Well, since the accident we have been doing a lot of walking and not so much riding on motorbikes. For everyone who has been asking, Mel is doing much better! The first week we were going to the hospital everyday to get her wounds cleaned and then every other day. Today (Wednesday) we are going to get her stitches out! Yay! Her bruises are going away and cuts and scrapes are healing up nicely. However, she will never drive a motorbike again :-( I have been pretty scared to go out again, let alone drive her around after watching it happen, but our Thai friend, Mint, took me out and I feel much more at ease. I even drove Mel to the Tuesday Night Market in Phrae last night! Go me!
Our OEG friend Boa (Bow) came to visit because she is trying to switch schools and move to Chiang Mai, so she stayed with us for a couple days. (It is really more dramatic than that, but it's a super long story...) It was really fun, we walked into Old Phrae where all of the old teak houses are and saw some really pretty Wats. It was way calmer than New Phrae and much more traditional. We walked to the Yom River, which turned out to be brown and gross, way underwhelming.
Our farang friends took us to the only club-like place in Phrae, which was pretty funny. Different Thai bands/people would come out and either try to sing American songs or Thai songs. They were all pretty emo sounding and screachy but it was pretty funny! Then they played house music and people danced, well we danced and they all watched us and gave us free food. Either Thai people don't think we eat at all or they think giving us food will make us be friends with them. I dunno, but wherever we go people give us food!
We have been trying to try lots of new foods, or at least not go to the same food stand every night. There are a couple of night markets that are close by so we are venturing out lots. The one right down the street from us has really good pad thai and we usually always get that, but this time we turned right and explored more! 555 (=lol) It was so fun! We found this little sushi cart. (it was super clean, many people were at it and it was a couple of days ago and I am still not sick, so no worries MOM!) Then we had really yummy kabobs with some mildly spicy sauce on them, and MANGO STICKY RICE. It is my new favorite thing! You have sticky rice, some cut up mangos, and then this yummy coconut milk stuff that is warm and delicious to pour over it all! SO GOOD! There was also a waffle stand with different kinds of waffles! Mel got original and I got Pumpkin for the next morning! So fun.
Things at school have been getting better. Monday is always the hardest, (obviously) because we are trying out a new lesson plan and you never know what can go wrong or what they won't understand. Teacher Nonglak told us she would give us lesson plans before every week, but that hasn't happened, so we are flying by the seat of out pants! I am supposed to be helping improve their conversational English and pronunciation, etc. So, this week I am having them practice convos, "Hi!" "How are you?" etc. Teacher Nonglak watched me on Tuesday and told me today that she will not give me any lesson plans because I am doing great on my own. Well that is a relief because I feel like I am doing awful sometimes! They gave us our bikes today and we are so excited to ride around and not rely completely on the motorbikes!
Also, Monday is the Buddha's Bday so that means everyone at school wears white all week. I wish someone could have casually mentioned this to the dumb farangs! Mel and I come strolling in on Tuesday wearing our pink, while everyone else is in white. We felt like chumps! Needless to say, it is Wednesday and we are wearing white.
This weekend we are meeting some other OEG people in Chiang Mai, a large city a 4 hour bus ride away from us! We are so excited, it is supposed to be awesome and have MEXICAN FOOD! Can't wait! Love you all!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Phrae Ram Hospital.
And this time it wasn't because of me!!
You know how something happens in an instant and you just react and then time is moving so fast that when you take a second to breathe, you realize you are sitting in a Thai emergency room hospital with someone else's blood all over you?? No? Well, that is how my weekend went!
Let's start with Friday...We met up with some other farangs, (Westerners) who live in Phrae, and got to talk in English with them! It was awesome. They picked us up on some motorbikes and by the end of the night had convinced us that we needed to rent some the next day in order to get around easier. We definitely agreed, it is so hot to walk everywhere and besides, everybody is doing it! (peer pressure) They gave us other tips and we had a lot of farang fun! We got home around 3am and since it is 1pm at home I decided to call my momma! She let me know that, at work, one of my friends would be having her baby soon so they were having lunch for her! I called the front desk, yo Nicole, and had a great time catching up with everyone! (shout out to GameReady!)
