The scandal in education is that every time when you teach something, you deprive a child of the pleasure and benefit of discovery . . .

Today I received a response to a job inquiry in Thailand as a teacher. I was given this quote and asked to write a very short response, presumably to test my English skills. I actually found it quite a useful way of screening potential teachers. See the quote and my thoughts below.

The scandal in education is that every time when you teach something, you deprive a child of the pleasure and benefit of discovery . . .

Take a moment and reflect on the above statement. What images does it generate in your mind as you reflect on your own personal educational experiences?

By spending a few moments reflecting on your relationship with the education process, you can more clearly understand the implications of the statement above. There is a distinct difference in exploring your own thoughts versus having a pragmatic and systematic transfer of information from teacher to student. Of course I am not saying that there is no role for teachers in this world; only that the role of the teacher may be better fulfilled if it is thought of as “one who facilitates learning.”

I am a teacher. I have taught primary school age students English in Busan, South Korea for the last two years. Sometimes the requirements were that a rigid system was used to hopefully help students increase their English proficiency. Other times I used crafts, games, activities, acting lessons, role plays, situational humor, and art as a means to facilitate the learning of English. Without fail, the activities that were non-traditional were more engaging for both my students and me. So while my title may be teacher, I went to work with the intent of engaging and having fun. I was paid to be a teacher, but more often than not, learning was something that my students did by default. The real value in my job was being able to provide as many different forms of engagement as possible to my students.  To be a generator of ideas.

My personality in my non work life does not differ from my personality in the classroom. Whether it is conversations with friends, blog posts about cultural differences we experience when we travel the world, or spending time creating a book of poetry, my first aim is always to facilitate the generation of ideas in others. That being said, I also cherish the times that I am able to learn and discover something new about myself by shifting my perspective and seeing the world through the eyes of others.

I may not always hold the title of Teacher in my life, but I will always play the role. And if you are an educator, remember the reasons that you wanted to teach. Remember the joy of discovery. Remember that learning happens every day in many forms. And use this reflection as an opportunity to engage with your students. They deserve it.

Marcus Williams

Cambodia Part I: From the border to Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Lena and I crossed the boarder early Saturday morning and went to the mafia run taxi outpost about 1 km from the crossing.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Poipet, Cambodia is not the sort of place you want to spend a lot of time.  Between the hoards of young Cambodian men hanging out on their motorbikes, eyeing your bags, offing suspect assistance, or just being sketchy, you start to feel like a walking ATM from the moment you cross the border. 

We intended to just split the $46 cost of the 2 hour taxi to Siem Reap, but at the station we met a couple from the Philippines who were also going to Siem Reap.  Sweet, 46 divided by 4 is even cheaper.

The ride from Poipet is actually quite enjoyable.  Rice fields, and plains can be seen for the duration of the 2 hour drive from the border to Siem Reap.  And on more than one occasion we spotted some sights that were not familiar to our western eyes.  There was the father who had his young son between him and the steering column of his scooter, 4 chickens dangling from ropes on each side of the handle bars, a live pig, um, “hog tied” and perched on the back of the scooter, and he managed all of this effortlessly. My initial impression after the awe of the situation was to wonder how he managed to get moving.  I’ve riding a few scooter recently and maintaining balance is not problem once you are in motion, but how did this guy go from zero km/h to anything other than horizontal on the pavement?

Speaking of sights, it is not uncommon to see a pick up truck that is in “top load” mode.  Imagine a pickup truck.  Now fill the bed part with various bits of cargo.  Now add about 15 Cambodian workers.  Tricky right?  Now put another 8 or so people on top of the cabin of the pick up truck, directly above where the driver and 2 or 3 other passengers are comfortably positioned.  Finally, put all of this in motion at a reasonably fast 80 km/h and you have a Cambodian top load pickup.

One side note:  we crossed the border in the morning after a full nights sleep.  So we were well rested and ready for the journey ahead. Yet, 20 minutes into the trek, Lena and the two Filipino friends we made at the taxi depot were fast asleep.  I was also feeling quite drowsy and wanted to go to sleep as well, but managed to stay awake.  Part of it was fear that the taxi had been gassed so that we would pass out and not notice our bags being searched for loot, and part of my alertness was based on the two syrupy Redbull energy drinks I had just after crossing the border.  I can’t say for certain that the taxi had been gassed, but I have heard tales of traveler being drugged and robbed on night busses and the like.  FYI.

After about 2 hours on the road, we arrived at the outskirts of a flooded Siem Reap.  The flood waters were in the streets and there was a noticeable stream of water being jettisoned from the sides of the taxi.  As expected, our taxi driver dumped us out at the edge of town into the waiting seats of a couple of tuk tuk drivers.  

