Teaching update

Well it has been about 2 months since I started my work as an English teacher, so know I know a little bit more about it and have some stories to share.

It is both rewarding and exciting being a teacher, but can also be extremely draining and frustrating as well. Some days the lesson plans go well and you feel like you are getting somewhere, and other days you feel like your time was mostly wasted. These feeling are the most fluctuating in my class of 3^rd graders. Sometimes they love the activities and get all their bookwork done, but sometimes I can’t even get them to sit in their chairs. I will discard the lesson and revert to a game, only to find that some of the students are even uninterested in that! Sometimes you just have to surrender to failure. The problem is that they are just too dang cute!

It is sad when half of the students really want to learn and the other half are too loud and rowdy that I can’t even hear myself speak. I love it when a little girl gets all worked up and yells at the others to be quite and listen to me, although that usually just adds to the general noise.

My older grades are much more behaved, but the chore is getting them interested in the lessons and to do their work. Sometimes I have to act really goofy to get their attention. They are also shy when it comes to practicing speaking English in front of their classmates and I have to beg them and give them imaginary “extra points” to get them to participate.

Every once in awhile a girl will start to cry, or a fight will break out between two friends. I never know the reason, because I do not understand Thai, so I usually just stand there and rub their backs while continuing with the lesson…these are things TEFL doesn’t prepare you for.

I finally got my uniforms for the days of the week. Monday we wear black pants and a grey polo with a green collar, Tuesday we wear a dark purple suit (not kidding, Lizzie says it makes her feel like Barney). Wednesday there is another purple suit with a skirt, but we don’t have those so we usually wear a polo they have for sports days. Thursday we have a light purple suit, and Friday it’s black pants and a green polo with yellow collar. The children all wear uniforms as well and they change depending if they are in elementary/middle or high school. Sometimes they wear their girl scouts uniforms too and everyday they wear their hair in french braids.

On Mondays I’ve started going to a yoga class in the mornings on campus. It goes on every morning, but that is the only day I have 1^st and 2^nd period off. They do it outside under a covered structure that is very beautiful. Now I’ve done it about 4 times and I really like it. It is very relaxing and the routine is always pretty much the same so I can follow easily, although since it is outside I work up a sweat instantly.

Last week was midterms so I have 3 days of no classes and just grading tests and recording them. It was exhausting, but I didn’t go traveling last weekend so I actually got some rest. Lizzie and I went to the gym (we also go most days after school), we went into Bangkok to go to Forever 21 and have lunch, and went out to dinner Saturday night with a Thai teacher and a Chinese teacher. We had fresh seafood and since it was too early to go out we went back and played cards in the apartment and had a few drinks. Noi, the Thai girl, does not drink, so she played with water. We had so much fun, but when it got later I was too tired to go anywhere so we called it a night and went to bed. I was really fun to get to know the other teachers better that are around our age and I think they had a lot of fun too.

This week Christmas has overrun the school! Every morning and in between classes there is Christmas music playing over the loudspeakers, they put up tons of decorations, there are games where the children can win presents, and each teacher had to buy a gift that gets raffled off and given to a student. Even the older students go crazy over stuffed animals. Some of my students requested that we have a Christmas party in their classes, so I’m letting them. I bought some tins of butter cookies to bring and they bring anything from chips to spicy octopus snacks—a little different than snacks in America. 

For my 9^th graders I will show them the Christmas episode of Glee during the party because I think it will be fun for them to see an American TV show, although I don’t know if the sound will be loud enough on my computer… there are no working TVs in the classrooms.  

Thats just a little look back on how teaching is going for me, I'll be sure to add more later. 

Khao Sok National Park

 Last weekend (December 10-12) I went with four other girls way down south to Khao Sok National Park. It is just north of Phuket if you look on a map and most Thais have never even heard of it. Lizzie and I took a bus after school on Friday to the Skytrain in BBK and took that to the MRT subway. We stopped and got dinner at au bon pain (bagel with cream cheese, lox and tomato) and then met up with Sarah on the subway going to Hualampo train station. This was the first time any of us had taken an over night train and it felt like something out of Harry Potter…except not magical at all. We weren’t able to book sleeper cars. For the next 12 hours we tried to sleep on the noisy train that kept making stops. They never turned the lights off and there were people selling stuff and yelling the whole night. I wrapped a scarf around my head and when I looked over Sarah had a pair of jeans around her face! We looked ridiculous. When we finally got to Surat Thani (3 hours late), we decided to go to the bathroom and brush our teeth before finding a bus to the park. Maybe we shouldn’t have done this because by the time we got there the seats were filled and we had a 2-hour ride standing up in the isle! Some Thai women offered us a place to squeeze, but that just made my butt fall asleep and it was almost easier to stand. They guy taking money was a jerk and kept making us move for no reason, I got pretty annoyed with him real fast! When we fiiiinally got off the trip instantly got way better. We got on a truck that took us to Our Jungle House where we had reservations. The place was definitely in the jungle; there was a main reception area with a restaurant upstairs looking into the trees and the river. It had a little bar where a buffet-style breakfast was served, a hammock and low tables with cushions. We were given a key and walked down a path to our own tree house. It was so cute with big bed and 2 bunk beds, a nice bathroom and a large porch. I caught my breath when I walked outside and looked up at these cliffs that must have been hundreds of feet tall. Everything was very green and lush and you could here birds and insects everywhere.

