Chinatown Bangkok

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V8 Diner

Home sweet home circa 1950 in the heart of Bangkok.

Kinda miss the whole HOA concept...

Merry Christmas

Nothing says Christmas like Heineken. They are still playing Christmas music in the stores over here. Don't know if they just don't get it or if they don't realize that it is Christmas music. Either way, it just does not seem right.

First Week at School

Hello from Bangkok!

I'm sitting here watching an amazing lightening storm over the city, so beautiful. And I realized that I haven't blogged in a while. My first day with children was Aug.5th. I had one day to set up the entire classroom, before children arrived. Even while I was moving furniture, windows were being installed. It has been a whirl wind week. With lots of tears, mostly from new toddlers, but some of the tears were mine. I'm trying to bring Montessori to a land where children are allowed to do whatever they would like. A culture where I can't put out  pretty breakable dishes because they aren't safe. However, children are allowed to run around in cars without car seats, seat belts or even just sitting down. The idea of what is safe and what isn't safe is completely different here. Children don't feed themselves, nannies and maids chase them around with a fork; I call this the floating fork. They don't sit down to eat, and I'm not just talking about children of privilege. This is hard because Montessori is about independence. Does this work in culture where children will live their whole lives in the family home until their grandchildren are taking care of them? What do you think?

I have three students. One a french girl, who has been in a Montessori school before in Bejing, two, a Thai girl who has never been to school, and three the granddaughter of the owner. The diference between them is amazing. They are all wonderful and learning to explore and concentrate without stupid grown ups being in the way. I have given very few formal lessons, choosing to sit back and observe. I only jump in when:

1. They might hurt themselves

2. They might hurt others
3. They might hurt the classroom materials

The storm is over, I'm listening Pasty Cline staring at the city lights. I can't wait to see what next week holds.

Love,

Scooter

Yummy, Coke in a bag

So sorry if you already heard this story. Thursday, July 22 we were looking for a store to buy dishes, for the school. It was very far away from the school and the driver kept getting lost. We decided to grab snacks, because we had been in the car for so long. The driver stops to ask directions and Kiri (the preschool teacher) jumps out of the car and buys 2 bags of potatoe chips, and SCORE they are even western flavored-not squid or fish, but bbq and sour cream and onion. Well, of course the chips make us thristy. And it is VERY hot and HUMID outside. The next time the driver stops and asks for directions, I hop out to buy drinks. We were in luck, a big old Coke Cola ice chiller is there. And they have the tall cokes in the glass bottles, the kind you can't find very often in the States. The bottles are so cold they stick to the bottom of the cooler with the ice cryatals. They feel so icy cold. I grab a bottle of coke for me and a bottle of Sprite for Kiri. I take them up to buy and the lady asked "for take away?" I said "yes, please." She grabs 2 bags. She pops open the bottle of coke and pours it into a plastic bag puts a straw in the bag and hands it to me, she does the same with the Sprite. And I walk off with 2 bags of ice cold beverages. You only get the bottle if stay at the stand to drink.