saltwater brain

hola...tanto tiempo. i'm not exactly ready to do a whole big blog entry, so i will just say that i had an amazing trip into the south of Thailand over the holidays. now i am back in Chiang Mai, moved into a new house and busy doing some research for an author that i met. here's my new address:

49/1 Moo. 5
T. Suthep
A. Muang
Chiang Mai 50200
THAILAND

i've got lots of awesome pictures that i'm working on touching up in Photoshop...hopefully i'll get some more up soon. Adrian also might be putting some of my stuff up on his website, which you can check out at www.bananaseatgirl.com .

anyway, happy new year and i hope to be in contact with lots of you soon.

Loy Krathong

so last weekend was Loy Krathong...and it was just about as crazy as i had imagined it. there were heaps of people and all sorts of pyrotechnics going off constantly, giving the whole experience the feel of some kind of armed revolution or perhaps a light-hearted apocalypse. but i find such chaos to be rather entertaining and, combined with the knowledge that i still have both eyes and all my extremities, it was definitely a lot of fun. unfortunately i was (and am) too poor to part with the $15 necessary to purchase a giant firework the size of my torso and enjoy the pure joy of causing explosions. i did, however, let off a few kohm fai (rice-paper balloons with a flammable disc at the bottom) and floated a krathong (a slice of banana tree trunk wrapped in banana leaves and decorated with flowers). the reason for doing this is pretty interesting: releasing the kohm fai symbolizes getting rid of the past year's bad luck and the floating a krathong is supposed to be an apology to the river.

the pictures didn't turn out as well as i had hoped...mostly because i didn't go to one spot a bit outside of the city where about a thousand kohm fai are released in rapid succession, and also because i was busy drinking cans of Beer Chang. anyway, here's what i got.

a lot cooler than the CHPD

a few beauty queens

letting off a kohm fai

a nice krathong

all those dots in the sky are kohm fai

the epicenter

Ayumi with some more cops

you can also check out a video that i took on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7uWJgtkYJo

"I am the finished."

That's what my favorite student says after completing his assignments. His English nickname is Earth. There's also Project and, get this, Hygiene. Though rather strange, I am quite thankful for these nicknames, as the real Thai names are impossibly long and difficult. For example: Panuwat Amonwedchayakul. These kids range in age from 10 to 14, and also range quite a bit in their English skills, so teaching them as a class is a pretty tough. Nonetheless, I feel like I am learning a lot about teaching and about the English language. The other day I had to look up when and why we use "me" instead of "I" and "him" instead of "he." English is definitely a nightmare for Thais, as they use only one word to mean many things..."khao" (with a rising tone) can mean he, she, his, her, or him.

In other news, today is Thanksgiving. I ate turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes...it was nice to eat some "farang" food, but it has left me with a bad stomachache. I should stick to fried rice with questionable meat from dirty woks on the side of the road. Another result of it being Thanksgiving is that I'm missing all you friends and family...I have fond memories of cooking crazy gourmet inventions with my mum and then meeting up with the peeps for holiday antics. And, believe it or not, I wouldn't mind a day or two of snow. Here it's been in the low 80s during the day and mid 60s at night. I should hardly be complaining.

I am, however, very excited for this weekend. Tomorrow marks the start of Loi Krathong, a big festival that is held on the full moon in the 12th month of the Thai lunar calender. There will be lots of fireworks, letting off hot-air balloons, and general chaos in the streets. Actually, there is chaos in the streets every day in Thailand, but this will be downright riot conditions. So I'm psyched to get in the thick of it, set off fireworks that would require a special license to buy in the U.S., take lots of pictures, and enjoy some public intoxication. There is actually some interesting symbolic meaning behind the festival...I'll wait and explain when I have some pictures to post.

