Hello from the future.

Sawat dee bee mai krap. (I think this means "Happy New Years")

  Tonight was a good night.  I spent the night with a few friends (including Mark from England, who thinks my name is Chris) at a BarBQ.  I spent the hour of midnight at Kata beach watching the fireworks display.  One km to the South is Kata-Noi beack, two km to the North is Karon beach, and all three beaches had firework displays visible from where I was (there were also a few displays inland that I could see).  All in all, a very good night.

  You would think that nearing the end of my of my three week holiday, I would have more to write, but I have little to add.  I have a new Thai nickname; it is "Moo Noi" meaning "Baby Pig."  I am not sure if this is a sign of acceptance or rejection.

  So, with nothing else to add, I wish you all a happy new years.  Bye bye.

Christmas Break Lists

My former roommate Mark taught me the importance of lists.  In his honor, I am going to tell about my break so far using them.

New Thai phrases I've learned:

- "Pom mai ben katoy krab" ("I am not a ladyboy")

- "Nam sapbarot" ("pineapple juice", literally "water pineapple")

- "Mai me arai krab" (meaning "nothing," in response to "what?")

- "Geow pan" ("talk pretty to the ladies" - I think this means I am a flirt, or maybe just polite, I'm not sure.)

Random experiences:

- Spending a few nights at a resort on the beach and falling asleep and waking up to the sound of waves.

- Hearing the song "popcorn" (the one that they used to make us dance to in elementary school) and having the strong urge to dance to it, luckily I resisted.

- Reading too much science fiction and waking up in the middle of the night honestly believing that Earth was under attack by aliens.

- Beginning to see the faces of friends from America in everyone I look at here (this is really weird, I am always double-taking and then realizing that it was not them).

- Being grateful that the baby gecko living in my room does his part to kill the baby ants slowly taking over my room, but wondering why he had to poop on my desk.

- Doing 4 loads of laundry in less than 1 week (as opposed to doing 1 load of laundry in less than 4 weeks).

Places I plan on eating:

- Kata Mama's (Check, I had cow pad moo sapbarot kei (pork fried rice with pineapple and eggs) and a shark steak.)

- Linda's

- The Yellow Room

- Anchor Inn (Check, I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a hawaiian burger with fries and a chocolate shake.)

- The market (Check, I have had plently of market foods, including sticky rice, spring rolls, beef jerky, banana pancakes and roast pork.

- AJ's Bar and Bistro (Check, the Canadian breakfast includes french toast, pineapple, American-style bacon, eggs and orange juice.)

- Blue Roof

- Meeting Place Number 5

- (Other possible restaurants to include a good steak diner, a Hawaiian pizza and something Mexican.)

Two small things.

I went to a new market today.  I saw moniter lizard (meat) for sale.  It was right next to the skinned frogs and fried rats.  I've seen the frogs and rats before, so that wasn't that weird, but the moniter lizard threw me off a little.

Also, while I was riding home, I tree frog jumped on my sandle and then climbed up on my bike for a while as I rode.  It was interesting.

Anyways, things here are a lot of work but Christmas break is approaching.  Soon I will be able to sleep and relax.

Just another stag on his back...

As I was coming in on my motorbike tonight, I saw three stag beetles.  One was on his (or her?) back.  I see them all of the time but I still slow down and look at them.  They are fascinating.

Yesterday as I was leaving, I saw a frog jumping across the road and I had to turn around and take a closer look.  I can't tell you how many hundreds of frogs I have seen since I got here, but I still stop and look at them.

And the lizards...there is nothing else so distracting.  I see dozens of these each day.  This is no exageration.  But, I will be in a conversation with someone and drift out of it because I am watching lizards scurry up walls or across ceilings.

The point is, I still love it here, things are going pretty cool.  And I was able to legitimately make a post titled "Just another stag on his back..." which will most likely get a good reaction from many people who read it.  So I am happy about that too.

Quick thoughts.

