He just, just, just couldn’t get it together Metaphor not needed, no ray of sunshine Petering out, always under the weather He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time
Jimmy the door so that us fools can rush in Do not harry him, his heart is so sublime So mark my words, when he’s ready to begin He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time
Submitted to the AllPoetry’s Expressing Yourself course; write a two-stanza poem using metaphor and Poets and Storytellers United Friday Writings #137: At the Last Minute. Inspired by an old school friend called Justin who inevitably got called Justin Time whenever he was late for something. An added bonus of a boy’s name used in each line too.
Today I’m feeling:
Sleepy with sore eyes. Slept badly, with Tigger waking everyone up at 3 am for some unknown reason, perhaps complaining about the rain. Reset my alarm to get an extra 30 minutes of rest and skipped exercise.
It’s another grey day to dull my aching eyes and even the kids are less enthusiastic today, amplifying the dark, depressing atmosphere. Though kids will no doubt not be able to help themselves from being kids. Will the adults, this adult, be able to be an adult today?
Today I’m grateful for:
Nong Spain carrying half of the workbooks for me up to the classroom this afternoon.
The best thing about today was:
Doing a little catching up with my four free hours. I got another lesson finished plus more ideas along with some reading and writing. No one thing particularly outstanding today.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Nong Praew came over to me to help her in the morning class and I guided her to the correct answers. Weirdly, I can feel my Thai improving as I’ve been helping her as she generally only speaks Thai to me unless I ask her to read.
As I was helping her, we used her phone to look up things and I noticed that she had been searching for ‘die, dead, death’ in Google, which she quickly tried to hide. She brushed it off when I asked her about it. She had also told me that she forgot to take her meds in the morning.
Anyway, after she had finished the classwork, she wanted to play but ended up annoying me enough that I left to the cafe to keep working.
In the afternoon class, she was a little concerned that she couldn’t charge her phone and would run out of battery before being able to call her mom to pick her up.
Without being able to charge her phone, a few minutes later, she became teary and I tried to calm her. I looked at her phone and she still had 8% battery left so it didn’t seem like a big deal. In her fragile state though, she couldn’t see it like that.
We did a difficult spelling test and she got deeply involved in that and then I finished up the class and she disappeared quickly.
I messaged her later about why she reacted so strongly to not having her phone charged and she said that she had to walk home. She only lives a couple of blocks from school but it was raining a little.
I wasn’t sure whether to believe this but Kru Jern had mentioned to me that her parents indulge her in everything. In this context, her behaviour makes more sense.
Whilst I will indulge her in learning, I’ll make sure that she knows where are the boundaries.
Something I learned today?
Israel has managed to fire rockets and kill targets in other countries with remarkable precision yet somehow cannot do the same in Gaza, bombing the shit out of everything and anyone.
This clearly shows their intentions. Things are starting to kick off and I can’t see it de-escalating soon.
Symbolism in deeper reds Canvas colour capture spreads Abstract yet educated Rhythmic patterns illustrated Leaving be the ugly things Elevate what this beauty brings The fusion of knowledge
Spiritual movement college Aims towards enlightenment Grittily honest experiment Evoking the scarlet sage
Dancing eyes across the page And so the paintings change view Now that the painting changed you Creativity in meditation Invitation to interpretation Nearer to the stormy sea Goes the light blue nursery
Animal instincts of segregation
Wisdom rises beyond illumination Hanging our pictures on these walls In the museum, how history falls Risen to rhyme and rearranged Look at me now, times have changed In search of happiness and beauty No submission to customs of duty Greedy and grim, not another one
Death and frenzy have all been done Ever since, and so it will be Raise the tools to stave off misery Vanquish fear with canvas maze Inspired to passion with its praise Spun out a web of dream delight Hanging on the deeper reds tonight
Submitted to dVerse and inspired by the attached painting by Alma Thomas and information found about her work.
Today I’m feeling:
My regular weekend tired, though I got up early to drop Amy off at the airport as she heads to Udon Thani via Bangkok to meet Jess.
Then Baipad messaged me that Jan will come and meet her at The Black House this morning and wanted to arrange with me to transport her there.
