Thailand 'Problems'

It's only fitting that right after I told you about my 'normal day' as a teacher, the next is anything but.  Just when you think you have settled into a routine, gotten the feel for your new surroundings and started to feel comfortable, Thailand throws you a curve ball.   Today that curve ball came in two forms- Valentine's Day and a monkey.

First off, Valentines Day is a big deal around here.  The kids walk around with sheets of shiny, heart-shaped stickers, adhering them to anybody and everybody they pass.  It took Lauren and I twice as long to walk back from lunch today because students were stopping us left and right, yelling "teechur.. teechur" and affixing the small hearts to our shirts, delivering the best "Happy Valentine's Day" they could muster.  By the end of the day I could barely recognize the shirt I was wearing under all the stickers I had accumulated throughout the day. Presents and candy are plentiful and girls carry around massive bouquets of flowers, making them look like they just stepped of the stage of a Miss America pageant.  It's extravagant, to say the least, and puts even our most die-hard V-Day enthusiasts to shame.

The second, more unusual incident today happened during second period.  Students were trickling in to the classroom, I was sitting at the desk waiting for class to start, when a monkey scurried along a railing outside.  A few students shrieked but the monkey didn't show much interest in us so I didn't think much of it.  (Lopburi, the closest city to Ban Mi, is home to the famous 'Monkey Temple', a major tourist attraction in Thailand and is absolutely crawling with them.  Occasionally they do find their way here, but rarely. So, although I was surprised to see one in Ban Mi, they are not too hard to find.)  About 20 minutes later in the middle of my lesson, the little guy was back and up to something.  He got brave and climbed onto one of the small, shutter-like doors that swing out of the wall, then swung into the window to sit. Many of the students sitting along the windows immediately and justifiably, screamed and ran to the other side of the room. The curious little thing, scared by the commotion, quickly ran off before he had a chance to get into any more trouble.  All I could do was laugh, and when things had settled down many of the students were laughing with me.  I think they could tell from my dumfounded expression that a monkey entering the classroom was quite the foreign concept for me.  Stealing an expression from a friend, all I could think was.. Normal people don't have these problems!  Normal people don't have monkeys climbing into the windows of their classrooms!  As soon as I think I've got this place down, something completely unfamiliar ambushes me and I'm left with my jaw gaping wide open.  It's just another example of the ways Thailand is always coming up with ways to surprise me.