Giving Thanks

Cheers!! (And yes, that is fried chicken in my other hand... closest thing I could find to American food tonight.)

Holy cow, I have been here just shy of a month already. (or is it only?)  Sometimes it seems like I've lived here for 4 months already, when I think about how much I miss everyone and everything back home. But right now, I feel like I was just applying for this job, just telling my boss and co-workers, just starting to pack...

This is the first Thanksgiving I have ever missed.  And that is something I am thankful for-- 26 Thanksgivings with friends and family before today. And if I count all the doubles, when I had two families to visit, I'd have even more.  My American neighbor can't even remember the last good Thanksgiving he had.  I almost cried at the thought. Either last year or the year before, I was in charge of the Turkey. Let me see if I can find the picture...

That's right, I not only took a picture, but I thought it was important enough to transfer said picture to the new computer. Damn...this girl loves the holidays!

Alright, enough goofing, what else am I thankful for...  I am so THANKFUL that not only am I experiencing this mind altering, future changing, life enriching adventure, but that I am healthy enough to enjoy it, that I have money in my pocket to not be stressed about making ends meet, and enough set aside to actually travel and have a little fun.

I am thankful that I have made AMAZING friends who share in the ups and downs of this roller coaster ride as we experience the glory and the hell all together, and that I have friends back home who keep cheering me on along the way and help me feel less petty about whining over these god damn bucket "showers."

I'm eternally grateful for my most supportive brothers and parents who laugh with me about this insanity and marvel at how crazy it is on the other side of the world.

I'm recently thankful that I got an increased credit limit the other day, so in case of emergency I can actually afford to charge a plane ticket home!!

I am of course thankful that I'm losing weight everyday even though I eat ice cream religiously with lunch and beer with dinner... I shit you not. (Now if I could just give up the ice cream...)

But most importantly, I'm thankful that I have a home and a life to go back to whenever I've decided I've had my fill of Sunny Thailand, that I'm not here under anyone else's orders or to prove something to anyone but myself.  I am grateful for this experience, but even more so thankful that I don't have to live here forever. I've never appreciated being born into middle-class America more in my entire life.

So count your blessings, instead of sheep. You'll fall asleep... Oh wait, wrong holiday.
Love you!

My biggest struggle

If asked, what is your greatest struggle here, the obvious answer would be adapting to the culture. My answer would be dealing with all the dogs.  With culture, you can take something that drives you insane, and classify it as a cultural difference, learn from it, and move on.  But how can you stand there, watching a twelve week old puppy frantically chasing its rotten, infected tail, screaming its head off in pain, and just classify that as a cultural difference, learn from it, and move on.  You can't. I can't anyway.  The strays here are of epic proportions. They are everywhere. Some strays become less of strays by taking over a space such as the school.  Some of those dogs become well fed, by establishing territory and bullying lesser dogs out of food.  Survival. I get that. 

We have about ten dogs around the school, two of which are definitely alpha and the rest scavenge the empty classrooms looking for food left behind by students.  One old man has some terrible skin condition and a sunken eye, most of them are missing hair all over from what I can only assume due to scratching. It's Tuesday, and so far this week, on my three-four block walk to school, I have discovered one pregnant dog, one nursing dog, and one bitch getting nailed in the middle of the street. Those are dogs that passed in front of me on the street. I'm sure there are 20 more where each one of them came from.  And then there is the little puppy with the rotten tail. And when you console him, he looks up at you, begging for you to help him. Even he knows that humans are supposed to help dogs.  He instantly quiets down, until the pain becomes intolerable, and then he frantically starts again, unable to stop. So, I balled my eyes out. Literally, right there. The tears could not be stopped.  And when I was done, I got up, wiped off my eyes, and decided to find a vet. I would pay to have his tail amputated and I would make sure he got antibiotics.  Crazy, yes.  I'm three weeks in and already prepared to start saving every Soi Dog that comes along. But I didn't care. So I asked if there was a vet in town, and it took some time, but eventually the English teacher understood. She had to ask someone because she didn't know of one. That woman just laughed. And then they both spoke in Thai for a few minutes and walked away, never giving me an answer. No, they were not going off to ask someone else, they were ignoring me because in Thai culture you don't give people difficult answers, you just leave them hang until they figure it out.  So I left.  I wasn't needed at school anyway, and yes, I was supposed to stay, but I couldn't. I couldn't listen to the puppy downstairs, barking and chasing its tail, as it had been all morning.

