I have decided that one year of squat toilets, pit stains, and a highly limited selection of male companions who aren't named "Gookgai" or "Golf" just isn't going to suffice... so I've officially renewed my contract with Princeton-in-Asia for a second year of teaching in Nan! While a second year was a possibility I considered from the very start, choosing to stay was anything but an easy decision. I'll be the first PiA fellow ever to stay a second year at this post, and I'll unfortunately have to say goodbye to a lot of friends I've made this year as they move on to other endeavors. But when it came time to make the call, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay... to learn the language, to have more adventures, and to enjoy this city - and this whole part of the world - I've come to love so much.
Getting to teach the world's cutest kids another school year doesn't hurt, either. And luckily, teaching is a job with a sweeeet break schedule. After a bit of traveling at the end of the semester, I will be back in the US of A for two months in April-May. After sufficiently indulging in blocks of authentic cheese, water supply that works 24/7, and of course, Princeton Reunion-age, I'll return to Thailand in early June. Everyone who couldn't make it this time around can think of this as a WHOLE other year of opportunity to visit a friend/relative in Asia, riiiiiiiight?
So far, the reaction from Thai friends and coworkers when I tell them I'll be hanging tight here in Nan has been positive. Arm exclaimed "I'm so happy!" when I told her and Cho. Their daughter, Cake, will go to Bandon Sriserm next year, and it's likely I'll end up teaching her in Kindergarten. Aj. Prakop is already subtly making plans with me for whipping next year's 6th graders into English shape (I'll admit, any class will have a tough time filling this year's 6/1 shoes... Khim1 just won 6th place in the country at a national English competition). And Aj. Wandee, the 5th grade English co-teacher and our Thai equivalent to the "Cool Aunt" who spoils us silly, smiled when she heard, saying "Jing-jing?!" (really?!). Jing-jing, Aj. Wandee.
English Camp: where tuxedos and polo shirts coexist
But back to the here and now. The past few weekends have been jam packed with a Nan Country Music Festival, complete with mistranslated renditions of "My Sherona" and pony-riding Thai cowboys; a Princess of Thailand sighting (she came to Nan for the opening ceremony of a new hotel in town); field trips to the Nan Museum, and, last weekend, a sleep away English Camp during which we led Bandon Sriserm's young and bro-tastic 5th graders in Spoons, the Cha-Cha Slide, and the art of "cooking" American delicacies like smoothies and paninis (made out of 7-11 bread and a-poor-excuse-for Kraft Singles cheese). Technically, we've been working 6- and 7- day work weeks this entire month - but as usual, I really can't complain.
Meanwhile this week, every class has been busily preparing skits and songs for the school-wide English Exhibition in February. Third grade has demonstrated a particularly strong commitment to their number ("Down" by Jay Sean ft Lil Wayne) by coming into the English Office every day at lunch to rehearse, as well as play with the ajaans' iTunes and in Neeno's case, help push buttons on the NEW (!) copy machine. 3rd grader Folk, who reportedly has very little interest in school and once infamously poured an entire bottle of baby powder all over a classmate during English class, has found his true calling in break-dancing while everyone else sings the chorus. A true crowd pleaser.
Lunch hour entertainment
This weekend we'll celebrate the 23rd bpee mai of Emily "Bpee Mai" Hebner, complete with out-of-town visitors to join our Nan Farang Bicycle Club, drinks at the purple slushie-and-jelly shot bar, a last hoorah with our singer friends at the Fifth Night Club (who, in their nocturnal and nomadic style, will be moving on to other places next month), and a CrAsia -themed Birthday Power Hour. There's no real telling how things will go, but all signs point to "(Weird But) Good." They usually do here in Nan... Jing-jing.
This past weekend, I got a visit from my good friend Hannah, who is teaching through PiA in Vientiane, Laos this year. She swung through Nan at the tail-end of her month-long teaching vacation, and like any good Thai hosts, we showed her the utmost hospitality. We provided fine amenities (a child-sized bicycle with faulty handle bars on which to get around); sampled traditional Thai cuisine (D-Milk and regrettable sticky rice logs); and showed her the historic sights of Nan (The Fifth nightclub). It was a classic Nan weekend of being gawked at by the locals, casual drinking, and relaxation... but with the added bonus of catching up with a friend from afar.
