My Friend Comes to Ubon (10-20)

Tuesday was the first of Jackie’s three days in Ubon. I had arranged to have that day for us to recover from traveling and to do personal care things Jackie wanted to do. We washed our clothes and went to the morning market. Then we headed for City Mall to eat pad Thai for lunch, as the food court there has the most delicious pad Thai. When I told Khun Yindee my plan, she heartily agreed that it is the best. We also had some delicious som tom (green papaya salad).  We bought one of each and shared, which was good, since both came in very large portions.

I had arranged to meet Khun Duan, my massage therapist, at 3:00; so we had a couple hours to kill after lunch. We went to the itinerant clothing stalls outside Big C and found a man who had very nice Thai fabric clothes. We each bought some. Entertaining Jackie has been expensive! The next stop was a quick visit to the school. We met a few of the teachers, including Kate and Lovely, and a few students, including Bank and Pim. Then it was time for our massage. Khun Duan called a friend so we could both have a massage at the same time. The next stop was Khun Gawn, who cut my hair last month, for a manicure and pedicure. Since she was busy, she sent us to her sister, Khun Kwan. We were there for an hour and a half. Khun Kwan started with me while her cousin worked on Jackie. When I was finished, she worked on Jackie for half an hour. We think her cousin was starting Jackie so we would both be served without one of us having to wait. This was my first manicure and pedicure. It was good and my hands and feet look and feel lovely, but I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it.

Wednesday we had a delightful day in the village. Khun Yindee and her husband drove us there in the morning. We three women walked around the school and the village, visiting the 1000 year old Buddha, the two wats, my old house, a woman weaving mats and another weaving silk. This was a lot of walking for Khun Yindee, but she was an excellent tour guide. The former mayor’s wife gave me a bunch of bananas and some green rice. This was surprising, as we were not good friends, but we always greeted each other when I walked by. We stopped to say “hello” to Khun Ying and then briefly to see Khun Kasemsri, but it was time to report for lunch at Khun Toy’s; so it was arranged for Khun Kasemsri to join us there. Khun Teamjan and Khun Suwit were also there, of course. 

Lunch was exquisite. Khun Dakom had cooked two ducks for me/us. Khun Toy made a delicious mushroom laab and som tom. 

After lunch, we went to Khun Suwit’s farm. The rice is forming on the plants but is not yet ripe. After relaxing at the farm for a while, the four of us left to return to Ubon. Khun Suwit and Khun Teamjan had prepared his farm house for us to sleep in. However, no one had told us about this plan. I think Khun Dakom had misunderstood when I told him we would go to the village for one day and included the night as part of that. We felt a little bad about that, as it was such a nice gesture. Before we left, Khun Dakom called to tell me he wanted us to stay for dinner, but Khun Yindee and her husband needed to return home.

On the way we stopped to see the people making kao lam, sticky rice cooked in bamboo. 

We also stopped at the market that has interesting foods like many insects and eel and even a snake. Fun to look at but nothing was purchased.

When we arrived in Ubon, we convinced Khun Yindee that we wanted to pick up food for dinner at the market and they didn’t have to take us out to eat. I mentioned that I wanted to stop to say “hello” to Khun Kwan; so Khun Yindee called her and we went there. She was at Khun Joy’s house and they were almost ready to eat dinner; so, of course, Jackie and I were invited to join them. KhunYindee and her husband were going to his sister’s house. We were tired and wanted to go home, but, of course, we said we’d be happy to eat with them. Khun Joy was at the market and Khun Kwan was on the phone telling her what to buy for us. Khun Kwan made some vegetables especially for us. They had steamed fish that they were already cooking. The three women are on term break; so they are spending most evenings together having fun. Jackie especially enjoys making people laugh; so we had a delightful time eating and chatting with them. After dinner we were going to walk home, but Joy drove us.

We briefly stopped at Khun Kwan’s house. On her table were the eleven huge portfolios she has been preparing about her years of working. They are full of photos, certificates, and other documents. She has been working on these for several weeks and has been extremely busy and stressed. She is applying for the next level and will present her work to her big boss next month. It was nice to see her happy and having fun again now that this project is finished and it is the term break.

