Chiang Mai Part I

We arrived in Chiang Mai after about a 5 hours bus ride. We dropped our stuff off at the Little Bird Hostel and went to go check out the "Sunday Walking Street" a gigantic night market in the heart of the "old city". We got there a little early and were able to see all of the vendors setting up for the night. The market was huge and went on for blocks and blocks. They had so many neat souvenirs and things to buy and was it was really fun to wander and check out all the new and different knick-knacks. Luckily traveling with only a backpack really deters you from buying too much stuff  :) We also ate some great street food snacks along the way. I love Chiang Mai already.

On Monday we got up and decided to do our own walking tour of the temples in the "Old City" (Chiang Mai is also divided). We went and saw four of the famous temples (as suggested by lonely planet) and it was really interesting to see how the temples differed in architecture from everywhere else I have been in Thailand. It was a fun morning spent temple spotting (there are A LOT of temples!). After lunch we headed to the women's prison for a massage. I know its sounds weird but its actually part of a rehabilitation program. It was the best massage I have had so far in Thailand, and really cheap too! After a relaxing massage we jumped on a song-tau up to Doi Suthep, the highest mountain in Thailand to check out the temple ( I had been on my previous trip to Chiang Mai with the school).   

Chiang Mai is such a great city and I am falling in love with it already. We had planned to stay about 4-5 days but we may end up staying longer. There is so much to do and see here and the city has such a great atmosphere. Chiang Mai part II coming soon!

Sukhothai

The first stop on my two month traveling journey was Sukhothai, and what a perfect place to start. Sukhothai is a cute little city that was once the old capital of Thailand. Sukhothai is divided into two parts, the old city where the historic park and ruins are, and the new city where we stayed. We stayed at a really cute little guest house run by a friendly couple.  The first day we took a trolley/song-tau thing into the old city where we rented bikes to tour the ruins. Unlike Ayuttaya, all of the ruins are located in one park area. The ruins were amazing and much more well preserved. The park was also way less crowded and touristy. My favorite part of the ruins was the "Big Buddha" at Wat Sri Chum. So amazing. Although it was hotter than hot, it was a great day biking around the ruins. The next day was spent exploring the "new city" and lounging at our hostel. We had allowed ourselves two days to tour the ruins but we really only needed one. I am definitely glad we stopped in Sukhothai. I think it is a place that tends to get overlooked by tourists but has some of the most amazing ruins I have seen and definitely worth a stop. Next stop Chiang Mai!

P.S. Unfortunately I was unable to  pack my laptop in my backpack so I may not be able to upload photos for a while. I will try to post pictures as soon as I find a place that allows me to do it!

The Good, The Bad and The Just Darn Cute

The semester is quickly coming to an end and I only have two more days of teaching. I thought I would take a moment and reflect on my teaching experience.

The Good

-This semester I had 2 or 3 classes that I absolutely loved. The students were always energetic and enthusiastic about class, no matter what I was teaching. They were generally engaged in the lesson and I always had fun teaching them. I looked forward to seeing them every week. I was also able to bond with a few of the students which is extremely difficult to do when you have such large classes. If all of my classes were like that, I would have no problem continuing to teach in Thailand

-Being able to build relationships with some of the teachers at my school was huge. All of the teachers were extremely nice to me and made sure that I adjusted to life in U-Thong. So many of the teachers would go out of their way to do anything for me and I really appreciate all of the nice things they did for me

-What I like to call the “aha” moment. It is difficult to teach a language to students who have spent the last few years learning English from a Thai teacher. Sometimes it was really difficult to get my point across because they just didn’t understand me. I felt so good when I could tell that a student finally understood what I was talking about and had that “aha moment” Sometimes it happened to me when a Thai student tried desperately to communicate something to me in Thai. Finally after lots of repeating and gesturing I would have that “aha” moment and understand what the student was trying to say.  Getting past the language barrier always felt good. 

The Bad

-Having 55 students in each class was crazy. It was impossible to find lesson plans that kept the kids engaged. I would say about 90% of the students could care less about learning English and that made it hard for me to get excited about teaching them.

