Sunflower Paradise & Monkey Mayhem

I love sunflowers.

They're my absolute favorite flower. It's probably because I have fond memories with sunflowers. When I was about 8 years old my grandparents planted sunflower seeds and gave me one of the small plants. My mom and I then planted it in our front yard; it became my own little special project. I remember it was so fun to watch the sunflower grow...and grow...and grow. We had no idea it would grow to be so tall! To be honest, we didn't seem to do anything special for it. I became quite popular on my street as every neighbor would comment on my sunflower nearly three times my height.

When I heard my Thai coworker Job talking about her recent trip the sunflower fields in a nearby province of Thailand, I knew I had to go. She warned me it wasn't a tourist destination and would be extremely difficult to get to without a car. I didn't care; I had to go. I read online that sunflowers are only in bloom for a short period of time with the month of December being the best time to visit. I had to go soon!

A friend of mine from Bangkok was visiting for the weekend so I managed to convince her to take a journey into the unknown land of sunflowers with me. I warned her it probably wouldn't be easy to find the fields, but luckily she was keen for an adventure.

We took the local train from Ayutthaya to the city of Lopburi and decided to figure it out from there. Lopburi is well-known in Thailand for its population of almost 1,000 wild monkeys that roam the town. However, after only 5 minutes in Lopburi, it was very clear to me that these wild monkeys don't just run around the town, they literally run this town. They roam the streets wreaking havoc wherever they go: swinging from electrical power lines, dodging traffic and moving cars, jumping on unsuspecting tourists with bags of food, stealing hats and sunglasses, chewing holes through banners, advertisements, and anything else they can get their greedy hands on. I actually saw a group of them running up a shop's awning and then sliding down, repeating the process over and over again like a bunch of kids. Basically, these wild monkeys live the monkey kingdom life of luxury in the middle of the city. I personally was not a big fan of these most-likely- disease-infested-crazy-monkeys and was terrified one would jump on me. They also move pretty darn quick. Unfortunately, the streets of Lopburi are completely covered in trash and wrappers because of all the food the monkeys are fed or steal from garbage bins and tourists.

Phtoto credit: Mathias Connelly

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly 

From my understanding, the monkey god, Hanuman, is revered in Lopburi, so instead of chasing the primates away treating them like nuisances, the local Thai people pretty much let them rule the place. They even provide food to eat and once a year there is a full banquet held just for the monkeys. Most are found hanging out around Phra Prang Sam Yot, also nicknamed The Monkey Temple. Included with your 50 baht entrance fee is a long bamboo stick as your means of self defense from the monkeys.

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly

I had about enough of the monkeys so it was time to find the sunflower fields. However, we had a small problem... Lopburi didn't really have any tuk-tuks or transporation available to get around like we assumed. We walked around for a while trying to figure out how we could possibly ask a local to explain how to get to the sunflower fields with our limited Thai vocabulary. Just as this was happening, we coincidentally ran into my Thai friend Ice and her boyfriend who also live in Ayutthaya on the street next to mine. They apparently had also decided to take a day trip to Lopburi that day. We explained the situation and Ice quickly started asking around to the locals and within about 3 minutes had arranged us a ride to the sunflower fields and back. Hallelujah!

The journey was about a 45 minute drive outside the city, but boy was it worth it. When we turned down the street, I was in complete aw. It was breathtaking! On both sides, as far as the eye could see was field after field after field of sunflowers that seemed to stretch on forever. A profusion of bright yellow flowers covered the field under a clear blue sky with a perfect backdrop of majestic mountains. It felt truly unreal.

I think I found paradise. Sunflower paradise.

The Big Scene at Big C

Imagine this scenario: You want to buy a tablecloth. Your shopping experience would probably look something like this. 

First, you walk into Walmart, head in the direction of the home-goods and find the correct aisle by reading the signs above each aisle. Then if you have any problems you might approach a friendly employee and say, 

"Excuse me. Where can I find a tablecloth?" 

"Aisle 8."

"Okay, thanks." 

So you walk to aisle 8, pick out your tablecloth and your on your merry way in a total of about 5 minutes. Easy, right? 

Well, maybe at home. One of the major challenges of living in Thailand is oftentimes extremely simple and easy situations like these are not easy, at all. In fact, they're kind of weird, awkward, and frustrating. When I tried to buy a table cloth, I unintentionally caused an hour long big scene at Big C. Let me explain...

Big C in Thailand is the equivalent of Walmart or Target in the US. It's a giant store filled with everything you might possibly need: clothes, electronics, home-goods, kitchenware, bedding, beauty products, food, and everything in between. After moving into my new apartment, I took a trip to Big C to pick up some things to get started. I was able to find almost everything on my own just by wandering around the store for about an hour. However, there was one thing left on my list: a table cloth.

