Hello Reader! I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you what it's like to be a teacher in Thailand at the end of the school year.
Earlier this week, My 5-6 grade supervisor, Pui,told me that I needed to give my final exams next week. This came as a total shock and surprise because I was under the impression that I had until the second to last week of March to accomplish this. Apparently not. Every semester, I am required to have any number of grades that equals 50 points. Since my predecessor did the first semester, I only need 50 points worth of work from each of my students in 4th through 6th grade. So this week was all about final grades that weren't the final exam, but also trying to explain to my students that their final exam would be next week. I cheated and used Google translator on my laptop to tell them this.
There's no worksheets provided for me, so I just made up some exercises for my students to do for a grade this week. Now its very interesting how the turning in works. In the United States, students who do the best usually turn their work in last, but in Thailand, its the other way around. The students who actually know what they're doing turn their work in first, and the kids turn in their work last. On the plus side, this means I grade the smarter students last and it restores my faith in my students that they actually understand what we're doing.
In 4th grade, their worksheet was a series of subjects paired with actions, like "she/go shopping." The object is to write a sentence in the future, using the phrase "going to," while also correctly using subject-verb agreement. So the answer would be, "She is going to go shopping." So easy!! The smarter students get this almost instantly and turn their papers in within 10. The more distracted students take longer, but eventually turn their work in. The slower, but motivated students turn their work in about 30 minutes later. And the stupid ones turn their work in last or not at all. Half of these students have only copied, "she/go shopping,"and the other prompts without the answer. EVEN THOUGH I have explained this at least three times in front of the class AND their smart Thai friends have explained it to them in Thai. I literally don't know what to do with them. They obviously know they don't understand, but they don't come ask me or their friends to explain it. Sometimes I cringe when I write their 1/10 score on my grade sheet because I like them so much and I want them to do well, or I grin maniacally as I write their 1/10 because they deserve it because they never pay attention in class!
5th and 6th grades are a little bit better. And I mean it when I saw a little bit. Maybe two or three more students get a decent grade because only a few more of them who pay attention compared to the 4th graders. But still, there are those geniuses who think its more important to get silly puddy all over their hands than to do their work. Whenever I catch a student doing this, which is literally every class, I walk up to their desk and hold out my hand. By this time they have placed it in their desk and play stupid acting like they have no idea what I'm asking for. I stand there waiting for them to put it in my hands. and when they do, I, making sure everyone can see, throw it out the window, where it hopefully lands in some grassy dirt, meaning it can never be used again.
This week has been chocked full of trying my best to take up papers and grading them and then inputting them into my grade book that I have to turn in at the end of next week. I even enlisted some of my 6th grade students to help me grade and sort most of my papers for extra credit. I was hoping that someone my less smart students would opt in, but, alas, only the smart ones thought they needed extra credit. I was given 50 points for this semester, so I divided them into two tests worth 10 points and the final exam worth 30 points. Even though sometimes its very hard, I have to award some students with 0 points.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, the way the Thai school system works, when a student fails the midterm or final, they have one more chance to take it. If this second chance results in less than a 50/100, they automatically get half credit and therefore move on to the next grade, regardless of motivation or conviction. This is how kids move from grade to grade, and end up in my classes forevermore. They all end up graduating and either moving to esteemed universities across Thailand or to their father's vendor cart. As a teacher, I can always tell which ones will go on to be street vendors, and which ones will go on to be doctors and lawyers. Each job is respectable, but earn very different salaries. I just hope they realize at this young age which one they would be happier with.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Mother's Day Comes Twice a Year
So before you read this, you should know that I wrote this on February 7th, but because the internet at my apartment goes in and out, it's almost impossible to get a post out. But after working with my land lady on her modem, we (meaning I) figured out a way to make it work.
Today is my Mom's birthday. It's rather fitting that February is the month of love considering Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It's also rather fitting that my Mom's maiden name is love. When I think about Valentine's day this year, I, like many of you, think about all the people I love. That's a lot of very close commas! I love a fair amount of people, but the person I love most in the world is my mother. Looking back, I recall the strongest feelings of love towards her, times like my first year of college, my hardest days at work, and especially being here in Thailand. If someone were to ask me something like, "if you had to save one person from blah blah blah destruction, who would it be?" The answer to every single question of that type would be my mom.
