Dog Bite Treatment Finally Ends (8-26)

It’s been a pretty quiet and uneventful two weeks. Last week began with a mass for Mothers’ Day at school on Monday. This took all of the first class. It was interesting in that it used modern, jazzy music instead of the traditional songs. All of it was recorded. The other foreign teachers did not attend, but I feel that, if an event is for the whole school, I/we should participate. It was a good way to have some quiet time.

I started going to the clinic instead of the hospital to have the dressing on the dog bite wound changed daily. Sometimes it’s very busy and I was there for an hour; sometimes I was there for only twenty minutes. One evening I was finished after 15 minutes and then waited another half hour to pay. I was glad I hadn’t gone earlier when I didn’t feel well and was totally exhausted after school, as waiting for an hour would have been difficult.

Service was good. Staff are employees at hospitals. I don’t know if they are earning a bit of extra money or if this is part of their assignment. The only people who were the same each day were the women taking money. After a few days, it was known who I was and why I was there. I saw three doctors and all spoke English well. Because I only needed the nurse, I didn’t always have to wait in line. The second day I saw the attending doctor. When she pressed lightly on red area around the wound, I winced. Since this meant it was infected, she put me on antibiotics again. I’d seen a doctor two days earlier at the hospital and it didn’t hurt when he touched it, but it was red. By the end of the week, I could see that it looked better, but the doctor said I still needed to go in daily for a few days. Finally, on Thursday the scab came off when the nurse cleaned it. She called the doctor over, and he pronounced it healed and said I don’t have to return. This was good news. I bought a jelly doughnut and a cream doughnut to celebrate. Not the same as a brownie or some good ice cream, but the best of what’s available in the local market. I also ate some good dark chocolate from the U.S. after dinner. That night I enjoyed my first shower since the bite during which I didn’t have to keep my leg dry.

Friday I returned to the hospital for the last rabies injection. I took Hershey’s minis to the office to celebrate. Nothing like good American chocolate.

I’m walking to school and home again this week for the first time. I walked one day last week when Kru Oy was out of town, and it completely exhausted me. I took a song taew the next days. Last Friday I noticed that my foot was pointing forward most of the time when I went down the stairs. This was a change that let me know it was almost healed. Monday I realized that I was walking almost at a normal pace. By Thursday everything was normal. As my body has healed, some of my energy has returned. I’m feeling pretty good these days. This is good in general and also because I’ve been giving unit tests and don’t have the new units planned. I now feel like I have the energy to do that.

One morning the dog owner saw me walking to school and picked me up on her motorcycle. She probably regrets that, as I took the opportunity to tell her I want 4000 more bahts (about $120). I’d been waiting until I was finished with the treatment so I would know the total cost and not have to keep going back and asking for more money. I also thought I’d wait until next week when pay day is. I’ll need to have someone take me there because I won’t walk there again and it would be good to have someone to translate so she understands why it is so much. But the opportunity presented itself; so I took it. She talked about why she doesn’t have the money. I told her it was OK that she didn’t have it that day, but I would return next week. Eventually, she said something about next month, which is next week. I’ve been told by a few people that it is customary for the dog owner to pay, but I wonder if she thinks she doesn’t have to because I’m foreign. So we’ll see what happens.

Friday we didn’t have class because there were special activities about environment for students all day. At 8:45 that morning, we were told we had an assignment. It is irritating when they don’t bother to let us know in advance; they planned the event Tuesday. Students went to nine different posts where a forest department person spoke. There were two teachers at each post to watch. The two Thai teachers with me left after ten minutes. I could see that my presence was contributing nothing, as students all sat quietly and listened and there was another teacher there; so I left after the first group, as I had work to do.

Classes were good this week, meaning that were mostly quiet and did what I told them to do. This was a definite improvement. I did walk out on one class Monday when they didn’t even stop talking when I entered and tried to start the lesson. I stuck it out for half of the class until they copied answers and handed me their papers and then continued talking. They were good the next two times I saw them.

I do get frustrated with this attitude and system in which all that matters is that they have a good grade, not that they are learning anything while they copy. Sister Viphaporn told me last week that I have to make sure everyone has a passing grade and that some of my grades need to be adjusted accordingly. (We turn in our record books each month. Since I didn’t know that until last month, it was the first they saw any grades.) Again, it doesn’t matter that the grades mean nothing. It only matters that the government and parents think the students are learning. 

