The teacher meeting was held at Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, a large school that is like most Thai universities where students either commute from home or live in dorms Monday-Friday to rejoin their families on the weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, the attitude of most Thai teenagers I’ve met lacks a want to get away from their parents or crave the thrill of independence I know I craved at 18. It was a sparling campus and I loved watching the college girls with their uniforms. Black miniskirts and white bloushes with heels. I have to make a second (first was the snake charmer) shoutout to Britney (“Oops”). I got an iced coffee and was able to communicate NO SUGAR, NO CREAM amazingly.
This meeting in Phitsanulok (a city about 25 km away) was certainly well-attended. There had to be at least 500 people in the hall! In typical Thai style, we left the house at 7 am. The meeting didn’t start until 10 and was over at 12:30. It ended up not being about the new governor like MaReam said and it was to simply remind teachers about H1N1—by handing out masks and literature. It seemed more like an excuse to “hang out”…our post-meeting festivities illustrate THAT.
Interesting side note on H1N1: There have been hundreds of cases in Thailand of avian flu and the greatest concentration of these cases happen to be in Phitsanulok, MY province! Ah! My host sister Fun said that when we go see Harry Potter on next Monday night (I’m so excited! Thai subtitles ), we will wear the masks. With all these kids glomming on my body everyday, I wonder if I should be wearing one to school! (*this tidbit is going to FREAK OUT my mother.)
I joined MaReam and about 7 fellow teachers for a luxurious three-hour feast on a houseboat restaurant on the Nan River. One makes his way down the rickety wooden dock to in the brown water to sit, drink beer, and FEAST.
It was hands down, one of the top 3 meals of my life. The fresh seafood and spicy or pungent flavors were so well, flavorful! I taught lots of English to the other teachers and they had fun teaching me Thai as well. The older men teachers were making all the embarrassing/creepy “does she have a boyfriend?” comments but I simply laughed my laugh and they love how I’m “so cute”. HAHA. I look disgusting/covered in greasy sweet 96% of my days and have let my eyebrows go, don’t wear makeup, etc…but I am hot stuff. Haha.After gorging myself, I was invited by a passing fisherman on a longboat fasinated by me and my “farang”-ness to go on a ride! I gratefully accepted and climbed into the wooden canoe-sized boat with an electric motor.
Speeding down the Nan River exposed me to so much of Thailand that I had seen in pictures…floating, dilapidated houseboats, temple after temple, fishermen and the like. Students outside of a riverside school waved and shouted “HELLO!” while others peered out of their shack windows at the strange girl grinning and waving. It was really REALLY hot out, but so worth it.
After the “meeting”, I spent another 2 hours talking to my host sisters about High School Musical, Lady Gaga, teen boy crushes, etc. They are so intellectual though! I was looking at their English homework and there is no way I could name the predicate or the subject. What?? Fun is going to Bangkok this weekend to take a 6 hour English test offered by the government. If she is one of the top 2 students (out of hundreds), she wins a week to Japan! She’s a sharp girl and we practice all the time, so I’ll be crossing my fingers for her! She’s never left Thailand, so it would be a great opportunity for her.
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