Katie and I had our last exploration in Bangkok today. I only had to teach 2^nd period, due to testing for M1, 2, and 3’s, so we decided to explore a few more things in Bangkok. It is weird to think this is it… I won’t be walking the streets of Bangkok again this trip besides traveling through the city. As I was on the van back to Bangplama, despite being stuck in traffic and looking at the smoggy air of Bangkok, I realized I will actually miss having a city like Bangkok so close to where I’ve been living for the past 5 months.  We visited the Leaning Buddha and Temple of the Dawn. They were both very convenient to get to from Kao San Road where we get dropped off from Bangplama.

 Climbing the stairs to the top of the Temple of the Dawn was a steep hike and not a very practical one to be done in a skirt when it’s windy outside. Thank goodness for Katie’s extra pair of shorts to put on for the climb down. The view from the top of the temple was great! You could see the Bangkok city’s skyscrapers to the right and different parts of greater Bangkok to the left including the beautifully architected Rama 8 Bridge. We took a River Taxi up the river for some air and different views of the city. After temple sightseeing, we made our way back to Kao San Road for the last run through of the famous party and shopping street. It was definitely a shopping day! Too early to join in on the crazy parties that go on on that road though. We were both pretty successful shopping wise I would have to say. I came home with 2 new dresses, some makeup, a delicious mango, and a pair of Green and Gold Ray Bans!! So pumped to wear them during football season! I’m going to miss being able to bargain for adorable clothes and MAC makeup and eat yummy street food for only 30 baht, or $1!

Rewinding to last week, Katie and I went in to Suphan Tuesday after school for our teacher friend, Andrew’s birthday. It ended up being a surprise that Katie, Olivia, myself and some of the other teachers in town were going out to help him celebrate his birthday. He was very surprised to see a group of us waiting in the lobby! It was great. Katie brought the noise makers that we used for my birthday along with the “Suk saan wan guud” candle for the fabulous Mickey Mouse cake we bought. The group of us enjoyed dinner at a hot pot restaurant. A hot pot restaurant is very similar to what I would expect a Melting Pot to be like, or something very similar. You order food items such as chicken, fish, and a bowl of vegetables and egg. They bring the hot pot, which is a big rock bowl filled with flaming hot rocks and a cylinder like grill over it, in which you cook the ingredients. It’s a do-it-yourself kinda thing. It was fun I guess. It was more so being with a group of farang and hearing different people’s teaching and travelling stories that was intriguing to me. During dinner we were greeted by a harmonic playing elephant, which was random! This is Thailand… We took the party over to the bar next door, The Play Room, where some intense games of pool were being played uhhum, Katie and Andrew, along with a farang dance party! Since Katie and I hardly ever get out of Bangplama during the week and because we were having so much fun, we decided we would spend the night and just wake up really early to catch a tuk-tuk back to school. When we got back to Liz’s room, Olivia, Liz, and I started to create an “acrobatic” show. I’m still not really sure how this was stirred up but it involved music specifically Lil Wayne, neon orange and neon green shorts, Liz’s hot hiking socks, the splits and high kicks, and talk about the Green Bay Packers. It was hilarious from what I remember! It was a fun night.

It wouldn’t be Thailand without another National holiday in February just a week before students have finals; so the girls and I planned a trip to Koh Chang this past weekend of February 18^th through the 20^th. We all ventured in to Bangkok and met for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms before our overnight bus.  Very strange name I know, but great food and even better atmosphere! The restaurant reminded me of a two story outdoor garden terrace and then add manikins and light fixtures completely decorated with colorful condoms throughout the entire restaurant.  

The bus ride was rather awful; no one really could sleep very well due to the blasting Thai opera music being played on the T.V. We arrived at the pier extremely early around 5:00 a.m., ferried over to the island at 6:00 a.m., ate breakfast by 8 a.m., and ended up on the beach by 9 a.m. We were so tired that we all ended up crashing on the beach which led to some pretty interesting tan lines for the remainder of the trip. I indulged this weekend on delicious Thai food, including pad ceeyou and a rice curry dish with vegetables, banana and mango smoothies, and a delicious egg sandwich. The girls and I stayed in cute little bungalows that were a two minute walk to the beach. One of the nights was spent dancing to an astounding Thai band at a restaurant right on the water.  I was so impressed by the variety of songs and artists this band performed; each song they chose to play seemed better than the previous. Jenna and Allie decided to take over for the band for a few songs though. They delighted us with Keisha’s, “Tik-Tok” and “I Will Survive”. It was great! The whole weekend was a lot of fun. Although, when Sunday arrived it was sad to leave everyone knowing that there would be only one more time that I would see these girls here in Thailand at the end of my trip at Full Moon on Koh Phangan.

