Greetings and Sawatdee

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Good Day at School

Wednesdays are always longer days and I am tired but I'm sorry, this is going to be a short post.

I started the day off with Grade 7a which was really fun and interesting though they are quite noisy. We did have a great discussion about what our talents were and how they'd contribute to what we wanted to be when we grow up, even if abstractly.

A couple hours after the grade seven class I had 8a. This group was good, pretty well behaved and it was good. I had a three hour break after this class where I wrote my lesson summaries (I write one after every lesson) and then wrote five letters.

Then came the highlight of the teaching day! Grade 8b. I know they are the difficult class most of the time but I still believe that they are certainly the most interesting and they are awesomely funny and really smart. I've been starting off every class this week with a cooperation activity and this class performed the task amazingly. They were the fastest and most efficient group out of all of the classes. They were 20 seconds faster than the fastest class to date and they dropped the ball a lot less (I do literally mean ball we were playing a passing game with a ball and eventually many balls). I was so impressed by them. We played a quick go of Simon says and for the class who "isn't supposed to" have proper listening skills or respectful and attentive behavior they sure listened very carefully to what I said and it was hard to trip them up. I think that the other teachers are too quick to judge this class. I love them! I think that they are really an amazing group and so unified!

So all in all I think I'm learning how to deal with my classes individually and it's a lot of fun. Even though we're not yet at the point that we're getting through too many lessons I think I'm learning how to work with them and am earning their trust and respect.

I was so excited today to get another letter in the mail, complete with pictures! Thank you Krista!

Krista sent me pictures from my going away party at the 'Bucks as well as some other really funny pictures from around our store. People's facial expressions and stances in the pictures were so.... "them" that it sometimes made me laugh out loud when flipping through. A funny picture of Roy even brought out the "starbucks" voice in me saying (in typical starbucks lilting tones) "Oh Roy!" I put many of them on the wall above my bed with all of my other photos of my family. Thanks again Krista.

Also for those of you who were concerned my mouth is feeling much better today, thanks. (If you don't know what I'm referring to here see yesterday's post and the one for Monday).

Today's picture is from the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Dentist Day

This morning I had a great class with my grade 9a students, they were really fun and caught on to the games really quickly. After my class I wrote a letter and then went to the dentist... ugh.

The dentist took me in early instead of having me wait around which wasnice and after a few x-rays and some poking around he decided on a filling.He didn't speak very much English but it was enough that I understood whathe was saying. Here they put a cloth over your eyes when working on yourmouth, probably so that nothing splashes in your eyes but it's actuallyquite nice and the effect is pretty soothing. I am not usually very wellbehaved when it comes to seeing the dentist, it makes me very apprehensive,and so I was very proud of myself today. I didn't bite, I wasn't rude, and Ididn't panic (though at one point I was a bit freaked). This dentist ispretty skilled at administering needles and getting the freezing wasn't bad,he didn't even bruise the inside of my mouth as many dentists have in thepast. I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable experience but it was ok andaffordable. I have to go back on Thursday for him to check the filling andfor him to polish it up.

In the afternoon I went for a swim but I'm so used to the heat outside that the pool felt too cold and I couldn't stay in too long. I was getting goose bumps. After my brief swim I had a little nap on one of the deck chairs so that I could warm up in the sun. In the early evening I made a quick trip to Carrefour where I mailed more letters and bought some soup (since I'm not allowed to chew on the right side of my mouth for two days).

This evening has been pretty low key. I talked to my parents which was nice and we talked about all sorts of things I hadn't had a chance to really chat with them about yet. I hadn't talked to Dad in a while since our schedules haven't been matching, I was really happy that we got to talk. Mom and Dad's lives have been pretty busy since they're leaving for Africa soon.

I also wanted to mention that I got my first postal letter from Canada today! Thank you Michelle for writing me, after a long day involving a trip to the dentist you really made my day.

Today's picture is another from Wat Phra Kaeo. Everywhere in Thailand there are giant pots filled with water and have fish and lotus flowers growing in them. The lotus represents enlightenment I have been told. It is also a symbol of the Buddha and his teachings, so people have them all over, especially at the temples. You can see the reflection of one of the temples in the water of my picture. The flower must be really sweet there are always many bees/wasps in them.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Urg

Last night I don't know if I didn't hear my alarm or turned it off in my sleep (most likely) or what but I woke up slightly late for the Holyday. I wasn't really late but it was kind of a boo for me. After we said some prayers and had the program we made some pancakes. The pancakes were tasty and someone had this 100% maple syrup spread from Quebec which pleased my Canadian roots. Breakfast took us to just after 4am and then I went home, talked to Mom for a bit and went to bed.

I like the middle of the night Holydays but I sure did have a hard time waking up again later this morning. I think I lingered in bed for at least an extra hour before I actually forced myself up.

School was good, I played some games with my grade nine class and then we did some work. Unfortunately, my students never want to do any work. I'm trying to see if I can gain their trust and make things fun and play some educational games then maybe they'll also do work.

After work I went out for dinner and my favorite dinner betrayed me when I cracked my tooth eating chicken and cashews.... boo. I'm pretty disappointed. I wasn't feeling too bad about the ipod, I mean its frustrating but I was dealing but now this in pretty much the same week!? It makes me more upset by the ipod because it feels like everything is being crappy at the same time... stupid ipod... stupid tooth. So now tomorrow I go to the dentist after I teach in the morning. Curses.

