Yesterday I proctored three exams. Went to Hua Mak campus as usual at around 0615 to catch the coach bus to Bangna at around 0700. Ajarn J showed up and we made the trip together. He usually will catch a van near his apartment downtown so this was a bit of a surprise. We share an office and we also are working together on the World Civilization course.
First proctoring was at 0900. Nothing significant other than the pregnant janitorial lady came in with a coke for me at around 1000. She used to be rather none chalant toward me when I said hi. Since she became pregnant five or six months ago, she has been very friendly and outgoing. She does not speak English at all. I usually joke with her about her soon to be born baby. I jokingly assured her she was going to have a girl which she greatly appreciated.
Can not even remember what it was I proctored.
Next exam was at 1200. Again, nothing significant during the proctoring period.
Last exam was at 1500. I remember this one because it was very unusual. It was Business Law II and the majority of the students were from China (either mainland or Taiwan). Seems to me this was a Thai-style business law class. It did not seem to be international law, so it was curious why so many Chinese were taking the test.
Had a great time finding out where all the Chinese were from (I asked them in Chinese to see the expression on their face that a falang could speak Chinese). Had a couple from Shanghai, two from Anhwei Province, at least three from Beiing and three from Taiwan. Oh, yes and there was a young lady from Kunming. She said Yunnan but I could not hear her and she had to repeat Yunnan twice. Not sure I understood until she wrote it down. I must have really caught her attention when I showed some serious excitement about her being from Kunming. My wife and I hold Kunming in high regard, having visited there three times already.
The Taiwanese students are a strange lot. Since I lived in Taiwan for two years after my intensive Chinese course at Monterey, I have a certain amount of prejudice for them. I like them is what I mean. Taiwan is the most successful democracy in all of Asia and it is economically a real tiger. Anyway, these students all deny they are Chinese. Say what?
Yep, they say "we are not Chinese, we are Taiwanese." My comment is always (in Chinese) - you speak Chinese, you look Chinese, why do you say you are not Chinese. They usually end up admitting their Chineseness.
Just for fun, I gave the time left in Chinese and then repeated it in Thai. Everyone laughed.
At the beginning of class, a student came in, went back out and then did a "pray to Buddha" thing with his book. He was rather comical and obviously a good guy. I noticed him stareing at me throughout the class and had a feeling I knew why he was stareing. I have had the same stare when I visit China. No, it was not the "oh my goodness, a foreigner is in the area and I have never seen one before" stare,
Nope, this was a "gee, I really want to talk to this foreigner but I am not sure how to do it" stare.
After the exam he remained behind with another guy (more later on him) and we visited. I had him pegged. He had spent three and a half years in Lubbock, Texas and was anxious to find out where I was from and if I knew anything about Lubbock. He had a strange Singaporean accent to his English which was not unpleasant. Kind of a clipped British accent with yearnings of Australian or some such highlights to it. He was a real riot. Totally a Gen Xer with a flair for comedy. He laughed when I told him he was really from Singapore.
"No, ajarn. I'm really from Bangkok but I have both a Thai and a Chinese surname," he insisted as he wrote his Chinese surname on the board in Chinese. Sure enough, there it was on the board - "Chen." I then wrote my Chinese surname on the board in Chinese for him "Siao Shan." This is a joke, of course, as the characters in Chinese mean "small mountain."
What a charming and wacked out kid, I told myself as he left.
The other student who stayed late to talk was wearing a baseball cap. He had asked permission to cram a bit outside before the test. I had told him that he had until ten after to cram or whatever. This was at around five minutes before the three start time.
It only takes about five seconds to tell what students have studied aboard. Not so much their English (five seconds of English is not even enough time to understand for native English speakers let alone an ESL student). The five seconds is enough to react to a student and how he or she reacts to the ajarn. These reactions come more from the gut than the head. I had this kid "cramming outside" as a Californian for sure. Hat, attitude and speech all yelled out LA kid!
I have been teaching at ABAC for three years and I am good, very good at analysing my gut reaction to kids and their English backgrounds. I have been fooled, but not very often. Reaction analysing, for me, is great fun when I first meet an ABAC student.
The "cramming before class" kid was the typical "Thai studied in LA" student. He was Mr. Cool. He obviously has bought into the LA lifestyle and he loves it.
My comments are not negative about these LA Thai rockers. No, in fact, these students are pure American in their outlook on life. Most will have a 3 GPA or higher and will scare the heck out of their Thai ajarns by asking questions, American style, in class. The Thai ajarns hate them. The Falang teachers love these brash young Thais. No, I love'em and look forward to having them in my classes.
This "crammer" (as I will call him) was one of these typical LA Thai students. He, however, had grown up in LA with over thirteen years in Anaheim. He hated it in Thailand and was probably intimidating all his Thai teachers with his questions and comments.
We visited for about ten minutes during which time I told him he was an American. He tried to tell me that he was a Thai citizen but I would have none of it. I then explained that "American" was more a state of mine than a location. He walked like an American, he talked like an American and he certainly thought like an American. Yep, he said - I am definitely an American. I ended up giving him my name card.
He is bigtime, as far as I was concerned - the real future of Thailand.
If it had not been for the last two kids in my last exam, the day would have been written off as boring. As it was, I met two more ABACers who established again why I teach here. i am loving it.
