1. Seek someone else’s thoughts and opinions without judging them. Ask questions. Listen. Do not judge. 2. Do not correct someone. Do not one-up with a clever story. 3. Stop thinking about what you’re going to say next and focus on what they’re saying now. Tell yourself ‘I’m not going to say it!’ 4. Ask about what challenges people have. Ask for advice. 5. To make strangers feel at ease tell them you only have a minute. 6. Body language – smile slower. 7. If you feel someone is using you just ask them what it is they want and what they hope to achieve. Are you there for me or there for you?
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for the beautiful smelling flowers in my garden. When I walk to my car in the morning they smell so delicious. I am grateful to Amy’s mum for planting them for us.
To-do list
Sort lessons for KT for the weekend.
Clear emails.
Compliment another teacher.
Positive feedback for kids always.
Do not complain!
Organise Chiang Mai trip – where is the office?
Add to things to write about list.
Buy new pens.
Did it list
30 squats and weightless shoulder presses.
Found lessons suitable for Khawthang.
Did gate duty and smiled at all the kids.
Had to speak at assembly.
Got given an exam lesson to cover as Kevin was absent. Dealt with calmly and went ok.
Went to city to pick up books and pens.
Printed sheets for Prang/Sea and for Khawthang.
Read about 7 tips for good conversation.
Let people talk, ask questions, do not judge, ‘that’s interesting, tell me more’ etc – sincerely.
I ran out of time quickly today after having to fill in an extra lesson for Kevin’s class. His class had good kids though with good levels of English – so it was quite fun to teach them. I only got told about having to do the class during the assembly. I also had to speak at the assembly as Said wasn’t there either. I’m quite happy with the way I handled my emotions with this. It would have been easy to get upset and complain. I don’t think I complained today – not out loud anyway! I didn’t get as much done (reading articles!) as I would have liked but that’s ok. I need to get some other backup games and lessons up my sleeve in case I’m called on again. I’m not sure about doing an MEP class next semester. I think it could be more fulfilling but also a lot more work.
– kind-hearted – caring – talented at drums and music – artistic – generous towards his friends – focused on his favourite hobby – keeps himself hydrated – values justice – charitable
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to the ‘bad’ kids in my classes. The ones who test me, the ones who make it difficult, the ones who push my patience to the limit. They are helping me grow.
To-do list
Compliment people.
Do not complain!
Write week 15 lessons.
Write to Pentti – let’s get that dialogue going again.
Watch the next Thai video – study Thai.
Enjoy dinner with Amy’s family – talk more with Amy’s mum.
Play with the kids at lunchtime – it’s good exercise.
Did it list
Drops/study Thai
Stayed calm but had to leave one class quickly in order to remain calm – they were a real test for me today.
Complimented a couple of students on their work and getting questions right.
Tried not to complain but that is so hard, bring it into mind more often to succeed.
Wrote to Pentti and Lachlan.
Talked briefly with Echo – so good to hear her voice again – she is much more confident in English now.
I am so happy and grateful to Mim, Fong, and Cake. They make me my coffee every day when I’m at school.
5th May 2021 – The coffee shop (Wynn) didn’t even have great coffee. Teachers were not allowed to leave school during work hours but this shop is just the other side of the road outside school. It would take 5 minutes to walk there, buy a coffee and walk back which I would do two or three times a day. At the end of the contract, they cited this as the main reason that I wouldn’t be rehired. Needless to say, they had a high turnover of foreign teachers. There’s a real tug-of-war between Thai administrations and foreign teachers. To me, the Thai request for foreign teachers to assimilate to the Thai way seems to indicate that theirs is the best way, but even I, as a non-professional teacher, could see that it wasn’t the best way, and having come from another country (to use as a comparison) and wanting to do the best job possible for the students – it seems inevitable that not many foreign teachers are happy under this system – unless they just take the easy way out. Why don’t I take the easy way out? It’s just not in me. I take the path of most resistance. It seems like the system of education here is purposely designed to keep people stupid. Achievements from Thai institutions are meaningless overseas because they know the situation here. Anyway, talking to the three girls in the coffee shop – even just inane chatter – became my 5 minutes of daily bliss while working at this particular government school.
To-do list
Study Thai/Drops.
Compliment people.
Prepare for your mad Monday.
Play with the kids at lunchtime.
Did it list
Studied Thai/Drops.
Managed to stay calm all day.
Calmly changed plans after breaking a tooth and having to go to the dentist.
Hugged the kids after punishing them.