My Southeast Asian Other Half in the N-a-n
Hannah arrived on Friday afternoon - about an hour before I finished teaching and could make my way through a sea of high-fives to head home. Since I don't have an exact home address, and since we only had a vague idea of when the bus would get in, and since our Thai and Lao SIM card cell phones can't connect, we were going with a just-see-what-happens approach to meeting up. Everything worked out, though: Hannah ran out of a noodle shop - where she'd been sitting enjoying a Coke and studying Lao flashcards - and flagged me down as I turned down my street.
Friday night, Emily, Nicole and I took Hannah to our favorite riverside joint, which we call Ricky's - partly because we can't read the Thai restaurant name, and partly because we've befriended and nicknamed the waiter there "Ricky." Ricky doesn't speak any English, and never understands my attempts at Thai, but between charades gestures and a lot of smiling, we've formed a special bond with him. We even gave him our Christmas card last month, with our names scrawled on the back; he practically ran to the kitchen to show the rest of the staff, and now calls all of us "Anna?" (the only name he can pronounce).
In with the in-crowd
Ricky did us right with our usual order of cashew chicken and tom yum soup, and afterwards the four of us hit up a few "bars" (huts-that-serve-beer-and-whisky) and headed to The Fifth. Hannah was introduced to our motley crew of singer/DJ friends who work at the club: Gookgai, Poo, Tee, Pi Pong, Koko, Golf. They were excited to meet a new farang, and Gookgai even jumped off stage to sing at our table during one of his sets. Ajaans by day; groupies by night.
The rest of the weekend was spent pretty lazily. Saturday was Thailand's National Children's Day, Wan Dek - a holiday that sounds like it would solicit the celebratory equivalent of Grandparent's Day in America, but being a Thai holiday, is celebrated with great vigor here. Kids with balloon animals and paper hats and other free loot roamed the streets, play parks were set up at almost every public space in town, and a lot of businesses closed all weekend for the holiday. Of those that were open, I showed Hannah my favorite spots in Nan ... and was quickly reminded why Nan's appeal lies in its charm and personality, not its tourist attractions.
Cows, river... Welcome to Nan!
Monday morning, Hannah came with me to school before heading to the bus station. I asked my 6th grade class to "interview" her, one question per student, as a warm-up activity. Questions ranged from "When is your birthday?" to "Who are your best friends?," and a lot more kids wanted to know about the weather in Laos than anything about America.
Over the course the weekend, Hannah and I talked a lot about our respective experiences living in Asia so far. Even though we're in the same program, and living pretty close to each other on the Southeast Asia map, it sounds like we're having pretty different experiences in terms of work and daily life. But the appreciation for meat on sticks, stray three-quarter cats, and abundant mistranslations appears to be just as strong across the border. It's a small continent after all.
October 18, 2010 - October 24, 2010: Southern Thailand
My sales pitch to friends thinking of visiting. I'll-take-you-there!
As you can gather from the title, this final installment of my October travels is going on three months late. But let's just all agree that procrastination doesn't end with turning in your last college paper, and categorize this one as a "timeless adventure." Here goes.
I left Saigon one wallet, two credit cards and $300 lighter - but with high hopes of finding the perfect beach on which to forget that fact. Leaving behind the bus beds and train cars of Vietnam, Nicole and I took a flight from Saigon to Bangkok, then down to Krabi, Thailand. Krabi is in the south of Thailand, on the Andaman Sea, in the same cluster of islands and peninsulas as Phuket (a region heavily affected by the 2004 tsunami, but now back on its feet and as gorgeous as ever).
Our first night back in the Land o' Thai, Neens and I stayed in quiet Krabi town, and for dinner, headed to the waterfront night market for our first Thai meal in 3 weeks. I didn't realize until I took my first big bite of peanuty-lime pad-see-ew noodles, but after backpacking through Laos and Vietnam for weeks I might have missed Thai food more than I currently miss American cheeseburgers. It tasted like home.
