Corn, anyone?

As you can see, I’ve been toying with my masthead again. (I pick at my scabs, too, if anyone's wondering.) And I'll probably change it again when the whim strikes. I also added a link to my flickr page. I’ve been playing catch-up with my photos the past few weeks because I haven’t been good about putting them up as I take them. I still have a backlog, though, and hope to add the rest soon. Unfortunately, all this additional work caused my external hard drive—the one holding all of my photos—to go on strike. She’s flat out refusing to do any work. I’m keeping fingers tightly crossed that it’s a temporary tantrum and peace will be restored shortly (that’s all up to the manufacturer now). Luckily, I copied everything onto DVDs at the end of May, but that still leaves two months worth of photos hanging in the balance.

Last week I also became preoccupied with another online site. To quote Daniel (high school friend Daniel who visited Thailand, not Thailand friend Daniel) “the unstoppable machine that is Facebook.” The fears that kept me at bay were warranted: I’m totally addicted. It’s been so much fun reconnecting with friends I haven’t talked to in years. If you’re on there, please look me up, maybe even leave a note on my wall!

Bangkok, there's no other place like you

Oh, my poor neglected blog. I haven’t laid eyes on you in almost a month. Since the last post, I’ve celebrated my year anniversary of moving to Thailand. That's right, hard to believe a year has passed since I was giddy in Sarah’s apartment, filled with all the excitement that comes with moving to a new place. And, of course, much more motivated to record my experiences. I suppose now that my surroundings have become so familiar, it all seems less blog-worthy. I got a laugh the other night at how accustomed I’ve grown to the way of life here when I caught myself washing my spoon—yes I only own one spoon—rather than using my fork—yes, only one fork as well—to eat the veggies and rice I brought home. I was alone in my apartment but still didn’t like the idea of a fork in my mouth. A spoon just seems much kinder now. Last night I was eating dinner with Toby and Isabella when the evening downpour came (a regular event this time of year). The restaurant we call Ms. Jazz (the owner’s nickname because she loves jazz music) sits at a slant off the little street. Water poured in, flooding the cement floor and pushing us down the table to escape its reach. Finally, the three of us were crowded at the end with somewhat submerged feet (hard to see the water in the picture above, but it’s there). Waitresses were sloshing through the water in flip-flops and Ms. Jazz was laughing, “every year, every year”. This all didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me until Isabella asked me to hand her my camera.

All that said, what I love most about Bangkok is that no matter how long you (a farang) live here, you’ll never fully acclimate and understand everything around you. Even friends of mine who’ve lived here for years have daily cause to shake their heads and think “only in Thailand”. A small, inexplicable fire in the middle of the sidewalk that the Thais just walk around without batting an eye. A group of high school students gathered around a bright pink jam box, engaged in a dance-off. A student who wants to change her attendance card because her first and last names are now completely different (probably because the family had some back luck and attributed it to the name), and our admissions personnel who see this often enough to consider it routine. Just a few examples of the random and comical or baffling encounters that endlessly entertain here. It's too bad I can't do them justice with words, but I'll keep trying.

Mangroves

I forgot to show you the mangroves. Cool, huh? How do they do that? The colorful structure in the background is the seafood restaurant where we ate lunch.

Details of a traditional Thai home at the park we visited:



Gold coins outside of a temple. Placing coins in the bowl that sits in front of the Buddha that corresponds to the day of the week you were born will afford you extra protection:

Sabai sabai

Hi friends, I hope you’re all enjoying your summer. I think the tables have turned now and your weather is actually hotter than mine. At least those of you in the Southeastern states. And though it's a little cooler here, it's still pretty darn hot. I've learned from the Thai women here and use an umbrella to block the sun. It's so much more pleasant, I don't see breaking that habit when I return so be warned: You may be embarrassed to be seen with me. Since I haven’t posted in a while, I have some catching up to do. I'll post some pictures below but I've taken many more recently. I'll try to put more up later this week.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with Natalia and Koi (above) to Dusit Zoo and the Vimanmek Teak Mansion, the world’s largest golden teakwood mansion. Natalia, from Colombia, was thrilled to see her first giraffe. It struck her that the pattern on the giraffe's skin looks like autumn leaves. She also saw her first zebra, this beautiful creature below.

The teak mansion was a real treat. A blend of Thai and European styles, it was built soon after King Rama V returned from Europe in 1897. It's apparently constructed without the use of nails and with interlocking pieces of wood. There's a glimpse of part of the complex behind Koi and me.

Also on the grounds are two exhibitions of the current king's own photography—I thoroughly enjoyed this look through his eyes—and a display of Thai transportation over the years.

Natalia and Koi were students in an advanced English class I taught. Five of the nine from that class are moving to the States next month to attend various post-graduate schools. Here, we asked a stranger to take a picture of the three of us. Turns out he's colleagues with another person in the class. Strange coincidence.

Eight of us from the class split into two cars last week and spent a full, adventurous day in the Samut Songkhram province, about an hour and a half southwest of Bangkok. Our first stop was the Mae Nam Mae Klong, where we boarded boats for a tour of riverside life.




The boats anchored and we slopped through the warm mud (I believe people pay a lot of money for this treatment at spas) on a search for worms with a tubular shell. Given that we had just studied endangered species, we felt a bit cruel putting the white powder given to us by our guides into the ground. This chemical causes the worm shells to spurt to the surface where our greedy, curious hands await.

Back on dry land, we steered ourselves and our huge appetites toward this easy riverside restaurant with incredible seafood. The wormy things were on the menu but we resisted after some great effort.

Next stop: the King Buddhalertla Naphalai Memorial Park with traditional Thai houses, lush gardens and lots of antiques.

