Vacation in Southern Laos--Pakse (1-16)

Since I work at a Catholic school, we had a week’s vacation between Christmas and New Year’s. (We didn’t have the harvest break in November; so the week off keeps the number of school days the same as for the other schools.) I decided to go to southern Laos for the week.

On 26 December I took the Ubon-Pakse bus to Laos. This is a three-hour trip, including the stop at the border for passengers to depart from Thailand and enter Laos. About half way, the bus attendant gave us the visa forms for Laos. When I looked at it, the first thing I saw was the little box in the top, right corner for a photo. Gulp. I had forgotten to take photos. I keep the passport photos with the passport, but, since I had used it and hadn’t put it away, I didn’t see—or think of—the photos. I could get off the bus at the border, return home, and take the bus to Pakse again on the next day. Or I could take a chance that there would be a place to get a photo taken at the border. I decided on the latter even though I’ve never seen a photo place at a border before. There was none.  I had nothing to lose at that point and went on to the visa counter. When the man asked for a photo, I told him I’d forgotten them and asked if there was some place I could get one. He said maybe he’d let me enter anyway. And he did. I was very thankful. I thought that was pretty smart of him, since I would then spend my money in Laos that night instead of spending it on a bus to Ubon and back.

After checking into the guest house, I took off for the wat in town. However, I didn’t turn right soon enough and ended out at a point past the wat. After a while, I realized that I was not where I wanted to be but decided to keep walking along the river toward the bridge. 

I came to another wat and explored it. I went inland a couple blocks and found the New Market, which is described as the largest market in the country. I walked through the gold section and part of the clothes section, but I was tired and it was more than I wanted to take in at that time. 

So I retraced my steps along the river and found Wat Luang, which was where I was originally headed. 

There are several restaurants along the river and I decided to eat there one night. But this first night, I ate at an Indian restaurant, since one of my pleasures of traveling is eating food I don’t eat at home. Back at the guest house, I was able to join a tour to the Bolaven Plateau the next day. I had read about their tour online and had asked about it when I registered, but they didn’t have a tour going yet. Their price is about 25% of what a nearby travel agency charges, and they didn’t have one going yet, either. I really wanted to get this taken care of and was very happy when I returned and learned that the guest house had a tour going. Not only could I do it for the lower price, but I didn’t have to look around any more. I had looked at descriptions of a few tours, and they all looked basically the same. [Description in Part 2]

My third day in Pakse was for relaxing. I had a pleasant walk around the center of town, which is not large. I meandered around and looked in a few shops. Buildings are a combination of the old French-style and Lao style.

I found the indoor market in the center of town and walked around it. On the way out, I found several fabric stalls, my weakness. I purchased several pieces. I will use some and will give some to my friends. 

I stopped at the Catholic church. I planned to stop at the guest house and drop off my purchases, as my bag was a little heavy and then go to the museum out of town. However, I took a wrong road and ended out halfway to the museum. The streets in Pakse go in funny angles; so it was not difficult to end out somewhere else. Fortunately, it was on the way to where I wanted to go.

On the way to the museum I stopped at an old wat and the Chinese temple. 

Both were interesting. Chinese temples are beginning to look pretty much the same wherever I go, but the old wats always have some interesting art. The wat had a sign that welcomed people to a tourist destination but did not have the name of the wat on it. 

The museum was small and had a few interesting items. An unusual display was one of American weapons.

Since I was a little tired from the long walk and it was hot, I took a songtaew back to town. After dropping off my bag at the guest house, I headed to the river for dinner. I was lucky to have a beautiful sunset as a background.

Several places in town were decorated for the holidays, which really felt strange here—even more so than in Thailand. I think it’s for the tourists. Again, the spirit was missing.

I especially enjoyed the spirit houses in town—and elsewhere in this part of Laos—as many are unique in style.

