2 weeks let loose in thailand….

I start teaching in 2.2 weeks….so we decide to meander around the country. Kick it off Island style in Koh Chang – a fabulous jungle island with beaches and night life – not taken over with too many tourists….yet. Bungalows on the beach are the standard, Lonely beach is a fun place to hang with other backpackers, and there’s even tasty Mexican food! Not to mention opportunities to play pool and dance with lady boys :)

Wat Kao Sab - 3 weeks of amazing...

What can I say.... I feel that my pictures will have to do most of the talking. The past three weeks training and teaching at Wat Kao Sab have been so rewarding - all around amazing. Certainly more than I'd ever hoped for! These young boys are astounding and it's an understatement to say that we are leaving a piece of ourselves behind with them.

My first day teaching - Thumbs up is universal!

A Monk making bricks - they sell these to earn money for the school.

Their smiles are so genuine.

The boys are all great friends.

I swear these are the smartest, most attentive 14/15 year old boys I've ever met!

Robe Ceremony Sunday - We got to donate money and robes to novice monks and participate in the ceremony - beautiful! Amazing opportunity to give back after graciously opening the school for our use.

Pond - my favorite student! He is so ridiculously smart and precious!
The magnificent drawings of Nina and I done by Pond, Ben & Piel - it was so touching! Us girls and Pond, Ben & Piel - our little Artists!

Our last day, they made us all drawings! We gave them art supplies!

It’s Monkey Time!

Just 20 minuets out of town in an old abandoned temple, you can go visit and feed monkey’s! We were told to bring a ton of banana’s, show up and they would come take the banana’s from our hands. Well, after about 40 minutes of wandering around, tossing bananas and attempting monkey calls – we’re all frustrated and are left wondering where these darn monkeys actually are! Luckily on our trek down the road, we flag down a local who seems to understand what we’re looking for – he takes a bunch of banana’s and disappears on his motor bike…… hmmm… next thing we know he’s racing back down the hill telling us to come and hurry! (that’s what we think he was saying) so we run back up the hill in 95 degree heat and lone behold monkeys appear! Wow – there are about 40 or so hanging out in the trees and about 10-15 coming up to us at any given time. They were so cute!

The baby’s were precious, even grandpa Yoda monkey made an appearance. Some of them were braver than others and would kindly take the banana’s from our hand! Others would run up, grab a banana off the ground and skitter back a ways to gorge themselves. Certainly worth the wait…. How cool is that?

See more Monkey's!

Songkran – Happy New Year Thailand

The week of April 12-16th is the various festivals to celebrate Thailand’s New Year. For a week straight, you could be splashed with water at a moment or have your face smeared in powder. Though it seems to have begun as a ritualistic holiday where you get blessed and give Buddha a water offering while making amends and well wishes for the coming year – it has turned into an all out water fight in the streets! We started the week with an actual ceremony at the temple we are studying at – it was done special for us to experience the actual historical rituals surrounding the event. Adorned with flowers around our neck, we participated in the ceremony and were blessed by the head Monk. Very neat to be a part of this aspect of the celebration. A few days at lunch, the main beach street of Ban Phe had a parade and local thai’s reveled in the opportunity to douse any bystander with as much water as possible. Many trucks passed by filled with people armed with buckets and water guns. They also like to put white powder (baby powder or chalk) on your cheeks – it is a symbol of something, but for what I just haven’t figured out!

All the towns celebrate on different days throughout the week - Ban Phe’s celebration was on Thursday. So, we were told we’d get wet… sure, no problem. Bring a water gun for fun, and expect to have fun. OK! Sounds great. Well, were we in for a surprise. Getting “wet” doesn’t even begin to describe the day. As our van drives into town trying to get as close as possible to the main street, we are getting blasted by hoses, other trucks, buckets… you name it! We all make a mad dash out of the van into the streets…. A large group of Farang’s – wide open targets! We mine as well have jumped in a swimming pool of street water – ha ha. The next 10 hours were spent in pure sopping wet bliss. Super soaker fights with 7 year olds, thousands playing in the streets, faces covered in a white mess, getting dunked in buckets the size of jacuzzi’s in the street, blasted by freezing cold water from who knows which direction, dancing on top of pick up trucks with locals, being a prized target due to our “western” looks, and hundreds of people wandering the streets young and old all having an amazing time – smiles everywhere you look. It was certainly up there with the best street festivals I’ve experienced in my 29 years!

Off to the island…..

