some=all of them. at least once a day, i get really frustrated with the internet here. it's one of the things i hate most about thailand....actually, it might be the number one thing. i dunno, i've never sat down and ordered them. the terrible internet thing is annoying as all get out. it's hard to talk to people (i hate that i haven't had a normal conversation without the "can you hear me? are you still there?" conversation with mom and dad in four months), it breaks down when i need it to purchase things, it takes five minutes to load a one-minute youtube clip, and i just wanna browse the internet at a reasonable pace. IS THIS SO MUCH TO ASK?
but sometimes, the internet really impresses me. like this morning. i woke up and checked on my downloads and whaddyaknow--two eps of the daily show, an ep of three sheets, AND season four of himym finished downloading overnight. internet gods, thank you. i owe you big time.
headed in to bangkok today to see eclipse, half because i'm obsessed with the movie and half because i know my girls are gonna quiz me on it next week. TEAM JACOB!
1.7.10
a disappointing thing happened this afternoon
i'm giving tests this week. (no, sorry, there'll be no funny answers--they're just circling verbs and writing tenses, boring times.) i have different expectations for different classes. i know the test is way too hard for some of the lower levels, so i just sort of look the other way when they work together and talk. but i know that this test isn't too hard for my upper level classes, so i'm a little bit more strict on the cheating front. most of'em are good students anyway, so cheating hasn't been a huge problem.
*sigh* except in my last class, 6/7. (the first number is the grade [6s are seniors] and the second number is their level--higher is smarter for grades 4, 5, and 6.) they're really smart girls and usually attentive and fun and basically everything a teacher wants in a class. i had to run downstairs to pick up some copies so i asked preeda to watch while i was out. i came back and she was sitting in teh back, not watching the kids at all. some of the students were talking, but as soon as i came in they stopped. ehhhh, so they asked each other a couple questions. no big deal here in my thai classroom.
but then i walked around to this group of four girls in the back. one girl didn't have a test on your desk.
"where's your test?"
(nervous giggling and looking to her friends) "may loo" (i don't know)
the four of them sort of looked down and up at me again, like they knew i was mad and something was wrong. they looked toward the rest of the class, diligently plugging away.
"is it out there?" i asked. if it was whirling around the class, this was a big issue. if it was only these four girls, then i could deal. then i saw the girl with the missing test reach her hand down and back to the girl behind her.
"i can see the test," i said to the girl in the back. "you might as well hand it back so she can finish." they didn't know what i was saying, but they knew i was upset. i left'em alone.
at the end of the class, after everyone handed in their tests, i went back to the girls. i put on nicki disappointed face.
"why did you do that? you're smart. i know you don't need to cheat and copy. just...it makes me sad. please don't do it anymore."
they sort of looked down ashamed. i wasn't smiling. the girls got really awkward--my students+this emotion don't seem to react well--and didn't know what to do. one girl apologized and the others had apologetic looks on their faces, so i took that as sorry enough and told them it was ok.
it was just...ugh. i expected more. sucks.
*sigh* except in my last class, 6/7. (the first number is the grade [6s are seniors] and the second number is their level--higher is smarter for grades 4, 5, and 6.) they're really smart girls and usually attentive and fun and basically everything a teacher wants in a class. i had to run downstairs to pick up some copies so i asked preeda to watch while i was out. i came back and she was sitting in teh back, not watching the kids at all. some of the students were talking, but as soon as i came in they stopped. ehhhh, so they asked each other a couple questions. no big deal here in my thai classroom.
but then i walked around to this group of four girls in the back. one girl didn't have a test on your desk.
"where's your test?"
(nervous giggling and looking to her friends) "may loo" (i don't know)
the four of them sort of looked down and up at me again, like they knew i was mad and something was wrong. they looked toward the rest of the class, diligently plugging away.
"is it out there?" i asked. if it was whirling around the class, this was a big issue. if it was only these four girls, then i could deal. then i saw the girl with the missing test reach her hand down and back to the girl behind her.
"i can see the test," i said to the girl in the back. "you might as well hand it back so she can finish." they didn't know what i was saying, but they knew i was upset. i left'em alone.
at the end of the class, after everyone handed in their tests, i went back to the girls. i put on nicki disappointed face.
"why did you do that? you're smart. i know you don't need to cheat and copy. just...it makes me sad. please don't do it anymore."
they sort of looked down ashamed. i wasn't smiling. the girls got really awkward--my students+this emotion don't seem to react well--and didn't know what to do. one girl apologized and the others had apologetic looks on their faces, so i took that as sorry enough and told them it was ok.
it was just...ugh. i expected more. sucks.
