Kanchanaburi

So this past weekend I gave the monkeys at Erawan Waterfalls a second chance. I didn’t just go to see if they were going to be a little bit nicer. Instead, some of the girls who I haven’t seen since Christmas hadn’t seen the waterfalls yet so I decided to head to Kanchanaburi with them. Liz and I took the rinky-dink Suphanburi bus to Kanchanaburi Friday after school. The one positive thing to taking this route was seeing the gorgeous sunset over the mountains. It’s hard to describe the beauty of the sunsets I’ve seen in Thailand. There’s something about the colors in the sky and of the sun that match perfectly with the bright green grass and trees that make it more unique than any other sunset I have seen. Words really don’t do it justice though.

We met the other girls at our hostel and had a delicious dinner. We laid low Friday night to be able to catch the bus bright and early to Erawan.  Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who had the idea of catching the early bus. It was packed. All 7 of us ended up having to stand on another rinky-dink bus for almost an hour and a half bus ride. When we arrived to the waterfalls, we decided we would power up to the 7^th tier and take our time on the way down to swim. As we began our hike and were admiring the 1st tier of falls, sure enough those darn monkeys slyly approach me from behind. Good thing Liz was there to warn me. I don’t get it! I had nothing in my hands that the monkey would have wanted, especially food, but maybe my camera?! Idk…either way they freak me out. Thank goodness there weren’t any other hissing monkey encounters like there with my mom and brother.

After three hours of hiking and swimming, we made our way back to the hostel and enjoyed a Thai massage. A man riding on a moped with a baby strapped to his chest in one of those baby carrier things stopped to say hello to the massage ladies. The baby was adorable! The dad was definitely not Thai, but the massage ladies told us that the baby’s mommy was. However, she died two months ago in a car accident. What a sad story L The rest of the evening was a lot of fun! I had a really good curry with tofu and vegetables for dinner.  We played some fun drinking games back at the hostel on our porch and ended up playing pool and dancing the rest of the night. Being extremely pumped for Super Bowl 45, I wanted to be sure everyone knew who the Packers were and what game they were playing in come Sunday, February 6^th. Unfortunately, majority of the people I was telling didn’t seem to care nearly as much as I do. Sometime during the night, some Thai woman got pretty upset with me. I could tell she was giving me bad looks and talking smack, but I didn’t really understand why. Liz explained to me that apparently, on accident, I bumped her cue stick as she was trying to shoot. Then, I mistakenly decided to join in on her game, but I wasn’t down for playing fair and decided I could move the white ball whenever I wanted. She clearly wasn’t in the mood for any fun and games. Oops…oh well! Good thing I’ll never have to see her again. The next morning, Jenna and Liz woke up spooning each other in one of the small twin beds, both claiming they didn’t know how it happened. Ha-ha! We were able to sleep in Sunday morning and enjoyed a late breakfast before we parted different ways. It was a really fun weekend!    

Today at school, I found out we will only be teaching for another four weeks. I cannot believe time has gone so fast. It seems like just yesterday, I was arriving to Bang Plama and playing ice – breaker activities with my students. Now, I’m already planning their finals. It also seems a little strange that the semester can already be almost over. I don’t feel like I’ve taught much during the second part of the semester; maybe just because last week my students seemed to be more of a challenge than usual, almost like it was the beginning of the semester again. Last Thursday morning, the day I teach all M2’s, started off horrible. As soon as I stepped away from the board and tried conducting a speaking activity for the students, they went nuts. It’s like it’s a free for all when my co-teacher is not in the room; an opportunity for them to run around the classroom while hitting each other in the butt or the head along with screaming and singing at the top of their lungs. The classroom was unmanageable. I couldn’t just laugh it off this time. I left the class feeling very down and disheartened and that my efforts teaching here are a complete waste of time when students act like they did in that class. It is pretty much impossible for me to control the naughty students and still have time to teach the studious ones. Needless to say, I became very frustrated, very fast. I was not looking forward to the rest of the day… thankfully it did become a little better. My disheartened feelings didn’t really go away until the next day when I taught with my M2 co-teacher, Ajarn Napasorn. She asked me when I would be leaving Thailand and said she hoped that I would stay and that she enjoys having me teach here. It was the first time I had gotten any type of feedback on my teaching. It made me feel like my time teaching here has made an impact on my students and their learning. It’s just hard to know the real impact I have had so far when no one evaluates my teaching abilities. Finally, after receiving the comment from Ajarn Napasorn, it gave me a little better idea of how I am doing; but I feel I would benefit more from receiving advice towards the beginning of the semester instead of towards the end. Oh well, some advice and/or comments is better than none at all….Mai pen rai!