Today's picture is from Wat Phra Kaew. This guy is a monkey and he and the demons hold up a golden chedi next to the temple of the Emerald Buddha. By the way you can tell the monkeys from the demons because the monkeys have their mouth open. I made a picture of the demons holding up the chedi available on the pictures page.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Market Fruits

I spent the morning in my room preparing readings for the Holyday tonight/tomorrow morning and chatting online. I had slept in which was glorious because usually I get up early and even when I don't set my alarm I don't often sleep in.

In the early afternoon I went to the outdoor pool with Lynne. I swam around a bunch and then rested on the side of the pool with one arm and one leg floating in the water. In this lovely pool-side relaxation I fell asleep and when I woke my face and shoulders were a bit burnt, but not too bad don't worry.

After swimming I set up the electronics in Lynne's new apartment and I worked on putting some music onto my ipod. I'm lucky that I brought some cds with me as back up because I at least have some of my favorites with me.

In the evening Lynne, Vaughan and I went to the market at the end of our soi and bought some fruit. I was supposed to take pictures of the fruit stands for Mattea but I forgot my camera so when I got home I set the fruit out on the table and took a quick picture. The picture looks a bit grainy in the large format but its ok in this size for the blog. I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me next Sunday night.

The Holyday is at 3am, we're starting at 2:30am, so I'm going to have a nap as soon as I pick up my laundry from downstairs and hang it all up... that is if I am even tired enough to fall asleep this early.

Oh, I have been asked by a few people to take pictures of my room so that everyone can see where I'm living. I put three pictures on the picture page of my apartment. One is from the front door, one from the balcony door, and one of just my sleeping area... sorry I didn't even clean up the junk off of the beds for the pictures.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Curse You USB Port!

This morning I didn't leave the apartment until noon. I talked to a few people but mostly to Krista (we used to work together at my old 'Bucks). I phoned her because Shar and Ridvan gave me an international phone card and the last email I received from Krista made me really want to call her. We had a lovely conversation, it kind of made me miss the people in Edmonton (sorry I still don't miss the place).

In the afternoon Lynne was moving into her new place and so I helped haul things. Moving here in the heat is much harder than moving in Canada and much sweatier, and it wasn't even a really hot day today. Ugh.

While I was waiting for Lynne to get cleaned up post move-in I loaded some things on my ipod and woe of all woes something went wrong with my usb port! My ipod some how became corrupted and I lost all of my music! Curses. Luckily Spud and Tabitha put some music on the computer and I had brought some of my favorite cds from Canada but still I lost a lot of music. Boo-urns, at least I still have some of my favorites. If your so inclined to send me mail please send music I will love you for it!

This evening I went to see the third and final X-Men movie, I enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of the comic book movies.

Now I'm just chilling at home, I managed to get my ipod to load music again (it wouldn't at first). Oh! And Also, I mailed out a million letters today so if I have your address watch for yours in the mail!

Today's picture was taken yesterday when we went to Wat Phra Kaeow, check out the detail on these buildings!

Friday, May 26, 2006

Thanks Shar and Ridvan!

The first thing I got to do when I woke up was talk to Mattea and see Etana on the webcam! The little Punkin' walked across the floor for me and climbed on top of a chair. She was being really funny and ran around in her bike helmet, silly girl.

Today was Rivan and Shar's last day in town and so I got together with them and we went to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeow. Jenny and I had gone there when I first arrived in Thailand (see my posts from late March) but we had transportation issues and didn't really see much. Today I got a second chance to really have a look. I had a good time the buildings here are certainly... ornate.

I'm noticing how much my Thai is improving and I'm very proud of myself. We went out for lunch and I was able to order some things and talk to the server/cook/owner a bit. Yay!

We met one of Ridvan's friends for dinner, he is a Baha'i who has been living in Thailand for many years and we all went out to dinner. We went for Persian food in the middle eastern district of Bangkok and it was great, I will have to remember that you just get off at Nana BTS (sky train) station to enjoy some good Persian eats. And I was given the left overs to take home, yumm.

I got a decent amount of sun today and I am not very good with mornings though I force myself up at 6:30am every day, so the plan is to go to bed early and sleep in.

Here are Shar And Ridvan at the temples today. It was really lovely to have them around. Thanks Shar and Ridvan for visiting me.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Schedule Woes Continue

I went to bed early last night but it seems that I still need more sleep than I got because it was a struggle to get out of bed this morning.

My schedule was messed up again at the school today making it the third time this week that I had the wrong time for one of my classes. I only have 6 classes so that means that half were written down wrong. This time the class was written as starting at 10:10am, unfortunately, it started at 9:50am so I was 20 minutes late. Curses. The poor scheduling didn't stress me out and a teacher giving me grief about not being in my class on time since I had never had this class before and had an incorrect schedule. Ugh. I was told all would be fixed by Monday.

I had a long break in the afternoon because my class that I was late for was my only real class in the day but I couldn't leave because I had to wait around for the club meetings. I'm the teacher who is running the Leadership club for the grade 7, 8, and 9 students. Club meeting time isn't until 3:10pm so I sat around and wrote more letters and postcards. It's almost safe to say that if I have your address you're getting something in the mail when I get to a post office to send these.

At 3:10pm I went to do my leadership club stuff. I had prepared a wicked plan for our first meeting and it played out pretty well. The kids, I learned, didn't all volunteer to be in this club but were placed in it because they were voted by their peers as the classroom leaders and the teachers then wanted them to develop leadership skills. Many of these kids didn't want to participate or do any work but they loved my games and puzzles. I think that if we just do these activities for a while and I can build their trust we can then start to organize a service project or some sort of school event which will require them to put their leadership skills into action. I just have to come up with many meaningful leadership games (I'm open to suggestions). I think that if I can even get them thinking about the ideas I'm putting forth in my activities and maybe even planning a small project than I will feel like this group has been successful.

