A case of the herbs...

An actual argument that I participated in with a few english folk and one new zealand kiwi. How to pronounce 'herb' and whether you can call someone an 'herb' - assuming it is like making fun of them (you tard! quit acting like an herb!). wtf?! Obviously, I pronounced it with a silent 'h' whereas the rest said it like a freaking name (i.e. Uncle Herb - short for Herbert?). The last straw was when miss kiwi, Hana, called me an herb and said I'd better like it. "You're such a rosemary" "That is such Basil talk" "Stop acting like Oregano" I just don't get it... To me it sounds like you are telling someone they just got a sick STD. Hence, a case of the herbs. Or maybe I'll start using it to describe the heat rash I've acquired on my shoulders - which I have been calling my shoulder AIDS. They're awkwardly fun to pick at. ewwww

Sloppy seconds in Bangkok. I was there for a few short, but wonderful, days before my training in Phuket. The second time around was a bit more lively - mainly because I had a crew that wasn't, unlike Sean Lopez, sicker than a dog. I made it there Friday afternoon and met up with Sean and a few of the kids from my ATI (American TESOL Institute) course at a hostel near Khao San road. It was sooooo good to see familiar faces, especially one that I've known through college. Everyone loved Sean, of course, because they compared him to my "craziness" whatever that means... :) We went out that night and caught up (I was the only one that had already taught for a full week) and stayed at a hostel in Bangkok. It had been quite some time (lets say.... a week) since I've had more than one or two beers in a sitting so needless to say I was well on my way to liquor heaven. It ended up being a much earlier night for me than the rest, but I was pretty happy about that because I got a full day on Saturday of shopping around Bangkok and also headed that afternoon to Mike and Esterina's (two people in my training class) pad in Bangkok where they have a swimming pool on the 4th floor - I bought a pair of togs (I've resorted to calling them this after spending so much time with Austrailians, New Zealanders, and English... and by togs I mean bathing suit or bikini) on Khao San because it was so unbelievable hot and I neeeeeeeded a dip in a cool pool. Great apartment. Great people.

Best part was probably going with Hana, the solo kiwi in our group, to meet up with her father and family friends that moved to Bangkok a few years ago. I love meeting peoples parents... I think it shows so much about someone's character and I'm definitely a person that asks tons of questions and is so intrigued by just about anything that is different from my norm (a norm that is vastly expanding and morphing). Her father and family friends were so welcoming. We went to the 26th floor of a baller hotel downtown Bangkok (think Wayne's World - Benjamin's apartment... "you could really hawk a loogie from up here" - yeah, I said that) for a few mojitos and then to a Mediterranean joint that had the BEST falafel that I've ever had. YUMMMM. I'm sure many of you (if there are any of you?) are wondering about all the hype that Bangkok is producing for worldly news. In my opinion, it is a tad blown out of proportion and the story being told on CNN or BBC isn't even close to the whole story. Things in Bangkok are looking pretty shaky, but I'm not super worried about it. The media is being quite sensationalist about the protests, and that is making things worse. If you're not up on the news, check this out: http://bangkokpost.com/news/thaksin-judgement-day/ The shit is about to hit the fan in Bangkok, but something needs to be done soon. Bangkok businesses are losing 6 million US dollars a day from the protests, and the actual losses from the loss in tourism and foreign investment are innumerable. Make no mistake about it though, this is between rival factions in Thailand and has nothing to do with farang (their term for foreigner). Only a very tiny area is plagued with violence, and they are easy to avoid. Demonstrations here are limited to a small area -- usually right around the government buildings. Simply avoid going to those areas, and you will never know anything is out of the ordinary. In 99% of Bangkok, life goes on as usual.

