I am in Bali and I'm completely in awe, humbled, inspired. I didn't bring my laptop so this post will be short but I just need to write. I am blown away by the beauty and power of this place, to a point where I am constantly overwhelmed and at a loss for words. Feeling very very grateful.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Erawan Falls
This past weekend, Becky, Shelby and I journeyed 11 hours south to the Kanchanaburi province and visited the famous and beautiful Erawan Waterfalls.
We took a night bus from Kalasin to Bangkok on Friday evening, and let me tell you we travelled in luxury! We went through Nakhonchai Air and experienced almost full recline seating, food, drinks, and our own personal television all for 400 baht. People, that is about 13 USD for an 8 hour bus ride. YAY Thailand. The one downside was the unbelievably hokey Nakhonchai Air theme song that played on repeat for a good part of the ride.
We arrived in Bangkok at about 4:30 in the morning and were able to catch the first bus to Kanchanaburi at around 6:30. We made it into to Kanchanaburi at around 9:30 and from there it was another hour bus ride to the falls. You guys, I never thought I would be this person, but the sight of other white people, wow, it was exciting. You do not see other farangs in Kalasin, you just don't, and if you do, it is a whole hoopla and everyone says omg who is that. But yea, we got to ride in a bus chalk full of them white folks for a whole hour!
As the bus entered the park, a park employee boarded the bus and had us all pay the entrance fee which is normally 300 bhat or about 10 USD. Becky, Shelby and I whipped out our work permits and got a whopping 200 baht off!!! It went from 10 dollars to 3 dollars, noice. We felt pretty badass too, bein loc's and all (totally not true, but more so than the lamo tourists on that bus). Even with all our early morning travels, we didn't get to the falls until 11ish, and it was already quite crowded. The place we were spending the night at was even further from Kanchanaburi, and so in an effort to save time, we decided we would just hike with our backpacks.
We made sure we had enough snacks and then began our walk. The falls are made up of 7 distinct layers, and the walk to the 7th level was about 2000 meters. The first three falls are very accessible, so they were quite crowded. As you moved on to four, there was a plastic water bottle deposit, so for every bottle you took, you payed a deposit of 20 baht, which would be returned upon successfully bringing the water bottle back. A pretty smart system I suppose. We were also not allowed to bring any food up, cool, I just bought all these snacks for nothing! No worries though
The river just kept getting more beautiful the more we walked. The trail switched from concrete to rooty dirt, which we hoped would deter some people (it didn't really). The walk itself was rather easy, and in about 40 minutes we were at the top!!!!! Holy mamoly, utterly stunning. Just as we reached the final plateau, I looked up into the trees and saw a whole pack of monkeys! The male was being rather aggressive, and attempted to take some items from various tourists. Then he promptly began fornicating with a fellow female monkey, jesus have some decency. There were a bunch of freshly born baby monkeys as well, so little!
Anyways, we managed to pass by the monkeys unscathed, and immediately jumped into that beautiful ice blue pool. Within seconds, the resident fish began sucking on our toes, in search of some delicious protein rich dead skin, which I have plenty of! They were not gentle either, really went to town, and I absolutely loved it. The river is made up of a ton of different pools and waterfalls that are so perfect for scrambling about. I was having the time!!! In the main top pool, there is a slight overhang, forming a cave that you can swim under. MAGICAL. No other words. The milky blueness of the water illuminated the underside of the mineral formations of the cave, and soft silky moss and ferns grew along the sides. Becky, Shelby and I all had a moment together in which we were like "yes, this is one of those life moments". We felt like mermaids. It was stupendous.
I could have lingered in that pool the whole day but there were so many more to explore! We descended down to layer 6, which had this almost infinity poolesque sensation, because the trees opened up somewhat revealing the view of the valley below. We decided this was a good place to have a photoshoot for all our social media antics, and spent more than a few minutes being like "wait, can you take another" oh girls. Again I could have spent a lot more time here, but there was more to see! We wandered back down the trail, entering a few pools along the way. Halfway down I realized I had lost one of my shoes, which I had stupidly attached to the outside of my pack (I prefer bare feet). The velcro must have faltered. At that point I was feeling really weak and shaky and the shoe was the EXACT same color as the trail. I said heck, I don't have the energy to fruitlessly search for this right now, oh well, I shouldn't be attached to material things anyways. (although I was annoyed cause those were super great hiking sandals.............................)
There was one final pool that I had wanted to visit that had a natural water slide!!!! I was gonna do it, but in my hangry state, I decided I would rather not be stared at by 30ish people as I slid down, so I skipped.
We called our hotel and they us up from the park. Just as we were leaving, we hear our names called and turn around to find Ajay a really good friend from orientation waving hello! Again, what a coincidence, and also not at all. I'm pretty sure every weekend I have travelled, I have run into someone I know.
We rode in a Som Tao (I think that is how it is spelled), a converted pickup truck that has two benches in the back, for the 25ish minute ride to our hotel. There is something so wonderfully free about riding in the back of a truck. The warm wind was blowing our hair all about and incredible mountains surrounded us and I was happy.
The Green River Hill Resort was situated on the shores of the main lake (I don't know the name oops) of that region. I kid you not, the view looked like a postcard of what Thailand is supposed to be. I took a walk along the shores, and it was utterly peaceful. We were all somewhat tired so we had a beer, watched the sunset, read a little and passed out.
We still had some time before we needed to leave so we decided to go to the falls again the next day. We new the drill and were able to arrive early in the morning, before the crowds. Basically I just wanted to do that dang waterslide. On the hike back up, I kept an eye out for my shoe, but to no avail. We reached the water slide pool and what do you know, it is full of 30ish Thai folks, all swimming fully clothed as the Thai do, and I was like fabulous, a group of three bikinied white girls, we will really blend in. But heck I wasn't gonna let that stop me. As I sat at the top of the slide the whole pool cheered haha. And the slide was great! I did it a few more times, then floated in the pool below as the fish nibbled my feet, legs and booty. I wondered how exfoliative they actually were. I really could have lingered in that pool for hours. The presence and interaction of these little water friends was the best.
