Our school keeps telling us we will be getting internet at our dorms, so hopefully that happens, but right now we 'borrow' it from another router in the area. When we do get it at our dorms I hope to be able to Skype/Gchat/Videochat/Phone chat, whatever with everyone. In the mean time...
Just in case anyone gets the urge to send anything here is my address :)
Satit Bangna School
Attn: Teacher Nathan Fuller
103 Teparak Rd.
Bangpla Bangplee, Samut Prakan 10540
Thailand
Also, if you want to call me here is my cell phone #:
int'l dial code: 011
country code: 66
number: 0852175574
So to call I think it's 011-66-085-217-5574
Otherwise email/facebook works great!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Kanchanaburi
So I know I've been teaching for a few days now (and you're all dying to hear about it haha), but I'm trying to get caught up with my blogging so I have something to remember when I'm finished with all this. So this post is about Kanchanaburi (say that 10 times fast!) which is a province about 3 hours west of Bangkok where our orientation group went Sun-Tues (Oct 25.-27). Pronunciation: Khan-cha-nah-buu-ree.
We finished orientation Sunday afternoon and were all unbelievably excited to get out of the hotel and see some of Thailand. Orientation was great, but definitely got long (often hearing overlapping ideas/info throughout the day) Anyway it was a welcome relief when I walked on the bus and Vanessa handed me a Chang (a local beer brewed in Chiang Mai). Thai beer is pretty funny: it's either in a small can or a huge bottle (reminiscent of a 40 back home and for 40 baht, how can you go wrong!) Other beer brewed locally includes Leo and Singha (brewed in BKK).
Anyway, we stopped at the Prawn Volcano restaurant (yes the names here are that awesome) for dinner. The name speaks for itself as we were served prawns that were inside of a metal container that looked like a volcano and then lit on fire to cook the prawns. Weird.
We stayed at the Pavilion Rim Kwai resort which was a really awesome escape for a couple days. It was set up as an open air hotel with each room having A/C (YES!) Here is the website:
http://www.pavilionrimkwai.com/
Monday was the best day we've had in Thailand by far. We woke up and had our buffet breakfast (man I'm going to miss those) and hopped on the bus to Taweechai Elephant Camp--literally a camp where people live and train and take care of elephants (among other animals like huge yellow pythons which I held!) Josie and I rode an elephant together and our 'driver' was so awesome. after about 5 min he got off the elephant and was just wandering around while we were terrified the thing was going to take off through the jungle.
He would come back once and a while and yell some command and it would get back on track, but I guess I never realized how tall elephants are until I was perched atop its back. The guy took one of our cameras and snapped pictures of EVERYTHING (including some innapropriate pictures of an elephant's 'member.' We rode the elephant for a while and even went into the river on its back (both of us got to ride on its neck (without being buckled in to the bench on its back--which was pretty scary). We had to dodge splashes of water too as elephants dropped 'suprises' into the water in front of us. It kind of reminded me of the state fair and getting out of the way in the animal barns!
Our next activity was floating down the River Kwai (pronunced like the -qua- in the word square). We floated on these bamboo rafts that just had benches chilling on them while a guy (burmese in our case) paddled and steered with a stick. There were about 7 of us who were on two rafts and we all jumped in and floated down the river using the raft as a foot rest. So refreshing after trekking through the humid jungle! Not sure how clean it really is, but the paddler man said "eets okay jump, swim, berry fun!"
After the floating we had lunch at the camp overlooking the river (it was awesome--kabobs and FRENCH FRIES!! it's a big to us to get some american food once in a while) This was after I was tackled by a 25 day old baby elephant who was very friendly and playful and covered me with elephant snot --just a little too big to wrestle with :)
We had some free time in the afternoon and I think almost all 90 of us hopped into one of the resorts pools for a few hours. SPRING BREAK KANCHANABURI! That was the Thailand we were looking for! It was pretty reminiscent of a spring break with that many people hanging out, talking, listening to music.
At night we went to the Bridge over the River Kwai (yes the famed bridge of the hollywood movie!) It was kinda of eerie after learning the backstory behind it and thinking of how many people died to make the 'death railway' as they call it, between Burma and Thailand. For dinner we ate at a floating restaurant on the river right next to the bridge and just kind of thought about how lucky we are to be experiencing such amazing things.
That night we all let loose and hung out in the hotel---we played kings and Tourette's which as always turns into fits of laughter. We went to the hotel's 'club' that night and did some night swimming before bed. Don't worry we got some snacks from the front desk (after trying to break into the snack cupboard cuz we couldn't find the workers--once they heard us they came running though haha) Their idea of snacks are a little different than ours: puffed chips flavored like pasta or teriyaki...not exactly satisfying.