So to celebrate my birthday I knew I wanted to do something fun and exciting; but I never imagined I would have a week off of teaching and be able to head north to the wonderful city of Chiang Mai. As soon as Katie and I heard we had some days off, we didn’t hesitate to plan our trip. We took an overnight bus from Bangkok Monday night and arrived in Chiang Mai Tuesday morning. The seats on the bus were high class; very comparable to first class seats on an airplane. We even had our own T.V. screen in front of us to watch movies of our choice. We were quite tired when we arrived bright and early to Chiang Mai. We checked in to our hostel and decided to explore the town and walk around. I was told by some fellow teachers and read in the guide books that one of the Northern food specialties called khao soy is a must try! So the first place we went I ordered it; unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. As we walked, we found a great food market and a market with hysterical T-shirts. I gave in and bought myself a, “Same Same. But Different” one.  One of our stops was for a Thai massage. It was amazing! I never knew my body could move in the ways my missus moved it. Even though there were some times of discomfort and awkwardness, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed after the massage was complete. We stopped at a Mexican Restaurant for lunch and had a yummy burrito. I really didn’t miss the food I would usually be eating at home until I had that burrito. It was delicious! Later at night, we met up with Kelsey, the only teacher who was placed in Chiang Mai that went through the CIEE program. We went to dinner and did some mad bargaining at the Night Bazaar. They had some really unique stuff. I didn’t go too crazy buying wise but I did catch on to not even ask how much anything was unless you were certain you wanted to buy it. The vendors seemed rather desperate. Each time I would ask how much things were, they were rather fast to drop the price and work a deal. It got to be overwhelming though, because there were so many things to choose from. We stopped at McDonalds for a pre-birthday treat before heading back to the hostel. I’ve noticed the McDonalds in Thailand are much nicer than those in the U.S. The McCafe was its own separate counter from the regular food items. They even have a glass case filled with baked delicacies.  Oh and they even sell batteries at this Mickey D’s! haha

I woke up a little early on my birthday to receive my birthday Skype wishes from my family and headed off to the Jungle for zip lining! The guide who picked us up at the hostel fell instantly in love with Katie. It was adorable! She didn’t realize it probably till later on that night though. Little did we know that he would be driving us around to see all of Chiang Mai for the rest of the time we were there. The drive to Jungle Flight got to be rather exhilarating. There were a lot of steep hills and narrow streets through the mountain. It was a very beautiful drive. We finally made it to our zip-lining destination. We geared up and were off in to the jungle. Although I’ve been zip-lining before in Costa Rica, I forgot what to expect and was a little nervous the first few times. I also didn’t remember the height of the platforms being as high as they were in Chiang Mai. My fear of heights was kicking in for the beginning but as we went I got better. Katie and I were paired with a brother and sister from Canada and our two jungle guides. It was a fun group. The zip lining adventure included one very narrow, curvy staircase down a tree, wooden bridges, and zip lines that dropped you vertically downwards. One of the times, I could have sworn the guides were yelling, “break, break” which means to use the “monkey stick” to slow yourself down on the zip line. Well I must have been hearing things. I broke too soon and ended up not making it to the next platform. I zipped all the way back to the middle of the line. Mind you this line was probably the highest from the ground. It was extremely frightening. The guide came to my rescue and pulled us back to platform safety. The name of this blog post comes from all the “Oh my God” screaming us farang were doing while we zip lined. Every time we would yell, “oh my God!” the guides would correct us to say, “oh my Buddha!”   Later, towards the end of our adventure, I was surprised with a birthday present on one of the platforms. One of our guides zip lined across to the platform I was standing on and sang Happy Birthday while holding a very “natural” present. It was bananas and a muffin wrapped in banana leaves. The whole act was very thoughtful. Most creative birthday gift I’ve ever been given!  After our zip lining adventure was over, we had a very good lunch. So far it was turning out to be a great birthday! After my birthday burrito for dinner, Katie bought me a mini cake and a birthday candle that said, “Happy Birthday” in Thai to help begin the night’s festivities. It was a very fun night! We began pre-gaming with music and cards. Next, came the candle, cake and more Thai food and we ended the night at a Thai, cowboy bar dancing the night away with a bunch of locals. Oh yeah, can’t forget about the blow horns Katie brought with to help us celebrate! It was a great birthday!! The next morning we were supposed to do a full day cooking class, well let’s just say we had a little too much fun. Unfortunately, what we thought was a really bad hangover turned in to us truly being sick. Katie and I both came down with bad cases of the cold…bad coughing and stuffiness in the head. It was not fun. We laid around all day Thursday and finally ventured out at night. John, Katie’s Thai “boy” friend was very kind to invite us to a Traditional Thai Dance and Dinner show. It was packed with farang. The food was pretty good, unfortunately Katie and I couldn’t enjoy the night as much as we would have liked to since we were both not feeling well and Friday morning we were due to “fly” bright and early. We figured we would go “all out” while we were here in Chiang Mai. You only live once right? We noticed one of our roommates at the hostel had a flyer for Chiang Mai Sky Adventures.

