A Busy Week

A busy week in a busy life! Friday was Academic Day at school so we had a load of inter-school competitions and lots of visitors. I was a judge in one of the speech competitions and my heart goes out to the competitors. What a difficult terrifying experience! In some respects a waster of time, in my humble opinion, and of little academic worth. Also there was a lot of noise outside our room, the mandatory karaoke competition, so some of the more softly spoken kids were virtually inaudible. In any event we did not have to teach and such days are always welcome!

I was never a fan of learning things by rote, anyone can do it, and I am not really sure if an ability to recite something parrot fashion indicates anything in particular. I would exclude poetry from this. I was a victim of the Catholic Catechism, and I remember learning such pearlers, aged 9,  as: "A sacrament is an outward sign of inward grace ordained by Jesus Christ, Our Lord." I am still not very clear what this means!  We used to get a weekly test on it and we were belted for poor performance! Plus I could recite the Credo in Latin by about age 12.

Clearly learning a speech in a foreign tongue is much more challenging and I don't doubt that the transition from Thai to English and vice versa is much more daunting than say from English to French or  Latin. The key thing in this respect is the script,  the Thai language as well as having many huge differences from romance languages has a different script.

From teaching I readily appreciate what a challenge learning a new script can be. I teach a lot of kids who really struggle with writing in English. Unwittingly my Saturday morning class has a strong emphasis on reading and writing and trying to match written with spoken. My kids are writing correctly whereas many kids have a tendency to adapt the same approach they use for Thai.

But I felt for some of these students as they quite literally died on their feet or otherwise struggled to enunciate badly written speeches. The process was as mechanical as Mortlake Crematorium, London, in that people had their allocated slots and on completion were rather unceremonially moved on for the next contestant. I would have liked to give the students some feedback and some encouragement but sadly there was no provision to do this.

I am not sure whether it is a reflection on my skills or not but I was very pleased that two of the students I tutor won a speech and a story telling competition respectively. One in particular, at 10 years old, is a truly gifted child and I believe she has the potential to win national competitions. Her parents are quite ambitious for the child and I told them to be careful with her and not push her too hard. Both of the girls gave me a hug! These are the moments when as a teacher I get a deep sense of satisfaction. It is important for me to feel meaningfully engaged and that I am doing something positive. I recall the many years I worked in public/voluntary organisations and was usually embroiled in so much conflict that it was impossible to pay any attention to delivering a service to customers. I have to say that I also got a lot of satisfaction when I was cabbing/chauffeuring and a lot of money too!

From a school perspective we have English camp next week for Grades 5 - 9. There will be about 160 kids plus teachers, headed for a resort in Suan Poong, a mountain area to the west of Ratchaburi and towards the Myanmar border, for three days/two nights. The theme is Health & Well Being and I am delivering a session on Healthy Eating. Sadly I will be away from Luna & Benedict.

Benedict as always is a joy. Today he has an upset tummy, must have a bug so he has been quite uncomfortable and poohing a lot. I think it is passing. Unusual to see Benedict so grumpy and miserable. However he has started to smile again so we reckon he is on the mend. There are real clear sounds coming from his mouth....... baaah baah ....... and so we reckon a comprehensible sound is not so far away. Physically Benedict is strong and he is becoming adept at manoeuvring himself across our bed. I will probably have to make the house Benedict proof in the next month or so to prevent him from falling down the stairs.

On the bird front nothing major to report. I saw two beautiful pied kingfishers in the air at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Friday, I say beautiful but they make a horrible screech! Our pied harriers are still local, well two of the females were out hunting late Friday afternoon. Yesterday a quick trip to Laem Pak Bia showed 170 black-tailed godwits and 18 painted stork. I still have so much to learn!

The Bishop Examines the Product

Cotton Pygmy Goose nr Huay Mai Teng Reservoir Ratchaburi

This is reasonably common but I like it and managed to capture this this morning using my scope and handheld compact. I am definitely going to invest in a camera, the problem is you have to buy Photoshop and no doubt lots of other stuff so I am dragging my feet!

Spoon-billed Sandpiper et al

Saturday afternoon I had my first sighting of the world's most endangered shorebird, the spoon billed sandpiper, in Pak Thale. I have to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Phil Round and Dee who spotted three spoon-bills in a flock of assorted waders and steered me to them. I doubt whether I would have seen them unless I got a head on. These fellows may have a very distinctive spoon bill but it isn't obvious if, for instance, you get a side on view. These guys, however, can identify it due to the ultra white sheen of its underparts, without reference to its bill, and now that I have sighted it I can see how this is possible. Phil pointed one out and said to me its bill was wedged into its body but if I kept on the bird it would start feeding at some point and the bill would be visible. Sure enough five minutes later the spoon-billed sandpiper duly obliged and revealed its bill.

Phil Round reckons there are less than 300 spoon-billed sandpipers left in the entire world. Its status is extremely critical, or officially "critically endangered". The bird breeds in north east Russia in a fairly localised area and normally this area sees about 200 birds during the breeding season of the northern spring and summer, April through to October. This year two birds have been recorded. The IUCN Red List will give you full information about the range and status of this rapidly declining bird.

