feel good lost.

Top Naked

2010-05-06T12:33:00.002+07:00

It's hard for me to sum up the last month of my life in a few paragraphs on this here blog, but I'll do my best, albeit briefly...

So, heading down to the islands a week earlier than planned was perhaps the best decision we ever made. To sum it all up, it was insanely beautiful, with massive limestone cliffs towering out of the emerald colored waters. We snorkeled so much that I forgot what life was like above the water. We even got our open water scuba certification, and then snorkeling just seemed lame. We hiked to viewpoints, we cliff jumped, we rock climbed, we took so many boat rides, it seemed like the only way to get around. I didn't wear a shirt for the majority of my island time, and embraced my new sense of half-nudism (hence the title of this post). We watched colorful sunsets paint the sky as often as we could. And oh yeah, I got a tattoo. We met lots of amazing people, covered ourselves in neon body paint at the infamous Full Moon Party on Ko Phangan, and danced so much, it was hard remembering how to walk the next day.

But, I'd have to say if I had to pick an all time favorite moment of our time on the Thai Islands, it would be without a doubt, sleeping at Maya Bay. Not only is this the most beautiful beach I've ever seen in the daylight, but it's just as impressive at night. Around midnight, we went for a swim in the bay. But this swim was different than any other swim. The plankton that live in the Maya Bay waters, react to movement, and when they react to movement, they glow. And also, there was a lightning storm going on somewhere off in the distance. So put it all together. Night swimming at the most beautiful beach ever, little neon green specks all around you, while lightning lights up the sky. Probably one of the most awesome experiences of my life. Waking up on the sand the next morning and seeing the famous cliffs of the bay wasn't a half bad way to start the day either...

All good things have to come to an end, however. And before we knew it, three weeks was over and our trip was complete. We flew back to Bangkok, spent the billionth hour in the Bangkok airport, and me and Josh said our emotional goodbyes. The trip was incredibly amazing, no question, the best two months I've ever had in my life. When I think back at everything we saw and did, it seems hard to believe that I actually saw and did those things.

Now it is May 6th, and tonight I'm flying down to Australia for the 2nd part of my round the world adventures. Who knows what'll happen next...

Vega, Baby, Vega!

2010-04-09T19:51:00.007+07:00

No, that is not a doubly type-o my friends, it is the name of our new favorite travel company, Vega Travels.We booked two tours with them, one in Halong Bay, and the 2nd one in Sapa. Last time we spoke, we had just finished our tour in the majestically beautiful Halong Bay, before we high tailed it on up on the bumpiest/loudest train ride you could possibly imagine to the hill-tribe mountain town of Sapa. Sapa, the place where hill-tribe ladies follow you on 15km hikes up and down the dreamscape scenery, soloing you out from the start of the trek so you'll buy their handicrafts at the end. You can't really decline once they've put in all that hard effort, can you? And in flip flops, no less! After our hike we ran into our new best friends from England, Helen and Mark, and had a couple beers before a delicious Italian pizza dinner. Our third best friend we made in Vietnam was our tour guide, Tu. A self-proclaimed lover of hookers and rice wine. He took Josh and I out on a private trek on our third day in Sapa to a place even he had never been. It was beautiful, new, and exciting, even for him... and he lives in Sapa half the time! We had lunch on the rice paddies that flood the mountains, and we dined on delicious cheese baguettes, mango, and pineapple. Along the way we taught him some funny sayings such as:

"Don't get your panties in a bundle!"
"Use it or lose it!"
"You should see the other guy!".... and many more, which he proceeded to write down in his trusty notebook. We are hoping that he will join in with us at the neon body paint/techno beach rave fest that will be the Full Moon Party on Ko Phangan at the end of April.

Speaking of the islands... looks like we will be heading there a bit sooner than we thought. We have been in northern Thailand for about a week and it hasn't been nice to us. It's unbearably hot, and when you get lost for three hours on a bike in 100 degree heat and no one speaks English to tell you where to go, your mind kind of starts to lose it. At least mine did, which resulted in what almost was a complete mental breakdown for me outside on the steps of a Tesco Express. Luckily my trusty co-traveler Josh was there to boost my spirits and motivate me to continue our journey. Eventually we did find what we were looking for, but at that point we were so tired and hot, we just wanted to leave as soon as we got there.

Another factor that caused us to change our plans so suddenly was the incredibly mediocre trekking and average scenery at best here in northern Thailand. We talked about how there's better hiking back home and the views and treks weren't worth all the work we put into it. So, when the time came for us to go to our next destination in northern Thailand, we played what can best be described as musical chairs at a Thai bus station. We changed our plans over and over as we were in one bus and out within a matter of minutes, eventually deciding to just go to Chiang Mai a week early and go to the islands right after. Unfortunately, this meant we'd miss the famous Thai New Year Festival, Songkran in mid-April. But you know what? It's going to be OK, because we will be down at Ko Phi Phi for it, and I can only imagine how insanely beautiful that place is going to be (it has the beach from the movie, "The Beach!").

Chiang Mai was good though. We played with baby tigers and snakes (much to Josh's amusing hesitation), went to a wat on top of a tall mountain, and took a Thai cooking class! I can now say that I can confidently make anyone back home Red curry, Tom Yam Goong soup, Papaya Salad, Pad Thai, and my favorite, Mango with Sticky Rice. So, when you want a home cooked Thai dinner, you just call me and Josh and we will be over there in a jif, ready and willing to cook you up a Thai feast.

Now we are in the ancient capital city of Sukhothai, where we enjoyed a day of ruined temple viewings, buddhas, and recreating pictures from my Thailand Lonely Planet guide. Tonight, we take an overnight bus to Bangkok where we will have to brave the traffic and commotion caused by all the Red Shirt protests (have you all heard about this?). The Thai Government just issued a state of emergency for Bangkok and the surrounding regions due to the ongoing, and increasingly violent protests in the capital. Hopefully we won't come across them and can make it to the airport safe and sound, where we will catch a flight down to Phuket. Hopefully all those tsunami warnings have cleared up by now...

As always, link on over to Josh's blog, The Awkward Traveler, to check our his take on our Southeast Asian Adventures!

Oh yeah, one more thing! If you happen to get any Vietnamese TV stations, keep a lookout for us. That's right, we were interviewed for a Vietnamese TV program while we were at a "hot pot" restaurant. Ilan and Josh... Vietnam's new biggest TV superstars!

One more last last thing! How great was the new episode of LOST?! Best episode of the season so far. Desmond and Penny... greatest TV couple of all time? Debate...

'Nam

2010-03-29T16:52:00.002+07:00

Angkor Wat was incredible. Sadly, Phnom Penh is a big ole stinker. We got ripped off, we got hassled, and Josh made enemies with some street kids who threatened his life and punched him in the face. We left a day early for Vietnam because we just had to get out of Cambodia. Turns out, it was a great decision. Vietnam has been amazing, we rode on the back of motorbikes along the coast up to sand dunes. We swam in blue waters, and relaxed on white sands. We ended up spending a few days at an isolated beach resort called Paradise, and it truly did live up to its namesake. There were communal meals, the best salad in the world, all you can drink coffee, and a funny Frenchman owner to boot. A very long and bumpy bus ride later, where I slept in a space pod like bed, we ended up in Hoi An and saw some ruins out in the jungle. A quick fight up to Hanoi and a 4 hour journey east later, we were in the mesmerizing Halong Bay. We spent the next few days on a boat traveling around the bay, meeting our fellow shipmates, kayaking, jungle trekking, and being blown away by the massive limestone cliffs that jut out of the waters. Now, we are in an internet cafe in Hanoi getting a much needed LOST fix. We leave for Sapa tonight on an overnight train, and are ready for 3 days of village life and rice paddies. Then it's back to my homeland, Thailand.

Arrest Free for Two Weeks!

2010-03-19T10:01:00.001+07:00

Its been a wild week here on this side of the world. The camel trek was a great way to end our time in India, and sleeping under the stariest sky these old eyes have eyes have ever seen on soft sand dunes was certainly a highlight. It was a hectic transition into Cambodia, when we took a red eye flight from India to Bangkok then straight to the bus station to make our way to the Cambodian border. The border crossing wasn't as easy as when I accidentally entered Burma... it was hot, long lines, big backpacks, and the most uncomfortable van ride of my life. We did get to meet a great Danish girl who we became friends with and we've been hanging out with her for the past couple of days. Now, we have completed our temple tour of Angkor Wat over the past three days, and it sure was something special. Especially when you leave a temple and a stampede of Cambodian vendors come up to you screaming, "Hey mistaaa you want some coal wataaaaaaaaa!?!?!" They all sound exactly the same, and I'm pretty sure it might just be the same few ladies following us all over the different temples. In a few hours we are off to the capital city, Phnom Penh and before we know it, we'll be on the beaches of Vietnam, soaking up some much needed sun and relaxation time. I'll try to put up some pictures as soon as I'm at a computer that can handle it. Until next time...

Highlights From the Road

2010-03-10T23:08:00.006+07:00

1. Getting arrested in India.
2. Throwing up at the Taj Mahal.
3. Walking through narrow streets filled with cows and cow poop.
4. Pretending we are from different countries (or outer space) when people ask us where we are from.
5. Talking about Lindsay Lohan while under the influence of sleeping pills on a sleeper train.
6. Chocolate balls and peanut butter.
7. Enjoying rooftop dinners everywhere we go, and the beautiful, colorful scenery.
8. Getting ripped off in every rickshaw we've been in.
9. Picture of the day.
10. Our never ending quest of reenacting as many scenes from the movie, "The Fall" as we possibly can.
11. Doing crossword puzzles that seem to gather the interest of every single Indian person within an arms reach.

Still to come in India: Village jeep tour tomorrow, then off to Jaisalmer where we will hop on the backs of some camels for a trek into the Great Thar Desert. Two days full of slow, spitting camels, baking in the hot Indian sun, sunset at sand dunes, and a night under the stars. Heyo!

Check out Josh's blog for his take on our Indian adventures... The Awkward Traveler.

A Fond Farewell

2010-03-03T10:10:00.003+07:00

Friends, followers, dreamers. The end has come. I have finished my tenure as an English teacher in Thailand. It was a long and bumpy road, but I'm here on the other side to tell you it was an experience of a lifetime and will only help me grow as a teacher and as a person.

My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go (on a jet plane). I'm about to leave for Bangkok to pick up Josh at the airport after his flight was delayed in New York, causing us to lose a day. Oh well, do with what you got, right? I'm just so excited that he's finally coming today.

I will try and update this blog as much as possible while I am on the road. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to do it, but I'll do the best I can!

Alright, so this is it. Goodbye, farewell, aurevoir, adios, I bid you all adieu. I'll see you on the flipside.

Language Barriers

2010-02-25T20:14:00.014+07:00

I gave out me e-mail address to my classes so they can stay in touch with me if they want to after I leave. I have already received two e-mails from the same student.

Email #1: Written in Thai, this is the Google translation

555 + Teacher Im Thinnakorn Sriwilard M.2 / 3 5555 +. Miss Youuuu ~ ~ ~ 55 +. My Email-Address: kurosakiijiko@hotmail.com.

l You will be returned to your home เเ still want happiness in mind, we always other other other other other other. Teacher Ilan

E-mail #2:

I hope to see you in MSN live

MSNNNNNNN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 ... 2 ... 3 !!!!!GO
YAYAYAYA!!!!!
555+
(Crazy)
hmmmm..... MY nickname is Aof

Weirdos.

Status Report IV

2010-02-24T13:57:00.003+07:00

Flight to Australia: BOOKED

I'll be in the land down under from May 7th- May 30th. The second of three parts on my round the world adventure.

The Beginning of the End

2010-02-23T19:45:00.007+07:00

This is my last week of teaching here in the Kingdom of Thailand, and today I finished teaching my first of nine classes. The first to go was one of my M.1 classes (grade 7 in the U.S.), and while I suspected it would be hard to say goodbye to a couple of the students in the class who I really like, I didn't think that it would actually be hard to say goodbye to the entire class. They might have driven me nuts, and I might have wanted to throw them out a window a time or two, but they were all part of my experience here and it made me realize that I might have helped these little kids out more than I thought. Many of them came up to me telling me that they'd miss me, and that they wish I could come back and teach again. One student in particular, named Tew, wrote me a really nice letter in my notebook:

Hello Teacher,

I will miss u. You was a great teacher. I hope you will come back to this class again. Have a good time. I will be a great teacher in the future.

Good Luck,

Tew

I mean, how can you read that and not feel good? A smile full of genuine happiness came over my face when I read that. The rest of the class was spent taking funny pictures, talking, and it just wouldn't be a day in the classroom without the occasional roughhousing.

This just about sums it all up

Usually at the end of every class, the students all stand up and say "Thank you teacher, goodbye. See you next time." But as I said goodbye to the class for the last time, they all stood up and said, "Thank you teacher, goodbye." It was then that it really hit me. This is the end of an experience that helped me change and helped me grow and I won't ever forget it.

America (by Simon and Garfunkel)

2010-02-22T17:12:00.007+07:00

This weekend, I could have sworn I made an early return to my home country. Had it not been for the insanely hot and humid weather, I would have thought I was back home in Maryland. It all began Friday night when Jon and I watched a movie, drank some beers, and made a drunk run to 7-11. It reminded me of those wonderful late nights after the bars in College Park, where we'd either go to Shanghai, Ratsies, or of course, 7-11 to get taquitos. Oh, college memories.

