back to the beginning: phuket

if i had known that i would be given that extra week off, i would have left hanoi a few days earlier and made it to laos as i had intended as part of that trip. i wouldnt have had to fly back and i would have been able to experience the tubing that all of my friends have raved about. but since i didnt know i went back to bangkok and couldnt leave the country again because the immigration offices were closed and therefore i couldnt get another reentry stamp.

on monday i headed over to stephs. on tuesday she found out that she would have the entire week off as well. by wednesday morning we were arriving in phuket town.

we stayed with a friend we met in chiang mai who is also a teacher and consequently met many other teachers as well. at one point, i was talking to one of them and mentioned that i went to maryland and he said "seems like there are a lot of you guys." i was confused because i hadnt met anyone from maryland at that point, but he said there were a few others teaching in phuket and even one who lived right next door. turns out that person was sid, ians friend who i had met briefly one night out in dc last summer when we had already both decided to teach in thailand for a year. cliche time, but seriously, small world.

steph and i took a day and went back down to nai harn. it was just as beautiful as we remember with the only significant change being that there were more chairs set up on the beach, which we guessed was because the high tourist season was just ending. we reminisced about our three weeks spent there and talked a lot about all the people from our group who we were missing. it was nostalgic and slightly sad to be there without everyone. but we discovered that it is still one of our favorite beaches in thailand and realized how lucky we were to start our time in this country in such a great location.

the most notable part of our trip back to phuket was a canoe trip that steph got us for free. on the first night there, while making a run to the convenience store, she met some thai guys who told her they worked giving canoe tours and told her she should go on one. she told that that shes a teacher and so she didnt have the money for that, but they said they would do it for free. so she exchanged numbers with them. later that night they called and asked when we would like to go, so she said friday would be good. they called agin the next day to confirm for friday and told us to meet them at tesco at 1030 the next morning.

we went a little earlier to have breakfast and decided to buy some apples fro the trip and to give to the guides since they were doing this for us for free. when steph got the call that they were on their way, she was then told "ok, we will see you soon. expect to be back around 11 tonight." that was when we realized we had gotten into much more than we were expecting. it was not an hour in a canoe that we were getting, but this.

we had two amazing gourmet meals on the boat and went around to 4 different caves, and in and out of lagoons. at points the top of the caves were so low we actually had to lay down completely in the kayak and our guide had to get out and push so that we could get through. the last cave we went to was the bat cave, named of course because it is full of bats. so.many.bats. also, because this cave was so dark, we were able to see glowing plankton, which is basically particles in the water that glow when they get disturbed. it was quite an amazing experience and had we known what to expect we may have taken a camera to get some quality pictures......but since we didnt have one with us, i took these offline to give you an idea :]

oh dear. what have i gotten myself into?

first real teaching practice with real kids. at a place called sunshine, which is pretty much an orphanage home. we had the youngest group, from about 6-8 years old. there were 14 kids in the class, 4 girls and 10 boys, one of whom has add. i went first. at multiple times during the lesson, i wanted to scream. or cry. or both.

when we were in training, we were taught that it was "culturally insensitive" to call out individual students in class because this is a culture of "saving face." this means that the opinions of their peers in public places is very important to them, and that saying one of them is doing something wrong in front of everyone would be harmful to their reputation. as such, in order to correct misbehavior problems, we were told to just make eye contact or do some other subtle hints to let them know we saw them doing what they were not suppose to. we asked about physical fights and were assured that that would not be a problem in thailand. when i came to our group today, all of that flew out the door.

being the first one to go, i was too worried about holding that above classroom control, and my class went nuts. the girls payed more attention than the boys, but at some points, i lost all of them. it was impossible to get them to follow the directions and repeat what i was saying. i tried all of what was given to me, but none of it worked. and worst of all, there was hitting and spitting and sliding around the room because they didnt have chairs or desks and writing on each other with pens and markers. it made me feel defeated.

apparently, calling them out at that age is alright if done "correctly" and those who followed me had a slightly easier time with it, though getting them to listen was still ridiculously hard. the one guy in our group who does have a teaching degree said the best advice he got was to leave it in the classroom afterwards: the kids arent going home at night and thinking about it, so we shouldnt either. the only bright side is that we did get the hard group out of the way first, and the place we are going tomorrow should be a breeze in comparison.

a lesson in finding pizza in thailand.

the other day we decided we wanted pizza. now in the area we are currently living in, they are sort of geared specifically to tourists, so even though all of the restaurants serve thai, many of them also serve "european food." this means different things depending on the place, but for some, this includes pizza. of course, after a week or so of thai food for every meal, we were ready for a little taste from home, so meghan and i ventured to one of the better looking restaurants to have a go at it.

the place we walked into was called "dragon" and the woman working there had large dragon tattoos everywhere on her body. she was pretty good at speaking english, unlike many of the restaurant workers around here, and was actually even very funny. we got our drinks and ordered our pizzas. to do so, we filled out a check list with the toppings we wanted on it, which was in english, thai and german (they are one of the most common groups of foreigners around this area and apparently in thailand in general).

