The Voice of Surin

On our first day back at the university we didn’t really do anything special, we caught up on some tasks we have to finish for our school on Belgium and that was pretty much it. I couldn’t catch much sleep so I read a bit. At Koh Chang I picked up a good read: ‘Kafka on the shore’ by Murakami. Yes, this was my most interesting news I wanted to share. Quite sad isn’t it?

At 9 in the morning we met with P’Nurai, she is the vice-dean of the English department of this university and she was going to provide us with a busier schedule. Turned out we even have less classes to teach now. But good news came as well; Sally received a call from the English consulate asking us if we would be interested in tutoring local doctors and nurses in the hospital of Prasat. We were very happy to have a change of scenery and of course we eagerly accepted this proposition. We felt quite honored to be able to teach people with a higher degree than we will (most likely) have so we were a bit nervous at first. However this nervous feeling quickly turned into anticipation as we reached the hospital.

It turned out we were assisting Mr. Chatchai Chumnum, a member of staff of the English department. He prepared an entire lesson and we were to help him with the pronunciation bit. We introduced ourselves, showed the ‘students’ some pictures of our school and town and then we did some origami. I know, sounds silly, right? In wasn’t exactly origami but all of the students received a piece of paper which they folded into a neat little book. A Tinybook, if you will. This kind of activity made me think of kindergarten but to be honest, I actually enjoyed it. Mr. Chatchai had us make 6 books: one in which he introduces himself, another about the famous YouTube hit: Charlie Bit Me! (of which we didn’t really got the gist, but hey, at least the movie is pretty funny), one about common errors made by Thai people in English, one about health issues and the last one was filled with tips and tricks to study English in a fun and motivating way.

The lesson itself was pleasant to sit trough but we didn’t really participate as much as we expected. Then again, this lesson was probably the closest thing to teaching so far at the university.
Almost forgot: due to the heavy storms: Blackout number 2. Reading a book by candlelight isn’t that romantic when you suddenly spot a cockroach trying to get in your bed. After a bloody battle (none of mine), I won and could sleep safe and sound.

On Thursday (19^th of April) it was my first real lesson at the university. The Thai teacher had seen the grammar part and it was up to me to let the students practice this by using conversations used in everyday speech. I prepared a lot of activities and conversations only to find out that the students didn’t really get the gist of the grammar and since the Thai teacher had suddenly vanished into thin air, I improvised some fun games about pronunciation. The students seemed to like getting taught by a Farang because some students were more occupied taking pictures of me than actually paying attention to their peers. It was a fun lesson but I didn’t get any feeling of accomplishment.

In the evening we were invited by P’Nurai and her fellow teachers for dinner at the dam. Since we like being in the company of other people (and I just can’t resist Thai food) we accepted her invitation. Rain seemed to rain on our parade (I know, ha-ha) but luckily it stopped as soon as we arrived at the dam. The place was crawling with people, all eating at the artificial shore and their children swimming in the huge lake. We had a typical Thai dinner, washed it down with a couple of beers and watched the sun set in beautiful shade of red. The funny thing is, we didn’t really expect to bond with these teachers since we don’t see them that often. Turns out every one of them is simply adorable. We had a very nice and cozy evening at the dam and went to sleep really excited. Could this be because tomorrow we would become FBIS (Famous Belgians in Surin)?

Remember Mr. Chatchai from the English department? He happens to host a radio show in Surin called The Voice of Surin’ and we were invited to tag along for a 45-mintute interview with him live on antenna! The goal of this radio broadcast is to make people more aware of the importance of the English language because of the fact that is Asia is becoming one union in 2015.

Mr. Chatchai picked us up at 08.30 and took us to Surin, where the radio program is being broadcasted. We are welcomed into the building and are offered a hot beverage. Not that we needed a hot drink, it was already about 35°C, but we politely accepted it anyways.