Saturday I went back up to Suphan Buri to meet my friends again. We went to a nearby mall and went to a cosmic bowling alley. We played a game, and I came in second bowling a gentleman's 82. Then, hungry from hurling heavy balls down a lane, we went the The Pizza Company, an Italian food restaurant chain in Thailand. We gorged on pizza, breadsticks, onion rings, pasta, and a pitcher of pepsi. What a feast! After, the girls (Deb and Lexa) went back to their apartment, but Ian, Joe, and I all stayed to play a couple more games of bowling. We ended the night all back at their apartment, chatting it up, looking at and exchanging pictures, and reminiscing about the good times we've had together in the past few short months. Hard to believe it's almost all over.

Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes to Deb and Joe, but Ian, Lexa and I had a big day planned. A Japanese teacher that works at their school picked us up, and took us to an aquarium where we saw colorful, tropical fish, and lots of crocodiles. But the real fun part was when we went to the zoo next to it and got to play with little lion and tiger cubs, and some orangoutangs too! They were so playful and active, which sometimes was a little scary, but at the same time, totally exhilarating. We fed them milk from a bottle, and they slurped away like nobody's business. One of the tigers even got a little too rough, which resulted in my arm and the side of my stomach in it's mouth! Tiger slobber is a lot like any other kind of slobber. You learn something new everyday. Next, we played with some of the orangoutangs that were dressed in funny people clothes. Monkeys in clothes=Hilarious.

The attack

So, to sum it all up. My weekend consisted of watching a movie, getting drunk, eating drunk food, bowling, eating pizza, hanging out with friends, going to the aquarium, and going to the zoo. Tell me that's not the most American thing you could ever do.

I want one

The Beast

2010-02-21T20:09:00.004+07:00

I am now convinced that the baby pigeon that lives on my balcony is a complete freak of nature. It has grown to almost being a full sized pigeon in about 2 weeks. Every time I walk out onto my balcony, it looks like it's getting into attack mode and is about to inflict some harm upon me.

Look at it, it's got the crazy eyes!

CJ and Christina in Love

2010-02-18T17:06:00.003+07:00

Over the course of the past few weeks I have gotten multiple text messages from someone named Christina. She seems to be searching for a man named CJ, and also seems to have the wrong number. I have not written back to her yet, as international texting ain't cheap. So she continues to text me, desperate to hear back from this mysterious CJ. She has also called me twice, and even though she hears on my voicemail that my name is Ilan and clearly not this CJ character, she continues to text me.

Here is what she has sent me so far:

1) hey cj its robs daughter christina

2) hey

3) is this cj?

4) hey this is christina robs daughter

5) hey its christy i tried calling u but i guess ur busy or sleeping or wutever but if ya wanna call or txt me back its chill :-)

6) hey

7) hey

8) im sorry if u have gotten so many txts frm me my dad sed u never got em so my bad if im blowing up ur phone

I wonder when I'll get the next one. Part of me wants to go along with it and pretend I am CJ, but A) It would be expensive and B) It might just be a little too mean. I also wonder how old these people are. I mean, honestly, who spells whatever like "wutever" and said like "sed" unless they failed English class (maybe I could teach her) or they are a teenage girl. I guess this will just be one of lifes many great mysteries...

Adjustments

2010-02-17T16:21:00.003+07:00

I think it's safe to say you've gotten used to a new place and a new culture when you get used to the following:

1) Your own language now sounds foreign to you.

2) You no longer know what to do with a knife.

3) You can eat anything with a spoon.

4) A constant state of confusion is the norm of your life.

5) Elephants walking down the street doesn't seem strange to you.

6) A fried egg seems boring without rice to go with it.

7) You see four cows in the back of a pickup truck and you don't think twice about it.

8) You see many strange vehicles and all you think is, "How can I get one of those?"

9) You learn that the phrases "Maybe," "Up to you," and "OK" can solve any situation.

10) You've forgotten what it feels like to be cold.

This is Thailand.

The Return

2010-02-16T18:30:00.013+07:00

I knew I'd be back. This past weekend, I returned to my favorite place in Thailand, Sanghklaburi. But this time, I came with some friends of mine. When I heard they were planning a trip there, I hopped on the bandwagon and tagged along. It all started Friday night, when I took a bus up to Suphan Buri to meet my friends at their apartment for a night of western food, movie watching, and good company. We watched "Up in the Air," which I liked, but honestly did not understand why everyone thinks it's the best movie of the year. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and hired a van to take us to Sangkhlaburi. It was a long ride from Suphan, about 5 hours, but we kept busy by talking about this and that and everything in between.

The road to Sanghklaburi

Upon our arrival in town 5 hours later, we got right into the fun. After few quick pit stops at scenic viewpoints, a temple, and some shops, we went to our hotel. We stayed at the same place I ate all my meals at the last time I was there, and to my surprise and delight, all the staff that worked there remembered me! They all came up to me, shook my hand, told me they were glad to see me again, and it felt pretty great to feel so welcomed back to a place I love so much. We chowed down on some Burmese dishes,

dropped our bags off in our rooms and dove into the lake. We swam out to the bamboo raft and hung out there for what was probably a couple hours. One of my friends has an underwater camera so we brought that out there and took lots of pictures of us on the raft, jumping off, in the water. It was loads of fun, but by the time our fingers were shriveled into oblivion, we thought it was probably time to go back onto shore.

I fell in the water about 2 seconds after this picture was taken

The next few hours we spent walking over the Mon bridge, admiring the sunset and wandering aimlessly around the village. We met some locals, played with some kittens, and talked about how much we all love this place and wish we never had to leave. We were all tired after a long day and went to bed early. A 6 am wake up call was in order so that we could take a misty morning boat ride on the lake, something I did last time and was eager to do it again. We all piled into a long-tailed boat and sailed on the water for an hour or so, circling the underwater temple, passing farms, and waving to villagers.

B-E-A-UTIFUL

The next thing to cross off our list was a trip to Three Pagodas Pass, which if you remember was where I accidentally walked into Burma last time I was there. Lucky for me this time, there were no international conflicts and all I got from my second voyage there was a t-shirt and some great pictures. Before we knew it, it was time to return back to our respective schools, but not without a quick stop to a waterfall along the way. The falls were packed with Thai vacationers and their kids having the time of their lives swimming around in the pools. Not many other times have I seen a place with so many people in complete and utter joy. It made me happy to be there, if only for a short while.

Pure joy.

Once back at school, it was a return to normalcy that I have become a little too bored by. I know I'm in Thailand, but during the week my days are pretty boring. I'm ready to start traveling, I'm ready for Josh to get here, and I'm ready for an adventure unlike no other. Until then, I'll just have to do the best I can and try to make these final days of teaching something to remember.

Continuations (is that a word?)

2010-02-11T17:03:00.008+07:00

My most recent nebula creation. Done using that interference acrylic ink that I love so much.

I just entered a photography contest for animal portraits, and I submitted this picture of my smelly cat.

That's just gotta win, right?!

Oh yeah, big change of plans after my Asian travels with dear Joshua. Looks like I'll be heading down under to the great continent of Australia to visit my friend and fellow traveler, Kanika. Once you got the travel bug, you just can't stop, can you?

It's almost the end of my 3rd to last week of teaching. This has been one heck of a long week. Sometimes the kids just decide they want to really screw with you and make your life miserable some weeks. This was one of those weeks. I have really enjoyed living and traveling in Thailand, but honestly, get me the hell out of this school already. Two more weeks to go... I can make it.

Funny Moments in the Life

2010-02-10T16:07:00.005+07:00

Hello friends and followers. I don't have anything too exciting to talk about today, but I just thought I'd share with you some funny things that have happened to me this week.

Funny moment #1. The other day I went to the pool on campus to get some sun and to do some reading. I was bored, it was a Sunday afternoon, and I didn't have much else on my mind besides relaxing. At the pool, there is a tournament style high dive that I'd say is at least 25 feet high. I was swimming around in the deep end when I noticed some young Thai children laughing at me. I looked at them and said "What?!" They continued to laugh at me and then pointed to the high dive. I asked them "Jump?" They all nodded their heads in excitement. I could tell they were interested in this, so I thought I'd give them a fun show, but only if they did it in return. I said, "I jump, you jump." They all make this noise (as all Thai people do) "Ooooooooooaaaaah." I said, "OK?" They said OK. I made my way up the tall ladder to the top of the dive, and it felt a whole lot higher once I was actually up there. Without thinking, I just ran, jumped off the diving board, did two flips in the air and landed awkwardly and painfully on my side in the water. Ouch. My pain was their enjoyment. They laughed and laughed and laughed, until I said "You go." After some time spent convincing them the best I could in English, one of them finally went. He "jumped" off the board, very reluctantly. And by jumped I mean he slowly walked to the end of the board, took a step, and just fell into the water. The other two kids did basically the same thing and we continued this game for a while, until I left. I'd like to think I made American's look tough though. Those kids were certainly impressed. Who care's if they were about 8 years old and I'm 23. I still won.

Funny moment #2. Yesterday I came back to my apartment after school dying of thirst. To my disappointment, I discovered we were out of water. The only thing I had to drink was a Leo Beer. I was desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. I cracked open the Leo, poured myself a glass and chugged that sucker down. The cold beer soothed my dry throat, but this was a bad, bad idea. I drank about half of a big bottle, which is about double the size of a 12 ounce beer in America, but since I was dehydrated, I got drunk. My body was craving water, not alcohol, so I had to pay the consequences. I hadn't eaten in hours, I was dehydrated, and I was tired, half a beer was plenty to buzz me up real good. So, it was 4:00 in the afternoon and I'm now drunk and don't know what to do with myself. I ended up taking a 3 hour drunk nap, and when I woke up, I thought it was the next morning and proceeded to get dressed for school. Eventually I figured out that I'm a complete idiot and that it was still night time. Not my best moment, but still pretty hilarious. We have since gotten water, and I learned my lesson about drinking beer when I'm tired, hungry and dehydrated.

Funny moment #3. After my drunken stupor last night, I was hungry. When I went to the market, I ordered a Thai omelet with rice. As I was waiting, I heard some Thai University students talking next to me. All of a sudden, I heard the word "Farang" in their conversation. I've told you all this before, but "Farang" is a Thai word for Westerner. I've come to think of it almost as my second name because I am referred to as Farang so often. Anyway, whenever I hear it, it grabs my attention. My head immediately spinned towards the students who just completely froze when they realized I understood them. It. Was. Hilarious. They just stood there, not sure what to do. I decided to mess with them a little and started giving them dirty looks (I might have still been a little drunk) and to pretend I was really mad. They completely panicked and one of them just ran away, then the other 2 followed her. I laughed myself silly as I continued to wait for my omelet which was oh so delicious.

And here's something that some of you might find funny as well. A picture of me, hard at work at my desk in my office. A Thai teacher popped up all of a sudden and caught me off guard and took my picture one day when I was working. I think for not being ready for the picture, it's actually pretty good! When I came to school this morning I found a copy of the picture sitting on my desk. I didn't know what to do with it, so I took a picture of it and decided to put it up here. It's not the best quality, but you all get the idea.

Teacha Ilan aka Ajaan Ilan aka Farang Ilan

Nebulae

2010-02-08T17:39:00.003+07:00

Here are a couple new nebula creations I made this weekend. I'm working on another one now, and I'll put that one up as soon as it's done. Get on my good side, and maybe I'll name one of my nebulae after you!

Roll the Credits

2010-02-07T18:05:00.003+07:00

Hey friends. Since I didn't go anywhere this weekend because of that whole Indian Visa debacle, I had lots of free time on my hands. In addition to making some new nebulas out of acrylic ink, and watching bad romantic comedies on HBO, I had time to make a little movie that highlights some fun moments of my time in Thailand.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to upload the dang video on to my blog. I let it upload overnight, and when I woke up this morning, the wheel of death was still spinning. But all hope is not lost... I have been able to upload it without problem onto my Facebook page. So, if you are friends with me on Facebook, go check out my profile and you can watch the video! Hope you all enjoy it!

Oh yeah! There's an update on my baby pigeon situation. One of them has hatched, but the other one has yet to arrive in this big blue world. Baby pigeons look nothing like what I thought they'd look like, and are probably one of the ugliest looking creatures I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. See for yourself...

Why is it yellow?!

I am also deathly afraid to go on my balcony now, because whenever I do, Mama Pigeon flaps her wings and goes crazy. I usually think she's going to attack me but then she just flies away, leaving me with opportunities to take pictures of her mutant baby.