The next morning we slept in, had lunch with our new Irish friend Owen, and then headed off to the motorbike shop! We were jazzed but nervous, I had ridden one in Taiwan but this was Mel's first time. We were able to rent two cute red bikes for 1,800 Baht a month each, got a quick lesson, and then headed out on the main road. We were planning on stopping at one of the deserted alleyways so we could practice a little more, but of course we had to get off of the main road first...
We were not driving on the road for twenty seconds before Mel started turning into a nearby hotel, the Maeyom Palace Hotel. In just a quick instant the bike was on top of her and they had skidded. She told me later that as she was turning she hit the ignition instead of the breaks, and now it is an image and video that I will forever have stuck in my mind. I couldn't just jump off of my bike and over to her even though I wanted to, I had to properly stop it, park and get off without burning my leg on the hot pipe thingy! As I was doing this, Mel had gotten the bike off of her and she was walking over to me with a face that I swear still haunts me, confused, hurt, traumatized? I looked at her arm and saw a LOT of blood. I went into rescue mode, I brought her over to the shade, got her bike out of the street and over by mine and her shoe, which had fallen off, and other items over by us. I got out my water and poured a little on her arm and that's when I saw her bone. Yes, her scrape had been so deep that her skin was hanging down and I could see where the bone was just below her elbow. I didn't want her to see my terror but I was seriously scared, I had no idea where we were in relation to a hospital! Who could we call to help us? What was I going to do?? Meanwhile, Mel is saying she thinks we might have to go to the hospital (yes, I think so!!!) and generally freaking out. I got her phone and called our school coordinator Nongnoot, she had absolutely no idea what I was saying so I hung up on her mid sentence. I then called our new friend Owen, "Hi, nice to meet you, can you please take us to the hospital??" He has been in Phrae for a year and a half and knows his way around. I managed to choke out where we were and how bad it was and told him to hurry! He got there asap, explained he was taking her to the Phrae Ram Hospital by the 7/11 (of course) and gave me directions. They sped off on his motorbike (ironic now...) and I rushed to get our stuff together and jump back on my bike. I was shaking the whole way there, replaying what I had just seen over and over and thinking, if that happens to me, what will I do?!? Alas, I made it and found Owen trying to explain our stupid INext insurance that CIEE/OEG gave us. I found Mel in the emergency room laying on a bed and crying :-( This was her first time ever in the hospital! They took her away to get X-Rays and that is when I was escorted to the waiting room and saw her blood all over me. It is seriously unsettling to have someone else's blood all over you. They gave her some stitches, lots of bandages, and told us to come back every day to have them cleaned. Meanwhile the nurses, doctors, and other patients were staring, laughing, and pointing at us. "Oh farang! Farang motorbike!" I don't mind being a spectacle everywhere else, but in the emergency room when my friend is crying was a little to much for us. I kept closing the curtain, but they would peek around the corner! It was crazy!
It was a really nice hospital though, just like one you would see in America. And the whole thing cost about $100 and 3 1/2 hours! Not bad. The ambulance dropped Mel off at our apartment and I drove my motorbike back in rush hour traffic, shaking in my bones
! I got home, skyped with my sister, Kel, and just cried. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, we did all of the things we planned to do on Saturday! Mel was a little sore and bruised but we walked back to the hotel and took a 3- wheeled Rickshaw ride around old Phrae. We saw old Wats, (temples) Teak houses that Phrae is famous for, and another area of Phrae. My rickshaw driver was wearing a San Jose Sharks hat! It was fate. He had no idea what I was talking about though :-( Then we walked to the Tesco Lotus and got some groceries and had a nice night in. (PB and Js!!!)
Nongnoot and Nonglak were most upset that we went to the Phrae Ram Hospital instead of the Phrae Christian Hospital because Ram is more expensive...Phrae Christian is all the way on the other side of town and we were not worried about the money, thank you very much! The school is going to be getting us some bicycles now though, so hopefully no more hospital trips for us!
That's it for now! Love you all!
You know how something happens in an instant and you just react and then time is moving so fast that when you take a second to breathe, you realize you are sitting in a Thai emergency room hospital with someone else's blood all over you?? No? Well, that is how my weekend went!
