Survival

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

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

A baby Elephant stays close to its mother

Bamboo rafting down the River Kwai

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

Words of Wisdom

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

College Orientation?

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

A Slice of Thai Life

Welcome to the Land of Smiles

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