A Travellerspoint blog

Christmas in Korat

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Thailand is a primarily Buddhist country.  This is evident in the fact that there are temples EVERYWHERE. Despite this, I was very surprised to find that the country loves Christmas!  They embrace it with open arms.  Decorations started popping up just after Halloween and Christmas music (in English!) filled the malls shortly thereafter.  They even had Santa and elves set up to take your picture with.

Mall decor

Mall decor

The month leading up to Christmas was very festive and over the top. I do not live in a tourist town, so the decorations and activities were not for visitors, they were for Thais. Even if it was just the commercial aspect, it was really nice to see a culture embrace something new. Just because you don't celebrate something, doesn't mean you can't participate in the holiday. One of my favorite parts of traveling and living in another country is immersing myself into new cultures and having new experiences. Just because I'm not Buddhist, doesn't mean I can't participate in Loy Krathong or Songkran (Thai New Year). Every Thai I encountered wished me a Merry Christmas. I can't even tell you how refreshing it is to not hear "happy holidays", Americas politically correct way of handling the month of December. I get it, America is a melting pot, but we should be embracing that. We should be participating and respecting different cultures holidays, not shunning them. Or being offended by them.

My high school held a Christmas carnival on the 24th. It far exceeded my expectations and I had an absolute blast! There were food vendors, games, gifts, crafts tables, Caroles and songs, a Christmas Boy Pagaent, and of course Santa Claus! There was a stage set up and I was told at the last minute that I was in charge of the "opening ceremony" song, which needed to be sung in English and include some students. I choose "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" due to its short length and scrambled to find some students to join me on stage. Not an easy task, my boys were literally running from me with fear in their eyes when I begged them to join me. Just when I thought I was gonna be stuck doing a solo in front of 4000 students, the EP (english program) boys saved me and sang with me. A few other foreign teachers jumped on stage too so it went ok.

My singing saviors

My singing saviors

A singing act

A singing act

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas

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It's ok to wear curse words on stage

It's ok to wear curse words on stage

The Thai teachers were in wonderful moods, dressed to the nines in Christmas garb and taking thousands of pictures.

Some of the other teachers and Santa(aka teacher David)

Some of the other teachers and Santa(aka teacher David)

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I got to judge the Christmas boy Pagaent, which was a huge honor. It's basically a talent show, but it is taken extremely serious. When I was grading a student, the school director looked over my shoulder and noticed I had crossed out a number and wrote a new one. He told me I had to initial it so that they know I made the change and it wasn't cheating. Those were the only words the school director has ever spoke to me. Priorities are important.

judge's table

judge's table

The contestants

The contestants

In Thai pageants, spectators can buy roses or arrows and give them to their favorite one. It gives them extra points

In Thai pageants, spectators can buy roses or arrows and give them to their favorite one. It gives them extra points

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large_9E2C810A2219AC6817CA3E9E4B2A5A85.jpgTalent singing

Talent singing


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And the winner is....
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I am extremely lucky because I have a whole week off starting Christmas Day. My school has sports week at King Stadium and the foreign teachers are not required to attend. It just happened to fall on Christmas. Zach is working full time at the private language school, so he still has classes so we decided not to go away. We decided last minute to book a hotel room at the swankiest hotel in Korat, the Sima Thani. I spent Christmas Day laying by the pool followed by a 2 hour massage.

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There is a large Japanese and Korean population in Korat because many big businesses have factories and offices here including Samsung, Canon, and Seagate. Because of this, Korat does Japanese food really well. Next to the Sima Thani Hotel is a wonderful Japanese restaurant that's double the quality and half the cost of anything you can find in the US. We enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner full of sushi, sake, beer, and Kobe steak.

Irashamasay!

Irashamasay!


Deliciously rare buttery goodness

Deliciously rare buttery goodness

After dinner, we went back to the hotel bar and ran into one of Zach's favorite students. She is an executive at Samsung and does private English classes with him. I have heard a lot of good things about her, and since she is Korean she loves to drink. She came running up to us with beer in hand and says "teacher Zach! Merry Christmas! I am trying not to act a fool!". So this is what Zach is teaching his students, she was fresh off learning the term "act a fool". Gotta give it to her, she nailed the usage. We bought her a beer and she cheersed to "making a fool of myself ". Teaching Thailand relevant English one student at a time.