Birding becomes very easy when you are with the experts. I also had first sightings of Nordmann's Greenshank and Chinese Egret, a further two endangered shore birds, whose numbers are declining but not so dangerously as the spoon-billed sandpiper.....well, not yet. The Chinese Egret is riotous. It skews its neck and head at an angle of about 45+ degrees from its body and then tries to walk in a straight line as it feeds. We observed one red-necked stint that bore a tag from Shanghai,China. This gives an idea of the range of these birds, and the spoon-bill sandpiper comes from further north. Further first sightings included: grey plover, long-toed stint, dunlin, curlew sandpiper, and broad-billed sandpiper.

I also got a lesson in separating Indian from Little Cormorant....... the former has a much longer bill with a slightly downward pointing tip. This only really becomes apparent when they are next to each other and they duly obliged for us. When the Chinese Egret was spotted Phil gave us a very helfpul explanation of how the area around the eyes is quit distinctly shaped from that of the little egret.

So some top quality birding, grateful thanks to Phil Round.

Benedict at 4 months

The Book of Wisdom

I like this! It appeals to my anti-authoritarian side! It was the reading designated for the feast of St Martin of Tours, 11th November 2009, on www.sacredspace.ie. I also like this site!

The Book of Wisdom Chapter 6, 1 -11:

"Listen then, kings, and understand;
rulers of remotest lands, take warning;
hear this, you who govern great populations,
taking pride in your host of subject nations!
For sovereignty is given to you by the Lord
and power by the Most High,
who will himself probe your acts and scrutinise your intentions.

If therefore, as servants of his kingdom, you have not ruled justly
nor observed the law,
nor followed the will of God,
he will fall on you swiftly and terribly.
On the highly placed a ruthless judgement falls;
the lowly are pardoned, out of pity,
but the mighty will be mightily tormented.
For the Lord of all does not cower before anyone,
he does not stand in awe of greatness,
since he himself has made small and great
and provides for all alike;
but a searching trial awaits those who wield power.
So, monarchs, my words are meant for you,
so that you may learn wisdom and not fall into error;
for those who in holiness observe holy things will be adjudged holy,
and, accepting instruction from them, will find their defence in them.
Set your heart, therefore, on what I have to say,
listen with a will, and you will be instructed."

Here endeth today's sermon!

Black Kites at Huai Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province

I decided to drive into the eastern side of the reservoir Sunday morning (08.11.09) and I almost run these Black Kites over. They are truly beautiful birds and they were very unbothered by my proximity.  In fact they only flew off when a family party arrived and the kids chased them away. However I had these fellows for about an hour and it was a real pleasure to be able to view them at such close quarters.

Greater Spotted Eagle

Photographed from a distance today using a telescope with a handheld compact, far from ideal. There were a number of black kites in the surrounds...... but this looks very different. I am very close to sending to the UK for the funds to buy a decent camera with a decent lens....

Loi Kratong

It was very nice to be able to take Benedict down to the river side for this year's Loi Kratong. There were a lot of recently born Thai babies down there too with their parents.  As usual Benedict attracted a lot of attention, this little white boy strapped to his dad's chest. The riverside and central market area were kicking because Loi Kratong is a big event here in Thailand. This was reinforced by the final two periods of school being cancelled to let the students make their kratongs. 

We took Benedict down to the river and we made our wishes and sent our humble little kratong onto the murky Maeklong river. This was happening all over Thailand to an accompaniment of music and fireworks.

I have to say these types of events really show Thailand at its best, especially in a place like Ratchaburi, where it is essentially a very local event. We don't have a significant community of non-Thais to pander to here largely due to there being no beach or sea! So the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. We ate some delicious food in the market, fish fried in garlic, and headed home at a sensible time. Fireworks were being dispatched into the skies until the wee small hours. No riots, no stabbings, no murders and no evidence of mass brawls and the like which sadly so often accompany communal celebrations in the UK.  Just a good time!

An Ordinary Week

A very work focused week, and in this respect a very busy and productive week. The highlight of our week was a trip to the circus thanks to the school. A troupe of Chinese gymnasts put on a great spectacle of stunts at the local sports centre and I must say we loved it. It was really entertaining. Thanks to the school. Of course many of my pupils were there and I took some solace from the fact that the same ones that misbehave in my classes were misbehaving at the circus!

Friday morning was devoted to Halloween activities which in my case didn't quite come off. I taught one class The Hearse Song and was expecting to teach it to another three classes. This didn't quite materialise. I was surpised by what a big thing Halloween was for the kids. I guess J K Rowlings and Michael Jackson, RIP, are the culprits.

I got back to teaching my extra classes as well and it was particularily enjoyable to work with my four six year old babies, although my three 10 year old girls give me great fun too. I have to say that I feel a lot more comfortable and confident. However it is hard work!

This afternoon Luna, Benedict and I had a trip to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir and sighted a couple of brown kites and a very elegant pied harrier, causing everything small to get going. I think this venue deserves serious exploration. I can report that Nick Upton has reported seeing a SBS and also 400 + Black Kites roosting in my normal haunt, Khao Yoi, in Petchaburi province. I am afraind I'll not get to do much serious birding until December.

Benedict remains a joy and his mother, Luna, is a very close second. We have a happy, cosy home environment. An ordinary week, indeed!