21.2.2014(2557): Late, again, I see...

Hi all,
So, let's get down to it. In the American custom, we have a saying: "To be early is to be on time. To be on time is late and to be late is unacceptable." Basically, when we say this, we make implications that being late require punishment, or that the tardy person is inefficient in timekeeping.
Now, as people, we are erroneous. Sometimes, we are late. For many people, this is normal, and is considered okay, as long as there is a good excuse.
I myself, have had some of these moments. Some of my reasons were due to bad traffic, illness, a random obstacle that was unforeseen, lack of communication between scheduler and schedulee... and some of them were due to basic human error: I fell asleep for too long, I just took too long in getting ready, I contemplated whether I really wanted to go somewhere or not, and other silly dinks of human behavior.
Then there are those people who are habitually late, they have no concept of time or no respect for it and the people it involves, or maybe they just don't care enough to try. These people typically don't succeed in being financially well-off because they normally don't give enough effort to make "having a lot of money" possible for themselves.

Now, when it comes down to deadlines, though, there is no leniency, hence the name: deadline. After that set date, there is no excuse that can push for more time, especially for projects given well in advance. We also are familiar with deadlines for school applications, job projects, school projects, applications for projects and papers, and thesis papers for graduate school, and, and, and....

In the Thai culture, there is a sense of relaxation, if you are late, you will be late, but you also will still get your work done, and leave when you finish. I think this can be a great concept in going places, because there isn't as much stress that is involved, it isn't the "life-or-death" kind of situation. But There is one downside, I noticed. This specifically applies for my work. As part of my duties, I need to evaluate the level of English proficiency of the students I am working with so that I can place them into the appropriate class, where they will not be learning at too advanced a level. If they do not test, it makes it difficult for me to appropriately level them and therefore teach them. Now, I tested about 100 people in the span of five days, from February 5th to February 11th.  That number may not seem like a lot, but when the time of the evaluation ranges from five minutes to 30 per person, that's a lot of time dedicated to listening. Not to mention that I made audio recordings of each tester. I started at 70 hours of free time for audio recordings, and after I finished my sessions, I had 48 hours. As part of the evaluation, I also had to listen to these recording again in order to listen to grammar and pronunciation of each tester. There wasn't a major issue until this week, after I had already placed students into levels after a grueling 20 hours of audio-listening, and my schedule for classes had been built after three days of discussion and grouping. This week, people wanted to test to get into a class. The problem is that I have 100 students, and I only have 9 classes, about 10-12 people per class. As maximum capacity, I can only fit 2 people into my room. I just don't have room for more people to test.  

In addition to that, I had been informed that 5 people had not been leveled. Now, I was worried, because that means that I made an error of 5%. In reality, though, I checked the names of the people. One person on this list of 5 names had tested, and was already placed in a level, and her name was in the list. Now I'm down to four. One name, I was very familiar with because I am friends with the woman and I know her face; she did not test at all. I couldn't level her, but because we regularly talked, I put her in a level I felt would be most appropriate. Two down, now three more. One name, I saw, looked very familiar, so I checked my records, and I saw her name, but she wasn't recorded... so I went through all my evaluations and I found her test, which had two of the same name from the same department. I made an error! But I knew her level, and fixed that mistake. Three down, two to go. Now, the last two names here, were in a department in which there were only three people who tested. I knew this because my original roster didn't have their names, and anybody whose department wasn't in the original roster had to fill in their information. Therefore, only three people from this department came in. The two other names, if they came in, would have had to write in their information, so they did not test. Because I was not familiar with their department, I also was not familiar with their names, and therefore couldn't place them in any level. I informed my lovely (no sarcasm intended) HR Head, and we just placed them in the lower-leveled class. All five people taken care of. The funny thing is that three of these people didn't test, so how can the expect to be leveled if they don't try? One person had difficulty finding her name, which happens when there are a lot of names. And then one person was my error. So, out of 100 people, I had a 1% error due to a slight mix-up. Honestly, I don't think that is a problem, considering how easy of a fix it was. (Heads up, keep track of EVERYTHING you do! Trust me)

