Meeow

So since I've been to U-Thong, several teachers have come up to myself and have asked me to come "talk" to them in English during my free time. What does that even mean? Am I "talking" to them in English like I would teach my students…I seriously hope not. Am I just speaking with them more one on one, and possibly learning some Thai on the side? Maybe...

After our dinner yesterday, Jenny and I were invited to another dinner. Pee Meow (such a fun name) and Peeta/Tita took us to eat at this fun restaurant I've never seen before, but lately we've been visiting all these new restaurants…too bad we're about to leave.

Well, I've been "talking" to Pee Meow and teaching her some English words every time she stops me in the hallway after I sign in or as I leave the school. How to say numbers? To read time? Greetings, weather, you know the basics… However, just recently, we had our first conversation. Yah!  We talked about home, traveling, and teaching in Thalingish.  Seriously…we talked, gestured, and sometimes even broke out the dictionary. But what's interesting - without me asking, Pee Meow told me she needs to study more English because the director wants her to be able to teach Physics in English - eeeeekkk. Teaching Physics in one's own native language is hard enough, add a foreign language to that…damn. The reason why the new director wants her to teach in English is because our school is considered World-Class (World Class is a definition the Thai education system gives to schools that are able to teach specific school subjects in English). However, I haven't seen our school teach any other subject in English than English….slightly suspicious.

I'm not sure how much our talks help her to be able to teach Physics in the future since our conversations definitely do not steer that direction.  I hope in some way she at least feels more comfortable speaking English because she isn't bad, she just needs to speak more….and oh how I can hear my previous language teachers say "HA!" It really is true….sigh.

Anyway, dinner with Pee Meow, Peeta, and Jenny was fun. The food was put into this contraption that was a cross between a hotpot and a bbq grill. Imagine…hotpot on the side and bbq right on top…I was definitely "Im lao" (very full- same as "im mak"). We spent a good portion of dinner explaining what was what (beef, pork, squid, liver [yuck], fish cake, fried fish, Spy), variations of cooked/ready/raw, full/stuffed, and other conversational food basics, and trying to speak Thai-nglish to one another.

So, so far two great meals with great new friends. Even if time runs out, I'm doing it with a full belly.