A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the drama I'd been going through the past few months in applying for a teaching position here. Well, it all finally, and quite suddenly, resolved last Wednesday. A week after my interview, S emailed me and asked for a reference. Then, a day later, she asked to meet with me. Ugh, another interview?! I thought. We arranged to meet after school last Wednesday (which was a half day).
So after school that day, I tutored a student, then went to S's office with my son. Of course, I had to wait 20 minutes before S showed up. Then she spent 10 minutes explaining to me why this process has taken so long, and then the next 10 minutes telling me about all the hardships she's had to endure recruiting for the school and whining about how much work it was. Then she asked me a couple of stupid questions about whether I planned on returning to teaching (for a recruiter, she is really bad at interviews!). Then, suddenly, she stuck out her hand and exclaimed, "Well, congratulations!" Um, what? Then she immediately moved on to discussing a meeting with HR to discuss the contract, which will be for one year, what I wanted (though she said it in a tone that suggested I would be upset and disappointed about not receiving a two-year contract), so at that point, I realized I had been offered the job. The entire thing was strange, to say the least.
Then just the other day, I reviewed the contract and signed it, so now it's official!
Now, time to move on. Yes, already, before my job has even begun.
Even though we still have a couple of months left before we finish our first year here in Thailand, we are already having to begin thinking about and planning for two school years from now! We didn't think we'd have to until this fall, but a conversation with the elementary school counselor and her husband told us otherwise. The thing about living this kind of life is that it forces us (and many people in the same boat) to constantly re-evaluate our lives and think about what we want out of it, which is good in a way because we hardly ever did that when we lived in the U.S. Still, it's a bit much to have to think so far ahead so frequently.
The elementary counselor and her family are moving on to Kuala Lumpur after two years at our school. This is also their first international teaching experience. They have two kids, one a rising first-grader and the other a rising sixth-grader. They know they want to stay abroad for five years total and that they want their older daughter to attend high school in the U.S., so because she will be going into middle school this fall, they want to move before school starts again so she can start and finish middle school at one school. They're also looking for a more international experience (the majority of students at our current school are Thai, even with 25 or so nations nationalities represented, but that is still a lot less than the number of nationalities represented at my son's public school back in the U.S.!). Their thinking is very similar to ours, so we decided to pick their brain when we met up with them in Kuala Lumpur over our break last month.
For their second international teaching experience next year, they targeted and applied to only a few top schools in Asia and South America, some of which we've been considering as well. They also tried for the Saudi Aramco Schools, which are schools operated by the Saudi Aramco oil company and where many people want to teach because of the incredibly high salaries and amazing benefits. For example, our elementary school psychologist and her husband are headed there next school year. She will be working 20 hours a week and paid $90,000/year, while her P.E.-teacher husband will be paid $120,000/year for a full-time position. They will be flown to a resort of their choice, anywhere in the world, every six weeks. If they stayed for 10 years, they will each receive $1M from the school and have international health insurance coverage for life. If they decide to have children, the school will pay for their children to attend any boarding school of their choice where their children are admitted because these Saudi schools go up to only the ninth grade. And they can pretty much save their entire salaries because the school pays for everything for them.
But all these benefits also come at a cost. Aside from the horrible treatment that women receive there, there are also many restrictions on women there that are required even of female expats. For example, a woman who's part of a couple (we're talking only male-female couples, of course) couldn't be head of household there; she can work only if her husband also is working. Divorced, single women with children aren't allowed. Everyone lives in communities (I've heard them called "compounds") built by Saudi Aramco. Moreover, we hear that teachers aren't allowed to return to their home countries during the summer because they have to stay to watch the children of Saudi Aramco's employees.
Despite their years of experience and being a teaching couple -- which is generally preferred over a teacher with a non-teaching spouse -- the elementary counselor and her husband received offers only from the school in Kuala Lumpur. We also learned that the application process begins much sooner than we had thought -- the counselor began interviewing with schools in September of last year, which is at least two months sooner than we were expecting. This is because many top schools begin their search for teachers early, and some of them don't even attend recruiting fairs because they don't need to -- these schools are so sought-after and competitive that they receive hundred of applications for every position available, and administrators can just screen and interview applicants from the comfort of their schools. Open positions at these schools also are few and far between because they all have very low turnover rates. Teachers know a good thing when they see it; when you get a position at one of these schools, you don't leave until retirement.
To say that this is discouraging is an understatement. Add to that the grueling application and interview process and the fact that there is a part of us that really misses home -- the part of us that thinks about resettling back into our life there, being closer to family and friends, and doing all the things that we used to love doing -- and it is all we can do to keep ourselves from packing up after next year and going home for good. Back home, my husband still has a guaranteed position with a reputable school system, and we can easily settle back into our "old" life.
But there's also another part of us that is not quite ready to go home yet. We are still just a little bit curious about what it's like to live in yet another part of the world, to be part of a more-international community and school (our current school has students from 25 nationalities, but is still at least 85 percent Thai and much less diverse than my son's elementary school in the U.S., ironically). Then there's our little boy to consider. When I think about where he was when school started last August and where he is now, I realize what a wonderful, well-rounded education he has had this year. He has become quite a writer and artist; he has been exposed to so many different sports in P.E. class; he can now speak some Thai (he is able to order food and drinks in Thai now); has been exposed to many types of music and musical instruments, and knows about the art of performing, acting, and dancing.
Besides a formal education, my son also has been getting an amazing global education abroad -- traveling and see and learning about other cultures and world history, and meeting people from the world over. Hearing multiple different languages daily is the norm rather than the exception, and many kids younger than he is are bilingual, if not tri- or quadrilingual (or more!). We all really love being part of an international community. My son also has really taken to living here. Despite all that the kids do at school, they still have plenty of free time to run around and play. There's not as much academic pressure for kids his age here as back at home. He also fits in better with the Thai boys, who are more soft-spoken and much gentler than most American boys (the American kids here, on the other hand, are some of the most spoiled and wildest kids I've ever known). It's also been really nice to be away from the sports-centered, gender-stereotypical American culture.
The counselor's advice to us was to begin gathering and putting together resumes, application documents, and letters of recommendation this month, so when we return to school in August, we can begin the application process immediately. But there's an additional layer of complexity now that I'll also be teaching next year -- do I submit my own application for special education positions or do we just have my husband apply (since he's much more experienced) and have him mention my availability to work? Just thinking about navigating all this again makes me tired. Is it worth the trouble?
So, what do we do? On the one hand, we can put ourselves out there again, see what schools have positions available, and maybe give it one more shot. If we don't receive any offers, we will go home knowing we tried. On the other hand, it would be so nice and easy to just end the school year, pack up, go home, and look forward to living in the U.S. again.
