At some point, we had decided to change our train tickets so we would get back to Bangkok at 9 in the morning instead of 5 in the morning and leave in the evening instead of the afternoon. Unfortunately, it meant our evening train ended up delayed, and we did not get back to Bangkok until 10:30 am. From the train station, we took a taxi to the airport and we got there at 11:00 for our flight. When we got there, we found Yingna waiting for us. She could not find where our plane was. We went and looked at the board. We looked for a long time, and we kept waiting for our airline and flight time to show that we were going to Shanghai as scheduled. We looked several times, but could not find the vital information we were looking for.
I suppose it would not have mattered how long we looked, and at some point Meng pulled out our plane tickets. Confirmed our flight number and destination and airline again. That is when we discovered we made a really really really big mistake. It was that our flight left at 200 not 1400. But we still did not know what to do. We decided to just wait at the airport until the 2 am flight was checking in and try to get in on that.
I wont go into details about how we spent the day at the airport, but pleasant would not probably be the adjective I would choose. We were lucky to catch the China Eastern agent around 7pm, and eventually were told that we should go to the China Eastern Airlines office in downtown on Monday and make arrangments. So that meant another trip to the city and another night in a hotel. The hotel was close to the airlines office.
On Monday morning, we paid a visit to the airlines office and were told that as we had bought discount non-anythingable tickets, we would need to buy a new one way ticket for what actually turned out to be more than our original one way ticket. Which also turned out to be the most expensive mistake I had ever made. We also decided to stay about 5 more days because we were not really ready to go home anyway and that turned out to be a great way to make lemonade. We decided to stay another night at the same hotel. Yingna had enough of traveling and went back that night. We decided to spend more time in Bangkok. Actually, it was a bit by default, the vacation had been pretty busy until that point, and we could use a bit of time to relax. We had thought to go to the beach, but all tickets were booked because of the new year and prices were also marked up.
Ironically, Yingna ran into Lily at the airport as they were both leaving.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Chaingmai
Our train left around 9 in the morning, and it was about 12 or 14 hours to get there. We prepared many snacks for the trip and also had books and scrabble and cribbage to keep us occupied. I did not mind spending a whole day on the train because I think it is nice that you get to see more of the country without having to drive. Train travel is one of my favorite ways to get from point A to point B. I often think it is more convenient than flying because you do not have to go through the hassle of security and train stations are generally centrally located in the city, so it is not difficult to get where you want to go once you arrive. I could go on and on about the merits of train travel, but I won't now. What was most impressive about this train was that they actually served food; however, the quality of the food was nothing to write home about.
While on the train, Hudson wanted to play scrabble, but I wanted to look out the windows. We created a game to look out the window and spot ten different things.... things like cool buildings, different kinds of plants (that was quick), different kinds of birds, different methods of transportation and this sort of thing. It kept Hudson occupied and I got to enjoy looking out the window. Which did get boring after a while, and we played a bit and then we read some books and we napped and just when we wanted to get off the train as soon as we could, we were about a half hour away.
During our first day in Chaingmai, we decided to not do anything special. It was Christmas Eve, and we wanted to see the city and walk around a bit, but after a three or four hours we got a little bored. I had saw this advertisement for a Tiger Kingdom, and we decided to have lunch there. Then we started to look for a Tuk Tuk or some method of transportation. Finally, the price was right and we were off. It turned out that as soon as you walked in they gave you a number, and then you could have lunch. We ate the buffet (thougu you could order off the menu--which I would actually recommend as the buffet was not impressive). While eating our lunch we could look right off to the side and see people going in a big cage and taking photos with tigers. It seemed really cool. I was not sure we would actually touch tigers or not, but in the end, it seemed like the thing to do. Because of Hudson's age, we could select to pet Newborn tigers (1-2 months) or 3-5 months. We decided to do the 3-5 month tigers. It cost around $10 per person to go in the cage with tigers for 15 minutes.
We found the cage to go in, and it was a bit scary at first. The tigers were not so big, but I knew they had big teeth and we had to sign some safety waiver, so there as usual the worst case scenario popped in my head. We went in and could pet the tigers and take photos with them. The time went by really fast, and we did not get any amazing photos. That was a little disappointing, and I suppose we could have paid again to go take more photos, but we decided we were good. We spent some time walking around looking at the different tigers they had there and came across this huge male tiger that we could see really close in it's cage. It was cool. We also saw the newborn cubs, which were very cute. That night we went to the night market and at some various Thai food. It was good, but not as good as the night market. They had some show and there were also some Christmas carolers, but it did not really feel like Christmas. We went back to the hotel and I think Meng and I watched some Grey's Anatomy--Season 5. And to bed we went.
The next day, we had arranged a trip to go see some ethnic minorities, ride elephants, go trekking and then stay in a village. When we booked the trip the lady told me there was some climbing involved. She asked if we were sure. Of course we were sure. Why shouldn't we be? Well, what she failed to mention was that the village where we were staying was at the top of the mountain. So this is Christmas...
We first went to the minority people village, and there were some Longneck people. Essentially, these women keep putting brass rings around their necks and stretch them so they have long necks. I do not know much more about this, but later read things that talked about human rights and how this is just done for tourism and it is bad for the girls to have to stretch their necks as such and blah blah blah. That created a bit of an ethical dilemma for me, which I do not care to get into right now. Anyway, after looking at the people zoo (sorry, I know that is not politically correct, but it was sort of what it seemed like), we went to ride elephants. Actually, we had lunch first and we looked at an orchid farm and we rode for an hour and a half in the back of a pick-up truck (Sorry mom, I know I was never supposed to do this, but on the bright side we did not die, and on the not so bright side, I was terrified we would the whole ride and thinking how they were going to call you saying there was an accident and everyone was killed while riding around in the back of a pick-up truck, Merry Christmas).
So we went from the back of a pick up truck to the back of an elephant, and I must say the similar thing was the fear of death. I mean elephants could get spooked, there could be a stampede, we could fall off and be trampled, the list goes on but we all know what happened to the monkey who made the elephant sneeze). Anyway, riding elephants was bumpy, and we rode them for about 45 minutes. About halfway through, our elephant guide took Hudson off the saddle and sat him of the back of the elephant without a saddle. I must say that I was quite terrified that he would fall, but I was at the same time thinking it was an amazing experience for him to have. When the ride came to an end, I was relieved and disappointed.
