No Joke.

Things I did today until 1:30pm:

1. Went down to the office to check on the status of my work permit. My contract was on its way to the mayor to be signed. Apparently he chose not to sign it last night.
2. Corrected papers, quizzes, and got my gradebook completely up-to-date.
3. Taught complements, reviewed quizzes, went over plot development, continued reading "All-American Slurp" to my grade 8's.
4. Went downstairs and checked on the status of my work permit. Nothing. My contract was still with the mayor.
5. Conducted an interview and showed the prospective teacher around our beautiful campus. This took about an hour and a half.
6. Went downstairs for her to be interviewed by the Director and Thai Principal. Also, checked on my contract/work permit. Still, nothing.

Just so everyone is clear, my visa expires/expired today, August 17th, 2011. All government offices close at 3:30 at the latest. At this point, it is 1:30. Clearly, I begin to get a little more than upset- it's visible in my face, although I am trying to keep a calm, cool and collected composure.

The principal checks on my paperwork that should have been prepared to take to the employment office. It is non-existent. However, paperwork for me to go to Penang for a visa run is all ready. I cannot go on a visa run. I cannot get another non-immigrant B visa. Nor do I care to spend my own money on something I wouldn't have had to do if the school had been more prepared and listened to me when I began asking for this over two months ago.

So, at 1:30pm, with only 2 hours left to process everything, my contract is still sitting on the mayor's desk at city hall. My paperwork for my work permit hasn't even begun to be compiled.

THEN, they tell me they need me to go to the hospital to get medical clearance to work. Again. Because it expired in March. 

So, naturally, my voice elevates a little bit (NOT yelling, just expressing extreme concern) and I begin to really hammer into them that literally, I need to leave the school forever if this doesn't happen in two hours.
All of a sudden, people begin rushing. The Thai administrators rush to the mayor's office. The administrative staff begins rushing around the school, papers flying everywhere, getting my documents together. And I rush to the hospital.

Things I learned today:

1. I don't have syphilis. Why this is important to the Thai Ministry of Education over, say, tuberculosis, I will never understand. But this was the "medical clearance" I had to get. Yay, no syphilis!! 250 baht well-spent.
2. The mayor can make anyone do anything anytime. You just have to get him to say it, and to sign your contract, which, apparently, is the hardest part.
3. Whenever anyone tells you they cannot do something until tomorrow, or that something is going to take an hour, they can really get it done in about five minutes. They just need to be pushed (not physically, but by, say, a time constraint and the government). And sometimes, you need to cry. It makes them feel bad and they don't want to see it, so they want to get you out of their workspace as soon as possible.

Now, I have my work permit. It only took the entire administrative team to stop everything they were doing today and focus only on me. Literally, the whole school was put on hold. It was ridiculous.

Tomorrow, I have to pay for my visa at immigration. Plus the fine for being late by one day.
And you know the clincher? I still am not 100% guaranteed that I am okay. It all lies in the hands of the immigration officer tomorrow. Who, hopefully, will have the heavy hand of the mayor resting squarely on his back.

Sometimes, at the end of a long day, a glass of wine is the best thing in the world. Someone, get this girl a glass of wine.

Contracts and Visas- Broken Record?

Today, I had to tell my students that tomorrow might be my last day of school. It wasn’t easy. I passed out the second half of their quiz (it had to be split in two because the copy machine broke and no one knew when it would be fixed… glorious Thailand), wrote a quick email, walked around to observe and assist, took one student’s test because I caught her cheating (first time I have EVER had to do that in my whole, still green teaching career), collected the quizzes after twenty minutes, and then before redistributing them to be corrected, I broke the news.

I told it like it was, explaining contracts (new vocabulary word!) and visas (old vocabulary word- they know about all my runs for the border!) and how the school made a big big mistake and we don’t know if they can fix it. And that maybe everything will be okay, but maybe I will have to go to Malaysia, get my tourist visa, and then only work for the rest of the month, and then go back to the United States. I tried to tell them in…. as comfortable a way as possible… if that makes any sense. Trying not to reveal any emotion because I didn’t want my kids to think something was sorely wrong with their school or with me. Just explain the situation, and tell them we are trying to solve it, but that I might have to go somewhere and not be there anymore.