28.6.10
the world cup is stealing my sleep
this is probably a terrible time to blog because i'm tired and complainy, but i just feel like talking and not having to listen to anyone right now, which is rude, i know, but that's the joy of a blog, isn't it?
or maybe something a little less self-centered.
the world cup really is taking my sleep, though. this second round of games have been on at 9 pm at 1:30 am. the us-ghana game was 1:30 am on saturday night (sunday morning...whatever). so on top of the loss--wahhhhhhh--i didn't get to sleep until nearly 5 am.
oh, btw, we went to bangkok this weekend. rockin' times. sort of--you know how i feel about bangkok. friday definitely ruled. ten of us rolled into the city around 6 pm, checked into our hostel (lub*d, which has gotta be one of the nicer hostels i've ever stayed in), and bounced on over to dinner, and now i completely forget where we ate. nicki fail. OH WAIT we had italian. oh my god, how could i forget? we had wine. WINE, FRIENDS.
we went out to shamrock on khao san, which is a bar with this awesome cover band and an excellent song choice. we rang in christie's 23rd year of being and commenced drinking.
our 8-bed room was completely windowless, so we didn't wake up until late the next morning, still in a complete daze. half the group left and the other half of us ambled around the city, taking terrible taxi rides and being out of it. at least i was. i really should've just sat down in an sbux for a while...but such is life.
anyway, i don't feel like rehashing the rest of the trip cuz it was regular and like i said, i'm tired and mostly incoherent.
when i get back to the states, i need to get back into school. i think i'm gonna take some community college classes. my brain doesn't think of high and mighty synonyms anymore--i'm constantly dumbing things down so everyone can understand. my sentences are getting wordier, too, because i've been slowly ditching concise, big words for lnger but clearer sentences that fully explain something. i hate speaking like this.
24.6.10
define: nerd
efei: "he is...how do you say it...full of knowledge?"
me: "nerd?"
efei: "YES yes!"
this is the definition i'm using for nerd from now on.
me: "nerd?"
efei: "YES yes!"
this is the definition i'm using for nerd from now on.
23.6.10
week six
june 23rd. by the end of the week i'll have been teaching for a month and a half already this semester. time, man. (also, all of my students have been learning about the verb tenses this semester, so now i'm hyper aware of the tenses and any time i write a verb, i mentally check off the tense. i'll have been teaching=future perfect continuous. this is an annoying and mostly useless brain habit.)
anyway, something happened this week. on monday, in 5/2 (last year's 4/2, supposedly the naughiest of all my classes), a boy tried to give me a paper that was due last week. "no, no points," i told him. if he wasn't here, that's too bad for him. no points. it's just one assignment, i tried to tell him. mai pen rai, no big deal. no points this time, but you can have points if you do the next assignment.
i sort of waved it off and went to the board to teach. a minute later, i see him grab his backpack and storm out of the classroom, yelling at my thai co-teacher. i sort of looked at my co-teacher like, "um, wtf mate?" turns out he was so mad about not getting points that he ripped up his paper, threw it on the floor, and left the classroom.
this was actually kind of upsetting because despite their reputation, i love this class. after i figured out how to deal with them--they're just the kind of kids who aren't meant to be students, so i just have to figure out things to do that aren't so school-ish--we've had a really good relationship. this boy is part of the group of guys who usually sit in the back and every week, they quiz me on american bands (blink 182 and green day are their favorites, but they also like crap like limp bizkit. i haven't told'em yet that loving limp bizkit makes them 90s lame). i thought this boy and i were friends of sorts, so it kind of sucked that he did that.
i ran into the boy in the hall yesterday, and as soon as he saw me he hung his head in shame. "sorry, teacha. sorryyyyy." it's ok, i told him. mai pen rai. he realized what he did was mean and apologized. over and done.
but the administrators thought otherwise. my thai co-teacher had told a disciplinarian, who thought the best solution would be for him to apologize formally. so today at 12:40 pm, the boy came in (along with an administrator and my thai co-teacher) with a ring of jasmine flowers and roses on a gold dish. he got on his knees and told me (in thai) that he was really sorry for what he did and he promised never to do it again. i had no idea what to do in this situation--i will never get over feeling awkward when students bow down to me--so i sort of grabbed the flowers awkwardly.
my thai co-teacher told me to say a few words, so i said it was ok, i forgive you, just know it made me sad because i know you're a good student, if you help me i'll help you, blah blah blah things to make you feel guilty and like i'm disappointed in you. he wai-ed me (the super deep kind...people in thailand, you know what this means), i thanked him, and it was done.
it really weirded me out. i hate formalities like that and i hate being treated like such a high and mighty person. i think he and i both knew this formal stuff was mostly to make the administration happy. so, whatever. it's over and done with. and now i have some nice smelling flowers.
anyway, something happened this week. on monday, in 5/2 (last year's 4/2, supposedly the naughiest of all my classes), a boy tried to give me a paper that was due last week. "no, no points," i told him. if he wasn't here, that's too bad for him. no points. it's just one assignment, i tried to tell him. mai pen rai, no big deal. no points this time, but you can have points if you do the next assignment.
i sort of waved it off and went to the board to teach. a minute later, i see him grab his backpack and storm out of the classroom, yelling at my thai co-teacher. i sort of looked at my co-teacher like, "um, wtf mate?" turns out he was so mad about not getting points that he ripped up his paper, threw it on the floor, and left the classroom.
