Happy Teachers' Day

Wednesday 16 January 2019
Happy Teacher's Day!

Today is Teacher's Day in Thailand.  It reminds me of  my younger years in school. I am lucky to have met and studied with several great teachers. Some are full of knowledge of the subjects they taught while others are talented at teaching, and that made my learning moments more joyful and unforgettable. Some are very kind and they took care of their students including me like their own children. These teachers may not realize that they had left a priceless touch imprinted on the souls of many of their students, one of whom is me.

During those years, my beloved teachers appeared in different characteristics. My kindergarten teacher Ms. Somjai who was already in her middle age looked very strict, but she was actually very kind with all the kids. She hardly let any little kids out of her sight.  Later in primary school, I always recall my meeting and studying with my English teacher Ms. Sooksri. I was a new comer in grade 6 at a new school which was much bigger than my previous one. I failed the first test in English class and that experience shook me to the core. I used to get much better grades at the old school. So, at lunch break, rather than going for lunch like other kids, I ran to see Ms. Sooksri and asked her how I could improve my English, so I would be able to catch up with the other students in the class.

Oh, let me explain about Ms. Sooksri a little. She was at least mid-50s and well known as a very strict teacher with whom most students dared not to talk, if not necessary. I heard her reputation from other kids in the class but that didn't stop me from running to her.

After pouring out my concern over my English study, despite that I was afraid of her too, I remembered that Ms.Sooksri looked straight at me and kindly smiled at me. She asked me if I didn't feel hungry. I told her food was not in my mind at the moment, for I worried  if I could be better in English like the others who studied with her  before. She said I could, but I had to work harder. I told her that I was ready to work harder but how I could understand better and fast since I was already in the mid-semester year. That moment she told that I could come to study with her at lunch time if I wanted. I said, "Yes, I will."  Later whenever I look back, I knew that this teacher gave me a great gift and new perception on learning languages.

Those are just only two in my long list of great teachers. I would like to hug them all and tell them I love them and how great they are.

Gigi

Air Pollution in Bangkok And How We Live with It

Tuesday, 15th January 2019

After New Year celebration, people are back to their routine lives; some continue working or studying , others simply killing the time with no goal. Living on this planet is just like that. 

I falls into the first category--I work, not because I have any big goal for myself but because I have four (always) hungry cats to feed and care. Each day is simple. I get up early at dawn (or earlier), have four bowls filled with cat food, boil water for my hot chocolate, and turn on an old TV set to check on news and whatever program they put on, while cleaning up and clearing whatever mess my four kids brought about over the night. While doing those activities, I usually get to my small balcony to catch morning breeze and a glimpse of sky and/or some clouds which change every day.  The sky becomes very bright blue with no cloud at all in winter, yet it can be very dark and no trace of bright blue dot--only utterly dark grey as if the world was dying. 

However, the vibrant mood of sky has gone over the past few days.  When looking at the balcony, I have seen mostly smog looming above and blocking my bright sunny blue sky. The air, although not very hot in the morning,  made me sneeze and slightly hurt my nostrils. My throat turned sore. According to the news, the air in  Bangkok has become harmful because of tiny particles exceeding the limit into the dangerous level. 

At first the Bangkok City and some other government organizations seemed  paying very little attention until the pollution information was spread virally through social media. Then more and more people posted their concern on the Internet so the City and those state agencies could no longer ignore and started responding by holding press conference to calm down the panic and announcing some measures to cope with the problem.

Yet , as many people can see, the measures they chose are just short -termed and merely better than doing nothing, since all hardly touch the causes of the problem. For example, water spraying in some areas, distributing 10,000 free masks to the public, while the Bangkok population is nearly 10 million, and advising wearing a high quality mask and not going out if not necessary.  One of those big heads even said that people should not be worried or panic, for the air is not that harmful. Yes, we can guess he spoke in air-conditioning room before hopping into his air-conditioning car heading home, most likely well equipped with more than one air-conditioners. 

Like many other Bangkokians, I would love to not going out and prevent myself from bad air but I couldn't. We have to carry on our lives--to study, to work, to do whatever business we have. The only thing we can do at the moment is self-protecting--getting a mask to wear, which seems hard because the masks run out and many stores sell them with much higher prices. Such a good-hearted society.

Besides that, we share and update information that are useful for others to protect themselves and their beloved ones, such as how to make a good mask with handy materials. Many people including I wish the government to take responsible for solving this long time problem swiftly and seriously by focusing on limiting the numbers of vehicles, factories, construction sites especially hi-end condominiums, apartments and luxurious shopping centers, as well as growing more trees and expanding more green areas around the city.  But, despite people have urged every government to consider their requests, none shows real interest and seems making worse. And maybe our wish will come  true when some of the authorities get suddenly sick and die from the air pollution.