  

The first day we decided to go tubing down the river. It cost 350 baht for about 2 hours. The water was pretty cold, but you got used to it quickly. There were some rapids, but other parts were slow and relaxing. You can only do this during the wet season; otherwise the water is too low (we even hit our butts on some rocks). We saw a big snake in a tree, monkeys, and a king fisher bird (mom you would have been really into that!). By the end we were getting chilly and it looked like it was about to rain. We got back to take showers just in time. We went to eat dinner very early because we were starving. The menu was fairly small, but all the food we had was amazing. During the weekend I tried 3 different types of curry and tom kha soup. For breakfast they had eggs, German style potatoes, fried rice, toast, muesli, yogurt, fresh fruit, juice and coffee. We also had our fair share of banana and pineapple fritters with chocolate, they were to die for! We went to bed early the first night so we were refreshed and ready to go the next day!

On Saturday Erin and Kristin went on a half-day hike because they were going home earlier than the rest of us. Lizzie, Sarah and I really wanted to see the lake so we chose to do the full day lake tour and jungle trek.

After eating breakfast we took a songtaw for about an hour with 7 other tourists to the lake, we all got in a longboat for another hour leg of the trip. The lake was gorgeous, some people describe Khao Sok as being something like the setting for Jurassic Park and I agree. These cliffs rose out from the water on every side and our guide explained how people used to live on these islands many years ago. We got to these little wooden houses that were built out on the lake that had some cabins attached that people can rent who want to stay longer in the park or do a  night safari. Sarah and I took a kayak out for a spin while our lunch was being made, and then sat down for fresh fish, some stir fry  dishes, and fruit. I was excellent. 

Our hike was about an hour and a half until we got to the cave. Even though the trails were pretty flat, the going was slow because all of the slippery mud. Many times I nearly lost my shoes! It was very pretty in the jungle though. We learned about bamboo (it only grows to be about 8 years old before it dies, and when it's young it can grow about 4 centimeters a day), we say a massive black tarantula (I stayed far away), and we crossed some refreshing little streams that helped to clean our muddy shoes only temporarily.  When we got to the cave, we were given flashlights and told to leave anything outside that you didn't want to get wet. Sun put everyone's cameras into a waterproof bad that he had. The entrance to the cave was small, but it opened up right away, and you could stand up in it. What made it different than any other cave I've been in was that there was a river running through it. Not only did we have to do some rock climbing up some waterfalls, but at parts the water was so deep we actually had to swim! It was so dark that you could only see what was right ahead of you so had to be pretty cautious. 

When we got out Sun told us that during the dry season you can hike all the way through the cave because the river dries up, but it takes about an hour. He also told us (after we came out) that people have died in the cave because of rain storms coming and flash floods... but he said he would not have taken us in if he had thought it was going to rain. (It had been raining off and on our whole trip, just glad of no flash floods while we were in the cave!)

After that little adventure we made it back to the longboat, again with no falling in mud, and back to our hostel just in time for dinner. We had some curry and beer and when back to our little cottage for a good nights sleep. That night it really stormed and when we woke up the river was high and the color of red mud. I was very glad we had gone tubing when we had, but throughout the day we saw groups still going down, it actually probably would have been faster, but also much colder. 

We spent the day hanging out at the main house on the balcony, readying and journaling. It was great just to enjoy being there and not running off to do more things. At about 4 p.m. we were on our way back to the train station and home. This time we were in an air conditioned "express" train. There were only 2 cars when we got on and we weren't sure we were on the right train, but we were and it was much better than the first. They actually turned off the lights at one point. Since it had been a few hours late however, we had to call into work and tell them we were running late due to transportation issues...they weren't too pleased about that, but what can you do? We got off before getting into BKK and took a taxi (which only took about 30 minutes and about $6) to our apartment. We showered and jumped on a scooter as soon as we were ready. Since I don't have class till 10:40 on Monday, I ended up making it on time! I planned my lessons VERY fast and did not even have time to think about being tired. :) 

Things I miss from home:

                                                                                                                             

I know there are many things that I will miss from Thailand when I go home, such as cheap transportation, all kinds of food, the hot weather and the sweet pineapple, but right now here are some things I miss from home.

