Music

Hey hey! So, I've been listening to a lot of interesting music lately and I wanted to share some of it with you. Most of these are old, but some are recognizable. Check out some of the African music...so good.

1. "Down" by Jay Sean feat. Lil' Wayne: This is very Enrique Iglesias-esque with it's thumping beats and repetitive hooks, but it's gets you going. Lil' Wayne's lines are epic: "Don't you ever leave the side of me/indefinitely, not probably/and honestly, I'm down like the economy." Haha! No matter what you think about him, he's incredibly witty and surprisingly intelligent.

2. "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" by K-os (pronounced Chaos) feat. Saukrates: You can never go wrong with a sample of Phantom Planet's California (the OC theme song). It's just timeless and it gives me nostalgic chills, just like one of my all-time favorite songs "Bittersweet Symphony" (here's a great soca version of the Verve's superhit). Despite the strange title of the track, maybe K-os was trying to channel some Fall Out Boy and their affinity for awkward titles, the song is a poignant, swagger-inducing, and yet, kind of mellow and eerie. And, it has nothing to do with Natalie Portman...unless, in some strange way, those adjectives I mentioned above are some characteristics inspired by the actress. If you like the Gorillaz (especially "Feel Good Inc."), you'll like this song.

3. "T.R.O.Y." (They Reminisce Over You) by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth: This is the epitome of a great DJ/MC collaboration. T.R.O.Y. is classic, early 90s, cruising in your car, bumping your head to good music, music.

The next few tracks are some songs that I grew up listening to: great African songs made by some of the most incredible musicians/artists in the world.

4. "Agolo" by Angelique Kidjo: The energy, the imagery, and the mystery of "Agolo" makes for an incredible song. I don't know if Benin has ever had as great a cultural and musical ambassador as Kidjo.

5. "Show Me The Way" by Papa Wemba: This is English/Lingala fusion by the Congolese (DRC) artist is just fresh and innovative, and pleads for a connection with the listener.

6. "Sweet Mother" by Prince Nico Mbarga: How can you really enjoy a song that's 10 minutes long? That's what I first thought when I pulled out my dad's Prince Nico Mbarga (Nigeria) CD and started listening to it. This song was a jam when my parents were younger, and it's an ode to the women who brought us into this world and who care for us lovingly and endlessly. It's just one of those songs that you put on and just let go...just give it up; get on the dancefloor, enjoy the rhythmic beat, and move. The time flies and you barely notice.

Enjoy!

9.58!

DAAAAMNNN!!! That's the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw that Usain Bolt had crushed the 100 meter-dash record. 9.58 seconds?!?! I mean, how is that even possible? It's insane, it's other-worldly (It's Jamaican), it's...any and every glorifying, terrifying adjective you wish to use. Kanye said it best: It's Amazing! But for me, this was also a moment of self-reflection.

After my shock waned, I started thinking about time - time really flies by fast. Even when we look at the history of the "World's Fastest Man," we realize that time doesn't even let the men who broke the record enjoy it. Since 1960, the record has been broken over 20 times, with each man mercilessly blazing his way into the record books, and stamping his torrid spikes into the heels of history. Each man wants to be remembered, wants his ultimate achievement of athleticism and youth to live on forever, but it never lasts long.

I started thinking about how time has passed me by. I mean, I'm young. I'm 21 years-old and have so much life still left to live, God-willing. But it's hard to believe how fast things have moved. I remember certain stages in my life when I looked forward to a milestone. I reminisce:

I looked forward to my 10th birthday because I would be a decade old (WOW!!). That just felt unreal to me, and Nov. 2, 1997 couldn't come soon enough. That day, my dad gave me a $100 bill, and although I saw it and felt it for only a day, I knew that in some bank account in time and space I had a Benjamin waiting for me - I felt so proud, and there no better feeling to a son than to be entrusted by his father with a huge sum of money at such a young age.

The year 2000 was another period that is etched in my memory. The world was entering a new era, a new millenium, Y2K was on everybody's lips...and 2000 would be the year of my 13th birthday! This was the year that I'd become a teenager - no more pre-teen woes for me, buddy, my voice would finally stop cracking. I remember so well the anticipation for 2000.

