I have officially lived in Thailand for 3 months, and despite all the warnings that this would be the low point on the standard timeline of living abroad, I find myself contemplating staying even longer. I have 7 months to go; yet, I feel increasingly aware that this is not enough time. I think my fellow teachers are equally distraught by the rapidity with which our time together is passing. Not a day goes by without someone asking, “Will you miss us when you go back home?” or “Will you remember this moment?” or “Will you tell this story?”

To each of these questions, I answer – emphatically – yes. Of course. Don’t be sad yet because we have so much time. I think I’m realizing that we really don’t, though. In the scheme of things, my stint here is pretty brief. I have seen my students through one set of midterm exams, soon through finals, and then through one more semester before I leave for good. Which has me thinking – maybe I should stay.

Getting through exams was an enormous test for me as to how well I have adjusted to “Thai style.” The week before midterms was Scout Week, so I spent the days hiking mountains with my girls and building bonfires with my boys. No classes had been held for the entirety of December due to these special events. What struck me as so illogical about all of this is that our midterm exams were due to the administrative office December 1. Meaning, I wrote midterms for all of my classes under the assumption that I would be testing them on everything from our completed November lessons, along with everything from our upcoming December lessons. As classes were cancelled one by one, it became the case that half of the material on all my exams was unknown to the students. No one – aside from me – seemed to take any issue with this.

In fact, midway through December – again, despite having no actual class time – all of the schedules changed. I’ve been told that this happens throughout the academic year in Thailand. In this schedule shift, I inherited a new class whom I had never seen before. Having never taught them, I was still expected to submit a midterm on their behalf. The logic behind this is, of course, completely absent. I was told that I could either fail all of the students and then give them extra credit in the succeeding months, or I could grade their midterms according to material they might have encountered before. I chose the latter option.

Midterms directly followed the four-day New Year weekend (which I spent in Bangkok with familiar grad school faces! There is such a high level of relief in pausing the process of perpetually getting to know new people, and instead submitting to the comfort of old friends). The way the exams were distributed was in giant, sealed packets from the administrative office. As a proctor, I sat with my class all day, Wednesday – Friday, and another teacher would deliver each successive exam. This prevented the students from being able to ask questions, and truly tested their knowledge (truly, considering their lack of learning the material!).

Watching them take their exams had potential to be pretty dull, but I was in charge of my favorite class, M5-1 (11^th grade), and they kept me more than entertained. To me, the best part of teaching is the time in which a huge class of nameless students transforms into a room full of unique individuals. I have not had as many opportunities to teach as I would like, but these three months have granted me time to learn my students’ names, faces, quirks, and dispositions. Knowing who they are and how I can challenge them, or have fun with them, or get them to focus, or get them to laugh, feels like magic.

A quick note about the students’ names is the fact that all Thai people, at birth, are given their legal name, and also a nickname of their parents’ choosing. This differs hugely from the American conception of a nickname, typically a shortened version of one’s full name. Here, I cannot find any rhyme or reason to the nicknaming process. Most common amongst my girl students are the names Mint, Fern, Apple, Ink, Bam Bam, and typical American names like Jenny and Joy. The boys have names that are sometimes just a letter – Q, O, P – or English words such as Rainbow, Upper, New, Auto, Start, and my favorite, Bigman. Some of the names are Thai words, too, like Teelek, Fahlon (boys), Meiji, and Uueei (girls). I don’t have much more of an explanation for this, but it’s one of those Thai facts that has become normalized for me but may be noteworthy to the outside world!

Last Friday, as exams finished, I told one of the teachers (Teung) that I liked her nail polish. She was so delighted that she took me to a salon to have mine done exactly like hers. How endearing! From there, I was taken to a New Year party, where we celebrated the transition from 2559 to 2560. In Thailand, which follows the Buddhist calendar, this is the year. We sat on giant mats in this teacher’s front yard, peeling fruit, deboning fish, grilling meat, and eating rice. Something that always takes me aback here is how often people use their hands. Nothing comes pre-made; everything is raw and ready to be molded by us, the eaters. It sounds quaint, or maybe uninteresting, but I always notice it and I always think it’s incredible.

Last weekend, I was also invited to spend the afternoon at a teacher’s house (Olay), which I thought meant lunch, but to her meant lunch, chatting, taking a nap, and dinner! I still have so much to learn about Thai customs, and I am lucky to have such generous guides to teach me.

Classes are normal again this week, and keeping up with my M1-1 (7^th grade) class has been a challenge. But, I am happy to be back in the rhythm of teaching, along with the rhythm of aerobics due to the new government mandate that teachers must exercise together every Wednesday afternoon. There is always something new, challenging, engaging or fun to keep up with here. At my fellow teachers’ requests, I will be sure to keep sharing the stories.