The NICS Malaysian Experience

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

On Thursday, our 7^th grade school trip to Malaysia commenced. Our departure time was set for 4am. Between everything I had to do- finish grading the final exams for both IT and Language Arts, input final grades, pack, get my visa in order (re-entry stamp!!), plus trying to get as much finished as possible with finalizing the school schedule, contracts, calendar, etc. since I will be gone for the entire month of June- I figured I would just stay up all night, then leave my apartment at 3:30am. By 3:00am, I was packed, ready to go, my apartment was clean and ready, so I settled onto my bed to just “rest”. Just in case I fell asleep, I set my alarm on my iPod and my phone for 3:40. Just so we’re all clear, I fell asleep.  Woops.

Here’s an hour by hour breakdown of our itinerary, because I know that's exactly what you all want:

Thursday

4:00am- board the tour bus to Hat Yai (to be truthful, I boarded at about 4:05)

4:07am- karaoke music on (why?!)

At the border, NICS teachers waiting to guide our students
back to the big, yellow and green tour bus.

4:10am- karaoke music off (thank goodness!), depart NICS

7:30am- arrive in Hat Yai, buffet breakfast at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel

8:30am- board a new bus (this would be where I forgot to pick up my beloved Havianas from bus #1 and lost them forever) to Penang

9:30am- begin border crossing process

10:30am- finish border crossing process: We have officially entered Malaysia

12:00pm- Thai food for lunch… in Malaysia. (This is where my favorite pair of sunglasses fell off my person and into the squatty potty. Sad, sad event.)

2:00pm- arrive in Penang

2:30pm- Kek Lok Si Temple on Penang Hill. (This is the point at which I realized this was not going to be like field trips at home and forced myself to let go of any rigid expectations. It was not easy.)

Briefly about Kek Lok Si: It is said to be the largest temple in SE Asia. Construction began in 1893 and it is still in the making. Situated on Penang Hill, it has a beautiful view as well as beautiful architecture. The buildings and style are an interesting mix of Thai, Chinese, and Burmese influence, bringing together different facets of Buddhism. This was my second visit to the temple.

My group of students at Penang Hill

4:00pm- Wat Chaiyamangalaram Temple (This is where Teacher Hannah and I received the worst fortunes ever.)

Briefly about Wat Chaiya: Also a blend of Chinese, Thai, and Burmese architectural design, this temple is most famous for the reclining Buddha in the main building (said to be the 3^rd largest reclining Buddha in the world). Reclining Buddha represents Buddha at his death, important because it marks Buddha’s ascent to enlightenment, or Nirvana.

Reclining Buddha and NICS Thai Teachers

The SS Libra

5:00-7:00pm- wander around via bus, arrive at port, board the cruise ship, creatively named Super Star Libra. (This is when I finally embraced the fact that this was unlike any US school field trip and began having a good time.)

Teacher Matt playing the ukulele while we wait to board.
Meanwhile, Sua turns his suitcase into a guillotine.

7:30pm- gorge ourselves at the buffet on board

8:30pm- say goodnight to the kids, commence teacher bonding time. (This included taking in some on board entertainment, including “The Mentalist," and checking out the casino and the discotheque.)

The Mentalist and NICS Teachers
up on stage

9:00pm- cruise ship actually leaves the port. Many of us have traveled all over the world, but surprisingly enough, this is all our first cruise ANYWHERE, so we are all pretty excited to watch the boat leave port.

Friday

He gets motion sickness,
FYI.

7:00pm- breakfast buffet

8:00pm- ship docks back in Penang (long cruise, I know)

9:00pm- disembark, board the bus, and headed for the Cameron Highlands

9:30pm- stop at The Chocolate Boutique (still in Penang). (It was hugely overpriced- the link explains this quite well. The children bought mounds of it. Mounds.)

12:00pm- another Thai lunch… in Malaysia

1:00pm- children begin vomiting on the windy road. (At this point, I introduced students to the pink plastic bag in their front seat pockets. One used it… one didn’t. Unfortunate.)
1:30pm- Cameron Highlands Green View Garden and Avant Chocolate Factory (Yes, more chocolate, and more food. Students get milkshakes, eat tons of strawberries, onion rings, you name it. And this is where the teachers begin dreading going back on the bus because full bellies plus windy roads cannot be a good combo.)

Briefly about Cameron Highlands: Breathtakingly beautiful mountainous countryside in Northern Malaysia. Situated on a plateau and originally settled by the British, it is now a resort destination famous for its tea, strawberries, and lush jungle.