One thing we know for sure about the upcoming school year, though, is that we're going to be using every single one of our school breaks next school year to travel as much as we can, just in case this is our last chance. Our travel wish list is growing ever longer, and it currently includes Taiwan, China, Japan (currently planned for July!), Laos, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. Then, of course, there are still places in Thailand we want to see. We are also going to look for professional development conferences in countries we want to visit as a way to travel (already have one picked out in Hong Kong in November...). And if we do end up going home for good next summer, we will have a longer summer break (because our school here ends early and our school system in the U.S. starts later than here), which we will be using to travel all over at least Asia and Europe before heading home.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Our First Coup!
Today, we're all home because all schools in Thailand are closed due to the army chief declaring a coup as of 4:30 p.m. on yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. It's the Thai version of a snow day. Last night, everyone was rushing to 7-Eleven to stock up on the basics before it closed to comply with the curfew (it usually never closes). Aside from that, though, everything else seems to be carrying on as usual this morning. People are going out shopping, golfing, and running errands.
The coup is a culmination of political unrest that had been taking place the past six months or so. There was an election in February, but it was ruled to be invalid by the Constitutional Court after anti-government protests prevented voting from taking place in 28 constituencies. Then, early this month, the Constitutional Court ordered the Prime Minister and several cabinet members to step down after it ruled that she had acted illegally when she transferred the head of national security and replaced him with a relative.
On Tuesday, we woke up to the army having declared martial law overnight. From what I've heard, this was done to keep order and quiet. One of the political parties supposedly had been planning to shut down the utilities of certain government buildings and marching there, while the other party had been planning on arriving at the same locations armed. That morning was a bit chaotic as roads were closed and blocked, thereby causing half of our school, both students and teachers, to be stuck in traffic for three hours and the start of IB and AP exams to be delayed. Some of the younger elementary students were completely exhausted and in tears by the time they arrived at school.
Under martial law, the army seized control of television and radio stations and controlled the content of broadcasts and newspaper articles. The army insisted that there was no coup and urged people to stay calm. Aside from that, though, life went on as normal. People were even taking selfies with soldiers and posting pictures of "handsome soldiers" on Twitter. After the first day, we completely forgot that the country was under martial law unless we went online to read the news.
Then, yesterday, the army chief declared an official coup, which followed two days of army-mediated meetings between the two parties. Rules of the coup included a 10 p.m. curfew, a ban of gatherings of more than five people, shutdown of all television stations, and blocking of international television networks such as CNN and BBC. Schools have been closed for the next three days (this includes Saturday and Sunday for Thai schools, so only one day for us). IB and AP exams are going on as usual, though! But again, this is the norm here in Thailand. There have been 12 coups here since the 1930s. Some of the teachers at our school were here during the last coup in 2006, and they say it was no big deal at all.
I haven't really kept up with the political goings-on in depth because I find Thai politics to be extremely confusing, and after a while, I lost my patience. Even talking to the locals doesn't clear things up. I do know that Thai politics is entrenched in corruption; there is no escaping it. From the stories I've heard about the royal family and other politicians here, its history is filled with secrets, intrigue, and drama.
Seeing history unfold before my eyes this past week, I admire the way the Thai people have handled this whole thing. Their relaxed attitude and ability to take it all in stride amaze me. I'm positive that if a coup were to occur in the U.S., all hell would break loose and there would be many injuries and deaths, mostly from shootings. Life most certainly would not go on as normal. On the other hand, as disgusted as I am by American politics and politicians, I now have a greater appreciation for the U.S. government and its system of checks and balances and accountability. Living here also has opened my eyes to what happens when laws tend to go unenforced. What interesting times these are in Thailand!
The coup is a culmination of political unrest that had been taking place the past six months or so. There was an election in February, but it was ruled to be invalid by the Constitutional Court after anti-government protests prevented voting from taking place in 28 constituencies. Then, early this month, the Constitutional Court ordered the Prime Minister and several cabinet members to step down after it ruled that she had acted illegally when she transferred the head of national security and replaced him with a relative.
On Tuesday, we woke up to the army having declared martial law overnight. From what I've heard, this was done to keep order and quiet. One of the political parties supposedly had been planning to shut down the utilities of certain government buildings and marching there, while the other party had been planning on arriving at the same locations armed. That morning was a bit chaotic as roads were closed and blocked, thereby causing half of our school, both students and teachers, to be stuck in traffic for three hours and the start of IB and AP exams to be delayed. Some of the younger elementary students were completely exhausted and in tears by the time they arrived at school.
Under martial law, the army seized control of television and radio stations and controlled the content of broadcasts and newspaper articles. The army insisted that there was no coup and urged people to stay calm. Aside from that, though, life went on as normal. People were even taking selfies with soldiers and posting pictures of "handsome soldiers" on Twitter. After the first day, we completely forgot that the country was under martial law unless we went online to read the news.
Then, yesterday, the army chief declared an official coup, which followed two days of army-mediated meetings between the two parties. Rules of the coup included a 10 p.m. curfew, a ban of gatherings of more than five people, shutdown of all television stations, and blocking of international television networks such as CNN and BBC. Schools have been closed for the next three days (this includes Saturday and Sunday for Thai schools, so only one day for us). IB and AP exams are going on as usual, though! But again, this is the norm here in Thailand. There have been 12 coups here since the 1930s. Some of the teachers at our school were here during the last coup in 2006, and they say it was no big deal at all.
I haven't really kept up with the political goings-on in depth because I find Thai politics to be extremely confusing, and after a while, I lost my patience. Even talking to the locals doesn't clear things up. I do know that Thai politics is entrenched in corruption; there is no escaping it. From the stories I've heard about the royal family and other politicians here, its history is filled with secrets, intrigue, and drama.
Seeing history unfold before my eyes this past week, I admire the way the Thai people have handled this whole thing. Their relaxed attitude and ability to take it all in stride amaze me. I'm positive that if a coup were to occur in the U.S., all hell would break loose and there would be many injuries and deaths, mostly from shootings. Life most certainly would not go on as normal. On the other hand, as disgusted as I am by American politics and politicians, I now have a greater appreciation for the U.S. government and its system of checks and balances and accountability. Living here also has opened my eyes to what happens when laws tend to go unenforced. What interesting times these are in Thailand!
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Visiting Our First Science Museum in Thailand!
After living in Thailand for ten months, we finally found a science museum and got a chance to visit it! The National Science Museum is located outside of Bangkok, about a 40-minute car ride away. It was located in a compound with three other science museums and other research and technology facilities in the middle of nowhere, so the trip required some planning. We hired a driver to drive us there and pick us up to bring us to our son's gymnastics class in the afternoon. We also had the name and address of the museum, and maps with directions, printed out and written out in Thai so our driver could read and understand them. Even then, it was still a little tricky to find.
