Thoughts on Burma and Cat-throwing

Turns out blogspot.com uses Picasa to upload pictures and I only get 1 GB free before I have to upgrade to a plan. I have plenty more photos to upload, so I'm debating about buying this plan ($2.50/month for 25 GB). We'll see.

Jules and I took our scooter to our first big weekend trip, Chiang Dao (up north). It was quite relaxing and fun (and cold!), so that will be a fun post coming up.

One of my favorite things about not just traveling, but also living in various parts of the world is that I get to learn so much more about the country I'm living in as well as its neighbors. I'm more likely to hear about politics or news from the area, so I'm more likely to Wikipedia it to learn more, and I feel slightly more informed about the world.

For example, I recently taught a lesson about Conditional Statements ("If, then") and I started it by asking them what countries they'd like to visit (which, if you're curious, I went on to construct the sentence, "If I visit _____, then I will _____"). Not surprisingly, they usually can only think of countries in Southeast Asia, and almost every class I taught would shout, "Myanmar!" So I was curious as to why they were so interested in visiting this country and went home to google "Tourism in Myanmar." And upon reading up about Burma, I have to say, I am thoroughly confused. Yes we already knew about its human rights issues (rape, slavery, human trafficking, genocide, child labor, and lack of freedom of speech to name the main ones), but did you know they've only just come out with a constitution in 2008 that implements any kind of "fair" government? My favorite part is that they currently rank 172nd out of 176 on the Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) with a current score of 15 out of 100 (100 being the least corrupt and 0 being the most corrupt). It's an interesting scale I'm only just learning about, but whether it's accurate or not, it's safe to say that I don't quite understand why all of my students want to travel to Burma at the moment. From what I've researched, it seems like most people don't actually want tourists to visit and the few that do, want them to visit only if they are looking to better the country while "on vacation in Burma." Jules claims that my students don't actually want to go there, and that they are instead just acknowledging their neighboring countries, but I disagree. Over Lao, China (which they hardly even mention), India (which they never mention), or even Vietnam, they got really excited about Myanmar every time. Anyway, thought I'd share some of my thoughts and discoveries with you.


Also, if you were curious about my schedule, or couldn't quite understand what it is I teach exactly, I've included the two pictures I use to remind myself what class I have next. The first one is my morning school. The first number is the grade, and the second number is whether they are a 1 or 2 class (as I explained earlier about being on the "A" track or the "B" track). Julia's schedule looks similar, except it's between Kindergarten 1-3.

The second one, my afternoon school, is basically high school, so the grade 1 kids are about 13 years old. The top schedule is Julia's, and the bottom schedule is mine (except 3/3 is taught on Thursdays, not Wednesdays).

To put it into more human and less robot terms, my Mondays are hell in the morning, since it is all my lower grades who don't really pay attention, but they're great in the afternoon because it's my /1 grades. My favorite classes to teach in the morning are 5/2, 6/1, and Secondary 3. The students in these classes respect me, care about learning, try, and I feel like I can really make progress with them. My least favorite class, by FAR, is 1/2. They are young enough to be wild and disrespectful, but old enough not to care about pleasing the teacher (as kindergarten is so eager to do). That class, no matter how I approach it, gives me hell every Monday morning. I've resorted to making sure the 4 kids that pay attention (out of 37) can learn something, while trying to make sure the other 33 kids aren't doing too much damage while they hit each other, scream, cry, throw things, steal my stuff, and do their best to get on my nerves (a la hitting my butt and running away, or trying to lift up my skirt). I'm surprised I never talked about the one time I tried taking them outside to play a game (which utterly failed) and a couple of the boys kept picking up a stray cat and throwing it at the girls and I was trying to get them to stop, eventually saying, "Don't throw the cat. Stop throwing the cat! Don't. throw. the cat!" (which of course they don't understand, since I'm saying it in English). Julia laughed at the story and helped me to see the humor in never thinking I'd have to say that sentence.

Loi Krathong Pictures

Some decorations in the Old City

Capturing the Krathongs, the fireworks, the latnerns, and the river

Letting my Krathong go in the river

A floating lantern that caught fire!

One of the floats in the parade

A great scene captured by Julia. One of our favorite photos. :)

Such huge sparklers!

Revisiting the Taj

As part of my travel the world and see the wonders (in blow-up form) tour

Mr. and Mrs. Loi Krathong

I like to think "Ha-doo" is the Thai onomatopoeia for the sound an owl makes. Julia says I'm probably wrong. *Ha-doo, ha-doo*

Angry birds balloon!