Mothers' Day (8-14)

Friday was the queen’s birthday/Mothers’ Day. It’s an official holiday, but the school had a special program in the morning we had to be there for. And we were all dressed up for the occasion. Rehearsing for the program took most of the first class Tuesday and Wednesday and the first two classes on Thursday. 

The activities began at 8:30 when the monks’ praying began in the back courtyard. Mothers and students were standing at tables with their food contributions. After the chanting/praying, the food was given to the monks. People not participating in this, the Catholics, waited in the front courtyard. 

After the monks left, the other activities began. Several of the sisters came to the stage and were honored. 

Then one I didn’t recognize spoke. I learned later that she is the Mother Superior, who was at the school for the program. She gave certificates to representatives of several classes and special plaques to three teachers. Then several of the sisters came to the stage and student representatives paid respect to them. All students bowed to show respect to them and then bowed to their mothers, who were sitting on the side. 

The rest of the program was student groups singing and dancing. Toward the end of the program, food was served and most people left to eat. Since this was an official holiday and student participation was optional, only about 150 students attended. During rehearsals, students not participating hung out in their classrooms.

After the program, I met with Pim to practice her speech. We were just finishing when a few people came into the room. They announced that the Mother Superior was there, and Pim stood up immediately and started to walk out. She knew what she was expected to do. I was a little irritated at the way she was treated, although I know this is normal here, and asked if we could please finish, since we only had a little more to discuss. Kru Irene came with the group to translate for the Mother Superior and me. The topic of discussion was the behavior of the one 8^th grade class that seldom listens to me and talks and is generally disrespectful, except for several students. The Mother Superior said that the school has many problem students who can’t go to other schools and will not have a school if they don’t come to this one. Many of them live with their grandparents. These comments felt like she was making excuses for their behavior, which didn’t go over well with me, as most of the village students live with their grandparents and were not so disrespectful and also because this is the case for students in other classes at this school, as well, and they are not so disrespectful. I refrained from mentioning this.  But I did say that the problem is that they behave well for Thai teachers and sisters; it is only when I am there that they don’t behave well. When a Thai teacher or sister is in the room, they are fine. Sister Viphaporn talked to the classes last week and their behavior was better. She says she’ll follow up with this class, and I think she will, as she wants to make sure the foreign teacher is OK. It’s not the best method of classroom control, but it seems to be the only one that works with this group. Kru Irene said the students say I am strict, as if this is a reason to misbehave. I am no stricter with them than with other classes. I expect them to be mostly quiet and to do the work. I walk around and tell them to open their notebooks and write and make them get a paper if they have no notebook. I have extra paper for those who don’t have any, and my giving a student paper often ends out with a notebook showing up. Most Thai teachers do not walk around; so this may be an example of my strictness.

I was also feeling irritated because I had told Khun Kwan I would be back to go to visit her mother with them and our meeting time had passed and I didn’t know how well she understood what I had said. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to visit Khun Toy and Khun Dakom. By the time we finished, she was gone. Fortunately, when I called her, they had not yet left the city and returned to the school to get me. We had a nice lunch together, along with Khun Teamjan. It was really good to be with them again. After lunch, Bitoy presented jasmine garlands to each of us old women. I’m not sure if one was planned for me or if it was the same one given to Khun Toy, as she and Khun Dakom insisted that I be honored, too. Either way, it was a nice gesture. When the garlands are presented, the giver kneels on the floor with bowed head. The receiver puts her hands on the person’s head and says some kind words. After Bitoy finished, Khun Kwan ran over to me so I could say something to her, too. When I said something about her being my good friend, she said she is my daughter. I was really moved by this.

After lunch, we went to see Khun Toy’s daughter-in-law and new granddaughter. When we arrived, she took the baby out of the cradle. I thought she was going to hold her, as an American grandmother would, but she laid Baibua on a table and we all looked at her and watched her stretch. This was a surprise to me, as babies I’ve seen are usually in someone’s arms. Perhaps they were a little older.