But yes, the time had come to make our way back to the Kok. Just as we reached the end of the trail, the wind began to blow, and the rain began to pour, what perfect timing. We were able to secure a som tao back to kanchanaburi for 300 baht each. Fortunately this one, had a cover and tarps lining the sides, so we were able to stay relatively dry (emphasis on relatively). I loved the wildness of the wind and the rain hammering against the car, and us huddled in the one dry corner of the truck bed.
We secured a minivan back to Bangkok and arrived at Don Muang airport with time to spare, so the natural thing to do was have a subway sandwich. Friends, family, loved ones.... what a beautiful thing this was. I had the veggie delight on honey oat, with mustard and mayo, and a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE AHHHHHHH. It was so worth the 7 dollars we paid haha.
So yea that was our weekend. SO much traveling in such a short period but that is kinda what you have to do. The weekends are short and the country is large, and it was so very worth it. I felt like this was the first weekend in which things went well, or somewhat according to plan, which was a nice change from the randomness that is Thailand.
As the bus entered the park, a park employee boarded the bus and had us all pay the entrance fee which is normally 300 bhat or about 10 USD. Becky, Shelby and I whipped out our work permits and got a whopping 200 baht off!!! It went from 10 dollars to 3 dollars, noice. We felt pretty badass too, bein loc's and all (totally not true, but more so than the lamo tourists on that bus). Even with all our early morning travels, we didn't get to the falls until 11ish, and it was already quite crowded. The place we were spending the night at was even further from Kanchanaburi, and so in an effort to save time, we decided we would just hike with our backpacks.
We made sure we had enough snacks and then began our walk. The falls are made up of 7 distinct layers, and the walk to the 7th level was about 2000 meters. The first three falls are very accessible, so they were quite crowded. As you moved on to four, there was a plastic water bottle deposit, so for every bottle you took, you payed a deposit of 20 baht, which would be returned upon successfully bringing the water bottle back. A pretty smart system I suppose. We were also not allowed to bring any food up, cool, I just bought all these snacks for nothing! No worries though
The river just kept getting more beautiful the more we walked. The trail switched from concrete to rooty dirt, which we hoped would deter some people (it didn't really). The walk itself was rather easy, and in about 40 minutes we were at the top!!!!! Holy mamoly, utterly stunning. Just as we reached the final plateau, I looked up into the trees and saw a whole pack of monkeys! The male was being rather aggressive, and attempted to take some items from various tourists. Then he promptly began fornicating with a fellow female monkey, jesus have some decency. There were a bunch of freshly born baby monkeys as well, so little!
Anyways, we managed to pass by the monkeys unscathed, and immediately jumped into that beautiful ice blue pool. Within seconds, the resident fish began sucking on our toes, in search of some delicious protein rich dead skin, which I have plenty of! They were not gentle either, really went to town, and I absolutely loved it. The river is made up of a ton of different pools and waterfalls that are so perfect for scrambling about. I was having the time!!! In the main top pool, there is a slight overhang, forming a cave that you can swim under. MAGICAL. No other words. The milky blueness of the water illuminated the underside of the mineral formations of the cave, and soft silky moss and ferns grew along the sides. Becky, Shelby and I all had a moment together in which we were like "yes, this is one of those life moments". We felt like mermaids. It was stupendous.
I could have lingered in that pool the whole day but there were so many more to explore! We descended down to layer 6, which had this almost infinity poolesque sensation, because the trees opened up somewhat revealing the view of the valley below. We decided this was a good place to have a photoshoot for all our social media antics, and spent more than a few minutes being like "wait, can you take another" oh girls. Again I could have spent a lot more time here, but there was more to see! We wandered back down the trail, entering a few pools along the way. Halfway down I realized I had lost one of my shoes, which I had stupidly attached to the outside of my pack (I prefer bare feet). The velcro must have faltered. At that point I was feeling really weak and shaky and the shoe was the EXACT same color as the trail. I said heck, I don't have the energy to fruitlessly search for this right now, oh well, I shouldn't be attached to material things anyways. (although I was annoyed cause those were super great hiking sandals.............................)
There was one final pool that I had wanted to visit that had a natural water slide!!!! I was gonna do it, but in my hangry state, I decided I would rather not be stared at by 30ish people as I slid down, so I skipped.
We called our hotel and they us up from the park. Just as we were leaving, we hear our names called and turn around to find Ajay a really good friend from orientation waving hello! Again, what a coincidence, and also not at all. I'm pretty sure every weekend I have travelled, I have run into someone I know.
We rode in a Som Tao (I think that is how it is spelled), a converted pickup truck that has two benches in the back, for the 25ish minute ride to our hotel. There is something so wonderfully free about riding in the back of a truck. The warm wind was blowing our hair all about and incredible mountains surrounded us and I was happy.
The Green River Hill Resort was situated on the shores of the main lake (I don't know the name oops) of that region. I kid you not, the view looked like a postcard of what Thailand is supposed to be. I took a walk along the shores, and it was utterly peaceful. We were all somewhat tired so we had a beer, watched the sunset, read a little and passed out.
We still had some time before we needed to leave so we decided to go to the falls again the next day. We new the drill and were able to arrive early in the morning, before the crowds. Basically I just wanted to do that dang waterslide. On the hike back up, I kept an eye out for my shoe, but to no avail. We reached the water slide pool and what do you know, it is full of 30ish Thai folks, all swimming fully clothed as the Thai do, and I was like fabulous, a group of three bikinied white girls, we will really blend in. But heck I wasn't gonna let that stop me. As I sat at the top of the slide the whole pool cheered haha. And the slide was great! I did it a few more times, then floated in the pool below as the fish nibbled my feet, legs and booty. I wondered how exfoliative they actually were. I really could have lingered in that pool for hours. The presence and interaction of these little water friends was the best.