My family and friends of course!

My roommate’s dogs Jack and Etta and all my roomies

Megan, Nyssa and Sonja

My parent's house in the country

Cuddling up in our living room on the couch with TV and hot coco

The snow (this is JUST because it’s so hot here, I really can’t believe I’m writing this)

My co-op

Good beer

Magazines (Self, Fitness, Elle, Vogue, pretty much anything in English)

Food from the Summit (SHOCKING!) and other restaurants like India Café, Formosa, Chipotle, Atlas, the list goes on

Kombucha, spring mix lettuce, berries, natural peanut butter

Fall fashion and getting to wear cute boots

Heels (I haven’t worn any since I’ve been here)

All my clothes that I couldn’t bring with me

My comfy bed and down comforters

Not having tiny ants get into everything you leave out

Having an actual kitchen

Music

Not being scared when driving around

Going to Hot House yoga with Christa

Understanding/being understood when I talk to people

Things I will miss from Thailand:

All Thai food (and the cheap cost of food) including: Curry, som tom, pad thai, roti pancakes, mini bananas, super sweet pineapple, banana cake, bubble tea, sticky rice, fish and seafood, dumplings, all street food pretty much…

The cheap transportation

All the random types of transportation including: Motor taxies (scooters), taxis (pink, white, green and yellow, blue, orange and purple, just to name a few) sorngtaaos (covered pickup trucks with benches in the back), tuk tuks, busses, trains, ferries, longboats, etc.

The islands and beaches

Palm trees

Fresh coconut water

My students

Elephants

Street markets

Feeling really satisfied from little things such as saying something correctly in Thai

Traveling every weekend

The jungle and wild animals

Massages

Saying hello to people with a “wai”

Old temple ruins and wats

Fire throwers and beach bumming on Kho Samet

Yay! Time to blog because the students are having their midterms today!

 Last weekend summed up a long sting of busy traveling weekends for me. Because of the Father’s Day (the King’s Birthday) and Constitution day, I had two 3-day weekends in a row. On December 3^rd Lizzie and I took off after work and went into Bangkok. We first went to the train station to book tickets for our trip to Khao Sok National Park and then took a bus to Sarah’s house in Chanburi. We went out to dinner in her town of Amamta and are fish, green curry, som tom, and some Leos. Right after we sat down, a table of men had one of the very scantily clothed waitresses bring us over a note that said “sorry can we know you?”  We were so hungry we decided to ignore it and were no further bothered. We ate and went back to Sarah’s apartment. She really lucked out and got a nice place to live. It has a sitting room, a bedroom and even a pool (which she never uses).

The next morning we woke up early, took a bus to the ferry and the ferry over to Kho Samet, getting there at around 2 in the afternoon. We walked across the island, and found our bungalow before hitting the beach.

I really liked Kho Samet. It is a big island and the closest to Bangkok, which makes it a popular place for Thais to vacation, however the vibe is very laid back and it has a bohemian feel. The bars and restaurants that face the beach trough out mats, low tables, cushions and lights in the evening, making beautiful places to enjoy your dinner and the beach at the same time. Another big attraction in Kho Samet are the fire throwers. They have shows every night and are very fun and entertaining! Some do tricks with bottles, sticks, fire balls on stings (don’t remember the names of these things), and they all take turns on the stage, then do some together and then move to the beach for the big show. This is all done to super loud pulsating music and people get really into it. On the beach they all have a choreographed show (same every night) and it looks awesome with the dark water in the back. Since it was the king’s birthday, on Sunday night they had fireworks going off ON the sticks and ropes they were swinging around!

Then after the show they start fire games on the beach such as limbo, jump rope, jumping trough a burning hoop, etc. Everyone gets really into it and has a lot of fun. After seeing some people get tripped up on the burning rope, however, I decided I was just fine observing and filming! (I did do the limbo once, but it was not too low)

After a long night of raging all we wanted to do the next morning was relax. We got lounge chairs on the beach, some coconut water, and a foot scrub/massage. It felt absolutely amazing and I could have sat there all day. The water was a perfect temperature and very clean, I watched some Thai children spend hours trying and failing to catch fish with a plastic pail. Sarah later bought form fried chicken and sticky rice from a woman on the beach and went back to the bungalow for an actual nap. Lizzie and I went out for dinner further down the beach and had some delicious panang curry and chicken quesadillas mmmm. I also got a yogurt mango shake.

