Damn, My Eyes.

Watch the LASIK video, see the park.  Do you know how
distracted I was during this part?

Today it has been raining, finally bringing a measure of cool to the hot season here in the BKK.  I'm inspired to write a post about my recent medical experiences, especially since the heat and the humidity means I'm constantly pushing my glasses up my nose and wiping off the rain or fog.

I've wanted to get LASIK for years now.  Contacts and glasses have become the bane of my existence (not really, but let's say so for the current argument).  They are pretty annoying, always in the way.  They are also sometimes useful, hiding my eyes so no one can notice that I don't bother with makeup.

Either way, I made up my mind this month that now was the time, and so I promptly made an appointment at this place called TRSC in Bangkok, recommended to me by a coworker.  My appointment was last Saturday, following a Bangkok librarian's meeting in a similar part of town.  I'm sure that you're overwhelmed with the thrilling life that I lead overseas.

This place is gorgeous.

The place was easy to find, especially with the phone that gives me endless information for the taxi men.  The elevator in the building was less easy to find, but I eventually found myself on floor 6: TRSC.  I was late enough that I got a phone call right as I was about to get into the elevator.

Once I got upstairs, I was greeted by my personal consultant.  Little did I know that this woman would follow me around for the rest of my (nearly 3 hour) pre-op appointment.  She was amazingly useful.  They took my information, and I filled out my little registration form, which of course asked me about my hobbies: "reading, sports, internet."

My consultant and I walked around to all these rooms in this maze-like environment getting test after test that I had never had in the States.  The place and the people are pristine.  Each time I got a test, the technician would grab an ipad and ask me to rate their service with the 4 smiley face system I've seen in a few different airports.

Let me see if I can remember all the tests I took:
One flashing one that tested the cornea?
One where I had to look at a target picture (I had to do this one a couple times... I did it wrong).
One where the guy had a telescope-esque tool that fit on my eye.
Several where I had to read series of numbers and test my sight.
One with a blinking red dot.
Another flashing one that looked like it was designed by people on drugs.
One where the doctor lady looked at my eyes.
One where the doctor lady poked my eyes with a plastic stick (more pleasant than it sounds).

Coffee, Popcorn, Cookies.... what more do you need?

I'm sure I'm missing something.  They were all too efficient, moving me from room to room with the most polite people I've ever encountered.

They also had me watch this "movie" about LASIK and the risks and expectations so that I would be informed.  They sat me down at a computer, then offered me coffee and popcorn.  Yes, please.  I got seconds on the popcorn because it was a very long presentation.  I also found myself somewhat distracted given the computer room had a picture window that overlooked Lumphini park and Bangkok.

They also dilated my eyes, which I found made it so I couldn't see my phone with my glasses on, and couldn't see anything else with my glasses off.  That was entertaining.

The glasses graveyard.

Of course, one thing I had to do in order to get LASIK surgery is get an HIV test (because the one I got in August is too far back).  No problem.  I decided to check out the local hospital in my village, which was an experience in itself.  I feel like I experienced two levels of medical service in the Thailand.

This hospital... I have no clue the name... is full of humans, of various levels of working and busi-ness.  The majority are young women, almost always wearing this odd shade of blue polyester uniform and a hair piece with a bow and net to hold the large bulk of hair that many Thai women have.

I get in, sit down, get my weight and blood pressure checked (and why?).  One lady sits me down and proceeds to draw my blood (without gloves on).  Oh, boy. Never coming here again. Then they charge me about $25 for the time and effort, and while I wait I get the pleasure of watching the holiday festivities.

Today is the Coronation Day of the King.  The part that I caught of the holiday was the King getting pushed in his wheelchair down to the van.  I later catch a bit more with the monks, then some with him in the bit fancy room in Wat Phra Kaew.  It's full of tradition, and many nurses were watching the television raptly.

I grabbed my results after I did a bit of shopping (seeking some materials for Jade's Under the Sea party), and noticed the complete lack of privacy in the hospital.  My results from the last hospital came in a sealed package that I had to open like a paycheck, but this is just a little envelope with a piece of tape in it.  Ah well, it's no matter; I put them in a rush because I saw a large cloud looming and knew I didn't want to get caught in the storm.  I did anyway, but it was cooling and refreshing.