We decided we had to do it! I went up in the air first. Whatever we flew up in was an open aired hang glider plane thing with an engine. All that was needed to fly was a helmet and a jacket. I sat close behind the pilot and was able to converse with him throughout the flight; our helmets had microphones in them. I was so surprised because not for one second was I nervous or scared; not even during takeoff or landing. We flew pretty high above Thailand’s beautiful paddy fields and countryside. Some interesting sites I saw was a Chinese cemetery, a school where morning assembly was taking place so I was able to see all the students, and the Mae Kueng dam. There was an island shaped like a turtle near the dam that the pilot referred to as “Turtle Island”. 

 I flew for a half hour. It was a great experience! I was happy when it was time to make our landing, it got pretty cold fast up in the air. We landed smoothly on to the runway, unlike Katie. The first time they were supposed to land they didn’t. I was right next to the runway with her Nikon waiting to snap pictures but they didn’t land, instead they flew past, circled around, and tried a second time. Well they landed the second time around. I didn’t really think anything of it when they weren’t slowing down on the ground like they probably should have been, I was too busy snapping pictures. All of a sudden I look up and realize they’re headed for the bushes and trees not stopping! I think the height of the bushes helped their stop. Talk about an almost crash landing ha-ha, that will make for a good video! Katie said the pilot told her he was having a little problem with the breaks as they tried landing the first time, that’s why they had to make a loop around and didn’t land the first time. Luckily, everything was fine and they were ok! They gave us a certificate in addition to the in-flight video we purchased. Written on the certificate is the following: “The holder of this certificate has demonstrated exceptional courage and has joined an elite group of thrill seekers dedicated to living life to its fullest. You must treat them with the utmost respect.”  After flying we were pretty pooped and still didn’t feel good. We relaxed all day until John took us to Doi Suthep. It was quite the hike up a long flight of stairs to get to visit the Temple. It was very beautiful though! Just very tiring considering I wasn’t feeling the greatest. We lit candles and incense and placed them in front of the Buddha. It was nice to do so, but I still felt a little awkward at the same time not knowing what exactly to do and what was considered most respectful. I just went with it though. After visiting the Temple, John took us to a Deaf School in Chiang Mai where he used to teach at and still has a few teacher friends who work there. This was probably the most interesting and unique thing that I’ve done in Chiang Mai. There were a group of boys there to greet us and sign to us hello. Katie and I decided the boys were asking John if Katie was his girlfriend. They kept signing, “Beautiful” and seemed to be asking him questions that John got all “smiley” from and would shake his head no. The school reminded me of a University. Many of the children spent the night at the school in what reminded me a lot of dorm style living at college, except there was one large room for all the children. They were absolutely adorable! I had a connection with one little boy. They were cutting out animal vocabulary words and I was trying to sign some of the animals to the boy. He ended up teaching me more than I could really even teach myself. It was so cute! I asked if I could take him home with me. I had John ask him, and the little boy shook his head and replied I want to stay here. After being at the Deaf School, I had this moment where I thought to myself how cool sign language really is. It seems to be one of the only, true Universal languages. No matter what spoken language you may speak, sign language for the most part, is very similar Worldwide. I wish I knew how to communicate using sign. We went out to dinner to a very local Thai place with John and some of his friends. Grossest thing ever was when John opened a container of live shrimp. They were jumping all over the place and he just popped some right in to his mouth…. I wasn’t going to be adventurous that way. I have to draw the line somewhere…

Saturday was our last day in Chiang Mai and we really didn’t feel any better unfortunately. We were able to find enough energy to visit the Tiger Kingdom where we were able to hold and play with baby tigers and a few big ones too. It was amazing! The only time I was nervous was when I was holding the baby tiger; it got a little feisty on me and started to growl. I let him down and tried to hold him for a second time but he did the same thing. The poor little thing just did not want to be held. I can’t blame him I guess…. Other than that incident the tigers were very calm and sleepy. Apparently the tigers do not need to be drugged to stay calm like they are. The workers told us as long as they are fed they are naturally calm animals. Also, during the day is a time of rest and relaxation for the tigers. I still don’t know if I believe it… It was pretty incredible how we were able to lay on and pet the tigers without them even budging though. Before we left Saturday night we went to the Saturday Walking Market. It was a very long street packed with the traditional northern souvenirs. As we were walking down the street, Thailand’ National Anthem began to play on the loud speakers. Everyone stopped in their steps and stood still as they listened. It was quite interesting; I’ve never had that happen to me before while I’ve been here in Thailand. Other than being sick, I had a great time in Chiang Mai. It was sad to have to leave and go back to reality in Bangplama. Especially after an almost full week of travelling and fun!  

Sawatdee pee mai ka….New Year, Good Start!