What I did not know was that it was the beginning of my disappointement and that I was farther away from relief than I had imagined. We started our trek. And trek we did, actually, as usual I was slow. Too slow and the guide asked if I wanted to take the easy way and just follow the road. Of course I did, I am not stupid. But I did not want to be the spoil sport, and I knew that both Meng and Hudson would want to climb, so I said I did not not want to take the road, I wanted to climb. Actually, it is the last way I ever imagined spending a Christmas Day. The guide mentioned a short cut and I reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be a wise call, and it involved a little less climbing and we saw the group again at one point. But it was just a little short cut and it was not so convenient as the road would have been. After a few hours, we were still climbing and I asked how much longer and I was told a hour. We took a little rest, and I got stung by a bee. And then after another hour of climbing, I asked how much longer and I was told an hour. I think the guide did not really speak English. It must have been the slowest he ever climbed. I kept grabbing things on the side of the montain and got my hand scratched a few times and kept getting these small pokey things in my hands. Between that and the bee sting, i was not having a good time. We got to where I thought was the top, and then we could just see the village, and I think from there it still took another 45 minutes. In total, I think we climbed for around 4.5 hours. I am so not a fan of climbing mountains, but there was a cold beer and a beautiful sunset waiting for me at the top. Christmas Dinner was the second meal that was not worth writing home about. It took nearly as long to cook, and it consisted of a piece of fried chicken leg, some curried something containing tofu, and stir-fried pumpkin.
At some point, I decided to get a massage, which actually meant some village ladies pretended to rub my back and talk and feed their babies for an hour until I gave her some money. Not impressive. I then used much of the ipod battery to watch some more Grey's Anatomy. And then proceeded to sleep in a room on the floor with all members of our tour group. I can't really say that I actually slept. The most fun was deciding I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without a flashlight. I used the ipod and accomplished the feat of using a squatter in near pitch black lighting. It was great. (This is dripping with sarcasm). The next day, breakfast consisted of toast and pineapple and a boiled egg. It was much better than dinner.
And by this time I am sure you are remembering that phrase, what goes up must come down. And well, down the mountain we had to go. I usually hate going down as much as going up because the possibility of falling seems so much more likely. About halfway through, it started sprinkling which made the path turn into slippery, muddy mess. After slipping a few times, I figured I was already filthy, and proceeded to slide down the mountain on my ass. It was much faster that way and quite a bit easier. At the end, we got to a waterfall, which we were supposed to be able to go swimming in, but the water was a bit cold for my liking. I think it took about 3 hours or so to get down and at the resting point we actually caught up with the group.... though we did not exactly take any time to rest and continued on our way. We also found Hudson who took off with the group and was far ahead. He ended up falling in the river and getting quite dirty on his own.
We hiked to the place where we were to go white water rafting, and the guide asked me if I was sure I wanted to go. This scared me a bit as, well, the person who sold us the trip warned me about some climbing and I could not help but think what reason this guide would have for asking me if I wanted to go rafting. I assured him I did rather confidently, but I kept hearing his question as I got ready and started thinking about that movie the river wild and essentially every movie I have seen where the people go white water rafting and someone dies. As we were briefed with few directions and nobody said what we should do if the boat flips over, I started thinking of worst case scenarios. As I was waiting in line (I got in line last), I started thinking maybe it would be better for me to sit this one out. After all, I was pretty tired from climbing down the mountain. As I watched people getting in the boats, I felt the fear gripping me and tearing out some tears of fear from my eyes. I seriously was convinced that I was looking death in the face, and I was not sure this was the way I wanted to go (although my mom did never tell me not to go white water rafting, so at least she could not have been thinking I told you so the whole time). One of the boats in front of us flipped over and people were thrown out, they were pulled back in and it did not seem like a big deal, but at the same time, I am considerably heavier than the Korean girl who fell in and they may not be able to pluck me out of the water with such ease. Hudson was not allowed to get in the boat with us right away, we had to pass the first rapids before he got in. So there I was looking death in the face and realizing, at the same time, that my child was going to be an orphan. At least, it wasn't going to happen on Christmas Day.
With fear, I got into the raft. With fear, I paddled when I was told to paddle, and I stopped when I was told to stop. With fear, I gripped the ropes so my knuckles turned white, and hoped I wasn't going to add shitting my pants to list of things that have caused me humuliation in my life. And then, just like that, it was over, and it was fun. We got Hudson in the boat, which became even more terrifying as I imagined him ending up in the river. But one we went, though the weather was foul. And one we went though the Hakken-Kraks howled. Downward up many a frightening creek. Actually, white water rafting was something I always wanted to try. It looked so fun. Actually, Mee had wrote about it in one of the first letters she sent me and told me how much fun it was, and since then, I thought it would be really cool to try. It was. It was so terrifyingly fun that I thought how it would be cool to go on one of those white water rafting trips. It was like the corkscrew for the first time and it is often the think we imagine is so much more terrifying than the reality. On and on we hiked, and, my god, we hiked far..... but then I could not help but think about Oh! The places I'll Go!!!
After the rafting, we had another two hours in the back of a pickup. I figured we had already cheated death several times already, that a mere ride in the back of a pick up truck was surely no less dangerous than petting tigers, riding elephants, sliding down mountains, or going white water rafting. Hudson took a nap and I enjoyed using the rest of the ipod battery to watch Grey's Anatomy. We were happy to get back, and we went to find some food that was more appetizing than what we had ate for the last few days. I also returned to the used book store to get the books I had picked out on the first day when we went shopping.
For our last day in Chaingmai, we decided to take it easy by taking a Thai Cooking class. We took a class at the Chili Club Cooking Academy and it was so much fun. We met a few other couples, and Hudson was a great big help for everyone. Meng and I made several different dishes. We had always talked about taking a cooking class together, and I think it is a great way to spend a day of a vacation in another country! I highly reccommed it! After the cooking class, we took our bags to the train station and walked around the night market a bit longer. About a half hour before our train we rushed off to the train station which ended up being a case of hurry up and wait as our train was delayed about two hours. This also meant we would get back to Bangkok a bit later than expected and we would have to rush to the airport as well.
While on the train, Hudson wanted to play scrabble, but I wanted to look out the windows. We created a game to look out the window and spot ten different things.... things like cool buildings, different kinds of plants (that was quick), different kinds of birds, different methods of transportation and this sort of thing. It kept Hudson occupied and I got to enjoy looking out the window. Which did get boring after a while, and we played a bit and then we read some books and we napped and just when we wanted to get off the train as soon as we could, we were about a half hour away.