The day didn't start out as planned. We were supposed to meet up with the family of a teacher who works at another international school in Bangkok -- someone my husband had met in February, when he went to Indonesia for a professional development conference. But he canceled at the last minute, which put us off because he was the one who asked to meet on this particular day. He canceled because he was going to rent a car for the day, but realized that his American driver's license had just expired, and didn't want to take the risk of being rejected for car insurance. This surprised both of us because this was the first we had heard of anyone, local or not, actually following the law! My, how our mindsets have changed over the last ten months.
Then, after we arrived, we found out that the museum opened at 9:30 instead of 9:00 as indicated on the museum's website. A security guard took it upon himself to make sure we knew where to go and what to do, showing us where the canteen and museum shop were while we waited. We went to the museum's canteen, got some ice cream, and settled in. Ice cream at nine o'clock in the morning...that would never have happened at home. Another change in our attitude and mindset!
But it turned out to be a great place, full of fun activities and exhibits. The facilities were a bit older, and the exhibits weren't as polished and well-maintained as what we're used to, but they were well-done, especially for children my son's age. There were six stories, with a specific theme on each floor. Almost everything had a hands-on or interactive component for children to play with or try out. We had a blast, and my son didn't want to leave. There was so much to do and see that we didn't even make it through all six floor, but since there are three other buildings we want to explore, we definitely will be going back. A great deal at less than $4 total for the both of us (my son got in for free)!
The day didn't start out as planned. We were supposed to meet up with the family of a teacher who works at another international school in Bangkok -- someone my husband had met in February, when he went to Indonesia for a professional development conference. But he canceled at the last minute, which put us off because he was the one who asked to meet on this particular day. He canceled because he was going to rent a car for the day, but realized that his American driver's license had just expired, and didn't want to take the risk of being rejected for car insurance. This surprised both of us because this was the first we had heard of anyone, local or not, actually following the law! My, how our mindsets have changed over the last ten months.
Then, after we arrived, we found out that the museum opened at 9:30 instead of 9:00 as indicated on the museum's website. A security guard took it upon himself to make sure we knew where to go and what to do, showing us where the canteen and museum shop were while we waited. We went to the museum's canteen, got some ice cream, and settled in. Ice cream at nine o'clock in the morning...that would never have happened at home. Another change in our attitude and mindset!
But it turned out to be a great place, full of fun activities and exhibits. The facilities were a bit older, and the exhibits weren't as polished and well-maintained as what we're used to, but they were well-done, especially for children my son's age. There were six stories, with a specific theme on each floor. Almost everything had a hands-on or interactive component for children to play with or try out. We had a blast, and my son didn't want to leave. There was so much to do and see that we didn't even make it through all six floor, but since there are three other buildings we want to explore, we definitely will be going back. A great deal at less than $4 total for the both of us (my son got in for free)!
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| The car dashboards here are always full of interesting things to look at. |
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| The cool-looking National Science Museum. |
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| Seeing the inside of a Prius. |
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| A model of the solar system, with the planets revolving and rotating at their actual rates. |
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| Warming up the air inside a hot air balloon and watching it go up. |
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| Learning about how sound travels through tubes that varied in length and width to show how those factors affect sound travel. |
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| Playing with a piano and learning about how a piano works. |
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| More about sounds with cymbals and tubes made of different metals. |
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| Two satellite dishes across the room from each other, allowing a person to speak into one and another to hear at the other. |
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| Seeing how light travels through different types of lenses. |
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| Geometry: you wouldn't think the straight rod could pass through the curved space, but it did. |
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| A big tunnel with a hand holding it up. |
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| Inside the tunnel were exhibits on various types of energy. |
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| Wind power. These windmills were attached to light bulbs with varying levels of brightness that correlated with the strength of the wind. |
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| Nuclear energy. |
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| Solar energy. |
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| Playing with plasma. |
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| Through a crank, this apparatus allowed us to separate the hydrogen and oxygen molecules from each other in water and build up pressure in a tube with the hydrogen gas, which then caused a rocket to shoot up. Really cool. |
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| An L-shaped pendulum that swings in unpredictable ways. |
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| Learning about friction. |
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| Using air pressure to keep a ball in the air. As a two-year-old, my son loved doing this with his ball-popper toy, balancing balls and balloons in the air. |
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| Eletromagnetism. |
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| A demonstration of forces acting on the ball as it spins. |
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| Circuits and batteries. |
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| Trying out various materials for static electricity. |
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| A random broom-and-dustpan set amongst the exhibits. |
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| Gravity: How fast does each weight fall? |
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| This floor was about Earth and its various resources. |
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| Learning how much energy various appliances use. |
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| A model of the planet. |
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| Electricity. |
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| A video on Greenhouse Effect. |
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| An interactive board about the planet. The small rectangle in the lower left corner shows my husband and son. They stood in one particular spot and used their hands to manipulate the board. |
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| Turning Earth with his hand. |
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| This globe showed various things occurring with the planet from the 1890s into the future. This picture shows the temperature of the planet in 1980. |
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| The planet becomes considerably warmer by 2140. |
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| We quickly peeked at the fifth floor, which was about the human body. Not sure what Doraemon had to do with that, though! |
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| An exhibit on recycling. |
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wading Through the Crap That is Office Politics
On Monday morning, after months of being strung along, and after having to basically wash my hands of the school, I finally got an interview for one of the two (still) open special education teaching positions at the high school for next year. And even after all that had happened in the last five months, the school is still going to make me wait some more before giving me an answer. Those who know me know that if there is something I can't stand, it's office politics, power trips, and passive-aggressiveness. So it's unusual for me to have hung in there this long and to have shown such restraint.
It all began in January. As I had mentioned months ago, I've been getting a lot of encouragement since the fall from many people here -- administrators, teachers, and students -- to apply for a job here for the next school year. One of the positions, advertised since last November, would be for a replacement for the special educator for whom I've been subbing the last two months; he has been asked not to return next year after nine years here. Initially, I didn't want to apply -- this was not something I had planned on doing when we moved here, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go to the trouble. But as time went on, and more and more people urged me to, even offering to be my references, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get back to working full-time. Might as well, as long as I'm here, I thought.
So, in January, I sent an email to the high school principal indicating my interest in the position and asking him what he would need from me -- a resume, an application form, or something else. He was eager to hire me. The problem here is that he -- as well as the other school administrators -- doesn't do his own recruiting. There is a woman here, the deputy head of the school, who does most of the recruiting. The problem with that is she is extremely incompetent and a little (or a lot) crazy, and has no idea what she's doing. She's been at the school for 30 years, rose through the ranks from teacher to principal, and now is the deputy head of the school with way too much power. She makes well over $10,000 a month and no one really knows what she does. She also has a reputation (and it is an international reputation because that is the scene here) as someone who doesn't do anything and is incompetent. There are all kinds of stories about her during her years here (such as the time when she, as the principal of the middle school, had the refrigerator from the faculty lounge moved to her private office so she could store her fur coat in it). I will call her S.
