Enjoy a video of my school. Srithammarat Suksa School.

Trouble in Thailand..Resolved

So you may be thinking I am going to comment on the troubles in Bangkok. That has afterall, drawn world recognition from a variety of reputable? news media. Instead however, I wish to discuss a recent robbery at my house. This guy named Yod is a motorcycle taxi. I befriended him for awhile because being carless is not always easy in Nakhon. Over a period of time, I call him and have him come and drive me to certain places not always easy to get too. One day, he stops by unannounced with a friend. Now had this occurred in Oakland I would have been extremely apprehensive, but this being Thailand, I tend to worry less primarily because random people I barely know seem to enjoy showing up at my house all the time. Usually it's no problem. I invite them in, give them some beer, or water, and we shoot the shit for a while. So this time I think nothing out of the ordinary. It is not until the next day I even notice my camera and track phone are missing. Later that week, Yod shows up again, this time at midnight and wants to borrow some money. I don't give him any and eventually am able to get him to leave, as I was by happenstance talking to my father, so it only took 32 minutes to get him to leave. Now fast forward one month. I get back from China, and my Mom comes to visit. Yod returns again, this time to a much less hospitable visit. Mom opens the door a smidgen and begins yelling "You go home, you get out of here" over and over. Yod's eyes grow to the size of a pumpkin and then leaves. The following day we file a police report. Now this is where things get interesting. The police bring Yod to my house and we reinact the entire episode..this time with photos...yeah that's right..photos. We take pictures of Yod banging on the door, we take pictures of Yod and myself sitting on the floor together chatting, of Yod going to the bathroom, going inside my room and pointing at the camera on my bed which he is about to take, and then once again on the rug where we were chatting. The entire time this is taking place, I am thinking to myself..Imagine this happening in the U.S. A poor rape victim reinacting the traumatic experience of the attack.
"OK now who was on top. Now freeze while I take a picture." On a positive note, I was impressed with how quickly the police got a confession. Again imagine reporting a theft in Oakland. Absolutely nothing would happen. It's nice to know that with a robbery, at least in Thailand, the police attempt to do something. Another bonus is that since the harrassment ensued, a large number of friends, farang and Thai alike have been coming to check up on things on a regular basis. It's reassuring to know that people care enough in this region to come on a regular basis to talk to me and check up on things.

Photos from Loi Kratong

This is a photo of the bridge
The City Wall

My students after they finished
making their Loi Kratongs.

Group of students I
met for the 2nd time

The river

My Kratong floating away my troubles.

Going down the river

So it's rainy season here in Thailand. With the exception of aerobic class cancellations and one day without school, life goes on as normal. Earlier this month, I got to experience the wonderful Buddhist festival of Loi Kratong. In this festival, people build beautiful boats out of bananna leaves. The boat's interior is circular and holds many items including, but not limited to: several incense burners, candles, hair from your head, nails, newt blood ( just kidding) and sometimes some money. The idea is to take this boat down to a river, light the candle inside, and then think of troubles plaguing your life. You then put the boat in the water, and your troubles float away. It was beautiful getting to see all the boats lit up at night. Even though the act itself was quite spiritual, I think in many ways the journey there was just as memorable. My entire street had flooded from the torrential downpours occuring that day. As I leave my mother and house behind in my plastic body condom (A.K.A. poncho) I quickly realize that Thailand rain is serious business. I wade through kneedeep water to the end of my road. I then wait for a ride on a blue truck taxi (Sawngthaew) for many minutes quickly becoming drenchingly wet. Finally one comes. Just as I arrive at my destination twenty minutes later, the rain begins to subside. As I approach the river, I discover an awning where Thais are waiting and chatting. I enter the awning and low and behold I discover people I've met before. Students from a nearby school who recognized me from speaking English with me at a local department store. We talk for a while, take some pictures, and laugh at the fact that the shirt I am wearing is the exact same one they saw me in two months ago at the mall. Finally the rain completely stops. Thais swarm to the river bank to light their Kratong boat and shew away their troubles. The river is simply glowing with scintillating, radiant light and I am once again reminded of why I came to Thailand in the first place. The light from the river coincides with the light in the people's eyes, with the light in our hearts and I know that finally I am home.