In the evening I tutored my Ruhi book one in Thai again and I felt that this one went much better than our first session. I only had one participant attend but we had a lot of fun and I learned some more Thai and she some more English and we both explored some cool spiritual concepts.

Today's picture is of three girls in my local community. They take the children's classes organized by the Baha'is on Friday nights. Though they aren't Baha'is themselves, nor are their parents, they performed at the Holyday this past Monday night. They were so cute and happy at the Holyday I was surprised when this picture turned out like this, it makes be laugh because it looks like they're going to kick some butt.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Master Traffic Dancer

Morning came too early today and I really had to drag myself out of bed (or I would have stayed there dreaming away for the rest of the day). It was a struggle!

I only taught three classes today but they were spread out in such a way that I was at school all day long. The first class was in the first period of the day starting at 8am, the next was around lunch time and the last was the last period of the day starting at 3pm. I did have a lot of free time between classes where did prep for my other classes and wrote letters and postcards. I have reached one hundred pieces of postal mail written since I left. Yay!

My classes were ok though the last class of the day decided to test my patience. I really like the kids but they were just being so difficult. Another teacher had offered to help me if they were too out of hand because they had given some teachers really hard times today. I didn't want to call him over (I don't even remember this teacher's name) but since they were out of hand for me as well I had to call him to help me. Oye. Maybe the activities I have next class will help to channel their considerable energy. I also think I'm going to scout for a room with more space to move around so that we can do activities without having to push aside all of the desks.

One of my students asked me to fill out a questionnaire that she got in her english class (I think). It's kind of a getting to know you questionnaire but it's less cheesy and more personal. So I'm working on that before bed tonight so that I can return it to her tomorrow.

Oh, yesterday I forgot to write about my traffic crossing skills. When I first came here I would see people cross traffic in what I thought was a crazy and hazardous way, in the past ten weeks I have learned that you have to be bold yet cautious while crossing the road and without realizing it (until yesterday) I had picked up this road-crossing skill. Yesterday, when I was out with Ridvan and Shar I would just cross the road like I normally would and realized that I was constantly leaving them behind me on the curb. I think it's because I now know how to dance through traffic and where to stand when the cars come. You kind of cross the road in sections really. Don't worry everyone I am very careful and do not dart into traffic or anything it's just that I cross the road like a Thai now. It's kind of strange when to pick up these skills, it's not something I interpreted as cultural before but really this culture knows how to j-walk. I'll have to unlearn my superior j-walking skills when I return to Edmonton lest I get a j-walking ticket on Whyte ave!

Good night everyone.

Spud took this picture of Tabitha eating pancake at Ko Phi Phi Don right outside of our favorite pancake place. We ate a lot of delicious banana filled, Nutella topped pancakes... mmmmm. I wanted to post a picture of her and then found this one that Spud took, I think it's a cute picture.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Day Out with Ridvan and Shar

This morning I was nearly late for school and had to bust it out the door because I misread my schedule. Sadly this mean that I had to cut my talk with my Dad short (sorry Dad) which was a bit sad because we haven't really had a chat lately.

Today I taught the other grade nine class and they were fun but much more shy than my other groups and a bit more stubborn.

After school I ran home grabbed a quick shower and changed into comfy clothings and ran out to meet up with Ridvan and Shar. We had a lovely lunch where I had fresh spring rolls, rose apple and traditional Thai desert. When we were done lunch we made our way over to the Jim Thompson Thai House Museum. Jim Thompson was the founder of the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company and the first to export Thai silk. The house was beautiful and our interpreter was very good. Jim Thompson loved Asian culture and art and incorporated art and sculpture from all over Asia when decorating his Thai style house. I love traditional Thai houses I could easily live in one, they're lovely.

In the evening we ate some excellent dim sum and went to a movie. The movie was interesting though the sound in the theatre was loud and not effectively so, like when theatres turn up the volume to compensate for the lack of surround sound. As is usual with a movie they played the tribute to the King before the movie plays, it was interesting because this time I was in a packed theatre and it was interesting to see everyone stand respectfully and watch the tribute. It's not that I disliked the King before but now I'm starting to be fond of our King. I was never really all that fond of monarchy before but the way that people react to mention of the King and how the people of Thailand love him reflects well on him and makes me feel respectful and inspires a growing fondness for Thailand's monarchy.

Today's picture is of some beautiful lotus flowers that were in a pot in the garden at the Jim Thompson museum.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Happy Declaration of the Bab!

This morning was a slower morning, I wrote some important emails and chatted to some lovely people online. In the afternoon I went to school to teach my grade 9b class. My schedule was a bit messed up and I was told the wrong time which meant that I had to wait around was later getting home than I wanted to be. None the less my students are awesome and I think I'll really like teaching them.

When I did get home Shar and Ridvan were waiting for me and it was really exciting to see them. We talked and went out for some dinner and I was able to get some advice concerning some difficulties I have been going through.

In the evening there was the celebration of the Declaration of the Bab. The kids performed a traditional Thai dance in traditional Thai outfits (more pictures posted on my pictures page) and they were very elegant and beautiful. All of the kids sang a song about unity in Thai and it was very cute.

After the Holyday celebration Shar and Ridvan looked at working out some of their flight dilemmas while I tried to work out my own flight issues in going to Africa and back home to Canada.