Immediately after classes on Friday we head into Ban Phe to catch a ferry to Ko Samet – an island about a 30 minute ride away. It is a touristy backpacking island with cheap bungalows and gorgeous beaches. Nine of us decide to go for the night and celebrate our first week of completion. The island does not disappoint. Its not nearly as touristy or crowded as expected. Actually rather quaint and extremely chill. Our bungalow’s at Seabreeze Bungalow were nice enough and about a block off of Silver Sands beach (at $8 each per night – who’s complaining). We grabbed drinks at a bar on the beach that had little tables on the ground that you gathered around. A vendor came by with fire balloons, so we took advantage of that opportunity! Neat! Next, off to dinner – a place with an international menu and amazing food – many took advantage of the opportunity to not eat thai and got burgers – I got Indian – yum. Even Thailand has heard of Bob Marley, the reggae bar was a blast – a thai band singing bob Marley over and over (kinda funny), hooka’s, karaoke, meeting new international friends etc. The night continued well into the morning, topped off by a fully clothed swim in the ocean about 5am – fantastic. The water is so warm here it is like having a bath before bed – but more fun. Needless to say none of us felt to great the next day, so lounging on the beach was perfect. I’ve never seen such white, powdery, soft sand before – it was like walking in pixy stick dust! The last ferry back to Ban Phe is at six so we meander our mile walk back to the pier to take in the sights of the island, get fruit shakes and I take pictures along the way. The fisherman’s boats at the pier were so fantastic to look at – like a vibrantly painted carnival on water. Even the ferry ride back is pleasurable and relaxing – photo op’s everywhere – but I think that’s just what I bring to the table :)

First week of classes complete….

Nat Tubes

I nearly have to pinch myself on a daily basis. I’m continuously amazed at my life here. For example, our typical days: Up 7am, off to classes by 9, sunny/90ish/humid/balmy nearly all of the time. Classes from 9-12 and then 1:30 – 4:45, there are ample breaks to drink coffee and time is just not that important around here so those times are purely estimates. (turns out Thai’s are on “natalie” time!) Turns out we have a great group – everyone gets along and we have a lot of fun together. I’m sure it helps to put 10+ like-minded/outgoing people together – you’re bound to end up with some great times! This is reminding me a lot of studying abroad in spain in college…. I’m just 9 years older – ha ha Every day for lunch we eat down at the beach!!!!! Most days there are elephants waltzing along that we can pay about 50 cents to feed and take pics with. Most evenings after class we’ve headed into the nearby towns of Ban Phe & Rayong to go to the night markets, supermarkets and shopping malls. Being that we’ll be here a while, grocery shopping and essentials like towels, TP & coffee were necessary. The night markets are fantastic – its like going to a flea market outdoors where everything is ½ off ;) the food stalls are incredible – I don’t know what the majority of it is, but with the little thai I now know, I ask! Thais are SO friendly, if you smile and ask nicely they do whatever they can to help. Even a free sample here and there! At night we relax, eat dinners down by the beach, grab a beer etc. About a block down from our condo building is a guy that has wireless internet - Yeah! We’ve all been going through internet withdrawal since our arrival – our building & school doesn’t have it and there are no “café’s” in the area - so we’re super happy to have found him – the past 3-4 nights since discovering him you can find 7-9 of us huddled around our laptops communicating with the outside world. I’m sure he’s happy to have us too – we happily pay the 20 baht (57 cents) per use to hang out there – and he makes even more money when we buy beers/drinks and snacks from him – win-win! Also, thanks to my BF Jeff – I have a phone! We’re still figuring out the best ways to call for cheap – and have found that Jajah.com is working quite well! (updates via email to come).

TEFL classes: Learning is fun – much of it is interactive, modeling the teacher, drawing , educational games and involves time with the Monks - either we head out and speak to them in the little thai we know and they teach us more (to experience learning a 2nd language) or we have a structured One-on-One time where we teach them a simple English lesson plan that we created. That was so enjoyable – I got to teach Tanapon – a 13 year old that loves the Liverpool football team! We had fun, he learned quickly and by the end of the 2nd session I was sad to say goodbye – as a female we can’t touch the monks so unfortunately a hug was not in order. So I took a picture & video of him instead – he liked looking at those ;) I really think I will like teaching here – I haven’t gotten my location assignment yet, but it looks like I’ll be somewhere down south and teaching Jr High or High School level kids. To my relief, all of the focus of my teaching will be around conversation and comprehension – NOT grammer/structure etc. – they already have thai teachers to do that. So, lots of talking (I’m good at that), games (fun), and encouraging student participation and speaking.