Whenever I imagine my family coming here to Thailand, one of the first things I think of is all of them riding a motorbike. Who would ride with whom and who would drive and stuff like that. At first, I imagined mom riding with dad. But I don't know how skilled my dad would be on a motorbike, so I came to the conclusion that she would ride with me. Because I would die if anything ever happened to her, especially on the dangerous roads of Thailand. I couldn't even imagine what I would do if she were in an accident like mine. Whenever I get really sad during a movie, my mind immediately runs to how much I love my mom. Now you might say that makes me a mamma's boy, and you're right. I absolutely, unequivocally, unconditionally love my mom.
She's my biggest cheer leader. It's quite an extraordinary thing how the words of the person you love most in the world can affect you. While her criticisms cut me down the most, her encouragements lift me higher than the clouds. Thankfully she mostly gives encouragement. =] I remember when I was little and Dad would tickle Mom and she would always scream. Not a bad scream, a laughing scream. But every time it would make me cry because I didn't like my mom in any position of pain. Even today, I really hate when my mom is unhappy. One time in college, one of my roommates had a disagreement with me. He told his mom and his mom told my mom. I was furious! My mom doesn't need that kind of drama! The same thing happened last year when I left Mammoth Lakes; the man I was staying with involved my dad and my mom! That time I was livid. I wanted to march over to his house and punch him square in the face just because he had involved my mother. The moral of this story is don't mess with my mom or you'll have to mess with me. I like how it worked out that she has taken such good care of me since I made her a mother, because now I get to transition into taking care of her.
I used to go through the list of my friends' moms to see if I would ever want to trade them for my mom. Every time I liked the idea of my mom over everyone else's mom. I did that because every time I told her she was my favorite mom, I was telling the absolute truth. I love my mom so extremely much and I'm so blessed to have Lynn Love Erickson as my mother. I miss her so much, but I know she's always praying for me and thinking about me. One of my favorite memories of her is during high school; I was going through some pretty rough stuff, mainly un-diagnosed depression. Almost every morning, I would walk down the stairs to get ready in the morning and there would be a little note on the last stair. I would open it and find a little encouraging note paired with a Bible verse, or a clipping from her morning devotion. Even if I was in a hurry and just glanced at it, or had time to sit down and soak it all in, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was loved by my mom. And still today, I have never known a day where my mom didn't love me. And I hope she knows that not a day goes by when I don't think about that and how much I love her.
Happy birthday, Mom! The people I show your picture to honestly think you're in your 30's. You are absolutely my favorite mom =] Love, Ben
Today is my Mom's birthday. It's rather fitting that February is the month of love considering Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It's also rather fitting that my Mom's maiden name is love. When I think about Valentine's day this year, I, like many of you, think about all the people I love. That's a lot of very close commas! I love a fair amount of people, but the person I love most in the world is my mother. Looking back, I recall the strongest feelings of love towards her, times like my first year of college, my hardest days at work, and especially being here in Thailand. If someone were to ask me something like, "if you had to save one person from blah blah blah destruction, who would it be?" The answer to every single question of that type would be my mom.
Whenever I imagine my family coming here to Thailand, one of the first things I think of is all of them riding a motorbike. Who would ride with whom and who would drive and stuff like that. At first, I imagined mom riding with dad. But I don't know how skilled my dad would be on a motorbike, so I came to the conclusion that she would ride with me. Because I would die if anything ever happened to her, especially on the dangerous roads of Thailand. I couldn't even imagine what I would do if she were in an accident like mine. Whenever I get really sad during a movie, my mind immediately runs to how much I love my mom. Now you might say that makes me a mamma's boy, and you're right. I absolutely, unequivocally, unconditionally love my mom.
She's my biggest cheer leader. It's quite an extraordinary thing how the words of the person you love most in the world can affect you. While her criticisms cut me down the most, her encouragements lift me higher than the clouds. Thankfully she mostly gives encouragement. =] I remember when I was little and Dad would tickle Mom and she would always scream. Not a bad scream, a laughing scream. But every time it would make me cry because I didn't like my mom in any position of pain. Even today, I really hate when my mom is unhappy. One time in college, one of my roommates had a disagreement with me. He told his mom and his mom told my mom. I was furious! My mom doesn't need that kind of drama! The same thing happened last year when I left Mammoth Lakes; the man I was staying with involved my dad and my mom! That time I was livid. I wanted to march over to his house and punch him square in the face just because he had involved my mother. The moral of this story is don't mess with my mom or you'll have to mess with me. I like how it worked out that she has taken such good care of me since I made her a mother, because now I get to transition into taking care of her.
