Jumping Jacks: Last Thoughts as an Ajarn

I've had a few teachers in my life that I think of from time to time, even now, because of the way they've impacted my love for learning, spiked my interest in certain topics, and just plain got me to enjoy being in their classes. I think it's an extremely appropriate time to give shoutouts here to Ms. Ann Tippett (HS junior year US History), Ms. Vicki Craven (HS senior year English), Ms. Teresa Asai (HS senior year Spanish), and Professor Ellen Peirce (college Business Law & Ethics).

And that's mostly what I thought of the last few days of teaching, that many of these kids will forget that I ever existed the moment they walk out of my classroom. But maybe there's a few, just a few, who will remember me. On the very last day of classes, Lee and I decided at the last minute to give out our email addresses and Facebook info with the premise that if any of them ever wanted to contact us ("in ENGLISH, please!"), then they could. Needless to say, the random wall posts and messages have been very entertaining, and I'm hoping that means they haven't forgotten me quite yet. :)







After the official semester ended, Lee and I taught two weeks of English Camp - I spent one week with the upcoming M 1.1 kids (the advanced 7th graders) and he spent one week with the upcoming M 4.1 (the advanced 10th graders), then we switched classes for the final week. THESE WEEKS WERE AWESOME. Why? Because I got to spend 3 hours each day with the same 40 kids for an entire week, during which I probably taught them an entire year's curriculum, learned and memorized all their names and faces, and most importantly, felt that I really got to know each student as an individual.

Highlights of English Camp:

- On the first Monday morning after 1.5 hours of teaching, I let them out at 10:30 for a generous 20 minute bathroom and snack break. I told them to be back NO LATER than 10:50 (foreshadowing). At 10:50 there's about 4 out of 40 kids in their seats, but everyone else casually saunters in from 10:51-10:55. I tell these slackers to go stand in the back of the classroom. After everyone is back, I have the 36 late kids do 20 jumping jacks and count out loud, while the other 4 are laughing at them. After they're red-faced and sitting in the seats, I write down "20, 40, 60, 80, 100" on the board and carefully explain to them that since they were late today, they had to do 20 jumping jacks, and if they're late tomorrow, they'll do 40, then 60 on Wednesday, 80 on Thursday and if they're late on Friday, they'll do A HUNDRED JUMPING JACKS. They nodded with fear in their eyes. Muahaha. The next day, I let them out for a break again at 10:30 and tell them to be back by 10:50. Everyone sprints out of the classroom. I go to use the restroom myself, and then come back to the classroom at about 10:36. What do I see? ALL OF THE KIDS ARE ALREADY BACK AND SITTING AT THEIR SEATS, smiling nervously. I laugh to myself and think that I have never felt more powerful in my life... (evil laugh)

- On the third day of class, I told each of them to hide their nametags, and I walked around and called each of them by name. Then I turned around to face the board, tell them to quickly run around the classrooom and switch seats, and hide their nametags. Still nailed it.

- On the last day of class, I gave each of them a Silly Band. They went ape.



This was the most satisfying way to wrap up our teaching experience. I thank all my students for teaching me more about myself and life over the last 5 months than I cold ever imagine, and Buddha Bless all of the wonderful teachers in the world. You guys rock.


On Tuesdays we wear pink! No joke.

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 3/3

Goodbye Vietnam and hello paradise! After traveling through two countries in 10 days we figured we give ourselves a treat and head for Southern Thailand and Koh Phi Phi.

For those of you elders, Koh Phi Phi is the island where the movie The Beach was filmed featuring your boy Leo. But before we even got there, we ended up at Railay Beach and met up with some friends. Stories were exchanged, water was swam in, and food was devoured. That night I came up with the brilliant idea that if we drank liquor it would be cheaper than buying beers. So we showered and met at our bungalows restaurant and played some card games. After awhile we went to a little reggae bar down the beach and listened to some music there for awhile before calling it a night.

Mustache Steph

The next morning came and punched me in the face. I blindly packed my things and headed for the ferry boats that were waiting to take us to the promised land. We boarded, and I soon found refuge in the middle of the boat in everyone's way and went to sleep in the blazing sun. We got to Koh Phi Phi and headed for a travel agency we had heard about from a friend that takes you out for a camping trip to Maya Bay. Once we heard that this even a possibility we had to pursue it. So we got everything set up and had to sit around for an hour or so before we left. This was a bad time for me. Finally we got on the long-tail boat and set sail for a day of full of snorkeling and monkey watching and all that fun stuff you love to do when your hungover.

After a rough day of snorkeling through the choppy waters we made it to Maya Bay and once it came into vision I started feeling better. It was beautiful. It was first-class. It was the epitome of paradise. We finally got off the boat ride from hell and stepped onto the chillest beach in the world. We made it.

