Some of my favorite shall we say “different” experiences

Given that this is my last month of teaching in Thailand (can’t believe how quickly it’s gone by), I’ve been thinking about all the interesting experiences I’ve had and particularly the funny and most memorable.  Living in a different country provides many opportunities to have weird things happen and see some unusual sights.  Sometimes these are small and mundane and sometimes they are absolutely mind-blowing.

1) Getting pissed on by a tiger.

Yep, that’s right.  I got peed on.  When in Bangkok on a tour of the Tiger Temple, I was strolling behind a big kitty when all of a sudden I felt my foot getting wet.  When I looked down, I saw that he was spraying his business all over my foot.  It was both disgusting and hilarious.  Those would be some carpet stains I would not want in my house!

Right before the "incident"

2) The occasional complete disregard for my teaching.

While I always have a mouthful to say about my students, this one I have to credit to one of the teachers.  During my lesson that I was doing on the chalkboard, the teacher went to the computer which was right next to me and began listening to YouTube videos on full volume attempting to learn English without headphones or as so much of a second thought that it was incredibly rude!  You would think she would just participate in the class instead.

3) The infamous ping pong shows.

So while I think it’s best not to go into details, mainly because I don’t want to relive it in my mind, let me just say that I would have NOT made my Women’s Studies professors proud for being there.  For those that have not heard of these, they’re basically these shows where women put all sorts of disturbing things inside their, um, “happy place”.  It’s pretty much really gross and degrading but somewhat like going to Rome and not seeing the coliseum, you just gotta go at least once.  Okay, maybe the whole Rome analogy is a bit of a stretch there... 

4) A complete stranger holding my hand.

At the Tiger Temple, we had to walk next to a guide while we went around to each tiger to pose for a picture.  Every person had their own individual staff member.  The funny thing was they held your hand the entire time unless you were posing for a picture.  My lady showed absolutely no emotion as I smiled and giggled at the excitement of being so close to such amazing animals.  She also had a little handheld mirror and was checking herself out throughout the time that we were holding hands.  It was such an awkward yet comical experience. 

5) Being blessed by a monk.

At the Big Buddha in Phuket during the early part of my time in Thailand, I received a blessing from a monk.  I thought he might say some really profound words.  He chanted in Thai for a moment and then said quite simply “Good luck, long life for you” while tapping my head and shoulders with some holy water.

At "Big Buddha" in Phuket

6) Students saying “f*ck you” to me and clearly not knowing the meaning.

It was quite obvious that someone had told them the word and let them know it was a dirty word without actually explaining the meaning.  Their beaming smiles showed they were proud to know a naughty English word and yet were completely clueless to what they were saying.  Nonetheless, it was still quite shocking to hear the f bomb out of their 8 year old mouths.  I definitely went into scolding teacher mode and put them straight…while of course trying not to laugh.

7) Elephants.

This has happened both in my town as well as in other cities while away for weekends.  I’m walking down the street and all of a sudden there’s a little elephant just walking by with its owner.  Ya know, just in case you start to forget that you’re in Thailand.

8) The Long Neck hill tribe.

So when my friend Claire and I signed up for a tour of Chiang Rai, we didn’t think much of the fact that it included a “tour” of the local hill tribe made up of “Long Necks”.  For those that have never heard of this, there are hill tribes in Thailand that are made up of Burmese minorities.  These hill tribes vary but there are some in which the women wear brass coils around their necks and sometimes other parts of their bodies.  The coils press down on the collar bone creating the look of an elongated neck and they often begin wearing them at the age of five.  The rings never come off throughout the woman’s life and they are often seen as signs of beauty as well as a cultural custom.

Anyway, while putting brass rings around your neck may seem absurd to some, I felt much more absurd for having paid to observe them.  It felt so invasive and like we were watching animals at the zoo.  I felt so icky about it that I didn’t even post the pictures I took on Facebook.