I don't know why but for some reason I'm very tired tonight. Good Night.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Thanks For The Great Chat Tabitha

Today was a some what uneventful day. I wrote some letters, mailed some letters, did some shopping at Carrefour, and watched a movie. Tabitha (I added her blog to the 'Blogs I Like' list but she's on dial up so doesn't post often... there is a picture of her there though) and I did have a great phone conversation, she is such a wonderful source of support. I was really happy to talk to her. I tried to talk to Evan on msn but for some reason I couldn't hear him though sometimes I thought I heard something, boo. I did see Clover on the webcam though and she is soo cute (check out her blog the link is under 'Blogs I Like').

I don't have a whole lot to write about so maybe I'll tell you guys about the time of day set aside for the King. Every day at 6pm the national anthem plays and everyone stays still and pay tribute to the King. On every TV station a montage of the King plays and in the sky train station (as well as any other transit stations) everyone stops in their tracks and stands respectfully. It's very interesting.

Tomorrow Ridvan and Shar come and I am really excited to see them!

Oye! Also, don't forget the "Shoutbox" on the side you can send me little messages there and it's a pretty cool system so go for it if you wanna say hi.

Today's picture is of the pretty blue water at the Ko Phi Phi Islands, this isn't far from where we went cliff jumping and snorkeling, it was quite pretty there.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Have Fun In Australia Spud!

I haven't posted a real post since Wednesday so here we go. There isn't much to say about Thursday except that my grade threes were rowdy and I really wasn't really prepared for anything that happened on Thursday and the evening involved a lot of feeling crappy and some crying and laundry. The only good thing about Thursday was that I managed to make the blouse that I thought I had ruined wearable again (though if you look close you can see the brown stain, but faintly).

Friday was a different story, my prayers were answered and I had the best day that I'd had all week. I woke up early and managed to get a shower in before going to work (I haven't been good with the mornings and I've been waking up without enough time to shower in the morning and have been showering at night which isn't as nice). After my shower I got ready for work and then phoned my Starbucks (yes it will always be my Starbucks, I know I don't work there any more). Tim answered the phone and didn't recognize me which was funny and then I talked to Christine because I was actually phoning for her birthday. Tim clued in that it was me and picked up the phone and I got to have a little chat with both Christine and Tim which was fun.

When I left the apartment to leave for work I found Spud standing in the hallway! He couldn't get into the Baha'i centre to ask for the key to the boy's dorm so I gave him my key to hang out in my place while I was at work, we chatted a little and then I left him to hang out and rest. At school the kids were all well behaved and I managed to hold their attention for the entire class period! It was pretty good. Despite the fact that the kids were good I did tell the school that I couldn't do the grade three classes any longer because I wasn't a trained teacher, didn't have the proper resources, and I didn't think it was very fair for these kids to have such a poor english education. So no more grade threes (except for the occasional subbing which I agreed to) and I managed to get my point across without any hard feelings.

I went back to my apartment and Spud and I went out for dinner and had a good chat and some good food. It sounds like Spud had a great time in the North, I'll have to take a trip North when I have some spare days.

There were children's classes at the Baha'i centre as usual and I had a great time. The kids are starting to get used to me and are starting to play around, run up and hug me, and even give me massages! Lovely. The other cool thing was that I have finally memorized the french prayer that I was working on committing to memory which made me pleased.

After children's classes Spud and I went to get some snack food and then we watched many episodes of Scrubs and The Office, which he bought up North. We had a ton of fun but I had a long day and at the end I was dozing off and was so tired that I couldn't even muster the energy to write the blog.

Today I talked to my friend Michael on the phone today, in the morning. After a while I messaged Spud on his cell phone and we I went for a walk, talked and listened to music for the rest of his time in Nonthaburi. He is a musician so he played me some songs on the guitar Jenny had bought and left here. He is a very good guitar player. We mostly just joked around and had a good time. In the early afternoon I put him in a taxi to go onto the next length of his journey, Australia. He gave me a great hug goodbye which was nice because this isn't a hugging culture and so I really haven't had many hugs since I came here.... only three actually.

I did some chatting on msn after Spud left which was nice. In the later afternoon I went and bought more wicked-awesome stationary and went with Lynne to Suan Lum Night Bazaar because she had some things to pick up for her daughter before she goes to Canada to see her next month. I ended up buying a few very pretty things and some little gifts. Oh and I ate some sushi today after I bought the super-fun stationary and it was glorious.

We walked around so much today that when we were at Suan Lum our feet really hurt so we went to a little massage parlour at the market (they're everywhere). I had the best foot massage I have ever received. It was the first time since I've been in Thailand that a man gave me a massage. The guy was about my age I think and really sweet. He kept asking me if he was hurting me and was concerned about whether I was enjoying the massage. He did have some really strong fingers so it was nice that he was checking on me but he didn't hurt me once, it was just the right amount of force and really well placed. He spoke english quite well and was scolding me for not getting massages more often because my muscles were all tight, it was kind of funny because he would click his tongue in a disapproving way when he found a tight muscle. When you get foot massages they often rub your neck and shoulders at the end as well, unfortunately my neck and shoulders are especially tight and there was a lot of tongue clicking at the end of my massage when he was trying to loosen my shoulder muscles. If I'm in need of a massage in the market again I will go to him again he was really very good.

I talked to Shar and Ridvan who are two Baha'is on their way home to Canada via the extra long route and they are coming to see me this week from Monday to Saturday, Yay!!