Food vendors on Railay Beach
The next day, we kicked off a marathon week of lazy beach bathing in Paradise. (I know, I know - my life sucks). Our first stop was Railay Beach, just a quick $5 longtail boat ride east of Krabi town. We hopped off our boat at the drop-off point on East Railay, waded to shore, and strolled a while on a small narrow pathway to Phra Nang Beach - dodging the occasional monkey swinging above in the trees. Railay, like most of the south, is made up of gorgeous white sand beaches that melt into crystal clear turquoise water. Railay in particular has huge limestone rock formations covering the peninsula and scattered around the nearby waters. It's supposedly an excellent spot for rock climbing, and we could see a handful of climbers dangling from the rock cliffs on one side of the beach... but I've never believed in mixing beach time with exercise. Instead, Nicole and I (and not many others, as the beach was pretty sparse of tourists) spent the entire day sleeping in the sun, snacking on spring rolls and corn cobs grilled right on the beach, swimming out to the huge limestone cliff island just off the beach, ducking under the palm trees when the occasional rain storm hit, and generally relaxing in a state of utter bliss and disbelief at being there.
Our next stop was to Ko Lanta, a much larger island south of Krabi that doesn't get as much tourist traffic (especially since October still counted as the "off season" - a fact which Nicole and I took to heart and used as an excuse for most indulgences that week: Want to order that coconut dessert? Why not, it's the off season. Want another whiskey bucket? Well, it is the off season. Should we lay on the beach again today? Sure, I mean, it's the off season). Ko Lanta was so tourist-less, in fact, that Nicole and I managed to swing a one night's stay at a huge fancy beachfront resort with a private pool for only $7/night (we wound up there by mistake, but then went with it). Aside from one other family, we were literally the only guests there. Man, I love the off season.
Viewpoint View on Ko Phi Phi
For the Grand Finale of our week in southern Thailand, we planted ourselves on Ko Phi Phi. Neens and I stayed one night at a rather decrepit, but cheap and nicely located guesthouse up near the "Viewpoint" of Ko Phi Phi Don - the larger and more built up of the Phi Phi islands. (I wouldn't give this place many stars for customer service either. The hotel had no discernible front desk, just a small closet-like room with a mattress at the top of the stairs where it appeared a staff member appeared to live. When we finally found said staff member and asked for a room, she gave us a look as though we'd just asked her to give up her own bed... then made us wait an hour while she prepared a vacant but beer can-clad guest room at glacier pace. Sigh.)
Longtail boats
We heard from friends about an overnight camping trip on Maya Beach, Ko Phi Phi Leh (of Leonardo diCaprio's "The Beach" fame), and wasted no time booking the trip our first night in Krabi town. The small island of Ko Phi Phi Leh is completely uninhabited except for park rangers, so normally you can only visit the island during the day by grabbing a tourist boat over. Only one company (read: band of 20-something Thai tour guide pirates who are paid by a rich Australian) is allowed to take groups to the island for overnight stays, and we decided that was exactly the kind of adventure we were in the mood for our last night in Paradise.
As instructed by the guy we handed 2,500 baht over to in Krabi, we went to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Ko Phi Phi town at 3:30 sharp Friday afternoon to meet our camping group. We'd been told the trip could take up to 40-50 people, and we were expecting to find a line of shaggy sabai-pant wearing backpackers outside. But at 4:15, it was still just me, Neens, and a group of barefoot shirtless Thai guys smoking cigarettes and jamming to cell phone recorded music inside the restaurant. A moment later, one of the shirtless guys walked up to us, gathered his long hair into a ponytail, flashed us a smile and said Ba! (Let's go).
Perks of the off season:
a private cruise for two
Feeling confused, we followed our shirtless guide, who later introduced himself as Nemo ("like the Disney movie") to a large diving boat docked at the tourist pier. Other than Nemo and the crew, Nicole and I were the only passengers. Nemo informed us that there were three other tourists who would meet us on the beach... Sooo tour group total: 5. Sweeeeet.
After an incredible session of sunset snorkeling along the coral reefs of Ko Phi Phi Leh, the boat anchored at a deep lagoon on the other side of the island. About fifty meters from the shore, Nemo jumped off the boat, then told us to do the same - the big cruiser couldn't come any closer to land, and our belongings would be brought to the beach later. We swam through the choppy water, passing small boats filled with tourists who were leaving for the day, and then navigated our way along sharp shallow rocks to a cave-like entrance to the island.
Ko Phi Phi Leh was immediately breathtaking. The cave led to a shallow pool, then to a sand-covered walkway surrounded by steep cliffs of greenery. It felt inexplicably untouched - a deserted island. In bathing suits and bare feet, we were lead along the pathway a while... then found ourselves on the completely empty, pink sky tinted, pristine lagoon of Maya Bay. I'm not sure there is a more perfect place in the whole world. And we had it allllll to ourselves for a night.
