Thai Government Departments, giving Foreigners an Enema, Thailand.

Here in Thailand you probably know that us foreigners or better know as “farangs” often complain about how Thais do things, especially government departments.

Well this one is a dozy of an idea and was thought up by the Teacher’s Council of Thailand (TCT). All us farang teacher’s here in Thailand now have to complete a Thai Culture Course to be able to renew our visas and continue teaching. There are also other things in the pipe-works but this is the urgently needed piece of paper to have at this point of time.

I have to renew my visa in January so I am sitting back and reading what is going on in forums across Thailand relating to this Thai culture course. All I can say is that I have read so many people’s take on the culture course, I haven’t done it so I am going by what they have said, it is all bad news and very negative feedback.

Most are really pissed off and are accusing the Teacher’s Council and Ministry of Education (MOE) of nothing more than a grab for cash, and it seems this way, actually no; it is this way.

There are teachers who have been in Thailand for many years and can speak Thai and probably know Thai culture better than most Thais who have lashed out at this course, some have said it is the most ridiculous and idiotic thing they have ever attended in Thailand.

This raised my eyebrows as we being farangs have been through some of the most stupid and lame things one could imagine, so it must be really bad. I read this poor guy’s take on the culture course and I couldn’t help but laugh as it reads like a comedy but if I was in his shoes there at the course I would have been going fucking insane.

Teaching forums are full of complaints and enraged people who have been to the course, the MOE must know that there are a lot of people angry and incensed at this money grab, but again they don’t care, they are Thai and don’t understand anything going on around them.

This is from a teacher’s forum this month.

1. According to the TCT (Teachers Council of Thailand) ALL foreign teachers must take a Thai Culture course which takes about 20 hours (one weekend) and costs anywhere from 4,000 baht on up.

2. Also, according to the TCT, within two years all teachers must either have a BEd, one year's worth of Graduate level Education credits or pass a series of 4 tests at 1,000b each. It is reported that out of about 2,500 test takers this year, about 10% of the Thais passed and .5% of the Farangs passed. However, the website with the test results has been taken offline and I don't think anyone has actually received their official results yet.

The one year's worth of Grad Level Ed. is offered by various Thai Universities at prices varying from 60K - 80K baht.Whether or not these requirements will be adhered to is a good question. Whether or not they will improve the quality of education in Thailand as a result of these changes is another good question. That's all I know.

This is common on forums across the board, know one including the TCT or MOE know what they are doing, they are making it up as they go, and they have to be.

There are a few teachers from my school going to do a course in Khong kaen a 4 or so hour drive away in 2 weeks time. It costs 3,500 Baht minus travel, accommodation and meals. I will wait and see what they report and then make my decision on what I will do.

I only have to sit the ‘culture course’ I am exempt from the BEd or 60,000 Thai Baht year course. I am thinking about returning home and back into my old job, the only problem is that Noot won’t have finished her degree here by January so it means I will have to hold out until she does this and then we can return and Noot can study a Masters Degree if she wants to in Australia.

We are going to invest some money in a little shop and we will see how this goes, if things look good then we will have a go at it and if we can make enough from this, I will pack in teaching and just do some private tuition from home and visa runs every 3 months until Noot’s degree is completed and then we will leave.

Well this is just ideas at this time and it is early in this debacle the TCT and MOE have created, I will sit back and follow and keep my cards close to my chest for the time being.

Life is never boring in Thailand and anything can and usually will happen.

Brunty

Life goes on, Thailand.

I haven’t been up to a lot of late, just doing what we all do and that is work. I have been studying some online courses that have taken a lot of my time up and also doing a step by step tutorial on my new camera, the Canon EOS 400D. It is really complex and I am learning things I never knew cameras could do. It is a lot of fun but also really hard to take all in.

School has been hectic with midterm exams just completed and now all the marking is done it is all the dreaded paper work that needs to completed and handed in by the end of the month.

Here are a few old pictures that I have played around with, I had some new software that came with my camera and I have been getting acquainted with it a little better, not much though. It is really testing at times when you are trying to follow instructions on editing and it just doesn’t work but I am still a virgin in this field.






Brunty

The day our luck finally ran out, Thailand.

The other day my luck finally ran out, well not my luck but our luck as in Noot and me.

We go to our local super market which is 400 metres in a straight line at least 4 times a week. We park which ever motorbike we take out the front of the super market where everyone else parks. In 3 years I have never had a thing happen to any of our bikes, except for on Sunday.