But yes, the time had come to make our way back to the Kok. Just as we reached the end of the trail, the wind began to blow, and the rain began to pour, what perfect timing. We were able to secure a som tao back to kanchanaburi for 300 baht each. Fortunately this one, had a cover and tarps lining the sides, so we were able to stay relatively dry (emphasis on relatively). I loved the wildness of the wind and the rain hammering against the car, and us huddled in the one dry corner of the truck bed.
We secured a minivan back to Bangkok and arrived at Don Muang airport with time to spare, so the natural thing to do was have a subway sandwich. Friends, family, loved ones.... what a beautiful thing this was. I had the veggie delight on honey oat, with mustard and mayo, and a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE AHHHHHHH. It was so worth the 7 dollars we paid haha.
So yea that was our weekend. SO much traveling in such a short period but that is kinda what you have to do. The weekends are short and the country is large, and it was so very worth it. I felt like this was the first weekend in which things went well, or somewhat according to plan, which was a nice change from the randomness that is Thailand.
Bus dashboard, squid clock (I thought of you Al)
Level 1
Tarantula den
The infinity pool
Macquaqes
Where is your decency
View from our hotel room
six o'clock in the morn
Downpour as we left!
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
SOooooooooooooo, a general update of life and teaching in Thailand-
I had absolutely no idea what to expect before coming here. I have travelled quite a bit, but never in Asia, and although I had worked in classrooms, I had never written lesson plans nor led any classes. I wanted a challenge and let me tell you it has not disappointed! haha.
I had absolutely no idea what to expect before coming here. I have travelled quite a bit, but never in Asia, and although I had worked in classrooms, I had never written lesson plans nor led any classes. I wanted a challenge and let me tell you it has not disappointed! haha.
The Thai education system is..... different and I have encountered so many things that make very little sense to me. It seems like the schools are much more concerned with show versus quality education. Every morning we have an assembly with all 3500 kids, where they sing the national anthem, recite a few prayers for the king, and then go on these long tangents that I don't understand, but when I ask what they are talking about, it is the MOST mundane topics, like smiling for photos, or singing along to certain songs, etc. And they spend 10-20 minutes talking about this stuff. A lot of effort is also put into holidays and celebrations like Wai Kru, and Sunthorn Phu, like A LOT. Concerts, games, decorations, and usually the whole school takes the day off. Another indication of their concern for their appearance comes from their uniforms. All Thai students must wear uniforms but they have specific ones for specific days of the week. And they are somewhat intricate, the boys wear tassels around their socks, they were enameled pins, and neck scarves, and silly hats and what not. I will admit they do look official! These are just a few examples of many.
The actual efficiency and unglamorous side of the schools is a whole other story. I will start from the beginning. Upon arriving in Kalasin, we (the other English teachers and I) were not informed of
what grade we would be teaching until 2 days before school began. Upon receiving this information, we were
then given free reign about what we specifically wanted to teach. Although I do appreciate the freedom this
provides, it also poses many quandaries.
In terms of English curriculum, there is no national standard or
guideline to work with. So every school,
every grade, even every class, has drastically different levels of
English. This makes creating a lesson
plan rather challenging, and what is just right for one class may be way too
easy or too hard for the next class of the same grade. I have absolutely no idea what my students
were previously taught in their English classes, and therefore have no way of
knowing what information is new and relevant.
Because of this, the only option is to determine their level
of English upon entering the classroom.
But even this is difficult simply due to class size. Almost all of my classes are 50
students. FIFTY STUDENTS. Fifty bloody seventh graders. To actively engage and have
every student listening and speaking is practically impossible especially when
you are dealing with hormone riddled 7th graders…. No but seriously, its a zoo, its complete pandemonium. On top of that, I only meet with each class
once a week, so the minimal information I am able to convey during a 50 minute
period is most likely forgotten by the time I see them again the next
week.
Some of you may have seen my facebook status about the
shortage of English teachers at my school.
We currently have 4, when normally there should be six. I think our school was hoping to find those
teachers within the first few weeks of school but unfortunately this did not happen. In week 4 of the semester, we had a meeting with P’ Tommy,
one of the faculty in the Foreign Language Department. We initially spoke about our experiences in
the classroom so far, but the conversation soon turned to the English teacher
shortage issue. Basically, the semester was rapidly moving forward with no sign of new teachers, so P’ Tommy asked if we
would take on the extra grades that still did not have a Foreign English
teacher. We all were currently teaching
about the maximum number of classes our contract allows, between 16-18. By taking on these extra classes, we now teach TWENTY FOUR classes a week, all different. I will now be
going from about ~750 students to ~1300 students. JIMENY CRICKETSSSSSSS. We recieve overtime pay, which
totals about 5600 Baht a month, but there is no getting around the fact that it is absolutely exhausting.
The school is well aware of the compromise that is being
made. There is no way I can teach 24 classes with the same efficiency and dedication I could with 16 (even that is a
lot), simply because there is not enough time in the day. All my free time during the work day the
first few weeks was spent printing, lesson planning and grading work. We told P’ Tommy that we logistically cannot
do a worksheet every week, to which he said that was fine. A good amount of my classes will now consist
of games, and other activities that do not require written work. I am happy to help out, because it is clear
our school is desperate, but I also want to provide the students with actual work
and challenges.
This past week, I came to the realization that this work environment (along with adapting to living in a new country) is actually extremely stressful for me and has taken its tole physically. I don't sleep very well, my skin has been pretty bad, and I have constant mouth sores!!!! (that is how stress manifests itself in me personally) Like perpetual, I don't remember a time when I haven't had a canker sore as of late. Along with the physical aspect it appears my mind has been in lala land, I kid you not. I consider myself to be somewhat average in terms of forgetfulness back home, maybe slightly less forgetful than most on the forgetfulness scale. Since being here, its like I'm a different person.... I am SO FORGETFUL, it's just as ridiculous as it is infuriating. I have left my phone places, my wallet places, my sunglasses places, I have locked myself out and lost my credit card. I hate having to be dependent on others and affecting others with my stupidity and I have been doing more than I would like of that here. Knowing that I am not like this at home makes all the worse, because providing excuses only makes you look like a real turd. I wasn't even aware of this stress because it is very subtle. But looking back, all the signs are there!