Let's start with Friday...We met up with some other farangs, (Westerners) who live in Phrae, and got to talk in English with them! It was awesome. They picked us up on some motorbikes and by the end of the night had convinced us that we needed to rent some the next day in order to get around easier. We definitely agreed, it is so hot to walk everywhere and besides, everybody is doing it! (peer pressure) They gave us other tips and we had a lot of farang fun! We got home around 3am and since it is 1pm at home I decided to call my momma! She let me know that, at work, one of my friends would be having her baby soon so they were having lunch for her! I called the front desk, yo Nicole, and had a great time catching up with everyone! (shout out to GameReady!)
The next morning we slept in, had lunch with our new Irish friend Owen, and then headed off to the motorbike shop! We were jazzed but nervous, I had ridden one in Taiwan but this was Mel's first time. We were able to rent two cute red bikes for 1,800 Baht a month each, got a quick lesson, and then headed out on the main road. We were planning on stopping at one of the deserted alleyways so we could practice a little more, but of course we had to get off of the main road first...
We were not driving on the road for twenty seconds before Mel started turning into a nearby hotel, the Maeyom Palace Hotel. In just a quick instant the bike was on top of her and they had skidded. She told me later that as she was turning she hit the ignition instead of the breaks, and now it is an image and video that I will forever have stuck in my mind. I couldn't just jump off of my bike and over to her even though I wanted to, I had to properly stop it, park and get off without burning my leg on the hot pipe thingy! As I was doing this, Mel had gotten the bike off of her and she was walking over to me with a face that I swear still haunts me, confused, hurt, traumatized? I looked at her arm and saw a LOT of blood. I went into rescue mode, I brought her over to the shade, got her bike out of the street and over by mine and her shoe, which had fallen off, and other items over by us. I got out my water and poured a little on her arm and that's when I saw her bone. Yes, her scrape had been so deep that her skin was hanging down and I could see where the bone was just below her elbow. I didn't want her to see my terror but I was seriously scared, I had no idea where we were in relation to a hospital! Who could we call to help us? What was I going to do?? Meanwhile, Mel is saying she thinks we might have to go to the hospital (yes, I think so!!!) and generally freaking out. I got her phone and called our school coordinator Nongnoot, she had absolutely no idea what I was saying so I hung up on her mid sentence. I then called our new friend Owen, "Hi, nice to meet you, can you please take us to the hospital??" He has been in Phrae for a year and a half and knows his way around. I managed to choke out where we were and how bad it was and told him to hurry! He got there asap, explained he was taking her to the Phrae Ram Hospital by the 7/11 (of course) and gave me directions. They sped off on his motorbike (ironic now...) and I rushed to get our stuff together and jump back on my bike. I was shaking the whole way there, replaying what I had just seen over and over and thinking, if that happens to me, what will I do?!? Alas, I made it and found Owen trying to explain our stupid INext insurance that CIEE/OEG gave us. I found Mel in the emergency room laying on a bed and crying :-( This was her first time ever in the hospital! They took her away to get X-Rays and that is when I was escorted to the waiting room and saw her blood all over me. It is seriously unsettling to have someone else's blood all over you. They gave her some stitches, lots of bandages, and told us to come back every day to have them cleaned. Meanwhile the nurses, doctors, and other patients were staring, laughing, and pointing at us. "Oh farang! Farang motorbike!" I don't mind being a spectacle everywhere else, but in the emergency room when my friend is crying was a little to much for us. I kept closing the curtain, but they would peek around the corner! It was crazy!
It was a really nice hospital though, just like one you would see in America. And the whole thing cost about $100 and 3 1/2 hours! Not bad. The ambulance dropped Mel off at our apartment and I drove my motorbike back in rush hour traffic, shaking in my bones
! I got home, skyped with my sister, Kel, and just cried. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, we did all of the things we planned to do on Saturday! Mel was a little sore and bruised but we walked back to the hotel and took a 3- wheeled Rickshaw ride around old Phrae. We saw old Wats, (temples) Teak houses that Phrae is famous for, and another area of Phrae. My rickshaw driver was wearing a San Jose Sharks hat! It was fate. He had no idea what I was talking about though :-( Then we walked to the Tesco Lotus and got some groceries and had a nice night in. (PB and Js!!!)
Nongnoot and Nonglak were most upset that we went to the Phrae Ram Hospital instead of the Phrae Christian Hospital because Ram is more expensive...Phrae Christian is all the way on the other side of town and we were not worried about the money, thank you very much! The school is going to be getting us some bicycles now though, so hopefully no more hospital trips for us!
