You don't know what you got til it's gone.
I never would have been the one to champion American way of life as better than another. But living here in Thailand for a month now (and the Philippines for a month before that), I've come to miss how we do things in America.
1. When it comes to service in restaurants, I haven't found better service than in the States. Even when it's Denny's or Sheri's -- they are always coming by to check on you or refill your glasses. Here (even in nice restaurants) they give you the menu and stand there waiting until you are ready to order (which makes you nervous so you speed up and pick a picture that looks good); then they bring your meal and your drinks out at the same time. Never again will you see them until you ask for the check. That's right, they won't bring it by a half hour later for your convenience. When bringing out the food, they set it on the table in front of the person closest to them and expect us to pass it down to the right person -- they don't memorize who ordered what like in the States.
2. When it comes to service in stores/department stores there is probably one worker per customer there (even though we both know that they are standing around doing absolutely nothing on their cell phones), and with them hovering over you in an effort to get the commission of your sale, you get too frazzled and can't actually concentrate on what style of clothing you like. Either you refuse to touch something because you know they'll try to get you to try it on, or you pick up the closest item on a hanger just to look like you are interested; never mind the fact that it's about two generations too old for you and a size 2. As a customer, you don't want to look disinterested, so you become fascinated in everything. I hate being that person. I hate even more the incessant hovering. All I need is a "Hello, welcome to _____" at the door, then leave me alone until I need you.
3. Ever heard of a return policy?? Yeah, they don't care so much for that here. I bought a curtain to use as a room divider on a Sunday, realized it was the wrong size, so I tried returning it the next day and they would not refund me my money. I know I can't expect the whole 90-day return policy most of America is used to, but it was the next day, and they still refused to give me my money back. I offered them my next option I was willing to accept (yeah....I totally was not in a position to demand anything at this point): in-store credit. I tried exchanging the purchase, but they were actually out of the size I wanted, so I told them I didn't mind doing in-store credit so I could come back and get the proper size once they restocked. No can-do. They only thing they offered me was to find something of the same monetary value to exchange. That way, money wouldn't be swapped either way. At this point, I wasn't even interested in anything in the store. I would have been if they were more cooperative, but no, I wanted nothing to do with them. So I wandered around the store for 20 minutes trying to cool off and decide what I actually needed so I could spend that money wisely. Long story short, the whole exchange took at least 40 minutes and 3 workers before I could leave with the purchase I wasn't even happy with. It was quite evident that their store policy was not customer-oriented.
America, land that I love, thank you for caring about me. Thank you for allowing me to criticize you openly in an effort to improve life.
I miss your healthy habits in which valuing the customer is a priority.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Rowing Song....through the streets of Bangkok
As I row, row, row
Going so slow, slow, slow
Just down below me is the old sea
Just down below me is the old sea
You just have to go, go, go
Where I don't know, know, know
This is the thing
Somebody told me
A long time ago
Going so slow, slow, slow
Just down below me is the old sea
Just down below me is the old sea
Nobody knows, knows, knows
So many things, things, so
So out of range
Sometimes so strange
Sometimes so sweet
Sometimes so lonely
The further I go
More letters from home never arrive
and I'm alone
All of the way
All of the way
Alone and alive
You just have to go, go, go
Where I don't know, know, know
This is the thing
Somebody told me
A long time ago
The further I go
More letters from home never arrive
and I'm alone
All of the way
All of the way
Alone and alive
Thank you Patty Griffith.
The [Mis]Adventures of Asians and Underwear
First off, let me apologize for the tremendous lack of posts in the last couple weeks -- I keep sitting down to write one, then get distracted. You know how it is living and working on the other side of the world.....sometimes you gotta live it rather than write about it.
I honestly haven't written in so long, I don't know where to start. How bout I start with these last couple days of teaching and work my way back to Thai culture in general (and how it pertains to me specifically).
Today we had a test -- no, more like a quiz -- in the vocabulary we've been studying these last couple weeks. I teach 8th graders, and in many ways these kids are much like typical 8th graders in the states.
