My Mornings

Ive been in Bangkok for a month now and Ive over stayed for 4 days already...the visa issue has been trying... if i get a student visa, i wont be able to work at teh school as both schedules clash, without a bachelor degree, i wont be eligible for a work permit...well the problems are endless...

Teaching in a school only means that I have the opportunity to wake up early and because my apartment looks out relatively undisturbed, here are some of the sky scenes I see... God is Great!

Korrecting the Koreans

Ive had Korean parents petition against me because they refuse to have a chinese teach their children english... They were concerned about my accent...that I would have a strong Singlish accent and that their children will pick it up....I mean please lah! What sing gar pore reeun assent har? where got? These people hor...must be dreaming hor!

I have no qualms about speaking singlish, its somethign that im proud of! it's singaporean english...somthing thats unique to me...its a form of english that has evolved over a century and has successfully incoporated 3 languages into english... its Asian English...words like Tau Hu, Roti Prata, Alamak, Loti (bread), buay tahan...and so on...words that we're so comfortable and familiar with...

Anyways... I choose not to speak it for professional reasons, and these parents hear from other parents, who heard from other parents, who met with people who ate a cafe, who worked for people, who had business partners, who had daughters with girlfriends, who had maids, whom during their gossip sessions, heard from the security guard, who met the 7-11 counter staff who heard me use broken english to buy a packet of cigerettes and a bottle of black cat whiskey...

I mean what the hell! baseless, brainless comments...and now a petition...

the parents are actually confused with what's happening, one parent says something, but the children give a totally opposite comment...the kids love coming to school but the parents hate me...Im trying my best to give my all to the kids, but the children are echoing their parent's words and their speech... I had a boy come up to me and questioned why i had not marked his friend's book and threw the book on my table and told me to mark it... I try very hard not to blame the child for i know that that's his mother speaking...not him...

but God's been faithful with providing comfort... same as when he provided the fairy bread in vietnam during my low period... ive received a card from my student thanking me for teaching her and she put loads of crosses in the card with the message 'God loves you'...and she gave me a crucifix as well...

and today as i was praying (in extreme and total fustration) for God to provide the Korean parents with more love and that he reveals himself to them... there was a knock on the door, and the korean children of the parents whom I had been praying for came in with a plate of korean snacks and chocolates for me...God is great... he knows when his children are hurting and how best to comfort them