The world at their feet

I'm 3 weeks into the teaching now. I usually prepare my lessons each morning over breakfast and then tear up to the photocopy place to get copies for the kids. I have discovered I can actually draw if I try, although as a painter I'd probably starve. Don't think even cutting off my ear would help. My speciality are stick men.

So I started in Thesawan school teaching a split 1st class...same lesson one after the other. The kids are more Townee then Srithanu school and generally better behaved. Although the classes are side by side and the Thai teaches tend to disappear when i arrive leaving the class I'm not teaching unsupervised. The kids are really fun though and eager to please. The exception is one big lump of a lad who refuses to write or draw but just puts his head down on the desk to sleep. The Thai teachers say he learns nothing and that I should ignore him. As long as he sits/sleeps quietly I do.

Back in SriThanu school the week has been tough. Most of the teachers were away in Suratthani on a course. I had arranged a meeting with the principal on the Monday to discuss Class 3 learning topics but most likely he had been too polite to say no, so just nodded happily. Construction is ongoing at the school so most of the lessons are outside with no blackboard available, and the sound of a jackhammer in the background.

The upshot is that the kids have not been taught for the week, except for an over enthusiatic farang who comes in for two hours a day and tries to stir them from their apathy. Sometimes I succeed...sometimes not. I kept the lessons to 45 minutes though; past that stage I was just aggravating the kids, so let them off to play. On Wednesday when I was leaving of couple of the class 2 boys were kicking an atlas around the playground. I politely asked them not to toepoke Ireland; "Bye Bye Teacher Mike" was there reply.

Outside school I have been beaching, reading, writing (poems and prose) and generally relaxing. Went to Hat Rin last Friday - buckets and buckets of fun. Met a nice girl from Louth who convinced me to dance, although the music was techno and not my cup of tea (or bucket of samsung). Jumped through a ring of fire...one of the many beach attractions.

Did a fabulous day trip to Mu Ko Ang Thong National park http://samui.sawadee.com/angthong/ with all the PODies. Vistited one of the 200 islands and climbed up to Thale Nai or Emerald Lake. Also went kayaking and swimming. Although the day was slightly overcast, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Have been back to the gym twice for the Thai boxing lessons and soon hope to graduate to the intermediate classes...which are two hours long.

Unfortunately the PODies had a bad run of luck this week. One of the girls had her bag robbed on Friday night and another 2 girls had their place broken into on Sunday. Cameras, phones, credit cards and money where taken. A nasty experience for them but a timely reminder for the rest of us of the realities of travelling (of life!).

So I'm settling in to normal life. Its Blue Moon and Full Moon next week so am just going to go with the flow and party. After that I will start my Vedic meditation course and I'm considering Life Coaching sessions, but that will depend on what I make of the first session.

And finally some photos. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mikedugganjnr.

Thanks everybody for the emails, and note that my new skype account is "mikedugganjnr"

Bye for now,

M.

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce

"I can’t stand to fly, I’m not that naive"

So I'm a teacher now. First week down, and I have every Friday off because they don't have enough students for fourth class this year. Oh ya, and I don't start before 12:30 any day.

The school is about 8km from where I'm staying so I don't get changed into my teaching gear (socks and shirt) until I get to near the school. Kind of like Superman, except I change from mild mannered farang into Crewl Mike (Teacher Mike) behind a coconut tree. I practice my 'wai' then I'm rolling on into school.

First day I was very nervous but tried to act confident...I was waiting for one of the Thai teachers to shout 'fraud' and scarily would have been relieved if someone had asked me an IT question. But no, Crewl Quan just pointed to a classroom and said "Class one ready!" .

