"People in America Eat Cow?!?!"

Well okay, maybe the 20-some Indian children staring at me didn't have the vocabulary to actually articulate that. But, if I learned anything from teaching English as a foreign language, it was how to understand people based on expression and tone. Needless to say, the students' reaction suggested they were completely and utterly appalled at the very thought of human beings eating cow, an animal their religion deems as holy.

As I continued babbling about life in America, I noticed that every student in the class was clearly fascinated by me - if not by what I was saying (with their teacher translating as needed in Hindi), then by how different (non-Indian) I looked. They ate up every word that I spoke, full of questions and hungry for more.

Ever wonder where the expression "holy cow!" comes from?

10 Things I'll Miss About Living in Thailand

In many ways, this challenging semester illuminated for me that I could never permanently settle here and it was time to wrap up life in Thailand. Despite the occasional aggravations in my final months, words fail to articulate how difficult it is to say goodbye to a place that changed my life. At the end of my days living in Thailand, I reflected on what I'll miss most & certainly reminisce about for years to come.

1. An Ode to Thai Food 

If you missed my pathetic attempt at poetry, check out my last post dedicated to my love affair with Thai cuisine. Besides my number one true love, the rest are in no meaningful order...

Anecdotes from Exam Week

With two weeks left of school, I'm desperately trying to complete the semester grades of my 700+ students. While I've certainly had better weeks involving less chaotic and redundent busy work, a couple of anecdotes from testing week have made me giggle.

"The Plight" in Action

I wrote about the conundrum of government schools in Thailand both in a detailed blog post and the article The Plight of Government Schools in Thailand for a website called AsiaPundits, but I thought I might provide some first hand examples of the backward system straight from testing week.

After a semester of receiving zero instruction or materials for teaching yet again, I am expected to test my students. Fair enough. The test doesn't serve to actually evaluate their knowledge, but more as a formality to provide the necessary evidence for the (laughable) Ministry of Education, which in turn will keep the funds coming so long as everyone looks busy.

So, I devise the easiest possible test because, as I wrote about in "The Plight...", all students must pass. Whereas last semester I was instructed to senselessly handwrite "pass" next to 1200 students' names, this semester I was given six poorly translated objectives that students must receive a grade for.

After running up and down the stairs between the grade five and six offices trying to sort out unclear and contradictory instructions, finally someone told it how it was.

Thailand is a culture that is all about saving face. This usually involves stepping on eggshells so as not to bring attention to problems or corruption. 

Oraya, the head of English for grade five, probably speaks the best English in the school. She knows of my familiarity with Thailand after a year of working here, and she is also smart enough to realize that things are done differently here than in other places. Despite our lengthy English conversation, she finally spoke words that I recognized as my language when she stated what is implicit in Thai culture:

"This is Thailand. Make it up!"

Happy Birthday America, With Love From Thailand

Today, I spent Independence Day driving to and fro the nearest border crossing in Chong Mek to exit and re-enter Thailand for my visa.

During the 6 hours of travel, I found myself fondly recalling my favorite 4th of July memories and missing all things American - especially barbecues and American craft beer (which puts our iced Thai beer to shame), but mostly my friends and family.

Government Schools in Thailand

There is no education system without flaw, and it's improbable that such an ideal even exists. Certainly, though, there should be some type of universal educational standard. After nearly nine months of teaching in Thailand, I must make this bold, but long overdue statement:


The government school system in Thailand is horrendous.

I don't claim to be an expert, but after working at two different schools across the country and comparing notes with teachers around Thailand, that is my opinion. I admit to generalizing, as there are some decent government institutions and extremely intellectual people, but they are far and few between. I might mention that I mean no disrespect; I hold the utmost regard for this country and its people. I have here outlined what I see to be some major faults of Thailand's Ministry of Education.