In fact, in my first class of the day, a couple boys showed their true age when in the middle of the 5-minute journal writing time, I look up and see a boy with grey underwear on his head. And I'm not talking laying neatly on the top of his head -- it is pulled down like a bonnet. I laughed and asked him why his underwear is on his head instead of in his pants. All the boys are laughing at this point too, and the boy says that they aren't his. When I ask why he has someone else's underpants are on his head he points to the boy behind him and says that he got it from him. So I question the 2nd boy why he's giving his underwear away and if they're clean. He could barely breathe, he's laughing so hard, but he says that he took them from another boy's locker so he wouldn't have clean underwear to put on after gym class.
Mature? I think not.
I honestly haven't written in so long, I don't know where to start. How bout I start with these last couple days of teaching and work my way back to Thai culture in general (and how it pertains to me specifically).
Today we had a test -- no, more like a quiz -- in the vocabulary we've been studying these last couple weeks. I teach 8th graders, and in many ways these kids are much like typical 8th graders in the states.
In fact, in my first class of the day, a couple boys showed their true age when in the middle of the 5-minute journal writing time, I look up and see a boy with grey underwear on his head. And I'm not talking laying neatly on the top of his head -- it is pulled down like a bonnet. I laughed and asked him why his underwear is on his head instead of in his pants. All the boys are laughing at this point too, and the boy says that they aren't his. When I ask why he has someone else's underpants are on his head he points to the boy behind him and says that he got it from him. So I question the 2nd boy why he's giving his underwear away and if they're clean. He could barely breathe, he's laughing so hard, but he says that he took them from another boy's locker so he wouldn't have clean underwear to put on after gym class.
Mature? I think not.
Hilarious? Most definitely.
About 20 minutes later, the same two boys are arguing over who is more Asian.
THEY ARE BOTH FULL-BLOODED ASIAN.
Underwear-boy says he looks more Asian because he's more tan and his eyes squint more since he's Korean. Underwear-stealer said that he is more Asian because he's more culturally aquainted with Asian culture being Chinese by birth, but Thai by culture.
To break the tie, and based solely on appearances, I had to bestow the honor of "looking more Asian" to Underwear-boy. (Fun fact: 'bestow' was one of our vocab words on the quiz today.)
I thoroughly stumped the class though when I said, "I bet you didn't know I was Asian too."
The class had the automatic response of, "Whaa.....??"
"What did you think I was?" I said.
Underwear-boy says, "I thought you were Mexican."
Underwear-stealer pipes in with, "Yeah, or at least Latin-blooded." (Latin-blooded?)
Good grief. I'm not even recognized by my own kind. And worse, not accepted as such. Even the other halfsie (half-and-half) in the class who doesn't have the Thai features but the Thai skin tone is seen as more Thai than anything else.
***
How can I universally be seen as Mexican?? We don't even have Mexicans here to compare me with.
But anyway.....These 8th graders who can be so childish and act their age one minute can turn around and act like the academically-crazed Asians that we all know and love. With even the mention of the test, they ask a million questions about how many questions their are, is it multiple choice, will we need to spell out the word, if we get just part of the question wrong is it only half a point, do we need to know the parts of speech....and on and on and on.
I hadn't even handed out the quiz at that point.
These kids worry too much. Just do your best. Don't be stupid. Sound out the words. Remember what we've been doing for two weeks. You look like you're about to have a panic attack, and we haven't even started yet. Do you need to lie down for a minute? Smelling salts? (yes, they carry these with them).
These kids worry too much. Just do your best. Don't be stupid. Sound out the words. Remember what we've been doing for two weeks. You look like you're about to have a panic attack, and we haven't even started yet. Do you need to lie down for a minute? Smelling salts? (yes, they carry these with them).
Somehow it took over ten minutes to explain the very simple instructions. How can this be difficult?
1. Write the word down as I say it it.
2. Write the POS (part of speech) that it is.
3. Define the word, making sure it still coincides with the POS.
4. Fill in the blank with the correct vocab word.
5. Extra credit available if you want.
Seriously, they needed to know every possible hypothetical situation imaginable. It's students on academic steriods.
They didn't do as bad as they thought. Then again, I haven't exactly graded the quizzes yet. But after they were done, they said it was easy. That better mean they got 100%.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Happy Mother's Day!
I know what you're thinking -- it's the middle of August, it's not Mother's Day -- but here in Thailand, it is Mother's Day. And the queen's birthday. Coincidence? I think not.
