19-1-2014(2557) Sunday Blues

Welcome to the end of the weekend!
For some of you, it actually is just another work day, or maybe it's the beginning of your weekend. For most of us, it's back to the 9 to 5 job Monday through Friday.
For me, it is a busy week that I can't wait to get a good start on.
Let's update on what has happened in the past week.

First, I observed the department of Emergency services, meeting ER nurses, doctors, and practical nurses. It was so much fun. There was much energy and, although at first everybody was shy, by the end of each day, I was surrounded by nurses asking me questions. I practiced speaking some of my Thai, and they practiced speaking their English, trying to absorb as much as they could then and there.

Then Friday came, and it was time to celebrate. We were celebrating for four people: one girl recently was promoted, one girl recently became engaged, one girl has her birthday today, and then me and having a job...so far. I will have to admit, that I was not accustomed to the "going out" scene, since I had been removed from it after graduation. Well, that seemed obvious after I happened to forget the how I arrived home. BUT, we met some nice young Swedish men who came to Thailand on holiday. My friends noticed them at dinner, and could not stop talking about them, and by the time we entered the adjoining club, the boys were already inside. Again, my friend oggled them and giggled, chatting about how badly they wanted them to join. So, I used my charm to bring them over and join us. Just a note, in Sweden, English is a second-language taught very strongly in the country, so for the most part, everybody is fluent. So the end of the story, I woke up at 7:30 in the morning, hoarse and hurting. It's an adventure that I plan to not repeat soon.

Back to work, now; I was recently asked to explain what I do, and my method. In the stage, I am currently observing what is known as the "Front Line." This group of people are key to the interaction with patients and customers, with duties ranging from simple greetings and giving directions to a ward, to setting appointments on the phone, to talking to international health insurance representatives, to evaluating vital signs, to giving medication to a patient, to informing the patient of the costs of the services and treatments they received.
Now, the point of observing these different departments is to better understand exactly what each department needs to learn based on their interaction with a patient. In addition to observing and understanding what kind of communication is necessary for the staff with a customer, the observation also allows me to understand the proficiency of each person, via simple conversation, and so on.
After observing each week, with notes taken, I create planning boards which help me visualize the duties, needs, lessons, and incorporated activities to use for each lesson. I'm kin of like a ten year old with these kind of planning projects, where I really need to have something big and in my face, that I can touch, and sift through. They include table, pictures, drawing, questions, phrases, and so on. In a way, these act as part of a work portfolio, for the planning process.
I have been using different resources for each lesson idea: vocabulary (to be incorporated every lesson), games, activities, testing material, images, teaching methods, grammar, reading and writing. The need for different sources is that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and there is more than one way to teach effectively. In fact, if the current activity I have planned isn't working, then that means we change the approach.

So, that's really it for right now. I also document every individual meeting, as well as every class, so that I have proof, and can use for future adventures. As I progress more and more into it, I will also have more and more details, and tactics, methods, hints, experiences, and what I've been learning.

Until next time,
K.

12.1.2014(2557) Learning as I Go

Hello, journal, and the rest of the audience who reads into what I write,
I have come to the immediate understanding that I can not stick to writing two posts a week, but I also understand that I most definitely need to try.
My last post was about having difficulty thinking, and it was unfortunately true. I think another part to my troubles in productivity involved my lack of enthusiasm for activating my mind and I will have to admit, without college, I sometimes feel completely lost. Graduating is like a breakup from a long relationship. Many people who are newly single after a period of two, maybe five years, of being one half of a couple tend to lose a sense of who they are now. Who they were was "So-and-so's boy/girlfriend|lover|partner|beau|Boo|babe|sweetheart|fiancee|...." Basically they were someone's someone. And now they're not.
I was the student of my school, for four (mostly) unforgettable years. I made triumphs, lost friends, made mistakes, went on adventures, laughed and cried, and bumbled messily through my classes. I envied others, and I learned to accept people for who they were....mostly. Now? Now I am a scared post-grad who feels clueless in what she's doing, stumbling through, making friends, going on adventures, laughing and crying, and making tri--wait! This sounds just like my time in college! Except... except I am in another country, surrounded by different people, and I am having to learn more responsibility. To be honest, this time is not all that different from when I went to university, I just have less people nearby me that are in the same situation. That is what brings me the most fear.
Anyways, now that I have had my slight mope-dump, here is some insight I would like to share: now that I am no longer someone's somebody, this opens opportunity for me to become who I am, and who I would like to be. Sure, I will make mistakes, and this won't be clean-cut, but life isn't meant to be that way. Also, it isn't meant to be easy, or else we wouldn't actually learn, or better yet, make progress.
Here's what I have learned so far from this past week:

• More people are keen to talk to me, and ask for classes
• Not only is there need for assistance in speaking and listening, but also in reading and writing.
• ^^I need to regress to when I learned reading and writing.
• January 20th marks my "Make-or-Break" day.
• If I fail at this, I am not a failure.
• The best friends I have may not always be available, but will be available when I most need them
• Who I know will get me further in this work than everything I do
• ^^^Everything I do can affect how who I know will work with me
• Exercise is my friend, but I need to learn how to schedule it
• Being afraid is normal, and having courage involves me do things I am afraid of doing, there is more reward in the outcome.
• The fear of failing is one of the biggest inhibitors to how I work. key words I need to learn: GET OVER IT
• aaaaaaand lastly: I am here not only to work, but to have a life experience that is meant to be enjoyable, therefore, I need to enjoy it. If I am not, then I need to change my approach.