I've come a long way in the last two weeks, adapting to the culture. Even in the last 48 hours I felt like I had made significant progress. And then this puppy came along. And now I am right back where I started.

Cauliflower Breadsticks

I didn't know where else to post this so I wouldn't lose it. I need to make these when I get home.

Cauliflower Breadsticks! Hardly any calories for the whole pan! •1 large head of cauliflower •2 cloves garlic, grated or minced •2 large eggs, lightly beaten •4 oz low fat mozzarella cheese •1/2 teaspoon onion powder •salt •pepper •Preheat oven to 450 degrees. •Chop the cauliflower into chunks and place into microwave for about 5 minutes or until soft •Place the cauliflower into a food processor and blend until it's a mashed potato texture •In a medium bowl, stir together cauliflower, eggs,cheese, and seasonings •Lightly spray a baking pan with spray oil and coat with the mixture (about 1/2 inch thick) •Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to brown •Add additional cheese to the top and enjoy!

Khiri Khan and Beyond

My buddy Cutie Pie

This tree reminds me of my tattoo...

Anyone want my address??

Address it to me, then

Ban Mi Wittaya School
Foreign Language department
278 Moo 5, Tambon Sanamjang
Ban Mi district, Lopburi province 15110
Thailand

Herro Teacha Kayra!!

 *cracks knuckles* Ahhh... finally. I am officially a Thai English teacher!  Today's students were wonderful. However, it should be noted, they will let you continue for ten minutes past the end of class to save face rather than interrupt you and tell you to dismiss them.  Ooopsies.  That was the 3rd period.  Thus, I was 10 minutes late to my 4th period, and probably half of them decided to run off and play around campus rather than wait for me.  My bad.  Can't say that I blame them, I would have done the exact same thing.

Definitely buying a watch tonight.

For a secondary school and considering it is the 2nd semester of the school year, I am a little dismayed by some of their skill levels in the English department.  We reviewed the alphabet and numbers in a couple classes today, not going to lie. But then again, I am picking up where a tired old teacher left off, and I have a feeling he gave up on a few of these classes months ago.  The classes are organized by grade and then by skill level, and in true Thai fashion, the levels change half way through.  For example, Matayoung 1, 2, 3, and 4 (so ages 12-13, 13-14, 14-15, and 15-16, respectively) are then broken down into groups of 8 where 1 would be the highest skill level.  But once you get to Matayoung 5 & 6, so 16-17 and 17-18, not only is English no longer required, but also the system reverses, just because they like to fuck with us, I am certain. So then my group 1's are the poorer students whereas my 5-8's are the exceptional ones. Go figure. I have many students in each class that hung around afterward to ask me questions and get some clarification.  In those moments, I was already sooo proud! It is always nice to know that you have at least a couple of kids who want to learn. More power to them!

Tonight I am going to try to work my way through the previous teachers notes and his lesson plans to see if maybe I can surmise where he left off.  However, I already tried going through his journal, and for the most part he didn't even make notes about the "lesser" classes, how frustrating. These are the classes who need it the most, and where I need the most help figuring out where to begin.  I feel like for those classes it won't hurt to just go back to basics.  Start fresh with a new teacher who hasn't already given up on them.  As for my more advanced classes, I have a lot of resources from Xplore Asia and from another teacher here, so I will try to think of the ways I learned Spanish and create some lessons loosely based around those guides. Mostly just winging it, however. ;)

The good and bad part is that I only see the kids once a week. Good because it makes my job easier as far as planning one lesson each week, with obvious consideration to skill level.  Bad because I am warned that they do not practice at home, and a lot of what you did last week will be lost by the next week.  I have found that if you literally walk up to them and MAKE them write things down, they will... so.... Lots of notes on the board, and those who want to learn will write it down as well, and those students will be able to build week in and week out.  That's all I can hope for after all.

