well, i had my first not excellent day in thailand yesterday. we decided to try renting motorbikes/scooters. and i crashed mine within 10 minutes of getting it. i don't want anyone to worry- i walked away just fine. just bruised in body and ego. of course that brought an end to my motoring adventure. i was sad to miss out on the fun of exploring the island, but i needed time to heal and rest.
everyone is getting really excited about the full moon party on the nearby island of koh phangan. it is tonight, and is rumored to be quite a wild experience. it is basically an all-night party on the beach. given my bruised body and non-partier mentality, i will be saving the money and hassle and just having a quiet night on our own lamai beach. but i'll hear all about it....and pass the news onto you.
in other news, i may have found an awesome teaching job. i don't want to jinx it by saying too much before i hear a final answer. it is a regular teaching job (teaching math) at a private all boys school in bangkok. it would be an incredible experience, and the money package isn't too shabby either. i had a phone interview yesterday morning (pre-crash). and i think it went pretty well. i should know for sure by the end of the week. the only thing is that is is a 12 month contract. we really weren't planning on staying that long...but i'm trying to take advantage of the opportunities that appear. it would be wonderful to get a year of real teaching under my belt. and though we haven't left the island yet, we are really loving thailand. the people are so warm and wonderful (it isn't called the land of smiles for nothing). and the food is pretty wonderful. pam is even more in love with thailand than i am, so this could really work out. and upon arriving, it does seem harder to find work if you're not willing to sign a year contract. well, i shouldn't make too many plans until i hear for sure. i'll let you know as soon as i know.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
TEFL Certified!
shockingly enough, the course is over. the two weeks have flown by. our teaching practices went pretty well. we were at the local lamai school on tuesday and wednesday, teaching the equivalent to 5th graders. we moved onto a school in chaweng on thursday and friday, teaching the equivalent to 6th graders. at each school we had the students for two whole days. two hours of english lessons in the morning (it was scheduled so each of us taught three lessons over the four days), and two hours of crafts and games in the afternoon. it was a whirlwind of teaching, children and then long nights of planning and prepping. i had my last lesson on thursday, and pam finished up this morning (she rocked- the kids loved her!).
this afternoon, we got together for some food and drinks, and had our little "graduation ceremony" on the beach. we are officially certified to teach english as a foreign language. oh yeah.
and now for a night of fun before the work of job searching really begins. onward and upward!
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| Pam and me with some of our students. |
this afternoon, we got together for some food and drinks, and had our little "graduation ceremony" on the beach. we are officially certified to teach english as a foreign language. oh yeah.
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| Koh Samui TEFL class of Jan. 2011!! |
Monday, January 10, 2011
Koh Samui Pt 1
well, life here has settled into a kind of routine, even if short lived. we finished week one of our course, and we are settled in our new beach huts.
the weekend was been a nice little break. i feel like we have been going nonstop pretty much since we got to the island. we first met everyone involved in the course at a sunday night dinner, and then had class all day monday through friday. it was kind of nice to be a student again. a little break from being on the other side of the process. of course, the class was all about being on the teaching side of things. it was a very useful course (so much information that would have been appreciated before i taught in france; c'est la vie).
friday night was our time to unwind from a full week of school. we had all kinds of fun. starting with chilling on the porch with some guitar music, moving on to drinking games and pop music. and finally we got to see a lady boy cabaret show. in thailand they have a third gender, called kathoey. these are male-to-female transgender or effeminate gay males. it is a fascinating phenomenon in the fairly conservative social structure of thailand. anyways, there is a cabaret show full of lip syncing kathoey all dolled up. they even called on some of the guys in the audience to undergo the transformation (including our own little andy- the one guy in our group). it was great fun. the rest of the night was filled with the usual fun of going out.
saturday the sun finally came out, so we finally got to enjoy the beach right outside our front door. saturday was the day of relaxation.
sunday we had to return to the real world and start prepping for our teaching practice this week. starting tomorrow we are teaching in the local elementary schools. they have divided up the time so each person gets three individual lessons. i am in the group that goes first tomorrow morning. on the one hand, having taught a fair amount, i am excited to meet the thai students and get back in the classroom. on the other hand, i am freaking out about all the unknown factors and how my lesson will go over. ahh!! well, i better get back to work so i am over-prepared and comfortable when i get in front of all those thai students tomorrow.
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| Home, sweet Home |
the weekend was been a nice little break. i feel like we have been going nonstop pretty much since we got to the island. we first met everyone involved in the course at a sunday night dinner, and then had class all day monday through friday. it was kind of nice to be a student again. a little break from being on the other side of the process. of course, the class was all about being on the teaching side of things. it was a very useful course (so much information that would have been appreciated before i taught in france; c'est la vie).
friday night was our time to unwind from a full week of school. we had all kinds of fun. starting with chilling on the porch with some guitar music, moving on to drinking games and pop music. and finally we got to see a lady boy cabaret show. in thailand they have a third gender, called kathoey. these are male-to-female transgender or effeminate gay males. it is a fascinating phenomenon in the fairly conservative social structure of thailand. anyways, there is a cabaret show full of lip syncing kathoey all dolled up. they even called on some of the guys in the audience to undergo the transformation (including our own little andy- the one guy in our group). it was great fun. the rest of the night was filled with the usual fun of going out.