After a late night last night and an early start this morning, today has been a bit of a zombie-like feeling. Instead of feeling tired and grumpy though I felt calm and collected. I knew that eventually I would get home and be able to relax and here I am in bed now at 8 pm. I will read a little but sure to fall asleep soon.
Music from Captain Beefheart, MIA, Danielson, Screaming Maldini, The Crowd, Lovely Little Girls, Bruno Nicholai, GISM, Sajjanu, Mason, Don Cabellero, Caroliner, Thingy, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Family Fodder, Teenage PHDs, The Girls, Soul Junk, Naked Raygun, Discharge.
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to have developed my friendly personality. I never used to be like this but have practiced hard and now have the self-confidence to talk to people openly.
To-do list
Talk to a stranger.
Compliment as many people as you can (sincerely).
Record new TCRAH.
Upload latest TCRAH.
Read 3 chapters.
Study some more Thai.
Sort some more CDs.
Did it list
Managed to do everything on my to do list today.
Talked with a stranger.
Complimented as many people as I could – Fern, Khawthang, Phuli, Sea, Prang, Amy.
Recorded new TCRAH.
Uploaded and shared latest TCRAH.
Read 4 chapters of Anna Karenina.
Studied a little more Thai.
Sorted CDs and music files.
Helped Amy prepare for tomorrow.
Got up before 8am.
Started looking at old writing etc.
I didn’t think I’d completed my to do list today but realised I did talk to a stranger, JaJa. She was sitting with her cat outside the copy shop. I complimented a few people today but realise I could compliment even more. It was good that it was in my mind though. Recording TCRAH felt a little rushed today because we are quite busy with other things – this meant that I didn’t get to experiment as much as I would’ve liked. Studying Thai at my own pace seems to suit me a little – if I can form that habit continually it will make me feel good.
Today I found one of the students guiltily copying work of another student. He puts a lot of effort into avoiding working and running around finding someone to copy. That effort could just go into thinking.
When I told the teacher who was teaching them they just shrugged it off as if it didn’t matter and I noticed this made me feel a little miffed and I’m considering why.
I have something against this student due to his laziness and maybe I just wanted him to be punished. On the other hand, maybe the teacher has the right attitude. If the student can only learn to copy then he will discover the appropriate reward in his future.
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for the things that made me smile this week. Mostly it was the students, sometimes the cats, always Amy and sometimes myself. I smiled because of the simple things in my life that make me happy.
To-do list
Compliment a teacher and the students
Clear more emails and tabs!
Do something nice for someone.
Write to Jochen – same idea as with Aaron.
Study some more Thai.
Can you meditate today?
Did it list
Positive encouragement for students.
Stayed calm – only raised voice to be heard.
10,000 steps without realising.
Under 81kg today.
30 squats and 30 weightless shoulder presses.
Tried to be positive when talking with Boyan.
Took time to play with students.
Wrote to Jochen.
Called and encouraged Ellen.
Tried to call Echo.
Wrote some more relevant thoughts to Lachlan.
Read more online, closed some tabs but opened many more!
Cleared many emails.
Finished watching Happy!
Sorted new music files.
Studied a little Thai.
Today I tried really hard to be mindful of the things that I wanted to do. I wasn’t able to achieve all these things but having them in the front of my mind was a good exercise and something I will continue to practice. I gave quite a few students verbal compliments and confidence boosters and it was nice to get some positive feedback from them too. I might have to consider streamlining some email lists I’m on as I’m starting to get a little overwhelmed with so many things that I would like to explore.
I am so happy and grateful to be around my students. They are almost blank slates, learning as they go, testing things trying things, growing their brains. It’s great to watch, and inspirational to observe as I can learn to have my mind as open as theirs again. The teacher must always be a student in order to teach.
To-do list
Compliment one of the other teachers (I have trouble with this one!).
Be prepared for difficult IEC class where students have to work in groups on a mini project.
Go out and play with kids at lunchtime.
Talk to Mohan about looking at the grade 6 books and consider if you can do that job happily.
Did it list
Complimented Jimmy on his shirt.
Today’s lessons went well – the kids had a bit more freedom and they respected that. I was worried about this yesterday so this was a nice surprise. About 90% of the students got themselves fully involved. I’ll try and incorporate more work like this in future.
Played soccer with some of the students.
Read a bit online, cleared emails and tabs.
Wrote to Lachlan – his article made me think a lot.
Talked to Mohan about getting grade 6 books.
