Another crazy day in Pakse

Three things to report... not all actually happened today, but this weekend was full for sure.

First... a two hour assembly at the TTC in the afternoon heat, listening to Lao speeches, enduring the heat, watching the bored students and teacher... that's the way I like to spend my afternoon.

They were apparently addressing several issues or topics (I only caught bits and pieces of the Lao speeches... it is EXHAUSTING work to try and follow long speeches when they speak so fast). One was the opening of the Listening Lab and different changes at the TTC for the students. Another was the dress code. All students wear green ties with their school uniforms. The boys wear dress pants and the girls wear sihns. They also addressed turning off cell phones in class. Some students will actually answer their phones in class and talk for awhile before you get them to hang up (I am glad they mentioned that one although I don't have that much problem in my classes with cell phones).
More pictures of the engaged crowd:

Even the Director was just writing notes... although he might have actually been coming up with what he was going to talk about for an hour:



Second... AND MORE CRAZY... Today (Monday) We were in the office and heard some very loud crackling like firecrackers going off... I thought it was just someone doing construction or throwing rocks. Well, the students started to yell and scream outside our office. The power started to flicker on and off. Suddenly, there were much louder crackling and burning could be slightly smelt. The power went out completely! Teachers and students were all looking beyond our building... I had to go investigate!

AND.. it was an electrical fire! Now the poles are made of cement and rebar so they don't burn (which is good). But a small box on the side (my guess is a transformer of some kind interfacing the main lines and the ones going to the office) had shorted out and caught on fire. It was still burning on the ground when I arrived.





... and because the power went out, I missed the end of "The Pacifier" in Thai that was playing in our office! I still can't figure out if Vin Diesel was the good guy or bad guy in the movie... weird how Thai dubbing will do that to a movie!

THIRD... Wigo is out of his cage!!! He ran to greet me last night leaving a trail of pee again... I think he's learning to control himself better... wait... nevermind. He just rolled over while peeing on himself. Well, at least he's a faithful watchdog!

Vigo in the cage!

So, mysteriously Vigo is now caged to the side of our driveway. I don't know if it was his peeing tendencies, or he was getting into the chickens, or it has something to do with the tick-looking bumps I saw on him earlier this week. Something, I'm certain, caused his damnation to the cage in which he whimpers very early in the morning (making me sad because then I wake only to hear him and return to sleep with sad dreams of his whimpers). The bumps I saw on him looked like they needed to be treated so this might be part of that. Our landlords daughter is a nurse and he might have gotten medicine for it.
Our faithful peeing watchdog is in a sad state right now... although I'm safe for the moment from the stealthy pee attacks!

RAIN! ... bad, then good, then very bad again!

We had a short workshop on Wednesday afternoon about teaching. It was a good review. For those who haven't had formal educational classes, it was a great introduction to Bloom's Taxonomy and the various levels of learning. Basically, there are 6 main levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Most teaching is done on the first two levels peaking at the level of Application (in our case, using English in conversations and writing). The problem is we need to strive for a higher level of thinking (or a "deeper level of thinking" whichever word imagery you prefer). I had just happened to go over these with my students this morning and it felt strange getting it that afternoon (but most teachers haven't been exposed to this so it was really good).

That is not the bad part. That was good. The rain and thunderstorm that started mid-way through the workshop was the bad part. It is just nasty muddy when it rains around here! Basically, count on getting wet and terribly muddy if it rains. Everything gets covered in mud. That's the bad part!

The good part: The weather then cooled off! It felt really great and cool for the rest of the day! OH AMAZING GREAT WEATHER! It was around 70F and even the next morning it was cooler with some gusts of hot air in the wind.

THEN... back to the bad! The next day after lunch, it was hot and MUGGY like it has never been before! UGH! So, back to the heat... and sweating... and general misery of hot season.

I can't tell if I want it to rain again or not?

Surprise Student Visit!

I was having a nice morning routine and getting into my work catch-up Saturday this past weekend when my student's head popped into the window. "Teacher, are you bus-eye?" (They tend to pronounce 'y' at the end like an 'i').
"No, I'm not busy right now." I said.
"Can I ask you question. I want to speak with you," he replied.
"Come on in."
Well, three hours later, I was wondering when the questions and practice would end. He was really concerned about pronouncing the 'b' and 'p' sound correctly. I think we went over it 10 times and each time I thought he was correctly saying it.

