Teaching English in Thailand: Surat Thani 1 High School, a review….

Teaching English in Thailand: Surat Thani 1 High School, a review…

Location: Surat Thani, Thailand (Surat town, Ampur Muang, in Surat Thani province).

Shopping: Tesco, Big C, Makro. Close enough to Ko Samui to get anything you can’t get here. If you can’t find it in Samui, Phuket town is a 4 hour bus ride to the south, or, rent a car and get there in 2.5 hours.

Western Restaurants: Couple western food places “Milanos” pizza by the night ferry comes immediately to mind. GREAT pizza by a guy that came from Italy 9 years ago and opened this place and another on Ko Tao.

NO McDonalds, but, the usual suspects: KFC, Dairy Queen, Pizza Company, MK’s, I’m sure I’m missing something. Oh, there’ s a Black Canyon Coffee in Tesco complex - but I found the coffee ALWAYS watered down, like they don’t know how to make it.

Banks: EVERY Bank in Thailand is here. Bangkok bank is the most international - they gave me a VISA debit card to use that works in Thailand. I also was able to guarantee my PayPal account with that card which was cool.

Airport: Yes, about 25-30 km away from Ampur Muang. Take a car, not a tuk-tuk into town or to the ferry!

Train Station: Yes, Phunpin station. Ends up 15 km from the city center - take a tuk tuk, motorbike taxi or regular taxi to town.

Boats / Ferries: Yes. They go to Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, and Ko Tao.

Tourist Sex Scene: No. There are very few tourists that stay in the city for more than one night. There are some karaoke clubs here, that’s about it - thankfully.

Number of Farang teachers: 12-13

Countries represented (2007): Canada, USA, Britain, Holland, Philippines.

Average age of Farang teachers: 30?

Subjects Taught in English: Math, English, Science, Health, Physical Education

Contract required: 1 year. No part time hours or 6 month contracts unless you come late in the term - they might be desperate.

Western English teachers arrive by 7:30, sign in, fingerprint in, and relax until 7:50am when we have to go out to flag ceremony.

Everyone except one lucky guy (18) was teaching 20 hours per week. I taught 4 classes per day M-F. The classes are 1 hour each. Many teachers that were here when I already arrived were pulling a number of hours of overtime - some as many as 15 hours per week which they were paid 400b per hour (cash) for. About 7 teachers had this arrangement. I could have taught overtime classes if I wanted but I really wasn’t into teaching English anymore than I had to.

The overtime hours are done during regular daytime hours: 8:20am to 4:20pm. I believe there was one class that went 4:20 to 5:20 at times, though not sure which class(es).

There is one head of the English program - her assistant quit - post-mid 2nd term under less than obvious circumstances… fuzzy logic tells us that she lost a LOT of face when one of the American English teachers here asked her if he could have a different, more comfortable chair to sit in, and the woman approved it. This led to everyone wanting more chairs and extra costs to the English Program. The guy initially thought the school was paying, but the school thought he was paying… anyway, a minor fiasco that led to this woman disappearing without a word of goodbye to us.

The one in charge is Aj. Pim. Affectionately called, “the pimster”. She seems to be fair, and listens, but in the end it all goes the Thai way - mai pen rai for everything, keep the flow going.

There are two Thai guy staff that drive and that might just be it. They really do very, very little but watch tv and walk around, and sit at their desks doing nothing. If they aren’t driving, they aren’t working - so I think that must be their only job.

There is a Thai librarian, a Thai teacher of French, 2 accountant type girls and another girl that is sort of the liason between the pimster, the Thai staff and the rest of the native English speakers.

There’s a group of 12 native English speakers and one Filipina girl that is delightful.

This school is a well-respected government school that is a launching point for those kids that are considering going to great schools in Bangkok for Mathyom 4. This year I had one girl in my math class that was accepted to the top science school in Bangkok. No, I don’t know what the name of it is - but everyone that knew was highly impressed.

If you’re looking for GOOD internet connections while you have some down time in the office you WILL NOT FIND IT HERE if this year and last is any indication. I think it’s the high-speed service in general here, as even in Ubon (Isaan) we had MUCH better connections at the internet cafes there. The connection here is IFFY at best. During the entire year we were totally without service for probably 50 days.

We had shiteforservice about 150 days. And, we had decent, fast, works all day service for about 15-20 days. Not sure how many days that all is or if it is in ANY way related to the actual number of days I was here for teaching - but in my mind it makes sense. Take a look at the percentages rather than the actual numbers I gave - that’s a better indication what I really feel about the service here.

Now, internet dying everyday multiple times per day might not be that tragic because I can use my blue-tooth enabled phone to connect with GPRS and AIS phone system wirelessly with my laptop… that is

IF THE FARKING AIS PHONE SIGNAL WORKED
HERE FOR MORE THAN 5-10 minutes AT A TIME!

