The Pink shirt

The king wore si shampoo ( a pink shirt) to visit his sister in the hospital a few days ago and all of sudden everyone has to have a pink shirt ( including me). I decided to visit Victory Monument to-night since I had passed it a number of times but never really explored the area. The good news is that I bought a brand new pink shirt with the king's logo making me look like every other Thai ( sort of) but the bad news is that I lost my red Canadian shirt that I was wearing that Eva gave me before I left ( sorry Eva if you are reading this).

As I was walking around Victory circle and seeing all the shops and bustling people going home, I happened to ask two people in front of me what the flashing lights were on the building. The girl ( a dental student) told me it was to celebrate the king's birthday next week. I started talking with them ( the mother manages the mall at Victory Plaza) and before you could say 'copkunkup', I was in their car seeing the night lights of Bangkok.

This has been so typical of my experiences in Thailand. The people are genuinely warm, caring and friendly and the term sanuk or joy really applies to them. As you can see in the pictures, they took me to all of the major hot spots in Bangkok...the Grand Palace, the king's palace, the key wats, Ratchadampern road all lit up for the birthday and so on. Not only that, the mother stopped the car right in traffic and insisted I get out and take pictures. In Toronto or certainly New York, you would hear horns blaring. In Bangkok, cars simply go around the immovable object which is so Thai. Getting upset is a sign of weakness.

When I asked them about what is going to happen after the king passes away ( it is his 80th birthday we are celebrating on the 5th) they simply refused to discuss it and I have found this with all Thais I ask that question to. There are two things you do not discuss with a Thai, the king or Buddhism.

Needless to say, I am really looking forward to December 5. There will be celebrations everyone and if I can get Sylvia out of bed...she arrives in the early morning hours of the 5th, we should have a great time.

Hopefully, we will also get a chance to meet up with Ead and Aim. After all, I have to get my red shirt back which I assume I left in their car!

Loi Krathong Celebrations

Last week, my insight was that, in my opinion, Jesus overreacted to the Temple fair atmosphere he witnessed in Jerusalem. It was only people congregating around the most popular place in Jerusalem doing their thing. This week, my perspective is that human beings have more in common with each other than differences.

Yesterday in Thailand Lois Krathong or the Festival of Lights was celebrated around the November full moon. Everyone from babies to grandparents made or bought a krathong consisting of banana leaves, incense sticks and a candle or two and went to the nearest source of water, meditated with their partners or family and floated the offering down the river, just as Jews do during Yom Kippur at the full moon as we wash away our sins and I am sure Hindus do in the Ganges at various purification ceremonies.

The fascinating thing is that I was invited to our American Thanksgiving party with turkey and all the trimmings in a colleague's house. As you can see from the pictures, the house was spectacular and we were all having a good time singing karaoke, eating turkey and trimmings, drinking beer and playing music. When I left the party about 11 and went to the Chaao Paraya River with two friends there were literally thousands of people walking down to the river in couples or with families with little babies and grandparents in tow. Bands were playing, people were drinking beer and eating insects ( I even had a nibble) and buying or putting their own krathong in the water. The river was covered in sparkling lights as the krathongs floated away, either together, which meant the couple was going to have a good year, or separately, which meant the couple might not be a couple in the future. As you can see from the pictures, both events, the Thanksgiving party and the Loi Krathong Celebrations were both a lot of fun and human beings from the west and east both celebrated in virtual the same ways.

It is also amazing to me how all religions like Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism have similar celebrations obviously originating from the same pagan beliefs popular in Biblical times.

During the day, if you are trying to figure out what Condoms and Cabbages sign is you see in the pictures, I decided to walk around my Sukhumvit neighbourhood and see what there was to see during the day. I do go out every night but the day was suprisingly different. This main street, like Yonge street, had such a different flavour. I found a beautiful soi or street, #12 which had two great restaurants, Condoms and Cabbages and Crepes and company. I chose Crepes and Company because of the leafy airiness, to say nothing of my yen for crepes. It is amazing that in this Asian city you can get absolutely anything you want, even served by the French speaking owner in a restaurant completely peaceful and quiet immersed in an urban jungle of flowers and trees!

