Tender Musings

I miss Christmas in the Philippines. I remember stores and houses decorated with festive ornaments and Christmas carols being played all day long. Everyone would be talking about Christmas events and parties they'll be attending. Children would count down the days and their excitement heightens as Christmas draws closer. Shoppers would crowd the malls and every store would have their own Christmas promotion to invite customers in. It's definitely an exciting time for everyone. For me, Christmas will be a little bit different this year. Being away from my family and living in a Buddhist country, it's definitely not the same Christmas compared to what I have at home. However, I know that Christmas is still Christmas no matter where I am. Watching the Christmas Devotional was a wonderful reminder of the reason for this season.  "Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done. We find the real joy of Christmas when...

One benefit of being a part of the ASEAN community is the opportunity to travel to different countries without needing a visa. Example, Filipinos who travel to Thailand are issued a visa on arrival valid for 30 days (which is plenty of time to travel around the country). However, for those who intend to stay longer, a visa is needed to stay legally. For those who are already in Thailand, like myself, I need to leave the country and then apply for my visa. Since I live in Ubon Ratchathani, the closest exit would be Laos. There are 2 options. One is in Chongmek and the other is in Savannaketh. Crossing the border at Chongmek. I've been to both exits and they have their advantages. Chongmek is quick and easy. You'll get a 15-days permit to stay in Thailand after you cross the border to Laos and back to Thailand. It's quite exciting to go to a different country by foot. Going to Savannaketh would take a little bit of preparation because you have to stay there for a...

Contrary to western culture, Father's Day in Thailand is celebrated on December 5. That's because Father's Day here is set on the King's birthday.The same applies to Mother's Day which is celebrated on the Queen's birthday in the month of August. To celebrate the occasion, we all went to a floating restaurant. The venue was quite popular for both locals and foreigners. Although the place was a bit far from were we lived, we had so much fun during our drive there. We were on the back of a truck watching the scenery as we drove for about an hour and a half. It was exciting. We finally arrived at the place and it was beautiful. There weren't many customers at first, but people started coming about noon. Some were just there for the food while others swam and enjoyed water games. While waiting for our meal, they bought GIANT ANTS for appetizer. I tried it and it tasted salty. Aside from the food, it was the company that made it a lot of fun. I ...

I came back to Thailand on the day of the Loi Krathong Festival. Tired and sleepless from 24 hours of travelling, I slept all morning and woke up just in time to prepare for the festivities. But first, a quick history lesson on Loi Krathong. It is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. It is celebrated on the full moon of the 12th month of the traditional Thai calendar. This usually falls on November. This festival originated from the ritual of giving offerings  to the water spirits in the olden times. People make Krathong and launch them on the river. Some make wishes when they do it. Making Krathong is easy but time consuming. It's made from a banana trunk decorated with banana leaves and flowers. To complete it, incense and candle is added. My Krathong-making teachers - Nok and Wiwi. The secret: PINS! Ready to launch my Krathong. Aside from Krathongs, people also light up flying lanterns. It reminded me so much of the movie Tangled. There were...

After our Halloween Party at work, I left Thailand for a 2-week vacation to visit my family in Japan. Since direct flights from Thailand to Japan were quite expensive, I opted to go home first to the Philippines then fly to Nagoya the following day. That’s about 9 hours of travelling not including transfers and waiting time. Wheew! It was quite a trip. We both got 250 Baht after winning a game of BINGO. I arrived in Japan on November 2 and was welcomed by my adorable niece, who I have not seen for over two years. I was so eager to see her and my family. I decided to take this short trip because I wanted to attend my niece's 5th birthday. I have never been around to celebrate any of her birthdays with the family. In the past few years, I was on my mission and at school. We went to Grand Bowl a few days after my arrival. I was in Japan when Yolanda hit the Philippines. It was devastating. Hearing it on the news and seeing pictures on Facebook was disheartening. My h...

