So, it has been a while since I have posted on this blog. I feel guilty for not maintaining the posts that we did in Vietnam but for some reason or another (lack of inspiration, working to much) the words haven't flowed.
Most of our time, since our last posts, have been taken up working so I will explain what that really means here in Bangkok. Celine and I are both corporate teachers. We work for an English language school and are sent out to companies across the city to teach English. At the moment I am working everyday and my clients include a Dutch wholesale supermarket, a tyre manufacturer. a baby formula producer, an American software company and an alloy wheel manufacturer. Today I will talk about the alloy wheel manufacturer.
The company is located about 40km out of the center of Bangkok. I take a motorbike taxi, sky train, and bus to get there. That sounds terrible but the transport system is pretty efficient so I can jump off the motorbike taxi for example and be on the train a few minutes later. The bus drops me at the front door. The company is in a big industrial estate on the outskirts of the city; factories on one side, green fields the other.
To get into the grounds of the company I have to pass a security area. After the formalities of the first visit I am now whizzed straight through with an aura of regality. The young security guys, all dressed smartly in matching attire, snap their legs and salute me as I pass. If there happens to be a few then they will all address me the same way. Once, there were eight guys who I presume were in the process of changing shifts. With 4 guys on either side I passed through a tunnel of salutes. After security there is a green square which is home to a big budda statue.
I teach the senior managers at the company. They are all starters (which means they know a little but not much English). Often when I arrive they don't have a room ready for me to teach. The girl at reception has limited English and will use her fingers to tell me which room I am in. I always look forward to what I might find in my allocated room. Always the lights in the room are turned off but rarely do I find them empty. Girls will be in there chatting, in darkness, and eating their lunch. They laugh and giggle as they leave. Other times the men will be sleeping. There was once a guy with his neck bent backwards, eyes towards the ceiling, mouth open and snoring like there is no tomorrow. They rub their eyes and yawn ad they leave. I am not sure if they are hiding from their boss or are very environmentally conscious but the lights are always off.
I teach 3 one-on-one classes to senior managers and then a group class. I am there from 1pm-7pm. Starters are a fun level to teach, I think, but they never get my jokes. The managers all wear pink or cerise (I don't know the difference) polo shirts which isn't the most manly colour for a factory. Around the different meeting rooms are different posters outlining the companies mission statement and values; all written in Thai, broken English and Japanese (it is a Japanese company). My favourite sign is a laminated guide on how to properly present the end of the toilet roll after use. The sign is on the back door of every cubicle and has an 8 step picture guide on how to fold the toilet paper. I had a go for a few minutes but it was too difficult for me. I left discreetly.
There is a young girl in the kitchen who brings me drinks and snacks all day. She is awesome. I practice my Thai, which is virtually non-existent, with her. After my classes, at 7pm, a company van takes me back towards the city. Lately we have been battling flooding from torrential rain so at times the road is completely submerged in water.
All the students are excited to learn and will get involved in the class so I have no complaints teaching these guys.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Koh Samet, girl power: Motorbike around the island
On our second day on the island, we rented 4 scooters and took on the very bumpy road, motorcross style.
It was amazing, the day was perfect, the sky was blue, the sea even more and we... well, we were black with dust by the end of it, so we jumped in the water on a deserted beach at the end of the road, and to recover from it all, we had pina coladas while watching the sunset.
Tough life on Koh Samet...
It was amazing, the day was perfect, the sky was blue, the sea even more and we... well, we were black with dust by the end of it, so we jumped in the water on a deserted beach at the end of the road, and to recover from it all, we had pina coladas while watching the sunset.
Tough life on Koh Samet...
Koh Samet, just us girls
Last week we spent three days in Koh Samet.
The trip from Bangkok is fairly painless, a bus picked us up from Rambuttri and took us to Rayong in a couple of hours. From there we took a slow boat which was slow to leave (90 minutes after boarding, it decided it was ready to leave. The island is like... 500 metres from Rayong but hey, what were we supposed to do, swim there?). Took 30 minutes of rolling on waves insanely - we got soaked - before we landed on beautiful Koh Samet.
We found the landscapes preety similar to our Mediterranean ones. Unlike the southern Thai islands, Koh Samet looks like home :)
We were really happy when we got to our bungalow: lost in a lush garden, right in front of a pool, with only us. It's the low season in Thailand, and we felt alone in the world. Our little terrasse with five chairs was made for a few evening playing contree and tarot, French card games I had missed more than I knew!