During our first day in Chaingmai, we decided to not do anything special. It was Christmas Eve, and we wanted to see the city and walk around a bit, but after a three or four hours we got a little bored. I had saw this advertisement for a Tiger Kingdom, and we decided to have lunch there. Then we started to look for a Tuk Tuk or some method of transportation. Finally, the price was right and we were off. It turned out that as soon as you walked in they gave you a number, and then you could have lunch. We ate the buffet (thougu you could order off the menu--which I would actually recommend as the buffet was not impressive). While eating our lunch we could look right off to the side and see people going in a big cage and taking photos with tigers. It seemed really cool. I was not sure we would actually touch tigers or not, but in the end, it seemed like the thing to do. Because of Hudson's age, we could select to pet Newborn tigers (1-2 months) or 3-5 months. We decided to do the 3-5 month tigers. It cost around $10 per person to go in the cage with tigers for 15 minutes.
We found the cage to go in, and it was a bit scary at first. The tigers were not so big, but I knew they had big teeth and we had to sign some safety waiver, so there as usual the worst case scenario popped in my head. We went in and could pet the tigers and take photos with them. The time went by really fast, and we did not get any amazing photos. That was a little disappointing, and I suppose we could have paid again to go take more photos, but we decided we were good. We spent some time walking around looking at the different tigers they had there and came across this huge male tiger that we could see really close in it's cage. It was cool. We also saw the newborn cubs, which were very cute. That night we went to the night market and at some various Thai food. It was good, but not as good as the night market. They had some show and there were also some Christmas carolers, but it did not really feel like Christmas. We went back to the hotel and I think Meng and I watched some Grey's Anatomy--Season 5. And to bed we went.
The next day, we had arranged a trip to go see some ethnic minorities, ride elephants, go trekking and then stay in a village. When we booked the trip the lady told me there was some climbing involved. She asked if we were sure. Of course we were sure. Why shouldn't we be? Well, what she failed to mention was that the village where we were staying was at the top of the mountain. So this is Christmas...
We first went to the minority people village, and there were some Longneck people. Essentially, these women keep putting brass rings around their necks and stretch them so they have long necks. I do not know much more about this, but later read things that talked about human rights and how this is just done for tourism and it is bad for the girls to have to stretch their necks as such and blah blah blah. That created a bit of an ethical dilemma for me, which I do not care to get into right now. Anyway, after looking at the people zoo (sorry, I know that is not politically correct, but it was sort of what it seemed like), we went to ride elephants. Actually, we had lunch first and we looked at an orchid farm and we rode for an hour and a half in the back of a pick-up truck (Sorry mom, I know I was never supposed to do this, but on the bright side we did not die, and on the not so bright side, I was terrified we would the whole ride and thinking how they were going to call you saying there was an accident and everyone was killed while riding around in the back of a pick-up truck, Merry Christmas).
So we went from the back of a pick up truck to the back of an elephant, and I must say the similar thing was the fear of death. I mean elephants could get spooked, there could be a stampede, we could fall off and be trampled, the list goes on but we all know what happened to the monkey who made the elephant sneeze). Anyway, riding elephants was bumpy, and we rode them for about 45 minutes. About halfway through, our elephant guide took Hudson off the saddle and sat him of the back of the elephant without a saddle. I must say that I was quite terrified that he would fall, but I was at the same time thinking it was an amazing experience for him to have. When the ride came to an end, I was relieved and disappointed.
What I did not know was that it was the beginning of my disappointement and that I was farther away from relief than I had imagined. We started our trek. And trek we did, actually, as usual I was slow. Too slow and the guide asked if I wanted to take the easy way and just follow the road. Of course I did, I am not stupid. But I did not want to be the spoil sport, and I knew that both Meng and Hudson would want to climb, so I said I did not not want to take the road, I wanted to climb. Actually, it is the last way I ever imagined spending a Christmas Day. The guide mentioned a short cut and I reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be a wise call, and it involved a little less climbing and we saw the group again at one point. But it was just a little short cut and it was not so convenient as the road would have been. After a few hours, we were still climbing and I asked how much longer and I was told a hour. We took a little rest, and I got stung by a bee. And then after another hour of climbing, I asked how much longer and I was told an hour. I think the guide did not really speak English. It must have been the slowest he ever climbed. I kept grabbing things on the side of the montain and got my hand scratched a few times and kept getting these small pokey things in my hands. Between that and the bee sting, i was not having a good time. We got to where I thought was the top, and then we could just see the village, and I think from there it still took another 45 minutes. In total, I think we climbed for around 4.5 hours. I am so not a fan of climbing mountains, but there was a cold beer and a beautiful sunset waiting for me at the top. Christmas Dinner was the second meal that was not worth writing home about. It took nearly as long to cook, and it consisted of a piece of fried chicken leg, some curried something containing tofu, and stir-fried pumpkin.
At some point, I decided to get a massage, which actually meant some village ladies pretended to rub my back and talk and feed their babies for an hour until I gave her some money. Not impressive. I then used much of the ipod battery to watch some more Grey's Anatomy. And then proceeded to sleep in a room on the floor with all members of our tour group. I can't really say that I actually slept. The most fun was deciding I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without a flashlight. I used the ipod and accomplished the feat of using a squatter in near pitch black lighting. It was great. (This is dripping with sarcasm). The next day, breakfast consisted of toast and pineapple and a boiled egg. It was much better than dinner.
And by this time I am sure you are remembering that phrase, what goes up must come down. And well, down the mountain we had to go. I usually hate going down as much as going up because the possibility of falling seems so much more likely. About halfway through, it started sprinkling which made the path turn into slippery, muddy mess. After slipping a few times, I figured I was already filthy, and proceeded to slide down the mountain on my ass. It was much faster that way and quite a bit easier. At the end, we got to a waterfall, which we were supposed to be able to go swimming in, but the water was a bit cold for my liking. I think it took about 3 hours or so to get down and at the resting point we actually caught up with the group.... though we did not exactly take any time to rest and continued on our way. We also found Hudson who took off with the group and was far ahead. He ended up falling in the river and getting quite dirty on his own.
