Merry Christmas!

It's my first Christmas away from home! A little sad, but there's plenty of holiday cheer here as well.

To my friends and family back home, and to my friends all over the world right now, a very Merry Christmas to you all. I hope that you are safe, sound, and best of all, happy.

Much love from Thailand,

Valerie

A typical day, is atypical.

I brought my camera to school last week just to take some quick snapshots of what it's like to be a teacher here. These were taken on a Friday, on random what I hoped were surreptitious occasions (turns out not really...) so they would at least look unceremonious and not contrived. Fail. I know I need to take more. But right now, I need something to occupy my time as I wait for "The Santa Clause" to load so I can show it to my students tomorrow, and I've exhausted my usual online pit stops (holla at yo' NPR). My students and I have been working on posting alphabet letters and expanding their weather vocabulary for the past weeks. I'm not sure what kind of success I will make, because it doesn't really help, that it's always sunny here in Thailand and I feel that, "It is sunny" will really be the only phrase they will be familiar with...

Here is a sample visual aid that we are slowly, but surely adding into the classroom. Note the white-outed "n" and the insertion of "U" on "cloudy." It so happens that at times, my kids will write the mirror images of the letters. It really is quite odd. We are working on accepting imperfections, which is very difficult mindset to depart from, so I told them repeatedly that there was no need to re-create the poster. The best part of this image, is the superimposed (in pink, I might add) "revisions" of such clouds. I am pretty impressed with their precocious transgressions of the literal. Good job students. You are such a nerd, Valerie. And yes, it is indeed a sheep.

This is probably the trouble kid in my classroom. I don't really know whether I was satisfying his perpetual need for attention when I took this picture, but. Too late.

My Thai-ny 1st graders ("good poets have a weakness for bad puns," in my defense.) They are literally half my size. I took this picture because they look so industrious, but this NEVER happens. Usually they're like comets flying around in a universe where gravity was invented by, I don't know, the cast of "The Hills"? We are currently working on numbers. There is a great article on the NYtimes on kids, brains and learning, by the way.

My super rambunctious 3rd and 4th graders. The only way to calm them down, is to practice numbers by making them do push-ups. Diabolical? Maybe. But it's good for kinesthetic learners...

Rowdy sixth graders. But by far, they are the most affectionate students ever. They keep wanting to shake my hands and they say "I love you teacher" all the time. :)

I am grateful that my job gives me enough variation every day that I don't get these existential crises of my life slipping away into the quotidian. I am grateful that what I do every day is affirming. Both of these get me through some murky waters.

heart of life is good

Currently approaching week 6 of no running water. I bet my karma points are just oozing; I can't wait to see what the universe has in store for me. However, this period of brushing my teeth out of a water bottle may end as soon as this weekend. I am really, really happy at the prospect of water flowing out of my sink tap, but I'm slightly mourning the loss of my bragging points. But, what can you do? Swallow pride and accept life's gifts? check.

In other news, we recently got some tile flooring installed! Apparently, an organization, TLCB, the Thai Lao Cambodian Brotherhood, felt pity for the paupers me and my roommate, and approved a request (not by us) to have some tiles installed. It feels nice on my feet, for sure, and I suppose this eradicates the perpetually dirty and rugged aesthetic of our cement flooring. I tell you, my neurosis really comes out when I'm cleaning. I feel like that robot from Wall-E, the one that is programmed to clear contamination. But there's a calming effect found in sweeping to be sure. This won't be the case with our pink (I believe this is the national color) marbled looking floor. Again, I feel slightly guilty because for this luxury I feel like I'm living in the Taj Mahal as a volunteer.

Aside from these digressions, what I really wanted to write about was this moment when my roommate and I were in Pattaya. I will be honest: I hated the city. It was the sinful underbelly of thailand, where Eastern Europeans galore exploit the city and enjoy the "company" of thai women escorts. nevermind the fact that they are bald, pale/ burnt, with burgeoning bellies threatening to rip their teeny speedos apart. the impotent exploiting white male--nonetheless my favorite source of metaphor. To escape Thai's sin city, my roommate and I decided to spend some time in Koh Larn, an island just off of the mainland. We did not escape tourism, sadly, though we encountered some turquoise water and white sand. However, we did encounter the divine-- no kidding. We hiked up a small steep mountain to explore a pagoda that you can see from the shore. A little more exploring, and we met a taciturn monk who happened to live there. He showed us a path to a set of stairs that took you to the summit of the mountain, and consequently a humbling, panoramic view of the island. The stairs were torture. Steep, craggy, and the incline was very unforgiving. A brief glimpse over your shoulder will send you reeling with fear. It felt like you could really fall. The descent was far worse. The steps were probably all you cared about. The monk sensed our primal fear (I made no subtleties about it) and even offered his hand for help (!!!). The trick to these stairs, really, is to focus on one step at a time, to deny the constant impulse of looking at the view, at least, in order to keep moving. However, the gaze to the spectacular view was necessary, only every once in a while, for inspiration.

I won't be so crude as to make this experience explicit as a metaphor for something. But it was a good exercise, after all, under the auspicious supervision of this quiet monk. It got me thinking on a lot of things.

A list

I realize that I must really write an account of my recent exploits, but instead I procrastinate and deliver instead, a list of books that I would love to read. Slash receive. Notice, conveniently, to the right, my mailing address. :)

The Anthologist

nicholson baker

Chronic City

jonathan lethem

A Gate at the Stairs

lorrie moore

Where You're At

Patrick Neate

Pops: life of louis armstrong

terry teachout

Some interesting week

Despite some rocky circumstances this week, I've managed to eke out some laughter, thanks to my students. I was teaching my third graders some colors and every time I show a flashcard of a particular color, they have to point to an object of the same coloring. So it happens that I show the card yellow, and this girl lifts up her skirt and points to her yellow underwear.

Wait, what? What did just happen? My thoughts exactly. I hadn't been shocked in a while, but this one definitely did. I asked her discreetly to put her skirt down and not to do again, but in my head I wasn't sure whether to bury my face and burst out laughing in the class. I would have been slapped by lawsuit after lawsuit had this happened in the United States. Oh. my. god.

I showed Wall-E to my students this week as a reward for doing well on their letters. That was pretty precious too.