The dog bite is getting better. I can now walk down stairs with my foot at a 45 degree angle instead of a 90 degree angle. And I am walking faster and have more energy. This is good, as it was a rough week. After a couple days of not feeling well—extremely tired most of the time (I slept for 9-10 hours every night and napped during free time at school.), a little nauseous sometimes, and muscle pain in the arm—I looked on the Internet to see what the side effects of the rabies injections are. I learned that my symptoms are common side effects. I had the fourth injection on Friday and am hoping that it does not have side effects. I think this is a possibility, as only the third one had so many side effects. I think this may have been a result of the accumulation of three injections in one week. There was a full week for my body to recover before injection four. The disappointing news was that I still have to go in every day to have the wound cleaned. I talked with a doctor on Sunday (an additional 50 bahts, or about $1.65), as I wanted to talk with someone who speaks English. He said it looks good and is healing all right but will take another 7-10 days. I also asked him about going to a clinic for the cleaning, and he said that would be fine. Since I’m feeling well now, I decided that I can do that if the doctor said it would be OK.

I treated myself to two new orchids on Saturday and am enjoying their beauty.

The speech competition was Sunday. I met Pim at the site in the afternoon. She had to wait in a room with students, and I sat in the hall and listened to the other speakers. Pim was number 25, the last one. She got a little nervous while practicing before her time and called me three times to read a couple paragraphs to her. She hesitated several times while speaking to remember her speech but, overall, she spoke well. Several of the presenters forgot their speeches and a few couldn’t recover. I always feel bad for them. Pim’s speech was too long, and the man in charge stopped her after five minutes so she wouldn’t lose points for going overtime. Kru Toom had told me the time was 5-10 minutes. I think she didn’t know and made that up. I planned on 7 minutes, as the time for other contests has been 5-7 minutes. I was sitting beside the judges, and the woman next to me told me that the topic “The Country” meant living in the country as opposed to the city, not the country Thailand. Almost all of the students talked about Thailand; a few talked about Ubon province in terms of the sites that are here. The man came over and talked with Pim, telling her she spoke well and explaining why he stopped her. It think she got this extra attention because I was the only foreign teacher present and she was the last presenter; so there was a little time to talk to us.

Good news of the week: We now have our work permits and extended visas. These are tied to the job and expire when the contract ends on 30 April, 2012. Wednesday morning I was told that we would go on Thursday. Then at 10:30 we were paged. So we all left our classes to meet Kru Tang. We left the school at 11:30. The first stop was lunch. The school gave Kru Toom, our driver, money for us to eat out, which was a nice treat. Then we picked up our work permits. This didn’t take long, as Kru Tang had taken the paperwork to the office on Monday and they had called to say our permits were ready. They are small booklets like a passport. Next we went to Phibun to the immigration office to get our visa extensions. We were there for an hour and a half, completing the paperwork and having our applications examined. Kru Toom had to go out to make more copies—our new work permits, departure cards, the visa extensions. The visa extension (from the initial 3 months to the end of April) cost 1900 bahts (about $60). Tony and I paid an additional 3800 baht to make it a multiple entry visa so we can leave the country and come back without having to go through the process of getting and paying for a new visa. (The single entry visa expires when one leaves the country.)

A relative of the king’s died two weeks ago; so everyone wore black and white for two weeks and the flag was flown at half mast for the mourning period. I’m not sure what her relationship to the king was. First, I was told the king’s sister had died. Later I was told that it was not his actual sister (Thais call many family members and good friends “sister.”) but the daughter of Rama 6. Maybe she was a cousin.

A Paperwork Day (8-7)

The adventure of the week was on Friday. Kru Tang told us (Tony, Kate, Lovely, Angela, and me) that we would go to Phibun to get our visas extended. We currently have a visa good for three months and need to have them extended to be good for one year. Sister Viphaporn went to Bangkok on Monday to see why our teacher certificates/cards hadn’t come yet. She got that sorted out; so now we can get our visa extensions and a work permits.

