Well, for better or worse, the halfway point has arrived. I'm not quite sure if I long to return to Canada, or if I would rather stay here- just to see through the school year.
The weather has changed quite a bit.... there's been a shift to the monsoon season. The good news is that the oppressive heat is gone.... it doesnt seem to get much hotter than 28 or so. The bad news, is that the rain is almost constant, and mud is ubiquitious. Oh well.... I don't control the weather, so complaining about it is futile.
I've gotten to know a little bit more about the town of Mae Sot. Mae Sot is an extremely interesting place. On the surface, little appears to be remarkable.... save for the Burmese shop signs. There are 7-11s everywhere, tons of cyber-cafes, and even a few Western "farang" places. Only spending a few days here would leave you with no other impression than a typical border town. It is only by spending a longer time here, and by talking to the right people, that you can really get a feel of some of the crazy things that go on here.
For one thing, there are quite a few jewelerry stores in town. What isn't obvious, is that all the jewels are smuggled in from Myanmar. Even some of the classy looking electronics stores are rumoured to be merely a front for drug, sex, and money laundering. Many of the people working here are illegal Burmese who pretend not to be.... working for almost nothing, yet living a life much better than they would in Burma. In the most random and obscure locations, one would find underground schools, news centres, and Karen resistance movements. A few times I've witnessed the deportation of Burmese, which looks disturbingly similar to the deporation of Jews depicted in numerous HOlocaust movies..... picture a whole ton of people crowded into this grate-like pickup truck. Where they're being shiped, namely Burma, is little better than where the Jews were shipped. however, word has it that they often dont stay there for long, as immigration in thailand tends to be lax, and they jsut walk back over the border.
Things in school are okay. My grade 5 and 6 class is somewhat frustrating.,... I try to teach them simple grammer.... verb conjugation (present tense) and what not.... and in class most of them sem to understand. I ask them (in burmese) if they understand, and they say yes, and they generally get the board excercises right. When I give them tests, however, around half of them fail. I dont know what to do!
I love grade 9 though. Astrid thinks im being too hard on them, but honestly i dont really care what she thinks. And neither seem the students. While some of them are very limited, in those who aren't I've aklready seen quite an improvement. One girl, Lwin Lwin, who seems to be the self-apopinted "class leader", complained a little bit when i first assigned a lot of work.... now shes the most motivated in the class, and her work in exceptional. Anotehr girl, May Dar, always seems to get whats going on, although her motivation is inconsistent. In three other people, Doh Soe, Dar Yee Hla, and Cho Nwe, I see remarkable effort and improvement, although their skills are still a little rough around the edges.
As I am half way done, I have to ask myself, "have I found what I'm looking for in my trip?". To be honset, I never erally knew what I was looking for..... somewhere, my search for the exotic turned into a longing for the familiar. However, what I have found is a remarkable sense of self confidence that I've never had in my life, and I hope and plan to take it back to Canada.
Thats about it from me.... Stefan is gone, tragically, and I'm gonna miss the guy. Until Next Saturday, i wish you all well. Cheers.
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