We were ushered into the broadcasting room, were assigned seats and a microphone and suddenly, without any warning the light flashed and we were live on Thai radio. Mr. Chatchai started talking in Thai and then asked to introduce ourselves. Without any form of preparation we were asked a lot of questions about teaching English in Thailand, what the differences are between Belgian and Thai culture, and many more. It’s a really funny feeling knowing that this conversation is live on radio but we managed to uphold our nerves.

Once the interview was over we were given an MP3-file containing our feat so that we can listen to it again. We thank everyone there for having us and after a short drive, Mr. Chatchai stops at our favorite bakery in Surin. Here we have a coffee together and he asks us if we would be willing to rejoin him for his show next week Friday. We are already looking forward to this.

I will soon let you know if it’s possible to listen to our live broadcast next week. Stay tuned!

Unforeseen pleasantries

I know I promised you all some information about the lessons and teachers in the university, but something came up. Due to the fact that we only have about 9 classes during the whole of April, we had a lot of free time on our hands. So we decided to take a short trip to Koh Chang, an island in the southeast of Thailand.

But first we welcomed Mrs. Van Cauteren and her husband in the country of the eternal smile. They arrived on Saturday (7^th of April) and we showed them around in Surin on Sunday. We had a lot to talk about regarding our project and progress here and it was nice to share this with our teacher.

On Monday we took a trip to Buriram. These are remnants of Khmer temples and look like they ran away from Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’. After a steep climb on a volcanic plateau, we arrived at the top of the temple and were able to witness a beautiful temple on top of a big valley. After we descended in the blistering heat, we hogged back in the van to visit another temple, this one surrounded by artificial ponds decorated with Nagas (five-headed snake creatures).

In the afternoon we took another trip to Elephant Village, being our second visit there. As you most likely will have read in one of my former entries, Nele got a massage from an elephant there. Well, let’s say me and Mrs. Van Cauteren’s husband had higher hopes of our first Thai massage… We explored the grounds of the village while watching the elephants and their trainers doing the same thing. Meanwhile, we talked and talked and talked some more. (I bet you don’t have any difficulties believing this if you know Mrs. Van Cauteren and Nele).

On Tuesday we took our teacher to see our dorms at the university, we met the spokesperson here on campus and we went to see the school where Sally teaches. Mrs. Van Cauteren was surprised about the conditions in which we have to teach and told us these classrooms were the worse she had seen so far. Then again, she also mentioned that the school gave her a relaxed and nice feeling. She met P’Boom (Sally’s Thai foster mother) and was happy to hear that we were being treated with the utmost care.

On Wednesday we arranged a van to take us to the ferry to Koh Chang, a 7 hour drive from Surin. When we arrived here we split ways with Mrs. Van Cauteren and her husband and we took off to our hotel. The manager of the hotel and the other staff) greeted us with a warm welcome (and some orange juice) and were shown to our rooms. They were nice, clean and cozy and the best part was that we had a hot shower! Once we unpacked we took off toward the beach only to find that our hotel was quite secluded from taxis… So the manager brought us to the beach without even charging us a single Baht! We dove headlong in the warm ocean and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze. Once in the water, we looked back and saw that most of the island is covered in rainforests and tropical trees.

The first day we just decided to take it slow and relax on the beach. However on the second day we felt adventurous and went for a hiking trip to Klong Plu, a beautiful waterfall with a natural swimming pool in front of it. (Plu Waterfall, please tell Peter Aimé about this) After 30 minutes of climbing and walking through a dense forest, it was quite refreshing to jump in those waters. And of course, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t climb the rocks and jumped in from every angle that was possible. When we got back to the beach we ate a lovely dinner on the beach while the sun was setting on the horizon.