Really dark, but us acting a fool with Zach's favorite student

Really dark, but us acting a fool with Zach's favorite student

Posted by inbetweendreams 01:33 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

A legal Alien

Living and working in a foreign country can be a giant headache sorting out long term visas and work permits. Thailand is no exception. I was fortunate to secure a 90 day visa in the US, but it was about to expire (crazy that I've already been in Thailand for almost 90 days!). Unless I wanted to do frequent border runs, it was imperative for me to get my work permit and visa extension sorted out by my expiration date. I had no choice but to put my faith in my school and my agency and hope they finished all the paperwork in time. And when I say paper work I mean paper work. The amount of documents involved to be granted a work permit/visa extension is truly absurd. When you factor into consideration how slow Thais are at accomplishing tasks, it's a miracle so many foreigners even live here.
Luckily, my agency came through and processed all my paperwork in time. Being the classy organization that they are, they picked me up from school in a private town car and escorted me flawlessly through the labor office and immigration. As I was sitting at the desk in immigration waiting as they looked through my paperwork to decide my fate, the radio was blasting the Too Close song that goes "baby when were grinding, I get so excited...". This was then followed by "I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind". All perfectly acceptable music to be playing in a government office. I couldn't help but to laugh watching this serious immigration official dressed in his proper uniform oblivious to the sexual music filling the room. Only in Thailand. A few minutes later, he added about 12 new stamps to my passport and I was on my way. I am legal until November 19.

No, I did not completely loose all sense of fashion,  the labor office photoshopped the suit in. Apparently the shirt I was wearing was unacceptable. They also preferred my hair to be more red

No, I did not completely loose all sense of fashion, the labor office photoshopped the suit in. Apparently the shirt I was wearing was unacceptable. They also preferred my hair to be more red

Posted by inbetweendreams 04:28 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

Froggering through Bangkok

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Traffic in Bangkok is crazy and constant. 8.4 million people live in Bangkok and that does not include commuters or the constant stream of travelers visiting the hub of Southeast Asia. It is said that on any given day, 10 million people occupy Bangkok. The city is huge and it can literally take hours to get across town if traffic is heavy

Typical Bangkok traffic

Typical Bangkok traffic

I had to attend agency training in the city and afterwards I tried to hail a cab to my hotel but failed miserably. The hailing part was fine, it was getting a cab driver to understand and agree to take me that was a problem. A large majority of taxi drivers in Bangkok can not read or write Thai. So even though I was prepared with a card listing my hotels name and address in Thai, the driver may not even be able to read it. I also memorized short Thai translations of the general location, but I could not get a driver to take me. I am not sure if my failure was due to the driver not understanding, not knowing where the hotel is, or simply not wanting to take me because it was too far. My hotel was clear across town and in current traffic would have taken an hour.

When choosing a hotel in Bangkok, I highly recommend staying off a main road or near a landmark that is easy to explain to a taxi driver. The city is so big that most of them don't know or can't find a lot of hotels. I've had this problem every time I've been to Bangkok. Bangkok is comprised of a myriad of Sois, or alleyways, which makes it difficult to find things. If you can, use the BTS, buses, or sky train. To Bangkok's credit, the public transportation system is wonderful. To me, it feels very reminiscent of Tokyo, very efficient.

On this particular day I was no where near a sky train or BTS stop. I was stuck. After 5 cab drivers refused to take me I had no choice but to ask the motorbike taxi across the street. Motorbike taxis are very popular with Thai people as a cheap and fast way to get around. I typically have no qualms with riding one, but trusting my life to the driver while riding across town during mid day traffic in one of the busiest cities in the world is another story. However, the driver knew the hotel and motioned me to hop on. No helmet was offered. What else could I do? I had no choice but to saddle up and ride.

Thai women perch elegantly on the back of bikes, with their arms full of babies or shopping bags, using some innate ability to balance. I realize in comparison I must look like a harlot. There I am with my skirt pulled up, legs wrapped around the driver, holding on for dear life while trying to keep my skirt from completely flying up in the breeze. I wish I wore pants, or full coverage underwear. Oh well, shame is a small price to pay for safety. If I sat side saddle with my lack of coordination I'd fly off that thing so fast. It would be a death sentence.