Mopeds, Tuk-Tuks, and Elephants

After a long weekend of travelling, I’ve decided to quick reflect on the array of transportation Thailand has to offer. I may or may not have already made it clear that in Thailand it’s not uncommon to take many different modes of transportation during your travels. Thailand’s modes of transportation include the following: mopeds, tuk-tuks, song-tows, buses, subways, taxis, vans, ferries, long boats and yes, elephants. Don’t get me wrong, I cannot wait to drive my Mazda and blast my music; but part of me is going to miss all these crazy modes of transportation in Thailand. I’ll miss riding in a tuk-tuk for the fact that we were able to fit 9 people in one Halloween night and they are just down-right awesome!

I’m going to miss riding on the back of a moped because the ride is so thrilling and you get a great thigh workout from holding your legs up when you ride side saddle with three people.

Who would have ever thought sitting in the back of a pick-up truck aka song-tow would be so fun and exhilarating, especially while being chased by wild elephants in Khao Yai National Park.

No tour bus ride will be able to beat the post-Chinese New Year dance party celebration Katie and I had with our Thai students, loud music, and disco balls. I also will probably miss all the surprise Thai goodies and snacks the bus companies provide. However, I won’t miss having to worry about “Kevin” aka my notebook jumping out of my arms and out the door of the Suphanburi – Ayuttaya bus.

 I’ll miss the random conversations and smiles you get when you hop in a taxi in Bangkok, but I won’t miss the time that is wasted getting through Bangkok’s awful traffic.

Even though the van drivers from Democracy Monument get Katie and I back to Soongsumarn rapidly despite Bangkok’s traffic, I definitely WON’T be missing those “oh god, how did we not just get in an accident” moments.

Despite having to take 3 or 4 of these different modes of transportation in order get on a a ferry to one of Thailand’s beautiful islands, I will definitely miss the view of the sparkling Gulf of Thailand and green mountainous islands that is seen from a ferry ride.

 I think what I’ll miss most about ways to get around this unique country is the elephants :)

There’s just something about driving down a busy road in Suphan looking out the window and seeing a man riding on an elephant amongst cars, buses, mopeds, and tuk-tuks that makes me recall “this is Thailand” and I realize how different Thailand is compared to the U.S. I definitely won’t be seeing an elephant walking down the streets in America.

My Valentine's Day Surprise

I was flabbergasted when I saw a vase of a dozen huge, gorgeous red roses headed towards my desk Valentine ’s Day morning. I had the biggest smile on my face. I have never been so flattered receiving such a wonderful surprise Valentine’s gift J

The classrooms were filled with single roses, candy, stickers, and chocolate. Love was in the air. All the students were yelling, “Happy Valentine Day”. They don’t pronounce the “s”, but it’s adorable.

It’s clear people in Thailand love stickers. Facebook quote from Katie, “I gave my kids their oral final and when they were done they bedazzled my already pink polo in stickers. One of which Chelsea just pointed out says, "kiss me." I also was “bedazzled” during my afternoon classes of M5’s. Our shirts were sparkling from all the glittery, heart stickers.  To make my day even better, between my classes I caught my co-teacher, Somnuk, taking her afternoon siesta. The best part about this is the fact that she pops open her lawn chair in the back of the department in order to take her nap! I love it!

During my last class of the day, my students had heard about my roses and wanted to see how big and beautiful they were. I told them after class we would go to take a look. Since I’ve already finished testing this class, the hour was spent talking about boyfriends, crushes, and music and taking pictures. It was hilarious! As some of the girls were looking through my pictures on my camera, they came across a picture of Aon, the English Department’s T.A., from English camp and started “Oohing and ahhhing” to one of the girls. I think somebody may have a crush! She just smiled and denied it. After the girls came up to the department to see the roses and as they were walking out the door, who better to walk in but Aon! Talk about perfect timing. I begin laughing hysterically and can’t help myself but start to “ooh and ahh” along with the girls. Aon began laughing along as well, but had no idea what was going on! The girls whisper from the door to me at my desk, “Teacher be quiet. No speak. No speak.” as they are doing the action of zipping their mouths shut. It was cute! I, of course, would never share such a secret.  

So even though I’m thousands of miles away from people I love back home in the U.S., I still felt the love here in Bangplama! Happy Valentine’s Day!! <3

Last weekend-hurrah in Bangplama

So as I wrap up my last weekend in Bangplama of doing pretty much nothing and as I lie on my bed, I think gee I may actually miss this place. Katie and I reminisced tonight about our first days here and how those few days seemed like eternity. If I think about where I was a year ago, I would have never thought I would be living the way I am living here in Thailand, in the middle of rice fields with no air conditioning, no hot water and at times barely running water at all, and no western toilet.  Those things we were so perturbed by in the beginning have now become part of my daily routine here in Thailand and don’t faze me anymore. I have become accustomed to it all; I wonder now how it will feel to go back home where everything is going to be so different than what I’m used to.  I think about how nice it will be able to throw my clothes in an actual washing machine and dryer, how fluffy and soft my bed and pillows will feel, how convenient it will be to just hop in my car and drive to Festival Foods or Target, and how refreshing a warm, constant flow of water will feel in the shower. For as much as I am excited to get back to these simple pleasures of life in America, I am sad to know my time in Thailand is coming to an end.  

