Hello kitty! 

Bubble tea: best after school snack, only 10 baht!

Thanksgiving, so much to be thankful for this year!

I'd just like to start out by saying how grateful I am to have such a strong and amazing support system from all my family and friends. I could not be here without you all and even though sometimes I miss you so bad it hurts, I know you are thinking of me and will be there when I come home. Ok, getting a little cheesy, but it's true!

After debating all day whether or not I wanted to make the trip into Bangkok after work to attend an expensive Thanksgiving buffet, I decided against it. I love Thanksgiving, but more then the turkey and stuffing it's all about family... and if it's not my mom's cooking then Thai food would be just fine :) So I invited some of the teachers from my school to go out to a really nice restaurant right by our apartment. One of the teachers at the boys school, Eric, tutors three children everyday after school and was going to meet up around 7:30 for dinner. After hearing that it was Thanksgiving, the family told him that they wanted to take us out (and it happened to be the same restaurant).  Since he didn't know the other 2 teachers were coming the family, he called me, we went with them, and the others met us there. So a small Thanksgiving put together very last minute, turned into an even with 3 Thai families, 6 children, 3 American teachers and 1 Russian teacher! The families were SO nice! The mother spoke some English and they made their children all introduce themselves and ask about us. They are in the English Program (very expensive at this school) and were the most adorable things ever. During dinner they went to play in the toy room so we talked and laughed, learning new Thai words and teaching them English words. We explained Thanksgiving and how nice it was to be with families, we all said what we were thankful for after explaining it to them as well.
The food was amazing and I did not regret not having turkey one bit. We had green curry with chicken, grilled prawns, fish cakes, vietnamese spring rolls and dumplings, seafood curry baked in a coconut, veggies, crab fried rice, grilled snapper with some kind of delicious sauce and fresh mozzarella and tomato salad. Yeah, Thais really know how to treat.
After "stuffing" ourselves and having lots of laughs (they kept saying I looked like Angelina Jolie?) They insisted on picking up the tab ( I mentioned how nice this place was right?) and driving us home. It is unexpected occurrences like these that I feel so happy to be in Thailand and meeting such wonderful people.
When I woke up at 6 am to get ready for school, I gave my family a call. They had just had their own Thanksgiving meal. It was great to know that they were all together and hear their voices. Can't wait to get some turkey next year!

Sukhothai and the Loy Krathong Festival

Last weekend was Loy Krathong festival in Thailand, one of the largest and most celebrated holidays all over the country. It is celebrated on the first full moon of the 12th lunar month (November), but in most places the celebration will last 3-5 days. Lonely Planet states that the festival thanks the river goddess for providing life to the fields and forests and asks for forgiveness for the polluting ways of humans. Sukhothai (rising of happiness) is regarded as the first capital of Siam and is the city where the Loy Krathong festival originated. It is still one of the most popular places to experience it. 

The Krathongs are little handmade boats made out of banana leaves or wood woven together and very intricate, almost like origami. They decorate them with flowers and put a candle and incense in the middle. When you are ready to “loy” your krathong, you make a wish, toss a few coins in it and float it into the country's waterways. Another tradition during Loy Krathong is to set of large globes, or lanterns into the sky. If you have ever seen pictures from Thailand, most likely you have seen pictures of this. You light the lanterns at the bottom and they take about 5 minutes to fill with hot air. When they feel full you can slowly let go and they speed off into the night sky. When everyone is does this it looks magical and they look like bright stars the farther out they get.

I got to Sukhothai with Lizzie on Saturday morning after an overnight bus ride from Bangkok. We checked into a hostel and got lucky to get an adorable little bungalow in the back yard for 1000 B a night for 3 people (about $33). Shella, another teacher met up with us and we took a tuktuk into the old city and the historical park. We rented bikes ($1 for the day) and spent all day riding around and seeing the “wats”, or old temple ruins. They were beautiful.

