Last Day of School!!!!

On today, the last day of school, I am reminded just how different my reality is from those "back home."  First of all, it is, as I said, the last day of the school year.  We are celebrating with the kids, having special in-class games, foods, parties etc. and tomorrow we will have a graduation ceremony for the 6th graders who are moving on to other schools.  The children are running around unsure of how to act because their excitement has taken control of their normally semi-rational minds.  Second, almost every day lately the temperature has flirted with the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark (about 38 degrees Celsius).  It's HOT!!!! Yesterday, when I left my air conditioned library to fetch something from the copier in the front office, I felt like I had taken a wrong turn and walked into a pizza over, only it didn't smell as good.  There is almost zero fluctuations in the weather.  Everyday is sunny, bright and dry as a bone.  Funny how you can miss rain so much.  I should say though, that I am not complaining.  It's hot, but it's OK because the humidity has also fallen as the temperature has risen.  That, and most places have A/C, so.....

Back in Montana, students are in the middle of the spring semester with not even a fleeting thought about summer vacation yet, while little, wet piles of snow sit under the leafless trees.  The gray skies of late winter are chilly and gloomy.  And the kids of Montana may be skiing powder on the weekends, but we Rabinsky
s will soon be beach combing on the islands in the Gulf of Thailand!

Our upcoming holiday will start with a few days in Bangkok.  We will brave the legendary April heat to have a reunion with Suni's foster mom, Yai Jah.  It's been about 6 years since they've seen each other and Suni has lost all her memories of this special lady who cared for her for so long.  But it is sure to be emotional.

Then we will take an overnight southbound train to Surat Thani, where we will catch the high speed ferry to paradise.  After about 12 days of snorkeling and shell collecting, we head back north to celebrate Songkran in Chiang Mai.  If you haven't heard of Songkran, you should do yourself a favor and look it up.  Officially it is Thai New Years, but practically it's a country-wide water fight that lasts for up to a week, and Chiang Mai is party central.  Radd and Suni are humming with excitement for the holiday and Jess and I can't wait to celebrate with them.

So here it is:  March 16th, 2017 and we are planning our return to America.  Only about 3 months left before our flight, which we have purchased tickets for...It's a bizarre mix of feelings that swirl through my body.  Excitement to see my beloved family, friends and mountains again, fear on the verge of panic for finding employment.  It may well be time to start that business that Jess and I have talked about for ages.  I'll let you know.

    

Camping Trip (Part 2)

Camping with almost 40 kids and 11 teachers in a Thai National Park...check that off the list of things we'd never done.  It was a fun 28 hours, filled with activity, ceremony, music, dancing, ceremony, food, and ceremony.  This is the second part of the 2 part post:

After the campers had set up their tents, had a packed lunch and oriented themselves to the campground, it was time for activity stations.  4 activities were set up at different corners of the park and staffed by at least 2 teachers each (usually a Thai teacher and a foreign teacher).  The stations were designed to get the students to work together as a team to accomplish some kind of task.  My station was called "The Bomb and the Web."  10 students had to stretch a rubber band by pulling on attached strings and then place the band on an open bottle of foul smelling dirty water.  They then had to bring the bottle up a small hill and place it on a path - all without spilling or touching the bottle itself.  Then, they had to navigate The Web, which was an interconnected series of strings tied about a foot and a half above the ground and loaded with small bells hung at different heights.  If the teachers heard even the slightest ring, all kids had to return to the beginning and try again.  This was harder than it looked, apparently, because all 4 groups struggled to make it through.  However, when they did (and they all did, eventually) they hugged and cheered and felt the comradery that the task was designed to create.

One crazy thing that happened while the last group was trying to get through the web was a strange sound of popping and crackling began to become more and more noticeable.  It soon became a distraction.  We all began looking at each other, wondering "what the hell is that?  Did Kru Name start the camp fire already?"  Alas, it was fire, but not our own.  Smoke started to rise above the hill across the river and flames flickered on the ridge.  It was a fire set by local farmers to clear the land, but it was huge.  The only thing that saved us from it was the river that flowed between it and us.  It only lasted about 30 minutes, but there were some scared kids and some slightly nervous adults too.

