World Peace, TV at the Hotel, and Verbs (of course)
When you live with a group of strangers for a month, you get to know them in ways you sometimes wish you didn't. ( to the right is a picture of the school). Let's start with smoking. There are thirty people in the class and about six staff members. Half the staff and about three-quarters of the class smokes. I won't miss the smoke. Whenever we have a break, there are about 8 people smoking outside on the open air landing and the others are downstairs getting a coffee and smoking down there. Grammar Guru Greg, also a smoker, talking about the past perfect verb "What had happened here when the coup was going on?" His response on the board was " '7-11 was found to be without Marlboro Reds for a day.' I'm not kidding" ...as he walked with kind of a jerky motion.
There are lots of drinkers going out to "anything goes" Patong and coming home at 3 in the morning-- having to be carried in the room from passing out and proud of it. But, alas... I have already written about that, so it is old news.
Now, how about a little gossip? Mary has a room next to Gene (who is divorcing his Thai wife and here with his friend Renee who just broke up with her boyfriend who was Gene's good friend). Gene snores and so Mary was awakened in the night until I gave her some of my "seal out the noise" silicone earplugs. It is a little better, but last night she said she was awakened by loud music at 2:30 in the morning and not sure where that was coming from. Me, I have been more and more glad that I am at the school, despite the heat, as it is ALWAYS quiet over here.. And Mary can hear the war movies (after being kept awake by the drinkers yelling "drink!" at all hours of the early morning) that Gene has on at 6:30 in the morning(after the all night drinking crowd finally tumbles into bed) and the discussions that he and Renee have about Middle East politics (Mary said, "Give them a bottle of Sangsom /Thai whiskey, one of the favorites with the drinking crowd/ and we will have world peace.") Mary can turn on the TV though and when I was in there she mentioned that she had passed by "Yogi Bear" in Thai and "Bugs Bunny" in English before getting to Al Jezera
for a little Middle East news so she can put her two cents in with Gene and Renee's discussion.
Mary has been sick (and I think I have gotten what she has) so we have made our trips to the pharmacy to get whatever is needed. One nice thing is that you can get everything over the counter. I used up my antibotics and got another supply for 10 dollars. And the nice young Thai woman that is the pharmacist speaks impecable English and is asking about Mary's cough, flem? deep cough? fever? A doctor right behind the counter!
I have met Mary at "her" breakfast place a few days. It has a table where you just go and pick out what you want.. things in little bags and other things wrapped in banana leaves and small little bowls with pairs of items. She has been going since the beginning of school and now the police, who also come there for breakfast many days, are buying her breakfast. She mentioned tonight that if things don't work out in Vietnam, that she would love to come back here and teach the policemen English. The Thai policemen always look immaculate in their outfits and look like they never have sweated one bead of sweat in their lives. And, finished with their breakfast, they are off--two by two on their motorbikes to make the island of Phuket a safer place.
It's now the weekend and the party folks are back out to the bars (though Greg did his best to warn them not to "imbibe" on Sunday night). He said to me as he was leaving, "Have a nice weekend." Well, the sun will be out (you can pretty much always count on that here) and it is hot (you can also count on that too), but I will be studying lots for the exam Monday morning so I think a safer bet for a fun weekend will be next weekend.
And what about the other "wild" life? Mary used the toilet in this building (where I have my room and where English classes are) and said about the cockroach she had just seen "I swear you could have put a saddle on it." They can get big here, luckily other things balance out big bugs.
As I write this last paragraph for this blog a few days later, it is the afternoon on Monday. I just finished the exam! A grueling three hours that I wi
shed I could have had another hour to recheck everything. One nice thing--IT'S DONE!
There are lots of drinkers going out to "anything goes" Patong and coming home at 3 in the morning-- having to be carried in the room from passing out and proud of it. But, alas... I have already written about that, so it is old news.
Now, how about a little gossip? Mary has a room next to Gene (who is divorcing his Thai wife and here with his friend Renee who just broke up with her boyfriend who was Gene's good friend). Gene snores and so Mary was awakened in the night until I gave her some of my "seal out the noise" silicone earplugs. It is a little better, but last night she said she was awakened by loud music at 2:30 in the morning and not sure where that was coming from. Me, I have been more and more glad that I am at the school, despite the heat, as it is ALWAYS quiet over here.. And Mary can hear the war movies (after being kept awake by the drinkers yelling "drink!" at all hours of the early morning) that Gene has on at 6:30 in the morning(after the all night drinking crowd finally tumbles into bed) and the discussions that he and Renee have about Middle East politics (Mary said, "Give them a bottle of Sangsom /Thai whiskey, one of the favorites with the drinking crowd/ and we will have world peace.") Mary can turn on the TV though and when I was in there she mentioned that she had passed by "Yogi Bear" in Thai and "Bugs Bunny" in English before getting to Al Jezera
for a little Middle East news so she can put her two cents in with Gene and Renee's discussion.Mary has been sick (and I think I have gotten what she has) so we have made our trips to the pharmacy to get whatever is needed. One nice thing is that you can get everything over the counter. I used up my antibotics and got another supply for 10 dollars. And the nice young Thai woman that is the pharmacist speaks impecable English and is asking about Mary's cough, flem? deep cough? fever? A doctor right behind the counter!
I have met Mary at "her" breakfast place a few days. It has a table where you just go and pick out what you want.. things in little bags and other things wrapped in banana leaves and small little bowls with pairs of items. She has been going since the beginning of school and now the police, who also come there for breakfast many days, are buying her breakfast. She mentioned tonight that if things don't work out in Vietnam, that she would love to come back here and teach the policemen English. The Thai policemen always look immaculate in their outfits and look like they never have sweated one bead of sweat in their lives. And, finished with their breakfast, they are off--two by two on their motorbikes to make the island of Phuket a safer place.It's now the weekend and the party folks are back out to the bars (though Greg did his best to warn them not to "imbibe" on Sunday night). He said to me as he was leaving, "Have a nice weekend." Well, the sun will be out (you can pretty much always count on that here) and it is hot (you can also count on that too), but I will be studying lots for the exam Monday morning so I think a safer bet for a fun weekend will be next weekend.
And what about the other "wild" life? Mary used the toilet in this building (where I have my room and where English classes are) and said about the cockroach she had just seen "I swear you could have put a saddle on it." They can get big here, luckily other things balance out big bugs.
As I write this last paragraph for this blog a few days later, it is the afternoon on Monday. I just finished the exam! A grueling three hours that I wi
shed I could have had another hour to recheck everything. One nice thing--IT'S DONE!Only one more lesson to go and one more debriefing to go.. and I will BE CERTIFIED! 
I had to put this picture of the favorite "big box" place to shop here--
Big C!
posted by Tracy at
7:24 PM