And now I diverge:
As humans, we all have a storytelling problem. We're far too quick to come up with explanations for things we don't really have an explanation for or don't understand. Why did I even come here? I tried to come up with a reason months before my move - probably just to make myself feel more centered and certain of my decision. Think about what woman always say they want in a man, and then look at the type of people they are actually dating or attracted to. Doesn't usually match up. Sigmund Freud once said: "When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature." For me, decisions aren't something that always come easily. Sometimes the most random things stress me out, like what color I should paint my toenails, or if I should even paint them or not. Other times decisions that should probably stress me out don't. Why can't I just make a damn decision and understand that there are so many times that decisions are made and there are a myriad of possible responses, so decinding the outcome of each possible response is not only a waste of time and near impossible, but also not my style at all. Things make me nervous. Change being one of them. Relying on my unconscious that happens in a split second without my knowledge isn't exactly reassuring to me. It is like standing at the edge of a mountain ledge with a one foot railing. I will always be tempting myself in my head to jump; I'm not sure I trust myself enough to step out on such a ledge. I think Thailand might be this ledge for me. The truth is that for the most important decisions, there can be no certainty.

And I'm back:
After my first week and a half I was more than surprised (and not to mention thrilled) that my school was so relaxed and they teachers for the most part were very cool and helpful with keeping the kids in line, which was really only needed for my Kindergarteners. Having the freedom to leave at lunch (or whenever, really), no requirement to attend morning assembly (most of the other foreign teachers at other schools in Thailand need to be at school around 7:30 and canNOT leave until around 4), no one monitoring what I am teaching or how I am doing it, and being done by 3 everyday and able to rush home makes my life here so fabulous. I don't think I would be able to handle HAVING to be at school from 7:30 - 4:00 everyday. But then again, I never have been a fan of rules. Anyway, after said week and a half, I ran into the School Director after lunch and she said she wanted to talk with me after school (shit). I was totally thinking that this was the time when I got spoken to about my dress (I mentioned before that it is much more relaxed as well and I can wear pants, flip flops, and keep my piercings and dreads in) and about my class conduct. I was less than excited to embark on this "discussion" but low and behold... she just wanted to chat! She seriously asked if I was worried about Bangkok, if my apartment was okay, if I had everything I needed to teach, and that she wanted to take me out to lunch the next day and show me around. Hella sweet lady - positive crunch (I'll site the source - Sean Lope). So I met her for lunch the next day and her three nieces were in the decked out SUV that picked us up. We drove around, grabbed some fried bananas and syrup and went to a noodle restaurant. Jan, the daughter to my English Head Teacher, Supamas, was with and the other two girls were great. Didn't want to talk english to me at all, but they warmed up. Actually, the younger of the two, Sam, came into my last class of the day (being the Principle, Supaluck, daughters they know most of the teachers and can do whatever they want) and made me laugh so hard because she went to the back of the room while I was teaching and started chopping her hair off! Apparently she wanted bangs and her mother didn't want her to so she did it herself! I mean SHORT SHORT bangs. She had hair stuck all over her face when she ran up to me... "Ok?? Too SHORT?! Can you help me?!" I had to stop class I was so hysterical but luckily they turned out ok. So at lunch we were talking about the markets and randomly decided to all meet at 5:30 after school and walk along the river and to the fresh open night markets because I hadn't been to them yet and wanted to know where the river was. Sam, Jan, the School Director (Ni) and myself went on quite the adventure. Needless to say Sam warmed up to me and her english is great. I honestly have been more than adopted by the family that owns/runs the school. It is the three sisters (however, this is far from a Cinderella story, but I'm still ruffling with those feathers at the moment and don't at all want to get into political drama with my school) that basically run it and they all have taken me under their wing. Michael and Supamas (and Jan) took me around my first week which I thought was unnecessary but much appreciated, but now this... I must have done something good to deserve this? I mean just a few days ago I broke my first mirror. So my fridge is now stocked full of fruit and salads and I have eaten many a meal FO FREE. Yes, Mom, I offered to pay but was declined. Oh, and Sam's sister requests my presence for lunch tomorrow (I feel like royalty, or maybe being asked to the princess' ball). They love me, they realllly love me.