Everyone in the program is so nice and outgoing and there are about 6 of us that got pretty close during orientation and will hopefully be able to stay in touch over the next year--it's good to know that there are other people going through the same things all over the country here. We all said our goodbyes after a long busride back to BKK and began our teaching journeys....and oh what a journey it has been and will be!
We finished orientation Sunday afternoon and were all unbelievably excited to get out of the hotel and see some of Thailand. Orientation was great, but definitely got long (often hearing overlapping ideas/info throughout the day) Anyway it was a welcome relief when I walked on the bus and Vanessa handed me a Chang (a local beer brewed in Chiang Mai). Thai beer is pretty funny: it's either in a small can or a huge bottle (reminiscent of a 40 back home and for 40 baht, how can you go wrong!) Other beer brewed locally includes Leo and Singha (brewed in BKK).
Anyway, we stopped at the Prawn Volcano restaurant (yes the names here are that awesome) for dinner. The name speaks for itself as we were served prawns that were inside of a metal container that looked like a volcano and then lit on fire to cook the prawns. Weird.
We stayed at the Pavilion Rim Kwai resort which was a really awesome escape for a couple days. It was set up as an open air hotel with each room having A/C (YES!) Here is the website:
http://www.pavilionrimkwai.com/
Monday was the best day we've had in Thailand by far. We woke up and had our buffet breakfast (man I'm going to miss those) and hopped on the bus to Taweechai Elephant Camp--literally a camp where people live and train and take care of elephants (among other animals like huge yellow pythons which I held!) Josie and I rode an elephant together and our 'driver' was so awesome. after about 5 min he got off the elephant and was just wandering around while we were terrified the thing was going to take off through the jungle.
He would come back once and a while and yell some command and it would get back on track, but I guess I never realized how tall elephants are until I was perched atop its back. The guy took one of our cameras and snapped pictures of EVERYTHING (including some innapropriate pictures of an elephant's 'member.' We rode the elephant for a while and even went into the river on its back (both of us got to ride on its neck (without being buckled in to the bench on its back--which was pretty scary). We had to dodge splashes of water too as elephants dropped 'suprises' into the water in front of us. It kind of reminded me of the state fair and getting out of the way in the animal barns!
Our next activity was floating down the River Kwai (pronunced like the -qua- in the word square). We floated on these bamboo rafts that just had benches chilling on them while a guy (burmese in our case) paddled and steered with a stick. There were about 7 of us who were on two rafts and we all jumped in and floated down the river using the raft as a foot rest. So refreshing after trekking through the humid jungle! Not sure how clean it really is, but the paddler man said "eets okay jump, swim, berry fun!"After the floating we had lunch at the camp overlooking the river (it was awesome--kabobs and FRENCH FRIES!! it's a big to us to get some american food once in a while) This was after I was tackled by a 25 day old baby elephant who was very friendly and playful and covered me with elephant snot --just a little too big to wrestle with :)
We had some free time in the afternoon and I think almost all 90 of us hopped into one of the resorts pools for a few hours. SPRING BREAK KANCHANABURI! That was the Thailand we were looking for! It was pretty reminiscent of a spring break with that many people hanging out, talking, listening to music.
At night we went to the Bridge over the River Kwai (yes the famed bridge of the hollywood movie!) It was kinda of eerie after learning the backstory behind it and thinking of how many people died to make the 'death railway' as they call it, between Burma and Thailand. For dinner we ate at a floating restaurant on the river right next to the bridge and just kind of thought about how lucky we are to be experiencing such amazing things.
That night we all let loose and hung out in the hotel---we played kings and Tourette's which as always turns into fits of laughter. We went to the hotel's 'club' that night and did some night swimming before bed. Don't worry we got some snacks from the front desk (after trying to break into the snack cupboard cuz we couldn't find the workers--once they heard us they came running though haha) Their idea of snacks are a little different than ours: puffed chips flavored like pasta or teriyaki...not exactly satisfying.
Everyone in the program is so nice and outgoing and there are about 6 of us that got pretty close during orientation and will hopefully be able to stay in touch over the next year--it's good to know that there are other people going through the same things all over the country here. We all said our goodbyes after a long busride back to BKK and began our teaching journeys....and oh what a journey it has been and will be!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Orientation Week
So this past week has been a crazy whirlwind of experiences and I'm not even sure where to begin. I think this post will focus on orientation week (aka our time spent at Louis Tavern Hotel) and then I'll do the next one about my trip to Kanchanaburi and then I'll post one about my new home/school. I think for this one I'm going to do it in a cool format that I'm copying from a friend (BOOTY) which helps paint the full picture of what's been going on. It's only been a little over a week....
