Teaching in a secondary school in Thailand

A while ago I had the opportunity of teaching a few English classes in a secondary school in Chiang Rai. It all started quite coincidentally: after a conversation with a teenager who attends the school. She brought me into contact with her English teacher. He was very keen to have a foreigner, especially a foreign English teacher, teach a few classes at his school. He would have preferred me to instantly take a job at the school for the rest of my stay in Thailand, but that was out of the question: I don't have a work permit here, and the conditions of my sabbatical leave don't allow me to take a job anyway.

Eventually we agreed that I would teach for six hours: three two-hour classes in the fourth, fifth and sixth years respectively, in the 'Major English'. We thought it best for me to concentrate on spoken English, because that is where most problems lie for Thai speakers. English pronunciation is extremely hard for people who, firstly, have a mother tongue that has a completely different sound structure; secondly, know a teaching tradition that pays little attention to a good pronunciation of English; and thirdly, have little contact with spoken English. As a result, they are used to speaking English as if it were Thai – they just apply Thai pronunciation rules to English words. The Thai language, for instance, does not have /s/, /l/ or /f/ sounds at the end of a syllable or a word; those are automatically changed to /t/, /n/ and /p/, or sometimes just left out. Plosive sounds are not completely realised at the end of a syllable or a word; for those who know something about phonetics: the occlusion stage is there, but the release does not occur or is very limited. And another problem: most Thai speakers routinely use /l/ instead of /r/. A few examples: 'five' sounds more or less like 'fie', 'best' becomes 'be(t)', 'rice' is changed into 'lie', 'Raf' becomes 'la(p), etc. As such, pronunciation often proves to be the main obstacle for Thai speakers to be understood when they try to use English. Some people do have a fair command of English, but can't make themselves be understood because of their poor pronunciation.

Anyway, let's get back to the original subject. One Monday morning, I arrived in a simple classroom, and faced about twenty-five fourth-year pupils who were eagerly looking forward to this English class that would be taught by a genuine foreigner. Much to my surprise, the head pupil called out 'Stand up, please!' and the entire class then chanted: 'Good morning, teacher!', while they respectfully greeted me with the traditional Thai 'wai', with the palms of the hands brought together. They then remained standing, waiting for me to tell them to sit down.

The class turned out to be a very pleasurable experience, but the pupils were often hard put to understand me if I ventured beyond the most basic English. Often they only understood a question after I had written it down on the blackboard – proving that spoken English is not the first concern of English teachers in Thailand. I was very glad that I could occasionally provide a Thai translation to clarify what I meant. Speaking was, if anything, even harder for the pupils. Indeed, Thai is a language that comes across as quite compact (a sentence like 'This house is beautiful', for instance, becomes more or less 'house beautiful'); moreover, Thai people love to shorten sentences in daily life. Personal pronouns, for instance, are often omitted if this is unlikely to cause any confusion. But, regrettably, they also tend to apply those 'rules' to English, with the result that they immediately turn it into a form of pidgin English.

The pupils showed tremendous enthusiasm, though, and were very eager to learn. I occasionally tried to improve their pronunciation, and stressed the importance of pronunciation if they wish to be understood by foreign speakers of English. At the end of the two hours, when it was clear that I had finished my class, the head pupil shouted 'Stand up, please!' again, and the pupils chanted: 'Thank you, teacher; see you again next time.'

The next few days, I also taught the fifth and sixth years, and the evolution in listening skills was obvious. Speaking skills were also better in the higher years, but not to the same extent. But the pupils' enthusiasm was always high, and the respectful greeting and goodbye words remained the same.

On the second day, when my class happened to be the first one of the day, there was another surprise for me. I arrived at the school well in time, and all pupils (all eight hundred) were still at assembly on the big field in front of the school buildings, listening to the head speaking; this is a daily ritual in Thai secondary schools. When the English teacher noticed me, he came to me and told me he would like to introduce me to the entire school; would I mind saying a few words to the whole group? A few moments later I found myself standing there, with a microphone in my hand, introducing myself, first in Thai, then in English... After assembly, when the pupils were on their way to their respective classes, the school band played a merry tune.