As I continued my walk, as you can see from the pictures, I saw everyone preparing for the evenings festivities either making their krathongs or shopping for their parties and family gatherings. They were also busy cleaning their cars, pools and houses for the evening's celebrations.

Today, I am either going to pick another area of Bangkok to explore or play golf. Talking about golf, Friday I was playing with some beginners and playing a par three course. Even though the course was clearly short, I had a perfect game going into the 9th hole where I unfortunately hit it over the green into a river and took a two over. I can't ever remember getting 8 pars in a row and hitting the green on every shot. It's a nice feeling.

We also have very interesting times at school which are probably inappropriate for me to discuss on a public site, but just as in any institution, there are so many politics and intrigues it makes for many fascinating days. Luckily for me, because I am working literally for the fun of it, I have such a different perspective than colleagues who are depending on the job to put 'khao' on the table at night.

The weather is absolutely great if anyone wants to visit. The water in my pool is even too cold for me and I think we go down to about 27 degrees at night. Apparently the next three months will be gorgeous.

Speak with you soon.

Finally!!!

After two weeks failed attempts and frustration trying to figure out how to get to Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing I finally got there, but not without angst. When I got into a cab at my apartment and told the driver I wanted to go to Wat Suthat, he asked me why and told me he would drive me to much more beautiful temples. I told him no many times and finally got him to stop bugging by jumping out at the BTS station and taking a train to the nearest station. I was then besieged with tuk tuk drivers asking me where I was going and offering to take me the two miles or so for 200 baht ( what a deal, when a cab would probably cost 40 baht) without the noise and pollution of the motor cycle taxi. Finally a taxi arrived, thank God, I thought and because I had a map in my hand ( a lethal mistake) I discovered, he told me he would drive me for free if I visited his cousin in the tailor shop! I absolutely refused and got out of the cab. Finally, finally, finally I got a cab driver that knew where it was and actually put on the meter and took me there. What a relief.

As I walked up the soi ( or alley) to what he told me was Wat Suthat but was actually the Golden Mount, there were food and candy stalls, clothes, trinkets, rides for kids and so on. I felt like Jesus Christ walking around the Temple of Jerusalem and getting ticked that it was so secular. I figured out that if the temples are where the action is and everyone congregates there to pray, why not have massage, candies, clothes stalls and so on. I am sure this is exactly what the Temple Mount must have looked like to Jesus and you know what, it is not such a bad thing. Jesus should have relaxed a bit. At least it gets people to congregate where some good could come out of it.

Anyway, as you can see from the pictures the Golden Mount was actually quite spectacular and you can see all the bells, an absolute irresistible urge for me to ring them all ( which I did!). Inside and a few floors up, people were praying and meditating. They were actually shaking their incense sticks in a red jar and if I didn’t know better I would swear they were playing dice, sitting on their knees in a group. Fortunately, there was a giant Budha in front of them and they were praying or probably a more proper term would be mediating.

As I left the golden mount and walked towards the Giant Swing where brave men would swing up to great heights to catch a bag of gold coins in their teeth hundreds of years ago, I saw the swing was no longer there, just the structure. I guess too many men missed the gold but found their reward otherwise, if you know what I mean. Beside the Swing, I discovered the real Wat Suthat which was really spectacular. I went inside the prayer room and there were two monks, both on ‘thrones’ I think discussing scripture. All the Thais were seated with their legs tucked beneath them, (something I can’t do) and laughing their heads off as one monk would chime in, probably with some kind of witty remark as the other continued his observations or sermon, not sure, but I do know that with my feet projected out in front of me I was really being rude and thought I better leave before I got kicked out. Actually, the Thais are much too polite to kick anyone out of anywhere.

As usual, just when I could get some really interesting pictures, my battery ran out but I did fall into a Thai soccer game in the National Stadium as I was trying to find my way home. Thailand was playing a small Arab nation in one of the elimination rounds for the Asian representative at the 2010 world cup so it was a very big deal. Outside the stadium, hawkers were selling everything from head bands to food to crazy hats. Scalpers, or at least one, were pushing tickets and since I could not find the ticket booth I bought a ticket for twice the face value. Believe me, I will not have to take out a mortgage to pay for it. Luckily, I sat in the cheap seats, exactly where I like to sit and had a ball. Thailand won 1-0 and the fans were delirious. At the end of the game, there were fireworks and handshakes all around. During the game, the fans did the wave, yelled at the referee (I thought with good cause) and could have been in Toronto or anywhere in North America.