That night we partied with fellow campers from all over the world. Just chatting and having a few drinks. It was a lot of fun. Then we took a dip in the glowing water. Yes glowing. Some type of illuminescent plankton. We then got some sleeping bags and pillows and found a nice spot out on the beach to keep. Hundreds of stars. Gently crashing waves. Perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day.

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 2/3

Goodbye beautiful Laos, hello Vietnam. We arrived by plane and then caught a bus into the capital of Hanoi. At night the city looks great. Bright lights everywhere and people meeting by the lake that is the center of the Old Quarter. We thought, "Wow, Vietnam is gonna be pretty cool!" We found our hostel and met up with Becca and called it a night, eager to get an early start the next day.

There is a lot tell about our travels through Vietnam, so to save time and not bore you with mindless drivel I will sum it up in with a few bullet points.

• Hanoi has an energy to it. You can feel it in the streets and in the peoples faces. Another fellow traveler said it best when she said "the city has a dark dome of gloom on it." We couldn't agree more. I don't know if was the weather or what, but no one had a smile on their face. It made me depressed. But, there was some good news. Vietnamese cuisine is incredible. I had never been so excited to eat. Noodles and spring rolls were everywhere, and we ate them every chance we got. I probably gained five lbs. Oh, and traffic in Vietnam is absolutely lawless. Dozens of motorbikes, cars, and bicycles meeting at an intersection that has a traffic light, but seems to go unnoticed. It was exciting to watch.
  
  

• Riding the trains down the coastline of Vietnam was really cool and I wasn't heartbroken when we boarded the train in Hanoi and headed south to DaNang and Hoi An. This was our first sleeper train ride, and we were all pretty anxious to see what it was like and also excited to see who our two bunk mates were going to be. Luckily, we were greeted by an older German couple at the entrance to our sleeper, so we felt pretty comfortable about the situation. Being the gentleman that we are, Connor and I gave the girls the middle bunks and we took the top bunks. There was one foot of space between the tip of my nose and the top of the ceiling. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but after a while I felt right at home. I looked down and Steph was asleep within the first twenty minutes, so I knew she was content with the sleeping arrangements.
  
  

• Hoi An completely washed away all the depression and darkness that Hanoi had planted in our minds. We checked in our hostel and bought a case of Biere Larue for 210,000 dong and sat by the pool and played some cards. Day 2 was spent biking through the quaint bustling market. Postcards and tanks were purchased.
  
  

• Another train ride, this time it's 17 hours, and it's headed for Saigon. We were all pretty excited about this. Two of our friends, Katie and Chelsea, were already there so we were anxious to see them. We got some dinner with them and had a few drinks then called it a night and went back to watch Jurassic Park. It was great.

• The next day we booked a tour to the Mekong Delta. I have always wanted to see the mighty Mekong River, so I was pretty pumped about it. The day was filled with boat rides through floating markets and authentic Vietnamese dining. Seeing how the river provides in so many different ways for the villagers was pretty cool.
  
  

Goodbye Vietnam. You left me with mixed feelings. On one hand your grimacing faces made me feel unwanted and insecure, but on the other hand you dazzled us with delicious food and breathtaking scenery. It's a toss-up.

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 1/3

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand in 2.5 weeks. Can we do it? Can we see everything that each place has to offer? No, but we damn sure tried.

Me, Steph, and Mr. Connor set off on our our adventure from the Bangkok train station with Laos being our first destination. The overnight train ride was incredibly cold and for some reason they didn't turn off the lights, so needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep. But that's OK, because Laos is one of the more relaxed and chillest places on the globe. We get through the border easily and jump on a plan for Luang Prabang, a.k.a chill city.

We checked into our hostel and then hit the streets in search of some authentic Laotian cuisine. We found a nice place by the Nham Kham River and ordered some laap, which is a Laotian salad that has chopped meat mixed with chilies, onion, and garlic placed on a bed of lettuce. FLAVOR EXPLOSION! One of the best dishes I've had in Asia. During all of this we watched some monks and other locals enjoy the calm and cool waters of the Nham Kham River. It made me want to go to the mountains of Laurel Fork.

The next morning Steph had convinced us to take a 39 mile round-trip bike ride through villages to the Kuang Si Waterfall. Connor and I thought she was a little crazy, but once we started we had a lot of fun. Connor had some issues with his bike chain. So he was forced to head back into town and get another beach cruiser. Steph and I continued on and battled through the blazing heat and "gentle undulations" while passing through several small villages. This was the highlight of the trip for me.