Thursday, August 12 is the queen's birthday, and to celebrate we took both Thursday and Friday off of school. Considering we've only had 5 days of school so far, it was a pleasant surprise to have such a long break so early in the school year. But I couldn't take a break; not yet. I went in to school to work on my classroom on Thursday, and even though it didn't feel like I accomplished a lot, in the four hours I was there I managed to complete two weeks-worth of lesson plans. I am still no closer to figuring out the curriculum map, but at least I know what I'll be doing for two weeks. After doing some classroom decorating, I decided to call it quits and grab some dinner. Upstairs. Literally, the restaurant is called "Upstairs". And just before I got there, I realized I had locked my school keys in my classroom. It's a good thing I got so much done. So now God was forcing me to take a break and have fun. Okay Lord, I get the picture. :) I will try to have fun.Dinner, however, was amazing -- I paid the equivalent of $9 for a steak dinner. And I had an excellent view of the gym and those frequenting the gym. :)
Friday was fun-day, and it was a day of exploring part of the downtown area. I wanted to go to the ritzier part of town, so dressing up was in order. Of course, by the time I got dressed up (complete with make-up) and looking amazing, we walked out of our apartments and into the rain. It would rain on my parade. Not one to let weather control my mood, I was still quite happy, and ready to explore. We made it to the Siam mall (can't remember what it's called) and walked around. I picked out several choice rings my future fiance could possibly propose with, and found the perfect silk shop to buy Christmas gifts in (if I were rich). The girls and I decided to make the trip worth it, and go to Ocean World in the basement of the mall. Sketch, one would think, but it was totally worth the 525 baht I paid. There were over 3,000 varieties of fish including sharks, eels, and sting rays. A shark and I bonded through the glass, I made kissy faces to about 4 different fish, and got sprayed in the face at a 4-D movie. Afterwards, we searched for the Pratunum Market several blocks down the road and quite literally stumbled upon it. I thought we had a few more blocks to go, and then all of a sudden the sidewalk turned into a sea of sellers and their wares. Open markets are pretty much the same throughout Bangkok, (this coming from someone who's only been to a couple legit markets), but once you've seen one, you've seen them all. They have the same layout, the same items for sale, but it is still fascinating walking through them! The one thing that was odd was that there was an abundance of hair for sale. I have no idea if it was real or not (it sure looked real), but there was ponytail after ponytail, stall after stall of hair for sale. And the costumes -- wow. I think if I ever decided to join a cabaret, I could stock my entire wardrobe from this market alone. There were feather head pieces, masks, and shimmering tube-tops galore. Although I didn't make my purchases from these stalls, I did buy a few gifts and whatnot before it was time to head out to meet up with another friend for dinner. We ended the night with a quick stop at the Thai version of Wal Mart for some random household goods.
Saturday was an adventure of transit. It's 11:56pm so the day is almost gone. However, we started a late morning with a hop from taxi to skytrain. So far so good. But when we changed lines, we got on the train going the wrong direction and ended up one stop farther in the other direction. After getting kicked off the train, we had to sheepishly pull out our maps and look like the typical lost tourist. Finally I gave up and asked a worker which train we were supposed to get on in order to get to Hua Lamphong. Wouldn't you know it, we were going to have to get on another skytrain then switch to the subway to make it to Chinatown. Subway, here I come!
After taking the longest escalator in the world down several stories and taking a bumpy ride through the tunnels, we finally emerged into smoggy air at Hua Lamphong. Since we had no idea which way the entrance to the subway was facing, and since our map was less than helpful, we spent another five minutes trying to figure out which way to go from the station. We finally gave up and followed a Thai sign that looked like it was pointing to Chinatown and their temples. It wasn't until several blocks down the road that we realized there was no hope of us finding the alley-market on our own, so we buckled down and got a tuk-tuk. Something I disdained simply because it was so touristy. I live here. I'm not a tourist, despite what the map, sparkly purse, and aviator sunglasses say. So I grudgingly paid the 40 baht and climbed in, ready to be a spectacle for Thais crowding the streets. The ride took longer than I thought, further reassuring me that it was, in fact, a good idea to get help finding the market after all. When we finally found it, wandering the market quickly told us that this market is much like the others, only with some small twists. Most things were sold in bulk, and some sellers were unwilling to sell things individually. I attempted to buy a pair of sandals, but the man said I'd have to buy the whole pack of six. Why would I need six pairs of the same flip flops?? And the jewelry -- I have never seen such a density of cheap costume jewelry and hair accessories in all my life. Would I buy these plastic knock-offs? No, but it was overwhelming to experience. The food carts along the road were quite fantastic, however, and I succeeded in finding coke-in-a-bag, spring rolls, and fried dumplings. It was wondrous.