Those three days in the school were an unforgettable experience that I wouldn't have misssed for the world.

Behind the scenes in the Thai catering sector

In the past couple of months, I was able to observe the Thai catering sector from within; in Chiang Rai, a brand new shopping centre, the Central Plaza, opened a few months ago, and I went to work in one of the outlets in the food court as a volunteer.

Much to the amazement of the Thai personnel, I was peeling vegetables, grating green papaya and carrots, slicing onions, and much more, for four hours or more almost every day. After a few days they got used to seeing a foreigner working there, but the puzzlement remained high that a westerner was prepared to work there, even without being paid. The customers, who sometimes glimpsed this ‘farang’ (the Thai term for a westerner) hard at work, were equally amazed. If, exceptionally, I failed to turn up one day, there were always people asking where the ‘farang’ was.

What I noticed most of all is how hard people have to work in the Thai catering business, and for what small wages. For the owners of the food stalls (and that also goes for ordinary food stalls and small restaurants on the street) the working days are very long. They start long before the food stall actually opens, when they go and buy ingredients at the market. The food court at the shopping centre is open between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.; before opening there are all the preparations, and after closing time, there is obviously more work to be done, tidying and cleaning. At the shopping centre, a working day is thus a minimum of 14 hours long, and that does not include going out to buy ingredients, or bookkeeping. Profit margins are minimal, because competition is intense. Many people eat out, or buy take-away meals at the food stalls, because prices are so low. At a guess, not more than a 10% profit is made on food; since prices are so low, that amounts to hard work for what is very little money for westerners.

Employees are getting even less: for 8 or 9 hours of work every day, seven days a week, 30 or 31 days a month, 365 days a year (the average food stall never closes), a worker is paid between 5000 and 6000 Baht per month (between £100 and £120, or between $160 and $195). Granted, the basic cost of living (food and drink, clothing) is much lower here, but many other things don’t cost much less than in Europe or the U.S. (petrol is about £0.75 / $1.25 a litre; a mobile phone, a necessity for most Thai people, costs about the same; so do cars). Thai people admit that nobody can live on this kind of income; many people have a second job, live with their family or share a room or a small flat with friends). And most people are (heavily) in debt, and live from one pay day to the next loan. Yet it is remarkable how few people I have heard complaining about working conditions, long hours, the lack of a day off, and so on. On the contrary – it always strikes me how many smiling faces I see every day. Obviously, the sort of conditions I have described are seen as the norm, but there is also a completely different way of thinking. Although poverty is widespread according to western standards, a drastically different philosophy and mindset (taking care of your family and friends first, and only then thinking of yourself) make for a much greater solidarity which in itself actually makes poverty less of a problem than in the West.

My experiences as a kitchen menial at Central Plaza has taught me a lot: apart from the obvious knife skills, I have also realised that a well-paid job and working conditions that we see as normal, should not be taken for granted. I have also learnt that the better the working and living conditions, the more people seem to complain...

Modern architecture in Singapore

A few weeks ago we visited Singapore for a couple of days; for me it was the second visit to this city state, and it was a renewed pleasure.  Singapore offers its visitors a fascinating mix of cultures, with the accompanying variation in architecture, cuisine, religion and customs. There are quite a few reminders of the colonial period that put Singapore on track for the economic successes of today. 

            One of the most striking expressions of that success is the wealth of magnificent contemporary architecture. Singapore is a veritable paradise for anyone who appreciates modern buildings; the skyline of the business district is relatively well-known, but in the past couple of years a host of new treasures have been added, especially around Marina Bay. Included in the most eye-catching realisations are the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the ArtScience Museum and the Helix Bridge.

            The Marina Bay Sands Hotel towers high above Marina Bay; on top of three slender skyscrapers of some 600 ft is the Sands Skypark, lying there like a huge surfing board. There is a big observation deck, but also a restaurant and a swimming pool fringed with palm trees. Looked at from ground level, it is a breathtaking building, and from Sands Skypark, all of Singapore is spread out in front of you. The view of Marina bay and the rest of the city is fantastic, and on the other side you can see intensive activity between the hotel and the sea – obviously there are more wonders of modern architecture ready to emerge.