No problem, though I’m looking forward to getting home later and playing some guitar, reading, writing and listening to some music.
I’m hungry already, too and it’s not quite registered yet that I have to figure out what I’m going to eat today and the rest of this week, with my regular chef being away!
Today I’m grateful for:
The drink lady at Baan Dam who complimented me on my Thai. And then Jess also complimented me when I was able to answer her questions, though usually in English. She was at least impressed that I understood her.
The best thing about today was:
Seeing the look of happiness on Baipad’s face when she saw Jan again. They haven’t seen each other since March and though they chat a bit online, I could see how happy they were to just be able to gossip with each other about their lives. One thing I really noticed was that they barely looked at their phones the whole time that they were together.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Just as I was sat comfortably in bed, Cap came to the door asking to be let in, which I did and then Amy video-called and I started talking with her, Jess and Jess’s relatives. Cap jumped up onto bed and then proceeded to piss all over it. Motherfucker!
I hung up the call grabbed the sheet off the bed and ran it to the washing machine, coming back with a cut lemon and some paper towels. After cleaning up as best I could I called Amy back and was feeling a bit annoyed, at one moment feeling relaxed and the next having to deal with this.
Amy was happily drunk and laughed it off but I wasn’t in the mood. She could feel that and we said good night. I’ve switched all the bed linen to Amy’s bed and will sleep there tonight.
I’m dog tired, but my adrenaline is up now. I’ll calm down soon.
Something I learned today?
When I asked one of my grade 12 students what they could do to practice speaking English when there was no one around they said that the practice with ChatGPT. Not a bad idea.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I talked a little with Freya today and tried to pep her up as she is understandably still feeling down about what happened yesterday.
I took this picture at Baan Dam because these cute bugs would probably make Amy itch. They were everywhere!
Good, though I skipped exercise this morning as my alarm shocked me awake and my eyes were so heavy. I thought I’d get straight back to a deep sleep but didn’t as my brain slowly engaged. I did enjoy the rest though and I probably needed it.
I wasn’t looking forward to my first class, my lazy grade 11s on the relatively boring topic of presentations. I try to get them going as much as I can but I think that they have other things to think about. However, it did go well and I pulled back a little to talk with each group about their presentations and it was ok.
The second class, the grade 11 HAP and J-Biz kids, I prepped when they arrived that we would finish early and could complete the final task and bring to class next week. They were happy with this as they had mentioned that they were overloaded with work for another class.
During that class I talked with Jee about problems between the J-Biz and HAP students in both grade 11 and 10. She told me that the grade 11s were mostly fine but that in grade 10 they are not connecting well at all.
But she did talk to me about Freya causing all sorts of problems between everyone in the grade 11 class. I know that there had been some issues before but I thought that it had kind of settled down now. It seems not.
At the end of my class there was definitely some frank discussion going on between a few students and Freya. I discussed it with both sides separately a little later but with the language barrier it was a little difficult to get to the bottom of.
It seems like Freya might have a problem with running her mouth at times and not thinking about what she is saying. Maybe a gossip, playing both sides depending on who she is talking to. I’m guessing that she has low social skills and perhaps her background has played a part in this, though I know nothing about that. It’s just that I feel that she might be more old school Thai than some of the other kids who are more with the times and less provincial.
Also, she may be getting a skewed understanding of how relationships work by live streaming in class sometimes and getting positive feedback on her looks from ‘fans’.
This is all conjecture on my part and I feel sorry for her because she admits to knowing that she has done wrong and bad things in the past but feels like she is being given a further chance.
I told her to talk with Kru Pooky, who I’m not sure is the best person to go to for advice, though she is a little like Freya too. She seems to struggle with friends in the school and is always posting pictures of herself alone at cafes on Instagram, which feels a bit odd to me as she is (I’m guessing) approaching middle age, though not unattractive. I can see Freya easily becoming like her in the future. So, I’m not sure if that makes her a good or bad person to be talking with!
I also told Freya to talk with me later. I’ve messaged her this evening but not heard back. As she struggles with depression and being away from family I just hope she doesn’t do anything rash.