Culture shock

I realized on the train today that I am right in the thick of culture shock.  Suddenly being mad about the way everything is different---that's it baby.  A week ago I found my paradise and contemplated never leaving. Today I am counting the days. A week from now I will be happily settled into a routine and enjoying the moment.  It's just a matter of working through this emotion right now.  I'm sure being completely alone for three days had something to do with its sudden onset, but regardless, it's here.

Do they not smell the sewer/urea/shit everywhere they go? Whose idea was it to put a damn squatter on a rickety train?? How can a culture so keen on "every life is worth living, worth preserving, worth cherishing" fail to realize their massive amounts of pollution are destroying lives?  A woman in front of me was playing Candy Crush Saga on her iPhone, as we drove down highways with literally no rule or law, just proceed at your own caution. And when I saw pollution, I mean pollution---dirty water, garbage EVERYWHERE.... RAWR!!!!! Really you are going to laugh at me when it was your mistake that caused me to be a day late in getting to where I needed to go? I get it, its  just different here. And trying to change it will be completely futile. Therefore---I blog.

Okay... I think that covers it. I'm sure by this weekend when I am experiencing the festival of lights, I will already be coming out of this shock.  Hopefully, anyway.

Ko Phayam

It's a good thing this place isn't easy to get to... or everyone would be here.  I found myself with four days "off" before my placement, so I thought, hell, I better travel!  So I asked around and got some ideas, and at one point I had this whole other plan laid out for me but the fella who offered to help suddenly was unavailable to actually help.  No worries, its actually more rewarding knowing I did this all on my own.  There was a train involved, a minibus, a very slow ferry, and mom stop reading for this next part---multiple motorcycle taxis. Each one led me to a very interesting emotion.  The first one was arranged by my minibus driver and he insisted my bag would be no problem. I climbed on the back with no external hesitation but inside I was thinking to myself, is this really happening? As we climbed this rather rural looking hill I thought, dear lord please let my faith in humanity and goodwill get me to where I need to go. And two minutes later I was there. This morning I was actually almost brought to tears as I was riding on the back of this second motorbike...I think the emotion was just of joy and disbelief that this is actually my life right now. This isn't something I am reading or being told about, this is an experience I am living. There was also a note of sadness for those in my life who either choose not to experience this because of lack of desire to, fear to, or the belief that they cannot.  I sure as hell wasn't making a lot of money, yet I decided I wanted to do this and now I am here. And I am doing some amazing things for dirt cheap.

I met a very nice Kiwi waiting for the train which was perfect because the train was an hour late... we talked about everything from trains to politics to the apocalypse, but mostly I listened in awe while he apologetically yammered on.  Later in the day I was offered help by several Thais in Chumphon, and my host in Ranong was delightful as well as she told me all about her recent trip to the States. I definitely recommend Dahla's House in Ranong for anyone going to these northern islands, since the ferries and boats only leave a couple times a day, a stayover is almost guaranteed.  I called two places once I got to Phayam and the first one couldnt hear me so I went down my list and ended at Mr. Gao's.  I picked right. My bungalow is a little more expensive than the book said, but it is still less than $30/night. And it has the most spectacular view of Buffalo Bay.

I just woke up from a nap on the beach in fact. I don't know if I will stay two days or just one... the paranoia of not getting to my destination on time might negate any relaxing powers this island possesses. The water is hard to explain in all its glory.  Coming in, it was a deep jade, almost jungle green.  Here in the bay it is a clear grayish turquoise.  It isn't the crystal blue I expected or that I have seen pictures of, but when the light changes so does it. I imagine if it wasn't hazy out I would experience those almost fake looking waters.  Then again, most of those pictures are from the island of Phi Phi so maybe the water is just that much more magical there. Either way, I will take this magnificent island nearly free of idiot party animals any day over the alternative.