Now I'm home again and tired so that's it for tonight. Oh, Jenny is having a rough time in China I think, she didn't send me the happiest email the other day so please keep her in your thoughts. I know you can't read blogger in China, Jenny, but when you get to read this I miss you and I am sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

Today's picture is of Spud. We were in Ko Phi Phi when this picture was taken. We, Tabitha, Spud and I, were taking pictures of each other in the dark with the camera on a black and white setting trying to guess if we were pointing the camera in the right direction, I pointed it where I thought Spud was standing and I got him.... he was waiting for me with a pose and this was it. Oh Spud!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

No Real Entry Today Sorry

I woke up on time today which was a plus though the day wasn't great. My morning was good and all of my classes were working and well behaved but when it came to the later part of the day my students turned into little demons and I had a horrible time trying to get them to work with me....

Really my day was kind of a boo and I'm not into writing right now so sorry no real entry today. Here is a bug that was at the ferry station in Krabi, I loved him.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Tired From Another Long Day

Today was another long day. I woke up late (at nearly 7am) and had to run out the door before properly cleaning myself up (ecky). By some miracle I managed to ready and to the school in half an hour just in time for the kids to sing the national anthem at the assembly. My bus mojo must have been good today because on any other day I would probably have been very late since Changwattana is a very busy street and usually I wait for a significant amount of time before some transportation arrives.

After homeroom (which is short) I went to teach my grade 7b class. The grade 7b students are good kids but the most difficult to hold the attention of and there are so many of them that its a bit intimidating. That class passed but it was a bit painful (emotionally) and the 50 minutes seemed to just crawl!

After the grade 7b class I taught english to two grade three classes (a and c) which was ok. Grade 3a is a pretty well behaved class and liked to contribute ideas but 3c is very rowdy and don't want to listen and it's much more difficult. The 50 minutes for 3c also felt like a life time but it did eventually pass. Then there was the lunch hour but I had more prep to do for the afternoon so I skipped lunch and worked upstairs in the staff room for the teachers of the older grades (I have a desk up there that I share with a part time teacher).

When lunch was over I had two periods with the grade 3b class which went ok (there was an hour between the periods) and we did a lesson from the book. I haven't all of the resources that accompany the books we're studying from and so instead of being able to listen to a cassette of a conversation I had to cast the students in the roles and get them to stand up and read the conversation. The only difficulty with doing the activity that way was that the students were very shy and quiet and it was hard to get them to read loudly with confidence. We did an activity in the workbook as well and though it could have gone better I guess it was ok.

I had thought I was done after my second grade 3b class but I was informed, when I thought I was done, that I had a class with the grade 8b students. I had been warned about the grade 8b students and how ill behaved they were so it was with apprehension that I opened the door to their class room. When I started talking to them, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure this class is very... energetic and full of life and enthusiasm, but I thought they were really fun and funny! Like 'Ha ha' funny too they made me laugh and laugh and it was easy to get them to joke around with me. We did introductions and I got them to write me a paragraph about themselves, what they thought they wanted their future to be, or what they thought empowerment meant. I gave them a choice of topics so that they could pick the one they felt most comfortable with, and empowerment was on the list because this is called 'Spiritual Empowerment' class and I wanted to know what they thought that might mean. I let them have a bit of a bouncier day but set out ground rules for future classes. I really like them, I hope we have a good semester together.

Its 10pm which means bed time especially if I plan to be up early tomorrow. I have been asked to be at school earlier because some of the parents of my grade threes want to meet me since I am the current home room teacher for one of the grade three classes and I teach english to all of the grade three students, I don't think they realize that I am a sub. Today they interviewed a new grade three teacher, hopefully he is good and can start right away and then I can step down and let a real trained teacher do the job.

Today's picture was taken on Spud's camera by the guy who was driving the boat we came on. You can see Roy, Tabitha and I are at the top, Spud is in mid-climb in the middle, and the two guys at the bottom were with another company (this company wasn't as good as the one we went with and we actually had a guide, it didn't look like they did).

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Extra Respect To All The Teachers Out There

Today was my first day at school with students and boy was it crazy. Chaengwattana (the main road that I live off of) was so busy I thought I'd be late for work and when I got there I had to run to the assembly to pick up my students and bring them to class. The day went well but it was very long. I think I did ok in all of my classes though it is stressful because I'm not a trained teacher and feel a little out of my element. I got my grade threes to write a journal entry about themselves so that I could see how developed their mastery of english was. I took all of the journal entries home today so that I can read them and see what the average language level of the class is. I also had my first ethics class with my grade 9a class and it was ok though the air conditioner in the room was broken and it was 31 degrees with no air movement and we were all sweating buckets. Eventually due to the heat I lost their attention and we all went to sit in the hall way where it was noticeably cooler.

I worked a bunch of extra hours doing prep etc. and tonight I still have some lesson planning to do before bed. I have a new respect for teachers.

I did enjoy teaching today, all of my kids were great and I think that when I get used to things I will be able to be pretty effective, I just feel a little ill prepared. I suppose this is one way to decide whether I like teaching before I spend time and money getting my degree.

I got my massage after work which was nice and then after that I went to the feast and then we had an Assembly meeting.

I would write more detail but I'm really tired and still have that prep to get done, maybe tomorrow.

