The Ice Bucket goes gobal

“Feeeeeeeeeze.”

-        Mr. Freeze, Batman and Robin

Not being in America didn’t stop my Facebook newsfeed from blowing up with Ice Bucket Challenge videos. I think this movement is awesome- it definitely made me do some research on ALS and donate It’s amazing to see such a viral trend have such a positive effect I got nominated for it and decided to get a little creative with my video.

My plan was to create the video with my students teaching me about ALS and how to contribute. A lot of videos I watched didn’t really talk about what the disease does. My students didn’t know what it was either, so I thought teaching a lesson about it could hit two birds with one stone. It sort of worked. The crux of the lesson was this flow chart that read,“ALS-> No medicine -> donate money-> research-> make medicine -> No ALS. “

They were able to understand what ALS was and the need for research, which I was pretty impressed about. However, they couldn’t quite get the connection between finding a cure and dumping a bucket of ice water on your head. Cultural differences I guess.

I was able to shoot the video and the students were able to describe ALS fairly well. However, the student camerawork was SO BAD. It’s not really their fault, they probably don’t have a lot of experience taking video, but most of the time the camera would focus on random things while people were talking. Oh well, that part of the video didn’t make the final cut.

I ended up doing the rest of the challenge on the soccer field to loud applause by my students. People everywhere think getting soaked with ice water is funny.

What’s even more amazing is that the Ice Bucket Challenge is starting to go international. My co-workers from England and Australia had heard of people doing it before I did it in class. I was in the grocery store yesterday and saw a video montage of Thai people dumping buckets of ice water on their heads. Nice job internet.

The end of August has arrived, which means it’s fantasy football draft time. While this is best done among friends in a Buffalo Wild Wings, the 12-hour time difference has taken that off the table for me. Instead I’ve had at 6:00 AM wake-up before work, a draft during school hours (thanks ESPN Iphone app), and a brutal Sunday morning awakening at 4:00 AM. I’ve raised three trophies in the past and I’m hoping the sacrifice of sleep pays off.

So what else is new? With my time here quickly drawing to a close, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on my year here and think I’ve picked up a few life lessons on the way. I’ve written a few reflections and might upload them as my last few posts. I don’t think I’m very good at deep and profound writing, but if that jackass from The Wolf of Wall Street can do it, I might give it shot.

Mark

Island in the Sun

"We have to go back Kate! We have to go baaaaaack! "- Jack Shephard, Lost

With another four-day weekend on the calendar, the time was ripe for some traveling. Some friends and I decided to hit up the island of Koh Chang. The trip began with a light 5-hour bus ride to the coastal town of Trat. After a quick ferry across the pond, we rented motorbikes and began the trek to find a guesthouse.

I think this might be the most beautiful place I've been to in Thailand. It's the third largest island in the country and has everyone from partying backpackers to families on vacations. The west side of the island is the more touristy area with many hotels, bars, and restaurants that hug the beach. Since this is the low season for tourism in Thailand (it's always hot and rainy) the island was fairly empty. This made the island much quieter and way more relaxing. That being said, there were these signs plastered everywhere on the island that said, "Taste of International Nightlife." Next to the catchphrase was a picture of a white guy in a straw hat dancing with an Asian woman. Exactly what international nightlife tastes like.

We found a guesthouse to stay at that was right on the beach. It was 200 baht a night but we had three people in the room, so it only came out to 200 baht per person for the whole stay. That's $ 6.22 for three nights- probably the best bargain I've had in Thailand. To be fair the room was not the most luxurious (mosquito netting did not quite fit the bed, one electric outlet, some plaster fell off the wall when I yanked a towel away), but it had a roof and that's always enough.

We spent the next day exploring the beaches and town. Check it out.

Restaurant with glass tables over the ocean eyyyyyyy

Theses little dudes were all about splash fights

The last day we biked along the east part of the island. This has a very different feel as there are very few accessible beaches, or hotels. Its rolling mountains and forests are very similar to northern Thailand. This drive was absolutely stunning and I nearly forgot how cramped my butt was on the motorbike.

Just a straight-up giant hole in the road. I've given up asking questions in Thailand.

We eventually got all the way to the bottom of the island- but the road didn't connect all the way around! Why ??? Why ??? Our guess was that there was too steep a mountain to connect the road- look how close it is! Again, I've given up on the questions.

The drive back was so beautiful anyway that it really wasn't a big deal. We were all pretty bummed we had to go home at the end. There was such a relaxing and exciting feel to the island that a couple more days would have been perfect. But as Biggie Smalls once said, "Mo money, mo problems." Ferry- Song-Taew Ride- bus ride- train- taxi- back home. A hot shower never felt so good.

With midterms over I'm down to my final stretch in Thailand! I've booked four flights till I'm home: Bangkok to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Bali, Bali to Bangkok, and Bangkok to Chicago. Looking forward to a few weeks of budgeting, travel planning, and eating as much Thai food as I can.