Now, after that lovely bulk of information, let's talk about one of the reasons I mentioned for being late: lack of communication, of everything. Lack of communication can ruin many relationships: familial, romantic, and business (academic, too!) The reason: because nobody knows what is going on. That is something I really have a problem with, not knowing, and it almost ruined a potential business opportunity for me. The example: there was a potential client, and I gave her my terms of the agreement, via my aunt. Now, after my aunt gave in the terms, she told me that she would let me know what the client said. And the terms weren't anythings serious, basically they said my expected schedule, how much I charge, cancellation for either side, and so forth. Now, this was two weeks before the intended start date that the terms were given to the client. After one week, I didn't hear anything, so I waited. By Friday evening of the second week, I still didn't hear anything, and I was worried, because in the American culture, we have an inclination for confirmations of agreement or appointments, at least a couple days before. This appointment was supposed to be for Saturday morning, but I had no knowledge of whether the client did or didn't want to continue the business agreement. I don't like the idea of preparing a course for a client who does not wish to continue in the agreement, because my time dedicated is then wasted. Also, I should mention that my aunt left with my uncle and cousin on Thursday of the second week for a three day vacation. It is no problem for me, but because I am not the normal recipient of company, I don't want to answer the door, for my own safety. Here's the kicker, at 9:30, the doorbell is buzzing. Why? I'm not sure, I am not expecting company. And the best part of it, this was the client. I called my aunt, wondering what was going on, and she said "This is your appointment! Oh. MY.GOD..... You should've known that it was on because she didn't say no."

Does anybody think that last part sounded a tad bit weird? Think about it... When is something okay because someone neglected to say no? Think...... thiiiiiiink..... Okay, you probably already have the idea by now.

Lesson I learned from last week? Always confirm at least a day ahead. The good news is that I do have the client and a second job, and I will always need to confirm with them the day ahead, if not earlier.

Until next time,
K.
P.S.- there will be some crazy action happening soon! Like moving, wahoo!

8.2.2557(2014): The Skinny

Hello my internet readers!
So, I have been thinking about a topic that never stops receiving attention: body image. Well, not only is it body image that receive ample discourse, but also body size, especially that of celebrities.
The recent uproar about Ke$ha checking into rehab for an eating disorder is what sparked my desire to delve into the topic.
Yes, I noticed that the singer seemed to have thinned down in the recent Pitbull music video "Timber," but the wasn't really any subjective thoughts I had about it, like "Oh, she looks so much better" or "what happened?!"
And then there is Jennifer Lawrence and her commentary on how Hollywood and the media supposedly portrays her, where she says that in the world of the celebrities, she is considered "obese" and yadda ya. I am not going to deny that the media does this, but I haven't actually seen any magazines comment on Jennifer Lawrence's waistline. I'm sure that many people agree that she is by no means overweight.
Now, I'm not trying to say trash on either celebrity, because this isn't the purpose of this post. In fact, I would prefer to focus on the media and how they determine what is "too fat" and what is "too skinny." Think about it; how often do you see commentary about some celebrity's size in the magazines or other media forms? Really. I'm sure that a majority of the population would agree that what the media describes as beautiful is only a distortion of reality. It is frustrating, really, because of how much focus is towards the size of a person, and how that is related to their beauty. Everybody is made differently, is that not correct? Some people are made to be more curvy, and some are made to be stick thin. Look at their bone structure.
I've received compliments on my size, about how skinny I am. To be honest, sometimes it is flattering, because of how I have been influenced by the standards of media. Other times, I feel insulted. Even when I inform a person of what my pants size is, I receive a response of disbelief. The reality is that I need to wear at least a 6 or 8 (US) in pants. In Asia, I'm a size XL or XXL. Sure, that can be a blow to my confidence, but there are standards for different cultures; women in Asia are typically petite, so their concept of size is also different. But, back to my size. I explain why I need to wear this size, which is because my hips are a little bit more wide-set than other people. This actually is true. When I stand, my hip bones at the widest part, not necessarily "padded with extra cushioning" and my butt, well... That actually is a bit bigger, too. The reality is that my genetics coded for me to have curves in my lower half. I will have to say, though, that I received one of the biggest insults from a man who had no idea what he was talking about.
I exercise, and I love to exercise; running, weight lifting, playing sports, yoga, and so on; you name it and I am typically a fan of being an active participant. I don't do it for any other reasons than enjoyment, stress relief, and health. Now that you have been given the abridged explanation, let's go into this insult business. As I have mentioned before, sometimes I receive "Wow! You are skinny!" as a compliment, and other times, I am quite offended. This is a moment in which I was disgusted. A man decided that it was his duty to inform me that my exercise was too extreme, that running one and a half miles (about 2.4 kilometers) and then performing dynamic exercises, some involving "explosive" movements (i.e. power exercises like squat jumps or power squats) following the run was "too much" and that I don't need to do these exercises because I am thin enough. This concept the poor fellow had, that all women exercise to remain skinny and his apparent need to express it through suggestions to limit my exercise habits made me lose respect for him. The type of exercises I perform are not to be thin, but to maintain muscle tone and build strength and power. As a self-proclaimed athlete, he should know better and should have been able to recognize the purposes of the exercises I was performing. In addition, he should have understood that you should never publicly underestimate someone's athletic ability based on their size.
So, back to the media, where did they come up with the standards of how skinny a certain person should be or how curvy? Have the people of media considered how strong their influence is over not only the "basic civilian" but also the people they comment upon?
Another thought I have is how ads make their contributions. When an ad is on Facebook, it often isn't focusing on the healthiness of a person's body, but rather: "Get skinny fast!" or "Lose pounds!" Both of these ideas talk solely about weight loss. Weight loss isn't necessarily healthy. For the obese person, yes, it is, because the primary contribution to that person's weight is actually body fat. But when we are talking about a person who exercises regularly, their weight isn't due to fat but, more often, to muscle. Remember the saying "muscle weighs more than fat"? It's true, muscle is more dense than fat is. Here's a look at a microscopic view:

