Busy, busy, busy!

It has been a very, very busy week!

This week was the first week of real teaching.

All of my students are wonderful.  They are such a positive, silly, excitable, and helpful group.  Sometimes they have trouble paying attention in all of their English subjects, but us girls have found it pretty easy to bring them back.  One thing that I found very interesting is that in the beginning of each class, the classroom leader says in a loud voice "please stand up!", and then all of the students stand.  In unison, and while wai-ing, the students say "good morning/afternoon Ms. Kelsey".  I then say "good morning/afternoon class.  You may sit down".  Finally the students say "thank you Ms. Kelsey", and take their seats.  At the end of every class the same thing happens; the students stand up, say thank you, and wai their classroom teachers.  It is quite nice actually!

This week was the last week of our first course!

We finished our first course this week, Special Education.  That means that us girls have been busy making presentations and writing papers on top of attending classes in the evening. The course was very, very educational.  On top of having a wonderful teacher who is passionate about the subject and really knows her stuff, it was really nice having a course in such an informal setting and with such a small group.  We have a whole week off from classes now as our next course doesn't start for another week. What to do with all that spare time??

Love you all!
Kelsey

Lost in Fish

A few of the girls and I went to chatuchak market last weekend to experience it.  According to Wikipedia, it contains upwards of 5,000 stalls spanning over 35 acres.  This information will be important later.

There was tons and tons to see there.  They sell everything from pottery, pets (monkeys too!), dishes, clothing, fake plants, tacky touristy items, paintings, sculptures, what appears to be stolen jewelry, and everything else you can think of.  They even sell roasted cockroaches....

....which Martine and I had to try.  It didn't taste that bad actually. Very salty, and a little rough/hard to chew through. I look more concerned in the second picture because, well, I started to think about the fact that I was eating a cockroach. 

After a while of moseying around in the pet section and looking at some art, we found ourselves quite lost.  Which, it being chatuchak, wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the fact that we were lost in the gigantic fish section - not the most exciting part of the market.  Mary and I left the other two girls early to go get massages (my fourth one since being here), and we never did find our way back to the entrance from which we entered.

The next day I woke up, stretched, and waddled over to my washroom.  I was jolted awake when I looked up and saw this staring back at me from my counter:

A little praying mantis! I have no idea how he got into my apartment or how he went unnoticed for so long.  But there he was!  I did the Buddhist way and gently placed him outside on my balcony.  Last time I saw him he was halfway up my balcony door......maybe he came to seek revenge for his fallen insect brethren?

My Girls

I first wanted to write about our trip to chatuchak market (lost in fish zone), and the little friend I woke up to this morning (hint - it was a bug), but I think I will save those for another time and write about something different.

I've written about my apartment, how hot it is, and what I will be teaching, but I realized today that I missed one of the more important things out here - my girls.  The girls I will be living next to, teaching with, taking classes with, exploring, discovering, weeping, and partying with.  And I couldn't be happier that I have each of them.  I wanted to share with everyone a little bit about them, because they are all so wonderful and interesting:

Jen

Jen is your go-to gal.  She is one of the most generous people I have ever met, much more concerned for your own comfort and well-being before her own.  The couple of times that we've been in a pickle, she's jumped right into the situation and solved it.  Stomach aches, home sickness, organizing cars, getting keys out from the inside of a locked apartment.... she has a cure for it all.  She will be the first person to volunteer her time, is very attuned to others' emotions, and genuinely wants to help whenever possible. She is also very responsible and methodical in her organization and planning, which I sometimes tease her about, but in actuality admire.

Martine

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the various pictures I have of Martine show it all.  Whenever I find myself feeling negatively towards something or someone, I simply relocate myself next to Martine.  I don't need to talk, or vent, just being with her helps.  She is full of energy, full of life, and full of the same child-like excitement I like to think I have.  That's why being with her is always so much fun, and probably why we have the weirdest adventures, absorptions, conversations, and songs.

Mary

I knew Mary the least when we first came out here, as I never had classes with her nor attended the same weekly meetings.  I can say though, that we became fast friends.  Mary is extremely easy to talk to and comfortable to be around. She is a fantastic listener and (usually) has a calmness about her that I find relaxing.  When she doesn't have that calmness, it's because she is giggling and blushing about something silly someone is doing.  In fact, making her giggle has quickly become one of my favourite things to do.  Playfully teasing her is made even more fun by the fact that I know she will take it good-naturedly and share a laugh about it.