Status Report III

2010-02-05T20:20:00.004+07:00

India Visa Application Center in Bangkok: FAIL

Well, I knew it was too good to be true. I thought that the process for getting my Indian Visa was too easy and ran way too smoothly. I should have known, after all, this is Thailand and nothing is easy. I applied 3 weeks ago for a one month tourist visa for India, I've spent a lot of time and money going back and forth to Bangkok to take care of this over the past few weeks. I dropped my passport off yesterday to have the visa put in, and I was all excited to pick it up this morning. But when I picked it up, I noticed something was wrong. The visa expires before I even leave for India. See, what they didn't tell me at the application center was that the visa is valid for the amount of time you request from the day they issue your visa. So, since I asked for a one month visa, they made the validity of it February 4th 2010- March 3rd 2010... one day before I leave for India. After lots of arguing and stressing out, the man who was helping me told me that I could just pay a fee of 500 Rupee once I arrive in India, and everything would be settled. I asked him repeatedly, "Are you sure???" "I'll be able to enter India and stay there???" Yes, yes he kept telling me. I was skeptical so I did some of my own research, and discovered that not only is this not true, but I wouldn't even be able to board my flight to India without a valid visa. And if it expires while I am there, I would be detained at the airport when I try to leave the country. Thanks a lot, stupid India visa application man. I'm not happy about this at all. This means that I have to go through the entire process all over again, spend another 100 dollars, plus transportation to and from Bangkok. AND I still need to apply for and get by visa to Vietnam. Now I don't know when I will have the time to do that after this whole fiasco. I was going to go to the beach this weekend, but now I can't because I need to save money and pay the visa fee again. UGH... I'm just going to be hanging in my town this weekend, shooting the breeze, and try to work on some art. Maybe I'll make a piece entitled "Stupid Visa Application Center in Bangkok," it could be my masterpiece.

"I Like Game Computer, Because it is Funny"

2010-02-04T20:35:00.003+07:00

I have been giving an oral speaking test this whole week and the title of this post is the most popular response amongst these little monsters. They like to play computer games because it is funny... not because it is fun. Because it is funny. I ask them, "What's so funny about it?" They just stare at me, mutter something in Thai, which I'm still trying to figure out. I think its something like "Arai Mai," but who can be sure. They usually then just start laughing and I stare at them like they are crazy. I get some weird looks in return, and sometimes we have awkward staring contests.

I got the computer game answer when I asked my 9th grade students what their favorite thing to do during the day is, and why?

Some other popular answers I'd get were:

Where do you want to travel to and, why?-- "I want go to Paris, to see tower Eifel."

and...

If you are sick, what should you do?-- " Go to doctor, drink water."

I think all the students just overheard other students talking and memorized what to say. I don't think many of them actually knew what they were saying. Whenever I tried to ask them an additional question, the awkward staring contest resulted. They had no idea. I realized how very little English these kids actually know. But then again, I also realized how much English the good students know. The one's who pay attention and who participate in class, their hard work is paying off, so good for them. At least I'm making some progress with some of these kids.

The Rat's Fly?!

2010-02-03T16:21:00.010+07:00

I know I said I wasn't going to do it again, but the weekend brought me back to Bangkok. I wanted to go somewhere else, but that's where my friends were heading. After my solo trip last weekend, I wanted to spend some time with them, before the very fast approaching end of the semester. I can't believe there's only one month left. Where did all the time go? So much I wanted to do and see that I haven't done yet! Oh well, a month is still a long time, and I'm betting I can get a lot done if I put my mind to it.

Friday night was Jon's birthday, which is the main reason we were in Bangkok this weekend to begin with. We checked into the same hotel I stayed in for New Years, had a few beers, grabbed some of the most delicious kebabs I've ever eaten, and went out to the bars. We met up with some other friends, but they were getting dinner, so we kept on drinking. Jon and I spent some quality time talking it up, roommate to roommate at an Australian Bar and making friends with the waitress who had a crush on us. Around midnight, some of our other friends came, but I was way too tired/had too many beers at that point to stay out any later. So, I ended up just going home and falling asleep right away.

A cat I saw giving me the stare in Bangkok

Saturday we went to this giant electronic supplies outlet mall in Bangkok. I've never seen

anything like it before in my life. They had everything electronic related you could think of, and it was a sight to see. I've never lived inside of a computer before, but I have a feeling being in this place is as close as any human would ever get. Lots of lights, lots of shiny metal, lots of things moving around. I could only handle it for so long, and only stuck around long enough to buy some camera cleaning supplies. Then I took a motorbike (why do I keep doing that when they are terrifying?) to meet my friends Joe, Deb, Lexa, Gerry, and Nonie at my favorite Wat in Thailand, Wat Arun. We weren't there long, but it was good to be back there because I hadn't been since before orientation. It was a very happy return. We split up for a little while and I went with my friend Lexa back to her hotel, the Shangri-La, the best hotel in Bangkok. It was amazing. We got room service and watched "Whip It." I felt so luxurious, and the whole time I was wishing I was wearing a bathrobe and drinking fine wine. Maybe next time.

View from the Shangri-La hotel room

Dinner came around and we met up with our friends again and ate some delicious Indian food, followed by a couple beers at an Irish pub next door. It was there that I made some very stupid comments that my friends all made fun of me for the remainder of the night. The title of this post only being one of them. I won't tell you what the other one's were, they are just too embarrassing. Sorry to leave you all hanging. Lexa left a little earlier than everyone, so it was just me left with two married couples. Joe and Deb, and Gerry and Nonie- who are from Ireland. No worries though, they are some of my really good friends here and they welcomed and embraced me into their married life social circle.

My married friends- Deb, Joe, Gerry, and Nonie

The next morning, we were all invited to go have breakfast at Lexa's hotel. It was without a doubt the best breakfast I've had in Thailand. Every kind of breakfast food you could ask for was there. Also, every juice you could want was there. I saw juices at the buffet from fruits I didn't even know could be made into juice! I guess you could say I went to town on the buffet and felt like I was either going to explode or give birth to an elephant when I finished eating. Afterwards, we all went to Chatuchak Weekend Market. I'm basically an expert on that place by now. We walked around for a bit and I got a couple lightweight t-shirts, because it is starting to get unbearably hot here. I need a t-shirt that is made of the thinnest fabric known to man, and then poke holes all over it so I can breathe a little. It's truly brutal to have to work in dress clothes 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with no air-conditioning.

And that was the end of my weekend. It wasn't the most exciting, but I got to see some of my friends who I hadn't seen in a while and I had a good time. With four weekends left to go, I need to start picking my destinations wisely. And I'm serious when I say that I'm done with Bangkok for now. Except that I need to go back there tomorrow and Friday to pick up my India Visa and apply for my Vietnam Visa. But after that, I'm really done. Really.

PFLTF

2010-01-29T14:49:00.009+07:00

Today we had our schools department fair. Each department set up a booth and presented what they are teaching to the parents, other schools, and the higher ups that walked around. All the other departments were grouped together in one central area, but the foreign teachers were segregated in the front of the school all alone. As expected, no one really came over to us and it was pretty boring and uneventful, despite the fact that we had a couple students get really into the karaoke we had going. They just can't get enough of Celine Dion.

My banner at our booth

My other foreign English co-teachers: Anna, Alip, and Willem

One of my favorite students, Upper

By the way, PFLTF stands for: The Project of Foreign Language Teaching by the Foreigners. Only Thailand would have such a ridiculous title for the department. Everywhere else in the wold it would just be the Foreign Language Department. Am I right, or am I right?

Attention music lovers: Los Campesinos!'s new CD, "Romance is Boring," has come out and it's pretty great. I think you all should go get it right now.

Run, Fatboy, Run

2010-01-28T20:40:00.005+07:00

I've finally committed to doing something I've been meaning to do for as long as I can remember. Hit the gym. I realized that instead of coming home from school and sitting in my apartment for the next 8 hours, not doing anything, I could be making good use of my time and exercise. So, I started going last week, and I've been four times now. I'm going to try and go at least three times a week, for about an hour and a half a time. My workout so far has consisted of running 5k on the treadmill, biking 10k on the bike, and 100 stomach crunches. Then when I get back to my apartment, I run up and down the three flights of stairs five times. I don't know if that's a good workout or not, but it wears me out and I feel pretty good after I've finished. So I'm pretty happy about it. I'm trying a whole new healthy lifestyle here, and I know I've said that a million times before, but this time I'm actually doing it. Eating healthier, snacking less, and generally taking better care of myself. Sometimes I can't resist a cold beer and a couple Oreo cookies at the end of the night though...

On a rather humorous note, I was giving a lesson on trip preparations, and I asked my students what they'd buy first before going on vacation.

A student screamed out, "CONDOMS!"

The Future

2010-01-27T21:42:00.006+07:00

Three of my best students who I specially chose to help me with a project for the Foreign Language Department at school...

Monsicha Srisuantang

Nickname: Pearwaa

Grade 7

Yannawut Chatchinwut

Nickname: James

Grade 8

Nitirat Laichim

Nickname: Ice

Grade 9

And one of the many troublemakers...

Supawit Tuppoom

Nickname: Fame

Grade 8

Sleepyhead

2010-01-26T15:40:00.022+07:00

Sometimes bad things happen in order for good things to come. Case in point- a bunch of my friends were going to my favorite place in Thailand this weekend, Ko Samet, and I couldn’t go. I’ve been aching for a chance to get back to the wondrous tropical getaway ever since I left almost 2 months ago. Wow, has it been that long? However, school duties prevented me from returning and instead I had to hand out prizes at my schools fair. Maybe I was just sour and in a bad mood, but I felt extremely unneeded there. They had about ten other teachers working, and I mainly just stood around as a human trophy so my school could show off that they have a Westerner teaching at their school. About an hour or so in, I decided I had enough and slowly crept out the back of the booth and escaped into the night.

My school all lit up for the fair

I hurried back to my apartment, broke out my Thailand Lonely Planet guide book, anxiously looking for a place to go so I could salvage my weekend. After much debate and research, I decided on a sleepy town in Western Thailand next to the Burmese border called Sangkhlaburi. It was a bit of a trek to get there, but my golly was it worth every micro second. I woke up bright and early Saturday morning, and with perfect timing I caught the hour-long bus to Kanchanaburi where I would need to get off and take another 5 hour-long bus ride. When I arrived in Kanchanaburi, a man approached me and asked where I was going. I told him and he ushered me over to a van station, telling me it would get me to Sangkhlaburi much faster. It was about the same price as the bus, and I figured I’d be more comfortable. It turned out to be a great decision, because instead of taking 5 hours, it only took 3 1/2, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The ride took me through the beautiful Kanchanaburi mountain range, full of massive limestone giants covered in thick greenery with their complex peaks shaping the sky. I looked around the van and noticed that most of the other passengers were asleep, and I wondered how anyone could pass up a time to look at these amazing natural wonders. I stayed awake the whole time, listening to my iPod, just staring out my window and watching the mountains get more and more impressive as we went further west.

Mountains on the way up to Sangkhlaburi

I arrived in Sangkhlaburi at about one o’clock, and was immediately impressed with what I saw. It was a very small town, with only about 47,000 residents who live there. Most of them aren’t even Thai- they are mainly Burmese refugees from the Mon and Karen tribes who escaped to Thailand because of oppression in Burma. They now live in a village in this town that is connected by the longest wooden bridge in Thailand called the Mon Bridge. The bridge crosses the Khao Laem reservoir on which the town overlooks, and many people live in houses on the water. I checked into a small home stay, put down my bag, grabbed my camera and hit the town. After a quick lunch of Burmese Curry, I crossed the Mon Bridge, and explored the village. I hired a motorbike taxi and the driver took me around to all the hot spots. He did his best to communicate to me what the significance of each place was, but I only picked up a little of what he was trying to say. Afterwards, he dropped me off a local restaurant and the woman who ran it invited me in for some Burmese coffee. I gladly accepted, sat down, and pushed around a small racecar with her four-year old son, all while enjoying the most delicious cup of coffee I have ever had in my life. I spent the next couple of hours walking around on the bridge, checking out the market in town, taking pictures, and meeting people. I have never met so many friendly people in my entire life. Every person smiled, waved and said “Hello” to me as I walked by them. They didn’t stare at me like everywhere else in Thailand though, and I felt very comfortable strolling around.

Burmese woman and her son who invited me in for coffee

I walked around until it was almost 5:00, and that means only one thing: sunset. I headed back onto the bridge and spent the next hour and a half people watching, enjoying my surroundings and taking pictures of the sunset. And I have to say, it might have been on my list of top five all time sunsets. As the sun went down, and darkness took over the town, I heard sounds of thunder, and saw streaks of lightning. On the cusp of an electric storm, the air feels magnetic. The hairs on your arms stand up, and you can just feel something is about to happen. I left the bridge and found a little restaurant on the lake to have dinner. It was there that I met a fellow traveler named Helen. She was an older woman, probably in her later 50’s or so, but age doesn’t matter in the face of travel. She was from Australia, and we talked up a storm about anything and everything for a couple hours as the lightning lit up the sky. I was exhausted from the day though and went to bed around 8:30. I wanted to get a lot of sleep for the next day, but unfortunately this didn’t happen. I slept until around 1 a.m. or so, when I woke up and just couldn’t fall back asleep. I tossed and turned, hoping to fall back asleep until it was 6:00 a.m. when I woke up, got dressed and headed back down to the lake. I was tired but I didn’t care, I had a goal: early morning misty boat ride on the lake. I had heard that the mornings were magical here, and that boat rides were a must. I went to the dock, hired a boat and we set off. The lake was covered in fog, and I couldn’t see much, but I loved just being out there on the water. The sounds of nature, the cool air and the wind in my face all combined for a wonderful experience that I didn’t want to end. It’s surprising how fast an hour can go by when you are truly enjoying yourself.