Well, I printed some grammar stuff for him to read and then we returned to pronunciation. I think that they have a hard time hearing the difference between our 'p' and 'b' because he really did not think he was saying it right.

One thing I did was record when I would say a word and he would repeat. Then when I played it back he could hear himself repeating after me.
The one problem was that he did not have a cell phone... at all. Which is really surprising!!! All my students have cell phones, but most of them have MP3 playing cell phones too! This was the first student that I've found who did not have a cell phone at all.
Anyway, we spent about 3 hours working on pronunciation; I feel like we made progress. Can't wait for the listening lab to be up and running!

More animals in our yard!

I was working on my computer in my bedroom one afternoon (since its the only A/C room in my house) and I heard the clank of a cowbell outside my window. Running around to the front gate, I found a small group of water buffalo populating our driveway:

Of course as I went to take a picture, they began to leave. Apparently, they don't like foreigners taking their picture. I've tried. See my post about Saleumsai's village. I tried taking several water buffaloes pictures and they nearly stampeded a couple times!
Here they are making it around the bend:

They made their way down the street and I think they were headed for a cruising walk on the main road. Maybe grab some good grass in the ditch... oh, wait, those ditches are getting filled with drain pipes! Better hurry guys... the greener grass is not going to be there for long!
Also, Vigo, our faithful peeing watchdog, was very excited and a little scared of the visitors:

At least he didn't pee all over me or the driveway!

Vigo... our Faithful Peeing Watchdog

Its kinda funny and gross at the same time.... There is this puppy that our landlords have started raising since November. But, every time you tried to pet the thing.... it lost all bladder control. It still does it. I'm waiting for the puppy training to include bladder control!

Here he comes!
Here he goes!



Vigo (pronounced more with a 'w' as in 'wigo' since the 'w' and 'v' are nearly identical to the Lao people) is a really cute puppy. He runs to greet you with those flappy ears! Of course as he's running he's also streaking the driveway. He's also very good at identifying strangers who come inside the compound. He barked at me for a couple weeks until I befriended him with leftover chicken. Makes me wonder how loyal he is if food is involved? "Wigo, were you eating food from strangers in exchange for passage through our yard again?" Hmmm... might be the security loophole that we need to fill somehow.

For now though, maybe he will scare them off with other tactics. I know I've mistakenly gotten my feet showered when I didn't see him coming till it was too late. Uggggh!... and the worst is that he's so happy when he does it!

And... a short video of him. Notice that toward the end he begins to pee again...

Chickens at home

I recently noticed a small, upside-down basket beside the driveway in my landlord's yard. Upon further inspection, I noticed two small chickens and what looks like a watering bottle of sorts. I also saw them feeding said chickens one day with leaves of some kind. Vigo, our faithful peeing watchdog (more on that soon enough), has also taken an interest in them although his is less altruistic than mine.






My guess is that our landlords are now raising chickens to eat or for some kind of festival.... I'll try to keep my eyes out for the fate of the chickens! Maybe Vigo and I will sneak one out before they are fully ready.

Construction continued... with an occasional cow

So, the construction in front of our school has almost finished and the congestion is gone. Its nice now. I can drive without feeling like I'm using one lane for three lanes of traffic (because people are always passing each other). They finished putting the dirt back on top of the pipes.

Now they are working to finish the drainage that will eventually be part of the expanded road.

They will eventually box up these drains with wood and finish pouring the cement around the opening to fit a grate and the sidewalk. For now, there is just dirt and cows that line the newly finished drain pipes... hopefully a road emerges soon!

And the calves....
I saw these on my way to school Monday morning... seems the cows were just on their morning routine of grazing the side of the road. I later saw water buffalo in the unfinished ditch. They were a bit more hungry and cleaning out any remaining weeds that hadn't been removed.

Blooming Energy

So, there is a really cool technology that is being developed that could revolutionize the way we get electricity. Unfortunately, there's still a lot of debate surrounding the unveiling of this new "Bloom Box", but the prospects of this new energy generator could help third-world countries like Laos.

 

Here's a helpful article to get you up-to-speed on the new The Bloom Box.