The October term is finished. I taught my last class last October 18 and I feel relieved. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching… I’m just not used to teaching the whole day. During my internship, I only taught one class a day for one and a half hours. Most of my time was spent on creating materials and preparing for my class. I had a lot of time to prepare and I wasn’t on my feet the whole day. This is one reason why I felt like the October was a teacher’s boot camp. I taught from 10:30am to 4pm. I had an hour lunch break at noon and that was it. That was my schedule for 14 days during the term. It was good training. I guess I can say that I am a tougher teacher because of my experience (*.*) Teaching in a small city has its benefits. I can get around the city easily and there are lesser chances of getting lost. Hahaha! But aside from that, it also taught me to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. My idea of having fun after work is mainly eating out or watching a movie at home. I try ...

So, I’ve been teaching for 9 days now and I have 5 more classes before the October term ends. Our semesters are usually not this short. The normal length is about four months. This term is a lot shorter because it’s during the students’ break from school. They have a few weeks off before Term 2 starts, so we make use of this time to offer a condensed version of what they usually get during a regular term. I know it can be confusing. Just think of it as a crash course. We meet every day instead of once a week. Shorten the time but still get the same amount of lessons. Anyway, I have 9 students total. They are all different in their own way. Some are quiet, some are energetic, and others are just… uhmmm… there. They’re simply content on what they are doing. I could tell that they are listening, their just very reserved. Observing them in class makes me think about how I was as a student. Was I the reserved one or was I the annoying student who wouldn’t stop answering every question? I ...

It is a fact that teachers are not included in the “highest paying jobs” list. I recently read from an article online that the base salary of teachers in the Philippines is P18,549 (about $431.08) monthly. This is very discouraging for a lot of individuals in this field, including myself. The good news is that there’s an existing effort to change the situation. A bill was passed to increase teacher’s monthly salary to P33,859 (about $786.88). It’s still in the process of approval from the Senate and I really hope that this goes through. Anyway, even if this bill goes through or not, I have to be strategic to make my salary last until the end of the month. This means practicing a lot of discipline and sticking to a rigid budget. Working here in Thailand is a good practice. I am adjusting to the demands of the real world and I am learning different strategies to be frugal. A strategy that ALWAYS works is eating at OTOP . My associates and I are always on the lookout for cheap meal...

The October term has officially started. I have 4 one and a half hour classes every day. I start at 9am and end at 5:30pm, Mondays to Fridays. Talk about teaching full-time! I really appreciate that I have the weekends off. Just as I’m thinking about my schedule and all, I suddenly realized that I am LITERALLY back in school. Not as a student but as a teacher.  My aunt was right, I didn’t REALLY graduate because I am back to where I started… in a classroom. Hahaha! My alarm rang at 6:30am this morning. I snoozed it a couple of times before realizing that I needed to get ready soon. I finally woke up at 6:45am. I thought it would be easier waking up in the morning now that I’m older. Well, it's not. I think it actually gets harder. Hahaha! My blanket feels a lot more comfortable especially when I know I have to get up soon. Anyway, getting ready for the first day of school is as exciting as ever. You always end up asking the same question: What am I going to wear? before ...

After 30 minutes of trying to figure out how to start my own blog, here I am typing my first entry. It's 6:37pm, Sunday night. While most people are at home with their families, I am in my humble apartment pondering on the events that have occurred in the past few weeks. I am in a foreign land. Though it is not my first time to be in Ubon Ratchathani, being in a new place still leaves me feeling like an outcast. I live in an apartment complex consisting of 4 units. The units are very modest. Each unit has two sections: a bedroom and a bathroom. There's a little bit of open space at the back which is intended for laundry purposes. It's not much, but it's more than what I expected. Other than the Science teacher who lives next door (Kwang), I do not know anyone in  the neighborhood. I guess I could be sulking and crying over my current situation but instead of feeling pathetic about it, I actually feel liberated. I guess being on my own makes me feel that way. Anyway,...