The night ended with Mexican dinner with a co-worker and his family and a discussion about soccer, students, and Phuket. I fell in love with their baby boy and contemplated kidnapping him.
No worries though, I haven't stolen any children...
yet.
Thursday, August 12 is the queen's birthday, and to celebrate we took both Thursday and Friday off of school. Considering we've only had 5 days of school so far, it was a pleasant surprise to have such a long break so early in the school year. But I couldn't take a break; not yet. I went in to school to work on my classroom on Thursday, and even though it didn't feel like I accomplished a lot, in the four hours I was there I managed to complete two weeks-worth of lesson plans. I am still no closer to figuring out the curriculum map, but at least I know what I'll be doing for two weeks. After doing some classroom decorating, I decided to call it quits and grab some dinner. Upstairs. Literally, the restaurant is called "Upstairs". And just before I got there, I realized I had locked my school keys in my classroom. It's a good thing I got so much done. So now God was forcing me to take a break and have fun. Okay Lord, I get the picture. :) I will try to have fun.Dinner, however, was amazing -- I paid the equivalent of $9 for a steak dinner. And I had an excellent view of the gym and those frequenting the gym. :)
Friday was fun-day, and it was a day of exploring part of the downtown area. I wanted to go to the ritzier part of town, so dressing up was in order. Of course, by the time I got dressed up (complete with make-up) and looking amazing, we walked out of our apartments and into the rain. It would rain on my parade. Not one to let weather control my mood, I was still quite happy, and ready to explore. We made it to the Siam mall (can't remember what it's called) and walked around. I picked out several choice rings my future fiance could possibly propose with, and found the perfect silk shop to buy Christmas gifts in (if I were rich). The girls and I decided to make the trip worth it, and go to Ocean World in the basement of the mall. Sketch, one would think, but it was totally worth the 525 baht I paid. There were over 3,000 varieties of fish including sharks, eels, and sting rays. A shark and I bonded through the glass, I made kissy faces to about 4 different fish, and got sprayed in the face at a 4-D movie. Afterwards, we searched for the Pratunum Market several blocks down the road and quite literally stumbled upon it. I thought we had a few more blocks to go, and then all of a sudden the sidewalk turned into a sea of sellers and their wares. Open markets are pretty much the same throughout Bangkok, (this coming from someone who's only been to a couple legit markets), but once you've seen one, you've seen them all. They have the same layout, the same items for sale, but it is still fascinating walking through them! The one thing that was odd was that there was an abundance of hair for sale. I have no idea if it was real or not (it sure looked real), but there was ponytail after ponytail, stall after stall of hair for sale. And the costumes -- wow. I think if I ever decided to join a cabaret, I could stock my entire wardrobe from this market alone. There were feather head pieces, masks, and shimmering tube-tops galore. Although I didn't make my purchases from these stalls, I did buy a few gifts and whatnot before it was time to head out to meet up with another friend for dinner. We ended the night with a quick stop at the Thai version of Wal Mart for some random household goods.
Saturday was an adventure of transit. It's 11:56pm so the day is almost gone. However, we started a late morning with a hop from taxi to skytrain. So far so good. But when we changed lines, we got on the train going the wrong direction and ended up one stop farther in the other direction. After getting kicked off the train, we had to sheepishly pull out our maps and look like the typical lost tourist. Finally I gave up and asked a worker which train we were supposed to get on in order to get to Hua Lamphong. Wouldn't you know it, we were going to have to get on another skytrain then switch to the subway to make it to Chinatown. Subway, here I come!