After go back to refresh and having dinner of som tom, ginger fish, pad kapow, and some cold Leo, we returned to the much more crowded park. There were lanterns in all of the trees, and people selling all sorts of food, krathongs, you name it. We bought our krathongs and caste them off into the water. We bought our lantern and set them off into the sky! It was an experience I will never forget. There was traditional dancing, singing, light shows and fireworks. After buying some sticky rice in bamboo we went to a local bar to relax and visit and were back in our bungalow to crash. Did I mention how comfortable the bed was? This is not common in Thailand so we were very happy J

Sunday after a breakfast of mochas, green curry and veggie pizza (umm… yeah haha we’re weird and the veggies on the pizza looked like they came from a bag or peas, carrots and corn) we did about the same thing as Saturday, but visited the wats that are outside the main park area. We leisurely rode our bikes into the country roads, singing songs from Katty Perry to Christmas carols. We some great reactions from the Thais and we passed by! The festival was very busy and we ate at the market for dinner, trying food from different stalls that were really delicious. I also tried the Sukhothai noodles, which the guidebook recommended—no complaint here!

We took the 8:30 night back bus to Bangkok and shared a taxi home. All went smoothly until I was paying the taxi and realized I didn’t have any small bills (and Lizzie was out of money). We ended up having to drive to 711, buy some gum to get change, and pay the poor driver. And this was at 3:30 am…I would have to get up just a few hours later for work. But “mai pen rai” (it’s ok, oh well) it all worked out and the weekend was well worth the sleepy Monday. 

Catching up-- my last 2 weekends

Well today the school is having testing, which means I have a lot of free time on my hands. Out of my 5 classes I usually have on a normal Tuesday, I only have my 3:05 class. This does not mean, however that I have the day off; I still had to be here by 7:45. Why? Who knows? Just be happy that I’m finally able to get caught up on my blog, there is no way you can work on lesson plans for 7 hours. Tomorrow I only have 2 classes… this is going to be a long week.

Going back to the weekend of November 6^th-7^th, I took a little trip to Bang Saen, Pattaya, and Koh Larn with Lizzie and her friend Sarah. We got to Bang Saen Friday evening and met up with two Thai girls for dinner that Lizzie knew from her old school (she transferred to the school where I’m working this semester, but came with the same OEG program in May). We ate a wonderful dinner of raw oysters, tom yum soup with squid, som tom (spicy papaya salad), crab fried rice and some Chang beer. 

We were then met by Sarah and some other girls from the program and went out to a Thai club. There was a DJ and we were all dancing our little booties off when a Thai rock/pop band started playing. We did our best to go along with the others and act excited but after about an hour of it I was praying the DJ would save us. He finally did and even played some songs we requested. Lizzie, Sarah and I stayed the night in a hostel and started our trip to Pattaya the next morning.

Let me tell you a little bit about Pattaya. As some of you may know, it has a rep in Thailand for being the “sex capitol” and a place where spotting old white men with attractive Thai women or groups of Russians is very common. Knowing this I was hesitant to go there, but it is also a very beautiful place with many tourist attractions, good food, and of course the beach is not something to complain about. The old ex pats really do creep me out though.

After checking into our hostel and taking a little rest, we went and bought a ferry ticket to Kho Larn, a little island about half an hour away from the main land. We had to wait for the next boat so we went and got some ice cream in an air-conditioned McDonalds. The ferry was packed with so many people that some (like us) had to find places to sit on the floor or the deck and by the time we got to the island by butt was asleep. I woke it up, walked over to a chair by the water and took a little nap after ordering a coconut and taking a dip in the clear, warm water. We spent the day relaxing until the last boat came to pick us up at 5:30 to take us back to Pattaya.