Because the beaches and places of interest of the island are quite scattered we often had to take a taxi to reach those places. And since Songkran was coming up, the taxis were quite expensive. In case you didn’t know, Songkran is the Thai equivalent of celebrating the start of the New Year. They celebrate this by throwing water at every person they come across so it isn’t really that surprising we were soaking wet wherever we went. This event lasts for three days and they do this to please Buddha so he will bring prosperity to the next harvest. A nice tradition and very fun to participate in, although it was very one sided: Thai people throwing water and we getting wet. And when you do get a bucket of cold water thrown in your face, it’s hard to be mad at those grinning faces, waving and yelling: “Happy New Year!”

The only thing that was rather disturbing was that the women were dancing quite ‘exotic’ in the middle of the street and the western tourists looking at them as if they were browsing for furniture. It just doesn’t feel right when you see an overweight fifty year old man walking hand in hand with a Thai girl about 15 years old. This sight reminded me of why I was here in the first place, trying to provide a better education for some pupils so they don’t end up being someone’s sex slave. Harsh words, I know, but the truth nonetheless.

On our last day on the island we bought a book, rented a nice lawn chair and enjoyed the good life. We went for a last swim in the ocean, had lunch in a shack on the beach under the palm trees and went back to the hotel to pick up our bags. We needed to get to the ferry but this was very much like ‘Mission Impossible’ because everyone seemed to have the same idea. Traffic jams, rain showers and a lot of Thai people made our trip to the ferry rather unpleasant. Luckily we were rescued by three guys on scooters who were willing to take us to the ferry free of charge.

8 hours, 3 stops, 2 naps and a couple of cookies later (it is now 1 AM) I was glad I felt a pillow under my head and I dozed off instantly.  

Lights out!

Close your eyes…(now open them again or you can't read this..),imagine this…you are in a foreign country, you stay in a building with only people of the same gender, you get a room with 4 beds, 4 desks, 2 fans (only of 1 of them actually works), a shower with nothing but cold water, a toilet with ants and cockroaches crawling all over, a mattress which could serve as the foundation of a football stadium, a porch with iron bars and industrial lights. Where are you? Prison? Guess again! You are at the Rajamangala University in Isan!

And do you know what the worst part is? We are stuck here for 30 days with nothing to do whatsoever.  Oh sure, we were given a timetable, 9 days of teaching… and most of those days we only have to teach in the morning or afternoon. I can hear you thinking: “Oh, so you have a lot of free time to explore the campus and relax a bit, right?!” Wrong... Dead wrong…

Since April is part of the Summer Holiday in Thailand, most of the students are at home, leaving the shops and footstalls deserted. Meaning we have to go out and look for a restaurant thrice a day. We were given a bike (a mountain bike with a basket in the front, quite hilarious) that is custom made for Thai people…meaning after three days of riding this monstrosity, my knees are ruined. Luckily we were able to find a bus to take us to a supermarket where we bought (and I’m not kidding) a plastic ball to play some sports and ping pong rackets. We felt like three little kids in a candy store.

 I know this sounds like a lot of complaining, but picture this: the only thing you look forward to when going to your room at night is checking your e-mails, watch a movie on your laptop and then peacefully falling asleep with the fan blowing cool wind in your face. This is possible for most of the evenings, but earlier this week, the weather gods decided to test us and made the electricity fall out due to heavy rain showers and lightning. I can tell you this, lying in your bed when it is 33 degrees with no cold, running water or a fan is not fun at all.

More about the teachers, lessons, and our future plans is coming your way in the next entry.

English Camp

After we said goodbye to the busy city of Bangkok, we welcomed the sight of almost abandoned roads, palm trees, rice fields and the buffalos grazing upon them. We were back in Isan. And now the time had come to focus on our ‘IP’, guiding pupils through two weeks of English Camp.

During these two weeks we stayed at P’Boom’s house. She is a 26 year old mother with an 8 month year old boy, Fork. She lives in a big and quite modern house so we had no difficulties adapting ourselves to our new host family. In the evenings we sometimes went for a walk in the neighborhood to witness the beautiful sun setting on the deserted rice fields.