Children's Day (1-15)

Friday was Children’s Day. For the occasion, we had no classes in the afternoon. When I went to my 7^th grade class before lunch, the students were already playing, and it looked like they had had no class before mine. Bank came up and gave me their request to not have class that day because it was Children’s Day and they wanted to play. Being a nice teacher, I agreed. They clapped and thanked me.

So, I had only one class Friday, and that class was 20 minutes shorter than usual. The morning assembly was long. Students stood at the front of the gathered students and carried the ASEAN flags and posters with information about each country. I learned later that they were practicing for an opening ceremony for the special guests in the afternoon.

In addition to a program for Children’s Day in the afternoon, some people came to the school to video recycling projects. Several were on display, but half of the products were made by adults. I don’t know who they were, but they were not teachers. 

All teachers had been told to have a recycling project in their classrooms so the guests could see that everyone was doing something. Some teachers had special bulletin boards made with recycled paper. 

But only two people came, and they wanted to talk to only a few students. They didn’t walk around the school. While they did their recording, all of the other students were sent to the common area to wait. We waited over an hour. Students sat playing and talking. After about 45 minutes, the ice cream donated by parents for the occasion was brought to that side of the school, and students lined up to get an ice cream cone. At that time, chaos took over, and students who were not in line started running around.

When the media people finally finished with the recycling project, everyone gathered on the blacktop for the program. Since no special guests came and the media people only wanted to video the projects and talk to a few students, there was no opening ceremony that they had practiced for in the morning. A few students sang some Thai rock songs. A group of teachers dressed as students did a short skit and threw snacks to the audience. They were a big hit. A group of girls did the line dance. I think they were to perform for the special program for the guests that didn’t come. Then Sister Viphaporn drew cards and distributed prizes to the winning students. By that time, most students had drifted away and were hanging out elsewhere. I think only those who had cards in the box stayed to see if they would win anything. It seemed to me that, other than not having classes for the afternoon, the Children’s Day program wasn’t much for the chldren. It was mostly a program for the special guests Sister Viphaporn thought would come to see the recycling projects. My other schools had special organized activities like relay races and some sports competitions. It was a time for the students to have fun. This event was about putting on a show for the special guests who didn’t come.

Saturday there were special activities at the Municipal Building. Tony and I had been told to help with the school’s booth. As usual, there were many more teachers there than needed. We had plaster molds for children to paint, pictures to color, and English fun worksheets. The last were not a popular choice, but the painting and coloring were enjoyed by many children. 

Teachers also handed out snacks. Beside us, Khun Kwan’s school also had plaster molds to paint. We were the only two schools with activities. Other groups had food that was free. Children had bags full of snacks to take home. It reminded me of Halloween. People started coming at 8:30, and by 10:15 we were out of plaster molds and snacks, as were other booths.

Since we finished early, I went on to the mall to see the exhibits at the private school exhibition. Kate and Lovely were assigned to help at the school’s table there. I had joked that I was surprised that Sister Viphaporn didn’t want her Western foreign teachers, not only the Filipinos, on display. Friday morning Sister Viphaporn said she had learned that one of the other Catholic schools was sending their foreign teachers; so she thought Tony and I should be there. She really gets paranoid when she thinks this school isn’t doing something the other Catholic schools are doing. When I went to the other school’s booth, I didn’t see any foreign teachers. As at the other event, there were more teachers at the school’s booth than needed. Most were just sitting around. There really wasn’t anything to do. 

I hung out there for a while and walked around and watched some student groups dance. I left after a few hours, as there didn’t seem to be any point in staying. I did manage to be seen by a couple of the Sisters and get my photo taken.

The mall still has its Christmas/New Year’s decorations outside. And the entrance is decorated for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

I had two nice surprises on Thursday. Khun Irene invited us to eat lunch in her classroom. Parents had cooked noodles and provided fish and som tom for students’ lunch. Khun Irene had invited several teachers to join them. This was special for New Year’s and Children’s Day. It was the best lunch all week. Then, in the afternoon, Khun Dakom called and invited me to have dinner with them and his friend and his daughter. I wasn’t sure who we were joining, but, of course, I agreed to go. It turned out to be Bruce and his daughter, who was visiting from the U.S. I enjoyed chatting with her, and he was the most sociable I’ve seen him. We ate at the “beach,” one of the restaurants floating on the Mun River. It was pleasant.

