Hey There, Mr. DJ

A baby Elephant stays close to its mother

Bamboo rafting down the River Kwai

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but this is the first time I have been able to sit down at a computer in quite a while! Orientation is over, and I am now in small hotel in Northeast Thailand and there is a gecko loose in the room. I'll do a quick recap of the past few days here in the Kingdom of Thailand... We left Bangkok on the 25th and took a bus ride up to Kanchanaburi, about 3 hours west. It's a beautiful province with big green mountains and flowing rivers, and how can I forget the Bridge over the River Kwai. There, I went bamboo rafting down the river and although hesitant at first, rode an elephant on a short trek through the jungle. The nights in the resort were spent hanging out in the pool after hours and talking with all my new friends. On the 2nd night, the resort opened up the bar, complete with a DJ booth and a dance floor. Long story short, I made my way on to the DJ booth and plugged in my iPod, and suddenly I was providing the night's entertainment. Most of the 90 people on our program were there dancing and having a grand old time, while I was on stage with a smile on my face having the time of my life. We danced the night away for a couple hours but were forced to stop when the workers turned on the lights, which made everyone chant, "One More Song!" Alas, it didn't happen. The next morning was the last day of orientation and we headed back to Bangkok, where we were all going to be picked up by our coordinators and driven off to our respective schools. Andy and Pat picked me up a little later than the rest, but that gave me time to say goodbye to everyone. The ride to Kamphaeng Saen was extremely bumpy (even though the road was smooth), and I still haven't had the chance to see much of the campus yet, but it seems huge. This morning, Andy took Jon (my roommate) and I up to Northeast Thailand to meet his family, which brings us to where I am now. Tomorrow we are going to see some ancient ruins in the mountains at a place called Phanom Rung. I keep on feeling like I am in the middle of nowhere, far away from any trace of civilization, but I found myself remembering a quote I once heard... "Every nowhere is somewhere to somebody." And then I see things a little differently.

Words of Wisdom

Found on a wall in a restaurant by Wat Pho...PS- Happy Birthday Dad!

College Orientation?

Hello friends and followers. The past few days have been a throwback to the early days of my college youth. Meeting new people, trying to remember everyones name, asking where they are from and where they are going. I have met some really incredible people so far, and with 90+ people on the program, I am sure that I will meet many more. The days have been filled with long, 2 hour classes ranging from Thai Culture and Language to Teacher Training. Some are more interesting than others, and they all kind of blend together after a while. Yesterday we took a trip to the Grand Palace in downtown Bangkok and saw the famous Emerald Buddah and walked around the 60 acre complex for a couple of hours. It was hot and humid and I was sweating like crazy but everything I saw made me so excited to be there that I didn't even care. I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm even in Thailand, it feels like I'm at Disneyworld at the Thailand part of Epcot. That will all change next week when I'm sent off to my school in Nakhon Pathom, about an hour west of Bangkok. It is going to be sad to leave some of the friends I've made already, but luckily a lot of them are around the Bangkok area, and can easily be visited on the weekends by a short bus ride. I met my coordinators, Andy and Pat last night at the Welcoming Dinner, and they were just as great as I hoped they would be. Andy wore a colorful plaid blazer, which immediately made me like him, and Pat is a really nice lady who I found out enjoys a good Jameson on the rocks. I'm excited to get to know them better and to start teaching, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready for my college orientation redux to end quite yet...

A Slice of Thai Life

Welcome to the Land of Smiles

Sawatdee! Wow, what a crazy couple of days. I've now been in Bangkok for 2 days and boy have they been an experience. This city is crazy. It's dirty, it's noisy, it's crowded, but it's full of life and I love it. The past 2 days have been spent zipping through the crowded streets on tuk-tuks, and admiring Buddah, after Buddah, after Buddah. And I'm not complaining. Each Buddah statue seems more impressive than the last. The Reclining Buddah probably being the most amazing of them all. The Wats which house the Buddahs are equally incredible. Each one filled with ornate Oriental architecture, mainly in colors of gold, red, and white. The Golden Mountain in the middle of the city was great, with a giant Stupa at the top and offering a 360 view of the whole city. A sight to see, thats for sure. The highlight so far has been Wat Arun, a Buddhist temple made up of several tall towers by the river. Very different than other Wats. Steep steps that are quite the task to climb, and smiling children running around without a care in the world. I just met up with 6 other teachers from my program, all from different parts of the U.S., and all with their own stories to tell. We went out to dinner and I had my first authentic Pad Thai, and let me tell you, it was better than I could have ever imagined. We then went out to a bar called "Bar 'r' Us," a place trying to look modern and cool, but ended up looking like it's from the 70's. We played a few rounds of pool and got to know each other. Tomorrow is my last free day before orientation, and I'd like to see what else this crazy city has in store for me.

Whoops

After a long and restless journey from New York City to Hong Kong, I was finally ready to board my flight to Bangkok. As excited as I was, I forgot to look at what gate I was flying out of, and after getting wrapped up in a conversation with a fellow CIEE English teacher, I just assumed I was flying out of the gate that said Bangkok. I was wrong. After giving the crew member my boarding pass, they told me to stop and wait. I didn't know what was going on, was I being deported before I even arrived? Nope, just the wrong flight. My flight leaves Hong Kong 2 hours from now. Talk about a mix-up! I should be in Bangkok by about 9pm Thailand time. That's 8am for all you folks back in the U.S. On the plus side, now I have a chance to eat some real authentic Chinese food....from Panda Express....

The Journey Begins

Here I am. In a Comfort Inn next to JFK Airport eating cheddar cheese goldfish and drinking a nice cold sprite. How did I get here you may ask? Well, I'll tell you. I'm on my way to Thailand, to teach little Thai children English. And after a rainy and long ride to the airport and an emotional goodbye with my cat Elliot (and sisters), I hopped on a plane to the Big Apple. I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm ready for an adventure. I don't really know what to expect over there, but I guess that's part of the fun, right? My coordinators, Andy and Mrs. Patama, who are best friends by the way, have been telling me all kinds of info about my school and have told me that most of the time my students are good, but sometimes they are naughty. I'll have to straighten those hooligans out when I get there. Tomorrow I leave at 10 in the morning, and it's a 16 hour flight to Hong Kong where I have a layover, and then another 2 hour flight to Bangkok. Let's see if I make it. Until next time...