running in Ubon.

Anyone who runs knows that you have to amuse yourself somehow on the longer routes. So I amuse myself with these anecdotes each morning. I give you:

The rules for running in Thailand (at UBU)

1. Run between 5 and 7 am. There'll be less people to gawk at you. And the sun will already seem as bright as midday, though eerily slanted and dusty-veiled in the humidity. Do not be confused.  This isn't actually 6 pm. It's 6 am.

2. Embrace the rain. Cloudy mornings like this with a hint of breeze are absolutely divine, bringing the temperature down to a chill high 80's F (30 C).

Humidity levels leave something to be desired, though.

3. Stretch at some point. Refer to these helpful illustrations when deciding your stretching regime.

Ten seconds before we start. Choose wisely. 

4. Run with your mouth closed. (Sorry Mom and Dad.) It took a breathing specialist, multiple track and cross country coaches, and my parents shouting from the sidelines, "BREATHE JENNIFER!"  to get me to open my mouth when I ran. However, I revert to my younger self's instincts here. After the first few mornings of swallowing bugs and gagging on spiderwebs, I decided I didn't care for the taste. Therefore, forest paths will always be run with mouth clamped shut and nostrils flaring proudly in bad running form.

Forest path?

5. Speaking of forest paths, keep an eye out for floating glimmers of light. That spider worked hard on its net and you don't want to be scraping impossibly strong web from your already sticky, sweaty visage. Still, webs strung up across the road like a finish line are not avoidable. So when going the road less traveled, eyes up, head down, and barrel through (and remember, mouth closed).

See the glimmer? Barrel through. (Mouth closed)

6. Always carry your camera. You never know what you'll find on your explorations. And it makes running all these flat roads more interesting.

Camera, cleverly disguised as an iPhone

7. Learn how to hold, point, and shoot your camera.

This was supposed to be of something.

8. Beware the dogs that howl at you suspiciously.
    *Addendum to rule 5, feel free to carry a rock instead of a camera.

That's close enough.

9. Be happy for the dogs that just want to play.

    

   


10. Be careful of landlubber crabs.

En garde.

11. Ignore the stares of the moped riders.

X

Well if I'm ignoring them why would I take a picture?

12. Always smile at the guy who gives you a thumbs-up. Learn to use his encouragement.

It was a TWO thumbs-up sort of day!

13. Respect the lessons of the road. And heed the power of ants. Do not stretch next to them!

See the ants on his head? That's why this picture is relevant. Sorry.

14. And probably don't run down this tantalizingly mysterious road.

Its gates open as if only for me.

15. And don't go poking around in other people's spirit houses.

Even if you admire tiny furniture.

16. THE MOST IMPORTANT. Always be aware of the windmill. It will appear as if by design from all sorts of angles when you're sure you've gone down a new road. This is your only compass in Thailand. Do not ignore its guidance.

So, take a deep breath of that muggy, golden air and enjoy the run.
Jennifer Shannahan

through her daily routine.

Daily Life

A picture story.

Two weeks in and I've already got a fairly predictable routine. Join me as we take a weekday tour of my ajan life in Thailand.

6:15 am: I wake up and run down this sidewalk:

Never ending. 

and around this lake:

and it's imperative that I run by this windmill (or else I'll just keep running).

My compass. 

7:30 am: Sometimes I eat this for breakfast....

Papaya and Pineapple

or if I'm feeling lazy, I'll settle for this:

Breakfast of champions.

8:30 am: Occasionally I ride on one of these things...

Danny boarding the songthaew

                                                                            which can get pretty crowded so hold on,

                                                     9:00 am: to my 690 class, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bright and shining faces. 

10:00 am But usually I just take this....

Me in my most '90's outfit. 

....all the way to here.

Faculty of Management Science

Hot and sweaty from my ride, I sidestep the dozing dogs:

....and go inside this lovely air conditioned office

Filled with these lovely air conditioned people.

where I work in front of this screen.

Still trying to figure out how to "add a page"

12 pm: Then it's time for lunch, which could sometimes be this:

Yum!

And other times, regrettably, this:

It says cheese and cracker but it tastes like sugar cookies. I was misled.

1:00 pm: Then it's back to the office to wage war against these fiends:

Picture to scale depending on your computer screen.

4:30 pm: Many hours later, I go in here:



where sometimes I make my students do this:

Summary game!

and that:

Summary game!

Summary game!

but always make sure they get their daily dose of writing/speaking/reading/listening/loving/living English! Wooo...ooo...ooo.

6:30 pm: Finally, I bike home

and get to lounge around in here,

7:30 pm: before going to the cafeteria
                    to get some of this:

Noodles in coconut soup

and hopefully none of that:

I should have never asked.

with these cool peeps.

Hey cool teachers. 

Occasionally I go out for something like this:

Mmmm, hotpot

And on extra special nights, I get to see skies like this:

 

                                                                       and this:

But if I'm really, really lucky, I get to talk to this person at some point during my day:

Proof that occasionally there really  is enough wifi for Skype in our room!

Voila. My daily routine. You're welcome.

Jennifer Shannahan

to an assembly...honoring herself?

