June 16, 2019

An update on Muay Thai training, I only went once this week which I don’t feel great about. I went yesterday on Saturday but they were closed for a party. They fed me, and kept on feeding me. Part of it I think was because since I can speak their language, one of the few things I could do to entertain me was for me to eat. That and it was hospitality. Instead of fighting it was singing and drinking. 
What I’ve come to notice is that Thai people may work hard in terms of physical labor, but they are not the studious type. I found that in my students as well. Thai students don’t seem to be be most academically inclined. The result is that the world’s major inventions and discoveries were accomplished outside of Thailand. I’ve also noticed that there is a general disrespectful time in Thai people. people will show up late for appointments and spend hours in traffic on a bus. This builds off the point I made where it seems to me That are not the most “go getter” types.

 
I also went to the immigration office on Friday and true to what I was told it’s twice as confusing as hell. I had different officers telling contradicting things. In the end I was unable to get my work visa. Now I’ll probably have to leave the country to get my Visa. I’ll take it as another adventure to a new country. 

When I got back from immigration I received some feedback on how I’ve been doing teaching so far. It is generally positive, a few things brought up that I should improve on is that I should include more games and slow down the pace of my M2(8th grade) class. This goes back to how I said Thais are less studious and more focused on fun. Overall I’m satisfied with the progress I’ve made over the past month I’ve been teaching.

On the dancing front, it remains a challenge, I’ve moved on to a new instructor that address is some of my grievances I mentioned on the last post. Namely she focuses on both male and female students while not trying to sell stuff in class. One problem that is gnawing at the classes is the gender inbalance. I was confused initially but I think I figured it out. Most students are foreigners, and long-term foreigners living abroad tend to be men. Hence this is my theory on the uneven gender mix. Bangkok airport isn’t the best place to learn Latin dance as it is not a part of Thai culture, but I’m going to keep pressing forward.

Kingston S. Lim

June 16, 2019

Bangkok, Thailand