Another reason to love Mr. Gao's is the fact that he has a library at your disposal... mostly German titles but a few English ones... I picked up a book this afternoon about a family of witches, and it is fantastic so far. Maybe I will vow right here that I can't leave until it's done. Believe it or not, I am already the better part of half way through it, and those of you who know me and my reading speed should be impressed to say the least

.

Spend a week in Thailand...

...and it will change your life.

Where do I even begin???  Some of us have decided to create a FAQ list for people interested in working in Thailand, so add that to the list of things I want to work on over the next few days/weeks.  To say that there have been no surprises, frustrations, or that this was easier than I imagined would be to tell a flat out lie. But to dwell on those things would take away from the awesomeness that is this experience.  Maybe in a future post I can share these things...

My 2nd day in the country started super early since me and Rachelle couldn't really sleep anymore.  Plus I think both of us were terrified we would oversleep. We both went downstairs and enjoyed some Thai food, toast, coco puffs, and something close to American coffee, which we would later realize is absolutely nothing like Thai coffee.  Maybe if we had known this we would have appreciated that coffee more! LOL!! People started to trickle into the lobby and before we knew it, a bunch of us were crammed into large vans and we headed out towards our new home, the city of Hua Hin. Our van was definitely the party bus, sitting there in the dark garage waiting for other buses to fill up we jammed to American hip hop with a disco ball/strobe light hanging from the roof. 3 hours later we arrived. Just enough time to drop our bags and then off to the mall to get ourselves a new Thai cell phone, toilet paper, and a few other necessities.

That evening we got a chance to meet everyone again, enjoy some drinks by our pool, munch on some french fries...  Little did we know that in less than twelve hours we would be crying together, sharing our stories, forever forgetting that we were all perfect strangers.

Tuesday, everyone broke off into two groups and headed to their locations. Our group leader started by telling us a lot about himself, and his own candidness allowed everyone a chance to feel welcomed and at home.  He had dealt with addictions and fears that paralyzed him, and lived to become a better person. He made sure to show us that he was there to help each one of us overcome our own struggles and do the same, no matter how big or small.  Like they said, you don't just drop everything and move around the world without bringing some baggage with you. Before we broke for lunch, nearly half of us had shared shockingly awful and yet surprisingly beautiful stories about what actually brought them here.  We were all moved by the moment.  I couldn't get my eyes to stop leaking on me. By lunch we were all wet noodles, numb and limp. A handful of us broke off and enjoyed one of our best meals yet, complimented by some much needed Chang (beer).  Those of us who didn't have a chance to talk used this small group as a chance to open up as well.  Seeing the children for the first time and then the raw emotion of us all left everyone dumfounded. It really was just a magical day.  Sounds so trite as I read my paragraph, but it was one of those moments in life you will never forget.

As if Tuesday wasn't enough, Wednesday literally changed my life.  The day started at a Buddhist temple, heavily influenced by Chinese culture from the history of the location.  Fortunes were read and wishes were made, both of which are not really related to Thai Buddhism, but it was fun and for some profound as well.  Then the most amazing thing happened. We all got a chance to meditate and pray inside the temple. Standing there, waiting for my turn, I remember feeling so overwhelmed with emotion about the enchantment of it all. My heart literally felt like it would explode with love.  I was (once again) brought to tears just waiting there, taking in the experience.  Once we were done with our prayers the Monk agreed to bless all of us. I don't care where you come from, what religion you study, in that moment God or the Universe or Allah or Buddha was with all of us.  Imagine 30 people all touching the person in front of them, all connected together. At first we were murmuring, unsure of what was happening and then from the corner you could hear him start to chant.  Did his voice grow or did we become more connected to the sound? As the Monk continued in his blessing his chants danced inside our ears and grew louder than you can imagine, yet never increased in volume.  I was electrified. I stood there and was literally pulsating as I felt his energy flowing into all of us. I would never believe it if I hadn't experienced it. It was much like the feeling I had when I have had my chakras balanced. You just gotta be there to believe it.  We got to climb up the mountain afterwards and take some gorgeous pictures.  You've never seen anything so beautiful!