Surgery is on Saturday, so I will have the laser beams (as Joe calls them) fix my eyes in the best way possible. No more pushing up those glasses anymore!

Current Songs

Recently, I've been reading several types of articles about women and women's rights.

It serves to pass that much of the music I'm currently interested in has a strong female vibe to it.

MIA - Bad Girls

Azealia Banks - Luxury

Rhiannon Giddens (of Carolina Chocolate Drops fame) - Tomorrow is My Turn

Out with the Old

I have deleted more files than I ever thought possible.

So far, I’ve gone through all my pictures from the beginning of my digital photography until my recent move to America.  My goal was to delete anything that I wouldn’t enjoy: blurry shots, duplicates, extras, confusing shots, pics without a memory attached, anything. 

And so I have. It helped that I’m setting up my mac to take over for when my PC finally kicks the bucket (which may be sooner than I think).  I believe that I have deleted something in the neighborhood of 12,000 pics, likely more.  I am cleansing everything.

My records are clearer with my music, something that I’ve recently gone through.  I transferred everything to my mac with the hope that I’d be able to clean it up and go through it all.  I’m watching my PC struggle under the weight of all the files. 

I started out with 54.8 GB of music, 14,281 items in the library.

Now, my library has 26.45 GB of music, 4,836 items.

Part of that was doubles and duplicates.  Some was old podcasts, full albums, songs I’ve never listened to, everything.  I created a few new playlists, and am quite enjoying a collection that includes the songs that I would like to listen to.

Just this weekend, I worked on transferring documents from one computer to the other, and realized just how many documents I have that I don’t need.  I think I deleted about 1,500 documents.

Next step is to finish clearing the photos, maybe comb through them one more time.  I am going to clean up the metadata, so the names and places match.  Then, I’m going to back up everything on both computers as the only source of data.  No more doubles and triples of things.

Philippines Plus

It has been quite awhile since I’ve felt the urge to write.  Things have been mad at work, completely insane, and I typically get home ready to relax and do nothing else.  Since I’m on Spring Break, well, Songkran Break, I am beginning to feel rested and refreshed in a new and interesting way. 

He's writing my name. 

Since I last wrote in December, I’ve been to a few places.  I went to Hong Kong in January, chaperoning a trip for the Harvard Model Congress, a fancy Model UN run by Harvard University students.  Hong Kong had the best dumplings and noodles I’ve ever encountered.  It was a delightful trip, getting to know some of the students that I see in Model UN.

In February, I was blessed to host my guy from Pittsburgh.  Aaron came for our Chinese New Year break, and spent a week and change with me in my little place in Sammakorn.  We travelled around Bangkok, seeing the sights and enjoying the Chinese New Year festivities, which seemed to consist of mountains of incense burning and the biggest candles I’ve ever seen.  He and I even had a small burning ceremony in my house… which almost resulted in me burning something down.  The ancestors smiled upon me; nothing was destroyed but a small plant in my garden.

The effect is actually my camera suffering some water.

In March, I went to Singapore for another training from the school.  I went with the PE teacher, Faye, and the math guy, Leonard, and the science guy, Gabe.  We were in a neat neighborhood there, a much cooler place than the hotels I’ve stayed in previously.  We were a stone’s throw from Little India, Chinatown, and the Arab neighborhood, which put us in prime location for all the best food we could eat.  Sing Sing is an interesting place, and I feel a love/hate relationship with it.  It is the cleanest city in Asia, the best organized, the most sterile, and yet, there is culture there.  I enjoy the food.  I was able to go this time to the botanical gardens, and I adored it there. 

And now, it’s April, so I’m spending my Thai New Year in the Philippines (away from the Thais with their water guns and baby powder).  There isn’t a ton to see in Manila, as far as landmarks and places to visit, but I’ve met some fantastic humans here. 

Sidebar: I’m sitting here writing and flying to Davao, a place in the south.  This airline has a trivia competition mid flight for small gifts and prizes.  Cebu Airlines, the hilarious almost Air Asia of the Philippines.

