A bit weird after forcing myself out of bed at 8 am. I kinda expected to get things done today but after coffee I ended up vegging on the sofa and wrote off the day.
I think I felt like I had achieved my aim for the day by getting up that I didn’t bother with anything else.
Today I’m grateful for:
Amy coming up with the idea to go for a bike ride at around 5 pm. It was good to get up and out.
The best thing about today was:
That bike ride was good but probably the best thing was tucking into coconut ice cream a couple of times.
Something I learned today?
In one day US cops arrested more protesters (protesting their country’s involvement in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza) than China has in a year or even longer. And that is with China having at least 500 protests around the country every day. Different ways of dealing with things….
Did you do something difficult or challenging today?
Getting up early was a little challenging considering my holiday-mode but I gotta start preparing myself for getting up at 6 am again. Not much else has been difficult today hence no entries for good/bad deeds or things out of control.
I took this picture as we said goodbye to the sun until tomorrow.
Better after arriving at school this morning, the kids cheered me a little.
I struggled a little with getting up and exercising but once I got going it was ok. I ate extra yoghurt for breakfast too as I think that now I’m eating better because of Amy’s cooking I’m not actually eating enough. I seem to be losing weight quite easily; it feels a little too easy. I will try to eat a little extra today but must stick with healthy things.
Today I’m grateful for:
The free time I had today and also finishing early to watch some of the students practising for their sports day events (or just sitting around waiting for instructions and complaining a lot!). The kids are sure happier to spend less time in class.
The best thing about today was:
Some of my old grade 9 students saw me working in the small teacher’s room and came to chat. One of them, August (the girl who likes dance), was curious about what I was doing on my computer.
I was translating one of my lessons about sexual abuse in Thailand into Thai because I will teach it again to my grade 10 class whose English isn’t so good and I want them to understand as much as possible.
As she was reading the Thai translation I was quite happily surprised when she started reading it out in English, doing the translation in her head. She was then curious about the rest of the lesson and I went through it quickly with her, asking for her opinion on what is appropriate behaviour or not.
She had finished the work in her own class, where she was supposed to be and so stayed and asked about what other lessons I was teaching, so I showed her one about relationships, which I had also got translations for and she then helped me find better words for students to understand.
In the end, time was up but she was enjoying helping that she was reluctant to go.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I sat and talked with the grade 7 student who reached out to me about mental health. His English is very good, much better than the rest of his class, and as a counterbalance to that, he can’t communicate as well in Thai! This is causing him some problems with making friends in his class.
He is also very thoughtful but sometimes he thinks too much and goes over things again and again. He is, thankfully, quite self-aware.
I gave him some suggestions and feel like he will be able to work things out though I think his abilities will mean that he will always feel a little separate from others.
What am I looking forward to this month?
The thing I look forward to most at the moment is being at school and I think this month will be a lot of fun, with having shorter classes and the kids excited about sport, Christmas and days off.
What is one thing I learned about myself this month?
I learned that I can still keep calm despite the reasonably big stresses of money and visa issues this month. I’ve learned to trust in myself and others and that things will turn out ok. This is a little different to how I might have been five or ten years past.
In Western countries, life can be quite rigid and your posture adapts accordingly. Things need to be known and in order for them to run smoothly.
In Thailand, I’ve learned that things rarely run smoothly but that everyone readily adapts without complaint. I’ve been learning this over the five years I’ve been here so that the problems that have occurred in the last month that might have been stressful before are more manageable now.
I took this picture from a video of the super naughty (and hilarious) KB hamming it up for the camera and her friends after fighting with me about doing work. It’s difficult to get angry with her because she is so funny and she does usually finish things with a push. She is also capable but just immature and lazy right now.
We marched ever onward Til we conquered all around Spilled blood, spread disease Put generations in the ground Now the march is inward To conquer our own mind What then becomes of us After what we find?
Godsnake
Some absurd things make us laugh While others they offend But if you cannot laugh at yourself You’ll be angry until your end You can have your faith and eat it Not everyone feels the same Our beliefs are as absurd as each others Let’s not apportion blame
Legacy of GG
Ugly is art, all the same No judgement on defect It deserves respect Only opinion, it’s in the name It could be a mistake Art for art’s sake Like it or leave it Opinions aren’t facts So just relax If you don’t believe it Existing is real Whatever you feel Fame can be fleeting Soon passing on by Even after you die Those people you’re meeting Will return to the sky Just as you and I
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for the delicious smells coming from the kitchen this morning as Amy prepares me my lunch – chilli jam fake duck. The fake meats here are many and varied and I’m grateful for all the choices.
Argh – fuck it all, fuck it away Get it out, make it snappy Process frustration every day Get it out, just be happy
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for Amy’s cooking experiments which means I can eat Pecan cake today as she will make a new one (for Goy’s birthday). Her recent cookies were delicious.
1994ever 