Tag: Kru Karn

Where’s Your Courage? – 28th March 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

“The little things are the big things.”

Courage demands bravery in this very moment
Of heroic action.

And so happiness is possible,
Living an ordinary life
In an extraordinary way

Text is borrowed and arranged from this post at The Stoa Letter and the form (Cherita) is inspired by this post at the Skeptic’s Kaddish and the title is from the Minutemen.

Today I’m feeling:

Super tired again.  Yesterday I managed to resist an afternoon nap and I got to sleep OK, until Cap kept crying to go in and out of the bedroom and then to be fed.  Happy to know that he has his appetite but I just want to sleep more!

Today I’m grateful for:

Amy and her family deciding to go for a fish lunch out in the rice fields.  It was good to do something different though it was funny that they decided on the restaurant that Bruno and I went and tried as we were riding by a year or two ago.

Also to Kru Karn who offered me her shelf space in the teacher’s room to keep my things.  I’ll do that for now but may move it to somewhere more suitable later.

The best thing about today was:

Reading more about the British Empire in Africa.  It was interesting to read that there were people who abhorred the colonial treatment of other human beings at the time.  Interesting in that nothing much has changed, sadly.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I haven’t been able to do any more lesson planning as I haven’t been able to get more information from Kru Mai about my classes yet.  It’s a little frustrating as it is what we are supposed to be doing this week and now it means I will have to do more in the actual holiday time.

When I went to school just before lunch I found lots of people cleaning out the office space for Kru Puu who will stay in there in future.  Unfortunately, this means moving my stuff out from there and also not being able to use it for one-to-one speaking exercises anymore.  A lot of student’s work that I was keeping to look at later was also missing, presumably thrown out. Oh well. Nothing stays the same.

Something I learned today?

I just got sent a video by Noey. It was of me riding the wrong way at the traffic lights (to save time) as I was out getting a tub of ice cream at the 7-11.  She must have been on her bike at the traffic lights going in the other direction.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

I messaged a few more students today and had little conversations of encouragement with them.

I took this picture because this was the view from our restaurant table at lunch time.

The Bridge – 20th March 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 10 Comments

The demons are attacking our integrity
The bogeyman is coming
Teeth razor-sharp

*We stand at opposite ends of the bridge
That we both hope to cross*

Unable to turn away from the pain
Manipulated and manufactured
Misused for another’s gain
Consent assumed given

*Taken from Joanna Chen’s censored article at Guernica – still found using the Wayback Machine
Submitted to dVerse – Look Sharp, Now!

Today I’m feeling:

Similar to yesterday in that I feel like I have an oncoming cold.

Yesterday’s trip to the hospital doesn’t seem to have fixed up Amy’s skin allergy so we’ll go to the city this evening to see her doctor who usually is able to help with issues like this.

Today I’m grateful for:

Amy’s specialist skin doctor who advised exactly what she thought her problem was and prescribed medicines to help. Amy trusts this doctor and was much more upbeat after seeing her.

The best thing about today was:

Finding out which classes I will teach next semester. Some new challenges for me that have got me thinking already.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

When Kru Karn first showed me my new classes I saw that I would teach my two most testing groups of students again. Ah well, I can deal with it, I thought to myself. 

As it turned out it wasn’t my classes and I found that I don’t have to teach them at all!

I haven’t exercised for over a week now due to not feeling well and also due to the toxic air. I don’t want to be gulping down big gasps of it, trying to catch my breath whilst exercising.

Something I learned today?

A Boeing employee was giving evidence in court blowing the whistle on the company (for what I’m not exactly sure).  Boeing’s lawyers asked him to stay an extra day to add more detail and answer questions.  However, the following morning he was dead by supposed suicide!  And he had already told colleagues that if he was ever found dead it would definitely not be from suicide.  Will corporations in the USA still be allowed to get away with murder?

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

I messaged David that the new class lists were available so that he could go and get it from school and start preparing for next year too.

My vile deed today was cutting into traffic at the annoying traffic lights near the hospital. Minus a karma point or two.

