Typical Monday

As I was jogging along the rice fields this morning, getting some exercise to start off my week, I decided that I ought to write a blog about what a "typical" school day for me might be like. Of course, in reality there is no such thing as a "typical" day in Thailand, because nothing is predictable or consistent here, but today came pretty close. So here it is!

At 6:50am the alarm went off – a bit later than usual for a Monday, because we haven’t been sleeping enough lately and wanted to try to add a few more minutes. Robert got into the shower; I headed out for my run to a nearby temple on top of a small hill. Traffic was busy – lots of high school students on motorcycles, parents dropping kids off at school, women on their way to the market. I also encountered the usual wandering dogs (we know each other by now) and barefoot monks in orange robes out collecting their daily food from the townspeople.

After stretching, ironing, sending Robert off to school, showering, eating oatmeal, and checking email, I headed out on my bicycle just before 9:30am. It was incredibly hot – over 90 already – and very sunny, so I was sweaty by the time I arrived at school. My co-teacher, Warangkana, turned on her desk fan for me and I sat trying to cool off for several minutes.

Shortly before 10, two guys from Isaan (northeastern Thailand) showed up selling beautiful cloth to be made into "suits". Waranakana and the 5th grade teacher went a little crazy buying some, and I ended up buying some myself. We’ll see how my suit turns out!

From 10 until noon, we taught the 5th grade English class ("sweet," "sour," "salty," "spicy," and menu-making). (Photo) They were relatively well-behaved today despite the heat! We walked the kids across the athletic field to lunch and I visited with them in English about today’s meal. "What do you have for lunch today?" "Noodles!" "Watermelon!" "Pig blood!" My vegetarian lunch was stir-fried sprouts.

Just before 1pm, the kids brushed their teeth and had meditation. Then we taught the 6th grade for an hour. The first two-thirds of class were a continuation of "family" words from last week (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) and the last third was my presentation of how to make oatmeal. Yes, we made oatmeal. They had been begging to see it ever since the day we learned "breakfast," "lunch," and "dinner," when I stated that I eat oatmeal for breakfast every day. To my surprise, many of them liked it and came back for seconds.

Normally at 2pm we would head off to teach the 4th grade, but today they were busy, so I got to observe 6th grade music class instead. They watched a video about how to practice the different movements in classical Thai dance, and we all tried to follow along. My wrists and shoulders were sore after the first 20 minutes, so after that I just sat back and watched.

In English Club – the one hour per week we spend with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades combined – we practiced numbers 11-20 with a song and game. Then the day was over, at last, and I was more than ready to head home for my shower.

After putting on cooler clothes I went out on my bicycle once more to pick up some sticky rice and papaya salad to have along with dinner. Back at the house again, I did a load of laundry by hand, cleaned the ants out of the kitchen sink and dish drain, and prepared dinner. Robert arrived home just after 6pm, and we shared the details of our respective school days while eating at our teak table. For the remainder of the evening, we’ll be doing more ironing, email, and getting ready for tomorrow.

So there it is: a more or less "typical" Monday for this Peace Corps Thailand volunteer!