Consequently, as much as the principal and assistant principal wanted to hire me, they had to run the idea by S first. But when broached with the idea, she refused to even entertain the thought of interviewing me, the main reason being that I am not currently certified to teach. That would be a legitimate and understandable reason for her refusal, if it weren't for the fact that the school has hired many, many uncertified teachers over the years, some as recently as this year. Not only that, but these teachers were given opportunities as long as two years to get/renew their certifications. For me, it would be a re-instatement of my former certification, which would take only one or two semesters. Still, the answer was no. (Every day, major administrative decisions are made arbitrarily, which is unprofessional on the school's part and frustrating for everyone else.)
During this time, the recruitment season had begun and was in full swing by January. I followed up with the principal at the beginning of February (this principal also isn't great with communication) to see what was going on. He spoke with me in person, saying that S was in the midst of attending recruitment fairs all over the world, looking for candidates to fill many positions at the school, but if presented with candidates competing for the same position I was, he would not give consideration to those candidates so as to leave the position open and increase my chances of getting an interview with S. He asked me to give him until the end of the month. He wanted to try to convince S to give me a one-year contract, with the provision that I work on getting re-certified during the year. The way he put it, S needed justification for the school to pay for her jet-setting lifestyle, so she couldn't very well do that and hire someone who was here at the school all along. Whatever.
Well, the end of the month came and went, and I still had not heard anything. Finally, I followed up yet again in the middle of March and told him that I would need a final answer by the end of March. I was ready to be done with it, whether or not it was in my favor. By this point, I was losing my patience and had pretty much lost respect for all those involved. I also considered going home permanently at the end of this school year, even though my husband still has a year left of the contract (we could break the contract, but we are more professional than that, unlike some people).
A few days after this email, the principal told me that he was in the process of convening a meeting with all the decision-makers to hash out this whole situation and other hiring decisions. More importantly, he also told me that, by Thai law, I am automatically certified to teach here because I already have a master's degree in the field. He again asked me to give him more time. Shortly after that, though, a crisis came up (involving some wealthy parents pulling a power trip on the school) that the school had to deal with immediately, so the meeting never happened on time (if at all). Following that was our April school break, which took up half of the month. In the meantime, I learned that the high-school principal really doesn't get along with S and has no influence with her whatsoever, which would explain why he hadn't been able to persuade her to give me an interview up to that point. So basically, they were playing some kind of game between them, and I was caught in the middle of it and being led on.
After our April break, I made one last attempt to figure out what was going on and get a real answer from him. This time, the principal responded to my email right away, but what he said really made me angry. He essentially told me there was nothing more he could do, and suggested that I submit my CV and "see what happens." Are you kidding me?! After months of asking for more time, he was suddenly done with this whole thing? Moreover, he led me to believe that he was going to do more to get me hired, but in the end, he basically did nothing at all. And if I could've/should've submitted my resume months ago, why didn't he say so in the first place?! It was all I could do to keep myself from dashing off an impulsive, not-so-nice response that would've come back to bite me later. Not that I cared at all, but I had my husband and my son to think about.
I responded the next day, after I had had time to sleep it off, and told him that I felt I had been more than patient through this "process" (using the term very loosely) and that I was moving on because nothing had changed since we began this conversation five months ago. (Meanwhile, I've been subbing for the departing special educator since mid-March and will be here until final exams begin the last week of May…so basically, I'm qualified to work here as a substitute teacher, doing everything the regular teacher was doing -- and more, from what the students tell me -- but I'm not qualified to work here full-time.)
Well, wouldn't you know it, two days after that, the head of the Pupil Services department, the high-school psychologist, paid me a personal visit, in the middle of a class, to talk about interviewing for the special education position. I asked him what had changed within the last two days, and he said, "No one was in the position to give you the go-ahead before." What B.S. According to him, he had spoken with S and she had given him the green light to interview me. I couldn't resist, but I asked him if S knew that it was me he was talking about. But this guy is a politician too and tried to make it seem like nothing could be done before.
Needless to say, I felt a very bad taste in my mouth after that conversation. I thought about just declining the interview, and it was very tempting to tell them where to go. But I also didn't want to bite off my nose to spite my face because at the end of it all, I would just be hurting myself and closing the door to the possibility of us moving to another school. It was really no skin off the school's nose if I refused.
But even the process of scheduling the interview was needlessly confusing and exhausting; everyone was talking in circles for at least a week. The important thing is that the interview actually took place. And it went well too. As soon as they realized that I am a lawyer, they looked at me differently (people always assume that women who follow their teaching spouses here didn't have something of their own going on back home, but men who follow their teacher wives here don't receive the same treatment). They were impressed with my credentials and my knowledge, and that I conducted myself professionally. From what I hear, there was an interview via Skype with another candidate last week, and in the middle of the interview, the candidate suddenly said, "I can't do this anymore," and signed off. I think it's safe to say I did a bit better than that applicant.
Just to illustrate how crazy this situation is, at the end of the day, neither the principal nor S was involved in making the interview happen or in the interview itself. And my lack of certification or ability to get re-certified -- the crux of their argument against hiring me -- did not come up once during the interview. The interviewers even asked me what I would do if they offered me a two-year contract (a typical offer for incoming teachers)! Of course, I didn't commit to anything and just said I would seriously consider any contract that I'm offered.
Now I wait. And take bets on how long the school will take to make a decision. In the meantime, my husband and I will be thinking through all our options for the upcoming year and thereafter. But since the interview, I've learned that the entire high-school special education department and the department chair wrote letters to the school on my behalf, in support of hiring me as a teacher. I'm overwhelmed and touched by what they did, but it also makes me feel a bit obligated to them in making this decision. Isn't that always the case, though -- those in the trenches are usually the best people you could ask for while management is full of [bleeping bleeps].
It all began in January. As I had mentioned months ago, I've been getting a lot of encouragement since the fall from many people here -- administrators, teachers, and students -- to apply for a job here for the next school year. One of the positions, advertised since last November, would be for a replacement for the special educator for whom I've been subbing the last two months; he has been asked not to return next year after nine years here. Initially, I didn't want to apply -- this was not something I had planned on doing when we moved here, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go to the trouble. But as time went on, and more and more people urged me to, even offering to be my references, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get back to working full-time. Might as well, as long as I'm here, I thought.