On Thursday Khun Yindee invited us to her home for morning tea. We enjoyed a lovely time on her porch and touring her beautiful garden. Then we went on a tour of wats in Ubon. This, of course, included a nice lunch at one of the restaurants along the river. The first wat was Wat Ban Na Muang, which is the one built on a stone boat. I have visited this one twice but still enjoy it, as it is unique. Khun Greandach wanted us to know that he is building the new building that is going up. Progress has been stopped due to lack of funds. I thought it was nice that he wanted us to know it is his project. 

Next we went to Wat Tai Phra Chu. 

The third wat was Wat Thung Sii Muang. This was my second visit there, but I love the 400-year-old teak building that was a library (Khun Toy’s term) or storage building for the palm leaf manuscripts. In another building we were blessed with water sprinkled on us by a monk. Visiting three wats in one day is good luck.

 We had a bonus, as well, because on the way back to my house we stopped at the Wat Nong Bua. I was there when they took Beth to see it at night, but this was my first visit during the day. Khun Yindee and her husband chose wats to visit well, as each one was different from the others and each was special in some way. It made a very interesting and fun day.

After quick showers, we were off to the bus station for our night ride to Bangkok. Khun Yindee was concerned about our getting there in time to get to the airport for our 6:00 AM flight to Hanoi because of the flooding. The trip took 1.5 hours longer than usual, partly because we stopped for half an hour in Sisaket, the first city. I think we stopped for the driver to eat dinner, as nothing else was happening. The attendant announced that the bus would stop only at Mochit in Bangkok. It usually stops several times before Mochit, but there was flooding in the vicinity; so they bypassed the usual stops. As we drove on the overpasses in the city, we saw some of the effects of the flooding, as they were packed with parked cars. Tens of thousands of cars were parked on the highway. In some places, there was hardly one lane open for driving. The domestic airport parking garage was full of cars parked to avoid flooding. In some buildings we could see tents that had been set up for displaced people. In spite of everything, we arrived at the bus station with just enough time to get a taxi to the airport and check in for our flight normally. So all was good.

Term Ends and Holiday Begins (10-18)

Last week was finals week. Exams were Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Since I was leaving Friday and grades and record books are due on the 21^st, I had to mark all nine of my exams and compute grades before I left. This kept me busy all week. I was quite exhausted by the end of the day Tuesday. My body isn’t used to sitting and doing paperwork all day. Fortunately, the boxes for attendance in the record books only went until September 20; so I was able to finish counting and computing the percentage of attendance two weeks ago. Students got two weeks of free attendance, but they don’t know that. It’s an interesting system. Part of computing grades was fixing grades of those who totaled 45-49 and making their totals 50 so they had a passing grade. Those below 45 have to have make-up work to do so they can “earn” a passing grade. Everyone has to pass, as the government wants all student to pass. In addition, parents pay a lot of money for the private school and the Intensive English Program; so the school wants them to think that their children are benefitting.  After turning in my record books (I was the first one!) early Friday afternoon, I spent the rest of the day preparing the make-up work. My suggestion, which Khun Toom liked, was that they attend a mandatory special class after school for a week to do the work. That way they will have to do something and not just have their friends do it for them. We’ll see what happens next month.

We had a meeting with Sister Oranut on Tuesday so she could give us the work permit/visa reimbursement. She had Khun Toom join us and translate everything even though her English is good. This felt really strange, like she was playing a game with us. I later asked Khun Toom why Sister Oranut had her translate and told her how it felt. She said Sister Oranut doesn’t play games and cares about helping teachers and that, perhaps, she was there because she is the department head and is in charge of us. Sister Viphaporn had not asked her to attend meeting with us. At the meeting Sister Oranut told us—through Khun Toom—that she needed to see our work permits and said that there was a new contract she wanted us to look at and that after we looked at the contract we could have the money. Tony was livid and let them know how he feels. I knew that, if we had to wait until we read the new contract, it would be another month until we saw the money. When I understood that they had prepared the money, I asked if we could have it Wednesday if we brought in our work permits. Sister Oranut agreed to that. Looking at the new contract first was not mentioned again. So, Wednesday morning we met to receive the money. Sister Oranut started by saying that we had wondered why Khun Toom was translating. She explained that Khun Toom is the department head and we should take all of our concerns to her first. That hadn’t been totally clear; we knew that academic concerns are addressed to Khun Toom but did not know that everything should go to her first. Sister Oranut spoke English with us most of the time at that meeting. She also addressed the issue of the term break. It is understood by Thai teachers that they work the first week and have only one week off. The schedule we were given states that the number of working days in October is 10; I guess it should have said 15 to include the first week of the break. Since it was their mistake not to make this clear to us and I had plans, I was told that I could leave. Tony spoke up angrily about having to cancel his plans and it was decided that Kate and Lovely can go to school “because they live close” (and because they did not speak up or have plans) and that Tony and I can leave. This will be made clear for next term and next year. So this was settled and we were happy that the money issue was settled before the break.