Krathongs for sale

I know it's supposed to be a heart, but every time I saw these in the sky, I thought  they were upside-down Mickey Mouse pants!

Letting go!

Jumping around too much

And it's off, with all my troubles and worries

Angel Julia

Holiday Schedule: America-substitution Edition

I never covered what we did for Halloween or Thanksgiving, so I'd like to do that here.

For Halloween, we decided we wanted to carve something, though carving a pumpkin was kind of out of the question. Google image search "Thailand pumpkin" and the first two rows of pictures are the most common pumpkins you find here. In fact, we saw an orange pumpkin the other day and it was the weirdest thing for me because I forgot pumpkins can be orange. As you can see, they're pretty short and squat, and they're also very hard to cut up. So after some brainstorming, we decided the easiest and best thing to carve would be a watermelon. We still wanted to do something pumpkin-related however, since it is Halloween after all, so we bought a pumpkin as well as a watermelon. After hollowing out our baby watermelon, I carved a cutesy face and used my iPhone (in a plastic bag) to light up the inside. Meanwhile, Jules researched all the meals we can cook with a pumpkin and settled on a pumpkin soup. We bought the ingredients, cut up the pumpkin (incredibly difficult, as I mentioned; nearly lost a finger or two in the process) and Jules made THE MOST DELICIOUS MEAL EVER. It's comprised mostly of pumpkin, red curry, and coconut cream and it was pure perfection. We also dried and roasted the pumpkin seeds! Jules did such a great job with her pumpkin experiment and it made for such a delicious Halloween. Oh and at the time, I was substituting for a Kindergarten class, so I had my kids color and cut up a pumpkin mask. No dressing up in costumes, but I would certainly consider it a successful second Halloween abroad. :)

When Thanksgiving was coming up, our funds were dwindling, as we still had to wait until December 1st to receive our first major paycheck. But we decided it was important for us to really celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that is normally spent devouring giant meals with family and friends, that we would now be spending with just the two of us. Though we consider each other family, this was definitely a drastic change. Last year in India, a group of friends from the UCEAP program came together to conjure up the best Thanksgiving-like meal we could, since India doesn't really provide for this American holiday. In Thailand however, there are plenty of farang for the businesses to cater to, so Jules researched cafes that were renowned for providing delicious and affordable traditional American Thanksgiving dinners. We settled on Bake & Bite and made a reservation for our scrumptious dinner, which would come with everything we wanted and expected, plus pumpkin cheesecake and, my all-time favorite, cranberry sauce in a can. It was something to look forward to as our stressful workweeks continued and our money dwindled. When November 24th came, we got a little lost on the way, but finally found our oh so wonderful Thanksgiving dinner buffet (again, the pictures will do a much better job of illustrating just how delicious it was). It broke the bank a little, but was absolutely 100% worth it and for once, we felt stuffed to the point of drowsiness. Thanks to Sam, we also had some lovely Thanksgiving decorations to hang up around the apartment (including a tree with leaves where we were supposed to write what we were thankful for). And naturally, we shared our thanks for each other, Thailand, our apartment, our scooter, our jobs and our friends and family back home.

Though we spent Halloween and Thanksgiving in India last year, we were home for Christmas, so this will be our first Christmas abroad and without family. As soon as December 1st hit, we headed out to buy a tiny Christmas tree and decorations so it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our little studio. The only things that would make it more complete are the smell of pine needles (since it's a fake tree of course) and perhaps some chestnuts over a fire. Oh and of course, maybe if it wasn't 100 degrees everyday, it'd feel more like winter.

So that's our American-substitution holidays here. It's nice because there are a good amount of Christians here in Thailand (though the primary religion is Buddhism) so there are still glimpses of Christmas here and there (like our lobby has a cute little Christmas tree, and as I said, this cafe is playing a bit of Christmas music).

I'm not sure, but Jules and I think we get New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off. Sadly, because we work for a government school and a non-Christian private school, we won't get Christmas day off. But we're seriously considering calling in sick that day, because it won't be much of a loss for them to have one day without us, but it will be so important to us to have that day to celebrate (and maybe even Skype with loved ones!).

And last but not least, my birthday's coming up! I'll soon be turning the age nobody really wants to be, and the first age in which you're getting older and it's no longer a good thing. Hope your holidays are well. Leave a comment or two to send some love!

Thanks for reading! The pictures will come in the next entries to entertain those who are tired of reading and prefer pictures (*ahem,* Louise).