Alright...time for some more digesting in the prone position.

been a long time

well i've been getting lazy about this blog, but here i am typing away to bring you the latest news from the front. actually, there is no front, and the latest news is that there isn't much news. one development, a bit of a bummer really, is that i got a roommate, which i had somehow avoided for a couple of months. he's Chinese and hardly speaks any English, so really it's more like some dude started sleeping in my room than having a roommate in the "well, you live here, so let's try to be friends" sense of the word. in any case, i've never had a roommate and i can't say that i like it, but i suppose it's an experience i ought to have at least once on my life. and the plan is to move into my own apartment in december, which isn't so far off.

otherwise i've been fairly busy with TESOL and Thai class. my Thai is coming along quite well...apart from the tones, the language is very straightforward - no verb conjugation (not even past/present/future), no gender or plural, and very simple yet sensible names (honey=bee water, restaurant=food room). in fact, i think i'm going to shorten my travels in the south in order to take the reading and writing course that's coming up. being able to write in a completely different and crazy script will be pretty cool.

something i was thinking about the other day is some of the small ways i've changed since being over here...not like drastic personality changes, just things i do or don't do that are different. let's see:

the Thai influence:
1) i wear yellow on mondays.
2) i never point my finger or (god forbid) my feet at people.
3) i cover my mouth when i yawn.
4) i eat really, really, really spicy food.
5) i think anything over 100 baht ($3) is expensive.

and the more general Asian influence:
1) i eat rice for breakfast. and lunch. and dinner.
2) i take my shoes off at the door.
3) sometimes i use an umbrella in the sun.
4) i fold up my blanket in the morning.
5) i can (usually) tell the difference between Japanese, Koreans, Thais, and Chinese.

but i am also very aware that i will never completely fit in here...and that doesn't bother me at all. it's weird. i haven't had any real culture shock to speak of...i mean, occasionally i do just want to be able to speak normal English to anyone i see and be understood, or grill out with my friends in the Heights. and yes, things are very different here, and i'm only beginning to notice and understand these differences. but overall i feel quite comfortable...i'm not sure why or how, but i do know it's a good thing. now i just need my own apartment and a nice income and i'll be good to go.

anyway, here are a few shots from the past couple of weeks:

gettin' funky at the wat (temple)

different wat, same beautiful day

a cool altar

and another one

shanties on the shore of a reservoir outside the city. each 10 or 15 is served by a particular "restaurant" (a slightly more weatherproof shanty with a gas stove and a cooler). i had a nice day of drinking, eating, and swimming there with Ayumi last weekend.

this dude was also there.

alright...it's just past 11 and time for bed. hasta la próxima...

Wararot Market

i finally made it out to take some "real" pictures...and snagged a few pretty nice ones last night at the Wararot Market. you can click them for a (slightly) larger version.

sanuk in the hills

last Thursday Ayumi and i left Chiang Mai to work at a 5-day "English camp," held at a resort in the hills outside the city. there were 60 13 year-olds from a school in Chiang Rai (a smallish city further north). i was the foreign adviser to one of the five groups...self-named "By Heart United". it was my first experience working with real live Thai kids and gave me a chance to put some of my "training" to use. all in all, the camp was perhaps the most fun (and exhausting) thing i've done in Thailand so far.

the kids themselves were awesome. they had nicknames like Porn (pronounced Pawn, but still funny to see on a name tag), Super X, and First. everyone has a nickname in Thailand, because their real names are ridiculously long. and i finally got my own Thai nickname: En-Doo...it comes from Andrew (but people can't really pronounce that) and means "messy." anyway, the kids were incredibly respectful, dedicated, competitive, and kind. and as with all Thai people, they go nuts for anything even remotely romantic. i definitely felt like i was back in middle school...that awkward age when some of your friends have boobs or beards and others don't. it was interesting to see the, uh, "gender role" differences between Thais and Americans. for example, it's completely normal for a few guy friends to be all hugged up like lovers...but it's taboo for even a married couple to hug in public. i also saw plenty of Britney-inspired dancing, heard several "lady boy" references, and even saw a boy dress up in a bikini for a skit. and when i was running a categories game, i got "condom" as a completely serious response to "things you can wear." yeah...a peculiar mix of liberal and conservative is how i would describe sexuality in Thailand.