After stations, it was time to shower, prep dinner, cook, eat and clean up.  The students had to cook for themselves, which turned out great, especially when they came around to the teacher's kitchen area to drool over the food we made!  I was delegated the task of deep frying pork strips.  Deep frying is something I had never done while camping, but when in Rome....

After dinner, Kru Name and I went over the songs that we were to perform for the night ceremony.  He had given me some mp3s of Thai songs to learn earlier in the week but we hadn't had time to get together to practice.  One teacher's husband was there with his guitar too and he told me that "Kru Name likes to change the keys of the songs to suit his voice."  I said that was fine.  We could transpose the songs because they were quite simple.  But then he said, "He likes to change keys in the middle of the song and you never know when or to which key he'll go."  I said, "OK.  I'll follow you."

The younger kids and some parents who had decided to join the party gathered around the raging campfire for the festivities.  Kru Name began to play the first song on the drums and Kru James called out the key "D minor!"  And we were off!  After two or three songs, it was really Go Time.  The upper elementary boys danced their way into the fire circle wearing leopard print loin cloths and toting huge flaming torches dripping some kind of petroleum-based fire starter, dipping and leaping to a Zulu song and chant.  Halfway around the first lap around the fire, one boy dropped his torch, setting the grass on fire and almost causing the boy behind him to step on it.  He then dropped his torch and set off running and screaming out of the circle for fear of being burned.  Hilarious, but also worrisome for the foreigners.  For some reason, the Thai parents and teachers seemed unfazed.  The other boys just picked up the torch and continued the dance and completed the 3 laps around the fire. No big deal.  

Later, it was almost time for bed.  Just one last event: story time.  And I was the designated story teller for the night!  I had selected a camp fire story I found on the interGoogle called The Purple Gorilla.  I grabbed the mic and started walking around the fire, spinning my yarn about seeking refuge at a farm house after my truck broke down.  The farmer brought me to his underground tunnel system, through 3 high-security doors to show me a purple gorilla in a cage.  Well, I won't spoil it for you, but I think the kids enjoyed the story.

After the kids went to bed, Jess and I soon followed because we had a 1:00 - 2:30 AM shift at the campfire where we had to be available to walk kids to the bathroom, should they awake - or talk kids down from bad dreams, should they not see the humor in the Purple Gorilla story.  Fortunately, no one woke up during our shift and we passed the time pleasantly watching the moon rise and the stars move across the sky.  At 2:30 we went to bed in anticipation of the 5:00 AM whistle for camp exercises.  In reality, we didn't hear any such whistle.  We were actually woken up by Radd at 5:45 saying, "I woke up first and went bow and arrow fishing by flashlight with Kru Name.  We shot a crab!"

Friday was a blur of eating, cleaning and co-leading a station about tree bark.  We left the camp around 11:30 that morning and went home to lay around the house. It was an incredible few days of inspiring young minds and having my own mind blown wide open.  Jess and I cannot believe the frequency at which the mind blowing has been occurring here.  The kids take it in stride, but we sometimes feel like astronauts blasting off the launch pad, our faces pushed into smiles by the g-force, the blood pooling in our toes.  It's overwhelming at times...but it's a hell of a ride.

 Lining up for some more ceremony!

















                                                                      Nothing like a lazy river to stand next to and chat.

 Did I mention there were hot springs at the park?  Too hot to swim in, but if you brought your own eggs, you could boil them and have a snack.

Camping Trip (part 1)

The experiences continue!  The memories continue to be made.  This time, 28 hours-in-a-row's worth of experience.  You see, we went a-campin'.  But not by our lonesome selves.  We went camping with 35 kids and 11 teachers.  It was the great annual Scouts Camping Trip! (Thailand Edition)  And I have to say, it was a beautiful thing.
Normally, what happens at Scouts Camp, stays at Scouts Camp! But if you are a farang with a blog, I think you get a pass.  So I'm going to let you in on the adventure...