Holiday Schedule: Thailand Edition

I've been kicking my butt for weeks now to try and get these blog entries out and I think I'm finally able to sit down and do it. So here I sit in a British-themed cafe, sipping on my iced cafe mocha (only my third caffeine-related purchase since I've moved here), and listening to Christmas music (something I'm sure many of you have been doing for weeks, but this is a rare find in Thailand). It's one of the many cafes in Chiang Mai and specifically on my street alone, which is comprised mainly of bars, cafes, clubs, and an occasional haircut place (side note, this makes it sound like I live in some crazy youngsters village, but really Jules and I just happened to find a great deal in a little apartment tucked away from this main huge road that we soon found out is apparently THE place to be). I've also admittedly had terrible writer's block and haven't been able to easily put into words how amazing our adventures have been, but it seems like I'm doing better now. Nothing a mocha can't fix. So here goes!


It took a bit to figure all of this out, so I'm saving you the extensive research, word of mouth, and confusion we put together to bring to you, Holiday Schedule: Thailand Edition.

Yi (or Yee) Ping is a celebration that happens on the full moon of the second month of the old northern Lanna kingdom calendar. Loi Krathong is a celebration that happens on the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai Lunar Calendar. This means they both end up happening around the same time every year and as a result, many people think the two holidays are the same thing with different names. Yes, they both involve lots of lights and lanterns. They both have celebrations and parades. They both attract enormous crowds of people. But they are definitely two separate holidays.

For starters, Yi Ping is a Lanna tradition that pays homage to Lord Buddha. As a Buddhist celebration, there was a lot--and I mean A LOT--of chanting/prayers/meditation. It went on for hours. It's interesting how most accounts of the event only talk about the lantern release, which doesn't happen until the very end of the event and actually doesn't last very long. It is, by far, the most interesting part of the ceremony, and the only part everybody's there for. One of the biggest places to celebrate Yi Ping is at Maejo University, which is about an hour outside of town. They have a Thai version of events and a Foreign version, which they only recently instituted, I imagine to bring in money, as I've heard it's 100 baht for a ticket to get in, while the Thai version is free (which is RIDICULOUS. That's like charging you $30 to go see Santa when you can just see him for free at your local mall). So we hopped on our handy-dandy motorbike and scooted out to the crowds of sweaty people trying to find a spot on the lawn where they can launch their lantern (which is also referred to as a balloon, or my favorite, fire-balloon). We arrived their fairly early and were pretty exhausted by the time we actually got to release our lantern, but it's absolutely worth it (at least once in your life, probably never again).

The releasing of your lantern into the air is supposed to represent releasing your fears and troubles and worries of the past year. It's about renewal and rebirth (which I'm sure you could have figured out on your own given that it's a Buddhist holiday). The pictures will help explain this better, but the lantern is basically this giant light paper bag thing with a wooden circle on the bottom and a little circle in the middle that is made of some sort of wax. You hold the lantern over a lighter or candle and let it fill up with hot air as the little wax circle ignites. Once it has filled completely (like a hot air balloon), you release it! And it floats away amongst the dozens or hundreds or thousands of others, depending on where you are. The moment when you actually let it go is hard to describe. It's probably so--for lack of a better word--magical because it's oh so fleeting. You patiently wait for the lantern to fill, hoping you don't set fire to the surrounding paper, it slowly tugs upward as if it has come to life, and when you're done taking pictures and laughing (and really, when you're ready to let go), you hold it above your head and you release it. And in that instant, you are filled with this joy that is as if you were the balloon itself, flying away. It's a funny and somewhat unexpected feeling because normally with events that hold symbolism, we always feel like we have to keep reminding ourselves what the thing represents. Like all the stuff with graduation; pulling your tassel to the other side, or "walking" at all. I feel like we always have to imbue these physical events with their spiritual representation. But every once in a while, the spiritual representation takes over and we don't have to think, we just feel. The moments in graduating when I felt like I made it and that I was taking the next step in my life didn't happen on the stage, hearing my name called, or moving the tassel. They happened when I was hugging all of my friends, or eating my celebratory lunch with my parents. So if you get what I'm trying to say, the lantern release is so amazing partly because letting go of your lantern is just one of those moments where the feelings take over before you have to think about how significant it's all supposed to be. It's freeing. And uplifting. (I'm sure I'm doing tons of blabbering in this blog, but I guess I have a lot to say since It's been so long!)