Best Moments of the week:
Realizing that we’re teaching at a monk temple/school.
Meeting our group and teachers. Below pics of us at the welcome dinner / Ji showing us our "live" dinner! Laughing hysterically at the “Engrish” translations of the menu during lunch the first day….. 2 ppl ordered the “crab cooks whore dust” - turns out its good!
Feeding elephants on the beach and having my sunglasses fly off my head when the elephants big flapping ear whacked me in the head!
Meeting Tanapon and successfully doing the one-on-one teaching after learning the “how-to’s” all week – it worked! I taught! Yeah!
Night market shopping – my downfall.

And the Program begins…

I meet my new friends and fellow teachers at the airport to head down to Ban Phe where we will be taking our TEFL course for the next 3 weeks. Everyone is friendly, like minded, and since there is only 12 of us total – perfect size to get to know each other and learn a lot. The 2.5 hour drive to Ban Phe is uneventful until we stop in town for an ATM and there is an Elephant in the parking lot! Wow. It’s a beautiful little beach town and our new home is in a condo/extended stay building – much nicer than expected! There are street vendors selling food along the beach at nearly all times and quaint outdoor restaurants to eat dinner and have a few beers at night.
Bright and early Monday morning we hop in the van for our first day of classes – we come to find out that we will be having all our classes at a local Temple that is mainly a Monk school for about 200 boys – most of which came from poor families or were orphaned. I’m speechless! What a cool place to have classes and then practice teaching to classrooms of novice monks! The grounds are beautiful and serene, there is an aura of calm when there. The classroom in indoors, but open windows surrounding 3 sides – breezy and comfortable all day long. Our main teacher is a Thai woman named Ji. She is very personable and a wonderful teacher – she is finishing her masters in English and teaching. The coolest part in the classroom these past couple days is she is teaching us the Thai language via the methods we will be teaching English to our students! Double learning, and perfect to be able to relate to what our students will be going through when teaching them another language. I’m feeling very fortunate to have found this opportunity – I can’t imagine being in a better place right now.

Off to the races... Get Ready, Get Set, SHOP

Day 2 started just about like day 1, bright and early - surprisingly I’m not jet lagged. Concocted during breakfast, I have a whole itinerary planned for the day – quite an advantageous agenda taking me all over bkk. My plans are soon foiled when I’m told that the temples/palace I want to go to are closed right now, not sure if that is true or not, but change up the line-up and head to Chinatown. Certainly the best china town I’ve ever been; huge, bustling wholesale markets/shops that go on for blocks and blocks, treats I can’t even consider eating, and a different variety of Buddhist temples. I can’t get over the deals…it’s like the candy land of markets. Hours of shopping & wandering later, I decide to scrap the original itinerary – I’ll be back in Bkk sooner or later and the Royal Palace and Giant laying Buddha aren’t going anywhere. Being that I’m on a shopping kick, I get on the Metra and head outside of the city to Chatuchak Park – home of the largest open air market in Thailand. This part is insane – I can’t even being to explain the size of this market – there are 1000’s of vendors and even more shoppers – it’s like a never ending labyrinth of stalls selling everything you could ever imagine selling. Chinatown was peanuts in comparison. I was in a euphoric state the majority of the afternoon as wander from stall to stall negotiating prices for my new teacher’s wardrobe, a few gifts, a bag or two, and the best Pineapple I’ve ever had. All in all, I spend less on about 12 items than I would spend on a pair of reasonable shoes. Dang! On my way out of the maze, I decide to brave a street vendor and sit down with the local thai’s inhaling some sort of “yummy goodness” in a bowl. I have no idea what it is, so I point and they figure out I want whatever they’re having… I peer around sneakily to see what the locals are doing – there are about 6 large bowls of condiments,4 hot sauces, spices, fish sauces, sugar etc. sitting in front of me – so I start mixing.... wow, it’s amazing! So tasty and filling – glad I took the chance – worth every penny (exactly 88 pennies)… then a huge cockroach crawls onto my leg – I jump in surprise/disgust and all the thai’s look at me like I just had a seizure - guess I should get used to stuff like this.

The train doesn’t get me back to my hotel area (Bkk is HUGE), so I get off as close as possible at Siam Center – which happens to be home of the biggest shopping mall I’ve ever seen in my life. MBK is the Mall of all Malls – puts Mall of America to shame. 7 floors. 100’s of stores ( probably 400+). Its mind blowing. Every knock-off imaginable is here – and good ones. After 2 hours here, my head is spinning and I’m actually finally sick of shopping. It’s after 9pm – 12 hours after take off – impressive. I flag down a tuk-tuk and head home – my feet hurt so bad I can’t talk myself into walking anywhere to get dinner. So I skip it and drink a huge Chang beer instead in my room while catching up on my blog, emails, pictures etc.

