No car seat; friend in accident; sleep is a luxury

One of the children in our daycare group showed up last week with a really nasty looking black eye. This little girl is pretty wild so I assumed she fell, or maybe got whacked by a sibling because it's not uncommon for her to simply yank toys away from other kids. Actually, the girl was a passenger in her parents' car, which made a sudden stop to avoid hitting a pedestrian. She was thrown forward and hit something with her face, most likely the dashboard. I didn't get the details other than the fact that this 20-month wasn't in a car seat. But that's the norm here. Kids don't wear helmets on motorbikes (I've been told they're more at risk for a broken neck with a helmet on, so helmets are not required for children). I'm pretty sure there's no requirement for a car seat, either, since I think I've seen about two or three car seats in the more than six years I've lived here. And the number of cars seems to be increasing daily.
Cars and SUVs don't yield here, regardless of typical right of way decorum. An SUV will pull out into traffic from a side street, for example, with no concern for the sea of motorbikes or smaller cars. They will honk their horns to announce the intrusion. But if a bigger vehicle like a truck is in the traffic flow, the SUV will be forced to yield because the truck will not give an inch, and it will also be honking its horn to warn the vehicles in its path that it will not yield. Size matters. There are no car seats in taxis, of course, so we always sit in the back, and I make Joanna sit in the middle in either Phuong's or my grasp. I know this isn't ideal, but since seat belts are passe here and rarely in working order, we do what we have to do. Besides, walking isn't a whole lot safer since no vehicle -- bicycle, motorbike, car, or truck -- will yield to a pedestrian. And vehicles can frequently be found riding on sidewalks. The buses are hot, dirty and complicated, so they're not an option.

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On Sunday when we went to tennis, court manager and friend Tai came limping toward us. I know this is a stupid cliche, but his face really looked liked hamburger. Smothered in dry ketchup. His left eye was nearly swollen shut and the scrapes and road burn were gruesome. He told us he crashed his bike when another motorcyclist crossed the center line and nearly hit him. I'm pretty sure Tai was wearing a helmet, which is fortunate indeed. Hell, I had a helmet on in my first accident here and still banged my coconut and had bleeding on the brain, which I slept off for five days in a Bangkok hospital.

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My two English students are doing quite well and they're enjoyable in class. One of the two ladies just got back from a trip to the United States with her family and was very happy with her improved English. She told me she understood most of what people were saying to her. When I go the U.S. in a few weeks I'll have to take her with me since I struggle to understand much of the English spoken in my country.
Speaking of students, I had coffee with former student Sam, the sexiest woman alive (according to some, including Sam). Sam is such a breath of fresh air here for me -- she's got a real positive energy and vibe. Sam works for some company now, and get this, she teaches English part-time. I'm so proud of Sam, and proud of the work I did with her to improve her English and boost her IELTS score. I guess the White Monkey gets to beat his chest on occasion, too.

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Daycare remains a challenge for me, even though I sometimes love it. The kids arrive early, so we're up at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. After I help put Joanna to bed, do chi, and share a beer with my wife, I'm going to sleep around midnight at the earliest (my wife is one of those people who takes 3-minute naps throughout the day; she can sleep standing up). That means I'm a tired and sometimes cranky White Monkey. It happens to the best and worst of us. Throw in the horrible heat and humidity, and bed of nails we sleep on, it's no wonder I've learned to snarl and smile at the same time (Smarl? Snile?). Joanna contributes to the dilemma. She's cute, charming, bright, stubborn and occasionally cranky. She demands I carry her much of the day, but past motorbike accidents have come back to haunt my back in the form of sciatica pain, especially in the morning. I'm fine if don't lift anything heavy in the morning, but Joanna is heavy morning, noon, and night. None of this has affected my tennis, however, as I've reclaimed No. 1 in the household and dominated my lovely wife the past couple of weeks. I'm aging like a fine whine.