Visa Run to Laos

Just got back from a short trip to Laos for the holidays - and to renew my visa. Historically speaking, it's an interesting place to see. Especially in Vientiane where the French colonial influence is so evident. If you're a real friend you'll email me to privately send you a copy of my journal for the trip (6 pages means real test of friendship). For your amusement/amazement I will include a couple of exerpts from the journal.

FROM THE TRAIN RIDE TO NONG KHAI: Did I mention that this was my first trip on a train? Part of me was taking in all the smells, sights, and sounds to try to remember everything, especially for my grandson Aiden who loves trains. Yes, Aiden, the trains really do go clackity-clack down the railroad track (I made a short video for Aiden so he can hear the sound). This is especially noticeable if you are riding on the non-a/c car and the windows are open.
Soon I was situated in my berth and realized that it was almost 10pm and an hour or so of reading would knock me out. Time to head to the restroom before falling asleep. For those of you who haven’t ridden a train, just imagine the restroom on a plane, only a little roomier and you do sense the movement of the train unlike in a plane. For those of you who have never traveled in Asia, let me explain about squat toilets. Basically it’s a toilet seat with training wheels – not much better than the outhouse at my grandparents’ farm years ago. Only you don’t sit on a squat toilet, obviously you squat. There are even little places on either side for your feet to go. Now imagine “lining everything up” and holding your squat position just right while also compensating for the movement of the train. Well, while you are laughing at this mental picture just remember that I lived it and was totally grateful that the train didn’t come to any sudden stops while I was “lined up.”

FROM THE BUS TRIP TO LOUANG PROBANG: The VIP bus has a hostess in a uniform who checks your ticket and brings you water. This bus had a young man who had to jump off the bus twice to shoo errant water buffalo out of the road. He was also adept at climbing out the back window onto the top of the bus to throw down baggage/boxes/etc. to departing passengers. Once he even climbed back in after the bus started off. The road was paved and I was glad for that. It was also twisty and after a while I stopped paying attention to the sharp curve ahead signs. We were climbing up the mountains, literally crawling along the side at times with nothing below us but deep jungle ravines. It was thrilling and frightening at the same time. I finally slept for a little while.
We did stop many times at little town markets to pick up/unload passengers and to allow passengers to buy food for the trip (dried fish? Eggs on a stick?). I got used to that. But I woke one time when we had stopped and it seemed like a lot of people were getting off the bus. The young man who was the steward was calling out something in his language that I of course didn’t understand. But when I looked out the window into the moonlit night (and it was a full moon) I crossed the language gap quickly. Evidently it would be a long time before the next stop so passengers were encouraged to step off the bus here in this somewhat isolated area and relieve themselves. Nearly all the men and a few of the women were taking his advice (thankfully with backs turned to the bus). I resolved to not drink anymore water that night!

Ok, it does look like I'm obsessing a bit about bathroom habits here. A lot more did happen. I did see a lot things and got the visa as well. I'm back in my little corner of the Thai world and taking down the Christmas bulletin board while prepping the pieces for a New Year's Resolution board. My resolution: No more bus or train trips for a while.

School Celebrations

Well, I can say with certainty that there were no alarm clocks set in the teachers' dorm Friday night. Everyone was bushed from alternately keeping up with students, helping with festival booths, making sure all records were in the computer system, small talk with visiting parents, and all the other actvities that took place on this final day before the Christmas break. Again, in many ways, very much like the last day before Christmas break in the public schools back home. And let me say that anything more than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a holiday from school here in Thailand is out of the norm. I have talked with teachers at other schools, both public and private who have only a 2 day break. I know I am fortunate and I will not waste my time off. Planning to visit the Isaan section of Thailand and see a very different way of life from the central part of the country where I live in the shadow of Bangkok. If time allows I will also make my way to Chiang Rai in the mountainous northern area to visit a small school where my friend Maeve is teaching. Hope to visit other schools as I travel and talk with American teachers along the way to see what they like/don't like about their Thai teaching experiences. In the meantime, have yourself a merry little Christmas wherever you are.

Ready For Christmas

It's the night before the last day of school this term. All the exams have been taken and graded. Students' spirits are high and they are ready for tomorrow's special events day. I'll be there with antlers on! As excited as the kids are, it's nothing compared to the joy in the hearts of the teachers. No tests - no lesson plans - no faculty meetings. At least not for a little while. In fact, if it weren't for the warm temperatures and the palm trees around the campus, I would think I was still in Tennessee teaching. When in fact I left my hometown of Nashville, TN three months ago. So here I am in Thailand as an English teacher at a trilingual school near Bangkok. And while I thought I'd be writing a lot about how different things are here, I'm finding there are just as many similarities. This last week before the holiday more than proves that. Students are all caught up in the festivities and preparations along with the teachers. All week long decorations have been going up in classrooms and in the courtyard. Today booths and tables were set up for tomorrow's games and activities. Groups were on the stage rehearsing songs and dances. And just like in America, some were seriously working and some were seriously working at just having fun (and if a few things got accomplished along the way, well, that's OK too). So I'm looking forward to tomorrow and promise to take lots of notes (and pictures if I can)and report back here over the weekend.