The children of the villages had just been let out of school and were walking home. Not many foreigners come riding through their streets on beach cruisers so you can imagine the reception we got. We biked by groups of kids and were met with little hands being held out to give high fives. At one point a group of 8 year olds started chasing after us. This image will forever be burned in my memory. On the way we passed by a couple Laotian kids riding their bikes. I gave them some water and we pushed our bikes together up a massive hill. These little guys motivated us to finish the ride and make it to this elusive waterfall.

Connor met us at the waterfall and we swam around for a little while and had some photo shoots. The ride back wasn't as bad as it was mostly downhill. I swear at one point I was blazing at 60 m.p.h. Once we got back to the city a great feeling of accomplishment came over me. It was a great end to a wonderful day.

The next two days in Luang Prabang we spent relaxing. Biking and walking through the charming little town was great, so was trying different cakes that were offered at every street corner. Mango, apple, chocolate, orange, and pineapple all lit up our taste buds with flavor. Some of the best baked goods I've ever had.

The french colonization is evident in the architecture and food. Connor and I woke up every morning thinking it was Christmas, because we got to go the sandwich section of the main street. The toasted chicken and cheese was by far the best.

We didn't want to leave Laos, and it was tough to say goodbye. The food was excellent. The scenery was captivating. And the people welcomed us with open arms and caring eyes. When we took off for Vietnam we weren't expecting the same reception.


To be continued...

Top 10 Things I HATE About Thailand

Steph and I were beach bums for about two weeks. We went to Koh Chang for New Years for a few days then went to Koh Kood for a week. I can't take it here anymore. I'm coming home early.


Waking up to rolling waves hitting unscathed white sand beaches makes me want to harm young children.


And I swear if I have to go to another waterfall I am just gonna lose it on a litter of puppies.


Canoeing through a river in a mangrove-clad jungle just aint what it used to be.


See these puppies. I hate 'em.


A beautiful woman to pass the time with. ehhh...whatever.


Staying at some tropical island beach resorts for next to nothing? What do I look like? An idiot?


Snorkeling? Who needs it? Why do I want to look at some flashy self-absorbent fish?


All I wanna do is take a damn hot shower.


So that's it for me. I'll see all of you back home in a couple weeks. Thanks for nothing Thailand.

-L

FML: My New Haircut (true story)

One morning I woke up early to go work out before school. I ran a couple miles around the track before walking back to my house, which is located right behind the school in a teacher housing area. As I approached the compound, I saw my next door neighbors' dog Taniwah outside, the same dog that bit me 2 months ago, and he was unchained. I stopped in my tracks, we made eye contact... and then he came for me. I turned around and fled screaming for my life back towards the school as I heard the snarling dog closing in, and I had gone no further than maybe 20 yards before I felt his teeth scrape the back of my thigh. He didn't break the skin thankfully, but it stressed me out so badly that I burst into tears, and to make things worse there were a few students not too far away that were witnessing the entire event. Completely terrifying and mortifying.

Lee went to school that morning and told our coordinator that Taniwah had struck again. They came over to the house and talked to me about what had happened, and then the sub-director went over next door and spoke with our next door neighbors. Based on what I know about Thai culture and from other people's stories - one in particular about a person who secretly poisoned their neighbor's dog instead of complaining about it (something we have considered) - I knew that the neighbors would probably not be thrilled that we said something about the dog to the school. But seriously, I draw the line at personal safety.

Taniwah was nowhere to be seen the rest of the day, and I returned to school to teach my afternoon classes. One Thai teacher told me that she heard that he was taken away and locked up somewhere else. After school, Lee went out to get a snack, came back and told me that he had seen our neighbor at the store (we'll call her "M" here) and that she had barely acknowledged him. M is usually very friendly to us and speaks more English than most people in our town, so we had a suspicion that she was not pleased with us at this point.

That evening, it was time for my first Thailand haircut. I had been dreading it for weeks, but a pretty female Thai teacher with fabulous hair named Pi Earng told me where she got her hair cut, so I figured I'd just go to the same place and hope for the best. I opted not to bring a picture of a celeb like many of my American friends with successful Thailand haircuts have done here because I wanted to be adventurous... slash got a little lazy about looking for a picture. All i could think about as I walked to the town's main strip was man, this isn't going to be a very good day if i get a dog bite AND a bad haircut on the same day.

So I'm walking up to the area where Pi Earng had described the hair salon to be, but as I'm getting closer I'm seeing a kinda dingy place with one woman cutting someone's hair... I get to the door. The woman cutting hair looks at me, and suddenly I recognize who she is. It's my next door neighbor, M.

FML.


If you want to know what happened next:

Without a smile on her face, she says "You want haircut? Sit down." I nervously oblige, but all I can think is there is NO way I'm letting this woman cut my hair now. I'll dread my hair before that happens. I pull my glasses out of my purse and told her I needed to go get them adjusted down the street (truth), and that I'll be back (lie). As I leave and walk down to the optical shop, I pass by a really nice looking salon right next door and realize that this was the place I had originally been looking for. Damn. As I'm sitting and waiting for my glasses to be fixed, I call my friend Marianne... "dude, I have a real life FML going on right now... help."