though it was pretty hot inside, since the inside is more like an enclosed porch anyway, we were enjoying ourselves and made small talk with the thai girl. she played us some of her favorite english music and told us about the area. finally, about 40 min, she emerges from the kitchen and tells us that there is no more tomato sauce. but she does not just say that there is no tomato sauce, she asks us if we want lasagna, which she has in her hand. since neither of us eat the meat that was in it, we declined, and she proceeded to offer us thai food, spaghetti, or anything else that she had available.

after having our minds and stomachs set on pizza, we decided we would just pay for what we had drank and leave. thats when she went back into the kitchen, and when meghan was sure she heard her ask if there was ketchup available. rather than stick around to see what would come out of the kitchen, we tried to pay for our drinks again but she told us not to worry about it if we promised to come back another time. since she was so sweet and funny, we agreed.

luckily, we went back a few days later and had a delicious meal. pizza included, and the pizza sauce was definitely worth waiting a few days for.

i should have learned my lesson about ordering western food from thai restaurants. tonight a group came asking if we wanted to go for pizza. i thought we were going back to the same place, as it is just a short walk down the road. turned out we went to another place, still not too far away though. the majority of their menu was actually western style food, and so i figured that ordering a pizza would be fine. most of my table ordered burgers or pizza as well.

we went in a rather large group, about 17 total, but split up when we sat down at tables. this in itself is a problem, as most places here only have 1 or 2 chefs in the kitchen. when we go out in groups, there is always someone who ends up getting left out or getting their food way after everyone else is already finished and many have left. this time it was taking quite a while for us to get our food, but we were the last table to order, so we went with it.

after an hour, even the second table was still waiting for their food, and half of our table decided they couldnt wait any longer, paid for their drinks, and left. the three of us who remained had ordered a cheeseburger and two pizzas. what came out was first two burgers. we were then told that they only had enough to make one pizza.

in the end, i did get my pizza. but it was not worth the two hours wait it took to get it. it was more like a crispy tortilla with some cheese melted over top of tomatoes and onions. im sticking to thai food until i get to bangkok, and will then reassess the eating western food situation.

basic info.

so i wrote these posts before i had internets. im posting now. will update later.

day one

the most eventful thing that happened was the taxi ride from the phuket airport to the villa where we are staying. since i arrived after the two pick up times for the group, i had no choice but to take a taxi to the other end of the island, which i was told would cost about 750 baht. ($1 is equivalent to about 33 baht.) i was bombarded once i got my luggage but all of the drivers were telling me that it would be 1200, so i kept turning them down until someone directed me to a booth where i paid the 750 before seeing a car.

once i got to the car, dodging between cars trucks and mopeds, ending up in the middle of traffic lanes inches apart from a tractor trailer-esq type of vehicle. i was sure i was going to end up as part of a sex trade.

it took a while to get to the resort. i was checked in quickly and escorted to my house. each house is suppose to house 6 people, but mine is only for 3. we have the bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a common area, kitchen and another bathroom downstairs in addition to a balcony. beth is the only person here at the moment, and she recently graduated from a university in wales.

the bedroom is rather simple but there is a nice big double bed and air conditioning, which is essential because even now, at almost midnight, its still close to 80 degrees F, and the humidity is unbelievable.

apparently we do not have our classes here, as i thought, but must meet up at 845 to take a bus to the other hotel where we will be training. it seems slightly unorganized in one sense, but beth and i talked and it seems like they know whats going on, they just arent doing a very good job of communicating that to us.

day two

beth and i went out at around 815 this morning to find some breakfast before meeting the group at the pool at 845 to leave for the class at 9. as it is still the rainy season, we ended up walking in the rain for a half hour and finding that nothing within walking distance that serves or has anything for breakfast was open before 9. so we went back to the hotel to find our "ride" awaiting us.

yeah. thats our bus.

luckily the trip is just a few minutes down the road. unluckily it is also literally on the beach. and as we were sitting in the classroom from 9 until 5 with an hour break for lunch, we were forced to stare at the gorgeous waters and waves crashing on the lucky tourists on the other side of the windows. despite the major jet lag, today was not so bad. getting through the lessons were pretty painful, even though today was just about thai culture.

following class, a group of us went back to the beach for a quick swim before sunset. the water was warming than what we had available to use for showers in the morning, and the sun was setting just behind a mountain and over the water. it was absolutely beautiful and i had to take a moment to realize that i am actually here in thailand.

we decided to to an impromptu group dinner and walked a bit down the road the other direction for a delicious meal. i forgot just how much i adore thai food, and the food back home cannot even compare to what they have here. i had a basil chicken with onions and chiles and rice for 80 baht, which is just under $2. the best thing is, weve been told that the prices here are actually EXPENSIVE because it is a touristy spot. in the city (bangkok), we can get all three meals for about that price. and though weve all been warned to stay away from street vendors food, weve also been told that it is the best food you can get. im pretty sure i will be taking my chances on that when the time comes.

the sporatic rains today lessened the humidity immensely and in the evening it was actually really pleasant. im starting to think it may be possible for me to keep up with my goal of starting to run again.

we actually got another roommate today. her name is emily and shes from milwaukee and seems nice enough. as i could have imagined, everyone on the trip is, if nothing else, extremely interesting to talk to, and i can only imagine what kinds of things they will open my eyes to as i go through this experience with them.