I’ve now had the biggest shopping day of my life… I’m kinda glad I’m leaving Bkk tomorrow – this could easily turn into an addiction ;)

2 Smokin' Hot days in Bangkok

Considering I show up in Bangkok in the wee hours of the night/morning, the welcome was perfect. I landed a room at the Thai Cozy Hotel, in the Banglamphu district - known for its backpacker/hippie/tourist allure. 3 nights including breakfast and wireless was $55 - really? I feel lucky - i booked this place via the Internet while sitting in Narita airport just hours earlier.

Turns out the free breakfast is good! I'm actually up by 7am, rested, full belly of fresh fruit & yogurt, coffee and toast. Hmmmm.... where to wander in this HUGE city. Since I look like mega tourist with my huge camera slung around my neck and lonely planet book in hand, I am constantly stopped by friendly thai's telling me what to do/where to go/best price/go this way/stop at tailor/tuk-tuk real cheap/lucky Buddha/big Buddha/gold Buddha/etc..... So i set out on my wandering journey in search of the "big Buddha" - supposedly a 45 meter tall Buddha - hard to miss right? well, 3 hours of walking later, i think i'm on a wild goose chase. however, i've observed all sorts of fabulous things while in a smoggy, muggy, sweltering hot mess of a city! fascinating! eventually, friendly thai #8 points me in the right direction and i meet "big Buddha", aka Wat Intharawihan. impressive and very gold. finally! on my way out i give in to a "tuk-tuk" driver and let him take me to the next couple sites - this city is much bigger than the map makes it look! Lucky Buddha is beautiful, but only because I meet a friendly old Thai man that explains how they pray/wish at this shrine - he comes here daily - i'm not surprised - he has a welcoming aura about him and kind way with me. very special moment. off to the "Golden Mount", which is literally a golden temple on the top of a mini-mountain - shocking. a bit of a hike up, but nice views of the smoggy city - the rumors are true.... the traffic/heat/smog combo of this city is horrifying - BUT... the big BUT is that there are so many redeeming qualities! Like the shopping! and the prices of just about everything! and the smiling faces! and the tasty food! the list goes on. fun fun fun! before i head home i stop at Khao San Market - a very long street filled with street vendors in Banglamphu devoted to entertaining/tempting the tourist... clarification - this is the PG street. not the X-rated ones you've heard of. strictly food, bars, clothes, dreadlocks/braids, tattoo's, misc. - items that would make any hippie at heart back-packing fool happy. my first day in bangkok a success as i walk back happy, belly full of 60 cent tasty pad thai, a couple purchases in hand, pictures to prove it happened and puffy blister on my big toe!

I head straight for the shower, i need clean. wow this place is hot.

The Adventure Begins.... Stop #1 - Japan

The last few days have been, well, stressful and a bit anxious. Packing for 6.5 mos and saying goodbye to those you care about isn't a walk in the park. What will I want to wear in 3 months in a country I've never been? hmmm... easier to figure out than the "goodbye" part. However, sitting here in Narita Airport in Japan, I am calm, happy, and excited. The 13 hour flight here was actually a cake walk. The food was sparse and tasteless and the kid behind me squealed more often than i would have liked, but i actually was able to sleep a bit, read a ton of my "Lonely Planet Thailand" book, ate an entire bag of candy and the ride was ultra smooth - almost forgot i was on a plane! The last hour of the flight i was getting excited about being in Japan again - if even for just a 3 hour lay over. Immediately after i get off the plane and turn the corner i am happily assaulted by the bright neon vending machines... if you've ever been here, you know this is a signature Japanese sight. I was having fantasies of eating some Curry Udon Noodles... but alas I can't find any in the airport. Japanese snacks are quite different than ours, not to mention i have NO IDEA what 95% of them are.... this is how i end up w/ a Banana drink - I think it's Minute Maid Banana juice based on the label - sounds interesting right? Turns out its some sort of chunky banana flavored gelatin type drink - feels weird going in my mouth. Good thing I also got the ritz crackers and Green Tea flavored Kit Kat (green tea?!?!?! - worth a shot). I found my way onto the interwebs via my best friend the laptop and was able to let some VIP's know that i'm alive and book a place to stay in Bangkok tonight - something i hadn't gotten around to doing before I left - I figure at midnight I might want a place to crash after about 24 hours of traveling across the globe. sounds reasonable. now i'm all set! they just announced boarding..... gotta go!

Feeling pretty good about whats to come!