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.