That's it for now! Love you all!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Do you know Lady Gaga in America??
A week of teaching down! It has definitely gotten easier since that first day. I am getting my evil eye down and moving the bad kids to the front of the class. Since I see every class once a week I have been trying to learn all of their nicknames this week by having them make name tags. These kids are AMAZING artists! Every single one of them! It is pretty funny, most of the boys will draw flowers, hearts, and butterflies, while the girls will draw characters like angry birds or anime.
There have been some more interesting nicknames, including Pepsi, Spicy, Mild, 2 Donuts in one class(!?), a girl named Piggy :-( Baseball, Bambi, State, Yo-yo, Modem, Benz, Chang, (which means elephant in Thai) and Stamp. Melissa even had a Sim card in one of her classes!
Every morning the whole school gathers for an assembly of sorts where they sing the Thai National Anthem, raise the flag, and make announcements. It starts around 7:30 and goes until around 8 and classes start at 8:30. This assembly is where we had to introduce ourselves, say where we were from and what we would be teaching. There are 1,555 students here! It was a little intimidating on our first day...
On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, Mel and I went to this little coffee place right by our apartments to get energized. By midday both days I was feeling a little dizzy, and on Thursday Nong Lak sent me home in the middle of my second class. I had almost passed out and had "tossed my cookies." :-( I was super dehydrated and missed the rest of the day. No more coffee for Teacha Chelsea! Lesson learned! When I got to school the next day all of the teachers were asking if I had diarrhea and that's why I was sick...No, but thanks for asking.
Our landlords, Nish and Noy, are SO nice! They have a little shop on the bottom floor of the complex and a nice deck area. We have been sitting down there in the evenings, when it has cooled down some, teaching them some English and they have been helping us with our Thai! It is pretty fun! English is a lot harder than Thai...
All Thais ask us the same questions, "Where do you live?" Have you eaten?" "How much money do you make?" "Do you have boyfriend?" "How old are you?" Rapid fire, too!
They also ask some pretty funny ones too, "Are my sky blue eyes fake?" "Do you know Lady Gaga in America?" (This student, who was a boy, then proceeded to dance and sing Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah AAH at the top of his lungs!)
They also all assume that Melissa and I are sisters, because we both have blonde hair, and ask us questions about "our family." They are very shocked to find out that we aren't even related and just met last week! Then there are the students who can't tell us apart! If you're white with blonde hair, you must be twins!
Thank god for the Chelsea Football Team because when I tell them my name their face goes blank until someone says "Oooohhh Chelsea Football" and then they can suddenly pronounce it!
First full weekend in Phrae! We are hoping to explore it more and find our way around! Miss you all!
There have been some more interesting nicknames, including Pepsi, Spicy, Mild, 2 Donuts in one class(!?), a girl named Piggy :-( Baseball, Bambi, State, Yo-yo, Modem, Benz, Chang, (which means elephant in Thai) and Stamp. Melissa even had a Sim card in one of her classes!
Every morning the whole school gathers for an assembly of sorts where they sing the Thai National Anthem, raise the flag, and make announcements. It starts around 7:30 and goes until around 8 and classes start at 8:30. This assembly is where we had to introduce ourselves, say where we were from and what we would be teaching. There are 1,555 students here! It was a little intimidating on our first day...
On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, Mel and I went to this little coffee place right by our apartments to get energized. By midday both days I was feeling a little dizzy, and on Thursday Nong Lak sent me home in the middle of my second class. I had almost passed out and had "tossed my cookies." :-( I was super dehydrated and missed the rest of the day. No more coffee for Teacha Chelsea! Lesson learned! When I got to school the next day all of the teachers were asking if I had diarrhea and that's why I was sick...No, but thanks for asking.
Our landlords, Nish and Noy, are SO nice! They have a little shop on the bottom floor of the complex and a nice deck area. We have been sitting down there in the evenings, when it has cooled down some, teaching them some English and they have been helping us with our Thai! It is pretty fun! English is a lot harder than Thai...
All Thais ask us the same questions, "Where do you live?" Have you eaten?" "How much money do you make?" "Do you have boyfriend?" "How old are you?" Rapid fire, too!
They also ask some pretty funny ones too, "Are my sky blue eyes fake?" "Do you know Lady Gaga in America?" (This student, who was a boy, then proceeded to dance and sing Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah AAH at the top of his lungs!)
