Gone...

So I've been in Thailand a little over a week now. Spent a full 2.5 days of traveling to get here. Good lord, I flew from Dallas to Minneapolis. One of the engines went out so we stayed in MN FOREVER! That meant that I would miss my connection in Tokyo. So Delta ended up putting everyone up in a nice hotel in Tokyo with dinner, breakfast & transportation included. I was just grateful for a real bed! I'm never flying overseas with Delta again. We didn't even have our own TV screen. From Tokyo I went to Bangkok & from there to Surat Thani. My new home. So far it's okay. I'm not overwhelmed by how amazing it is. But it's not bad either. I got in Friday evening & met most of my fellow co-workers. Everyone is really cool & laid back. Slept most of Sat. I'm not usually affected by jetlag, but this time I was! I observed for 2 days & then started teaching on Wed. So my morning classes are at a Catholic school. I'm lucky because I have 2 rooms that have AC! A true luxury in Surat! I teach 3 classes in the morning, 55 2nd graders. Sounds like a lot, but it's easy to manage actually. I have an amazing Thai teacher in the room with me so she handles the discipline. After those classes are finished I head to our private language school called Super English. I teach 2 classes there each day from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The classes are a lot smaller but more difficult to teach. I think the reason is that the age range is so drastic. My first class ranges from 4-10 years old. And my 2nd one ranges from 8 to 16 years old! So, the challenge is classroom management & how to keep everyone engaged. Still haven't figured it out, but I'm working on it. Also, we don't really have a set curriculum to follow, which is great, but also hard.
I miss everyone back home a lot though. I was having so much fun before I left. I got super close with my friends in Dallas. Stacy just moved back. I get sad when I think of everyone back home hanging out & I'm not there.
So we have a long weekend coming up & I get to see BJ & Nicole! I absolutely can't wait! I'm meeting them in Bangkok. Surat is a really laid back town. I think there's around 200,000 people. All of my coworkers have motorbikes. I've been using a bicycle to get around. I like riding it, but I sweat sooooo much! It's pretty hot & humid here. Feel like I'm always sweating. The food is amazing! And SUPER cheap! My dinner the other night as 80 cents! There's a night market right by our school so a group of us goes every night. They have EVERYTHING! And most meals are usually around $1. I'm hoping to find a yoga studio this week & start doing yoga.
Hmmmm....what else? Not much. I've talked to a lot of people from home this weekend. I haven't really done all that much. I've been watching a lot of 30 Rock, movies, reading. I'm reading The Beach right now. I have a totally different perspective on it since I'm living in Surat. Most of the book takes place around my town! I've been able to go running at a stadium track in the mornings so that's cool. The house I'm living in is very...hmmm...what shall I call it...."modest?" We don't always have running water, it's always cold, lots of ants, found a HUGE scorpion the other day, the occasional roach, etc. My house is like a place you would stay if you were backpacking through asia. So, if you were a little bit high mateniance, it wouldn't fly for you. To live in Surat you gotta be pretty open-minded & laid back.
So, for the next couple of months we have some long weekends. Then we are off ALL of October. Then we have some time off around Xmas. Then we are off ALL March & April & maybe some of May. Then I go home! Not too shabby. Lots of time to travel. Granted we don't get paid, but still. I need to start thinking about where I want to go.
Oh yeah, did I tell you that my dad is engaged??!! I'm so happy for him! Mary Ann is an amazing woman! Congratulations Daddy Bear!
xoxo