Elegant ladies

Elegant ladies


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It gets hectic at the very first intersection, but my driver is quick and determined and with in a few minutes I begin to relax. He seems to be in control....enough. I try not to watch the road as he weaves in and out of traffic. There are times we hug the curb, trudge onto the sidewalk, ride on the other side of the street, run red lights, and cut off a monster truck. Just as I start to relax, we veer onto the on ramp for the highway. It looks like a parking lot and we weave down the middle and from shoulder to shoulder all while avoiding other motorbikes and praying that cars don't make a sudden lane change. 20 minutes later I arrive safety at my hotel. The same ride in a cab would have taken at least double that. I feel full of adrenaline and want to do it again. If you are looking for a rush, taking a motorbike taxi across the city is a great way to do it. I call it real life Frogger. Enjoy!

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Posted by inbetweendreams 21:33 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

The cockroach approach

"Thoughts become things so choose the good ones!"

So it happened. Even though I knew this moment would come, I somehow hoped I would be spared. Last night while in the bathroom I saw him...my first Thai cockroach. He popped out from behind the trash can and started running towards me. Damn, Thai cockroaches apparently have no fear.
I, on the other hand, had great fear and I screamed for Zach to come save me. Like the knight and shining armor he is, he came dashing in and saved me by ushering our new friend down the drain. Whew, crisis averted.
Except the crisis is not averted. It can never be averted now. I will never be able to truly relax in my apartment knowing a cockroach could pop up at anytime. Knowing they are there and actually seeing them are 2 completely different mind sets.
I am no cockroach novice, this is not my first rodeo. I lived in New Orleans for a year, during which I saw thousands of cockroaches. It was pretty standard to see at least one a day in my apartment and the restaurant I worked at was full of them (don't be grossed out, ALL restaurants in New Orleans are full of them. You're lying to yourself if you think Emerils or August figured out a way to rid them. They didn't). Walking around the city on a warm night, don't look down, they are there shuffling about with each step you take.
I wouldn't say I ever really adjusted to sharing my home with prehistoric creatures, I would tip toe around in fear constantly. I would literally picture a cochroach in the middle of the kitchen when I walked inside and...POOF...there it would be. I would imagine one by the couch or on the wall of the shower and I swear one would appear. This happened all the time. The mind is a powerful thing, I literally would think a cockroach to actually appear. Zach hated it and from this, the term "cockroach approach" was coined. He didn't understand why I couldn't imagine thousands of dollars in our bank accounts instead of cockroaches on the ground. Ever since my cockroach ESP, it became one of our most used phrases. "Don't cockroach approach this". Essentially it means do not think that negative thought and make this negative thing happen. It can be used in reference to any negative thought.
I expected there to be cockroaches in Thailand. I really did, but after almost 2 months of not seeing one I started to think I was in the clear. Well that was until I spoke this out loud "I can not believe I have not seen any cockroaches yet". Fast forward 10 minutes I'm sitting in the bathroom staring at the floor picturing one and BAM it appears. I cockroach approached the cockroach,

Posted by inbetweendreams 20:47 Archived in Thailand Comments (1)

Loi Krathong

Thailand's Lantern festival

Loi Kratang is a festival in Thailand that takes place on the 12th lunar full moon of the year. Prior to coming to Thailand, I had seen many amazing pictures on various travel blogs so naturally it was on my must do list.

Amazing photo, not taken by me

Amazing photo, not taken by me

There was a bit of controversy over this years Loi Krathong celebration due to.the recent passing of the head monk. Since the country is still in mourning, it was debated whether or not the festival should still go on. The government actually postponed it, then put it back on, then cancelled it. So really I had no idea if and when my dream festival was even going to take place. Luckily, the festival did go on, though it was apparently subdued a little. There were no big firework shows and large celebrations. Even if it was subdued, I still had an awesome time. We went to Bung Ta Lua lake in Korat to take part in the festivities. There was so much to take in, it really was sensory overload. Since it was night, and I'm no where near the photographer I desire to be, my pictures suck.

The lake with the lanterns in the air

The lake with the lanterns in the air


Thai flag lantern

Thai flag lantern


Bunny lantern. This was my fav

Bunny lantern. This was my fav

The origins of Loi Krathang have changed so much over the years that there is no clear answer of exactly what or who is being prayed to. Like everything in this country, it's another way for Thais to ask the Gods for good luck and good fortune while setting free the negative. Since I am not religious, I adapted my own set of guidelines for releasing my sky and floating lantern. I released the negative aspects of the past year into the sky lantern and watched them fly away. Our sky lantern took off with great speed and we watched it rise high as well as burn out.