On my misty morning boat ride

When daylight settled on the town, I made my way to the bus station and took a sorng-tau (a pickup truck with seats in the back) to Three Pagodas Pass, the border between Thailand and Burma. The ride took about a half hour, and I had my feet dangling off the back of the truck, watching blurs of green whiz by me. I was listening to my iPod and was having fun choosing different songs to play as we drove along. I decided that listening to “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynard Skynard was the most fun, and Rogue Wave’s “Lake Michigan” fit the mood best. The real treasure though, was listening to Sigur Ros, and as I zoomed by the mountains and looked out at the vast landscapes, I decided that listening to them in these surroundings was the defining moment of my life, and I couldn’t help but let a smile creep up my face. There isn’t much to see at Three Pagodas Pass, the pagodas themselves are pretty unimpressive. I spent most of my time here wondering around, looking out at the mountains and meeting some of the local people, some of whom took a picture with me. The most exciting part of being there was when I walked to the small town next to Three Pagodas Pass and explored the narrow streets and colorful faces of the people that live there. I also accidentally walked into Burma, which resulted in army men with guns yelling at me to get out. A little scary but pretty amusing and funny I think. In my defense, it was not clearly marked where Thailand ends and Burma begins. I was just walking along a street and all of a sudden I was in Burma. At least I can say that I have been there now, can’t I?

The only picture I took when I accidentally walked into Burma

A short while later, I headed back to Sangkhlaburi and had lunch. It was still early and I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself until the end of the day. I saw some people swimming in the reservoir outside the restaurant, so right away I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t have a bathing suit so I just went right in with my shorts. The water was clean and warm and it felt great to go swimming during the hot day. There was even a raft out in the reservoir. It wasn’t as great as my raft at Ko Samet, but hey, what is? It was made of bamboo, and was much smaller, but it swayed with the water and that’s all I needed. I swam out to it and relaxed and got some sun while I took a quick nap. When I woke up a short while later, I swam back to shore, gathered my things and headed back to my home stay where I showered and changed my clothes. I still had some time before the sunset so I walked around the town, trying to find places that I hadn’t been yet. I wandered around for who knows how long, and the longer I strolled the dustier my feet got from the dirt road. Eventually, I went back to the restaurant to have a beer and watch the sunset over the bridge. It was nice to see it from a different angle, but I was slightly disappointed because it wasn’t as great of a sunset as the previous night. I did get to see my friend Helen again, and after a quick catch up recalling our days events, we parted ways. I was completely and utterly beat from the day’s activities so I went back to my home stay where I just crashed. A solid 10 hours later, I woke up and packed up my things and left. I said goodbye to the family that lent me their home for the weekend and I made my way back down to the reservoir for one last look. It was misty again and the air was blue and I could see the sun trying to peak out from the clouds. I just stood there admiring this amazing place, wishing I didn’t have to go. So, with one last look, I turned around and walked up to the street where I took a motorbike into town.

My last look of town in the early morning

I caught a van to Kanchanaburi pretty quickly and I began my descent back into reality as the van took me back down through the mountains. The views going back down were just as incredible, if not better than any view before. Mist and early morning fog still covered the mountains and the sun rose in the distance silhouetting them. All was good until about halfway through the ride something terrible happened. A smelly old man got into the van and sat right next to me. He smelled like rotten curry and B.O., and made himself comfortable by sprawling out all over the seat. He was completely invading my personal space with his arms and legs touching mine and I tried to stay clear as I squished myself against the window. He then started to cough almost right in my face and made sounds that made me think he had a cockroach in his throat. Then, to top it all off, he decided that right now was the best time to pick his ear hair and proceeded to wipe them on his pants. I had to deal with this for about two hours, and I’ve never wanted to get out of a car so bad in my entire life. However, it couldn’t possibly taint my weekend, as I really believe it was my best yet.

Sunrise behind the mountains on my way back down

Never have I connected with a place I’ve traveled to as much as I did with Sangkhlaburi. And I would consider myself a very lucky person if I ever get to return to this hidden gem tucked away deep in the mountains.

Status Report II

2010-01-21T13:11:00.006+07:00

Well, we've done it. Itinerary for the Asian Adventure is complete. We don't know know all the specific places we will be in besides India so far, but we've got some solid ideas. A lot of time, and lots of planning went into putting this sucker together. So, without further ado, I give you our itinerary:

March 2- Josh arrives in Bangkok at 11:45 pm
March 3- Bangkok

March 4: Fly to India- Depart Bangkok: 6:05 pm, Arrive Delhi: 9:05 pm

March 5: Delhi
March 6: Agra and Sunset at Taj Mahal
March 7: Sunrise at Taj Mahal and afternoon Fatehpur Sikri. Late afternoon bus to Jaipur
March 8: Jaipur. Overnight train to Udaipur- Departs 10:25 pm
March 9: Udaipur. Overnight bus to Jodphur (6 hours)
March 10: Jodhpur
March 11: Jodhpur. Overnight bus to Jaisalmer (5.5 hours) Train also available
March 12: Jaisalmer
March 13: Desert Tour
March 14: Desert Tour. Overnight train to Delhi- Departs 4:00 pm
March 15: Delhi (Arrive 11.05 am), Flight to Bangkok at 1 am

March 16: Fly back to Bangkok- Depart Delhi 1:00 am, Arrive Bangkok: 6:55 am

March 16: Bangkok
March 16: Go to Cambodia- Overnight Bus
March 17- 21: Cambodia
March 22: Go To Vietnam- Bus
March 22-April 3: Vietnam

April 3: Fly to Bangkok- Depart Hanoi at 9:15 am, Arrive Bangkok at 11:05 am-
April 3: Fly to Chiang Rai- Depart Bangkok at 8:10 pm, Arrive Chiang Rai at 9:30 pm

April 3-15: Northern Thailand and Laos
April 13, 14, 15: Chiang Mai

April 16: Fly to Phuket- Depart Chiang Mai at 1:30 pm, Arrive Phuket at 3:50 pm

April 16-30: Thai Islands

April 27, 28, 29: Koh Phangan
April 30: Fly to Bangkok- Depart Surat Thani at 1:30 pm, Arrive Bangkok at 2:40 pm
March 1: Josh leaves, flight out of Bangkok at 1:20 am

I would also like to let you all know that I have some new roommates moving in. I'm not sure when they will get here, but they will be living on the balcony. Here is a picture of what they look like right now:

Yes, they are pigeon eggs on my balcony. And as much as I hate these birds, I can't wait to see what little baby pigeons look like. I'll keep you all updated on the progress of the birth.

Collision Course

2010-01-20T20:35:00.002+07:00

So as I said before, I was involved in an accident a few days ago. I was not driving a car, or a motorbike... I was on my bicycle. I was not hurt, and neither was the other cyclist, but it was still unbelievably hilarious. I was on my way to do private tutoring, and I'm minding my own business biking down the road. All of a sudden this Thai girl on another bicycle pops out of nowhere from a side street, and ends up right in my path. Before I was able to change course, we collided. It happened so fast, food went flying, drinks spilled, she screamed. She screamed so loud, it actually sounded like she was being murdered. My immediate reaction, of course, was to ask her if she was OK, and I was seriously concerned that I had really hurt her. Due to her screams, I'd say a good 20-30 Thai passerby's gathered around us to see what all the commotion was about. They probably all thought it was the stupid American's fault, but they would be wrong. When I realized the girl was fine, I helped her pick up all her things that spilled. As I repeatedly asked her, "OK? OK?" she started laughing at me. Then everyone else who was watching us started laughing at me. And then finally, I started laughing. It was just such a bizarre situation, and the crash itself was funny enough. I mean, how often do you hear about bicycle accidents? I picked up my bike and rode off, and continued to laugh to myself as I felt all the eyes watching me, everyone making fun of me in Thai. I would have loved to have been a witness to this accident, as I'm sure it was very amusing. I guess I'll just have to settle as being the one involved. Valuable lesson learned though... always be ready for small Thai girls to pop out of nowhere when you are riding your bicycle.

And Over Here We Have...

2010-01-19T13:32:00.006+07:00

Oh, hello there. Let me tell you about my weekend, as I do so very often. Friday night I stayed in my town, Kamphaeng Saen. I realized that I had seen very little of the gigantic campus that I live on so I decided to go for a nice long bicycle ride and do some exploring. I biked to the far ends of campus and was actually really impressed with what I saw. Since it is an agricultural campus, there are tons and tons of huge green fields, ponds, bird sanctuaries, and flower gardens. I can't believe I never took the time to see it all before, but I sure am glad I did. I feel like I was rediscovering my surroundings for the first time all over again, and it was a great feeling and a great way to spend the evening.

I woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning, because I had a huge day planned in Bangkok. I was meeting my sister Talis friends Steph and Chelsea who were in Thailand for a school program. I met up with them around 9:30, and we set out for a day of sightseeing and fun. I had a whole list written down of places to go, and we actually accomplished pretty much everything I wanted to. We went to Wats, took tuk-tuk rides, went to the market, basically covered the whole city, in about 7 hours. As I played tour guide, I was actually surprised at how much I knew about Bangkok, facts and information about places, and other little tidbits here and there. After our day of fun, we went back to their awesome 5 star Sheraton Hotel right on the Chao Phraya River, and relaxed for a bit. I met most of their other friends that were also from the program and actually saw some familiar faces that I knew from my days at good old University of Maryland. One of them even taught me how to meditate! And while I thought it was hilarious at first, I got into it as time went on and actually felt very relaxed by the end. We got a quick dinner at a restaurant on the river and then went out for the night. Where do you think 20 underage college students would want to go in Thailand. If you guessed Khaosan Road, give yourself a pat on the back. I've been there so many times this month, if I never went again, I think I'd be totally fine with that. But still, they had fun and it's definitely a place to see while you are here.

I slept at their hotel Saturday night, in probably the most comfortable bed I've slept in since I have been here. They were gone on a school trip by the time I woke up, so I just went downstairs and had myself a delicious and filling breakfast full of pancakes, french toast, eggs, bread, donuts, and coffee. It was pretty wonderful. I then set off for what was the most stressful and confusing couple of hours of my life. I was trying to find an Air Asia store where I could book some flights for the upcoming adventure, but every place I went to where someone told me there was a shop, told me to go somewhere else. I went from place to place, failing every time. I bounced all over the city, taking taxis, tuk-tuks and even a motorcycle ride through the city which was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. Alas, no success was had and I couldn't bear the thought of another taxi ride to another unsuccessful destination. So, I just went back to my town, spent the day relaxing and watching movies, catching up on some work. All in all though, a pretty solid weekend, but I think it will be the last time I go to Bangkok for quite some time.

The Chao Phraya River in Bangkok

PS- I was in a collision with another bicyclist last night and it was probably the funniest moment of my entire life. Details to come tomorrow, stay tuned.

PPS- An Elton John singalong session just broke out in my office. I think I might join in, Almost Famous style.

Status Report

2010-01-15T08:37:00.005+07:00

INDIA: FLIGHT BOOKED

Josh and I have taken the first few steps in planning our Asian Adventure. We have an itinerary, and we have booked our flight to India. We will be there March 4th-16th. It's. Going. To. Be. Crazy.

Korean Dance Party

2010-01-14T17:29:00.003+07:00

In my last class of the day today, only about 6 students showed up. At first I thought maybe the class was planning a surprise for me like the other class did, but that was not the case. I was actually kind of relieved so few students showed up because Thursdays are my busiest day and I'm always totally beat by the end. So after doing a quick lesson on time prepositions (in, on, at, by, until), I let the students take the floor. They started asking me what kind of music I like and after trying to play them some Phoenix and Passion Pit, I could see they did not share my same taste in music. I asked them what they listen to and then they got all excited and each one of them pulled out their little USB drives and asked to plug them into my laptop. What followed was a half hour lesson on Korean pop music taught my 13 year old Thai students. They told me all about their two favorite Korean pop groups, Girl Generation and Kara. They showed me tons of videos of these groups in concerts and also some of their music videos. I have to say, it was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Not only were the music videos funny, but all the students started singing and dancing to the songs. They knew every word, and every dance move. I was trying my hardest not to laugh but it got to a point where I just couldn't take it anymore and I let it all out. I should mention that the boy students were just as into these pop groups as the girls, and also knew all the words and dance moves. It was definitely an interesting and amusing way to end the day.

On a very exciting note, the package my family sent me finally came today! It was full of delicious tasty treats and other wonderful things, and I was very happy to get it after a month of waiting. Now I just need to control myself and try not to eat it all at once.

Same, Same

2010-01-11T21:21:00.016+07:00

This past weekend was more of the same (same) as usual. Not only am I trying to save money for the big adventure coming up with Josh, but also, no one was really doing anything too exciting this weekend. So it was back to Bangkok for me. I got there Saturday morning and met up with my friends Lauren and Kaitlyn and we spent some time exploring Bangkok's famous Chatuchak weekend market. I mostly took pictures and the girls shopped for whatever girls shop for, but it was a good time and really cool to finally see.

