baht coin (it is also right across the river from the Grand Palace and Wat Phrat Keaw). This was my favorite temple in Bangkok. It's location right next to the river and the peaceful nature of the temple combined were amazing. Standing on the corner of the center chedi looking out across the Chao Phraya river at the Grand Palace was incredible. The simplicity of the temple was complemented by the magnificence and significance of its location. I enjoyed every minute of my time there. After the temple, we walked around the neighborhood surrounding the temple and purchased Peter a yellow shirt. As I've written before, this is the King's 60th year on the throne and there has been a jubilee celebration all year and many Thai's can be seen wearing their yellow shirts. This year also marks the King's 80th birthday which will usher in another wave of yellow shirts sporting the logo/icon celebrating the King's birthday. I can't wait until December 5 (the King's birthday) to be a part of that celebration. Afterwards we had lunch and headed home for a quick nap and then that's when the fun started. We had decided to go to Cabbages and Condoms, a restaurant in Bangkok that supports a non-profit that works in many different communities across Thailand. We made a 5:00 reservation and set out from the guest house at about 4:00 thinking we had plenty of time to get there. Our journey would include a trip on the river taxi and sky train followed by (what we thought would be) a short walk. The river taxi took longer than expected and we made it to sky train closet to the restaurant at about 5:15. No problem we thought, we'll only be a few minutes late. Without thinking too much about which direction to go (and because of the absence of street signs) we took off to the right. After walking for about 10 minutes, we realized that we were going the wrong way. We should have gone left. So, we turned around and walked back from where we came crossing the street and walking 10 minutes in the opposite direction only to again realize that we were going the wrong way. This time, after taking the time to look for street signs we decided that we turned around a bit early and would head back the other way (the way we initially went) but walk further this time, which we did. Now, after doing this and walking for yet another 30 minutes, we come to the most embarrassing realization that we are on the wrong road - not surprising given that we had already gone both directions and hadn't found the restaurant. It was a very "I can't believe we just spent an hour doing that" moment and we vowed to kick ourselves for that. So, we headed back to where we began. On our walk back we were rewarded with a great view of the sunset over Bangkok as we walked along a very large park in the center of town. After once again reaching our starting point we turned up the road hoping that this was the direction that we were supposed to head. But yet again we were disappointed and turned around once again. At this point with no other directions to go, we confidently (yet now at a bit slower pace after having walked for quite a long time) walked towards the restaurant which we found a few minutes later. We sat down to enjoy our meal at about 7:30 or 3 1/2 hours after we left our guesthouse. We took a taxi home.

The following day we met several folks from the English Camp early in the morning and began thus began our adventures at English Camp. There is much to tell about English Camp and all will eventually be told, but I'm tired and will sign off now. I am going to skip ahead though and post the happens after English Camp before I get to talking about the camp.

Without end,

RM

Neon Lights, White Elephants and Mother Water

Last I wrote, Peter had just arrived and we were just beginning our adventures together in Thailand. As of now, we have indeed had many and I'm going to attempt to write about a few of them here. Peter arrived very late at night and so his first night was filled with a taxi ride from the new airport and he was introduced to Thailand under the neon lights of Khao San Road. Khao San Road, the infamous backpacker/foreign local in Bangkok, is abuzz with activity at all hours of the day and during the night the neon lights flicker on, the stereos are turned up and the street vendors hit the ground running. It's quite the scene and it very different from the Thailand that I have grown used to over the past several months (there is nothing quite like that in Lampang). It's an interesting place and a mixing pot of many cultures. It's not Thailand, but there's no place in the world quite like it. We had a guest house of Khao San and were able to escape most of the noise and neon lights and get a peaceful nights sleep. The next morning we awoke early as Peter was still on L.A time and we hit the streets looking for some food. While we were planning to catch the Grand Palace and Wat Phrat Keaw that day, we ended up going to several different smaller Buddhist temples. Each had it's own special charm. One had the Lucky Buddha, another the Standing Buddha and yet another the Marble Buddha (this Buddha isn't actually marble, but is housed in a marble temple). We strolled around town and found our way to the outskirts of the King's Residence - a massive complex near the center of town. Near to that was the Royal White Elephant museum and the Royal Golden Teak Mansion, both of which proved to be interesting. In Thailand, the white elephant is connected to royalty and every white elephant found in the property of the King. The museum documented the different royal elephants and talked about the history of royal elephants. The museum is actually housed in the old royal elephant stables. We made our way to the Chao Phraya River, the river running through the center of Bangkok and the most famous river in Thailand and took the Chao Phraya River Express (a river taxi back) towards our guest house. It's said that all of the rivers in Thailand (or at least the largest; the Wang, the Ping, the Yom, and the Nan rivers) all flow into this river. Many of the royal celebrations take place both on land and on water and it's interesting the role that water (specifically rivers) have played in Thai history. It's something that has fascinated me and something I want to continue to studied. Added to that, after having lived in Chiang Mai and Lampang, both of which have a river running through the middle of town, this river culture seems pertinent to my experience in Thailand. Another interesting tidbit; the word for river in Thai (mae nam) is literally translated as "mother water". Dinner and a stroll in the rain and that was our first day in Bangkok.

