Sensitive Stomach: Time to Teach

     Well hello again to anyone surfin the big waves of that even bigger internet ocean to my little secluded cove here in cyber-Thailand. This last week I had the misfortune of coming to know just what others mean when they say be careful with the food in other countries. The oddest (and in one particular way STUPIDEST) thing of it all is that it came from a rather unlikely source and clearly could have been avoided if a particular individual.... this guy writing you all.... would have heeded the advice of his oh so loving girlfriend, who took care of him all the while anyway.

     Just to clear up any worries for would be travelers about the food here I think I owe a small explanation. Ryoko often brings some food home from her school where she works. It's a Japanese school and generally has quite good meals. At the end of the day, extra food is bagged up for any teachers that wish to bring it home. That on its own, would have been fine... I however thought it might still be okay several days after the initial preparation. It had been refrigerated, but apparently in areas of the world where preservatives are used less frequently, a few days is a few too many. To make it worse, Ryoko tried one little bite and said, "No, I think it tastes funny..." Now, I rarely break out the "stupid" word... but I took a sniff and indicated no real problem, and proceeded to eat. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was too much. A few hours later, my intestines worked themselves into a knot for the following 24 hours (with another 14 hour echo).... so I'm going to have to play the stupid card on that guy who seems to follow me around in all those mirrors....

A view of a small part of city... from someplace still in the city, out of the center.

     On the more positive side, I learned another life lesson. It struck me this week that before now, I've always eaten like a guy who's never been made sick by what he eats... imagine that.

    Continuing on the positive side, Ryoko and I moved into an apartment. We are now living with an interesting, friendly, lively and intelligent individual who is also from Japan. He's working for a Japanese company in Thailand. They do something along the lines of providing internet and digital TV for Japanese expats who live and work here. His company recently moved him into a fairly large apartment. We actually met him a little over a month ago in the very first hostel Ryoko and I stayed at when we arrived. As we were looking for a place these days and he some roommates, we managed to work something out. Our location is just a short walk from the BTS (a local sky train) which can drop me off not too far from where I work. Ryoko takes it a few stops in the other direction each day to find herself in a similar situation, and Moro actually works in the building where we live so it's pretty nice for all three of us.

     Also, this week I started work. The school is quite large with around 1700 to 2000 students. The exact number has not been expressed to me so that estimation is based on a rough assessment made during the morning assembly. Each day all the students sit in the main open corridor before the day begins. Its rather impressive to see them all lined up and seated out in the open. Uniforms are the policy here and also there are strict regulations on hair length for students. Guys must keep there hair no longer than an inch or so max, certainly not over their ears. Girls must maintain their hair somewhere between the bottom of their ears and their shoulders. (I've been making sure to keep mine tied up close to my head for these first few days and nothing has been mentioned to me directly as of yet.) The hair situation of the students creates a unique affect while observering them from near by, a large see of bobbing hair and heads, all of the same color and length. Teachers then pace the rows, taking morning attendance, and occasionally whacking any students who are "out of line".

     There are a total of five foreign English teachers, all guys. It's a little like a foreign boys club in the middle of a Thai ocean. In the foreign language teacher's room, there's the five of us native speakers and three Thai teachers. Our desks are pushed together, facing each other, conference style and we all have 2-3 hours between classes each day so there are some interesting conversations that go on during the breaks. Everyone is a character and it's quite fun to see how the dynamics change as the cast shifts in and out. It makes me a bit curious to know what's going on when I'm not around, but some things are better left unknown.

     Anyway, this will be a pretty regular situation for me over the next time period so I'll stop here for today. Over the coming months, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to get to know these guys, the other teachers, my students and the sort, with plenty of anecdotes to follow. Thank you again for joining me here. In the near future I'll break out my camera at school to see if I can't capture what there is to see. I'd like to keep a low profile for a bit before I become a full time photographer at work. There is very little direct oversight for us, but either way, it's always good to get a feel for a place before stepping on too many toes. My own are sore enough from my poor steppin' this week, not to mention my stomach..... So as I mentioned before, thank you for reading along and I look forward to hearing from you soon!