Since I had no idea what the word for tablecloth was (first mistake), instead I approached an employee and asked in Thai, "Kor tod ka. Khun pood pa sang ang grid dai mai ka?" or "Excuse me, can you speak English?" They smiled, and responded "Mai dai krap!" which means "I can't!"

I smiled said, "mai pen rai" and began to walk away, trying to figure out my next plan of action. But the employee made a hand motion for me to stop and wait. He called over another employee and asked that employee if he spoke English to which he shook his head and also replied "mai dai krap!"or "I can't! Another employee was called over and asked the same question. This women responded "nid noy" which means "a little." So I asked her, "tablecloth?" Confused face. "Fabric for table?" Confused face.

They motioned me to stay while one employee ran over to another aisle and came back with three more employees from the electronics department. They all started picking things up off the shelves and talking to me in Thai to which I responded, "Chan pood Thai dai nid noy ka" which means "I only speak a little Thai." Yet, despite that statement they kept talking to me in Thai, probably hoping that I would understand something they said. They began picking up random things off the shelf and miming what they were holding, to which I THINK they were indicating that they wanted me to mime what I needed. How on earth do you mime a tablecloth? I tried, but they responded with blank stares.

One employee took my hand and started to walk me somewhere. We ended up in the bedding aisle. One women picked up a comforter/duvet and started to take it out of the bag. I said, "Mai ka, kob khun ka" which means "No thank you." Well, I guess she thought that meant I didn't want THAT specific comforter so she took out another one and started to take it out of the bag. Then all six employees quickly grabbed a piece of the comforter and they're all holding it up for me to see. Oh my gosh, this is not what I want. So I smiled and said "mai ow ka" which means "I don't want." They looked a little disappointed and confused as they folded it back up into the bag. I felt horrible. These poor people are trying so hard to help me. I tried to mime tablecloth again. One women pointed to the sheets. "Mai chai!" or "That's not right!" I quickly said before she even had the chance to take those out of the package. I gave it one last shot to mime tablecloth. Again, blank stares. I felt defeated.

They knew this wasn't working. So what did they do? They told me to stay while they ran and got MORE employees who conveniently also don't speak English. So at this point there are 14, yes, FOURTEEN employees gathered around me and we're playing some weird game of charades. This is out of control. I had no intention of causing a big scene, I just asked a simple question. I wanted to walk away a long time ago; I didn't need the tablecloth that bad. But now I'm thinking, gee, now that I have 14 people helping me I can't just leave without saying something.

I'm frantically trying to figure out how to politely get out of this situation. I actually considered buying the comforter even though I didn't want or need one. Then, a light bulb went off. I have a Thai-English dictionary on my iPhone! I pulled out my phone and typed in the word "tablecloth" and it immediately popped up in Thai script. I showed one employee my phone, he said the word aloud in Thai and the entire group (of 14 employees) unanimously shouted "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Seriously? Why didn't I think of the iPhone sooner?!?

Then the woman who told me she spoke a little English said to me with a big smile, "No have."

So essentially, it took me one hour to only discover that they don't have tablecloths.

This whole scenario is actually very typical. Thai people have extremely good intentions. They truly want to help you; they will go out of their way to help in anyway they can and they'll do it with a smile. However, I've noticed sometimes people will get involved even when they don't know the answer or really can't help at all. It could be worse. I challenge you to go to Walmart and find 14 employees (at once) who will bend over backwards to help you like these Thai people did for me.

I can't be upset that no one spoke English because I'm living in Thailand and it's my fault that I didn't know the Thai word for tablecloth to begin with. This story is a perfect example of an everyday challenge of living in Thailand that would otherwise be a simple task at home. However, I gladly welcome the challenges that living abroad brings. It sure keeps things interesting.

To this day, I still don't own a tablecloth.

Photo Tour of My School

Hello everyone!

I realized that I've hardly told you anything about the school where I work/the place where I spend about 75% of my life. I want to give you a tour of my school - through photos. The campus is nothing like a typical American high school. It's made up of numerous different academic buildings so students (and teachers) have to walk outside between buildings to get to classes. There's also numerous tables, benches, and places for students to sit outside and hang out or do their homework (the beauty of year long warm weather). My very first impression of the school was that it reminded me of a small college campus. Then I remembered that there's only about 800 less students at this high school than at the college I went to, so I guess that makes sense.

Let's get started!

Outside entrance: Welcome to the entrance of Bang  Pa-In "Rachanukroh 1" School.

 

Inside entrance: Students walking in through the gate in the morning. 

Pond: This pond is one of my favorite spots on campus. The music building is behind the pond.

Parking Lot: Yes, this is actually the parking lot on campus. My students don't drive cars to school, but rather motorbikes.

Statue: The King that founded this school.   

Buddha: This is the school's Buddha where the students face to pray during morning assembly.