A shop owner catches me taking his picture in Chatuchak Market

After becoming increasingly hot and sweaty due to the 80 degree humid weather Thailand has in the middle of "winter," we left to meet up with our other friend Katie and get down to business. The business I am referring to is planning our India trip. Our hostels internet wasn't working so we had to go to a Starbucks down the road and we had an intense 4 hour long trip planning session. I really felt like I was back in college in a study group or something. We had laptops out, books were all over the table, people were getting stressed. But you know, in the end, it all worked out and I think we have an awesome 2 week long trip planned in India. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out here and there but nothing that's not fixable. After the planning session, we got dinner and then went out for the night. I might of had a few too many Hong Thong whiskey and cokes, and rum buckets as I was not feeling too good the next morning...

After an awesome breakfast of french toast and a cheese omelet, I went to the Bangkok Art and Culture Center. I've been meaning to go there for a while, but hadn't had a chance until then. It was an awesome place full of little galleries, shops, classrooms, and installation pieces. It was interesting to see what Asian art is like, as I don't know too much about it, and I was

definitely impressed by a lot of what I saw. Lots of cool photographs, crazy murals painted on walls, unbelievably bizarre video projects and a room full of neon blue lit up numbers were some of the highlights. Afterwards I popped into McDonald's to get a chocolate sundae which I have now become obsessed with. I love 'em, what can I say? Don't judge me. Then I just took the van back to school and had a lazy Sunday afternoon hanging around. I felt like such an American this weekend, weird.

The Bangkok Art and Culture Center

I'm aching to go somewhere new now. I've been to Bangkok a lot lately, and I'm ready for a different adventure. I'll definitely be there at least Saturday next weekend, then who knows for Sunday. I'll just have to wait and see where Thailand takes me the weekend after...

Party Like it's 2010

2010-01-07T08:01:00.004+07:00

The class that surprised me with a Happy New Year sign has done it again. In fact- this time they stepped up their game. My 3rd Matayum 3 class, which is the equivalent to 9th grade in America is quickly becoming my favorite class. It's strange though, because my worst student (the one who unsuccessfully tried to get me in trouble) is in that class. Oh well, you've got to have some rotten apples. Anyway, yesterday in class they surprised me yet again with a belated New Years party. All the students brought in lots of different Thai dishes and snacks to munch on and I just went to town. The students told me what each dish was called in Thai and then laughed at me when I totally butchered the word when I tried to say it. One student, goes by the name of Ice (Arrested Development reference for those who caught that) followed me around the whole party asking if I was OK, and trying to feed me more things and give me more drinks. He was asking me all sorts of funny questions and I'm pretty sure he thinks we are best friends. That's OK though, he's a good kid and a good student, and is actually one of my favorites. His name really is Ice too, or at least his nickname is. All the Thai kids have nicknames, some of them are quite hilarious. A few funny ones: Poo, Pee, PP, Looksmile, Jew, Martha. Martha is my favorite nickname. I mean, what kind of person picks Martha as their nickname??? Oh, Thailand.

Laying Down the Law

2010-01-04T13:37:00.003+07:00

I'm standing with my back towards the class, writing on the chalkboard. I suddenly hear a loud commotion and people screaming behind me. I turn around to see one student holding a knife to another students neck. I don't know what happened that led to this conclusion, but I don't believe crime control was in my job description... Nevertheless, I grabbed the students arm who had the knife, took the knife away, pushed him out of the class and called over a Thai teacher to do their dirty work. And the whole time the student is looking at me like I am the crazy one. Kids, huh?

PS- It seems I have another new mysterious follower. Who are you, Mary Elizabeth Adams?

My Life as a Drifter

2010-01-03T17:52:00.010+07:00

After getting some “are you crazy?” looks from other teachers at my school when I told them I was going to try to catch a bus to Phuket for New Years, Bangkok seemed to be calling my name. I got there around 7 Wednesday night, checked into a nice little hotel and met up with some friends for a quick dinner. Not a very exciting night, and we parted early as we had a big day the next day. On Thursday, I met my friends at the mall and we went to see Sherlock Holmes and then spent a couple hours in Thailand’s largest English language bookstore. There, I looked at dozens of books on photography, traveling, and my favorite, The Guinness Book of World Records 2010. After, we went our separate ways to go back and shower and change and prepare for the nights festivities. Around 8pm, we met up at my hotel, broke out a bottle of champagne and toasted to the New Year. We even joined a mini dance party hostel by some local Thais that was downstairs in my hotel.

We grabbed some dinner and I got a nice big bowl of spaghetti and a couple of bloody mary’s to wash it down. Then, unsuccessfully we tried to find a bar to hang out in until we went to Central World for the New Years countdown, which is basically the Times Square of Bangkok. After not finding a good bar to go to, we just went to Central World early, and holy cow was that a fiasco. This place was packed. I couldn’t even move. Shoulder to shoulder, covered in sweat, most of it not mine. We quickly decided we couldn’t last much longer here and got on the sky train and headed to an Irish Pub down the way called Robin Hood. It was there that we rung in the New Year, and it was very exciting to count down to midnight in Thai. Neung, sawng, saam, see, hah, hok, jet, baat, gau, sib! I had never counted down in another language before, but I sure hope I get to do it again, as it was a completely different experience than using those boring old English numbers. I ended the night very hungry and while walking back to my hotel I loaded up on 2 slices of pizza and a delicious kebab. The night ended for me in my hotel room, slightly tipsy, eating a kebab and watching Baby Mama on TV, laughing hysterically.

The next morning is when my New Years adventure began. I caught a bus to Khao Yai National Park where I was going to go camping and hiking for a couple days. Once I arrived at the entrance to the park, I realized I had no way of actually getting into the park, as it was 14km from the entrance to the park itself. I got lucky when a bunch of Thais picked me up and I sat in the back of their pick up truck (the first of many from this trip) and they hauled me the 14km up the mountain and through the curvy roads. We passed beautiful scenic views, monkeys, and tons of greenery along the way until we came to the campsite. My new Thai friends invited me to have dinner with them and I experienced Thai hospitality first hand as they stuffed me silly with some yummy grilled treats.

They also gave me lots and lots of whiskey. I was having a great time with them, we communicated the best we could despite the language barriers and they were very excited to be spending time with a farang (westerner). I went to bed early, because I wanted to wake up at the crack of dawn. My tent was tiny and the morning mist made my tent very wet so I woke up with wet socks. But I didn’t let that stop me from having a great day, as I grabbed a quick breakfast, put on my hiking boots, my shades and my trusty bandana and hitchhiked again in the back of a pickup truck.

Campsite at dawn

I was heading off to a hike that would lead me to the parks most famous waterfall, which was also in the movie “The Beach.” It was a fun, but exhausting 2 hour hike over rocks, fallen trees and I passed signs that said “beware of crocodile” along the way which made me slightly nervous. Once I got there, it was a sight to see. The waterfall was beautiful and looked just like I had imagined. I took some pictures and thought I should probably get a picture of me too. I realized that Thai people cannot take a good picture

with a fancy camera. I tried asking a bunch and they either declined or would take a blurry picture of just my face. After many unsuccessful tries I just decided to do the self-timer and that worked out much better for me. A family picked me up on my way back to the visitor’s center where I grabbed a quick bite, walked around for a little and then headed out of the park. I’d say I walked about 5 km or so before someone picked me up on the side of the road. I was tired, hot, sweaty, dirty and smelly, but that didn’t stop 2 Thai ladies from letting me sit in the back of their truck as we drove the 40 km back to town where I was to catch a bus to Bangkok.

The bus back to Bangkok was long and boring, we hit bad traffic and the 2-hour bus ride turned into a 4.5-hour bus ride. But the weekend was so much fun, I wasn’t going to let a silly thing like traffic bring me down. I felt like such a drifter this weekend, and it was really great to just spend some time alone out in the jungle. I’ve been meaning to take a solo trip since I got here and this was perfect, exactly what I wanted and needed.

That my friends, is the Thai Jungle

Haew Suwat Falls, the waterfall from "The Beach"

I took this picture while I was in the pack of a pickup truck zipping down the road. Still beautiful, no?

Whoda Thunk It?

2009-12-30T16:03:00.003+07:00

That's right. I'm doing a double post today, but I sincerely believe this post is worthy. Today was the last day before New Years break and I stepped into my last class of the day only to discover that only 2 students out of 40 had shown up. Instead of leaving the class and going home, I decided to stay and talk to the students who were there. I had my laptop with me so I decided to show them pictures of places I have traveled to, and pictures of my friends and family. With about 20 minutes left in class, the 2 students just started laughing and looking behind me. I turn around and the entire rest of the class is standing there with a big sign that said "Happy New Year Teacher!!!" and then they started to sing a happy new year song to the tune of happy birthday. I was in total shock and couldn't believe that my students did this for me. They all started laughing and smiling, and I too had the biggest smile on my face, and I couldn't even control it. For the first time since I have been here teaching, I really felt like appreciated and that I had some sort of connection with my students. And for that brief moment, I had forgotten about all the troubles I had been through in the past with them and just focussed on the now. And the now was making me very, very happy. I spent the remainder of the class just casually talking with my students and showing them more pictures from home and they all seemed very interested, and I was just so happy that I didn't have to yell or be mean. I felt like I was just being myself in the classroom for the first time ever and I was enjoying the hell out of it. I left the class on a positive note, the year had ended well for me in school and gave me hope that these next 2 months are going to really be something special if I want them to be. And I really do want them to be. I know its a cliche, but I really think I learned a valuable lesson today... don't judge people too early, sometimes they will surprise you.

Ring in the New Year.... Where???

2009-12-30T11:23:00.004+07:00

Tomorrow is New Years Eve and I'm still not sure where I am going to be. Most of my friends are down in Ko Phi Phi, ready to ring in the new year on a beach almost too beautiful to be on earth. Originally, I was going to go down there as well, but I never booked anything and before I knew it, it seemed too late. I figured I'd just save some money and stay in Bangkok and go down south when Josh and I are backpacking. But, things change and as you all know I am very easily persuaded. My friends talked me into coming down there with them, problem is, I can't seem to find a way to get down there. After unsuccessfully searching the internet for bus or train options to get to Phuket, I decided my best bet is to just go to the bus station in Bangkok and hope I can find a bus that has at least one seat available. It's a long, 12 hour bus ride down there, but at least it's overnight so hopefully I will get some sleep. If I don't go to Phi Phi for the new year, then I will just stay here in Bangkok with some other friends that will be here, and then I think I might go off on a solo adventure for the remainder of my long weekend. Not sure where I would like to go yet, but I'm packing for multiple situations so I'll be ready to go anywhere. Here's hoping I end up in a good place.... and those aren't hard to find here in Thailand.

On an unrelated note, Josh has been taking care of Elliot while my sisters are away on vacation. And he just posted this picture on his blog that I just couldn't resist posting here as well. It makes me very happy to know that 2 of my favorite living creatures are spending such a wonderful time together.

New Best Friends?

So, who knows where I will be this time tomorrow. I guess only time will tell... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

So, You Think You Know Thailand?

2009-12-29T12:33:00.004+07:00

This is something I have been meaning to do for a long time, but have yet to do it until now. Aside from blogging about my weekend as per usual, I would like to talk about the little cultural differences I have noticed here in Thailand.

Thai Time- Thai’s are always late for everything. I haven’t met a Thai person since I have been here that has been on time for anything. And I doubt that I ever will. I have waited for someone as little as 5 minutes, or as long as an hour. They do not call you to tell you that they will be late either. They just expect you to understand “Thai Time” and that when they say a certain time, it really doesn’t mean that at all. I am finally getting in this mode.

Mai Bpen Rai- The most used expression in Thailand. Essentially meaning, “No Worries.” Thai people will find a way to use this phrase in almost every single conversation they partake in. It’s used in restaurants, in school, in taxis. Every situation seems appropriate. It’s a good way to look at life, I suppose. It's optimistic and showcases Thailand's positive attitude.

OK- Another expression used frequently here. I swear, I must hear "OK" a hundred times a day. They are constantly saying it. I have even found myself saying it more often during conversations, even to other Americans.

Same, Same- And one more expression that you will frequently hear in Thailand. I'm not sure why they add that extra "same" on there when they could just as easily say one "same" to agree with you. But they do, and that's just the way it is here.

7-11- You never would have thought this before coming here, but there are 7-11's on every single corner on every single street here. I think I heard that there are somewhere near 6,000 7-11's in the whole country. It's a good thing though, if you ever need to charge up on junk food, cheap beer, or the most delicious tuna sandwiches you'll ever have (I'm not kidding, they have awesome tuna here).

Smiles- They don't call it the Land of Smiles for nothing! While my students might be the most annoying little brats I've ever come across, the rest of Thailand is not really like this. You can't help but smile at people as you walk down the street, and you will always get a smile in return. They smile in any kind of situation, good or bad. To agree, or disagree. I've run into a few rotten apples who don't fit this description, but on a whole, this country loves to show off their teeth.

Shoes- This should come as no surprise as it is common in many Asian countries, but when you enter someone's home or go into a Wat, you must remove your shoes as a sign of respect. Students at school must also take their shoes off in class, which often results in me trying to block out the smell of 40 dirty socks per class.