Yes, no signal here about half of the day - and some signal the other half. Unfortunately the half I’m talking about is 5 minutes on, 10 off, 10 minutes on, 5 off, 12 minutes on, 12 off… it’s frustrating to make ANY phone call here, yet alone set up the the phone for internet and keep getting cut off and having to reconnect the next time there’s a signal.

This is the only thing that REALLY SUCKS about working here - and that’s my rant about it.

On a positive note, if they HAD continuous internet service that didn’t piss all the staff off - there is a wireless a/b router that spits it out around the room and is easy to connect to - WHEN there is a connection. If you don’t have wireless for your notebook computer you can connect with a cable directly - there are about 4 of those here.

: |

Oh, the OTHER thing that sucked is - the IT people here that are to “fix” things and keep them running - do not. When I first arrived I was using the office computers (nice flat screens) but they lost an entire hard drive (with my first semester’s lesson plans on them). Later in the year they re-ghosted (copied over) 4 computers before they told anyone what they were doing! So, 4 computers full of data were written over. Everyone in the office lost something, some lost everything.

I had no lesson plans or sample work to look at when I arrived to teach M3 math. I had to look through books that weren’t great books, but all we had. The guy before me apparently didn’t KNOW how to teach Math and they got rid of him mid-term. The guy before him was a math super-genius who I was expected to live up to. The kids’ level of math ability was on par with about 6th grade in America - and these kids were 15 years old.

I’m done ranting, really.

So - we had a whore’s picnic of days off, especially in 2nd semester I think I worked less days than I had off. Government schools are the kitty’s MEOW if you are looking for holidays out the yin-yang. We had more three day weekends than I could count. We had a handful of 4 day weekends too. October - off.
If I was staying on here we have a month off now too - March 9th to April something. Everything paid.

We get 30000b salary and 4000 housing allowance. My house is 7000 and I think I’m living in the best house of anyone here. 5000 buys a great pad with 3 bedrooms, 2 stories, air con and a yard here in the outskirts around perimeter road.

We get 30000b bonus for completing a 1 year contract. I was hired at the end of May - and they were desperate so they gave me the bonus too.

There are numerous costs that come out of your paycheck. If you opt for the additional insurance through AIA - and I never do - you will pay about 900 initially and then 500 or so out of your check each month. You’ll have an unannounced trip to the hospital to get a scrape of the inside of your cheek until it bleeds for an AIDS test - and piss in a bottle in which they check for all STDS and other stuff I imagine.

You don’t NEED to get this - it’s optional - but the schools will never tell you this.

You must buy one of the blue/green Thai silk shirts that cost 1000 baht. A guy comes in to fit you for it. Girls and guys.

You have your work permit and VISA costs taken out - which are later reimbursed - they say. Which amount to around 5000 baht.

There is an English camp, Math camp, and Science camp that teachers are expected to go to - no extra pay.

There are some other “optional” things to attend at night - but all you’ll get is a dirty look for not going - and if you plan on staying for over a year you should go to everything that’s optional unless nobody from the English Program are going.

Working environment is ok - when away from the kids. The kids at DECENT government schools where they have had many farang teachers already and where farangs are not a novelty, are quite insane and not very respectful (I’m coming from Ubon Ratchthani where the kids were much better).

Seems if you teach rich and spoiled kids it’s the same anywhere. They are spoiled as all hell and don’t wai you if you’re not Thai - unless there is a Thai teacher hanging around - and then SOMETIMES. They don’t even wai some of the Thai teachers here! You’d not see that in the northeast.

The kids are awesome once you get to know them, but by that time, it’s the end of the year and they move on. A couple teachers here teach more than one grade, but most of us - just one level.

You’ll have your own desk and swivel chair. There are 8 desktop computers to share. Most have their own laptops so there’s always a desktop free. There’s a NICE laserjet color printer and a backup small deskjet printer if it dies.

The main copier SUCKS! But, the copier that you do the tests on - copies of more than 100 - is quite awesome. It’s new - we’re “trying” it. I hope they buy it. They really need to kill the other one and get a new copier for the 1-99 copies jobs.

You’ll need to do the pink books that are pure hell at the end of each of 2 semesters. I just finished mine and I feel like I need a break. I have an excel spreadsheet for Pink Books if you want it - you just fill in the blanks and you don’t need to do the manual computations for them. I then print it out and cut and paste it (literally) into the pink books.

Half of us do it here - and it’s one of two evils. Handwriting everything is a pain in the arse to me and I’d rather deal with the computer than writers cramp.

The school is NICE - the English Program building is new. The English camp was VERY fun - and complete blowoff since they have AYSO or someone handle the teaching side of things - we were just chaperones. I went climbing and walked the beach, swam, played football with the kids and drank at night with the other teachers (and some of the M3 kids came down to the bar and got their own!)

The air is cold in the classrooms and office, never a problem there.

There are some books to read at the English library - not enough though. Hmm, what else… there’s a TV in the staff room that is on WAY too much for my taste. The 3 giants (all guys over 6′2″) LOVE to watch American football, basketball, boxing, HBO movies and anything literally that’s on TV - it’s quite annoying. I usually put my headphones on and hook into my laptop and write blogstuff.

