ko mook: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip518.jpg
thai fishermen: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip516.jpg
flippin 'eck...... another island paradise.... Barry one of the other volunteers negotiated this deal for 20 of us to go to Kho Mook.....3 nights in a beach side bungalow, all transportation, booze, food, boat trips, internet - 100 smackeroonies.....
the bungalows are literally at the end of a peninsula that is no more than 100 yds wide with golden sand and clear blue sea...
took an amazing and frightening experience to a hidden beach that involved donning a lifejacket , jumping from a boat into choppy Andaman Sea waters and swimming into a cave. at one point you are swimming in pitch darkness bar the guides torch that looked like it had been bought at Robert Dyass for a quid.. shit for brains here managed to forget to attach the lifejacket straps between his legs so the frickin' (new word from yank friends) thing kept trying to ride up over my head...... there was a point in the darkness with this happening that i thought i was in trouble - there were 8 of us doing this and i was last because of the strap handicap and i was losing sight of the others when suddenly i rounded a corner and spied daylight. That was most welcome!
we arrived on small beautifully formed beach with much relief.....it turns out after speaking to the others that we all had our scary moments. the beach was totally surrounded by limestone cliffs - amazing.
the journey out was easier with the lifejacket on properly.
also did a snorkelling trip and saw some stunning fish.......... we played charades on the beach last night (cha raids if you are american).....funniest thing ever up there with the chiltern chase meetings...... just about to leave to go home.... work tomorrow.... i was just getting into this place..... :(
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
up a gear...
stand by your beds: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip481.jpg
the young pretenders: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip463.jpg
just when i'm settling in to teaching 12 - 18 year olds fairly basic English and grammar the stakes are upped. the Director of the school asked me to accompanyh her to a teacher training day in Kantang a town 20 miles away.l... all of a sudden im into Phonetics, Dipthongs, intonation, word stressing all sorts of mullarkey that apparently is crucial to the way we speak?
so here i am microphone in hand explainng to 40 teachers in my best English what a Dipthong is and which syllables in words are stressed... what fun! "sanouk"....... especially when i took my shoes off!
its really great all this teaching business - if only i had a chance to prepare. you're basically thrown in and winging it.........
the young pretenders: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip463.jpg
just when i'm settling in to teaching 12 - 18 year olds fairly basic English and grammar the stakes are upped. the Director of the school asked me to accompanyh her to a teacher training day in Kantang a town 20 miles away.l... all of a sudden im into Phonetics, Dipthongs, intonation, word stressing all sorts of mullarkey that apparently is crucial to the way we speak?
so here i am microphone in hand explainng to 40 teachers in my best English what a Dipthong is and which syllables in words are stressed... what fun! "sanouk"....... especially when i took my shoes off!
its really great all this teaching business - if only i had a chance to prepare. you're basically thrown in and winging it.........
Monday, 18 June 2007
the monsoon cometh.........
phi phi: http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip444.jpg
"fire show": http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip457.jpg
set off to Phi Phi for the weekend on my own.. took a bus and stayed in Kra bi in the evening. found a cool bar "hard rock bar" and met 2 thai people who said they could take me and friends to some off the beaten track islands on a longtail boat........ sounded genuine people. might take them up on it later... on the ferry next am and hit Phi Phi at 1000am - spent the whole day in the sun - probably over did it..
saw 2 fire shows on the Sat night. the professionals at Hippies Bar (choregraphed throwing and juggling of lit sticks and ropes). loud music - pretty impressive stuff and then my favourites the "Young Pretenders" at Carpe Diem. younger lads who make mistakes but the lack of polish i prefer.
returned home from Phi Phi on Sunday via the roughest ferry crossing i have ever had (there was a storm and the boat listed badly), bus journey and motorcyle ride..
another teaching surprise on Monday - went to my normal school and taught 2 lessons then Sawapao the Director asked me to join her at a college in Trang teaching Business English to 20 somethings.... now these were proper stoods................. long hair, dyed hair, earrings, short skirts and that was just the boys)..
again, very attentive and polite - they did Powerpoint presentations on hotels in Trang and classmates asked questions - i corrected grammar and helped with pronunciation (yes me!)
just getting to know the 19 new people in the house now - they seem nice and a good mix....
rained properly today - and is forecast all week - still hot though..http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip444.jpg
"fire show": http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip457.jpg
set off to Phi Phi for the weekend on my own.. took a bus and stayed in Kra bi in the evening. found a cool bar "hard rock bar" and met 2 thai people who said they could take me and friends to some off the beaten track islands on a longtail boat........ sounded genuine people. might take them up on it later... on the ferry next am and hit Phi Phi at 1000am - spent the whole day in the sun - probably over did it..
saw 2 fire shows on the Sat night. the professionals at Hippies Bar (choregraphed throwing and juggling of lit sticks and ropes). loud music - pretty impressive stuff and then my favourites the "Young Pretenders" at Carpe Diem. younger lads who make mistakes but the lack of polish i prefer.