-Having so many classes was also difficult. I would plan one lesson per week but it I would have to tweak it -for different classes. A lesson would go over so well with one class but then completely fail in another class.

-My M5 classes pretty much stopped showing up by the end of the semester. I probably saw my Friday afternoon classes about 3 times the entire semester. It was frustrating that I still had to go to class and wait around to see if they would show up. It was always amazing to me that an ENTIRE class would agree to ditch class

-The lack of resources was very frustrating. I had to plan my own lessons, which was difficult, especially with an unreliable internet connection. I was unable to do a lot of the lessons I wanted to do either because of lack of resources or because there were just too many students to make it work.

 -The kids were constantly talking, copying and working on other homework, playing on their cell phones and listening to their Ipods. By the end of the semester I had pretty much given up the battle. 

The Just Darn Cute

-I am kind of going to miss hearing “helllooo teecha” about a thousand times a day

-I am really going to miss my students laughing at me when I butcher the Thai language. They always thought it was so funny when I tried to pronounce anything in Thai.

-I thought it was funny when my students got frustrated with English and they would ask me to “speak Thailand”.

-I am going to miss students calling me beautiful and random boys saying “I love yooouuu”

-I am also going to miss groups of students running up to me and saying random things in English and then running away giggling.

-Some of the students were just so darn cute. They always sat in the front row and smiled and nodded at me the whole time I was teaching. Definitely going to miss those smiling faces.

There were many times that I got extremely frustrated with the school and with teaching, but overall I am so glad that I had this experience. It really gave me insight into the life and culture of the Thai people and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. There were days when I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face, but as always in life, there were bad days too. I am both excited and sad to be leaving U-Thong and the school. There are a few things I will miss about teaching and I will miss the connections that I made here.

Now it is time to pack everything up and begin my travel adventure. First stop Sukhothai. Can’t wait!  

Western Weekend

Where do you go if you want to see old white men in speedos? Hua Hin. Well, any beach in Thailand really, but specifically Hua Hin. I have never seen so many oversized European men wearing undersized swim wear. I understand it’s a cultural thing but I really wish they would cover up. Especially when you look around and see that the local Thai's swim fully clothed and wear long sleeves and long pants to the beach.  

Hua Hin is a popular beach destination for both local Thais and farang due to its close proximity to Bangkok. It definitely caters to the westerners and is crawling with older white couples and ex-pats. Despite being a little grossed out by the lack of coverage on the beach, Hua Hin was a pretty neat town. I spent some time on the beach, celebrated a good friend’s birthday and ate a lot of western food. Food this weekend included Italian, really good Mexican and even bagels with real cream cheese!!

Best part of the weekend? Waking up really early to watch the sunrise on the beach. Amazing. 

Im Mak

I think I gained about 10 pounds in 2 days. No joke.  I don’t think I have ever eaten so much good food in my life.

The semester is coming to an end and it will soon be time for me to leave U-thong. Olivia, Elana and I decided we wanted to take our teacher friends out to dinner as a thank you for everything they have done for us this semester. We invited our coordinators Nu, and Jeab, and our friends Tu, Wonchai and Bua to dinner at Tu’s family restaurant. We have become quite close with these teachers over the past few months and they have been so wonderful to us; driving us to Tesco, taking us on random adventures, and treating us to so many lunches and dinners I can’t even keep track. They are all such wonderful people and I can’t imagine my experience in Thailand without them.  

Dinner was “aroi mak” (very delicious) and I absolutely stuffed myself on fried fish, tom yum soup, gang leang(sp?) soup, and a salty fruit salad. Soooo good. The conversation at dinner may have seemed a little odd to an outsider. The farang were attempting to talk in Thai and the Thai teachers were practicing their broken English, yet somehow it worked and there was laughter and smiles all around. The teachers tried to teach us some new Thai words, none of which I can remember (dang, I need to be better about writing these things down). The one phrase I do remember: “Im mak” meaning very full.  

