job update, and Thai frustrations!

I spoke with my Korean online employers yesterday to run an internet strength test. Basically I couldn't hear them, it was so choppy. It would be impossible to teach more than one student at a time. When they tested the internet strength with the new line we installed Friday (the second new installed line mind you), they said the strength would have to be at least 10 times what it is now to even run the teaching program properly.
To say the least we were disappointed. Our boss says in January he will try to get a new line installed...but I have a feeling we are never going to be able to teach online. I just think Thailand cannot even handle the internet speed required...MAYBE in Bangkok, and that's a BIG maybe...but I refuse to move to Bangkok if they even suggest we do that. OH well, I am not complaining about staying here and getting payed to do nothing, while intermittently tutoring. I still get payed the same amount regardless of what happens. Plus, if they can't even get a new line until January, that means it would be a lot easier for me to spend time with Tom while he is here because they don't notice if I just take off for a couple of days (mostly because I do nothing important anyway). I wouldn't even have to get any teaching covered. Oh well.

A lot of you have asked me what I do in a typical weekday here in Ban Phe. Since I am not teaching online yet (or ever), my days go mostly like this:
I wake up around 8:15 and take an ICY cold shower. I get dressed, head downstairs, and teach Stinna or Pierre from about 9 to 11. I usually skype my family/friends around 11. Around 12 the boys and I go grab lunch across the street at mamma's, then I usually feed my leftovers to her dog (who has a littler of 10 puppies). From about 1-4 I do lesson plans for Stinna, or edit things for TEFL, or take Pierre on adventures, or basically sit at my desk and pretend I am working.
In the evenings I usually head into town. On Mondays and Thursdays there's a night market in the street, so it's fun to walk around. I also read a TON. There is a book exchange that has a pretty good selection of books in English, so I have been trading mine in, and getting new ones quite frequently. I think I have read about every good one, so I am hoping someone trades in some new stuff soon! Occasionally in the evenings, I go to the Thai aerobics class, which is held on the front lawn of the police station. It takes about 1/2 hour to walk each way, and the class is 1 hour...so that eats a good 2 hours of my evening. I hang around a little before and after to talk with some of the old Thai ladies. They are teaching me Thai and are so nice and patient with me (probably because some of them are 60-70 years old haha). When I get home, I either make dinner, or go grab something with the boys. We usually watch a movie together at night, or read, or go to sleep. Yeah...pretty boring stuff! The weekends are much more action packed (I promise!).

There's an expression here (T.I.T) "This is Thailand", and it is meant to cover all manner of grievances! However, there are some things here that irk me beyond belief. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE it here...but sometimes the cultural differences are just a bit too much. So here it is, my list of Thai things that anger me:

1. TRASH: The Thais burn their garbage...every Tuesday...right in the can. It stinks to high heaven, especially when they hose it down after the burning. It probably also stinks because they eat a lot of fish. The smoke blows all over town and you can't escape it. Tuesdays SUCK for this reason.
2. DOGS: There are SO MANY stray dogs. As a dog lover, I am appalled at my own hatred for all the dogs. the street we live on is especially rampant. These dogs all have fleas, scabies, icky gashes, broken legs...you name it! Everywhere you go, a dog is following you, or barking at you, or chasing you, or sitting next to you trying to eat your food while also giving you a flea infestation.
3. TOILET PAPER: Whoa re we kidding? There is none! There is absolutely no T.P. in public restrooms. I have no clue what they do here. I have to carry a roll around in my purse!! While we are on the subject of toilets...I think I have already mentioned the "squatty potty"
4. NO DRYERS: That's right...you can wash your clothes, but you can't dry them! I don't think they have even heard of a dryer. Everyone's clothes are crispy and dirt covered from hanging up outside. Oh and don't do your laundry on a Tuesday...
5. THAI TIME: Now here is a phenomenon I will never understand. People here are on their own timing. If you are meeting someone at 9, they will show up at 9:30, or 10, or 3. It is just expected that they will be late. Nothing every happens in a reasonable timing.
6. SLOW WALKERS: Thai people are the slowest walking people I have ever seen. You can't call it walking, it is more of a slow stroll (this also probably explains "Thai time". They will all walk directly in front of you. If you have to get somewhere, forget it...you are not getting around them in the next 15 minutes. Buses and boats leave about 15-20 minutes after they are scheduled to, and arrive nowhere near the stated time.
7. COLD SHOWERS: There's no hot water here...don't even ask for it. Lukewarm is a privilege.
8. TRANSPORTATION: Everyone hitchhikes...or rides in the back of a pickup truck on top of lettuce, or rides a motorcycle with no less than 4 people on it at a time (no helmets).
9. PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS: There are no pedestrian only areas! Motorcycles are everywhere. There is nowhere they cannot drive. People ride them up on the sidewalk, on the grass, through the market, in the grocery store. Pedestrians are safe only up a flight of stairs (and even then I am not so sure). Imagine buying food in the night market, in between stalls, when all of a sudden you have to move because someone decided to shop on their motorbike.
10. GECKOS: These little lizards are just a way of life. If you go to sleep without one in your room, it's not normal. I share a room with about 3-4 of them. They chirp kind of like a mix between a monkey and a dolphin (dad it is actually the chirp sound you make to a T!!) They are all over the walls, on the ceiling, on the ground. They are just everywhere, and you have to get used to it. I don't think I have been in a room here without a gecko in it...in fact, I am staring at one right now.
11. TOILETRIES: Forget buying anything here...all toiletries have whitening agent in them. Sunscreen, facewash, lotion, makeup, even deodorant. They all contain bleach to whiten your skin.
12. LADYBOYS: I consider myself an open person, but give me a break. There are more ladyboys than regular boys. More often than not you see a "man" walking down the street in a dress with a beard! Sometimes they are more ambiguous, but holy hell they are everywhere!
13. DRINKS IN BAGS: There are no "to go" cups. No, they plop your coke in a plastic baggie and hand you a straw. Good luck not spilling that one!

all right...those are my grievances. It feels good to get them off my chest. It is humorous to tell you about them, because they are almost second nature to me now. It's going to be quite a culture shock coming home! Anyway, this is getting quite long so I will wrap it up! We are heading to Pattaya for the weekend. Pattaya is the most western part of Thailand, mostly because it is where all the creepy white men come to find Thai brides. Why are we going, you ask? Scott's parents gave us all a nice dinner for Christmas, and we decided to make the hour long journey to get REAL western food! We chose to make a weekend of it because Pattaya also has a movie theater which plays one English movie a day! You heard me...dinner AND a movie!! Should be interesting! Miss you all!