Apologies, I have been a bad blogger.
Thing have been pretty busy here since my last post...which is no excuse I know, but it seems like every time I sat down to post I seemed to get tongue tied. Things here have been pretty nuts. Ups and downs, goods and bads. School starts tomorrow so we shall see which way the scale tips.
In order to save you all from my usual rambling verbosity I will separate my thoughts into well organized headings and subheadings just as I get my students to do.
Bangkok:
A pretty crazy place but in general it seems like I'm going to like it. It is a lot dirtier and a lot grittier than Japan but I would count that as a positive rather than a negative. People here walk slower, "follow" the rules - that's using the term lightly, drive on the sidewalks and generally have a more relaxed view on life. The phrase "don't worry about it" is actually a cultural identifier here. Nice!
Weather:
Rainy rainy rainy with hella lightning and thunder. It's the rainy season here right now so pretty much every night is a big light show with booming thunder accompaniments. Last night our cab was literally floating down the street...strangely enough it didn't stall, they must all secretly be those amphibious water cars...probably sold on the cheap from the Soviets.
HOT! Freaking hot. I don't think it's been below 35 since I got here. It's also incredibly humid. A walk outside requires some serious mopping of the brow.
COLD! Aircon here is a way of life but they seem to think that since it's so freaking hot outside it should be cold enough inside to practically see your breath. I didn't bring anything that even resembles a sweater or cardigan for work. That is going to have to change because the aircon in my class is goosebump inducing.
Not at cheap as one may think. I read in a lot of books before I got here that Bangkok can either be cheap or incredibly expensive depending on how you choose to live. I've seen both sides of the coin so far. Definitely it is cheaper to eat on the street than to cook for yourself, hence most Thai houses and apartments don't have a stove or in some cases even a cooktop. People just buy their dinner on the street. I had the best meal I've had so far from a guy with a cart and it cost me all of 35 baht (which is about 1.10$) Red curry, tofu and rice. Yummers. I also had a full Indian meal of rice, Paneer and salad for 50 Baht (1.80). Not too shabby. However, if you go to the grocery store to buy food to make yourself you're looking at dropping 500 -800 baht. Which is around 20bucks Canadian. Not advisable. It's almost better not to have a stove so you're not tempted! A lot of other stuff is expensive too. Unfortunately I have had to put a lot of money out to get set up with stuff for my apartment and stuff so I think I'll be pretty broke for a while (considering I don't get paid until Sept 30th!) Groan...
From what I can tell the nightlife here is bumping. I went out to a proper night club on Friday and it was unlike anything I've ever been to in Canada...or Japan for that matter. It was enormous. Room after room after room each with it's own theme. House, live rock, hip hop, R&B, Chill. There was even a live band in the ladies washroom! Annyoingly enough foreigners have to pay cover but Thais don't...that being said I probably make more in a week than many of them make in a month.
My Apartment:
My apartment is quite nice. It's huge and the pool is great. But it's kinda outta the way. I am contracted here for 3 months at which point I am pretty sure I am going to move as long as I can get my hands on a nice place. I went and checked out another building where some younger teachers live and although it's smaller, it has a much better location. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something comes available and my bartering skills will get me a decent deal (since everything in Thailand is negotiable).
It has also become apparent that the people who live above me play "Rock Band" at ridiculous times of the evening/night and I have to listen to their muffled drumming. BOOOO!
School:
Hmmmm....how do I say this without sounding too negative.
In Thailand, everything looks better on paper. My school is no exception. Yes, it's British and yes, it's international and yes, it has IB and ICGSE and Round Square and all those things that look great on a resume. Is it organized? The easiest answer would be no. Are the outrageous tuition fees the students pay going towards resources and equipment which will improve the level of education they receive at the school? The answer would once again be no. Does the family who owns the school show up to campus in a stretch limo? The answer would be yes. You do the math. The school is highly lacking in resources which for a teacher is incredibly frustrating. When the money students pay to the school goes towards lining the pockets of already ridiculously wealthy people it's even more annoying.
That being said, I have a ceiling mounted data projector in my class and there is absolutely no sign of an overhead projector anywhere in the school! Hallelujah!!!!
School for the students starts tomorrow and so I will finally be able to see what it is I'm dealing with. I have been assigned a ridiculously varied timetable (a class of year 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, and 12s) Because it is British their "year" is actually one grade above us therefore their year 12 is our grade 11. So as you can see I'm going to be working 5 preps. I also have been assigned to what's called a "tutor group" of year 9s. I meet with them for one 80 minute class a week where I have to teach them about being good citizens and health and safety and stuff. I am also in charge of their "moral education"! Ha! Me, in charge of a child's morality! What was this school thinking! Anyway, I have to plan for that class as well so technically I'm working 6 preps! Yowza.
My classes for the most part are really small though. My biggest class is my year 10s and there are only 20 of them. The break from marking is going to be nice for sure...hopefully the time I used to spend marking won't be completely eaten up by planning for 6 preps! I also have to do an extra curricular once a week after school for an hour. I am going to start and writing/lit club.
The teachers at school all seem really nice and the ones that have been around for a year or two don't seem phased at all by the complete lack of organization. Apparently it's a pretty laxed place to work and I have had more than one teacher tell me that it's the most laxed teaching job I'm ever going to have. Here's hoping.
There is a great little bar right across the street from the school where all the teachers go every day after class. No more Friday after school clubs here..."health and safety commitee" meetings are a daily occurence and beers are only a buck. The food ain't too shabby either. Keeping on the social track, the first weekend in September is always reserved for a non school sanctioned teachers' trip to Koh Samet, a resort island about 2 hours away from Bangkok. It's pretty much gonna be a lot of drinking and sunning and collegial bonding on the beach. Can't complain.
I can't really think of anything. My pics are posted on facebook for the most part. I haven't taken a lot but I know I have to start since I don't want to get caught in the trap I did in Japan where I constantly told myself, "don't worry about take a pic of that, you're here for 2 years you'll get it later" and then I never bother and come home with no pics.
OK that's it...
Cheers from the land of the new and confusing.
P.S the Bangkok diet plan is going well...think I'm already down about 5 pounds.