Khun Kwan and Khun Joy both passed their examinations. This is the big project Khun Kwan was working on for a few months at the end of the year. Khun Toy proudly showed me Khun Kwan’s new official portrait in her new white uniform.

Starting the New Year (1-8-12)

I returned from my vacation in southern Laos on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned. Khun Yindee had sent me a text message (I was surprised my phone could receive a  message in Laos.) that Khun Kumton’s son had been in an accident and died. I responded and asked her to e-mail information about the funeral so I could attend if possible. Since it was on 3 January, it was not difficult to change my plans and return.

When leaving Don Khone, I met Lior, a young woman from Israel who was traveling alone to Bangkok and wanted to spend a night in Ubon rather than do the whole trip in one day. Since we got along well, I invited her to stay at my home for the night. She has  been traveling for eight months in Mongolia, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Laos. After two weeks in Thailand, she will go to India for two months and then return home. I enjoyed hatting with her. It was fun to introduce her to Thai foods at the market. Tuesday I cooked vegetables for dinner, and she especially enjoyed the home-cooked meal.

Tuesday morning she needed to use the Internet; so we went to my neighbors’ house, and they were happy to assist. These are the people who lived in the U.S. twenty years ago. Their big news was that they have bought a house in Louisiana, where their children live. It is being built and will be finished in a couple months. They gave Lior a silk scarf and a calendar with pictures of elephants from murals in one of the wats. I was given a canvas and plastic bag for shopping, since they see me walk to the market. Since Lior couldn’t take the calendar in her bag, she gave it to me, which was especially nice because I really like the pictures and didn’t have a 2012 Thai calendar.

Tuesday afternoon Khun Yindee and her husband took me to the funeral. On the way, she told me the story of the young man’s death. It was as I had suspected: he was driving drunk and had an accident. After drinking in the village, he had decided to go to the city. He was driving fast and too close to a truck. When the truck turned, he ran into it. He was taken to the hospital where he died. He was 35 years old and left his wife with two young children—almost 7 and almost 4 years old. It’s sad, especially since the accident and death could have been avoided if drinking and driving were not so acceptable in this culture.

I knew the funeral would be huge, as Khun Kumtom is an important person in the village and the district. There were at least a thousand people there. We arrived after the service started and sat outside. Since we couldn’t see or hear, Khun Yindee and I had a nice chat. Everyone around us was also chatting with their neighbors. After the ceremony, we gave our envelopes with money to Khun Kumtom. Some of the money will go to the man’s wife; some will help pay for the funeral expenses. Then we joined the line to put paper flowers on the altar beside the casket. As we exited, we were given a pen. The man’s wife was at the table and thanked me for coming. I don’t know her well, but she was always friendly when I saw her, which is one of the reasons I wanted to be there. It just seemed like the right thing to do, and I was glad I had made the effort to get there.

In addition to having time with Khun Yindee, another benefit of attending the funeral was that I saw some of my village and school friends. Khun Wantana and Khun Hom from Nam Tuam were there and greeted me with a big hug. It was really nice to see them again.

Khun Yindee wanted to take Lior to the bus station that night. I had asked my neighbors to do that when I wasn’t sure how long we would be away for the funeral. We changed our plans so Khun Yindee would have the opportunity to help.

Wednesday school started again. The week went well, especially since it was short and about nine students in each of the 7^th and 8^th grade classes were absent, taking extended holidays.

Friday there was a special ceremony in the morning to give teachers presents for New Year’s. All teachers sat at the front, and 9^th grade student sat in front of each of us with the gift. All students prayed and said some things about being good to teachers (according to the teacher next to me). The gifts were a cup and a clock inside a large plastic bag.