This whole thing started out weeks ago in the planning stage.  There were meetings upon meetings to delegate responsibilities, explain scenarios, clarify confusion and then change things around again.  Unfortunately, I didn't attend one of those meetings because I have to teach a class at 3:00 (when the meetings usually occur) so I got all my info second hand through Jess.  But in the last few days before camp, I can tell you that teachers were as busy as bees preparing lesson and gathering materials.  The students couldn't think of anything else either.  They had looked forward to this all year.
The morning of Scouts Camp arrive on Thursday.  We packed in the car and drove to a National Park not too far from our house actually - only about a 25 minute drive away.  Situated on the banks of the Kok River, the land is heavily shaded by huge Teak, Eucalyptus, and other tropical trees.  We dropped off our car and got a ride back down the road to an elephant camp that was to serve as the start of the kids 4 kilometer walk to camp.  When all the kids were accounted for, the ceremonies began with some of the teachers, myself included, dipping our fingers in colorful dyes and painting the students faces in fun designs.  Then we set off, single file, down the road.  It took us about 50 minutes to cover the distance, only stopping once on a bridge to snap a group photo.  I was in charge of the upper elementary boys who were walking at the front of the pack, so it was us who heard the drums beating first, calling us toward the camp and guiding us towards Kru Name, the real leader of the camp.















Kru Name is the P.E. teacher at Pitisuksa, and also the Scouts Leader there.  Being the Scouts Leader means he was also the mastermind behind the camp activities and the guys who set up most of the infrastructure of the camp, including the stage (yes, there was a stage) with lighting and sound system, the lights strung around the tent area, the little oil lamps made out of glass energy drink bottles that lined the walkway into and out of camp, and the signs telling the campers where to go and what to do.  But I digress...

When all the campers were assembled into 4 rows, there was some singing and more ceremony (complete with drumming and guitar playing) and then the campers had to crawl, one by one, through a tunnel of bamboo branches to signify their real arrival into Scouts Camp.  Then even more ceremony, as the flag was raised, the National Anthem was sung, and the director of the school officially welcomed everyone and started Scouts Camp.  Finally, campers were given a few hours to set up their tens, cook, eat and clean up from lunch and assemble again for the beginning of the teacher's activities.
In the next entry, I will give all the details and stories of the rest of the camping trip.  There's just too much fun to put in one entry!

The Hash

Last weekend, as I wrote in the last post, we participated in the Alice in Wonderland Olympics.  It was one of those experiences where, as it was happening, I thought, "I'm going to remember this for a long time."  Well, that experience was less than half of the day.  After we returned home and rested for a while, we went out and had another, "I'm going to remember this for a long time" experiences. The following is the story of....that.

Many months ago we were told about The Hash.  In fact, it was highly recommended that we participate because, as I was told, we "would fit in well with them."  You know whenever someone says that you remind them of someone, or you would really get along well with someone, you have to be a little suspicious.  What quality is it that the person sees in you and the other person?  Is it a quality that you wish to possess?  Well, I let it go and didn't consider it too deeply.  Jess and I intended to participate, but one thing always led to another and it just never worked out.  But last Saturday the stars aligned and we got the whole family in the car to do The Hash.

So...what is The Hash?  I've been procrastinating here, I confess.  It's hard to explain and really do it justice.  But here's the basic "run down."  The Hash House Harriers are "a social drinking group with a running problem" according to their website.  And come to think of it, that just about perfectly sums it up!  HHH is a jolly group of people from around the world, who get together once a month and run or walk a 6 or 7 kilometer trail and then form a circle at the end to drink, sing songs, drink, tell jokes, and drink. Each time, the trail is set by someone designated "the hare".  He or she gets to choose the location, the exact direction and length of the trail, and even set some false trails that are designed to slow down the FRBs (front running bastards).  Some people run the whole trail, some walk the trail, and some do a mix of running and walking, but everyone has fun.