They also all assume that Melissa and I are sisters, because we both have blonde hair, and ask us questions about "our family." They are very shocked to find out that we aren't even related and just met last week! Then there are the students who can't tell us apart! If you're white with blonde hair, you must be twins!
Thank god for the Chelsea Football Team because when I tell them my name their face goes blank until someone says "Oooohhh Chelsea Football" and then they can suddenly pronounce it!
First full weekend in Phrae! We are hoping to explore it more and find our way around! Miss you all!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
1st Day of Teaching!
What a week! And it's only Wednesday. On Sunday Melissa and I walked back to the Big C, by ourselves, to get the items we didn't have time to get (because we were waiting for Nong Noot) and then walked all the way back to our apartment. We decided along the way to rent a scooter this weekend, to get around on because it is freaking hot here. Like really hot. Why did I come here again? Why didn't I go to somewhere with snow? Next time, I guess!
On Monday, we headed over to the school to "lesson plan" for the day. They tried to get us in the classroom but we were not going! We didn't have a schedule of where we were supposed to go or who we were supposed to teach! "No! Lesson plan today, remember?!" We camped out in the technology room and got our internet passwords and went on Facebook for awhile. Then another English teacher, Coral, who is from the Philippines (yeah, I don't get it either! Her English is not much better than the Thai teachers??) took us to get lunch across the street. Gotta love that fried rice! We decided on what we were going to do for the week and then called it quits, for the day!
Tuesday was the big day! First day of teaching! AH! We got our schedules and we would be teaching around 4 classes a day and all different levels. In Pratom (Primary) there are 7 different levels in each grade. 1 and 2 are the smartest, (their words, not mine) 3, 4, and 5 are average, and 6 and 7 are the ones who need more help. During the week I see each level of 4th, 5th and 6th grade, once a week, and there are 40+ students in each class! Crazy. Tuesday I saw 5/3, 5/7, 6/1, and 4/4. Their levels of English are all over the place!
I wanted to get to know their nicknames, (they have super long real names but usually go by their nicknames that their parents give them) so I had them make name tags, decorate them, and introduce themselves to me in English. Sounds easy enough right? It was insane! Nong Lak wanted me to teach them super advanced English and I was like they don't even know, "write your nickname down!?" This is going to be hard. Some of the Thai teachers stayed and assisted me/sat in the back on their cellphones and some left. It is really disrespectful to lose your temper or yell and scream in front of Thais so I was trying to remain calm and not yell, but when they are all yelling and hitting each other it is so hard not to raise your voice in order to get control! The Thai teacher would say one word in Thai and they would all go back to their seats and continue working but with me they were like, oh sub! Let's go crazy! I'm sure it will get better and easier but for now it was a hard first day! Mel's was even harder, she said her students were running around the halls and she taught to the wrong class for 10 minutes, whoops! The students did call me beautiful and thin all day so that was a plus!
Some nicknames of note:
There were a lot of Milks, some Beams, Poom, some Gifts, Gafield (like the cat), Kong, a lot of Ices, some Games, Toto, Ant, a random Mark and Jimmy, and this sweet little tiny girl named Gun. WHY?! There was also this rather grand boy named Jumbo, so mean, parents.
Today, Wednesday, I have 5 classes! We decided we are seriously adopting the Mai Pen Rai atmosphere and just going with it! Whatever happens, happens! Wish me luck! Love you all!
On Monday, we headed over to the school to "lesson plan" for the day. They tried to get us in the classroom but we were not going! We didn't have a schedule of where we were supposed to go or who we were supposed to teach! "No! Lesson plan today, remember?!" We camped out in the technology room and got our internet passwords and went on Facebook for awhile. Then another English teacher, Coral, who is from the Philippines (yeah, I don't get it either! Her English is not much better than the Thai teachers??) took us to get lunch across the street. Gotta love that fried rice! We decided on what we were going to do for the week and then called it quits, for the day!
Tuesday was the big day! First day of teaching! AH! We got our schedules and we would be teaching around 4 classes a day and all different levels. In Pratom (Primary) there are 7 different levels in each grade. 1 and 2 are the smartest, (their words, not mine) 3, 4, and 5 are average, and 6 and 7 are the ones who need more help. During the week I see each level of 4th, 5th and 6th grade, once a week, and there are 40+ students in each class! Crazy. Tuesday I saw 5/3, 5/7, 6/1, and 4/4. Their levels of English are all over the place!