Ok, I was in China a week and a half ago and I never wrote about it.  It was a good trip, but the details will come later.  Things are going good here.  I was late home from school due to setting up a few labs for tomorrow and some loose cows on the road creating traffic.  Right now I am drinking a Nescafe and trying to get some lesson planning done.  Both good things.  I continue to to feel very busy but also continue to keep up with what needs to be done.  Thanksgiving is coming and Christmas a short time after that, it feels weird because it is still so very hot here.  Today, at the teacher meeting, it was decided (without any input from me whatsoever) that I will need to dress as Santa for the students.  So my next task is to put together a Santa costume in Thailand.  Can it be done?  Time will tell.  I hope everything is already with all of you who read this.  I miss you but am surviving here.  Lots of love.

  -Gary

A day in the life of Gary

I have received complaints from many people that my blog has not been updated in a while, here is the beginning of a blog that I never published chronologizing a day in my life. 

This posting will be a rambling of little significance, so feel free to stop reading now.  But, if you would like to know what a day in my life is like, this is for you.

6:00 am (6:00 pm Central Standard Time yesterday) my alarm goes off.

6:10 am, my alarm goes off again.

6:20 am, my alarm goes off yet again.  "Ok," I think to myself, "I didn't shower yesterday, so I can't go back to bed anymore..."

6:30 am, I finish showering and shave, this is only the second time that I have used this razor and it is a clase shave.  I am happy about this.

6:35 am, I throw on my Charlie Brown shirt.  Today is Halloween, and although QSI doesn't celebrate it, the primart students do celebrate character day, where they dress up like a favorite character.

6:40 am, I take out a loaf of banana bread for breakfast.  I do a quick check: no ants = good.  I have had to throw away my breakfast on Monday and Thursday this week because of ants, and I know that I accidentally ate a bunch of them on Tuesday.  I am glad that the banana bread is good because I really like it.  A poor substitute for my mom's banana bread, but a substitute nonetheless.  I think about how the price of the bread has recently increased because high season has begun in my tourism-driven neighborhood, and then smile because I still get charged the low-season price.  Thai people are wonderful.

6:50 am, I am on my motorbike.  Although it looks like rain, this is the first day this week that it is not raining as I ride to work.  Perfect.  I almost get into two accidents, possibly a record low.  The excitement keeps my heart strong.

7:20 am, I am at school.  "What do I have to do today...?" I ask myself. I begin to pull my supplies together and quickly type up a lab for my chemistry class.  As I do, several students drift in and say hi, some asking what we are going to do for the day.

7:55 am, BZZZZZ.  The bell rings and I am left thinking, "crap, that happened too soon."  I grab a pop quiz, go to the office and put into the copier, grab my attendance sheet and go to the flag.

8:00 am, some students play the Thai National Anthem while two students raise the flag.  The 8 year old class shouts the anthem while no other classes say it at an audible level.  The anthem ends and I quickly bow.  While my director gives some announcements, I look around and notice that many of the students chose spider man as their character to dress up as.  Many also are bloody...funny.

8:05 am, I am in my homeroom. "Nice costume Mr. Gary, what are you?" asks a student, another tells me "that is not a scary costume."  I reply "no, Charlie Brown isn't very scary, not unless you think being trapped in an awkward kid's body who can't kick a football for 50 years is scary."  I am proud of myself, but they will never understand the real scariness behind my costume.  Even though all of my students know who Snoopy is, no one thinks I look like Charlie Brown.  I pull up a cartoon of him and then a picture on facebook from two years ago when I shaved my head and dressed as Charlie Brown to show them.  They are both surprised that I once shaved my head and now know that I have facebook.  My first real mistake.

8:16 am, I realize that I held my students too late and tell them to go to their next class.  I take a deep breath and begin my first period of the day.  Physical science.  "I am so excited to see you all, I have something fun that I want to do, could you all clear your desks?"  Pop quiz, they love me.  I imbue the students with everything they could ever want to know about concentration.  Really I just showed them two different glasses of tea and asked them to read a few pages about concentration and then answer some questions.  Afterwards we discuss it, they tell me that reading is boring and ask if I can boil some water for them.  (Earlier this week I was boiling water and POP, the flask broke.  I may never hear the end of it.)

9:00 am, "go to your next class," I say, "good riddance to all of you."  Physics.  Possibly my favorite class, if I am allowed to have a favorite.  Secondary 4 (seniors).  "what are you supposed to be?"  I show them the pictures of me as Charlie Brown and then tell them how wonderful college is.  I also tell them about some people who had a great scheme to cheat on the SATs but got busted.  This lasts about ten minutes (we always talk about the SATs or college for at least 10 minutes each class).