Today's picture was taken by Brian O Connor (Spud) of the poi we saw when we were chillin' on the beach at Ko Phi Phi Don.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Working Out My New Schedule

This morning I got up early... I'm not a morning person and it kinda sucked. It was the first day back at school so I got there early and proceeded to wait around for my schedule. After a couple of hours of waiting I found the teacher who makes the schedules, Pom. Pom told me that the grade three english teacher backed out and that they had no replacement and they wanted me to teach them and switch to be the home room teacher for grade 3c. So now I'm teaching 22 hours of grade three english a week, and 5 or 6 hours of junior youth empowerment classes a week. I'm a little nervous about teaching the grade threes since I have never taught english before but they did give me books to work from which look like they will be easy to follow. Since I'm not a real teacher I think that they are still looking for a proper teacher and I will only be teaching grade three until they find a replacement. There were some conflicts with my schedule since I was scheduled to teach two classes at once and so they told me that they would rework my schedule and give it to me after lunch but they didn't get it done due to a problem with the power and the computers and so I went home without my schedule and without the school holiday calendar. I will just go in a bit early tomorrow and pick them up then.

In the afternoon I went swimming and then out for some really good green curry and great coffee from the cute coffee guy. I have been working on my Thai lately and today when I was asked if my dinner was good I was able to answer that it was very delicious. Also, I was able to tell someone that their necklace was beautiful. Yay for me!

Tonight I have been working on preparing myself for classes tomorrow and I'll pack it in early so that I get some rest and can perform well tomorrow. Tomorrow after school I am getting a massage as well because my arm and shoulder have been especially sore and my left arm keeps on going numb when I sleep.

Today's picture is looking at Maya beach through the trees on the path in the center of Phi Phi Leh island.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

My day started off early but lazily. I got up early because I have to work tomorrow and I wanted to prepare myself for an early morning. I talked to Mattea, Adina and Etana and saw them all on the webcam today. It's really nice to have a headset now because my phone costs won't exist anymore and after talking with my sisters and niece I talked to my parents! I talked to a few friends on the interweb as well and had to stop myself from talking too long to everyone so that I would shower before noon and not spend too much of the day on the computer.

I have been trying to teach myself some Thai from a book and by using guides online. Dad found an especially good guide online if you speak french, luckily I do. I spent some time this morning reading aloud to myself to practice my Thai tones.

On some Sundays there is a woman who comes and cleans my room. Since I live in what's considered the Baha'i dorm the woman who cleans the Baha'i Centre also cleans my room. This is the first Sunday since I've arrived in Thailand that I've actually been home when someone came to clean my room, it was kind of weird and it made me a little uncomfortable. I was told though that I don't have any choice as to whether I have a maid or not because it creates jobs and it's an accepted/expected practice here and she's already hired to clean the Baha'i centre. At least I had already done a clean on Friday when Spud and Tabitha left and so it was pretty clean and not embarrassing.

Lynne came by and asked if I wanted to head to Chatuchak market with her, so I went. I wanted to get some more fisherman pants because they are cheap at Chatuchak and Mattea had made some shopping requests that I could try to fill.

I went out onto my balcony to grab something and it was actually cold outside. I mean it was about 30-31 degrees but it was over cast and I was cold. I even wore a sweater out... I mean it was a light sweater but it was a sweater. In 30 degree heat! What is happening to me?!? In Alberta Canada that would be a hot summer day and here I am putting on a sweater because it's a little chilly for me! I guess my friends and family had better plan on pulling out the sweaters and heaving blankets when I get back because I'm going to freeze coming back in November! Yipes. By tyhe way, a thanks goes out to Tabitha for giving me the sweater that I wore today.

Chatuchak was ok though I wasn't feeling well and Lynne should still take it easy since it's only two weeks since she had surgery so it was a somewhat slow day. I was successful in getting my fisherman pants, three pair and two are cotton. The cotton is a big deal because it's usually more expensive than the rayon but the place we found to buy them are 99baht each no matter if it's cotton or rayon and that is awesome. I was also successful in finding what Mattea had asked me to look for and in getting a few more things that I had been looking for.

This evening I have just relaxed and ate peanut butter sandwiches while watching a movie. Tomorrow is my first day of the new semester. There aren't actually any classes going on but I will get my schedule, my student list, and find out where my classrooms are located.

I'm waiting to talk to my Mom before I go to bed because it's Sunday morning in Canada right now and so it's Mother's day there. Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you.

Also, happy mother's day to all the other Mom's out there and especially to my sister Mattea.

Today's picture is of Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh, the weather wasn't great the day we were there I'm surprised I captured a little bit of blue in the sky because its cloudy in all of my other pictures of the bay.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Chinatown

Today Lynne needed to go to Chinatown in Bangkok to pick some things up and so I went with her. Chinatown in Bangkok is HUGE and it's ally after ally of shops. Lynne got some of the things she was looking for and I got some cloth to have a blouse made. I am getting really used to the markets and now seeing pig heads and hanging pig legs doesn't even phase me. The smells are sometimes a little over powering but I didn't get too overwhelmed. For lunch we went to this strange karaoke restaurant. I had a tofu, and... I think it was pork, dish with rice and fish sauce. Fish sauce is the staple of Thai cooking and you put it on everything and it's added to every meal you order. Fish sauce smells funky but then 'high quality' fish sauce is fermented fish that was left in the full sun for 9months to a year, awesome hey? When Robbie was here we looked up how fish sauce is made, its interesting but kind of gross when you think about it. Really do check out the link it's an education.

There was a big rain storm today and so Lynne and I took a cab home. In the afternoon I had a nap and then went out for cashew chicken and rice (and fish sauce) for dinner.

Tonight I have just been listening to music that Tabitha and Brian left on the computer for me and reorganizing.

I would also like to mention that I got a post card today from my friend Paul (his blog is under 'blogs I like') who is currently in Australia, yay!! I love getting mail. Thanks Paul.

Today's picture is of our cliff jumping and snorkeling guide Roy, he was pretty awesome.