Supported some students with positive feedback. Maybe I do this normally and don’t notice it too much but I feel like I need to do it more – to offer more encouragement. It’s difficult to do in a class situation as there are so many students and noise and the same with one-on-one!
Many interactions with many students. I enjoy engaging with all students – not just the ones in my classes. I feel like the students appreciate that.
I’ve been spending what free time I have reading a lot this year and really getting into it. English books are a little hard to come by here – there’s just one guy who sells secondhand books from his house here. He’s a character – and not always particularly pleasant but his bigotry and short temper cracks me up more than offends. When you hear another foreign immigrant being racist to other people (who don’t live here), it kinds of shines a different light on things in some ways. Being English and white in this country is a double-edged sword – for me and for people judging me. It’s an unusual situation to be in.
One time I was sitting in his shop chatting with him when two early 20-year-olds, backpackers, had been browsing and brought two books to him to ask the price. They then spent what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about 30 seconds, discussing if they could buy both and carry both. I could see our bookseller getting more and more agitated and eventually he grabbed the books off them and shouted at them to stop wasting his time. He handed one book back and said ‘Give me 100 baht for this one and get out of my shop!’ I couldn’t stop laughing.
The girls were discussing whether they could afford to spend another couple of dollars or be bothered to carry two books instead of one. It was a very inconsequential decision that they just couldn’t arrive at. To have someone unable to make this decision when an extra 100 baht would really make a difference to this guy was obviously frustrating. They also weren’t to know that he was late to take care of a friend of a friend who was dying of cancer. Something done out the goodness of his heart. Humans are complicated.
Anyways, I’ve been stocking up books, trying to build a library of my own. Inspired by a friend’s room of books and old wooden shelves, which I always loved being in – to browse, to consider, to wonder, to breath in that mysterious air of hidden words. I once went into an antique bookshop in Albury and immediately told the owner that I wasn’t going to buy anything but I just wanted to look and smell the books. He was quite agreeable.
When moving from Oz to Thailand I grew accustomed to letting go of things that I had held with some regard. Of course, the things I held really dear I shipped over. It’s a good catharsis to sell or gift things that you own though. It’s not like we can keep them forever anyway.
I also remember a quote from a writer, maybe Marquez, along the lines of ‘one must die with a library of mostly unread books.’ Not sure my wife agrees with this philosophy but that’s probably why my office/library/man cave is in a room outside my house. I look through the books contemplating what I’m going to read next and can get excited with the possibilities. I turn my head as I’m sitting here and thinking about All Quiet On The Western Front, The Grapes of Wrath or Lord Jim?
On the iPad, which I use to read comics mostly, I’m thinking to start on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. It was the bookseller who got me interested in this as he mentioned it was banned in Thailand for some reason I forget now. He described the story a little bit to me and the idea seemed cool enough for me to give it a go. How can a country ban books these days when it’s so easy to transfer them digitally? I sent a copy of Animal Farm to a friend in China. Easy enough (and they’re still alive and free!).
The book I have been enjoying most is Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I’m not sure where I saw a recommendation for this, though I’m guessing it was from The Daily Stoic. I’m guessing this because as I read it I see those philosophical themes throughout. The characters are fascinating in their different beliefs and ideas and Tolstoy makes you feel sympathetic with everyone of them.
I was never a big reader when I was younger and I was thinking that a younger me would have dismissed ever trying this book. Why would I want to try and understand about Russian aristocracy from over 100 years ago? What did that have to do with me and my life now? Ah, the stupidity of youth. I’m often envious of those who have found this beauty in the world at a younger age than myself. Why am I late to the wisdom table!?
I can only hope that in my teaching I can inspire the kids to get there quicker than I did. When I look at all the ‘trouble-makers’ in my class I only see my own stupid face reflected in their eyes. Ah, the stupidity of youth. But I wouldn’t really wish it any other way – and what would be the point?
“And so from school to the outside world these morals you will take…”
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for my dreams. I can meet old friends, people who are no longer in my life. They stay close to my thoughts and experience.
To-do list
Email to Aaron and float the TCRAH idea to him
Give more positive reinforcement to the kids
Compliment one of the other teachers
Follow up with Andrew about Indra
Check on the IEC lesson for the New Year’s week, maybe plan something else
Did it list
Wrote email to Aaron. Made some arrangements with Indra for shows in Yogyakarta. Up to date with Anna Karenina cliff notes. Read 4 chapters of Anna Karenina. Did 30 squats and weightless shoulder presses. Posted to 1994ever blog. Survived one testing class today! Updated lessons to allow for the 2-day week at New Year’s. Cleared some emails and Chrome tabs. Brief online talk with Cake.