We opted for Indian food for dinner, a bit pricey for Thailand, but well worth it. Since it was only about 8 when we got back to the hostel, we showered and then decided to take a little nap (yes we were still tired form the night before). The nap turned into a very good, long nights sleep that we were all kind of embarrassed about the next morning. Who goes to Pattaya and doesn’t go out? Guilty. But we all felt good in the morning, and after a breakfast of a tomato and cheese omelet we hit the beach. I started feeling a little sick after eating some pineapple (my go-to snack in Thailand, it’s amazing and usually costs about 35 cents) and the trip back was not the most pleasant thing ever. We took a van to Bangkok and after walking around Victory Monument for a while, another van to Nakom Pathom. By the time we made it back it was almost 7 and I was up and down with nausea all day. I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning. At my apartment I didn’t have to “go to the bathroom” like I thought I might, so I took a shower. Right away it hit me again and I threw up. Great this is that my shower literally goes right into the toilet so it was very convenient at a time like this. My breakfast and the pineapple had definitely not been digested. I felt a little bit better, but started to get a temperature and actually felt cold in my warm room. Knowing that I might not make it to work I slipped my coordinator a note letting her know. My fever broke during the night, but the thought of standing in front of screaming kids trying to be upbeat and interesting made me dizzier and weak than I already was. I decided instead to stay in and rest that Monday and by the middle of the day I finally got my appetite back.

 Tuesday-Friday it was back to my now normal routine, school till 4 then hop on a bus and go to the gym that is about 30-40 minutes away. It is a great gym and perfect after-work activity. They have classes every hour from Body Jam to Yoga Flow. There are trainers that always want you to stay longer and take more classes. Sometimes they don’t understand we need to go home and eat, they’re pretty intense.

Last weekend both Lizzie and I decided we would skip the gym Friday and instead go explore a big mall that is just past it. We get so excited about little things, food in particular. We walked all around, checking out the stores and restaurants. We also found the movie theater and bowling ally, checking which movie they had playing in English. We ate dinner at Sizzler’s, doing our very best to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat amazing salad bar. I was all smiles. After being pleasantly stuffed, we decided it was safe to go back down and check out the market (because we wouldn’t buy as many unnecessary items). Then we headed back up to the theater and went to see Due Date, a comedy with Robert Downy Jr. and Zack Galifianakis. At movies in Thailand they play the King’s song before the showing and everyone must stand in respect to the king.

On Saturday I actually got to sleep in! I woke up at about 8:30 and it felt like bliss. This was the day I planned to buy a refrigerator and cooker. I took a sorng taa ou (literally a covered pickup truck with benches) to the Tesco Lotus grocery store. Another American teacher had just gone through the process and had given me her delivery form so that I could point and say “same” if they didn’t understand what I wanted. It still took some time, I think they thought something had gone wrong with a delivery at first, but I finally got my message across. It was to be delivered at 15:00. So Lizzie and I went to the gym. This doesn’t happen much since we rarely stick around on the weekends. On the way back I got a call from someone who had to be the delivery man. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but I was on the bus back and it was only 14:30. I kept saying ok, 10 minutes, yes. He called back about 10 times (umm my Thai is not getting any better sir, please just wait). Well, it was a success and I have my little fridge and cooker, a most necessary purchase if you’re living somewhere for a year!

At 5:30 I met Lizzie and Eric (another American teacher) and we took a bus and van into Bangkok. We met up with Sarah and some other girls in Siam Paragon (remember the place I got that amazing bagel?) for Mexican food! The girls were going to go out to RCA after dinner, a big club in Bangkok, but I knew some friends who were going out on Khaosan road so I went to meet up with them when we had finished dinner. We went to a few different bars, ending up at a club called Lava, where we all danced and had a grand time. It was good to see people from the program that I hadn’t seen for awhile and meet other foreign travelers. One this that is expensive (relatively) in Thailand is beer and alcohol, especially in bars and clubs. Good thing I don’t get the chance to go out much with my busy work schedule.

Sunday was a day of rest and an outing to our local night market for smoothies and food to take home and reheat. You can’t be shy or afraid to try new things here, it is the best and only way to find things you like. Sometimes you might be able to tell what something is, but other times you may have no idea. I’ve found that I like most things I try. Shocking haha, but this is really not the place if you’re a picky eater, or if you don’t like spicy food for that matter (be ready Leo!!!). And don’t worry, I will write a blog dedicated solely to food soon, I haven’t forgotten. Maybe it will be just pictures!