2:30pm- back on the bus

3:00pm- Bharat Tea Plantation…It's beautiful! (No one has vomited, thank goodness. Students run through the tea plants, buy strawberry earmuffs, and bags and bags of tea and coffee.)

Students running  and playing at the tea plantation

4:00pm- back on the bus

4:30pm- Cactus Valley...wander through the gardens and- you guessed it- cacti! I love cactus plants, so this was quite enjoyable. (Oh, and then we ate more food... strawberries, strawberries, and waffles with ice cream and strawberries)

5:30pm- back on the bus

Colorful Cacti

5:45pm- Steamboat dinner… more food! So not hungry! Walked around the small town area until it was time to check in to our hotel.

8:00pm- all settled into The Heritage Hotel, more teacher bonding time! Human pyramids, blindfolded taste-testing, and karaoke.

Saturday

7:00am- breakfast buffet at the hotel

8:00am- board the bus and depart Cameron Highlands, back down the 236 winding curves

On The Road Again...

8:30am- stop at a farmers’ marketplace to buy more souvenirs. (This is where they all bought toy guns and laser pointers… they also bought us teachers some sweet corn and strawberries, which made up for the laser pointers and toy guns.)

9:30am- begin descending on the windy road again- drive until lunch, which is a pretty long stretch, considering we are now used to stopping and eating about every hour. So don't worry, they provided us with snacks.

12:30pm- lunch at the same Thai restaurant… in Malaysia.

1:30pm- board the bus, drove for another hour, do the border crossing routine (where 2 teachers encountered visa issues- not me, though), and drive for another two hours.

4:30-5:30pm- sit around at a rest stop to change busses (to board the same bus I lost my beloved shoes on)

5:30- new bus, continue the journey

7:30- stop somewhere near Phattalung to pick up boxed dinners to eat on the bus. Basil chicken, fried egg and rice. Yum!

9:30- home. Tired, exhausted…. Get on my bike… flat tire. Bummer. Ride my motorbike slowly to the repair place right next to our school- it wasn’t open, but a man came out, I showed him my flat, and he pulled my bike into the garage, told me to come back at 9am, and then he and his wife insisted on giving me a ride home. He dropped me off at my door and then asked if I needed a ride again at 9am. I thanked him and shook my head no- I could walk. I LOVE the kind, friendly people of Nakhon.

It was a short trip, but it was really fun. The teachers, old and new, got to know each other better, and we all got to know the students a little more as well. The  incoming 7^th graders are from all over SE Thailand, so this was an opportunity for them to really get to know each other too. The trip was disorganized and chaotic at times, but once I let go and just went with the Thai flow, it got really really fun. We laughed so much, practiced English with the students, and got to know the Thai teaching staff better. It left all of us teachers exhausted but so incredibly excited for the 8^th grade China trip we will be taking in July. Between now and then, I will be finishing up at school, and then we leave for Indonesia on June 1^st for our summer holiday. We will be there for a month, meeting up with friends from home and exploring the many islands. I. Can’t. Wait. 

Best Photo! Taken by Teacher Matt at the bottom of Penang Hill. I LOVE these kids!! PS- I am the peace sign in the very back left... :)

Visa Shmisha

I am on yet another visa run to Penang, Malaysia. There are many things that confuse me in this world but none so much at this particular point in time as how a Thai visa works. A month after my arrival, when my 30-day tourist visa was set to expire, I came down to Malaysia and applied for my non-Immigrant B, which would give me three months and make it legal for me to work in Thailand. It would also give me /the school/the ministry enough time to process my documents and get me my papers to apply for a work permit. This 3 month working visa was set to expire the first week in May, but I sped up the process when I went to Tioman Island on a whim- I must be honest and admit I have done little research or questioning about my visa, and I failed to get a re-entry stamp (and pay 1,000 baht?) on my way out of the country. So when I came back in, the customs official stamped a nice, big “USED” across my non-immigrant B visa in my passport, negating my status. Woops. So I became a tourist again, but since I flew into the country again, I had 30 days instead of only 15 to “tour” Thailand. The timing just never seemed right for me to go, because it would mean missing school. There were many days that we had off, but we had them off because they were holidays- holidays the Thai embassy down in Malaysia also observed, and therefore would be closed for.

Long story that I unfortunately must make longer is that I finally came down here two days after my tourist visa expired. My hope was that I could leave on Tuesday afternoon, arrive in Penang late that night, and then start the visa process Wednesday morning first thing, as it takes two working days. This would put me and my visa back on a bus to Nakhon late Thursday afternoon. I would get to Nakhon late Thursday night/early Friday morning, and then have only missed two days of school and would have been able to review for finals on Friday with my students.