Now that I am aware of this stress, I can take action to combat it. The whole teaching thing has definitely gotten easier as I have gotten to know my students, figured out English levels, figured out what activities work in the class, and and have built relationships with my students. I must tell myself that this is such a short commitment (literally though, I only have 2.5 more months left) and that there is no point to stress. I have begun designing lesson plans that decrease my speaking time and increase the students. Knowing how the classrooms work has better allowed me to plan accordingly. Having a strong lesson plan is key.
BUT GUYS. My students, M1's in particular. My sweet sweet students. I love them so much. I have bonded with them. The first few weeks, both the students and I were a tad uncertain about each other yet as the semester has progressed, we have all gotten more comfortable and truly become friends. I have discovered that the weirder the noises I make, and the stranger the facial expressions, the more engaged they are. There is a direct correlation between how stupid I look and how much they pay attention. I am not kidding, they eat it up! After multiple comparisons to Jim Carey, I can finally put my excessive facial expressions to use. This is a ramble, I'm sorry.
They are just so genuine and sweet, I can't explain it. I have been teaching hobbies for the past few weeks, and one of the words was "laughing" so I told my kids to give me their weirdest, most evil laughs. OMG it was hilarious. The fake laughter quickly turned into real laughter, I had tears in my eyes. And every time I come into class they stand up and greet me with the standard "good morning teacher" "good morning! How are you" "am good and you?" "I'm good! Okay have a seat" and it just melts my heart how discombobulated and out of sync the greeting is. Like they have only good intentions and they sound like a band of baboons. It genuinely makes me laugh. When I ask them questions, they get all nervous and you can tell they really really want to do well, and they get this serious look of concentration on their sweet little faces. Even if their pronunciation or grammar was not quite right, I always respond positively with a smile on my face, both because I want them to feel confident when speaking English, and because I can't help it. When I have leftover time in a class, I will just hang out with them, and we have the best time! And the little boys who have yet to hit puberty OH MY GOD. How can a creature be so cute. They are TINY!!!!!!!!! And they have the highest voices, and still untouched by that dastardly testosterone haha. They are just balls of smiley sweetness. Ahhhhh!!!
This whole rant sounds so gushy and overly sweet but I'm telling you this is truly how I feel, I'm not trying to be overly joyous for people back home. Working with these kids has brought me such joy, and I feel empathy and compassion every day that I am in the class with them. As the weeks have gotten easier, I am like gee, I don't really want to leave these kids. I am still planning on coming home after 6ish months, but the students are going to make it very very hard. Also, I just used the word "sweet" way too many times in one paragraph but that word is the very essence of these students.
But yes, as you have read, the majority of my experience so far has been challenging, but the connections I have made with my students has been really really amazing. YES CORNY, YES COOKIE CUTTER, I DON'T CARE I SPEAK THE TRUTH. K bye
They are just so genuine and sweet, I can't explain it. I have been teaching hobbies for the past few weeks, and one of the words was "laughing" so I told my kids to give me their weirdest, most evil laughs. OMG it was hilarious. The fake laughter quickly turned into real laughter, I had tears in my eyes. And every time I come into class they stand up and greet me with the standard "good morning teacher" "good morning! How are you" "am good and you?" "I'm good! Okay have a seat" and it just melts my heart how discombobulated and out of sync the greeting is. Like they have only good intentions and they sound like a band of baboons. It genuinely makes me laugh. When I ask them questions, they get all nervous and you can tell they really really want to do well, and they get this serious look of concentration on their sweet little faces. Even if their pronunciation or grammar was not quite right, I always respond positively with a smile on my face, both because I want them to feel confident when speaking English, and because I can't help it. When I have leftover time in a class, I will just hang out with them, and we have the best time! And the little boys who have yet to hit puberty OH MY GOD. How can a creature be so cute. They are TINY!!!!!!!!! And they have the highest voices, and still untouched by that dastardly testosterone haha. They are just balls of smiley sweetness. Ahhhhh!!!
This whole rant sounds so gushy and overly sweet but I'm telling you this is truly how I feel, I'm not trying to be overly joyous for people back home. Working with these kids has brought me such joy, and I feel empathy and compassion every day that I am in the class with them. As the weeks have gotten easier, I am like gee, I don't really want to leave these kids. I am still planning on coming home after 6ish months, but the students are going to make it very very hard. Also, I just used the word "sweet" way too many times in one paragraph but that word is the very essence of these students.
But yes, as you have read, the majority of my experience so far has been challenging, but the connections I have made with my students has been really really amazing. YES CORNY, YES COOKIE CUTTER, I DON'T CARE I SPEAK THE TRUTH. K bye
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Street Dog encounter
After a late meal this past Saturday, Shelby and I returned to Lucky Mansion around 11:30 at night. As we were walking up to our doors, the sweetest, skinniest little dog walked up to us. From the looks of her, she was still very young, with the face of a puppy, but had clearly had puppies. She wasn't afraid, just cautious, and when I beckoned her over she allowed me giver her a pet.
After saying goodnight to Shelby, I took a seat outside my room and just sat with her. I wanted to give her something to eat, but the only thing in my fridge was an old bag of granola. I don't know what it was, but the dog and I just had this understanding. She plopped down next to me and went to sleep. After a few minutes, I picked her up (surprisingly heavy for her little body) and put her in my apartment. I then rushed off to 7/11 in search of something to give her (side note, my debit card was accidentally cancelled so the last half of this month I have had no cash/borrowing from friends) With the last of my money, I bought her a pack of hot dogs.