The next night Olivia and I were invited out for dinner by two teachers P Meow (I love her name!) and Petah (?). We went to this amazing restaurant that I didn’t even know existed (funny how we find all these new places right before we leave). The teachers speak pretty rough English, but I could tell they were so excited to be out with the foreign teachers so they could practice. As soon as we sat down a big clay pot with burning hot coals was set down in front of us. Along with a bowl of raw pork, some veggies, noodles, and a few spices. Everything we needed to begin our “hot pot” dinner. The teachers started by adding the broth and various ingredients into the bowl that was warming over the coals and we began to cook our meat. Seriously one of the best meals I have ever had. I could not stop eating. The teachers got a kick out of me saying “Im mak” every time they tried to put more food on my plate.       

Two great meals spent with great company. I’m a pretty happy (and full) girl. J

Chinese New Year

For Chinese New Year Olivia and I headed to Bangkok to check out China Town. We took a stroll down Yarawat road which was decked out in red and gold and covered with lanterns, banners and other festive decorations. We wandered through a giant, never-ending, market filled with every cheesy souvenir you could possibly think of. It was awesome.  

On Thursday we went with our school to a New Years celebration in Suphanburi at the Chinese Dragon Decedents museum, which is literally a gigantic dragon sculpture. Here we were able to see some traditional Chinese dances and performances. Of course there were fireworks (this country puts our 4^th of July to shame) and a concert by a pretty famous Thai pop band (judging by the screams of  my M2 girls).

Here are a few things I learned about Chinese New Year

-Chinese people spend the days before the New Year cleaning the entire house. This is meant to symbolize sweeping away all the ill-fortunes from the previous year and making room for all of the good fortunes that are to come in the new year.

-In China Town I saw many people burning big bonfires. I found out the people make offerings to the dead by burning items (such as fake money, fake houses etc.) to send to the afterlife. They also set out big feasts for the spirits of their ancestors.

-You are not allowed to cut your hair right before or after the New Year. You are also not allowed to wash your hair because you will be washing away your good luck. 

-2011 is the year of the Rabbit, which apparently means it will be a much calmer year than 2010 (the year of the Tiger).

Channeling My Inner Thai Chef

Wednesday I had the day off due to Chinese New Year. Olivia and I decided to head to Bangkok to take a cooking class and check out China Town.

The cooking class was so much fun. The class started with a field trip to a local market where we were able to pick up all of the fresh produce that we needed to make our dishes. On the menu: spring rolls, pad thai, som tom (papaya salad), masaman curry and fried banana with coconut ice cream These are some of my favorite dishes here in Thailand so I was really excited to learn how to cook them!

As some of you may know, I am not the best cook in the world. I was a little worried about trying to learn how to cook Thai food. There are so many ingredients that I am not familiar with and it all seems so complicated. Luckily, a friend recommended a great cooking school. Our instructor was awesome. Not only was he absolutely hilarious, he was knowledgeable and helpful.  I learned a lot about different spices and different chilies used in Thai cooking and learned the proper techniques for making som tom and curry paste. We got to eat all of the dishes we cooked and I have to say they all turned out really well. We got to keep the recipes so I am excited to try to re-create the dishes at home for my friends and family!

True Beauty

Saturday I met up with some people from OEG and it was off to hike the Erawan waterfalls. After an uncomfortable two hour bus ride (I was standing up in the aisle the whole way) we arrived at the park. Erawan is a seven tiered waterfall and we couldn’t wait to get started on the hike.  All of the levels of the waterfall were incredibly beautiful and it was a really enjoyable hike. I couldn’t get over how pretty the falls were. Some of my pictures seriously look fake. After climbing all the way to the 7^th tier (yay!) we headed back down to find a suitable place to swim. We stopped at the 5^th tier and jumped in the icy cold water. It felt so refreshing after about 2 hours of hiking. I got a little freaked out about the fish though, not going to lie. There were lots of fish that would literally come up and nibble on your feet. I can’t believe you can actually pay to get a fish pedicure (you stick your feet in a big tank of these fish and they supposedly eat all the dead skin off you feet). No thank you. So after a few minutes of frantically keeping our limbs moving to avoid the fish, we climbed up onto a waterfall for a photo-op. After that we hiked down to the 4^th tier where you can actually slide down the waterfall. I was hesitant at first because it looked a little scary, but I decided to do it (when in Thailand right?). I climbed up the huge rock and slid down. It was exhilarating. We continued our decent and caught the bus back to Kanchanburi (a much more comfortable ride). Such a fun day. Between the Erawan falls and Sangklaburi I would say this was one of my favorite weekends so far. Life is good.   