 But, as with all things Thai, you can’t expect time to be on your side. My driver was new, and he got lost. Twice. So I got to Hat Yai to change busses forty-five minutes too late, and they wouldn’t take any more people across the border. So I had to stay the night in Hat Yai. Very unfamiliar, dingy, strange accomodations made for a pretty poor night’s sleep. Then, there weren’t enough people for the mini-bus in the morning, and our 8:30am departure time turned into 10:30. Which put me in Penang around 2:30pm, too late to start processing my visa that day.

So it’s Friday, and I am still here, chomping at the bit to leave, frustrated by the fact that there’s nothing I can do, cursing myself for not researching and looking into this whole visa issue better. I feel guilty that other teachers are covering my classes yet again. There’s a bakery down the street from my guesthouse that I will be stopping at to bring lovely goodies back for them. Bribery? Maybe. Thankfully, my finals aren’t scheduled until later in the week, so my students will have time to come to me and ask questions. I have been doing schoolwork and WASC work for a lot of the time, and I know that the next two weeks will be absolutely CRAZY- finals Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday, we leave with the 7^th graders for a cruise to Malaysia (yay… I am pretty sure I’m coming right back here to Penang…) and come back on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday are the last days of the school year. Somehow, someway, I have to grade EVERYTHING and get final grades entered and submitted by Wednesday at the latest, and then Meaghan and I are off to Indonesia for a month, meeting up with three friends!! All I have to do is keep my eye on this prize…

Happy Birthday to Me

Tomorrow I turn 28. I have always loved birthdays. I think they’re special, because it’s one day where you get to make someone feel loved and appreciated for doing nothing except existing in this world, and you get to show them how thankful you are for their existence in your realm of being. I like my own birthdays, because, well, I like to feel special. And I always like having a reason to celebrate.  

But for some reason, I am particularly excited about this one. Maybe it’s because I have a weird affinity for even numbers. I feel like they’re so much more balanced- they can be split exactly in half. They just seem easier to manage. But, maybe, and I haven’t really ever thought about it this way,  but maybe I like my birthday because I am thankful for my own existence. I appreciate those in my life- my friends and my family, and I think this is at present emphasized because this past year was a pretty difficult one for me. In my whole life, I have never felt so lost as I did this past year. I was so afraid of closing doors, missing opportunities, and making the wrong choice that I sat, stagnant. Which, I have now realized, is far worse. Honestly, my friends and my family were so supportive during this time- and so patient with me. I don't know what I would have done or if I would be where I am now if I didn't have them backing me. I did not know what to do with myself- I was on what I thought was a very straightforward, clear path, and all of a sudden, tables turned and everything I thought I wanted became inaccessible. I have always been the kind of person that believed if you wanted something bad enough, you would work hard and get it. I DID work hard. I DID want it, with a passion, and yet, somehow, I failed. The direction I thought I wanted to be headed in was all of a sudden a dead end.

I didn’t know if I was meant to be a teacher. If it was what I was meant to do, why was it so hard? Why was I struggling? My firm position clouded over, turned murky. My strong foothold became muddy from all the rain in my life, to continue this little metaphor, and I felt myself slipping. And I didn’t know what to do about it.  I bought myself as much time as possible, until finally I made choice. It wasn’t easy and it was overwhelming at the same time- like ripping off a band-aid, almost, so before I thought about it too hard or too much, I just bought my ticket here and did it. And NEVER, ever, ever, have I been so certain that the choice I made was the right one. What I have learned about teaching, my life, my choices, what I am capable of doing- it’s literally indescribable.

And so here I am, embarking upon another year of my life, and basking in this warm, humid, tropical air. I love myself, deeply and fully, and I haven’t felt this good in a very long time. I love what I am doing; I am proud of myself.

Today I took time out from WASC planning and organizing and new teacher contracts and student and parent handbooks and orientations and standards and learning objectives and participated in another teacher’s PE class during my “free” period. We played volleyball. It was just pure fun. It grounded me a little bit, if that makes any sense.

A little later, PE was interrupted by a prior teacher’s visit- she brought pen-pal letters from England for the students. It was joyous. We sat back and watched as the kids sat on the gym floor and ripped open the letters and read with such an excited fervor. They traded and shared the contents of each other's letters. I loved watching their expressions. One boy let out an excited yelp over his letter, and another boy next to him looked at me and said, “Teacher, he is behaving so SAVAGELY!” (a vocabulary word I went over a couple classes prior). “And Teacher, when he does that, I feel it’s so OBNOXIOUS” (another vocab word).  It made me laugh. And I was proud. They make me laugh every day, and they make me feel proud every day. I am doing something right. And I am loving it, and I love that.