            The ArtScience Museum is an interesting building in the shape of a hand with five fingers, or a lotus flower with five petals – depending on your point of view and imagination. Even though it is dwarfed by the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the white museum is a fairly large building, with a wide variety of both permanent and temporary exhibitions.

            Next to the museum is the new Helix Bridge, over 900 ft long, linking the Marina Bay complex with the other side of the bay. It is a curved steel construction, in the shape of the double helix of DNA. It is a unique and fascinating work of art that offers a beautiful view of the architecture around the entire bay.

            I’m already looking forward to visiting Singapore again in a couple of years and to be entranced by the newest architecture.

More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/raf.erzeel/

Wat Rong Khun

About ten miles outside Chiang Rai, there is a recent temple that is attracting a fair number of home and foreign visitors since a few years. The building of the temple complex began in 1997 and is still ongoing. It is called Wat Rong Khun, but it is also known as ‘the White Temple’. Designed by a contemporary artist from Chiang Rai province, Chalermchai Kositpipat, the temple lives up to its nickname: the main building (the ubusot), a bridge leading to it and all statues around it have all been executed in brilliant white with pieces of mirror. Indeed, the first impression is amazing: in the tropical sun, the temple is blindingly beautiful.

In years to come, the number of visitors will undoubtedly increase as the number of finished buildings grows. The concept of Wat Rong Khun is really unique in Thailand: it is intended as an example of how the traditional Thai temple architecture may be combined with modern elements. Additionally, you will meet very strange elements on the temple site; some of the most terrifying images remind me of the world of Jeroen Bosch, but there is also room for elements from our contemporary society: characters from Hollywood films, rockets, etcetera.

The visitor is first led along a pond that reflects the entire building magnificently; then he comes to a representation of hell, with a mass of pleading hands (some of them with skulls – a very strong image), and then to a bridge/staircase leading to the main temple building. At the bottom of the stairs, you meet two giant guards; once past those, you are drawn to the ubusot across the bridge. Within, an unexpected simplicity awaits, with a wonderful mural of a Buddha, painted by the designer of the temple.

Part of the temple complex is a museum exhibiting a fair number of paintings by Chalermchai Kositpipat; visitors who make the effort to go and have a look will undoubtedly be impressed by the talent of this man. I, for one, am looking forward to visit the temple a number of times over the next few years to admire the buildings that are still being constructed.

More photos on picasaweb!

Royal Flora Expo Ratchapruek

During a recent weekend trip to Chiang Mai, we visited a big flower and plant exhibition that was opened in 2006 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne. The Royal Flora Expo is about eight miles from the centre of Chiang Mai. It is a large-scale exhibition, and that already becomes clear when you’re driving up the entrance lane: there are beautifully patterned hedges on huge lawns on both sides of the lane, and both directions are separated by a big central reservation, equally green.

This impression of vastness is also conveyed by the enormous entrance: a vast square with a big entrance gate flanked by rows of big white elephants and dozens of flags. Once through the entrance gate, you are greeted by a view of a distant temple at the end of a long and wide, slightly rising boulevard. The site of the expo is big, very big; most people make grateful use of a kind of train stopping at different places. The expo consists of several zones, where different aspects of the world of flora are presented: there is a tropical Thai garden, a temperate garden, a herb garden, an orchid garden, etc. These gardens lie on both sides of the wide central boulevard.

The first part of the boulevard encloses big flowerbeds with flowers of uniform colour; in between, there are a fair number of big contemporary sculptures. To one side of this zone is a large building housing temporary exhibitions and conferences. If you walk up the boulevard, you come to a central area with many modern white benches (but nobody uses them, as there is no shade). Beyond that area is the start of the last part of the boulevard, flanked by beautifully sculpted lamp posts and exhibition panels with information about the king.

Eventually you come to the temple, dedicated to King Bhumibol, with a fairly sober but beautiful and traditional interior dominated by a large royal symbol with nine spheres. On both sides of the temple, there are big ponds with waterlillies.

This Royal Expo is well worth a visit, and you can walk around all day if you want. If you want to see more pictures, you can go to picasaweb as usual.