Animals- Back in the day, I'd get so excited whenever I saw an animal that I wasn't used to seeing on a day to day basis. Here though, I am used to having geckos in my room, in my bathroom, on my balcony, just everywhere all the time. I now know the noise that a gecko makes, and believe me, it's different than you would think. I am used to seeing 4-6 foot long Monitor Lizards every single day on my morning bike ride to school. They are like squirrels to me now. I'm used to seeing exotic looking birds, stray dogs, and cats with short, stumpy tails every single day. And oh yeah, I now have a passionate feeling of hatred for pigeons as they "coo" and wake me up much earlier than my 6:45 alarm does every morning. Many have set up shop on my balcony and poop on my clothes when I hang them out to dry. Which brings me to...

Laundry- Man, do I miss dryers. Everything is air-dried here. I should have expected this, but I never really thought about it before I left. It really makes you appreciate just how great dryers really are. Air-drying leaves your clothes feeling stiff and itchy, often times they are very wrinkled, and every time you do a load, they get stretched out more and more. Also, you can't really get rid of stains with the laundry here. You can make them smell nice with some kind of laundry powder, but try to get a grass stain or a food stain out of your nice khakis and I'm afraid you're all out of luck cause it ain't gonna happen.

Confusion- I can't tell you how many times I have been put into a situation where I have absolutely no clue what is going on. You get put in a room with a bunch of other Thai people and they are all speaking in Thai and probably talking about you, and you are just sitting there with a blank stare on your face. Or maybe this happens on the street when you try and communicate with someone by asking directions in broken Thai and they respond to you by speaking in Thai very fast. I'll usually just say "OK" and walk away. Pictures sometimes work, I often find myself drawing pictures of things, or maybe doing charades to act out what I am trying to say. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. When it does though, a great feeling of accomplishment pours over me.

The Stare- I have been here now for over 2 months, and I'm still not used to people staring at me wherever I go. More in my town than anywhere else, but you'd think after 2 months that they'd get used to seeing me everyday. You would think wrong. When I go to the food market every night for dinner, I can feel the eyes all on me, staring. I guess in time I will just learn to zone it out and not focus on it, but still, it's hard to try and order your pad thai when you know that behind you there are 20 eyes glaring to see what you are going to do next.

Food- I'm just gonna put this out there. The food in Thailand isn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Sure, I have had some unbelievably delicious dishes such as coconut milk curry with pineapple and shrimp, and I've had some real tasty pad thai, but on a whole I have been let down. The Thai food you get at home at places like Tara Thai or Thai Pavilion, is NOT Thai food. I mean, it is... but it's not. It's the Americanized version of Thai food, which I guess is what happens to lots of ethnic foods when they are brought to America. But the food here is spicy like whoa, very greasy, and almost everything is fried. I must have consumed about 1000 lbs of rice since I've been here, and if I never ate another single grain of rice ever again, I think I would be ok with that. However, that is obviously not going to happen, and I'm just going to have to start pretending that rice is something else, like Fruity Pebbles or peanut butter cups. Also, they LOVE fish sauce, my goodness do they love fish sauce.

Alright, well that's about all I can think of for right now. I'll try and post some more as time goes by and I think of more. In the meantime, I hope this will hold you all over and give you a little insight about what it's like living in Thailand.

I would also like to apologize for seriously lacking on my blog updates this month. I was gone for a long time at Ko Samet, and I haven't been to any cool places since then so I haven't had much to write about. I've also been quite sick the past few days, and I'm just starting to get better now. So there really hasn't been anything too exciting to post lately, which is why I thought now is the perfect time to tell you all a little about Thai Culture.

And one more thing. It is official, JOSH HAS BOOKED HIS FLIGHT TO THAILAND. That's right friends, the dynamic duo will be reunited come March 1st for a 2 month Southeast Asian Backpacking Adventure. Our goal is to hit up Thailand (obviously), India, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam with possibilities to explore other countries such as China and Indonesia. Who knows what kind of crazy adventures we are going to get ourselves into! This one is going to go down in the history books!

A Weekend in the City

2009-12-23T15:24:00.004+07:00

Sorry for the late posting of my weekend, but I haven’t had much internet access this week. After school on Friday I took a van to Bangkok for my programs mid-semester holiday reunion. I figured it would be a good time to see some people I haven’t seen in a while and get a free dinner. After an engaging conversation with my taxi driver in Bangkok where we communicated the best we could despite our language barriers, I arrived at the restaurant where the reunion was. To my disappointment, there were only about 20 or so people that actually showed up, and most of them were people that I see almost every weekend anyway. At least I got a free dinner out of it. The ironic thing is, I paid for my transportation into the city from my school for a free dinner. So, I actually ended up paying more than I would have if I had just stayed at home. But I will take any chance I get to get out of my boring town, and Bangkok is always a good time.

After dinner, we went to our hostel and had an extreme altercation with the lady who runs it. There are too many ridiculous details to go into it all, but basically she accused all my friends and I of trespassing and stealing a room key, she started screaming at us, calling us “low level people” and telling us never to come back again. We never even did a single thing wrong. We showed up with our passports ready to check in and then all hell broke loose. At 5am, she came into our friends room shaking and screaming at them that they were trespassing and that she was going to call the police. We got the heck out of there the next day, even though we paid for another night, and we found a much better hostel down the road with an extremely nice owner from Georgia, who was such a relief after that nightmare of a lady.

That day we kind of took it easy. We were staying close to the largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia, which just happens to have an English movie theater. I was determined to see a movie, since I hadn’t seen one since I had been in Thailand. We decided to see Avatar in 3D, and I really like it. Afterwards, I went with one of my friends to do a little shopping and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for the night. We showered, changed, got ready, etc for the nights activities. And after a very nice dinner at a very Christmased out restaurant called Gullivers Travels, our night began.

Our first stop was the famous Bangkok Sky Bar on top of the Lebua State Tower. This place is amazing. Some 60 stories high up in the air, you can pretty much see every single rooftop in Bangkok. Everything is lit up, and you really get an idea of just how giant and wonderful this city is. Drinks were super expensive though, so I only had one. A whiskey coke, quite out of character for me. Next, it was off to some smaller, less expensive pubs back on the ground until we met up with the rest of our group. Everyone wanted to go to a club, so we ended up going to the most famous club in Bangkok, Bed. All the Thai celebrities and rich Americans come here, but I found it to be a bit overwhelming and not all that fun. Pretty cool atmosphere though. By the end of the night it was 3am, and I was tired. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped to get some pizza. And as great as it was, I really wished it was Jumbo Slice.

I didn't take this picture, but this is the view from Sky Bar

Ilan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2009-12-17T10:35:00.003+07:00

It's only 10:30 in the morning, and this has by far been the worst day of teaching so far. As great and amazing as last week was, this week has been basically a total nightmare. I don't know why the students are being even worse than usual this week, but they are and I am not happy about it. Today started off when I woke up and wasn't feeling too good, my stomach was a little upset and I had a bit of the shakes. I felt a little better after I showered and ate, but still not 100%. I rode my bike to school, and as soon as I locked it up I felt this unbelievably intense pain on my right elbow and I look down and see this GIANT black wasp stinging the living daylights out of me. I swatted it away but it just flew up and stung me above my right eyebrow. The pain was almost unbearable and I could feel my eye and elbow swelling up like crazy. I ran to the bathroom and put cold water on the stings but it was too late, they were already swollen and throbbing. I went to the nurses office and she gave me some medicine and put some cream on the stings and the swelling went down, and so did the pain, but it still really hurt. I walked into my first class feeling pretty awful, but hopeful the class would go well because I prepared a game of Bingo to play. It did not go well at all. The students didn't seem to care about the game, no one really played, and I just stood up there looking like an idiot. Then, to make things even worse, my coordinator Pat came in and asked me to talk about an incident that happened with a student yesterday in one of my classes. This student, who is the worst student I have in any of my classes, came in 20 minutes late, sat down and started talking. I asked him to stop repeatedly, but he just ignored me and continued to talk and disrupt the class. I told him that if he didn't stop talking, I would ask him to leave. At this point, he just got up and left the class. I guess he went home and told his parents that I "kicked him out" of the class, so they came in today to complain about me. So, I had to sit there and explain to Pat what really happened so she could explain to his parents. I am not in trouble with the school or anything, but it just sucks and I was really upset that it happened. This kid is a problem in all classes it seems, Pat told his parents that he has repeatedly been in trouble with other teachers, not just me. I still have 4 more classes to get through today, then I have to do private tutoring tonight. I cannot wait for this day to be over. Tomorrow I'm going to Bangkok for my programs mid-semester reunion and I can't wait to get out of here and see some familiar faces.

Best. Week. Ever.

2009-12-14T20:33:00.011+07:00

I don't even know where to begin on this one. So much has happened this past week. I would like everyone get comfortable and park it, because this is going to be a long one. I feel like I am going to have some trouble summarizing the past week on a whole so I'm just going to write things out as they come to me. Pardon the randomness, and if it doesn't make sense just keep reading, I'll try to get myself back on track. It all started 2 Fridays ago when we had to judge an English speaking and singing competition. Pretty boring stuff actually, sat around all day listening to Thai students talk about the effects of global warming and its impact on Thailand. Interesting topic, but every student said almost the exact same thing, and it got old real fast. Every now and then a student would come up who just froze and didn't know what to say so they just stood there awkwardly for 3 minutes, staring at the audience. The singing competition was not much better, but a little funnier. They love Celine Dion and that Titanic song of hers, I think I heard it about 20 times in the span of 3 hours. After our duties as judges were over, Jon and I ran back to our apartment real fast,

changed and hopped on a van to Bangkok. We got a really nice, new, and modern hotel room on the infamous Khaosan Road. It had a great view, if not a little noisy. We met up with some people from our program and enjoyed some drinks and pad thai until about 2am, when we realized we should probably go to bed since we had to be up in about 5 hours. And up we were, bright and early, I took a hot shower (the first I've had in who knows how long) and had a quick breakfast, and quickly got in a cab heading off to Si Racha, and then off to our final destination of Ko Si Chang. It took about an hour to get there, and then we took a ferry to the the island of Ko Si Chang. It felt so wonderful being on that ferry, surrounded by clean, blue water, finally on my way to a Thai island. Once we arrived on the island we met up with the rest of our friends who were already there and we immediately went to the beach. I got a floating tube and just went out into the water and lied there in the sun all day long. It wasn't a huge beach though, very different than other Thai islands, but it had sand, it had water, and that's all I needed to be happy. After being out all day, and staying to watch the sunset, we went back to our boathouses that overlooked the water and got ready for dinner. We ate at a famous restaurant on the island called Pan and Davids, and I had wine for the first time since I've been in Thailand. It was fantastic. I forgot how great a nice

glass of red wine compliments a dinner. Expensive, but totally worth it. I woke up really early the next day and watched the sunrise come up over the mountains and it was really something. The sun was radiating, and the colors in the sky were surreal. The day continued and was basically a repeat of the day prior, but we did do an island tour on a tuk-tuk. It took us around to various sights worth seeing on the island, and it was fun to see some parts of the island you normally wouldn't see. Ko Si Chang has the look of a European/Mediterranean beach town, not a Thai town. I swore, sometimes I felt like I was back in a small Portuguese fishing village. We stayed at the beach and watched the sunset again, and enjoyed another nice dinner at Pan and Davids that night. We ended up just hanging out on the boat house, talking for a while before we went to bed. The next morning Jon and I said our goodbyes to the group and left early. Even though everyone had to get back to school the next day, we still had a week off because of a school fair. So it was off to Ko Samet for us, the 2nd leg of our journey on the Thai islands.

Friends.

It took about an hour to get to Rayong, which is 100k south of Ko Si Chang. And we quickly got onto a ferry that would take us to Ko Samet. Ko Samet is more of what you would expect from a Thai island, although it is still different than the islands in the south. It has bigger beaches with sand so fine you feel like you are stepping on air, water so clear you can still see your feet underwater 30 feet out into the water. We spent most of the first day hanging on the beach, I did a lot of reading and finished Shutter Island, which might be my new favorite book. For dinner, I splurged and had my first pizza in Thailand AND a Panang Curry and it tasted real darn good. A quick stroll on the beach at dusk and a few drinks later, it was time for bed. We crashed early and got a good nights sleep. After all, we had a whole day of nothing to do the next day. The next 2 days were almost the exact same thing so I won't bore you with the details as I realize this entry is already really long and I'm barely halfway through my week. To sum it up, we found a nicer, smaller and more secluded beach further down the island that we spent

all our time on. It had a great restaurant and a raft out in the water that I spent most of my time on. Jon left Wednesday afternoon to go to Chiang Mai, but I stayed the rest of the week, because more friends were coming the next day. I met some really cool people while I was on my own though. They were from Belgium and they all had interesting stories about places they had been and where they wanted to go next. We went to watch the sunset on the other side of the island on these cliffs, and it was really nice because there were no other people around. We parted ways later in the night and I walked around and took pictures for a while before I went to bed. I had so much trouble falling asleep that night though because my hotel was right next to a club and it was blasting music and thumping bass until 4am. My bed was actually vibrating from the bass and I really thought I was going to kill someone. Eventually I fell asleep. My friends came at around 3 the next day and it was good to see them because they are all really fun people and I knew we were going to

have an awesome time together. It was a different group than my friends from Ko Si Chang, but just as fun. Basically to wrap up the next 4 days, we spent loads of time on the beach down the island with the raft. Went on an ill-fated squid fishing trip that might have just been the most hilarious/bad idea we have ever had, and really made us question our own judgement. We ate lots of good food, we watched fire shows, something Ko Samet is famous for, and we partied every night. We went to this place called Silver Sand twice, which was a dance club right on the beach. The nights were young and so were we, so we danced the nights away till 4am. We danced on tables, danced on chairs, and occasionally the floor. Everything lights up at Ko Samet at night and the whole beach looks like a world of neon. Every bar is blasting techno

music, has a fire show out front and everyone is either dancing, smoking hookah or drinking. It is a place of sensory overload if I have ever seen one, and I loved every single moment I was there. I believe that it has taken over from Albufeira as my new favorite place in the world and I really cannot wait to go back there again. I had such an amazing time with my friends this past week, doing nothing on the beach, watching the sunsets on the cliffs, going out dancing, getting very tan and just plain old hanging out. It made me realize that I have made some lifelong friends already in the short 2 months I've been here. I feel like I have known all of them forever. It was really sad when I had to leave yesterday, and as I watched the island get further and further away as I took the ferry back to the mainland, I couldn't help but think of Ko Samet's slogan..."Heaven on Earth." Yeah, that sounds about right.