Thankfully my last class of grade 8s was a breeze after all that drama as they struggled with reading in front of class but they tried very hard and did very well. A quick quiz afterwards and we were all able to get away a little earlier.
Today I’m grateful for:
The friendly lady at the cookie shop in Ban Den. She was nice as Amy and I video called to figure out what to buy for her to take to Udon Thani.
The best thing about today was:
Feeling good listening to my grade 8s reading and having seen them improve over the week. A few of them still don’t understand what they’re saying but at least they are getting over their fear of talking.
It’s a good feeling to watch them evolving their skills over time.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I tried supporting Freya as mentioned above.
It was (grade 9) Earn’s birthday today and I delivered her a piece of chocolate cake from Le Paradis, for which she was appreciative, though I asked her to listen to Kru David in her class (for a change!)
I also let Spain, Praew and her friend through into the cafe so that they could sit in the aircon as the gate hadn’t been unlocked yet.
You made them, baby boys Conceived in a sweaty room Forgotten fruit left to rot The urge to run too soon
Scattershot bonds stretch Heated passion, spoiled seeds Helpless baby boys flailing Without the direction he needs
You made them, baby girls Breeders, they can’t stop breeding Pretty pink unkissed lips Rushing towards the seeding
Scattershot, the TV dreams Promises whispered or unspoken Babies make babies cry So all the boys and girls are broken
Submitted to FOWC with Fandango and inspired by my experiences teaching wild and untamed students already on their sexual journies as their young parents are missing in action (for various reasons).
Today I’m feeling:
Good again. I pushed through the tough exercise again this morning, feeling breathless and sweaty by the end. Amy has been sound asleep in the mornings for the last few days and in the evenings I’m usually asleep well before her.
I enjoyed my first two grade 11 classes this morning and just have a reading class with the grade 8s this afternoon and it’s the weekend again.
Today I’m grateful for:
My student, Beam. In the task I set his class yesterday of sending me an oral diary telling me what they learned that day, Beam told me that he really enjoys my class and learning things from me.
Whilst he is smart enough to know how to butter someone up I believe his sincerity. It felt good to hear and encourages me. I will return that encouragement to the class.
The best thing about today was:
… (As I’m writing this on Saturday morning, I don’t feel that there was one best thing about yesterday. The day was pretty good all round until I ran out of energy, and as I’m still not fully recovered yet, it is clouding my memory of yesterday a little too.)
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
In my last class, I could feel my energy giving out and was glad to end it a little early and then head home. I revived briefly with some dinner, but by around 7.30 pm, I was crashing badly and melting into the lounge, mindlessly watching TV.
Amy tried to revive me again before sleep, but ended up disappointed, and I was asleep an instant later.
(I didn’t even have energy to complete writing here and doing it now on Saturday morning)
Something I learned today?
Praew told me that she will leave our school at the end of the semester because of her unhappiness, and on further investigation, she told me it was because she was bullied in our class.
I thought maybe this was by her old friends, Nudee and Ueang, but I was surprised to learn that it was by KanomBang. I hadn’t seen this at all.
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.
Been through all my mp3s Got them into folders Making them easier to find Tagged with genre holders Downloaded semi-legally Some, decades ago Now they are all mine Apparently so
Now I have cloud storage Folders I can share 7 million songs Are waiting for you there Music, the great healer In any shape or form From drum to vinyl to CD And now digital the norm!
Been through all my vinyl got them into plastic sleeves protection from the dust and grime that passing time it leaves Cathartic, it was wholesome remembering the time when I purchased each and brought them home when they were all then mine
And now I have a flight case with a selection waiting there to play on my turntable and with some others share Music, the great healer it is a remedy to cure or at very least bring respite as its purpose is so pure
A little better this morning. I started feeling a little better last night but crashed out early deliriously in and out of consciousness hearing the duff duff of the DJ and Amy’s screams. Amy was the last one standing, as usual, dancing on her own as everyone else retired and left.