Today we found out we officially will only be teaching next Monday afternoon!  Even though it may be a challenge since I have to teach 100 students for 3 hours, it’s totally worth having days off around my birthday…..CHIANG MAI here I come! We’ve been told all week that we wouldn’t have to teach much next week due to Boy and Girl Scout Camp Monday thru Wednesday. Every teacher I asked had a different story on which days we would have off….. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute; finally, after 6^th period today, they announced school would be closed Thursday and Friday! This reassured Katie and I’s trip to Chiang Mai was a sure thing! I cannot wait!!

Now let’s rewind a week back to New Year’s Eve in Bangkok with mom and Beau. We did our best dressing to the “nines” for ringing in the New Year on a River Boat Cruise. It was weird to think we would be doing so 12 or 13 hours ahead of friends and family back home. As we waited for The Grand Pearl, our dinner cruise boat, we watched others board different boats.  All of a sudden we hear an amazing saxophonist and see that the music is coming from the front of a boat heading towards the dock. It was The Grand Pearl. It didn’t stop with the music. As the boat docked, a group of Thai girls step on to the dock and perform a lovely Thai classical dance. It was quite the entrance. We boarded the boat and were sat at our table with a fruit cocktail waiting for us along with a New Year’s party package and hats. We enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner that included many Traditional Thai dishes and sushi that was amazing. I indulged… Throughout the evening there was singing, a rather “dark” magic show, clowns, and dancing. It was fun dancing on the top deck of the boat as we cruised Bangkok’s Chao Praya River.

Seeing the temples, Grand Palace, and other buildings lit up at night was gorgeous.  2011 fast approached us and we celebrated the New Year watching the most amazing fire work show I have ever seen in my life. There were fireworks being shot off from at least 5 different barges all within a few hundred feet from each other. Each fire work that was shot off seemed as if it was the “grand finale” in Door County. The entire show lasted probably at least a half hour. It was truly incredible! And to think, I was in 2011 before everyone back home, whom at the time probably were still trying to figure out their New Year’s plans or at least that’s the way it usually goes…haha. In Thailand, they not only celebrate the 2011 New Year, but they celebrated the New Year 2554, referring to the Buddhist era. It’s been quite a while since I spent a New Year with family.  It was really nice being able to spend the New Year with mom and Beau!

Waking up New Year ’s Day was rough as always. But today wouldn’t be a day of rest and relaxation after a long night of partying like usual. We signed up for a Thai cooking class that had us leaving our hotel at 8 a.m.  We met our cooking teacher near a food market along with two couples and a Taiwanese woman.  Our cooking instructor was quite the character. His English was rather impressive for being self-taught. He said every class he teaches he tries to learn something new about the English language. I learned a new English idiom that was pretty funny! Instead of saying, cut razor thin, like most American’s may say or people that I know, he said, “Cut like a contact lens”.  The cooking class included a trip to the market to pick out all our needed ingredients to cook 5 Thai dishes; washing, cutting, and smashing ingredients;  using a hot pan to cook ingredients; and lastly, eating and enjoying each dish!

We made Tom Yum Koong, which is a soup like dish with shrimp and a lot of delicious flavor; Pad Thai; Chicken Salad; Green Curry; and bananas and coconut milk for dessert. It's really hard to say which dish was my favorite. I would probably go with the Green Curry first and the Tom Yum Koong second. But honestly, each dish was aroi! Learning how to cook Thai food and about the different ingredients they use was a lot of fun. I cannot wait to cook some Thai food back home in the States! After cooking class, we were so full and tired we decided to spend the rest of the day by the pool at our hotel. We ventured out later to Patpong Night Market to do some shopping. Sunday, which was mom and Beau’s last day in Thailand was spent visiting the Grand Palace and the Leaning Buddha followed by a ride on a water taxi to visit the extravagant Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  Before dinner, Beau and mom couldn’t miss out on receiving a 99 Baht Thai Massage! So we were treated to the amazing treatment for about an hour long. It felt so good and to think it was only $3.33! Mom and Beau’s "last supper" was spent at a restaurant in the Sukhumvit area called, Curries and More. It had a great atmosphere, one of a home patio feel. The food was to die for. We each had an appetizer. I had somtom (papaya) salad; Beau had a curry dish with a variety of fish; and mom had pumpkin spring rolls. We each had a different type of curry for dinner. Aroi mak mak! Over dinner we reminisced about the great time we had over the past 10 days, but couldn’t get over how fast those days went.  It was magnificent having mom and Beau here in Thailand with me to experience such wonderful adventures together as a family. I was really sad when they left me bright and early Monday morning at 4 a.m. It was weird not going back home with them. I kinda forgot I was teaching in Thailand for a second. Once I got back on the van to Bangplama I remembered. It was actually nice to come back to my “home away from home”.