The days that followed were wonderful and strange; such intense friendships were formed, seemingly over night.  I bonded with so many beautiful souls, some of whom I would swear I have known forever.

The week waned on and as early as Friday night and Saturday morning people left for their placements.  A large tropical storm caused us to switch our farewell BBQ to Saturday so a bunch of people missed out on that crazy night.  As of today, a handful are left to leave in the morning and the vast majority are now here for a three week TESOL course. I am the odd man out with a week off between my placement to travel.  I have no idea where tomorrow will take me, but I imagine somewhere south. Maybe I will island hop for a couple days.

By Friday, I have to be back in Bangkok to meet with my agent.  She will pick me up and take me to my new home for the next several months, and then I believe I will get to tour my school. I have the weekend to venture around my new city and then starting that Monday, I will begin teaching classes of 35-40 high schoolers.  I am excited and terrified, ready to go and sad this week is over.

How have we only been here for one week? How have I made so many new and wonderful friends?  What in the world am I going to do with my time this next week and how will any week in the future ever compare with the one I just had? These are the questions I can't stop asking myself.

Love you all.

Day One in Thailand!

Well, where do I start? Lets start with the nasty chaffing that just happened because this genius walked back from the beach with wet short on. Brilliant. Looks like pants for the next couple days! :/

My 2nd flight went very smoothly...great food, tons of movies to choose from (even if I couldn't figure out how to change the language from Turkish to English), more leg room, and best yet, there were only two of us and three seats so we spread out and got to enjoy some legitimate sleep! Yahoo!

Getting off the plane, I smelled the curry literally within my first two steps.  Bangkok's airport is so beautiful... by far one of the biggest and best organized I have had to experience. I had a little bit of anxiety getting through the passport check--no address to give them, so I was told to give the hotel name I was staying at. That information was conveniently stored in my email, which was inaccessible on my phone. So I said Hotel Bangkok and I got in just fine.  Found the gentlemen holding the sign with my name on it which was such a fun rush.  Shared my ride back with Liz, we arrived at the hotel about half way through our group's orientation, so we were able to join the 2nd group. I took the world's most enjoyable shower ever in under 5 minutes, rushed back down for the orientation, and then a few of us decided to take a walk and find some dinner.

We stopped a young dude on the street and said "food, cheap" while making eating motions, and he directed us around the corner to a place filled with locals.  You had to step down into this pit, walking past smoked? whole fish on the way, homeless cats were hanging out on the tarp roofs of the pit... The tables were all metal tables you find in most prep kitchens and the chairs were just plastic lawn chairs.  Dinner and beer for 5 of us was 660 Thai Baht, something around $18-20???  The beers come in large 32? oz glass bottles and cost around $1.60 each.  And they are higher proof. And you can drink in the street. Need I say more????

After dinner we stopped at a convenience store to buy more of said beer, and continued on to the hotel. Sat around in the lobby for about an hour chatting it up with various other group members until finally we decided that this was our one and only night and we needed to go out.  Liz and I had both heard of Soi Cowboy, or Cowboy road...and we had to check it out. Its like Bangkok's version of the red light district, with a few non-strip joints that housed karaoke bands playing everything from Katy Perry to Pink Floyd, and a few Thai pop hits in the mix. People were playing pool, but getting in on a game looked very complicated and involved writing one's name on a chalkboard, and of course the use of coins which non of us had handy... so we passed on that but enjoyed some good (okay, really terrible) tunes and another drink before heading back.