Turning 20 was yet another big deal. I would be out of my teenage years, and suddenly be more responsible for myself than I'd ever been. My dad promised me a decade earlier, that every ten years he'd multiply that $100 by 10...he lied.

But now I'm 21...and I don't really have a milestone to look forward to, yet I find Father Time whizzing by me in his Lamborghini, with two hot girls in the back, chuckin' deuces. And although this image sometimes (shoot...many times) worries me (why can't I be in that car?), I know I'm going to be alright. I believe that we're put on this Earth for a reason, and every day we are given opportunities to do something with ourselves, to make something of ourselves, and to influence somebody positively through our words and our actions. Those are the things I live for, and those are the things that make life interesting. It's all a matter of how you use your opportunities, and about whether you choose to live by faith and not by fear.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try my hardest to take hold of those opportunities, and run as fast as I can. Yeck, maybe one day I'll break 9.58. If you don't believe me...ask Kevin Garnett: "ANYTHING IS POSSIBBBLLLEEEE!!!!"

Damn homie!!!

Hilarious article: I love Thailand!

Here's to good health.

I took parts of this post from an email I sent to some friends not too long ago. I think it's pretty funny:

In terms of health, I've really been blessed since I've been here. The only big problems I've had were 1) a monster spider (I think) bite on my left cheek which left a thumb-sized bulge on my face (this was around the second week I was here), 2) a tingly feeling in my left arm that lasted a few weeks (I think it was from some bug bite as well), and 3) a killer headache 3 weeks ago which really shut me down, but, luckily, it was a one-day thing. Overall, I've been good though, and I those are just issues that you have to deal with in a tropical country; the locals definitely get it a lot worse than I do, so I'm not complaining.

I'm actually happy that I'm not in the U.S. during this whole swine flu fever time. It's crazy over here, but the issue often seems like a light-hearted affair at times, although I don't know if it should be. A few weeks ago in one of my classes, I had 6 kids out: 2 were just MIA, 2 had high fevers, 1 had H1N1 (swine flu), and the other had bird flu...AND, the kid who told me about the student who had swine flu had JUST recovered from it himself. I rolled up to that class one day to a sight of 40 students ALL wearing disposable masks, looking like some straight-up ninjas!! It was so weird, and yet silly; every time a student wanted to talk, s/he would slip the mask off his/her face, which pretty much cancels out any deterrent effect the mask would have, right? Plus, I really don't know how effective masks are in stopping the spread. With a few exceptions, it doesn't seem like people take many precautions against swine flu: I don't see cats whipping out their hand sanitizers at lunch (although in Bangkok they handed you some before going onto the Skytrain/Metro), don't see students rushing to the bathroom to wash their hands, or people restraining themselves from picking their noses in public. But, some students are making the best of the situation and putting their own style on their masks.

To deal with the swine flu scare, the university brought students and teachers from the many sections of the course into a huge room, turned off the AC, handed out a bunch of masks, and the health officials told everyone to avoid being in the same room with many people. Haha!!! I missed this meeting, but that's just how ridiculous the whole thing is. The second the health experts left, the students asked if we could turn the AC back on...and life went on. It's a serious issue, but not really that serious. I feel like in the States people are freaking out more than they are here, but I might be wrong. I assume that I'll be good when it comes to H1N1, because with all this direct contact with it here, I should have been in trouble by now. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed...and avoid hanging out with this kid.

Big, Bad Ajarn (Teacher) Frank

Today, I inadvertently laid the smack-down on some students and I wanted to share what happened:

I have a class of 1st year medical students and I absolutely love them; they're smart, witty, funny, they engage me, I make fun of them, I throw markers at kids who come in late, etc. -- it's all fun. I enjoy teaching the class, and I think they are fond of me. So, tomorrow's Mother's Day aka the Queen's birthday (FYI: Thailand has a very influential royal family, although the family isn't as engaged in the political scene as it once was), and as with many of these random Thai holidays (which are often, and freakin awesome!! Thais love their holidays), I get alerted far later than everybody else. It's usually the students who'll mention something, then I ask a member of the faculty and they confirm it, a couple of days before the actual event; I've had a whole week of a class canceled on one day's notice. So, because tomorrow's Mother's Day, one of my medical students, Berm, rolls into my office and asks if we can have class canceled today. He says that all the medical students and it seems like only 3 kids will actually be around; the rest of them were already home or were planning to go home early. I'm sitting there thinking, "Shoot, I get to go home early today!!!" but I'm a bit skeptical, so I don't give him a definitive answer. I just told him to show up and if we didn't have enough students, I'd cancel class. In fact, I had no intention of teaching.