The truth is right now I am overflowing with emotion about this. The truth is there is something sorely wrong with their school. Today I was bullied into signing a contract I didn’t agree with because my employers promised me something and then kept pushing it back and back and back until I had one day left before my visa expired (and my contract had already been expired for 16 days.) They waited until the last possible hour (no joke- they waited until 2pm, and all the government offices I needed to go to closed at 3) to tell me that they changed their mind about what to pay me, but that I needed to sign because they had to get my paperwork down to immigration and the education office to process as soon as possible.

What I don’t think they were expecting was for me to tell them that I would have to quit. “I am sorry,” I said, “But what’s happening here is not right. It makes me so sad, but, I think, I have to quit.” The director looked down at his hands and all of a sudden became engrossed with something inside the drawer he had just opened. The Thai principal said, “Allison, is there any way you can stay? Because I think next year it will be better. I talked to the students yesterday. Pae, Jaja, for example. They say how much they love you and you make them learn. They say you make this school very good for them. Please, could you reconsider.”

It was never about the money for me. It was about the experience. I mean that, and I am being truthful- no one comes to Thailand expecting to make bank and take it home with them to the U.S. or England or Australia (Or even Canada... only teasing, Canadian readers.) The fight I have been fighting, it's about the principle (and the principal!- see? Even when I'm down, I'm not without a sense of humor.) In February, our school lost its principal. We didn’t get a new one until July 31. In the interim, I filled the position, splitting duties with the Thai principal, all the while teaching classes too. I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into, but I did it. And I tried to make the best out of it that I possibly could- it was a learning experience for me, it was a challenge. Bottom line: I had needs that needed to be met, and I hoped my employer would work to meet them in the same way I busted my behind to help them as much as I possibly could. I could go into it a little bit more, maybe to clarify things a bit, but frankly, I am exhausted and my spirit is a bit wilted at the moment.

I wish I could say my experience here was unique or special, but I know it’s not. It’s not even just Thailand. It’s being an educator right now. It’s taking chances with anything. You put your heart and soul into something that you love, and have expectations. Budget cuts, new governments, new policies, whatever. And the worst part is those who suffer the most are the kids.

So, I went upstairs to the gym and played dodgeball with the seventh graders and Teacher Meaghan, phoned a lifeline and talked it out. This school is really fragile right now, and I know what will happen if I leave right now. I just can’t do it. I don’t want to leave the school this way and I don’t want to give up on something I believe in- It’s not in me, it’s not who I am. I signed my contract. And now, I await the apparent expedited visa/work permit processing that will take place tomorrow. The vice-mayor is going to take care of all of it for me, he says. I hope I made the right choice.

All By Myself

It’s not that I have never lived alone before, because I have. But the last time I did it, it was different. I spent a year in a gorgeous two-bedroom, two-bath house out in the wine country in northern California. How is it different from where I am now, aside from the location? I had hot water, for one. And cable TV and a huge beautiful kitchen for another. And a little private driving range/putting green in my backyard built for the avid golfer I was renting from. Pretty nice, right? It was cozy and had everything I could ask for. I loved it in many ways, but what I did not love was living alone. I counted down the days until my boyfriend at the time or my friends would come to stay with me, and often fell asleep with the phone to my ear on nights when I was alone. I was actually pretty afraid of living all the way out where I was, even with an alarm system and huge fence and gate surrounding the property. There were a couple nights where I just couldn’t take it and fled to my parents’ at 3am, just so I could get some shuteye. I didn’t have any reason to be as scared as I was. But I would terrorize myself with imaginary scenarios of someone breaking in, or something terrible happening and Iwould scream and no one would hear me. (Completely unrealistic, by the way.) I think at that point, I just wasn’t ready to live alone.

Here though, I embrace my solitary habitation. When I get off work, or come back from a dinner date, I climb the four flights of stairs to my itty bitty studio apartment in the middle of the city, unlock the door, and it’s like I’ve entered my little haven. I never get scared about someone breaking in, although it’s definitely more probable here than back home. I have my little kettle and my refrigerator, which is about the extent of my kitchen, and I have people over for tea. All my books- reference, travel, novels- line the shelf above my little closet that is built into the wall. I’ve actually built up quite a collection. (The other day, I listed all the books I have read since being here, and I’m rather proud- about 14 thus far! It’s amazing what being out of school does for one’s reading appetite!I have about 7 waiting to be read, so that’s a fair amount!) On Sundays, we now have a ritual where we cozy up on my bed (as it’s the only place to sit aside from the floor and one little red stool that sits in front of my vanity and doubles as a coffee table) after brunch and watch bootleg Trueblood episodes from the current season. It’s my little space, and I let people in when I want, and it’s all mine when I need it to be.