Sunday we went to the hospital for our bi-monthly cholesterol check. The surprise of the day was that we were assigned to a new doctor. The other one is a kidney specialist and is now seeing only kidney-related patients. The new woman was quite nice and speaks English fairly well; so I was OK with the change. The doctor didn’t start seeing patients until 10:00, but the pharmacy was faster delivering the meds; so we were on our way to duck noodle soup for lunch by noon. As always, it was good to hang out with Khun Toy and Khun Dakom. I asked about her going to America after she retires. That idea has been cancelled because her children want her to help them. Khun Kwan wants a new, small car so they will have two vehicles, and Khun Adin wants a new house. So, they will use her retirement money to help their children. I wasn’t surprised by this news, as I had anticipated that she would not go in the end. The idea is a dream, but the reality of travel would be difficult, even if she were with me and other American friends.

I was finally able to talk with Sister Viphaporn about the schedule and expectations for our time after classes finish in the middle of March. (Our contracts go until the end of April.) She said we are expected to teach in the summer program. This was not a surprise, and I had already thought about it and decided that I will not teach the 7^th and 8^th grade classes. If the 7^th grade class remained as it is, it would be OK, as they do well most of the time. But the school takes in new students who have failed or had problems at other schools, and that changes the mix of students and the atmosphere of the class. Many of the students in 8^th grade who are problems were new to the school this year. I decided that I don’t need more of that. So I told her that I will quit if she assigns me to those classes. I did agree to teach primary classes if they want me to. Otherwise, I’ll be finished in March and forego pay for April. It’s just not worth it. We’ll see what they decide. I don’t really care, as I’m not all that enthused about teaching in the summer program, but I’ll do it.

Now that the final stretch is here, I feel more positive. This the first time after a long break that I have slept well and not awakened thinking about why I don’t like teaching at this school for two nights before going back. There are things I have enjoyed about the year, and now I am able to focus more on them. I do enjoy the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th grade most of the time. For 5^th and 6^th grade, it’s the subject—math—that I don’t like teaching, not the students. I will miss some of the students who have formed a special relationship with me.

I also really don’t like teaching science, which is two hours a week for the 7^th grade and the two 8^th grade classes. Science and math make up half of my classes. My other main objection to the school is that I don’t like their Intensive English program and the way it operates. It is not organized or thought through and is too difficult for at least half of the 8^th grade students and a third of the 7^th grade students. I can’t agree with the idea that it’s OK to put students into a program because their parents want them to learn English but that they can’t learn in because they don’t have the prerequisite skills and aren’t even close to having them. These are the students who are problems in the classes for the most part, and I understand why they don’t pay attention, but I can’t do much about it. I have a problem with the fact that the parents pay extra money for this special program that their students cannot and are not learning in even though they have passing grades so they parents think they are learning. But they aren’t. I don’t want to be part of a program like this again. So the program will continue, but I will move on.

My adjustment this term is to give more points toward their grade to students’  notebooks. Most of the notebook work is copying notes from the board and occasionally doing an exercise for which the answers are eventually written on the board. So writing in their notebooks and completing worksheets, most of which they copy from friends, can earn them enough points to pass—If they do it. Not too challenging, but some students don’t bother to write or do the exercises. My other adjustment is to tell them their grades at the end of the unit. I did this last week, and some were pleasantly surprised. And a few were still surprised that they are failing. With the adjustment in grading, fewer students are failing, which is a good thing in the end. It doesn’t mean they are learning; it means they are at least doing something.

Merry Christmas (12-25)

Christmas has come and gone. The week at school was full of preparation for the big extravaganza Friday night. Students were busy practicing their dances, so I saw three of my 19 classes. There were no classes Thursday so students could practice, and Friday students did not come to school so teachers could get everything ready for the evening event.

The event turned out to be a dinner for parents as well as a show. Parents paid 250 bahts (about $7.50) for a seat at a table and dinner. About 1500 parents reserved seats. And the students also had tables and dinner. There were about 270 tables with eight seats at each. Dinner was prepared and served by a catering service that does these events.

