Muay Thai Training

One day, my coworker I were invited by the Muay Thai coach to train after school in the gym. If you're not familiar, Muy Thai is a combat martial art of Thailand, sometimes also referred to as Thai boxing. However, it is different than traditional boxing and called "The Art of Eight Limbs" because it uses eight different points of contact of the body: hands, feet, elbows, and knees. It is said that the body is used to mimic the weapons of war. The hands become the sword and dagger; the shins and forearms act as armor against blows, the elbows hit opponents like a heavy mace or hammer, and the legs and knees become the axe and staff. 

While I had no intention of actually fighting, I thought that a little Muay Thai training would be good exercise and was unique to Thailand, so I decided to give it a go. On a Friday afternoon, Jeff and I changed into workout clothes and headed over to the gym after school. What we didn't know was that coach doesn't let you start practice unless you've ran for at least 30 minutes since endurance is a huge part of the sport. So we ran around the campus a few times while our students giggled and gave us high 5's as we passed. Once we came back from our run, the coach started me kicking over a plastic chair and had Jeff kick over a plastic garbage bin since he's so tall. He pointed to his right leg. "100!" then pointed to his left leg. "100!" I think that meant we had to do 100 kicks with each leg. At this point, we also had an audience of about 150 kids watching us like hawks. It's my very first try at Muay Thai and I have an audience to witness it. Embarrassing. "It's Friday afternoon, don't you have anything better to do?" Jeff said. But of course, they didn't understand. 

After what seemed like never ending chair kicks, we were finally promoted to the punching bags in the gym which were about 10x more difficult. 

I'll give you a tour of the gym. This is the entrance. 

These are the weights. They're old basketballs filled with cement.

The gym.

I was told this was the "locker room". Lol.

This is coach. Coach trained the female Muay Thai world champion of 1999. He even showed me the poster to prove it. After my first day of practice, he told me, "You. Champion. 1 year." Apparently, with 1 year of training with him, he thinks I can be a champion. Somehow I highly doubt that.

This is Bill, who I guarantee will be a champion Muay Thai fighter very soon. While he's not actually one of my students, I still see him quite a lot around campus and running around Bang Pa-In. He lives with monks in a nearby temple and spends nearly every morning and afternoon training and practicing Muay Thai. He's already won many fights in Bangkok already. Bill is hysterical; probably one of the funniest students, despite his limited English skills. Unlike most shy Thai students, Bill's not afraid to scream "HELLO TEACHER, I LOVE YOU!" across the entire campus.

This is Cartoon. She is perhaps the most dedicated and impressive 7 year old I have ever met in my entire life. She obviously doesn't attend our high school, but she comes every single day after school to train with our coach for her future as a Muay Thai fighter. Her training mostly consists of running to build her aerobic endurance. She also does this with absolutely zero sign of fatigue. A smile and wave from Cartoon can be the highlight of my day. She's awesome. What a motivation!

After telling my mom about my Muay Thai training and Cartoon, all she responded was, "Just don't get beat up by an 7 year old, okay?" Lol.

I know it's hard to believe, this is the crappy gym is where many amazing Muay Thai fighters (past and present) train everyday. I guess we don't really need all the fancy stuff after all, huh?

Meet My Kids

I'd like to finally introduce you to my darling kids, all 516 of them in 12 different classes. Well, minus the ones who skipped class on the day I took the pictures.

Mattayum 1 (12-13 year olds or 7th grade in the US)

Class 1/1 

 

Class 1/3 

Class 1/5

 

Mattayum 5 (16-17 year olds or 11th grade in the US)

Class 5/1

 Class 5/2

Class 5/3

Class 5/4

Class 5/5 

Mattayum 6 (17-18 year olds or 12th grade in the US)

Class 6/1

Class 6/2 

Class 6/3

Class 6/4

Maybe I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure my kids (yes all 516) are absolutely adorable.

The Best Valentine's Day of My Life

I received an email from mom asking "Do they celebrate Valentine's Day in Thailand?" Valid question. I'm sure many of you were wondering the same.

Well, let me tell you, Thai people celebrate Valentine's Day to the extreme! After thinking about it, it makes perfect sense because basically everything about Valentine's Day perfectly matches stuff that Thai people love: stuffed animals, cutesy things, flowers, giving gifts, candy, etc.

When I got dropped off at school in the morning, there were two big street stands selling anything and everything you might want to buy on Valentine's Day. And it wasn't just the 13 year old girls who were really to the holiday. Even my 18 year old male students were seen riding into school on their motorbikes with two big stuffed bears, one under each armpit.

