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| 03-Jan-2006 "The least deviation from truth is multiplied later a thousand fold." "Adversity is the first path to truth." - Lord Byron |
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I had been informed that I was to wait there until 2PM when someone would come to pick me up. It seemed another teacher was also heading for the upcoming two week seminar and he was to arrive at 2, whereupon we were to be taken to our apartment near the seminar and the school. I had been able to gather that the seminar was to be near Bang Na, although it wasn't exactly clear where it was to be held. Indications were that 70 teachers were to be my 'target audience' but other than that, as usual, I was flying blind (As it turned out, the count was over 100). On top of that, other than an email stating I was to teach things entitled 'Communication Learning', 'Authentic Assessment' and 'Methodology', I was unable to get further clarification of just what was expected or the topic materials that was to be taught. Hopefully, I was thinking, these things would be given to me when I was picked up at 2 on Saturday afternoon. Arriving at Mor Chit Bus Terminal nearly three hours later, I stored my bags at one of the two left baggage facilities (30 or 20 Baht for each bag depending on which storage area you used-the one closer to the front doors which the signs point to is more expensive) in the departure terminal and headed out, arriving at the 6,000 stall market just as doors were going up and merchants from all over Thailand were setting up their wares. Although one could talk for hours about this place, suffice it to say for this journal article that some of my favorite places were still as interesting as they ever were, with some (like the used book vendors) having expanded into the newer buildings near the new MTR subway station of Kamphaeng Phet (which just happened to be closed this particular Saturday due to a large accident in the system only a few days before.) After a few calls and after determining that the other teacher wasn't arriving as scheduled, I was picked up before 2PM and was soon being driven into a massive school complex in an area in which the highway signs refer to as 'Bang Phli' (also known as Bangplee). As I discovered later when I made my way south towards Pattaya in the afternoon is that this area is just before the new Bangkok International Airport's connector road as you head south. My school however was still another 3 kilometers south from the road, lying between the southeasterly headed elevated roadway and the Gulf of Thailand. My apartment turned out to be down a dirt road within easy walking distance of the school. The road outside the entrance to the school which was next to a very large Wat, was being referred to as 'Soi Nam' (water) as there was a large lake at a the intersection at the end of the school's road. My room for 2 weeks within walking distance to the school. Clean and very basic. A sink would have been nice but the washing machines in the lobby were a convenient touch that I haven't seen before. The man who owned the 7-story apartment building was amazingly friendly and helpful. He called himself 'Manop' and spoke excellent English. It was a bit later that he told me he had worked for Nestle for over 30 years and had recently retired from them. His boss had been Swiss and apparently still saw him occasionally when he returned to Bangkok. It seemed that Manop had done well for himself having built what was a 7-story apartment building and was constructing another one across the dirt soi. Obviously he was doing well for himself. (I found out later that the school was paying 150 Baht a night for me to stay there.) As It was Saturday afternoon and I hadn't had a free weekend on any time due to either teaching duties at seminars or visa runs in the previous weeks, it was time to head south for some relaxation and a bit of fun. No material had appeared and it seemed that Monday morning, the start of the session, would provide me (hopefully) the material that I so desperately needed. Until then however, not knowing anything more than there would be 70 'English teachers', there was no reason to worry about what I couldn't change. Sometimes here in Thailand you just have to realize some things you can't and never will change, and one of those things is pre-planning. The weekend turned out to be a good one with me heading back for the school on Sunday evening. After a good night's sleep, I awoke early and as I was getting ready heard a knock on the door. Answering the door, I discovered a 25 year old 6'4" tall, blue eyed, curly headed American standing there. He introduced himself as 'Stephen' and as I quickly found out, he was as professional and conscience as anyone I have ever met (except for maybe the fact he had no ties with him!). Stephen Fillner, a very impressive American teacher. After a bit of small talk, I suggested he use one of my ties, as here in Thailand, that is expected with foreign teachers as looking good is part of the job. Being entertaining is as well, and as I discovered, he was a master at both. I wish I could say the seminar went off without a hitch but anyone who has been here and done such things would know better. Beyond the fact we weren't given training material until only 15 minutes prior to the start of the first class, most of what we did receive was in Thai, with certain sections of my material not having a single English word! I had only found out only on the previous Thursday that I would be heading south from Sapphaya to