Double Date Dinner Night

So Katie and I just got dropped off at school on mopeds…..Let me tell you riding side saddle holding your bag and market bags filled with food isn’t very easy, but we made it safely! As I rode behind Katie, I couldn’t stop laughing, watching her ride side saddle with her feet practically swiping the ground and thinking how funny we looked to the people we passed. We walked to market after school and decided we’d stop to eat dinner at our favorite lady’s food stand. I think we were a little early because our lady wasn’t there, but our other “friends” were. There’s a guy who’s always there when we walk by her stand who always yells, “I love you Chelsea”. I’m thinking my name is easy to remember because of the football team, Chelsea. But how he knows my name, I have no idea….possibly from the Suphanburi Games, since the comment started shortly after that. And as far as the “I love you” comment….who knows?! We noticed tonight as we stopped for dinner that he sells coins and metals from a little stand right next to the food stand. There were a few other people there along with our lady’s son, who is actually in one of my M2 classes. I think the lady’s daughter made us our dinner; wasn’t as good as it usually is but that’s ok. There was another guy sitting with “don’t know his name” but his English was rather good. He asked us our names. Katie said, well you know her name referring to me and the guy said, “Same Same?!” referring to our names. We laughed… One of Thai people’s favorite phrases to say to farang is, “Same Same….but different”.  As we were getting ready to leave “don’t know his name” paid for our dinner….that was not necessary at all.....we couldn’t let him do that….but that’s where the name of this blog comes from; not actually a double date at all considering there were maybe a whole two English phrases spoken to each other and we sat at our own table. More of a joke than anything J He was kind enough to drive us home on the moped though.  

So far this week teaching has been fun with a few “mai pen rai” moments. I’m teaching body parts to my M2 classes; beginning the class with drawing a circle on the board and labeling it “head”. I then have students come up to the board and draw a different body part and label it. My M2/1 class today was particularly funny. They got a lot further with their drawings than some of the other classes and even drew and labeled, “navel”. One of the girls, surprisingly, drew the body and a circle in the breast area but quickly erased it. Of course, I couldn’t help but laugh since all the other students were. Mature of me right? I couldn’t help it….Next we played Simon Says. That was fun! In one of my classes one of the students kept hitting his “behind” for every word I said….also one of those moments I couldn’t help laughing at. But today was probably the worst…I had a “laugh attack” in my M2/1 class. It was hard to get myself back into teacher mode. The sad thing is I don’t even really know what the students were laughing so hard at but whatever it was made me laugh pretty hard as well. As far as my M5 classes go, well as Somnuk always says, “Mai Pen Rai”. I never really know who will show up to class, or if the class will even be controllable. So Tuesday 6^th period I was supposed to teach my M5/1 class…I waited in the classroom for almost a half hour into the class period and no students. So I walk up to the department and Somnuk, my co-teacher is nowhere to be found. I ask my other co-teachers if they know where they are, and they don’t. “Mai pen rai”. This morning I come to find out from Jiranee, my M2 co-teacher, that her nephew is in my M5/1 class and he told her the class was waiting in the canteen to take their mid-term with me. I was like HUH? I had given the mid-term to Somnuk to give to them last week while I was with my family. Apparently there was some miscommunication because I was never told they didn’t take the mid-term nor was I told they would be waiting in the canteen instead of the classroom…..mai pen rai. I felt rather awful actually this morning so I talked to Toon about it. She arranged for the students to meet me in Somnuk’s room 7^th period to take the test. Well 7^th period is beginning and I walk to the room, what do you know, no sign of any students. Luckily Somnuk is in the classroom and tells me there was just an announcement made for M4, 5, and 6’s to go to some sort of assembly. She said there was nothing I could do about it and the mid-term will just have to wait until next week. Mai pen rai. Mai pen rai. But next week we won’t be teaching on Tuesday, when I usually teach 5/1, due to Girl and Boy Scout Camp. Mai pen rai. Mai pen rai…..

Now this is truly paradise….

Early Sunday morning we headed for Bangkok’s airport to catch a plane south to Phuket. On our way to the airport on the Airport Express Lane we met an older couple from Northern Minnesota. Who would have thought?! They were travelling to China to visit their son who is teaching English there, and they are teachers themselves. They’re stationed in Chang Mai and actually have started an organization called Thai Thaim, which is a teacher exchange program. They started the organization in 1999. Listening to their story and experiences in the last ten years was very interesting. Even after teaching for over ten years, they still encounter the same problems I have with controlling their students and lack of communication or clarity between teachers and school administration. I don’t feel as bad now….

