Reflections on Another Year

February 9th, 2012
Satit Bangna School

It’s hard to believe that an entire school year is coming to an end once again. I have had an amazing amazing past year and I’m really happy with my choice to come back to teach. I taught K1-K3 (ages 3, 4 and 5) as well as M5 (11th grade) and M6 (12th grade) English, so I guess you could say I’ve had the full spectrum. I love having the variety in my day though and I’ve learned a lot in having experience with such different age groups.

I think one of my top highlights of the year came a couple weeks ago as my M6s prepared for their last day of high school. It definitely brought nostalgic memories from my time at Wayzata and how it seems that time has absolutely flown by…can you believe it’s been almost 7 years since I graduated high school? Anyway, my M6s and I became really close by the time their graduation had come around. Our school is unique in that it’s so close-knit and it’s encouraged to really get to know the students; it feels like one family and that’s exactly what it was like with me and M6: one big family.

I quickly realized at the beginning of the year that these kids were exactly how I was in Senior year…they are worried about the future, they are starting to come to grips with the fact that they are growing up and the last thing they want to do is learn grammar. So, I made adjustments and tried my hardest to focus less on tenses and conjugation and more on speaking and communicating. I encouraged them to forget about being shy, to not be afraid to make mistakes and to feel comfortable talking openly about whatever was on their mind in class. It seemed to work, because by the end of the year I had gotten to know every single one of them.

I got to know a solid group of them outside school as well when they asked me to join their band as the lead singer for a couple shows at school. I had so much fun with them rocking out in a music practice studio for hours and hours. A concert was planned for the M6’s last day and the kids were all really excited. I think 7 or 8 bands were set to play (yea, there are that many bands in one school!) and had spent so much time preparing. However, due to some conflict of interest our school director told them it was a no-go. It was really difficult seeing them so upset and they approached me to see if I could help. I met with the director and administrative head about the issue and very respectfully explained the situation and tried to work out how we could best solve the problem. By the end of the meeting and another meeting (among many other meetings between director and students, etc) we had reached a compromise and the show was back on. I don’t really like going up against a director’s wishes, but I know how much it meant to the students and I think being able to mediate helped everyone realize where the other was coming from.


 

It’s hard to explain how amazing these kids are, so I’ll try to demonstrate through what happened on their last day at school:



Me with both sections of my M6 classes



M6 doesn’t really have a formal graduation like we have, but instead the whole last day is dedicated to them. In the morning the students stood in a big group while students from every other grade brought them flowers and presents. Then there was a speech from the director and some time for them to sign yearbooks (or friendship books.) A cool tradition they have is to have their friends sign their uniform so when they graduate they will have all their memories on the shirt they had worn every day to school.



After the blessing ceremony



Next up was the blessing ceremony. Basically all of the M6 teachers, administrators, etc. sit on chairs and the students come one by one to each teacher who ties a white string around their wrist and gives them words of good luck, etc. It’s amazing when one chapter is coming to an end, how many thoughts and images and emotions come at you all at once. I was going strong sorting out my white strings and ready to pass on some words of 'teacherly' wisdom to the students that I had become so close to. Then, the music started--you know like in a movie where you think you're going to make it through the intense scene until the producers put in that one song that changes everything. Well, the music started playing and the kids started coming and kneeling one by one. I thought I was going to hold it together until I looked up and saw one of my favorite students, who is in the band I played with, with tears in his eyes. Then the next and the next. Game Over. I did my best to get across my message: a blur of salt-water, English and Thai, wishing them luck and happiness and thanking them for an unforgettable year. It seems easy enough right? However, when 40+ teary-eyed students look up at you and say things like 'I love you teacher' and ''I’ll never forget you. Please never forget me' you really can’t help it. In a country where a bow takes the place of a handshake or a hug you can imagine how much it means when student after student asks permission to get up from their kneeling position to hug you. A lot of emotions in one day, that's for sure.



Our Band (Jiw, Me, Pae, Thur and Ming)



After the ceremony we had a really delicious lunch and got ready for the concert later in the day. I sang in two different bands (5 songs for one and 2 songs for the other.) It was so much fun being up there and jamming out; I sang everything from Blink 182 to Foo Fighters to a punk cover of ‘Girlfriend’ by Avril Lavigne to rapping in ‘Party Rock Anthem’ by LMFAO. What a cool way to close out the school year for them—there were loads of students from all the different years dancing and singing along as each band got up and played their sets. By the end there were mosh pits and water spraying and so much laughter it was hard not join in.

 

 

Mai, Pat and Win at dinner

Mosh Pit

That evening a big group of students and some teachers went out for dinner and we had a great time eating, drinking, reminiscing, etc. I got to have some one on one time with a few of the students who I'd gotten really close with and one of them, who's English took a magic turn for the better this semester (literally I could only speak Thai to him at the start of the year), looked at me and goes 'Teacher, I'm so happy. I’m not sure why we met. I’m in Thailand, and you’re in America. I think we were family in a past life and that we were supposed to find each other again in this life.' Another said 'Teacher you are the reason I don't miss school anymore. You make me want to speak English.' Another said ' Teacher I don't want school to be over. But now I think it's good because you are not my teacher anymore. You are my brother.'




Brothers: Thur, Pe Nathan, Jiw, David

So this wasn’t written to toot my own horn, although it’s hard not to feel pretty great about what they said, but instead to give some insight into my world over here. I've gone to dinner and played pool a couple times with some of the students since then and they call me Pe Nathan now instead of teacher which is how you refer to your older brother. I guess it’s just reassuring to me that I made a good decision when I decided to come back and it’s always good to learn that you did make an impact, because, trust me, there are some days at work where you feel like nothing you are doing is ever going to get through. However, when something like this happens, you realize that when people say ‘teaching is fulfilling and rewarding’ you can’t help but agree. I’ve been so lucky this year and I hope that I can continue to have experiences like this in the future!