So, in January, I sent an email to the high school principal indicating my interest in the position and asking him what he would need from me -- a resume, an application form, or something else. He was eager to hire me. The problem here is that he -- as well as the other school administrators -- doesn't do his own recruiting. There is a woman here, the deputy head of the school, who does most of the recruiting. The problem with that is she is extremely incompetent and a little (or a lot) crazy, and has no idea what she's doing. She's been at the school for 30 years, rose through the ranks from teacher to principal, and now is the deputy head of the school with way too much power. She makes well over $10,000 a month and no one really knows what she does. She also has a reputation (and it is an international reputation because that is the scene here) as someone who doesn't do anything and is incompetent. There are all kinds of stories about her during her years here (such as the time when she, as the principal of the middle school, had the refrigerator from the faculty lounge moved to her private office so she could store her fur coat in it). I will call her S.
Consequently, as much as the principal and assistant principal wanted to hire me, they had to run the idea by S first. But when broached with the idea, she refused to even entertain the thought of interviewing me, the main reason being that I am not currently certified to teach. That would be a legitimate and understandable reason for her refusal, if it weren't for the fact that the school has hired many, many uncertified teachers over the years, some as recently as this year. Not only that, but these teachers were given opportunities as long as two years to get/renew their certifications. For me, it would be a re-instatement of my former certification, which would take only one or two semesters. Still, the answer was no. (Every day, major administrative decisions are made arbitrarily, which is unprofessional on the school's part and frustrating for everyone else.)
During this time, the recruitment season had begun and was in full swing by January. I followed up with the principal at the beginning of February (this principal also isn't great with communication) to see what was going on. He spoke with me in person, saying that S was in the midst of attending recruitment fairs all over the world, looking for candidates to fill many positions at the school, but if presented with candidates competing for the same position I was, he would not give consideration to those candidates so as to leave the position open and increase my chances of getting an interview with S. He asked me to give him until the end of the month. He wanted to try to convince S to give me a one-year contract, with the provision that I work on getting re-certified during the year. The way he put it, S needed justification for the school to pay for her jet-setting lifestyle, so she couldn't very well do that and hire someone who was here at the school all along. Whatever.
Well, the end of the month came and went, and I still had not heard anything. Finally, I followed up yet again in the middle of March and told him that I would need a final answer by the end of March. I was ready to be done with it, whether or not it was in my favor. By this point, I was losing my patience and had pretty much lost respect for all those involved. I also considered going home permanently at the end of this school year, even though my husband still has a year left of the contract (we could break the contract, but we are more professional than that, unlike some people).
A few days after this email, the principal told me that he was in the process of convening a meeting with all the decision-makers to hash out this whole situation and other hiring decisions. More importantly, he also told me that, by Thai law, I am automatically certified to teach here because I already have a master's degree in the field. He again asked me to give him more time. Shortly after that, though, a crisis came up (involving some wealthy parents pulling a power trip on the school) that the school had to deal with immediately, so the meeting never happened on time (if at all). Following that was our April school break, which took up half of the month. In the meantime, I learned that the high-school principal really doesn't get along with S and has no influence with her whatsoever, which would explain why he hadn't been able to persuade her to give me an interview up to that point. So basically, they were playing some kind of game between them, and I was caught in the middle of it and being led on.
After our April break, I made one last attempt to figure out what was going on and get a real answer from him. This time, the principal responded to my email right away, but what he said really made me angry. He essentially told me there was nothing more he could do, and suggested that I submit my CV and "see what happens." Are you kidding me?! After months of asking for more time, he was suddenly done with this whole thing? Moreover, he led me to believe that he was going to do more to get me hired, but in the end, he basically did nothing at all. And if I could've/should've submitted my resume months ago, why didn't he say so in the first place?! It was all I could do to keep myself from dashing off an impulsive, not-so-nice response that would've come back to bite me later. Not that I cared at all, but I had my husband and my son to think about.
I responded the next day, after I had had time to sleep it off, and told him that I felt I had been more than patient through this "process" (using the term very loosely) and that I was moving on because nothing had changed since we began this conversation five months ago. (Meanwhile, I've been subbing for the departing special educator since mid-March and will be here until final exams begin the last week of May…so basically, I'm qualified to work here as a substitute teacher, doing everything the regular teacher was doing -- and more, from what the students tell me -- but I'm not qualified to work here full-time.)
Well, wouldn't you know it, two days after that, the head of the Pupil Services department, the high-school psychologist, paid me a personal visit, in the middle of a class, to talk about interviewing for the special education position. I asked him what had changed within the last two days, and he said, "No one was in the position to give you the go-ahead before." What B.S. According to him, he had spoken with S and she had given him the green light to interview me. I couldn't resist, but I asked him if S knew that it was me he was talking about. But this guy is a politician too and tried to make it seem like nothing could be done before.
Needless to say, I felt a very bad taste in my mouth after that conversation. I thought about just declining the interview, and it was very tempting to tell them where to go. But I also didn't want to bite off my nose to spite my face because at the end of it all, I would just be hurting myself and closing the door to the possibility of us moving to another school. It was really no skin off the school's nose if I refused.
But even the process of scheduling the interview was needlessly confusing and exhausting; everyone was talking in circles for at least a week. The important thing is that the interview actually took place. And it went well too. As soon as they realized that I am a lawyer, they looked at me differently (people always assume that women who follow their teaching spouses here didn't have something of their own going on back home, but men who follow their teacher wives here don't receive the same treatment). They were impressed with my credentials and my knowledge, and that I conducted myself professionally. From what I hear, there was an interview via Skype with another candidate last week, and in the middle of the interview, the candidate suddenly said, "I can't do this anymore," and signed off. I think it's safe to say I did a bit better than that applicant.
Just to illustrate how crazy this situation is, at the end of the day, neither the principal nor S was involved in making the interview happen or in the interview itself. And my lack of certification or ability to get re-certified -- the crux of their argument against hiring me -- did not come up once during the interview. The interviewers even asked me what I would do if they offered me a two-year contract (a typical offer for incoming teachers)! Of course, I didn't commit to anything and just said I would seriously consider any contract that I'm offered.
Now I wait. And take bets on how long the school will take to make a decision. In the meantime, my husband and I will be thinking through all our options for the upcoming year and thereafter. But since the interview, I've learned that the entire high-school special education department and the department chair wrote letters to the school on my behalf, in support of hiring me as a teacher. I'm overwhelmed and touched by what they did, but it also makes me feel a bit obligated to them in making this decision. Isn't that always the case, though -- those in the trenches are usually the best people you could ask for while management is full of [bleeping bleeps].
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Education in the Technology Age
In light of the fact that this week was the annual Screen-Free Week, I'd like to share some of my thoughts and observations on the use of technology at our school. With educational technology being all the rage these days, it seems schools have become eager to tout how "connected" their schools are in the technology age and use this as the hallmark of a quality education.
