Sunday, February 06, 2005

It's a heat wave here in southern Thailand!
The cool months of December and January have left us and now the sweltering heat is creeping into February. Nights are tepid, mornings are warm, foggy and heavy with dew and by mid-morning it's hot, hot, hot.
At my school, the kids and I are busy putting together our skit, "The Three Little Pigs," for the upcoming English Camp, on the 10th and 11th of March. The kids and I are having a blast, but....the management of the school is having a bird.
Somehow, with management concerns, the presentations tend to drift from the childrens' hands, to the adult hands.
Suddenly it's, "This play has to be good, because the parents will be here to see it and they want to know that their kids are learning English appropriately!"
Somehow I'm managing not to get caught up in the management's paranoia, and I'm having fun with the kids. After all, I remember how important it was to me, to be an actor in a play in school at their age.
I teach approximately 1,050 students a week. All these students have Thai names or nicknames and it's impossible for me to remember all their names...but, I remember the names of the children in our play. I see them in the cafeteria, on school grounds and in the classroom...and I call them by name...
"Hello Namfon! (a small, skinny, Chinese looking girl with short, bowl cut hair) How are you?"
"Pichayet, (a short, pudgy faced Thai boy who speaks English with a flair) how are you doing today?"
"Prangtip! (An adorable young third grader, with pigtails and a devilish grin) How are you today?"
"Good afternoon Sarocha! (The cutest little second grade girl on the planet earth) Do you like rambutan?"
"Hello Hakimeen! ( A tall, shy Thai boy who dearly loves to speak English) Are you happy today?"
"Suchanat! (A sweet, pudgy Thai girl who's smile could light up New York) How is the weather today?"
"Pimpika!! (A tiny, cute, frail looking Thai girl who has a voice that would shake you out of your seat) Do you like to dance?"
And the list goes on....God, I love these kids so much! And they are doing wonderfully in their practice sessions for the play.
Other news?
  • I've fallen in love with a woman that is unobtainable (again).
  • I've been offered a job in North Western Africa for money that's double the highest amount I've ever made in my life.
  • I've made two new friends, one from Belgium and another from India.
  • I'm feeling unsettled for the first time in my life here in Thailand, mainly because of the job offer.
  • I'm reading the most I've ever read in my life.
  • I'm actually practicing my Chinese and my Thai and learning more and more phrases.
  • My long-time friend Jessie Herrera and I finally made contact after approximately fourteen years, and we may soon reunite.
  • I've made contact with another one of my childhood friends, who as it turns out, has been living in Japan for the last 22 years.
  • I'm beginning to get age spots.

Well folks, that's about it! Chinese New Year is fast approaching southern Thailand and I'm hoping that the fireworks won't be as loud or as frequent as when I was living in Guangzhou!

-Jeeem-


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