returned home from Phi Phi on Sunday via the roughest ferry crossing i have ever had (there was a storm and the boat listed badly), bus journey and motorcyle ride..
another teaching surprise on Monday - went to my normal school and taught 2 lessons then Sawapao the Director asked me to join her at a college in Trang teaching Business English to 20 somethings.... now these were proper stoods................. long hair, dyed hair, earrings, short skirts and that was just the boys)..
again, very attentive and polite - they did Powerpoint presentations on hotels in Trang and classmates asked questions - i corrected grammar and helped with pronunciation (yes me!)
just getting to know the 19 new people in the house now - they seem nice and a good mix....
rained properly today - and is forecast all week - still hot though..http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip444.jpg
Friday, 15 June 2007
wei crue..
yesterday in the Thai school calender was "Wei Crue" day. this is the day the children honour the teachers by making and giving gifts (garlands of flowers) and play traditional Thai music to them. it is all in line with their Buddhism faith that teaches children to be 1. most important - morally good 2. second most important - academic achievement and 3. happy. we were fortunate enough and honoured to be given teacher status and were an integral part of the celebrations. there were 1000 children involved. a great experience. from school took a bus to Kra bi to get a boat to Kho Phi Phi again tomorrow - want to visit Kho Lhay again with a camera this time! phi phi lost 2000 people in the Tsumani - no obvious evidence of the horror other than signs now saying "tsunami evacuation route"........such a beautiful place for something like that to happen.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
have family will travel..
in class today of the boys was asked to move to the front by the teacher before i started my spiel..... he nonchalantly refused to and showed a little insolence (nothing more than a slight grimace and a shrug). teach was having none of it, she had a cure. she clumped him with a cane (yes a real cane about 3 ft long)......... not to hard but enough to make him realise he needed to move to the front of the class...............it didnt seem undeserved and he wasnt hurt. if that happened in the UK ??!! While we're on the subject of Thai ways. it never ceases to amaze me (and im sure it will continue to do so for the 3 months i am here) their laissez-faire attitude to road safety. there are no rules basically.
for motorbikes: no helmets, 5 people on one bike, TVs, 3 generations of one family, exotic birds in cages, toddlers, gardening tools, babies. they're all carried without a second thought.
for cars / trucks: as many people crammed in or on as possible, cattle strapped to the back, pigs in cruel single pens. i saw a plastic conduit strapped to the back of a vehicle doing about 60 - the thing was swinging about like a coconut palm in an earthquake (ive heard they do a fair bit of swinging) very amusing but quite dangerous... every morning on the way to school (about 25 miles) i see something "road safety challenged"
went to a hot spring after school today - could have done with a cold shower to be fair but it was good. they pump 70 degree spring water into baths and you wallow in them..........very mineral rich and good for you apparently...........
pic 1 : where i live http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip393.jpg
pic 2: have family will travel http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip385.jpg
for motorbikes: no helmets, 5 people on one bike, TVs, 3 generations of one family, exotic birds in cages, toddlers, gardening tools, babies. they're all carried without a second thought.
for cars / trucks: as many people crammed in or on as possible, cattle strapped to the back, pigs in cruel single pens. i saw a plastic conduit strapped to the back of a vehicle doing about 60 - the thing was swinging about like a coconut palm in an earthquake (ive heard they do a fair bit of swinging) very amusing but quite dangerous... every morning on the way to school (about 25 miles) i see something "road safety challenged"
went to a hot spring after school today - could have done with a cold shower to be fair but it was good. they pump 70 degree spring water into baths and you wallow in them..........very mineral rich and good for you apparently...........
pic 1 : where i live http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip393.jpg
pic 2: have family will travel http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip385.jpg
Monday, 11 June 2007
Welcome khun Barry
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip376-1.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip378.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip379.jpg
OK.
Teaching again today. please see 3 piccies attached to get you in the mood.
pic 1 : roughly translated means "welcome khun Barry, you're a great guy, we love you and thank you for being here" :)
pic 2: end of morning assembly
pic 3: my schools' name (its a longie..)
some tips below for teaching in Thailand (well this school anyway which i really like)
be confident even if you havent taught before. the reason i say this is because the kids will be pleased to see you and if you talk confidently in English to them they will listen
be patient with the admin side of things. you may find that you have no schedule or that it is changed at very short notice (today i taught in the morning and in the PM was meant to do some more according to the schedule only to find all the teachers were pre-occupied with a hospital visit) never got to the bottom of that?
be prepared to find it difficult to converse with some of the ENGLISH teachers in English as their grasp of the language isnt very good - having said that i think it may be a confidence thing. once they get to know you they open up more and the English speaking comes easier.
still.. planning lessons is awkward sometimes as they cannot tell you what they want you to do..
