A Competition at School (9-25)

The excitement at school this week was a dance competition on Friday. This took place during the last two classes, which were cancelled. So, I missed Sound Lab with one class, which didn’t upset me at all. The competition was for elementary students, but all students attended. This really meant that most students ran around and played or hung out elsewhere with their friends. After the first twenty minutes, the only students watching the competition were others in the competing grades. 

Small groups from most of the classes danced to the same song. This took about 80 minutes. I got tired of listening to the song after the first few. The 5^th and 6^th grade students were fun to watch, as they did some more choreographed dances. The younger ones just sort of moved to the music.

With Pim and Bank who were the MCs.

This month I’ve been left on my own more often. In May, when the electric and water bills arrived and I asked Khun Kwan what to do with them, she told me to give them to her and Kru Oy would take care of them. So every month I give him the bills and the money and he pays them. This month when I gave her the electric bill and money, she told me to take it to the Seven (7-11 store) near my house. I didn’t know I could pay there. So now I pay the bills myself. I needed to have my teeth cleaned and asked Kru Oy about a dentist, since he had mentioned having seen a dentist last month. He thought for a bit and then pointed to the clinic and told me to go there. I hadn’t realized they have a dentist there. So, Thursday on the way home I stopped at the clinic to see the dentist. 45 minutes later I left with clean teeth. The line for the dentist is shorter than that for the doctor. Cost: 330 bahts (about $10).

I decided to get my hair cut again. After the last time, Khun Kwan had told me to call her the next time and she would take me to her hairdresser. But this month she is extremely busy preparing a “report” about her work. She works on it every day and has five huge binders full of papers so far, and she says she’s not finished yet. So, I went to the area where I know she goes and walked into the first place I came to. The woman spoke English fairly well, which surprised me. She turned out to be Pim’s mother. She lived and worked in Bahrain for eight years. She went there because she has an uncle who lives there. While she was there, her three daughters stayed with their grandmother here and she visited every two years. Four years ago she returned to be with her daughters and had daughter number four. Pim was pleased that I had had her mother cut my hair.

Entertainment on Saturday afternoon: I took a break from reading to have a snack. When I returned, I noticed a large black spot moving up the wall. This could only mean that ants were carrying something up the wall. A group of the fast-moving ants was moving a large flying insect up the wall. In addition to being fascinated by this, I was curious to see where they were taking it, as the only thing at the top of the wall is the ceiling. They went up the window screen on the metal piece where the two screens meet. At the top of the wall, they went around the corner, across the bottom of the soffit, around the corner, and up the soffit. Once they were on this section, a number of other ants came to join them and the group kept changing. It looked like they were sending relief. 

When they came to the ceiling, I was really interested to see where they would go. They took went to one of the places where the ceiling tile rests on the frame. Then they pushed the bee into the crack, which was smaller than the body. Now I know where the ants live. They are a recent addition to the house, and I’ve seen them on the table recently but didn’t know where they came from. I imagine there’s a colony of them above the ceiling.

Sunday we celebrated Khun Teamjan’s birthday, which is on Monday, because those of us in Ubon could go to the village on Sunday. Khun Somlan was to pick me up at 8:00 Sunday morning. At 8:45, Khun Dakom called to say that Khun Somlan had business and would come in about an hour. On the way to the village, we stopped at his sister’s house so he could visit his farm. I was given a drink and some peanuts and told to wait. He asked if I had a book; they know me well. I had taken a book because I thought it could be a long afternoon during which I would want something to do.

When we arrived at Khun Toy’s house in the village, women were starting to prepare lunch. Khun Toy told me I could walk around and checked to make sure I was OK about walking alone. Since I walked there for three years alone, this was not a problem. My first stop was Khun Kasemsri’s house. There I was surprised to see Aemmy, who was excited to see me because she had a lot to tell me. She finished her massage class and went with a friend to Singapore for a month. Then she had to leave because she didn’t have a work permit and they are very strict about following the rule not to work without a permit. After returning home, she went back to Singapore for a week to meet a man she had been “dating” online. He’s Liberian and has been working in Malaysia for two years at an importing company. He paid for her ticket to Singapore. She says he loves her very much and she thinks she loves him. She plans to go to Malaysia in mid-October to spend more time with him. She’s very excited. He sounds better than the last man she dated; so I hope this works for her if it’s what she wants.

After eating, I went to visit Khun Ying, who was very excited to see me. I do miss the village and the neighborhood and my friends there. I miss feeling like I belong in a community, which I don’t here. Khun Dakom mentioned again that he wants me to be here next year for Khun Toy’s retirement to take photos for her. He called me in the evening to tell me that again. I told him I want to be here, as I know this is a really important event in her life, and I want to be here for her. (I consider it to be like going to a wedding or graduation.) I just need to figure out what I will do between the end of school and September. I also reminded him that I want to bring Khun Toy with me to America. We need to keep talking about that, and I need to talk with Khun Teamjan to see if she is thinking about this trip, too.