There didn’t seem to be much for us foreign teachers to do to help prepare. Sometimes when these things are happening, I feel like I am more in the way than helpful. So I ended out spending most of the day in our office. I did get a little work done. I also helped Angela make ribbon chain necklaces to be sold at the event. Thursday afternoon I went for a walk and found her doing this and offered to help. She said Sister Viphaporn had told them on Wednesday to make 400 necklaces. Then Thursday she decided that there should be 1000. It takes about three minutes to staple the ribbon pieces together, and someone had already cut the ribbon; so this was a serious time commitment for teachers. I helped an hour each day. I did notice Friday night that there were hundreds of necklaces unsold. So there will be a good supply for next year.

The school gave all the teachers a new pink shirt to wear to the program. We were also given a ribbon to wear to indicate that we are teachers. We were told to go to school at 4:00 Friday afternoon to have dinner with the teachers. It wasn’t dinner with all the teachers; it was dinner available when teachers went to eat. Soup was served. It was good, but after several hours I was hungry.

After eating, I walked around and took photos of students dressed up for their performances. I always enjoy the costumes. During the event, teachers were selling small gift items. Kate and Lovely were helping at one stand. I offered a few times to give them a break, but they weren’t ready for one.

The school was all decorated for the evening. Entrances were set up. There were a tree and manger in the parking lot. Lights were strung hanging down the building and a “Merry Christmas” banner was hung. The Christmas tree lights were on. There was a screen showing a video of the performers so people in the back section could see what was happening on the stage.

While people were arriving, a few students sang Thai pop songs. The show started at 6:00. There are 35 classes, and each performed; so it was a long show. It was well organized, and a new group was entering the stage as the previous group exited. After performing, students went to a small stage for photos. During the performances, I walked around and sometimes sat on an empty chair, as there were no places for teachers to sit.

One part of the program was a brief Christmas story. It included the 7^th graders dancing and singing. Another part was giving certificates to teachers. And there were several raffle items.
































Kru Oy called me at 10:00 and offered to drive me home. Since I had been wondering how I would get home so late and I was tired and I thought the show was about over, I was happy to leave with them. We stopped for noodle soup on the way home, which was also nice, since I, as well as Khun Kwan, was hungry. Saturday I learned that the show didn’t end until about 11:30; so I missed quite a bit. I was asked if I was on the stage for the photo of all the teachers. So I missed that, too. Not a big deal, and apparently my absence wasn’t noticed. With so many teachers, each will be just a small speck in the photo anyway.

After dinner, parents whose children had performed went home. When I left, the whole back section of 160 tables was empty. I was surprised, as I’d been sitting in the front section for a while. I imagine that not much of an audience was left for the final performances.

Fortunately, the weather Friday night was good. It wasn’t as cold as it had been the week before, and I was comfortable with just my shirt jacket. And it wasn’t windy. Saturday it was very windy again, and we were glad that hadn’t happened on Friday. It was also colder. So the school was lucky to have good weather for the program.

Saturday was the party for teachers. We had been told to go to school at 9:00 for the party. As I was leaving Friday night, Kru Tang followed me to make sure I knew to come for the party at noon. When I asked what was happening at 9:00, she said teachers would clean up then. So, I took the opportunity to do a few errands that I had planned to do in the afternoon and arrived late. I was able to do a few things, which was nice. About 90 teachers and staff members ate lunch. After lunch, there was some karaoke, and some of the teachers danced. I was among them, which everyone enjoyed. It’s always a hit to have a foreigner dance. And I enjoy it.

