Christmas in Chaing Mai

So my school planned a field trip to Chaing Mai this weekend. They plan several trips throughout the year for the “smart classes”. The rest of the students had mid-terms on Thursday and Friday, but since we do not test our kids in English class, the foreign teachers were invited to go along. Christmas in Chaing Mai!

On Wednesday I set off on an overnight bus with 40 students and 6 other teachers. Getting there was kind of a nightmare.  We had to switch buses 4 different times and ended up sitting on the side of the highway with all of our luggage for almost 2 hours. After arriving about 5 hours later than planned we had a quick bite to eat followed by a full day of site-seeing.

On Thursday we started off at an umbrella factory where we got to see Thai people hand painting umbrellas and fans. This was followed by a trip to the hot springs. Thursday night we went to the famous night bazaar to do some shopping

On Friday we got up early and headed to Doi Suthep the highest mountain in Thailand. To get there we had to pile all the kids into song-taus to drive up the winding mountain roads. After walking around the top and viewing what a traditional hill-tribe village looks like, we went to the Doi Suthep temple. The temple was amazing and had a gorgeous view of the city of Chaing Mai. After descending the mountain we headed to a botanic garden. After a quick break for lunch we spent the afternoon at the  Chaing Mai zoo. We went to the aquarium and got to see the famous pandas. So cute! From the zoo we went to have dinner and watch a traditional Thai dance performance.

We headed back to U-Thong on Saturday. On the way back we stopped at a really old temple in Lampang which was really cool. The bus ride home was filled with lots of very loud techno music, just plain odd variety shows, and of course karaoke. I started to go a little crazy after about 2 hours of the "greatest love songs of 2010". 

Overall the trip was really fun. We did a lot of touristy stuff and I wish we could have spent more time in the actual city of Chaing Mai, however, I plan to go back there so I guess its good I got all the super touristy stuff out of the way. I was a little worried that I would have to be “chaperone” and have to watch the kids the whole time, however the Thai teachers were surprising lacks about supervision. The kids were very well behaved and pretty much free to do as they pleased. It was fun to hang out with the Thai teachers and my Chinese roommate and spend some time in the cooler weather up north!

  

So, my Christmas was spent in Chaing Mai watching a traditional Thai dance performance. I don’t think I could have gotten further from Christmas at home. It definitely felt weird to not be doing all of the "Christmasy" things I am used to doing every year. I guess I felt a bit removed from Christmas here considering it wasn't really acknowledged at our school or in our town. Other than a few occasional signs, a Christmas tree here, some lights there, it didn't really exist for me.  I still  missed my friends and family very much and wish I could have spent the day with you all!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Looking forward to New Years!  

Puud Pasa Thai Nidnoi

One of the most frequent questions I get here in Thailand is “do you speak Thai”. My response is always “nidnoi”, meaning a little bit.  Since getting adjusted here in Thailand I have been wanting to learn to speak more of the language so that I can actually hold a conversation with a Thai person. I have learned a few key phrases and words that has definitely been enough to get me by, but I would really like to learn more. I was excited when OEG sent me a link to a language school in Bangkok that was offering a REALLY good deal on 30 hours of Thai language and culture classes. I decided this was my chance to improve my “nidnoi” status so I signed myself up. I headed to Bangkok this weekend to try out a few classes.   It was well, an interesting experience…..

The class was not at all what I expected. Apparently at this school they focus on the listening aspect and not so much the speaking. Their philsophy is that you can learn a language simply by observing and listening. So in each class there are two teachers and they basically just converse with each other in Thai and gesture and draw pictures so you can attempt to follow their conversation.

In the first class they talked about how the world was going to end in 2012 and how they wanted to be able to fly to the moon. Then they discussed the 3 items that they would take with them on their trip……not exactly a useful conversation I plan on having with a Thai person.

In my next class one of the teachers literally talked about toilets for 20 minutes. This included some very awkward gesturing involving actually using the toilet….. I think spending 2 minutes covering the Thai word for toilet would have sufficed.

All in all I am not so sure about these classes, however, I did learn what it must be like for my students when I talk at them in English and make weird gestures and drawings. 

Happy Very Much

This week I decided to teach my students a little bit about Christmas. It is a holiday that is not really celebrated here. After teaching some Christmas vocab, I had them all make Christmas cards. I was a little worried that they would think it was stupid but they absolutely LOVED it. They all go so in to it and really made some amazing cards. I was actually quite surprised that the students knew so much about Christmas. They knew words like Santa, reindeer and elf and their drawings completely blew me away. I hung up a few of my favorite cards in my office :)

A few of my students from one of my favorite classes actually took the time to write little messages instead of the standard “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year” Here is a sampling of their writing:

“Wish u happy with everything. Wish u have a good life and good health. In your stocking have…gift!”