9:10 am, physics class actually begins.  I am awkward in front of the class.  We go outside to swing my soccerball pendulum (a poor substitute for a bowling ball pendulum).  One of my students offers to climb the basketball hoop to tie the rope for me because, according to her, Asians are good climbers.  Afterwards we swing the ball and discuss the gravitational and kinetic energy involved.  I bend over to look at the ground, a student pretends to kick me.  Haha...he thinks he's so funny...I throw the pendulum at him and he almost falls over, even though it wouldn't have hit him.  Take that sucker.  We go inside and discover that a Joule is, in fact, a kilogram meter-squared per second-squared.  Now I have made their day better.

9:45 am, good bye physics, hello chemistry.  I explain the lab to the students.  They don't get it.  I explain the lab to the students again, two get it and begin working.  I explain the lab to the students again, three more get it and begin working.  I explain the lab to the students again, two more get it and begin working.  I explain the lab to the students three more times and then give up on them for a while.  Later I explain it again, "oh...why didn't you say that the first time?"  (I did...6 times...)  We don't complete the lab, so I decide to postpone the rest of in until next week.

9:30 am, recess.  I am not sure if the students realize that the teachers like recess more than they do.  I support the school government by buying a chocolate milkbox.  "Mr. Gary, you drink chocolate milk every day, don't you?"  "Yes."  "Aren't you worried about getting diabetes?"  "No, I am worried about getting osteoporosis."

9:45 am, I survived until my prep.  First, how about some tunes.  I start with John Wayne Gacy, Jr. by Sufjan Stevens.  I am not sure why this song has been in my head, but I have to listen to it.  I think of Emily (Nelson) Larson who first introduced me to it.  Oh, the East staff...what wonderful memories.  Tunes are good, now a quick email and facebook check.  Oh, how exciting, a message from my cousin Kate.  She talks about family and suggests a haircut for me.  Good, now I have to plan for earth science later today.  Ok, we are learning about earthquakes.  Maybe I can have them practice an earthquake drill?  No, I will do that next week.  Ok, we need to spend more time with the scales for assessing the magnitude of earthquakes.  I know, they can look up pictures of damage online and then explain how the quakes should be rated.

Ok, so a little more of significance happened on this day.  I helped chaperone a school dance party, a fun experience.  I caught three students drinking on campus, another fun experience.  And I spent the rest of the night thinking about how long of a day I had.  I never really got back to finishing this post, but in light of a few complaints, I thought that I would make the effort to publish something.  Here ya go.

I will survive

Well, I never really updated my birthday weekend like I said I would.  Here's the skinny:

Friday night I went out by myself to get some time alone.  Unfortunately, with the island being so small, I ran into a teacher from school.  Being a nice guy, he bought me several drinks (and I quit drinking when I needed to, with age comes wisdom).  All in all, a good night.

Saturday I laid low most of the day (watching episodes of Heroes and Prison Break that I found online) and then went out to a favorite restaurant with several teachers.  Drew, being the nice guy that he is, paid for me meal (if I had known beforehand I might have run up a higher tab...).

Sunday I began my scuba certification.  All in all, a good weekend.

The following weekend was even better.  As part of my scuba training, we (Drew and I) did two dives near the Phi Phi islands on Satuday and two dives at Racha Yai on Sunday (becoming scuba certified in the process).  It was a great experience, in total, I saw a leopard shark, sea turtle, octopus, several moral eels, several lionfish, some lobsters, a box fish, several clown fish and an assortment of beautiful coral and other tropical fish.  We also got chased by some territorial trigger fish, which was enjoyable for me.  All in all, a great weekend.  My instructor took some photographs underwater, but I have not had the opportunity to see them yet.  When I do, I hope to post them.

The last few days have gone by quick.  I taught for a day and a half and then had a another day and a half of parent teacher conferences.  I survived my first solo parent teacher conferences and left with a very positive attitude.  Many of the parents that I met were excited to have me teaching their children as the last science and math teachers were not as effective.  Additionally, all of the conversations that I was worried about went smoothly.  Hopefully, things change for the best.  If not, I now have contact information and a good repor with the parents.

