Busy busy busy

Yes: I'm working hard. Take a peak at one of the three classes I teach. Mind you: this is the only class I can really call my own. This has my desk in the back. My name above the door. My Thai teaching partner and my teaching assistant right next to me and a TV plus a computer in the front. It also has the kids of course. thirty of them. I teach them 15 hours a week. That's Boom right there glaring at you during lunchtime.

Yes they are cute. Yes they are a little mischievous if you give 'm half the chance. But it's nothing compared to the other two teaching hours I have. Imagine if you will the same kind of room with at least ten to fifteen extra students. Two years older. A lower level of English. No teaching partners or assistants. Not even chairs and desks... Now that's a all hands on deck situation. Except you have just two. It's thrilling, exhausting, breathtaking and mind numbing all at the same time. So stay tuned!

Hirschi Ali eat your heart out

Feestje! Taartjes! Het duurt even maar dan heb je ook wat. In dit geval een stempel in je pas waarop staat dat je voor een heel jaar in Thailand mag blijven. Niet mis. Zeker omdat de meeste farang (buitenlanders dus) er voor naar de hel en terug moeten en dan nog maar een half jaar stempeltje krijgen. Kwestie van de juiste types kennen en lunchen met de man die de stempeltjes doet. Voor de oplettende lezertjes: dit stempel hangt inderdaad weer af van de werkvergunning. Anders geldt ie eigenlijk niet. Die werkvergunning schijnt er ook aan te komen. En dat ik allang begonnen ben met werken en dinsdag ook echt voor een volle klas spring... Ach...

Yay: nog more Laos foto's!

And I have er nog steeds more. About 20. But there must you dankzij Flickr weer a month op waiten. Oh yes, you can ze here looken, but dat is with Dutch commentaar. This takes you meteen naar de handige easy glijshow.

The new job!

Before we go into the pictures of my new school I would like to share what's known in Holland as 'een kraker van een foto' (a cracker of a picture?) made during songkran by my dear friend, teacher, landlord and neighbor Ajarn Kaisit (he doesn't know everybody, no: everybody knows him). The people to the left and the right you should probably know. The man in the middle is no other than the governor of Khon Kaen. So all I have to do now is put this picture on my desk and I will have automatically scored major bonus points with everybody. It's like a picture of you in the White House. Way to go ajarn Kaisit!

Now meet my new school: Anuban Khon Kaen!

And meet my first students during the introductory lessons (I guess teaching and proper framing don't go together...)

And last but not least a nice shot of the head of the Mini English Program: Ajarn Lawaan.