My way

Got back from an English seminar all organisized (y'all know the Dan right?) by my neighbour Kaisit. An interesting gathering. All the typically Thai ingredients where there: rote learning, big ideas, huge expectations, even bigger speakers, karaoke, dancing, mangled English songs, loads of food, whiskey, a test everybody passed and (most importantly) loads of fun and laughter.

Now for the interesting part: I found myself teaching groups of principals from Educational area 5. Very eager students. very quiet compared to my normal first grade class and very aware that this was it: their chance to talk to a farang. Some of them were very shy. Especially when I put them on the spot. They didn't see that one coming, but I always do. They were supposed to speak English. Not me. In the end they did well. And they were thankful beyond belief. All in a days work.

O yeah: why this picture with this story? Well: I drove my first 30km on the highway to get to the seminar. That's why. Whoohooo!

Nightrider

One of the great things about having a bike is you can get around town after seven. Of course we have tuktuks, but they become lazier and more expensive every hour after six. And the songteaws (pick ups that ride around like buses) stop around six. But now I can ride around until the wee hours of the morning if I want to. At least I can go to the night markets or out for dinner without people giving us a ride.

The downside is that streetlights are rather dim here. And people drive around in cars and on bikes and bicycles without lights whatsoever. Then there's the usual stuff like people flinging doors open without looking, people driving on the wrong side of the road and so on. It gets interesting from time to time, but its very similar to riding a bicycle in Amsterdam. Just assume everybody driving is a drunk retard on the phone while changing a DVD that fell on the floor and you'll probably be alright.

Pokemon: Thai style

Remember my explanation about Buddhism? And my description of the Thai variety and its quirks? Silly me. All that explaining when a good everyday example is right up for grabs: the Jatukam Ramathep -craze. The what?! They're amulets. I see them everywhere. There are being traded in the markets, at our school and along side mobile phones and computer games at shopping malls all over Thailand. And everybody has them: monks, bus drivers, kids, politicians, movie stars, cleaners, housewives, even some farangs.

Now hold on: amulets have been a part of Thailand since time immemorial. But in the last couple of years it has become a fad that seems to know no bounds. Amulets used to be worn under the shirt to protect the wearer from all kinds of evil. Back then it was more or less a harmless personal superstition (if those exist). Costly. But easy. You didn't have to knock on wood ever again. Walked under a ladder? Who cares!

In recent years however it has become all about showing off. Some Buddhist leaders have tried to do something about it. But the amulets got bigger, ever more elaborate and al lot more sparkly. So did the names. You can now get yourself a Extra-Super-Rich-amulet with special ingredients from temple X. But better get an Ultra-Strong-Life-amulet that's been touched by monk Y too! Who knows what will happen if you don't. And of course you wear it over your shirt. How else is everybody gonna see it? And it all wouldn't be complete without a heavy golden casing. So what do you look like now? That's right: a rapper.

What this has to do with Pokemon? Combine the craze, the power ups, the estimated 20 billion Baht in turnover and you do the math.

Through the language barrier

Yay! We have our driver's licences! For car and motorbike! Khon Kaen be ware! Why do I need all these exclamation marks?! Anyway: now I can drive my bike legally and that means I'll be properly insured. I can also rent a car and stuff. (But I'm not gonna. Need some more practice). Although the exam went well. We paid to pass of course, but we would have passed anyway. All we had to do was put on our seat belt, turn right, stop, indicate our next right turn, drive past the parking space into a narrow street, stop, reverse without hitting anything, parallel park in the parking spot, reverse out and turn the corner, turn another right, ride up a little bridge, turn right and stop at the line. Easy.

Unfortunately that's not what happened the first time we tried it. This had a lot to do with the fact we were driving an extremely sensitive Nissan sedan as wide as a truck. And even more with the fact that we thought we understood what the instructor said, when in fact we didn't. Luckily a Thai colleague (and the owner of the extra wide Nissan) was there. She was gonna show us how it's done, got into her car and preceded to drive the Nissan ever so sensitively into a drain and got stuck.

After we got the car out, she showed us though and so we avoided all drains, curbs and traffic cones. In fact we were so good and paid so much money we didn't even have to show our motorcycle prowess anymore. Party time! Excellent (just like my helmet)!