The next two days I have no school, giving me a four day weekend and my first real break.  Having considered doing something fun, I decided to relax instead.  Some of my plans include reading Brisingr (the last book in the Eragon trilogy), getting ahead in two of my classes, sending some packages out (maybe Kelly will finally get her birthday present, maybe Peter/Janelle and Steve/Mary will finally get their wedding presents...maybe not).  I also hope to catch up on emails and  facebook messages that I have been ignoring, watch a movie with a friend and learn to surf with another friend.  We'll see how much I get done, I probably won't get to it all.  But for now, I am going to sleep, and sleep well.  Starting in five minutes and going as late as possible.  Good night friends, I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Thai Birthday

More to come on my birthday (although not too much more, I didn't do much).  This weekend I started my scuba training, next weekend I will be doing four dives around two different islands.  It will be sweet.  This is a poster that my students made for me, I am very proud of it and will probably ship it home.

The prettiest bird that I ever did see...

This is the prettiest bird that I ever did see. Unfortunately it flew into a window and died.

Vegetarian Festival

This morning  I went to a street processional that was part of the Vegetarian Festival.  The Vegetarian Festival is a Chinese holiday that took root in Phuket in the 1800s when there were many Chinese tin miners.  During  the procession,  the spirit medium performs acts of self mutilization through those involved.  These pictures are not for the faint of heart:

It will be hard to try and explain what I saw...

This first picture is o a man wit ha knife through his cheek.

The second one is another man with several scythes through his cheeks.

The third picture is of a man with a whole collection of knives through his cheeks.

The fourth picture is a collection of swords.

The fifth picture shows a man with firecrackers going off around him.  Beyond self-piercings, many people would dance on top of lit firecrackers or hold them above their heads.

The sixth picture shows a man who pierced his whole body with pins that have ribbons/beads attached to them.

The seventh picture is of a woman with several knives in her.

The eigth picture is of a woman with a round pole stuch through her face and apples on it.

The ninth picture is a man with a spear.

The tenth picture is a man who pierced his tongue.  Definitely creepy looking.

Baggage check anyone?  The eleventh picture is of a man who pierced himself with a suitcase.  There were many interesting objects used besides knives, including the masts of model boats, huge branches, hedge clippers, guitars (see picture # 12), guns (pictures 13 and 14), flags, clocks and just about anything else that you could think of.

The fifteenth picture is a man wrapped in barbed wire.

The sixteenth picture is of a man who either cut his tongue or lips and let himself bleed all over himself.

The seventeenth and final picture was the hardest thing to see.  It is of a child who pierced himself and was participating in the festival.  It was wrong...

If you made it this far, thnak you for looking at my pictures, but sorry if you are feeling sick.  I will try to make my next pictures a little happier. 

Gary Gam Dang

Many of the random locals here have begun calling me Gary Gam Dang, which means Gary Red Cheeks.  Although this name was originally made up by an American, it has stuck well with the Thais.  Many of the teachers at school call me it as well as many people outside of school.  I am not sure exactly how it has spread so fast, but one idea has something to do with a teacher always introducing me as Gary Gam Dang, even when she is on stage in front of a hundred people.  All in all, it could be a worse nickname.  I have heard of several internationals here who have nicknames like Elephant and Fat so no complaints on my end.

My good night

My good night...  I have to write this fast, because my good night is quickly becoming my bad night as I haven't finished planning for tomorrow yet...  My good night: I frequent a bar called the Come Inn Bar (soon to be AJ's Bar and Bistro).  It is unlike most of the other bars around here for two reasons.  One: the pool table is what you would expect it to be (many pool tables here are smaller and harder to play on).  Two: the girls don't try to go home with you.  I like this bar.  Tonight I stopped there and played some pool and cards with the staff there.  At one point in the evening, two of the girls who work there got all excited and asked if we were friends.  I was hesitant to respond, I was not sure if they were suggesting that I date one of them or not.  So I pointed back and forth between them and asked if they were friends, and then one of them caught on and said, not girl friends, friends.  I said that we were friends.  Another Thai who frequents that bar told me that I was a good farang (foreigner).  I throw this story out because I am making connections here that excite me.  Friendships with people very different from me, but friendships nonetheless.  The Thai people are incredible.  So willing to share what little they have.  Yesterday I was fed two meals off of some Thai friends' plates.  It was good food, although one meal burned my mouth for an hour after I ate it.  I am in a great mood right now.  I am making good friendships and experiencing the beauty that is Thailand.