My hosts, Yvette and Joey

I came to the Philippines with Yvette, my counselor coworker from Bangkok, and we met up with her guy, Joey, who is a DJ and photographer in the city.  My experience here so far is that he knows everyone in the city.  During the day, Yvette and I hit the city, visiting the old city of Intramurous, an old fortress with historical roots.  There’s a museum there for this guy Rizal, who is like the father of the Philippines, an all around awesome dude.  He was an educated man, a writer, an eye doctor, a traveller, and he wrote books and letters that criticized the corrupt church and the Spanish that were in power.  His writing coincided with the revolution that gained the Filipinos their independence, and he was executed for his words.  What I find amazing about this man is that he never lost his words.   His final farewell is translated into several languages at the museum, and he was a writer to the end.  He is the personification of the “pen is mightier,” with his words reaching throughout the Philippines, and still being respected to this day. 

Rizal is the man.

This hero shows to me the value that the Pinoys place on education.  He is a true hero, and people follow his example, placing value in curiosity and learning, something I’ve been missing in the country in which I live.  So many of the people I’ve met here are multilingual in English, and Tagalog, and other local dialects.  They are reading; they are aware of history and current events.  Of course, I’ve met some pretty amazing people here.

I met a woman who loves her pug, who has something of a relationship with an old and well-known family.  She is strong willed, and it was refreshing to spend time with her and her brutal honesty.

I met a man who owns a bar (or two or three) in Manila and seems to be the ringleader of the social scene.  He couldn’t stay in his chair for more than a minute without seeing someone he wanted to greet.

I met a Filipino born in Cali, whose accent was a curious mix of Cali English, Pinoy, and a few others thrown in.  He’s a chef, and he was lamenting the lack of authentic Filipino food in the city.  He also had a strong distaste for the word “foreigner,” which I found interesting.  I hold a similar opinion, because falang and barang often have connotations that aren’t positive.

In a "Tricycle"

It’s been a great trip, and I’m thankful that I’ve had someone to show me around so effortlessly.  I would never have had this experience in Manila otherwise.  Meeting people and finding the parties that we did would never have occurred.  Plus, one of Yvette and Joey’s friends from Brooklyn happened by as well.  She’s a midwife, and she was working at a birth clinic in the province for a few months.

I think my favorite place in the Philippines, though, was Davao.  Davao is a large city in the south, and it is spread out in as much space as possible.  From what I hear, it is a city full of these tough Pinoys, and they have the best check in the form of their mayor.  He sounds like one of the coolest politicians in the world.  He spent a few days riding around in taxis to double check that the men and the passengers were honest.  He reminds me of the old sheriffs in the western movies, keeping law and order in whatever way possible. 

While in Davao, I think I had one of the best days of recent memory… involving Breakfast, Birds, and Beach.

We met up with Yvette’s folks at this five star hotel on the beach, and enjoyed their buffet breakfast.  Anyone who knows me realizes that this is my favorite meal of any day.  Then, we got in a taxi and drove about an hour out of the city to the Davao Eagle Sanctuary.  Wow. What an impressive place.  Word is that our PE teacher here in Bangkok used to live and work there, so we were excited to find the guys he recommended to see if we could help feed the eagles.

This dude.

Sad day, though… they had both retired.  They tried to call them for us.  We politely declined.  Instead we walked about and enjoyed the nature that they had built into the sanctuary for these birds.  It was spacious and clean, well-cared for, and the birds were a joy.  They had one sitting out in public, just hanging out.  He had been shot at some point (because people like to hunt rare things for sport) and his right wing was destroyed. 

The trainer that we saw cared so deeply about the creatures and the education of the people coming to visit.  We saw him petting the birds, walking them out to meet people, and of course he took our picture with this cool dude.  When it was feeding time, he walked around with a small entourage of followers who were asking him questions and seeing the birds eat their morning snack.  He explained why they fed the sea eagles fish and not mice (sea being the operative word there).  He explained that old meat makes the birds sick, so they’re careful to feed them fresh food. 

I’m not often impressed with animal places in Asia, but this place is one to see.

Beach en route.

Then beach. We got back from the birds, suited up, and headed a hop over to the beach.  It looks like you’re never that far from the water while in the Philippines.  A quick ferry ride, and we were over at the beach resort.  My very pale skin was happy that the majority of the beach was in this shade of the rooftop overhang.  We had some food, swam, drank, swam, rinse, repeat.  I’m not typically a beach-goer.  I love sailing, enjoy snorkeling, but often find myself bored without something to explore.   This day I enjoyed; it helped that there was just an afternoon to spend, no more than a few hours to get the beach on.