When I got back to my apartment, she was sleeping in a little ball. I figured it might be best to ration the hot dogs being that she might make herself sick eating them all at once. I cut up the first one and served it to her. She didn't even stop to chew. Within seconds, the hot dogs was off the cutting board and in her stomach. So cut up another one, and another, and another. So much for rationing.
It is was recently mating season for the dogs of Thailand, and things have been aggressive - many turf wars and dog hoards roaming the streets. I could tell this little gal was absolutely exhausted, and assuming she had no home to go to, she had must have needed to remain alert at all times. I thought about letting her sleep with me in my bed, but decided against potential fleas and ticks. I tried to communicate however humans and dogs communicate that this was a one time thing, and that I could not keep her. I was going to let her sleep in my apartment until about 5:30 and then put her back out to avoid my landlady seeing. Due to her physical state, it looked like she had puppies very recently, and if she still had them I didn't want to keep her away from them for too long.
It seems that somehow she understood, and resumed her sleeping position and closed her eyes. When 5:30 rolled around she was in the same spot, no poop or pee to be found. With a pang of sadness, I picked her up, gave her another pet and a kiss and let her go. She didn't wine, or try to linger, she silently accepted and when I emerged later, she was no where to be found. I hope the bit of rest and food lifted her spirits.
I know there are a million street dogs and they all need food and homes, but the timing and situation felt right. We formed this silent, momentary friendship, and think it meant a lot to both us (CORNY). I always keep my eye out for her, but I have yet to see her again. I hope she is okay.
After saying goodnight to Shelby, I took a seat outside my room and just sat with her. I wanted to give her something to eat, but the only thing in my fridge was an old bag of granola. I don't know what it was, but the dog and I just had this understanding. She plopped down next to me and went to sleep. After a few minutes, I picked her up (surprisingly heavy for her little body) and put her in my apartment. I then rushed off to 7/11 in search of something to give her (side note, my debit card was accidentally cancelled so the last half of this month I have had no cash/borrowing from friends) With the last of my money, I bought her a pack of hot dogs.
When I got back to my apartment, she was sleeping in a little ball. I figured it might be best to ration the hot dogs being that she might make herself sick eating them all at once. I cut up the first one and served it to her. She didn't even stop to chew. Within seconds, the hot dogs was off the cutting board and in her stomach. So cut up another one, and another, and another. So much for rationing.
It is was recently mating season for the dogs of Thailand, and things have been aggressive - many turf wars and dog hoards roaming the streets. I could tell this little gal was absolutely exhausted, and assuming she had no home to go to, she had must have needed to remain alert at all times. I thought about letting her sleep with me in my bed, but decided against potential fleas and ticks. I tried to communicate however humans and dogs communicate that this was a one time thing, and that I could not keep her. I was going to let her sleep in my apartment until about 5:30 and then put her back out to avoid my landlady seeing. Due to her physical state, it looked like she had puppies very recently, and if she still had them I didn't want to keep her away from them for too long.
It seems that somehow she understood, and resumed her sleeping position and closed her eyes. When 5:30 rolled around she was in the same spot, no poop or pee to be found. With a pang of sadness, I picked her up, gave her another pet and a kiss and let her go. She didn't wine, or try to linger, she silently accepted and when I emerged later, she was no where to be found. I hope the bit of rest and food lifted her spirits.
I know there are a million street dogs and they all need food and homes, but the timing and situation felt right. We formed this silent, momentary friendship, and think it meant a lot to both us (CORNY). I always keep my eye out for her, but I have yet to see her again. I hope she is okay.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
4th of July Weekend
Heads up! This is a longggggg post
Happy fourth of July everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful day filled American esque activites.
For our 4th of July weekend, Shelby, Becky and I had planned on spending the night a this national park about 1 hour and 45 minutes east of Kalasin. Some of the other teachers in our town had already been there and it sounded amazing. They slept in bungalows on this huge lake and frolicked in waterfalls, so we said heck yes, lets go. We rose at 7 on Saturday morning, packed and headed to bus station. The park is on the way to the town of Sakon Nakhon, and we were told to just get on that bust and indicate that we wanted to be dropped off at the park. This seems like a simple request right? Apparently not. Becky had a screen shot of where the parks website, we repeated multiple times Phu Pan national park, and it appeared they understood us.
The bus ride was really beautiful! It is much more mountainous to the East of Kalasin and we took this windy road through the jungle. At one point, I looked out the window and saw some creature off to the side and it turns out it was a monkey! In fact there was a whole troop of them, with weeeee little babies hanging off their mamas, one was running around with half a watermelon. I was not aware that there were monkeys in this part of Thailand so I was pleasantly surprised.
Eventually the bus driver indicates that we are at the stop for Phu Pan and we got off. Within seconds of emerging we realize that there is a town called Phu Pan and that is where we actually got off. There was a police station across the way, so we walked over hoping they might have some information. We repeated Phu Pan National Park about a million different times trying all the tones, along with the words lake, waterfall, etc. After much confusion, they seemed to half understand and pointed down the road to a bigger police station indicating we should walk that way. With no other option we did just that, and walked into the parking lot of the larger police station which was about 200 meters down the road. Clearly the people working here had never had any farangs set foot on the premise because everyone and their mother came out to observe our blatant whiteness. We asked a few people "English?" and they all shook their heads. Finally one man attempted to find out what we needed, and he said the park entrance was still about 7 kilometers down the road. It was walkable but we didn't have that much water. We mimed the act of driving and said "tao rai ka?" which means how much. I guess the man took pity on us and said "oh alright" (in Thai of course). We all hopped into his pickup truck, and savored the 7 minutes of air conditioned silence.