Thursday was Foreign Language Camp. There were seven stations—six English and one Chinese—for students to attend. They ended out separating grades 1-4 and grades 5-7 into two separate groups, which was much better than the plan for everyone to be mixed together. 

Angela was assigned to work with me, which was nice. The activity—three part riddles—was fun for the first three times. After that it was just work. The first several groups of students enjoyed it; then they were tired and many did not try to participate. We were tired at the end of the day but not exhausted like the first three days of the week.

Friday night I took a bus to Bangkok, since Jackie was arriving late Saturday night and I had a few things I wanted to do in the city. After checking into the hotel at 8:00 AM, having arrived in the city at 6:30, I rested in the lounge for a couple hours. Then I walked to the used book store that had agreed to exchange fifteen of my books. I found it online and sent a list of books I have read. That was convenient, as I knew which books to take with me and didn’t have to choose myself and have them rejected. It was a long walk to the book store and I enjoyed stopping along the way. I got into photographing the special city spirit houses. 

I like spirit houses, and the variety and fanciness of them in the city is fascinating.

Many shops had sand bags in front of them for the flooding. I’d heard about the flooding but didn’t understand why it was happening so far from the river. One shop owner explained that the water comes from the nearby canal. She said they had to use the sand bags for only three more days. I heard an explanation on TV that the water backs up during high tide and then floods the canals. They are also opening the dams at night, which increases the flooding in the city.

Once at the book store, it didn’t take long to turn in my books and select seven to bring home. One stop on the way was a shop that had beautiful jade and bronze Buddhas. I made the mistake of asking to look at one and pricing it. The woman could see that I appreciate good quality and brought out a few more to show me and explained the high quality of the carving. So, on the way back I bought a beautifully carved jade Buddha. This is my special gift to myself.

A surprise stop was a fish spa. I have seen these several times and have had friends say they liked it or they didn’t like it. I’d decided that maybe I’d try it someday. Saturday was the day. There is a small tank that you put your feet into and little sucker fish nibble at the dead skin. It was really weird for the first fifteen seconds. Then I decided that I’d stick it out for the 15 minutes and got quite used to it. It was interesting that the fish were more interested in my left foot than my right foot. They’d nibble for a short time and then go to the other side of the tank; then more would come to my feet. When I returned to the hotel, I noticed that my feet were really soft.

I went to the vegetarian Italian restaurant that Peggy had introduced me to for lunch. After returning to the hotel for a few hours of rest, I went out to an Indian restaurant for dinner. One thing I enjoy about Bangkok is being able to eat food that is not available locally. After dinner, I walked down the street and went to the airport because it would be easier to wait there than to stay in the room and leave at 10:00 PM to go to the airport. All went well, and Jackie’s plane arrived on time.

Sunday we walked around the area near the hotel for a few hours. The area is frequented by Arabs who use the international hospital nearby. After returning to the hotel to rest for a few hours, we went to the mall that has an arts and crafts section. We had fun shopping for a couple hours, ate dinner, and returned to the hotel.

Monday we spent the day on a bus to Ubon. Khun Yindee and her husband met us when we arrived and took us to dinner. It was really good to be with her again. He looked good but tired after his angioplasty a few weeks ago. It was good to know that it went well for him and he is able to get around a bit now.

Sports Day for Teachers (10-9)

The big event this week was Sports Day on Friday. When I was originally told about this, I thought it was for students, but it turned out to be for teachers. Teachers from 78 private schools in the province came to Ubon for the event. Schools were divided into four teams and we all had to purchase a shirt (185 bahts, about $6) for our team. We were on the orange team; so our shirts are orange, which is not my favorite color to wear. I guess I have a shirt to give away sometime.

