I roll up on a smoking heap and waltz into the bank like I own the place. Even though I took the less sweaty way by not walking, I still had to wipe off my sweat stache - very attractive. Don't even take a number for the queue... but then when I ask for help someone gets me one and just hands it to me. Talk about a slap in the face. My number gets called and I try to explain to the very handsome and nice (but femmy) thai man that my paperwork should be done and saved for me and that I just needed to bring my work permit to get my account. Fast forward 20 minutes, 4 calls to my school, and enough awkward silences to make even michael cera squirm, and I'm still sitting there trying to explain myself. That's when I find out he had everything he needed for the account and I just needed to sign some papers (fucking paperwork in thailand, i tell ya!). Phew. Done and done. THEN I realize I don't have the 500 baht necessary to open the account, aduofauodfh;lwahefuihasljgafhewiofjpawjf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I try to tell him I will come back and bring it in an hour, epic fail. So I call my agent, Pook, and tell her I NEED her to transfer my salary immediately because I am at the back, epic fail. Fast forward another 20 minutes, 4 MORE phone calls, and several angry thai people waiting, and one VERY angry thai bank assistant and I FINALLY have my "bahtage" in my account. I say my goodbyes, try to apologize to everyone, grab my backpack and walk out, feeling pretty freaking cocky for getting this shit done - solo mission (ish). Of course, my hard plastic bottle filled with iced coffee from school falls out of the side of my bag and lands with a shattering crash all over the piercingly white bank floor. Chocolate brown liquid dripping from my skirt, filling up DA'S shoes, and making a mad dash to every part of the bank. The music stopped at the bank, and all eyes were on me - the farang fuck up. My new best friend and bank assistant just gave me a look of shock and in broken english said, "it ok. go now" So I did, leaving a caffeine footprint and a whole lot of my confidence in being the only white girlie in this damn town.
Field Trip! Kindergarten 2 went to the large dragon descendants' museum in Suphan Buri. I have been before with the boy I tutor and his mother, where I got an English guided headset for the tour inside the dragon (again, super attractive especially paired with the blue plastic booties we wore). Four teachers were in my group of 40 students. Piece of cake. Except the floor moves like a ship in parts of the tour, there are dragons that hiss while you walk by, and it is basically pitch black throughout the entire thing. Not so fun for 4-5 year olds. Picture these 40 kids either crying and clinging to one of us, plugging their ears because the guide's microphone was turned up to MAX and was essentially bursting all of our ear drums, or screaming their friends' name to try to find them amongst the group of midgets to stand next to and hold hands. Dragon in thai is 'Munggorn' which was said a substantial amount of times during the tour. However, it is also a popular nickname for thai children. Imagine being 'Munggorn' in the 'Munggorn' - talk about either feeling like a celebrity or a nut job for having a nickname like 'dragon'... it kind of makes me think about an american child having a nickname like 'fairy' or 'darkwing duck' or 'ninja turtle'.... 3 of them wouldn't leave my side throughout the day - not that I cared because the kids are so damn cute - but it's like your first date with a guy in the theatre, you are just a teenager, and you hold hands, gets freakin sweaty you are so nervous (well, maybe that was just me, and maybe it was because said movie was CAST AWAY aka nearly 4 hours of silence on a beach). It's so interesting to watch small children interact, no matter the culture/language/etc. It reminded me of when I was young and would try to play the 'mother' kidlet to the smaller ones. At one point I looked to my left (while I had one child clinging to my neck and one sitting on my lap) and saw the smallest and quietest girl, Mew, in the arms of one of the bigger boys, Mek. So cute. Kids really do look out for each other. Maybe it is because they see each other as the same. It doesn't matter if you are a boy, girl, ladyboy, fat, thin, smart, slow, or whatever; everyone deserves a friend. These feelings seem to morph as we grow, so seeing them in their most innocent form is quite eye-opening to the manipulations the outside world has on our relationships.
In other news, we had another 4 day weekend. I'm all for the thai teaching lifestlye, I mean "teaching" 27 hours each week, which is often dumbed down to about 20, is about the equivalent to finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk, winning olympic gold, or any other occurrence that makes you feel that way :) considering my salary and cost of living here. I decided this time I wouldn't do something as outrageous as going to Chiang Mai so I went with the very Laura-like 'don't plan a thing and just roll with the wind' option. My vice principal, Nee, wanted to take me shopping and to a movie in Bangkok for some time, so we made plans to do that on Friday. Oh, Thursday was Mother's Day here, so Wednesday my school had a big ceremony and I also go that day off. (Happy Mothers Day, Madre G!) I went to Kanchanaburi Wednesday - I've been there 3 times now and absolutely love it. So peaceful, full of nature, and loads of chill people ready to take your baht to send you on a boat, to a nearby waterfall, to the bridge over the river kwai, or to the tiger temple or some other exotic animal getaway. I did a Safari on Wednesday with 5 non english speaking europeans - it wasn't awesome but it was pretty cool to feed and hang out with giraffes and zebras. It's amusing how many times I was told by the thai tour guides about the deer and how I could feed them. I just laughed to myself, I mean I'm from Wisconsin, I think I know what a deer looks like. My father has a giant head hanging on the wall that you must duck under to get to the downstairs at my parent's farm house - my friend Margie looooooves it :-P Hung out in Kanchanaburi for the next day and a half and then headed to Bangkok with Nee and the principal's daughter, Sam. It really is exhausting hanging out with thai people all day, that's really all I have to say about that trip.
The feeling of missing out on things back home, and just plain old missing my relationships, schedule, and surroundings of my life before Thailand has presented itself a few times since I've been here. In between the crazy nights with farangs drinking "gatorade" outside clubs and the days filled with thai children and thai families that, although we cannot communicate the best, have taught me so much about life and myself, there is the reminder of what great things I have in my life back home (and some not so great things that are part of my reason for travelling) and everything that has gotten me to this point in my life. There have been a lot of battles in the past few years, and looking back I realize how much my friends and family has helped me through the ups and downs. Let's be honest, my life is more of a rollarcoaster than anything, even if it is sometimes more equivalent to the Giant Drop - at least in my head. You know those really down times where you can't see the light and although you remind yourself things will get better, you really don't believe what you or anyone else is telling you? A slump - maybe. I kept saying I was in a rut back home. Did I think I'd be living in Thailand and wanting to stay past my contract 5 years ago? Not sure. I am thankful that I've had this opprotunity and thankful that I can make the decision on my own to stay longer. Your perspective (during the good and the bad times) changes, and you find yourself considering something that would never have occurred to you, and, I have to say, it can be very pleasant. Life-changing? No, but I wouldn't necessarily want to go back. A little insight from Mr. Gordon Ramsay. The ultimate error is to disregard earlier actions because in there is guidance that you have paid for, sometimes at an eye-watering price.
Pictures to follow... Don't have my camera right now.