The differences were the place in the stands at midfield where the royal family sat and decorated accordingly, the number of women (probably equal to men), the urinals
(there weren’t any), just a trough, no food or drink hawkers but the same excitement and passion we would see in North America.

This week I am back at work, what else is new, with lots of meetings and teaching. I am going to spend a lot of time in a grade two class because the teacher had to return to America for a week but since I survived nursery, I am sure grade two will be a breeze. Wish me luck.



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Earning my "Cow Pat"

I have been quite busy the last few days actually doing professional development! Today about 400 teachers met for a conference at the Bangkok Teachers Network. Because I was on the organizing committee, I felt I better do a few workshops, which I did. It was kind of fun and thinking about it, I learned a lot.

First of all, teachers are alike the world over and want to do the best job they can. I was quite impressed with their professional attitude and the way they articulated their goals and dreams. It was also quite a bit of fun to work with teachers from all over the world, even though they all spoke English, thankfully, because my Thai is still not what it should be.( either was theres’) I also learned that no matter the subject, I certainly have a lot to offer all teachers and the facilitation skills to pull it off. For example, in one workshop I had some Taiwanese teachers who taught Chinese language, a senior physics teacher and a kindergarten teacher all in the same workshop and I believe I offered each of them something to take home and think about in my workshop on cooperative learning. I have the ability to think on my feet and give examples from a variety of grades and subjects. Being able to give concrete examples since I have taught so many classes this year was really helpful.

Coming to Thailand and actually teaching ( sort of) has given me a wealth of information about the nature of teaching and learning and frankly, I can’t think of better training for any teacher to have to teach all subjects and at different grade levels. I just wish I could begin my career again knowing what I know now, but don’t we all.

Thursday I did a workshop for the staff of my school and what I learned from this was that both context and physical facilities make all the difference in the world. The last time I gave a workshop on this campus the room was too small, the projector did not work and it was impossible to create groups because of the cramped quarters. This time, there was lots of room and good acoustics and it went swimmingly.

Because I stayed in Bangkok for the workshop today, I have to decide what to do to-night and tomorrow. A bunch of colleagues were going down to the beach but did not want to play golf tomorrow so I declined that offer. I guess it will be back to the guide books and see what I have not seen yet.

Getting Lost

As you may recall from yesterday, I had planned to visit the Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing since I always see pictures of it and looked forward to seeing it. I had decided that the simplest way was to take a taxi so I had no chance of getting lost. What a mistake this was. After about an hour in the cab (roads were blocked… I will tell you why later) I saw a pile of people and cars heading into what I thought must have been some fabulous park. I asked the cab driver if it was fun to walk through and he said yes so I jumped out of the cab and followed the crowd. Unfortunately, after paying for my ticket I found out it was the zoo which I have already visited but it was a back entrance so there was no signage. Not to worry, I thought, how far away could the giant swing be so I walked all the way around the outside of the Zoo looking for the ephemeral Wat Suthat.

As I mentioned, all the roads were blocked because the the military forces were literally out in force as you can see by the pictures. They were practicing for a performance for the king’s birthday on December 5 and I will describe what I saw in a moment, but on the way I passed the Parliament buildings. Like Kuala Lumpur, which was also a Sunday, I believe, I could not even get close to the building. In a quasi totalitarian state, things like Parliaments are not open to the public and public debate and discussion are not welcome, especially if you cannot even get inside the building or anywhere close to it. I am constantly reminded how lucky we are to be living in Canada.

Not being able to go inside Parliament, I continued walking and saw about a thousand soldiers in army gear, some wearing ornamental red hats, some in marching fatigues, low slung cars and a bad playing in a huge parade ground, all in preparation for the king’s birthday. I know this because a fellow who played the French Horn told me in English. I guess there is some correlation between playing a musical instrument and speaking a foreign language. The skills that the brain is called upon to make are probably very similar.

Anyway, even more interesting, in the military parade grounds there was a scene from the Middle Ages. There seemed to be a green team and a red team of little pixies and they were sword fighting, soldiers in medieval armour were riding horses around with lances and flags and others were wrestling and engaged in military combat of some sort. I tried to take pictures but was stopped twice.