I used to go through the list of my friends' moms to see if I would ever want to trade them for my mom. Every time I liked the idea of my mom over everyone else's mom. I did that because every time I told her she was my favorite mom, I was telling the absolute truth. I love my mom so extremely much and I'm so blessed to have Lynn Love Erickson as my mother. I miss her so much, but I know she's always praying for me and thinking about me. One of my favorite memories of her is during high school; I was going through some pretty rough stuff, mainly un-diagnosed depression. Almost every morning, I would walk down the stairs to get ready in the morning and there would be a little note on the last stair. I would open it and find a little encouraging note paired with a Bible verse, or a clipping from her morning devotion. Even if I was in a hurry and just glanced at it, or had time to sit down and soak it all in, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was loved by my mom. And still today, I have never known a day where my mom didn't love me. And I hope she knows that not a day goes by when I don't think about that and how much I love her.
Happy birthday, Mom! The people I show your picture to honestly think you're in your 30's. You are absolutely my favorite mom =] Love, Ben
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Thailand 101
Last week, as I was skyping with my parents, my mom asked me to take more pictures of sites in Thailand because she said she wanted to "see what I see." I thought that was a great idea so when I remembered to take my camera with me, I would just take pictures of what I saw. Admittedly, I forget my camera almost all the time, so this is just the beginning of my photo series called, "See what I see." I also decided to throw in some facts/tips about Thailand for my family and friends so they get a picture of what I've been experiencing since I've been here.
You see that second sliding glass door on the top left? That's my little room with a bathroom and a balcony. It's like a hotel room, but it's super cheap! Only 4000 baht a month plus 150 for water and 7/unit for electricity. They also provide a motorbike for me for 2500 baht a month, which is very cheap! So I pay about 7500 baht a month for this lovely place. They also do my laundry and clean my room every other week. The land lady here is so sweet and never misses an opportunity to test my Thai. I, in turn, never miss a chance to test her English. We have fun with it.
2. My school, Rakwittaya, is literally right down the road. I could walk there in less than 5 minutes, but I always take my motorbike because I'm lazy. Or if I want to go out to get some lunch then it's already there! The school is a private school and its very fancy compared to other Thailand schools. It even has a pool that I'm only allowed to use after school hours, just in case it gets REALLY hot. It's pronounced rak-witty-a. I teach all the English conversation classes for grades 4-6. A Thai teacher teaches them English grammar, which I'm kind of jealous about. From time to time, I throw a little grammar into my lessons.
3. The classrooms are extremely basic. There's no air conditioning, but it's ok because its in the shade! Plus there are two fans in every room. So luxurious! But since we're so close to the beach, (and by close I mean about 20km) we leave the doors and windows open and often get a nice, cool breeze. There are two doors in every classroom, one in the front and one in the back. This way, if there are so many students in the classroom and all their junk is piled everywhere, I can just go out the front door and go in the back door to get to the back of the classroom! One thing I don't like about them is the walls are so thin that when another class is screaming the times table chant in the next room, I have the pleasure of trying to speak above them. I think since being in Thailand, I've gotten much louder.
4. Schools in Thailand have period rotations, just like in the United States. Sometimes it's exhausting trying to remember which class is on which day at what time. Mondays and Tuesdays are the hardest because I only have one free period, and they're not before or after lunch, or at the end of the day so I can't leave early. Wednesdays are the best because my first two periods are free and so is my last period. Friday rocks because I only have three classes and I spend all my free time planning for the next week, so it works out perfectly!
5. The market rocks. Every afternoon around 5, I get on my bike and ride on the big main road to the 7/11 and get two things: Sprite and peanuts. I'll explain why later. Then I ride over to the market. The market is amazing. It's a big, well, here's a picture...