When we arrived at school, the first thing I thought was that this school isn’t really that different from the school we taught at in the beginning of our journey. Low buildings with no doors or windows, a lot of trees and grassy perks and of course, everywhere you look you see friendly and enthusiastic pupils greeting you.

Since we didn’t know the level the pupils it was difficult to create fun and challenging activities while preparing our ‘IP’ in Belgium. We quickly came to realize that our games and lessons were far too advanced for the pupils. So we spent night after night adapting our activities until we were sure the pupils would think it fun and interesting.

At the start of the English Camp we were a bit let down because only 14 pupils turned up. Then again, the next day this number was reduced to four...This was because the school was organizing an open house for pupils of the elementary schools who could come and check out their future school. The first week went very smoothly and as the week progressed we noticed some big changes in some pupils’ attitude and level. We played a lot of games, had some lessons about telling the time, taught the pupils how to conjugate some new and difficult verbs, drilled on the fact that they have to pronounce the final sounds of words and much more. We also gave the assignment of creating a booklet in which students could make a mind-map about English Camp. Our top three would get a prize at the end of the week. We were looking forward to receiving these booklets because in general, Thai pupils are very creative and tend to put a lot of work in arts and crafts.

 In the weekend we kept ourselves busy preparing for the upcoming week op English Camp and we didn’t really do anything noteworthy except taking a few walks in the rural part of “town”.

During the second week we noticed the pupils were progressing quite ‘fast’ (for Thai standards that is) and we, being the ones who made this possible, felt proud. It was also in this week that we decided to have reading session. Each of us handled a different book each day and we worked with set groups so we could deal with the problems of 6 or 7 pupils instead of an entire group. As the reading sessions advanced we noticed the pupils were gaining a lot more confidence and actually started to enjoy the stories they were reading. Mission accomplished for that matter.

On Thursday we told the pupils that they would be acting in a movie on Friday. They were all very excited and were therefore very enthusiastic while playing the acting games we provided them with. After these games we did a couple of teambuilding exercises which they really enjoyed.

Our last day of English Camp was a busy one. First, we shot the movies in which the pupils needed to act (we choose to let them play ‘The Smurfs so we could show them some Belgian Heritage), we played a couple more games, we watched the movies (which were now edited and put together in three big films), we awarded prizes and we gave each pupil a certificate of attending English Camp. Afterwards, we bought the students some soft drinks and crisps and sadly that was the end of our first English Camp. We will always remember the way some pupils hugged us on the verge of tears when Camp was over…

Mark my words: it’ll be hard once we are back in Belgium, where pupils prefer to run away from you than greeting you and acknowledging your existence outside the school’s premises.

Now that the English Camps are over, we move on to a new chapter of our trip: the University of Rajamangala in Surin. What we will be doing there? No idea. Exciting isn’t it?

This is it! Bangkok!... is this it?

Bangkok. Gateway to south-east Asia. Good time-city. Where you can buy everything for every price. Where you can have a good time with a girl, boy or something in between. Where you can trade Thai Baht for counterfeit watches and goodies. Where there are at least a hundred foul reeking odors intruding your nostrils and exhaust fumes assaulting your longs. A city with 10 million people who don’t know the verb ‘to carpool’, resulting in huge traffic jams, men and women on motorcycles driving like crazy and Tuk-Tuks (local taxis) squirming themselves between cars. Welcome to the bright and busy capital of Thailand!

Our first impressions were not at all positive. We checked in a very clean and cozy hotel and then we hit the streets. The most prominent thing in Bangkok is the traffic. You see cars, motorcycles and Tuk-Tuks everywhere you look. Because of the fact that traffic lights often don’t work and a pedestrian has fewer rights than a driver, it is difficult to cross a road most of the time. It took us a couple of days to work up the nerves to zigzag trough the traffic without taking too much a risk. Even though the taxi fares are quite cheap (by day, at night the prices skyrocket) we wanted to have the experience of riding along in a converted scooter that can transport up to 5 people. In other words: ride a Tuk-Tuk. There is one thing you need to know before you board one: make sure you have a life insurance. They drive like crazy, squeeze their vehicles trough the tiniest of openings and change lanes as often as you normally blink your eyelids. A cheap rollercoaster ride if you will.