As I continued to walk towards Wat Benchama Bophit, everyone was engaged in painting the road and fences, sprucing up the neighbourhood and doing a good job of getting ready for the big day. Soldiers were roaring up and down the empty streets in their motorcycles, probably never in their life having a street so empty where they could really open the engine.

After seeing this very peaceful wat ( there was no-one there but me and the monks), probably because all the roads were blocked because of the parade practice and I was walking, I followed a sign for the royal turf club which I saw in the taxi coming up and but could not find again. Instead a fell in to a university graduation which was really interesting and probably nothing like we have in Canada.

I got a bus home, paid my 10 baht and was asked for more ( the bus was air conditioned) and stayed home for about 10 minutes before I went to play golf at the Windmill, just a spectacular course. To-night I played with a Bangladeshi business man who said he only paid $25,000 to join the course. What a bargain! He owned about 10 business but found Bangkok way too expensive and even though he owned a few homes here he preferred Calcutta because things were cheaper. He said, interestingly enough, that he preferred living in a country poorer than Bangladesh because his money would go further.

I guess this week I better get down to some work since I have a seminar/workshop to prepare for the Bangkok teacher’s network next week-end. When am I going to get a chance to get away for the week-end again?

Sukhumvit Fair

The Sukhumvit Fair, as you can see by the pictures, is a really big deal at my school. It has been the focus of attention for all the faculty, students and staff at both campuses since school started. Money is raised for charity which this year happened to be a home for the blind. Don’t let the picture fool you. There are sighted people on my campus. I’m sure we raised a few million baht for charity.

I did notice a few interesting things. It is amazing how a few “fairy tale” lights can really transform a basketball court into a nightclub but more importantly reminded me why I am finishing my career at a school. The energy of the kids, as they run the fun booths, perform, dance and have fun, is almost palpable. There is nothing equivalent in the university sphere (except maybe graduation). It is just fun to be associated with such an event. We are kind of lucky to be teachers and be associated with kids all the time. One girl was selling her book, “A teen helping teens”. As I watched them dance and sing I could certainly appreciate how much talent they have in so many areas yet teachers cannot seem to realize this when they can’t do their math work. Perhaps, if teachers could just get their heads around the fact that they are dealing with human beings who do have tremendous talents in many areas, it may change their approach to how they teach. ( I can’t imagine this ever happening)

There were differences from Canada, of course. The food that was served was obviously very different from anything we would see in Canada, with the emphasis on Thai and Indian food. Duvali was yesterday and there were a lot of Indian booths. In addition, drinking is absolutely the norm and beer was served throughout the night for anyone who could pay for it. Same gendered couples walked around holding hands, the norm in Asia.

I also noticed lots of middle aged ‘American’ men (who could have been from anywhere in the world) with Thai wives and probably new families. I think this is probably a common phenomenon but it was certainly clear to me here that it is probably a fairly large subculture exists since we are obviously teaching the kids of their mixed marriages. Usually I see the wives bringing the kids to school so it was kind of strange for me seeing the ‘American’ fathers. For some reason, it reminds me of parents’ nights I have attended when I was shocked by parents of kids who did not speak English when their kids spoke so beautifully. I should not have been shocked and by the same token, I guess I should have realized there were ‘mixed’ marriages. It is sort of funny seeing some men my age toting a baby on his shoulders and holding the 5 years old’s hand.

Afterwards, a bunch of teachers took me out to their favourite haunts and as usual I am blown away by how much of Bangkok I do not know. There is just an unending number of people out on the streets at all hours, the music is so loud it can perforate your ear drums and people, as usual, are eating night and day. Can you imagine being on the streets of Toronto at 1 in the morning and being able to buy a t-shirt, eat an outdoor meal and/or be in a pedestrian or car traffic jam?

Today I am planning on visiting Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing. I will tell you about it later. Hopefully I can go golfing to-night with a little swim in between if all goes according to plan!