Our second day was as adventurous, but much easier to describe concisely. We went to the Royal Palace (the former residence of the King of Thailand) and the adjacent temple, Wat Phrat Keaw. Both are incredibly ornate and beautiful filled with objects unique to Thailand. They are those sites that one must go see if you travel to Thailand, and are amazing cultural, architectural and historical wonders, but aren't much to write home about. Another temple close to the Grand Palace is Wat Pho, a beautiful temple in it's own right, but add to it the ornate and intricate gardens and the larger than life reclining Buddha with intricate mother of pearl inlay on it's feet, it became my second favorite temple in Bangkok, second only to a temple that we would visit the next day. After seeing the temples and eating lunch we headed down river again toward Siam Paragon, Bangkok's newest and most posh mall. We got off the river taxi and caught the Sky Train (another Bangkok specialty) to the mall. The Sky Train was an experience in itself. Riding on elevated tracks above the city, you essentially have a birds eye view of Bangkok while you ride. We were so impressed we talked coming back just to ride the Sky Train. Now, Siam Paragon was interesting. It was a state of the art, modern mall with all the amenities and all the globally recognized retailers. Just like many of our airports nowadays, we could have been any where in the world. We wandered around for a bit browsing in the stores before heading to meet Peck and the other staff in order to prepare for the English Camp. We met at Pizza Company and chatted while going over the schedule. At the meeting I met several of Peck's colleagues and friends many of whom I was able to get to know over the next few days at the camp. It was good to chat with them and I was glad to finally get some details about the camp. After our meeting, Peck decided to take Peter and I around the city to a few places. Out first stop was the Red Light District in Bangkok. Peter and I had not particular interest in seeing this part of town, but at Peck's insistence (saying that it's part of town and it's something we had to see), we saw it. It was neat to see and walk though and experience. We then headed to a night bazaar to shop and then to a beer garden to have a beer. We didn't just have any beer though, we had Peck's favorite European beer (whose name I can't remember). It was a taste acquired by Peck while he studied in Norway during university. We had a fantastic conversation about politics, economics, Thailand etc (which I'm sure was aided by the beer) and then made it home. All in all, a fanstastic day 2.

I'm beat now and will call it a night, but there is still so much more to write about. So, I'll try to make it back here tomorrow and write more (that's weather dependent...If there's rain, there will be writing; if there's sun, there will be playing).

Until next time,

RM

The perks of teaching and a brand new airport.

I'm am now enjoying one of the perks of teaching - vacation! I've officially finished the first semester and am now on semester break for 3 weeks before going back to start the second semester. The end of the semester was very anti-climatic teaching wise - I created tests, they took them, I graded them and that was the end of it. Besides having to navigate the Thai grading system (which involved conversions, transformations and grades for responsibility, diligence, honesty and disciple), they past two weeks were easy ( a stark contrast to the last two weeks of school as a student and, I'm assuming, a teacher in the US). My students did well on the finals and I was pleasantly surprised by several students performance on the test. As the semester wound to an end, I did begin to look ahead to next semester and am excited to teach and am looking forward to many of the topics as well as being able to experiment more with teaching as I have a semester of "practice" under my belt. I'm sure it'll be just as challenging, but I hope the challenges will be less of a reaction to not knowing what I'm doing and more of an ongoing effort to create a more stimulating and interesting learning environment. Nevertheless, despite having been here for three months, there are moments when I still don't know what the world is going on (and I don't think that'll change). But that's why it's exciting.