We hiked to the place where we were to go white water rafting, and the guide asked me if I was sure I wanted to go. This scared me a bit as, well, the person who sold us the trip warned me about some climbing and I could not help but think what reason this guide would have for asking me if I wanted to go rafting. I assured him I did rather confidently, but I kept hearing his question as I got ready and started thinking about that movie the river wild and essentially every movie I have seen where the people go white water rafting and someone dies. As we were briefed with few directions and nobody said what we should do if the boat flips over, I started thinking of worst case scenarios. As I was waiting in line (I got in line last), I started thinking maybe it would be better for me to sit this one out. After all, I was pretty tired from climbing down the mountain. As I watched people getting in the boats, I felt the fear gripping me and tearing out some tears of fear from my eyes. I seriously was convinced that I was looking death in the face, and I was not sure this was the way I wanted to go (although my mom did never tell me not to go white water rafting, so at least she could not have been thinking I told you so the whole time). One of the boats in front of us flipped over and people were thrown out, they were pulled back in and it did not seem like a big deal, but at the same time, I am considerably heavier than the Korean girl who fell in and they may not be able to pluck me out of the water with such ease. Hudson was not allowed to get in the boat with us right away, we had to pass the first rapids before he got in. So there I was looking death in the face and realizing, at the same time, that my child was going to be an orphan. At least, it wasn't going to happen on Christmas Day.
With fear, I got into the raft. With fear, I paddled when I was told to paddle, and I stopped when I was told to stop. With fear, I gripped the ropes so my knuckles turned white, and hoped I wasn't going to add shitting my pants to list of things that have caused me humuliation in my life. And then, just like that, it was over, and it was fun. We got Hudson in the boat, which became even more terrifying as I imagined him ending up in the river. But one we went, though the weather was foul. And one we went though the Hakken-Kraks howled. Downward up many a frightening creek. Actually, white water rafting was something I always wanted to try. It looked so fun. Actually, Mee had wrote about it in one of the first letters she sent me and told me how much fun it was, and since then, I thought it would be really cool to try. It was. It was so terrifyingly fun that I thought how it would be cool to go on one of those white water rafting trips. It was like the corkscrew for the first time and it is often the think we imagine is so much more terrifying than the reality. On and on we hiked, and, my god, we hiked far..... but then I could not help but think about Oh! The places I'll Go!!!
After the rafting, we had another two hours in the back of a pickup. I figured we had already cheated death several times already, that a mere ride in the back of a pick up truck was surely no less dangerous than petting tigers, riding elephants, sliding down mountains, or going white water rafting. Hudson took a nap and I enjoyed using the rest of the ipod battery to watch Grey's Anatomy. We were happy to get back, and we went to find some food that was more appetizing than what we had ate for the last few days. I also returned to the used book store to get the books I had picked out on the first day when we went shopping.
For our last day in Chaingmai, we decided to take it easy by taking a Thai Cooking class. We took a class at the Chili Club Cooking Academy and it was so much fun. We met a few other couples, and Hudson was a great big help for everyone. Meng and I made several different dishes. We had always talked about taking a cooking class together, and I think it is a great way to spend a day of a vacation in another country! I highly reccommed it! After the cooking class, we took our bags to the train station and walked around the night market a bit longer. About a half hour before our train we rushed off to the train station which ended up being a case of hurry up and wait as our train was delayed about two hours. This also meant we would get back to Bangkok a bit later than expected and we would have to rush to the airport as well.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The time in Bangkok
I actually at some point had some plan to do some serious blogging about our trip to Thailand, but it seems it will never happen and as nearly a month has already passed, I will take a opportunity to blog about some of the highlights.
The day after the wedding we went to the National Museum. It was a museum. Actually, I really enjoy going to museums with Hudson. It was something I really enjoyed doing when I was growing up and I have many fond memories of going to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Villiage with my dad. I think one of the best ways to get kids intersted in history is to show them you are also intersted in it. Hudson already has more stamina than I think should be expected for his age. In order to keep him more interested, I do occassionally point out that I think some of it is incredibly boring. At the Thai museum, chairs were boring. We did not look at them. And given that Thailand is a monarchy, we did skip looking at all of the thrones. They were not all that exciting. At the Henry Ford Museum, I generally point out how unexcited I am about machines or things that are used to generate power. He had so much fun looking at something I thought was so boring. Anyway, the most interesting thing to me was that they used to use elephants for fighting. I did not know elephants could be used in warfare. How cool was that!
After the museum, we went to the weekend market. There were many things to buy there, but we ended up not getting anything. We did not stay long because we made plans to go out to eat with Lily, Phit, A, and Tor at the Night floating market. There were loads of good things to eat, and Lily was so excited to see many of them. Actually, it was everyone's first time to go to such place. Unfortunately (perhaps) the princess also went there that day, so some things were closed early. I do not remember everything we ate there, I do know we came home with several bags of food (some of which, we still have not gotten around to eating). Tor pointed out that both Lily and I never stopped moving out mouths--- if we were not shoving food in them, we were taking. He wished we would give our mouths a rest.
The next day, we did not have much planned. We thought about going to the crocodile farm, and that scared Meng's sister away. But just before we left, Mee called me, and we decided to meet her instead. We met her at a shopping mall in the Starbucks and then went to the Jim Thompson house for lunch. I met Mee about 18 years ago when I was at Camp Pa-Wa-Pi. For about 10 years we kept in touch by writing letters, and later through e-mail. It was really nice to see her again. We also realized that we needed to make plans for the rest of the time we were in Thailand, and we decided to go to Chaingmai, so Meng found a computer and checked some information while Mee and I went and did a bit more shopping. We decided to take the train and found we had to go to the train station directly, so my visit with Mee was cut a bit short. We rushed off to the train station to get tickets to Chaingmai. Yingna, at the last minute, decided she was, in fact, going to go to Cambodia as she had planned, so we had to also return her train ticket. That evening we went to some German Brewery for Phit's birthday celebration. Lily's family was there as well as Pui (her cousin/my former roommate). It was actually nice to see her again, and it wasn't nearly as strange.
Then we were off to Chaingmai.
The day after the wedding we went to the National Museum. It was a museum. Actually, I really enjoy going to museums with Hudson. It was something I really enjoyed doing when I was growing up and I have many fond memories of going to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Villiage with my dad. I think one of the best ways to get kids intersted in history is to show them you are also intersted in it. Hudson already has more stamina than I think should be expected for his age. In order to keep him more interested, I do occassionally point out that I think some of it is incredibly boring. At the Thai museum, chairs were boring. We did not look at them. And given that Thailand is a monarchy, we did skip looking at all of the thrones. They were not all that exciting. At the Henry Ford Museum, I generally point out how unexcited I am about machines or things that are used to generate power. He had so much fun looking at something I thought was so boring. Anyway, the most interesting thing to me was that they used to use elephants for fighting. I did not know elephants could be used in warfare. How cool was that!
