naughty teacher
This week has been an interesting and busy one.
New volunteer Natalie and I have been doing some exploring - we hopped on our bikes and chose a direction out of town. We cycled a fair few kilometres in the heat. It is very hilly here so it was quite a feat. The countryside surrounding Namsom is stunning.
Farms circled the town so there are acres of rice fields, dotted with wooden huts where farmers rest from the midday heat, palm trees and patches deep red soil. In the distance are mountains rising steeply from the plains. Many undulate up from the earth then fall in a sheer drop down again.
We cycled through small villages - all amused to see the falangs attempting to speed up steep hills on rusty old bikes. I'm sure the brakes are permanently glued to my back wheel as it won't spin by itself. It makes for hard work.
We rested at a gas station, come cafe, come odds and ends shop and probably mechanic too and had a drink in the shade before heading home.
We felt virtuous and so the last two nights of Korean barbeques have not felt so naughty.
The first was after our Wednesday conversation session at the hospital with Pi Mon and Tae. Pi Mon's department were going to a barbecue for dinner and they invited us to join them. Piles of pork, seafood, morning glory, noodles and so on were brought out to the table for us to cook on the hot plate and boil in the bottom of it. Very tasty.
Last night, Jeab invited us to join her colleagues at an all-you-can-eat buffet (costs one pound). Only trouble is, if you leave anything you have to pay for that so we were pretty stuffed by the time we finished up there.
I think it is showing. Today, some children from a different class decided they would rather come and learn English with me than sit watching videos while their teacher was away. As I leaned back in my chair before the lesson started they were pointing at my stomach and laughing. hmmmm.
They also think my nose is hilarious. Because I have a bump at the top of it. Their noses all go in at the top and curve outwards with large bulbous ends. My horrid nose curves outwards and then in. I have never felt so much like plastic surgery in my life. Kids can be so cruel.
However after two days of teaching them simple verbs, I gave them a bit of a break today and after the first hour of work, we played musical chairs to Britney and Kylie songs and then had a bit of a dance and then played Bang Bang before I let them go early for lunch.
After my balling out of them this week I think they have been in fear somewhat so they are probably dead confused. Although some of them were just looking at me as if I was mad while I threw myself into dancing around the room as they played musical chairs!
Today Natalie and I will try to find elephants in the town of Khon Khean. Apparently they roam the streets. Otherwise there is not much there apart from a bigger night market and western food and drink! Not that I don't love eating fresh mangoes, mini bananas and rambutin for breakfast, delicious noodles or rice and curry for lunch and barbecued pork for dinner. But it will be a weekend of letting hair down I feel!
New volunteer Natalie and I have been doing some exploring - we hopped on our bikes and chose a direction out of town. We cycled a fair few kilometres in the heat. It is very hilly here so it was quite a feat. The countryside surrounding Namsom is stunning.
Farms circled the town so there are acres of rice fields, dotted with wooden huts where farmers rest from the midday heat, palm trees and patches deep red soil. In the distance are mountains rising steeply from the plains. Many undulate up from the earth then fall in a sheer drop down again.
We cycled through small villages - all amused to see the falangs attempting to speed up steep hills on rusty old bikes. I'm sure the brakes are permanently glued to my back wheel as it won't spin by itself. It makes for hard work.
We rested at a gas station, come cafe, come odds and ends shop and probably mechanic too and had a drink in the shade before heading home.
We felt virtuous and so the last two nights of Korean barbeques have not felt so naughty.
The first was after our Wednesday conversation session at the hospital with Pi Mon and Tae. Pi Mon's department were going to a barbecue for dinner and they invited us to join them. Piles of pork, seafood, morning glory, noodles and so on were brought out to the table for us to cook on the hot plate and boil in the bottom of it. Very tasty.
Last night, Jeab invited us to join her colleagues at an all-you-can-eat buffet (costs one pound). Only trouble is, if you leave anything you have to pay for that so we were pretty stuffed by the time we finished up there.
I think it is showing. Today, some children from a different class decided they would rather come and learn English with me than sit watching videos while their teacher was away. As I leaned back in my chair before the lesson started they were pointing at my stomach and laughing. hmmmm.
They also think my nose is hilarious. Because I have a bump at the top of it. Their noses all go in at the top and curve outwards with large bulbous ends. My horrid nose curves outwards and then in. I have never felt so much like plastic surgery in my life. Kids can be so cruel.
However after two days of teaching them simple verbs, I gave them a bit of a break today and after the first hour of work, we played musical chairs to Britney and Kylie songs and then had a bit of a dance and then played Bang Bang before I let them go early for lunch.
After my balling out of them this week I think they have been in fear somewhat so they are probably dead confused. Although some of them were just looking at me as if I was mad while I threw myself into dancing around the room as they played musical chairs!
Today Natalie and I will try to find elephants in the town of Khon Khean. Apparently they roam the streets. Otherwise there is not much there apart from a bigger night market and western food and drink! Not that I don't love eating fresh mangoes, mini bananas and rambutin for breakfast, delicious noodles or rice and curry for lunch and barbecued pork for dinner. But it will be a weekend of letting hair down I feel!
posted by charlie at 3:05 pm
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