Trailing Off....: A Day in the Life of an Underutilized ESL Teacher

It's Thursday. My longest day. Which means teaching 8-12 and then 1-4. Which really means teaching 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-3:30. It's a longish day sandwiched between a day of no classes and a day with one morning class.

12 of the 40 students are actually on time!!!

On this particular Thursday, I got up at sunrise so I could get a walk/jog in before going to the university. A lot of retirees are decked out in their exercise gear to take advantage of the beautiful sky, cool air, and light traffic. On this day, I took some photos and thought for the bizillionth time that I need to carpe diem a bit more and enjoy more sunrises and sunsets.

that bull gave me the stink eye

After a couple of cups of instant coffee (don't cringe, you get used to it!!) with milk and brown sugar (I can never remember to buy granulated sugar when I go to the store), a quick check of the internet to confirm that no one sent me any messages, and a cold shower, I headed out the door to cross the 7:30 traffic, Frogger style, to get to the school.

Look at everyone wearing a safety helmet. oh wait....

At the gates, the guard saluted me with his usual, "Good morning, Sir!". I smiled and saluted him in reply. I don't think most people greet the guards (or grounds keepers and cleaners), but I know they stand outside all day in their heavy uniforms and I'd like to think a friendly hello from the farang breaks up the monotony.

And sawadee ka to you!!

Several classes in all departments begin at 8:00. However, this seems to be more a suggestion than a hard and fast rule. Teachers and students alike have their own definition of when 8:00 is. As a result, it is so quiet when I get to campus at 7:45 that I can hear all the frogs and birds.

This same man will later mow that football pitch with some contraption made from used bicycle parts and a saw

Everyday, I walk under the covered walkways to head for the Almighty Book. No, the other Almighty Book. The one you must sign before 9:00 am or suffer some unknown torture. I am lucky, though, that I don't have to sign out at 4:30 like at other schools, and doubly lucky that I don't have to sign in via thumb scan like the high schools.

I am writing "8:00 to 16:30" mwhahahah

Today, I gathered my materials (whiteboard markers, handouts, class name lists) and headed out the door. Everyday at 8:00am and 6:00 pm, the national anthem is played and everyone who isn't driving should stop what they're doing and listen respectfully. I always know that I'm going to have to stop and listen to the song, but I can't force myself to leave the office after it's over. I have not been able to shed the Midwestern penchant for punctuality.

The picture on my name card is from my junior year in high school.

Today, I stopped just outside the Chevron Settapat Training Center and was able to give a wave to my weekend students, who are in training to work off shore and make a boatload more money than me.

These guys graduate next week. I will really miss them :(

On Thursdays, I have two back to back 2 hour classes with students in the Business Administration Department who are majoring in General Management, Marketing, Information Systems, etc. The building was finished last year and is the richest and fanciest on campus. There is actually an elevator and the rooms are furnished with clear white boards, projectors, computers, overheads. However, not until recently did the rooms have a whiteboard eraser. The only drawback is that the classes have around 40 students which is a large number to manage for a conversation course. And there's a range of ability from barely knowing the alphabet to English major level.

fancy schmancy Business Administration Building

After class, I met Stephen in the canteen across the road. I eat here most everyday I teach because it's quite cheap and easy. You get rice and a choice of 3 dishes for 30 baht ($1). I usually get 2 vegetables and a curry. For some reason the vegetable dishes often have bits of meat making it difficult to be a pure vegetarian.

Occasionally I make a mistake and get liver but for the most part this stuff is yummy.

At 1:00 I taught "Advanced" Writing with the 3rd year English majors. I use the quotes because "advanced" is a relative term. Advanced compared to a 7 year old? Yes. Advanced in terms of complexity of structures, transitions, and overall vocabulary? Not always. But they are a great class and really want to improve. Today I taught when to use infinitives and gerunds for the grammar component and transitions for the composition section.

These English majors are really taking notes and not faking it for the camera, I swear.

After class, I decided to go to the market near my apartment to get a few things at the open air vegetable stands as well as buy cat stuff at Lee. I try to cook a few times a week, with varying success from week to week.

Mystery meat on a stick cart on Chaimongkol Road

I walked down Chaimongkol Road past several small shops and Chaimongkol Temple and down a couple of smaller back streets to the market. I find that the smaller the street, the more people who shout at me.

Outdoor beverage shop off of Chaimongkol

I bought my staples of carrots, eggplant, potatoes, garlic, onions, and tomatoes as well as Friday Cat's food and litter. The motorcycle taxi drivers wait in a group outside and by now, most of them know where to take me. Because I was wearing a skirt I had to ride side-saddle and hope to keep my balance as we turned corners.

Daily market near Lee Wiwat

I cooked my wok version of pasta primavera and watched movies until it was time to meet the AUA crowd at 9 pm. They work at a language school, so finish late and have Fridays off. It's a challenge to make it to that time since I usually go to bed at 9, but chatting with that bunch is worth the wait.

I used "underutilized" in the title of this blog post because there are times I wish I had more responsibility, more of a role in curriculum plannng, more professional development to keep up my game. But I reckon if that's my worst complaint, I'm essentially quite lucky. So, this Thursday was a day like any other with little stress, loads of free time, and a few laughs. All in all, a great day.