This is the general idea: fuel cells take a fuel (such as methanol) and feed it oxygen alongside a catalyst and it reacts creating electricity and emitting exhaust. But for Laos and other smaller developing countries, it could (large could) revolutionize life if (a big if) the technology works well.

A big problem here is infrastructure. Our power, water, and internet all go out regularly from various construction or other problems. A Bloom Box could potentially distribute the electrical generation to individual villages or areas and limit the need for a lot of wires and massive distribution schemes. It could also provide electricity for very remote villages that have little access and take days to get to. It would also provide stable power for other technologies to thrive. The possiblities are endless given the idea of a distributable, cheap fuel-fed, power box.

Of course, this all has a lot of 'IF's and there is a lot of cost yet to producing a fuel cell (see the $800,000 US dollar price tag for the thing).

But this step is one that is similar to the cell phone revolution here in Asia. Cell phones have now connected the country in ways that previously were simply untenable. They now provide internet (more stable than our DSL connection at our house), texting, calls, and a platform for other technologies (see my post about using students MP3 cell phones to create a listening lab) including web based applications.

I'm hoping the Bloom Box does well and would possibly help change the energy problems/needs here in Laos (not in the immediate future but hopefully someday).

New Teammate... Rachel!

We have a new teammate who came at the beginning of January. She was in language training for most of January and the first bit of February in Vientiane. She finally arrived in Pakse the second week of February and is just getting into routines at the TTC teaching and observing. This will be her first time teaching formally in a school.

She is originally from Arkansas but went to the same College that the Coopers (Bethany and Russell). She is good friends with both of them. She also worked at that college for a little while and worked alongside Russell several times.

Its been fun having a new teammate join us! She brings a breath of freshness and for me a review of what I've learned over the past 7 months (as we try to help her get adjusted).


Photo compliments of Rachel and her trip to WatPhu. The background kinda looks like something from the new Alice in Wonderland movie.

Listening Lab Project

We here at the TTC face a really big problem in teaching English: PRACTICE!

Students here rarely get a steady amount of practice either talking, listening, reading or writing. They do get a little practice with me or Amy or Rachel a couple times a week, but in order to learn a language... you need a WHOLE LOT more time than that. Immersion is the key for any great language learning.

The TTC have been working on setting up a listening lab for the past 2 1/2 years. Amy and a past teammate Sara recorded many things for practice and gathered songs, stories, and pronunciation exercises to help. But the TTC had nothing to play the CDs for the students so they sat there.

Enter ideas for language practice.

Most students have really nice phones here... nicer than I've ever had in the states. And practically ALL of them play MP3s. I've recently begun loading songs on their memory cards for them to practice English. I started with Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" which has clear singing, easy words and vocabulary, and repetition.

I have also been researching an idea that multiplies a single computer into 6, 11 or even 30 different workstations. This way, only one nice computer is needed and everyone shares that one computer. See this link for details: Ncomputing Multi-user.

I calculate that to setup a listening lab at the TTC for 11 people (11 workstations coming out of one computer) will be about $2,000 US dollars. Currently, a co-teacher in our English department and I are working to make a proposal. With an actual set of computers, the students can use Rosetta Stone (an awesome language learning program that uses pictures only: Rosetta Stone Software), play recorded English conversations with the script, listen to English songs with lyrics, read Ebooks, access any of the resources that we have put together before, and also connect to thousands of articles or help on grammar and writing (all possible without internet access). Students can also download music and conversations to their cellphones.

The key here is getting as much immersion as possible in a country that largely doesn't speak any English (although that is slowly changing b/c of tourism and the large influence of English as the primary international language).

The possibilities are exciting. Now, we just need to convince Laos to sponsor this. For now, I'm using a little grassroots technology in the students own cellphones... hope it builds from there!

Tigo... vs Verizon, Cellular South, AT&T... and any other American Cellphone Company

I used Cellular South and recently switched to Verizon before coming to Laos. They both seemed ok....UNTIL I met Asian cellphonage.

I still complain bitterly when Tigo drops my calls or doesn't come through on a deal I signed up for. They don't reach everywhere (but hey, this is a 3rd world country too) and they don't have any easy payment plans (that I would trust). They DO have a 3G network in extremely limited areas (which actually does connect to the internet).

However! Here are a few tidbits that I think I like much better than ANY American company.