be prepared to "wing it" - it adds to the fun!
i brought with me questionnaires for the kids (off the web), music lyrics and the music on ipod - we blank out words of the song give them a copy and then play the song - they fill in the blanks - they love it.
bring a map of your country - its easy to talk about "home" and they're interested. sport and music as topics go down well........
bring anything relating to your home life 1. because you'll feel good talking about it and 2. they will be interested..
be prepared for celebrity status and be prepared to say good morning about 600 times a day as all the pupils want to talk to you...........
be prepared to be flippin' hot in most of the classrooms and take plenty of water with you. be prepared for having to almost shout in lessons when its raining as its very noisy.
be prepared for a bird to fly into the classroom to its nest behind the TV above the white board (all classrooms without A/C have one.
they will laugh at you sometimes dunno why, probably you're pronunciation of thai words, maybe someone has made a wisecrack about you, maybe because you're sweating profusely... anyways dont worry about it - they're very good natured...
be prepared to question your knowledge of the English language and its grammar (its funny how we communicate grammatically erroneously everyday probably but we dont realise (apart from Robin and Olly P maybe).
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip378.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip379.jpg
OK.
Teaching again today. please see 3 piccies attached to get you in the mood.
pic 1 : roughly translated means "welcome khun Barry, you're a great guy, we love you and thank you for being here" :)
pic 2: end of morning assembly
pic 3: my schools' name (its a longie..)
some tips below for teaching in Thailand (well this school anyway which i really like)
be confident even if you havent taught before. the reason i say this is because the kids will be pleased to see you and if you talk confidently in English to them they will listen
be patient with the admin side of things. you may find that you have no schedule or that it is changed at very short notice (today i taught in the morning and in the PM was meant to do some more according to the schedule only to find all the teachers were pre-occupied with a hospital visit) never got to the bottom of that?
be prepared to find it difficult to converse with some of the ENGLISH teachers in English as their grasp of the language isnt very good - having said that i think it may be a confidence thing. once they get to know you they open up more and the English speaking comes easier.
still.. planning lessons is awkward sometimes as they cannot tell you what they want you to do..
be prepared to "wing it" - it adds to the fun!
i brought with me questionnaires for the kids (off the web), music lyrics and the music on ipod - we blank out words of the song give them a copy and then play the song - they fill in the blanks - they love it.
bring a map of your country - its easy to talk about "home" and they're interested. sport and music as topics go down well........
bring anything relating to your home life 1. because you'll feel good talking about it and 2. they will be interested..
be prepared for celebrity status and be prepared to say good morning about 600 times a day as all the pupils want to talk to you...........
be prepared to be flippin' hot in most of the classrooms and take plenty of water with you. be prepared for having to almost shout in lessons when its raining as its very noisy.
be prepared for a bird to fly into the classroom to its nest behind the TV above the white board (all classrooms without A/C have one.
they will laugh at you sometimes dunno why, probably you're pronunciation of thai words, maybe someone has made a wisecrack about you, maybe because you're sweating profusely... anyways dont worry about it - they're very good natured...
be prepared to question your knowledge of the English language and its grammar (its funny how we communicate grammatically erroneously everyday probably but we dont realise (apart from Robin and Olly P maybe).
Friday, 8 June 2007
feeling like a spare one..
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip370.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip372.jpg - nasty looking Mother isnt he?
not working today so took it easy... dropped off Aaron (my drinking buddy!) and Vicky from NZ at the airport... they are off home. came back then went to lunch with the Thai people who run the show here... khem, joopjang, ohb, joo and chaa... they are really nice, kind people (like most Thais it seems).
Had a 2 hour Thai massage this PM for 10 quid! hurts though they apply lots of pressure to the muscles as well as traditional techniques and flexibility stretches...
on my own in the house this weekend - decided not to go anywhere........ a family of 6 (3 generations) come here next week..........
spent the weekend contemplating my navel................ and watched "the wedding crashers" twice what a funny film... irish wedding scene - "hi, my name is seamus o'toole and this is my friend booby o'shea, we're here to get drunk!" v funny...
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t281/beejay44/trangtrip372.jpg - nasty looking Mother isnt he?
not working today so took it easy... dropped off Aaron (my drinking buddy!) and Vicky from NZ at the airport... they are off home. came back then went to lunch with the Thai people who run the show here... khem, joopjang, ohb, joo and chaa... they are really nice, kind people (like most Thais it seems).
Had a 2 hour Thai massage this PM for 10 quid! hurts though they apply lots of pressure to the muscles as well as traditional techniques and flexibility stretches...
on my own in the house this weekend - decided not to go anywhere........ a family of 6 (3 generations) come here next week..........
spent the weekend contemplating my navel................ and watched "the wedding crashers" twice what a funny film... irish wedding scene - "hi, my name is seamus o'toole and this is my friend booby o'shea, we're here to get drunk!" v funny...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