As you can see, it's just a giant metal plate covered area with a bunch of stands. They literally sell everything. Here's the layout. the front right is pretty much the main entrance, but you can go in wherever you want. If it were a giant square the bottom right would be food that is ready to eat. They have soups and buffets and fried chicken and fruits and vegetables and my favorite, noodles!! It can get a little smoky over there because people are constantly cooking, so it's always safe to follow your nose, unless it leads you to the bottom left. That's basically the vendor market. Where all the street vendors can buy stuff to cook. It's all raw meats and still alive fish and stuff like that. If you ever need to not feel hungry anymore, take a stroll down the raw meat aisle at the market, that'll do it!
6. The Sprite and peanuts are for my favorite dinner. I go straight to my noodle lady and she always has four things of noodles cooked with extra chili powder in a plastic bag waiting for me every day when I come in. The peanuts are to put in the noodles because I like extra and the sprite is because for some reason, it tastes amazing with those noodles! I eat that almost every night. The only nights I don't is when I can't find the noodle lady.
7. 7/11 is the lifeblood of Thailand. In bigger cities, they're literally on every street corner. In Phuket, there was one corner that had one, and then the corner across the street had one too. They're like Walgreen without the pharmacy. They have everything from toiletries and toilet paper to magazines and paper to food galore. You could eat exclusively from 7/11 and be totally fine. The alternative is called Family Mart and it's basically the same thing.
8. People are extremely kind. If you've read some of my previous posts, that will explain it all. One time I was standing in line at 7/11 and while I was trying to get money out of my wallet, i dropped my little brick phone and it exploded into all it's pieces on the floor. Before I could even bend down to pick up one of the pieces, the two people standing in line with me were standing next to me holding the rest of my phone piece.
9. TESCO! Tesco is like a mini-mall. There are little stores everywhere and of course Dunkin' Donuts and KFC and sometimes a Starbucks or McDonalds. The part of the mall that is Tesco is like the Thai version of Walmart, just not as extensive. They have bed spreads and curtains as well as food and electronics. They also have a big alcohol section which leads me to my next point...
10. Alcohol can NOT be sold between 2 and 5. This makes little sense to me, because that's when I am usually buying wine and stuff! The section is open for looking, but you can't buy it until after 5 or before 2. I will never understand that rule.
11. There are 5 main banks in Thailand. It's easy to remember which is yours because they all have a different color! My bank is the green bank because it has the best exchange rate on foreign currency. I guess that was only useful when I first got here, but hey, it got me to give them my business! There is the purple bank, which is Siam Commercial Bank. People with businesses bank there. There is also the yellow bank and the light blue bank, which are like my green bank. Then there's the dark blue bank, which is Bangkok Bank. That's the only bank that has does Western Union stuff.
12. We drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. I've only been here four months, but when I watch a movie with people driving in the States, I always get confused about which side of the car is the correct driving side. I still wonder if I go back, I won't screw up driving a car because I've gotten so used to how it is here.
Well, that's all I got for now! But here's some pictures of my classes doing this thing on Thursday afternoon where we made tea from different kinds of plants. I was privileged enough to be trusted with a tasting spoon, so I got to go around tasting everyone's tea, telling them if it was too sweet or sour. Over all, everything tasted good, and I had a great time being able to hang out with my students in a non classroom setting!
1. This is where I live.
2. My school, Rakwittaya, is literally right down the road. I could walk there in less than 5 minutes, but I always take my motorbike because I'm lazy. Or if I want to go out to get some lunch then it's already there! The school is a private school and its very fancy compared to other Thailand schools. It even has a pool that I'm only allowed to use after school hours, just in case it gets REALLY hot. It's pronounced rak-witty-a. I teach all the English conversation classes for grades 4-6. A Thai teacher teaches them English grammar, which I'm kind of jealous about. From time to time, I throw a little grammar into my lessons.
3. The classrooms are extremely basic. There's no air conditioning, but it's ok because its in the shade! Plus there are two fans in every room. So luxurious! But since we're so close to the beach, (and by close I mean about 20km) we leave the doors and windows open and often get a nice, cool breeze. There are two doors in every classroom, one in the front and one in the back. This way, if there are so many students in the classroom and all their junk is piled everywhere, I can just go out the front door and go in the back door to get to the back of the classroom! One thing I don't like about them is the walls are so thin that when another class is screaming the times table chant in the next room, I have the pleasure of trying to speak above them. I think since being in Thailand, I've gotten much louder.