I wanted to get to know their nicknames, (they have super long real names but usually go by their nicknames that their parents give them) so I had them make name tags, decorate them, and introduce themselves to me in English. Sounds easy enough right? It was insane! Nong Lak wanted me to teach them super advanced English and I was like they don't even know, "write your nickname down!?" This is going to be hard. Some of the Thai teachers stayed and assisted me/sat in the back on their cellphones and some left. It is really disrespectful to lose your temper or yell and scream in front of Thais so I was trying to remain calm and not yell, but when they are all yelling and hitting each other it is so hard not to raise your voice in order to get control! The Thai teacher would say one word in Thai and they would all go back to their seats and continue working but with me they were like, oh sub! Let's go crazy! I'm sure it will get better and easier but for now it was a hard first day! Mel's was even harder, she said her students were running around the halls and she taught to the wrong class for 10 minutes, whoops! The students did call me beautiful and thin all day so that was a plus!
Some nicknames of note:
There were a lot of Milks, some Beams, Poom, some Gifts, Gafield (like the cat), Kong, a lot of Ices, some Games, Toto, Ant, a random Mark and Jimmy, and this sweet little tiny girl named Gun. WHY?! There was also this rather grand boy named Jumbo, so mean, parents.
Today, Wednesday, I have 5 classes! We decided we are seriously adopting the Mai Pen Rai atmosphere and just going with it! Whatever happens, happens! Wish me luck! Love you all!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
ELEPHANTS!
Wow so I think riding elephants is going to be my new hobby! LOVE IT. Let’s start from the beginning! We all got up super early on Thursday and checked out of our hotel, had our final lesson plan presentations and then piled onto the buses that were taking us to Kanchanaburi! It was about a 3 hour drive but they showed Transformers 3 twice so that made it a little easier. We arrived at the famous Bridge over the River Kwae and it was pouring! But I had to see it and walk across it! Luckily it let up a bit and I was able to walk across the whole bridge! They let us know afterwards that trains still run through there and there are side panels to jump onto just in case that happens...great! I guess that’s Thailand for ya!
We jumped back on the bus and headed over to our surprise dinner, which was a floating restaurant! A little tug boat pulled this huge house boat while we ate dinner on it. Then they started playing music and it turned into a dance party on the River Kwae! So fun! After docking they took us back to out hotel which was a really nice resort and everyone headed to the pool to cool down and relax. It was really nice to have all 85 of us together on our last night!
Friday morning we had to be in the lobby at 7:30 for our big elephant adventure! We all headed over to the Saweechai Elephant Camp and jumped on an elephant! It was so fun and awesome! They are so strong and big and beautiful! I loved every second of it. We walked around a bit and then in the water where I got to go around her neck. After they made me get off, we headed over to the bamboo rafts and rafted down the River Kwae where we all jumped in and saw some ginormous bugs! They drove us back to the camp and we got to see a mama and baby elephant do some cool tricks like hula hooping, patting people on the butt, and dancing when we clapped! It was super cool. I even bought a picture frame made out of dung!
Then we headed back to the hotel to shower and get our things and head back to Bangkok where our school coordinators would be waiting for us. AH so incredibly nervous! Three hours on the bus of my stomach twisting and turning, at least I got to watch Transformers 3 again...
The other girl going to Phrae with me is Melissa, or Mel. We met the two women there to pick us up Nong Lak and Nong Noot. They informed us that we would be driving back to Phrae right then, in the school van, and would arrive and 2 am! Ugh. They also asked which one of us majored in Biology, we both look at each other, “is it you? it’s not me?!” Everyone giggles awkwardly, uh oh do they want to take us back?? We say goodbye to our new CIEE friends and start our long journey to our new home! It took about 9 and 1/2 hours. We arrived at 2:30 and I was so exhausted but I go to lay down on my bed and it is seriously a rock. I will have to find an egg crate or something!