                                                                Muscle Tissue                                                         Adipose Tissue

Just look at both of these pictures: see how dense the muscle tissue is? And look at that of the adipose tissue, You can see how much space one of those cells is taking. 

And at a larger scale, 5 pounds of fat versus 5 pounds of muscle:

       

This isn't an exaggeration, because both replicas are meant to be to scale. 

So let's go back to size, weight, and the over-attention given to it by the media. Not only is there that, but also, there is this backlash from other people about size, with statements like "big is beautiful!" and so on. Again, my commentary is that everybody has their own size. I don't side with either team, because then that means I'm against the other. Skinny is not beautiful, and neither is big. BEAUTIFUL is beautiful, it should never be stereotyped by size, or any other physical attribute like hair or skin color.

I think I thoroughly distracted myself. Honestly, I do try to limit the amount of public media that I happen upon, but in this day and age we all know that is impossible. Our generation (mostly) is completely connected to others via that (what we think is) simple internet. Smart phones, tablets, chromebooks, etc are everywhere, and so is our accessibility to the world wide web. 

So, I would once again like to reflect on how our access to the media affects our perception of what is beautiful, and what is considered a "healthy" size. Because frankly, that image keeps changing, and I don't mean that in a positive manner.

Check these out:

Ke$ha

Thin celebrities

big celebrities

Celebrity Weight loss

Until next time, (and my apologies for the incoherency)

K.

2.2.2014-The second month. Hey! What's that?

Already, it is February? When did that happen? It was just December when I was getting initiated in all this madness, and now it's February?!

Oh, well. I think the real evidence of the time that has passed is how much I miss what people would say is "back home." It may sound upsetting, but I really do not miss it all that much. In fact, the only places that I miss are those that I would travel to on holiday. Maybe some people would claim that I am not being sentimental enough, but in reality, it is quite the opposite. My sentimentality is well-intact. The focus of it, though, is not in the past but rather in the present and the future. Do not get me wrong, I love my family and friends, and I miss them all very much, but I also think that they will always support me in the decisions (especially the big ones) that I make. With love, you want to hold on to the things and people you love most, but in the end, true love has the understanding that some things need to be let go in order to blossom and grow.
Now, I'm branching out, and it's beyond frightening for me, but I've realized that if I puff out my chest a little, and take a step closer, the reality isn't as bad as I expected it to be.
Now, here I am, waiting in my current classroom, looking at the list of 51 names (and probably counting) that I will be interviewing today.


.....and hour later
Just kidding! I actually have 66 names, and have already added two more to my list of interviewees. This is fun. The most difficult part is to get the people I have never met to start talking. The ones I have met, they talk... a lot more than when I first met them. I love it.
As for testing levels, I think the best way to place people is into three levels (for now):  Beginner, Intermediate 1, and Intermediate 2. I do not think that, at this time, many people can be in the advanced class, but there are some students who are less advanced, and some that are more advanced but still in the intermediate levels.