“I wish you are merry Chrismas and happy in new year verry much”

“I whit everybody happy very much in Christmas day and new year”

“I wish your are happy very much and your family have a wall being so much”

I could not help but smile from ear to ear as my students handed in their cards and said “teacher, teacher we love you!” Teaching has been such a rollercoaster with really miserable classes followed by classes that make me smile and laugh. This was one of those classes that made me really appreciate teaching knowing that these kids actually enjoyed coming to my class and learning English. It also felt good to know that I am not a complete failure as an English teacher. A wonderful Christmas present!

A little Christmas cheer

We had another three day weekend (Constitution Day) this week. December rocks. Only one full week of teaching this month! Instead of jetting off again to somewhere far away, I decided to take it easy this weekend.  I have not been feeling well after a nasty sinus infection and I definitely have not been sleeping well here. I was in no way wanting to take on a full day of traveling to go anywhere. I decided that I needed a laid back weekend by myself with no agenda and no pressure to run off to do things and see things. It honestly felt really good.

I decided to head to Bangkok. Not exactly what you think of when you want a relaxing weekend to yourself. Bangkok is busy, noisy, crowded and can be very overwhelming. I have to say my opinion of Bangkok sort of changed this weekend. I didn’t have anywhere to be or any real plans. Bangkok is so much easier to manage when you are not in a rush to get somewhere. I stayed near Khao San Rd. in a very nice guest house. I was able to catch up on my sleep on the most comfortable bed ever. It is really sad when you look forward to staying at a hostel or guest house because the beds are more comfortable than your own.

It was quite nice to travel on my own. I literally had the freedom to do whatever I wanted and did not have to worry about what the other people I am traveling with wanted to do. Don’t get me wrong, I have met some great people here that I love to travel with but it was just a nice change of pace.

I went to the Pak Khlong flower market on Friday night which was truly stunning. I have never seen anything like it. An entire street blocked off with stalls after stalls of vendors selling the most beautiful fresh flowers I have ever seen. Thai people unloading baskets of orchids, daisies, lilies, roses etc. The orchids were the most beautiful colors of purple and pink. My pictures don’t even do it justice. The street just kept going with more and more flowers being unloaded from trucks. Truly a sight to see.

On Saturday I decided to go in search of some Christmas cheer. I found a few Christmas trees, some lights, and even a Santa Claus or two. It definitely feels weird to be in Thailand for the holidays. It does not feel like Christmas or even December. At all.  It may sound weird but I actually miss the cold weather and the snow. In my search for anything Christmas, I decided to splurge and get a starbucks peppermint mocha. Even though it was too hot outside to be drinking hot coffee, there was something oddly comforting about drinking from my holiday cup and listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas music. It’s funny sometimes what reminds us of home. I am definitely missing a lot of those “homey” things that I am used to doing around this time of year and I miss being with family. I do feel a little better after getting a little taste of Christmas so far away from home.    

I feel 100% better after the weekend and I am ready to take on this week of teaching. The next three weekends will be filled with lots of traveling and exciting places so I am glad that I was able to rest up so that I can enjoy it!  

Koh Chang

We had a 3 day weekend due to the King’s Birthday (Also Father's Day) so I decided to head to the Island of Koh Chang

I think I used just about every mode of transportation possible this weekend. Koh Chang was NOT easy to get to.  To get to the actual island we had to take an hour long ferry ride followed by an hour long song-tau ride up a winding mountain road (pretty interesting journey). The island was definitely worth it though. Koh Chang is one of the largest islands in Thailand and definitely fits my idea of what a tropical island in Thailand should look like. Rugged jungles, beautiful scenery, laid-back atmosphere and beaches that weren’t overcrowded. Definitely a tropical paradise.

Highlights of the trip:

1)      a short jungle hike to a beautiful waterfall

2)      renting a kayak and paddling out to a small nearby island

3)      the best meal I’ve had so far. Masaman curry is my new favorite dish.  Followed by coconut and mango sticky rice for dessert.  Total food coma. J 

It was such a nice relaxing weekend and I can’t wait to go back!  Now its time to transition back to teacher mode for three days before we get another long weekend.

We met a guy at our guest house who said that he had been on Koh Chang about 5 years ago and there was literally nothing there. He was surprised when he came back to see how much had been built. I wonder what it will look like in another 5 years?