Sight:
I've seen some crazy things this past week. I spent a lot of time in a freezing hotel (louis tavern) doing various orientation activities. We looked at what it was like to be a teacher, how to teach, lessons on language, etc. While the days got to be pretty long it was definitely helpful in preparing us for our time at our schools, but I don't think anything can really prepare you until you get in the classroom that first day.
We went to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which were really awesome. They are in the oriental style of architecture with intricate details and big gaudy gold chedis and wats (temples). I'll put up pictures soon, but to give you an idea: the buildings in the compound are covered in small squares of glass which reflect the sunlight and is really beautiful. A huge temple looked like it was painted gold from afar, but then up close you could see each piece of gold glass placed in its perfect position. Another was designed by Chinese architects, as one of the emperors
loved Chinese culture, and is covered in Chinese porcelain.
Kao San Road is exactly how a person would view the craziness that are the Bangkok streets. It is covered in bars/clubs, "lady boys,'' prostitutes, vendors (of anything you want), 7/11's, music, etc. We went to a club called The Club (we had to go in...look at the name!) which turned out to be an amazing time. Not only was it air conditioned!!! but they served their drinks in huge buckets. There were a lot of locals that came in later and it definitely stayed open later than it was supposed to. Needless to say we had an awesome time.
Walking on the street by our hotel, Soi 64, were tons of vendors and small restaurants. One nite on our way to Bars 'R' Us (yes it did have a sign like Toys R Us) we saw an elephant just walking along the streets. What a crazy place this is!
Sound:
Downtown Bangkok is filled with honking horns, motorbikes cruising in and out of traffic, songteaws and tuk tuk drivers shouting to passersby, vendors screaming about their wears, longboats motoring up and down the Chao Praya (river in BKK) and countless other noises that I couldn't begin to explain.
One of my favorite sounds is that of the frogs that were somewhere outside our hotel. It made it seem like we weren't surrounded by foreign things (who'd have thought a ribbit would bring comfort!). Another favorite is that of Ajaan (Teacher) Gai--she is a wonderful older lady that helps teach our classes and is a replica of Miss Swan from MadTV. "okay crass okay today you learn your number okay? i tell you word and you say back okay?" Needless to say she made for a hilarious class period that everyone looked forward too.
Thai music: when we met our coordinators (which was extremely awkward as she didn't know English too well) we had a performance by some traditional Thai musicians and dancers. The music was really interesting with lots of drums and flute sounding instruments. It looked like it was straight out of a movie with how the dancers were dressed and how they moved. The music changed style a little bit based on the province/region of the country. What a cool thing to have during dinner. A bunch of us students even got dragged up to the front and learned how to do some steps--watch out So You Think You Can Dance! it's really hard though-very controlled hand and arm movements.
Smell:
Let's just say Bangkok isn't the most glorious smelling of places. At times you kind of gag a little and aren't really sure what the smell is, but I guess you can always blame the city when you forget to shower! There is definite air pollution and smog, so I looked forward to my new home a little outside the city limits. The Chao Praya is probably the filthiest river I've seen with murky brown water/garbage (aka there will be no jumping off the bridge into the water like we did in Spain--this river puts the Guadlquivir to shame in terms of pollution) still it is one of the main sources of transportation and despite its fishy odor, is really a cool thing.
The food smells that come from the vendors are amazing (well, besides the fish)--spices, grilled smells, curries, frying veggies/fruit, freshly chopped fruit, etc. It's hard to pass by a lot of places and not grab a bite. Another smell that rocks is that of the coconuts and the flowers--it's so crazy to think I just left cold, snowy MN and am now living in a tropical land.
Taste:
Going along with smell is obviously taste and man have I tasted some interesting things.
The weirdest I would have to say is the insect some of us ate on Kao San road (we think it was either a cricket, grasshopper or a grub) it's hard to tell really, but some asian girl gave it to us and said it was like "cheese bite." No. Not true lady. It was like it was stuffed with cream cheese, but that's just cuz we know that the guts were exploding in our mouths and then we had to continue chewing and picking out scales and antennae for the rest of the nite. So I guess I checked "eat bug" off my checklist (even though it wasn't there before) and don't have to eat another one!
