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. 

Back to the Old School (7-24)

Last week was a fairly quiet week. It went quickly, since Monday was a holiday. I like these four-day weeks. Tuesday morning Khun Toom greeted me with a big smile and a copy of the schedule of events for the term. Finally. It’s really nice to be able to look ahead and see things like Environment Camp and turn in lesson plans and record books on Friday this week. If I know these things, I can then ask her questions a few days in advance to remind her to keep us informed. Life is good again.

The big event this week was going back to the village for the party for Khun Toy’s new granddaughter. It was so good to be with the teachers there again. They greeted me like I am a celebrity. I got to sit with Khun Yindee and we had a good catch-up chat, which we both enjoyed. I do miss working with her and seeing her. She asked if I have good friends at the school, and I told her “not like you,” which is true.

Khun Kumtom presented the baby with a gold chain. I took a photo for Khun Toy. Then I was told to join the group. I thought that meant I would stand with the teachers behind Khun Kumtom, but they had me sit in the chair he had been in and hold the baby for a photo. I was a celebrity. 

The blanket the baby was on was wrapped around something stiff. She was covered from head to foot and slept through the whole thing.

Three people from OBEC, the government office for education, were at the party. They were visiting the school for two days to evaluate it, and one of the things they evaluate is how well teachers get along. So the party, which was originally planned for next week, was moved up so they could have it while the officials were there. Usually at these new baby parties, there is dinner, Khun Kumtom makes his presentation, and then everyone goes home. But because of the special guests, the party had karaoke and dancing and whiskey was flowing and people didn’t start leaving until 7:30. I had a good time.

Thursday morning there was a special performance by blind singers during the homeroom hour. Of course, it took half of the first class, too. They were good, and students had a good time. During the last few songs, the younger students stood up and danced. Older students were too shy to do that.

No club on Friday at school because the school is being used on Sunday as a site where people can take the test to become government employees. So teachers and students had to clean the rooms, and teachers were putting up new bulletin boards so they would look beautiful.

My after school group at Bitoy’s house has changed. There were three girls for two weeks and then one stopped coming. Last week Khun Tang’s daughter stopped coming and a new friend of Bitoy’s joined her. Khun Tang had told me that Fah wanted to stop coming, but she had said she couldn’t. Then Friday I guess she changed her mind, as the change was made. I knew Fah wasn’t interested by her behavior; so this wasn’t a big surprise. Bitoy enjoys the class and it seems to give her confidence. I think she has a slight learning disability related to speed of processing. She often knows answers but she needs to think a bit. In class, she is often one of the last to finish a worksheet, but her answers are good. Khun Dakom told me recently that she was very outgoing when she was young, but now she is quiet. In our group, she is outgoing. I think she is quiet in class because she thinks more slowly than most of the good students; so they answer questions and move on before she’s thought of the answer. She probably thinks she’s not as smart as the others.

Khun Toom was talking about the Intensive English Program last week and mentioned that this is only its second year. And last year it was only for 1^st and 4^th grades. This year it’s for all grades. There are two tracks in elementary grades—one that is IE and one that isn’t. But all students in 7^th-9^th grades are in IE. We all thought it had been going longer; so this was interesting news that helped explain some things about the program. Like why it’s so poorly organized. And why students lack the skills we thought they had from previous years. Like so many things here, the program was started because it seemed like a good idea, but there wasn’t any planning for how it will work other than that we will teach the same content students are learning in Thai. But they don’t have the background English knowledge to do that. Of course, even in future years many won’t have the necessary skills because the good students leave and go to better schools. So the middle students become the good students, which is good for them, and the rest don’t know enough English to be successful it this program.

Learning that they were thrown into the IE program for the first time this year was useful. It explains a bit why even the good students didn’t understand anything for the first month or so. They weren’t just getting used to having a native speaker; they were getting used to having classes in English. It would have been helpful if we had been told that this is their first year. Then I could have started a bit slower instead of starting with the idea that they were used to studying in English. The other problem is that half of the students don’t know enough English to be in an IE program. Many of them can’t answer or read simple questions and don’t even try to learn. I have suggested that they continue the two-track system in middle school so the lower students can take less in English and more in Thai where maybe some of them can learn. But this probably won’t happen.

Students are finally getting used to me. The 8^th grade has settled down pretty much. At least they now quietly so I don’t have to yell to be heard by those who are trying to listen. The girls who talk all the time in class have decided to be friendly outside class and always greet me and sometimes tell me I’m beautiful, which means they like the skirt or blouse I’m wearing.  I find this interesting. Most of them don’t know enough English to learn much, but they don’t even pretend to try. They are writing what I put on the board in their notebooks without my yelling at them now, though. I guess this is  progress.

Since they are quiet enough that I can talk and those who want to learn can listen and try to learn, I’ve decided that, since they don’t want to learn and don’t try, I don’t care if they learn or  not as long as they’re reasonably quiet. This attitude helps. I can’t teach them if they won’t try to learn. And there are enough who are learning and trying to keep me satisfied. One boy wais and thanks me personally after almost every class. Others are really happy when they do well. Some are liking to volunteer to write answers on the board and becoming confident enough to do that. More actually read a word so I could hear them.

I started working with Bank, a 7^th grader, on a story for the upcoming contests. We don’t know when the contests will be, but we’ll be ready. His English is very good, as he came from a very good school in Khon Kaen where he had American teachers every year. He also studies English at a special class on weekends. He’s very outgoing and likes to speak English. He translates for the other students. I’m always amazed by the way he—and the students I worked with at the other schools—can memorize something like this in a language they don’t know very well. He knows more than the others; so this isn’t as much of a challenge for him, but it’s still challenging. I’m glad we’re doing story-telling instead of speeches because he only has to learn one story and students should prepare at least three speech topics.