In addition, I've made several new friends in Suphan Buri, somewhat thanks to my damn A/C breaking in my room. Met a large handful (I guess that would be two handfuls?) of Americans (and one Tazmanian gentleman) that are all my age teaching in the area and live a few floors above me. Never knew I had other whites in my building - yay. We went to dinner, errr I just jumped in front of them as they were leaving the building and invited myself. They're taking me to their favorite "club" on Friday as a welcoming. Song Sam whiskey and coke here I come! The larger part of tihs story should include that my A/C broke. In 100 degree weather. Where I sweat 'til I can't sweat no morrrrre. The ladies at the front desk gave me a fan. Thanks. For the plastic excuse for a wind producer just to make my hair/clothes/bedding stick to my overly sweaty extremities. I can't complain though, well I can, but I shouldn't.


Thais are blunt. Jan, the daughter of the head english teacher (Supamas) is constantly being told by her family and aunts and teachers at my school that she is fat. Straight out - Jan, you are fat. No more eating; more exercising. Then they point at her forhead and make fun of her in thai... to which I'm assuming is talking about her acne. She is 16 - who DIDN'T have acne then!? I wonder what they can say about me for buddha's sake! I can't even find clothes big enough to fit my big ass here, let alone shoes! And sweating this much canNOT be attractive to thai people at all...

On a sidenote: Kindergarteners are soooo intriguing to watch. Ultimate people watching every day for me. For instance, when I let them color their "quizes" when they are done. Some of them attack the paper with one large crayon in about 10 seconds and run up to me... "Teacher Laura.. done!" As if being the first done allows them a prize of some sort. Others take their time, picking up each color and making the smallest mark ever, basically unnoticeable, and tilting their heads while looking at what they have to assume is a masterpiece of fine art and won't even let me look at it until they are finished. Some kids just plain like to draw with pencil... interesting. I wish I could ask them if they are colorblind? The teachers have really warmed up to me - one wants to talk to me everyday in English (this being the one I was actually scared of in the beginning because she was so damn strict with her students and didn't seem to understand a word I was saying) so that is a good feeling.

Hana and I (at Benjamin's apartment)

Tractors... in Thailand!

See, Mom. I'm still messy when I'm not at home!

The Ladyboy romance of Pinky

For lack of a better name for this blog, I chose this one. Thursday was a national holiday in Thailand so there were no classes; I found out Wednesday evening. So I found myself ecstatic and happy as a clam for my first day off. Went to a Thai barbeque with one of the head english teachers at my school and two other teachers from another school right next to ours. Me and three older men. It was kinda like hanging out with my Dad and his buds... but not really quite as entertaining. I've come to find out that the Province, Suphan buri, that I live/work in isn't at all extrememly touristy, so any and almost all white people you see here are working and/or teaching, and apparently most of them are older men. By older I don't necessarily mean 40s or 50s like my father, I just haven't come across any other females or 20 somethings. I do work with one man whom I would guess to be around 30 that is from Minnesota. Everyone is extremely friendly, and we actually were discussing over dinner techniques for teaching younger children. Anyway, after dinner with the men, I came home to my apartment and looked online for somewhere to explore the next day. I decided on Chai nat - seemed like a nearby place that is still part of my province (i think) and there was a very interesting looking lake and wildlife extension center that I realllllly wanted to see. Finalized. That was my plan.

