*I'm writing this now with the hope that YOU might ask some questions to help stimulate the progression of this here blog and focus the attention of its author. Please comment below with any questions you may have about whatever it is you think I'm busy doing.
Why did you pick Thailand?
Hm... good question. I think I picked Thailand because it was incredibly far away, seemed to be very different but not dangerously so, I thought it would provide the right kind of infrastructure and resources, and I found that the TEFL program in Chiang Mai was one of the best in Asia.
What do you like about it?
.... and the list gets longer each day. Let's talk demographics, shall we-- Thais are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met: kind, generous, loving, funny, and everything else implied by their smiles. What's most important, they lack all those nasty things we Westerners seem to have perfected, if not invented-- namely, anger, envy, and apathy. These are some of the only people I've ever seen practice the morality of their faith fully, without contempt for difference, and without imposition. They do so with such grace and selflessness; their kindness stems not from any reference to a good self or a kind person, but rests only in the action and its obligation to the world. Mr. Oodom explained something like this to me last night over a tasty plate of my usual kow pad gai kaidow maisook at the Mad Garden (chicken fried rice with a soft sunny-side egg on top). He said (and I'm definitely paraphrasing to amend his broken english) "Men need to be better than no one. We should only be exactly what we are. If we come from high wealth, others will envy. If we come from poverty, others will pity. If you remove the feeling of entitlement from yourself, you can live free of scorn and sorrow and live among others".
What are your plans now that you've graduated?
I wonder how many times in my life I will be asked this question. No idea after high school; no idea after college; no idea now that I've got a TEFL certificate. I'll answer the short-term professional component of the question first: I've been offered two jobs since graduation. I've taken one and declined the other. The first is at the TEFL program from which I've just graduated. I'll be an observer/instructor for the next month and perhaps after that as well. Interesting turn around there... Also, I interviewed yesterday for a teaching position in Chiang Mai University's English Language Dept. and was offered the job by phone today. I had to decline because of my obligations to the other job... shame.. it would have been interesting to have been a part-time professor before my 23rd birthday. Past that, I'll be picking up some other freelance teaching jobs at one of the many language schools here in Chiang Mai. I'm using June as a buffer period to sort myself out. I love Chiang Mai, but the world is so freaking big. Ryoji and the rest of the Tokyo homies have invited me to do some soul searching in Japan. The ESL bizz is a boomin' over there and great jobs with lots of tasty perks are waiting to be snatched up. Maybe I'll git me one. Anyway, my grammar is going to hell so I'll stop here for now.
Shocking, no. Refreshing, yes.
What are you questions? Serious, silly, sinister?
*Please take a second and email your questions/comments to shdoughty@gmail.com.
Click 'comments' above to post something.
ReplyDeleteyo duder. i have a couple of questions.
ReplyDelete1) have you been to the beach yet? if not when do you plan on going? please take pictures of the waves. if you didn't notice that last sentence was an imperative statement and thus not a question but i hope you will still do it :)
2) have you decided on a job yet. talked to matt yesterday and he said the U had to let you go but i knew you had a couple other offers. SOOOO, WHAT'S THE DEALIO SANG?
3) what's it like being awesome??????????