4. Schools in Thailand have period rotations, just like in the United States. Sometimes it's exhausting trying to remember which class is on which day at what time. Mondays and Tuesdays are the hardest because I only have one free period, and they're not before or after lunch, or at the end of the day so I can't leave early. Wednesdays are the best because my first two periods are free and so is my last period. Friday rocks because I only have three classes and I spend all my free time planning for the next week, so it works out perfectly!
5. The market rocks. Every afternoon around 5, I get on my bike and ride on the big main road to the 7/11 and get two things: Sprite and peanuts. I'll explain why later. Then I ride over to the market. The market is amazing. It's a big, well, here's a picture...
6. The Sprite and peanuts are for my favorite dinner. I go straight to my noodle lady and she always has four things of noodles cooked with extra chili powder in a plastic bag waiting for me every day when I come in. The peanuts are to put in the noodles because I like extra and the sprite is because for some reason, it tastes amazing with those noodles! I eat that almost every night. The only nights I don't is when I can't find the noodle lady.
7. 7/11 is the lifeblood of Thailand. In bigger cities, they're literally on every street corner. In Phuket, there was one corner that had one, and then the corner across the street had one too. They're like Walgreen without the pharmacy. They have everything from toiletries and toilet paper to magazines and paper to food galore. You could eat exclusively from 7/11 and be totally fine. The alternative is called Family Mart and it's basically the same thing.
8. People are extremely kind. If you've read some of my previous posts, that will explain it all. One time I was standing in line at 7/11 and while I was trying to get money out of my wallet, i dropped my little brick phone and it exploded into all it's pieces on the floor. Before I could even bend down to pick up one of the pieces, the two people standing in line with me were standing next to me holding the rest of my phone piece.
9. TESCO! Tesco is like a mini-mall. There are little stores everywhere and of course Dunkin' Donuts and KFC and sometimes a Starbucks or McDonalds. The part of the mall that is Tesco is like the Thai version of Walmart, just not as extensive. They have bed spreads and curtains as well as food and electronics. They also have a big alcohol section which leads me to my next point...
10. Alcohol can NOT be sold between 2 and 5. This makes little sense to me, because that's when I am usually buying wine and stuff! The section is open for looking, but you can't buy it until after 5 or before 2. I will never understand that rule.
11. There are 5 main banks in Thailand. It's easy to remember which is yours because they all have a different color! My bank is the green bank because it has the best exchange rate on foreign currency. I guess that was only useful when I first got here, but hey, it got me to give them my business! There is the purple bank, which is Siam Commercial Bank. People with businesses bank there. There is also the yellow bank and the light blue bank, which are like my green bank. Then there's the dark blue bank, which is Bangkok Bank. That's the only bank that has does Western Union stuff.
12. We drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. I've only been here four months, but when I watch a movie with people driving in the States, I always get confused about which side of the car is the correct driving side. I still wonder if I go back, I won't screw up driving a car because I've gotten so used to how it is here.
Well, that's all I got for now! But here's some pictures of my classes doing this thing on Thursday afternoon where we made tea from different kinds of plants. I was privileged enough to be trusted with a tasting spoon, so I got to go around tasting everyone's tea, telling them if it was too sweet or sour. Over all, everything tasted good, and I had a great time being able to hang out with my students in a non classroom setting!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Let Me Tell You Something About the Love of God
You know, I've been thinking very hard about what to write today. I knew I was going to write something when I woke up this morning, but I never expected the thing that happened today. I woke up pretty late, around 10 and got up and took a shower because when I take a shower, I immediately feel ready for the day and ready to go do something. If I don't, I'll get back into bed and do nothing. But I did shower this morning so I felt the need to go out and do something. I knew I needed to go to the hospital near me that my agent told me about to see if they had the insulin I needed.
So I drove over there and played diabetes-insulin charades with the medical staff at the Fort Thanarat Hospital (associated with the Thanarat Camp Infantryman Center). They took my blood pressure and stuck a thermometer in my armpit. I've never had that done before. They asked me how long I'd had diabetes and how many units of which insulin I take. I told them and asked if they had that particular insulin. To my great surprise and even greater comfort, they did have it! I asked for a month supply and it cost me about the same as a one and a half week supply at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin. One thing about Thailand is they love their plastic bags. They put the insulin in a plastic bag. They put that bag in another bag filled with ice packs. They put that bag in another bag and tied it up real tight. Then they put that bag in another bag and gave it all to me. It took me about 5 minutes to get the insulin out of the bag contraption.