When I first moved here and was looking for places, I knew I wanted to live by myself. Before moving here, living alone would have seemed like some kind of punishment- I’m a people person. I like waking up and seeing someone else there. But I felt like for where I am and what I am doing, it’s what I need and deserve. And I still stand by this choice, and wouldn’t have my time here in Thailand any other way. This is my ME time. And I am selfish and I love it. 

Back from China. A New Academic Year. A New but Similar Outlook.

Today, reading my students’ quick writes inspired me (finally) to update my blog. I’ve been struggling a little bit with writing it- knowing that I needed to, but not really in the mood. But today, after smiling, frowning, nodding, and even laughing out loud a little bit as I sat at my desk in my classroom (yes, you read that correctly- I finally have my very own classroom!) reading their thoughts about who they are or who they think they are or who they want (or don’t want) to tell me they are, I feel ambitious and ready to share again.

My mood lately, especially since returning from Indonesia and China, has been less than stellar. My aunt Lisa told me that, just so I knew, I would probably hate the first few months abroad. But after the bouts of homesickness died off and I got acclimated, I would obviously love it. Oddly, my experience has been the opposite. The first six months were so jam-packed with new people, places, jobs, just everything, that I felt like there was no way I was even close to being ready to come home. There was too much happening for me to even have time to think about it. And then I traveled for a month with my friends from home, and then I returned to Thailand and they went back to the States. And I began to feel like I was so far removed from everything I cared about.  Thus, this is the plight I face- what I have come to realize about living and working abroad. I am doing something I love, but I am so far away from (almost) everything and everyone I know and love.

Still, every now and again, I catch myself marveling at the fact that I am here. That this is my life. Sometime during summer school, after classes one day, I was working late as usual. I got up to walk around a bit, get my blood flowing and I found myself in front of the giant windows in the teacher’s lounge, gazing out over the lush green fields, the city in the background, palms swaying gently. It was just one of those moments- I was standing, with my arms crossed in front of me, a mug of tea in one hand, looking out of my office window and thinking about my plans for the next day, running through my to-do list of teacher meetings, parent conferences, lesson planning, etc. Completely normal, uninteresting, organizational, average parts of being a teacher. The only difference is I’m doing it… in Thailand.

China, by the way, was really a great trip. It was so much fun spending time with the students and other teachers, seeing the sights, and of course, what Nakhon International City School trip would be complete without the all-important souvenir shopping we did at least once (sometimes twice) each day and the meals every 15 minutes? China surprised me in many ways. I never thought I would travel there, as it was never high on my list of places to go, but now I am thinking of ways to get back there. It was beautiful- all parts. The city of Shanghai is so modern, in an almost futuristic way, and for being so incredibly huge, it’s also incredibly clean and well-maintained. The ancient cities and temples and ruins we visited were also extremely well-kept, and the countryside was beautiful. I am itching to get to the Great Wall and go to Beijing.

Students on the boat ride!

Chinese Acrobats in Shanghai

Chinese Gardens

Chinese Gardens

The Boys

Shanghai at night!

The view from The Pearl Tower

My favorite shop- Grandmother's Tea

Meanwhile, the new-school year has officially commenced. All of the rumors and talk of our school have subsided, for the time-being, at least, and… the new principal has finally started. Not without a lot of hassle and catastrophe, of course, but he’s here, nonetheless, and already I feel the positive effects on my workload. And I’m even more excited to hopefully be a major part of NICS becoming an established, reputable institution. It’s like my faith has been restored a little bit, which is really good. And I have my own classroom, and that’s good. And I’m teaching, and I love it. And today, I had more than one student tell me, without the promise of extra credit, that I have made them love English, and they’ve learned a lot from me, and they want to be like me when they grow up. Basically, they continue to melt my heart. And they reminded me for the millionth time why I love doing what I do. And that is excellent

I love these kids!

NICS Field Day

Today at NICS, we celebrated the conclusion of summer school with a field day! It took a lot of planning amidst last-minute planning for the swiftly approaching 2011-2012 academic year and last-minute planning for the China trip, but it actually turned out to be a pretty amazing time. We laughed, we cried, we ate ice cream!