This school year, being at a school proud of its 21st-century facilities and its ability to develop students' "digital citizenship," I was very curious to see how technology is used at a school that has more resources for the latest technology than most American public schools and boasts a 1:1 student-to-laptop ratio starting in the middle school. More importantly, I wanted to see how technology actually helps students to learn, progress, and excel. But after having worked with and observed many classes from grades 2 to 12, I've actually come away with more questions than answers about the effects of technology use in the classroom.
One of the first things I noticed was that too many of the students, particularly at the middle- and high-school levels, aren't very good at critical thinking at all. Whenever they're asked a question, the first thing they do, at least 90 percent of the time, is to reach for their laptops to look up the answer, regardless of the subject matter and even when there is no definitive or correct answer. There are entire classes of eighth-grade students who are incapable of writing persuasive essays and expressing their opinions without conducting online "research." I've been told by 12th-grade, IB-level students asked to write a critical analysis of a passage that they "would find something online and copy and paste it." (Sadly, many teachers at the school, including my husband, have to use the website turnitin.com to prevent students from plagiarizing.) These students seem unaccustomed to thinking about anything on their own or performing critical analysis.
However, it's been pointed out to me that part of this inability may be due to another factor -- the culture. As with many Asian countries, the cultural norm here is to teach kids to follow directions and to accept things as they are told to them rather than to question the "why" or the "how" of things. That would explain why these kids are so uncomfortable when things aren't clear-cut. So, while it is the pride of the school that every middle- and high-school student has his/her own laptop, I find that it actually has become a crutch for most of the students, who are only too eager and too used to turning to the internet to get answers about anything and everything. Many of these students just aren't used to having to problem-solve on their own and aren't comfortable with having no definitive answer. They are excellent at turning in beautifully packaged products, but the process of creating that final product is oftentimes lacking in depth and substance.
Something else I've noticed is that having the students learn the technology itself often detracts from the main point of a lesson. Take, for example, the use of scientific calculators. I've not used a scientific calculator since my college years, and these calculators have become even more complicated than they used to be. Many times, a teacher ends up spending a lot of class time teaching the students how to use their calculators just to get to the lesson of the day. By the time the students master how to operate the calculator, they have lost sight of what it is they're supposed to be learning.
Moreover, even if the students know how to use a calculator or a computer program to perform the function they need, oftentimes they have not learned or understood fully what it is they're doing and the logic of the process. Rather, they have merely learned to follow a series of steps and manipulation to obtain a certain outcome. I've had students who become completely lost about what to do once I change the wording of a problem or question, which shows me they don't understand what is going on. This is why I don't believe that allowing young children to play on electronic gadgets will lead to a deeper understanding of how they actually work later on.
Then, of course, there's the problem of distraction. Cellphone usage is widespread here; it seems that everyone has a smartphone (except my husband and me), from the very young to the very old, the very poor to the very wealthy. Even many of the younger elementary kids have their own iPhones, and of course, all middle- and high-school students have their own laptops (and smartphones and tablets and...it goes on and on). Yet, there is no school policy about the use of cellphones during class! More often than not, students will have their cellphones out on their desks during class to monitor incoming texts and social media activities. They also often have their laptops open to listen to music (through ear buds) or surf the internet while their teachers are lecturing. I've seen students engage in all kinds of online activities online during class -- play video games, online shopping, and of course, chatting with their friends. Teachers actually have to specifically ask their students to put away their laptops and pay attention! (Don't even get me started on the students' horrible note-taking skills; basically, it rarely happens. Some students will take photos of their teachers' notes on the board with their cameras, but that's about it.) It's extremely annoying and frustrating to me. Whoever thought that every middle- and high-school student needed a laptop obviously did not know children.
At the elementary level, technology usage in the classroom is more limited. The students have iPads to use in their classes, as their teachers see fit, and go to the computer lab every few days. But most of these kids have access to the internet anyway because they all possess smartphones, and their access is unlimited because there is no supervision from their parents. The children here seem to have very few boundaries imposed on them.
Of course, I think technology can be wonderful and open up worlds when used correctly. Many of the teachers here have advanced degrees in educational technology and have used it to great effect. I've seen students, including my son's class, use computers and iPads to create lessons and videos to show their classmates and teachers their understanding of lessons and skills taught. My son's art teacher has done some really creative art projects with her students using tablets. I think technology can be a fantastic supplement and is great to use for reinforcing or extending a lesson or practicing skills already learned. But I'm old-school and feel that, when learning to do something for the first time, students should still do it on their own, using their own brain power and processing the information on their own, so that they can have a true understanding of what it is they're learning.
This school year, being at a school proud of its 21st-century facilities and its ability to develop students' "digital citizenship," I was very curious to see how technology is used at a school that has more resources for the latest technology than most American public schools and boasts a 1:1 student-to-laptop ratio starting in the middle school. More importantly, I wanted to see how technology actually helps students to learn, progress, and excel. But after having worked with and observed many classes from grades 2 to 12, I've actually come away with more questions than answers about the effects of technology use in the classroom.
One of the first things I noticed was that too many of the students, particularly at the middle- and high-school levels, aren't very good at critical thinking at all. Whenever they're asked a question, the first thing they do, at least 90 percent of the time, is to reach for their laptops to look up the answer, regardless of the subject matter and even when there is no definitive or correct answer. There are entire classes of eighth-grade students who are incapable of writing persuasive essays and expressing their opinions without conducting online "research." I've been told by 12th-grade, IB-level students asked to write a critical analysis of a passage that they "would find something online and copy and paste it." (Sadly, many teachers at the school, including my husband, have to use the website turnitin.com to prevent students from plagiarizing.) These students seem unaccustomed to thinking about anything on their own or performing critical analysis.
However, it's been pointed out to me that part of this inability may be due to another factor -- the culture. As with many Asian countries, the cultural norm here is to teach kids to follow directions and to accept things as they are told to them rather than to question the "why" or the "how" of things. That would explain why these kids are so uncomfortable when things aren't clear-cut. So, while it is the pride of the school that every middle- and high-school student has his/her own laptop, I find that it actually has become a crutch for most of the students, who are only too eager and too used to turning to the internet to get answers about anything and everything. Many of these students just aren't used to having to problem-solve on their own and aren't comfortable with having no definitive answer. They are excellent at turning in beautifully packaged products, but the process of creating that final product is oftentimes lacking in depth and substance.
Something else I've noticed is that having the students learn the technology itself often detracts from the main point of a lesson. Take, for example, the use of scientific calculators. I've not used a scientific calculator since my college years, and these calculators have become even more complicated than they used to be. Many times, a teacher ends up spending a lot of class time teaching the students how to use their calculators just to get to the lesson of the day. By the time the students master how to operate the calculator, they have lost sight of what it is they're supposed to be learning.