While some people played cards, Khun Toy sat in the living room next to the baby’s cradle. I joined her so I could read. After a while, she put on a video the school had made—a short story about a boy without parents. The boy acting the part was in one of my classes last year and several of the teachers had parts. It was fun to watch. Then she showed a DVD made from photos of our Ti Lo Su trip two years ago.

When the baby started to cry, she hushed her, rocked the cradle more, and gave her a bottle but did not pick her up. This still fascinates me. Then Adin came into the room and picked up his daughter. After a few minutes, he changed her diaper. Afterwards, Khun Toy picked her up and carried her outside.

When we left, there was a brief moment when Khun Somlan went to the driver’s side of the truck. He was clearly drunk and I’d been told that Khun Toy, his wife, would drive home. When they asked who I wanted to drive (I think they were joking with me, but I wasn’t 100% sure what was happening.), I said I’d take a bus if he was driving, which made them all laugh. Khun Somlan very willingly went to the back seat. Once we were on the road, he was asleep in two minutes. I know this happens often and I hope she drives home other times, not only because I was with them.

On the way out of the village, we stopped at Khun Teamjan’s house to drop off a table they had brought. Her son and daughter-in-law were there; so I got to see them briefly. I miss that family and having them in my life on a regular basis. I’m sure the granddaughter doesn’t recognize me anymore, since she is so young.

Routine Life (9-19)

(Flower photos to show that I do enjoy bits and pieces of beauty on my way to school.)

Life has been pretty routine the last two weeks. Nothing special going on. Just school, and nothing special is happening there at the moment. We were supposed to have English Camp on Friday, but that was postponed until October. We think it will be in October but are waiting for Sister Viphaporn’s final approval of the plans.

Two weeks ago I submitted a letter to request that more of the expenses for our work permit and visa be paid, since the contract states that “the employer will pay all reasonable expenses” and they gave us only 5000 of the almost 9000 bahts that obtaining the documents cost. The additional expenses were especially hard for Kate and Lovely because they send a lot of their salary home to their parents, and the extent of the additional expenses was a big surprise. I gave the letter to Sister Viphaporn in person and talked to her about the situation. She said she would talk to Sister Anne. That took another week, since they were busy with other official work. Thursday she told us that the other teachers should give her a list of their expenses so we can be given more money. In the meantime, Tony took up the cause, becoming a little crazier about it every day. He finally decided that he had to be male and aggressive, and wrote a blunt, angry-sounding letter saying that the school is in breach of contract and citing some law. He was rather angry about the whole situation and the amount of time it was taking to get a response. Of course, he said he wasn’t angry. I suggested he wait until we knew what Sister Viphaporn was going to tell us at the end of the day, since she had called to tell me that she had news for us, but he was unwilling to do that and left his letter on her desk. When he didn’t get a response by early afternoon, he became crazy about it. He stayed home Thursday and Friday. I didn’t know if that was why, but I knew he needed some time away. He called Saturday to thank me for contacting him and to say he had become irrational but is OK now. It was good to know he has gotten through this and his sense of humor is back.

Sunday was our day to go to the hospital to get our cholesterol medication. I had planned with Khun Dakom and Khun Toy to go to the village Saturday afternoon and then to the hospital with them on Sunday. This plan was changed because Khun Teamjan and Khun Suwit were going to a birthday party for their friend on Saturday and Sunday. I wondered if Khun Dakom and Khun Toy didn’t go because they had to take me to the hospital. That could have waited a week, but I didn’t have a say in the decision. They picked me up at 7:00 Sunday morning. Khun Toy had gone upstairs while we were waiting to have our blood taken to get numbers for us to be in line to see the doctor. We were numbers 25-27 and waited 2.5 hours to see her. After seeing the doctor, we went to the pharmacy and got our numbers, we were numbers 250, 251, and 257, and they were on 170. We waited over two more hours to get our medicine. I found myself missing Walgreens where you take in your prescription that is good for a year and get it filled in fifteen minutes. While we were waiting, a woman talked to Khun Dakom about wanting me to teach her daughters English. Another man also joined the discussion. Both took my phone numbers. I’m not desperate to have more students, but it would be OK if they followed the other group. We left the hospital just after 1:00. Since I had anticipated the waiting, I had a book with me. Khun Toy had not planned ahead; so we went out for a walk and she bought a magazine. She finished her magazine and I finished my book. The first stop after leaving the hospital was the Chinese duck restaurant for duck noodle soup, one of my favorite lunches. That almost makes the day worthwhile.