The farangs that stay here year after year are great people - welcoming to new-comers and really helpful. GOOD bunch of people to co-work with.

The others of us - we’re rolling stones. I need to find something different. I think I’m going to pursue this blog as hard as I can and see where it goes. I’ve got some ideas for how to make it great, but it will be a lot of experimentation I can foresee…

Mor on Location: We’re in an AWESOME spot that is in close proximity to everything fun about Thailand… Ko Samui, Phan-gan, Tao, Krabi, Phuket, Phangnan, an overnight train to BKK.

My girlfriend and I can hop on the motorbike and hit Don Sak Pier in 60 minutes, catch the ferry - WITH the motorsai, arrive Ko Samui 90 minutes later - hit our bungalow in Tong Takien beach in 25 minutes and be relaxing on the beach at 5pm on ANY Friday!

I had Friday afternoon off - and the director was pretty flexible about us leaving early on Fridays if no classes. Also - pretty liberal policy overall about leaving anytime you need to do something. AND for calling in sick anytime.

That’s about it… wouldn’t it be GREAT if we had a database of reviews in some standardized format that we all could take a look at BEFORE we went to work at a school? That’d take some doing - but maybe someone reading is interested in creating a useful web site??

Thailand News Clipping from Malaysian Newspaper: Advice from a Broken Heart… "Who, me?"

I nearly forgot, good thing I grabbed the link while it’s still up.

The STAR - a Malaysian newspaper recently wrote an article about an experience I had, after interviewing me by email.

“Advice from a Broken Heart” >

Apparently one of their writers, Philip Golingai, found the blog and liked one of the articles and he was keen to write an article about it. If anyone else is approached by Philip, I felt he did a pretty good job, and you’ll likely be represented fairly in the article.

I’ll not share my views on the article as it’s done more good than harm (traffic boost!). I guess nobody ever feels an article written about them, not by them, is spot on or comes off the way that it would had it been written him/herself…

And so, in that light, it’s ok - no worries!

Thai Culture: Thai People Sleep ANYWHERE!

I don’t really have a problem with this, it’s actually quite funny. I have seen more people sleep in the strangest places, than ever before in my life.

Thai people can really fall asleep just about anywhere. I’ve posted a couple examples on this page… then a link to a news story that happened recently, months after this post was originally posted.

In the first there is a man sleeping on the road. No, he didn’t just have an accident nor is he in a drunken stupor and fell down and knocked his hat off. He’s sleeping on a road at a resort on the island of Ko Samui. My girlfriend and I were just riding around this ultra-nice resort (for Samui) and we crested a hill and nearly ran into about 6 people laying down on the road… I wasn’t quick enough to think fast enough to tell my girlfriend to HURRY, GET THE CAMERA, but that would have been the ultimate photo to explain what I’m talking about.

This one we were ready for… around the next bend and over the next hill crest we see this guy and she snapped this photo like a champ!

In the photo below there is a boy in my Mathyom 3 English (Math) class that has fallen asleep DURING my exam! It happened quickly, one second he was awake and struggling with it (or struggling against falling asleep), and by the time I had turned around he was out cold.

There were more kids trying to sleep in my class than is reasonable. Yeah, it’s a boring class - MATH IS BORING. I livened it up sometimes with some shenanigans - but, overall it’s boring as hell, I gotta admit.
At least science class might have a tiny PIECE of something one might get interested in. Math - uhm, nope. Unless I WAS INTERESTING, the class was bored because math is just BLAH to 15 year olds.

Other places I’ve seen Thai people sleep:

• All over a wat - (Buddhist temple). I think some come there JUST to sleep.
• On a coconut palm that was sort of horizontal over the beach.
• In hammocks - ANYWHERE - they put a hammock up between two trucks.
• In a hammock UNDER a truck - attached to the frame of the bed of a 20 wheeled truck.
• Anywhere they are having monks chant.
• During meditation.
• In their office.
• At a restaurant.
• In their car, taxi, tuk-tuk, or song-laew.
• On bleachers at a sports game.
• On a motorbike as their friend is driving - the driver is HOLDING the drunk, sleeping person upright to keep him or her from falling off the bike.
• I’ve also seen guys NOT being held by someone else, just leaning hard on the driver - with his arms wrapped around the driver - and not falling off, but unconscious for sure.

Man falls asleep in comfortable bed - AFTER HE ROBS someone’s house!
..
.

Off Topic Post: Sandstorm in Iraq Photos - GREAT STUFF

If you get a chance - go to this link
and see the photos. I guess in my
entire life I’ve not seen a sandstorm.

Sandstorm in Iraq >

Thai Smiles! Which one are you getting?