Back to my thought process of living abroad. I love it, and I keep loving it more and more as I stay longer. I am not quite sure I want to come back to America in a year, or even two. Some people already know this, others don't. Well, now you do. And by coming back, I do also mean for visiting. If I have a holiday, I will not come to America, I will go somewhere else, maybe with friends, but for exploration purposes, to add more exotic stamps to my passport. I would apologize, but if I'm not sincere about it, then there is no purpose to the apology.

My friend, she is also living abroad as an Au pair in a town near Paris. She also has a blog, which you can read here.
She wrote a passage which discusses her experience of living as an Au pair, and what preparation measures she took to arrive, and what she wants people to know that they need to do BEFORE they decide to come to work.

Now, my work is a tad bit different, but there are a lot of concepts I agree with that are in this article. I decided I wanted to travel abroad to teach English as a second language, but in the hospital environment, not only for children or adults. The reasons I could make of why I wanted to do this are plenty: I have an interest in working in the hospital, I wanted to travel abroad now because I was unable to during my time at the university, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to mature, I wanted to be somewhere else, but most importantly, I wanted to make something of myself. This job entitled me to creativity and talking with people, all while I could learn and make friends, but have an amazing experience in my life that I would be able to reminisce in during my decrepit years (I hope that will never happen, and that I will never be conserved to a lying in a bed all day, I just don't believe in it.)
As for the lessons I have learned (which I obviously should've learned when I was being told way back when, but of course did not listen to), here are Just a few:

Do. Your. Research. : I cannot stress this enough. Really, do your research. What is it that you need to do in order to stay or work abroad? If you are working, you will need a work permit so that you are legally working in the country. It would really suck for you if you happened to have been caught working illegally. A lot of hassle for a little money... Also, what are the visa requirements? If you want to work in Thailand, you need to find a company who will hire you, and be able to provide documentation, an intent to hire you, their tax information, location information, and so forth. For them to hire you, they also need to have your documentation, such as diplomas or certificates. For teaching, you may need a teaching certificate, especially in the application process for a visa or work permit. If you are teaching at a school, you might be required to provide a criminal background check. Simple things that you need to be able to learn about before you leave. It saves you the hassle of being caught with your pants down.
While you may have the opportunity to choose where you want to live, your research needs to involve you looking at the locations you can teach. Different schools or job opportunities look for different things: how much experience do you have? Where will you teach? In a school, a learning facility, in a factory? What will the job offer you? Will they pay for your visa and work permit? Is there on-site training? Will they help you find a place to live or offer you a place to live that is nearby? Will they give you a stipend? What about travel assistance? These are things you have to consider.

Budgeting:

I must say that I have been very lucky in this. I don't have much of a social life outside of work, so I am not blowing my earnings away on going out and travel events. As I say this, though, I am growing my social circles, and am receiving invites to go out. In Thailand, many people are very friendly and will pay for a foreigner, especially if they invited the foreigner to eat with them. Normally, it is fairly inexpensive to eat food, so it isn't a big deal. The longer you stay, the more you are expected to pay for your own food. And when you go out... ah, well, you are expected to pitch into the pot when there is alcohol involved, you either pay for your own bottles, or you split the cost of the bulk. If you are going out every weekend, (much less, every night), don't expect to have a thick wallet. Alcohol is pretty much the same price everywhere (more expensive when you go out). Also, excursions cost money, too. If you want to travel, plan ahead, plan how much money you should be spending, and if you are on a budget, don't go for that five star hotel, or even the Marriott. The cost of familiarity far exceeds its value; find a place that is relatively inexpensive, and it shouldn't be extremely spacious with many rooms. Think about it, why travel to another place if you are only going to stay in the hotel? If you are there to explore the place, the hotel room is really only serving as a bed, and maybe breakfast.
Also, I talk about budgeting, I am not only referring to budgeting your finances, but also your social budget. What invites are you receiving, to where? What are your current obligations? Do you need to grade papers? Do you need to plan your upcoming week of lessons? Do you need to change anything or plan an activity? Your social budget is very important overall in the work place. You need to learn to prioritize. Even if you really want to go celebrate a massive holiday that everybody else is celebrating, you might need to hold off on that because you have a project with a deadline that is coming soon.
My social budgeting limits my going out because it involves my other "job," which basically is my role as a live-in nanny-maid. I have a curfew of about 8:30 PM, and technically ask for permission to go to dinner maybe once to twice every two weeks, meaning I won't be able to be a nanny for a night. I call to check-in of my current location status. This comes with the live-in life I have acquired. I do not mind it, but there is no benefit to reap, and at this point of the live-in agreement, I think we are approaching a mutual termination. Meaning, I should be moving out in the next month or so into a single apartment that is close to work, and in a safe place. I am looking at places now (yahoo!) and going to further learn about personal financial budgeting.

