Monday, January 31

I had another challenging week at school. The new schedule is hard, and the kids have been unruly in two of my three classrooms. I tried different classroom management techniques without much luck—and then I started feeding myself messages like, what kind of person are you that you’re letting a bunch of six year olds walk all over you? And then I beat myself up for beating myself up, like, Ellen and Luke are worn out by this schedule too, but they aren’t blaming themselves—why is my brain wired to be so self-critical?

But I’d say I had a little more space around my feelings this week than last, and I focused a lot on being in my experience, and not just focusing on when the morning or work day or work week would end. And when my direct conversations or promises of rewards (like extra playtime) failed with the kids, I tried some more discipline-based classroom management on Thursday (I sent one of the kids out of the group and back to his station after he repeatedly did something I told him not to), and that seemed to be the most effective. I kinda hate doing it—it creates an uncomfortable moment for all of us—but maybe it’s necessary when the kids have gotten so unruly.

Anyway, here are some pics from the week…

Roman and I ordered burgers and fries and I tried to look as tough as the t-shirt Roman bought for me warranted:

While Roman rocked the matching version:

We also checked out Ratchethewi, a neighborhood we’re considering moving to once our current lease is up, since it’s on the BTS and has more local vibes than Nana. We sat in a little alley and ate khao kha moo (braised pork leg) while the local cats watched us carefully.

On a long walk on Saturday, I saw this very ickily-named (closed down) massage parlor:

And when I went to meet up with Jo for mocktails in Thong Lo, I stopped to get a picture of a whole herd of cats that had congregated on an awning where someone had tossed some fried chicken:

It’s Chinese New Year and the malls are all festooned with red Chinese lanterns and tiger-themed displays in honor of the upcoming year of the tiger (and because Thailand loves a celebration/selfie opportunity).

On Sunday, I headed to Chinatown to meet my friend Van for a group dinner in celebration of the new year. I had written this blog post Sunday morning and was feeling a little down about my teaching situation, and the outing really shifted my mood. Chinatown felt so fun and festive, and meeting and talking with other people got me out of my head. And there were lots of fun things to take pictures of.

I was told to wear red, and while I feel this dress is more of a poppy color, I think
the red manicure and tiger necklace really helped make the outfit look properly festive.