I thought commenting on this part of Thai culture might
be appropriate considering the other topics on the blog
right now and the amount of email I’m getting in response
to the “Thai face” issue…

Thais’ smile for a LOT of reasons. It might be said that
they smile for ANY reason at all. I’ve seen it in a lot of
circumstances.

When a Thai smiles… When you’re arguing for instance.
It does NOT mean that he/she thinks you are correct
and is acquiescing to your point of view. It also doesn’t
mean that the Thai person is laughing at you. It can be
really strange to be arguing with someone and they just
smile.

What do we do when that happens? Sometimes I used
to think they were giving in - and accepting my point of
view as “right”. And sometimes, I thought they were
being condescending and laughing at me.

It’s really tough to say.

Thais’ will usually give in when faced with an argument.
Confrontation is not something they enjoy. They avoid it
at all costs and they may just try to ignore you if you
attempt to bring them into a discussion about differing
opinions on something.

In private they will talk about it with other Thais’ and
maybe never have another word with you about it again.
You, thinking the issue resolved, go on to believe that
you were right or that the Thai person is OK with what
happened.

But, truth is - the Thai was not OK with it.

A Thai smile doesn’t mean what you think it means
much of the time. The problem is that foreigners try
to catalog Thai smiles into the few possibilities that
exist in the western mind, and go about life…

The Thais’ have a host of reasons for smiling, not all
of them positive.

: )

Excitement? Go no further than Pattaya THIS high season…

Forget about Cambodia. I think Pattaya is taking the cake this tourist high season in Thailand.

I went over to one of the places I check for new news to get ideas about something to write and MAN, the list of headlines reads like a newspaper tabloid - but this stuff is TRUE.

If you have ANY interest in farang dying on vacation or just whacky news you’ve gotta check out this link:

http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_update.html

There are more crazy things going on in Pattaya right now than you can shake an incense stick at.

That’s all - no more article - just had to send you to that link… you’ll read bizarre true stories and see absolutely incredibly candid photos.

GUARANTEED. How I don’t know, but trust me on this one…

Pattaya Thai Beach Chair Renter Loses Face, 2 Tourists Killed?

This is a disturbing story out of Pattaya’s Jomtien beach in Thailand… (below)

I don’t have an opinion on what probably happened, I’m not going to speculate what likely happened… but, it’s pretty disturbing and maybe part of a trend recently if it really was an act of revenge for the Thai man losing face over an argument about beach chairs. A guy that runs a beach chair service on the beach is a businessman. He’s out there everyday interacting with tourists that have money to burn so to speak.

Tourists in Pattaya come from all parts of the globe. They spend money on nice hotels, girls, guys and elephants. Some of the local people - guys that drive tuk-tuks, guys that rent beach chairs out for a small sum of money must have a certain resentment that builds up over time when dealing with so many foreigners, many of which are not kind… they don’t typically display the “map pen rai” attitude that the Thais’ have become accustomed to…

With the prevalence of internet use - information is shared among ALL now. Maybe it used to be that only repeat visitors really knew the prices charged for things… the bottom-line value on things like a tuk-tuk ride, beach chair, kilo of mangoes… But now - EVERYONE KNOWS the value of things in Thailand. So many tourists are “edu-micated” as Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies would have said… There’s not a lot getting past tourists now - they know the value of goods and services in Thailand. They don’t want to pay anymore than anyone else is paying. Tourists that come on a budget, or those that are especially cash-conscious can see their visit to Thailand turned into a stressful event because they are haggling over every 5 baht difference.

A Thai man that is running a business in Thailand has some pride. Even a beach chair rental guy. He’s worked in the same place, or around the same location for a number of years. Maybe he raised his kids there. He has friends there. He has a wife there. He has a reputation. He is in his own country and doing things the Thai way. Maybe he has some frustration that builds up over the years. He watches tourists come and spend more money during one week than he might make in 6 months. He sees them wear diamonds, gold, fashionable clothes… they treat themselves to the best in Thailand - because they can. To them, he thinks, 5 baht is nothing… not worth a thought. But he’s wrong…

100’s” of Thai Ladyboy Photos-Videos here >

To a Thai it might appear that this is the way tourists would be expected to think… to act… like 5 baht isn’t worth half a piss. But, in truth I know some people that can get enraged over a 5 baht slight especially when they are trying not to be “cheated” like when dealing with Thais’ that create prices on the fly… sometimes a tourist gets something for 20 baht. The next tourist - 25 baht. The next is a local, she gets it for 15 baht. The next is a guy the Thai can tell has just stepped off the plane. He is asked for 50 baht.

It’s a market economy. I really believe personally that people should pay what they agree to pay - whatever makes sense to them - and if it’s 5 baht higher than what someone else pays - that’s life. Next time in your mind you know that you too want to pay 5 baht less because you saw someone else get it for that. Your opinion changes. But, if you bought it the first time for 5 baht higher - then you agreed that it was worth it to you - or, you wouldn’t have bought it.

Oh yea, I’m frustrated if I hear that someone got something for less than I did. But I don’t give it another thought until I go and need the good or service again - then I want the lowest price I’ve heard about someone getting.