To say the Thai classroom is different from an Irish classroom would be an understatement. The school is in a remote island village and is totally relaxed. There where 9 kids in Class one. I think I had them all seated only once in 50 mins. I had learned how to say "Stop" and "Listen" in Thai for emergencies but used them both repeatedly in the first 20 minutes. There english is very basic and they can't write their names in english yet. Then came the time to sing a song. "If your happy and you know clap your hands". "If your happy and you know it /thump the living daylights out of the lad next to you/wander off to the jacks/have a quick nap/cover your eyes with your hands". The finish to the lesson was playing a game...get in circle throw the ball to someone and say "My name is ". After 5 minutes I had to change it to sitting on the ground and roll cause the lads in the class seemed determined to take an eye out. Honestly the lesson didn't go as bad as the above would suggest, but these are the things I remember.

Next, kindergarden/nursery. They were wary of me at first. Some looked like they were no more then 3 while others looked bigger then Class one. We played drums(drum to crescendo and do shhhhhhh). I sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little star" and put some silver stars on their hands. By the end of the class the kids where doing star jumps off the table onto my back, and baying "Mike! Mike!" looking for my attention. I then juggled 3 balls and couldn't stop laughing at all the open mouthed gaping. Once they saw me laughing they started rolling around on the ground laughing themselves. They're adorable.

I had the same 2 classes the following day, nursery went mostly the same way but I got stricter with Class one and managed to teach them the names of 6 fruit. Although it did take me over 20 minutes to get them all to write down the 6 words; they have a tedancy to write small 'b's and 'd's in mirror image (like in Thai writing). The lads decided half way through to make a human pyramid, but soon tired and returned to coloring their fruit printouts.

Tomorrow I have 2nd and 3rd for the first time. I spent all evening preparing lesson plans but mostly I will trying to assess there level and identify the "pyramid builders" in the Classes.

Thanks for all the emails; I promise to respond as soon as I get time,
M.

Humor is the affectionate communication of insight. Leo Rosten

D'Island

Well, we finally finished the training. It was intense with a lot of working in pairs but the last day was just doing a fun activity for kids (singing/miming/games etc..)....but then we were off straight to the train station for the overnight train to Surat Thani - 12 hours on a sleeper train, and my first close encounter with a Ladyboy!

Yes all the staff on the train were He-Shes. They called each other sister or ma'am and fluttered their eye-brows shamelessly at me. One even pinched me on the cheek when I pointed out they had giving themselves a 10 baht tip..."But I'm worth it Darling!". Some of us slept (girls)....some didn't (lads).

In the morning the sunrise over the baron landscape was welcome but foreign.

Then on a bus for an hour to get to the ferry. 2.5 hours on the ferry to get to Koh Phangan (d'island) and pickup truck taxi to our accom, which was clean and had a fan. The lady who runs it was very sweet and we had cold showers and warm food. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

We had arrived the day after the Full moon party so all the farangs looked like death warmed up. Went down to Hat Rin beach for the Full Moon after party...atmosphere was relaxed and only a handy crowd gathered....after a bucket (the type you made sandcastles with as a kid) of Samsung (whiskey) and coke I was ready for bed so caught a taxi home and slept and slept.

Sunday I looked for accomodation which is plentiful. Got a place in Beach Holiday Resort which is small but has air-con and looks out onto the beach. It's right beside the kite surfing school but its the wrong season for it so hope to do Sea-kayaking at the weekend, as well as explore the island.

So, have settled in...have a gaff, got a moped (I can get 60 miles to the gallon on that hog), and have sussed out the locality for grub and pubs. Also I was assigned my school and visited yesterday. SriThanu (pronounced SeeThanu) 40 students - a nursery and class 1-3. I get to teach nursery twice a week; I wasn't trained for that!

The school is very relaxed with kids running in and out of classrooms. They all get feed at school so I get a free lunch as well. The Thai teachers all liked my shirt and said I looked like a real Thai teacher.

Had my first lesson today but am far too tired to describe it properly now. I survived it but I'm knackered from it. It's so hot and you are kept going trying to keep their attention. Will blog again soon.

Hope everyone is having fun,
M.

Children are all foreigners. Ralph Waldo Emerson