Home Sweet Home..Now with a phone.. and an Internet Zone.

So it may have taken awhile, but by chance of the rain clearing up for 7 hours, I now have a phone line, and Eeen-tuh-net as said in Thai. Many other changes have taken place at the "Pink Palace" as well. For instance, the front is no longer pink- but orange. So the new name of my home is the "Peach Palace." Thank heavens for the continued availablity of alliteration. Whew. Thanks to the dreadfully sad departing of my good friends Joey and Sommer (names not changed) I also have some plants, a hammock, a wash bin, rugs, numerous dvd's of Thai fighters or action movies- not sure which, a kick ass Thai tattoo art work, bedding, tables, and lest I forget to mention, so I mention twice...Plants. That's right.. Plants. So without further ado, here are pictures of the brank spankin new Peach Palace- post flooding.

It’s Here Folks...Rain Season

It’s Rainy Season. It’s Rainy Season.
At least I hope that’s the Reason.
For all the water
Gushing up through the banana leaves
Crushing through papaya trees.
As I sit here I can’t help but think..
Of all the places I have lived. I think this place
Would be ..The best
place for a lawnfish..

Coming to Thailand

Why Thailand- why now? As my friend, Mary Bolton stated in one preflight jitter, "Mac, someone will stuff drugs in your suitcase on the way to the airport, then you'll go to jail for the rest of your life." With such scary notions as drug stuffings, you too may wonder if going to Thailand is the best idea. For me, it absolutely was. Prior to coming to Thailand, I worked for five years as an educator in inner city schools within Los Angeles and Oakland, California. Bridging the educational gap existing in today's schools in the US between the rich and poor, was- and still is- an important component of my overall educational philosophy. But, make no bones about it, it is grueling work much of the time. Teachers all over the world are generally exceptionally hard workers, but those working within inncr-city schools have the added challenge of working with children who have fallen through the cracks in the school system, and know it. Many, though not all, are a minimum of two years behind grade level. To make matters worse, as a consequence of being allowed to fall through the cracks, most students develop a "fixed intelligence" mentality that can plague them for the rest of their remaining academic career. I sought out schools serving children of low income families that had track records of success- who taught children using a malleable intelligence model. Schools that were composed of networks of teachers committed to raising the bar for these students and propelling them onto a different track in life. This was a very rewarding experience. I learned so much from extremely competent teachers who not only thoroughly understood the plight of these children, but also refused to accept this as an excuse for low academic achievement. Over that five year period, I saw many examples of students that when given a structured classroom following a malleable intelligence framework for teaching, combined with an overall "Big Goal" make remarkable academic gains. While this was very rewarding to see overall, the path to get there every year was very draining. I was typically at school until at least 6 at night- many times 8 or 9 pm. There was just so much to do to prepare my students for my expectations for them. After five years, I wanted a break. I began researching teaching around the world. I saw loads of examples of English learning schools, but few where teachers were expected to make high academic gains with their students, or where teachers worked together in collaborative learning communities to bring change to their students. I finally hit the jackpot with Thailand. I am working at a relatively large school, in a small city in southern Thailand. I absolutely love it. My students are amazing. I have virtually zero classroom management issues. As a teacher in the states, I was prepared at the beginning of the year with interest inventories, various procedures outlined and ready to practice, and of course, community building activities. But none of it was needed. From day one, my students have been wonderful. Thai students virtually ooze community spirit in the classroom. The struggle for me is to get them to become more individualistic- the complete opposite from teaching in "the states." While my school is not perfect, having a break from the daily grind of teaching in an inner city school is a much needed relief..for the moment.

Totallly Thai- one fish sauce fry at at time

Ok so I absolutely abhor fish sauce so I don't really ever eat it on purpose. So fish sauce french fries are one adventure I do not plan on having in Thailand. Sorry to mislead your first impressions. My name is Mac and you have entered my blog. Muahahahaha.