Phang Nga

  Here are some pictures from my weekend trip to Phang Nga.  This first one the "port" where our longtail boat departed from.  We then proceeded up the bay.

 The following three pictures are of some of the beautiful limestone cliffs/islands that line bay.  They were majestic.

  The fifth picture is of some paintings that were on the ceiling of an overhang where the water had eroded part of the limestone cliff away.

  The next four pictures include Koh Pannyi.  This is a sea gypsy villiage built on stilts into the by with one large limestone island protecting the rear.  The villiage has a mosque that we visited.  I was also gyped by some gypsies after taking a picture with their monkies.  100 Baht for a photo with a monkey sounded good, but after the picture was taken the price increased.  I think it was because another gypsy threw his/her monkey in the picture too.  Note: I write "his/her" because I am still not sure of the proper term for a ladyboy, which this gypsy is.

  Past the village, we went through a mangrove forest.  It was peaceful.

  After the mangroves, we went through a tunnel in a limestone pillar.  In the photo you can see that there are huge pieces of limestone hanging off of the main piece.  I hope that I am not around when they fall.

  The next three are at the famous Koh Ping-gan, also known as James Bond Island for its guest apearance in the movie "The Man with the Golden Gun."  The first of these three is the very famous limestone pillar that seems to be on everything tourist-related in this area.  I had this bright idea of taking a picture where I looked like Bond with the island in the background, but decided against it when I saw that everyone else on hte island had the same bright idea.  The next is of a stalagmite that had formed inside of a cave on Koh Ping-gan.  The final of these three is of a moniter lizard that I saw swimming along the island.  I have to guess that it is a white-throated monitor lizard because it was virtually identical to the one I used to own.  I thought about picking it up, but decided against that as I rememberred how violent my "tame" one was.

  The final picture is of a waterfall in a national park on the mainland of Phang-Nga.  My battery in my camera was low at this point, so I stopped taking as many pictures.  All in all, it was a very good trip.

  In case you were wondering, I am still doing good.  I am alive, and I am well.

A few pictures

Please understand, I do not think my my pictures can even begin to capture the beauty of Thailand, but there have been many requests, so I am going to try my best to update this with pictures every now and then.  The first one is me at Nai Harn beach, with an island in the background.

The second is the same island...and some swimmers.

The third is the island again, taken from above.  I like to watch the sunset from some bluffs overhanging the beach.

The fourth is the view from the bluffs looking straight down.

The fifth is another view from the bluffs, looking to the left.

The sixth was taken at a beach on the North East coast.  I do not really know the name of it, but it was very beautiful.

The seventh is a weird, eagle-like bird that was at our swimming pool.  Be nice birdie, I am scared of you.

One last photo for now.  This is another one of me (you get to begin and end this blog by seeing my face, how lucky).  This is me at the Come Inn Bar, it is a local favorite where I like to get a Tiger and play some pool.  I usually lose, but I am improving.

The death of Little Gary

I just got back from dinner.  I had roast frog with garlic.  It was good.

A quick update

Hello,

Here is my quick update:

I completed my first full week of teaching.  It was a lot of work.  It was difficult.  But I enjoyed it.  A lot.  For those of you who don't know, I am teaching 6 different classes, which means that I have to organize 30 different lessons each week.  I am teaching earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, algebra 2 and precalculus.  The science teachers also elected me department chair (my four votes beat out Mariah's two) and I am looking at an impressive resume when I finally finish here.  But for now, it is a lot of work.  But, I enjoy it.

I have already from several teachers that multiple students really like me.  This is very encouraging.  Especially since some of the students who like me were involved in a petition last year to get rid of the teachers who formerly had my position.  All in all, good things.

Life outside of teaching doesn't realy exist anymore.  Outside of the weekend, I might have a few free hours a night that are spent eating, cruising on my bike, and sometimes playing pool at a local bar.  I am becoming quite the pool shark and had a Belgium man swearing at me the other day for beating him over and over again.