Skyped with the madre in the morning and took off for Chai nat, only to find that the tuk tuk was going to charge me 1,000 baht (YEAH, RIGHT!) so I told him to take me to the bus station. I figured I should learn now how to use the bus station anyway. On the way, the driver dropped the price to take me there himself down to 700 baht. Got to the bus station, where again no one spoke english, and jumped on the next bus to Chai nat for 60 baht. What a bargain, eh? Needless to say, I had NO idea when to get off as the buses stop about 34 times between the two places... I saw the lake area that I wanted to go to and got off a few stops after... was warned by the thai bus worker to come back on the bus and I tried to tell him that I just wanted to get off here (it looked pretty lively, and I didn't want to get too far from my intended destination). The bus ride was great. Such a beautiful landscape here - I've heard that about Supan buri but haven't had the chance to experience it. It pretty much is the academic capital of Thailand. We passed so many universities, research centers (totally thought of you, Uncly Jerry, when we passed that) and completely open green fields and rolling hills. I do not, however have any pictures. The bus was wild. I felt like I was back in the 70s riding on a Greatful Dead groupie bus. Fans on the ceiling, mirrors everywhere, obnoxiously colored, etc. I noticed that all the windows, although open, had serious cracks in them. I was assuming that the bumpy ride might have caused them to slam shut at some point so I was too scared to extend my arms past the bus interior. My sentiments were echoed when the bus worker collecting fares came on and only had one arm. I'm not saying it was a bus incident per se, but hey, I wasn't about to head to the Thai hospital just to send you freaks some likely blurry pictures of landscape you can just google.

Which brings me to Pinky. Sitting in front of me were what I assumed to be a thai high school couple. They got pretty comfy during the bus trip. A woman (there is always a good samaritan in this part of the world to help out helpless tourists like myself) talked to them in thai and told them I needed to get off at Cha nat. I was, however, unaware of this conversation. Ten minutes later Pinky jumps off the bus and when he comes back he brings me a Pepsi - I was shocked. He then asked me my name.. and told me his, which I will now be referring to as he/she. I'm not saying thai men are by any means masculine like our beefy American boys, but sometimes woman just have features, such as teeth, that are quite unique in presenting themselves as very feminine. Pinky had femmy teeth. And he/she was much smaller than his/her 'partner' with a much higher voice (I should not base judgment on tone of voice because we all know I'm a bit deeper than most girlies). It was an interesting and up close and personal engagement with a ladyboy. I figured I could just take the bus all the way home because that was about enough enjoyment for one day in Thailand alone, but I got off anyway... The way I see it, there shouldn't be a problem if some boy wants to dress like a female, play with his long and luxurious hair, or even find love with a female classmate. I mean, half of the marriages in the world don't even work out, probably weren't even meant to be. Love, in the end, will not, despite what they tell you, conquer all... so whatever works. Life isn't on paper, and if it were it would be much less boring. I would, perhaps, have less panic attacks when making small decisions because they would be made for me, but I'd even prefer my freak out sessions to bounded copy of my predetermined life.

MY SCHEDULE:
Monday/Friday:
8:30 Kindergarten 2-2
9:50 Kindergarten 2-1
10:50 Kindergarten 3-2
11:40 Lunch (yessssss)
1:00 Kindergarten 3-1
2:00 Primary 6-1

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday
8:50 Primary 6-1
9:50 Kindergarten 2-1
10:50 Kindergarten 3-2
11:40 Lunch (yessssss)
1:00 Kindergarten 3-1
2:00 Kindergarten 2-2

Holy monkey balls. Teaching Kindergarten is a trip! The first day was chaos. Laura = not prepared for kids of this literacy level in 100 degree weather. Thank god some of the classrooms were air conditioned. I literally didn't have any direction and was only told that the first week I should get to know the kids, etc. Well, the name game doesn't work if they don't know their own names (I actually had a 6th grader today tell me he doesn't know how to spell his last name?!). I ended up trying to repeat a lesson from our training that I had to do about the jungle. I acted out as many animals as I could (elephant [a noise and action that I am not at all timid to say I have mastered/perfected], monkey, frog, cat, lion, snake, etc). The K classes laughed so hard at my immaturity as their new english teacher. I only have about 25 kid in each of my four classes of Kindergarten, which is much smaller than most people (at least that is what we were told) and around 16 kids in my 6th grade class - wayyyy small, which is nice. I can't imagine having 30 or 40 Kindergarteners in one room and trying to do ANYTHING. After my first day I came home and passed out for a few hours - my legs are literally burning. So sore. I feel like I used after high school track practices. Yes, Hensler, I just compared teaching K to your 2.5 hour conditioning drills. I was going to look for a gym in the area but I'm thinking I'll never make it seeing how active I have to be every day. I do run some mornings and have my therapy band to do my weight stuff and do quite a bit of yoga in my room (I used to do it on the beach but now I'm no longer withing walking distance unfortunately).