We flew on an old school 747 to Phuket that reminded me of the plane in the movie, “The Wedding Singer”. The flight was only about an hour long. We arrived bright and early and made our way to the Diamond Cliff Hotel in Patong Beach via “Mr. Marn”, (pronounced man) our personal cab driver for the morning.  Upon our arrival at the hotel and throughout checking in the customer service was extraordinary.  Our room was awesome! We had a great view, three incredible comfortable beds even for American standard, a beautiful bathroom, and a cute little eating area. We hung out by the pool overlooking the Andaman Sea for the afternoon. At night, we were convinced the Phuket Fanta Sea show was a “must see….You’ll love it!” So we did it. We were picked up and dropped off about three hours in advance of when the actual show began. That gave us three hours to explore the surroundings which reminded me a lot of Disney World. Needless to say, we arrived to the very large buffet about two hours before show time…. We overate of course; but the food was very good! You would have thought people didn’t have enough time to enjoy their meal and eat it as people arrived late to the show. One instance was a little strange.  Mind you this was probably one of the most International places I’ve been where there are many different languages being spoken. The row in front of us seemed to have had two open seats in the middle directly in front of where we were sitting; so the usher on the right side told everyone to move down a seat, thus leaving only one seat available. Well those people who had the two seats eventually came to the show; they stood where there was only one seat and began arguing in their language to the people next to them who spoke a different language; they then waved down the usher on the left side who also came to the middle of the row trying to figure out what the problem was. He didn’t know what the other usher had done. All the arguing, confusion, and standing in the middle of the row was happening directly in front of us while the show was going on….it was quite frustrating but we just laughed it off. The best part of the show was probably the tight rope people who did an amazing performance above the audience. There were live elephants, ducks, chickens, and even a tiger on stage. The performance was all singing and dancing. It wasn’t the greatest show I’ve seen but it was cool.

The next day in Phuket we slept in and ate breakfast at the hotel. We decided to lay low today and relax on Paradise Beach, a private beach area shared by a few resorts secluded from Patong’s main beach. It was beautiful. We had a nice lunch and enjoyed the day in the sun. At night, we went in to the center of Patong where all the action was. It reminded me a lot of what a Spring Break in Mexico would be like…. A lot of bars, restaurants, and shopping right along the beach. We ate at a nice seafood restaurant. It was delicious! We headed home in a mini pick-up truck, must be Phuket style tuk-tuk’s.

Tuesday, our last day in Phuket, was definitely the most memorable! We went on a speed boat day trip to Ko Phi-Phi that included snorkeling, swimming, lunch, and monkeys. We stopped at three different islands. The first was Bamboo Island where we snorkeled along the shore. The fish were beautiful... blue and yellow colored. Our next stop was a reef just off of Ko Phi Phi. We jumped right in. I felt like I was part of the school of fish. They were swimming all around me; but amazingly didn’t touch me once as I swam in the sea. It was so cool! The fish were also blue, yellow, and orange colored. This definitely was the best snorkeling I had ever done. I cannot even imagine what great things that could be seen if you were to go scuba diving.

After a great morning on the speed boat in the Andaman Sea and snorkeling we made it to the island of Ko Phi Phi for lunch. We ate a nice restaurant that sat right on the beach, overlooking the sea. Lunch was delicious and Beau was sure to fill up on his Chang and Singha’s….one liter of each in fact. After lunch, Pong our tour guide, filled us in on the catastrophe that struck the Andaman Sea specifically Ko Phi Phi very badly in 2004. The tsunami had a huge impact on Ko Phi Phi’s population. Thousands of people died and are still missing…..

After lunch, we boated by Monkey Island where we were able to throw a few bananas to the monkeys. There was some hanging from the trees trying to catch the bananas as we threw them. Either the monkeys weren’t very good catchers or we were just bad throwers because most of the bananas landed in the water. The ones that floated to shore definitely weren’t abandoned…there were monkeys there to eat them. After Monkey Island, we boated to a cove area that was absolutely gorgeous. This area was used in filming the movie, “The Beach”, with Leonardo DiCaprio. The water  was clear blue and the temperature was perfect. I never knew I could enjoy swimming and jumping off a boat so much all because of the natural beauty of my surroundings. Our last stop was Maya Bay. This island and bay was also filmed in the movie, “The Beach”. We were able to get off and explore the island a little bit. There  wasn't very much on the island besides a mini restaurant with snacks and drinks, restrooms, and a small campsite that looked like it was used for Park Patrol or something of the sort. Also, the island had signs for a tsunami evacuation route that led straight up a hill…not sure exactly where you would evacuate to besides higher ground. This area was sooo unbelievably gorgeous! This whole day was amazing! Ko Phi Phi and its surrounding islands rank #1 on my most beautiful places I’ve seen in the world list!

