Orienting The Disoriented

It’s been a long week.  CIEE and its Thai partner OEG did a great job of pulling off an informative and fun orientation despite the fact that much of Thailand, including Bangkok, was under a constant threat of flooding.  Apparently, this is the worst flooding that Thailand has seen in years (ever?), and some of the schools in Bangkok and in the Northern provinces won’t be starting school for another week or two because they are under water.  Pretty crazy stuff.

The orientation focused on two main issues: teaching us the basics of the Thai language, and teaching us how to be teachers.  The Thai language is tonal, meaning that there are several ways to say the same word, and where you place the emphasis often determines the word’s meaning (?!).  Um, right…not easy.  There are about 140 people on this program, and though some are teachers in the US, the majority are not, so most of us had a lot to learn, and quickly.  Small group exercises, role playing, large group exercises, songs, games, you name it.  Hope I can remember all of this stuff when I actually have to stand in front of a class next week.  We’ll see.

Orientation wasn’t all work though; we did some cool stuff too.

Pooja, me, Abby at the Grand Palace in Bangkok (had to wear knee-length clothing that covered the shoulders)

I heard that we were supposed to ride elephants and go rafting in the north of Thailand, but that was cancelled because of the flooding (bummer…that would have been incredible). Instead, we went to an ocean front resort just outside of Pattaya on the gulf coast.

Dinner in Jomtien, on the way to Pattaya

Hotel room view in Pattaya

Pattaya is generally a seedy place and it’s not uncommon to see beautiful young Thai girls walking around holding hands with old, gross men from the west. It’s a big party place though, and I’m sure I’ll go back, especially because I will be living so close. It is what it is unfortunately.

Walking Street- Pattaya

Ice Bar!

Orientation ended on Friday, October 28^th, and it was time for all of us to move on to our respective schools.  I had a great week, met some great people, and was sad that I had to say goodbye.  I found out during orientation that I was the only person placed at my school, meaning I would pretty much be living on my own in my part of town (there are others in my town somewhere…hoping to connect at some point).  It’s been a somewhat lonely 24 hours (I seem to be the only person living in this empty apartment building....), but I’ll discuss that more in my next entry (thank god I have internet service in my place…I think I would go crazy otherwise).  Hopefully, it will be a non-issue by the middle of next week.  School starts Monday; wish me luck.  Until next time….Sawatdee KAH (which I now know is the correct way to say goodbye)!

Hot Hot Heat in Bangkok

And I’m not talking about these guys

After a LONG, sleepless 27 hour journey, I landed in Bangkok on Saturday the 22nd and was greeted by 80 degree heat and humidity the second I walked off of the plane.  At 7am.  Yowza.  After claiming my luggage, going through customs, and purchasing a Thai SIM card for my iPhone, I took a taxi to the orientation hotel, checked into my room, and immediately hit the shower (best.feeling.ever).  I picked up my orientation packet at 10am and decided to walk around town with a couple of girls on the program.  The orientation hotel isn’t exactly in the center of Bangkok unfortunately; conversely, it’s on the outskirts of the city, and there isn’t much to see/do.  The girls decided to hit the pool after our 20 minute walk, so I cabbed it solo to the Chatuchak Market, the biggest weekend market in Bangkok.  This place is massive and literally has anything and everything you could possibly want; furniture, pets, clothing, trinkets, and yes, even flat irons!  I had my first official Thai meal here too…BBQ chicken and rice and a bowl of soup.  This meal cost me a little over $1.00.

Let me know if anyone wants one of these little guys for their mantel

After spending 2.5 hours shopping at the market, I hopped in another cab and headed to Khao San Road (http://www.khaosanroad.com/). Khao San Road is pretty well known among backpackers and tourists, mostly for its street vendors, cafes, and lively nightlife. 

Not unlike Rocky at the Philly Art Museum steps, one has to get their picture with Ronald ‘doing the wai’

At 2:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday, Khao San was already pretty hopping, so I will definitely be going back there for a night out soon. My goal this day, though, was simply to stay awake until 8pm so I could get my body on Thai time.  After two Thai foot massages (a-mazing), I decided I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and headed back to the hotel by 6:00.  My orientation roommate had arrived, and just as exhausted as I, we called it a night at 8pm.  Sleep was never so welcomed.

Orientation started on Sunday and I’ll update soon about our busy week.  Until next time.…Sawatdee!

Counting Down!

It's kind of hard for me to believe that in a few short days, I am heading to SE Asia for 8 months of adventure and travel!  What seemed like only a pipe dream back in February is quickly becoming my reality.  On Thursday, October 20th, I head to Thailand to teach English for 5 months, and then will be staying through June 2012 to travel around Asia.  I'm both excited and nervous to get things underway, and hope I have both the internet access and perseverance to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible :-)

I am teaching in Thailand through an organization called CIEE (www.ciee.org); I actually used CIEE years ago when I took a year off after college and traveled/worked in New Zealand and Australia.  CIEE provides a week-long orientation in Bangkok before sending us off to our cities/schools to teach for the semester.  Hello hot and humid; the first thing I am buying when I get off of the plane is a flat iron.

After orientation, I head to Chonburi, Thailand.  Chonburi is about 1.5 hours from Bangkok, and very close to the beaches on the gulf coast (yay)!  They sent me a few pictures of my accomodation; fairly basic, but the place has air conditioning, and really, that's all I needed to hear to make me happy.

I'll be teaching kindergarten and elementary school kids at the Prabhassorn Vidhaya School in Chonburi.  It's a private, co-ed school with approximately 30-45 (!) students per class; hope I can stuff enough silly bands into my suitcase to encourage good behavior!

Did you think I wouldn't put this song on here?  You know you love it.

Looking forward to updating from The Land of Smiles soon!  Until next time....Sawatdee!