Thailand Update Dec. 13

Dear Friends:

It has been quite awhile since I have written. Time flies by so quickly. But this last couple of weeks has been horrendous with terrible news from home and around the world. Detroit, Wall Street, Chicago, Kirkuk, Darfur, Mumbai, Mozambique, Iraq, and Afghanistan – it all goes on and on. To top it off I just watched “Planet in Peril” and really got sick to my stomach. It seems as though everything is going crazy around us and more than that is seriously harming us. And to top it off the changing weather patterns are adding more misery to millions.

I know if I were home I would be churning all the time worrying about it all, talking about it all, arguing about it all, and immersed in the problems of the world because I get like that. Thailand makes it all seem far away. This is a place that is not caught up in the worldwide turmoil; it has no immediate enemies; it does not have something the rest of the world wants to exploit; and it pretty much contains itself to within it borders. This is a country that is steeped in Buddhism, (although I am not always clear how that is manifested in everyday life), esteems its monks and making merit, absolutely reveres its monarch, and yet has all the problems one might find anywhere. On the surface everything seems to be sublime and easy but that is part of its allure. If things look good, they are. This is a country that does not even teach history in the schools. But it is a country that many come to for the pleasures it offers both in nature, sunshine and sea, exotic monuments and celebrations, and its allure for many who like to frequent its most seamy areas. Thailand is a land of many contradictions that I sense but cannot truly define. If there are those who speak of the activities of the “bar girls” with often disgust, but then they will also say “but there is no other way for them to take care of their families.” And they do take care of their families. Family is supreme and many a “farang” (foreigner) is supporting untold numbers of poor relatives of their Thai women. Love is for sale but it comes at more than the price of a one night stand when there is a decision to totally buy in.

Thailand is a land of nation, Buddha, and King. In travel brochures it is also called “Amazing Thailand.” It is a land of courtesy and saving face. There is still the polite but hierarchical custom of “weiing” each other. That is folding the hands in front as if in prayer and greeting one another with the words “sa ba dee ka.” Where one places one’s hands (chest, face or higher) and bows one’s head determines the stature of whom you are addressing. It is a custom I am getting used to as the children must wei their teachers and we wei back. As a sign of respect, they wei me with hands on the face and I wei them with hands on the chest. The head is bowed to the hands. I wei the director and the administrators as well. This courtesy happens everywhere and all over Thailand. When you purchase goods or food in stores and supermarkets, the clerks wei you in thanks. It is a sign of thanks, good wishes, and respect. Often, the children will go by me and bow low as they pass as a sign of respect for an older person. That is the custom.

I witnessed the extremes of this custom during the funeral of the King’s sister a couple of weeks ago. The Princess had been a beloved person for the Thai people and she was accorded an incredible funeral full of all the pomp, circumstance, and regalia that is at the disposal of the Thai Monarch. Parades full of elegantly uniformed marchers; royal regalia of gold and silver carried by bearers, monks presiding over dozens of services sending her on her way, traditional rituals involving cremation and final resting place, gift giving, chanting and mourning – all went on for days. I witnessed all of this on television and truly experienced the depth of the weiing and bowing traditions at their highest levels. With royalty the weiing tradition goes all the way to the forehead with a deep bow and during the religious ceremony weiing involved leaning back and head to or over forehead facing the heavens. I must admit I was absolutely fixated and fascinated as I watched such incredible spectacle unfold for the benefit of the Princess and the honor and tribute which was given to her life and death. As pageantry, the tributes were spectacular.

I am trying to describe all this and not display any commentary or judgment about all of this from a Western perspective because there are no doubt contradictions here in this display of extreme wealth and expenditure for the soul of a Princess and the extreme poverty in which many Thais live. This is a Constitutional Monarchy and the Thais love their King who is now aging and many wonder what the future will hold.

Some of the highlights of my life here include having had the opportunity to visit Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I had to go renew my visa in order to stay in the Country and teach while my work permit was being processed. I spent four days there and really loved visiting the City. It is modern, clean, colorful, and full of all of the most elegant designer shops you would ever need in many shopping malls around the City. I enjoyed watching the dress of so many women who were stunning in their traditional, colorful and elegant dress of over- -blouse and flowing pants. I took one a two day, on and off, bus tour around the City and enjoyed its incredible green belt housing orchid and butterfly parks, lakes and recreation activities, museums and monuments. I really loved the National Art Gallery which displays hundreds of works of Malaysian contemporary modern art. The Gallery itself is a great display of traditional and modern architecture which has rounded umbrella-like arches around the exterior and surrounded by grand staircases and pools and fountains. It is different but has some of the exterior look of the Opera House in Sydney.