Sarah and Lauren throwing rocks off the cliffs at sunset on Ko Samet

Work in Progress

2009-12-02T21:03:00.004+07:00

In my spare time, I've been playing around on Photoshop, trying to think of new screen printing ideas for when I get back home. I thought I'd get back to my space routes on this one, with the help of a mannequin, of course. Art friends, critique? This is a very rough design right now and I'm open to suggestions!

Life Plans

2009-12-01T13:19:00.007+07:00

I've made a decision. I am not staying at this same school next semester. I honestly do not think I will be able to take another 5 months of screaming, misbehaving kids. BUT, I am at least partially open to switching schools. I have talked with a few other people from my program at other schools and asking what their situations are like. For the most part, it seems that their kids are more behaved than mine are. I have a couple of requirements before I make a decision on whether or not I would like to stay. First, I NEED to have younger kids, at primary level or lower. That way, if they are bad, at least its fun and I can just give them a coloring book and they will be glued to their seats. Second, I would like to be in the Bangkok area. I need a city life. Having nothing to do here during the weekdays is starting to really take a toll on me. I just have nothing to do once I get home from school and end up sitting around for a good 8 or 9 hours. And finally, I need to be placed at a school with other teachers. I cannot be on my own. I only seem my roommate for about 2 hours at the end of the day, because he teaches university and his classes go later. More than anything, I just need some basic human interaction with other English speakers. However, even if i find another school that suits these needs, I am not necessarily going to stay. This is where I would like all of you guys to pitch in. Please leave a comment and let me know what you personally think is the right decision for me to do. Stay in Thailand or come home to America? I realize most of you don't really know my situation or what it's like here, but I'm just asking a basic question on what you think you would do, or what you think would be best for me. I've got lots of thinking to do, and I need some advice from my friends. I need to make this decision very soon, so help me out! What should I do???

***UPDATE***

I reread this post and it comes off like I am absolutely miserable here. This is not true! I really love Thailand and I'm having a great time here, I'm just not crazy about the teaching part of it. I just wanted to make that clear, carry on.

Monkeying About Town

2009-11-30T16:07:00.016+07:00

Lop Buri. A place where monkeys run the town and the locals protect themselves with long wooden sticks. A place where sunflowers stand tall in fields as far as the eye can see, backdropped by mountainous landscapes. This is where I spent my weekend. Getting there wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do though. A 2 hour long bus ride to Bangkok followed by a 2 and a half hour long train ride to Lop Buri, and I had to stand the whole time. When I arrived, I met up with my four favorite people from my program: Ian, Lexa, Joe, and Deb. We've been close since orientation and have stayed in touch really well. I checked into my hotel and then went off to see the town. It's a small place, mainly just one street with hotels and restaurants along it, smaller streets off to the sides and end-capped with the famous monkey temple where they all congregate. From outside my hotel room window you can see the monkeys hanging out on power lines, telephone poles, and on the monkey cages that protected the room. I even had a tug of war with a monkey over a bottle of water through the cage. We quickly went over to the temple, and almost immediately this happened to me....

That's right. I was surrounded by monkeys and a few of them even jumped on me!

We met up with a few other people, making our total 8 and hopped in the back of a pickup

truck, setting off to the sunflower fields. It felt great being in the back of that truck. Sun on my skin, wind in my face, and scenery you'd have to see to believe. Really one of the best moments I've had in Thailand so far. We arrived at the fields and spent lots of time walking around, and posing for cheesy pictures. I mean, really, what's more cheesy than being in a field of sunflowers? Afterwards, we hopped back on the truck, went up the mountain to a Wat and prayed with a monk. No one knew what they were saying obviously, we just repeated what the guide told us to say. An unbelievably cool experience nonetheless. On the way back into town we stopped at one more sunflower field, not as big as the other one, but the flowers were much more vibrant in color.

We went back into town, met up with a whole bunch of other people, most I hadn't seen since orientation ended. There were probably about 30 or so people there from CIEE. It was a little overwhelming to see so many of them. I had the same conversation with most of them, "How's teaching going, etc..." It was really good to see some people though. We ate dinner, had some drinks and then went off to a bar, but I was exhausted and I actually fell asleep in the bar. I rested my head on my hand while I was sitting in a chair, and I must have just passed out. I woke up when my roommate Jon tapped me and told me to go back to the hotel. So I did. The

next morning was the start of the big monkey feeding festival. There were people everywhere and everything was all set up for the monkeys to feast. It was quite funny to watch the monkeys binge eat on junk food and soda but it got old kind of fast. After about 45 minutes, I had enough. I left Lop Buri with Ian, Lexa, Joe and Deb. We hopped on a bus back to Suphan Buri, where they lived and where I would catch another bus to my town. Once in Suphan Buri, ate lunch and then went to the big Wal-Mart-Esque store called Tesco Lotus. They have them all over Thailand but this one was the biggest I had seen so far. It had everything, but I only wanted one thing... Peanut Butter. I got myself a big jar of Jif, extra crunchy. I also picked up some Nutella and bread, and my goodness was I excited. We said our goodbyes and I caught a bus back to Kamphaeng Saen. I had a peanut butter and nutella sandwich when I got home, and it was just as gloriously wonderful as I could have hoped. Next weekend I'm meeting up with the same group and heading off the Ko Si Chang and then to Ko Samet for a week of beaches and sunshine and relaxation. The weekend cannot get here soon enough.

Thanksgiving- Thai Style

2009-11-26T20:29:00.004+07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wish I was home for just one day to celebrate and eat lots of tofurkey, corn bread, stuffing, and drink David Gordon's pineapple soda. Instead I am in Kamphaeng Saen, went to the outdoor food market and ate pad thai and drank a watermelon/apple smoothie for dinner. Not really the same. Oh well. A bunch of us are going to Lop Buri this weekend for the infamous monkey festival, so I am sure all us crazy Americans will go out and have a nice dinner to celebrate the holiday. I also can't believe I am going to miss the football game this year! This will be the first time in many years that I have not participated in the yearly ritual... the VB's better win again! Good Luck friends! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great holiday, eats lots of tasty food and has fun at the awkward family reunions. Enjoy!

My Brush with Death

2009-11-25T22:37:00.003+07:00

I got a new bike. Cost me an extra pretty penny, but at least it won't fall apart on me like the last one did. The night I got it, I took it out for a nice ride around campus, but it was dark and I couldn't always see where I was going. This resulted in one of the most truly terrifying moments of my life. I had accidentally biked near a house which is the stomping grounds for a pack of wild dogs. At first it didn't appear to be a problem, I saw one dog barking but I wasn't concerned because there are dogs barking everywhere here. But slowly, one by one, more dogs came, barking louder and louder, and pretty much blocking off the road so I couldn't bike by them. I'd say there was about 7 or 8 dogs barking at me at this point, and they were staring me down much like a Mexican Standoff. This is where panic mode kicked in. How will I get by them? Will I get by them? Am I about to be torn to shreds by wild dogs in Thailand? These are the questions I asked myself before I decided to just go for it. I could out bike them, couldn't I? I was about to find out. I saw a clear patch of grass to the right, where I thought that if I pedaled fast enough I could get by them with ease. Off I went! Pedaling faster and harder than I ever have before. With my fear at an all time high, thinking I was about to be torn to bits by crazy dogs, I sped past them. I quickly turned around and saw that it was not over yet, the dogs started chasing me. So there I am, riding my bike down a street in Thailand, being chased by dogs. This was probably the most hilarious thing in the world to anyone who saw this happen, but for me, this was truly one of the most terrifying situations I have ever been in. Eventually, the dogs backed off and I rode home, heart beating like crazy, and my legs sore. But I emerged as the victor from the showdown... and if those dogs ever come around my territory I will give them a taste of their own medicine. And by that I mean hide in my apartment and look out the window until they leave.

Malfunction on 2 Wheels

2009-11-24T08:39:00.004+07:00

So I got a bike last week. I was excited to finally have some freedom to go where I want, when I want. I was looking forward to leisurely rides around campus, wind in my face, music in my ears, and just some good old fashioned exercise. Some things are not meant to be, however. First, the chain came lose on the bike, which made it impossible to ride, so I took it to get fixed. 20 Baht later, I was back on the bike, and ready to start over again. The next day, the chain broke again, but this time it just came totally off, falling onto the pavement. At first I didn't even realize what had happened and I was just pedaling really fast and realizing that I wasn't really going anywhere. I turned around and saw the chain just lying there. I was not pleased. So, again, I took it to get fixed at the bike shop. They told me I needed a new chain cause the one I had was a piece of junk. 2 hours later, and 100 Baht less in my pocket my bike was rejuvenated once again. Another 2 hours go by and I've enjoyed a ride around town and I'm heading back to my apartment when the pedal breaks off, so I pick it up and start pedaling with the one remaining pedal. About 1 minute later, the seat gives out and I fall off the back of the bike. But I have to say, the bike mechanic did a heck of a job fixing my chain, because that didn't break at all this time. So, in conclusion, I bought the biggest piece of junk bike in the entire world. When I get a new one, I want to beat the old bike to a pile of metal scraps with a baseball bat, Office Space style.

A Week in Review

2009-11-23T11:31:00.006+07:00

Hello all, nothing really too exciting to report today. The past week has been pretty boring. I didn't go on any trips this weekend, had to stay in and save up some money for this coming weekend and every other weekend after it. I honestly can never stay in my town again on the weekends, there is not a single gosh darn thing to do. So, I have already booked myself every weekend until New Years.

Luckily, I did go on a couple quick journeys this weekend so I would be able to keep my sanity. Friday night, my roommate Jon and I went to Nakhon Pathom, met up with our friend Lauren and went back to our favorite restaurant, Lullaby. We had a nice dinner, made plans for future trips, and then went to a cool bar which had live music. For a moment, it almost felt like I was back in DC, hanging out with Josh at a concert at the 9:30 club. Oh, memories. Sunday I went to a floating market and tried some delicious Thai desserts, walked around, and explored a little bit. I came across a family of kittens that I wanted to keep, but I thought that I couldn't bare to part with any more cats after my emotional goodbye with Smelliot. I started to walk away, but they followed, and as I looked back I wanted to scream something dramatic and emotional to make it easier. You know, something like "Go on, live your life! You are better off without me! Be free!" But I didn't, I just walked away, and that was that. When I got home, I spent about 5 hours grading 360 students tests, not my idea of a lazy Sunday.

One of my kitten friends.

Today has been good so far though, I've had two classes already and they both went really well. I started teaching them about life events, like being born, graduating, buying a house, falling in love, etc. We played a scavenger hunt where students had to ask each other certain questions to see what they have done or want to do in their lives. It seemed to work well and the students enjoyed themselves. I also noticed lyrics to a certain Spice Girls song written on one of the desks in the classroom, evidently the students in Thailand still think its fun to sing this...

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever, friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

I'm not kidding. This was really written on a desk. Someone needs to give the kids in Thailand a pop-culture lesson. A few weeks ago, one of the students told me their dream was to meet Michael Jackson, but I didn't have the heart to tell them the truth.

...28 Days Later

2009-11-17T13:32:00.002+07:00

I have now been in Thailand for one full month. But instead of rage infected man eaters like the title of the post suggests, I have prepubescent wild Thai kids. Today I gave my first test to a class, and caught two kids cheating. I walked over to them, pulled out a big red pen from my pocket and drew a giant zero and wrote FAIL on their paper. Then I simply said, "don't cheat," and walked away as they put their heads down in shame. Yesterday, I joined the art club at school and helped monitor all the little primary school kids as they made little paper mache bowls. I may have made one too. I can't wait till next monday when I get to paint it!

I find it interesting that after a month of being here in Thailand, I no longer think of myself as being in Thailand. I don't know if that makes sense, but it seems like the novelty of it has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and the places I have been so far are beyond awesome, and I'm sure I will go to dozens of equally awesome places. But it seems that I have just accepted that I live in Thailand now, and I can't really imagine it being any different. I wake up in my apartment every morning, try to chase the geckos out of my room, take the trash out cause it's covered in ants from the one microscopic piece of food that was left in it, and I shower, get dressed, and go to school. I have fallen into a routine, and even though I am in this new and exciting place, I no longer really think about it. I'm just in Thailand, this is where I am right now. I'm sure my friends back home who have traveled and lived in foreign lands understand what I mean when I say this, and I am by no means saying I don't like being here. Honestly, I can't even imagine leaving anytime soon. I'm starting to doubt that I will end up staying an extra semester here at the school, but I have no intentions of coming back to America any time soon.