The food has been pretty awesome so far. You definitely have to go to a meal with the mentality that you probably won't know 92.37% of what you are eating, but when you get past that the flavors are pretty great. We eat A LOT of rice (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and have come to discover that Thais don't really have the Western concept for breakfast food. We did have some omelettes and fried eggs at the hotel, but a typical Thai breakfast will be rice, fish or some kind of meat, more rice, stir fried veggies, rice and maybe a little bit of rice.
I wish I could tell you what I've eaten, but we were all talking and we really can't. We've had a lot of fish (served whole with the head and the tail and all the bones), chicken (both on and off the bone), pork, a little beef, tons of veggies, a lot of fresh fruit for dessert (pineapple, watermelon, green mango, green papaya --AWESOME) and a lot of things with coconut. Things tend to be seasoned with peppers or curries, but there is a lot of variety with their food. A favorite soup of mine is Tom Gom Gai (I think) which is a coconut and curry soup with chicken and asian style mushrooms (their mushrooms are crazy and look like mini jellyfish.)
I'll try to take pics of the food so you can get an idea....Josie took a picture of some seafood soup we ate complete with octopus tentacle, squid pieces, fish balls (they LOVE fish balls here which are literally what their name says: balls of fish), red curry, etc. Oh how I crave a cheeseburger sometimes.
Dessert as i said is usually some awesome freshly cut fruit, sticky rice (which I found out is a more gluten filled rice) and/or some sort of coconut jelly concoction. My favorite fruit thus far is definitely Dragonfruit which is this amazing fruit that has a hot pink rind with yellow and green dragon scale looking things and when you cut it open it is white with a ton of small black seeds resembling a kiwi.
Touch:
I guess touch is hard to describe, but I'll try. Hot, sticky, moist, damp sweaty skin is something I touch on a daily basis. Seriously this place is hotter than anything I've ever experienced, not to mention it's 1000 times more humid than a MN summer (which those of you who have experienced a real MN summer know what I mean). Still, I think the heat is just something we all get used to; it helps a lot too that Thai people sweat so we don't feel so much like the sweaty farang (foreigners)!
Thai people aren't actually big on touching. It is very very very impolite to touch an elder's head because of the the Buddhist belief that the soul leaves the body through the head. It is also impolite to point the bottoms of your feet at people as feet are very 'dirty' and the lowest part of the body.
Thais don't shake hands either they do what is called a Wai.
This is basically just putting your hands together as if you are praying and bowing your head. This is used to greet your elders and there are 3 levels of wai.
1) To the king/buddha: Place your hands where your nose meets your eye brows and bow low.
2) To parents, teachers, elders, etc: hands under your chin and bow low
3) To peers or those slightly older: hand on chest and bow (not too low)
4) To children, servants or lower class workers (I know it seems weird): just nod your head
So I guess in a way every wai I receive (yea I'm a teacher so I get wai'ed like whoa) is kind of like a handshake--so I'll count that as touch :) I think I may have to start a t-shirt slogan company with some of these phrases...would anyone buy a shirt that said 'I Get Wai'ed Like Whoa?'
Wow, so I didn't plan on a novel, but I guess it's hard to condense 1 week into a post. I'll try to check back soon--maybe even later today! and will hopefully have some pictures to show soon
Sight:
I've seen some crazy things this past week. I spent a lot of time in a freezing hotel (louis tavern) doing various orientation activities. We looked at what it was like to be a teacher, how to teach, lessons on language, etc. While the days got to be pretty long it was definitely helpful in preparing us for our time at our schools, but I don't think anything can really prepare you until you get in the classroom that first day.
We went to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which were really awesome. They are in the oriental style of architecture with intricate details and big gaudy gold chedis and wats (temples). I'll put up pictures soon, but to give you an idea: the buildings in the compound are covered in small squares of glass which reflect the sunlight and is really beautiful. A huge temple looked like it was painted gold from afar, but then up close you could see each piece of gold glass placed in its perfect position. Another was designed by Chinese architects, as one of the emperors
loved Chinese culture, and is covered in Chinese porcelain.Kao San Road is exactly how a person would view the craziness that are the Bangkok streets. It is covered in bars/clubs, "lady boys,'' prostitutes, vendors (of anything you want), 7/11's, music, etc. We went to a club called The Club (we had to go in...look at the name!) which turned out to be an amazing time. Not only was it air conditioned!!! but they served their drinks in huge buckets. There were a lot of locals that came in later and it definitely stayed open later than it was supposed to. Needless to say we had an awesome time.
Walking on the street by our hotel, Soi 64, were tons of vendors and small restaurants. One nite on our way to Bars 'R' Us (yes it did have a sign like Toys R Us) we saw an elephant just walking along the streets. What a crazy place this is!