Noot went over to Big C to help her sister in her clothing shop, help selling bags, clothes and other odds and ends. This was at 3pm in the afternoon. I finished teaching my private tutor classes and then went to the park as usually to exercise with my friends.

I finished exercising and got home at about 6.30pm and Noot was still out. I needed some milk and stuff from the super market and would drop in and see how the girls were going in the shop. I saw Noot and she wanted to come shopping too, we finished shopping and made our way to Noot’s motorbike as she has a basket. I followed Noot and she stopped, scratched her head, and then walked some more. There was more scratching and then some more walking until it finally clicked.

WARNING! OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE.

Some dirty rotten low life piece of fucking shit, (this is being nice) decided that he or she needed the motorbike more than Noot. Yes, this scumbag and more than likely disease ridden fuck of society stole her bike in the 4 hours it was sitting there.

The other thing is that there were so many bikes for them to choose yesterday, there was an AIDS awareness and mini concert in Big C’s car park, a few so called TV stars had drawn a crowd and motorbikes where everywhere. So this is why I say our luck ran out.

I actually blame myself, Noot got upset but I told her not to worry, she didn’t do anything wrong, nothing different from what we did any other time. When we first bought Noot’s bike we would lock it up with a chain through the back wheel secured by a heavy duty lock. After time you get lazy and the small inconvenience of putting the chain through the wheel and locking it which took 15 seconds became all too hard.

So that laziness has cost 26,000 Baht, it hurts but again it’s only a motorbike and no-one was hurt or killed. It can be replaced and it just makes us more aware now. I have always been very security cautious at home. I am lucky as our large iron gate squeaks when it opens and if I ever here it through the night I get out of bed to look what is happening. If I ever found an intruder in our property they wouldn’t live to regret it.

We went to the police and reported the motorbike stolen and the policeman was very talkative, he said “sorry” and then took the details of the motorbike and radioed the details out to check points through Ubon. He also told us that usually 5-7 motorbikes get stolen everyday in Ubon. He said that they also conducted sting operations by trying to lure the motorcycle thieves out to steal motorbikes they have used for bait but they don’t often catch them

My rant. I hate, no loathe thieves. They are just above dirty stinking pedophiles and drug dealers. These people are pathetic losers who take advantage of people who are actually doing something for society.

I would love a society that still cat and nine tailed thieves, or even better cut off a hand each time they stole something, this way it is easy to indentify them and if they get caught twice they don’t have any hands and it becomes hard to steal things.

These sort of people aren’t needed in society, if we simply eliminated drug dealers, pedophiles, murderers, thieves and so forth, who is really going to miss them? I would happily pull a trigger; pull a lever that ended these people’s miserable lives, without a blink of an eye.

Anyway, with any luck the person who took the bike will end up under a car that is being followed by a bus and then a fully laden concrete truck. I would be really happy if the call came through saying that your bike has been found but it is written off but the good new is the person riding it is unidentifiable.

Yes, I am demented and I don’t believe in god or any higher being for this exact fact. We don’t do anything to anybody, so why us. If there was an actual god or higher being wouldn’t they look after people who aren’t going about life wreaking havoc and doing wrong? How could any higher being allow such atrocities that exist in today’s world?

So to all religions, you can all go and take a long walk off a very short pier with lead boots on. Not one of the words written on paper in the books you read is worth using in a toilet. But again that is just what I believe.

Brunty.

Made to eat my words, Thailand.

I have to issue an apology to some young girls from my school. The other day I posted on Honda having their new motorbike on show at the school and two groups of students dancing. These students were preparing for a show today and a chance to win 200,000 Thai baht in prize money.

I watched both groups dance the other day and I said one had the “x” factor as I call it and the other was a little too nice for me. I said that the group I thought was better would have trouble qualifying for the next stage in the competition, I was wrong.

It turns out that there were 4 teams from our school, and they have all qualified for the next part in the “Cover Dance Contest 2008”. I didn’t go to watch the competition today as I had private lessons all day.

I heard there were 20 odd teams and that 8 teams qualified for the next round of the competition. Maybe the other day I when I seen the girls they were a little nervous appearing before the entire school and plenty of people they knew.

So today they have made me eat my words, and I am happy to do so. So girls; I am sorry to have written you off and hope that the next leg of the competition also goes in your favour.

I also think you should practice every night at Miss C’s dad’s house as I know how much he enjoys watching you dance the same routine again and again. Only perfection will be accepted in these next stages, I am sure! So every evening dance and dance and Miss C’s dad will provide plenty of water and snacks for you.

Brunty.

Lenten Candle Festival, Thailand.