So after we released a few lanterns and took pictures and made our way through the crowd back to our motorbike, it started POURING RAIN. Serious thunderstorm status. Lightning, thunder, and literally sideways raindrops just catapulting towards us. Everybody starts yelling and running to get to their rides. We have one poncho leftover from the guy who sold us the scooter, so we decide Julia should wear it, with all the valuables (particularly her SLR camera) underneath. After a quick warning about how careful I should be from Julia-dearest, we made our way through puddles (puddles that seemed like lakes) and rain (rain that felt like tiny rocks) to drive the hour back home. I was freezing to the bone, just trying to keep myself from shaking so that I could control the bike. And I couldn't put my helmet visor down because it would just get splattered with rain, so I had to drive with my head at this weird downward angle so that I could still see. After about 10 minutes of this, we got to a main road where there were bits of shelter here and there so I immediately stopped and Jules and hid under a small awning with a group of others while we waited for the rain to die down. We eventually made our way home safe and sound, though that was an experience for the books. Oh and also, when we got to Yi Ping, we didn't know we couldn't wear shorts, so we had to buy some cheapo black pants that we could wear there. Needless to say, when we peeled them off back in our apartment, our legs and shorts underneath had been dyed black. But as Jules said, there's a certain kind of beauty in being wet and giving up on trying to be dry.

Loi Krathong (pronounced Loi as in "boy" and Kra-tong as in "song") roughly translates to floating float...basically. But the "float" or "krathong" is a vessel typically made of banana leaves that contains flowers, candles, and incense. Traditionally, people take these to their nearest rivers and release them in the water. Like Yi Ping, it represents letting go and starting anew, though the origins of this holiday are a little more murky (I think the article I linked does a great job of explaining it). Vendors make and sell krathongs for people near the waters, some of them made of foods like breads. For the most part, I think they try to make everything natural and biodegradable since they're releasing thousands of them into the river. Ironically, I've also heard releasing them into the water is supposed to thank the river for providing for us during the past year. We thank the river by throwing a bunch of shit into it at the end of the year (including the thousands of fireworks that people set off).

For some reason, even though schools consider this to be one of the biggest holidays of the year, they still have school on these days, but nobody does anything but prepare. It's like the last day of school: everyone has to be there, but really it's all about celebration. So because I was there but not teaching, I got to set off fireworks with the kids (it's too bad America's a first world nation because setting off huge fireworks with kids is actually quite fun. Yes, the kind of fun where I'm like, "They're letting 7-year-olds do this?? Is that okay?!" but fun nonetheless), and make my own krathong! I took pictures of the process of making a krathong so you can see :). In addition to krathongs, more fire balloons, and fireworks and sparklers of all kinds, they have parades, giant floats, and a Mr. and Ms. Loi Krathong beauty pageant.

Loi Krathong happens over three days (27th-29th) and they have a parade in each city for each day. Lamphun's parade happens on the first day, and since the school we teach at in the morning is a private school, they participate in the parade. Put two and two together and you guessed it, Jules and I were thus invited to expected to be in the parade as well. They told us about it a month in advance (which is amazing by any standard, but especially by Thai standards) and took us to buy our own traditional Thai outfits for the event. We even stayed in Lamphun overnight (in the owner of the schools' house, which is on the school grounds). After our usual day of teaching, we dressed up, got our hair and makeup done, and made our way to the parade. It was quite fun--and really weird--to see some of the older students all dressed and make-upped themselves. With make-up on, some of the older kids looked to be about our age, if not older! The only thing that gave them away was the way they carried themselves, otherwise at one point Jules thought one of the students I teach was a teacher themselves.

So here we are, taking pictures, ready to walk, and it starts raining. We hurriedly get under some umbrellas and as it worsens, we find some nearby shelter. A half hour or so passes and we figure out that they've pretty much given up on the parade and parents are taking their kids home. So that was our parade marching experience in Lamphun. It's pretty hilarious when you think about it, and calls to mind a literal "don't rain on my parade" and how accurate that token phrase is. Nevertheless, we got to watch the Chiang Mai parade the following day and saw a few white people that let us know how we'd probably look had we walked in Lamphun's parade. The parade mostly consists of people on cheesy floats dressed as what we believe to be the water gods. Most of them look not all that happy or painfully fake smiling. Some floats were really beautiful and some costumes were fun to see, but for the most part, a bunch of unhappy dressed up people.

(I'd just like to take a moment to talk about how the cafe I'm in is currently playing this song. So when I say it's playing Christmas music, take that loosely.)

I think that pretty much sums up our Thailand November Holiday Experience! We'll get some pictures up that definitely won't do the events justice, but will provide a glimpse of how beautiful and charming and wonderful it all was. :)