Zach with our lantern

Zach with our lantern


Ready to set it loose

Ready to set it loose

We also released a floating lantern into the lake. I saw this more of an omen of how the next year would be. Our lantern floated beautifully and burnt til the end

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Getting ready to float

Getting ready to float


Some lanterns in the lake

Some lanterns in the lake

They had food and beers and games and rides. And also a miss Loi Krathang pageant. I'm not sure if they are women or lady boys, but I'm leaning towards actual females on this one

Beauty contest

Beauty contest

Darts!

Darts!

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My favorite pic

My favorite pic

Tuk Tuk home

Tuk Tuk home

Posted by inbetweendreams 18:02 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

A trip to Phimai

I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had no school again today. I'm not sure why, and frankly I don't care, Im happy to have another day off.
I've been itching to escape the busy city of Korat and get out into the countryside. We decided to hop on the local bus and spend the day in Phimai, which is known for the Phimai historical park. The park resembles a smaller Angkor Wat and protects one of the most important Khmer temples in Thailand.
The 1.5 hour journey north on the local bus was a relaxing journey. No air con on this journey, but the window breeze was almost even better. Pictures tell today's story better than words;

Excited for our journey

Excited for our journey

Local bus

Local bus

Excellent picture taking skills

Excellent picture taking skills

Just in case u wanted to know how many baht

Just in case u wanted to know how many baht


Gate keeper

Gate keeper

Resembles Angkor Wat

Resembles Angkor Wat


large_FB53915F2219AC6817DCFE88944F41AE.jpgBest engagement/wedding pics ever

Best engagement/wedding pics ever


Beautiful girl

Beautiful girl


Crazy tree

Crazy tree

The ush

The ush


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There I am

There I am


Zach making an offering

Zach making an offering


Pond

Pond


Birds eye view

Birds eye view


Big Budha!

Big Budha!

Posted by inbetweendreams 04:59 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

A day in the life

I hope you will enjoy the show

My alarm goes off at 545, I turn over and its still dark out. This can't be right. There must be some kind of mistake, it can't possibly be time to get up already. Sadly, I come to terms with the fact that its morning and I rise from the rock hard bed. My back feels adjusted and straight, the only perk of sleeping on a wood board I guess.
I shower and the water gets everywhere. There's no division between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. I accept that the whole room will get wet, but,damn it, I forgot to put the toilet seat down. Water water everywhere. 

I survey my closet for something to wear. I desperately want to choose my red top or pink dress, but quickly remind myself that the country is still in mourning. One of the head monks recently died, so for the whole month of November all teachers at government schools must dress in dark colors to honor him. My options are severely limited but I can't disrespect the culture, so black it is...again. I flirt with the idea of brightening up my outfit with a pair of turquoise earrings, but decide against it.
I boil water and make myself some coffee. 3 in 1 powder of course. This is no Vietnam. I take my coffee to the balcony and watch the roosters in the field. A loud horn noise fills the silence and I swear its an elephant, but Zach finds it hard to believe that there would be any wild elephants in Korat city. I agree, probably just some weird Thailand creature.

View from balcony

View from balcony

The clock hits 7 and I go outside to meet my neighbor Mike.  He is head teacher at my school and he so kindly gives me a ride everyday. Since he is head teacher he gets there early. My work style is definitely more the kind to roll in right on time, but a free ride is better then no ride. I go to the right side to get in the passenger seat, but quickly remember to go to the left. This is the kingdom of Thailand, they drive on the opposite side and I'm still struggling to remember that. The ride to school is a quick 5 minutes and my eyes are in wonder as we pass numerous markets and street stalls.  The smell of grilled meat and spice lingers in the air. I try not to watch the road for fear of a heart attack as we nearly hit dozens of motorbikes, cars, and people.

 We arrive at school and sign in.  I awkwardly wai the Thai teachers "Sawatdee ka".  They wai me back with a half smile. The wai is an important part of Thai culture and is how Thais greet each other and show respect. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect you are showing. So I should hold my hands higher when waing the director as opposed to just a teacher. Problem is I don't know the status of all the Thais I see around school. I constantly worry that I am doing it wrong and disrespecting them.  Were my hands too low? Too high?  Did it matter that I had a pen in hand when I did it?  Did I wai them already today?  Oh the questions of the wai.