The day began with a whole-school assembly, where we filled the students in on the day's activities. Then, we divided them up into teams of 6-7 students, with 7^th and 8^th grades intermixed. The groups then spent the first part of the morning brainstorming team names and then creating their team flag. It was really funny listening to the students come up with team names, and then wondering exactly how they chose those particular English words. For example, we had the Fairytales, 1^st Shot, Suck Rockers, Team Cemetery, Freedom Blood, Team So What?!, Man and a Half, and then Teacher Mark’s personal favorite, the Perpetual Motion Sliders. Perpetual Motion Sliders was particularly unique in that they shortened their team name to an acronym- PMS. And then they took it even further and gave their team a slogan- “We can go all night long!” I feel like at any other school, this would be unacceptable. However, with these language learners, I can guarantee they do not know what PMS is nor are they keen on any connotations that may or may not go along with their slogan, so we just chuckled within our peer group of teachers and that was that.

After, they lined up in their groups and each group introduced themselves to the rest of the school. And then we let the games begin! Three to four teams at a time rotated through each station, competing against one another for points. At station one, teams had to build bridges spanning half a meter, using only 8 1/2 “ X 11” sheets of paper. They only had a certain number of sheets, and had fifteen minutes to create something that would support as much weight as possible. Our “weights” were the English level readers- at the end of the fifteen minutes, we began stacking the books on the bridges, and the one that could hold the most was the winner. This was my station, and it was so much fun watching them strategize and seeing the different ideas they came up with.

At station two, teams had fifteen minutes to build freestanding towers out of drinking straws. The tallest one was the winner. Once again, it was fascinating seeing some of the design concepts. One team first constructed a whole bunch of triangles and then put them together. Another built a tower that was literally a replica of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai! Although it wasn’t the tallest, it was architecturally quite artistic! At station three, which was up in the gym, teams played a game fashioned in the style of traditional horse- shooting around the key for points.

After all teams completed the rotation, students ate lunch, and then the final event was the three-legged race. Thirty-seven pairs competed in this relay that resulted in stinky, sweaty students! Everyone reconvened out on the veranda for a final tally of scores, and we had an ice cream sundae social- Meaghan, Clare and I scooped until our hands were covered in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry slime. We had a little fiasco with the toppings- the cook said she would get them then saw the list in English hours before we were supposed to serve it, and said she wouldn’t do it. So teacher Mark and I left school in a hurry and grabbed Oreos, peanuts, gumdrops, sprinkles, bananas, whipped cream, spoons, bowls, strawberry and chocolate Hershey’s syrup, marshmallows, caramel toffee topping, mini chocolate chips, cones, and the ice cream (Maraschino cherries were SO expensive we had to omit them from the list!). We made it back in time, and it all went off without a hitch.

After ice cream, we ushered the students upstairs- many of the 8^th graders had been working so hard and so secretively all week on a surprise for Teacher Val, who is leaving the school to return back to the states. They let me in on it, because they had scripted me into the movie they were making for her (which made me feel very special and honored!), and it was tough hiding it all week long, as they would come into the lounge and whisper to me about things they needed and questions they had. I even did a little acting coaching! I loaned them my camera so they could film it, and the debut this afternoon reduced Val to sobs. I had the students sign the script they had given to me so I could "memorize" my lines, and then after the viewing, they presented it to Teacher Val. Each student had written something special on it for her. Watching everything, being a part of it- it was all so moving. And I had one of those, “Ah, THIS is why I am doing what I am doing!” moments.

I think one downfall in teaching abroad is that it isn’t permanent- most teachers teach for six months or a year, and then they move on, either to another country or back home. Students grow to count on us. When so much in their life is changing, they take their teachers for granted- there’s a certain stability there, whether acknowledged or not, and when the entire teaching staff is composed of foreign teachers… over the last seven months, it’s been us and these kids. We’ve built a community. We’ve built a family. I know I will be leaving, and it breaks my heart knowing that I won’t be there for them next year. Poor teacher Val was having a hard time with this today.  It makes me yearn for a position at home, in a school where I can stay long-term.

We concluded the day with some excited talk about the China trip- we leave in five days! Today was great, and China will be amazing!  

My First...Fruit Basket

Coming in on Sunday, meeting with the WASC coordinator, directors, and new principal in the morning, then meeting with the concerned parents of seven students is not without its perks, I suppose...

...And I'm Back!

Bali- from our drive to Tulamben

I left off with an ill-punctuated, misspelled, and grammatically incorrect entry (clearly I am embarrassed- thanks to those who wrote to tell me you enjoyed my entries regardless- all I can chalk it up to is not enough time and a slow but expensive internet connection, and I apologize if it was hard to read) that left me in Ubud, Bali, recovering from a nasty virus and off to experience the Sacred Monkey Forest.

