Thanksgiving, king kong, laa Laos

Thanksgiving has come and gone in the United States.  I have taken on a teaching job Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so I was supposed to work that night.  My class, however, was canceled that evening, but not before I had traveled to Siam Center.  Since this is the hub of the shopping district, with four mega malls in close proximity, I opted to indulge in a Whopper as my celebratory meal, followed by my first movie here in Thailand.  The Burger King experience was not quite the same as being home for the holiday, but it did provide a note of familiarity.
My evening class has been going well.  I am teaching 14 adults who work at the University bookstore.  Unfortunately, the classes are relegated to a shoebox-sized room dominated by a conference table.  There are really no opportunities for student movement and interaction amongst themselves is limited because of this.  This seriously hampers the effectiveness of our time together.  Despite this, I think that they are getting something out of the experience.  I find that playfulness and minimal traditional teaching is what is really wanted from me.
They are a fun group, and we have started to come together as a class.  While I certainly don't think I'll be friends with any of them in the near future, it has been a valuable experience.  Seeing adult Thais who have a desire to learn English in a group setting is very different from my cobbled together English language experiences with individuals.  Seeing the group dynamic change from shy and reserved to comfortable and outgoing his been rewarding, and I am less of an outsider now.  The level of the English that the group has is generally low, but together they can communicate quite effectively.  Again, their ability to read far suppases their ability to speak and listen to the language.  Mostly, we do things that are immediately applicable to their jobs, but general conversation skills are also very important.
This job has also exposed me more to Siam Center.  Being in that area of the city is so vastly different from anywhere else.  It could be any major shopping mall in any county in the world.  They affluence and posturing are pervasive.  Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Dior, and Mazerati all have shops in Siam Paragon.  It seems MBK offers whatever necessity you could possibly imagine.  Outdoor sitting areas with intricate fountains, young Thais eating McDonalds and licking DQ cones, and beautiful architecture make it easy to forget that this is an emerging country. 
They sky train that offers a backdrop to this scene can't be afforded by the majority of people in the city.  And while many of these Thais spend hours a week here, that is all most are doing, spending time.  An actual shopping excursion is a very special affair.  Much of this is a facade, a service offered to entice the farang.  Here it succeeds.  Everywhere one looks at these malls are farang scooping up the commodities, cheap by their standards.   Jewelry for bargain prices, designer dress shirts for $20, even the largest aquarium in South East Asia can be seen for $7. 
Right around Thanksgiving, a royalist group took control of the two International Airports in Bangkok.  They held control for 10 days, until they achieved their goal of having the appointed Prime Minister removed from power.  This action stranded an estimated half million visiting tourists, and effectively shut down much of Thailand's economy.  The orchid industry alone lost $10 million dollars a day through its inability to export.  The tourism industry, which affects every level of the economy here is expected to feel repurcusions for years to come.  They are estimating a loss of 4.5 billion dollars next year just in tourist spending.
These demonstrations were not a direct threat to farang and from an outsider's perspective, daily life continues with nary a change.  There was violence, however, with grenade explosions killing 3 and injuring dozens.  The colors of red and yellow have taken on an all encompassing affiliation with the two opposing factions.  While it is rarely openly discussed with  me, that does not hide the tension simmering beneath the surface.
And to be sure, it is a tense time for Thailand.  What hangs in the balance is a huge step away from democracy.  The PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) has succeeded in removing three appointed Prime Ministers chosen by the popularly elected PPP (People's Populist Party) over the last three years.  The most common name to hear when discussing this issue is that of Taksin, the exiled former Prime Minister who attempted to privatize many of the nation's infrastructure services.  While corruption is rampant in both parties, it is the wish of the PAD to remove voting power from the lower class and impoversed country populous.  They desire a return to a royally selected, wealthy ruling class.
Their support seems to have waned slightly do the events at the airport, but elections will be held in Parliament this Monday.  There are reports that they may have enough support this time to appoint someone more to their liking, and are already threatening similar guerilla tactics if that does not happen.  I, along with my host country, anxiously await the outcome of this new election.
The King of Thailand is the longest serving Monarch in the world.  His birthday last Friday is a joyous affair for the country.  Perhaps tellingly, he did not address the nation on Thursday, reportedly due to illness.  This is the first time in history that he has failed to make that address.  The Economist has been covering this with its own opinions, some of which have caused the magazine to have its distribution here suspended following a pair of articles (article1, article2).  There will be a rebuttal issued this week by the Thai Foreign Ministry.

I continue to apply myself to learning the language.  To this end, I went to the weekend market last weekend and found some childrens' books and a very good English-Thai,Thai-English dictionary.  Honestly, I have yet to truly invest myself in any of them.  Every weekend, however, I spend several hours a day teaching my friend English and working on my Thai.  Last Friday, she invited me to join a group of friends for lunch.  We had a hot-pot meal at a local shopping center, peppered with language lessons and laughs.  The most interesting Thai word I was already familiar with: king kong means gorilla.  I have been unable to definitively track down the etymology of the phrase/word, so if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it.  Idle curiosity I guess...
On a purely fact finding mission (OK, that's not quite true), I went to see the movie Ong Bok 2.  If you're unfamiliar with the original Ong Bok, rest assured that it's a fine piece of cinema. This seemingly had absolutely nothing to do with the first, sharing only the star, but Tony Jaa again delivered.  Muai Thai inspired fight coreography, brilliant weapons work, amazing stunts, and a plot that was at least cohesive made this a thouroughly enjoyable experience.  Honestly one of the most intense martial arts movies I've seen in a very long time.  I just wished they would have called it "The Next Movie That Tony Jaa Absolutely Kicks Ass and Does Amazing Stuff In" to avoid confusion.
I am also looking forward to visiting Laos this coming weekend.  While I have a year visa, I must leave the country every three months to keep it active.  This also affords me the opportunity to take a break from the city, which can be taxing.  I will board a train on Thursday after my night class.  It will travel north from the city to Nong Kai, the Thai boarder city.  It will take about 10 hours.  My return trip begins on Sunday night.  I hope that the ride affords me the opportunity to see some of the Issarn countryside.
Upon arrival in Nong Kai, I will take a bus to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.  This is very near to Nong Kai.  In a pleasant turn of events, I had met a French man who works for an NGO in Laos a few weeks ago.  He lived in Vietnam for seven years and has lived in Laos for the past two.  He asked me a question on the ferry as I headed back home after work, and we struck up a conversation.  I will be meeting him on Friday upon my arrival, and he is finding a hotel for my first night.  I might rent a motorbike and leave the city on Saturday, but I have no definite plans.
This adventure has me excited and nervous again.  It offers a million small new things, in an unfamiliar land.  A second class sleeper on a Thai train, a trip over a boarder on the ground, and a new stamp in my passport, just to name a few.