Buying rambutan for instance. My girlfriend can go and buy a kilogram for 20 baht like we did last night - with me sitting there on the motorbike in front of the guy as he gives her the price. There is no price on the fruit itself. He chooses the price. He added 5 baht from what he usually charges - because she told me he charged her 15 baht before. She wouldn’t tell me this before she bought because then it becomes an issue to me. But, afterward - mai pen rai - he made 5 more baht. I don’t cry over it. There are other reasons for fluctuations in price from day to day. The supply of rambutan here in the south fluctuates as the days go… Sometimes a guy might have a truckload. He might let them go for 10 baht per kilo. In 2 days he might be down to his last few and maybe others close in proximity to where this guy sells his rambutan don’t have many either. The prices go up.

Or, maybe the truck is nearly empty and the guy is anxious to go get another full truck of them because the next truckfull will be of the finest rambutans of the whole season. He might give you 2 kilos for 10 baht.

Buying CDROMS might be the same. Maybe the one YOU want is one that the guy doesn’t have any more of - and he sells the hell outta them. Maybe he wants 5 baht more because the demand is higher. He knows he’ll get 5 baht more from someone even if it’s not you. Why should he give it to you for 5 baht less than he could make. He’s sucking betelnut for energy, not you. You can pay 5 baht more for something you want, and if you don’t find it WORTH the extra 5 baht - don’t buy it - just go away and be happy knowing you wouldn’t pay more than it was worth to you.

Tourist attitude sucks here most times.

A guy in Pattaya on Beach road was beaten to death a little over a year ago for arguing iwth a guy about returning a music CD that didn’t work in his CD player. The CD seller didn’t take returns. Never did. Most Thai places DON’T. Never did.

This guy started yelling at the guy selling them. He was jumped by a bunch of Thais’ who beat him senseless. I think he died- though my memory of the article might be flawed… I’m pretty sure he died from it.

Over 100 baht?

How long does it take you to make 100 baht in your country? A few minutes? An hour at the very most.

100’s” of Thai Ladyboy Photos-Videos here >

This guy died for less than what it took him to make in an hour of work.

Thais’ don’t play around for certain things. Loss of face is one. You really, really need to understand the concept of face before coming here, or shortly upon arrival. There is no concept more important to you as a visitor. Get into a traffic accident and cause someone to lose face, or get drunk in a bar and cause someone to lose face… yell at a beach chair rental guy because you think he’s trying to charge you 50 more baht than is “fair”.

I’m not at all sure what happened with the two girls that were shot to death on Jomtien beach, but I’m not at all surprised if it does end up to have happened because the beach chair rental guy lost face in his home country, on his home street, surrounded by his friends, co-workers, and family…

I wouldn’t be surprised at all… I don’t agree that it’s something that SHOULD happen in Thailand - but I’m not the one writing up moral standards of behavior for the Thai people either.

I just know that the REALITY of living here shows us that Thais’ kill for things other than what foreigners kill over sometimes. The level of embarrassment one might feel during an argument for a foreigner and a Thai might be (must be) entirely different. For some Thais’ it is a catastrophic blow… a loss of face so great that only killing the offender makes it right…

Remember that next time you ride in a tuk-tuk, rent a motorbike, get into an accident, get drunk at a bar, hit on someone’s girlfriend, argue with a bargirl over what is owed to her at the end of the night, and in EVERY situation you find yourself in Thailand.

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Story below
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100’s” of Thai Ladyboy Photos-Videos here >

Two Russian women killed in Pattaya

(BangkokPost.com)

Two Russian female tourists were shot and killed in a popular tourist beach resort about 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok early Saturday, police said.

The 30- and 25-year-old women were shot by an unidentified gunman on a beach in Jomtien which is just south of the popular tourist resort town Pattaya at around 5 a.m.

Witnesses said they heard gun shots, then saw a Thai man flee the area on a motorcycle. The two women, who were staying in a nearby resort, were found dead next to beach chairs on the beach, police said.

Police found an empty Coca-Cola can, an almost empty alcoholic beverage, female shoes and a mobile phone at the scene.

Police initially suspected that the women, who checked in at the Dragon Beach Resort Hotel last Friday and planned to check out early March, were killed because of some conflict of interest in the sex business.

But officers say a local beach chair concessionaire is a possible suspect, because witnesses saw the Russian tourists quarreling with him earlier.

The press attache of the Russian Embassy in Thailand, Alexey Bulkin, confirmed Saturday the murder of two Russian women, who arrived at the Dragon Beach Resort hotel on February 16, and said an embassy official had been sent to the resort to monitor the ongoing police investigation.

Pattaya and Jomtien to its south are popular beach towns that have seen an increased number of Russian tourists in recent years.

America’s Foreign Policy: What the hell is going on?

