Hot, Humid, and Hectic: TEFL in Bangkok, Thailand

It has been just under a year since I started life as an EFL instructor here in Bangkok, Thailand. For those of you unfamiliar with EFL, it means teaching English as a foreign language. For me, EFL was my ticket to traveling the world. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life but I still haven't gotten used to the heat, humidity, or traffic here. Perhaps I should take a trip to the nearest temple and try to cool off while reaching for enlightenment. Golden Buddha's shimmering in the sun might clear the path for me. Wat Pho, known as the temple of the reclining Buddha is not too far away. The huge Buddha, reaching 46 meters long, covered in gold-leaf and mother-of-pearl would work like a charm.

I step outside my apartment and feel the heat and humidity hit me like a ton of bricks. The temperature can reach well into the triple digits, making life slow to a halt. It is like no other experience in the world. I can already feel the sweat being siphoned out of me. I have to make the train. My EFL class starts in one hour. The sweet smell of basil, lemongrass, and ginger fills the air as I make my way to the train station. Street hawkers fill the sidewalk, barbecue grills blaze, intensifying the heat. If you are looking for a cheap, delicious, and filling meal, look no further than the street hawkers. A few dollars a day is all you need, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I make it to the train station, climb the stairs, and wait in eager anticipation for that blast of cold, arctic, artificial air that flows from the open doors of the train. It's better than a cold drink on a hot day. It's like a cold drink on a hot day while submerged in the Indian Ocean. The Skytrain as it is called is not the only form of transportation in Bangkok but it is certainly one of the most reliable, affordable, and comfortable. There is no risk of getting stuck in gridlock, being at the mercy of a bus breakdown, or choking on noxious traffic fumes. Before I know it, my stop is called out in a most charming pre-recorded voice. It's time to wade out into the oppressive heat again. I exit the train, walk through the turnstiles, and head down the stairs.

My class is only a few streets away. The traffic never ceases and crossing the street can be a real challenge. Traversing motorcycles, taxis, buses, and street hawkers is not for the faint of heart. It can take over ten minutes, just to cross. I have plenty of time though, so I'm not worried. In Thailand, time is a concept that does not hold much weight. I make it to my classroom, sweating profusely while my eager class full of smiling faces waits for the lesson to begin. Thailand truly is the land of smiles. The sight of a sweating, rosy-cheeked, EFL instructor comes as no surprise. They see it every time I enter the classroom. That is part of life in Bangkok, Thailand.

C. Lipton taught EFL in Bangkok, Thailand for one year. Prior to this, he spent two years teaching EFL in Osaka, Japan. He believes traveling the world is the highest form of education. His interests include photography, snowboarding, and fishing. Find more of travel tales, EFL tips, and travel advice at http://www.teflflyer.com.

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Drying Water Damaged Buildings in the Hot Humid Summer

Drying a water damaged building in the humid weather is much different than drying a building in the dry weather. In many areas of the world there is a dry season and a wet season.

In the dry season it is often so dry that the use of dehumidification in a water damage is only necessary to remove excess moisture created by evaporation of moisture from wet building materials and contents of the home. The facility is typically dry in one to three days with minimal use of dehumidification.

When the season changes and we get hot, humid weather everything changes. In humid weather dehumidification is used not only to remove moisture created by evaporation but its used to create an atmosphere conducive to allow evaporation to come to pass. When the air is humid water does not readily evaporate.

How can you tell whether or not the air is conducive to allow evaporation? You can only do this by measuring the relative humidity and temperature of the affected air space and then make the necessary calculations to find the absolute humidity or humidity ratio of the air space. This absolute humidity is measured by the number of grains of water there is in every pound of air in the airspace.

If the air is not dry enough, it is highly unlikely that structural materials like concrete, wood and stone will dry. In any water damage situation the water damage technician should be closely monitoring the moisture content of all structural materials in the facility. Many disaster restoration companies use infrared cameras to help track areas that are affected by moisture.

It is extremely important to deal with disaster restoration companies that are concerned with drying your facility until their meters show that your structure is dry. If the company you are dealing with is not providing you with this information then you are exposing yourself to possibly horrific consequences. Sinister mould grows easily in water damaged buildings. Mould can grow very quickly in improperly remediated buildings.

General contractors and carpet cleaners are often the first people called in to remediate a water damage situation. These type of contractors may or may not be able to properly dry a building. Do your homework and ask your contractors questions to determine whether or not they have the training to be able to dry a building.

Ask them if they have the moisture meters (not sensors) to be able to track the process of drying. Ask them whether or not you get a copy of the records at the end of the job. Ask them whether or not there are hard to dry structural items in your structure. Ask them how they are going to dry them. Ask them what their drying goals are. Ask them whether or not they have water damage remediation training. Ask them when they received their certification. The water damage business has progressed significantly over the past five to ten years. There are dramatic changes in the Standards for water damage and someone without recent upgrades in their education may no longer understand the new findings of the drying industry.

James (Lee) Senter is an IICRC Approved Instructor on the subjects of Water Damage Remediation, Applied Structural Drying and Health and Safety. Mr. Senter teaches at The Center For Disaster Recovery and several industry distributors across Canada. Lee is a well known speaker and writer on the subjects of mould remediation and water damage restoration. Lee owns a company that performs large and small water damage remediations and can be found at http://www.dryit.ca.

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