Even Ronald Wais

Even Ronald Wais

 We have to be at school by 7:45 and classes start at 8:30. The school has the flag ceremony everyday at 8 am.  Luckily, we are not required to attend.  I know many other teachers at different schools who must attend the ceremony every morning, and most are even required to speak at the ceremony.  Most government schools have upwards of 4000 kids, so speaking would be quite nerve wrecking.  My school, has 4200 young boys.  No thank you, I am beyond grateful to be relieved of those duties.  Instead, I sit in the teachers office, drink another cup of coffee, and discuss the previous night with the other teachers. There are 8 English teachers at my school, and I am the only girl.  I am also the youngest.  

Happy not to attend

Happy not to attend

I check my schedule, 3 M3 classes and 1 M1 class today. M3 kids are typically 14 to 15 years old and my M1 students are usually around 12 years old. Both classes could go either way, they could be angels; interested and ready to learn. Or they could be devils, loud and rowdy and barely able to answer a question as basic as "what is your name?"
Unfortunately my first class are devils. I set up the projector and turn on the PowerPoint lesson. I do not write my own lessons, I am fortunate enough to have a whole presentation set up for me each day. I typically alter it a little bit and if the kids are good I will usually play some type of game. Getting 50 kids to understand simple directions can sometimes take a whole class so sometimes I will just stick to the script that's provided for me.
I spend the next 50 minutes trying to teach the days lesson titled "a day at the beach". No one cares to spend the day at the beach and instead I'm spending the lesson yelling for quiet, moving kids around so they will stop talking, and asking questions to single out bad students except they stare at me completely blank like a deer in headlights. A typical example

Me gesturing to student: "Stand up please"
Naughty student looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language (ok so I am)
I gesture again for him to stand up. He doesn't get it. The smarter kid next to him tells him to stand up in Thai and he does it
Me: "Do you like swimming in the sea?"
Student: "Karat
Me "Great you are from Korat" then I speak really slow and use gestures and pretend I am doing the breath stroke "Do you like swimming in the sea?"
Student clams up and awkwardly looks at his friend who is nodding at him
Student "Yes"
Me: "Good job! Thank you. You may sit back down"
That student is quiet for the rest of class

My room all set and ready to go

My room all set and ready to go


Shoes off please!!

Shoes off please!!

My next class goes much better. They are quiet and they listen and the lesson goes flawlessly. As a reward, I play them a music video for the last 5 minutes.

Lunchtime! I walk to the schools canteen and am bombarded with students screaming "teacher! teacher!". A few students wai me as I walk by. I smile but choose not to wai them back. Hope I'm not disrespecting them. I concentrate on the task at hand, which is getting lunch and bringing it back to the teachers lounge all while being as inconspicuous as possible. Today I choose 2 curries over rice and it comes to 30 baht ($1).
Back in the teacher's lounge, the other teachers fill me in on the good bars and restaurants to try in Korat. I take mental notes while enjoying my delicious curry.

The schools huge canteen

The schools huge canteen

After lunch it's time to use the toilet. I try to use the school restroom as little as possible, but duty calls. The conditions are dingy and wet and there is usually a critter or 2 milling around. I forget that the toilet can't flush it and I accidentally throw the toilet paper in the bowl instead of the trash. Third world problems
Posh conditions

Posh conditions

Time for class 3. I go upstairs and unlock my room. I turn on all the computer systems and write on the board my activity lesson for the day. I wait for the students to come. It's pretty typical for a whole class to be 10 minutes late. The periods are laid out with no sensibility. For example period 5 starts at 1:10 yet period 4 also ends at 1:10. So that leaves no time for students to get from class to class. I usually start class 15 minutes late each day. For this class, however, it's already been 20 minutes and not one student has shown up. I wait 10 more minutes before closing up, shutting down, and locking my room. Back in the teachers office I ask the Thai assistant if she knows where my M3 class is. She looks up with out flinching "Ofcourse, they are paying their bill for sports this period. No class for you". Ahhhh ok great, that would have been good to know before setting up and waiting a half hour for them to show. In typical a Thai fashion, no one tells anyone anything.
My last class of the day goes well and I am tired and ready to leave. We head home at 3:45 as the Thai teachers eye us with envy.