Arriving at the site of this month's Hash, we were a little apprehensive.  It seemed to be a large group of friends, whose party we invited ourselves to.  But very quickly we were welcomed and oriented by the organizers.  The instructions were to follow the trail of paper.  What that meant exactly, we didn't know, but we thought "screw it - let's just run and see what other people do here."  After a few hundred meters, we saw a small pile of shredded white paper on the side of the trail.  Aha!  These are the trail markers.  But a few meters further and we came to a crossroads that clearly had paper going in both directions. I chose one path while another "Hasher" went down the other.  I came across a line of flour spilled across the trail, which indicates a false trail, so I turned around.  Just as I did, I heard the shout, "On on!"  This means someone has found the trail, so everyone followed the sound and we were on the right track.  This kind of detective work continued for most of the 7 kilometers. At times we were all stumped as to where to go next.  Once, we were all milling around the top of a hill, overlooking a pineapple field, searching for paper when someone yelled "on on!" at the bottom of the field.  We got to the bottom only to be stumped again.  So there we were, walking around the pineapple, looking for a trail and just about to walk back up the hill.  I don't know how often you've walked through pineapple fields, but let me tell you, the plants look like aloe.  They have spiky, cactus-like leaves that tear at your legs.  Many of us, me included, were bleeding pretty well by the time someone found the trail and got us back on a dirt track.  

One of the best things about doing The Hash is the scenery you take in along the way.  The trails are set with the idea that you will get to see gorgeous views of hills, rivers, rice paddies, forests, and ponds - places that you would never go to otherwise.  This trail was full of all of these things and more.  The beauty of Thailand was on full display for the Hashers.

Somewhere along the way, I said to Radd, who was half walking/half running, "I bet you could win this race if you tried.  There are only 3 people ahead of us."  That was all he needed.  We ran full speed for the last 3 kilometers or so.  In the end, Radd finished 3rd and was gushed over by all the Hashers who couldn't believe that this 11 year old could run so far so fast.  I was a proud papa.  Jess and Suni came in about 10 minutes later, all smiles.

At the end, we formed a circle to sing the traditional songs of the Hash House Harriers, welcoming new runners, saying goodbye to some, and toasting the Hares who set this beautiful trail.  All the while the beer flowed, the jokes were told, and we laughed constantly.  Jess and I kicked ourselves for not making more of an effort earlier to join these fine folks, but we also promised to come back every month.  This is not something you want to miss out on now that you know it's there.

Check out their blog below for a better idea of how these guys and gals get down.
The Chiang Rai Hash

Strange Stranger in a Land

I learned something very important today - several things, actually.  It was mainly about how even after 6 months of living in a new country and after having had to make a lot of adjustments to my outlook on life and the people around me in order to feel comfortable, I can still feel like a fish out of water.  This morning, I felt like a fish removed from the pond and dropped in a Dr, Seuss book.  But in a good way...

One thing that Thai people like to do is organize "Sports Day" for the kids at their schools.  They divide the students into teams and they compete in silly games and races and generally have a great time.  I actually wrote about the Sports Day at Pitisuksa  few months ago.  It was fantastic and I think all the kids, parents and teachers had a blast.  Afterwards, I chalked that day up to a one off for me, since as far as I knew, Sports Day comes but once a year.  I was so very wrong.  Because today, Jess and I went to Sports Day for private school teachers.  Enter Dr. Seuss...

The morning started with the kids, Jess and I arriving at a large private school in downtown Chiang Rai at 8:00 AM.  We were the only ferang and already, at 8 AM, there was an MC yelling in Thai, cracking jokes (presumably) and blaring dance music.  Slowly, people started trickling in and taking their places under large tents on the perimeter of a dusty football pitch.  The teams were already set: pink, purple, white and blue (our team).  About 8:30, the MC called everyone to gather in their teams to begin the day with some kind of ceremony.   So there we were, standing in a large group listening to speeches that seemed quite serious, despite the festive mood of the teachers.  Of course, we had no idea what the speakers were saying.  Standing there listening, or trying to look like I was listening, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  Turning around, I saw a strange creature wearing a blue plastic colander on her head, with about 10 blue plastic garbage bags tied on and draped around her head, while blue balloons were twisted and jutting out of the colander.  She wore huge sunglasses and a cape too.  She grabbed my right hand and shook it.  Immediately afterwards, she withdrew her own hand and sniffed it enthusiastically.  I had to turn around quickly and just gather my wits.  What just happened?