Satisfied with my purchase, I obviously returned home to get the insulin out of the bags and into my fridge. By then it was lunch time so I thought I'd check out what this week's Sunday market had to offer. The great thing about Sunday market is that it opens much earlier than the regular week market and there's a ton more stuff. But the greatest part is sometimes I see some of my students there with their families. And it's always fun to see the surprised or horrified look on their faces when they see Teacher Ben wandering around Sunday market. Now during the regular week market, I always go straight to my noodle lady. She always knows I'm coming and always has my four things of noodles ready for me to buy. Only 20 baht for four things! So obviously this is what I was looking for at Sunday market. I searched that whole market, looking for a face instead of a food item, and couldn't find her! I saw one of my favorite students, but he didn't see me, and I didn't want to embarrass him so I didn't say anything. After spending a good 30 minutes wandering around, I gave up and decided to check the site of the regular market.
This market is a short distance from my house, but not as close as Sunday market. There were a few vendors there, but no noodle lady. Having given up hope, I went to the Dunkin' Donuts in the Tesco down the road to lift my spirits. Donuts are good, but not as amazing as noodles. Feeling defeated, i decided to return home, and that's when it happened.
The road home is about two miles long and very thin. Cars are always taking up all the space, which gets really annoying. There are no intersections, only turns. I was passing a line of cars waiting for the car in front to turn (I only know this because of what happens later). Other cars were coming out of the side road onto the main road, so it was waiting for them. The car's blinker was not on so I assumed it was waiting to go straight. I was wrong. Right as I began to pass it, it began to turn. It turned right into me and my motorbike slid and fell on its right side. Shock ensued, making my injuries seem fine. I got up and moved the bike to the side of the road. A bunch of coins had fallen out of my cup holder and someone's mirror had shattered. After getting to the side of the road, I gathered my wits and stupidly surveyed my injuries. Blood was everywhere. Running down my right leg and running down my right arm. I couldn't really see what had happened to me because of all the blood, which I guess was a good thing at the moment. The driver of the car that hit me and her friend came over to see if I was ok.
Like I always say when I get in an accident, I told them I was so sorry and that I was fine. They were smarter than that. In their choppy English they said I was not fine and that I needed to go to the hospital. I insisted that I was fine and that I did NOT need to go to the hospital. But their insistence on my going to the hospital paired with my pain starting to ease into existence convinced me otherwise. The pain started to get a lot worse. My leg and arm were both shaking. They led me to their little blue coop and helped me into the back seat. I tried really hard not to get blood on anything. On our way to the hospital, they were talking back and forth in Thai, and I couldn't understand. So I placed myself in the conversation and asked them their names. I only remember Rai, the driver. They asked the usual questions, where I worked, how old I was, whether I was single or not.
After arriving at the hospital, the pain started to get much worse. They led me to a bed in the emergency room while speaking 1000mph in Thai to the doctors. As I was laying on the gurney, it occurred to me to call the only person who would care about this, my agent Noon. After calling many times and getting no answer, I gave up. One of the women stood next to me and held my hand while they cleaned my wounds and then...alcohol. Hydrogen peroxide is not a thing here, they just use alcohol. That hurt like a mother.What's her name squeezed my hand and I did the same. Once for my foot, once for my knee, once for my forearm, and once for my elbow. That part hurt more than the actual accident. They tried to get me to fill out an information form, but the pain was so bad I couldn't even think much less write my information. I remembered I had my special Hospital card from earlier that day. They always make one for you on your first hospital visit. I gave it to the doctors so they could somehow get my information.
After they got me all wrapped up, the two ladies helped me off the bed and into a wheelchair. They asked me where I lived and I did my best to explain to them. I told them I would show them. As I was being wheeled out, I saw the doctor give one of the women a piece of paper and some change. She had just paid for whatever the doctors did to me AND whatever medication they had just prescribed to me. I didn't understand this brand of kindness.