Oh yeah, there were also monkeys. Luckily they stuck to the tree tops and didn't come steal our stuff! 

The Time I Got Three Steps Into Burma

I had a four day weekend this week due to a boy scout/girl scout field trip. Olivia and I decided to head to Sangklaburi and then to the Erawan waterfalls in Kanchanaburi.

Our journey began at the crack of dawn. We decided to get up super early to ensure that we would have at least two half days to spend in Sangklaburi. The journey there was surprisingly uneventful. We were warned by some friends who had recently gone that the van ride was a bit terrifying. So I went prepared with some dramamine in my pocket and a car sick bag just in case. Luckily I didn’t need it. The last hour was a bit windy but our driver took it slow so it wasn’t so bad. 

We arrived in Sanklaburi at the wonderful P Guest House, a really cute place that overlooks a huge beautiful lake. The scenery was unbelievable. After checking in we decided to rent a canoe for the afternoon and explore a bit of the lake. This turned out to be a lot more work than we thought, but it was beautiful nonetheless and definitely worth the work out. We passed by a ton of floating houses.  Most of the locals there live on these houseboats that are literally built on bamboo rafts. So cool. We paddled all the way to the mysterious “underwater temple”. We were initially confused as we came up on what looked like the ruins of an ancient temple but it was not “underwater”. We came to the conclusion that since it is currently the dry season, the water level of the lake was probably low and perhaps in the rainy season, when the lake water is higher, the temple would indeed be underwater. We also paddled to check out the Saphan Mon bridge which is the longest wooden bridge in Thailand. Apparently you can walk across it but we weren’t feeling quite adventurous enough to try it as it looked a little rickety.

The next day we decided to go check out the Three Pagoda Pass, a monument on the Thai/Burma border. On the way there, I swear our driver was playing "how many people can you fit in a song-tau”. At one point I counted 21 people, including a kid riding on top of the car. A very interesting, and cramped, ride. We got to the Three Pagoda Pass, snapped some pictures and then walked over towards the Burma border. We saw tons of people walking back and forth what looked like the border. There was no one stopping them to check passports and no real signs, so Olivia and walked cautiously a little forward. We got about three steps in, what apparently was the “border”, before a young man wagged a finger at us and pointed back the other way. Ah well, guess i'll have to stay in Thailand. 

Sangklaburi was amazing and I was really sad to leave. It was so peaceful and the scenery was incredible. It was time to go to Kanchanburi to meet up with some fellow OEGers and hike the Erawan falls.      

Reflection

I have one month of teaching left. I can’t believe it. Is it really almost February? Wasn't it just Christmas? The semester has gone by extremely fast, but when I think back to my first few days of orientation in Bangkok, it feels like a lifetime ago. My trip has been incredible and I have seen so many amazing places and been able to do so many amazing things.  I am so grateful for that. I feel like I have really gotten used to living here. Now that I really only have a month left of “living” in Thailand, it is time to answer the dreaded question. “What’s next?” I can’t picture myself signing up for another semester. I absolutely LOVE living in Thailand; unfortunately, I am not in love with teaching. So the question is, where do I go from here?  I know that I want to travel for a while and I guess that is all I need to focus on for now.  I just need to push back the thoughts of “what am I doing with my life?” and focus on enjoying the rest of my time here in Thailand and exploring more of Southeast Asia. More amazing places and incredible adventures to come!