Speaking the Language:
Okay, so Thai isn't exactly a language that an English speaker can moderately understand if they have never heard it in their life... I have not yet heard a cognate. The good news is that, even if you can not speak their language, many people are more than happy to help you in whatever your troubles are, and can speak some English. Trust me, a lot of the Thai people would love to speak to you and practice their English, but they are just really shy, afraid that they sound terrible (a feeling, any language-learner feels, I'm sure), and a common characteristic is that many people want to save face, and not be embarrassed at their not perfect English.

Teaching

Here's a tip: ENCOURAGE. Really, encourage the people you meet, especially your students (if you are teaching), to speak, no matter how bad their English is. As a starting step, you can show them what you have learned in Thai, and it may be terrible, and make them giggle. This can be effective to help bring comfort to them to speak. To keep encouraging a student to speak, give them words to read out loud, simple ones. This will help them feel less incapacitated at speaking. Really, don't give them something like "The adjoining chalkboards clicked away as the students quickly wrote their answers, shifting their glances at each other." This is easy for an English-speaker, but if you are just learning the sounds that accompany letters, and are given blended sounds. your brain will melt, and then you will feel inefficient.
Simplify, show pictures, tell a simple joke, dance, show videos, use music, anything, but give energy and excitement to the teaching, so that students can get excited to learn. Your enthusiasm is encouragement, especially when they get something correct, or make a small success, you tell them they did it, and give them plenty of support. Your students will remember that feeling, and will want more, and they will push more.
Also, don't be afraid to change a lesson. If something isn't working, it probably won't work even if you keep trying it. (you know that saying: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" ....yep) Change the method.

Learning
If you can, see if you can start learning the language and the culture. This will help you understand why people act the way they do in the country, what is considered appropriate, what isn't. Learning the language will help you in growing your independence. It also helps you put yourself in the shoes of your students. Like the feeling of being able to bargain a price down for those cute pair of shoes, or asking for directions to a place. Trust me, it's a lot of fun.

Be prepared for anything

This is another one of those things people need, to be ready to expect anything. This applies to both the good and the bad. For example, it took me about four months to secure a job, and I was technically on a tourist visa, which meant that I needed to do a few visa runs. It wasn't fun, but it was a necessity. Also, I had to change flight plans due to timing difficulties for my Non-Immigrant B visa, which meant that I needed to cancel a flight, and add another. I lost money, which was not fun, but everything still worked out. Being prepared for anything is very important, so that is things do not work out, you have a backup plan. Also, the concept of time isn't as strict for Thai people, it seems, as it is in America. Things move a lot more slowly. This is not technically a bad thing, but it takes a lot of adjustment. I have to learn to slow things down as well, which meant that I needed to take a breath every now and then. I'm still learning this practice.

Lastly,

Appreciate Where You Are.

How many people can say that they have done what you have done? Maybe right now, things aren't going the way you want them to. Maybe life is uneventful for you right at this moment. Now, go talk to one of your friends back home, and just talk, they will listen to you. Do you know why? Because they know that you are in a place that they can only dream of (at the moment). They think that you might be helping the sick or the poor, playing with tigers, swimming in exotic waters. They want to hear of your stories, no matter how dull you might think they may be. To them, you are the Indiana Jones of fruit when you go to a massive fruit farm and instagram all of the fantastic food you eat. Cherish in this moment. Tell them about the problems you might be having in the country, culturally, socially, touristically... They might want to come visit you. Talk to them about the toilets that you have to squat over, and use a plastic pot to pour water in as a flushing method.
Just trust me. Where you are and what you are doing is amazing, even if it doesn't seem so now. Live in the moment, look toward the future, but don't rely on it. Who knows? Tomorrow you could be in a wild motorbike-car accident.


That is my input. I am happy where I am, I want to share it with the world, I want to learn and absorb, and I want to continue to grow. If there is anybody who is providing obstacle, or no support to this, don't associate with them. The reality is, the more they say the negative things, the more you will hear them, and start to listen to them and believe in this negativity. Don't succumb. Use that backup plan.

Until next time,
K.

P.S.-I want to hear any insight or questions you may have. Preferably not from my family.