After the museum, we went to the weekend market. There were many things to buy there, but we ended up not getting anything. We did not stay long because we made plans to go out to eat with Lily, Phit, A, and Tor at the Night floating market. There were loads of good things to eat, and Lily was so excited to see many of them. Actually, it was everyone's first time to go to such place. Unfortunately (perhaps) the princess also went there that day, so some things were closed early. I do not remember everything we ate there, I do know we came home with several bags of food (some of which, we still have not gotten around to eating). Tor pointed out that both Lily and I never stopped moving out mouths--- if we were not shoving food in them, we were taking. He wished we would give our mouths a rest.
The next day, we did not have much planned. We thought about going to the crocodile farm, and that scared Meng's sister away. But just before we left, Mee called me, and we decided to meet her instead. We met her at a shopping mall in the Starbucks and then went to the Jim Thompson house for lunch. I met Mee about 18 years ago when I was at Camp Pa-Wa-Pi. For about 10 years we kept in touch by writing letters, and later through e-mail. It was really nice to see her again. We also realized that we needed to make plans for the rest of the time we were in Thailand, and we decided to go to Chaingmai, so Meng found a computer and checked some information while Mee and I went and did a bit more shopping. We decided to take the train and found we had to go to the train station directly, so my visit with Mee was cut a bit short. We rushed off to the train station to get tickets to Chaingmai. Yingna, at the last minute, decided she was, in fact, going to go to Cambodia as she had planned, so we had to also return her train ticket. That evening we went to some German Brewery for Phit's birthday celebration. Lily's family was there as well as Pui (her cousin/my former roommate). It was actually nice to see her again, and it wasn't nearly as strange.
Then we were off to Chaingmai.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Insight from the Wedding
Being at the wedding also made me a little sad. I thought about how I recently missed my Scuz's wedding and how I really wish I could have been there, but esentially made the decision not to be. Actually, I realized I have missed a lot of things because I live in China. I missed my stepbrother's wedding, Greg's funeral, Colleen's Wedding, and several births of friend's babies. There are other things I miss too.... like shopping with Erin, or having ice cream with Erin, or catching a movie with Robin. I miss Lodge breakfasts, too. I miss shopping with my mom. I miss playing Monoploy with my dad. I miss spending time with Grandparents. Actually, there are a lot of people from back home that I think about and miss every single day. And by not being there and missing out on things like birthdays or random telephone calls, distance grows, and the reality is that people forget about me. In their mind, I have moved away and I am gone. But in my mind, these people I miss are the people I still think of all the time when I think about home and they are the people I cannot wait to see and catch up with when I get back. I guess for me it is more a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder while for those people in the US I am out of sight, out of mind. It is something a person gives up when they make the decision to live overseas (or on the other side of the country).
At the wedding, it was the first time I saw Lily with her people. With her family, friends, and friends of the family. There were the people she knew growing up who were there. I saw her talking to all the people enthusiastically. She seemed very happy to see many of the people she had not seen for a long time. But she also told me that she has trouble to remember some names (she might have blamed that on getting older, too) but that she remembers the faces; however, when people see her they do not even recognize her. Her little nephews barely know who she is because they never get to see her. I also looked around at all the people who were at her sister's wedding. I also thought about her wedding... I did not even know she was having one. She just said "hey, I am married." and I was like "What? How did that happen?" Such a big difference. Looking back at our wedding and counting the number of people who where there for Meng is a good way to also illustrate that difference. Think about how many of my friends and family members actually came to my wedding in China (um, there was mom, Antje, and Wendy). By crossing that border, you also miss out on enjoying the mundane with the people you grew up with. Seeing Lily in Thailand made me realize how much she loses by living in the US while at the same time reflected in my eyes exactly the same things I am missing by living in China.
Then it made me think about all the people who cross these borders. The Hispanic woman who washes the laundry for a family in California, the Taxi Driver who cruises the streets of New York in search of a fare, and the countless other nameless immigriants. People who are often looked down upon because they do not speak English well or do not have high paying jobs. I think most people never think about what they give up to be in the US. They may leave famalies back home, they leave friends back home, they miss out on weddings, birthdays, funerals, and holidays, too. They come and they work lousy part time low wage jobs and do not get a lot of respect for what they do. They may even be qualified as doctors in their own countries. So much they may give up to just cross the border. Very little time or energy is spent thinking about exactly how hard it is to cross that border either.
Simple things like getting a driver's license or going to the grocery store can be huge challenges to someone without much English skills or who does not have their own car. Getting a green card can take months. Simply not being able to speak or understand the language means that you are less in touch with what is going on the in the world because you do not pay attention to the news which you cannot understand. Going grocery shopping and not knowing what things are is not an easy task. (Once I made brownies with salt). But often people look down on foreigners or migrant workers and say things like they should just go back to where they came from.
What people do not realize is that where they came from could be hard to imagine. It is possible they are quite rich in their own country and had they not left they might be able to take over a family business. Alernatively, they could be quite poor and often need to send money back to support the family members back home. The thing is that each of these border crossers still do have a home. And there are people from that home who miss them and wish they would hurry back to where they are supposed to be.
I guess to me, by marrying Meng, it means one of us is always going to be giving up that part. The part that is home. In our case, we also gain things from living in either place. It is not possible to say that China or the US is the better option. There are good things about both places. For example, in China we are able to enjoy a housekeeper, we are spending a lot of time with Meng's sister, we have good jobs and good job opportunities. But we wont be able to afford a good house for a long time, my family is far away, and Hudson's education is expensive. In the US, Meng will not be able to have a job that allows him the same kind of position and opportunites that he gets here. He will not have as many choices and it will be harder for him to get promotions. I do not think this is because of discrimination, but it is more for not really understand how the society works or what you should do in certain situations. Though these things can be learned, there is a big learning curve and as a foreigner you are off to a slow start and as a foreigner you will need to work harder than a local to get the same result.
I guess after the wedding. I thought about the things Lily gives up to stay in the US. I am also sure there are things that she gains. But the point that I want to make right now is not related to the gains but that the realization that there is also a loss is quite profound to me. It makes me wonder what people are giving up and that the people around them probably do not see these things. I guess at the end of the day all I can do is look back and hope that the things I gain from living overseas can outweight the things that I am giving up. At this point, I still think the gains are there, but that there is a diminishing return on the time here and as more time passes the gains and losses are evening out. I wish I have the wisdom to recognize the time when the scales change and the courage to leave when that happens. It is not so much that it is hard to leave, but that it is so easy to stay. By forgeting to refusing to acknowledge there is any loss, it makes it even easier to stay. I suppose that I begin to see this has a deeper meaning to me than before.
