Unhappy New Year... for some

Today at lunch Kru Jay-bomb asked me if I had gone anywhere during the new year holiday,

"I stayed at home."

He took a bite of his food, chewed a bit, swallowed, and then grunted. "Two hundred and eighty two people died during the new year celebrations," he said.

"Come again?"

So he said again, "Two hundred and eighty two people died during the new year celebrations. In Thailand alone... too many."

"Oh?" was all I knew to say.

"The foreigners got it right," he said, "They all went to the temples while the Thai people were out drinking."

"It should be switched?" I suggested.

"Huh?" and then before I could repeat myself, "Yeah, yeah. The Foreigners are okay, but Thais should be in the temples."

So I asked him, "What did you do for the holiday?"

"Went to the temple."

"At midnight? Before? After?"

"No, no. Before."

"What did you do at midnight?"

"I didn't stay up for the count down. It happens all the time. Nothing special."

Then the conversation died. We ate in silence for a little while, but then an old lady came up to me and shoved a paper in front of my face (for the second time today). It was the signature lady. She pointed at a name on her list, it was in English so she was assuming that it was me (for the second time today). And so for the second time I said, "No, that's not me." She pointed to another name, also in English. "No, that's not me either." She scowled at me and then started swearing under her breath. I gave her a questioning look and she just said, "I can't remember!" and then stormed off, along with her perpetual frown.

After I had finished my lunch, I walked with Kru Jay-bomb to his office. On the way I asked him,
"When you were a teenager did you ever stay up till midnight to celebrate a new year?"

"I never have."

"Yeah?"

"What's the point? It happens all the time. Days pass by us all the time. That's how nature is. But we decide that we have to count the days and the years. We celebrate the time passing, but all we get in the end is 282 people dead. The day before they had wonderful jobs and families, lots of money, and then what do they do? They go out and get drunk. Die. It's all over for them. Everyone needs to go back to the temples. That's what we need to do."

He said goodbye as we came to his office, and I continued on to the mini mart to buy an ice cream.

Worst Christmas Gift Ever

It might have been the Monday after Christmas, or the one before. I'm not sure. But during the morning assembly on the football field Kru Kwan was handing out her Christmas gifts to the other teachers.

She had a container full of pens. I was told to pick one. I said thank you and picked one.

I used the pen for about 20 minutes and then it died...

Stupid Dog

I think I might have killed it. Or maybe it just has a broken leg...
I'll have to wait until next week to know for sure though.

I've been teaching a little 7 year old girl on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every time I turn off the main road to go down the street where she lives, this little dog (white, but very dirty; possibly a shitzhu) tries to bite my feet. After a few run-ins with the annoying dog I started cocking my leg back so that I could kick him if he got to close. Never got to kick him, but he did almost run me into the ditch a few times.

So yesterday it was the same thing. On the way to the girls house the dog gave chase. On the way out I saw another motorbike getting ready to leave so I decided to wait and let them go first. Maybe they would get the dogs attention. Unfortunately (for the dog), that guy turned before reaching the dog's house.

By this time the sun had gone down and there were no other lights on the road but my own. I got to the dog's house and was expecting to hear the quick feet and the "huff, huff, huff" any time, but he didn't show. I figured I would get by free that time, but just as I got a little ways past his house I heard him running.

He dashed out of the bushes and ran straight at me. Normally he turns and runs alongside me while trying to bite, but this time he didn't turn...

Bump. Bump.

Yelp. Yelp. Yelp.

Falling Shoes

Yesterday morning during the student gathering I was standing next to the last group of students. While we were waiting for the anthem to play, a pair of shoes came falling to the ground. They landed with a loud 'thunk' and then sat their motionless, waiting for their owner to come claim them.

I found out later that one of the teachers had gone up to the third floor (with a stick) to make sure all the students were downstairs. (I should also say that this teacher never ever smiles.) When he found a group of students still loitering upstairs, he grabbed a pair of shoes from them and threw them over the railing. He then yelled at them (probably something about being responsible), hit them with his stick, and stormed off to find more students.

Old Lady

There is an old lady who works here. Her job is to carry around important papers and harass people for signatures. She never tells me why I'm signing and she gets upset when I ask. I've even seen a few teachers run away from her.

She hardly ever smiles...

Caught!

Yesterday in class some girls started shouting. Seconds later they were up on their chairs screaming and waving their arms around. Two of the more feminine boys joined the girls on the chairs while three other boys started running around the back of the room. Unlike the feminine boys, these three were not running because of fear. They were in pursuit.

Soon after the commotion died down I walked to the back of the room and saw an empty water bottle holding a small creature. It was a black lizard of some sort, covered in yellow spots; some big and some small.

The Lesbians

Today as I was walking up the steps of the office building I found that I was right behind the lesbians. They made quite a pair today too. The one with the long hair had on a tight black skirt that came to just above her knees, and the one with shorter hair was wearing a lose skirt that swayed back and forth as she climbed the stairs. Their tops were matching white sweaters, thinly knit so they could be worn throughout the growing heat of the day. Also in white were their matching one inch heels, modest enough to wear to school, but still bringing with them a mysterious allure.

At the ten o'clock break, the lesbian with the short hair was doing some work on her computer. Normally she doesn't wear glasses, but for some reason she decided to put on a pair today. It really doesn't work for her...