pom mai kow jai

We've been teaching at the Temple for the last three days.  My first two days were difficult.  My assigned subject matter was very difficult for the monks to relate to the first day, so we had trouble connecting and making a cohesive lesson with vocabulary that they could learn.  Yesterday, I had a more relatable topic and I simplified my lesson.  I feel that the monks were engaged and able to understand the material.  Unfortunately, I lost track of time and ended up finishing early.

Today, however, was great.  My material was at the right level, my timing was on, and I engaged the students!  We had a blast together.  Watching the light of understanding come into their eyes, helping them with there pronunciations and spelling, and seeing them have fun playing games and learning are what I came here for.  I feel confident going into tomorrow.  My listening lesson should be fun for them, and as long as I have confidence in the plan, I know I can bring infectious energy to the class.

I heard from the recruiter for my company that Erica and I will be going to Bangkok on Friday to talk with them.  He said via email that I'm in a secondary level school in Central Bangkok, but beyond that I know no more at this point.  I realize that teaching in a public school will be very different that here at the wat, but I'm looking forward to seeing the same students and building rapport.

This week has actually been a tremendous amount of work, and I'm consistently tired by the end of the day.  Perhaps exhausted would be a better term.  Wake up and swim in the ocean for distance at 6:30.  Shower.  Grab breakfast.  Get on the songthaew to the wat at 8:30.  Start teaching or observing.  Lunch is at 11:30.  Finish at the wat at 3:30.  Then it's into town, three to four hours of lesson planning (or more) another swim, and dinner.  A spare moment or two for reading and I'm pretty wiped out.

I'm still amazed and annoyed by my classmates’ refusal to give themselves up to Thai culture.  A group of us went for dinner tonight and I was ostracized because I wasn't interested in eating in a sterile hotel dining room serving the same food as the open air restaurant next door, but charging considerably more.  I opted to go to that next door restaurant and ended up sitting with the owner, talking in broken English and Thai.  Whenever communication got beyond us, he called one of his sons over.  They spoke English well enough and could at least read the tiny print of my phrasebook that no adult Thais seem to manage.  I learned some new phrases, and was corrected in some pronunciation.  Needless to say, I also had a delicious meal.

There is still work to be done this evening, and the Internet locale is closing up, so I must depart.  I look forward to finding out more about Bangkok, and continuing to explore this wonderful country.