When I departed Tanjung Putting National Park, it was with deep reverence and concern. I felt like I had just been a part of something so rare, so special and so insurmountable, I was really and truly at a loss for words. The journey back downriver was mostly silent in contemplation about what we had witnessed and about the imminent danger the orangutans and their futures face. Lack of education and awareness of many of the local people about the depletion of the rain forest and what effect that will have on both the human and animal populations of Borneo is devastatingly apparent and it is extremely disconcerting. I walked hand-in-hand with an orangutan, more than one looked into my eyes, one wrapped its arms around my waist. They are so incredibly magnificent. And the thought that they might not make it past this next generation is painful. I still think about what more I can do, and I am still looking into the organizations, but right now, I am sort of at a loss. If you haven’t already, please go to the sites mentioned in my previous blog and check out ways to help.

Just Sally, our new friend Pan, me, and Meaghan, walking to the banana feeding. He refused to let go of us...

My experience in Borneo lacks comparison, and in a completely different way, so does my experience in Bali. Bali is breathtakingly beautiful, and after our experience on the overcrowded boat we took to Komodo, it was heaven- just what we all needed to pull us out of our travel depression.

Ubud is in Southern/Central Bali, inland and gorgeous.  The streets are lined with art galleries and little alleys leading to courtyards filled with artists’ workshops. Giant canvases lean up against pillars and buildings with stray dogs tucked under them, hiding from the heat of the day. Cafes and restaurants serve delicious food and markets line the sidewalks, selling all kinds of Balinese art and wares.

When I was molested by a macacque in the
Monkey Forest

The Monkey Forest is home to- you guessed it- hundreds (thousands?) of monkeys. Monkeys who know that humans coming through to view the three temples within the forest are suppliers of food and drink. Almost immediately upon entering the gates, I had a macacque jump from some wall or pillar onto my shoulder, completely catching me off guard.  Vendors sell bananas just outside the park gates, and I can only assume that my appeal was that I had just come in and he thought I was carrying bananas. He was wrong. 

The temples were beautiful- especially the bathing temple. All were overgrown with jungle vines and green moss covering the sculptures on the walls and buildings. It would have been a completely enjoyable experience if it wasn’t for all those crazy macacques everywhere. They were quite aggressive, and at this point in my trip, I had seen gibbons, macacques, proboscis monkeys, and most of all, orangutans, and I was pretty much “primated-out.”

The view from the guest house in Ubud

We caught a traditional Balinese theater/dance show and stayed in beautiful bungalows tucked away down one of the alleys. Our view was of the rice paddies flanked with palm trees and the guest house that provided our accommodations also provided us with breakfast every morning, which sort of made up for the fact that our toilets were often out of order. We spent our days in Ubud meandering through the streets, eating good food, and visiting all the beautiful sights. I didn’t want to leave- I was in love.

Beautiful Bali

For a while, friends and fellow teachers in Nakhon had been talking about this wreck dive on the east coast of Bali, and Meaghan and I were really excited about going to do it. Leaving Ubud wasn’t quite so painful once we started on our drive to Tulamben. Every corner we rounded, my jaw dropped even further to the floor; it was THE most beautiful drive. Gently sloping hills, terraced with rice paddies and leading down into valleys; little thatched homes and makeshift scarecrows and flags flying to keep the birds away. Kites filled the sky- more than just for fun, the Balinese people fly kites as part of a deeply rooted spiritual and traditional activity, and the sight is truly one to behold. The whole drive there, which was about 3 hours, was just stunning.

At Tanah Lot, after being blessed at the Holy Spring

Tulamben itself was a cute seaside town- I like to think of it as the Balinese Riviera- that consisted of just one main street. We got situated and found a good dive shop and learned a bit more about our wreck dive that we would do the next day. While I was absolutely looking forward to it, this dive was also going to be my first dive after becoming open-water certified, and for that reason, I was also a bit anxious about it- to the point where I told Meaghan and Allan that maybe I wouldn’t do this dive after all. Being the good friends they are, they gently coaxed me back into it, and before I knew it, I had my long wetsuit on (the water is significantly colder in Indonesia- not what I expected!) and we were walking into the water from the beach! It was a pretty great dive, and the ship had been there long enough that there was a pretty great living reef in and around it. We got to go into the ship, swim through narrow openings and passageways, and see all kinds of beautiful coral and fish. Minus the little buoyancy problem I encountered, overall, it was a great dive. Afterward, we sat poolside on chaise lounges, looking out at the sea, and relaxed a bit before beginning our beautiful drive back to our friends in Southern Bali.

