Six Weeks Later

Last week I started going to muay Thai training. We got these horrible directions (all directions in Nan are horrible, streets don’t have names, it’s all by landmarks) from some of the teachers who were here last year and me and two of the girls biked to the camp. We arrived (after a few wrong turns) at the camp, which was really just a mat, a boxing ring, and some weight lifting machines in someone’s backyard. We see some people and start miming and saying “muay Thai?” After a few minutes he starts showing us the basic punching move. We politely say the phrase to ask how much he will charge us and he politely refused and continued to show us the moves. We stayed for about an hour. It was an amazing workout. On the mat he showed us the punch and knee attacks. Then we got into the boxing ring and put on gloves. We practiced by punching pads he was wearing. Then he showed us the basic kick. There is still fairly large language barrier so I don’t know any official names of any of the moves. But we are collectively working on that. However, it turns out that I’ve got pretty decent form and a pretty powerful punch and kick. I need to work on the knee move a lot more. My back was sore and so were the insides of my elbows. It’s been really fun though and I’m very excited that I’m getting the chance to train with them for free.

Yesterday I judged an English speaking competition. The competition was at the local high school around the corner from where I teach. A few of our school’s students participated (none that I teach but two that Kelly teach). The competitions were initially a little bit strange to us. The students are given in advance several topics to come up with speeches for. The younger children get topics like “my school” and “my family.” The older students have topics like “the environment” and “my ambitions.” Our younger students do not write their own speeches. Their Thai teachers ask them questions about their families and what they like to do at school and then write the speeches. The students then memorize them and the foreign teachers help with pronunciation, sentence structure, and things like that. The older students (and by old and young I mean 6-11 vs. 16-18) actually write more of their own speeches and their teachers help to make them better. At the competitions the students pick a topic and if they like that topic they give a speech on that topic. If they don’t they can pick one other topic. This means that the students have to memorize two to three speeches for each competition. The speeches have to be 3-5 minutes long and we judge on pronunciation, accuracy, presentation, personality, content, and a few other things. I had a lot of fun. I judged level 4, the oldest students. A lot of the speeches were really good. The students who came in first place gave a speech on the environment. She started her speech by singing part of “Heal the World.” I was really surprised because she had an amazing voice and her pronunciation was really impressive. I gave her the most points of any contestant because she referenced global warming, CFCs, polar ice caps, and Al Gore and an Inconvenient Truth. I mean come on, I know people fluent in English who wouldn’t have done as well. She and the girls in second and third place will go on to a larger competition in a few weeks. One of my students and one of Kelly’s and Kathy’s will go to that same competition.

There are a few things that were initially surprising and/or disturbing to me that I’m now completely used to. The first is, disturbingly enough, bugs in my food. There is always a bug in or around my food. It’s an ongoing joke with me and the girls, because it’s almost always my food or the food nearest me that ends up with bugs in it. But usually I just pick it out and keep moving. In the states I would’ve sent it back and have lost my appetite or something ridiculous. In truth, it’s really nice not to care about that sort of thing. I’m also more ok with strangers touching me. Thai people tend to touch your arms or your hair or your stomach or your shoulders, just because they look or feel different than their own. Again, in the states, that not exactly ok, but I have no problem with it here. The last major thing that I’ve gotten at least more used to is that Thai people don’t seem to believe that any information is private. For instance a teacher might introduce a friend by saying “This is Nong, he has diarrhea.” And that will be completely ok. A teacher might mention casually (and for no reason) that a student is in Bangkok for the weekend because her parents are divorced. One time, Kelly had her students drawing pictures of their families. Her co teacher takes her to one of the students who is drawing a picture of his father. She then proceeds to tell Kelly (with the child clearly listening) the story of how the student’s father committed suicide a month ago. At the English speaking competition Helena judged a speech about a student’s family where, 30 seconds into it, she learned that his father died when he was a baby, his mother abandoned him and he has never seen her nor does he know her name, and he lives with his extremely poor grandmother. I don’t think anyone I know would let a small child put that into a speech. But it really is the Thai way. It’s ok for everyone to know everything.

So I’m about to begin my 6th week of teaching. They say that the first 6 weeks are the hardest. Setting classroom routines, maintaining student respect, encouraging interest in the subject, and effectively teaching are all supposed to be accomplished by that point. The truth is it doesn’t feel like it’s been almost a month and a half. 6 weeks ago I was graduating from college. I didn’t have 63 students dependent on me to learn a language. I wasn’t learning a new language or attempting a martial art. I had never touched an elephant, let alone ridden on one. A lot’s happened in 6 weeks and I’m really happy about all of it. That’s the best feeling, I really enjoy life. I love teaching and my students make me so excited. Everyday I learn more Thai or try something new and I’m enjoying every minute of it.