The Last Year

We are currently on holiday in The Philippines and it has taken these last two weeks here to relax and wind down following a difficult year in Thailand on the work front. Fortunately we have four weeks remaining before our return.

Let me state the important stuff. We are all alive and well. Margaret is a joy and gives us much happiness. Benny is a perfect monster as befits a three year old. However much our children "take" I have to say what they "give" in return is immeasurably greater. It's a joy to watch these children grow and develop and to be around them night and day. A few days ago we were away for two nights and this was the first time we had left them - I think we started to miss them as the second night approached!

Thailand is an excellent place to raise young children. Of course both here and in Thailand our kids are like small celebrities - people love to look at our kids and strangers even ask to take their photographs; in part this is because they are so fair-skinned. Benny has a mop of curls reminiscent of Dennis the Menace as well as being very "guapo" - so in Thailand, where the guidebooks tell you not to touch people's heads as it is considered the most sacred part of the human anatomy Benny sometimes can have fifty people a day touching his hair. I understand why this frustrates him and so when people try to talk to him he shouts :"No!"

The work situation was intolerable and has been stagnating for a few years after a joyful first year. I am a little hopeful that we may be in the process of turning the corner on this difficult period. I weep for the parents and children. I think they deserve so much better. It is not unreasonable to want to provide your children with a decent start in life by providing them with a good education. This is a transcendent value,  universal - it would be an unusual parent who would not want the best for their kids.

In short I have worked in an environment where I believe some of my colleagues would struggle to secure employment stacking shelves in supermarkets. We are good at quantity in Thailand and indeed often confuse it with quality. The real problem is very few around me have any sense of quality. I have made the cardinal error of challenging some of the nonsense and I stand by that action. Challenge, however, really doesn't work in this society especially not by a white caucasian.

Don't challenge. That's the learning point. Best strategy is to bite your tongue. In effect I have learned that the best thing I can do is to do my best in every class for my students. It troubles me that this nonsense has been going down in a Catholic school to boot. Of course this isn't really a surprise, is it?! Pretty much consistent with abuse in general.

However I have survived stressful as it has been. Life in Thailand remains good. However work is a very large part of my life so my frustrations have been a bit unsettling. But we are still here although we are actually in The Philippines right now and I am looking forward to a happier year.

Life in Thailand.......

There are a number of reasons why I have not posted much here for some time. I am sorry to say that one factor undoubtedly has been the increasing frustration I have felt at work. Sorry to say it has become a bit of a nightmare with management changes and high levels of incompetence. Sort of stuff that I have found very challenging and made me ask questions about whether it is in our interests to stay here for much longer. So it hasn't been paradise! Of course I am nevertheless a very busy person with a wife, two kids and of course a continuing love of birds and wild life. These have been my priorities and focus.

It's a simple, undeniable truth that I could never have made a better choice of a wife than Luna. I am a fortunate fellow in this respect. I can say loudly that I am a happily married man. I am also happy I was born male; the demands our two kids place on their mother, and I imagine they are little different from the demands children in general place on their mothers, are huge and Luna goes about it all in her usual gentle and calm manner. We don't have any help at home either, so Luna works and then comes home and works. Hopefully we'll find someone to help us and that will alleviate some of the burden. Luna recently celebrated her 40th birthday.

Our kids are strong and healthy and happy. Benedict is growing into quite a character and he is a real conversationalist, enquirer and mimic. ("What doing, Daddy?", "What this Daddy?"........) He goes to nursery school where a large component of his tuition is in English so we don't hear him using much Thai. He's a very handsome little boy with a fair complexion and a head of curly hair. He loves Ben 10 and TV cartoons. His sister, Margaret, is now eight months old; she is undoubtedly my child as she has very white skin. However she is undoubtedly her mother's daughter, too, and one of the joys of my life is observing the interaction between the two. Our children attract enormous attention and interest wherever we go, almost to the point where we could describe them as minor celebrities. It really is amazing .......... strangers often ask if they can take a picture of our kids and of course Benedict knows how to screw up his face and be a monster in such circumstances!

We are currently on a longer than usual school vacation. It really was long over due and very much needed. Right now we are on the road, in Trat, in eastern Thailand, close to the Cambodian border and we are heading to the island of Koh Kood for a few days of rest and relaxation. On my first trip to Thailand almost 14 years ago my first visit outside of Bangkok was to the nearby island of Koh Chang. Then I came through Trat and I have to say I have very little recollection of the place as I literally passed through. One change has been the addition of a large Tesco Lotus store which we visited last night.......!