Sound:
Downtown Bangkok is filled with honking horns, motorbikes cruising in and out of traffic, songteaws and tuk tuk drivers shouting to passersby, vendors screaming about their wears, longboats motoring up and down the Chao Praya (river in BKK) and countless other noises that I couldn't begin to explain.
One of my favorite sounds is that of the frogs that were somewhere outside our hotel. It made it seem like we weren't surrounded by foreign things (who'd have thought a ribbit would bring comfort!). Another favorite is that of Ajaan (Teacher) Gai--she is a wonderful older lady that helps teach our classes and is a replica of Miss Swan from MadTV. "okay crass okay today you learn your number okay? i tell you word and you say back okay?" Needless to say she made for a hilarious class period that everyone looked forward too.
Thai music: when we met our coordinators (which was extremely awkward as she didn't know English too well) we had a performance by some traditional Thai musicians and dancers. The music was really interesting with lots of drums and flute sounding instruments. It looked like it was straight out of a movie with how the dancers were dressed and how they moved. The music changed style a little bit based on the province/region of the country. What a cool thing to have during dinner. A bunch of us students even got dragged up to the front and learned how to do some steps--watch out So You Think You Can Dance! it's really hard though-very controlled hand and arm movements.
Smell:
Let's just say Bangkok isn't the most glorious smelling of places. At times you kind of gag a little and aren't really sure what the smell is, but I guess you can always blame the city when you forget to shower! There is definite air pollution and smog, so I looked forward to my new home a little outside the city limits. The Chao Praya is probably the filthiest river I've seen with murky brown water/garbage (aka there will be no jumping off the bridge into the water like we did in Spain--this river puts the Guadlquivir to shame in terms of pollution) still it is one of the main sources of transportation and despite its fishy odor, is really a cool thing.
The food smells that come from the vendors are amazing (well, besides the fish)--spices, grilled smells, curries, frying veggies/fruit, freshly chopped fruit, etc. It's hard to pass by a lot of places and not grab a bite. Another smell that rocks is that of the coconuts and the flowers--it's so crazy to think I just left cold, snowy MN and am now living in a tropical land.
Taste:
Going along with smell is obviously taste and man have I tasted some interesting things.
The weirdest I would have to say is the insect some of us ate on Kao San road (we think it was either a cricket, grasshopper or a grub) it's hard to tell really, but some asian girl gave it to us and said it was like "cheese bite." No. Not true lady. It was like it was stuffed with cream cheese, but that's just cuz we know that the guts were exploding in our mouths and then we had to continue chewing and picking out scales and antennae for the rest of the nite. So I guess I checked "eat bug" off my checklist (even though it wasn't there before) and don't have to eat another one!The food has been pretty awesome so far. You definitely have to go to a meal with the mentality that you probably won't know 92.37% of what you are eating, but when you get past that the flavors are pretty great. We eat A LOT of rice (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and have come to discover that Thais don't really have the Western concept for breakfast food. We did have some omelettes and fried eggs at the hotel, but a typical Thai breakfast will be rice, fish or some kind of meat, more rice, stir fried veggies, rice and maybe a little bit of rice.
I wish I could tell you what I've eaten, but we were all talking and we really can't. We've had a lot of fish (served whole with the head and the tail and all the bones), chicken (both on and off the bone), pork, a little beef, tons of veggies, a lot of fresh fruit for dessert (pineapple, watermelon, green mango, green papaya --AWESOME) and a lot of things with coconut. Things tend to be seasoned with peppers or curries, but there is a lot of variety with their food. A favorite soup of mine is Tom Gom Gai (I think) which is a coconut and curry soup with chicken and asian style mushrooms (their mushrooms are crazy and look like mini jellyfish.)
I'll try to take pics of the food so you can get an idea....Josie took a picture of some seafood soup we ate complete with octopus tentacle, squid pieces, fish balls (they LOVE fish balls here which are literally what their name says: balls of fish), red curry, etc. Oh how I crave a cheeseburger sometimes.
Dessert as i said is usually some awesome freshly cut fruit, sticky rice (which I found out is a more gluten filled rice) and/or some sort of coconut jelly concoction. My favorite fruit thus far is definitely Dragonfruit which is this amazing fruit that has a hot pink rind with yellow and green dragon scale looking things and when you cut it open it is white with a ton of small black seeds resembling a kiwi.