Kuala Lumpur-Envisioning the Future Conference

I said I would comment on the conference so I would like to be true to my word! Since the conference is for administrators, (which I am apparently), I get a chance to look at things through a different lens. For example, I just attended a workshop on using”tablets” ( computers where you use a digital pen to write and you can import all kinds of neat stuff on it). Every student is getting one in January at my school and instead of worrying about how to program it or how to use it most efficiently, I have to worry about the technical details like leasing or buying, insurance, educating teachers and parents, planning for the future for a new cycle of buying, marketing the plan to parents and so on. There is a whole new dynamic which I have not really thought about before. As a teacher, department head, consultant I could really look at curriculum in a pure and unadulterated way. As Alana would probably say, I have to now act like a grown up.

As an aside, I am learning so much about technology and am much more comfortable with it now then just three months ago. I used a whiteboard, as you might recall , in a parents’ demonstration, given workshops and keynote addresses with powerpoint slides and now will be in charge of the new pilot using computer tablets. Even though the school is smaller in numbers than I am used to with very little in what I would call traditional materials, there is wonderful technology and when it works it is a joy. Certainly I am very comfortable with it and am very anxious to explore more ways of using technology. I guess from a selfish point of view this is great. From the Asian point of view, it is important to look good and anything that improves the image of the school is very important.

I am also learning a lot about Asian students. Apparently they do much better than their North American counterparts in standardized tests. Is that because there is a genetic difference or cultural differences in the way they see education? I think it is the limitation of our standardized tests which only measure lower order thinking. If all we are testing is declarative or functional knowledge, of course the Asians will do better but if we are testing creativity (which we are not) I believe North American kids would do so much better.

I see this everywhere, even on the golf driving range. Typically I see a father with his boy or girl drilling the use of one club with one set swing practicing for hours. I would love to be able to do this, but I practice for five minutes and I am so bored I can’t wait to play. At least my entertainment is to buy supper and watch them practice.

What are the implications for teaching Asian students? This is the challenge I face every day as the curriculum coordinator. If their strength is rote learning, how can I use that to our advantage in teaching higher order thinking and mental development? I have no idea, frankly, but when I do figure it out, with the help of this conference and speaking with colleagues, you will be the first to know.

Kuala Lumpur-a city on prozac

I met a backpacking couple last night and they were just starting their Asian journey. They plan to spend about 6 months backpacking throughout Asia. What a great place to ease your way in to Asia, I thought. There really are sidewalks, the downtown is perfectly safe, it is absolutely clean, everyone and I mean everyone speaks English and the stores, clinics, hospitals, restaurants are modern. You can also get any food you want. The Philippines boasts it is the second largest English speaking country in the world after the United States, but frankly, compared to KL they do not speak English as well.

I am at an EARCOS administrators’ conference which started yesterday and we had the day off from the conference today so the principal, Simon, and I hired a great cab driver and saw all the major tourist sites. Since we started off at the Batu caves I learned a lot about the Hindu culture. If I came in three weeks, he said, the roads on the way to the caves would be crowded with Hindus performing self flagellation to atone for their sins. Apparently they take this quite seriously and insert sharp objects into their bodies. In Singapore, Simon told me the same thing happens. The Batu cave is a huge limestone structure and the inside is one giant Hindu Temple. You can see the pictures if you care to look.

Our driver was a Moslem, and he said he was rebellious as a child. When I asked him what appealed to him about Islam, he said it provided him with answers to all his questions. Hinduism, on the other hand, had idols which he said were not meaningful to him and even though his grandparents were Chinese Buddhists, he said the philosophy was too ambiguous for him. I know Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and perhaps the providing confortable answers is the key to its growth.

Interestingly enough, he said the Malays were very tolerant of each other and absolutely respected and befriended each other. When I asked him, as I had to, why Malaysia refused to recognize the state of Israel, he said that was politics, but certainly Jews from the United States or Canada would be welcomed and everyone lived in harmony.

I am inclined to believe him. Certainly I see women with Hijabs as well as modern dress. I see ladyboys, Indian men with turbans with wives in Saris and a dot on their forehead. All seem to intermingle with each other in every part of the city.

There is an Indian section where they sell a lot of carpets and tailor shops yet I saw Chinese here and Indians in China town. There does seem to be a mix everywhere you go including our hotel that employs different ethnic groups. Perhaps it is harmonious and a great introduction to Asia.

Tomorrow the conference starts in earnest and I am quite anxious to see if administrators behave like teachers at conferences. I certainly know university professors have a different notion of what a conference should be like. I will let you know.