He pulled into the park entrance and we thanked him profusely, and offered payment which he did not take. So we had made it to the park! Easy peasy lemon squeasy right? NO. We enter the ranger station and say hello to the man and woman working there. Just outside the door was a MASSIVE sign with all the various accommodations at the park- cabins in the woods, elevated huts along the lake, camping in tents, etc. We pointed to the lake bungalows and mimed the act of sleeping hoping to convey that is where we wanted to sleep. The woman seemed to understand and had us follow her away from the station. We wandered through the jungle expecting to reach the bungalows but instead were led to the camping area. She and another man kept saying "tent" and we were like no we do not have a tent, we want to go the lake and the waterfall, and tried miming this and that and using the word "nam" for water. They sort of understood and shook their head about the lake, and said the waterfalls had dried up because there had not been enough rain recently (it is supposed to be rainy season right now, where it rains every single day, yet it has been dry as a bone, very disconcerting). So we said hmmmm okay well, is there hiking, and they nodded and led us to a map of a hike. We decided that if we couldn't do anything else at least we could take a walk in the jungle. So we thanked them and they walked away. We then proceed to look for the trailhead and it is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND...... We traipsed about for a bit, hoping it might reveal itself and finally conclude that this park is a lot larger than we thought, the various sights are scattered too far apart and would need a car of some sort, and we don't actually know where anything is. So we say heck this isn't working, time for plan B.
We get back on the road and start walking towards the bus stop 7 kilometers down the way. It is very hot, and there is absolutely no shoulder on the road, so every two seconds, large vehicles rush by us at high speeds. It was extremely unpleasant!!! We all had it in our minds that we should hitchhike, so we turn around and within a few moments this man had pulled over and let us get in. He drove us right back to the bus stop we had been at about an hour before. Being that Thailand operates on Thai time, there was no set bus schedule, we just trusted that a bus would eventually show up. We sleepily lounged at that bus station for a good hour, drifting in and out of a hot, hazy sleep. Finally a mini van rolled around with 2 seats available. So I sat awkwardly on this half seat thing near the front, for the ride back to Kalasin.
I suppose I'm just being a negative nancy but I feel like the questions we were asking the park staff was sooooooo basic. Like where is the lake, where is the waterfall, where are the huts that we can sleep in. We were not asking deep philosophical questions here. These are questions that pretty much every park goer will be asking.
So we made the journey back to Kalasin, arrived at aboutt 3:13 and hopped into another mini van bound for Kon Khaen at 3:20 heading west. Kon Khaen is about an hour away and is the largest town in this region. It boasts an airport, western restaurants AND a movie theater that plays films IN ENGLISH. Wow, luxury.
We arrived in Kon Khaen at about 4:30 had a coffee, had a shower and soon discovered there was a fourth of july celebration with an unlimited buffet at Didines, one of the farang restaurants starting at 6! Oh universe you funny lil thing you. and Oh the foods we ate- ribs, pulled pork, mac n cheese, grilled veggies, deviled eggs, rolls, ranch, home fries. It was pretty glorious!! They were also serving Thai craft beers, which are illegal in Thailand, which I find so bizarre. There are only two breweries in all of Thailand, Chang, and Leo, which also produces Singha. So yea, we partook in some illegal activities haha. It was a nice evening, and the event brought out all the farangs from the region. We ran into friends from orientation and some girls I had met when I was in Phetchabun a few weeks back. Such a small world but then again it's really not a coincidence at all.
The next day, Shelby, Becky and I sought air conditioned solace at the quadruple storied mega mall of Kon Khaen. I had a donut at Daddy Dough (the brand names are hilarious), and then we all saw Terminator in English. It is so interesting, whenever you see a film at the cinema, you must stand for a few minutes while they play film clips to honor the king. Such a foreign concept to me. The movie was actually rather entertaining and we all appreciated spending a few hours in a dark cold place.
We wanted to get back to Kalasin at a reasonable hour so after lunch at delicious vegetarian restaurant, we headed to the bus station. Turned out the next bus was coming in an hour so we took a walk and eventually made our way to a 7/11 near the station where we again sought out the sweet relief of air conditioning (It is extraordinarily hot, and even the locals are mentioning how it has never been this hot, some have even resorted to buying aircons for their homes, climate changeeeeee). We still had about 40 minutes when the woman who sold us the ticket entered and indicated that the van was here now and that we needed to go! HOW the woman new we were in the 7 was beyond us. We realized that there is simply no way to blend in, and hypothesized that people were saying "word on the street is that the farangs are in 7." What is life. Anyways we were very grateful, and jumped into a van for the fourth time this weekend and made our way back to Kalasin.
All in all the weekend worked out extraordinarily well, and rather then getting bummed about certain situations, we sought out new ones, with positive results! I'm telling you, to live in Thailand, you must adopt the "mai pen rai" attitude, or the "it's all good" attitude. The sooner you do that, the sooner you realize that wow, it is in fact, all good.
A few cellphone pics
Happy fourth of July everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful day filled American esque activites.
For our 4th of July weekend, Shelby, Becky and I had planned on spending the night a this national park about 1 hour and 45 minutes east of Kalasin. Some of the other teachers in our town had already been there and it sounded amazing. They slept in bungalows on this huge lake and frolicked in waterfalls, so we said heck yes, lets go. We rose at 7 on Saturday morning, packed and headed to bus station. The park is on the way to the town of Sakon Nakhon, and we were told to just get on that bust and indicate that we wanted to be dropped off at the park. This seems like a simple request right? Apparently not. Becky had a screen shot of where the parks website, we repeated multiple times Phu Pan national park, and it appeared they understood us.
The bus ride was really beautiful! It is much more mountainous to the East of Kalasin and we took this windy road through the jungle. At one point, I looked out the window and saw some creature off to the side and it turns out it was a monkey! In fact there was a whole troop of them, with weeeee little babies hanging off their mamas, one was running around with half a watermelon. I was not aware that there were monkeys in this part of Thailand so I was pleasantly surprised.