Touch:
I guess touch is hard to describe, but I'll try. Hot, sticky, moist, damp sweaty skin is something I touch on a daily basis. Seriously this place is hotter than anything I've ever experienced, not to mention it's 1000 times more humid than a MN summer (which those of you who have experienced a real MN summer know what I mean). Still, I think the heat is just something we all get used to; it helps a lot too that Thai people sweat so we don't feel so much like the sweaty farang (foreigners)!
Thai people aren't actually big on touching. It is very very very impolite to touch an elder's head because of the the Buddhist belief that the soul leaves the body through the head. It is also impolite to point the bottoms of your feet at people as feet are very 'dirty' and the lowest part of the body.
Thais don't shake hands either they do what is called a Wai.
This is basically just putting your hands together as if you are praying and bowing your head. This is used to greet your elders and there are 3 levels of wai.1) To the king/buddha: Place your hands where your nose meets your eye brows and bow low.
2) To parents, teachers, elders, etc: hands under your chin and bow low
3) To peers or those slightly older: hand on chest and bow (not too low)
4) To children, servants or lower class workers (I know it seems weird): just nod your head
So I guess in a way every wai I receive (yea I'm a teacher so I get wai'ed like whoa) is kind of like a handshake--so I'll count that as touch :) I think I may have to start a t-shirt slogan company with some of these phrases...would anyone buy a shirt that said 'I Get Wai'ed Like Whoa?'
Wow, so I didn't plan on a novel, but I guess it's hard to condense 1 week into a post. I'll try to check back soon--maybe even later today! and will hopefully have some pictures to show soon
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I'm Here!
I am currently in Thailand and it is so surreal. Josie and I made it safely after a 13 hour flight from chicago to tokyo and a 7 hour flight to bangkok after that. I flew on a Japanese airline and was basically treated like royalty--endless beverage service, a personal tv including 30 some movies, a remote that doubled as a game controller to play video games on my tv and 2 three-course meals. The food was pretty good--salmon and a rice hodgepodge (among other crazy salads with eel, octopus and other seafoods)...I was a litte grossed out, but I'm trying to live with the mentality that 'i'm here, so I may as well try it'
We got in about 1100p last nite and after customs got a taxi to our hotel. So far the people are very helpful and friendly and despite a little tiff with the cab driver about cost (he tried to overcharge us) we have had nothing but smooth sailing. The driver wanted us to pay more because we had big luggage and even pulled over to the side of the road (we thought at first to kick us out when we said we weren't going to pay as much as he said) but actually just adjusted the suitcases so he could see better. We are staying at the Louis Tavern Hotel which is pretty nice--it's simple, but has A/C and a very nice staff.
Today we woke up and I'm not feeling totally jet lagged yet, although I'm expecting to feel so tomorrow. We spent a long day today at the hotel in various class sessions: thai culture/language, thai society and teacher training. Our coordinators/staff are so enthusiastic and excited to have us here and so helpful in working with us to make sure we get the most out of our time here. I know that I am going to get hit with a little culture shock once I get settled, but have a great network of 91 program participants and numerous staff members to help me along the way. The Thai culture is very friendly and respectful and they do a lot of smiling (even if they are mad, so that is going to take getting used to.
Some things learned today:
Sanook--FUN (thais love fun and try to enjoy everything to the fullest)
Mai pen rai--basically means nevermind/don't worry about it (they use this in most situations to help express their really laid back attitudes)
The rest of the week we will be doing similar classroom activities with a daytrip to some famous Bangkok sites tomorrow (the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and a 2 day excursion to Kachanaburi where we will be relaxing, visiting the bridge over the river kwai, trekking through the jungle on elephant and rafting on bamboo rafts. I am still coming to grips with the fact that we will be gone for so long, but I can't wait for all that I am about to undertake--so many adventures to be had and new things to experience.
I met the 2 other kids who will be teaching at my school with Josie and me and they are awesome. Ryan is from Houston and Emily is from Madison, NJ. The other people in the program are just as cool--friendly, outgoing, excited, etc. I guess you have to be pretty outgoing in order to do something like this, but i should make for a fun time. We are heading in to Bangkok tonight to experience the night food markets and check out a few of the local activities/establishments (not really sure what to expect, but I'll keep you posted.) Apparently Thais love going out, so we should meet some great locals in the city.
I'm currently in an internet cafe where for 10 baht (about 30 cents) we can be online for 40 min. The hotel wanted to charge 200b for 60 min. I think we'll learn in Thailand that you have to go off the beaten path to really experience life the way the locals do and get the most bang for our baht.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am alive, safe and being well taken care of. We get breakfast and lunch everyday (great food--very spicy) and a few of our dinners--so yes I am eating well! I will keep you posted on everything that is going on.