Today I’m grateful for:
Aing and Now, who have been borrowing our bike and car but put petrol in them and got the front tyre of the bike replaced when it went flat last night.
The best thing about today was:
Reading more of this book about the Rise and Fall of the British Empire, this time about the way the British dealt with China from 1800 onwards.
I’ve read about this history before and it still makes me upset. I kind of felt smug whilst reading it this time though, knowing how the UK is fairing in the world these days compared to China.
Something I learned today?
In Vietnam, for many drunk drivers, it’s cheaper to abandon the bike than to pay the fine. Now the police are wondering what to do with them all…
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I helped Baipad with work and motivation for about an hour and a half this morning and I think she carried on working after I left and hopefully finished them all.
25 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I WISH I HAD KNOWN 10 YEARS AGO – 21. Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously. Yeah, yeah, you’re an individual, and people have to take you seriously, I get it. But at the end of the day, we’re all a bunch of ants trying to chase the same things. Lighten up.
I don’t take myself too seriously though I do take what I do seriously.
People say I am serious but I think that it is just that I am not easily amused by many people, not adults.
It’s hard to be serious surrounded by naughty 13-year-olds much of the day and whilst it’s still easy to fall down to their level I hope I at least pull them up a little bit to mine.
I don’t mind being a clown or a fool for the sake of the kids. It makes me laugh to think of adults looking down on me for clowning around.
Good for taking an extra 30 minutes snooze this morning. I could have pushed through and got up and exercised but subconsciously I knew that I slept late last night because I wasn’t feeling tired and I was telling myself that I should rest more.
Today I’m grateful for:
Nong Na bringing us a small gift today. We invited her over again to make another contact if we need a cat sitter in the future. We’ve never needed to ask her but I think she would be happy enough to do it and she seems quite reasonable and responsible.
The best thing about today was:
I taught my grade 10s the Sexual Abuse lesson that I had used a couple of years ago. I had to adapt it a little and put in a lot of translation so that they could fully grasp all the concepts. They seemed to follow it well enough, especially the video of the Thai girl speaking out about being abused by a teacher.
They particularly perked up when we came to talk about words about sex, though they started off shyly until I asked them what about all the bad words that you are not supposed to say? Once they got the green light on that, they were off and running.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Late this afternoon I found out that there is an art event again tomorrow morning. I asked a few of my students but they didn’t know anything about it. As usual, communication sucks but I thought that perhaps I can use it to my advantage.
I came home and forgot about it though until one student contacted me, having obviously heard about the event from somewhere, asking if they could go to the event instead of class. Well, doesn’t that sound like a grand idea? But I kept them hanging and just replied ‘Maybe….’
Actually, if I had known something about it I could have prepared some tasks to at least incorporate the event into a lesson somehow. As it is, the kids will probably wander around the event for a few minutes and then go back to the classroom and play on their phones for the rest of the two hours. And so will I, except I will go off for coffee instead.
Something I learned today?
Hippos can’t swim but they can sleep underwater.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
The kids are mostly in a pretty good mood with the end of the semester approaching and I was being pulled in many directions to join and chat with different groups at different times during the day.
Before leaving to come home I usually walk around the park to see which students are hanging out there and I’ll chat briefly with the ones I know and sometimes ones I don’t know will start a conversation too.
This afternoon, Kaowfang, Miyor and Husna were walking by and Kaowfang, as always, was talking about the latest boy that she likes. Then she spotted the boy that Miyor likes and I feigned to bring him over and Miyor pulled me back.
We walked off in different directions but crossed paths again a few minutes later and Miyor went off to sit down whilst Kaowfang and Husna started telling me that Miyor was angry and upset with them. I thought maybe because we were teasing her about the boy that she likes.
I didn’t have time to get involved further in their coming-of-age quarrels but was messaged later that they were having a real problem with Miyor and they didn’t know how to deal with it. They said she was vain, self-centred and selfish! Wow! I didn’t see that coming. Miyor is a pretty quiet girl in class and I never heard any bad talk either from or about her.
I asked Kaowfang if she had talked directly to Miyor about it but she said that she would just get angry and not listen anyway.