We laid out and read a little while before going back and taking showers. Each night we went to the same place for dinner (the one with the fire shows) and had grilled corn and bbq ribs. I’m not one who ever orders ribs, but this place was known for them and they were really tasty! One night we smoked hookah too (this is not weed for those of you from earlier generations, I have not been doing anything illegal here!) Before the fire shows there was a Pilipino band that played really good English music. All in all I had a fabulous long weekend on Samet and met some really fun people! 

Monkey Business

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with posts, but after hearing from my dad that I actually have a following, I will try harder to devote some time to writing--which is good, because I love sharing and I am so happy hear that people are reading my blogs!

Last weekend was yet again jam-packed with traveling to new places and seeing new things. On the itinerary: Ayuttaya, another popular city full of grassy ruins and rich culture. It is not too far North of Bangkok, making it an easy to get to destination. I took a couple vans and met up with two girls from the OEG program. I wasn't feeling so hot that morning, but I figured that if I started to feel better I would rather be at ruins then in my bed. During the van rides I was second guessing my decision a bit, but after having some coconut water and resting in the shade for a bit, I started to feel much better. By the time the girls got there I was ready to explore! We saw the main ruins of Wat Phra Si Samet, Wat Chai Wattanaran, and the big bronze Buddha in Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit, but decided to miss some of the other smaller ones. This was a different experience then I had had in Sukhothai, since here the ruins were spread across the city, not in a historic park. We opted for tuktuks instead  or bikes, which was the right plan since we would have gotten totally lost otherwise.
After a late lunch, a leisurely stroll in the park and sipping on a beer through the night market, we parted ways, they getting a tuktuk to go home, I getting a motorcycle taxi to the train station to go to Lopburi. (note: blog on transportation soon I promise)
Next up: Lopburi.

Amazingly I got lucky and the train to Lopburi left about 5 minutes after I bought my ticket and cost me only 14B (50 cents). This was my first train ride in Thailand! Not too bad, although there were lots of bugs and no announcer telling you what the stops were. Since it was dark already I couldn't see anything so I asked a Thai girl where Lopburi would be. She counted 4 on her fingers. I said ok, so 1, 2, 3, and then Lopburi? No, it was 5 stops actually. Whew! I kept very close track of the stops and ended up getting there about 2 hours after I had gotten on. I knew there were many people from the program there and had talked to a couple I was sharing a room with. I knew the hostel was pretty close, but since it was dark I hopped on a scooter (less then a dollar) and got there is a jiffy. They were all just going out to dinner so I joined them.
This was probably the first weekend I reunited with so many of the other teachers from my program. There must've been about 20-25 of us altogether! It was fun to reconnect and share funny/crazy stories about our teaching experiences and see how similar and different they really are. We were having so much fun, that instead of finding a bar, we decided to go to the rooftop of the hostel and hangout. The guys found some chairs and boards and in 5 minutes had built a table to play flip cup! (some of you reading this might not know what that it.....that's ok haha)
So I have left out a MAJOR part of the story. Why were we all in Lopburi this particular weekend you ask? Well, this city is well know its notorious residents---monkeys. These macaques usually live in the ruins that scatter this charming town, but they also roam the streets, buildings, and cables. Many of the shop owners have slingshots or poles to keep these thieves at bay. But it is also believed that the monkeys bring the town good luck by attracting the tourists who come to see them. They actually feed the monkeys twice a day at a designated feeding area. This helps so that they do not steal as much from the people. I know many people think that monkeys are mean, and they can be. They will take anything that looks like food, or even hair clips and sunglasses if they get their hands on them, but I think they are just more curious than mean. Each year the town throws the monkeys a festival in their honor at one of the ruins. There is usually a theme, they make towers of food, lay out tables and sheets all over the ground, and even perform dances. They don't have to tell them to help themselves, the monkeys are all over it!
It was quite the experience seeing the monkeys and having them jump on you unexpectedly. There were some really cute little babies and some big mean ones that would get into fights. No one got bit, but the monkeys did score some new sunglasses and hair clips. It was so hot and sunny, that by the afternoon everyone was whipped out and ready to head home. This mean bus, bus, taxi, skytrain, bus and motorcycle for me. No wonder I'm always exhausted Monday when I get up at 6 am to go to work!