Teach in Thailand will come to an end February 25^th, which will then begin more fun and exciting travel adventures for 3 and ½ weeks! I’m going to miss those little buggers of mine…  

Packer Fans all over the World

The Monday I found out the Packers were going to the Super Bowl, I explained to my co-teachers I wouldn’t be able to teach on February 7^th.  I tried to explain how important this game was to me and everyone in Green Bay, but I could tell my teachers were just being nice and pretended to understand. All they needed to see was the excitement in my eyes and enthusiasm in my voice and they were convinced whatever this thing was that I was doing was very important to me and that I had to have the day off. Even though I may have been able to come back to teach in the afternoon, whichever outcome the game could have led to would have called for either an entire day of sulking or in our case, CELEBRATION!!! The nights leading up to the Super Bowl had been rough sleeping wise. I either couldn’t fall asleep because of the anticipation or I was having dreams about being at the Super Bowl. I went in to Bangkok Sunday morning, did some shopping, and watched movies all night as I anxiously awaited Monday morning. I had to represent and wear the NFC Championship t-shirt Dylan sent to me. That drew some unexpected attention, being that I’m across the world living in a country where most people have no idea what the NFL is. I ran in to about a dozen other Packer fans throughout the day, majority of which all were also wearing some type of Packer’s gear. It was great! I actually began to feel like this is real. We are actually playing in the Super Bowl! After shopping at the weekend market, I was suddenly stopped by a very familiar sound; the sound of a true Packer fan with the “U.P.” accent. “Go Pack”, the guy says as he’s sitting on the corner with his girlfriend and friend drinking a beer. For a minute there, I thought I was back in Green Bay tailgating for the big game. I found out they would be watching the game at the Sports Corner Bar where I planned on going as well. I was happy to find out I wouldn’t be the only one cheering on the Pack come 6:30 a.m. on Monday. I woke up at 4 a.m. and was the first one at the bar, bright and early at 5. The people I met the day before rolled in shortly after me. Eventually, the entire bar was packed. The side of the bar I was on contained mostly Packer’s fans. Although, there may have been Steeler’s fans, but they didn’t do a good job making their presence known. I met a couple originally from Illinois, Bear’s fans actually, who have been working and living abroad for the past 17 years. They have a grandson who lives in Green Bay and because of that were cheering for the Pack! I give them a lot of credit being Bear’s fans and all. I also met a guy from Mexico City who has been a die-hard Packer fan all his life. Becca and Patrick, the couple I met Sunday, are from Madison and are students now in Bangkok. They made it home over Christmas and luckily were able to bring back some Packer gear including two huge beer mugs. I had my A-rod jersey on! Thanks to mom! Although the team kept me on my toes, kept my heart racing, and practically ripped my hair out at times, especially after half-time, it was a great game to watch! But nothing was more exciting than those last two minutes of the game. I was sooooo excited!! We did it!! THE GREEN BAY PACKER’S HAVE WON SUPER BOWL 45!!!

It was a moment that I will never forget!! I couldn’t be happier. I have never wanted to be home in Green Bay more in my life. The town, I knew, was going crazy! I quickly called Jaci, Jacqueline, and mom and dad to share in the special moment and find out. Finding out their were fireworks being shot off in the dead of winter in Wisconsin just screams exhilaration by Packer fans!! I was so happy to hear that! I celebrated the amazing Packer victory throughout the rest of the morning and in to the afternoon with some fellow fans! It was a blast!! I’ll never forget where I was for the Packer’s Super Bowl 45 victory celebration. Not everyone may know where Green Bay is on the map, or even Wisconsin for that matter, but they should know by now who the Green Bay Packers are!!