I wanna ROCK right now

Backtrack to...

Big Buddha: The province of Phuket is building a huge statue of Buddha on the highest point of the island. It's closest to heaven so that's why it's way up there. The road is treacherous, but beautiful. Elephants on the side of the road, atv tracks, and only half of it is paved. The inside is concrete and the outer layer is made of marble. The crazy part is that it's being built completely on donations. 100%. Wow. For 300 baht(9 US) you can buy a marble brick for the outside. You can write whatever you want on the outside. The things other people asked for made me cry. Some were goofy, some were selfish, but most that I could read were deep. Buddha is very giving and loving. Most people ask for good luck or money, and that's quite ok apparently. Back to Big Buddha. It was such an emotionally overwhelming experience, I haven't had the balls to go back alone. We went inside underneath of the statue to a little hidden cave and people were putting some kind of gold sticky paper on the supports of it for good luck as well. I don't know what I believe, but I know for a fact that I felt something there that I've never felt in any church. At the end of our visit we went inside the temple underneath the statue and offered and prayed to Buddha in front of the monks. In class we learned how to bow(wai) properly and to give all due respect to the monks and Buddha so I'm starting to freak out that I'm going to do it wrong. Like I said, I don't know exactly what I believe but probably better not to push any God or prophet of whatever's buttons or be disrespectful. (I think I mentioned some of this in my past blog but I wanted to expand a bit now that I have the time) In Bangkok, I lit 3 identical sticks of incense (the color red for luck) and offered them to the city Buddha of Bangkok. As I said earlier, reflecting on my past few years is something that has definitely hit home and I feel something I need to tackle, and as I have already found in the states self hypnosis and meditation are my friends and I feel that way even more here.

Enough of that. Beer and beaches. MMMMMMMM (insert phone text voice here). So I mentioned that I was the first of the group to leave - I literally left right after our last day of practice teaching. So, I spent some time drinking beer on the beach on my last night - I'm not going to have the luxury of a beach across the street from my apartment or school, much less the company of everyone in my class. So I'm heading to the bus station in Phuket to catch my 5:20 bus, right? My cab driver, even though I'm already running late, asks me if we can stop at his house quick... wtf?! Sexual innuendos aside, I obviously said no and he proceeded to tell me how I was his first cab customer of the day and that normally he charges 500 baht for a trip to the bus station and only charged me 450 so I was special to him. I was gagging at this point, and ended up giving him a 500 baht and running away to catch my bus. Yeah, I had to bang on the bus drivers window to stop the bus and let me in. Damn crazy Americans. I was starrrrrving because I hadn't eaten all day so I ran across the street to a food vender and got some quick friend noodles to eat on the bus. Found a seat and opened my feast just to have a bus worker tell my it smelled too bad and I would have to eat it outside. Fine. I packed my stuff up and found a seat and put my head down and shoveled the steaming heap of noodles into my mouth. Looked up just as my bus was pulling away. What. A. Day. Finally found my seat and thought someone was in it... he didn't look thai so I cracked a joke, wasn't received too well so I sat in the empty seat in front of him. 5 minutes later, said man practically sat in my seat with me and began discussing the ingredients to the apricot juice box we all received upon leaving the bus station. Then he commented me on my shirt and felt the buttons - realizing he had just grabbed my boobs, he haphazardly apologized and gave me a book of his to keep. "Gordon Ramsey's Playing With Fire" How did he know I was juuuuust looking for that copy in paperback?! Anyway, we chatted all night and I forgave him for his sleeping pill drunken behavior (we've all been there, right? I mean he was a beautiful british man with half a beard, crazy hat, and mouth watering accent) and discussed green energy in Australia, selling Budweiser in clubs in Bangkok, and his house in Costa Del Sol, Spain. Next thing I know, I'm asleep and in Bangkok. Yay!