The day began with a parade. I’d forgotten that all such events have to start with a parade. Kru Toom had told me to go Assumption College at 8:00 or, if I wanted to walk in the parade, I could go to the other school at 6:30. Not being a morning person, I chose 8:00. Tony was asked to carry a flag in the parade. When the songtaew went past the school where the people were gathering, I decided to get out and walk with the teachers. However, I couldn’t find any of our teachers just walking in our orange shirts; I only found those carrying flags. So I decided to walk on my own and take photos. 

The costumes were quite interesting. The theme of the event seemed to be the ASEAN countries, since there is an ASEAN event coming here in a few years. People were dressed to represent some of the countries and the flags of all the countries were carried. 

Our school band led the parade. The parade started at 8:20 and finished at 9:00.

When everyone was gathered in the sports field, the opening ceremony began. It lasted until 10:30. I had been feeling a bit left out, since Tony was asked to carry a flag and I wasn’t (Several female teachers carried flags; so it wasn’t about his being male.) and Kate and Lovely were asked at the last minute to walk with the cheerleaders, but as the morning dragged on, I was happy to be able to go sit on the side with a few of the teachers I found there.

After the opening ceremony, we were given lunch—a box with rice and a fried egg and a small bag of curry and a box with drinking yogurt and a muffin. I passed on the first box. After we ate, it was time for photos. Football games started. 

Our cheerleaders went out to cheer on the orange team.

Kate and Lovely went with Kru Tang to her car to get their bags so they could change from their parade outfits into the orange shirt and sports pants for the rest of the day. I walked along with them and realized that the school was next to City Mall. I knew it was close, but hadn’t realized it was right there. When we got back, I sat with Kru Tang and Kru Irene for a while. I was hungry and tired and bored already, and it was only 11:20. So I excused myself and went to the mall. I remembered eating the best pad Thai in the food court there and decided that I needed to have some for lunch. I asked a woman where to purchase a card, and she pointed to the man cooking. I could see that she had a card and knew I needed one; so I asked again when she returned. This time she understood that I was talking about the “coupon” and pointed out the booth where I could get one. When I picked up my food, she pointed to a table and left her friends to sit with me so I wouldn’t have to eat alone.

An hour later, I returned to the school and couldn’t find anyone I knew. So I went as far as I could get from the loud speakers and booming base and sat in the shade to read the book I had thoughtfully taken with me. After a while, one of the teachers came and joined me. He was there to watch chairball, which was beginning. A few of our teachers were playing on the orange team; so I watched that for a while. One team member stands on a chair and holds a basket. The others try to get the ball into the basket. The basket holder can move the basket as long as he stays on the chair. When the games were over, the teacher told me to leave with him. We went to the area where they were playing petong, and I watched for a few minutes. There were also volleyball games going on in the gym and football in the field. I walked around a bit looking for someone I knew, but I didn’t see anyone. So I decided to go home, since I was tired and bored and didn’t know what was happening. There was a dinner in the evening, but I missed that. It was an enjoyable event. It was just too long.

Thursday morning at the opening ceremony there were two large bouquets of roses on the counter. I hung around to see what they were for. They were presented to Sister Viphaporn and Kru Tang. I asked later why they were given the flowers and learned that they had received an award from the government for their hard work.

Saturday at noon my phone rang and the woman asked where I lived and then told to “walk around.” I learned that the caller was at the swimming pool and headed there, not knowing who was waiting for me. It turned out to be the woman we met at the hospital who wanted me to teacher her daughters. She, her friend, and her three daughters had come to talk to me about teaching them all. The girls are on break now and they wanted me to start next week, but I’ll be on break and gone then. So we’ll start next month. I was talking about Saturday and Sunday morning, but somehow it turned into evening because the girls study during the day. I suppose that means they go somewhere for special classes. They also mentioned bringing a few more people to class; so this could be interesting. The two women teach in Lue Amnat, near my village, and want me to teach at their school next year. They would take me with them to school and home every day. I told them “maybe.” They said they’ll talk to the principal.