Moreover, even if the students know how to use a calculator or a computer program to perform the function they need, oftentimes they have not learned or understood fully what it is they're doing and the logic of the process. Rather, they have merely learned to follow a series of steps and manipulation to obtain a certain outcome. I've had students who become completely lost about what to do once I change the wording of a problem or question, which shows me they don't understand what is going on. This is why I don't believe that allowing young children to play on electronic gadgets will lead to a deeper understanding of how they actually work later on.
Then, of course, there's the problem of distraction. Cellphone usage is widespread here; it seems that everyone has a smartphone (except my husband and me), from the very young to the very old, the very poor to the very wealthy. Even many of the younger elementary kids have their own iPhones, and of course, all middle- and high-school students have their own laptops (and smartphones and tablets and...it goes on and on). Yet, there is no school policy about the use of cellphones during class! More often than not, students will have their cellphones out on their desks during class to monitor incoming texts and social media activities. They also often have their laptops open to listen to music (through ear buds) or surf the internet while their teachers are lecturing. I've seen students engage in all kinds of online activities online during class -- play video games, online shopping, and of course, chatting with their friends. Teachers actually have to specifically ask their students to put away their laptops and pay attention! (Don't even get me started on the students' horrible note-taking skills; basically, it rarely happens. Some students will take photos of their teachers' notes on the board with their cameras, but that's about it.) It's extremely annoying and frustrating to me. Whoever thought that every middle- and high-school student needed a laptop obviously did not know children.
At the elementary level, technology usage in the classroom is more limited. The students have iPads to use in their classes, as their teachers see fit, and go to the computer lab every few days. But most of these kids have access to the internet anyway because they all possess smartphones, and their access is unlimited because there is no supervision from their parents. The children here seem to have very few boundaries imposed on them.
Of course, I think technology can be wonderful and open up worlds when used correctly. Many of the teachers here have advanced degrees in educational technology and have used it to great effect. I've seen students, including my son's class, use computers and iPads to create lessons and videos to show their classmates and teachers their understanding of lessons and skills taught. My son's art teacher has done some really creative art projects with her students using tablets. I think technology can be a fantastic supplement and is great to use for reinforcing or extending a lesson or practicing skills already learned. But I'm old-school and feel that, when learning to do something for the first time, students should still do it on their own, using their own brain power and processing the information on their own, so that they can have a true understanding of what it is they're learning.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Bridge on the River Kwai
Located in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, this famous bridge has been the subject of both books and films. It was built during World War II by the Japanese using Allied POWs and Asian slave laborers. Many lives were lost building this bridge. Sections of the bridge were later destroyed by American bombers, so the current bridge is not the original one. The area has become a tourist attraction both for its beautiful scenery and its history. Also in Kanchanaburi is a war cemetery where thousands of POWs who died building the bridge are buried.
With this weekend being a long holiday weekend (May 5 is Coronation Day), we took the opportunity to take what will probably be our last trip outside of Bangkok this school year and visited Kanchanaburi. We took this trip with another family and decided to go by train as this other family had never before traveled by train. Trains run twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the afternoon. So on Saturday at six o'clock in the morning, we set out for the train station with a taxi. Even though we got to the train station early enough at 7 a.m., the area was already bustling with people and activity -- market stalls, taxis, scooters, dogs and cats....
As we waited for our train, many other trains pulled into the station, but because all the announcements were in Thai, we had no idea which one was ours. Every time a train pulled in, we would gather all our bags and kids to board the train, only to be told that was not the train we wanted. We were thankful for the Thai people that helped us without being asked. Some of the trains pulled in to the platform across the tracks, and passengers would scramble across the tracks to get to them. Back home, that would be totally crazy and dangerous, but we don't even bat an eye seeing things like that anymore. We even did it ourselves!
The train ride took almost three hours, and the train was standing-room only because of the holiday. Many people just made themselves at home on the train car's floor, and our kids did the same. The train was third class, with wooden benches for seats, open windows, and no air conditioning. It was hot, but with the air moving through, it wasn't stifling. Many people with big buckets and baskets of cold drinks and food came on the train to sell them.
Once we got to Kanchanaburi and checked into our hotel, we decided to go into "town," closer to the bridge, for a bite to eat. We all got on a songthaew, whose driver steered us to a floating restaurant with an amazing view of the river and bridge. Unfortunately, the relatively expensive food turned out to be much worse than the view. I dare say it was the worst-tasting food I've had in Thailand so far. It wasn't inedible, but the flavors weren't good at all. We have become very spoiled being able to eat excellent food for very little money in Bangkok.
Once we got the disappointing lunch over with, we strolled over to the bridge, where people were walking all over it. There also was a train that took people rides across the bridge and beyond. When it came on the bridge, everyone simply stepped to the side of the bridge and off the tracks to let it through. We also took a ride on the train across the bridge. On the bridge, the train went at a slow and leisurely pace, but once across the bridge, it sped up considerably, going probably too fast, which made it more nerve-wracking. After about 15 to 20 minutes, the train stopped at a random point and turned around.
We also visited the war museum next to the bridge, and I'm glad we paid so little for the visit. While the museum was expansive with more than one building of exhibits, much of them were disorganized with no explanations. It seemed like someone just decided to take everything related to WWII and randomly put them in those buildings. There was no flow and it was difficult to learn anything because of the disorganization. There was even a picture of George Washington in a room filled with war memorabilia. It was disappointing because I was looking forward to learning more about the history of the town and its role during the war. The kids, on the other hand, had a good time looking at the guns and planes used during the war, climbing up and down all the stairs, and running in and out of the open buildings.
It was on this trip, too, that my camera decided to stop functioning reliably, so I wasn't able to capture as much of the trip as I wanted. I'm hoping we can have it repaired when we get home for the summer; otherwise, I may have to buy a new camera altogether (which, while very exciting, would be an unexpected and unwanted expense).
By this time, we were all hot, sweaty, and tired. It felt much hotter in Kanchanaburi than in Bangkok! After taking a break for ice cream (Oreo cookie ice cream made with coconut milk is amazing!), we decided to return to our hotel and spend some time at the hotel pool. The water, however, turned out to be pretty warm from the heat, so it wasn't as refreshing as we had hoped.
That night, we had been planning on going to the night market and having dinner there, but with thunder and lightening crashing and flashing above us, we decided not to chance it and stayed close to our hotel. The storm never came, though!
The next day, we spent the day at Erawan Falls in Erawan National Park, which was supposed to be about an hour away from our hotel. The falls were named after the erawan, the three-headed elephant in Hindu mythology, because the seven-tiered falls were said to resemble the erawan. In the park also are four caves, which we didn't get to.