On a related note, this past week I've started to work with Project Citizen Thailand. Project Citizen is a program that I worked with at DU helping local schools develop public policy proposals and educate students about policy issues and the ways to change those policies. And as it turns out there is a Project Citizen Thailand. Bunyawat actually won first place in the northern region Project Citizen Showcase and are now going to compete in Bangkok in November. That's were I come in. Previously, all of the competition was in Thai, now they must present in Thai and English so I was drafted as an English coach a few days ago. I spent Monday and Tuesday working with them and will continue once I get back and it looks like I may come back to Bangkok with them for the competition (which would be awesome). Their policy is really neat and deals with the issue of deforestation in Thailand and it's impact, particularly on flooding since that has been a huge issue in the north (Lampang was flooded several times last year, one inundating a large part of town under several meters of water).

I'm currently in Bangkok and am planning on spending the next several weeks traveling with Peter Reding who arrived last night. I took the train from Lampang to BKK overnight on Tuesday and arrived early Monday morning and spent the day resting and relaxing before making the trek out to the brand new airport 50 km from town! The opening of this airport has been huge (it opened 1 week ago today) and long awaited. It was one of the central publicity pieces of the ousted prime minister, but now is the subject of much criticism in design flaws and corruption, but despite all that it is a source of national pride. Over the past week about 200,00 people have gone through the airport and only 90,000 were arriving or departing by plane - the rest were tourists simply coming to see the new airport. It's insane. I made it out there at 11:00 pm and met Peter in the brand new airport. I do have to admit it was neat to know that I was one of the first million of so people to come through that airport and be there within a week of it's opening. But I did come with a purpose. Peter and I will be in Bangkok until Sunday when we'll take of for the English Camp in Pattaya.

Take care.

RM

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

Pictures from Phrae (including the parade!)

Hello!
I have decided to post some pictures so here they are. First, here are some of the pictures from my trip to Phrae. These two pictures are pictures from the parade. The one below is the beginning of the parade and the one to the left it the end of the parade. People walked by for more than 45 minutes all dressed in their yellow or blue shirts. It was quite the spectacle.



The next set of pictures are also from Phrae but these are of the town, specifically several of the Buddhist temples that I came across in my wanders around the city. As you can tell, this is an absolutly beautiful city.


























The next set of pictures are from a side trip from Phrae to Prae Mueang Pi (Ghost Village in the Forest). It is a park of sorts that consists of these formations made from the wind and water eroding the soil and leaving behing these shapes.

Change in Perspective

I recently wrote an email to several friends and family and mentioned to them that I have recently updated by Office software. In doing do so I stumbled upon a realization that I thought I would share. So here is the snippet from that email: "First things first, I just updated to Office 2003 and am realizing that everything is blue and am getting used to that. It looks so fancy and modern compared to my Office XP and it is this type of change that is scary and daunting. Moving to a foreign country and all that goes with that is good change and easily conquered. Having to change how your word processing and email programs looks -– insurmountable. I almost removed them this afternoon when I thought I couldn'’t bear it any more. It'’s just so BLUE! But slowly and surly I am getting used to it and will soon grow to love them as much as the other. I have to let go and embrace the changes. Sure as hell puts things into perspective."

