My Grateful, Respectful Students

This was my classroom out in Buriram. A little grander than most, the stage and the ceiling a little higher, the room a little nicer. I gave them my usual four-hour lecture for the class, "English for Lawyers." The lesson was just about typical. A nice bunch, very respectful. Some of them, designated by the group no doubt, took me and another ajan out to a nice dinner. It was delicious, and they were fun to hang out with.

All of the aspects of status in Thailand work in my favor, it's great. High education is high status, and I have a doctorate. Lawyers are high status. To be "mature" is high status. The more mature the better. Teachers are high status, and I am a university teacher. My job pays well, and to be prosperous is high status. Not to mention that everyone assumes that I am rich in America, and rich is very, very high status. My good works count for nothing. Form over function, as usual. It's a little frustrating, but I'll take the status any way that I can get it.