this was actually kind of upsetting because despite their reputation, i love this class. after i figured out how to deal with them--they're just the kind of kids who aren't meant to be students, so i just have to figure out things to do that aren't so school-ish--we've had a really good relationship. this boy is part of the group of guys who usually sit in the back and every week, they quiz me on american bands (blink 182 and green day are their favorites, but they also like crap like limp bizkit. i haven't told'em yet that loving limp bizkit makes them 90s lame). i thought this boy and i were friends of sorts, so it kind of sucked that he did that.
i ran into the boy in the hall yesterday, and as soon as he saw me he hung his head in shame. "sorry, teacha. sorryyyyy." it's ok, i told him. mai pen rai. he realized what he did was mean and apologized. over and done.
but the administrators thought otherwise. my thai co-teacher had told a disciplinarian, who thought the best solution would be for him to apologize formally. so today at 12:40 pm, the boy came in (along with an administrator and my thai co-teacher) with a ring of jasmine flowers and roses on a gold dish. he got on his knees and told me (in thai) that he was really sorry for what he did and he promised never to do it again. i had no idea what to do in this situation--i will never get over feeling awkward when students bow down to me--so i sort of grabbed the flowers awkwardly.
my thai co-teacher told me to say a few words, so i said it was ok, i forgive you, just know it made me sad because i know you're a good student, if you help me i'll help you, blah blah blah things to make you feel guilty and like i'm disappointed in you. he wai-ed me (the super deep kind...people in thailand, you know what this means), i thanked him, and it was done.
it really weirded me out. i hate formalities like that and i hate being treated like such a high and mighty person. i think he and i both knew this formal stuff was mostly to make the administration happy. so, whatever. it's over and done with. and now i have some nice smelling flowers.
20.6.10
life
[6/20/10 9:45:05 AM] Nicki Arnold: i wanna shower then you wanna head down to banya's?
[6/20/10 9:45:35 AM] Madeline Armstrong: yeah, i should be ready in a half hour
[6/20/10 9:45:51 AM] Nicki Arnold: ...what are you doing?
[6/20/10 9:46:02 AM] Madeline Armstrong: nothing
[6/20/10 9:46:04 AM] Madeline Armstrong: lol
[6/20/10 9:46:17 AM] Madeline Armstrong: just want to move slowly
suphan sundays.
p.s. yes, another layout change.
p.p.s. I'M HANGING OUT WITH A.J. RAWLS IN PARIS IN NOVEMBER. for at least a week. in one of the most phenomenal cities in the world. this fact alone gets me through some of my toughest days.
[6/20/10 9:45:35 AM] Madeline Armstrong: yeah, i should be ready in a half hour
[6/20/10 9:45:51 AM] Nicki Arnold: ...what are you doing?
[6/20/10 9:46:02 AM] Madeline Armstrong: nothing
[6/20/10 9:46:04 AM] Madeline Armstrong: lol
[6/20/10 9:46:17 AM] Madeline Armstrong: just want to move slowly
suphan sundays.
p.s. yes, another layout change.
p.p.s. I'M HANGING OUT WITH A.J. RAWLS IN PARIS IN NOVEMBER. for at least a week. in one of the most phenomenal cities in the world. this fact alone gets me through some of my toughest days.
18.6.10
mlia
seriously though. i know you think that because i'm off in thailand now, i must be doing something crazy all the time. i probably always have fascinating stories or thrilling culture clashes.
but mostly, i go to work, i get excited about watching tv, and i spend a lot of time thinking about what i'm going to eat later. i'm still just as boring as i was in america.
li rong just told me the chinese version of the creation of the earth and of man. keep in mind this is a second-language convo for her, so i might not have everything right. apparently, there was this god guy who was born and grew up inside the atmosphere ("airs," she called it), which used to be really tiny. when the god guy got older, he stood up and was HUGE. he expanded the atmosphere and the light stuff floated up to become the sky, and the heavy stuff sank down to become the earth. hence, the creation of the world.
then this lady god came along to create humans. she took the soil from the ground and shaped it into humans. these handmade people would become the famous rulers and academics and stuff. to create the common people, she took a whip and whipped muddy water. the droplets that flung off became regular people like you and me. so in china, we've been whipped from the beginning.
but mostly, i go to work, i get excited about watching tv, and i spend a lot of time thinking about what i'm going to eat later. i'm still just as boring as i was in america.
li rong just told me the chinese version of the creation of the earth and of man. keep in mind this is a second-language convo for her, so i might not have everything right. apparently, there was this god guy who was born and grew up inside the atmosphere ("airs," she called it), which used to be really tiny. when the god guy got older, he stood up and was HUGE. he expanded the atmosphere and the light stuff floated up to become the sky, and the heavy stuff sank down to become the earth. hence, the creation of the world.
then this lady god came along to create humans. she took the soil from the ground and shaped it into humans. these handmade people would become the famous rulers and academics and stuff. to create the common people, she took a whip and whipped muddy water. the droplets that flung off became regular people like you and me. so in china, we've been whipped from the beginning.
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