I’ve only been teaching for one week, but I’m being exposed to Thai culture so rapidly that it’s starting to normalize in my mind. I want to take this time to jot down all of the surprises that are becoming routine.

I teach seven separate classes of kids – two classes of seventh graders, one class of eighth graders, one of ninth grade, one of tenth grade, and two classes of eleventh grade. They are so respectful – every class begins with a unison, “Good morning, Teacher! How are you?” and ends with “Thank you, Teacher! See you again.” Students cannot wear shoes (typical in Thai culture – shoes are never allowed in homes, and I’ve entered the occasional store where I had to leave my shoes out front). Teachers, however, are of higher authority, and are permitted to keep their shoes on. Students are expected to wipe down the white board after class, to sweep the classroom before class, and to show teachers gratitude. Each one of my students carries around a ruler and Whiteout, eager to make perfect lines and eliminate any mistakes. I actually see each student use his/her Whiteout an average of three times per class, even when I tell them it really doesn’t matter! A few days ago, I played Bingo with my classes and they used their rulers to make an X through each space. They’re a bunch of perfectionists to the extreme, and the first few times I could not contain my laughter as I watched seventeen-year-olds hunched over their Bingo boards with rulers and Whiteout at the ready. Even their polite Thai culture does not stop thirteen-year-old boys from being thirteen-year-old boys (I’m talking loud, obsessed with glue, showing off), but in all honesty, all of the kids have charmed me pretty deeply.

Outside of the classroom, the teachers have charmed me, too. The first event I was invited to last week was a birthday party, where I met many teachers for the first time. As I wrote before, the Thai language is tonal, meaning more dependent on the inflection of the word than the spelling or phonetics of the word. When they heard my name was “Sam,” they asked me at length, “Is it pronounced Sam, or Sam? Or Sam, or Sam?” To me, it all sounded exactly the same. I couldn’t answer through my laughter, but I wouldn’t have been able to give an answer in any case. In the end, they settled on calling me “Sammy” or, when using my full name, “Sammy-ta.” Pretty close, and entirely endearing.

At this same birthday party, the Thai tradition of taking numerous pictures was reiterated to me. After dinner and cake, the birthday girl (Teacher Teung) stood to receive her presents. Each friend or family would present a gift and take a photo with Teung. It was insisted that I also be a part of every single photo. When I protested that I was not part of the family, Teung would physically hold me in place at her side. I guess it’s too exciting to have a farang at your birthday party to pass up any photo-op with her!

The next event was a welcome party for me. We set large mats around one of the teacher’s living rooms (Teacher Dome), and had bowl after bowl of rice and noodle concoctions. The teachers were delighted to surprise me with pizza and spaghetti, among all of the other dishes (“For you!” they said, as they handed me an entire pizza, and then an entire platter pasta). I’m trying to learn the names of what I’m eating, but since I cannot read Thai, I hear the name without ever having it reinforced in writing. There is one special dish that I committed to memory, though – khao niew piag. It was too good to ever forget: an extra sweet rice pudding, drowned in coconut milk and covered in fruit compote. I made such a big deal of loving it, that teachers bring it up to me daily, now. Thailand is replete with sweets, and the locals go so far as to douse their salty rice dishes in sugar (a bowl of sugar sits in the center of every table of every restaurant). They also eat a lot of pork, beef, and fried chicken if they can afford it. For those who want cheaper protein, fried crickets are the way to go.

The last major event of the week was a “Special Day” at the Temple. Four teachers (Dome, Teung, Tea, and Tuek) showed up at my house on Saturday and said they were taking me to dinner. Outside of the temple nearest to my house, table after table featured a different Thai food that we could have for dinner (“Dinner free!” everyone kept telling me). I tried spring rolls, some sort of scrambled egg and crab concoction, sticky rice with corn, and pad thai – all Xrxy mak (very delicious). After dinner, we went inside the brightly colored temple, featuring depictions of Buddha’s life. We removed our shoes outside, and got on our knees on the floor once inside. We approached the center of the temple – walking on our knees – and to my surprise, took several photos. I was asked to be in photos with many people I did not know, too. My teacher friends auctioned me off with great enthusiasm, “Take a photo with the farang!” More than anything, it was hilarious.

From there, we traveled to another temple, also featuring free food, but a more sacred ambiance. We knelt for about an hour before nine seated monks, who all chanted as we held our hands in prayer positions in front of our chest. I want to learn more about what was exactly taking place, but even with as little as I knew, it was beautiful.

After dinner, we played gin rummy (fact: the game is the same no matter what language you speak) and tried speaking each other’s languages for a while (the teachers could only use English, and I could only use Thai). I’m settling in quickly; and the whole experience is made better and easier by the constant cheer and kindness of everyone I meet.