I bum out at the bus station in Bangkok since I don't meet with Pod, the assistant to Pook (director of the company that has placed me) until 9. I make it to this random gas station and sit and wait. Get a few hello's, a fell weird looks, but hey, I'm sure I look how I feel - like a dirty stray dog hoping that I wasn't led to rape alley to fend for myself. Pod finally comes and we cruise in her BMW to Suphan Buri, the province where my school is.

"things aren't always as they seem"

"don't judge a book by its cover"

Open-mindedness is a virtue. Yeah, so is patience, but I already know that I don't have an abundance of that and I'm okay with it. Sure, I'd like some more, especially when it comes to long bus rides, 30 hyper 6 year olds, and people that take foreverrrrr to get ready (yes, ladies, we all know I'm the fastest shower-er in probably the world). On the surface, a lot of Thailand looks dirty and unwelcoming. Yes, parts are absolutely breath-taking, but some more city-like dwellings aren't necessarily so lively looking. It kind of reminds me of Morocco in a way, with the abandoned food huts, begging people on the street, and small children everywhere that should be in school but are out selling themselves or their families products just to buy some food for dinner. It hurts me that some people might just look at this surface and shudder, never to enter such a place and make judgment on the people that inhabit it. Peace love and understanding are a 3 legged stool. If you don't have 1, you can't have the other 2. I understand the difficulty of many of these families, and I make sure to respect our differences as much as I know how. When you try to get to know the people in a new place, this can drastically change. Which reminds me, I just got back from a walk after school to a nearby temple - very beautiful and met a few monks there. However, I also stopped in this tiny hippie/indie shop that I've been to a few times just to say hello to the woman that runs it. Upon entering I ALWAYS hit my head on the little welcome sign she has hanging in her door and we both laugh at the awkwardness of my height and how I always forget it is there. I've bought a few things from her now but this time I just came to say 'hello' even though she doesn't speak a lick of english. We literally laugh when trying to talk because we have so much to say to each other buy nothing more than gestures and a calculator to translate our feelings. Anyway, she motioned for me to sit down, so I did. Not sure what possibly we could 'chat' about, but she gave me a juice box thing... it looked weird from the get go but I wanted to be polite so I opened the straw and stuck her in only to taste what I'm sure was ground bone and wooden spoon in a liquid state - with what the box told me was "Hi- Calcium"

Juice boxes are a fad here. Well, straws in general in all drinks are a fad. Drinks in a bag? Sure! Wait, what am I talking about? ADHD much? You betcha!


"maybe all that you want to be is all that you have to be" - maybe the disco buscuits said it best?

fotos

1 Playing in the sand
2 A blurry sunset?
3 Beach - Phi Phi
4 Will and I!
5 Our hotel pool: Craig, Me, Pina Colada, Tracy

Warm Singha tastes like PBR

Singha is pretty classy stuff here. I've gotten hooked on the Leo. It is 10 baht cheaper (like 20 cents). My eating/drinking habits here are quite sporatic. Breakfast doesn't usually happen, and that is pretty much my favorite meal, so it is kind of weird for me. I'm not even drinking coffee!!! Annnnd I don't drink even a small portion of the soda that I did this past year in the States. I LOOOOVE Pad Thai, Curry, spring rolls, fruit shakes, and just plain old fruit (which I always have for lunch).