We packed up when our time was up… then ended up waiting for the boat while a huge rainstorm blew in.  Getting caught in the rain was quite the experience, though; I was soaked for quite a while, and the taxi almost didn’t let us in for fear of his seats.

I highly recommend hanging out in the Philippines if you’re looking for some easy travel with a lot of beach and sunshine.  Bear in mind, though, the lesson that I learned: get to the airport with time to spare. The queues are stacked with huge families transporting what seems to be their entire life.

Reflections

#selfie

I've come to a few conclusions at this auspicious time.

1.  I dislike the air conditioner when I’ve been sleeping outdoors.

2.  In fact, I love sleeping outdoors in the cool weather.3.  I’m happiest when I’m discovering nature and walking around.

4.  Thailand has a ton of really interesting things to see.

5.  My body temperature is far more suited to this weather than most of the Thai nationals I know (students included).

6.  I am incredibly introverted, and sensitive to sound in a very serious way.  Meaning, I need my quiet and alone time. 

7.  It helps me to learn about the history of a place when I'm feeling frustrations about said place.

8.  I'm action oriented.

9.  Teaching can be very, very frustrating.

10.  We're nearing break time and it is very welcome.

The Week Without Walls

View from my tent by the lake.

What an interesting week this has been.

This week, from Monday to Friday, I’ve been chaperoning a Week Without Walls fieldtrip, full of the Grade 8 class on a nature adventure.  This nature adventure began with camping, included some trekking, and ended with a farm and a cave.  There was plenty of bonding that came about as well.

It’s been a very thought provoking fieldtrip.  I’m watching affluent children try to rough it (with a fully stocked bathroom) and deal with tents and nature.  I’m also reading a very sharp book about Thailand that is highlighting several of the things I’m seeing with historical commentary about the guy in charge.

We cooked fish in this forest.

I’ll also say that I’m in the boomerang of life overseas.  When I started with Peace Corps, everything was absolutely glorious for a few months, but when the holidays (read: Thanksgiving) began showing up, I began to get a bit homesick.  Thanksgiving is about that time, when the shine begins to wear off and you start to understand the culture more.  I’m in that down slope, where I see more of the negatives than the positives.  I’m in that place where I can see the problems but can’t affect the solutions at school.  It’s the frustrating thing about living overseas, and it happens to just about everyone.

Our hotel was right next to this river.

It’s not like me to find so much negativity in life, but I’m working in a place that I’ve yet to understand.  I am finding it challenging to work within such affluence and wealth, within the confines of overprotective behavior.  I see it, I understand the premise, but I know what made me what I am today… and overprotectiveness is not it.  I’ve been reflecting more on what my middle and high school experience was like, so that I can find what worked for me to make me a successful human.  It was not overprotective, not ever.  I spent summers with grandma, off to camps here and there.  I spent time on my own, fending for myself after school.  I worked from a young age, in the fudge and coffee shop.  I made mistakes, felt the impact of consequences, and changed my behavior.

This cave was full of Buddhist idols.

I want these kids to have the same.  I want them to be functional humans, not using money to solve every problem.  I saw a beautiful thing yesterday along those lines as well.  We went to a school to let the kids interact with students from a different world than them.  At first, I must say, I was skeptical of the idea.  I think that these kinds of visits can go awry so quickly.  But, I was so pleasantly surprised.  Our kids played with those kids, talked, laughed, interacted.  It was lovely.  A few of them ended up in tears, and one of them mentioned that it was one of the first times that she actually felt as lucky as everyone said she was. 

I want those emotions for all of the students.  I want activities that bring that out for them.

I greatly enjoyed the cave.

But we are fighting such greater forces.  To get to that, we have to battle overprotective school policy and overprotective parentals.  We are fighting a karma based culture, that has entitlement written into merit from previous lives.  It makes me want to hit my head on the wall with frustration sometimes.  But, slowly, progress.

Slowly.  Very slowly.  And, until then, a frustration that is difficult to fight.  Until then, a boomerang that is on the negative side.  Until then, a hope for the different, a plan for change.

The cave was next to a monkey... something.  They liked bananas.