Halloween weekend

Halloween weekend was spent in Bangkok, known in Thailand as Krung Thep. Friday night I met up with some girls from my program at a hostel downtown and we all went out to see Benny Benassi, a Grammy Award winning Italian DJ.

Benny

After using my ability to get by security without an ID, we spent the night dancing to electronic house music and having a blast. On our way back to the hostel, our cab got pulled over by four policemen who asked us to get out of the car. We were confused when they asked for our passports, only two of the girls had theirs on them, but we told them that we were all English teachers and that the schools were getting our work permits. This seemed to do the trick and they were much more amicable to us after that. We just wanted to get the hell out of there and got back into the cab as quick as we could, still confused at why we were stopped in the first place.

Then next morning three of us went on a search for dim sum in China town. We found a place after a bit and ordered a bunch to share along with some refreshing coconuts. The girls had to get back home, so I said goodbye and met up with another friend from the OEG program. We hung out, showered, and then went to meet some friends who were staying at a family member’s pent house apartment. We hung out, drank and played cards before heading to a Halloween party on Khaosan road, the backpacker’s district, a place filled with bars and restaurants teaming with all sorts of people. That night the party stayed in the street where there was a DJ and light show going on. When we got there we ran into other people from the program and all had a blast catching up. There were a few costumes, but of course not like it is in the States.

On Sunday Erika and I went to Siam square food court. It was the first time I had seen so many Western restaurants and when I ordered a bagel with lox and an iced coffee from au bon pain, I swear I was shacking I was so excited. It was the best breakfast I’ve had here yet J. 

Oh and I found some Brie... delicious! 

After looking around the mall (drooling over the fresh market and fall fashions that look totally out of place here) we made our way to the weekend market that is like a small town in and of itself. I bought a pair of sweet pants, a bag and a bracelet and then decided it was time for me to head on home. Remember my last experience trying to get from Bangkok to Nakhom Pathom? Yeah, well I spoke to some of the other teachers and they gave me better instructions, which made this trip much easier, and I made it home without a hitch. Now I know, 

Call me Teachaaaa!!!!!

It has already been over a week since I officially became an English teacher! I am just now starting to get the hang of things and getting used to the new job. I teach 20 classes a week, sometimes more if they need a substitute (I’ve already done that 3 times). I teach 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th graders. It is quite a range and very fun to see the different levels and how they change over the years. Some of the older girls are very shy, whereas the younger ones are still loud and rowdy. They all however love to chat in class Thai, just not English! Every time I come into the classroom they stand up and shout, “good morning/good afternoon teachaaa” then when I tell them they can sit down they say, “thank you teachaaa!” It’s adorable.

A few of my 5th graders

The school itself is a Catholic school composed of a boy’s school, a girl’s school (where I work) and an English Program. There are boarding houses for some of the children and the seminarians. The school has about 5,800 students. It’s like its own little town with 3 gates and more buildings than any school I’ve ever seen. Just the girl’s school has 6 floors, a large canteen, sports fields, etc. All the girls wear uniforms depending on their grade. The teachers have uniforms as well: we wear black pants and a grey polo on Monday, a dark purple suit on Tuesday (I’m not kidding, I’m still waiting for mine from the tailor), a light purple skirt suit on Wednesday, some other type of purple suit on Thursday and a green and yellow polo on Friday. Whew! And there are also special polos to wear on sport’s day.

I get to work by 7:45 am and I get done at 4. The classes are 50 minutes long, there are 10-24 children in each of my classes (this is small in Thailand, most schools have up to 60), lunch is served in the canteen, a large open cafeteria with lots of long tables, you get rice and get to choose 2 dishes, there are palm trees everywhere J. This is definitely going to be a tough yet very deserving job. I am excited to get to know the students better and maybe learn some Thai from them too while I’m at it! More about school soon to come, but I have to get to bed—6am wakeup call!