We got back to the hotel just in time before the down pour.  We were lucky it didn’t rain on our way back from the islands. That would have been no fun since we were sitting in the front of the boat with no covering. We ate dinner at The White Box. The atmosphere was top notch. Very modern, everything white….white tables, white booth chairs, white floors, and white walls. It was cool. The food was delicious! Mom even splurged on a very nice bottle of wine, which was much appreciated J Overall, I have to say this was my best day in Thailand, not only since mom and Beau have been here, but since I’ve been here too. Wednesday morning, we arranged for Mr. Marn to pick us up at the hotel and drive us to the airport. We had hoped he’d pick us up at 8 a.m. for a 10 a.m. flight, planning for an hour of driving time. Well 8:45 rolls around and no Mr. Marn….he pulls up shortly before 9…we were quite upset and worried there was no chance we’d make our flight. Mr. Marn was very apologetic and tried to explain there was miscommunication between him, his boss, and us. Needless to say, he sped his way to the Phuket airport and amazingly we made our flight! Good thing security is quite lax here in Thailand. After arriving back to Bangkok we took a taxi to visit my school in Bangplama. Mom and Beau were able to see my living quarters, school campus, and the English Department. They met Toon and a few of the other Thai English teachers. Beau and mom both said they were quite surprised that I am living the way I am and were most surprised about my bathroom situation….. still no Western toilet. I knew they would be in shock…After the school visit we made our way to the bus stop and waited for the city bus. I wanted them to experience the buses I take from school in to town. It was quite the experience! We were lucky to get a seat on the bus, since we caught the 4 o’clock bus which is the same bus students take in to town. There were 4 students hanging on for dear lives to the side railings of the back door of the bus, it was that packed. My mom couldn’t get over it….I’m pretty used to seeing all the absurdities when it comes to modes of transportation here in Thailand …..families of 4 riding on a 2 person moped; a new born riding on a moped; 20 people standing in the back of pick-up trucks driving on the highway ….she’s still getting used to it. The city bus we took to Kanchanaburi was just as crowded. We definitely took the slow, scenic route to get there, but it was an experience my mom and brother I’m sure will never forget! After hours of an open aired, smelly, run-down bus we made it to Kanchanaburi’s town center. We took a song-tao to get to the hotel. The Diamond Cliff was definitely 5 stars compared to our room at the River Kwae Botanic Garden.  The hotel rooms were floating rafts on the river. Very simple, rock hard beds of course, and a very small bathroom; but at least it had a toilet! I didn’t mind the room actually, but I’m used to living where I do in Bangplama. Luckily for mom and Beau it was only 2 nights. The staff was very sweet and kind. They made us breakfast each morning, American style and dinner at night, traditional spicy Thai food. It was great! Thursday, we woke up early and headed for Erawan National Park to climb 7 tiers of beautiful waterfalls. It was quite the hike up to the 7^th tier, but well worth it! The water in each waterfall was sparkly blue and crystal clear you could see all the fish swimming at the bottom of the falls.

On our way down, we had a scary encounter with some wild monkeys. They were protecting their baby monkey who was hanging from a tree that was right in the path for people to walk on. Beau and my mom got past fine, except papa monkey got a little upset and started hissing at Beau. That really creeped me out so I was very timid to keep walking past. There was another group of people walking up that got by a-ok….so I made my move down making sure not to make any eye contact. It was all good….no monkey attacks for me! Beau and I swam at the 4^th tier and slid down the rock-made slide. The water was freezing! I tried swimming at the 7^th tier, but the biting fish were too annoying. The bites were more of a nibble but a lot of nibbling…it was quite ticklish. After the falls, we went elephant trekking and saw the Bridge over the River Kwae. Oh, so my mom was all decked out in Green Bay Packer gear….her yellow Packer tank top and a Packer’s baseball hat. As we’re riding the elephant and passing other riders, a man yells, “Are you a Packer Fan?! There’s still play-off hopes!” What a coincidence that in the middle of an elephant farm in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, we come across a fellow Packer fan. It was a fun day! We’ve seen and experienced some of Thailand’s beautiful islands and sparkling blue seas along with the serene and peaceful jungles of Kanchanaburi. Now it was time to head back to the flashy, bustling streets of Bangkok to ring in the New Year.

Christmas Spectacular!

The week leading up to Christmas was truly spectacular! My students impressed me with some very creative Christmas cards for the Christmas Card Contest. Their Christmas messages were adorable….my favorite being: “My Christmas wish is for teacher to be happy and to receive present from Uncle Santa Cross”.  Throughout the whole week, the Foreign Language Department teachers were working like Santa’s elves preparing for the Christmas program on Christmas Eve. It was a pretty relaxed week teaching wise. I reviewed with my students for the mid-term I’ll be giving them and gave them a Christmas word search, which surprisingly quieted majority of classes down. All classes except M5-6……It was a good thing I had to let them leave early. Katie and I were invited to a “Thank You Luncheon” in Bangplama for those people who participated in the Suphanburi Games. The class was completely uncontrollable. All the boys in the class started to sing Jingle Bells. This then turned in to them singing, dancing, and banging sticks on their desks to a song that sounded like Akon’s, “I Wanna Make Love” but with different lyrics. I couldn’t help but start to laugh….it was very entertaining! I was trying to tell them they were able to leave early but they just kept singing and dancing. Katie ended up walking by and seeing the wild classroom. That was my queue to just exit the room….

After school on Monday and Tuesday, Katie and I tutored Ji. Ji is our friend from the Bangplama market. She and her sisters work at the coffee and tea stand where we make regular visits if we go to the market. Ji is always the one who is keen on practicing her English with us. We finally were able to set up some times for her to learn and practice more English. She is so sweet; she came over to our apartment carrying two Thai teas for us one day and warm soy milk the next day. It is refreshing teaching someone who really appreciates myself as a teacher and enjoys learning English.