After the opening ceremony, we were told that we would not go to Phibun; we would go to an office near Ubon to have them look at our paperwork to make sure it will be approved for the visas and work permits. We then spent two hours completing forms we didn’t have and making sure all of us had everything. Next (10:30) we went to Big C to have photos taken, as we needed portraits of a special size for the government offices. We got twelve photos for 200 bahts (about $6). We had to wait an hour for them to be processed. So we ate lunch early and then walked around the store. Of course, they weren’t ready when we returned; so we waited for another 40 minutes. Then Kru Tang was told that they were ready at the shop where they were developed. So we went to pick them up on the way back to the school. It was now 1:00. The photos are amazing. They Photoshopped them and dressed us properly—blouses with big collars and a black jacket for the women and a shirt, tie, and jacket for Tony.

While we were at Big C, our documents were being copied so we would each have two sets—one for each office. After picking them up, we were off to the government office. The people there looked over each of our documents carefully. Kru Tang had to translate a few of our answers into Thai. We gave that office three of our new photos. After an hour, we were off again, this time to see the doctor because our documents have to have an original copy of his certificate of health and mine was the only original. The other originals had been given to the consulate in Laos when they got their visas. On the way back to school, we stopped at a nursery to order trees to be planted next week for Mother’s Day.

We arrived back at the school at 3:45, just in time for the closing ceremony. Five minutes later, we were paged to see Kru Tang. There were two other documents to be added to our portfolios and we needed to sign them. The documents were to be completed in Thai; so Kru Tang and other teachers will do that. She told us that on Monday she will take the documents to the office to apply for our work permits. She took four more photos for that office. It was good that we had gotten a dozen. (We could have gotten six photos for 10 bahts less.) Later in the week we will go to Phibun for our visas and then pick up our work permits on the way back. This will be another day away from school.

The dog bite has turned into quite a saga. I had been told that the owner was paying for everything at the hospital. Last week I learned that she didn’t pay anything on the day she took me there. Khun Kwan brought her to see me on Wednesday, and she gave me 2000 bahts (about $60). Khun Dakom called me and said that she is poor and doesn’t have a lot of money. I learned from Kru Tang that the school insurance is 5000 bahts (about $230) per incident. (When I was clarifying the coverage, she said that, for example, the next time a dog bites me, I can get 5000 bahts again.) Kru Tang took me to the hospital Monday through Thursday mornings after the opening ceremony. This worked well on Tuesday when we went to the hospital, had my wound cleaned, and returned to school in twenty minutes. But Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we left late and stopped to do her errands while we were out; so I missed most of my first class on those days. She suggested to Khun Kwan that she should take me to the clinic near the market in the evening because it costs less and I wouldn’t miss my classes. (This may have come from Sister Vihphaporn.) I’ve seen the clinic and there are always a bunch of people there in the evening; so I’d have to wait quite a while. I’m not my best in the evening these days, so that didn’t appeal to me. I know the private hospital is more expensive and the clinic would probably be fine, but I just don’t want to change. So I was not happy about this. Khun Kwan got that idea and arranged for Kru Oy to take me early Friday morning before going to school. I didn’t choose the hospital; that’s where the woman took me.

The school paid their 5000 bahts. On Saturday I paid the rest. The invoice lists a discount on the meds, but they made me pay the full price. I asked why I had to pay the higher price, and Kru Oy asked in Thai. There didn’t seem to be a good explanation. I wasn’t happy, but I finally became frustrated and paid. When I asked him later if he understood, he said he didn’t. I don’t know if he didn’t understand or just couldn’t explain to me in English. The women working didn’t seem to know much; they were just doing their job and collecting the money. I knew I wasn’t behaving Thai, and it was bit embarrassing to behave American when my Thai friend was there witnessing and helping. I did apologize to him. He’s been so good about helping me. He waited for me outside on Sunday, not risking another incident.

Having something like this happen is stressful enough in one’s own country. Having it happen in a country where I don’t have strong communication ability and where one is not to show feelings is even more stressful. Here people are not to show negative feelings. Everything is covered over with a smile. Life goes on with very little recognition that I am (or anyone else is) not fully well. Tuesday after school, for example, Bitoy told me that we were walking to her house; in the morning, Khun Kwan had said she would pick us up. There wasn’t anything I could say; so off we went. Fortunately, Khun Kwan picked us up half way because she had decided to go to Big C for dinner. No one asks how I am doing or how my leg is. (The standard greeting is “Have you eaten yet?” or “Where are you going?” not “How are you?”) It’s been taken care of; so all is supposed to be well. The past is over; so the problem is over.