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American Foreign Policy: What the hell is going on?
(2.7 MB - 15 minutes of Audio)
This article on Audio MP3 if you want to listen on
computer, phone, mp3 player, PDA, etc. instead of
reading it below.
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I’m not a political person - whatsoever. In fact, this
will be the 1st political article I’ve written in my
entire life. I typically have no interest, but this
morning everything over the past couple years is
on my mind - and I write when I’m angry… so…

I could usually give a rat’s azz about anything political
that’s going on in the world. There is no one person
that runs things in any country, and in a democracy
that really ISN’T one (USA), there is no sense
participating on any level unless that is the focus of
one’s entire life - trying to affect change in some
meaningful way. I’m a realist to the core. I don’t
know what anyone else’s definition of realist is
so I use my own. A realist is someone that acts,
thinks, reasons, explains, behaves, in ways that
are consonant with reality as it is. Reality is
forever changing, is circumstantial and
phenomenological… so, I try to act in ways
that are consonant with reality in
whatever situation or time I find myself.

So - since I couldn’t possibly dedicate my life to some-
thing that is so uninteresting to me - I rarely think
about politics, read about them, or talk about them.
It’s just a part of life that will go on without me if I
never give it a second thought, or, if I get really
involved - still - it just kind of rolls along without
changing. No sense spending my life talking about
things that other people are doing.

Sometimes it affects me. Like since being here in
Thailand. I have met people from all over the world:
England, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Czech,
Norway, Sweden, France, Saudi Arabia, Iran, India,
Pakistan, Kuwait, Brunhai or something like that!,
Israel, Malaysia, China, Russia, Laos, Burma,
Cambodia, and many more places that aren’t coming
to mind this morning.

So many of these people I’ve JUST MET want to talk
about America’s foreign policy. When I first arrived
I hadn’t known much at all. Not even enough to talk
about it - I just listened to find out what everyone is
all worked up about. I’ve got a layman’s understanding
of things - but it’s very basic and I don’t wish to get
into any lengthy comment or email discussions over
this - so - if you feel so inclined, you’re probably not
going to get a reply… sorry, really I just abhor
speaking about it or writing about it unless I’m
emotional about it - like this morning for some reason.

It’s a beautiful day outside… here’s a pic of what I’m
looking at as I type this.

There are so many beautiful days here where I look
outside, the sun is shining… I’m living the easy life,
finally not worried much about personal things going
on in my life back in the states… I’m in a good state
of health, of mind, emotionally as good as I’ve been.

I have somewhat of a paranoia that’s developed as I
get older. I think a little bit about things that are in
the future and maybe likely to affect me. I am a bit
more cautious in everything I do and how I prepare for
things that will come and cause me grief. I
overprepare and overthink it.

This article about America’s foreign policy is a
long-time coming. I’ve thought about it in spurts
over the last 2 years.

I have started to really enjoy the stability of life at least
MY life. I’ve noticed that it’s really important for a
person’s well-being - emotionally, to be at ease about
what is happening in the world globally as well as in
one’s own private logic inside the head.

Previously since I never gave a thought to what was
happening in the world I was blissfully ignorant. Like
many or (most?) in the USA I was ignorant and didn’t
even care to know.

I had too much to think about to get MY life straight
in my own private world, rather than get excited
about the apparently ridiculous things that were
happening on a global level and which I couldn’t expect
to change without an all-out effort that would never be
forthcoming.

So, the point…

Many people from other countries have asked me about
the state of things - and what I “think” about Bush’s
foreign policy - America’s foreign policy, but they call it
“Bush’s”.

And initially I could just say something about… there
are human rights atrocities, there is corruption at
every level of some governments, there are
inhumanely cruel sons of bitches running countries
to the tune of fat profits, personal power and
indulgence.

There are whole populations suffering for the
selfishness and insanity of their leaders (N. Korea
comes to mind). There are children eating slop
because those in charge of their country are more
concerned with amassing fortune and extravagence
for themselves, their own families, business
partners and friends.

And it’s true of course.

And then I would mention something about, for us in
America we feel that we’re doing really well with our
quality of life, the amount of financial success we can
generate on an individual level with some effort and
know-how. We’re so happy to not have to worry
about wars at home, on our soil. We love that we
don’t have human rights violations within our
borders (that we see very much of compared to the
world as a whole).

Being a bible based nation, our laws, our political
behaviors, our personal behaviors were created with
that in mind. The morals we follow, that we believe in,
are bible-based and there is still a fairly large, diverse
and strong group that believes the bible is a divine
book full of things we can apply to ‘today’ and get
positive results. Personally I feel the opposite - that
religion will be the undoing of the relative peace
the US has enjoyed since it’s creation.

But, as a population, we want to think of ourselves as
a country that HELPS others since we have so much.
We want to SOLVE all kinds of problems, not just
our own, but across borders, continents, and oceans.
Torture, rape, forced starvation and other human
rights violations really get a lot of us enraged and
we think we’re morally justified to put a stop to it
using whatever means we have at our disposal.