Mark

Big Stuff around Town

Terrence Cutler: When I heard you were gonna be subbing here I almost lost my mind.

Kenny Powers: Well that’s good for you.

Terrence Cutler: There’s something you need to know, Kenny. You’re not the only  athlete here at Jeff Davis. I happen to be training for a triathlon right now. Doin’ a lot of running, and cycling, swimming. Well you know all about that.

Kenny Powers: No actually, I don’t. I do SPORTS. Not try to be the best at exercising.

-        Eastbound and Down

Man, it’s been a wild few weeks around school. Midterms, Sports Day, and an honored guest. Not a lot teaching has been going on, but you learn more outside of the classroom right?

Two weeks ago, I found out a great honor was coming to the Raikhing community (the area around the school). Princess  Soamsawali of Thailand would be coming! She’s very popular and has been a big supporter of medical research. She’s like the Michelle Obama of Thailand.

Naturally, everyone found out three days before she was scheduled to come. There was a flurry of activity to get prepared. The school had a thorough cleaning, with a new fountain being added in front. Additional pictures of the king were put up in each class. Even on the roads around the school, banners were hung to welcome the princess. Pink flags adorned the lampposts as pink is “her” color.

The princess would be visiting the Raikhing hospital, just across the street from the school. The Thai teachers were clad in white uniforms in a roped off area while everyone else gathered along the road. A caravan of cars came down the street and dropped her off under the tented area. A half hour later, she hopped back into the car and drove off. I was a little bummed that I didn’t actually get to see her. The security detail could have been improved - too many vantage points for snipers – but it was still pretty cool.

See that car? Yeah- a Princess of Thailand is in it

Making it rain

Before my last class the other day, the power went out. No big deal. This usually happens once every day or two. We cracked the windows and start class. I had just finished explaining the assignment when a torrential downpour starts. It was so loud that I was shouting at the top of my lungs and they could hardly hear me. To top it off the room is almost pitch black since it’s so dark outside.

Luckily, this was 4/2, smart and resourceful. They used the lights on their cell phones to illuminate their papers so they could see what they were writing. They finished the assignment in record time. A+.

Sports!

Sports day finally arrived this week. Students had been preparing this since the term started. I probably only taught half my classes in the few weeks leading up it. Most classes would be cancelled in preparation for it, or the students who showed up were the waterboys/watergirls who didn’t have anything to prep. That was actually kind of fun; I got to know the students who showed up a little better as they taught me Thai.

They find it hilarious when I speak Thai incorrectly on purpose. I started telling students, “I am Panang Guy.” This translates to, “I am spicy red curry chicken.” It’s sort of a running joke in some classes, with students answering that when they don’t know the answer.

“So, what did you do this weekend?”

*Silence*

“Teacha….we are Panang Guy.”

Glad they’ve got a sense of humor. Anyway, back to sports.

Sports Day is like a high school pep rally on steroids. Students are divided up into teams based on color. Every class I had in the weeks leading up would always badger me with, “Teacha? What col-uha?” I never had the same color as they did, so I got booed.

The opening ceremony began with lots of cheering and chanting with all the students gathered on the field. This contained an aerobics workout that was pretty impressive- it’s hard to get 3,000 students to do one thing at the same time.

p90 Wat Raikhing

Following that, someone from the temple came and gave a motivational speech about pride for the school and Thailand. After some chanting, teachers picked up anointed ashes and sat in front of the crowd. The students would bow in front of the teacher as ashes were rubbed on their foreheads. This was a blessing for success over the next few days.

There was then a flurry of running as students went to eat and change in preparation for the next event. An elaborate parade began around the school. Students dressed in themed costumes based on their color. Check it out, pretty wild.

Donald? What are you doing here?

What stuck out to me the most was how much older the students looked. I usually only see students dressed in their identical uniforms, which makes them all blend together and seem very young. Seeing girls with makeup and guys with gelled hair and blazers added years to them. It was pretty neat to see students showing off their hard work and having fun with it.

After that another long assembly began. This time, the guest speaker was a representative from the National Sports Day organization. That’s definitely not the right name but the organization run sports days all over the country. More chanting, more songs, and more praying.

Foreign dude English teachers

To be honest, it looked pretty miserable for the students. They’re sitting in the beating afternoon sun with these stuffy costumes on. It was actually kind of scary when a few kids passed out within minutes of each other. “Rescue” students ran onto the field and passed out water bottles and assisted ill participants for the rest of the assembly.

Finally the games began! The first day had traditional Thai sports. This included judging dance routine numbers and choreographed Muay Thai “fights.”

The next few days had more traditional sporting events. Track and field, volleyball, basketball, soccer, giant jump ropes, the works. The atmosphere was incredibly fun with students running and laughing all day. But it’s also very hot, so you could see them napping in the shade as well. It was an enjoyable three days but I think the kids were ready for a break at the end.

Yesterday was Thai Mother’s Day, so I had Monday and Tuesday off. I spent it on Koh Chang, one of the islands near Cambodia. Life’s been rough around here lately.

Mark