To mark my one month anniversary here, I am going to watch the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight. It should be a dazzling spectacle for the eyes as hundreds of meteors will whiz by the night sky, and then quickly burn up in the earths atmosphere. Try to catch some stardust.

Into the Wild

2009-11-16T17:53:00.014+07:00

Another weekend, another adventure... but such is life here in Thailand. It all started when I arrived in Kanchanaburi at about 5:30 Friday evening. Checked into an incredible little guest house on the Kwai River called the Sugar Cane. All the rooms are built onto a dock over the river, so you walk outside of your room and you're immediately on the river. There were some amazing views of the sunset, and everyone knows that I am a sucker for sunsets. I don't think I have ever seen sunsets like these though, the sky looked like it was red with fire, and the reflection on the water really added that little something extra.

I met up with a bunch of other people from my program, and I had the most delicious Panang Curry you could ever imagine. We had an early morning, so the night didn't last long, a few beers

and some relaxing times went by quickly. Up early the next morning at 7am, we took a bus to Erawan Falls and hiked up the 7 levels of waterfalls. Along the way, swam in crystal clear water, fish nibbling at my feet. Stood under a towering waterfall, soaked up the sun, ran into a family of wild monkeys, and had some delicious American french fries.

The next day was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Off to the Tiger Temple we went. A place where they rescue endangered Tigers and help breed them with the hopes of increasing the number of Tigers in Asia. Currently there are about 1,200 Indochinese Tigers in the whole continent, down from about 80,000 not too long ago... The place was well organized and the tigers seem genuinely loved and cared for by the monks who run the temple. It was an unforgettable experience being so close to these massive animals. I got to put my head in between a sleeping 7 month old tigers paws, posed for pictures with many adult tigers, and watched them play and exercise. These gigantic cats are really no different than your average house cat, they love to play and jump at things dangling in front of their faces. Seeing the tigers really made me miss Smelliot back home, and I laughed at the idea of her playing with these tigers that are about 10 times her size.

Enjoy the video below of the tigers playing and exercising at the temple. And don't forget about the Leonid meteor shower tomorrow night! It's going to be a pretty awesome display of shooting stars... don't forget to make a wish when you see them! Catch you all on the flipside.

Office Hijinks

2009-11-13T11:31:00.005+07:00

It is friday, and it is the end of my 2nd week of teaching. I would have to say that this week was overall considerably better than the last. I've got this teaching thing down, and the kids seem like they might be starting to pay attention. I guess I will see how much they actually learned when I give my first test next week. I assigned a homework assignment this week, and in 9 classes with 360 students, about 25 students did the assignment. So, what do they get? They get a test a week early! They didn't seem too pleased about that, but hey, it's their own fault, right? The students that did their homework get an automatic 5 bonus points on the test, which resulted in many of the other students trying to do their homework super fast to get the bonus points. No dice though, too bad for them.

I thought I would share with you some funny things that have happened in my office the past week. One of the other English teachers from South Africa consistently goes on YouTube throughout the day and listens to crank phone calls. The way he laughs at them, is certainly one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. But wait, it gets better! There is a teacher here named Ajaan Egg (Ajaan=Teacher), who has a very limited knowledge of English, but has a passionate love for classic American rock. The other day he comes strolling into my office and asks if I like John Denver, before I could even reply he starts singing a John Denver song in a stereotypical American Western accent. I almost died laughing. He probably had no idea what he was singing, but he knew all the words, and you know what, he wasn't half bad. His next song was You've Got a Friend by James Taylor, which was if possible, funnier than the song before it. I don't know if he knew I was laughing because I was enjoying it, or because I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Probably a mix of both, but he didn't seem to care either way. He told me that he sings on Wednesday nights at a place called "Cowboy Land" here in town. He dresses up like a cowboy and sings western songs for a couple of hours. This is something I simply cannot miss. The picture I have in my mind already has me on the floor laughing.

Oh yeah, one more thing... My coordinator Pat told me that her favorite singer is Lady GaGa. Keep in mind that Pat is over 50 years old.

The Silent Treatment

2009-11-12T21:00:00.004+07:00

Over the course of the past 2 weeks, I have done more yelling and screaming than I have ever done in my entire life. My throat was bound to get sore sooner or later. Well, it happened sooner. This morning I woke up with an incredibly sore throat and it was not easy to speak. I was worried because today is my busiest day of the week with 5 classes throughout the day. How would I be able to teach 200 kids if I can barely speak? I'll tell you how... force the students to run the class. I took it easy today and made the students do most of the work for once. And in the process, I learned an incredibly powerful new way to discipline the students when they misbehave. The Silent Treatment. Any time they were out of control during a class, instead of yelling at them, I just sat down in a chair, stopped talking, and stared at the students who were misbehaving. Basically what happens is a chain reaction, one student sees that I am staring, then they tell another, and another, and another, until the whole class is dead silent. Apparently, Thai students hate to make eye contact, and they have no idea what to do if you just sit there and stare at them. This means that my voice should be better in no time, and the silent treatment has become my weapon of choice.

PS- Today at the food market, some (well behaved) students ran into me when I was wearing my street clothes and they told me that I looked cool. Huzzah!

History Lesson

2009-11-10T08:47:00.010+07:00

Friends, followers, admirers, devotees, and dreamers... this was the best weekend yet. After a long, tiring and stressful first week of teaching I was ready to get as far away from school as I could. Far away turned out to be about 2 hours northwest, but my goodness, was it ever far enough. It all started when I took a bus up to the province above me, Suphan Buri, to meet up with my friends who I had not seen since orientation. We had a quick catch-up and then we hit the road. A private van we hired picked us up and off we were to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, which fell as the Southeast Asian superpower a little more than 300 years ago. A seemingly ordinary ride quickly took a sharp turn towards awesome when the driver turned off the lights, cranked up the music and turned on the party lights. That's right, we had a mini dance party in a van cramped tight with 9 people. Flashing disco lights, techno, fun times and the occasional cheese and cracker quickly ensued and lasted until we arrived at our destination.

We stayed at a beautiful home-stay called Baan Are Gong which was right on the river that surrounded the island of Ayutthaya. We checked in, unwound, jumped on the bed, and had a nice dinner along the river. We awoke the next morning ready for fun, ready to learn about the history, ready for anything. We went to Wat after Wat after Wat, each one in ruins, each one amazing to admire. I couldn't help but think to myself how magnificent this place must have been in its heyday. The things that went on here, the battles that were fought when the Burmese tore it down. Many important decisions of Thailand were made here, and many important people of Thailand made them. It's strange to think that now this

ancient and strong capital is relegated to a tourist attraction, full of people and their cameras, snapping away.

The day ended as we relaxed at the foot of the final Wat we went to, hanging out and taking mid-air jumping pictures (my new favorite thing to do), and watching the sun set. Later that night, we had dinner at a market, and then took a boat ride around the island and saw some of the Wats lit up with dramatic light, something I won't soon forget. My camera wasn't working well with the darkness and the swift movement of the boat. It didn't matter though, I put it away and just admired the wonderfully lit Wat's for their pure magnificence, and it was kind of nice not clicking away at my camera. I was a mere observer looking at them, but we quickly moved on and I only had the pictures in my mind to remember them.

The next day was short and sweet. We went to 2 more Wats that were located off the island. Highlights include the biggest ancient Buddha in Ayutthaya, and a 7 meter long reclining white buddha wrapped in a yellow fabric.

We ended our excursion at a floating market and munched on the most delicious food that I have had so far in Thailand. However, as all great things do, the trip had to come to an end. We took a bus back to Suphan Buri and said our goodbyes, luckily I will see them all again next week when we go to Kanchanaburi to see the Erawan Falls and go to the Tiger Temple.

Finally, left all alone, I hopped on a bus back to Kamphaeng Saen, and

finished reading "The Lovely Bones," a really fantastic book. When I arrived back to my apartment, I immediately looked at pictures from the weekend and wished we had just one more day there. Many, many good memories that I wish I could relive, but I am excited and ready for the new ones that have yet to come.

Living the Dream

2009-11-06T08:52:00.003+07:00

A students dream house:

20 Rooms in the house

10 Pools in the yard

5 Cars in the garage

4 Gorillas in the bathroom

2 Elephants in the closet

Also, an older student came up to me today and asked me this question...

"What does I am so wasted mean?"

The New Printshop?

2009-11-05T10:58:00.005+07:00

Today I met the art teacher at my school, and before I could even properly greet him with a Wai, I saw a screen. Words cannot describe how happy I was to see that photo emulsion coated screen sitting there, propped up against the wall.

Do I smell late nights printing till sunrise, music blasting and hanging out with Jstrom? Probably not, but one can dream...

PS- Who is this new person, Books On My Shelf, following my blog? Speak up! Who are you??

Bunch o' Tricksters

2009-11-04T14:22:00.005+07:00

Today I played a game of hangman with my students. They tricked me into writing "S.E.X." on the board.

I guess the joke was on me.

Survival

2009-11-03T17:20:00.010+07:00

Well, I've done it. 2 days, 8 classes, and 320 students later, I am officially an English teacher in Thailand. It has not been an easy road, however. There are about 40 students per class, all between the ages of 11-16, and only one of me. They do not listen to me, they do not seem to have a strong desire to learn English, they hit each other with rulers, and they love to do math homework and sleep while I am trying to teach. Today was better than yesterday though, I feel like I am slowly learning how to gain control in the classroom. Although I have just been doing basic introduction lessons so far, the students do seem to understand English pretty well. Apparently, the students do not respect foreign teachers such as myself, but get them behind a desk with a Thai teacher at the front and they act like they are in the military. If it sounds like I am complaining a lot, I have to apologize. I have actually really enjoyed teaching the past 2 days, I just think it is going to be a lot more challenging than I had originally thought. A lot of the students are very friendly and want to learn English, they shake my hand and say hello, eager to please me. They Wai me (a Thai bow) as I walk through the school grounds, and say "Hello new teacher!" Probably the best thing that has happened so far in class happened earlier today. A student farted, rather loudly I might add, and then all the other students jumped back, knocking over desks and chairs pointing their finger at him and yelling "STINK!" I tried my hardest not to laugh and regain order in the classroom, but I must have let out a slight laugh or two. After all, farts are always funny. Last night I went to the Loy Krathong Festival in Nakhon Pathom, where Thai's place a candle in a boat made of banana leaves and ask for forgiveness for polluting the rivers. It was quite the spectacle to see, and it made me look forward to other festivals to come. Oh yeah, I also accidentally ate a banana yesterday, which I wasn't aware was in a Thai dessert, and I almost threw up.

Banana boats float down the river at the Loy Krathong Festival

A ladyboy strikes a pose at a beauty pageant

Lullaby and the Whale

2009-11-01T18:32:00.009+07:00

I am back from my quest to the Northeast, a trip complete with old ladies with no teeth who spit blood, wild roosters, a lovable pup and really hard mattresses. The ruins at Phanom Rung were really something though, lots of interesting Hindi architecture and great views of the Northeast valleys.

Proof I am really in Thailand

The long ride back to school was not an easy one. Andy drives slow and talks a lot, a whole lot. Jon and I haven't spent any time with any other Westerner's since we left orientation so we were very eager to meet up with the 3 other people that are in our province. We needed a break to let loose a little bit, get some space from Andy and see some familiar faces. We met up with Kaitlyn, Lauren, and Jenny in Nakhon Pathom, and spent time around the Phra Pathom Chedi, the largest Buddhist monument in the world, and it's surrounding markets. In the late afternoon we set off to find a restaurant called Lullaby for a place to hang out and have a couple beers and get some grub. After an ill-fated cab ride, and lots of wandering through narrow streets and alleys, we finally found it. Beer never tasted so good. We spent a lot of time at the restaurant and also spent some time by a small pond nearby as the sun was setting. None of us knew how we were going to get back to our towns so we just decided to get a hotel for the night. After very sneakily getting all 5 of us into one hotel room, we went back out and hit the town again, I even got to talk to Josh on the phone!

Nights by the pond

We realized it was Halloween, and decided that costumed were in order. Funny looking glasses, regular looking glasses, army hats and bubbles quickly made our night even better than before. Nights have to end however, and we headed back to our hotel, The Whale, and fell asleep almost immediately. This morning we finally moved into our new apartment, bought some stuff to furnish the place, and have just been relaxing all day. Tomorrow is my first day of teaching, and I'm really excited but also really nervous. I'll keep those wild Thai kids in order.

The pond outside my new apartment

Hey There, Mr. DJ

2009-10-29T21:16:00.004+07:00

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

2009-10-24T20:09:00.005+07:00

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

College Orientation?

2009-10-23T18:27:00.006+07:00

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

2009-10-20T18:41:00.007+07:00

Welcome to the Land of Smiles

2009-10-19T22:29:00.006+07:00

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

2009-10-17T14:42:00.002+07:00

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

2009-10-16T09:57:00.002+07:00

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...