Teaching is turning out to be a great delight. My students are fifth and sixth graders and I have 12 hours a week of very small groups that need special help with English. They are so much fun and though they are not always the best of students or the best behaved, I am developing a rapport with them and think I am making some progress. English is required for only the first six grades so many know they will not continue with it. Students at Kajonkiet Suksa School are Thai or a mix of Thai and just about every other nationality: American, Russian, Swedish, English, German, Korean, and Chinese… although most of the Koreans are Korean only. The Teachers are also from everywhere and there are about 100 farang teachers within the three-school system. Although the school requires that teachers be primarily native English speakers we do have a few from the Philippines and Eastern Europe whose English is good enough for teaching the Kindergarten and Primary.

A cultural phenomenon that makes teaching difficult is the Asian concept of saving face and that means that nobody really fails. That means that there are not those built in problems of failure potential that are an inducement to working harder. So my job is to help the kids do the best with English. Failure happens but that is rare and every effort is made to assist the kids in passing either through after school lessons, tutoring, or my ESL class. I am amazed at how well they do considering my own language abilities. I have never been good at learning languages and can speak about 10 words in Thai. It has been really difficult for me to get a good sense of the language and, of course, cannot read any of the signage anywhere. Thai is a kind of Sanskrit/Pali combination and there is no official agreement on the correct Roman alphabet spelling of any of the Thai words. So translations include a variety of spellings. I did much better in Vietnam which uses the same alphabet as English.

A major advantage for me of being in Phuket is to be near so many beaches and islands. I take advantage as much as possible. Last weekend we had a three day holiday so I went camping on the Similan Islands, one of the greatest dive places in the world, so they tell me. I did not dive, but I snorkeled around every day at several of the eight islands that make up the Similans. Camped in a tent and slept pretty well considering that it has been a long time since I slept in a tent – not since Romania. The Islands are a protected natural resource so the beaches were clean and pristine with absolutely clear turquoise waters, coral reefs with a variety of white, blue, green, and pink coral surrounded by lots of sea anemone. The water was fascinating with colorful, tropical fish of all shapes and sizes and I spent hours watching them. I love swimming, snorkeling and being at the sea. Food was included with the campsite and there was an amazing amount of food at every meal. Grilled fish (some of the best I have ever eaten), steamed fish, fish stew, mixed vegetable dishes, varieties of cooked rice and noodles, curries and curried soups, chicken grilled and fried or stir-fried in vegetables, omelettes and fried eggs, all but the latter cooked with some of the most incredible sauces I have had in Thailand. And to finish off the meal, plates of fresh fruit were served. I think I have already mentioned that Thais really like to eat and the tables are always covered with a variety of food. That was an enjoyable three days. But I was sad to discover that I have developed sea sickness – was absolutely uncomfortable on the speed boat to the Islands.


We have a four day weekend this week for some reason but I will stay around Phuket and take some day trips to a couple of islands off the Southern tip for swimming and snorkeling. Since I am going to Africa for Christmas, Kenya and Tanzania on Safari, I really have to budget. I am absolutely amazed that I can actually go to Africa from here at so much less than I could from the USA. I never thought that this would be one of my destinations but it was too tempting to pass up. I am hoping that with everything holding up okay at home, I can go to Australia during the break next April before I come home. It is a real possibility that I can do this.

Thanksgiving was a great holiday with hundreds of farang folks at a restaurant that caters to foreigners. We all had the turkey and all the trimmings and all we could eat. I really enjoyed that meal. It was a work day but the evening was just perfect. You would not believe that the whole meal was only $10.00.

Getting around is still hard for me so I spend most days teachings and most evenings at home. I do use motorbikes and have a favorite driver who fortunately drives slower and carefully when I use his service. Taxis are too expensive for the budget and I use them only after grocery shopping. I decided to go for it and ordered the only satellite TV that offers several English programs and CNN round the clock. Once in a while there is a good movie but mostly there are re runs of American programs. If you can believe it, there is even Commander in Chief in re run and The Guardian. Yes, Oprah is carried on the Hallmark channel, but I don’t watch her; never really have. I have watched a good amount of National Geographic, the History Channel, Discovery, and Animal Planet. Unfortunately, I watch too much CNN. But I read a lot too, not much that is truly intellectual or stimulating as there is not much around and the used books even for pulp fiction are really expensive. I did manage to borrow a copy of two Thai Books: The King Never Smiles, and A History of Thailand (both of which have helped me to learn more about Thailand) from someone who has a very few good books. He actually also had a Tony Hillerman and that was fun, of course.

I do miss close friendships, lady talk, Gregory, and chile! It is interesting that I have already been asked to stay for the next year which begins in May but there is lots of time to decide. No matter where I am I will need work. Greg has been gone for several weeks now and I am glad he was here. We shared some great times and he is now happily, I hope, at home with Lauren and writing what he writes endlessly.

Do write to me. I do hope all of my dear friends are weathering whatever is going on at home and not having any unhappy times and that my friends from around the globe are also having good lives. I want to hear from all of you no matter what.