CD Thai teachers and a Chinese teacher at Ajarn Yai's house 

Trip to Kanchanaburi

The CD school principal, called Ajarn Yai, invited the teachers to come to her house for a weekend. We had a great time! Her house is located right by the River Kwai. Its design is based on Khmer ruins in Muang Sing which is nearby. Her house has been featured in a few Thai home magazines.

We saw the bridge over the River Kwai. It was an infamous bridge constructed by mostly British, Aussie, and Dutch and also Thai prisoners of war. The Japanese invaded Thailand during WWII. They wanted to construct the bridge to make an easier passage to Burma. The bridge was destroyed by Allied forces' bombs and later rebuilt after the war by a Japanese company as part of war reparations.

We rode a train on the bridge. We saw nice countryside, and we stopped at a cave. Then we rode a house-boat. Jaron and I swam and slid down a waterfall. It was a great way to get to know the teachers at our school better.

I got to know an older couple Susie and Kirk and their family better. Susie is a teacher at the high school. They shared many stories. They met in Thailand, got married and have been living and working in Thailand for 17 years. They studied linguistics and did work with hill tribe people. They help tribal people develop a writing system for their spoken languages. They moved to Bangkok for one year to do some different work with the Thai educational system.

One thing was funny. There is a Chinese teacher that the foreign girl teachers have a crush on. He surprised them. They didn't think he was going. Some of the teachers may try to sign up for Chinese lessons now.

We had lots of fun. I hope we can go on another school trip.

The Bridge over the River Kwai

Bad Seafood

Three of my friends and I got really sick from eating some seafood in Pattaya. We think it was the spicy squid that did it. We ate it at 3 p.m. on a Saturday. On Sunday, I awoke at 5 a.m. and proceeded to empty my stomach completely. Disgusting! I couldn't even keep water in my system. I got worried. I didn't want to get severely dehydrated. So I called Mom. She told me to see a doctor. Then I called Tan, and she came as soon as she could. She wasn't feeling sick. I was able to make it to Rajvithi hospital on my own. Tan was stuck in traffic. I didn't want to wait. Rajvithi is a public hospital. Nobody spoke much English. I walked around a crowded maze and finally found my way to the emergency room. I filled out some forms and sat down. I waited for over an hour and still I didn't seem to be close to seeing a doctor. Tan arrived and suggested that we go to a private hospital. I was ready to try anything. I was in agony. My insides were churning. So we took a taxi to Phayathai hospital. It was like a night and day difference. As soon as the taxi pulled up a man opened the door for me. I was guided to a seat, and then a man brought me a wheel chair. They wheeled me over to another area, and I saw a doctor within 15 minutes after arriving. He listened to my stomach and diagnosed me with acute bacterial gastritis. I was treated early, so I didn't suffer much. I felt much better the next day. So becareful if you eat from street vendors. Make sure you watch how they prepare the food. If they use a grill it should be okay. The others got sick a day after I did. They are all okay now.

The Restaurant Downstairs

For as long as I have been in Bangkok I have lived at an apartment near Victory Monument. One of the things I have enjoyed most about the apartment is the restaurant downstairs. The food has always been great and cheap too. I have gotten to know the family in the restaurant. The father named Gun (or Bern in Thai) is very nice. He tells good jokes, and he is very good with his kid Pang. Gun let me and almost anybody play with him. The kid has a wonderful smile. I took a picture of him when he finally learned how to walk. There were several women that I met too, but I was never sure who was the mother. They acted very tenderly towards the baby. I practiced ordering my food in Thai. They learned a little bit of English from me. It was a great thing. I'm going to miss it.

Unfortunately, the story took a sad turn. The family was asked to leave. The management received complaints that the food was making residents sick. After looking at the kitchen, management decided it was not up to health code. The family moved out very quickly. I almost didn't get to say goodbye. I got Gun's cell phone number. He invited me to come visit him. They are now living in Isaan, northeastern Thailand. I told Gun, "Khap khun mak, krap. Chok dee, krap." (Thank you very much. Good luck!) Such is life. People come and go from Bangkok. Life is always changing, especially in the City of Angels.

CD has 50th anniversary

My school in Bangkok had its 50th anniversary recently. It was marked with a preformance by students, teachers and even one of the royal family. I was very impressed with it. I enjoyed the segment where the kids did something similar to STOMP. While kids were banging on chairs and cafeteria trays, a girl entered with a microphone and began to rap in Thai. She was joined on stage by a break dancer. Other highlights included kids playing Thai xylophones while others students came on stage in costumes. They were dressed as monkeys from the Ramakian story. The story originally came from India and was called The Ramayana. Thailand has adapted it with wonderful, colorful costumes of monkeys and demons. They do acrobatic lifts and cartwheels. One of the royal princesses also showed off her ballroom dancing with a partner. I was glad to see that the students did a good job. They worked so hard, and it paid off.