February 2^nd began the Chinese New Year festivities. Gan took Katie and I to a local University where the Chinese department put on an evening of different performances in order to celebrate. The performances were Chinese songs and dances performed by Thai students studying Chinese. There was one performance, however, that was sung in English. A Chinese student performed a guitar solo mixing three popular American songs. It was very well done! Before dinner, I was startled by the extremely loud noise of Black Cat fireworks. I’ve never seen this type of firework before. It was a tall strand of fireworks that just gave off hundreds of very loud, “BANG’s” and every so often, after we thought they were all done, one would go off again. It seemed like the Chinese like to celebrate and ring in their New Year with very loud noises! Later in the week on Friday, the director of finance of our school waves Katie and I over and hands us some pretty “hot” looking green, long sleeved t-shirts with a dragon on it. When I say hot, I really mean temperature hot. It was another awfully warm day in Bangplama, and the last thing I really wanted to wear was a dark colored long sleeved shirt…..but I did.  Katie, Gan and I joined a bus load of M3 students to Suphanburi’s much more elaborate Chinese New Year festival held at the Dragon. Katie and I ended up being the only other “teachers” that wore the green shirt. We matched all 100 of our students. Oh yeah, and the camera guy aka Katie’s biffle. The crowd at the festival was a sea of color. Each school that attended was wearing a different colored shirt. In the beginning, the festival was a little boring, more so just hard to understand what was going on since it was spoken in Chinese and Thai but the firework displays were incredible, like they always seem to be in Thailand, along with the variety of performances.

Towards the end of the ceremony things began to really liven up! A very popular band in Thailand performed and the crowd went wild! I turned around and see one of the teachers and camera guy dancing with all the students. I’ve definitely heard this music out at the bars a few times, especially at the Cowboy Bar in Suphan and at the bar I visited in Chiang Mai on my birthday. I also hear my students singing it down the halls and in the classroom. It’s everywhere. If only I could pronounce their name. The hand symbol that they use is identical to the Texas Longhorn symbol. Our school, hands down, wins for most energetic and fun! Katie, Gan, and I started to dance around with the students and a few of the other teachers. It was a blast! I believe we may have even made it on T.V. again in Suphan. I know for sure we were on the jumbo-tron a few times. The dance party didn’t stop there either. After piling back on the bus, it became the dance party bus! As soon as the driver blared the music, the students jumped up and started breaking it down in the aisles of the bus. I was pretty jealous. I remember those days. This bus even had flashing lights on the ceilings. People driving next to us may have mistaken the bus for a night club. The students were lovin’ it! The bus driver was quick to turn off the flashy lights and turn down the music as we pulled back in to school though.

Time to settle things down now kids, fun’s over! English Camp bright and early in the A.M.! Unfortunately, our Friday night dance party ended early since we had to be on the road for English and Chinese camp by 6:30 a.m the next day. I had a very optimistic attitude about camp and was pretty excited about it and then I found out we’d be singing. I must forewarn you, do not try singing this song at home. It will be stuck in your head for hours on end, possibly even days. “Oh English Camp! Oh Chinese Camp! Oh English Camp makes me happy. We enjoy being together. Oh Chinese Camp makes me happy!” to the beat of “When the Saints go Marching In”. Thankfully, it didn’t go over very well with the students so we didn’t have to sing many verses. I felt like one of those crazy camp leaders who are “high on life” singing to them. I can confirm being a camp leader for students is not for me. After we got the awkward ice breakers over with, we were able to do the human knot which was really fun. We broke the students in to groups of about 6 or 8, and watched as they mangled themselves together and then strategically tried to untangle the knot that was made. The students had a lot of fun with that! Before lunch was station time, where each group rotated from one to the other. The goal of each station was to incorporate English or Chinese in a fun, interactive activity.  I think it all went pretty well. The students seemed to enjoy themselves! After lunch, we went to the aquarium which was near the zoo/garden where the camp was held. While observing all the beautiful and colorful fish, it was photo-opp time! All the students had their camera phones out and were snapping pictures with Katie, Liz, and I left and right. Of course the peace sign made it in about every single photo that was taken. J

Somnuk and Lun, our van driver, took all the “volunteer” teachers to dinner on the way back to school. Dinner was delicious! “Bee gai yak sai” was the hit of the table. It’s a fried chicken wing stuffed with pork and vegetables. It is sooooo tasty! Katie was having fun practicing pronouncing it correctly. Bee gai yak sai me mai na ka? Which translates in to something like, “Do you have bee gai yak sai my friend?” On our way out we met a Thai teacher from Bangkok who actually has a child who is studying in Wisconsin. We asked whereabouts his child was studying in the U.S., and when he said, “Wisconsin”, I threw my hands up in the air and shrieked, “Yay! I’m from there! Where about?” He wasn’t sure exactly where, but I would assume Madison. I got so excited that someone actually knew Wisconsin and had a connection there. I had to stop myself from asking him if he knew about the Packers being in the Super Bowl, since that was all that was on my mind a day before the game! On our way back from dinner, Lun had to slam on his breaks to avoid a collision with some anorexic cattle that were crossing the street. That was a close call...kinda scary actually. I think the van ride from the aquarium back to school was about 2 or 3 hours, and honestly I don’t know if Lun took a breath from speaking to Somnuk the entire time. He had so much to laugh and talk about. It was hilarious! And what was even more entertaining was the sound of his actual laugh. I’m so upset I couldn’t capture it on video. I just wonder what he could have been talking about for that long none stop. If only I knew Thai…