Nothing new today so here’s Garfield again.

The Last Resort Technician – 8th March 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Like a loopy Ikea jigsaw puzzle
Needing all the king’s horses and men
Humpty Dumpty took sage advice
To R.T.F.M.

Submitted to The Sound of One Hand Typing

Today I’m feeling:

Happy and relaxed.  Now the real semester wind down is happening which saddens me somewhat, as less students bother coming to school, less youthful influence to inspire and the prospect of adult nonsense for the next couple of weeks of grading and lesson planning.  But I will make the best of that.

Today I’m grateful for:

Getting home and then remembering that today is the first game of the season for the Sydney Swans.  The game was actually yesterday but I have to wait until I can watch the replay.  

Every year the site layout changes and I have to try and figure out how to watch the game replay without seeing the score.  I usually don’t manage this on the first game due to the changes and sure enough that’s what happened today.  

But that’s fine – because we won, beating the Melbourne Demons by 22 points.  Watching the game was still entertaining because we played well.  I hope we can keep it up.

The best thing about today was:

Chatting, playing, teaching my students today along with a 4 hour break at House where I did some reading and writing, trying some new forms of poetry and contemplating others.

Something I learned today?

What a ghazal is and forced myself to write one.  It took me about an hour just to figure out ten lines.  It was an interesting exercise though.

I also learned that my grade 7 student Pang never went home yesterday. The night before she and her mum had a fight and her mum told her not to come home again. So that’s exactly what she did!

When Kru Karn was trying to find information from her friends she discovered that Pang skipped school at midday yesterday and went off with her old friends and got so drunk that she couldn’t walk and posted the story on Instagram! If the director of the school ever sees that then that is instant expulsion. 

For me, getting drunk with her friends isn’t that big a deal, it’s what I did at that age too. Hopefully her friends are true friends and will take care of her.

It reminds me of a time when I was about 18 and there was a very drunk 13-year-old in town and my friends and I took care of her. We called her parents to tell them that we were all very sorry but that she wouldn’t be home that night but that we would take care of her. Of course, they were very upset but we did take care of her and found her a female friend to stay with that night. I don’t know what the fallout from that event was but I think we did the right thing taking care of her.

Our worry with Pang is that not only is she strong-willed and wild but that she is on medication for depression. So, along with a risk of being sexually taken advantage of (or willingly accidentally falling pregnant), she is also susceptible to doing something tragic.

I took these pictures because they represent the feeling of the day. My students, hard at work.

Carriage Four – 28th February 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

It’s the marker of my day’s end
Another hour to sit and spend
Contemplating tomorrow
In the warmth of my only friend

– Carriage four, sat by the door

*Walking home in the rain again
Missed the subway train again*
There’s a seat with my name
That I can’t explain again….

Submitted for Reena’s Xploration Challenge #319.
*Inspired by Buffalo Tom’s The Bus

Today I’m feeling:

A little disheartened.  I slept late again last night and couldn’t force myself up to exercise.  Like I mentioned yesterday I tend to feel better and more energetic in the evenings when I’ve been sick or still recovering.  When I woke this morning I could feel that I’m still not 100%.

My mood was ok but I could also feel that some of my students weren’t in such a great mood themselves this morning, though as can be expected there are still plenty who were.  Perhaps those down ones infected me slightly though.

I also felt a little disconsolate as I came out of school to grab coffee and the reduced number of students being around already at this time of year reminded me that this will all be over again for another year.

Yesterday and last night was also the turning point for temperatures as I put the aircon on for a little while when I got home after work and then needed it on for four hours at the start of the night.  With just the fan for the rest of the night, I woke up hot and tired.  Time to start the cold showers I think.

Today I’m grateful for:

Casually chatting with Kru Karn about what to teach her class today (with so many students away), which was about to start, and through that coming up with the idea to get the kids to take a photo or video of someone in the school and then make a one-minute video presentation describing them (our topic is Describing People).