Once again, just about everything here is going well.  Life is good.

Tonight and life so far

  I would like to believe that I am going to update this frequently, and include everthing that has happened so far, but the truth is I probably won't.  With that said, here is what has been happening in my life:

  This week was my first week teaching students.  There was a halfday on Thursday and a full day on Friday, so overall, very manageable.  I like my classes.  Although I am now in charge of teaching six different classes (earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, algebra 2 and precalc), I am excited for them.  Unfortunately, I believe that the learning curve for my first year of teaching will be steep and painful.  Fortunately, I am surrounded by a staff that I enjoy and am confident will be willing to help me.

  I spend my day today relaxing and riding my new motorbike.  A beautiful Honda airblade (125 cc and automatic) I am very excited to have my own transportation for my free time.  I am currently at a local bar, a personal favorite, and I just got my butt handed to me in pool by several beautiful Thai bargirls.  I do not feel ashamed though, because I am sure that they play for hours a day.

  Life so far...  It is great.  There are a lot of things about this place that I have experienced and loved, and many more yet to try.  I have eated fresh pineapples and mangoes (although they are currently out of season) and drank out of coconuts while on the beach.  I have watched the sun set over the mountains and ocean and had Thai massages.  I have found places that I enjoy and can call my own.  Overall, I am adjusting well.

  I hope that everything is going well for all of you in the states and I hope that I can occasionally update this.  If it has not been updated in a while, know that I am either busy planning lessons or getting a sweet tan on hte beach (while it is winter over there).  I love you all.

Contact Information

If you would like to contact me:

The email that I will be checking are kearnals@yahoo.com

My skype account name is: garykearns

Cell phone: 085-783-3426

When calling from outside of Thailand, you must insert the numbers 1166 after the initial 0 (for example, my home phone would be dialed: 0-1166-76-289-412 - I think).  Land lines typically have 9 digits while cell phones have 10 digits, this is normal.  Either, or both, of these numbers might change once Drew gets here, we'll see.

Mail can be sent to the school at:

QSI International School of Phuket

PO Box: 432

Phuket 8300

Thailand

 

Packages can be sent to the school directly at:

QSI International School of Phuket

81/4 Moo 1 Chalermprakiat R. 9 Rd

T. Kathu, A. Kathu

Phuket 83120

Thailand

My arrival

Ok.  So I haven't really had much contact with all of you back home so far, but I want you to know that I have spent almost three hours writing this first sentence.  I'm trying here, I really am, but I have already experienced so many new things, and as you should know, physics guys aren't exactly known for their great communication skills.  So here it it:

I left Minnesota at 7:10 PM on August 2nd.  I had meant to eat one last burrito from Chipotles for lunch, but my stomach was a little edgy and I thought it best for the flight not to overfill it beforehand.  As soon as the plane took off, my stomach relaxed and I regretted leaving behind my last trademark steak burrito with black beans, rice, tomato and green chili salsa, cheese, lettuce and sour cream.  With that aside, the flight went really well.  From Minneapolis we went to Los Angeles, followed by Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and finally Phuket.

As I was exiting the plane in Taipei I missed the beginning part of an announcement, hearing only "...is punishable by death in China."  This was a little unnerving.  I later found out that it was referring to drug trafficking.  Overall, Malyasia Airlines gave me very good service.  Even as I was on the hour and a half flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket I was given a meal.

After going through customs, I was picked up from the airport by a school employee and a driver.  The drive to my new house scarred the crap out of me (yes, not just scared, but scarred).  I had heard about Thai driving, but hearing and seeing are two different things.  It is very animalistic, the bigger vehicle always has the right of way, but the motorbikes still criss-cross and cut people off with seemingly no regard to their safety.  The lanes mean nothing and I don't think there is a speed limit.  People cros the median to pass each other with incoming traffic and cars will make left and right turns around you at intersections.  If a Thai does get into an accident with a foreigner, it is automatically the foreigner's fault.  I could live here my whole life and never get used to the driving.

Arriving at my house was a welcome relief after traveling for 36 hours, and I have settled quickly.  

I love you all, -Gary.

Late Night Thoughts

"What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two; melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land." -Ernesto Guevara de la Serna.