On our first night we went for a walk. Because we didn’t really have a clue where we were going, we let our instincts guide us. Turned out they failed us quite badly. We ended up in a sort of slums under a bridge. Not really the nicest place you want to be as a western tourist.  We didn’t encounter any particular trouble but we were glad when we spotted our hotel in the distance.

The following day we went on an arranged trip to ‘The Undefeatable City’ Ayutthaya. This used to be the capital of Bangkok until it was…well, defeated. A van came to pick us up in the wee hours of the morning only to let us wait for an entire hour for another van. When we finally left we dozed off because it was a 2-hour ride from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is actually a collection of several temples and monuments spread over an entire city. Therefore, we saw the inside of our van more often than the inside of the temples we were visiting. But at the end of the day, we were glad we booked this trip because of the many beautiful structures, temples and statues we were able to see. 

After a trip to the hospital to get my stitches cleaned up, we decided to take a stroll in the shopping district of Bangkok, Siam Square. Imagine ‘Het Waasland Shopping Center’. Now add six floors, luxurious boutiques, an entire floor dedicated to still a man’s hunger, a car vendor, and other outrageous things and you have Siam Paragon. The most beautiful shopping center I have ever laid eyes on.

When we woke the following morning we wanted to take a cab to the National Museum of Bangkok. But since there wasn’t a single taxi driver who wanted to take us there (in Bangkok, the cab driver chooses his customers, not vice versa) we took the subway to Lumphini Park. We thought we’d encounter a nice little park but it turned out to be a huge one with streets dividing the trees and grass. After lunch we tried once more to find a friendly cabdriver and luckily, we succeeded. The National Museum was nowhere as impressive as say ‘The British Museum’ or ‘The Louvre’ but it held some interesting pieces concerning Thai history and religion.

In the evening we put on our fancy clothes, pulled over a cab and asked him to take us to the State Tower, the second but biggest tower in Bangkok. 64 floors of luxurious rooms, two restaurants and Sirocco, a bar at the upper level of the building with a view that would blow your socks off. We had a (rather expensive) drink and enjoyed the beautiful skyline of Bangkok by night. After this, we went for a walk in the business quarter of Bangkok, Silom Road. After a couple of minutes we spotted something strange. It was a bar in the cellar of an Irish pub. It was called the ‘-5°C’ bar and because we have to miss the cold days and nights in Belgium, we decided to have drink in there. Even though we were the only guest there, it was a cool experience to sit on a bench of made of ice when the outside temperature almost reaches 40 degrees.

The following morning we went on another arranged trip. This time, we went to see the floating markets and the Erawan Waterfalls. This was a 4-hour trip so we got back together with our former friend: the mini-van. When we arrived at the floating market we were kind of disappointed. Instead of seeing locals trading their wares in their long tail boats, we saw too many tourists browsing for souvenirs from their little speedboats. After a very nice lunch, we drove to the Erawan Waterfalls. These are situated in a National Park and consist of 7 waterfalls. Because time was not on our side, we were only able to reach the fifth waterfall in which we had a refreshing swim. 5 hours later we were back in our hotel rooms and slept like logs.

Bangkok doesn’t have that much to offer but we had a good time exploring the nooks and crannies of its vast grounds. Ignoring the rodents, odors and Thai men spitting as they see fit, it’s a city you have to see, even if it’s only to say: “I’m never coming back again!” And don’t get me wrong, it’s not all that bad, but as you could derive from this entry’s title, we expected a bit more than this.