Our coordinators told us to come to the school in the morning some time and they will show us around the school and the town a little. Mel and I headed over around 12 and found Nong Lak who will be my co-teacher for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. We expect her start showing us around but there are kids everywhere, on a SATURDAY. She tells us to introduce ourselves to the class and then tells me to memorize their nicknames, there are 40 of them, by the way, and there is no way I can tell you even one of their names now. uh oh. She tells us to ask them questions and just basically sits there while Mel and I are teaching this class, we should have expected this but I didn’t expect this. Then class ends and we go to Mel’s co-teacher for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. We basically teach another class until she says ok do you wanna take a break and I say we are really hungry and haven't eaten yet today...She looks at me horrified, dismisses her class early, and finds Nong Lak and they get on their cellphones and laugh at us while we sweat and remain confused. Then Nong Noot informs us she will take us to the Big C where we can eat and buy stuff for our apartment. It is like a hug walmart, we definitely like it! She informs us that she will pick us up in an hour, at 4. We eat, shop and then look at our watches half way through the store, CRAP! It is 3:50! We rush through, check out and go outside to try to find her, alas she is not there. We wait...wait some more, I try to call her and she doesn’t answer! Are we stuck at the Big C?? No, 45 minutes later she finally comes, and with another teacher we had met earlier, Bomb. He shows us around Phrae and buys us yummy smoothies. We like Bomb!
Well, that is enough for now, I am going to plant myself under the A/C for awhile! Love you all!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Orientation in Bangkok
Wow this has been a busy, tiring, overwhelming and exhilarating week! For my first week in Thailand I have been at Orientation for the program I am doing (CIEE/OEG). We have all been staying at the same hotel, the Louis Tavern Hotel (wait am I back in America) and attending different sessions and classes before we go off to out schools. We have teacher training, Thai language lessons, info about the Thai Education system, Thai culture class, visa and permit info and ALL DAY! Like from 8-6! That is a lot of information to pack into my tired brain! I have learned a lot of interesting stuff though! Did you know that Bangkok isn’t called Bangkok here? It’s called Krung Thep, but this is just the nickname! Bangkok has the longest city name in the world and here it goes...
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.
Can you imagine that on a street sign??
Also Thais LOVE their King. It is King Rama IV and there are pictures of him everywhere! Big ones, small ones, travel sized. I could definitely pick him out of a line up already. He is the longest reigning monarch in the world at 66 years, was born in Boston, (Whaddup Kel?!) and he plays jazz music and even played with Elvis. Preeety cool.
Some more fun facts!
-Thailand has more 7/11’s than any place in the world COMBINED. There are three on our tiny street alone!
-Thailand is called the “Land of Freedom” because they have never been colonized before.
-There are 10 Asian countries who are trying to combine into an ASEAN Community similar to the European Union. (Association of South East Asian Nations) These countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand! They would all have the same currency and English would be the common language. Their goal is to have this all ironed out by 2015, so watch out for it!
-Thailand is 95% Buddhist, 2.5% Muslim and 1.5% Christian and 1% Other. There are Monks walking around everywhere, it’s is really awesome. There are these meditation retreats you can do for 10 days where you go to a Buddhist Temple and you can’t talk the whole time and you eat two meals a day and it is supposed to be really hard but really rewarding. I am putting it on my to do list!
-555 means Lol or haha and “mai pen rai” is a popular phrase to mean “no worries!”
I have been trying to fit a lot of Bangkok in this week because I will be so far away from it but we have been pretty busy! We have been going out and trying lots of different street foods and I have learned the phrases mai phet (no spice) or phet nidnoi (little spice) pretty well!
On Monday a couple of us went to a mall here and it was SO BIG! We heard later it wasn’t even the HUGE one in Bangkok! I saw a coldstone, McDonalds, Auntie Anne’s and a couple other American places. I know that when I get home sick I can just go there and get regular sick on those yummy foods to remind me of home :-)
Tuesday we took a field trip and went to the Grand Palace! It is so incredibly beautiful! I don’t even know how to describe it. Here are some pictures to show you!
I haven't really been out in the day time yet and it was so incredibly HOT. I have never experienced anything like it. One girl fainted! Yeah it was that hot. CIEE/OEG set us up with some tour guides and they took us around and gave us lots of interesting tidbits. That night the company took us out to dinner and show where we saw traditional Thai dancing and puppets! It was pretty funny and entertaining and I ate a chicken foot. That was disgusting.