I suggested that perhaps Miyor is upset because she just doesn’t like people talking about her, either good or bad and that maybe whilst we were playing and joking about the boy she actually felt quite serious about it. I also said that, really, it’s none of our business who she likes or doesn’t like so perhaps we can not talk about this with her next time.
Kaowfang thanked me for the suggestion. Let’s see what happens. Here I am still traversing the perils of teenage relationships.
What does love mean to me?
I find love a little difficult to define though I know it is what I feel for certain people and about certain things. Love changes throughout our lives so its definition changes.
The love I have for Amy doesn’t feel the same as the love I had for my first girlfriend (which I might hesitate to even call love now). It is also different to the love I have for my mum or my students or my home.
So what does it mean? Warmth, acceptance, understanding, kindness, growth.
For me, love also means fidelity. I think that if you cheat on your partner then you have stopped loving them. I say that without judgement as I have cheated before. When that happened I knew that I was no longer in love.
Now, having learned that I understand that it is better to break up with someone if you no longer love them, before sharing your love somewhere else. Either way is heartbreak but one is more morally acceptable for me.
I took this picture because Nong Na came and updated us on her first year at university so far.
A red light when there’s no one around What a dilemma for the righteous philosopher! “Go, go, go, go”, the passengers cried Out of nowhere, a truck obliterates them all
Pretty good. A little run down from a weirdly exhausting day and I’m not excited for the rest of the week. All my classes were simple but the last one of the day is always a little frustrsting as these impatient grade 8s want to leave as soon as they can. Me too!
Today I’m grateful for:
The plentiful snacks I have around that have carried me through my busy early evening with taking to the vet again for one more blood test. I’m grateful he’s all back to normal too.
The best thing about today was:
Having to take Tigger to the vet meant more time to listen to podcasts. The day has been good (apart from the news below) but nothing really stood out as being the best. Another day in a string of reasonable, positive happy days.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Talk is that for this coming holiday will only be ten days. I’ve already booked my flights to Australia and will be going anyway. It may mean losing some pay but no matter. David was quite disheartened by the news especially as last year we had four weeks holiday. I laughingly told him to fix his attitude and turn it around to ‘at least we have ten days holiday’ but I can understand his disappointment. It’s been a tough semester and he has the two terrible grade 8 classes that I had last year. It’s tiring for real.
After getting the good news that Tigger’s blood is back to normal I called Amy to give her the good news. In turn, she told me that along with Grandmum not eating, her dad was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer and will need to go for chemo. This will all put a lot of strain on her mum and also puts my travel to Australia in jeopardy. Bad timing but what can we do? I’m not so fussed about having to change plans or losing money on flight tickets but more dejected about the ever-increasing number of upcoming funerals that lay ahead.
What do I complain about the most?
As an English person I have no idea what I complain about because I am not conscious of ever doing it. Even I notice how much other English people complain!
I ‘think’ I don’t complain about much these days but now that I am writing about it I know the sad truth.
The thing I complain about most is my student’s behaviour. This I can accept as they are aged between 12 and 16 and I know what I was like at that age. It’s just behaviour, not the person. What I really would complain about is adults behaving in the same way. I don’t hang about many adults now pretty much for this reason. Other adult’s bullshit is tiring. They don’t have the excuse of being a teenager anymore.
And I know that the same criticism can be levelled at me too. Another reason not to hang around with adults. When I fuck up like that with my kids it’s all forgotten and forgiven in the same way I would do for them.
I’ve been really struggling with pictures recently as my focus has been more internally focused over the past month or so. Things within my vision are not catching my eye throughout these days of repetitive actions. I need to add some variety into my days to change that but I’m mostly happy doing what I’m doing. This has given me an idea though. Anyway, here’s another picture of the pup from a couple of days ago.
Whoever said it, wherever they were Whatever it is that was soon forgot Whenever there’s some wrath to incur To each their own and whatnot
Again, inspired by a short sentence at Spinning Visions blog.
Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good by the end of the day. I wasn’t quite sure how I was feeling when I got to school and the ‘art event’ that cancelled my morning classes didn’t seem to feature any art and felt like another money-grabbing exercise, from already fairly poor kids, with all the food stalls. I left pretty quickly and did some lesson preparations as one of the things I was teaching seemed to go over a few student’s heads yesterday. Time passed very swiftly along with my two coffees!
Today I’m grateful for:
All the students that I don’t even know that say hello and fist-bump me as they walk by. Rista laughed at me today when I couldn’t remember a student’s name but I have so many names to remember already. I’ve forgotten the names of some of my students that I taught two years ago. I sat with one today and knew he was one of two names but couldn’t remember which, later recalling it was Tan.
In the afternoon I was talking with Kru Ren and he said he wants to work here as long as possible which I found surprising for a fresh out of uni first-year teacher. But I understand his feeling. For me, I want to stay as long as possible too because of the pleasure of watching the students grow.
The best thing about today was:
Talking with Poppy at lunchtime. This follows on from the point above. Poppy has totally done a 180 since last year and she happily admitted it when I was talking with her. She said last year she was very immature and stubborn and she caused me a few problems in my classes. Even my trying to gain her confidence by teaching her card tricks didn’t seem to have any effect though perhaps she subconsciously realised I was reaching out to her after all her friends disowned her. I never thought badly of her behaviour though and told her not to worry about anything from last year. She’s become more aware of how her actions affect people around her and realised that she needed to make a change unless she wanted to continue being an outcast. I’m proud of her and enjoy talking to her now.
And then there’s Earn. She struggled in my class last year and was frustrating at times though she also had an ability to charm when it suited her motives. I could see that she was capable but fell back to laziness and distraction. One time her face absolutely lit up when she grasped a particular concept but it was difficult for her to maintain enthusiasm. I don’t teach her much this year but apparently, she is frustrating David in his class with her attitude, which I think stems from her lack of understanding and then laziness for clarification. I can see that she is changing friends to those who complement that process. I found her quietly sitting this afternoon, bored, scrolling through her phone. Usually, she doesn’t let me talk to her for long but today I commented that she didn’t look happy and that she usually doesn’t look happy. She agreed and said that she was tired. I told her that inside her head she is smart and capable. She said she felt like she was stupid. I told her that wasn’t true and that I believed in her. She thanked me sincerely and I felt she really appreciated it.
And I could go on about conversations with Fah, Khet, Wipping, KanomBang etc etc today.
I’m lucky and grateful and so happy to play some small part in these kids’ lives.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
At last week’s science event my grade 10 students didn’t check out anything and just went somewhere to sleep for a couple of hours so today I set them a task to take ten photos each at the event. But then, as there was no art on display for them to take pictures of, there was nothing for them to do. I reluctantly told them not to worry about it as I couldn’t think of any other task for them and I was already in the middle of my coffee and planning. Of course, they were super happy to not have anything to do anyway and I had at least made sure that they hadn’t snuck off anywhere to sleep.
Something I learned today?
Ok, one last student story. Wipping called me her second father, jokingly buttering me up before holding out her hand, and asking me for money. I said that her father at home has money but her father at school doesn’t to which she replied ‘What father at home? Who is my father? I don’t know!’ Oops! She soon turned it around though saying ‘It’s ok, I don’t need a father. Just me and mum is fine and I’m a strong woman who can look after herself!’ Wow! I was so happy to hear this.
A couple of minutes later her male classmate Spain came over and shyly gave her twenty baht. I’m not sure if he had been listening to the conversation or not but I guess he likes her. She accepted his money and they went off and talked for a bit though I don’t know about what. When she came back she said she didn’t know why he gave her the money. Wipping, though, is always talking about a girl she likes in another class and after what she said about her father I can understand why she might prefer relationships with girls instead of boys. Never mind, Spain!
Today feels like I’m in the middle of a teenage gossip column!
I took this picture, damn, two weeks ago already, because this was the sourdough Nong Fon sent me. My mouth is watering just to look at it. Talking with Amy tonight she asked me what food I want to eat when I’m in Sydney and the first thing I thought of was sourdough toast with Vegemite. No pictures taken today.
1994ever 