Friday, May 12, 2006

A Writing Fiend... and Goodbye For Now Spud and Tabitha

I love writing letters! Today I sent off 10 postcards, 13 letters and a small package. I added up my total (because yes I keep track) of all of the letters/postcards/packages I've sent out and the total is 65 since I left Canada. I'm very proud of myself that is a lot of writing. I bought even more awesome stationary today and am excited to write more letters. Woow!

Today was Brian and Tabitha's last day in Nonthaburi before heading to Nong Khai and so we spent it together chilling out. Tabitha is going up to Om Goi to do some service with the hill tribe children and Brian is just going to explore more of Thailand and see our friend Robbie before he leaves the country in a week. When Spud (Brian) leaves Thailand he will be returning to Bangkok so I'll probably see him again before he leaves, yay.

We ran some errands because Tabitha wanted to buy more shirts and I wanted to post my huge stack of letters and postcards. We ended up indulging in some fast food which made us all feel a little gross in the belly and then we came home. When we were out I ended up finding a few shirts that fit, they aren't fabulous but they aren't bad at all and at least they do fit. I also got stationary as previously mentioned. The store was really busy because people were off of work today for a really important Buddhist holyday and so we didn't stay out long in the shopping chaos. I guess it was also busy because school starts Monday and so this is the school shopping weekend.

In the evening Tabitha came with me to teach the children's classes with Rae and Spud just chilled out reading my apartment. The children's classes were fun and the kids are really sweet. I think that Tabitha enjoyed herself which is good.

We went back to the apartment after dinner and we all had a rousing game of 'Mad Libs' and then they left to get their train. Both Tabz and Spud have said that they would probably pass through Nonthaburi again when they left Thailand and since I'll be hear longer than both of them I will get to see them before they leave.

I am glad I got to spend the day with Spud and Tabitha before they left. They were both a lot of fun and I will miss having them around.

Today's picture is of Ko Phi Phi Don close to where we went cliff jumping and also close to where we went snorkeling... the cliff jumping was around the bend in the distance and the snorkeling was farther in the other direction.. this is kind of the middle space I guess if that makes any sense.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

It's Thursday

This morning talked to Mom on the computer on my new headset that I bought at Carrefour when Tabitha and I were there yesterday. I will now be able to chat with my friends and family on the computer, wooow! I also made a phone call to Adina and we had a nice little chat. My phone bills are getting a bit high so I'm especially excited about the new headset because I can't afford to keep up making so many phone calls.

We all stayed around home during the morning and then in the afternoon we went to MBK (I mentioned it in a blog last week) which is a huge shopping centre in Bangkok. I got some more awesome stationary and we all got cell phones. I was told I would need one and its a way I can use long distance phone cards if I'm away from home (like when I go to Cambodia in June).

We came back to the apartment and I got ready to go to Ruhi this evening. I have volunteered to start a Ruhi book one, which is called 'Reflections on the Life of the Spirit', for some of the people in our building. I am the tutor but since the people studying are Thai we are doing the book in Thai so it's difficult to tutor because what they say isn't always translated for me and its very hard to guide the discussion or ask questions that investigate ideas further. It's a challenge but I'll find a way today was just the first day.

This evening Spud, Tabitha and I are watching Shrek and chilling out. With this post I am finally back on track with my blog postings, whew.

Today's picture is of Spud (Brian) on Long Beach at Ko Phi Phi Don, hehehe.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Tuesday May 9th/Wednesday May 10th

We woke up and finished collecting up all our things and packing them away before check out time. We headed out to enjoy one last banana and Nutella pancake before leaving the island and then proceeded to check out of 'H.C. Anderson'. After all of this we set off to kill a few hours before our ferry departed. We were lugging around all of our bags now on sun burnt shoulders and it was quite hot so we weren't up to doing much. We tried to relax on the beach but they were charging to sit in the lounge chairs so we didn't bother. We grabbed some coffees and puttered around until we were hungry for lunch and then went to another ocean side restaurant. Lunch took a long time to arrive which was fine because we still had time to kill and when it arrived it was very good. I had shrimp, yet again, but this time with basil.

I did manage to say a unity prayer for the island and for their continued recovery from the tsunami before I left.

I spent the ferry ride inside hiding from the sun because it was really bright out and my face was really sensitive from the scorching it received over the two previous days.

The boat ride passed quickly, I think I may have slept for at least a half hour of it. After the ferry trip we got stickers saying we were heading to Bangkok (we'd purchased our bus tickets from Krabi to Bangkok when we were on Ko Phi Phi Don) and were ushered onto a sawng-thaew that took us to catch the bus from Krabi to Surat Thani, the bus was very crowded with other foreigners but it was short and not all that bad and the three hours passed fairly quickly. The bus ride between Krabi and Surat Thani is very interesting, there must have been mass deforestation in the area because for the entire trip all of the vegetation was in rows and even when you didn't think they were if you watched long enough the bus would move and the perspective would change and you could see all the vegetation lined up in perfect rows.

On the bus Tabitha and I stayed together and Spud sat beside a guy named Sean who was from the UK. Sean was really nice and when we stopped in Krabi to eat and switch buses he joined us for dinner before we parted ways (he wasn't going to Bangkok).

The bus to Bangkok wasn't all that glamorous and I had accidentally grabbed the seats with the least amount of leg room for Tabitha and I. It was cramped for the two of us so I moved to the front so that Tabitha could stretch out and sat beside some guy in the front. The bus ride was cold and every time I fell asleep I woke up snuggling up to the guy beside me... hopefully he didn't mind.