 After the speeches, we began to drift back to the tent when we were suddenly called back to the field. "Why? What's happening now?"  No idea - just follow along...  It was time to exercise.  So the MC turned into a DJ and played some goofy song that apparently told us to dance as though we were ironing clothes, hailing a taxi, and several other actions that I couldn't interpret.  Everyone was having a great time, though I admit that it was at this point that I started to feel lost and ready to go home.  This was before the games even started.

After calisthenics, the first event began.  "Oh! I see! It's a potato sack race!"  I'm not even kidding.  I was grabbed (not gently) and shoved to the front of the line and told to remove my socks and shoes.  Someone explained that I was not to jump, but run taking tiny steps.  At least that's what I think they said.  Anyway, the race started and I took off.  Though I felt confident in my athletic abilities, I soon realized that I was no match for young women who had done this activity most of their lives.  You could see that they truly understood the subtleties of the sport, the minute kinetic tricks of manipulating the potato sack with their toes jammed into the corners.  I, on the other hand, waddled awkwardly toward my teammate on the other side of the field who was ready to take the sack from me as soon as I could reach her.  I believe I was the last one to do so.  I tried though.  I tried running with tiny steps.  I tried hopping quickly.  I tried galloping.  Nothing I did seemed to help me gain on the potato-sack Jackie Joyner Kersees on the field today.  Fortunately my teammates kept us from last place.  We took 3rd, which was our lowest place finish for the day.  Afterwards, I felt defeated and went to sulk in the tent.

The next event was some kind of balloon popping race which we won, though (or possibly because) I didn't participate.  Then came a race that had 10 people straddling a 10 foot blue PVC pipe and running across the field, turning around a cone, and running back.  We got second.  After that, some of the teachers beckoned me to the field saying that I should run the next race.  "OK.  What is it?"  You have to put on these "granny panties" and a bra and run around the field.  I went back to the tent.  Next was a jump rope competition to see how many people you could get jumping together.  We lost quickly.

I should also mention that after each event, all 4 teams walked to the middle of the field for pictures and the award ceremony.  "Awards" were plastic-wrapped arrangements of snacks.  Bags of chicken flavored peanuts.  Spicy chili flavored dried fish floss.  Lays potato chips.  1st and 2nd place teams also got bags of small brightly colored stuffed animals.

Finally, I was grabbed and shoved again to the front of a line to run a race where I had to roll a bike tire and push it with a stick like it was 1717.  We did win that one, fortunately.  The last competition was the tug-o-war.  I thought this one was in the bag because we had the most men on our team, but when we got to the rope, we were told that only two guys could pull.  So it was me and the PE teacher, who is a big, strong, and young dude.  Again I felt confident.  We won (barely) against the first team but lost to the winner of the next heat.  Oh well.  At the end of the competition, we took first place overall, but we weren't finished yet.  The day wouldn't be over until we gather together, probably 300 teachers strong, and help hands while singing some Thai song that sounded exactly like Ol Lang Syne.  More speeches, a lot more photos, many more awards being handed out, some more dancing, another speech, and then lunch!

We ate quickly because we still had a bunch of things to do in town and had plans for later in the afternoon (which was so cool it will be a separate blog post).  But when we got in the car to leave, we discovered the battery was dead.  I had left the lights on, and with the stripped down go cart we have, there is no alarm to tell you that the lights are on.  Fortunately, one of the teachers at our school had a set of jumper cables and was able to quickly pull up to our car parked on a busy street, and give us a jump.  We were on our way in 10 minutes.  Maybe it was a fitting end to a bizarre morning.  And it was only 12:00 PM!!!  What would happen later was almost as strange and a lot of fun.

Stay tuned for that story!