At the wedding, it was the first time I saw Lily with her people. With her family, friends, and friends of the family. There were the people she knew growing up who were there. I saw her talking to all the people enthusiastically. She seemed very happy to see many of the people she had not seen for a long time. But she also told me that she has trouble to remember some names (she might have blamed that on getting older, too) but that she remembers the faces; however, when people see her they do not even recognize her. Her little nephews barely know who she is because they never get to see her. I also looked around at all the people who were at her sister's wedding. I also thought about her wedding... I did not even know she was having one. She just said "hey, I am married." and I was like "What? How did that happen?" Such a big difference. Looking back at our wedding and counting the number of people who where there for Meng is a good way to also illustrate that difference. Think about how many of my friends and family members actually came to my wedding in China (um, there was mom, Antje, and Wendy). By crossing that border, you also miss out on enjoying the mundane with the people you grew up with. Seeing Lily in Thailand made me realize how much she loses by living in the US while at the same time reflected in my eyes exactly the same things I am missing by living in China.
Then it made me think about all the people who cross these borders. The Hispanic woman who washes the laundry for a family in California, the Taxi Driver who cruises the streets of New York in search of a fare, and the countless other nameless immigriants. People who are often looked down upon because they do not speak English well or do not have high paying jobs. I think most people never think about what they give up to be in the US. They may leave famalies back home, they leave friends back home, they miss out on weddings, birthdays, funerals, and holidays, too. They come and they work lousy part time low wage jobs and do not get a lot of respect for what they do. They may even be qualified as doctors in their own countries. So much they may give up to just cross the border. Very little time or energy is spent thinking about exactly how hard it is to cross that border either.
Simple things like getting a driver's license or going to the grocery store can be huge challenges to someone without much English skills or who does not have their own car. Getting a green card can take months. Simply not being able to speak or understand the language means that you are less in touch with what is going on the in the world because you do not pay attention to the news which you cannot understand. Going grocery shopping and not knowing what things are is not an easy task. (Once I made brownies with salt). But often people look down on foreigners or migrant workers and say things like they should just go back to where they came from.
What people do not realize is that where they came from could be hard to imagine. It is possible they are quite rich in their own country and had they not left they might be able to take over a family business. Alernatively, they could be quite poor and often need to send money back to support the family members back home. The thing is that each of these border crossers still do have a home. And there are people from that home who miss them and wish they would hurry back to where they are supposed to be.
I guess to me, by marrying Meng, it means one of us is always going to be giving up that part. The part that is home. In our case, we also gain things from living in either place. It is not possible to say that China or the US is the better option. There are good things about both places. For example, in China we are able to enjoy a housekeeper, we are spending a lot of time with Meng's sister, we have good jobs and good job opportunities. But we wont be able to afford a good house for a long time, my family is far away, and Hudson's education is expensive. In the US, Meng will not be able to have a job that allows him the same kind of position and opportunites that he gets here. He will not have as many choices and it will be harder for him to get promotions. I do not think this is because of discrimination, but it is more for not really understand how the society works or what you should do in certain situations. Though these things can be learned, there is a big learning curve and as a foreigner you are off to a slow start and as a foreigner you will need to work harder than a local to get the same result.
I guess after the wedding. I thought about the things Lily gives up to stay in the US. I am also sure there are things that she gains. But the point that I want to make right now is not related to the gains but that the realization that there is also a loss is quite profound to me. It makes me wonder what people are giving up and that the people around them probably do not see these things. I guess at the end of the day all I can do is look back and hope that the things I gain from living overseas can outweight the things that I am giving up. At this point, I still think the gains are there, but that there is a diminishing return on the time here and as more time passes the gains and losses are evening out. I wish I have the wisdom to recognize the time when the scales change and the courage to leave when that happens. It is not so much that it is hard to leave, but that it is so easy to stay. By forgeting to refusing to acknowledge there is any loss, it makes it even easier to stay. I suppose that I begin to see this has a deeper meaning to me than before.
First Day in Thailand--Grand Palace and a Wedding
On our first full day in Thailand, we ventured out to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. To get there we decided to use public transportation. We took the sky train and then changed lines of the sky train to the pier and then took the ferry down the river to the Grand Palace. Quite a feat for a foreigner to complete, and I felt quite impressed that we could get there ourselves. I guess I did learn some city survival skills from living in Shanghai.
The Grand Palace was, of course, grand. Actually, it was beautiful. I especially liked the way they constructed it using pottery at the temple. Actually, I am not fully clear what part is the palace and what is the temple. I suppose it was the temple that was more impressive to me. There was much detail that went into the building of the palace. Also, it is the first time I visit a country with a monarchy, and I wonder what palaces in other countries look like. (And after just saying this I begin to wonder if Spain is a monarchy, and I have visited one before). At some point, Meng felt the need to point out to me the Grand Palace was kind of small compared to the Forbidden City. Reflecting on that a little more I feel curious about the differences in the relationships between the King and the people and the Emporer and the people.
After wandering around the palace and temple, we got a bit hungry and a bit thirsty. We were happy to find a little concession stand on the way out and had a drink and on the way back to the ferry, we stopped for some street food. Meng and Yingna had some noodles. I had the chicken from the noodles, and we all had some grilled meat on a stick. There were quite a few different foods to choose from and they all looked quite good actually. Hudson was happy to eat the meat on the stick. He was even happier to find Root Beer being sold in the store! After satisfying our bellies, we headed back to the hotel.
On the way back to the hotel, Hudson had to go to the bathroom. He could not wait. When we were at the station to change trains, I thought it would be easy to find a restroom in the train station. It was not to be the case, so we found a way to let the station worker let us leave the station, find a restroom, and re enter the station. Fortunately, it all worked out. And I was impressed by the Christmas Decorations in the shopping mall and actually I was quite impressed with the mall itself.
After getting back to the hotel area, Yingna and I went shopping to buy a card and maybe a little something for Lily's sister. We ended up with a card and a picture frame for a wedding photo. Then we went back to the hotel, changed, and caught a taxi to the hotel for the wedding reception.