Option 1: Let someone who I just offended that day use scissors on my head.
Option 2: Go to other salon to get my hair cut by someone else, but risk seriously offending my neighbor again.

"Steph... do NOT let that woman cut your hair."

I snuck into the other salon and got out with an okay haircut for 60 baht (2 US dollars). I've seen M 3 times since that day and she hasn't said hey to me once. I don't think she likes me anymore.


Taniwah, the ferocious beast... just kidding. I'm way too scared of Taniwah to try to take a picture of him. This is some random pup with shoes at a gas station.

Kop Khun Kaa!

Sawatdee Pee Mai 2011 from Thailand!

This post isn't about recapping the last few weeks (although one about the last few weeks will be coming soon)... but I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for supporting us in this journey. This has been a dream for me for almost 3 years, and I still can't believe I actually made it here sometimes. It's been unbelievable.

Kop khun kaa - Thank you. :)

Verbatim from my Teach in Thailand application:

"Ever since studying abroad in Spain and traveling around Western Europe for a summer in college, my interest in traveling to different places and exploring new cultures has become a passion that I simply cannot ignore. As graduation approached in May of 2008 and most of my classmates were already hot on the job hunt, I was creating a list of countries that I desperately wanted to explore after college before settling down in a business-related career. My dream was to island hop around Asia all the way down to Australia for about 4 months before returning to the US. Only two small things stood in my way: a lack of funding and no real plan for actually executing my grand idea. I reluctantly resorted to getting a job in online marketing and put up postcards from my past trips on the walls of my cubicle to remind myself of the world outside my office building.

Working in the real world has given me a new perspective on what I want to do with my life, and that is to find different ways to utilize my strengths and passions to make the world a better place."

Don't lose sight of your dreams, my friends!

The Black Kittens

Christmas in Thailand was very different. Not different in a bad way, but different in a way that I will never forget it. Every Christmas prior to this year was spent with family eating, exchanging gifts, and playing games. This year we did the same, but with our new friends.

On Christmas Eve the school had a 3 hour assembly that Steph and I put together. I wrote the play, which was a simpler version of Rudolph, and Steph set up a some song and dance numbers and a dance contest to the classic tune Jingle Bell Rock. Oh yeah, and I also got to dress up as Santa. As if the little kiddies didn't give me enough rock star treatment, I got even more dressed as the man in red. I got to throw candy out into a crowd of thai children, which has always been a dream of mine. And I also got to spread some cheer by giving a few "Ho Ho Ho's." It was a lot of fun, but extremely hot.

Christmas morning we caught the 5am minivan for Bangkok. Seven of us booked a massive suite for the night. This place was a sight for sore eyes. It had a huge tv, massive beds, and a kitchen with all the appliances. We didn't ever want to leave. We spent the day watching Christmas movies and catching up with our friends. That night we prepared the best Christmas feast we could've asked for in Thailand. We had chicken, salad, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese. I overbought and ended up making about 4 pounds of mac & cheese. I tried to eat all of it, but failed unfortunately. After eating we exchanged gifts and I quickly fell into a miniature comma.

We figured if we couldnt celebrate the holidays with family back home, we would celebrate with our new family here. It was a great Thai Christmas.

We brought in the New Year celebrating on the island of Koh Chang, Thailand's second largest island. Our place had a sweet dinning area that looked out over the flat placid water. If any surfers are reading this. Don't come to Thailand for surfing. I haven't seen a single wave. Anyways, the night of New Years Eve we drank at our resort and headed down the beach and celebrated outside an exclusive party, which some people were able to sneak into later. It was an awesome night, but we did have to do the countdown ourselves. I remember looking at my wristwatch and counting down for everyone around us. First time I've ever had to do that.

The next day five of us rented some mopeds and explored the island and all it's glory. I dubbed us "The Black Kittens" and we were that badasses you didn't wanna mess with. I, the leader, or King of the Kittens, decided that we needed to establish some street credit. So we were cruisin along just minding our own business when we approach a road block where two Thai cops in black uniforms signal for me to pullover because I didn't have a helmet on. The company we rented the choppers from gave me one helmet, so me being the nice guy that I am, gave it to my precious cargo Steph. I didn't want to argue so I payed the $6 fine and The Black Kittens hit the road again. Only this time we had a bad reputation.

The kittens seeking refuge after a long, hard ride.

That night we played pool with some "ladyboys" who may or may not have been selling their bodies for money. It was hilarious. My team won both times, but not because of my skills. The "ladyboys" are incredible at pool.