The has been a lot going on recently and I haven't updated the blog in a while so I thought that I would add a few comments about the recent happenings. One big thing that happened was I reached the 1 year anniversary of my first arrival in Thailand. It is hard to think that one year ago I was arriving in Thailand for the first time. It is hard to think that a whole year has gone by since then; it doesn'’t seem that long ago. But then again, so much has happened since then that I canno’t believe that all has happened in just one year. It has been neat because it has stirred up memories of my first few days in Thailand arriving from China, getting picked up, meeting my host family, learning a new language and a new city etc. I did head to Chiang Mai this weekend and was able to meet a few of the new students. I had met the students from DU in the spring (and haven't seen them yet), but was able to meet a few students from Kalamazoo. It was really interesting to watch the and see them trying to learn Thai, getting over jet lag and getting to know their host families. It is an interesting position to be in - to be able to see someone else going through what you went through.

As for school, teaching has become easier. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I'’m creating my lessons in less time and am not as stressed out. I've become more comfortable in class and more comfortable understanding the mood of the class and determining if they are paying attention and on task or are uninterested and bored. I'’m still trying to increase their engagement during class and not lecture as much. But it'’s difficult given the subject material and resource constraints. I find that the later is much more difficult to overcome than any other obstacle. I simply do not have access to materials that would make learning much more interactive. I have noticed a bit of technological dependence on my part; I need things that are available in the US and are technological.

I'm starting to bridge the cultural divide and am very happy to be doing so. I do have thoughts about how I'm changing their culture to suit my needs and expectations and am not sure if that is true or how much credence I should put into those thoughts, but nonetheless they are there. In a sense, I'’m changing the perception of educators.

I gave a test in my M2 class recently and as of late I'’m really enjoying this class (they are the students I have struggled with). We seem to have reached an understanding of sorts and we can read each other better now. I know when they are getting tired and need a break and they can sense when I have stuff to cover or when I have a more relaxed lesson. They are also starting to ask questions in class which is good and I'’m sure that is helping them understand better. I held a review on Sunday at the school in the afternoon if students had questions and about 15 showed up. It was neat to see them outside the class when we could be more friendly. But we did review and go over material and I really enjoyed that. It was very relaxed - they did their own thing and asked questions if they had them. I then went home and was running some errands and ran into a group of them going to study and said they were struggling and asked me to come and help them study a bit more, so I did and enjoyed that. We just went to a little coffee shop and reviewed and what not.

As my relationship with my M2 students gets better, my M3 students are now becoming more challenging. We have been working on a circuit lab and they have been very unfocused. Maybe it's the weather (it has been rainy and damp) or maybe it's me or them, either way they are now becoming my challenging class.

I have a little over a month before the end of the semester before I need to start reviewing so time is flying.

Bunyawat's Website

Hey all,
Well, they finally updated the website for the English Program here and I thought you might want to check it out. It's got some great pictures of the students and the school and tells a bit more about the program.

So if you have a second, check it out http://www.bwc.ac.th/ep/intro.html

RM

It's the Rainy Season!!!

It's been the rainy season ever since I arrived and there has been quite a bit of rain (especially compared to what I'm used to in Colorado) but it really hasn't interfered much with my life. Meaning, when it rains, I'm at school or it's later at night. I've been caught in the rain once, but I was coming home and just enjoyed walking in the rain. Well, this morning my luck ran out. I woke up and it was dreary and raining. It wasn't raining really hard; I would be wet when I got to school, but would dry quickly. I jumped into the shower and while I was showing the sound of rain pounding the roof got louder and louder. After my shower, I looked out the window and sure enough it was pouring. It was coming down in sheets. And I had to get to school and be presentable in my shirt and tie. People have told me about non-event feedback, where until something bad happens you continue to act as you have. Well, my luck with rain had not yet compelled me to buy a rain poncho, so here I was, ready to go to school and I had no protection from the rain. So what did I do you ask? I hopped on my motorcycle with my jacket on and road as fast as I could to school. One problem though - on the way to school there is a stop light and it was red. As I slowed down to a stop I put my foot on the ground to stabilize the bike and my foot went ankle deep into the water flowing down the street. By the time I got to school (only a 2-3 minute bike ride from my apartment) I was drenched. Luckily, I didn't have class until the afternoon and dried off by then but spent to morning soaking wet and soggy sitting at my desk. What fun!

Farang On Parade!!!