They helped me into the car and we went back to get the motorbike. One of the ladies drive it behind us as I showed them where I lived. I got out and my amazing land lady saw me all wrapped up and ran out to see what had happened and if I was alright. The two ladies explained what happened as they gave me my medication and exchanged phone numbers with me. They told me they would call tomorrow to see if I was ok. I thanked them profusely and waied the way you wai the royal family.
I limped up to my room still confused, and viciously pondering the course of events that had just happened. I fell on my bed and began to cry. I had been holding it in since the accident, but it wasn't all out of pain, it was because I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was all God. The crying moved to weeping as I recalled all the times I turned my back on Him. I do it every day. Every day there's some decision I make that I know is wrong. Every day I openly mock God with my actions and thoughts, but He always forgives me. This kind of love is incomprehensible. If I can't even understand the love He has shown me by using these two women to take care of me today, how could I possible begin to fathom the love He has shown by sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins?
What kind of love works beyond all sin? What kind of love forgives rotten, ugly, selfish sinners like me? What kind of love watches over me every second of every day? What kind of love provides for me endlessly without me even asking? I'll tell you! It's the kind of love that gets you through every day. It's the kind of love that supports you. It's the kind of love that lets you be free. It's unconditional love. It's the love of the Creator. It's the love of our Heavenly Father. It's the love of God.
You'd think I would be done by now, but I'm not. It's been amazing how God has revealed Himself to me while I've been in Thailand. This part of my life is obviously not about me, it's about Him. I came here to be a teacher, but I am learning more here than I ever would have thought. This isn't about a career, it's about learning about myself. Life is never about our glory; it's always about God's glory. So stop wasting your time trying to further your kingdom, because I can tell you from experience, that never works. Instead focus on furthering God's kingdom, because that's literally all that matters. I am almost positive you were not put on earth to be a CEO, or a perfect socialite mother, or a "cool parent" or everyone's favorite teacher. We were placed on this earth to bring God glory and to be disciples for His Kingdom. Remind yourself of that every day, because that's what I have to do. Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve.
So I drove over there and played diabetes-insulin charades with the medical staff at the Fort Thanarat Hospital (associated with the Thanarat Camp Infantryman Center). They took my blood pressure and stuck a thermometer in my armpit. I've never had that done before. They asked me how long I'd had diabetes and how many units of which insulin I take. I told them and asked if they had that particular insulin. To my great surprise and even greater comfort, they did have it! I asked for a month supply and it cost me about the same as a one and a half week supply at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin. One thing about Thailand is they love their plastic bags. They put the insulin in a plastic bag. They put that bag in another bag filled with ice packs. They put that bag in another bag and tied it up real tight. Then they put that bag in another bag and gave it all to me. It took me about 5 minutes to get the insulin out of the bag contraption.
Satisfied with my purchase, I obviously returned home to get the insulin out of the bags and into my fridge. By then it was lunch time so I thought I'd check out what this week's Sunday market had to offer. The great thing about Sunday market is that it opens much earlier than the regular week market and there's a ton more stuff. But the greatest part is sometimes I see some of my students there with their families. And it's always fun to see the surprised or horrified look on their faces when they see Teacher Ben wandering around Sunday market. Now during the regular week market, I always go straight to my noodle lady. She always knows I'm coming and always has my four things of noodles ready for me to buy. Only 20 baht for four things! So obviously this is what I was looking for at Sunday market. I searched that whole market, looking for a face instead of a food item, and couldn't find her! I saw one of my favorite students, but he didn't see me, and I didn't want to embarrass him so I didn't say anything. After spending a good 30 minutes wandering around, I gave up and decided to check the site of the regular market.
This market is a short distance from my house, but not as close as Sunday market. There were a few vendors there, but no noodle lady. Having given up hope, I went to the Dunkin' Donuts in the Tesco down the road to lift my spirits. Donuts are good, but not as amazing as noodles. Feeling defeated, i decided to return home, and that's when it happened.
The road home is about two miles long and very thin. Cars are always taking up all the space, which gets really annoying. There are no intersections, only turns. I was passing a line of cars waiting for the car in front to turn (I only know this because of what happens later). Other cars were coming out of the side road onto the main road, so it was waiting for them. The car's blinker was not on so I assumed it was waiting to go straight. I was wrong. Right as I began to pass it, it began to turn. It turned right into me and my motorbike slid and fell on its right side. Shock ensued, making my injuries seem fine. I got up and moved the bike to the side of the road. A bunch of coins had fallen out of my cup holder and someone's mirror had shattered. After getting to the side of the road, I gathered my wits and stupidly surveyed my injuries. Blood was everywhere. Running down my right leg and running down my right arm. I couldn't really see what had happened to me because of all the blood, which I guess was a good thing at the moment. The driver of the car that hit me and her friend came over to see if I was ok.