    

Christmas

Christmas in Thailand was relaxing and mellow.  There was no Christmas advertising bombardment, no Black Friday, no children begging for a long list of toys.  Instead, we spent our time doing fun things around town, treating ourselves well, and taking time to watch the sun rise above a sea of clouds.  Did we miss family and friends?  Definitely.  Did we miss cutting and trimming the tree, setting up lights, shopping, or shoveling snow?  Not so much...We managed to have a few Christmas dinners, go swimming, ride tandem bikes, feed elephants, and even get tattoos!

But instead of writing every detail of our Christmas week, I will simply post some photos that will tell the tales for me.  Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

I have discovered that so much happens here in any given week that if I don't write about it quickly in this blog, I won't want to write about it because too much experience accumulates, making me feel overwhelmed and lazy about sifting and sorting through it all, looking for a common thread with which to weave a tale for you.  Alas it has happened again.  There's too much going on to report it all, but there are a few things that stand out in my mind as being the most impactful.  To wit:

I have finally finished my semester teaching at the university, turned in my grades and received my final pay check and it feels good.  My experience was less than satisfactory, to say the least, and now I am on to better things.  Next month I will start teaching at the school that is our rock here, where Jess and the kids have gone every day.  Soon, we will all get out of the car together each morning and literally spend every waking minute together!  I have been hired to help the younger kids at the school with different aspects of English literacy and to continue my classes in ESL with the (mostly) upper elementary classroom.  From my post in the school's library, I will shush noisy kids and assist the more bookish ones with appropriate selections for their perusal.  I will be a children's librarian!

In other news, Radd has begun his career as a Muy Thai fighter.  After learning the basics of the sport in gym class, he took a few karate lessons, until his sensei broke his hand in a motorcycle wreck.  So, now he training under our neighbor's expert tutelage.   He (our neighbor) is a former Muy Thai champ, with the most wins of any foreigner in Thailand.  He's also a really great guy, so Radd has fun in his gym and feels very encouraged.

Suni is continuing to take violin lessons at school twice a week for an hour each time.  She's got a ways to go on her technique, but she is picking up notation reading and her understanding of the instrument quite quickly, in my humble and most objective opinion.  On Friday this week, she will have her first performance playing Silent Night and Jingle Bells for the whole world to enjoy.

Speaking of Jingle Bells, the school is preparing for their Christmas Celebration and I must say, I'm a little surprised by how enthusiastic everyone is.  In the school of 100 kids, probably 98% are Buddhist, but I guess Christmas Spirit is infectious.  Who can resist a Christmas tree, lights, ornaments, carols and good cheer?  Jess' class is even doing a Nativity play with Radd cast as the wise man who brings myrrh (the wisest one, if you ask me).

And finally, in the last week, we have had dinner with two Thai families on two separate occasions, and are truly feeling the love of this country.  Last Friday, we spent with the parents of Radd's school buddy.  After a delicious meal, we had dessert and a great conversation about life, culture, politics, the future, you name it.  We even made plans to go camping with them in a few week's time, such was our mutual enjoyment of each other's company.

And last night, our friend's from Bangkok, Bow and Ake, came up to Chiang Rai for a visit to the north and met us at a popular Thai restaurant.  We enjoyed many northern dishes and shared a couple beers too, along with the aforementioned conversations about life, culture, politics, the future, etc. etc.  It also filled our hearts with happiness to spend time with them and their precious little girl Neptune.

All this and next week is vacation time!  It's hard to believe it, but it gets better.  We are planning on going to a place called Pu Chi Fa to watch the sun rise over a sea of clouds and then to a quiet little spot on the Mekong River for a day or two to relax.  With the weather being what it is, we are trying to spend as much time outside as possible while we watch web cam footage of Bozeman's deep freeze.  You have no idea how much joy it brings to see these images with a cold beer in my hand and flip flops on my feet.  Bwahahahahaha!!!!!!

 Fresh veggies on the street!

                    Fill 'er up!  Getting gas hand                                 cranked out of a 50 gallon drum.













Peekaboo!  Radd sticking his head out of the back of the Big White Buddha's head.