The wedding reception was a sort of cocktail party. There were snacky foods and drinks. It was quite fancy. The food seemed to be quite international. There was sushi, noodles, spring rolls, grilled meat on a stick, roast pork, fruit, cakes, nuts, and many other things that did not catch my interest too much. When we first got there, we took a photo with the bride and groom, and then headed into the party. I thought that there were quite a few older people at the wedding and they were all wearing quite bright clothes. There was a balloon guy that made different balloon animals and things for the children. I saw a pooh bear and a doramon that actually impressed me. Hudson finally got enough courage to ask for a balloon sword, and then he started playing with other kids who were at the wedding. He had quite a bit of fun! Also, many kids at the wedding were wearinf Ben 10 clothes, so it seems Ben 10 is popular in Thailand. Too bad he has already moved on to bionicles.
At the wedding, I was also surprised (well a little surprised) to run into Pui. She was my roomate before Lily. We did not get along well. She told me not to have friends come over because she wanted to study, and I tried not to have them over too much, but once or twice was too much for her, and she essentially kicked me out of the apartment. Actually, she moved out first, but the meaning was for me to leave and she did not want to deal with me. Lily and her are cousins, and I had got to know and got along really well with Lily, so that is how we ended up together. I guess that is one reason I am glad I met her because if I had not been her roommate, I would not know Lily. I probably would not know Meng either. Crazy how a turn of events like that can change more than you expect. Anyway, it was nice to see her again, but it felt a little odd just knowing that we barely talked at all after I moved out. I think she totally avoided me. But she was quite friendly at the wedding, and I thought how it is funny how time and distance can change relationships in such different ways.
It turned out to be a really nice evening.
The Grand Palace was, of course, grand. Actually, it was beautiful. I especially liked the way they constructed it using pottery at the temple. Actually, I am not fully clear what part is the palace and what is the temple. I suppose it was the temple that was more impressive to me. There was much detail that went into the building of the palace. Also, it is the first time I visit a country with a monarchy, and I wonder what palaces in other countries look like. (And after just saying this I begin to wonder if Spain is a monarchy, and I have visited one before). At some point, Meng felt the need to point out to me the Grand Palace was kind of small compared to the Forbidden City. Reflecting on that a little more I feel curious about the differences in the relationships between the King and the people and the Emporer and the people.
After wandering around the palace and temple, we got a bit hungry and a bit thirsty. We were happy to find a little concession stand on the way out and had a drink and on the way back to the ferry, we stopped for some street food. Meng and Yingna had some noodles. I had the chicken from the noodles, and we all had some grilled meat on a stick. There were quite a few different foods to choose from and they all looked quite good actually. Hudson was happy to eat the meat on the stick. He was even happier to find Root Beer being sold in the store! After satisfying our bellies, we headed back to the hotel.
On the way back to the hotel, Hudson had to go to the bathroom. He could not wait. When we were at the station to change trains, I thought it would be easy to find a restroom in the train station. It was not to be the case, so we found a way to let the station worker let us leave the station, find a restroom, and re enter the station. Fortunately, it all worked out. And I was impressed by the Christmas Decorations in the shopping mall and actually I was quite impressed with the mall itself.
After getting back to the hotel area, Yingna and I went shopping to buy a card and maybe a little something for Lily's sister. We ended up with a card and a picture frame for a wedding photo. Then we went back to the hotel, changed, and caught a taxi to the hotel for the wedding reception.
The wedding reception was a sort of cocktail party. There were snacky foods and drinks. It was quite fancy. The food seemed to be quite international. There was sushi, noodles, spring rolls, grilled meat on a stick, roast pork, fruit, cakes, nuts, and many other things that did not catch my interest too much. When we first got there, we took a photo with the bride and groom, and then headed into the party. I thought that there were quite a few older people at the wedding and they were all wearing quite bright clothes. There was a balloon guy that made different balloon animals and things for the children. I saw a pooh bear and a doramon that actually impressed me. Hudson finally got enough courage to ask for a balloon sword, and then he started playing with other kids who were at the wedding. He had quite a bit of fun! Also, many kids at the wedding were wearinf Ben 10 clothes, so it seems Ben 10 is popular in Thailand. Too bad he has already moved on to bionicles.
At the wedding, I was also surprised (well a little surprised) to run into Pui. She was my roomate before Lily. We did not get along well. She told me not to have friends come over because she wanted to study, and I tried not to have them over too much, but once or twice was too much for her, and she essentially kicked me out of the apartment. Actually, she moved out first, but the meaning was for me to leave and she did not want to deal with me. Lily and her are cousins, and I had got to know and got along really well with Lily, so that is how we ended up together. I guess that is one reason I am glad I met her because if I had not been her roommate, I would not know Lily. I probably would not know Meng either. Crazy how a turn of events like that can change more than you expect. Anyway, it was nice to see her again, but it felt a little odd just knowing that we barely talked at all after I moved out. I think she totally avoided me. But she was quite friendly at the wedding, and I thought how it is funny how time and distance can change relationships in such different ways.
It turned out to be a really nice evening.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Leaving on a Jet Plane.... Don't Know if I'll be Back Again
So today is the big day. The day we have been waiting over a month for, the day to go to Thailand. We spent the morning packing for the trip, and I vowed to pack less than usual. I actually succeeded by removing about half of what I packed. I even packed light for Hudson. Good for me!
We left for the airport around 12:00 and on the way we stopped at the book store so I could exchange the book Meng had surprised me by getting. I was deeply touched by his thoughtfulness, but the book he got is avaliable on the pirated book cart, so I could not justify paying full price for a book I did not really have the strongest desire to read.
Our plane was delayed for a short while, but the flight went fast and when we arrived in Bangkok, it did not take long for Lily to find us. I was so happy to see her. It always seems too long between visits. Tor, her brother, was also there. They took us to eat some noodles and then brought us to our hotel. It was so nice of them to get us from the airport.
We stayed at the Manhattan Hotel. It was not so impressive, but not bad either. I did not have any really strong first impressions of Bangkok, but I did feel it was really nice to be in the warm weather.
We left for the airport around 12:00 and on the way we stopped at the book store so I could exchange the book Meng had surprised me by getting. I was deeply touched by his thoughtfulness, but the book he got is avaliable on the pirated book cart, so I could not justify paying full price for a book I did not really have the strongest desire to read.
Our plane was delayed for a short while, but the flight went fast and when we arrived in Bangkok, it did not take long for Lily to find us. I was so happy to see her. It always seems too long between visits. Tor, her brother, was also there. They took us to eat some noodles and then brought us to our hotel. It was so nice of them to get us from the airport.