On Wednesday we were finished at 5 so my roommate, Lauren, and I went and got a traditional Thai massage! It was really fun and like no other massage I have ever had before! They get on the table with you and are basically pulling and bending you into different yoga positions. I think I liked it though...and it was $6 for an hour! And they gave us tea afterwards! I am going to become spoiled here.
After that, we got these really yummy crepe things with bananas and condensed milk and sugar on top! SO GOOD! I think it was called loki? I also bought some durian, this is the really smelly fruit that they won’t let you bring into hotels cuz it has such a bad smell. Like really gross. I tried it and it was pretty good, but I had to bring the garbage down so it didn’t stink up the whole room...We changed got other people and headed over to the famous and touristy Khao San Road. It was pretty cool but definitely a you go once and you’re good kinda place. I got some fake ray bans and repeated the phrase “mai ow” (don’t want!) so much it started to sound like meoowww! I also ate a cricket but couldn't choke down a cockroach just yet, give me a few months! It was really crunchy and pokey and gross. Theeeen we took a tuk tuk over to Muay Thai boxing! This was so cool. I am more for peace (lol) but just watching all of the different people chanting and the boxers had all of these Buddhist rituals before, during and after the fights. It was intense and brutal but I am very glad I saw it.
Now I am packing up because we are heading off to Kanchanaburi for the night where we will see the famous River Kwae, do some rafting, and RIDE ELEPHANTS!!!!!! I am so excited! Then, we come back tomorrow and meet our school coordinators and they take us to our towns! Sorry that was a lot to fit in! Thanks to everyone who made it to the bottom! Love and miss you all!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Made it!
I made it to Bangkok! I started traveling around 10:30 pm on Thursday night and arrived in my hotel around 2:30 pm. You do the math, I'm too tired.
The first flight was fine, the seat next to me was empty to I tried to stretch out and sleep as much as I could, but there is something about watching movies on an airplane that makes me suddenly awake. I slept on and off though and had some interesting airplane food. My body is completely confused having chicken at 2 in the morning and then eggs at night...
Then I had a layover in Taipei where I met up with Sarah Flan for about an hour and a half! It was way too short but just what I needed to calm some of my nerves! Super excited for all of our future plans :-)
Back on the plane to Bangkok! I arrived, got off the plane and was immediately covered in sweat. Lord it's hot here! I met up with the OEG group, who was picking us up from the airport and met a ton of people. I don't remember half of their names now...woops! We then waited for 3 hours for vans to come pick us up and take us to the hotel. Driving through Bangkok was insane! My mother would hate driving here because no one uses their blinker and everyone just cuts in front of each other. But Thailand reminds me a lot of Taiwan, and that makes me feel a little better, weird?
My roommate for tonight seems really nice, we jumped in the pool to cool off and then took showers cuz we felt sooooo gross! Then we met up with other people and got street food! My lips are still burning :-( SO SPICY!
The only reason I am writing this blog is because I can't go to sleep yet but we are too exhausted to do anything else! So that is why I am rambley and talking about nothing, I have to stay awake for at least 2 more hours...bleh
The first flight was fine, the seat next to me was empty to I tried to stretch out and sleep as much as I could, but there is something about watching movies on an airplane that makes me suddenly awake. I slept on and off though and had some interesting airplane food. My body is completely confused having chicken at 2 in the morning and then eggs at night...
Then I had a layover in Taipei where I met up with Sarah Flan for about an hour and a half! It was way too short but just what I needed to calm some of my nerves! Super excited for all of our future plans :-)
Back on the plane to Bangkok! I arrived, got off the plane and was immediately covered in sweat. Lord it's hot here! I met up with the OEG group, who was picking us up from the airport and met a ton of people. I don't remember half of their names now...woops! We then waited for 3 hours for vans to come pick us up and take us to the hotel. Driving through Bangkok was insane! My mother would hate driving here because no one uses their blinker and everyone just cuts in front of each other. But Thailand reminds me a lot of Taiwan, and that makes me feel a little better, weird?
My roommate for tonight seems really nice, we jumped in the pool to cool off and then took showers cuz we felt sooooo gross! Then we met up with other people and got street food! My lips are still burning :-( SO SPICY!
The only reason I am writing this blog is because I can't go to sleep yet but we are too exhausted to do anything else! So that is why I am rambley and talking about nothing, I have to stay awake for at least 2 more hours...bleh
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