simon43

The problem with AI posts is that they use words and grammatical constructions that are way higher than most posters' intellect and education. Such posts stand out a mile..... Hint: Next time, ask ChatGPT to construct a post that a typical 12 year old would write 🙂 It will fit in much better!

[quote] No work anymore, no annoying children anymore, time for hobbies. [/quote] I'm closer to 70 than 60, just started a new job, teaching science to 'annoying children' 🙂 I really can't imagine retiring.

No new photos yet - tomorrow Monday is my day off from teaching, and I will return to the orphanage to hand over some books and medicines, and hopefully take some more photos of street life. One positive event today, (which is no doubt temporary), is that the 'load-like-a-snail' block on Facebook has been switched off. Previously since my arrival in the country some weeks ago, Facebook could be accessed without the need to use a VPN, but each webpage would take about 1 minute to load. Suddenly, that issue has been resolved, with fast access again possible. WhatApp still needs use of a VPN....

Well this is good news. [sarcasm] All the Syrian illegal (and legal) immigrants in the UK will now be able to return home to rebuild their country. [/sarcasm]...

So sorry! I failed to demand sight of the rental contract...... I suspect that the Thai family didn't consider unruly guests - every time that I've rented in Koh Phangan, I've never been given a contract - all done on trust and assumption that the renter is not a <deleted> and will behave in a reasonable manner.....

My issue is the Russians in Thailand is that they have driven up rental rates. I was on Koh Phangan about 9 months ago, hoping to rent a property that I previously lived in. Not a chance! Rented out to a Russian at 3 times my old rent rate! I stayed a week looking to rent a property for a modest rent. Nope - all rented to Russians and the countryside being built over with Russian-owned projects. I chatted with a Thai family who had several studio rental properties on their land. They told me that they were very happy when a Russian came and rented all their properties for 2 years at a discounted rate. Then that happiness turned sour when the guy sublet those properties at high rates to drunken, loud Russian families.... I didn't stay on that island. Ruined by Russians.

Back under your bridge....

My PSA is typically around 6, but stable, raised because of my BPH. However, it jumped up to 14, which warranted an MRI. That showed up 2 'lumps' which the Bumrungrad doctors suspected were cancerous growths, and a biopsy was therefore the next action. Happily for me, that biopsy found no cancer, just these 2 calcium stones. My raised PSA was also caused by UTIs, which I get regularly. Right now, my PSA has reduced to about 8, but again stable.

When I look at the English translation of the words of national anthems for other countries, I see that they are all about that country, fighting and defending that country etc. When I look at the words of the British national anthem, there is not one single word/phrase about the country - it is all about defending the monarch. I'm not a republican, but that strikes me as downright weird.....

Although this is a troll thread, I'm still confused why you aren't working at that 'young' age.

I've had BPH for at least 10 years. I had an MRI 2 years ago after my PSA levels increased, but a subsequent biopsy found no cancerous cells, but did find 2 benign calcium stones inside my prostate. I have taken alfusolin daily for maybe 5 years, as my flow got worst 5 years ago. However, i recently (4 weeks ago), stopped taking this medication, (primarily because I am working in Myanmar and supply of medicines is difficult). Well, I haven't noticed any difference in my flow after stopping the medication! I do get up 1 or 2 times per night to pee, AND I do have antibiotic-resistant e-coli infections. But I've got used to these issues and can live with them. To summarise, my flow rate is acceptable even after stopping the alfusolin medication. Addendum: I now teach at a school, and have no problems with the urge to pee, no need to rush out of the classroom! I can wait an hour or 2 without issue.

Due to the visa financial requirements, IMHO it would be unwise to live in Thailand. Cheaper visa options in Laos and Cambodia. But you are still a youngster! Why are you not working and receiving a monthly income?

I found that although my voluntary class 2 top-ups were extremely slow in showing up on my NI contributions webpage at gov.uk, if I telephoned HMRC, they were usually able to confirm receipt of my payments within 2 weeks of making it. Just one more payment to make before they start to pay me 🙂 As I'm still working 2 jobs (in-class teaching in Myanmar and online teaching during the evenings/weekends), I have calculated that I will be almost swimming in dosh, (especially if I convert it to Burmese kyat!)

Yes it is! Especially because the students are desperate to learn/improve their English, since this can be a gateway to a job in hotel and tourism etc, and a means to provide for their families. (There seems to be a big difference in students' attitudes when comparing Thailand and Burma).

It sounds like teaching younger students might not be the best use of your qualifications. Additionally, many teachers prefer not to teach the younger kids because it can be like herding cats 🙂 Plus you need to understand that young kids are not going to sit quietly for any length of time. I teach KG and primary, mostly in Burma. I 'fell into' this role, and the ease of the teaching appeals to me. (No difficult questions from some smart high school students!). As for not touching the kids, (I mean in a motherly or fatherly way), here in Burma the teacher takes the role of parent while the young student is at school. So if you're not happy doing this, (which is totally the opposite of UK/EU attitudes), then you might appear standoffish. I'm one of the most popular primary age teachers at my school, and in 6 months I'll be 66 years old.... Simon (father/stepfather of 8 kids!)