This year, I got more candy, chocolate, flowers (and even a heart-shaped fake diamond ring) then I ever have in my entire life. As I walked down the hallway, students shouted "TEACHER, I LOVE YOU!" I basically got to relive my 5th grade dream of feeling popular on Valentine's Day.

When I walked into my first period class, I literally got attacked by a mob by students trying to put heart stickers on me. This actually happened over and over again all day as I walked into each class. By the end of the day, my cardigan was completely covered in stickers. I mean, what better way to tell someone you love them than by a heart-shaped sticker?

I found this note on my desk in the morning. It's all for moments like this, right?

Valentine's Day was probably one of my favorite days of work so far this term because the kids were so sweet and everyone was in a great mood! However, my friends who teach at another high school in Ayutthaya asked their students to create Valentine's cards during class and their students didn't seem to be as happy as mine. So to all my single friends out there - please remember that Thai kids feel your pain.

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly

Photo credit: Alex Kozela

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly

I hope your Valentine's was filled with as many heart stickers and I love you's as mine!
<3 <3 <3

The Infamous Commute to Work

Many of you have probably heard me complain at one time or another about my long and ridiculous commute to work every day. So to give you a little insight into my daily life, here's a breakdown of the process with pictures. Every day is literally an adventure. Let me know what you think!

Step #1 - Motorcycle taxi to ferry dock

I walk out of my apartment door at approximately 6:04 AM. I know, you probably won't even believe that statement because I'm the same person that absolutely refused to take 8:00 AM classes in college. It's about a 20 minute walk from my apartment to the ferry dock, but only a 3 minute motorbike ride. Since every minute in the morning is precisely (and I already leave at 6:04 AM as it is...) I always opt for the motorcycle taxi (or "motor-si" as the Thais say).

On my very first day of work back in November, I found a motorcycle taxi across the street to drive me to the ferry dock. Now, he picks me up everyday and drives me exactly where I need to go without any words exchanged. We never talked about this or organized this arrangement, he is just waiting outside the gates of my apartment at preciously 6:05 AM. I'm sure not complaining. I don't know his name, but I refer to him as "Number 1" (I'll explain why soon).

As a female (particularly a female wearing a skirt to work everyday) I ride on the motorcycle "side saddle" as the Thai women do. It's basically what it sounds like, both of my feet hanging off the left hand side of the back of the motorcycle (definitely not the right side because that's where the hot exhaust pipe is).

I obviously couldn't get a picture of myself on the motorcycle taxi, but this picture should give you an idea. Before I rode on one, I always wondered how Thai women looked so graceful and relaxed on the back of these things. However, you've got to believe me; it's surprisingly comfortable.

Photo credit: http://thomasriddle.net/

Motorcycle taxis are everywhere in Thailand. It's a very common, cheap, and quick method of transport for locals, but definitely not for the faint of heart. While you could be stuck in traffic in a car or taxi, on a motorcycle taxi you can weave in and out in no time. 

Many people have asked me, "how do you know a motorcycle taxi from just an ordinary guy on a motorbike?" The answer is that official motorcycle taxis wear a colored vest with a number on it. That's why I call my guy "Number 1."

Motorcycle taxis usually congregate in groups in front of prime locations like 7-Elevens or subway exits, but you can also flag down a moving one if you wish. You just head to the queue and one of the drivers will point you to the appointed motorbike. Although it may not be outwardly apparent, there is a fine science to their rotation schedule so everyone can make money. However, I think motorcycle taxis look like they're hanging out with their friends much more than they appear to be working.

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

Step # 2 - Ferry off Ayutthaya island 

After Number 1 drops me off, I walk down these steps to the ferry dock. If you remember from my previous post, since Ayutthaya is technically an island, I need to cross the river in order to leave the island. The boat ride is only about 2 minutes long, but there's only 1 boat that shuttles back and forth, so sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes if the boat is loading people on the other side.

This is a pretty standard mix at the ferry dock in the morning - (from left to right) normal guy, monk, shirtless guy, Royal Military Officer. I'm actually not quite sure what the deal with the shirtless guy is because he's there every single morning. He's pretty awesome though because he's saved my butt a few times by signaling the boat driver to wait for me as I ran down the steps.

This is the boat that shuttles back and forth all day, every day.

Check out the skills of this woman. 

The monks always stand on the front of the boat. I'm pretty sure this is because they cannot sit on the same bench as women.

Step # 3 - Walk to the train station 

After getting off the boat, I have a 2 minute walk down this busy street to the train station. Amongst the the motorbikes and people, there are many food stands open and cooking up a storm (yes, even at 6:00 AM). This is also a popular spot where monks stand with their bowls to collect daily alms. This is the act of a lay Buddhist person giving food or money to the monks as a sign of respect and to show humbleness. Thai people call this "making merit." This always happens very early in the morning and I learned that all of the food they receive must be consumed by noon the same day. Usually, as I walk past, I can see people giving an offering and the monk, in turn, saying a prayer for them.