There are so many things to think about here... mainly what I'm doing and self reflecting on the past year/s of my life that I kind of let fly by without a care, I'm not saying I regret them, just saying that I wasn't my happiest by any means. Seriously, nothing is serious about life. It seems to be a much smaller part of a much bigger cosmic development. A bigger part of your existence that you might like to admit is luck... but don't think about that, you'll have a panic attack. I mean, you are the result of ONE of the millions of your dad's sperm that reached your mother's egg. A friend of mine (that I actually met on my plane ride here) had a conversation with me about accessing the superlative energy of the cosmos of the angelic realm. This "angelic realm" however, might be a bit too christian religious for me, but nonetheless something that can be morphed into a more personable form. I think that anyone can pull down these energy levels down to their body, they just have to be aware of them (most of us are too busy worried about the political situation in a certain country, what's for dinner, or when are we going to be done with work/class). I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about my trip to the Big Buddha in Phuket. Best. Meditation. Session. To. Date. We all were blessed, i guess, by the main monk there and I was given a small bracelet for good luck. Very cool stuff. The view from up there is way awesome - you can see the sea from both sides. I suppose I should have prefaced this my mentioning that basically our entire group rented 2 jeeps (my jeep, however, was muuuuch less crowded as the other had about 9 people piled into it like... well, pickles) to trek around for the day. My group went to a sweet beach that was blatently for the rich, but it was relaxing and beatiful nonetheless. We then drove up to Big Buddha. I did NOT drive. A) I'm a horribly manual car operator B) I was still drunk from the night before, or maybe I was still drinking?? and C) I get hella confused with driving on the left side of the road and sitting on the right side of the car to drive. But, yeah, our little Kiwi in the group took us around like a champ. The other group, unfortunately, had some difficulties getting up the big hill to Buddha... too much weight I'm assuming, most of them had to hitchhike or trek it up on foot. Oh the glories of Thailand.

Nice ramble, Laura. But in all honesty I kinda feel like I'm just submitting random transmissions out into cyperspace. That's ok though, It's therapeutic to write, even if it is just to myself. Don't get me wrong, I love, and have had many, conversations. For instance, how futile words are in expressing thoughts and emotions. Communication is so much more than words. You really get to know this when trying to teach a foreign language. I acted out an entire jungle scene in front of tiny thai children in attempts to get them to call out the animals I was animating... obviously this is right up my alley. It just goes to show you that to tell someone how you feel doesn't necessarily require words, although most of us find them to be the best way to express ourselves. Sometimes it is drawing, painting, singing, etc to get your point across. I'm having a blast with the kids. Every day gets better, and I feel more comfortable in front of a class. I think it will be even better when I don't have the pressure of "observers" from the American TESOL Institute watching my every move and I have a class of my own, but we shall see. Oh wait, I'll actually find out in about 24 hours. I had about this much time to figure out my placement start date... which is Saturday. Grrrrrreat. No time to think, just have to go buy a bus ticket - I'll report back on that at some point... For now I'm just freaking out.

Teaching in front of actual thai classrooms: AWESOME. We went to a few orphanages and a detention center, which were experiences in themselves. My heart truly lies with Will, a small Thai girl that is the daughter of one of the restaurants on the beach right next to our Hotel. I'll put pictures up of her. Simply adorable... perhaps a reason that one day, maybe, I'll do the whole family thing (marriage and kids and all). :)

Other things that I don't have time to discuss now: we went to Phi Phi Island over a week ago... good times. I wore a bedspread out as a dress... big surpise there. Laura being awkward and random. All around it was a great time. We took a yaht type thinger to the island and on the way stopped to snorkle. By FAR the best snorkling I've done, minus the nasty gash that I got on my foot from kicking the coral, which they then forced me into my biggest fear. Survival by means of COTTON BALLS. Ugh. They had to dress my wound and that was all they had. People saw my true disgust to those nasty little white balls of hell. (hmmm... guess I just discussed Phi Phi even though about a few sentences ago I said I wouldn't...sorry?)

I've talked to a few people from home.. mainly my Mom :) But it is always great to hear from someone even if it is just a few sentences in an email (hint hint!). This is always a constant for me... people I love. I'll end on that. Oh, and I think I got my camera working again. YESSSSS (aka I'll post pictures in a few..)