First, the rates a pretty simple: 100kip (1.2 cents) per text message and 900kip (11 cents) per minute calling. They also have a deal going on now: 3,000 kip (35 cents) for 10 minutes (or about 3.5 cents per minute). I made a nice phone call for over an hour and paid only 23,000 kip (about $2.70). This is all Tigo-to-Tigo of course, and the rates go up a little to call other cell phone companies.

Second, HERE's the real catch: you don't pay to receive calls or text messages!!! In other words, I only pay when I send or make a call. If someone calls me, there's no charge. B-E-A-U-T-I-FUL! I always thought this was unfair in the US. Someone calls you and you get charged for it! Nevermind that you didn't want to talk with them!

Third, there are no random taxes, insurances, emergency costs, or completely idiotic line items on the bill. I remember getting a Cellular South bill and getting charged for something like "Emergency Services Tax"... right! Like the government doesn't take enough from my meager student budget. Tigo is a card-refilling service that doesn't have plans (good and bad), but also doesn't have random costs. Love it.

SO, this brings me back around... I dislike how American Cellphone companies make you pay exorbitant prices to send a text message or receive a call. At least make it a cheaper rate for someone to call you!

Anyway... my little rant.

A Dodgey Day at the TTC...

I WAS DODGING LARGE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT TODAY!

Ok, so this requires a little backstory...

There has been a lot of makeovers going on here at the TTC and the place is looking rougher (but with the possibility of getting much nicer). I have been documenting the several new activities including spreading topsoil over the fields, installing satellite dishes (not sure for what - tv or data), and building a new lecture hall (ongoing and very interesting).

The latest area of construction is not in the TTC. Apparently, they are expanding road 13 from downtown out to kilometer 7. I had guessed they were widening it for several reasons, the largest being that they are installing really nice drain pipes with directly upward entry points (similar to ones I saw in Vientiane when they widened the road there). The other reason is that they have been measuring that area of the road for a while with measuring tape, construction cones, and surveyors and their tripods.

The ditch-digging began about a month or so ago and then concrete pipes began to appear near the ditch. A few large construction equipment appeared. Suddenly, we had half the road to navigate in the midst of crazy, motorcycle-swamped, rush hour traffic (that only happens for about 30 mins at 8am and 4:30pm).

THEN, I am going to work Thursday and Friday and I am met by an enormous backhoe that is sprawling itself across the only entrance to the TTC.



Now, here's what was taking place. The ditch on one side of the TTC was getting concrete pipes installed but it had too much water. So, the backhoe was scooping water out and trying to dump it into the ditch on the other side. It was also making a huge mud puddle in the process and a very interesting game for Dodging the Hoe to get in or out of the TTC.

The puddle was over a foot deep on one side and a couple inches on the other. In the afternoon, there was a nice gooey swamp of mud that would stick to your tires as you drove through the entrance.

The OTHER thing I wanted to note was this: the rope across the road.

I hate this rope....kinda... well, ok, I actually don't ever follow the rules so maybe its just a culture clash of sorts. The rope signifies a gate that they pull taunt to stop people. But, its just students who man the gate area and they seem to be a little nazi-ish about conforming people. When people drive up, most times, the gate people have pulled the rope taunt and wait till the person stops and gets off their bike and walks their bike across the rope. Ridiculous (IMO). But if there is a lot of traffic, no one stops.

I play the foreigner card here. I usually just pull up and wave at the gate people as I'm driving up and they let down the rope. Its the "I'm a foreigner and I don't understand the rules" card. Plus, when I'm carrying someone with me... FORGET IT. I am not stopping; I might end up tipping over with someone else. Plus, we've got the foreigner club policy... everyone plays the "I'm a foreigner" club card and so we've kept the momentum going on this thing for awhile. (Ok, possibly we shouldn't ignore this...but, we all think its silly and this is our outlet for some slight cultural rebellion when we get fed up with things).

I get around all this tension by simply entering in by the side gate. Unfortunately, it has a big ditch and crane in front of it right now... with, what looks like, a long wait till I can use it again.





BUT... until they are finished with these drain pipes... I'll be dodging hoes, splashing through mud ponds, and awkwardly waving at the gate students till then.


Here are some other fun pictures of the road widening construction:

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover

From TTC Makeover