Like I always say when I get in an accident, I told them I was so sorry and that I was fine. They were smarter than that. In their choppy English they said I was not fine and that I needed to go to the hospital. I insisted that I was fine and that I did NOT need to go to the hospital. But their insistence on my going to the hospital paired with my pain starting to ease into existence convinced me otherwise. The pain started to get a lot worse. My leg and arm were both shaking. They led me to their little blue coop and helped me into the back seat. I tried really hard not to get blood on anything. On our way to the hospital, they were talking back and forth in Thai, and I couldn't understand. So I placed myself in the conversation and asked them their names. I only remember Rai, the driver. They asked the usual questions, where I worked, how old I was, whether I was single or not.
After arriving at the hospital, the pain started to get much worse. They led me to a bed in the emergency room while speaking 1000mph in Thai to the doctors. As I was laying on the gurney, it occurred to me to call the only person who would care about this, my agent Noon. After calling many times and getting no answer, I gave up. One of the women stood next to me and held my hand while they cleaned my wounds and then...alcohol. Hydrogen peroxide is not a thing here, they just use alcohol. That hurt like a mother.What's her name squeezed my hand and I did the same. Once for my foot, once for my knee, once for my forearm, and once for my elbow. That part hurt more than the actual accident. They tried to get me to fill out an information form, but the pain was so bad I couldn't even think much less write my information. I remembered I had my special Hospital card from earlier that day. They always make one for you on your first hospital visit. I gave it to the doctors so they could somehow get my information.
After they got me all wrapped up, the two ladies helped me off the bed and into a wheelchair. They asked me where I lived and I did my best to explain to them. I told them I would show them. As I was being wheeled out, I saw the doctor give one of the women a piece of paper and some change. She had just paid for whatever the doctors did to me AND whatever medication they had just prescribed to me. I didn't understand this brand of kindness.
They helped me into the car and we went back to get the motorbike. One of the ladies drive it behind us as I showed them where I lived. I got out and my amazing land lady saw me all wrapped up and ran out to see what had happened and if I was alright. The two ladies explained what happened as they gave me my medication and exchanged phone numbers with me. They told me they would call tomorrow to see if I was ok. I thanked them profusely and waied the way you wai the royal family.
I limped up to my room still confused, and viciously pondering the course of events that had just happened. I fell on my bed and began to cry. I had been holding it in since the accident, but it wasn't all out of pain, it was because I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was all God. The crying moved to weeping as I recalled all the times I turned my back on Him. I do it every day. Every day there's some decision I make that I know is wrong. Every day I openly mock God with my actions and thoughts, but He always forgives me. This kind of love is incomprehensible. If I can't even understand the love He has shown me by using these two women to take care of me today, how could I possible begin to fathom the love He has shown by sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins?
What kind of love works beyond all sin? What kind of love forgives rotten, ugly, selfish sinners like me? What kind of love watches over me every second of every day? What kind of love provides for me endlessly without me even asking? I'll tell you! It's the kind of love that gets you through every day. It's the kind of love that supports you. It's the kind of love that lets you be free. It's unconditional love. It's the love of the Creator. It's the love of our Heavenly Father. It's the love of God.
You'd think I would be done by now, but I'm not. It's been amazing how God has revealed Himself to me while I've been in Thailand. This part of my life is obviously not about me, it's about Him. I came here to be a teacher, but I am learning more here than I ever would have thought. This isn't about a career, it's about learning about myself. Life is never about our glory; it's always about God's glory. So stop wasting your time trying to further your kingdom, because I can tell you from experience, that never works. Instead focus on furthering God's kingdom, because that's literally all that matters. I am almost positive you were not put on earth to be a CEO, or a perfect socialite mother, or a "cool parent" or everyone's favorite teacher. We were placed on this earth to bring God glory and to be disciples for His Kingdom. Remind yourself of that every day, because that's what I have to do. Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve.
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