teach at Bangplee while Stephen had found a bit earlier on the previous Monday. Both of us had attempted numerous communications with the company arranging the seminar to provide us the material that we were to teach so we could prepare, with me personally getting back an email stating I had the title of the classes (mentioned before), and what more could I possibly need? Riggggghhhhhtttttt...... Needless to say, things started off with some major hiccups and although it was not really clear as to what or who was to blame; there did seem to be a lot of finger pointing going on between the school officials and those that had brought us here. The first day started off pretty tense with Stephen and I questioning the other if we could pull this off under the circumstances we had walked into, with both of us getting pretty close to calling it quits in the first few hours of the seminar. Personally, I call this being 'blind sided' and this is something I have little patience for (as well as many other responsible and dedicated individuals). What was interesting to find as we proceeded into our discovery techniques was that many of the teachers had been 'drafted' into teaching English. It seems that there is a large shortage of the required number of teachers and that teachers from other disciplines are 'asked politely' by their schools to 'volunteer' to assist the schools in meeting this requirement. Obviously, a teacher trained in math's and sciences is probably not the most qualified teacher to be teaching English. This was one of the main reasons for this seminar being funded by Thailand's Ministry of Education. Ajarn Stephen Fillner along with the wonderful staff of the English department at Bangpleeratbumrung School. The saving grace for me personally was the assistance we got from the English department's staff, teachers and directors. They were extraordinary and considering they continued their teaching duties, went way beyond the call of duty. Each day consisted of Stephen and I arriving at the school before 07:30 where we started preparing more lessons for each day's 6 hours of classes, with our teaching workload evenly divided at 3 hours each. He got the 1st session with my 1.5 hour class ending at 12:15. The first weekend arrived and I bolted for Bangkok. Some of my friends were in town and I needed a break. Catching a motorcycle taxi to Highway 3 (3 kilometers and 15 Baht), only a few minutes later I was in a taxi headed north from Bangplee to Bangna and than down Sukhumvit to the first Skytrain station at On Nut. Traffic along the stretch is always bad (although getting better as construction on the interconnects from the elevated section continues) so I opted to head up onto the elevated section of this portion of the road. It costs more but it shaves off a good 30 minutes and sometimes more by doing this. If the driver knows the 'back way' onto Sukhumvit before the toll way entrance at the end of the highway, you can make it to On Nut for around 100 Baht. If he doesn't, you fare is around 150 Baht. The saving grace for me in getting around Bangkok over the past 5 years has been the Skytrain or as more commonly known amongst Thai taxi drivers, the 'BTS'. I base all work and living in Bangkok around the BTS system footprint. If I can't get somewhere by Skytrain, I just don't go, and now with the new subway system interconnecting with the Skytrain, there has been an even larger area in which one can get around this monster of a city and its traffic problems. The weekend consisted of a lot of pool (or if you prefer, billiards), a ton of laughs and a bit of beer but unfortunately it ended way to quickly and Sunday night found me once again back in my humble surroundings in Bangplee. Monday once again arrived all to quickly and once again, Stephen and I were walking onto the school grounds, passing the assembled 3,000 students and teachers. Things had settled down by the time of the second week and the beginning of this Monday started and ended with all smiles, from us, the seminar staff and the trainees. Amazing what a little prudent preparation and coordination can accomplish. Unfortunately, communication is a difficult and sometimes impossible problem when dealing with events such as these in Thailand. The times and list is endless for myself over the years and even though it has gotten easier for me to accept this, if you are the person in the middle of the mess, as I have been often, no less difficult to manage and deal with. A photo taken during the 1st Friday morning's student fair. From left to right are ajarns: dsfas, dfasdf, myself, dfdsaf and The second week consisted of a lot more personal contact with both staff and teacher trainees. Small gifts started appearing here and there and as the week progressed, countless photos were shot, usually with Stephen and myself (or both) becoming the subject of the camera. Along the way I had been taking photos of the sessions along with pictures of the school and students as I usually do. Some of the staff asked for a CD of the photos which I gladly provided but was somewhat surprised to discover on Thursday morning several dozen photos laid out along two tables as well as being posted to a white board at the back of the room. Along with each photo was a number. This surprised me a bit as I soon found out the photos were now for sale. Actually some had come out quite nice. It was funny to discover the next morning after one of the staff showed me the list of photos ordered that one photo of Stephen had gotten the most orders with 23, followed by one of me with 22! Damn, I