Step # 4 - 3rd class train from Ayutthaya to Bang Pa-In 

My first month of work, taking the train was the most stressful part of my entire day. This was because A) The train is usually delayed B) There are about 3-5 trains that come to the station within the 15 minutes I expect my train to come C) The signs on the train are written in Thai script and D) the announcements are only made in Thai. So I was basically stressed out because I just never knew what train to get on. I knew which direction was right, but not which train. They also all look the same which doesn't help the cause.

Well, funny story...

One day, I accidentally got on the wrong train.  It was bound to happen. As soon as I got on, I immediately knew it wasn't the right train by the type of seats. However, the train was already moving and pulling out of the station. I had to make a quick decision. I knew I would NEVER make it to work if I stayed on; so instead, I decided to jump off the train. Granted, it wasn't moving full speed, but it was definitely moving. Yes, I jumped off a moving train like James Bond. I still can't believe I did that either.

The next day I was determined to figure out a way to understand which train was the correct one. As I stared at my train ticket, I realized that even if I can't understand the entire announcement, I know and understand numbers in Thai. Now, I just listen for my train number. I've never had a problem since. I take train 318 (3 = sam, 1 = neung, 8 = pad in Thai) so the announcement sounds something like this to me: klasjkfjasjdfkasjk;jfsjajsf;djSAMNEUNGPADaksjfkajdskfjaklsdjfakdsjfkadsjfSAMNEUGNPADkasjfkjsf.

Let me give you a little tour of the train station.

The ticket office.

The train delay board. I despise this board...

That's my train. Looks brand new, right?

I've noticed that Thai people have this uncanny ability to fall asleep on trains and wake up literally seconds before their stop. Unbelievable.

Bang Pa-In train station - my stop!

Step # 5 - Small songthaew to school 

After getting off the train, this songthaew is waiting outside for us. Songthaew is a Thai word that literally translates to "two rows", which makes sense. This particural songthaew is essentially a pickup truck with two benches in the back for passengers to sit. It's about a 10 minute drive from the train station to my school.

Finally, after making a few stops at the market, the songthaew drops us off right at the front gate of our school (or at 7-Eleven at my request).

You think that sounds rough? I would confidently say that the morning commute is much better than the afternoon commute home. On the way back...the process is pretty similar in reverse but much less reliable and also MUCH hotter. I usually walk down to 7-Eleven and catch a motorcycle taxi to the train station. Sometimes, well actually about 8 out of 10 times, the 4:37 PM train going to Ayutthaya is delayed. Very delayed. Therefore, I more often walk across the street and take the big songthaew home. Because it takes the (very dusty) country roads, it takes much longer than the train but still gets me home before the 1 hour delayed train would.

The big songthaew is basically equivalent to a public transportation bus and used for longer routes between towns. However, you can basically get on and off the songthaew anywhere along the route.  There's no stops, signs, or stations. It's actually quite annoying when the students ring the buzzer to get off 5 seconds after the last kid just did. Also, it has no particular times that it departs or arrives anywhere. The rule is that it leaves when it's full. So sometimes it will come 1 minute after I get there, and sometimes I'll be standing on the side of the road (no seat or shade) for 30 minutes anxiously waiting for it to come. Because many of my students take the songthaew home as well, it's usually JAM packed by the time I get on. This picture doesn't even do it justice. When I say jam packed, I mean there are literally students hanging off those bars on the back. Luckily, they're usually nice enough to give up a seat for Teacher Kim.

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

My commute to work and back home consists of 5-7 modes of transportation, depending on the day and circumstances. It's definitely far from glamorous but always interesting.

How did you get to work today?

The First Day of School

The first day of school always stirs up emotions, usually a good mix of feeling really excited and really nervous at the same time (with a little splash of dread). I've had over 20 "first days of school" in my lifetime, yet this was my first one on the other side, as a teacher. But the feelings apparently don't change; I was still really excited and really nervous.

Anytime you start a new job, you always go in the first day a little bit clueless. However, I went to school the first day knowing literally close to nothing. Things I knew: the name of the school, that I would teach English, and I would teach grades M1, M5, and M6 (although I had to look up online what that meant), and... I think that's about it. All the other details were unknown. I had no idea what my schedule was, what buildings or rooms my classes were in (or how to get to them), where my desk was (do I even get a desk?), or even what I was expected to teach this semester or let alone, on the first day. I also only had the most vague idea of how to actually get to this school 15km away from my apartment.

