Stuart's Life in Thailand

I just realized that last week was my 9 Year Anniversary for moving to Thailand. I arrived August 1, 2002, and what a wild ride it has been since then!

Of course a lot has changed over the past nine years. I have changed physically, emotionally, and mentally. My day-to-day life has changed. Even Thailand has changed.

These last couple of months have been especially busy for me, so I haven't had much time to reflect on these changes lately. But coming up later this year will probably be another big change for me. Blogging on my own website seems almost old-fashioned in these modern Twitter and Facebook days. But maybe I should start visiting my old friend sgtowns.com and sharing my experiences and thoughts again as I move into a new phase of my life...

ผมเป็นอาจารย์ที่ ม.อ.ภูเก๊ต
อาทิตย์นี้นักศึกษากำลังทำข้อสอบ
เมื่อวานนี้นักศึกษาของผมทำข้อสอบ Data Structures
วันนี้ผมรับข้อสอบและพรุ่งนี้ผมจะเริ่มตรวจ
ผมเอาข้อสอบไม่ง่ายเกินไปและไม่ยากเกินไปด้วย
ผมหวังพวกเขาทำเก่ง

เมื่อคืนผมเล่นแบดมินตันกับเพือนเจ็ดคน
เราเล่นทุกวันอังคารและพฤหัส
ชอบเล่นมากมากแต่เมื่อคืนผมเจ็บแขน
ผมคิดว่าเล่นครั้งหน้าไม่ได้
ผมหวังว่าผมดีขึ้นเร็วๆ

Even though you wouldn't know it by reading this website, life goes on here in beautiful Thailand. I am nearing the end of my first semester teaching Thai students in my new hometown, and all in all it has been a good experience. I know I have learned a lot of new Thai vocabulary, and I hope my students have learned a word or two of English as well.

When I taught in Bangkok, there was always a problem of students answering their cell phones during my lecture. I hated it when this happened, and would usually stop talking and stare at the student until they hung up. I always thought it was very rude to take a call in class. Luckily, I have yet to see this problem at my current school. Perhaps the students are more polite. Or perhaps all of their friends are in the class with them already.

In any case, I can't help but share this hilarious video. I won't spoil the ending... so just watch it!

Hmm... three posts in three days. What's going on here?

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I have been doing a ton of paperwork to become both a teacher and a student. This work is still on-going, and today another piece of the puzzle fell into place: my graduate school diploma arrived in the mail from North Carolina.

That's right, both the school I was applying to teach and the school I was applying to study wanted a copy of my college diploma. Needless to say, I did not include my diploma in my packing list when I moved to Thailand. In fact, I am not even sure where it is. It's somewhere in my parent's basement, I am guessing. So I sent off for a new copy more than a month ago and now three weeks after it was shipped and $40 later, it has arrived.

Getting started with the two separate schools has been confusing. I get phone calls from "the university" or Dr. So-and-So asking for some kind of paperwork and I have no idea which school or which professor it is. I also now have 2 new university ID's (one faculty and one student) and 2 new passwords to access the university network and 2 new email addresses (with 2 more passwords).

As far as the emails go, normally I sign up for everything using the "sgtowns" handle. You can find "sgtowns" @gmail @yahoo @hotmail @facebook @twitter, @amazon, etc. Sometimes for work I'll be given a stuart.towns@___ or an stowns@___. But this time I was granted a new one: stuart.gt@___. And every email I get now from my new school is addressed to Mr. Stuart Grant. I keep thinking my mother is calling me...

Oh and the fact that I now have 4 new passwords, reminds me about a new software that I have been using and really love: 1Password. It keeps all of my passwords for all of my logins in one place, and with a combination of DropBox, I can access these passwords any time anywhere. So how many password-protected Internet accounts do I have at the moment? FIFTY-EIGHT. And every password is unique. How the heck was I able to remember 58 passwords before?

And in the spirit of yesterday's video posting, here's a short clip that gave me a chuckle after a long day in the office and a two hour lecture. Enjoy...

So who knows what might show on this website once I get back in the habit of writing. Some things are just too good not to share, like this funny video of a Japanese kid who lives in Northeastern Thailand and who makes a lot of promises...

Today marks the beginning of a new life for me. This change has been coming for a while and I have been spending a lot of time to get to this point. And I am not sure where to begin to describe this change, but I will give it a try.

In short, I have jumped back into the academic world with both feet -- the right foot as a teacher and the left foot as a student.

First, the teaching part. About three weeks ago I started teaching again. I am teaching in the Thai program, but my course is in English. This means that the English skills of my students is not great, but they seem to be trying their best, and that's all that matters. Much of my lecture every week is spent explaining English vocabulary, but it is a fun challenge to try to figure out how to explain difficult concepts using as simple language as possible. It has also helped my Thai, as I have been trying to learn business words so that I can communicate with my students when I need to. I never had much reason to learn the Thai word for management, infrastructure, income and expenses, etc.

The second big change (and perhaps the more exciting) is that I have started a PhD program in "e-Learning Methodology" at Assumption University in Bangkok. This is an online program that is only made up of research and a dissertation. So I will be able to work on it at home over the next three years.

For the past few months, I have been drowning in paper work preparing to be a teacher and a student. It is unbelievable how much paper I had to produce: transcripts, diplomas, application forms, two new bank accounts, passport copies, photos, work permit paperwork, etc. I have signed my name hundreds of times over the last few weeks, but it all appears to be done now. Today I officially registered and paid my tuition fee to Assumption, and so now I am officially a student again.

My first task for the PhD is to do as much research on the existing literature in my field, so that I can learn the latest advancements. It has been over 10 years since I have done any academic research, so I have a feeling I have some catching up to do.