We have a LOT OF MEANS at our disposal. Our
military, probably is still ranked #1 in the world in
terms of capability, scaleability, maneuverability, and
technology is our primary means. Financial means
would be the next. With those two means, we feel like
we are the head of the world. We feel like we have
obligations not just to our own people, but to the
people of the world… god fearing or allah fearing,
Buddha loving, or whatever… we feel like we need
to act to resolve things that are consonant with most
religious views. Human rights violations are things
that make people from the whole world cringe.
It’s something that the American leaders use to get
us into action - and to feel good about doing something
about in countries other than our own.

Notice how we give the appearance of caring what the
international community thinks before we act on
something we want to change?

We pretend to be going through the motions to get
international support for an action that we feel is
morally justified, and if the process is too slow - or
it appears like we might not get full support we just go
ahead and DO IT ANYWAY. The leaders feel
justified, and we as a country - as a people have
felt justified in acting on something we believe
strongly about.

Nuclear weapons programs is something we feel
strongly about. The capability for leaders from
other countries to launch a nuclear weapon at the
USA is just not acceptable. It’s something that we
feel justified to eliminate at whatever costs to
global harmony in the short term because we think
in the LONG term that the world will be a better
place without these weapons being available to
every degenerate leader on the planet. And, in
one sense - yeah, that’s true.

In quite another sense we don’t really see the BIG
picture.

The big picture is that as we start to act as we wish -
without international support - at least of the top
dogs, we are ruining our relationships with these
countries. By invading IRAQ we have not only
pissed off the world’s countries that are wondering
what justification we had - because no weapons of
mass destruction were found, but, we are pissing
off followers of religions that have hated the US and
our relationship with Israel.

America has pissed off a whole lot of countries and a
good portion of the world’s people by being aggressive
with our military action.

It seems to be getting worse. The reason I got pissed
off this morning was that I was reading “The Star”
- a Malaysian news source and the headline had some
articles about the USA and what it may do in IRAN.
I have heard little pieces of this over the last couple
months. I’ve blown them off, firmly believing that
Bush knows how bad he f’ed up in Iraq and he
wouldn’t dream of continuing along the same lines in
Iran.

I may be wrong, and it’s starting to really make me
think about the short-term prospects of world peace.

CNN, The Star, BBC and others have been sprinkled
with articles of opinion stating that some believe
the decision to go into IRAN and to bomb nuclear
facilities there has already been made and it’s just a
matter of time before it’s implemented.

I have to wonder how a president, and a world power
could could have it’s head so far tucked away in a
warm, wet, cozy yet smelly place that
it could believe for a second that initiating military
action in Iran is the way to resolve something.

I really think that if the USA moves forward with this,
any chance we had of a semblance of world peace for
the short term will disappear completely.

It’s like we’re a nation without friends or support
anymore. What happened to foreign policy? Has it
always been this bad and it’s recently ‘coming to a
head’ of stupidity in Bush?

Iraq has been such a disaster. Americans dying daily
for WHAT?

One thing that I believe in - because I guess I need to
believe in SOMETHING as being the right course of
action….

I think that before America acts militarily with
violence it needs to have the support of the United
Nations. There must be a vote on it that results in
agreement. Without this America is on it’s own.
When we act on our own initiative (and moral
authority) we’ll endure the havoc that will come
from it.

I don’t believe we, or any other country can act with
violence BEFORE another country attacks us
or our interests militarily.

Bush’s administration acted on Iraq before they
attacked the US or US interests by bombing the
hell out of them, effectively removing the leaders
that were in place, and not resulting in anything
meaningful for the country politically since.

America should really have agreement from the UN
before ANY military action ANYWHERE. If there
is no agreement - there is no military action.
Military action - killing others - has the effect of
pissing some off. Go figure.

Economic sanctions could be done in place of
military action for a long time. Though the UN
might not be in agreement to physically change the
nations that are threatening nuclear weapon,
chemical weapons violations or whatever their
offense happens to be, likely a number of countries
would agree to economic restrictions that can have
real effects.

In the case of nuclear weapon manufacturing by
countries that the international community thinks
shouldn’t be in control of… all sorts of sanctions can
be applied.

A country that decides to bomb with a nuclear weapon,
some other country, is at fault. The world powers
agree that nuclear weapons are too horrible to be
used and are only still around for “peacekeeping”
purposes. (LOL). So, if a country used this technology
action would be taken by the UN - as a global effort
- to rid the country of the weapons and to change
the government in whatever means necessary to
make it a country that isn’t a threat to others.

Proactively initiating violence like the USA does - is
causing its self more harm than it is stopping.

It’s tough to say this - but I really believe that BEFORE
the USA can act we need to have been acted UPON by
someone else. Defensive in nature. This is how we
need to be. This will bring us international support and,
in the long-term, give us the security we need in this
world of emerging powers and populations (China).

I believe that if America acts in Iran without full
international (UN) support the world will change quite
quickly. Followers of Islam will unite. Groups that are
not usually associated with each other will unite with a
common cause - destroying or wreaking havoc on the
population of America and on those that are important
to America.