Tanah Lot

The rest of the trip was spent relaxing in the same place for five days, which was a welcome change- I was tired of unpacking and repacking my backpack on a daily (sometimes twice a day) basis. A small day-trip was planned along the southwest coast, where we visited Tanah Lot, a beautiful “temple in the sea.” While is was quite a site, it was flanked by Indonesian tourists on holiday and was so incredibly crowded that it stifled a bit of the beauty. 

With my Javanese friends at Tanah Lot

In addition to that, apparently our group was just as amazing a site as the temple itself- families and individuals were constantly asking us to take photos with them. We found ourselves standing literally for about five minutes at a time while each individual member of each group took a photo with one or more of us. We also visited Ulu Watu, another seaside temple set atop beautiful limestone cliffs. Here, the monkeys were even more aggressive than at Monkey Forest in Ubud, and we were warned while walking to the site that they like to steal shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, food, water bottles- basically anything on your person that is metal or plastic… or just removable. Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to myself (like I said, I was pretty much primated-out at this point), I removed my shoes and jewelry and made sure I tossed my water bottle right away. This did not stop them from grabbing my ankles once or twice, but other than being terrified when a few of them bared their fangs at tourists who were teasing them with food, I was okay. While there, however, I watched, horrified, as an Australian man feeding the monkeys peanuts was bit on his hand by one of the monkeys. I also noted how incredibly obese these macacques were compared to the ones I had seen skirting through the trees in Borneo and the ones I saw in the Monkey Forest. I don’t know what the fascination with feeding these little beasts is, but please, I implore you, if you ever visit a place with monkeys, don’t feed them. Thank you.

Don't feed these monkeys!!
(He was actually yawning... after landing on Sally
in an attempt to snatch her sunglasses- exhausting
work for an obese macacque.)

Uluwatu

Leaving Bali was sad and happy at the same time. I had fallen in love with a beautiful place, but I was glad to finally get somewhere where I wouldn’t be living out of a backpack. After exactly one month of traveling around SE Asia (mainly Indonesia), I have returned to Nakhon. Summer school started three days ago, and it feels so great to be back in the classroom. I’ve missed these kids! We are working on a small poetry unit- I am trying to get them to play with words and find less-boring synonyms for words like “happy” and “bad” and “sad” and “good.” So far, I have been incredibly impressed- we have done acrostics and haikus, and I am seeing all kinds of wonderful vocabulary and they seem to be having a good time as well- we have been laughing a lot. It’s amazing how in one month, they have changed so much- grown up, matured, new hairstyles, new attitudes… oh to be young again…

Meanwhile, the month I was gone brought many changes to Nakhon. There are so many new foreign teachers that I haven’t met. My street has at least four or five new shops, restaurants, and other random businesses that I almost don’t recognize parts of it. The biggest and most disturbing changes though, I think, are political. Elections just took place locally and nationally, and many people have been uprooted and disturbed by the shift in political parties in the governmental seats. The mayor whose brainchild was the school at which I am employed has resigned, and it was expected that his son would take his place. In a surprising turn of events, his son lost the election to the opposing party. Rumors have been flying about what the fate of the city and our school is, and this time, I don’t think it is only the foreigners who feel in the dark about what will happen. It’s amazing to think about how much power politics hold- to give and to take away. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what was going to happen to the school and all the hard work we have done, trying to realize the dream of the parents, students, mayor, and ourselves to make it an international school- a first for Nakhon not only as a city, but as a province. The idea that it could all be ripped away in an instant is all too real. Meanwhile, we are carrying on, continuing to plan lessons and provide these students with the best education possible. A head foreign teacher/director from another school in Nakhon was talking to me about this last night. He told me that all I can do is to continue doing what I believe in, and I have to “tend my own garden with the best of intentions,” and just accept what comes. In this case, I think he is right. I have to keep doing what I believe, keep working hard, and hopefully everything will be okay. At this point, it’s out of my hands. I am already here longer than I originally anticipated, doing things I never imagined myself doing, learning so much and building great relationships. But I am worried about these kids and their educations. I will know more when the new mayor takes office on the 12^th. Meanwhile, our trip to China is still on, and we leave on the 19^th. The students are all so excited and we took our visa photos today- I can’t wait for another NICS field trip! To China!

Uluwatu, Bali