The drivers offer you a free ride to your hotel in hopes that you will hire them to tour you around Angkor.  Actually, they rarely take you to your hotel unless you have pre-booked accommodations.  If you just have an idea of where you would like to stay, they will insist that it is too far or not in a good area, or whatever you will believe.  They get a small kickback by taking you to an accommodation, hotel or hostel, with which they have an arrangement. While this is somewhat shady, the hostels in Siem Reap are more like hotels and are usually of a very decent quality.  Plus, when you are paying $7 USD a night, the kickback the tuk tuk driver is getting can’t be that big.  Lena and I were driven by Ramone, who we hired because of his English ability and affable manner.  

He showed us 2 hostels, and we settled on the first one, The Siem Reap Central Hostel, $7 a night.  To say that we were pleasantly surprised with the quality would be an understatement.  I’ll tell you more in part II.

Tuk tuk ride in flood waters.  Give Ramone a tip for driving in this.

Below you get a glimpse of the Old Towne section of Siem Reap.

The picture below is from The Siem Reap Central Hostel. Like I said, more like a hotel.

Bangkok

After spending two years in Busan, South Korea, my second contract finished and I was just not ready to go back to the USA to live or to stay in the ROK (Republic Of Korea).  So I took what saving I had and decided to see some of the world.

The first stop was Bangkok, Thailand.  After a brief stop over in Hong Kong, I arrived in Bangkok in one piece.  This was the third time I visited Thailand, having been here during my winter vacations the last two years.

Thailand greets you with a certain oppressive heat and humidity unknown in North Carolina and certainly foreign to the cool climate of South Korea.  I had packed a couple pairs of pants, 2 long sleeve shirts, and sweatshirt for cool nights.  There really are no cool nights in Bangkok.  Needless to say, those items were eventually mailed home or altered to allow more air access.

From the airport I hopped on the Airport Express train into town and got off at the Phaya Thai exit.  Next I got the first metered taxi to Khao San Rd.  My first few nights I booked a room at Boonsiri Place (for which I spent too much money for the value, but that is the nature of traveling alone in Thailand.)

Maybe it was the 2^nd or 3^rd day, not sure, but I met up with Nick Bud and his sister Kelly.  Nic was also an English teacher in Busan whose contract had reached completion.  We did the usual Bangkok fare, drinking, shopping, eating, and then again in reverse order.  The next two days were peppered with food and massages!  By the end of my third day in Bangkok, Lena Rochford (who I would travel with for the next month), Hannah Richards, and Jenn Young also joined the Busan Reunion! 

On Friday Lena and I set off for Cambodia!  We took a taxi to Mo Chit where the public bus terminal is located.  At gate 23 in the inside counter, we got our tickets to Aranyapatet, a little Thai border town that is one of the main gateways to Cambodia.  On the other side of the border crossing is a town called Poipet, Cambodia.  I once read in Wikitravel that Poipet rhymes with toilet for a reason.  It really is a shithole of town.  Full of snatch thieves, pickpockets, motorbike gangs, the taxi mafia, gambling, prostitution, and any other seeding thing you can think of.  There is no need for the average person to spend any more time in Poipet than is required to secure a taxi to Siem Reap.

Vietnam Visa

I have so much to write about, but just an update, got my Vietnam Visa today!

Saying Goodbye

I have a lot of catching up to do.  Fact.  My last official "night out" in Busan was better than I could have hoped for.  Me, Tresanna, Kim and Starbuck went to Gwangali for some Japanese Miso Ramen.  It was a little bland, but by far the best noodle soup I had in Busan.  Something about Miso (insert me so horny joke here).

After dinner we arrived in KSU and instead of going right to the going away party, we did the obligatory Family Mart drinks.  Insert coffee and soju directly into my blood stream now.

The part was sick!  Trey Yip put on his last show and allowed me to come up for the goodbye song.  At this point, let's say that I was having a hard time seeing because I had consumed too much. . . . The crowd sort of swayed back and forth as Trey belted
We get high
We get stoned
We sing songs
Far from home
I wish you the best on your travels
Tonight

You could feel the love in the air.  Busan, for all that it is, is full of expats who exceed in the awesome and talent departments.

When Trey stepped back from the microphone and I started with a little beat box and then freestyle, I was overcome with emotions and feelings.  Part of it was the realization that I was leaving my new home.  Part of it was the energy from the crowd of about 250 people, and part of it was, well, I was wasted.