This was the view from our breakfast area. Tough.
The trip from Bangkok is fairly painless, a bus picked us up from Rambuttri and took us to Rayong in a couple of hours. From there we took a slow boat which was slow to leave (90 minutes after boarding, it decided it was ready to leave. The island is like... 500 metres from Rayong but hey, what were we supposed to do, swim there?). Took 30 minutes of rolling on waves insanely - we got soaked - before we landed on beautiful Koh Samet.
We found the landscapes preety similar to our Mediterranean ones. Unlike the southern Thai islands, Koh Samet looks like home :)
We were really happy when we got to our bungalow: lost in a lush garden, right in front of a pool, with only us. It's the low season in Thailand, and we felt alone in the world. Our little terrasse with five chairs was made for a few evening playing contree and tarot, French card games I had missed more than I knew!
This was the view from our breakfast area. Tough.
Khao San and Rambuttri: the unmissables
When people come to visit, we always take them there first, before scaring them to death with the real Bangkok's pace and traffic. Not that Khao San is quiet... you really couldn't say that, but it's full of little terrasses, bars and restaurant where you can relax and enjoy a few beers while watching people interactions.
We ate well, drank well and the girls had a foot massage right there in the street. They fell asleep in the middle of it, as they should.
Good first impression of Bangkok through the coloured glass of Soi Rambuttri :)
We ate well, drank well and the girls had a foot massage right there in the street. They fell asleep in the middle of it, as they should.
Good first impression of Bangkok through the coloured glass of Soi Rambuttri :)
Plein de filles a Bangkok
My girls came to visit: my friend Aurelie, first, then a few days later my three aunts. I'll break down this big adventure into a few themed posts, but for now here are some pictures of just us girls, Thailand style....
Saturday, July 23, 2011
5km in Bangkok
About 5 months ago I decided to improve my fitness and have since set my sights on the Bangkok marathon at the end of the year. Until today my exercise regime has taken place in a small but satisfactory gym on the 2nd floor of my apartment building. Starting with the treadmill I usually aim for a 4-5km run which is made a hell of a lot easier with a rotating fan, air conditioning, a cold water bottle and a sweat towel. Today I ventured outside and had none of these added extras which I really had taken for granted.
There is a park not far from our apartment blocks which is ideal for running; well, ideal as you can get for Bangkok anyway. To get there, according to my pedometer, it takes a little under 1.5km through residential streets and across a highway. Instead of walking to the park I decided to jog which turned out to be a 1.5km obstacle course. First, there is little or no footpath so I had to run on the road. This is generally ok but Bangkok traffic is never quiet and taxis, tuk tuks, cars and motorbikes zoom through the streets. Being at the bottom of the food chain means it is my responsibility to get out of the way. Where there is a footpath it is imperative to always look down for holes, cracks or loose bits of cement which are determined to roll your ankle.
As I turned the first corner a mangy mutt took an interest in my jogging and followed me. Dogs are, to my knowledge, placid beasts in Bangkok but I was unsettled to have this one tagging closely behind. Having just finished a Stephen King novel, one where a mangy mutt not dissimilar to this one snacked on a human, my nerves were a little on edge. Images of his dirty fangs digging into my calf and an evening spent at hospital fighting off rabies were too much to handle so I legged it. I didn’t look back until the next corner. The mutt had lost interest and I was already getting tired.
After, I passed food stalls with people digging in to an afternoon noodle soup, then a bus stop where the masses waited to go home. I weaved through a motorbike taxi rank at the front of the skytrain and past people selling coffee. Young workers from a construction site, dirty and tired, smiled and joked as I ran past. Two umbrellas, on either side of the footpath, made a kind of tent which was transformed into a kitchen cooking up Saturday evening street food. Chicken and fish were being grilled over hot coals and I got a good mouthful of the thick smoke as I ducked through. Burning chili sent a brief sting to my eyes and nose but it was the next smell that got me. The stench of stale piss was a bit too much, and occupied a long area on the side of the road where taxi drivers stop to relieve themselves. The smell clung to the inside of my nostrils as I tried to cough it away. It was absolutely putrid. I legged it again until I reached the overpass that crossed the highway. Here I watched the busy afternoon traffic below as the approaching gray clouds grinned down.