Eventually the bus driver indicates that we are at the stop for Phu Pan and we got off. Within seconds of emerging we realize that there is a town called Phu Pan and that is where we actually got off. There was a police station across the way, so we walked over hoping they might have some information. We repeated Phu Pan National Park about a million different times trying all the tones, along with the words lake, waterfall, etc. After much confusion, they seemed to half understand and pointed down the road to a bigger police station indicating we should walk that way. With no other option we did just that, and walked into the parking lot of the larger police station which was about 200 meters down the road. Clearly the people working here had never had any farangs set foot on the premise because everyone and their mother came out to observe our blatant whiteness. We asked a few people "English?" and they all shook their heads. Finally one man attempted to find out what we needed, and he said the park entrance was still about 7 kilometers down the road. It was walkable but we didn't have that much water. We mimed the act of driving and said "tao rai ka?" which means how much. I guess the man took pity on us and said "oh alright" (in Thai of course). We all hopped into his pickup truck, and savored the 7 minutes of air conditioned silence.
He pulled into the park entrance and we thanked him profusely, and offered payment which he did not take. So we had made it to the park! Easy peasy lemon squeasy right? NO. We enter the ranger station and say hello to the man and woman working there. Just outside the door was a MASSIVE sign with all the various accommodations at the park- cabins in the woods, elevated huts along the lake, camping in tents, etc. We pointed to the lake bungalows and mimed the act of sleeping hoping to convey that is where we wanted to sleep. The woman seemed to understand and had us follow her away from the station. We wandered through the jungle expecting to reach the bungalows but instead were led to the camping area. She and another man kept saying "tent" and we were like no we do not have a tent, we want to go the lake and the waterfall, and tried miming this and that and using the word "nam" for water. They sort of understood and shook their head about the lake, and said the waterfalls had dried up because there had not been enough rain recently (it is supposed to be rainy season right now, where it rains every single day, yet it has been dry as a bone, very disconcerting). So we said hmmmm okay well, is there hiking, and they nodded and led us to a map of a hike. We decided that if we couldn't do anything else at least we could take a walk in the jungle. So we thanked them and they walked away. We then proceed to look for the trailhead and it is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND...... We traipsed about for a bit, hoping it might reveal itself and finally conclude that this park is a lot larger than we thought, the various sights are scattered too far apart and would need a car of some sort, and we don't actually know where anything is. So we say heck this isn't working, time for plan B.
We get back on the road and start walking towards the bus stop 7 kilometers down the way. It is very hot, and there is absolutely no shoulder on the road, so every two seconds, large vehicles rush by us at high speeds. It was extremely unpleasant!!! We all had it in our minds that we should hitchhike, so we turn around and within a few moments this man had pulled over and let us get in. He drove us right back to the bus stop we had been at about an hour before. Being that Thailand operates on Thai time, there was no set bus schedule, we just trusted that a bus would eventually show up. We sleepily lounged at that bus station for a good hour, drifting in and out of a hot, hazy sleep. Finally a mini van rolled around with 2 seats available. So I sat awkwardly on this half seat thing near the front, for the ride back to Kalasin.
I suppose I'm just being a negative nancy but I feel like the questions we were asking the park staff was sooooooo basic. Like where is the lake, where is the waterfall, where are the huts that we can sleep in. We were not asking deep philosophical questions here. These are questions that pretty much every park goer will be asking.
So we made the journey back to Kalasin, arrived at aboutt 3:13 and hopped into another mini van bound for Kon Khaen at 3:20 heading west. Kon Khaen is about an hour away and is the largest town in this region. It boasts an airport, western restaurants AND a movie theater that plays films IN ENGLISH. Wow, luxury.
We arrived in Kon Khaen at about 4:30 had a coffee, had a shower and soon discovered there was a fourth of july celebration with an unlimited buffet at Didines, one of the farang restaurants starting at 6! Oh universe you funny lil thing you. and Oh the foods we ate- ribs, pulled pork, mac n cheese, grilled veggies, deviled eggs, rolls, ranch, home fries. It was pretty glorious!! They were also serving Thai craft beers, which are illegal in Thailand, which I find so bizarre. There are only two breweries in all of Thailand, Chang, and Leo, which also produces Singha. So yea, we partook in some illegal activities haha. It was a nice evening, and the event brought out all the farangs from the region. We ran into friends from orientation and some girls I had met when I was in Phetchabun a few weeks back. Such a small world but then again it's really not a coincidence at all.
The next day, Shelby, Becky and I sought air conditioned solace at the quadruple storied mega mall of Kon Khaen. I had a donut at Daddy Dough (the brand names are hilarious), and then we all saw Terminator in English. It is so interesting, whenever you see a film at the cinema, you must stand for a few minutes while they play film clips to honor the king. Such a foreign concept to me. The movie was actually rather entertaining and we all appreciated spending a few hours in a dark cold place.
We wanted to get back to Kalasin at a reasonable hour so after lunch at delicious vegetarian restaurant, we headed to the bus station. Turned out the next bus was coming in an hour so we took a walk and eventually made our way to a 7/11 near the station where we again sought out the sweet relief of air conditioning (It is extraordinarily hot, and even the locals are mentioning how it has never been this hot, some have even resorted to buying aircons for their homes, climate changeeeeee). We still had about 40 minutes when the woman who sold us the ticket entered and indicated that the van was here now and that we needed to go! HOW the woman new we were in the 7 was beyond us. We realized that there is simply no way to blend in, and hypothesized that people were saying "word on the street is that the farangs are in 7." What is life. Anyways we were very grateful, and jumped into a van for the fourth time this weekend and made our way back to Kalasin.
All in all the weekend worked out extraordinarily well, and rather then getting bummed about certain situations, we sought out new ones, with positive results! I'm telling you, to live in Thailand, you must adopt the "mai pen rai" attitude, or the "it's all good" attitude. The sooner you do that, the sooner you realize that wow, it is in fact, all good.