A.S.I.A: The Departure

May 7, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand

A familiar hotel.  A familiar airport.  A familiar plane.  A familiar airport. And, back to the familiar hotel where it all began: the Century Park Hotel.  I have to say there is something so comforting about returning to a place and having the staff remember you and greet you by name and, after the whirlwind couple weeks we'd had, it was certainly nice to feel like we were home again.

Rather than head out into the city we decided to enjoy the view from the pool.  It was a beautiful set up with a shallow and sunny upper pool cascading into a deeper, more shaded lower pool.  We spent the afternoon laughing and rehashing everything we had done and, once you get down to it, we did a lot!  Granted, there were a few hiccups along the way, but those really make for the best stories in the end, right?

Our Final Happy Hour

After the pool we made our way upstairs for one final happy hour whilst being serenaded by a live cover band who invited us to join them for live karaoke after dinner.  We weren't too sure how we'd be feeling about that, but one can never tell with Mom and Soup on board :)  Dinner was amazing with steak and red wine sauce and rich potatoes which were all things I knew I wasn't going to be tasting for a long time without my parents around to foot the bill (Thanks Mom and Dad!!)



Mom Rocking Out to Live Karaoke



Stuffed, we waddled back out to the lounge to listen to the band and were finally coaxed onto the stage (after one or two B-52s) and rocked the night away.  Sue wouldn't get up and sing, saying it was better for everyone that way, but was a great supporter in the crowd as she swayed and cheered for me and then Mom.  I think we closed the night down with a rousing rendition of She Bangs by Ricky Martin and then realized we should probably get to bed if we were to make it to the airport on time.

The alarm always seems to go off 5 minutes after you fall asleep when it's time to go to the airport and so we went through our well-practiced motions of checking the room, finishing packing and checking out.  Our hotel gave us a wonderful goodbye and even packed us individual lunch boxes to take with as we weren't going to be there for the buffet in the morning!  We arrived on time at the airport and I got Mom and Sue off without a hitch (well, minus the tears from Mom, but we all knew those were coming!)  It's amazing how fast a trip can go and how much fun you can have.  I had such a good time hosting yet more visitors to my new home and I can't wait until the next ones (yea I'm talking to you readers) get on the plane to BKK!  That finally (1.5 years later) concludes Ann and Sue in Asia!

A.S.I.A: Top Chef Chiang Mai

May 6, 2010

Chiang Mai, Thailand

There we were up again at the crack of dawn with yet another adventure before us: a Thai Cooking Class.  We were picked up by a songtaew along with a few other people and headed off for the morning market.  On the way we were given a sheet where we got to decide which dishes we would be cooking and so our guides (named Kook and Nut) knew which ingredients to buy.

Spinning plastic bags to keep flies off the chickens

 

Which part of the pig do you want?



The market was hustling and bustling as we all got out, bombarded by a caucaphony of smells and sights.  Everything from herbs and spices to fresh curry paste, pig heads, whole birds, tanks of fish (some dead, some living) and loads of snacks.  Kook walked us around a bit and explained how certain things were made and what certain sauces were used for.  It was also really interesting to hear about the rice and how different prices determined different grains and also different freshness (for example, a bag in the back row was more expensive as was picked more recently.)  We then had some time to walk around and get stared at by the locals as we just as curiously stared back at their piles of innards and various bloody organs for sale :)  I think my favorite market device is this spinning contraption to which vendors attach plastic grocery bags that wave around over their food to keep away the flies.  Clever!



All the rice you'd ever need



Top Chef: Chiang Mai



After the market we made our way to an organic farm outside the city set against a beautiful, fresh air backdrop.  We took a tour of the very nice kitchen in which we would be cooking as well as of the grounds of the farm.  Many of the ingredients we were using in our food were actually grown right there and we learned what each thing was (things like kaffir limes, chilli pepers, various gingers, lemongrass, coriander, etc)  It was cool to see it from 'the farm to the table' so to speak, but I have to say we were all struggling a bit to focus with it being about 100 degrees outside.  We thought by heading north we had escaped the heat, but in our open air kitchen we didn't stand a chance.

My Masterpieces (Tom Kha, Pad Krapow, Red Curry)

We spent the next few hours preparing our various dishes including Tom Yum Koong and Tom Kha Gai (a creamy red curry soup and a creamy coconut curry soup), red or green or yellow curry, Pad Krapow Moo (fried pork with thai basil) and Pad Thai (a famous noodle dish) as well as dessert.  We did everything by hand including making our own curry paste; I think this is where the term 'someone put their sweat into this' comes from cuz with all the mortar and pestling I may as well have just taken a shower.  I learned that fish sauce is good with meats and soy sauce is good with veggies and tofu, I learned that even the smallest little chili can make your mouth set on fire, I learned that kaffir limes are too bitter to eat but their leaves are great for flavor and, most importantly, I learned that I am an amazing chef!

Our Kitchen

When all was said and done we sat down and sampled our meals and were all pleasantly surprised at what we'd just concocted.  It was enough food to feed a small village, so we ended up wrapping up the leftovers and taking them back with us for dinner.  Our journey home was fairly uneventful aside from the raucous posse of French ladies that had been cooking with us too--good entertainment value though.  As we were all too full to eat we made our way for some live music and happy hour downstairs before heading to the night bazaar.  We walked around for a bit to digest, bought a few knick knacks and made our way to a massage parlor to work out the kinks from standing up in the heat all day.  Not too shabby.

Chiang Mai is definitely a place to spend more than a couple days, but I think we really made the most of it!