A Golden Gun amidst a Mangrove Forest

After a refreshing three days on Koh Phi Phi, we booked a hotel room in Phang Nga. We stumbled upon a cheap bungalow in the middle of a National Park. We didn’t hesitate for even a split second and we were glad we didn’t. When we arrived at our bungalow we saw it was surrounded by a mangrove forest and it looked like a lumberjack’s house, it was that authentic. When we unloaded our luggage we went for a walk in the National Park. The first thing we noticed was the inhabitants of the mangrove forest weren’t shy at all. We saw mud crabs, mud lobsters, a couple of beautiful blue birds and even a wild snake!

When we came to a side road, we spotted a road entirely made out of wood. On the side o the road were houses build in the same fashion. Under the wooden road and bridges we saw a concrete path which lay now demolished on the muddy shore of the bay. And then we knew that what we were seeing were the results of the tsunami which reached Thailand all those years ago. The people here managed to survive (if you can call it like that) and were now busy rebuilding their former houses. Sadly, most of the Thai people are poor and can’t afford to rebuild a house made out of concrete and bricks. These people live of catching fish (and tourists for their expensive boat excursions) and that is often all they do. We were glad to be a part of these tourist traps because without the local fishermen and women, we wouldn’t have been able to see what we saw. Starting with a golden Buddha which lay in a cave filled with monkeys.

The day after the same fisherman took us to see James Bond Island. Obviously this island was named such because it was the setting for the famous movie: ‘James Bond and the man with the golden gun’. After we visited the island (which we did quite early to avoid the many tourists (which of course, we aren’t)) we went to Koh Panyee, a Muslim village build entirely on stilts with a huge monolith protecting the backside of the village. Too bad all the village had to offer were souvenir shops and grumpy Thai people.

After three days of rest and quiet we left Phang Nga and signed up for a beach vacation. Three more days of relaxing on a beach, renting bikes and riding around in the Northern part of Phuket really did the trick. The stress had completely left our bodies after a few scrumptious meals in a restaurant on the beach and we were ready to enter the busy life and nightlife of Bangkok.

From Hellish bars to Heavenly hospitals

Our two week holiday has started and since I don’t want you all to miss out on a single thing, here it comes.

Round 1: Hell

After two hours of flying we safely arrived at Phuket Airport. Here we had a drink while looking for hotel on the internet. This proved to be a very difficult and tedious task but we were finally able to make a reservation for a hotel in Patong. If you like crowdy and ugly beaches, many tourists who have no (self)respect, one night stands and massages with ‘something extra’; Patong is the place to be. We on the other hand wanted to get out of this Hellhole as fast as possible. We stayed the night in a nice hotel room but when morning came we bolted. We booked a boat to Koh Phi Phi, an island not far from Phuket.

Round 2: Heaven

When the island made itself visible for us, we were in awe. We knew it was considered a very beautiful place on earth but we never even dreamed of this view. Lush green mountains with a crystal clear sea, lagoons and beaches with palm trees and last but not least: wild monkeys!

On our first day we decided to explore the island and ended up swimming, eating and having a cocktail in a cozy beach bar.

When morning came we were feeling quite energetic and went for a 5 hour kayak trip. The thing is: that’s just way too long. With the blistering sun on your bare skin it’s hard to manage physical labor. We first disembarked on Monkey Beach. That’s right, a beach where wild monkeys live!

After a tiresome trip we managed to return to our beach, but not without harm. The three of us looked like lobsters (Could it be that we forgot to put on suntan lotion?) and were in quite a lot of pain due to our burned skins. I even got something extra to take care of. While I was kayaking in a small grove, I thought I would be able to climb a couple of rocks and then jump back in my kayak. Result: three stitches in my right hand + a two day swimming prohibition issued by the local doctor.

The next day we decided to take it a bit easier because of our (and especially my) “wounds”. We rented a long tail boat and a groovy Rasta captain took us too many beautiful places around the island. We went snorkeling, fed fishes, visited Maya Beach (known form the movie: The Beach) and visited Viking Cave. This is a cave where a couple of gypsy Thai actually live. For dinner we had a very nice Mexican platter in a rooftop bar overlooking the two beautiful bays of the island.