Katie and I tried everything we could to make this week seem more like Christmas…. We watched Christmas movies, Elf and The Holiday, ate candy canes, drank hot chocolate, and I even tried singing Christmas carols. Even with all our Christmas spirit and the Christmas spirit going on at school, it didn’t seem like Christmas to me. I kept thinking how weird it was going to be not getting all dressed up for Christmas Eve mass at the Cathedral and packing the Garot family in one pew; not playing monster in the basement at Grandma’s house with all the cousins; not helping pass out presents in Grandma’s living room; not sitting around her kitchen table and chowing down on all the delicious sweet treats, appetizers, and liver pate we always eat on Christmas Eve night; not whispering to my dad whose “white elephant” gift to steal. But change is good and I know I will always have those fond memories of Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house for the rest of my life. This year will mark the start to forming new memories at Christmas.

Christmas Eve at school was a day of fun, games, and Christmas Cheer. I didn’t have to teach all day. There was a lot of setting up and putting final touches on decorating the auditorium for the afternoon Christmas program. There was also a BINGO stand where Aon, one of the teachers in the Foreign Language Department was able to display his true abilities for being a MC. I’ve never seen this side of him before; he’s usually so quiet in the department. The program began at 1 pm and lasted all throughout the afternoon. We listened to a group of M6’s sing Christmas carols; we watched the M4’s, who I helped teach the Cha-Cha Slide to, perform their dance; I judged the Santa and Santalina contest, where a girl and a boy dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus in recycled material. The costumes were rather impressive. Katie asked the students a few Christmas questions and those students who answered correctly won a prize from “Santa”. The Christmas card contest winners also received a prize from Santa. There were other dance and singing performances, one of which was performed by the “lady boys” in the school.

There were about a half dozen of them dressed in mini dresses, long wigs, and make up. It blew my mind that this was allowed….but I have to remember that kind of behavior is prevalent and accepted here in Thailand. The whole program was great!! I definitely don’t remember ever doing anything of the sort when I was in school. After school, Katie and I packed our bags and caught a van for Bangkok. 

Katie came with me to check in to the Indra Regent Hotel, where my family and I would be staying over Christmas. It was perfect timing as we walked thru the doors….there was a beautiful, tall, lite-up Christmas tree in the lobby and “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” was being played or so we thought….until we saw behind the tree on the top of the stairs there was a group of carolers actually singing, “We Wish you a Merry Christmas”. After they sang, Santa Claus gave Katie and I Christmas cookies from his sack. It was so unreal; everything seemed to perfect! I grabbed dinner with Katie and met Olivia, Chelsea, Allie, and Jenna for a Christmas margarita before going to the airport and greeting Beau and mom. I didn’t have to wait at the airport long, before I saw my mom confused and looking for me in the large crowd of other people waiting for passengers as well. It was great to see them! We hoped in a taxi and headed for the hotel. The past week I didn’t believe they were actually coming to Thailand; it finally hit me when they arrived and I saw them in person. It was almost like opening Christmas presents when I opened the suitcase of things my mom had brought for me; most things being requested items; but a few surprises were found, one being peanut butter balls!! Christmas morning we took a tuk-tuk to a Catholic Church in the area called Holy Redeemer. Beau and mom loved the tuk-tuk ride. Mom’s first impression was, “Well, this is dangerous…..but fun. I love the open air. You really feel like you are on the street.” The church was cute. The mass was packed surprisingly; a lot of Thai people. More than I expected. But the majority of people were white. The mass was nice; however, Silent Night just wasn’t the same as it always is at the Cathedral. It felt good to go to mass….this has been the first time since I’ve been in Thailand. It’s good to know I do have the option of going to mass if I am in Bangkok for the weekend. After church, we ate lunch at The Greyhound Café in the Emporium shopping center near the Sukhumvit area. I got pad Thai gai, pad Thai with chicken. Mom and Beau ordered a “Thai” breakfast that came with rice and a few different sides such as spicy peanuts, vegetables, and some other things. They weren’t too fond of the dish; I thought it was a little strange and not true Thai food. After lunch, mom and Beau were pretty tired so we opted for a lazy route of sightseeing…..a river boat tour on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok. It was great! We got to see a lot of the famous sights of Bangkok from the river and had an entertaining tour guide as well. After the river boat tour, we took naps and headed for the walking Christmas lights tour near Siam Center and Central World. The streets were packed…I’ve never seen so many people in one area before. It was very frustrating trying to walk thru all the crowds and rather hard to actually enjoy all the beautiful lights. We made it to the Four Seasons and had a very nice Christmas dinner. It was excellent food with a beautiful atmosphere. It truly was a great Christmas in Bangkok! I was so happy to have Beau and my mom here in Thailand with me!