Sunday we all (Khun Toy, Khun Teamjan, Khun Dakom and I) went to the hospital for our bimonthly cholesterol check and to get a new supply of meds. This is the third month in a row I’ve had the blood work done, as I have gone to a new place each month. The trip to the hospital took all morning. Khun Toy left after having her blood drawn because she had to go to a seminar. Khun Teamjan and I were finished after three hours, but it took almost another hour for Khun Dakom’s meds to be ready. We don’t know why. Fortunately, I had a book with me. Afterwards, we had lunch at Khun Somlan’s house. Then Khun Teamjan and I came to my house to wait for the termite-killing man to come back for the second treatment. I haven’t seen any sign of them since I sprayed heavily after the big disaster last month and he treated the house three weeks ago.

Trip to Korat (7-18)

We’re back from our trip to Korat for the holiday. I went with Kru Oy and Khun Kwan and Bitoy to visit his mother in Korat. We left town at 10:30 Friday morning, after stopping for breakfast. At 5:00, we arrived in downtown Korat and went to see the Candle Festival sculptures parked around the square. This was interesting because the style was a little different from those in Ubon. 

Many sculptures featured the king in some capacity. 

There were none with the intricate, lace-like overlays. Some were red wax, which is not found in Ubon. 

We saw a few people putting finishing touches on the sculptures. Being there in the early evening was nice, as it was cool but still light. Later they would have flood lights on in area so the crowds could see the sculptures.  

The inner part of the square has the old city wall. 

We also stopped at the city pillar where there are wax sculptures of the nine Rama kings.

After walking around for an hour Thai-style—quickly looking and taking quick photos; no stopping to carefully study the sculptures, we purchased food for dinner and went to Kru Oy’s family home in a village close to the city. His brother and his family live there with their mother. His sister, who lives and works in the city, has a house there, which is where we stayed. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but Kru Oy visited with his mother, age 80, each morning before the rest of us got going. And they took a lot of food for the family there.

Saturday morning after breakfast, we set off to visit a wat. I thought we were going to a wat in the city, but it was in the province about an hour and a half from the city. Wat Ban Rai was interesting in that its surface was covered with ceramic tiles. 

We also visited Luang Por Koon Museum next to the wat, which is in the family home of the well-known monk at the wat. He is now in the hospital in Korat.

Then Khun Kwan told us that Kru Oy was surprising us with a trip to see the blooming flowers—dok krajieaw—in Chaiyaphum province. We arrived in the area in an hour, and, not surprisingly, we weren’t the only ones going to see the blooming flowers. We joined the bumper-to-bumper line of vehicles going to the park. After half an hour, we stopped for lunch. Then we joined the line again for another hour till we reached Pa Hin Ngam National Park at 4:00 and joined the thousands (This is not an exaggeration.) of people there for the annual blooming festival.

From the parking lot, it was still two more kilometers uphill to our destination; so we took a songtaew up the mountain, as did most people. The first stop was to see the view over the cliff and juggle among the hoards to take photos of ourselves with the view, which, of course, everyone was doing. 

Then we walked the 350 meters to see the flowers. They are found only in this area and bloom for three months. There is a path through the fields, and, when someone stepped off the path to have a photo taken next to a flower or to photograph a flower closer up, an attendant blew a whistle. Since we were at the tail end of the blooming time, the field was not completely covered with blooming flowers, as in some photographs, but it was fun to see them. 

Since the masses were quickly walking down the path, there was no stopping to study the flowers, only stopping to take a quick photo, which I did a number of times so I could observe them in depth later in photographs. 

There were two places where people could sit and have a photo taken with flowers in the background. Then we proceeded down the path to where the songtaews picked us up for the trip back to the parking lot. From there, it was a three-hour trip back to Kru Oy’s family home.

Sunday morning we headed home. The first stop was at the Korat City Mall to purchase a gift for Khun Adin’s new daughter, as the party for her in the village is on Wednesday. It’s quite a modern mall and is full of everything that most American malls are full of. I’ve not seen so many toys for children in this country before. We enjoyed walking around for about an hour, and they selected a stroller for the baby.

On the way back, we stopped at Phnom Rung Historical Park in Buriam province. This is a Khmer monument from the 10^th-13^th centuries. The sculptures feature Hindu divinities and stories. 

One lintel was stolen in the 1950’s and later turned up on loan to the Chicago Art Museum. It was returned to Thailand and the Phnom Rung Historical Park in 1988. We were lucky to arrive when we did, as it had very recently rained heavily in the area and the paths were covered with water in many places when we walked up; they were mostly dry by the time we went down. Since Kru Oy has been there several times before, he stayed at the bottom and had a foot massage while we walked up to see the monument. After all the driving he had done and the long bumper-to-bumper line at the park, I’m sure he needed it.

We arrived back in Ubon at 8:00 Sunday night. We were all ready to be home and out of the car.

 It was good to have Monday at home to relax and do the weekend chores before returning to work on Tuesday. In the afternoon, after the rain stopped, I went to get a haircut at a place on the way to school. The young woman was quite hesitant to cut it as short as I told her to. I had to tell her to cut it shorter after she thought she was finished. Another woman came in and watched while she waited for her turn, and the two of them laughed as she cut my hair the second time. She didn’t cut it too short, as they always did in the village. Cost: 150 bahts (about $5) compared to 30 bahts in the village. I was a little surprised it was so much. She did dry and style it; so that may have been extra. Khun Kwan said 100 bahts is the normal price.