tardy updates
Tardy, as in late.
Late as in, a little longer than I wanted.
Longer, as in, about a month and a half.
Perhaps I have lost my gusto, but that doesn't mean I don't think about witty (or so I seem to think) things to blog all the time. The thing is, the access. Working my bum off (but not fast enough) seems to be getting to me. I work, work, sleep, make rice, and sleep, and then work.
This coming Friday is Mother's Day. It's the Queen of Thailand's birthday, and so I have spent the past two weeks polishing accents and teaching that to say words with "th" in them, you have to stick out your tongue. (Rude in Thailand.) Making cards, reciting poems, making dances, making sure the moms are coming, and now, I sit in the staff room, suit wrinkles from sitting in the heat, thinking, 'hey, that wasn't bad." But the thing is, these kids are more like my own kids than they are the "moms" who came. The spend more time with me. They look to me. They go home to nannies, more nannies, and then, once in a while, get a postcard from mom while she is somewhere with "so and so." So I guess I am a little jealous that I don't have one of my own, but time will bring that to me. There is one student who looks just like me. Her dad is a farang and shje has the same colour hair and face as me. Everyone thinks she is mine. And she might as well be. :)
In other news, had a visitor here over the past little while, a friend from university. It was so nice to be in touch with someone from the past, someone who knew me before this Thailand journey. She heads home tonight, but she will be highly missed.
On a slightly more morose note, there was a little trouble at school this past week. I have a student in my Grade 1 math class who never pays attention, and I found out he stays in the dorm. I then went to the dorm mother, who happens to be one of my teaching partners, in Kindergarten 1. I asked her what he was like at home, and she said she would talk to him for me. Well, I came in the next day to find that she had, well, beaten him up. He came in with bruises so bad that he couldn't even sit down. And when I asked him why she hit him, he said it was because "Teacher Hez doesn't love students." And so this went on for a week, and the Thai teacher got into big trouble, possibly is going to be fired, but the thing is, nothing was done right away, and I was 'losing face' for caring about a student. Should I have not even bothered to ask? I talked with his mother, have photos of the whole thing, and it is more or less settled now. But the way politics go, the school wouldn't take him to the hospital, because the hospital could sell the story to the newspapers, and this being a pishposh school, this could be detrimental for the school. Not to mention, the school owner's daughter (with the same last name) is running for a government position, and this would, in essence, not help her career.
Oh the drama and the face saving.
Well it's almost time, I'm almost 23, and thinking ahout making Thailand my home for a few more years, and then going back to the west, possibly with a future husband in tow. We shall see. A lot of news, but hard to convey through a blog. So I will sign off with that.
I miss you all so much, and I will be home for a month in March.
much love
Late as in, a little longer than I wanted.
Longer, as in, about a month and a half.
Perhaps I have lost my gusto, but that doesn't mean I don't think about witty (or so I seem to think) things to blog all the time. The thing is, the access. Working my bum off (but not fast enough) seems to be getting to me. I work, work, sleep, make rice, and sleep, and then work.
This coming Friday is Mother's Day. It's the Queen of Thailand's birthday, and so I have spent the past two weeks polishing accents and teaching that to say words with "th" in them, you have to stick out your tongue. (Rude in Thailand.) Making cards, reciting poems, making dances, making sure the moms are coming, and now, I sit in the staff room, suit wrinkles from sitting in the heat, thinking, 'hey, that wasn't bad." But the thing is, these kids are more like my own kids than they are the "moms" who came. The spend more time with me. They look to me. They go home to nannies, more nannies, and then, once in a while, get a postcard from mom while she is somewhere with "so and so." So I guess I am a little jealous that I don't have one of my own, but time will bring that to me. There is one student who looks just like me. Her dad is a farang and shje has the same colour hair and face as me. Everyone thinks she is mine. And she might as well be. :)
In other news, had a visitor here over the past little while, a friend from university. It was so nice to be in touch with someone from the past, someone who knew me before this Thailand journey. She heads home tonight, but she will be highly missed.
On a slightly more morose note, there was a little trouble at school this past week. I have a student in my Grade 1 math class who never pays attention, and I found out he stays in the dorm. I then went to the dorm mother, who happens to be one of my teaching partners, in Kindergarten 1. I asked her what he was like at home, and she said she would talk to him for me. Well, I came in the next day to find that she had, well, beaten him up. He came in with bruises so bad that he couldn't even sit down. And when I asked him why she hit him, he said it was because "Teacher Hez doesn't love students." And so this went on for a week, and the Thai teacher got into big trouble, possibly is going to be fired, but the thing is, nothing was done right away, and I was 'losing face' for caring about a student. Should I have not even bothered to ask? I talked with his mother, have photos of the whole thing, and it is more or less settled now. But the way politics go, the school wouldn't take him to the hospital, because the hospital could sell the story to the newspapers, and this being a pishposh school, this could be detrimental for the school. Not to mention, the school owner's daughter (with the same last name) is running for a government position, and this would, in essence, not help her career.
Oh the drama and the face saving.
Well it's almost time, I'm almost 23, and thinking ahout making Thailand my home for a few more years, and then going back to the west, possibly with a future husband in tow. We shall see. A lot of news, but hard to convey through a blog. So I will sign off with that.
I miss you all so much, and I will be home for a month in March.
much love
posted by isobella at 9:46 AM
2 Comments:
i came across your blog, just wanted to say hello. i am teaching english in a rural district outside of bangkok. nice to meet you!
It feels good to see you writing again my friend. I hope there will be more soon!!
Love
Rachel
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