We were told to get there early, climb all the way to the top tier, and work our way down to avoid the crowds. We got to the bus station for the first bus of the day at 8:30, but it didn't leave until 9:00. Along the way, it also picked up and dropped off various passengers, including people loading corn onto the bus. The trip ended up taking almost two hours, so by the time we got there, there were already crowds of people everywhere. The return bus was leaving at 2:00 p.m., so we didn't have as much time to spend at the falls as we had planned. On top of it all, it was extremely hot. My friend looked up the temperature for the day -- 99 degrees, felt like 112 (compared to a "cool" 89 degrees in Bangkok...). There also was a lot of climbing up steep steps. In the end, we only made it to the fifth tier of the falls.
Surprisingly, the water was very cold, but it felt great in the scorching heat. There were a lot of fish in the water that nibbled at our feet. It felt ticklish and a little unpleasant. The surfaces were rocky and slippery, and used as slides by some people. There were also people who set up picnics among the rocks. I even saw a makeshift bed among the rocks where a baby slept while people stepped over and around her!
With this weekend being a long holiday weekend (May 5 is Coronation Day), we took the opportunity to take what will probably be our last trip outside of Bangkok this school year and visited Kanchanaburi. We took this trip with another family and decided to go by train as this other family had never before traveled by train. Trains run twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the afternoon. So on Saturday at six o'clock in the morning, we set out for the train station with a taxi. Even though we got to the train station early enough at 7 a.m., the area was already bustling with people and activity -- market stalls, taxis, scooters, dogs and cats....
As we waited for our train, many other trains pulled into the station, but because all the announcements were in Thai, we had no idea which one was ours. Every time a train pulled in, we would gather all our bags and kids to board the train, only to be told that was not the train we wanted. We were thankful for the Thai people that helped us without being asked. Some of the trains pulled in to the platform across the tracks, and passengers would scramble across the tracks to get to them. Back home, that would be totally crazy and dangerous, but we don't even bat an eye seeing things like that anymore. We even did it ourselves!
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| Train at Kanchanaburi station. |
Once we got to Kanchanaburi and checked into our hotel, we decided to go into "town," closer to the bridge, for a bite to eat. We all got on a songthaew, whose driver steered us to a floating restaurant with an amazing view of the river and bridge. Unfortunately, the relatively expensive food turned out to be much worse than the view. I dare say it was the worst-tasting food I've had in Thailand so far. It wasn't inedible, but the flavors weren't good at all. We have become very spoiled being able to eat excellent food for very little money in Bangkok.
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| Outside the train station. |
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| The floating restaurant where we had lunch. |
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| Inside the restaurant. |
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| View from the restaurant. |
We also visited the war museum next to the bridge, and I'm glad we paid so little for the visit. While the museum was expansive with more than one building of exhibits, much of them were disorganized with no explanations. It seemed like someone just decided to take everything related to WWII and randomly put them in those buildings. There was no flow and it was difficult to learn anything because of the disorganization. There was even a picture of George Washington in a room filled with war memorabilia. It was disappointing because I was looking forward to learning more about the history of the town and its role during the war. The kids, on the other hand, had a good time looking at the guns and planes used during the war, climbing up and down all the stairs, and running in and out of the open buildings.
It was on this trip, too, that my camera decided to stop functioning reliably, so I wasn't able to capture as much of the trip as I wanted. I'm hoping we can have it repaired when we get home for the summer; otherwise, I may have to buy a new camera altogether (which, while very exciting, would be an unexpected and unwanted expense).
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| Walking on the Bridge River Kwai. |
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| Stepping aside for the train. |
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| The museum. |
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| One of the museum buildings. |
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| The water looked nice and cool, but looks can be deceiving! |
The next day, we spent the day at Erawan Falls in Erawan National Park, which was supposed to be about an hour away from our hotel. The falls were named after the erawan, the three-headed elephant in Hindu mythology, because the seven-tiered falls were said to resemble the erawan. In the park also are four caves, which we didn't get to.
We were told to get there early, climb all the way to the top tier, and work our way down to avoid the crowds. We got to the bus station for the first bus of the day at 8:30, but it didn't leave until 9:00. Along the way, it also picked up and dropped off various passengers, including people loading corn onto the bus. The trip ended up taking almost two hours, so by the time we got there, there were already crowds of people everywhere. The return bus was leaving at 2:00 p.m., so we didn't have as much time to spend at the falls as we had planned. On top of it all, it was extremely hot. My friend looked up the temperature for the day -- 99 degrees, felt like 112 (compared to a "cool" 89 degrees in Bangkok...). There also was a lot of climbing up steep steps. In the end, we only made it to the fifth tier of the falls.
Surprisingly, the water was very cold, but it felt great in the scorching heat. There were a lot of fish in the water that nibbled at our feet. It felt ticklish and a little unpleasant. The surfaces were rocky and slippery, and used as slides by some people. There were also people who set up picnics among the rocks. I even saw a makeshift bed among the rocks where a baby slept while people stepped over and around her!
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| Before we got underway, the bus needed some gas. My friend, who had been sitting on this seat, was asked to get up because the gas tank nozzle was under her seat! |
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| At the park. |
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| A sign encouraging people to dress modestly. |
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| An unintentionally funny sign. |
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| A small waterfall. |
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| I think this was the first or second tier of the waterfall. |
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| Tier 3 or 4. |
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| There was a lot of climbing up and down steps like these. |
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| Tier 5, where we got in the water for a little bit. |
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| Our last stop, another waterfall on the way to tier 6. On our way down, we were mobbed by people who were just making their way up. |
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| A crab hanging out on the rocks. |
It felt great to finally get out into open space, hike, see greenery, and be active. This trip really made my husband and me miss all the parks and hiking trails we had available to us back in the U.S. Next school year, we will plan another trip to another national park where we will be able to do some camping -- something else we've really missed.
Before getting back on the bus to return to Kanchanaburi, we finally had a delicious and satisfying meal outside the park. Once on the bus and back in Kanchanaburi, we asked the bus driver if he would be willing to drop us off at our hotel; it seemed like he was dropping off passengers at random stops where they wanted to get off. To our delight, he agreed, which saved us a songthaew ride from the bus station back to our hotel, where we were to meet a private driver we had hired through a teacher at our school to bring us back to Bangkok. He turned out to be an awesome driver, so we will definitely use him again when we next leave town again.
Overall, it was not as satisfying a weekend trip as other trips that we had taken. The weekend didn't seem to come together like with other trips we had taken. But going with another family made it more fun. It also was nice to get away for the weekend. Now we're ready to return to school and tackle the rest of the year! Only 23 days left of school!!
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| The scenery on the way to and from the falls was beautiful, with majestic mountains and the sparkling river flowing below them. But it was hard to capture because my camera wasn't working properly and there were so many trees obstructing the view. |
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