So 2 nights ago Phil and I went for dinner at the delicious seafood restaurant behind his condo. While we were sitting there chatting and waiting for our food, a man came walking up to the open-to-the-outside-air front steps of the place and offered me something, which I immediately and not knowing for sure what it was, turned down, just before seeing the baby elephant on the other side of the half-wall. I ran out into the dark street without thinking twice, and with eyes the size of apples, began petting an elephant for the first time in my life. Wasn't expecting that! The man gave me some sticks of something to feed the elephant, so I began talking to the elephant like it was a long lost friend, speaking more fluid Thai than I have so far with other humans. She ate the sticks of whatever right out of my hand. I simply put them in her truck and she knew exactly what to do with them. I heard the other day that up north there are elephants that paint beautiful pictures! They have such good muscle memory, that after their owners go threw the motions of painting a certain picture with their trunks, they are able to replicate the motions and develop their own creations! How cool!
So, yesterday was my last day of teaching. No one really knew about it until just before I left, and only my last (and best) class of the day was aware of my departure because the teacher who was to relieve me came and sat in on the class, forcing me to explain. They were stunned and sad, as was I. I found the words difficult to get out, and it was then that I realized how much of an impact these 38 students had had on my life in the 5 weeks of knowing them. In the hall after class, several approached me with long faces, kind words, and big hugs. The new teacher, Sam, who has been teaching students of all ages for a good number of years, said after observing me teach, he actually couldn't find one thing wrong with my style of educating! Having only been teaching for 5 weeks of my life and being able to do it free of fault and critique kinda makes me feel proud, I must say. It felt good to hear that, at least! My students told me I was their favorite teacher ever! Really? Is this real life? haha So cool. No, I'm not cut out to be an English teacher in a Catholic school in Bangkok, Thailand, but it was definitely a cool experience, and I'm so thankful for it! Now I'm receiving all kinds of friend requests on Facebook from my 12th-graders! Woo! Now that I'm a free bird with no obligations, I get to drive the motorcycle around town, while Phil's teaching his little heart out, to explore and find little hidden treasures and sights, and I love it. Could you guess? I have complained in the past about many parts of the US having crap for public transportation, yet now that I have it, my opinion has changed slightly. It's amazing not to have to wait for public transportation, pay for public transportation, and pay again if I want to get off somewhere for 2 minutes and then get back on. I guess I just really like having a motorcycle in the city. I'm not used to city life much, and have been fortunate enough to be without a vehicle for the past few years in the States, but living in the city and being able to drive between cars and on sidewalks and such to get "there" quicker and to not have to deal with the traffic because of this "beating the system" method of transportation on a motorcycle, and all while having an adventure of a lifetime every time, is so exciting! No complaints. Still.
I've been dragging Phil's futon couch out onto his 23rd-floor balcony at night to fall asleep to nature's cross-breeze fan and to wake up in the morning to the sunrise grinning and winking at me. The noises of the city and the soi (street) dog arguments at random hours of the day and night don't exactly add ease to the serenity of sleeping out there, but when the eyelids of the day have been pulled down and I am perched atop the balcony railing looking out over the skyline of the city nightlife, I can't help feeling like Batman ready to swoop down in the shadows and save some people. I'll admit, or just state, my constant craving to remove the railing from below my feet and leap into an adrenaline-filled free fall, if only I had means of remaining off the ground. Don't worry, until I find such a thing, whether I have to create something (probably not the cardboard wings my uncle attempted to utilize in his youth) or buy something (for which I haven't the funds right now), I'll remain grounded, just high up. Sad day. But still awesome! I'm just Batman and my cape is in the shop at the moment, so for now I'll just ponder life and devise a plan to save the world for when I get it back! :D
What’s with white being the skin color of choice throughout many parts of the world, except where white people generally reside. I guess the grass is always greener, and basically everything boils down to money, but why does it have to be like that? Thais see white skin as beautiful because it means you aren’t outside slaving away in the hot sun doing some “poor person’s” job just to be able to put food on the table. I see white skin as unhealthy, Vitamin D-deficient, weak, and lazy. I find it rather amusing when people of naturally darker skin tone than I tell me to go inside or get in the shade or cake on the sunscreen or layers of clothing. I find the deep bronze color of the Thai men (most of the women are lighter) is beautiful! I would love to have skin that color, and not only because I think it’s more attractive, but I think life would be that much more satisfying if that color was the accurate representation of how much time I were able to spend in the sun! Who cares about the money part? Yeh, yeh money helps you get places and do things and see things yadda yadda, but if your skin isn’t pasty white, and instead looks healthy and full of pigmentation, by all means appreciate it because you’re GETTING to experience one of the universe’s greatest aspects, the Sun.
So, I’m trying to learn Thai via these tapes, along with interaction, of course. But at the moment, I’m practicing pronunciation in Thai, listening to songs in Spanish, and writing this blog post in English. Haha It’s interesting, to say the least, and I’m not sure if it’s helping the process, or making me think harder for no good reason, serving more as a distraction.
I went for a long run this morning and came upon a loud ruckus sourcing from a large crowd of people on the side of a main street who were all wearing pink shirts with “Best of the Year Team” written on them (because here, they say the adjectives before the nouns they describe). Three men and a toddler boy were stacked on top of one another’s shoulders, standing up! They managed to walk back and forth without falling! Then, they dismantled and the guy second from the bottom, tied a shirt into a turban-like thing on his head before starting round 2. This time, the turban man had the guy with the toddler stand on his head! The 4 proceeded to walk in a circle and back and forth! This was all performed to the beat of 3 drums being played by 3 other boys. After all 8 feet were safely on the ground (which took less than 20 seconds), 2 men and 2 boys dressed in 2 dragon costumes, along with another boy adorned in a fancy silk outfit and a “V for Vendetta”-like mask began dancing to the drums. Another guy lit 2 strings of firecrackers simultaneously that were strung about a tree and around this mini wat (temple)...not sure the name of these sacred monuments yet, to which people bring flower and incense offerings and to which they wai (http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/how_to/wai/). The strands erupted with great commotion for 8 minutes straight! I've never had a fireworks strand last longer than about 20 seconds because they've only been about 2 feet long :(, but oh my goodness! They don't mess around!
This is a long weekend for schools because there's an event tomorrow (Friday) for Father's Day and then Monday is the King's birthday, and they ADORE the king with their whole hearts, so there's no school and huge festivities, so how I shall spend the next four days should be nothing less than interesting! Until next time!