Once on the other side of the highway it was near the entrance to the park which has a great running area with 1.8km per lap. It is peaceful and relaxing with an artificial lake in the middle. There were no dogs, taxis, food stalls or stale piss so I could run in peace. After two laps it was definitely feeling more difficult than the treadmill but if I want to run the marathon it has to be outside so outside I will go. I managed a 5km run which included a 1.5km obstacle course which is a good start, I think, to running in Bangkok. I will try and get out here a few times a week.
There is a park not far from our apartment blocks which is ideal for running; well, ideal as you can get for Bangkok anyway. To get there, according to my pedometer, it takes a little under 1.5km through residential streets and across a highway. Instead of walking to the park I decided to jog which turned out to be a 1.5km obstacle course. First, there is little or no footpath so I had to run on the road. This is generally ok but Bangkok traffic is never quiet and taxis, tuk tuks, cars and motorbikes zoom through the streets. Being at the bottom of the food chain means it is my responsibility to get out of the way. Where there is a footpath it is imperative to always look down for holes, cracks or loose bits of cement which are determined to roll your ankle.
As I turned the first corner a mangy mutt took an interest in my jogging and followed me. Dogs are, to my knowledge, placid beasts in Bangkok but I was unsettled to have this one tagging closely behind. Having just finished a Stephen King novel, one where a mangy mutt not dissimilar to this one snacked on a human, my nerves were a little on edge. Images of his dirty fangs digging into my calf and an evening spent at hospital fighting off rabies were too much to handle so I legged it. I didn’t look back until the next corner. The mutt had lost interest and I was already getting tired.
After, I passed food stalls with people digging in to an afternoon noodle soup, then a bus stop where the masses waited to go home. I weaved through a motorbike taxi rank at the front of the skytrain and past people selling coffee. Young workers from a construction site, dirty and tired, smiled and joked as I ran past. Two umbrellas, on either side of the footpath, made a kind of tent which was transformed into a kitchen cooking up Saturday evening street food. Chicken and fish were being grilled over hot coals and I got a good mouthful of the thick smoke as I ducked through. Burning chili sent a brief sting to my eyes and nose but it was the next smell that got me. The stench of stale piss was a bit too much, and occupied a long area on the side of the road where taxi drivers stop to relieve themselves. The smell clung to the inside of my nostrils as I tried to cough it away. It was absolutely putrid. I legged it again until I reached the overpass that crossed the highway. Here I watched the busy afternoon traffic below as the approaching gray clouds grinned down.
Once on the other side of the highway it was near the entrance to the park which has a great running area with 1.8km per lap. It is peaceful and relaxing with an artificial lake in the middle. There were no dogs, taxis, food stalls or stale piss so I could run in peace. After two laps it was definitely feeling more difficult than the treadmill but if I want to run the marathon it has to be outside so outside I will go. I managed a 5km run which included a 1.5km obstacle course which is a good start, I think, to running in Bangkok. I will try and get out here a few times a week.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Email from a student
I have this very funny Japanese student, his name is Sakata. He's elem1, which means his grasp of English is very rudimentary, but hey he tries hard and has such a fun, outgoing personality that I usually end up laughing my head off in our classes together, every Saturday afternoon. He's so lovely: he repeats everything I say to practise his pronunciation which is hilarious (can you imagine? I ask him a question and he just repeats it, like:
-"Are you OK Sakata?"
-"mmm...You ok Sakata?"
Hilarious.
He even brings me back presents when he goes on trips.
All in all, one of my favourite students ever.
Last Saturday was our last class together, so I gave him my email address and we said goodbye. 2 hours later, here's the what I received from him. It needs no comments, I think:
Dear Ms.Celine Ferrer
My name is Sakata!
Do you remember?
Thank you very much for teaching English to me.
I want to speak with various people by using English more.
Therefore, help of Celine will be asked for again.
I very much tired today….
Best regards.
Sakata.
-"Are you OK Sakata?"
-"mmm...You ok Sakata?"
Hilarious.
He even brings me back presents when he goes on trips.
All in all, one of my favourite students ever.
Last Saturday was our last class together, so I gave him my email address and we said goodbye. 2 hours later, here's the what I received from him. It needs no comments, I think:
Dear Ms.Celine Ferrer
My name is Sakata!
Do you remember?
Thank you very much for teaching English to me.
I want to speak with various people by using English more.
Therefore, help of Celine will be asked for again.
I very much tired today….
Best regards.
Sakata.
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