Luckily, one of my friends from the TESOL course, Jeff from Kansas City, was also placed as a teacher at the same school as me. Therefore, it was nice to have someone to go through this adventure with. We woke up super early today so there was no risk of getting to school late on our first day of work. Now, my commute to school is literally a hysterical story in itself. I'll post an entire separate blog on this soon. However, one leg of our commute is taking the local train. It was honestly miraculous that we even managed to get on the right train this day (can't say it's never happened...) because the announcements are only made in Thai. Our boss told us once we got on the train, we should get off at the first stop. So the train stopes, we got up, kinda looked around confused if this is the right stop and asked a few people around us "Bang Pa-In?", then Jeff got off the train and I stayed on the step of the train still a little unsure, and this women ran over to us yelling, "No! Not Bang-Pa In!" But at this point, Jeff was off the train and it started moving. We just looked at each other. Shit. Jeff was off the train. I was on the train. What the hell do we do now? Then one of the train workers figured out what happened and threw up the red flag for the train to stop. Then I had the pleasure of watching Jeff literally run after the train to get back on. I just stood in the vestibule of the train quietly laughing to myself. It's only the first day.

So eventually, we managed to get to school and show up at morning assembly with big smiles, ready to greet our new co-workers and students. The director of the school walked up to Jeff and I and informed us that we had to give a short speech in front of the entire faculty and student body (about 2000 students)....in 5 minutes. Luckily, Jeff and I had actually been previously given a heads up by another teacher that this exact situation would play out exactly as it did. On the way to school, we practiced what we would say in our supposed last minute speeches so we just smiled at each other and thought "No problem, we've got this in the bag." But if I've learned one thing, there's always a curveball in Thailand.  One of the Thai teachers came back and said, "Okay, are you ready? You're on in 1 minute. Short speech okay? Oh yeah, and you really should try to say it in Thai." Okay! Wait...what? IN THAI!?!? If I knew I would have to give a speech in Thai in front of 2000+ Thai people, then I would have been practicing everyday for the past month!

There was no time to think. We were being pushed toward the line for the microphone. I was frantically racking my brain trying to remember anything and everything I knew how to say in Thai. Ummm...banana? Mango? Where is the toilet? Can I have an iced coffee please? I don't eat meat? Ah! I can't say any of these things!

Right before the director handed me the microphone he made some joke (in Thai) to which the entire student body started hysterically laughing. I just awkwardly smiled. I THINK the joke was something along the lines of "This is the new English teacher, Teacher Kim. She is even more beautiful than I am, right?" Then I was handed the microphone.

"Hello sawadeeka. Chan chue Teacher Kim. Chan mak jak America. Yin dee tee dai roo jak ka. Kob khun ka."

That's what I said. They said short speech, right? If I managed to say things in the correct Thai tones, then I said "Hello. My name is Teacher Kim. I'm from America. It's nice to meet you. Thank you."

Considering the circumstances, I think I did alright.

Then we found out that because of extended homeroom, all classes before lunch were cancelled. Mai pen rai. This is the kinda mai pen rai I can get use to :)

During this time, I was given my schedule for the semester, got a mini-tour around campus, was shown around the Foreign Language Department office, given a desk, and met all of my co-workers. Everything was running surprisingly smoother than I imagined and everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming to us.

I felt a little bit like a freshman in high school wandering around with my schedule trying to find the right classrooms and buildings. But I quickly found that the students were always more than willing to help me. They would grab my schedule and pull or point me in the direction I needed to be.

Another aspect about teaching in Thailand that I had been warned about was the lack of communication. I heard that sometimes things were changed and we would always be the last to find out. Well, I went to one of my classes, introduced myself, started playing a game with the students and about 15 minutes in, a Thai teacher ran in and said, "Teacher! Wrong class!" Wrong class? But my schedule says Room 417...this is Room 417. "Sorry, Teacher! Room changed. 418." Apparently, I just taught for 15 minutes to students who don't even take English class from a foreign teacher. What I find funny is that none of the kids said anything. So then, I had to just awkwardly leave mid-game. The kids seemed kinda disappointed haha. Next class period, I walked in and all the students just immediatly started yelling, "MATH!!!!!! MATH!!!!!! AH!!!!! MATH!!!!!!!" Math? Why are 50 kids screaming math at me? Again, the schedule was changed. They have math now, and I come back to teach them next period. Mai pen rai.

This is just how Thailand is. You can't take things too seriously here and need to be able to just laugh at everything. When leaving work, I said to Jeff, "If the rest of my teaching career goes anything like today then this is going to be the funniest year of my life."

And so, we managed to survive the first day with only minimal embarrassment and a lot of laughs. But the stories just keep getting better, you'll see.