greetings from the vibrant city of bangkok, our new home! sorry for the delayed response. some big things have happened, and i wasn’t really sure how to talk about it here.
my life in thailand has taken a wonderful, and dramatic turn. i was offered an incredible opportunity to teach as a regular elementary school teacher. i was not expecting anything like this- hence the plan for a six month stay. but upon coming across this chance, i couldn’t in my right mind say no. the end result is this: i will start a one year contract on march 17. during this year i will be a 4th grade math teacher at an all boy private catholic school here in bangkok. which means i am settled in bangkok until march 2012. but that also means i will leave here with a year of real teaching experience under my belt. having visited the school, and observed several lessons, i am really excited to be a part of the english program team. it seems like a good group of teachers working to give the best to a great group of thai students. there seems to be a great deal of support for the teachers, and that sounds good to me. i am even a little excited about teaching only math.
but back to the present. we arrived in bangkok about two weeks ago. we went the cheaper route of taking a bus up. it was a VIP bus, so the ride wasn't bad at all- just long. the bus was outfitted with every comfort possible: air conditioner, reclining seats, bathroom. we arrived in bangkok around 5 am, and got a couple tuk tuks to our hotel, which was called the thai cozy house hotel. it was a wonderful little place to begin our exploration of bangkok. it was just around the corner from khao san road, the center for backpackers. khao san is a great area. there are stalls and carts selling anything and everything, including delicious pad thai (fried noodles) for less than a dollar a plate!
after a week at thai cozy and the khao san neighborhood, we found a place to rent an apartment for a month. it is a little out of the way, but it is a very nice situation. there are seven of us in a 3 bedroom apartment, but it doesn't feel too cramped- there is a lot of floor space. on the other hand, that is a lot of people to be sharing a living space, and i will be glad to get out on my own. everyone has been pretty great, though. despite the number of people, there hasn't been any big drama or fights.
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well, since starting this post almost a month ago (i know, i know, i need to work on just posting things instead of waiting to finish writing everything i think it should include) i have visited my new school and met some great people. i spent a morning observing several lessons in different grade levels. and after that experience, i am really excited to be a part of their teaching team. everyone has been so helpful and welcoming.
i'm going to go ahead and post this now. i'll write more about the school and such later.
happy valentine's day!!
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