The rain has come

It has been raining non-stop for six hours now. Maprang season is very much over. The frogs are out wondering why their homes are being flooded, and Sally the gecko is having the time of her life devouring wasp-like insects that only come out when there is heavy rain. The rain is continuing to knock on my ever leaky tin roof and it doesn't seem to want to stop anytime soon.

My second semester (though it is officially the start of the school year) began a week ago, and I am already inundated with grading. Record keeping has become a real need since I manage twelve different classes, four of which I see twice a week now. I've learned a lot from last semester and am currently in the process of implementing new teaching techniques (well, new to me) including more use of media and also task-based lessons. Since I told the head of our department that one English class a week is basically useless, we are beginning a new program starting with the 10th-12th graders where the foreign teachers will teach the kids twice a week. I feel like I can do a lot more with these classes though I generally have twice as many lesson plans a week. I currently teach the 7th and 9th graders. The 9th graders are new to me, but the 7th graders were my kids last term (they were 6th graders back then).

I am very attached to my 6th (now 7th) graders and they are a lot more comfortable asking questions and answering them too this term, so we are going to have a lot of fun. I also enjoy working on kids who have some behavior issues and who are usually neglected by other teachers. It's these kids that I feel I can contribute most to. A simple acknowledgement of their humanity, their gifts, and their potential to succeed-things that everyone else including their parents seem to belittle-is what they need the most. I already located one boy in my lowest class in 7th grade who I didn't have last term, because he was likely in an even lower class. (Each grade is separated into 10-12 different levels and the foreign teachers only teach the first 8 levels) Helping these kinds of kids is selfishly cathartic as well since I also felt overlooked and belittled when I was younger. They just need a little more attention and a little more encouragement. I know that many factors play into kids who later get into trouble and I'm not the one to say that my singular encouragement will completely alter the path of their lives, but I'm trying my best. I'm the only person trying, I think.

Now back to lesson planning for tomorrow. I don't understand how people can lesson plan for entire semesters, because each lesson plan takes the energy and sometimes daylights out of me with all the preparation that goes into it. I do things mostly week by week and at the furthest, two weeks.

Here's a recent photo of me in Chiang Mai. Don't mind the tongue.

A New Favorite Fruit: The Maprang

I have discovered a new favorite fruit, second only to durian. It is the maprang (Bouea macrophylla, marian plum). The season of the maprang has arrived in Thailand, and apparently the best maprangs in Thailand are found around the town of Sri Samrong in Sukhothai Province. Is there anything not awesome about my province? It excites me to discover new fruits that I have never even heard of.

The maprang is sweet inside with a tangy skin. It has a taste unlike anything I have tried before...the best way I can describe it without doing much justice to its deliciousness is by saying that it is a fusion of the best traits of the peach, plum, and mango. The fruit itself is somewhat related to the mango though you can't eat the skin of the mango. I think it looks like a mini mango, but my friends swear that they look like eggs. Cheers to the maprang!

Geckos in my Cereal

When I woke up this morning, I decided to water my plants and sweep the front porch area. After I put a load of laundry in my new washing machine, I decided to eat breakfast. So the usual routine. Pour the milk in and then pour the cereal afterward. Not so easy today. Halfway as I poured the cereal, I saw a black thing come out of the box and then fall into the milk. I yelped like a dog as I let loose of the box and the rest of the cereal exploded out of the box. I looked closely and discovered it was a dead house gecko. I decided I wasn't on Fear Factor, so I threw the milk and all its contents in my bushes outside.

Moral of the story? Don't leave your cereal box out in the open in Thailand for more than a week, because some old house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) may find it a perfectly suitable final resting place. TITH (This is Thailand).