Over the weekend I made it down to Bangkok with two goals in mind. One was to buy some books. The other was to look at computers, possibly to buy one if the price was right. I accomplished one of these goals by spending 4000 baht at an English bookstore at the Emporium on Sumkumvit Road. I’ll take care of the computer issue next payday.

I like reading, but I don’t do enough of it. After working with words in preparing for classes, and then actually making it through the lesson, I honestly don’t feel like reading. I would rather surf the Internet, waste time playing the incredibly stupid puzzle games on Facebook, or watch reruns of Stargate SG-1. Unfortunately, I have access to a television with cable, and FOXCrime and SyFy Channel are part of the package. As I look at the situation now, I would rather be able to listen to podcasts on a computer while cooking rather than have the television provide background noise.

At least with SyFy I can get to watch The Green Hornet after catching up with episodes of Batman I missed when I was in kindergarten. If available, I would probably watch the ancient black and white episodes of Ultra-Man, a Japanese superhero who has been reinvented numerous times. I did catch a current incarnation of UM with Thai voice dubbing a few weeks ago. All I can say is “crazy.”

While at the bookstore I loaded up with a collection of essays on Thai culture, a brief history of Lan Na, a collection of stories of ancient samurai, a vegetarian Thai food cookbook, and smaller books on martial arts, including Tai Chi and Wing Chung Kung Fu. I also picked up the Rough Guide to Thailand and to Laos. I prefer The Rough Guide over Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet makes it seem so… lonely. I will get the Lonely Planet phrase books, though. They are cheap enough.

The teaching is good. Some students want to learn, and show some limited leadership potential. Others seem to be in it because they have to. There are troublemakers, as well, who won’t shut up and listen like they are supposed to, and they are the ones I have to outtalk. This past week a boy hit another boy, and it escalated into a chase, which ended in a flying kick. They were goofing off, but the issue I had concerned their safety. I had them do knee bends. I counted to 105, with odd numbers going down and even numbers going up. It was just over 50 knee bends. If I see a student smack another student upside the head, it is a 35 count per slap. Forgetting one’s textbook is a 20 count. So at least I have an alternative in punishment. And I don’t carry a stick to class. If I did, it would be a four foot long walking stick. The way my knees are feeling now, it would serve its purpose well. For the good students, I will have something for them at the end of the term. And if I see leadership in action, I will remember the student and honor them as well. The students need peer role models to follow.

Right now I’m trying to recover from the trip to Bangkok. My left foot hurts, my knees hurt, and I am always feeling run down. I can’t find the foods I need for energy, and what I can find is lacking in some important nutrients. At least I have some ideas to work with now on improving my health. When things stabilize, I will try to find an online program and go for some kind of certification in nutrition. At the same time I want to get into a position to where I can complete a degree in history.

It’s good to have goals. I hope my students will develop some goals of their own and start doing something with their time with a foreigner who cares for them.