Initially, the kids were shocked when I told them all to leave the class and go and find someone to talk about.  And then I was shocked to find all of them in the teacher’s room talking to Kru Karn because they wanted her to be the subject.  When I found them I told them that everyone had to have a different person as the subject and they all left somewhat dejected, though it got their brains spinning.

Whilst they all went off, some actually doing the work, others just playing with the other half-class of students next door, I sat back a little, fielded questions, gave advice and started my grading files.  Eventually, after the two hours were up, everyone had finished the task as best they could and I was happy and they were happy too.

The best thing about today was:

My grade 10s being late for class and me not caring!  The work planned for them can be done at any time so we just started when they finally arrived and can do more next week.  

It wasn’t their fault that they were late so we just enjoyed a relaxed lesson of writing and thinking.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

(See below)

Something I learned today?

One of our Thai teachers told a student that they will never get a job because they are not smart enough.  I was fuming when I heard this, it’s the antithesis of how a teacher should be.  

It’s a struggle for a teacher to pick everyone up but you have to support the students in any way that you can.  You have to give them something.  

I asked the student who confided the information to me what grade they got from that teacher and it was grade 4! Top grade!  Unbelievable!  It makes me angry!

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

Another student came to me today asking for help with mental health issues.  We talked for about an hour going over the problems they are having (including the issue mentioned above) and despite our struggles with language we blundered through with translation and managed to understand each other.  

I’ve done a little bit of investigation and sent some information for support services in Thai and I will find some more information for them later too.

Bruno took this picture in Italy, in the mountains where his family is from. No pictures from me today.

Aymara – 3rd January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The future is behind me
Invisible to the eye
The past keeps coming
Towards me until I die

Understanding is backwards
Yet life is straight ahead
In the end, it’s all done
When it’s all been said

Today I’m feeling:

A little edgy due to lack of sleep.  I kept waking up whilst having wild and unusual dreams.  I forget their story but have kept the feeling as I woke.  It’s a little disconcerting. Leg exercise and stomach stretching was good and easy.  My shoulders are feeling a little better but not sure that they will be fully ok before next week when I’d like to get back to arm and shoulder exercises again.

Today I’m grateful for:

The teachers who helped me with some little things today, such as finding a stapler and staples in the mess of the teacher’s room and sending the student list so that I could print out the student names for my new class.

I’m also grateful to my past self for downloading lots of useful English workbooks in the past and finding something useful to use for my new class.  I already have too many ideas and I haven’t even met them yet or know what their skill levels are.  I’ll soon find out though – first class tomorrow.

The best thing about today was:

An interesting comment from Kru Karn when I expressed concern for one of my students that she looks after.  She off-handedly said that most teachers don’t care that much about the students, implying that I do.  I don’t know if she was congratulating or criticising but I took it as a matter of pride.  As an average, untrained English teacher I make it a point to at least care about the students and the job that I’m employed to do.

A late update as I’ve just hopped into bed with delectable-smelling clean sheets and anticipating this, I used the expensive shower gel that smells like glitter and glamour. I’m soft and snug, smelling of champagne!

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

My grade 7 class was a little out of control, still in holiday mode.  I have the feeling it will be like this until the end of the semester with this grade.  I didn’t push them too hard today, just prepping them for the real work on Friday.

Something I learned today?

The Ancient Romans used to drop a piece of toast into their wine for good health, which is why we ‘raise a toast’.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

After my grade 10 students had completed their work for me I helped them with a speech that they had to do for another class later today.  I recorded the speech myself so that they could copy my pronunciation and I sat with them as they practiced and gave them tips.

If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

Somehow I wonder if I might relax a little knowing this.

Without knowing this, of course, I may die suddenly tomorrow.  I should relax now!

Would I keep working?  I enjoy what I’m doing right now but with a known time limit what else could I do in the meantime?  Would travelling the world feel satisfactory or would it just feel meaningless?  Do I even know how to enjoy myself anymore!

I think perhaps I would go travelling but on a nostalgia trip and also to catch up with old friends and have one last conversation.

I don’t think I would just fuck everything off and spend the time decadently.  Maybe a little!

I took this picture because this weird little cactus at House appears to have the Christmas spirit.