Last weekend was the Lenten Candle Festival here in Ubon Ratchathani, it coincides with the Buddhist Lent and is Ubon’s largest attraction and tourist puller for the year.

The attractions for the tourists are the candles, huge floats that are sponsored by temples from around the area, this year some of the floats cost in excess of 500,000 Thai Baht. The first prize is 300,000 Baht to the float that is judged to be number one.

It is really hard to move and also see as so many people have umbrellas up to shield themselves from the sun, Thais are incredibly paranoid about getting dark skin from the sun and must wear long sleeve shirts, jackets and even balaclavas to avoid the sun touching their skin.

You can avoid the crowds and sit peacefully in the large park on the grass and catch glimpses of the candles and dancers going by, this is a must better option for families.

The festival is always lead of by a Royal commissioned float, it usually is elaborate and this year was no different. The following are pictures of it.



























The winner of the Best Candle Competition went to our local temple Nong Bua. This is the park I go to everyday walking with my friends. They picked up the 300,000 Baht for the first prize but I was told the float was in excess of 450,000 Baht.










These pictures don’t really do justice for the candles, when you see them in person and actually take in all the details of the floats you really are amazed at the artist’s work, they really are talented.

There are a lot more pictures that I will put on Flickr over the next week or so.

Brunty

Honda Icon, games and dancing, Thailand.

Yesterday at school there was excitement plus, Honda had a little show to put on for the students. When I got to the stage I saw two of our teachers on stage and also some students playing a game.

The game was simple, the host said a Thai symbol and they would have to touch a part of the body that corresponded.




These are what are known as “layboys” other words guys who act like girls and want to be a girl. They were classics and had students laughing along.

Here you can see plenty of laughter and the teachers are touching each others bums. The crowd was laughing really loudly.

The laughter just kept on coming.

There was a good size crowd watching on.






















Here is Honda’s new motorbike. It is called “Icon”; it is like most of the new designs aimed at this market 15 to 18 year olds.





















Here a Honda guy sits with two cool students.

The Honda Icon.

All shows in Thailand have to have dancing and this did too, Honda is sponsoring the “Cover Dance Contest 2008” which is being held this weekend. There are two teams from our school competing against a lot of other teams for 200,000 Baht in prize money. The money of course goes to their school.

These girls have been rehearsing for 1 month and their routine was ‘nice’, you could see the girls tried hard but they still didn’t know all the moves and were often looking at each other to see what they were doing next.

Looking from the back of the crowd.

The second team came onto the stage. They looked the part.

And they also danced the part. It was hip hop and the music was thumping and the dancers were really well drilled.

They got big cheers and screams from the crowd.

Ben the girl on the violin is incredibly talented, she plays a long list of instruments and the traditional Thai instruments she plays look so difficult but she makes it look easy. The boys broke into some break dancing.

This move got a huge cheer. These guys were really good, for kids. They knew their moves and the dance had the crowd moving along with them.

Will they win on Saturday? I don’t think so. I have seen other schools at shows contests like this and they are really, really good. We will find out on Saturday when the contest is held. There are 40 plus teams I have heard so it means a long afternoon for many of the kids as they have to perform two dances.

I will try and get there to watch a few of the shows but I am busy with teaching at home and only have a few hours spare, I will play it by ear.

Brunty.

A birthday, food and good company, Thailand.

On the 19th it was Miss Noot’s birthday, so we went across the road from our house to a little restaurant for dinner. Noot thought I had forgotten but I had organized for a few people to turn up to say hello which made her day.

Here Noot, Ben and John’s wife Da look happy.

Noot opening her first present from John and Da.

What could it be?

It was a phone cover and a pink rain jacket.

And another present from her sister.

What every girl needs, shoes.

This was a ripper of a present from John and Da, the pink rain jacket. Noot loves pink and with the wet season on the doorstep it will be handy.

Here the gang is enjoying some food and a few drinks, well only John, Beaw and I had some beer.

The time came for the birthday cake and Noot had a big grin. My mate Keith and his family had just arrived in time after attending another function else where, he is a busy man with many high contacts and people to see. They gave Noot a lovely black and white top, my favourite colours and it looked really good when she tried it on later on in the evening.

Noot made her wish before blowing out the candles.

Noot has plenty of wind and blew the candles out easily, and some of the topping came off the cake as well.

It was a cute cake that her sister Joom and husband Jack bought as well as the shoes.

She then cut the cake and distributed it amongst everyone.

So that was an exciting part of our weekend as well as the festival, so many things to do and see.

Brunty