Next was the giving of gifts. First, the sisters were all given a gift. Then we had the teachers’ gift exchange, for which we had all brought something. When we delivered our gift, our name was put on it. Then the names were rolled up and put in a pot. When someone drew a name, the person who brought the gift went up and gave it to the recipient and a photo was taken. Doing this for 90 people took quite a while. My gift was a photo album. After the gift exchange, names were drawn and other gifts were given to the winners. I got a small, black purse for dress up occasions. Then everyone lined up to receive a special gift—a shawl or towel. I was glad I was in the earlier group, as shawls are small and I don’t need any more towels. After all this, the event everyone was waiting for took place—giving of the annual bonus. We had been told that this usually happens. Each teacher received 1000 bahts (about $30). Four teachers who had been selected as the best teacher in their level received another bonus. I was really happy that Kru Toom was among them, as she does an awful lot of work in addition to being a good teacher.  Then there was more karaoke. Since it was 3:00 and I’d had enough socialization and teachers were starting to leave, I went home.

When I told Kru Toom I hoped she enjoyed her holiday, she said she wouldn’t have much. She had planned to go somewhere with her friends on Monday, but Sister Viphaporn gave her a job; so she can’t go with her friends. Then she has to go to a seminar. Then she has to go on the field trip for teachers to see an exhibition a few of the teachers are in. So, she may have four of the nine days as a holiday. I still have a hard time with the way teachers are treated here—like they are servants who have to do as they are told and who have to work all the time, even on weekends and holidays.

The male teachers and staff sat together, partly so they could drink whiskey. The bottle was kept under the table. Glasses with whiskey were covered with tissue so the drink couldn’t be seen. Glasses with cola and water were not covered; so obviously the covered glasses contained alcohol. It’s not a secret that the men—and a few women—were drinking, but it’s done like it’s under cover. What’s not seen is not a problem.

Sunday morning Khun Dakom called to say “Merry Christmas.” He invited me to go to Wat Hua Don with them. I felt bad that I couldn’t do that, as I do miss going there and this is the first time I’ve been invited for a while. There was a tamboon at 11:00 that included feeding the monks lunch. This was special, as they usually eat only in the morning. The whole family was going, which was why they could take me. Kru Oy would be driving back to Ubon and could give me a ride; the others would go on to the village.  Since I couldn’t go to the wat with them, Khun Dakom invited me to join them for breakfast. It was nice to see them, even for a short time.

Tony had invited us to his home for Christmas lunch. Sampong and a friend prepared the food. When I arrived, I cut the fruit while they cooked. She’s a good cook, and the meal was delicious. She sent some of the gang keow wan (sweet green curry) and chicken home with me. I had given the girls small gifts at school on Thursday. When I arrived, Ink gave me a gift. It was a scarf that she had knit. That was really sweet. I took a small gift for Sampong as well as some chocolate. It was a pleasant afternoon.

One of the guests was a French man who comes here for two months every winter. He has relationship with a Thai woman who is half American (Her father was an African-American GI.) They have been together for about 11 years.

At the end of class Sunday night, the girls said, “Merry Christmas,” which was sweet. All in all, it was a pleasant day, as I ended out spending time with several of my friends and had some good food.

The holiday felt a little strange this year. In past years, I was among Buddhists, and Christmas was pretty much a non-event. Just another day. For the Catholics at the smaller school, Christmas was pretty low key. Nothing was done at the school. There was a service at the church in the nearby village, and Catholic students didn’t go to school on Christmas day. Since I’m at a Catholic school this year, Christmas is a big deal. Since most of the students are Buddhist, it felt strange to have it be such a big deal. It felt really out of place culturally to have it be such a big deal. And it felt like most of it was just for show. The trimmings of Christmas were there without the spirit behind them. The rooms were all decorated and students practiced for the show, but it’s something to do and has no personal meaning for most of them. The big show was mostly Thai music and dancing that didn’t have much to do with Christmas. Preschool students danced to a few Christmas songs. The nativity story was told and included dancing to two songs, one of which some students actually sang. (All other music was recorded.) But most of the show could have been performed for any occasion.

In addition, this year I work with the Filipino Christians and Tony, who is not Christian but to whom the day has some personal meaning. It all left me feeling strange about the day. I found myself missing the spirit of the holiday, which I didn’t miss when it was just another day to everyone around me.