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..)