the two traits that really stuck with me about the kids, though, were how open they were to humiliation, and how unconditionally kind and generous they were to each other. for example, the "losers" of a particular game had to toss a handful of baby powder in their face (see photo) or have lipstick drawn on them. this didn't really bother anyone and was just yet another thing to laugh at. i can only imagine the protest (and probably lawsuits) that would ensue in the U.S. also, during performances or presentations, the kids would shed all traces of shyness or self-consciousness and belt out karaoke, fake kiss, or pole-dance with a microphone stand. hilarious.

another really cool part of the camp was the "buddy system." on the first day, we randomly picked names of who would be our buddy...and basically became their secret Santa. there were two "buddy boxes"...which would fill several times per day with notes, snacks, soda, etc. it was amazing to see (and participate in) such kindness...among people who may or may not be actual friends. then on the last day, we revealed ourselves to our buddy...i was true middle-school nervous, as i had a very cute girl as my buddy and made her all sorts of sweet drawings and picked her flowers (as i said, the Thais are big on any kind of romance, serious or not). i think Ayumi was a little jealous!

though i don't think any great progress was made in the kids' English, we all had a blast and i was truly sorry that the camp ended. it was a nice dream life for a while...living at a resort, doing fun activites with kids all day, and drinking and doing karaoke with the rest of the staff by night. who knows, maybe i'll still be in Chiang Mai next year...



my group's awesome story (click on it and read)


the self-proclaimed "gang"


action


the kiddies


post-baby powder


nice view from my balcony


gettin' crunk


By Heart United and two other staff


priceless

CNX-BKK-CNX

as promised, here are the good shots from my two-day Bangkok jaunt. i had to go change my visa from "tourist" to "non immigrant" - quite a process in this kingdom of bureaucracy. the trip started early on a monday morning here in Chiang Mai...i got on my motorbike to the airport, enjoyed another flight on Thai Air, took a commuter train from the BKK airport into the city, then rode the subway to the general area of the immigration office, and finally caught a motorcycle-taxi there. the moto-taxi is perhaps the craziest transport i've ever taken...the drivers are nuts weaving in and out of the even-more-crazy Bangkok traffic. yes, 5 modes of transport in the span of 5 hours. don't ask me why, but i think that's kind of cool. anyway, after getting my visa changed, i had about 24 hrs to kill in BKK...here's some of the stuff i checked out (you can click on the photos for a larger version):

boom and bust




tuk-tuks ready for action

street food is the best

the famous Khao San road


this bunch is from Wat Phra Keaw and the Grand Palace






from Wat Po, home of the Reclining Buddha



a super-sweet part of the trip came when i stumbled upon a game of "sepak takraw" - kick volleyball played with a special ball. it's Smitty's favorite Southeast Asian export, originally played in Burma. check it out:





Bangkok (a.k.a. Krung Thep - The City of Angels) is perhaps the most hectic city i've ever been to...it's kind of like New York on steroids. add in ridiculous heat and humidity, and i was exhausted by the time i headed back out to the airport on tuesday. but i had a good time and i'm looking forward to getting back there.

here in Chiang Mai, the good news is that i'm teaching Spanish to a Thai dude and his wife. it's only a few hours per weeks, but quite nice to have a bit of income and a chance to practice my Spanish. that's about it...otherwise just hanging out, doing some more exploration of the city, some school work, learning the Thai writing system, and plenty of off-the-street Japanese from Ayumi. not a bad life.

here's my address in case anyone is interested. analog mail is the best, and i'll return the favor if anyone sends a package of goodness my way.

Andrew Weller
Paradornparp International House
Payap University
603 Moc. 1
Tambon Sanklang
Sankamphaeng Chiang Mai
50130
THAILAND

right-o, thanks for stopping by...cuidense mucho.