A few cellphone pics
Roadside walkin
Brewskies
feast
Happy
Me and daddy dough!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Adventures Around Kalasin
***I'm having writers block, so sorry if this is badly written
Today Ryan, Ginny, Shelby, Becky and I visited a somewhat famous Buddhist temple just outside Kalasin. What a magical place. The whole area was shaded by giant trees, and paths twisted in and out of the forest. Everywhere you looked, there were peacocks and chickens clucking and scratching the dirt. This temple in particular is special because they have mummies! We entered the room in which they are kept and it was the most eery experience. It was like a bizarre antique shop, skeletons and skulls were piled along the walls, and jars of strange pickled fetuses were just hanging out. In the center of the room were about nine glass cases, and in each was a preserved monk. It was surreal. Apparently they were kept on display to show us that one day we will end up like this, a sort of humbling exercise. On the other side of the room were three wax monks that were so lifelike it took me a good while to discern whether or not they were in deep meditation or if they were in fact fake.
We then wandered over to this lake like structure with another temple on an island in the middle. The island itself had a few rabbits that lived there, and it was such a funny image to see the rabbits lounging next to a Buddha. The top part of the temple had a giant gold buddha, and the basement contained artifacts of deceased monks. There was a shelf full of little glass amulet things that containing teeth. Many urns of monk ashes were also stored there.
As we were walking along the lake we encountered a MASSIVE iguana, I'm not sure how he ended up there but he was quite impressive. We then walked over to this other structure where a highly esteemed monk would bless the visitors. We removed our shoes (which I initially forgot oops) and then bowed before him. He then threw each of us a bracelet that he himself had blessed. A very cool experience.
Lastly we visited a room that contained all the possessions of a highly revered monk who had passed away a few years back. Everything from his golf cart to his tea kettle were there, and people considered it an honor to be able to look upon his belongings. This little temple excursion was SO COOL and so bizarre, especially because Buddhism is such an exotic religion to us farangs.
After, we drove out to Lam Pao dam, about 30 minutes outside of Kalasin. It was sooooooo nice to be able to swim in a natural waterway. You could rent an inner tube for 40 baht and raft down the little rapids. We were SUCH a spectacle haha. Floating down the rapid, I had an audience of about 40 people staring so blatantly it was hard not to laugh. Thai people avoid the sun because they do not want to darken their skin (oh the irony) so everyone was swimming fully clothed. We initially were going to swim in our bathing suits but thought better and followed Thai suit.
After we'd had our swim, we hung out in these little bungalows and had a meal of Som Tam, sticky rice, grilled fish and chicken. What a pleasure it was.
The ride back was absolutely beautiful. We drove past so many rice paddies, water buffalos, cows, and beautiful little Thai homes. The surrounding area of Kalasin is truly stunning and it felt so good to get out of town. It made me really consider getting a motorbike so I could access these beautiful places.
Today Ryan, Ginny, Shelby, Becky and I visited a somewhat famous Buddhist temple just outside Kalasin. What a magical place. The whole area was shaded by giant trees, and paths twisted in and out of the forest. Everywhere you looked, there were peacocks and chickens clucking and scratching the dirt. This temple in particular is special because they have mummies! We entered the room in which they are kept and it was the most eery experience. It was like a bizarre antique shop, skeletons and skulls were piled along the walls, and jars of strange pickled fetuses were just hanging out. In the center of the room were about nine glass cases, and in each was a preserved monk. It was surreal. Apparently they were kept on display to show us that one day we will end up like this, a sort of humbling exercise. On the other side of the room were three wax monks that were so lifelike it took me a good while to discern whether or not they were in deep meditation or if they were in fact fake.
We then wandered over to this lake like structure with another temple on an island in the middle. The island itself had a few rabbits that lived there, and it was such a funny image to see the rabbits lounging next to a Buddha. The top part of the temple had a giant gold buddha, and the basement contained artifacts of deceased monks. There was a shelf full of little glass amulet things that containing teeth. Many urns of monk ashes were also stored there.
As we were walking along the lake we encountered a MASSIVE iguana, I'm not sure how he ended up there but he was quite impressive. We then walked over to this other structure where a highly esteemed monk would bless the visitors. We removed our shoes (which I initially forgot oops) and then bowed before him. He then threw each of us a bracelet that he himself had blessed. A very cool experience.
Lastly we visited a room that contained all the possessions of a highly revered monk who had passed away a few years back. Everything from his golf cart to his tea kettle were there, and people considered it an honor to be able to look upon his belongings. This little temple excursion was SO COOL and so bizarre, especially because Buddhism is such an exotic religion to us farangs.
After, we drove out to Lam Pao dam, about 30 minutes outside of Kalasin. It was sooooooo nice to be able to swim in a natural waterway. You could rent an inner tube for 40 baht and raft down the little rapids. We were SUCH a spectacle haha. Floating down the rapid, I had an audience of about 40 people staring so blatantly it was hard not to laugh. Thai people avoid the sun because they do not want to darken their skin (oh the irony) so everyone was swimming fully clothed. We initially were going to swim in our bathing suits but thought better and followed Thai suit.
After we'd had our swim, we hung out in these little bungalows and had a meal of Som Tam, sticky rice, grilled fish and chicken. What a pleasure it was.
The ride back was absolutely beautiful. We drove past so many rice paddies, water buffalos, cows, and beautiful little Thai homes. The surrounding area of Kalasin is truly stunning and it felt so good to get out of town. It made me really consider getting a motorbike so I could access these beautiful places.
Preserved monk mummies, so very eery
A wax figure, sooo incredibly lifelike, from the wrinkles to the liver spots
#fashion
Monks on Facebook in the background, monk mummies in the foreground
Jovial skeletons
offerings
treasures hidden among the trees
Bunny and Buddha
Deceased monk teeth
monk ashes
Lampao Lake, look at those colors!
This creature supposedly existed at one point, but was blown out of the water by the Americans during one of the wars
Lampao Dam
Feast!
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