America has opened a can of worms, and instead of
shutting the can and sealing it up… it wants to open
more cans! America, in it’s moral, bible-based quest
for peace and harmony around the world is causing
more damage. Serious, serious damage. America is
playing right into Iran’s hands… I think they
actually WANT this. They know the effect it
will have on those that are teetering on the
decision about whether to fight with the USA. This
will be an act that brings them all together.

Those that dislike the USA and it’s policies are
scattered at the present. Behind the scenes they are
likely making alliances against America. The
worst enemies can unite under a common cause
- another enemy.

Bush either doesn’t SEE what is happening - that he
is pissing off the world, or he doesn’t care…

Either way - if we act in Iran I see the world changing
rather quickly.

But, I’m not political and to tell you the truth - I don’t
have the slightest idea what is REALLY happening in
the world!

Neither do you - only what you read, hear and see. Is
that the “truth”?

Is that reality? Sort of - it’s a piece of the puzzle, but
the whole puzzle is never really seen. So many pieces
are hidden. In fact, no one person or group of people
can see the whole puzzle. Groups are better than
individuals though, and I hope that America will
realize that soon and start acting with other nations
in GLOBAL agreement… not as an individual.

Ok, that’s my first real “political” article… it may
well be my last!

Sleeping, or…?

Thailand’s 24-hour ATM Machines: Farang

Here’s another notecard about Thai bargirl and ‘farang’
relationships and what they are based on.

Some farang not only behaviorally resemble an ATM for
their bargirl girlfriends or Buddha forbid, WIVES… but
for some there is also a physical resemblance which
pushes ALL the right emotional bargirl buttons.

The bigger you are, the more tattoos you have, and the
more bald that you are - you actually physically resemble
an ATM machine. A farang with these attributes is sure
to find success in any bar in Pattaya, Patong, Patpong,
or Phnom…

You can be fat. You can be bald. You can have scars all
over your face, neck, head, chest and feet. You can have
scabies (I think). You can have any woman’s name
tattood anywhere on your body, or multiple women’s
names. You can have 1st wife, 2nd wife, 3rd and her
sister’s names tattood on you as well as the bargirl you
slept with the night before, and STILL the bargirls in
Thailand will find you irresistibly attractive.

You know why the Thai girls are able to pull this trick
off and make so many farang believe that they are
special to the girl in some way?

Because in our home countries NOBODY can lie with
smiles on their faces consistently day after day after
day… or to put it more realistically, farang after farang
after farang after farang. In Thailand - the culture
doesn’t see lying as lying. It’s saving face and allowing
others to save face too. It’s “mai pen rai”. So many
things, small and great can be overlooked. Lies are
not usually challenged seriously, if at all. If the lie
allows someone to save face, then it’s allowed. That
is until someone gets drunk and kills over it.

What 40 year old fat, bald, badly tattood, farang with
smoke-stained teeth and not a friend in the entire
western world would believe for even a minute that
a SUPERHOT 19 year old dancer with a flat stomach
who could model in New York City if she was 9 inches
taller, would enjoy any amount of time with him that
wasn’t going to be compensated generously and
consistently?

WHO, I ask you?

The answer is, every 40+ year old guy in Pattaya,
Patong, or Patpong it seems like.

Stickman’s site and the local forums are just FILLED
with stories from these guys that didn’t see the sick
reality of the game they are pitiful losers of. Some
wise up, others try again and again to find love from
a bargirl whose LIFE is built around getting money
from farangs, lying to farangs so that money can be
incoming from as many farangs as possible at the
same time.

How can you marry a girl like that and expect life to
be roses?

I think I just came up with another notecard, but I’m
on dial-up tonight - TOT ADSL is down tonight in my
town and I’m not motivated to stay on this 33kbps
connection any longer than necessary… so I’ll
just explain below….

The uglier you are - the more desperate the bargirls
know you must be… and so the more confident they
are that they can use you as one of their marionettes
(puppets) in their bargirl game of life.

The UGLIER you are, the more attractive you are
in their eyes because they are not after physical
attractiveness at all. They are after $$$$$. If
you are ugly and have an ATM card, you are the
PRIME target in the sex-tourist areas of Thailand
and, of course other countries.

Most of us KNOW this, but some guys are dating,
getting engaged to, and marrying with bargirls
past or present. The bargirl doesn’t really change
for the better. That’s my belief. She’s incapable
of changing to a be a person that doesn’t worship
the easy money of paid for sexual acts.

I have a friend in Patong that tells me that EVERY
girl there is available for a price. Married or not.
I won’t go so far as to believe that, but I do know
that MANY girls that are there and that are married
ARE available for a price.

Not all are doing it - but maybe your little tee-rak
is making a little shopping money on the side?

All it takes is a half hour…

Did your hunny bunny have 30 minutes to herself
today in Pattaya?

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