One teacher I work with who I have grown really close to says this video reminds her of how I am right now... I have to say, most of the time, I quite agree. When I first watched it, I laughed so hard, but it was so spot on. I feel like I CAN do anything good, yeah, yeah. And what a lovely change in thinking that is.

My Very First Home-Cooked Meal in My Apartment....

When all you have is an electric plastic water-boiler (aka "teapot"), you become kind of limited. However, tonight I branched out, got a little creative with cooking methods, and voila! Capellini with blanched cherry tomatoes, holy basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper... Simple, yet not so much when you have no kitchen. But still delicious!

My Season

Thailand, according to the people here, has three seasons: Summer/Hot, Rainy, and “Cold”. I put quotations around the last season because, well, it’s never actually cold in Thailand. Not cold by California standards. Which, I suppose, is not cold compared to Minnesota standards, or Sweden standards. It’s all relative. But in the south, where I live, there are only two seasons: Rainy and Summer/Hot. Today, between classes, it began raining heavily. The drops were huge and thick, turning the world outside from a lush green to grayscale. I thought the rainy season was over!! It was supposed to be over sometime in February. The average rainfall in March is something like 2 inches. This year, it was over 28. Two huge storms knocked the south of Thailand flat on its behind. That surely had to be the end. But no. Because as I gaze out the window of the teachers’ lounge, I see it. Please don’t think I am complaining, though. It’s just… interesting.

So, maybe I misunderstood the seasons here. Misunderstandings happen on an hourly basis- not just between foreigners and Thais, I am realizing. It’s also between Thais and Thais. No one really seems to know what’s going on. Once again, I’m not complaining. It’s just… interesting. And it provides for some humorous situations. No one knows where the bus station is, or what a certain word is, or if they have a certain menu item available, what the weather will be tomorrow, or what season it is. The beauty of it, though, is that it all seems to work out okay. The people just shrug it off. There are more important things. It’s true- there are.

Just after the rain began, I walked into one of the classrooms, where the students were working after-school on a math project, and I asked them, “Boys and girls, I am sorry to interrupt you, but could you please tell me what season it is?”

“Summer!” was unanimously heard, echoing off the walls (this school is SO loud).

“Well, then what’s that?” I asked, pulling back the new curtains and pointing out the window.

They all began laughing. They did their “Crazy Teacher Laugh”. I often hear this laugh, and it makes me smile. I love that they think I’m a little wacky. Right back at ya, kids!

“Teacher! I don’t know what that is!”

“Teacher! That’s global warming!”

“Teacher! It’s Summer, but Summer is rainy sometimes, too.”

And I think in my head, as they shout out answers, well, then what’s the point of even having seasons? Why separate the weather if the weather basically stays the same? Maybe there are subtle changes… subtle changes to me, but they are strongly noted by the Thais. I often marvel at just how different our worlds are, and yet in so many ways, the same.

If I had asked my students this question about the weather at the beginning of the year, the room would have fallen silent. Eyes would dart around furtively before looking downward, gazing hard at their desks or hands, perhaps knowing how to answer, but being afraid to. Now, they trip over each other to shout out answers. (I have to admit, also, that it probably helps that we just read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and have been working on weather words.) They tell me when they don’t understand. They get my sense of humor (most of the time). Although I am very strict with them, I have this sense that they believe in who I am and my purpose for being here- to help them learn and grow and discover. I feel like they appreciate me, and all their teachers. And this, among many reasons, is why I love working here.

The students are simply wonderful. They make me laugh. They challenge me to think in different ways about things and teach in a different way. They challenge me to be better.

So the weather. It is wonderful, most of the time. Who cares what season it is? And my travels, they have been so amazing. Who cares if even when I say the Thai word for it perfectly, I cannot get them to understand what I am asking for? But the teaching- doing what I love, that is what seals the deal. And so, my friends, as I embark upon my fifth and what was originally going to be my final month here in Thailand, I must admit that I am not ready to leave. I am considering another six months. It has been so exciting (even if I want to pull my crazy teacher hair out sometimes because of it) taking on the bigger administrative tasks- hiring and interviewing candidates for teacher and principal positions, making class schedules and working to develop the student handbook and meeting with the director, mayor, and consultant on a regular basis, helping to redesign the webpage (I did not have a hand in the current site- this remodel is still in the works!), helping the Thai administrators articulate their mission and vision for the school in English, being part of an awesome group of teachers that always work hard and love these kids as much as I do. There’s so much more… I can’t think of a really good reason not to stay.