Still can't believe I'm here (and for so long) but when in Rome...(or Bangkok!)
We got in about 1100p last nite and after customs got a taxi to our hotel. So far the people are very helpful and friendly and despite a little tiff with the cab driver about cost (he tried to overcharge us) we have had nothing but smooth sailing. The driver wanted us to pay more because we had big luggage and even pulled over to the side of the road (we thought at first to kick us out when we said we weren't going to pay as much as he said) but actually just adjusted the suitcases so he could see better. We are staying at the Louis Tavern Hotel which is pretty nice--it's simple, but has A/C and a very nice staff.
Today we woke up and I'm not feeling totally jet lagged yet, although I'm expecting to feel so tomorrow. We spent a long day today at the hotel in various class sessions: thai culture/language, thai society and teacher training. Our coordinators/staff are so enthusiastic and excited to have us here and so helpful in working with us to make sure we get the most out of our time here. I know that I am going to get hit with a little culture shock once I get settled, but have a great network of 91 program participants and numerous staff members to help me along the way. The Thai culture is very friendly and respectful and they do a lot of smiling (even if they are mad, so that is going to take getting used to.
Some things learned today:
Sanook--FUN (thais love fun and try to enjoy everything to the fullest)
Mai pen rai--basically means nevermind/don't worry about it (they use this in most situations to help express their really laid back attitudes)
The rest of the week we will be doing similar classroom activities with a daytrip to some famous Bangkok sites tomorrow (the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and a 2 day excursion to Kachanaburi where we will be relaxing, visiting the bridge over the river kwai, trekking through the jungle on elephant and rafting on bamboo rafts. I am still coming to grips with the fact that we will be gone for so long, but I can't wait for all that I am about to undertake--so many adventures to be had and new things to experience.
I met the 2 other kids who will be teaching at my school with Josie and me and they are awesome. Ryan is from Houston and Emily is from Madison, NJ. The other people in the program are just as cool--friendly, outgoing, excited, etc. I guess you have to be pretty outgoing in order to do something like this, but i should make for a fun time. We are heading in to Bangkok tonight to experience the night food markets and check out a few of the local activities/establishments (not really sure what to expect, but I'll keep you posted.) Apparently Thais love going out, so we should meet some great locals in the city.
I'm currently in an internet cafe where for 10 baht (about 30 cents) we can be online for 40 min. The hotel wanted to charge 200b for 60 min. I think we'll learn in Thailand that you have to go off the beaten path to really experience life the way the locals do and get the most bang for our baht.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am alive, safe and being well taken care of. We get breakfast and lunch everyday (great food--very spicy) and a few of our dinners--so yes I am eating well! I will keep you posted on everything that is going on.
Still can't believe I'm here (and for so long) but when in Rome...(or Bangkok!)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
1 Week and I'm off
It snowed a ton last night and I woke up to a white world that looked a bit more like December than early October, but what can you expect in MN... At first I was a little upset, but realized I probably won't be seeing much snow for the next year as the lowest Thailand averages in temp is about 70 (and that's only 1 month out of the year!) I can't say that I really missed the snow when I studied in Spain, but then again I got to see it in a bunch of places I visited, but I'm not so sure that's going to be the case in Asia. I even took some pictures of the yard/house to bring to show my students (most of whom have probably never seen snow.)
So it's starting to hit me that 1 week is really not that long and I have A LOT to do! I have a huge checklist of stuff to do and a huge list of what I need to buy (and will soon have a 'what I need to pack' list). I've knocked some of the stuff off, but feel like the list never ends and that I keep adding to it. I finally put in my notice at both of my jobs and my bosses took it much better than I had anticipated. I feel bad only having worked for a month and quitting, but I'm very happy in the end that I kept myself busy and earned some $$ for the year (aka money for trips/adventures). My last day is Thursday.
I'm realizing too that it's not the end of the world if I forget something, because I can always buy it there so as of right now the only thing I need is my visa which is supposed to come Wednesday; then it's off to orientation.
I got my schedule a few days ago for orientation and it seems like it's going to be a jam-packed time filled with info sessions on Thai culture/history, language lessons and lessons on how to teach English. I'm currently learning Thai via an audio program I got at the library and am really looking forward to improving on it and (hopefully) coming back tri-lingual!! We spend our last few days of orientation at a resort in a different province where we will see the Bridge over the River Kwae (pronunced Kware--not Kwai like we think because of the movie), raft down the river on a bamboo raft and trek the jungles on the backs of elephants! I'm so pumped.