My post-Peace Corps insurance changed providers this month. We’ll see how the new providers take care of the prescription claim. The old ones paid for the whole cost in June. They must prorate the cost and reimburse based on what the U.S. cost would be, as they paid the whole amount I paid. This was still considerably less than they would reimburse after the co-pay in the U.S. ($45 here compared to about $120 there). After I figured that out, I submitted the expenses for the dog bite to see what they will do. I wasn’t going to bother with that, since it was less than the $500 deductible, but if it’s prorated, maybe they’ll pay something.

When I talked with Sister Viphaporn, she asked about the 8^th grade classes. The one is still a problem, especially on Monday morning after the weekend and before they are back in the routine of school. She said she will ask Sister Angie about taking that class next term, but she may not want to because she had them last year and knows they are difficult. I have mixed feelings about the possibility of dropping them, as I do like some of the students and know they are improving, but, unfortunately, they are very few in that class. I also know they would be disappointed to not have me as their teacher. One girl who has been one of the constant chatters has moved herself away from the group of girls. I had moved her a couple times and last week she moved herself and actually tried to do some of the work on her own. My not teaching them would free Sister Toom from the responsibility of going to class with me so the students behave; then she could do her other work.

When I turned in the record and grade books at the end of August, I copied the grades instead of writing them in the official books and included a note stating that they can change any grades they want to and I write what I am told to write. (This is my result of last month’s comment that some of my grades were not high enough.) This is my compromise position: I will change grades and write what I am told to, but I won’t change them on my own. I have a problem with giving good grades to students who literally do nothing and turn in papers that have no answers or only a couple answers and with those who do nothing but copy from their friends so they have good answers and get a good grade. I don’t mind giving good grades to those who do try even if their answers are not always correct. Now, when they are working, I initial their work if they are doing it themselves so I know who has tried on their own and who has worked in class and can give them credit for this when I do grades. I got the books back on Monday with no changed grades or comments; so I recorded the grades in the official books.

I’ve been a bit unmotivated at school. I’m pretty much ready for the next couple weeks, and then it will be the term break. So I took a book with me to read during free time Thursday and Friday. This turned out to be a good thing because the Internet server was down for two days because of the rainstorms. And down again on Monday—who knows why.

Rain has been especially plentiful the last few weeks. For a while, we had downpours daily. Now they are every couple days. My back “yard” area has been flooded from water overflowing the drainage ditch. I have had several inches of water to walk through to go out the gate. When I think it will rain before I get home, I’ve been talking a songtaew instead of walking. If it has rained a lot during the night and the streets will be flooded, I take a songtaew in the morning. It’s nice to have that option.

One day last week I went to Big C after school to buy a few items I needed. Especially urgent was lubricant, as the lock on the gate had become so rusted that it was difficult to close. I decided to treat myself to KFC for dinner, which I’ve not done before. I did enjoy the chicken breast. After I finished, the man at the next table spoke to me and asked if I speak English. He’s Australian and has a girl friend/partner here. He’s in his 30’s and works for three months in Australia and then comes here for six months. He’s been doing this for two years, since he met the young woman online. She does not work and just had their baby—a son. He was eating out because she was still in the hospital.

Kru Oy got a new car a couple weeks ago. It’s a big SUV, a man’s vehicle. It took me about ten days to remember what those big cars that are not 4-wheel-drive are called. I’ve never been good about car names. Khun Kwan doesn’t like the new car; she likes small cars.

Khun Yindee’s husband will have heart bypass surgery next week. I would like to be more supportive for her, but I know she has many friends and a lot of family who are taking care of her and him. So there really isn’t anything I can do.

Happy Birthday (9-3)

Last Saturday the school had Parents’ Conferences. We had heard that they were happening but had not been told that we were expected to participate until Sister Viphaporn told us at 4:45 on Friday. Kate wore jeans because “No one told me what to wear.” “No one told me” is usually my line; so it was a little surprising to hear it from her. Sister Viphaporn told us that we would be introduced and parents would be invited to sign up for special classes with us. We were not asked if we wanted to teach special classes.

On Saturday, about 150 people—parents and students—came on Saturday. These were the attending families of the 1069 students, not a great turn out. Homeroom teachers and special teachers, including us, were introduced. Then the three sisters talked for two hours. Then parents went to classrooms. It was really more like a parents’ meeting than what I know as parents’ conferences. I could see that no one was going to be interested in special classes that day. Kate and Lovely would like to teach a special class for some extra money. Since each student pays 500 bahts a month, it is a good way for teachers to earn extra money even after the school takes 15%. Tony and I really felt like we were on display. It seemed that the purpose of our being there was to show off the foreign teachers that they parents pay for.