I stayed at Khun Kwan’s house for three nights because Kru Oy went to a seminar in Khon Kaen and she doesn’t like to be the only adult in the house. Thai people don’t like to be in the house alone; children don’t count. My being there also made it easier for her to take me to school in the morning, as she is not a morning person.

Most of the week I was barely functioning. I started off thinking I would be fine, as I was a little better each day, but, as the week went on and I wasn’t well yet, it was depressing. I didn’t expect it to take so much out of me. I don’t have much experience being unwell like this. The leg wasn’t really painful but it was irritating much of the time. I figured out that I could walk downstairs with the foot sideways, which enabled me to get around the school a bit faster. Thursday I decided to take one of the strong pain capsules (Tylenol 8 hour) to help me get through the day, remembering that on Monday when I took one to help with the rabies shot, I did feel better. It helped my disposition and enabled me to function OK most of the day. Even with that, by the end of the day, I was wiped out. I had Khun Kwan take me to my house so I could get my passport and money for the trip to Phibun that didn’t happen. When I started to leave, I realized that I had locked the keys in the bedroom. I wanted to sit down and cry, not a usual reaction from me. But I knew that couldn’t happen. Fortunately, she was parked at the end of the street because my neighbor’s car was out and was blocking the street. So while I walked to the car, I prepared myself to smile and tell her about my new problem. We laughed and all was well again. She called Khun Adin, who arrived in a few minutes. He pushed up one of the ceiling tiles in the living room outside the bedroom door, went into the space above the ceiling, took up a ceiling tile in the bedroom, and jumped down into the bedroom and opened the door. That approach never would have occurred to me, but it got the job done quickly and easily.

Friday after school I was in pretty good spirits, unlike the rest of the week. I was tired but OK. Of course, I didn’t do much but sit most of the day. So I knew I was getting better. Saturday morning I woke up feeling good and had some energy for the first time in a week. Three hours later, however, I was tired, and four hours later I was exhausted. So I spent the rest of the day reading and sleeping. Khun Dakom called and said Khun Adin could take me to the village if I needed to there. That was sweet, but I thought I should stay home this weekend. Maybe next weekend.

On Saturday I asked the nurses how much longer they think I’ll have to go in every day, and they said one week. I had, of course, hoped for one day, but at least I have a possible target for being done now. Before they had just said “every day.” I have noticed that the cleaning is faster now than it was a few days ago.  

I had the third rabies injection on Friday. The one Monday didn’t bother me. I had taken meds for the day and it was fine the next day. The one Friday, however, was fine that day (I took meds again to ensure that.), but Saturday afternoon I noticed that my arm hurt if I moved it certain ways. It hurt more at night and was still a little painful Sunday. This is not fun.

Monday I learned that there is another speech contest next week. I decided to work with Pim, one of my prayer group girls, since Bank is still working on his story for a future contest. He was quite interested in the speech and told Kru Toom that he wants to go to a speech contest. So he will prepare a speech for a contest she thinks is at the end of the month. When I asked him why he is interested in speech contests, he said that he thinks learning speeches helps improve his English. He is smart and ambitious.

An Exciting Event (7-31)

The excitement of the week happened on Friday. I’ve been walking to school on some side streets for a few blocks to avoid traffic. Friday morning a couple of the dogs on one of the streets decided to chase me, and one bit me just above the ankle. I’d seen these dogs many times. They stand in the street outside their house and gate and bark. I greet them and walk on and they stop barking when I pass them. They had never approached me. Last week I didn’t see them. Friday after I walked past their house, two of the dogs came out into the street and started barking. I yelled at them and went on. Then one decided to run after me and bite me. I didn’t see it coming until it was too late. Then I yelled and they went back to the area near their house. I kept screaming at them as I looked at the blood coming out of my leg. I held a tissue on it to stop the flow. The owners heard me and came out. They brought a chair for me to sit on. I called Kru Oy, but I couldn’t tell him where I was. The people sent someone to wash my shoe. They poured peroxide on the wound and put some cotton on it. Kru Oy called me back; he was on the road looking for me. By this time it was clear that the owners were going to take me somewhere. So I told them to take me to school. Kru Oy met us there, and we all went to the private hospital.