In 22+ years, it has never affected me once, because I simply won't visit any attractions, national parks etc that operate a dual-pricing policy.

The OP says 'I wonder ...'. But how does an AI application wonder?

When I was teaching in Yangon 2 years ago, there were a few bomb and shooting attacks on police/army checkpoints. I was staying at Star City and the attacks meant that the traffic into town was terrible, thanks to the many resulting checkpoints. Here in Mandalay, my school is located right next to the Chinese consulate, which has already had a bomb chucked at it last month. So the police/army presence is high. My students asked me if they could build a sugar rocket, (sugar propellant etc), but this is definitely not a good idea 🙂 I had images of me and my students being dragged off to jail, (after being shot at first by the trigger-happy soldiers!).

So send me some $$$ and I will use 100% of it to help poor Burmese students. Surely you don't begrudge them an education

Geisha, thanks very much for your post. Yes, I used to build/manage those small airport hotels in Phuket. I am in Mandalay, so I'm not sure what has happened to Bogyoke market in Yangon. I'm sure it's still functioning, but it must be very quiet. Here in Mandalay I have seen 1 tourist couple in 3 weeks, (at the pagodas on Mandalay Hill). There are a few foreign teachers in town, but they mostly seem to be American Christians, who perhaps have a higher purpose for being in town. I'm not religious, but I do have my 'own god' who directed me yonks ago to help those who are worse off than me, (which means most people!), and that's the reason why I'm in town. There are many more children begging in the street nowadays, and petty crime has increased. The increase in the cost of basic foodstuffs must be hitting the local people very hard. I mostly eat local kinds of foods, and even I have noticed how things seem to be much more expensive than my previous trips. Next Monday, I have to return to the girls' orphanage to install my Windows learn English app on their computer, then across town to visit another orphanage in west Mandalay. If I have time, I'll walk up Mandalay Hill again (good exercise!).

Lol - I taught English to the airport staff about 7 years ago 🙂

So, the general opinion is that Burma and Laos are both boring, but the beer is great in both countries! I disagree with the first POV, but definitely agree with the second 🙂. But 'Myanmar Beer' is off the menu nowadays because of its ties to the military.

Monday is my day off from teaching science at an international school in Mandalay. I'm paid by the hour, so don't have to remain at school when I have no lessons. This suits me just fine 🙂. So first it's off to the copy shop to pick up some business cards for my little educational charity. Next, I jump into a yellow tuk-tuk and go across town to the Aye Yeik Mon Girls' Orphanage. This orphanage houses 127 girls of all age grades. The young students were all out at the local government school. So this gave me a chance to practice my appalling spoken Burmese. Happily, it obviously wasn't that bad, since the chief Nun and local teachers quickly understood why I was there, and one teacher was able to speak English at a level that far surpassed my Burmese! She explained that since Covid and the military coup, overseas donations and visitors had all but dried up. They had enough government school books and uniforms, but very much appreciated my donation of science books from KG to grade 9 to augment their rather dated government science books. I also helped the local teachers to install my free Android learning app on their phones, and they also showed me the computer room (note that 'computer' is singular for a good reason!). I promised to return the following week to install the Windows English learning software that I wrote a few years ago. They also asked me if I could buy some common medicines for headaches, fevers, cut and scratches etc. So my local pharmacy can expect some business from me soon 🙂 After leaving the orphanage, I stopped off at an electrical shop to purchase some wire to build a weather satellite receiving antenna. This project is for the school where I teach - I'm getting grades 7 and 8 students to install a school weather satellite image receiving system to receive and display daily images from the satellites as they pass over Myanmar. I build these spiral antennas out of a few bits of wire, tied to some chopsticks that form the supports for the antenna. I spotted this wood carver hard at work - excellent work!

A school which really cared for its youngest students would instill into them right from the start that any kind of bullying is totally unacceptable. At all the schools that I've taught at in Myanmar (and I teach KG and lower primary), the young students are taught that bullying is an absolute no-no. The teachers (who take the role of parents while the student is at the school), regularly remind students of this and I've never witnessed any bullying at my schools.

I had time off from school on Friday afternoon, so took a walk up to the copy shop to print some business cards. I passed one of the many temples on the way. Free drinking water is available outside in these clay pots. (I've never actually drunk this water - not too sure how clean it is!). The sign seems to read 'ရေကျသျိလ်် (the last letter font doesn't seem to display correctly...) I know ရေ (yay) is water. This sign seems to say 'water drops', but there is probably a better translation than that. Anyway, the 'yay' part is the most important. As far as my learning of Burmese goes, I seem to have got over the initial hurdles that most people get when first learning a new language. Actually, I have been learning this language off and on (mostly off!) for 12 years... But now, with a good understanding of the grammar rules etc, I'm able to create useful spoken sentences such as: 'Hi, I'm Teacher Simon. I teach Science and English. I have an educational charity and I donate books to schools and orphanages.' Of course, when I utter those phrases, some assume that I can actually understand fluent Burmese and reply with rapid sentences! But this 'sharp-end' practice of the language will certainly help me to improve my knowledge of Burmese. Right now, it is at #5 in terms of my language abilities >> English, Thai, Lao, French, Burmese.