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.
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| 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.
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that bull gave me the stink eye
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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.
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Look at everyone wearing a safety helmet. oh wait....
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Sunset on Samila Beach
The not so fancy English Department Building
Small campus cafe across from the English Department
On Chaimongkol. One of about 7000 in Songkhla
Very nice student helping the low-tech teacher. In all fairness to me, the instructions are all in Thai
The canteen has activity all day long
Equipment in the English building works some of the time
Fried chicken stand on Chaimongkol. Street chicken is very popular
Entrance to Chaimongkol Temple
School kids walking home down a soi (small road) after school
A fruit stand of sorts
Corn on the cob!!! Except without the skewer holders or butter or salt and pepper
I'm not sure what this is called, but the money is to be donated to a temple. |