Whatever, we are still here. Overall our lives are very busy but good. Thailand is a great place to have kids and the positives of living here far outweigh the negatives. Work remains difficult but we shall see what next semester brings and proceed from there.

More Margaret.....

I am a happy man this morning. I have a great wife who is an equally great mother to our two children. My son Benedict is amazing. He has coped brilliantly with his sister's birth and the disruption this has entailed to his little life. No histrionics, plain sailing really. He just doesn't understand he can't play with his little sister at this stage in her life and that jumping up and down on his mother's bed is rather painful for her post surgery! Margaret is very well as is Luna. In the background Jona, or Lola as we call her ( "Granny" or "Nan" in Ilonco), is doing sterling work in helping us as well as enjoying her first grand-daughter.

Margaret

Margaret Jona Charlotte Baradero Brett came into this world this morning at the propitious time of 06:54h. She weighed in at 3.400 kg and is making plenty of noise. In other words she is a picture of health and vitality. Luna is in good form, as well as can be expected, given that she has just undergone a Caesarian section. Baby's name: Margaret Jona after our respective mothers, Charlotte after my father Charles who would have been 87 today were he alive, Baradero because it is a filipino custom to give children their mother's family name and her surname is mine. Benedict is a little bewildered but coping very well. Last night was his first night ever without his Mum and I managed to get him to sleep. No real histrionics. I spent the night at the hospital with Luna and Jona told me he woke about 03:30 asked where I was, then his mother, had some milk and went back to sleep. I showed him some photos of Margaret this morning and he said "Baby Margaret". I took Benedict to nursery after breakfast and that will keep him occupied for most of the day; he can meet up with his mother and sister this afternoon. Benedict weighed in at 2.700 kg on birth so Margaret is a big baby in comparison. Jona is very happy because for her it is a first grand daughter, after six grandsons. Right there will be more later. But let me say thanks be to God that Mum and daughter are well and we are all well too.

Benedict

Benedict continues to grow and grow and grow; he's a delightful boy with a bit of mischief! We love him!

Merry Christmas

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all from all of us here in Ratchaburi. With Luna over seven months into her pregnancy we will be taking it very easy this year with the emphasis on rest and relaxation. Our school term ended yesterday and it's very welcome to have about 10 days off. We will probably go to Mass Christmas morning: easier than Midnight Mass with no disruption to his nocturnal routine. We will have a nice meal somewhere, maybe even a trip to Suan Pueng, and then just take it nice and easy.

One of the things I always like to do at Christmas is take in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings' College, Cambridge. It is broadcast on BBC Radio World Service which is piped into our home by cable TV so at 22:00h that's what I'll be listening to. I like the sacred and holy side of Christmas and I don't think that it gets more sacred and holy than this.

New Year is the big holiday in Thailand at this time of the year. Christmas Day is business as usual. But the western New Year is probably the second biggest holiday in Thailand after the Thai New Year in April. With the exception of Christian schools there will be no closures. Benedict will be at nursery, which means Luna and Jona will get a bit of a break.

I am not feeling 100% with a heavy cold and feeling a bit run down. However I am hoping a bit of rest will do the trick. So once more Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Tourist Thailand - Caveat Emptor

My mate Brian booked a condo for a month on Koh Samui through a company called kohsamui.com and wired 28,000 THB to them. The idea was to sort out a place for his annual Christmas trip to tourist Thailand and after the long flight from Scotland to be able to head to his accommodation with his elderly mother and get settled down.

Five days after his arrival he and his mother are in a hotel at their own expense, no condo, no money back and nobody doing anything. I find it hard to believe this has happened. But from my own bitter experience, Koh Libong in particular, I can hardly say I am too surprised. I would never pay for anything up front in Thailand again unless I was there and was happy with what was on offer.

In the great scheme of things, we all make mistakes and most of us try our best to put them right. In business you say you're sorry and pay the money back immediately because you are fearful of the consequences for your reputation. I am staggered that my mate is still waiting for a refund and likely will have to make a trip to to the tourist police and regulatory authorities. He is being subjected to procrastination tactics: "Sorry the owner is away and won't be back until tomorrow" "It's a holiday weekend". What's wrong with a simple phone call -  give this guy his money back and apologise.

A relative is coming to Thailand soon and he too is headed for tourist Thailand. I am fearful for him. I am sorry to be so negative about tourist Thailand but it really makes my blood boil to learn about this sort of practise. As you know I don't like paying 80 baht for a bowl of noodles!

So be warned.

Update: Brian got his money back after 3 weeks' dogged persistence; there was also some police involvement. He learned a lot of other people were in the same position with this company. So once more, be warned.