thought it was suppose to be age before beauty! At the end of the previous week I had been asked to prepare a final exam consisting of 15 questions and to have it ready on Monday. I found out on the following Wednesday that both Stephen and myself would be giving this exam during the later part of our Thursday afternoon sessions, the day before the seminar was to end. As I suspected, we were told we would be assisted with the test grading and would not have to do it ourselves. After the tests were given and collected, I never say them or their results again. I guess everyone passed... The routine was consistent by now and as Friday morning approached, we wondered what time things would actually finish. At lunch on Friday we got part of the question answered with both of us being asked to attend a party that night which we both had to refuse as both our visas were expiring that weekend and we needed to make our ways to the Cambodian border. Lunch was once again an experience with only the last class of the seminar's two weeks being cancelled (mine!) for a graduation and gift presentation ceremony....along with another photo session consisting of hundreds of pictures and dozens of cameras. Before the ceremony however, Ajarn Sanjay arranged all the teachers by their number so they could be awarded their certificate according to some master list which was detailed by this number. After the seat rearrangement, there was a practice session on how to receive the certificate from the official from the education ministry official making the presentation. Things were suppose to commence at 3PM but the 3 officials were slightly late so things actually got started around 3:15. After the traditional speeches, I was honored at being the 1st recipient of a seminar certificate. Fortunately I had watched the previous practice from the teachers and as I made my way from my chair behind the officials who were seated on the couch next to the stage, did a sharp turn in front of the ministry official, did my traditional folded hands Thai 'wai' (pronounced 'y') and while being presented my award and gifts, had the usual photos taken while this was happening. This was the start of over 100 similar awards and gifts along with the mandatory photos of each, ending about an hour later with once again, another round of photos for staff and teachers. I had joked with Stephen earlier that day to be prepared for at least an hour of photos and that was pretty much what happened. After thanking everyone and packing up my materials, computer and gifts, I made my way back to my apartment where I quickly changed into more casual street clothes and following the procedures from the previous weekend, was once again making winging my way into the concrete jungle of what a very famous song once called, 'Bangkok, Oriental City....'. Those that know the song, know what I mean and where I went... Peace Charlie From left to right, Ajarns Pornpan Sukpol, Busara Jeedlumduan and Orchon Klinjan, teachers from the English Department at Bangpleeratbamrung School and wonderful assistants to both Stephen and me.
Some additional notes for fellow native speaker English teachers:
The following list was provided to me by Ajarn Pornpan's students during the Friday morning student fair while teaching at the teacher's seminar.
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In mid-January I was asked to take a 'holiday' from my normal teaching duties in Chai Nat Province and head south for the urban sprawl of Bangkok, where I was to 'teach the teachers'. Being notified only a few days before leaving was typical of such things and unfortunately it made for some serious consternation back on the home front in Sapphaya with the two school's English department heads where I was teaching. Things seemed to happen however and a 'replacement' teacher arrived and the next morning at 04:20 I was headed by bus to Bangkok's monster bus terminal at Mor Chit. 
Taking things in stride as I usually do here in Thailand, I decided to make use of the time and head for one of my favorite places in Thailand, if not Asia, Jatuchak Plaza (Market), which just so happens to be a few minutes away from the bus terminal by motorcycle taxi. 
Some of the seminar's teachers painting during the first Friday's student fair at the school.
Each day's lunch break was a dining experience. As the trainers, we were afforded the honor of setting with other staff members and the department and school's directors. This basically meant we didn't have to stand in line with the seminar's 100 teachers to get our lunch as it was already on our table when we went downstairs to the open air 'banquet'. Each day's delicacies were different consisting of curry dishes, fish, chicken and pork over rice. There were usually fresh fruit plates followed by some type of Thai sweet dessert. If our plate was empty (which it was often) it was immediately filled again. I swear I must have gained 5 kilos from eating these wonderful lunches! 
My last class ended each day at 4:30 PM and after taking a break in the SEAR center office where we always went to prepare classes before our sessions. This office which was a short distance down the hall from the main conference room on the 7th floor was very comfortable, being well equipped with a computer, a laser printer and air-conditioning. 
Hard to fit 3,000 students into a single photo, even from the 7th floor! 
Stephen signing photos of himself for some of his many fans! 
Copyright © 1998-2007
All rights reserved
Charlie Jones
mysticsailor@gmail.com
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