The title of this post is quite accurate as I do believe I was on parade this weekend. It's not what you might think and there is quite a story behind this little adventure. It all started on Thursday of last week. Thursday was a hellish day and for whatever reason, the day seemed to last forever. My head was in a fog and I was beat. I made it home (finally) and watched a movie, preparing for the weekend. But sure enough Friday came and with a rude awakening, I, while mentally prepared for a weekend had to go to school. Friday was long and tiresome as well. Fortunately Friday afternoon came and I left. After a run and a bite of dinner I was feeling refreshed and settled in for a very slow night of reading, writing and movies. Waking up in the morning, I was ready for the day and excited for my second guitar lesson. A quick phone call home and an even quicker shower and I headed off to the post office to drop off some letters. This is another story, which, of course I'll tell now. I've been trying to mail letters home for about 2 weeks now, but have gone to the post office five minutes after closing twice! I managed to do that again on Saturday, but it wasn't my fault. The post office had different hours since it was the Queen's Birthday weekend. Anyway, I made it to my guitar lesson and started playing. I'm learning classical guitar so we are starting with the basics and will work our way up to chords. I'm enjoying that and it's all in Thai, so it's helping with my language skills as well. Finally, more to the point, I go to the bus station (it'll all make sense soon) and I buy a bus ticket to Phrae. Phrae is about 2 hours from Lampang and is an absolutely beautiful city. I really had no idea what I was going to do there, but I had a long weekend (we had Monday off in honor of the Queen's Birthday) and had no plans. So, I quickly ran home, threw a few things in a bag and headed to catch my bus. With only moments to spare I climbed aboard and my tardiness was rewarded with a stellar position standing in the aisle. The ride was uneventful. Arriving in Phrae, I meander through town trying to find a place to stay. And do, at the Paradorn Hotel - their main advertisement was "absolutely clean" so I thought I'd check them out. Settled in, I headed out. Deciding to ditch the guide book for a good old fashioned wandering I headed towards the old city. Phrae, like many cities, is divided into an old and new city. The older city in this case is about 700 years old and was once surrounded by earthen walls. Those wall, or their remnants, still stand circling the city. Also seeing as Phrae was once the teak capital of Thailand (before the national logging ban on teak in 1989), there are many old and beautiful teak houses scattered through the old city. A walk around the inside of the wall is full of surprises as old houses, forests, beautiful temples and stupas are found scattered around mixed with the more modern houses, shops and, of course, motorcycle repair shops. I was rewarded with numerous views of temples standing out above the houses with their golden-topped stupas shining in the late afternoon sun. It was amazing. I love this town. I made my way back toward the center of the town and encountered a mass of humanity all dressed in yellow and blue (yellow being the color of the King and blue the color of the Queen). They were assembling to march to the stadium for the Mother's Day Parade (the Queen's Birthday is also Mother's Day). So, I found myself a nice spot along side the road and prepared to watch the Parade. The parade started and I found myself wondering why it seemed, I was the only one watching the parade. An hour later, after the whole town walked by, I realized that the whole town was the parade. There were really three parts to the parade; the school marching bands, the pictures of the King and Queen and people. The parade started slowly and as people walked by they would look my direction, but since the parade was just beginning there were still stragglers showing up and walking by. As the parade went on, more and more eyes would shift my way as the people walked on by. Most would simply curiously stare at me, occasionally the girls would wave or say "hello". In my desire to be friendly, I waved and said "hello" back. And that elicited squeals and giggles like you wouldn't imagine. From that point on, all the girls would look my way and any response on my part would send a giggle through the parade complete with squeals. At first it was entertaining and flattering, but as the parade went on (and it went on for about 45 minutes) it got old and I was about ready to leave. I do believe everyone in Phrae walked past me and every girl between the age of 12 and 32 looked and giggled. It was an experience needless to say. I was going to go to the stadium to see what happened there, but had about enough of the giggling and went to dinner. As I was walking around afterwards, the town was empty. There were very few people on the street and it was difficult to find a restaurant to eat dinner at. But I found one, ate and called it a night after a very interesting day. There is more to tell, but I will say farewell for now. Until next time...