Life in Dan Chang

There are so many little things that are different about life here. In this post therefore, rather than focusing on any larger experiences, we wanted to zero in on some of the details of daily life. Warning: this may only be interesting for our more hardcore readers.

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Teaching

We already covered a bit of this in a previous posting, so you may have some sense of how generally unorganized and random everything seems at school. As a case in point, yesterday we were told that we would only be teaching morning classes today, because we were being driven to another town in the afternoon. We got the general sense that it was to figure out details regarding an English competition that we are refereeing this weekend. We were, however, unsure about this theory. This morning, about half an hour before we were to leave our classes and depart, word came down that we would not be going afterall. So I finished my class and was waiting for Natalie to go to lunch, when I got a text from her saying that she was swooped up unexpectedly and taken to the birthday party of some big figure in Dan Chang. There were monks there, who led a 20 minute chanting session before all several hundred guests sat down to a big meal, with Natalie as the only non-native guest. How everything functions with such randomness will never cease to amaze me, but we are learning to adapt and to enjoy, as in this instance, random birthday parties, when we just thought we would be teaching class. 

Our Monday-Friday Schedule

-Wake up at 6:40-7 (which means 7:15 for Natalie)

-Get ready, which for me includes jumping into the electrically heated shower where you decide based on the tempature whether to sacrifice heat or water pressure. Natalie likes to optimize her sleep by showering at night, if at all.

-Jump on our bikes by 7:30 to arrive at school by 7:45. 

- Pretty much everyday we have classes to teach at 8am, with a total of 16-18 hours teaching per week. Mondays are especially full for me, with 5 classes, many of them back to back, but that means on days like today I only have two classes. We need to be here at the beginnning of the school day, all the way through the end, 4pm, which can make slower days stretch a bit long. In our freetime we play with the students, browse the internet (Graham), go for walks, feed some of the many stray dogs that are on campus (Natalie) (literally there are at least 25) and sometimes sneak away to get Thai iced coffees and little snacks. We recently found a bakery that sells delicious banana muffins, a definite nice break to the spice that comes with most dishes. 

Food

I have thought many times about the fact that if a Thai restaurant served food that is actually the most typical in Thailand, they would be out of business pretty quickly. That isn't to say that there isnt great food here, but a lot of it does take some getting used to. For instance, almost everything is SUPER spicy, like I-can't-feel-my-lips-anymore hot. It is always a little heart breaking when a curry dish arrives that smells and looks delicious, only to take your first bite and have your tongue smitten into a coma. Again though, we have learned to ask for no peppers (which means they will only put a couple :) and our tongues are growing stronger by the day! The other thing that can be hard for me, and which definitely takes a toll on Natalie is the presence of all kinds of animals and bones and parts of animals in the food. Again to use the curry example, there have been several times when I eagerly spooned some over our rice only to find mostly just bones and chicken skin as the content. A couple times too we have left the market feeling anything but hungry after seeing pig heads bleeding off of tables onto cement, large frogs on their backs with their bellies cut open and guts spilling out, and masses of fish laying out of water, but still alive, grasping for breath. Another tricky part is not knowing what things are, or how to ask for things to be made. A couple times we got what we thought was tofu squares, only to find out that we were actually eating coagulated chicken blood. Several times to what ends up getting delivered to our plate is nothing like we thought we ordered. 

All of that being said, there have also been a lot of amazing meals as well. There was one meal we ate during orientation where I literally dragged Natalie out of the restaurant looking like a chipmunk because we were about to miss the bus because she had been scurrying from table to table eating delicious left-overs! We also found a couple all you can eat places where you cook all of your own food and soup for the total cost of about $1.50. Speaking of cheap dining, it is insane how cheap everything here is, and it helps make it feel better when you order something that you don't end up liking. In more touristy places you will find yourself spending anywhere from $2.00 to western style prices for food, however in our town it is really hard to get a meal that costs most than a dollar. The other night we ate at a new place and were shocked that our meals were three dollars each! They were really good though, so we will probably be back!

Overall it's just another aspect of our lives that we are learning to do our best and let go of when things don't turn out as we hoped/planned. 

Getting Around

In our town we get around on bikes which were generously lent to us by our coordinator Dick, and his friend Ben. With that method of transportation you can get pretty much anywhere in town in about 15 minutes, which is nice. As far as our weekend get aways, so far we have taken local buses to destinations, and taxis or tuk tuks once we get there.  We have had almost no problems (knock on wood) and always end up commenting that traveling here is so much easier than in South America. Natalie has enjoyed too the complete lack of cat calls, which could often be the needle that broke the camels back on a hard day in the Latin countries we've visited. Which brings us to -

People

Obviously not everyone in a country will fit any stereotype, but so far we have been in complete agreeance that Thailand is truly the land of smiles, as it is generally known. Everyone we have encountered without exception has been kind and understanding all the way up to downright generous to us. Of course, as would be expected, things in the cities tend to be a bit more rushed, but anyone that we have (attempted) to talk to has show genuine interest in being friendly and helpful. 

The people we know in Dan Chang can be split into five categories. There are the other English teachers and foreigners who are our age. In that category Katie and Jessica teach at the high school, Matt and Selena teach at our school and will be leaving at the end of the month as we transition into their positions, and James and Taygan live just out of town and have a vineyard. They are all super cool and we feel really lucky to have the privilege of knowing all of them. 

The second category is retired white guys. There are about 5-10 people who fit this bill, and they have been  very kind and generous to us. They've loaned us their bikes, given us tips on living here, and driven us around. Dick and his Thai wife Sasi, our coordinators, really get special credit here, having gone out of their way on numerous occasions to make life for us better. Several of the guys in this group have Thai wifes, while others enjoy leading the single life. 

Third is the Thais and other teachers (from the Philippines and Burma) who speak English. While we haven't bonded with this group yet as much as we hope to, they have been very helpful with getting us set up at school and in town, and overall very kind. I know I would feel really weird if a young person with no teaching experience came into a job that I had worked at for years and started making the same salary as I did, if not a little more. It might be especially difficult knowing that this was a six month stint for them, where as this was my actual life. Even though this is the situation, we have felt only helpfulness and happiness pouring out of our fellow teachers. 

Then of course there are the students, who are so cute and will run from a block away to give you a high-five and say "hello teacha" in their cute accents. 

And finally there are the Thais who speak no English, the ones who just smile or try to help us in their language as Natalie and I look back and forth at each other, hoping the other has some recognition on their face. 

We have said it before, and will say it again, it is the people who really make Monday through Friday a pleasure for us. 

Summation

There were definitely some panic-attack, what-am-I-doing-with-my-life sort of moments in the last few weeks, but the more we learn to stop trying to impose what we know on the world around us, but rather find delight in the differences, and the adventure of the experience, good or bad, the more we fall in love with this beautiful and magical land. 

Pics can be found here