They took me to the emergency room. There I saw a doctor who speaks English well. She explained that the wound was very deep; so they couldn’t suture it safely and I have to return to the hospital daily to have it cleaned. She also explained the treatment plan: rabies shots, a tetanus shot, and immunoglobulin shots. They also injected medicine into the wound, which went into the bone. This was extremely painful. After that, the nurse said she would inject something into my butt for my muscles and it would hurt. After the injection into bone, that pain was minimal. So, I had a total of five injections—one in each side of the butt, one in the wound, and one in each arm. I was pretty sore. They gave me antibiotics to take for a week and 40 tablets for pain and fever to take if I need them. That was a bit much; I’ve used three. The woman paid for everything—6,100 bahts (about $203). The meds cost 5000 bahts and the rest was for the hospital treatment—medicine, supplied, and doctor (about $30).

Then Kru Oy took me to his house for the day. I had him stop at my house first so I could get a book. The woman brought me food for lunch after stopping to see what I wanted. Then Kru Oy came with some food, and then Khun Kwan arrived with more food. I spent the day resting—reading, sleeping, and using the Internet. Khun Kwan had planned a small party for the group I teach; so Kru Tang and Fah joined us for dinner. It was pleasant to hang out with them, as I was feeling better by that time.

After my experience, one topic of discussion was how much medical coverage people get from their governments. I learned that, when the new government takes over next month, all Thai people will have free medical services. Now they are available to the old (60+), children, and government workers. I also learned that the school has some insurance for us. Since it’s a private school, teachers do not have the government coverage and they probably need to provide something to compensate so teachers will stay at the school.

Saturday morning Kru Oy took me to the hospital. I got another injection into the wound and bone that left me barely able to walk and slightly nauseous for several hours. I spent the rest of the day resting—reading and sleeping. I was able to wash my clothes in the afternoon, but otherwise I was sedentary. Khun Kwan brought me dinner in the evening after I had cooked a bit.

Sunday morning the whole family took me to the hospital. No injection, which made me happy. The cleaning didn’t hurt as much, either. When I asked the nurse if it was better, she said it was. Then we all went out for breakfast before they brought me home. Another sedentary day. My neighbor called to me at 10:30 and gave me some squash he had cooked. That was really nice. It was a little spicy but was just at the limit of what I can tolerate to eat. Khun Toy and Khun Dakom came in the afternoon, as they were spending the night at Khun Kwan’s house because she had to go to the hospital Monday morning to have her kidney stone checked. It has disappeared from her kidney and they want to make sure it’s not elsewhere in her body. While they were here, the owner came, too. Khun Dakom had talked to her and told her she should visit me every day until I’m well. She’s leaving town and can’t come again until Friday. She’s a nice person. She brought two kilos of fruit—rambutan and longan. Since this is way too much for me, I gave some to the neighbor in the bowl I returned. When I came home, he called to me and gave me a bunch of bananas.

After dinner, Khun Kwan, Khun Joy, Khun Toy, and I went out to sing karaoke. This was not on the list of things I wanted to do that night, as I was tired and wanted to go home and lie down. But it was fun to go out with the women. I sang several songs to the pleasure of my friends and the other guests. The woman working there thanked me when we left.

I noticed Sunday morning that the pain in one arm was gone, but the other still hurt. By afternoon, that arm was also OK. Just in time for the next rabies injection on Monday. Most of the time I can walk OK now, but stairs are difficult and I’m slow.

At school, we had no classes Tuesday afternoon, as there were special art activities for all of the students. Students could paint a clay pot, 

make objects out of clay, sing karaoke, paint a picture, 

use robots, or use computers. Many were actively engaged in these activities; others were just hanging out with their friends and not participating.

Wednesday after lunch there was a special program for elementary students. I don’t know what it was about, but the banners showed sunscreen and toothpaste. I heard that KFC had a special program for students on Friday. These take place in the common area, which is below the class I teach in that hour. So we hear everything and I have to be really loud to be heard over the noise.