I'm considering going into Thai piratry so I can live here.
We met the other members of our camping group on the sand - three young Spanish guys who didn't speak much English, but were warm, friendly, and as excited to start the night as we were. After a Nemo-directed photo shoot involving a lot of newly married couple cornball poses and me buried in the sand and shaped as a (rather busty) mermaid, the six of us sat down for a Massaman curry dinner, buckets of whisky, drinking games, cards, and music. Later came a fire show performed by some of the crew (who ranged from age 16 to 45), followed by a fire dancing lesson (I'll keep my day job). Next, Nemo took us to see and hold the giant "chicken crabs," who only come out on the island at night and climb trees inland rather than hang out by the water. When it started raining, we moved festivities inside the makeshift kitchen shack (sitting around, on, or next to the Thai guy sleeping on rice bags in there). Late at night, we went swimming to see the glow-in-the-dark plankton that light up when disturbed in the water. Sleeping accommodations were as simple as a grass mat on the sand and a blanket. What else could you need?
Nemo invited Nicole and I to hang out after the boat brought us back to Phi Phi Don the next morning. Since we had 4 hours to kill and no hotel to stay at, and since he promised a showing of The Beach (which neither of us had seen), we said yes. He and some of the other Thai crew members took us to their "house," which turned out to be a mostly furniture-less two-story apartment tucked behind the touristy area of town, facing the beach and ocean on the opposite side of the pier. In Thai fashion, he appeared to share this place with about 18 other people, and in Thai pirate fashion, his walls were plastered with Bob Marley posters and his bed was just a mattress on the floor. The place looked old, but un-lived in (but then again, Nemo and his roommates' job is to sleep on Maya Beach five days a week). As soon as we walked inside, Nemo said he had to go out for both the movie and the DVD player, since he didn't actually own either (the first he bought at one of the many pirated movie stands; the latter he borrowed from a neighbor in town).
We squeezed the movie showing in before we had to catch our ferry boat that afternoon. Indeed, The Beach was filmed right on Maya Bay, and showed the same stunning sights in every scene. But Leonardo diCaprio and all... it didn't hold a candle to the real thing.
After many days of preparation, Bandon Sriserm rang out the old year with a back-to-back Sports Day and teachers' holiday party on the 30th. For New Year's weekend, the ajaans and I went to Chiang Mai for a trip that involved clubbing with Thais named RockStar, cheese fixes and visiting tigers - both Princetonian and literal. Let me break it down for you.
B.S. Sports Day: not your average track n' field
Sports Day at Bandon Sriserm is a bit like the good ol' American school tradition of Field Day, but not. The whole school - including Thai teachers and the four of us - was divided into four color teams: red, blue, purple and green. We were told there would be competitions for ping-pong, aerobics, volleyball (Asian stereotypes: check), soccer and running. We were told there would be an equal amount of trophies for "spirit" and cheer. 6th graders had been writing in their journals last week about how they were either cheerleaders, runners, or relay racers for Sports Days past; so, I expected to find the students dressed into these categories. But there was so, so much more to it.
Presumably for my athletic prowess, I was put with the bros and beauty queens of Team Blue. (Team see fa!). On Thursday morning, I threw on my finest shade of blue and my running shoes and arrived at school to find Sports Day opening ceremonies already in full swing. Balloon-clad bleachers lined the field, and the stage was decorated with a huge orange and white banner. The band was in full orange marching costume, with color guard girls wearing orange tutus and feather hats. The rest of the students were all carrying signs that read "Happy New Year" (and some Thai gibberish), and were lined up according to team color.
Sunshine on a cloudy day
Team color... plus some. Groups of girls on each team were decked out in enormous platform boots, elaborate stage dresses, glittery headgear, and so much makeup and hair gel that I didn't recognize most of them at first. These would be the "cheerleaders." Another sprinkling of kids on each team were in a different kind of costume. Team Red had 5th grade boys dressed as bunny rabbits in multi-colored onesies. Team Blue inexplicably had Santa and Mrs. Claus leading their section. Older girls on every team were dressed in traditional Thai dresses. Team Green took an environmental spin on the parade, so kids danced around in giant sunflower costumes, polar bear costumes (save them!), and trash bag dresses with chip and candy wrappers glued on. The rest of the team members were wearing team color t-shirts (of varying kinds), and some sort of team hat. Team Blue rocked blue milk carton top hats - hand made by the 4th grade class.