Last Friday I had my last rabies injection. Thursday the scab on the wound came off when the nurse cleaned it, and the doctor dismissed me from daily dressing and cleaning. I was able to walk at my normal pace by the end of last week and felt good in general. So, that saga is over.

My neighbor took me to see the owner of the dog to talk to her about the money. I asked him to help because his English is good and I wanted someone who could interpret well enough for her to understand what the effects of the bite were and why it cost so much. She was not happy to see me and told him that the dog will bite me again. He had me sit in the car and talk out the window. She says she is very poor and has no money. He couldn’t tell if she is really poor or is saying that so she doesn’t have to give me any more money. The balance is 4000 bahts (about $120). I had decided that I would split this with her. She tried to negotiate to pay 1000, but I stuck with 2000. He had her sign a paper stating that she will give me 1000 in ten days and another 1000 at the beginning of October. I think I’ll let her pay only 1000 bahts more in the end. What I really wanted was for her to understand that  I know she has this obligation and that she has it even though I am a foreigner; it’s the principle, not the money. I learned that it is not only customary for the dog owner to pay expenses related to a bite, it is the law. She’s lucky that the school insurance paid 5000 bahts. I wonder what she would do if the dog had bitten someone who is poor and could not pay the expenses. Total cost: 11,250 bahts (about $370)

Khun Kwan told me that the special class would stop at the end of August because Bitoy will go to aerobics class every evening. I was disappointed, as the girls are doing well and it’s one of the few things I really enjoy. Then she asked if I would teach on Saturday, which turned out to be Saturday and Sunday. She also said the class will be at my house instead of hers. I think this is because she likes to sleep late on the weekends and is not up at 9:00 when we have class. She wanted two hours each day, but I said that’s too long. After meeting with them the first day, I was correct. It’s hard to keep their attention after an hour. They are ten years old, and, since there are only three of them, they do quite a lot in 60 or 90 minutes. The girls agreed that 90 minutes is enough. Since we’re meeting at my house in the morning, the class no longer includes a meal. That’s really OK, as I like having my own food for dinner and I like more vegetables than Khun Kwan provides.

Khun Yindee called me Saturday morning to tell me the bad news that she and her husband would not be able to take me to dinner for my birthday as they had been planning to do. (I hadn’t yet been informed of this plan.) The really bad news, though, was that Khun Greandach had a heart attack Friday night and was in Intensive Care at the hospital. I hope it wasn’t a really bad heart attack.

Khun Toy called me in the morning to tell me that we would have lunch together. We went to the place where they took me for karaoke after the dog bite. I thought this was an interesting choice. We were the only people there, and a long table was set up for us. The girls went with us and had their own table and food. Khun Kwan and Kru Oy came. Khun Teamjan and Khun Somlan joined us later. Khun Adin and his friend and Khun Joy and her friend also came.

The big surprise was when Khun Joy and a woman who works at the place left and came back with a British man. It was like having my own foreigner for the day. It was nice to have someone to speak English with. He is here meeting the young woman to see if he wants to have her as a partner. They met online and this is their first time to talk to and see each other. He is 50; she is 31 and has a 3-year-old son. She doesn’t speak English other than a few words. He has been here only four days and is missing being able to speak English fluently. One thing he would like to do is make a difference in someone’s life. If he stays with her, he can certainly do that. With his money, she can have a nice house and send her son to a better preschool, among other benefits. He would plan to be in England working for a few months and then come here for a couple months. He has vacationed in tourist towns before and likes Thai “girls.” He likes their honesty and values and way of life. It was interesting chatting with him. I know she’ll do all she can to keep him; whether the relationship works will be up to him.

After eating, the karaoke began. And we danced. After a couple hours, it was time for cake. They had two small cakes. The candles were numbers: 183. Khun Teamjan explained that that was for the total of our—mine, hers, and Khun Toy’s—ages, since we all have birthdays this month and this was a party for all of us. Then there was more karaoke and dancing. We were there for four hours. It was good fun.

On the way home, I had Khun Dakom take me to the branch bank my friends had told me about the other day. It’s near Big C and is open evenings and weekends.  He dropped me off and let me take care of myself because it was Saturday and that whole area was extremely busy and there was no parking. I hadn’t thought about that when I asked to go. So, I finally have an ATM card. (When I had tried to get one before, I was told to go back when I have a work permit.) The young woman helping me could speak enough English to say the necessary words to tell me what to do: signature, four numbers PIN, deposit how much? She noticed that it’s my birthday and said “It’s your birthday. Happy Birthday,” which was sweet.

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.