I conveniently skipped over the details of the club we did go into, hehehe.... It was rather epic.  The girls just line up outside the club and flirt with you to come in.  If they are lucky enough to get your business, they take you and your group by the hand and guide you to a booth, where they dance for you.  They have clothes on and they are not dancing ON you, so calm down everyone...  You buy them a drink rather than tip them, which just didn't seem like enough.  One of our girls really loved her job and the other looked like she could cry at any moment.  The girls on stage included some lady boys with really good tape jobs.  Nothing was hidden... it was ridiculous.  We stayed for one drink and then wandered.

Getting a cab outside of there, the drivers all assume you know nothing. So they offer you a price and you say no, meter, to which they walk away knowing they can't scam you.  Our ten minute ride was 67 baht each way, so what... $2?!?!?!

That's all for now, I will update more about today later!  Time to get back to the peoples!!

Thoughts from Istanbul

11/2/13
Here I sit, about four hours left to go of my eight hour layover in Istanbul, Turkey.  The girls I traveled here with should be in the air by now?? There is Kara and Kaitlin from Chicago, Stephanie from Indianapolis, and Erica from Nashville.  Great girls, and considering I might not be getting an orientation week (we will get to that later) I am very fortunate to have met them all and to have shared several hours goofing off with them in this foreign land. That eleven hour flight was a killer, literally... my ass is dead. I am sure I could find a wifi connection here that is secure and reliable, but, not knowing the language, everything looks sketchy. And I might be a little naive, but handing out my credit card info over to a non-secure wifi connection just so I can log onto facebook and "check-in" seems a little bit ridiculous.  I have to wait several more hours before I can even find out what gate to wait at.  Until then, I found a somewhat dark lounge where I noticed several people sprawled out catching some zzz's.  So I did the same for a few minutes, Bon Iver playing in my left ear drum.  I missed tracks 6-8 so I know I caught some shut eye. But then I noticed the gate was starting to get busy, and I felt a little guilty taking up so much space at a gate that isn't even for my flight. Its dark here, and I think its around 8:30pm here, but its only 1:30pm at home. I would really like to be able to let everyone know how things are going so far, but I am fairly certain that they will all trust I am okay. They know I am not an idiot, right??  I tried some turkish ice cream and just a sip of some turkish coffee. Both are quite unique. The coffee puts a new spin on the word "strong." And the ice cream is very rich, and almost taffy like in its consistency. I did purchase some Turkish Lirra, but I didn't get much and I already spent what I had. Turns out they take USD here anyway... The coins would have been cool to give the girls, but I spent them on a can of coke. haha!

Okay, so here's some deets on the actual reason I am here. Obviously I am heading to Thailand to teach. The program I went with was mainly selected because I could elect to go for only a semester and decide later if i wanted to stay longer. That was important to me.  Along with the program, I was supposed to have a week long orientation at a beach resort, where we would all get to know one another, learn about the culture and customs of the people, take a cooking class, go ride and feed some elephants, eat some super fresh pineapple... you know, fun stuff. Well........I got an email that was followed up by a skype call with the director of Xplore Asia. And he has a school in Lampang (northern Thailand, SE of Chiang Mai) that would like to hire me to start as early as Tuesday or Wednesday next week!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!! I'm told this area is very much matching the description of what I wanted, and to top it off, I would be teaching high schoolers.  That excites me because I think I will have better luck engaging them into actual conversations.  I guess I can get reimbursed for the orientation and I can even decide to take it at a later date if I want, but holy cow, right?! Just jump in head first, why don't ya! No need to get acclimated or sleep off the jet lag. To be fair, I moved to Thailand to take life by the balls and LIVE IT. So I told him that I am open to whatever, and if I need to skip orientation, so be it.  Turns out one of the girls I flew with, who I ended up sitting with, who had the exact same glasses as me (LOLZ) is also in a very similar boat and is even looking at moving to a similar region of the country.  And we have all started making plans to meet for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's/any other breaks... so in a way I already got what I needed to get out of orientation, right?  What a crazy life I am leading these days.

Since I don't have an internet connection, this probably won't be posted until tomorrow from my hotel room in Bangkok, but I think its a good idea to keep up with all the craziness as it unfolds.  More later! Peace Love Happiness!