Christmas time in Bangkok!

This Christmas was my first being completely distanced from my family. I never thought I was overly excited for the Christmas season, but I was pretty homesick this year for family traditions, carols on the radio, and the community "glow". Thankfully, Bangkok decked itself out for expats and visiting farangs, and my students made working on Christmas day a celebration and not a chore. My boyfriend's family also worked extra hard to bring the Christmas cheer. So while I very much missed my friends and family back home, I did have a great 2014 Christmas. :)

Outside of the Lumphini MRT train exit

A huge Snoopy plus his pack of miniature snoopies

Finally strung up some of my snowflakes from the previous posts! Bf's family
bought a little tree which we adorned with paper, lights, and popcorn strings.

Candles :)

Christmas dinner: pomegranates, apples, red pepper in oregano and balsamic, trail mix, dal, rice, chicken, wine, and more!

We invited some family friends over for dessert

A sweet student gave me cookies and a picture-holder :)

Day 13

• Sometimes grading can make you feel really insecure as a teacher. For my Prathom 6 test, I dictated sentences using the unit vocabulary. Scanning a student's sentence, I came across the word that was supposed to be "aquarium". Student spelled it "aqmeat". Holy s***, is my pronunciation really that bad?!
• Next page, same student: "panrm buam" for "paddle boats".  Alright, clearly she didn't study and needs some listening and spelling help.  

• When a student who never raises his hand and always talks to his friend gets a near-perfect test grade:  O.o    ....Are they always talking about the lesson? I'm definitely going to chastise them less....
   
• Students spelled "palace" as "palass". I laughed. I am a child.
  

Day 3

11.12.14. <------British style

Day 3 of teaching at a Thai govt. school

• My class "began" and all of the students were MIA for 15 minutes. But, this is never cause for worry. This is simply Thai- time.
  
• Seized the opportunity to mark myself as the "cool" teacher. Girls were jumping in the hallway, trying to hit a metal classroom sign above the door, failing. As I walked nearer, I raised an eyebrow, jumped, and hit it. It was very satisfying and all the kids cheered.
• Students tried to toll me by writing what I resume was swear words when I prompted them for their English nicknames. Kids think they are so sneaky, so I casually emphasized I'd be checking with the Thai teacher to make sure my pronunciation was correct. They said, "No, no teacher, no need..." but I didn't budge. When I made a motion to go check, the white-out flew across the page. Low and behold, new nicknames. Honestly, I love their mischievousness. 
• Planning for a lesson, I come across this gem:
  
  
  It's supposed to be a helpful picture to explain the meaning of a word. Guesses from my fluent, but non-native English speaking boyfriend included: pizza, bread, scroll, slate bread (?), and a bed. I don't think I would have guessed the answer, either: sleeping bag.

Animal Paper Snowflakes

I was really unimpressed by some of my random shaped snowflakes,
so I decided I'd attempt a few animal snowflakes. Google images failed me,
so I penciled out a few ideas. Pretty happy with the results :)

 Bear/Panda Design:

On left, my first sketch. On right, my final sketch

I messed up and hole-punched in the wrong place. The
result was a generic bear snowflake with a pretty center.
I did not cut out anything below the jaw of the bear.

My next panda bear design-with a heart theme
below the face of the panda.

I drew in the muzzle to help me with ratios, but
you don't cut it out. I hole punched the
eye-mask of the panda to give me a starting point.

End result before unfolding

I thought this snowflake turned out creepy, so
I gave it a red background

Swan Flower:

This was my first design, which didn't work out. See below
for improved design.

This is the design I eventually went with. I reshaped the tail
so the center of the snowflake would be more interesting. 

Final product! I asked my boyfriend
what he saw in the design, and he said "flower". When I
shook my head, he paused and said, "ovaries".

*Note: It's important not to cut a length of the top
of the swan head or else the edges won't be connected,
like in this case (see top left and center). I'd suggest leaving
it connected so it's less flimsy.

Fire-breathing Dragon:

Sorry if this is difficult to see. I was using
recycled paper. Look below for clarity.

It's really important to leave some space on
the right for the fold-otherwise it will
be too flimsy. I would give the tail a sharper
point, too, to make the center crisper.

Flipped-over view.

Not really sure why two of the dragon heads don't have flames.
But this is still my favorite design. It would also be really easy
to adapt this and make a bat/batman snowflake :)

Paper Snowflake Merriment

Bangkok's already decked-out for Christmas.

Feeling in the spirit, I thought I'd make just one snowflake...I've done at least 9 now.

I'm not in love with all of the final products, but it's fun nonetheless!
Below are the shapes-snowflakes. See my other post for animal-snowflakes.

Flyin in the Sky:

Started with a random design. Forgot to take a picture of triangle
design,but you can gather it from the folds.  Reminds me
of birds for some reason.

Alternate view

 Chalice:

Chose too detailed a design for my dull
scissors. I think I'll try this again with a
little less busy-ness.

Not great at sticking to the lines...

I think if the cuts were smoother, this would be
a lot more appealing. I like the outer edges, but
the inside shapes need an overhaul.

Popped Bubbles:  

I was really excited for this design, but I need
better scissors to make it work.

Too much paper material, esp near the center. Asymmetric
bottom didn't work very well.

Lava Lamp:

Fun here, but too flimsy a product.

I really like this design, but it needs more paper or it will
rip. The largest "blob" in the design needs to be downsized.

Arrow:

Easy to cut!

I would make the tie-shape a little larger.

Hired!

        So,  I was hired yesterday to teach English to fifth and sixth grade Thai students at a government school in Bangkok. I teach four classes a day, two at fifth grade and two at sixth. The students also learn math and science in English. These classes are taught by very capable Filipino teachers. I'm guessing that the students get at least 2 hours of English exposure every day. That said, English is their second language, so there are often mishaps and challenges.
        I start my day no later than 5:30, because I have about an hour commute if I don't take a taxi. I have to be at school by 7:00. The general area is really nice, with many restaurants, but thankfully a bit outside of the city centers. The school itself is about a 15 minute walk from the BTS, or a 2 minute motorcycle taxi ride.
        My first impressions of the school are favorable. I've decided to go by Teacher S since my first name is a bit complicated. The students have English nicknames, and some of them are a bit silly. I'll post later on that. Lunch is provided for about 200 baht/month (roughly 8 USD), and the food is delicious. My teaching day ends at 16:30, and I'm home by around 17:30.