Here's Toto to model it for you... (AWWWWW).
After everyone was assembled, the whole school formed a parade line and marched through the streets of town. People gathered on the sidelines to take pictures of their kids. We marched past the market, the bakery, the post office, the high school... and right back onto Bandon Sriserm's field. Director Sukda gave some opening remarks (which, no matter how much Thai I slowly pick up, will always sound like Charlie Brown's teacher talking, but ten times lengthier), and then a large torch was lit. Let the games begin!
First graders started with a dance and hula hoop competition (hula hoop, I believe, is a mandatory life skill in Thailand). Later there was a series of track and relay races. Kids ran barefoot, most wearing boxer shorts and silk team-colored pinneys. After months of daily practices with the gym coach, the Kindergartners were even able to run their own relay race - passing the baton and all. Girls who doubled as a team cheerleader and runner changed into gym clothes in between races, but would usually leave their elaborate glittery headpiece in place. Girls (and some select boys) who opted to be full time cheerleaders just did this:
At the end of the afternoon, the kids rested and watched the teachers play their own series of field events: spin around blindfolded and hit the empty paint can with a stick.... pop the balloon tied on someone's ankle... relay race with water balloons.... and a good old fashioned foot race. Yours truly was a three-time Sports Day medalist. I'd be lying if I said looking cool in front of my students wasn't a huge motivation.
Reppin' Team see fa
Following the Sports Day awards ceremony - during which Team Blue swept the competition in trophies - the teachers headed straight to the New Years' Party being held in the school's meeting room. While eating dinner, my Kindergarten co-teacher ("Lips" Warunee) was on Leo duty: she never let the beer or ice in my glass drop to a certain level, and even kept a few secret bottles hidden under the tablecloth. After dinner, we did a blind gift exchange: bath towels and bedspreads were big this year, but I was bestowed with four Costco-sized boxes of "custard filled sponge cake." After dinner and gifts were over, most teachers left, but Emily and I accepted an invitation to stick around with the Director, his wife, the Assistant Director, the ex-Assistant Director, a janitor, the music teacher we nicknamed "Lion Man" (he resembles one), a 6th grade teacher we nicknamed "Thumb" (his head shape resembles one), and my old co-teacher who has plans for me to become her daughter-in-law. We had drinks and partook in some karaoke. Just your average Company Christmas Party here in Nan.
Proof of T-Dubbs in T-Land
New Year's Eve, we left by bus to Chiang Mai. Friends from afar, Tracy and Zach, were also in CM, so we all met up at the Old City festival to have dinner, drinks and countdown to the New Year. Being Thailand, no one seemed to know exactly when it struck midnight and everyone was on a slightly different count... but eventually "sawadee bee mai!"s were shouted, and fireworks and a host of lanterns went off into the sky. And just like that, 2011 arrived.
Post-midnight, the farang crowd headed to a bar, where we met the usual array of bizarre characters, both Thai and non-Thai. There was a strange Ethiopian guy who appeared to be alone and so stuck with us; the Thai waitress/bar tender who befriended me on the dance floor and appeared not be doing her job at all the whole evening; the European in a mesh muscle tank who creeped near us the whole night; and a Thai guy named RockStar, who perhaps unsurprisingly, works at a rock climbing wall.
Crouching Tiger
The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with Tracy and Zach, enjoying the city conveniences of Chiang Mai, and eating anywhere and everywhere that listed "cheese" and "avocado" as ingredients on their menu. (One jumbo-sized quesadilla and two avocado sandwiches later, I'd had my fix, and could stand to face the next 3 months of deprivation). Our last morning in CM, Nicole and I decided to be spontaneous and "do tigers," or go to Chiang Mai's Tiger Kingdom to see and pet live tigers in their sanctuary. Since we had to choose and pay according to the size of the tiger we wanted to see, Neens and I thought we'd go big and visit the "Large" and "Smallest" tigers. The big tigers were enormous and pretty terrifying up close, but they were sweet and some even rolled over for a belly rub. The smallest tigers were, in a word, adorable. One even purred (a very, very loud purr) while he lay in my lap.
I can say without reservation that 2010 was one for the books. Senior spring at Princeton, seven months (and counting) in Thailand, a job that sincerely makes me happy, traveling new places... I'm not sure it gets much better than that. But here's to trying in 2011.