For those who survived through my few epiphanies about struggling, and sludging about, you rock. In fact, you are part of my inspiration, as my "fan club." Those people are the best! Really, though, they are. These "fan club" people provide you with so much support even when you can not provide it for yourself. They also are really helpful when you are stuck with coming up with ideas. They do this by asking questions, some of which you may have not considered before, and then BOOM, now you can't stop doing what you do. So, thank you!
Pictures for you! Of my temple adventures, and New Year celebration at work. It's awesome.

First, a picture of the sunrise I saw arriving to the temple. Definitely worth waking up at five in the morning for.

People providing offerings to the monks before prayer.

 


A panoramic of the meditation room of the temple I stayed.....

There's a dress code, respect it.

There's even a women's temple for prayer, like for the female monks

In the mountains.....you get to see this.

Also, in Thailand, floating markets are a common tourist commodity. It's free for Thai people and residents who currently hold work permits. This one, was a little bit of a bust, only because I had seen the more interesting attractions before. Still, there were a few neat things!

There was a fun swinging bridge as well!

It was fun. And then the week began, a new department for observation. And celebrations. with pad thai, som tam (aka spicy papaya salad), and nam nueang (a finger food where you take a rice paper, and put ground pork, garlic, mango, pineapple, green banana, cucumber, chili, and a spicy sweet sauce, and wrap it up, and eat it)

As for more fearful things, I will need to something that has given me much stress to contemplate about, but needs to be done: to ask to start teaching a class with students soon: soon, as in in the next two weeks. I think the thing I fear most is failure. Though, with failure comes learning experience, and that I at least tried. And trying is more courageous than the act of not doing because of fear.

I will try to discuss more about my methods, and resource in the next few posts that I want to chug out, for those who are not only interested in what is going on, but want to know how to move forward. 

Until next time,

K.

31.12.2013-5.1.2014: The Stopper of Everything...Thinker's Block

Can you remember the last time you completed a project from start to finish, and not because your financial stability or grade point average depended on it?
I'm trying to think, so far, for my personal completions.
So far, it's a short list.
...I'm not saying that I haven't done much, I'm just saying that I cannot actually remember the last time I completed something for fun or a hobby, and for some reason, that creates a feeling of under-accomplishment for me.
I can't count the number of ideas of projects to begin, and those I have already begun, but many of those seems to have gotten lost on the journey towards completion. Books, writing, cooking (well, the cooking everyday kind of thing), and frankly, it's getting quite frustrating. Even for writing this post, I started it at the end of the year, and now am finally finishing and adding to the pile of the going ons. I think it deserves to say how long it took, to further justify that I am currently in a bit of a sludge.
The only problem with this... overall progress block, is the starting point.
So, here I go, my starting point:

New Year's Resolutions...

• Try to be a nicer person

....But not overly nice that guys get the wrong impression

• Be more courageous

Take more risks, and accept that failure is a possibility, if not probability

• Don't dump as much on others

Even my friends. They need that positive influence, right? They can't always be the therapist

• Take less crap from people

I am a human being, right? Not a sidewalk, therefore I should not be walked on.

• Put more effort in keeping in touch with friends

I know it's a longer distance, but they want to know that I care, yeah?
.....Side-note, do I call the people out who aren't putting in the same effort?

• Exercise more, eat better
• Commit to a solid schedule

Learn the importance of and improve time management

• Take on more responsibilities
• Watch less TV and read more books

There are a few books I can't wait to read, probably better than the TV series or movies anyways.
One list made!
Maybe I should commit to writing more lists! Oh, and listen to more music...
So, let's go back to the title: Thinker's Block. I say this because, even though someone has writer's block, it doesn't mean that they are unproductive in everything, just in committing to focusing on writing on maybe one topic to give to their peers. Right now, I have been unproductive in more than one area, and the problem, I think, is that my thoughts aren't fully forming. Maybe it is due to my valley of exercise activity from last week. With the lack in physical activity, maybe my mental activity also felt that it needed to slow down. The way to describe how my thoughts were working is to describe an image. Think of a person in a padded room. They can not get out because the door is locked. They don't get hurt when they fall, or run into a wall because it is cushioned, yet they are unable to move the wall itself. My thoughts are this entrapped person, and the running into the walls expresses how I feel my thoughts have been working. Another possible reason for my sludginess in thinking is that I may or may not have gotten too comfortable in my box. Comfort is not a good thing for moving forward for me, because it doesn't motivate me to move ahead, and push. I need to identify what this box is, and how to get out of it. Past events may have resulted in my getting into this box in the first place, unfortunately, so I will, again, need to address how to handle the events, and move forward.
I think cutting down on TV activities, returning to a healthy exercise regimen and reading more books (with writing included) should help me get my groove back. So long, 2013, hello 2014 and the adventures and struggles you will introduce me to. Another year-long affair in the making, whether is it a love, hate or love-hate type, we will see.

Next topics for pondering: recent adventures with pictures. And hey, the oven works! It. Is. ON.

Until next time,
K.