I sat down on the stage and kept freestyling.  Not sure of all of the content, but I am pretty sure I said something like:
We get high
we get stoned
we smoke week from a
makeshift bong
We're here today and
tomorrow we're gone
but in my heart
you'll be the song
pass me the bag
the big bag of weed
all of the green
none of the seeds
So let's get high together
tonight.

There was a lot more to this night, but I am pressing fast forward in 3, 2, 1,
Maria- sorry for being stubborn
Christy- awesome conversation and the great escape
Sophie - time warp and light show!  Miss you girl, wish we had more time.
Cheryl- get to France you roaster.  How is is sunrise and how are we in Gwangali
Dougie - way to get a party started at 8 am
Kyle- I will see you in a desert some day.
George - What a grand experiment
Gabe- As always, a chill time
 Eva - dance like no one is looking
Stacy - I wish I knew you better and longer
Cheng Bang - What a great 2 years we had.  Where were you at sunrise?
Tresanna- You became my rock and I love you girl.  Thanks for being the kind of friend that accepts the good and the bad.
Trey and Karla - A man couldn't ask for more powerful souls to chill with in a place where the land turns to sand and kisses the sea.

Goodbye Busan.

20 Things I've Learned

1. Life is too short to spend a lot of time thinking about yesterday.
2. If I strip away all of the material things, pretense, fear, hatred, pride, and greed, I can find the essence of me. This is the me that can exist anywhere.
3. I don’t want to be the last one to leave the party.
4. Thoughts become things.
5. How you feel affects how you see the world.
6. Ten percent of life is what happens to us. The other 90% is how we respond.
7. No everyone needs or should be the same.
8. Money is just paper. I’ll always trade money for smiles.
9. The dreamer is bigger than the dream.
10. A setback is just a detour that you were not expecting.
11. There really are no obstacles in life, just a bunch of opportunities to prove what you are made of.
12. It is possible to fall in love at first sight.
13. The trip “there” is as good as the destination.
14. Having little and giving it all is better than having a lot and giving a little.
15. Nothing is destined or meant to be. Things are what we make of them.
16. I like dancing in the dark.
17. Real friends are the ones who like you on your bad days.
18. Saying “YES” opens many doors.
19. If you are going to do it, make a fucking effort.
20. People believe what they want to believe and this is the only thing that truly matters.

Beautiful

I think that you are beautiful.
And I know that you think so too
Even though you would never acknowledge it
some time ago, someone you trust
told you that you were ordinary
maybe even slightly less than ordinary
and despite all the evidence to the contrary,
you believed him or her

Stop remembering that hurt and know that you are a
woman
the kind of woman that can make a man melt with a smile
the kind of woman that has power in her walk
that has power in her gaze
that has power
erase that one moment of doubt
that has generated ever other moment
and remember that you are beautiful
and that I am not afraid to tell you
and that I want nothing more than
to dive into you being
and be with you

Muse

How do you tell a woman
That you want her to be
Your muse?
That you have imagined the
Cracked and dry flesh of your
Rigid hand
Pressed firmly on her thigh
That you can almost smell the succulent
Natural smell of her skin
Woman mixed with shampoo
A hint of talc

A microscopic layer of sweat created
From the humid, post monsoon
Air presents an imagined aroma of
Lust
Do you look her in the eyes
Grab her hand
Better still, slide one hand to
The small of her back

Ask her to walk with you
To imagine
That the world ends tomorrow
And the only way to save the planet is to
Stop time
To be in the moment
Together

Is it ok to tell her that you
Want to survey her body with
Your finger tips
With your tongue
With your body
With your essence
Or are you a gentleman
A gentle man
On the precipice of
Spontaneous combustion
At the thought of her
Yet steadfast in your resolve
To hold it together
See her as a woman and
As an adventure
See her as a thinker and
A something to be thought about

Do you hope that she reads your words
That those words make her smile
And that though your hands-
Still rigid and absent of her touch-
Lost in the longing for her proximity
Would settle for a smile
Do you tell her that she
Has already inspired you
That you live in the fold
Between her glance
And your desire

You tell her and hope
Hope that she already knows
Because tomorrow the world ends
You can't fear simple rejection
When the stakes are total annihilation
You tell her because you are out of time
And you need her help
To write another verse
And leave it on the air.

Sound Picnic, Dark Moon Party

Rocked out at Sound Picnic, Black Moon party.



Notice the aliens in the crowd?

BATUCADA SOUND MACHINE

This past weekend was epic. It started with a beach party at Gwangali and ended with a night of mad dancing with Batucada Sound Machine in The Vinyl Underground. Twas by far one of the best shows I've seen in Busan in the last two years. I took a few videos with my mobile phone, but I am not yet tech savvy enough to post the video here. I'll work on that.