food poisoning

The inevitable chapter of a Southeast Asian vacation.

The culprit:

Bangkok street food. After eating, Andy turned to me and said, "You know if we get sick in the next few days, I'm definitely blaming the sausages." Amen to that.

The result:

A day and a half in bed with no food, choking down water, and crying to my mom in the middle of the night. (Seriously... I might be brave enough to eat scorpions and pig penis, but when it comes to pain tolerance I can be a bit of a wuss.)

I got Jaris to substitute for the classes I missed today, but last night was not able to get out of judging an English competition. This is a fairly regular job for me, but last night was different, as I was judging the oral English skills of the teachers in the public and private (non-ISS, so I didn't have to criticize my co-teachers) schools. Since the judging committee was comprised of the top administration at the school, along with me and David, who is in charge of the international teachers, the teachers who read for us were obviously quite nervous. This didn't keep the administration from giving harsh feedback ("How can you expect to be a teacher if you are not continuously striving to improve yourself?") and assigning three long passages to be memorized and recited after the holiday break, along with a "self-criticism" writing assignment. I have come to see this type of thing, rightly or wrongly, as being very very Chinese.

The most surprising part of the evening, however, was after the judging process had finished. In my hazy sickness, I gathered my things to leave, but was stopped by the principal of the school. He began with something like, "You know, Amber is leaving us after this semester, and I propose that we have a party for her, with all 7,000 students." My stomach clenched up and I stared at the table. I had never even met this guy before, and foreign teachers came and went all the time; was he serious?! But he continued, "Amber is going to Yale University to study law next year, and got three degrees as an undergraduate. I think she can serve as a role model for all of the school to follow." Then, turning to me: "Would you mind giving a speech about yourself, and preparing a presentation with photos?"

My effort not to throw up must have become obvious, because he added, "Of course, it would be informal, and only about a half hour..." David turned to me and whispered, "Amber, you're wincing." And I looked at the all the faces awaiting my response and forced myself to smile. "Ok, I can do that."

David reassured me later that with only a few days left in the semester before the students go on break, there was little or no chance that even the very top administration could organize such a party before it was time to go. Hopefully he's right. But if not, at least it will give me something entertaining for my blog-readers to enjoy. Hell, by the time I get home I'll have so much character I'll put it in the bank and live off interest payments.