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| Andy a.k.a. Spicy |
saturday the sun finally came out, so we finally got to enjoy the beach right outside our front door. saturday was the day of relaxation.
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| The beach outside our beach hut village. |
sunday we had to return to the real world and start prepping for our teaching practice this week. starting tomorrow we are teaching in the local elementary schools. they have divided up the time so each person gets three individual lessons. i am in the group that goes first tomorrow morning. on the one hand, having taught a fair amount, i am excited to meet the thai students and get back in the classroom. on the other hand, i am freaking out about all the unknown factors and how my lesson will go over. ahh!! well, i better get back to work so i am over-prepared and comfortable when i get in front of all those thai students tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
We arrived!
sorry for the delayed post. we actually arrived several days ago, but internet was not easily accessible.
after the longest flying experience ever (30 hrs from start to finish), we arrived alive if somewhat disoriented at our bangkok airport hotel. upon arrival we quickly found our beds and slept. the next afternoon we got up and explored. it was a wonderful hotel, and definitely worth the splurge for the convenience. as an airport hotel it is specifically tailored to traveling westerners. so it offered a nice and easy introduction to thailand for the weary westerner. we got some food in the hotel restaurant, our first thai food in thailand. it was delicious, though i was so hungry that i don't much remember the taste now. then we went outside and pam smoked her first cigarette in almost 48 hours!
then it was back to the room, for some intense rest and relaxation. the flights had all gone very smoothly, but neither of us slept much during the travel. we rang in the new year with our room service dinner, and the pattaya countdown on tv. our flight to koh samui was early the next morning.
after several short hours of sleep, we got back in the airport shuttle. everything went well with bangkok airways. they even gave us a little new years gift! so cute. the weather in koh samui was gray and rainy, but the airport was still impressive. it isn't a centered large building. it is more a collection of open pavilions collected together. we walked off the plane down to the tarmac, and boarded little trams which drove us to the baggage claim "building". we picked up our bags and found our driver. ali was already there. she is a sweet irish girl also in our program. the drive to the hotel was quite an experience. besides the fact that thai people drive on the left side of the road, they are also quite cavalier and aggressive in their approach to driving. after safely getting out at the hotel, we waited a while for check in time, and then settled into our rooms.
the rest of saturday, and sunday were spent exploring the town of lamai. we soon found the beach and enjoyed a delicious thai dinner at a restaurant on the beach. we tried for some beach time the next morning, and the high tide made that something of an experience. sunday evening we had a welcome dinner to meet the director, instructor, and other students in our TEFL training course. it is a nice, small class of nine altogether. our director, leon, is great. our instructor, damien, is pretty great too. victoria is an instructor-in-training, and only adds to the humor and pleasant atmosphere. after dinner we got a drink at the condom bar. that's right, we drank under the sign of a smiling condom. yeah, what more can i say about that?
monday began our class....but i'll talk about that in the next post. i still can't really believe that we are in thailand. it should sink in any day now....
after the longest flying experience ever (30 hrs from start to finish), we arrived alive if somewhat disoriented at our bangkok airport hotel. upon arrival we quickly found our beds and slept. the next afternoon we got up and explored. it was a wonderful hotel, and definitely worth the splurge for the convenience. as an airport hotel it is specifically tailored to traveling westerners. so it offered a nice and easy introduction to thailand for the weary westerner. we got some food in the hotel restaurant, our first thai food in thailand. it was delicious, though i was so hungry that i don't much remember the taste now. then we went outside and pam smoked her first cigarette in almost 48 hours!
then it was back to the room, for some intense rest and relaxation. the flights had all gone very smoothly, but neither of us slept much during the travel. we rang in the new year with our room service dinner, and the pattaya countdown on tv. our flight to koh samui was early the next morning.
after several short hours of sleep, we got back in the airport shuttle. everything went well with bangkok airways. they even gave us a little new years gift! so cute. the weather in koh samui was gray and rainy, but the airport was still impressive. it isn't a centered large building. it is more a collection of open pavilions collected together. we walked off the plane down to the tarmac, and boarded little trams which drove us to the baggage claim "building". we picked up our bags and found our driver. ali was already there. she is a sweet irish girl also in our program. the drive to the hotel was quite an experience. besides the fact that thai people drive on the left side of the road, they are also quite cavalier and aggressive in their approach to driving. after safely getting out at the hotel, we waited a while for check in time, and then settled into our rooms.
the rest of saturday, and sunday were spent exploring the town of lamai. we soon found the beach and enjoyed a delicious thai dinner at a restaurant on the beach. we tried for some beach time the next morning, and the high tide made that something of an experience. sunday evening we had a welcome dinner to meet the director, instructor, and other students in our TEFL training course. it is a nice, small class of nine altogether. our director, leon, is great. our instructor, damien, is pretty great too. victoria is an instructor-in-training, and only adds to the humor and pleasant atmosphere. after dinner we got a drink at the condom bar. that's right, we drank under the sign of a smiling condom. yeah, what more can i say about that?
monday began our class....but i'll talk about that in the next post. i still can't really believe that we are in thailand. it should sink in any day now....
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