Reanna

Oh Reanna.  What are we going to do with you. 

Never will you ever meet another person like Reanna, she is one in a million.  Extremely playful and creative, a perfect fit for the theater.  Whenever I am with her there is guaranteed split-your-sides laughter.  Just watching her will make you giggle and smile, which makes more sense when you find out that she is a trained horror-clown (which is fascinating, awesome, and somewhat frightening all at the same time.)  She is also super sensitive to your needs, and has a very nurturing disposition.  Case in point, on our second day here in Thailand she made everyone acrostic poems about ourselves.  That's just the kind of person she is.

Shari

Shari is a blast.  She is passionate about everything she endeavors in or has an opinion about, whether it's animals, art, coffee, teaching, or eating cockroaches, and it brings a whole new excitement to the table.  This girl has such enthusiasm, that she doesn't even need to verbalize it - her non-verbal cues are both loud and hilarious.  This passion she carries with her is also something that I admire greatly.  She is also incredibly fun to goof and joke around with, sometimes a little too-much so (remembering the morning where we did absolutely no prepping and just used each other to procrastinate. Good times. Je'mappelle)

I could never do these girls justice in one short paragraph, but I just wanted to show everyone a glimpse of how lucky I am having such a diverse, interesting, fun, and lovely group of girls to share this experience with.

Curious Methods of Transportation

I took a songthaew (pronounced by us forgeniers as "songtaow") for the first time on Friday on our way to this small shopping and dining area called Festival Walk.  A songthaew is basically a converted pickup truck with a couple of benches welded onto the back of it.  They are cheaper then taxis and buses, have a set rout, and stop when you ring a bell.

Also, they have no doors.

When I took it on Friday I was a little freaked out (I am a nervous passenger on good day), but when we took it the next day to get to chatuchak market I was so much more comfortable that I actually fell asleep.

Here is a short video of my view from the songthaew on Saturday:

Just as I thought it would be, the traffic here is crazy.  This video doesn't quite capture it though, so I will try to get a better video of what the traffic is like later.

Along with the songthaew I have taken the public bus system, taxis, a motorbike taxi, and a tuk-tuk.  I was also on a boat for a party on Friday.  Now I just need to do the train system and a rickshaw!

Holding on tight at the back of the songthaew

A less scary ride on a tuk-tuk

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all the mothers in my life a happy Mother's Day today! 

I bought this painting at the Chatuchak market yesterday.  A Momma and her baby, quite fitting for today.

Love you Mum!!!  


Thinking about and missing you,
Kisses and hugs,
Kelsey

Out with the Old!

I thought it was about time to show pictures of my apartment and to update everyone with what happened with that.

My first apartment, as I mentioned before...was the pits.  It seemed like all the broken furniture was put in there; my dresser drawer was broken and therefore unusable, one of my balcony doors wouldn't open, one of my headboard doors was busted, and my air con would never work quite right.  It also had an ant infestation (two actually, with different types of ants), which I think I took care of...but I never could get rid of the spiders. The walls were also dingy and unclean looking, with half of one of my walls not wallpapered.  The worst part though, and the only really unbearable thing about it, was the view. I looked right out onto our neighboring apartment block's wall.  This meant no natural sunlight, no view, no (quasi)-refreshing breeze.  I never did feel relaxed or comfortable in there.

Messy room!

 

The washroom and shower

The "view"

Well, I asked to be put on the wait list to move into a different apartment, and within the week I had a new apartment!  It took a while to get the key to move in as our university night courses started, but when I did I moved all my belongings into the new apartment that night. It was an easy move too, just across the hall, literally about 5 steps.

Well, things feel totally different.  I can relax in my new place; sip on tea, read, enjoy my natural sunlight and view... it also feels quite a bit larger, and things actually function properly!  I couldn't be happier with where I am now. 

Here are some pictures of my new, wonderful place:

The large entrance way, great for keeping shoes and purses.

Natural sunlight and a larger space.

Le View.

You'll notice that there is a truck parked near the bottom right of the last picture.  That is actually the fruit truck that comes by every morning.  It has a large speakerphone which the person driving (I am guessing) uses to let everyone know that he is comin' 'round.  Right after I took this picture I ran down the stairs of my apartment trying to catch him so I could have fruit for breakfast...but alas, I was too slow.

Fun Thailand...

Beautiful Thailand....