Well... not exactly. Please read on.

Today is wai khru at my university in Thailand, a holiday where students pay respect to their teachers. So instead of teaching on my day of honor, I got to participate in two different ceremonies featuring elaborate flower arrangements and students pledging how nice they'll be to all of us. Sounds pretty good huh? Perhaps we could work on introducing this in the states somehow... I know my past teachers all deserve it.

I'm not an expert so I won't go into the history or the extent of the customs, but I will give you an outsider's perspective on the festivities. Please be patient through my descriptions. If we learned anything from today, it's that patience is key.

We (my fellow student teachers and I) started the day at the campus-wide wai khru celebration in their spacious event hall. As we entered, we perused a long line of creative and astonishing flower arrangements made with candles and joss sticks. The flowers and plants are full of symbolism representing all the traits that a good student ought to have: humility, sharp wit, respect... you know, the whole package.

Just a taste of the flower sculptures...

As foreign student teachers,  we are only wanted to peek in at the celebration from afar. However, our protests were firmly refused by the higher-ups. No sitting on the floor or merely observing for us.

Spacious  hall and stage.

We were warmly ushered onto the stage to sit with the other teachers and enjoy the show from the place of honor. Well, after teacher refreshments of course:

Julia (foreground) and the rest of the crew scarfing down bread and coffee. Perks of being an ajan!

On stage we had an auditorium full of freshies (first-year students) sitting cross-legged on the floor, paying us their respects for... over... 2... hours...lucky kids.

so lucky. (me, I mean)

As I said, I can't go into the details of the customs (considering that they were all in Thai and all I can say so far is "Hello, pineapple, papaya, thank you" in that order) so I'm probably skipping over lots of crucial stuff. But after some words were given, the student percussion ensemble began to play classical Thai music and a long line of students very gracefully presented their flower arrangements on stage. They did this by kneeling before the president, heads of department, and other important people in the first row, wai-ing, bowing, and handing the flower arrangements over. Then they sort of shuffled across the stage on their knees until they were clear of the cameras. I was amazed at their agility!

 

(Please bear with me and my poor video-taking skills)

The parade of flowers continued for over an hour, was followed by a chant, students pledging their respect for teachers in a chorus, a speech from the president, the auditorium of students singing their school song, student honor awards, certificates for the flower arrangement winners....  'Twas a thoughtful and thorough affair.

In the afternoon, my fellow Faculty of Management Science ajarns (ajarn means "teacher" <---oh look, a fifth word I know!) got to experience this again on a far smaller, though no less grand, scale in the department where we teach.

FMS Freshies

This time around, my fellow student teachers and I got to take turns sitting in the front row and being bowed to and presented with flower sculptures. It can be a little unsettling to receive such a gesture, but when in Ubon...

Receiving the flowers....

Pamela and I hoping we're doing everything right.

Overall, I felt very humbled to be included in this tradition.  I was amazed by the ingenuity of the flower arrangements and the depth of sincerity and warmth between students and their teachers at UBU. It was an incredible experience to be a part of.  I feel fortunate to be here to witness it.

Wai Kruh memories! Celebrating with BBA faculty and students!

Jennifer Shannahan

Time Traveling, Internationally

A hint

A riddle for you: If you're reading this right now (as in, right now right now, in a non-literal sense) it's probably yesterday for me. Even though we're both living and breathing at the very same moment, separated only by continents and wind streams, technically my iPhone thinks you're still in yesterday. Yesterday, a lovely nostalgic, albeit naive state of mind where the future is bright and there are less mosquito bites on your feet. Somehow I lost a day and yet I'm not any older.

How can this be?

A man-made concept of time measurement. I've gone and crossed the International Date Line.

Bug bites, blood cubes, and beautiful thunderstorms. I'm in Thailand.

Please don't let the previous sentence fool you into thinking that I know enough about Thailand to take what I say seriously.  But here I am (my here, not your here, it's a literary device) and it's all new.

I want to do this place justice with some actual serious blog entries, so let's just consider this the pre-ramble (for a definition of "pre-ramble" refer to my 2010 post where I established the term http://jennifershannahan.blogspot.com/2010/11/do-polska.html).

This is basically to set the scene and let you know I'm in Thailand, Ubon Ratchathani to be exact, visiting not just Thailand, but Asia for the first time, and doing a two month teaching practicum at UBU. I live on a campus the size of Manoa Valley (for you Hawaii friends) or Cheney (for you Washington friends) or to all my other friends just check out google maps. I ride a bike around, I make friends with stray dogs, and I'm learning how to order the most delicious fruit on earth. Oh, and some really fantastic people are here doing the practicum with me, or are in the class I'm teaching, or are simply occupying the same geographical region as me.

So sit back, subscribe, and come with me on all my non-offensive, lovably self-deprecating adventures across the International Date Line. But most importantly, help me decipher these taxi-glyphics.

As illuminating as they are mysterious. 

Part of the teaching crew

Where I work. 

A roommate.

A street (try crossing that).

How I got here. 

Whoops, these again. (It's the one on the right that's getting me)

Jennifer Shannahan