We also visited the sweetest temple, completely covered in roots and vines.


As dusk neared, we rented a boat and boarded with our dinner: sticky rice, grilled pork on sticks and desserts that are like little pancake tacos with custard in the middle. The boat stopped at this coffee shop below where we bought traditional Thai lemon tea for the ride.

We were let out at this gilded temple that houses the intact skeletal remains of a famous monk in a glass casket. These remains are on a shelf above an eerie wax version of the monk. A downpour actually kept us here for about an hour, but when it stopped we continued on and had the river completely to ourselves for the trip finale. Trees and bushes all along the river were lit up like Christmas trees with fireflies. It was a spectacular sight, particularly against the quietness of the night. Our boat driver said that on weekend nights, a couple hundred boats are all competing for this same view. Most of the tourists who come to this area are Thai so I felt like I had a truly local experience. Definitely a day I won't soon forget.

I also went to Koh Samet for a few days and planned on posting those pictures as well, but I'll save them for next time. Until then, sabai sabai (a commonly used Thai phrase meaning relax or take it easy). I think I'm more directing this to myself as I'm a little nervous about the start of the new term tomorrow. I'll be teaching my first corporate course. Because the school where I teach is such an institution here, companies frequently call requesting teachers. Should be fun though!

More elephants

Yes, yes, another post about elephants. I can’t help myself; I love these creatures. What I don’t love, though, is seeing them plodding down the city streets, often right in the middle of traffic. The practice of bringing elephants into Bangkok is technically illegal, but so is prostitution. It's a sad sight, especially knowing they get scraped and bumped along the way, so I generally try to ignore the handlers and their request for money to feed the elephant. Still, it's hard not to get a little thrill at seeing such an anomaly. One rainy night when my friend Jen was in town, we saw an elephant legs-up in a puddle having the most fun. It was such a joyous sight. I took these pictures yesterday in my neighborhood. The boy below was beyond precious in his timidness.

Joop-joop (kiss-kiss) from Sumo to you

Word around the water cooler is all about Thailand's current government and whether or not its alleged corruption will lead to another military coup (and whether or not such a coup would be sufficient grounds for a day off work). In more personal news, my friend Allan told me he’s moving back to Canada, putting me in a gloomy mood last week. It seems lately as soon as I get to know someone, he or she is moving away. I’ll miss having him around, just as I miss the others I’ve befriended and waved off in the short time I’ve been here. I suppose that comes with the territory of living in a foreign country. You’re more likely to meet transient people—and at some point in the next year, I'll be the one leaving. The good news is you’ve got great places to visit (Philippines, Australia, China. I’m dreaming now.) Also on the upside, as often as someone leaves, you meet someone new with another set of interesting experiences and viewpoints. I went out Thursday night with a new friend from Colombia and got a kick out of her stories from the six months she lived in the States, her shopping nirvana. She loved all the designer clothes you can get for relatively cheap (“You know Ross, dress for less.”) The sound she associates with America is the clack-clack-clack of shoppers methodically working their way through racks of clothes, moving hangers quickly to one side until something appeals. We laughed at the Bath and Body Works mentality. You go in for one bottle of soap but leave with five because of the get-one-free promotion. You'll never use all five, but you buy them anyway because it’s a “deal”. (I’ve never seen a shopping culture like this one, though. When I ask my students what they did over the weekend, I’m guaranteed shop, sleep, watch TV, in that order with rare exceptions. Thailand has its own version of the B&BW promotion: go to the popular Pratunam wholesale district, and the more you buy, the cheaper the items.)

I spend more time with other “farang” than with native Thais, say around 60-40, partly because we’re in the same situation and most Thais are already settled into their own lives with family and friends. I feel really lucky, though, to have somewhat of a surrogate Thai family. P'Tom, as you may recall, owns the coffee stand I frequent and says the things my mom would want someone over here saying to me: Be careful walking home; Don’t stay out too late; Go exercise (all advice I heed, of course…Mom). I stop by there many afternoons on my way home from work to order a fruit shake and hang out with him and his wife and any other regulars who may be there. It’s on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant that serves heaping plates of Thai food for $1. The restaurant’s owner has three kids and there's usually a couple more hanging around. Unlike most other Thai children I’ve seen, these are all over the place—climbing on top of the table, playing with things on the ground, trying to push each other down. It can be a circus, but always hugely entertaining. The youngest one, Sumo, is a lovable chunk; he has the cutest cheeks and Michelin Man legs. If you say "joop joop", he'll kiss your cheek. So there I was last night sitting at P'Tom’s little wooden table, eating my dollar dinner, watching all the people go by, and contemplating how lucky I am that this all came together so nicely. Lucky to have parents who supported my move, great friends back home to skype with, Sarah who introduced me to P'Tom, among other great people and places in Bangkok. The only downside is missing you all, and of course my new nephew Ben, who isn't included in "you all" because he can't read yet. But look, he's working on it. There he is below with his best friend Lucy. Laura says he starts laughing every time Lucy comes in the room. So, yeah, pretty big downside indeed.


And here's Sumo:


This one's blurry, but too cute not to share:

New look in progress

Well, I just had to get rid of that boring ol' header. This isn't perfect I realize, but it's gotta be better, right? It's actually my first photoshop graphic attempt and the last picture's probably too busy, and the colors look much better before I post it to the web, and there's this weird grainy effect around the text, and yada yada yada. But hey, it'll do for now. I gotta get outside and play.

To make up for my photoshop laziness, I'll give you a good laugh. I have a student named F (yes, English letters also make for popular Thai nicknames here.) The class was up and getting into groups and I hear one student yell across the room: "F you too!"

He has asked me if he should change his nickname before going to the States for university. I told him it'd probably be a good idea.