Class starts at 1PM, so around 12:30 I start walking to the Faculty of Medicine without my backpack or any teaching material. I usually ride my bicycle there, since the van they provide us to the Fac. of Medicine usually arrives at our faculty (Humanities and Social Sciences) kind of late, but this morning it rained heavily so I decided to take a songtaoh into school. I get closer to the Fac. of Medicine and I see a few of my students walking around here and there. Some of them caught a glance at me and had that guilty "Oh Shit!" expression on their faces when a teacher catches you skipping class, and others let out a semi-audible "Ooooyyyyyyyyyy!!" which is the Thai equivalent of "Maaaan" or "Shoooooot," or any other stretched, often nonsense, word used to express surprise or agitation. I sensed that something was up.

I got to my classroom and just chilled for the next 10 minutes waiting for 3, 4 kids to trickle in. Over the next few minutes though, a full 30 (out of 37) of them show up, and I'm a bit pissed. I was clearly lied to, and these kids were slyly trying to take advantage of my niceness. I gotta give them props for trying, I mean, I've done my share of bullshitting in my life, but the teacher in me just couldn't believe how bold they were in trying to con me. I tell myself that I want to teach them a little lesson on honesty and not lying/cheating, so I sit in silence for a little while, then get up and say something along the lines of: "So, I was told that there would be only 3 students in class today, but almost everyone's here. Either you think I'm stupid or you lied. You see I'm a very nice guy, but I don't like lies, and you lied, and I'm disappointed...blah, blah, blah." I finish off with a dry: "That's all I have to say, have a good day," wave, and walk out like a G! I have to say, my theatrics were on point... Silence....nobody moved. The second those words came out of my mouth I started realizing what I had done: I'd crushed these kids. Thai kids are taught from a very early age to respect and pay deference to authority and I had let them know that they let me down. Plus, here I am - big, bearded, and when I put on my "angry face," I can look pretty mean...I probably scared the crap out of them. I didn't feel good about it, and I knew that they felt so much worse.

I was walking back to my faculty, when I heard 5 of my students calling out my name. Two were on motorcycles, and 3 were on foot, chasing me down - it looked like a movie scene. They came to explain themselves and apologize for lying. I told them it was OK, that I wasn't mad, but that they shouldn't do it again. Next, I'm in the canteen (outside cafeteria area) back in my faculty, and another 3 students come up to me begging for forgiveness. This group includes Berm, the kid who had told me that everyone had gone home and that I should consider canceling class, who just looks terrible. The whole time I think he was holding back tears. I tell them that I've already forgotten the whole thing, that they should just enjoy Mother's Day (how cruel am I to do a thing like that before Mother's Day? 30 moms are gonna be worried by how depressed their children look), and that I'd see them in class on Friday. I try to smile and be kindhearted the whole time because I didn't mean to tear them down so badly. They leave, but I still sense that they're feeling down.

Before coming to Thailand I had been warned about how sensitive Thai students could be, but I definitely didn't realize how bad it could get. Criticism, especially from a foreigner, can just be damning, and students particularly are nervous about being singled/called out in front of their peers; in a society so strongly rooted in community networks and the essence of inter-connectivity, being blatantly individualized can be the worst feeling in the world, and can cause one to lose face. I guess I'll have take it easy on my kids next time so that I don't crush their spirits, but at least they won't try to bullshit me again, that's for sure. I feel like I need to bake them a cake or something to show them that I'm really not that upset. We'll see how Friday goes.

Hope you enjoyed the tale of Big, Bad Ajarn Frank. Take it easy.