Field: Students lining up for morning assembly on the big field.

Outside: Some of my precious M1 girls finishing their homework before school.

...and the boys goofing off. Typical.

Hallway: Keeping with traditional Thai style living, students always take off their shoes before entering a classroom or office. Therefore, the hallway is always lined with many, many shoes.

Outside the classroom: The brown shoes are the boy's uniform, the black shoes are the girl's, and the white shoes are the girl's "casual" uniform shoes. I always wonder how they know which shoes are their own.

Inside the classroom: This is a pretty standard looking classroom that I teach in. Whiteboards, desks for 50 students, and open windows and fans - no air conditioning!

Office: This is the entrance to the Foreign Lanugage Department, or in other words, my office. 

Desk: This is my desk where I grade papers, write lesson plans, and sometimes sleep between classes.

7-Eleven: Finally, the last stop on the photo tour is at the 7-Eleven I frequent. It's located right outside the school and I'm usually found here a minimum of 1-2 times a day.

Bonus Question

These are some my favorite answers from the bonus question on the M1 quiz: What country is Teacher Kim from?

I love the daily entertainment that comes with teaching.

Fan Mail

Teacher Kim received her first piece of fan mail.

I found on my desk this picture one of my students drew of me. This melts my heart.

Happy Loy Krathong!

While I have to admit that my Thanksgiving holiday here in Thailand was extremely boring and uneventful, on the bright side, I have the perk of experiencing the excitement of Thai holidays. And if I've learned one thing after my first official Thai holiday, it's that Thai people LOVE holidays and love to go all out for them.

This past Wednesday was Loy Krathong, one of the biggest, most popular, and beautiful festivals in Thailand. Lucky for me, Ayutthaya, the city I live in, is said to be one of the top four spots to celebrate this holiday in Thailand.

Loy Krathong always falls on the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, or usually in November. The festival is held to pay homage to the goddess of rivers and waterways, Mae Nam. This is the time when Thai people give thanks to the river for their use of water and ask forgiveness in the ensuing pollution. "Loy" literally translates to "float", while "Krathong" is the Thai word for the lottus, blossum-shaped tray made out of banana leaves. The main tradition associated with Loy Krathong is that people celebrate by floating elaborate krathongs decorated with flowers, candles, and incense on any waterway in Thailand. To be even more environmentally friendly, some krathongs are made out of bread or coconuts for the fish to eat. I even saw some people getting really creative and making krathongs out of Ritz crackers. Most Thai people make their own krathongs at home and bring them to the celebration but I bought mine at the festival from a vendor on the streetl. It felt like I was carrying around a heavy birthday cake though.

Photo credit: Erin Deren

From the moment I walked on to campus this day, I could just feel the holiday excitement in the air. Many of my M1 (12-13 year old) students ran up to me before school to show me their beautiful krathongs that they made. Some of them were truly impressive. It was fun to see how excited the kids were for this holiday. There's also a pond at my school where students constructed a gigantic krathong in the middle. It was awesome!

Loy Krathong offers a unique occasion to celebrate. It's the perfect time for people to make a wish and ask for good luck as you place your krathong in the water and push it away. Thais look to the future as they essentially "float away" bad things and misfortune through their floral offerings in the water. The lyrics of the Loy Krathong song include, "As we push away, we pray we can see a better day."

Myth has it that if your krathong floats far away into the distance until out of sight without the candle blowing out, then you will have good luck for the coming year. Some of the Thai teachers at my school told me that it's common to put clippings of your hair and fingernails in your krathong to represent getting rid of bad parts of yourself. As it turned out, I got out of work early this day and was planning to get my haircut anyway, so I asked the hairdresser to keep my dead end hair clippings to add to my krathong. At home, that would probably be a super weird request, but here the lady thought it was fantastic! I was also told it's common to put a few small coins in your krathong as a small offering but to not be surprised if I saw young boys swimming in the river collecting all the coins for themselves. Sure enough, the river boys were there.

While the lantern festival is famous up north in Chiang Mai, there was still a few places to buy lanterns to release in Ayutthaya. A few of my friends bought and released lanterns into the sky. I preferred to stay away from the fire and took pictures instead. It was such a cool sight to see so many lanterns in the sky, but I was a little nervous their lantern was going to hit a tree...

Aside from tons of food and drink stands, some of the traditional festivities include music concerts, fireworks, beauty competitions, krathong making contests, and cultural performances. There was also an entire carnival with shops, games, rides, and of course gigantic stuffed animals as prizes. The warm weather and large amounts of fireworks going off all night kind of reminded me of the 4th of July.

I absolutely loved this holiday! I hope I get the chance to celebrate a few more Loy Krathongs in my lifetime. My only complaint? Loy Krathong isn't an official public holiday and despite the late night festivities, we didn't have off work the next day...