The fish outside my apartment door welcome me home

The fish outside my apartment door welcome me home


Our comfy couch

Our comfy couch

Something about teaching children all day makes me want a beer. Zach and I walk to our favorite little spot and order 2 large Leos. The damage? 60 baht each($2). The bar owner smiles at us in a way that reminds me that oh yeah we are living in the land of smiles. She brings us a bucket of ice and frequently comes over to pour our beers and refill our ice.
We sit outside and watch the craziness ensuring on the street in front of us. I notice a few boys from my school walk by in their uniforms but luckily they don't see me with a drink in hand. The bar we are at is directly across from Saveone market, one of the largest in a Thailand.
We start to get hungry so we walk across the street to the market and walk around scouting out what looks good today. Unlike when visiting the tourist cities, no one shouts at us to eat their food or buy their goods. In fact most Thais look away when they see us, probably because they don't speak English or they don't speak it well enough to have a successful transaction. I decide on a bowl of duck noodle soup ($1.50) and Zach chooses a plate of fried noodle with vegetable (50 cents)and 2 pieces of fried chicken ($1) for us to share. Fried chicken is huge in Thailand. I'm not sure why, but they sure do it right.

Market

Market

Fried chicken smiles

Fried chicken smiles

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Over dinner we talk about what we want to do this weekend. There's a dragon boat festival at the ruins in Phimai (a smaller Ankor Wat). I'm down so Phimai it is.
We walk through the busy streets back to our apartment. The street we live off of comes alive at night. We live in Korat city but not the city center. Korat is the 2nd largest city in Thailand and although I like it, it is a bit busier then I had hoped for. I always imagined myself living in some small Thai village located in the hills with barely any creature comforts. Korat is definitely not that. It has everything I could want and more. We originally wanted to get a motorbike, but the traffic is so crazy here I don't think I feel comfortable in such a busy city. So far we have been getting by just fine either walking or taking the bus to the city center.
Upon arriving back to our apartment, we have one more beer and play some cribbage. I fall asleep to Law and Order playing on the one English TV channel that we have. Tomorrow it's time to do it all again.

Super women

Super women

Well said

Well said

Posted by inbetweendreams 20:50 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

Teacher Stephanie

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Quote of the day: "When things go wrong, don't go with them"

Just finished my first week as Teacher Stephanie at what is described as a prestigious all boys high school in the city of Korat. I'm not sure if prestigious is the right word, but for the most part my kids are respectful and polite. but they are boys and boys will be boys. My biggest struggle so far is definitely getting the few rowdy classes that I have to calm down and listen but I have been enjoying it. I teach 19 different classes per week which makes it hard to really get to know my students, but I already have some favorites. I gave out candy for Halloween, but instead of buying their love, I spent 10 minutes after class cleaning up the leftover wrappers. Not smart ha. However, one boy came up to me after class and handed me a kit kat and said "happy Halloween teacher". My heart was warmed.
Honestly, I've been having a pretty rough time since training ended 2 weeks ago. I had to have a minor procedure and have been to the hospital everyday for over a week now (hospitals here are lovely though and Zach loves coming because the nurses dress like they are going as a sexy nurse for Halloween). As if that hasn't been stressful enough, we also didn't have a placement or any guidance really of what to do. I ended up finding my current job on my own, and couldn't be happier with it. To top it off, the morning of my first day of school, I received news that my grandmom passed. I have no idea how I went in and taught, but she brought me strength and somehow I got through the day,
Getting to this point has been a struggle, but I'm finally starting to feel settled and happy. We have a great apartment (for Thai standards) and school.
The agency I'm with is pretty classy too, they provide PowerPoint lesson plans and books for me each day. I couldn't have asked for a better intro to teaching. I'm the only female English teacher at my school. The other teachers are really nice. They are mostly older men who all have Thai wives or girlfriends. It's a funny thing. The only Falang (Thai word for foreigner) I have seen in Korat so far have been white men, mostly older and not very good looking, and they are always with Thai women. Zach and I love relaxing with a beer and just people watching. Our apartment is in walking distance to Saveone market, one of the largest markets in Thailand and it's open everyday. I could literally eat something different there everyday for a year. The food is insanely good and cheap. Everything around here is written in Thai only, and most people speak zero to minimal English. I'm scrambling to refresh myself on basic Thai, I feel disrespectful living here and not speaking the language. Or at least attempting to speak the language. I have a lot of down time in between classes at school so I'm really going to try and learn.
Now that we are finally settled I'm gonna really work on my Thai goal list as well as hopefully update this thing more as a blog. Pictures to come as well.

Classroom

Classroom


Young gentlemen

Young gentlemen

Posted by inbetweendreams 03:25 Archived in Thailand Comments (0)

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