Chiang Mai - week 1

Saturday - Khao San ridiculousness. Couldn't find the insect guy.
Sunday - Said goodbye to my parking lot guesthouse for the last time! Gregg went back to LA, I went to Chiang Mai. Went to the Sunday Market right outside my hotel. Stumbled upon Chiang Mai's breakdancing/BMX club. My new mission is to figure out how to be friends with them.
Monday - Went around looking for places to live. Tried to figure out what kind of job I want. Lots of different options. Two main ones right now - AUA (Language School) and an internship with the Visiting Schools program of the most prestigious International School in Chiang Mai. Wrote messages to people I knew from MySpace that are in Thailand.
Tuesday - Called AUA guy, arranged an interview for tomorrow at 10. Got a reply from a girl from America, who had been living in Australia (fan of The Cat Empire) who had messaged me when she was thinking about living in Chiang Mai. She's now living in Chiang Mai and is currently working at AUA. Had lunch with her. I learned more about the job.
1) Mostly rich high school kids who are in class for 12 hours a day. School, then Physics or Chinese or something, and then English. Education is really important in terms of spending time and money, but not important for the value of learning. They're happy to come to class and play on their cell phones and then openly cheat on an exam.
2) You teach three classes a day, Tues - Fri from 5 - 8:25 and then Saturday classes too. There is a week off between terms but there are usually meetings Thursday and Fridays and then the Saturday classes too, so you can't go too far.
3) There's a group of not that cool older guys with Thai girlfriends/wives who have been there a while and then usually some younger people who usually don't stay long. (She's been there since April and next term is going to be her last.)
4) AUA teachers can take the AUA Thai course for 500 baht, usually the price is 33,000 baht.
5) The director, who I'm meeting tomorrow, is a really nice, helpful guy, from NY, in his 50s. He reminders her of her dad. I thought that was nice. He also said that the contract is a contract but they don't sue if you leave, they understand other things come up, and you don't have to feel bad about it.

So that was helpful, but I'm not sure if what I learned made me want to teach there more or less than before. It's not like any other job would be better. There are other language centers but they're either terribly run or have even richer, snobbier kids. And there are so many teachers here that the anyone who applies for the actual school jobs have all done their time at one of the Language Centers first. And International Schools won't hire you unless you have the credentials you'd need in whatever their home country is.

I also checked out more info about the other job with the International School. It's 25 kms. away. The girl, Adrienne, said that from what she know about the school, it's a really good school and the teachers who work there eat, sleep and breathe the place. So it's kind of like it's own world. And the job wasn't excactly what I initially thought it was. The Visiting Schools program is like a tour guide for school groups. And they go to elephant parks and hill tribes and I think that stuff might make me feel too weird. They have some leadership and environmental stuff too but it's not like the job I got excited about in April, which was purely experiential environmental education on a boat on the river. Much cooler than bringing them to an elephant show and asking what they thought of it.

Enough about jobs.

I decided on a place to stay for a month today. I've been staying at my standard $17 a night hotel for the past two nights but tomorrow, after my interview, I'll be moving here. I was thinking about staying near the University, in an effort to pose as a uni kid, but Adrienne said she highly recommended taking the AUA Thai course and with that, plus lesson planning, plus classes, she was there from 10-8:30pm and it was nice living close to home in the beginning. I only have to pay month to month so I can always change my mind later.

Last thing - this is an email to Juria (from the PEPY trip) that I thought I'd share:

"It's so strange. I think I love it, but this never ending sweatfest is getting annoying. I've personally gotten over being upset by it, but I feel like the sight of sweat pouring down my face is offensive to the people I have to interact with. And it's never when I'm walking, it's only when I stop. I just got back from putting a deposit on an apartment for a month and the woman told me I looked like I had just come from jogging. No, just a slow walk, but I'm covered in sweat from it. And it's like 7pm. The sun's not even out anymore.

Oh well. Besides that, everything is awesome. I have an interview tomorrow with a well respected language school and just put a deposit on an apartment and now I just have to work on the making friends part. (So far I've been unintentionally really successful at making friends with tuk tuk drivers and random Thai men in their 30s and 40s sitting at cafe sidewalks drinking Sang Som and soda, but the younger ones are a bit more difficult.) So yeah - friends, and maybe the finding a job part if the interview tomorrow doesn't go well."

Last strange event. As I was walking over the internet cafe I was called over by this group of two Thai girls and a boy. People say "Hello hello" all the time and sometimes if I feel like it I'll talk, and usually it's just because they're friendly, maybe drunk, or just want to practice English. No big deal. I get to practice Thai, they get to practice English. It works out. This afternoon I spent 1/2 hour with my laundry lady today as she ironed my clothes. I tried to tell her she didn't have to but she insisted. Fine. Anyway, I go over to the group of kids (seeing as I'm trying to make friends with people my age) and they start talking to me but the girl wasn't smiling at all, very un-Thai. Especially to call someone over and then not smile. The boy is smiling though. Then I realize the other girl is sitting, tucked under her shirt, sniffing glue. Something was weird. So after like 2 minutes of talking with them she says, "You like him." I said, "huh?" "You like him. I know. You buy him tonight." Oh my god. "Um, no thanks. Bye." And she says, "He hungry. He have no money. You buy him tonight. You like him." I left and started played Tetris on my phone as I walked by other groups of kids, probably my age, possibly selling themselves.

Woah woah woah woah. So that was a first. Hopefully a last. I guess I knew there's a market for Western guys buying Thai girls, and Western men buying Thai guys, but Western women buying Thai guys? I think I'm just creeped out because these kids are relying so heavily on prostitution that they ask they've resorted to asking me.

Anyway, besides scary girl pimp, her glue sniffing friend and the gigalo, everything's been really cool. I had a conversation about Steve Irwin with an older Thai guy drinking whisky and soda on a cafe sidewalk. He just kept shaking his head, sipping his whisky, saying "Tam mai(Why)????? Mai kow jai(I don't understand)!!!!" He was really upset by it. Especially because they were the same age. He explained that 44 is way too young to die and you're not supposed to die until you're 80, or 90, or 100. Life's tough, man. He eventually got over it and we talked about food. I also made friends with a girl who works there. Her name's Ning, she's 23. She can't say Beth (the -th sound is hopeless here), so she asked me if I like Thai food. I said yes, she asked what Thai food I like, I said chicken with cashews, and so she told me my new Thai name would be med mamuang - the Thai word for cashew.

Now to sleep so I'm ready for my interview and big move tomorrow.

Oh yeah - any suggestions as far as employment suggestions, let me know.