TraveLLs

Okay it’s official: I am a lousy blogger. The last month has been busy to say the least. I have developed a nice routine consisting of school, dinner, the gym, and some various social activities. The highlight of the last month was when my routine was interrupted by my birthday trip to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi over a long weekend. July 15th marked the start of Buddhist lent so all the schools were closed Friday and Monday.  I, however, decided to leave a day earlier to save 3000 baht.  A choice I have no regrets about making.  I took the bus to Udon Thani, a town about an hour and a half north of Khon Kaen, and took a plane directly from there to Phuket. I was on edge the whole time expecting a mishap to happen like the last time I traveled but it never came. The flight was smooth as was the transportation to and from the airport.  I was lucky enough to have a friend from home let me and the girls use her parents’ condo for the first three nights. The cond...

Last weekend I met up with some girls from orientation to head down to the beach.  My journey started with a five and a half hour bus ride to Bangkok and an hour and a half taxi ride to Chonburi.  After this long excursion the relaxing weekend began. We woke up early and took a fairy to Koh Si Chang.  Once I was there I quickly came to the conclusion that this was not one of the many tourist islands of Thailand.  We only stumbled upon a few other foreigners.  Once we got there we walked to our hotel that was a landlocked boat made into a guesthouse.   A sign on the side of the road. Only in Thailand! Our hotel The first day three of the girls and I decided to explore the island via bike.  After we rented our bikes for a very reasonable cost we rode them down the street to the Chinese Temple known as Saan Chao Pho Khao Yai or Shrine of the Father Spirit of the Great Hill.  Once we were there we stumbled upon three Thai ...

This weekend one of the Thai teachers, Teacher Sao, took me and the other foreign girls, Cait and Meaghan, up to Chiang Khan in the province of Loei.  This time we stayed the night in a home stay along the Mekong River.  When we got there we ate lunch.  This consisted of many, many dishes, one of which was gung den (dancing shrimp).  The dish was served with a small plate covering the saucer keeping the shrimp from simply crawling out.  When it was ready to be eaten the plates were held together and shaken.  The sauce that is at the bottom of the plate kills the shrimp when it is mixed, leaving a tasty meal.  After lunch we took a trip on a boat down the Mekong River.  On the boat we enjoyed a nice lao u.  This is a drink made by pouring your beverage of choice (we chose 7-up) into a little born jug of fermented rice.  As the pot runs low, you just add more soda.   Lao U After enjoying a nice boat ride, we finally made...

I have completed my first week of teaching at Anuban Khon Kaen.  It was overwhelming to say the least.  I have been assigned the 1/2 class where they call me Teacher MEshell.  My schedule is as follows: 8:45-9:45 9:45-10:45 10:45-11:45 12:45-1:45 1:45-2:45 2:45-3:45 Mon Math English Tues Math Science Art Wed Math Housework English Health Thurs Math Science English Fri Math English The gaps in my schedule are where the Thai teacher, Teacher Duey, teaches.  There are a few things I have learned about the Thai school system since starting teaching on Wednesday: 1. They expect very little from their students (the curriculum is    about 1-2 grades behind the U.S.) 2. They are all about drill and kill 3. They are very unorganized and never on time Thai schools are much less pro...

Today I finally moved into the apartment I will be living at for the next year! My landlord is the daughter of one of the Thai teachers at my school. She is living in Laos right now doing environmental work. While she is gone her mom is going to be in charge of the rent, etc. She has already been the best landlord I have encountered. She went out and bought me brand new bedding, brand-new rugs for the bathroom, a roll of toilet paper, and brought me a kettle and some dishes. Tomorrow she says she is bringing me a microwave and a fan. I will definitely not mind living here for the next year.  My Apartment On Sunday, the Thai teachers from the English Program at Anuban Khon Kaen took a road trip and I was invited to come along. We went up to Loei to celebrate one of the Thai assistants graduating from University and obtaining her teaching certificate. The Thai teachers decided to make a day trip of the event. The process of getting there was much more important that th...

Thursday was our last day of teacher training at orientation.  It was getting really old by this time but I, along with all 35 other program participants, made it through with some useful information.  The second day of orientation we went to see the grand palace.    I have been there once before, but even still it was incredible.   The attention to detail is fascinating.   Our tour guide, Ellen, was such a blessing.   She knew so much about the palace and about Thailand and she even had a sense of humor.   One thing that she had said was “It is very hot.   I am sweating.   I sweat because I am fat.”   Ellen also did a blessing for our group.   She gave a lotus flower and two incents to a statue of Buddha and put a gold flake on the heart of another statue for good fortune.  We left Bangkok after our last training session and set off to Kanchanaburi.  We went to the Bridge over the River Kwai. ...