We stayed at the Manhattan Hotel. It was not so impressive, but not bad either. I did not have any really strong first impressions of Bangkok, but I did feel it was really nice to be in the warm weather.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Best Christmas Present Ever
I have had a terrible cold for the past few days, and I had actually called in sick to work on Tuesday. I was a bit surprised to get a message from the class monitor of class 3 to ask if I was going to have class this week. I said that I was, and she said ok. So I was waiting for the class to start. I was enjoying a book. And the girl who is observing my class came into the room. She wanted me to take a walk with her.
I thought it was a bit odd and I did not really want to go for a walk. A nap would have been nice. She led me away from the classroom. Which I somehow thought was completely normal. She had some questions about graduate school and that she was wanting to know about writing recommendation letters. I was trying to answer her questions and also trying to figure out why we had to leave the room to have this conversation.
After enough time had passed, we headed back. The students had all come in while I was gone and they wrote Merry Christmas on the board and decorated it. It was beautiful. (Well, as beautiful as a chalkboard can get). Then one girl downloaded the song "Last Christmas" on her cell phone and played it. And they gave me a present. The present was they has each signed a christmas card. Most of them thanked me for my teaching and said really really nice things. I was deeply touched for their thoughfulness. I was really one of the most touching moments of my life.
I was not quite sure how to react because I nearly started crying. Which I did not really want to do in front of my students so I just told them Thank You very much for their thoughtfulness. I am not sure they realize it but that was the nicest and most thoughtful thing someone has done for me in quite a long time and I do not think I will forget it ever.
The only other time I came close to crying over a christmas present was when my mom got me a Nintendo Game System.
How about you, what's your best Christmas present ever?
I thought it was a bit odd and I did not really want to go for a walk. A nap would have been nice. She led me away from the classroom. Which I somehow thought was completely normal. She had some questions about graduate school and that she was wanting to know about writing recommendation letters. I was trying to answer her questions and also trying to figure out why we had to leave the room to have this conversation.
After enough time had passed, we headed back. The students had all come in while I was gone and they wrote Merry Christmas on the board and decorated it. It was beautiful. (Well, as beautiful as a chalkboard can get). Then one girl downloaded the song "Last Christmas" on her cell phone and played it. And they gave me a present. The present was they has each signed a christmas card. Most of them thanked me for my teaching and said really really nice things. I was deeply touched for their thoughfulness. I was really one of the most touching moments of my life.
I was not quite sure how to react because I nearly started crying. Which I did not really want to do in front of my students so I just told them Thank You very much for their thoughtfulness. I am not sure they realize it but that was the nicest and most thoughtful thing someone has done for me in quite a long time and I do not think I will forget it ever.
The only other time I came close to crying over a christmas present was when my mom got me a Nintendo Game System.
How about you, what's your best Christmas present ever?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Manners #4 How to behave while traveling on an airplane
How to Behave when Riding on an airplane.
Step One Know your seat location before you enter the airplane. Quickly walk to your row and stand in it letting others walk by you.
Step Two Get what you need our of your bag and stash it in the bin abouve your seat, not in the bin at the front of the plane.
Step Three Sit in your seat and place any other bag you have under the seat in front of you. Don't get out a bunch of work or your computer until the traveler sitting on the other side of you boards.
Step Four Turn you cell phone off
Step Five Speak cordially to the other passengers seated next to you. A simple "Hello" or "Good Morning" will suffice.
Step Six Lean on one armrest. Don't hog the other one. If the other passenger is not using it, you can probably lean on it. Be the considerate one.
Step Seven Say "excuse me" to your neighbor if you have to use the restroom. Wait until they get up before you try to squeeze on by them. Thank them on the way our and on the way back to your seat.
Step Eight Listen to the flight attendants and pilot when they are talking. Smile at the flight attendants, use proper etiquitte and than them for their service.
Step Nine Stay in your seat when the airplane comes to its gate. Wait! Then get out your bag from the overhead bin. Take it out only when you are sure that you wont hit someone with it and you have the space to maneuver. Quickly move off the airplane.
Step One Know your seat location before you enter the airplane. Quickly walk to your row and stand in it letting others walk by you.
Step Two Get what you need our of your bag and stash it in the bin abouve your seat, not in the bin at the front of the plane.
Step Three Sit in your seat and place any other bag you have under the seat in front of you. Don't get out a bunch of work or your computer until the traveler sitting on the other side of you boards.
Step Four Turn you cell phone off
Step Five Speak cordially to the other passengers seated next to you. A simple "Hello" or "Good Morning" will suffice.
Step Six Lean on one armrest. Don't hog the other one. If the other passenger is not using it, you can probably lean on it. Be the considerate one.
Step Seven Say "excuse me" to your neighbor if you have to use the restroom. Wait until they get up before you try to squeeze on by them. Thank them on the way our and on the way back to your seat.
Step Eight Listen to the flight attendants and pilot when they are talking. Smile at the flight attendants, use proper etiquitte and than them for their service.
Step Nine Stay in your seat when the airplane comes to its gate. Wait! Then get out your bag from the overhead bin. Take it out only when you are sure that you wont hit someone with it and you have the space to maneuver. Quickly move off the airplane.
Manners #3 How to Behave when riding the Bus
How to Behave when riding the bus
Step One Have exact change, transportation card, or ticket
Step Two Respect open-seating. Do not deny the use of open seats. This is considered rude behavior. Place carry on items on your lap or under the seat.
Step Three Allow disabled, elderly, and pregnant passenters to use their reserved seating areas, usually located at the front and near the exits of the bus.
Step Four Watch your noise level and language
Step Five Respect the bus driver. Do no distract him.
Step Six Adhere to the rules. No smoking, eating, or drinking. Do not place any body part outside the window.
Step Seven Maintain courteous behavior.
Step One Have exact change, transportation card, or ticket
Step Two Respect open-seating. Do not deny the use of open seats. This is considered rude behavior. Place carry on items on your lap or under the seat.
Step Three Allow disabled, elderly, and pregnant passenters to use their reserved seating areas, usually located at the front and near the exits of the bus.
Step Four Watch your noise level and language
Step Five Respect the bus driver. Do no distract him.
Step Six Adhere to the rules. No smoking, eating, or drinking. Do not place any body part outside the window.
Step Seven Maintain courteous behavior.
Manners #2 How to Behave in a School Library
How to Behave in a School Library
*Need to be quiet.
*Don't bother others
*Walk--Don't Run
*Clean hands
*Take good care of Library Materials
*Give damaged books to the librarian
*Return Books on time
*Need to be quiet.
*Don't bother others
*Walk--Don't Run
*Clean hands
*Take good care of Library Materials
*Give damaged books to the librarian
*Return Books on time
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)