Over the next few months, I might try to use this website to talk about the research that I am doing and how it relates to my own dissertation topic. I need to get some practice writing again, especially for an academic audience. This is a big change from what I have written about before, so apologies to those readers who enjoy the travel, culture, and life stories. Then again, I haven't been adding much to this site lately so perhaps I don't have any more readers to disapoint!

People often ask me about my move from the U.S. to Thailand, and I explain that it was a gradual move. I had visited Thailand once before, and I wanted to do more traveling in the area. So in August of 2002 I finally packed my bags in San Francisco and flew to Thailand for an extended stay and some exciting adventures. My Thai friend Mag was waiting for me at the Bangkok airport and over the next few months, he was kind enough to let me use his apartment on Silom as a crash pad, for both me and for most of my stuff while I backpacked around southeast Asia.

During the times that I was actually in Bangkok, Mag was my introduction to Thailand and Thai culture, taking me to see the grand tourist sites but also showing me the simple side of life such as eating chicken and rice at a road side stand. He also taught me a lot about the Thai psyche, saying that I was always acting with too much emotion. It took me a long time to get out of my American ways -- to learn to relax and to take life as it comes instead of showing my emotions when I was upset and frustrated. (Actually, I am still not very good at this, but I always try to do better!)

That December, Mag the jewelry designer helped me a few pieces for Christmas presents for my family back in the U.S. We went through the whole process together, from drawing out the unique designs on paper, to buying the diamonds from Indian jewelers around Silom, to visiting a tiny goldsmith factory in a shophouse in Chinatown where the gold pieces were handmade and the diamonds were set. I loved the fact that I was getting a behind-the-scenes look at how different people really lived and worked in Bangkok.

When I made the huge (and stressful) decision to put down some roots by getting my own apartment and start working at Bangkok University, Mag helped me find a fabulous studio in his building overlooking the city and the Chao Phraya River. And six months later, when I decided to move to be closer to work, it was Mag again who helped me move my stuff and introduce me to his favorite restaurant in the area.

Over the seven years since then, Mag and I slowly drifted apart. We would see each other every now and then on the train or on the sidewalk and chat a bit. Even though we now ran in different circles, I was always happy to see him and his unique, infectious smile.

So it was with great sadness that I learned last Friday that Mag had passed away earlier this month from a lung infection. Only now after three days can I even picture his face in my mind without welling up with tears. All I can do is shake my head and wonder why life sometimes throws us curveballs that just don't make any sense. Mag was much too young and much too good to be taken away so soon.

Mag's death casts a bittersweet hue over my move to Bangkok. It was such a monumental, stressful, educational, exciting move for me, and he was there to help me every step of the way. I will never forget his kindness and never-ending generosity to me during that time.

Taken October 13, 2002 and posted to this website with the caption: "Mag, who is now my neighbor (just a short elevator ride away), stops by to check out my new apartment."

Dear Internet,

Believe it or not, I am still alive. Apologies for not keeping you updated lately. There isn't really much interesting news to share these days. Just a lot of long hours in the office in front of the computer and a trip to place that still rates as "just ok" (Kuala Lumpur). But I am alive and well and happy most of the time.

I did want to share one thing with you today though. As you may know, one of the best ways to get around Bangkok is by Motorcycle Taxi. It's fast and cheap, but certainly not the safest way to go. My good friend Chris made a video from the back of one of these taxis the other day, and it was just too good to not pass along.

So... please enjoy Chris' video of my favorite mode of transportation in Bangkok!

Sincerely,
Stuart

It has been exactly two months since my last post here. Unfortunately I just haven't found the time or the motivation to write, even though my life hasn't been completely boring. I actually did a lot of traveling, driving all the way from Phuket to Chiang Mai via Bangkok and a side trip to Kanchanaburi and then back to Phuket over the course of a couple of weeks. I really should post some pictures from that trip as it was a great overview of what can be found in Thailand.

In my last post two months ago, I mentioned that I started taking a daily Thai language class. I am still going every day, and it has been incredibly helpful. I feel like I have learned so much, but as with most things, the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know!

Last week my teacher suggested that I write a short story every night, and then the next day we will base the lesson on my story. We have done it twice now, and it has worked out great. Basically we spend the next class talking about all of the grammar errors that I made, or more eloquent ways to say what I am trying to say, or she will just ask me lots of questions about the story until we get to vocabulary I don't understand and then she will teach it to me.

I think that what I will do now is to write the story at night, get it corrected and improved in class the next morning, and then type it out in Thai here (with an English translation). Writing it here should help me learn to type Thai as well as keep a record of my studies.

So without further ado, here is my first story, an exciting (and true) tale of being attacked by ants last week:

สองวันที่แล้วผมอาบนำ้และเวลาเสร็จผมใช้ผ้าเช็ดตัวจนแห้งก็เลยรู้สึกคันทั่วทั้งตัวผม ผมมีตุ่มเต็มไปหมดที่แขน คอ ขา ลำตัว เพราะว่าได้มดกัด วันนี้ผมยังเจ็บทั้งตัว

And in English:

Two days ago, I took a shower and when I was finished I used the towel until I was dry. Then, I felt itchy all over my body. I looked, and there were hundreds of bumps on my arms, neck, legs, and torso because I was bit by the ants. Today, I still hurt all over.

Looking at this short story shows me how far I have come, and how far I have to go. In order to write these short little sentences, I had to do a first draft using an online dictionary to look up some spellings, get it proofread by my teacher, write it again on paper, type it (which took 15 minutes alone), and then have it checked by Piyawat for errors (which there were still a few).

But I have to be happy for small steps on a journey that doesn't have a destination...