My regular English class were very testing today but I realised that my lesson plan was not so smart – the ideas were good but the execution was not so much. I don’t really know how to get the class to settle back down again after some excitement. I think to improve I need to be more aware of the class dynamic and arrange my lesson accordingly. Don’t shove too much into it. My other class went well though I still see room for improvement – it gave me an idea though, that hopefully makes the next lesson easier.
Don’t set your mind on things you don’t posess as if they were yours, but count the blessings you actually possess and think how much you would desire them if they weren’t already yours.
Marcus Aurelius
What if…
I never met Amy? Hayden was never born? I never met Paul and Charlie? I never saw the Sex Pistols on TV? I never met the Gaunts Common kids, Rupert, Jeremy, etc? I never made plans for where I live now? I never studied anything else after getting my first job? I never took the chance to travel to China? I never took the time to study about Asian music? Hayden had a disability? I didn’t have my own space? I hated reading books? I didn’t enjoy music? There was no internet?
I have so much in my life to appreciate and I really do!
“You may not sleep again”
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to be able to look forward to ask things in my future. Just as we are now settled and made ourselves a beautiful home the question has been raised about selling and moving to the city. I really really love where I am now but selling this house would give us a huge boost of money that could take all pressure off us having to work all the time. Stay or go – everything is great!
To-do list
Read three chapters of Anna Karenina.
Sort music files and CDs (ongoing).
Upload TCRAH to SoulSeek.
30 squats after waking up.
Email to Aaron.
Record another TCRAH?
Sort more files for TCRAH.
Close some Chrome tabs!
Did it list
30 squats.
Sorted some music files and CDs.
Closed a few Chrome tabs.
Dictated and posted 2 blog entries.
Had a good time teaching the kids.
Went to a craft fair with Amy, Aing, Nu and Gus (enjoyable).
If you got nothing to talk about then there’s always the weather. Over the last couple of years though, the weather has become a major conversation for most people. Extremes are getting hit everywhere. And now having said that……
It’s not just a surprise to me that it’s so cold here in North Thailand at the moment, even the locals say they’ve never felt anything like it. We all probably forgot what it was like last year. It’s a bit of a shock to the system though and apparently, this ‘winter’ cold will be over within the week. It’s actually a nice temperature but I can’t enjoy it because everyone got sick and thought it best to share it with me, so I’ve been rugged up and sleeping it off for what feels way too long. Hanging out daily with hundreds of sick kids doesn’t help much either.
Another annoying thing is that the temperature had just become appropriate to crack open the bottle of Malt Whiskey I’d been sitting on since last year. After a couple of nights of enjoyment, the sickness took hold. Maybe it’s related? When it’s not school holidays I’ve pretty much stopped drinking now, so I’m a bit out of practice. This has had some positive health effects in that I’ve lost a little bit of weight without having to do any exercise. I would like to do some exercise though but……I’m fucking sick.
Anyway, in between working and coughing I’m also in the middle of planning a ten-day or so South East Asia tour for Worlds Dirtiest Sport from France, which is basically Kevin from Trumans Water and his one-man band. I’m very excited about this. It’s a great excuse for me to get to see some other parts of Southeast Asia that I haven’t visited yet, to enjoy watching Kevin play each night and to discover the local scenes and bands there. As well as catching up with some old (and newer) friends.
Whilst doing this I also have to arrange myself a new UK passport, as that is what my Thai visa is attached to. I got this Australian passport that I’ve never used and not sure when I’ll be able to! This will mean having to make two quick trips to the British Embassy in Chiang Mai on working weekdays. This is my opportunity to use the word palaver.
those days
Dealing with the moving targets of Thai bureaucracy has hardened me somewhat to the bullshit bureaucracy I had to deal with in Australia and the UK with all the visas, passports and information requirements. This time should be a cinch. Famous last words.
these days
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to be around the kids at school. Even if they are shitbags they never fail to make me smile many times a day. I can go home with those smiles and forget about how little they actually learned.
Did it lists
“You may not wake up tomorrow”
What did I do well today? Where were my discipline and self-control tested? Where did I do good? What did I do bad and why did this occur? Furthermore, how can I improve?
Wrote in gratitude journal.
Understood more about my students.
Prepped next week’s regular class worksheets.
Downloaded Daily Stoic Introduction and saved to Drive.
1994ever 