Had dinner with Dad and Pete tonight and then went to make sure our tuxes fit correctly (of course my pants/jacket need altering). My pants were too short so when I wore them where they covered my socks it looked like I had on MC Hammer parachute pants--they will be fixed by Saturday. Then went to Pete and Michelle's to hang for a bit (and help move a love seat to their bedroom which was quite the fiasco...but we did it!) Really looking forward to this weekend.
So it's starting to hit me that 1 week is really not that long and I have A LOT to do! I have a huge checklist of stuff to do and a huge list of what I need to buy (and will soon have a 'what I need to pack' list). I've knocked some of the stuff off, but feel like the list never ends and that I keep adding to it. I finally put in my notice at both of my jobs and my bosses took it much better than I had anticipated. I feel bad only having worked for a month and quitting, but I'm very happy in the end that I kept myself busy and earned some $$ for the year (aka money for trips/adventures). My last day is Thursday.
I'm realizing too that it's not the end of the world if I forget something, because I can always buy it there so as of right now the only thing I need is my visa which is supposed to come Wednesday; then it's off to orientation.
I got my schedule a few days ago for orientation and it seems like it's going to be a jam-packed time filled with info sessions on Thai culture/history, language lessons and lessons on how to teach English. I'm currently learning Thai via an audio program I got at the library and am really looking forward to improving on it and (hopefully) coming back tri-lingual!! We spend our last few days of orientation at a resort in a different province where we will see the Bridge over the River Kwae (pronunced Kware--not Kwai like we think because of the movie), raft down the river on a bamboo raft and trek the jungles on the backs of elephants! I'm so pumped.
Had dinner with Dad and Pete tonight and then went to make sure our tuxes fit correctly (of course my pants/jacket need altering). My pants were too short so when I wore them where they covered my socks it looked like I had on MC Hammer parachute pants--they will be fixed by Saturday. Then went to Pete and Michelle's to hang for a bit (and help move a love seat to their bedroom which was quite the fiasco...but we did it!) Really looking forward to this weekend.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Pre-Departure Jitters
Hey everyone,
So I'm not too great at this whole blogging thing (only have created a couple for school projects) so bear with me! Anyway this is my first post to what will hopefully prove to be a story-filled blog from my travels to Thailand.
Just to fill everyone in on what I'm actually going to be doing here's a recap:
I'm going to be an English teacher at a private school called Sathit Bangna School in the province of Samut Prakan (about 30 km south of Bangkok). The school is about 1,400 kids (K-12) and looks like it will be fairly nice. I'm going over there with one of my best friends from high school, Josie, so I'm sure you'll hear a lot about our experiences together as we luckily got placements in the same school!
Here are two links about my school:
1: this is the school profile that was sent to me describing my school and where I will be living
http://www.overseasedu.com/tinth/schoolprofiles.asp?id=S00503
2: this link is the school's actual website (in Thai, but my google browser lets me translate it to english on the spot)
http://www.satitbangna.ac.th/
I'm getting a little stressed as departure day (DDay) grows nearer, but am really getting excited for all that I'm about to experience. It's not often a person gets an opportunity like this and I intend to take full advantage of everyday I'm there.
As for right now I'm just making up my packing lists, running last minute errands, spending time with friends, finishing up work and getting ready for the awesomeness that is going to be my brother and Michelle's wedding!
So I'm not too great at this whole blogging thing (only have created a couple for school projects) so bear with me! Anyway this is my first post to what will hopefully prove to be a story-filled blog from my travels to Thailand.
Just to fill everyone in on what I'm actually going to be doing here's a recap:
I'm going to be an English teacher at a private school called Sathit Bangna School in the province of Samut Prakan (about 30 km south of Bangkok). The school is about 1,400 kids (K-12) and looks like it will be fairly nice. I'm going over there with one of my best friends from high school, Josie, so I'm sure you'll hear a lot about our experiences together as we luckily got placements in the same school!
Here are two links about my school:
1: this is the school profile that was sent to me describing my school and where I will be living
http://www.overseasedu.com/tinth/schoolprofiles.asp?id=S00503
2: this link is the school's actual website (in Thai, but my google browser lets me translate it to english on the spot)
http://www.satitbangna.ac.th/
I'm getting a little stressed as departure day (DDay) grows nearer, but am really getting excited for all that I'm about to experience. It's not often a person gets an opportunity like this and I intend to take full advantage of everyday I'm there.
As for right now I'm just making up my packing lists, running last minute errands, spending time with friends, finishing up work and getting ready for the awesomeness that is going to be my brother and Michelle's wedding!
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