After taking the longest escalator in the world down several stories and taking a bumpy ride through the tunnels, we finally emerged into smoggy air at Hua Lamphong. Since we had no idea which way the entrance to the subway was facing, and since our map was less than helpful, we spent another five minutes trying to figure out which way to go from the station. We finally gave up and followed a Thai sign that looked like it was pointing to Chinatown and their temples. It wasn't until several blocks down the road that we realized there was no hope of us finding the alley-market on our own, so we buckled down and got a tuk-tuk. Something I disdained simply because it was so touristy. I live here. I'm not a tourist, despite what the map, sparkly purse, and aviator sunglasses say. So I grudgingly paid the 40 baht and climbed in, ready to be a spectacle for Thais crowding the streets. The ride took longer than I thought, further reassuring me that it was, in fact, a good idea to get help finding the market after all. When we finally found it, wandering the market quickly told us that this market is much like the others, only with some small twists. Most things were sold in bulk, and some sellers were unwilling to sell things individually. I attempted to buy a pair of sandals, but the man said I'd have to buy the whole pack of six. Why would I need six pairs of the same flip flops?? And the jewelry -- I have never seen such a density of cheap costume jewelry and hair accessories in all my life. Would I buy these plastic knock-offs? No, but it was overwhelming to experience. The food carts along the road were quite fantastic, however, and I succeeded in finding coke-in-a-bag, spring rolls, and fried dumplings. It was wondrous.
The night ended with Mexican dinner with a co-worker and his family and a discussion about soccer, students, and Phuket. I fell in love with their baby boy and contemplated kidnapping him.No worries though, I haven't stolen any children...
yet.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
It's a Lefty World
Thailand, I have found, is a lefty-friendly country. Of course, I've only been here a week so they could very easily be just as righty-friendly as well.
So far I've witnessed and experienced driving on the left side of the road (which, if you're sitting in the 'passenger' side like I did yesterday you'd experience a mini panic for not having a steering wheel in front of you). It is a very awkward thing to be in the front seat with the driver to the right of you.
Along with driving on the left side, you also pass on the left side -- this makes the awkward passing dance infinitely more interesting when you take a step to the right, fake to the left, pirouette with a cart to the right again, then give up and climb the walls just to get around them. All the while, these Thai people stare at you like you're slow.
Another thing that is generally kept on the left side is the toilet paper. This may not be a big deal to you, but it was a pleasant surprise to have the roll on the left side of the toilet.
However, the one thing that ISN'T lefty-friendly is oddly enough their vegetable peeler. I bought a fancier one than I usually use simply because it had a blade on one side and it looked cool. Wouldn't you know it, it can only be used by right-handed individuals. What is with the discrimination??
So while I figure out how to use the peeler like most average people do, I'm going to concentrate on more important things -- like how to decorate an apartment when the walls are two-toned.
However, the one thing that ISN'T lefty-friendly is oddly enough their vegetable peeler. I bought a fancier one than I usually use simply because it had a blade on one side and it looked cool. Wouldn't you know it, it can only be used by right-handed individuals. What is with the discrimination??
So while I figure out how to use the peeler like most average people do, I'm going to concentrate on more important things -- like how to decorate an apartment when the walls are two-toned.
Today's the Day
It's true.
Today's the big day. The day that will most likely change my life.
Well......it's the start of a long line of life-changing experiences. I've had a few of those already; like the time I randomly chose to attend Western Oregon University; or the time I called up my mom and told - not asked- her that I was going abroad to do Camp Adventure (when they say adventure, they mean adventure!); or that time I professed to my entire neighborhood (which is no small feat) that I had a crush on Michael King.
Okay, so the last one wasn't quite a life-changing experience, but it was the first time I ever had a crush on someone and I was six. I think that's impressive.
But today.....oh today. It is going to be grand.
I am still suffering from jet lag from my last adventure across the Pacific, I haven't slept in 24 hours, and packing anxiety has sent me hurling over the edge of reason, BUT I am ready to fly out of here at 11:30am for the orient. More specifically, Bangkok.
I AM MOVING TO BANGKOK TODAY!!
I will be going to the airport in an hour and a half, and taking a jet plane bound for the land of giant Buddhas, the king of Siam, and spicy phad thai.
*blogs will be few and far between for the next several weeks (as they have been for these past several weeks, of which I apologize profusely), but I will do my best. What irony -- the time when my life changes so dramatically is when I won't have the time to keep you updated on said changes....I'm sure it won't be anything like The King and I or Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, but I shall keep my eye out for any opportunity I'll have to sing and dance with the king or get mistakenly thrown into an all-female prison.
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