We arrived in Bangkok early in the morning on Wednesday and were bombarded as usual with the usual phrase "where you go?". We managed to avoid getting caught by anyone before we got ourselves collected. Tabitha and Spud needed to get train tickets to their next destination so we took a quick trip to the train station before returning home to Nonthaburi.

After returning home Tabitha and Spud went to sleep and I did a couple of loads of laundry and talked to a few people before going to bed myself. We all slept until 2:30pm and then got up and went out for noodles. Tabitha and I went to Carrefour supermarket after our late lunch and bought fruit and other items.

In the evening we had Ruhi and after that was over we chilled out for a bit and then I worked on posting the many blogs I missed posting while in Ko Phi Phi.

Monday, May 08, 2006

My Poor Oompah Loompah Face

Tabitha and Brian slept in and though I woke early I didn't go out and instead wrote letters and a summary of my Ko Phi Phi adventures. Once everyone was awake and ready to go out we went out for our usual pancake treat, which was really tasty. On Ko Phi Phi Don there are these little pancake stands that make these thin pancakes and wrap fruit inside and then put some spread on top. They are really delicious and unhealthy, we would get the banana and Nutella ones all of the time and each time they tasted better. We had a specific pancake stand that we liked the best and would often visit it multiple times in one day.... soo tasty!

We decided that we'd find a boat and return to Long beach. The day was clear and bright and after we changed into our swimming gear we had a boat take us to the beach. We took many excellent pictures and swam a lot. I had burnt a little the previous day when we went snorkelling and cliff diving and so I made sure to put on sun screen but it didn't matter I roasted when we were at Long beach... and I mean roasted!! Later in the day when Spud looked at my face he started to sing the Oompah Loompah song (with new lyrics pertaining to my sunburn) and it was suggested that I may want to wear veil when going out in public... boo. The beach was a blast though I all had a good time, lunch was decent there and we had these great coffees with coconut milk in them... yummy.

In the later afternoon and evening I didn't feel too awesome due to my sun exposure and red face (which I was embarrassed about). We went out to dinner at a little Thai restaurant and then Tabitha and I grabbed something to watch at the suite while we packed up our stuff to leave the next day and Spud went out to find some of the friends he had met before and maybe watch another boxing match. Tabitha and I did do some more accessory shopping and I got two necklaces and Tabitha picked up some earrings.

Spud didn't manage to find anyone outside so he came to chill with us and we all sat around and ate crisps (what we call chips). And then we all went to bed.

Also congrats to my little Punkin' Etana who took her first steps!! Yay for you Baby, Auntie Loves You!!

Today's picture is a monkey from Monkey Beach.... he's holding some pineapple

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Cliff Jumping, Snorkelling, And The Cave of Death

I got up bright and early and got ready to go. Tabitha and Spud were still asleep so I went out to buy a phone card so that I could talk to Mattea for some cliff jumping courage (she's cliff jumped before). I'm quite freaked out by heights and was especially afraid that I wouldn't jump out far enough and hit the rock face or something. Mattea said I could do it and reminded me to point my toes.

We went out for a really crappy breakfast and then met up with our guide, Roy, to embark on our adventure. We were given shoes and grippy gloves for climbing the jagged rocks up to the top of the cliff as well as flippers and snorkels.

We took a boat out to the cliff and jumped in the water, swam to the cliff edge, and began to climb. The rocks were sharp and uneven but easy to climb and I scrambled up to the 8m cliff very easily. I was the first the jump the 8m and though it took me a moment to compose myself I did jump. Roy had given us all these directions about positions while jumping but I couldn't remember them on my way down. We all jumped the 8m but due to the adrenalin rush I felt a little shaky climbing back up the cliff. Despite my shakiness I decided the try the 10m jump. I was very nervous and it took me a few times of standing on the edge and retreating until I actually jumped. I had to take a few deep breaths and say a little prayer because every time I looked over the edge I felt a bit freaked out. I did do it in the end though... I still get that exhilarated/frightened feeling just thinking about it. When I jumped I fell for what felt like forever and it was really fun (in that adrenaline pumping way). We all did the 10m but this time I was the last to jump. After doing the 10m I did the 8m again without issue, it didn't seem as bad after jumping 10m. None of us did the 20m though that was just a little too much, I'm proud of myself for doing the 10m. Our guide, Roy, did the 10m jump for us and Spud recorded it on his camera, it was pretty awesome.

After the jumping we were taken to monkey beach for a relaxing snack and some water. The snack was pineapple and it was so sweet and delicious. I usually hate pineapple, but I have discovered that I like the fresh pineapple in Thailand; it doesn't taste like the biting gross pineapple that exists in North America. I still don't like the cooked pineapple though. Anyway, Monkey Beach: It's pretty much what the name indicates a beach full of monkeys. I took some pictures (to be posted later). Spud fed the monkeys some pineapple and I gave one monkey some of my left-overs. They were so cute but they are still wild animals and only come to you because they know that you're a source of food not because they're being 'nice'.

Upon finishing our fruit snack and monkey fraternization we were taken out to deeper water to do some snorkelling. The experience was phenomenal! There were so many fish of all shapes and colors as well as some beautiful coral. We, sadly, didn't see any sharks but that really wasn't a big deal because there was still so much to see. I saw anemone and more fish than I can name. I would find a cool fish and see how far I could follow it. A little stripy black and yellow fish bit me but it didn't hurt nor did it break the skin so it wasn't a big deal. We snorkelled for a while (I don't know how long really... I think a significant amount of time) and then we were taken back to the village.

After saying goodbye and thanks to Roy we went back to our apartment and changed into dry clothing. Since we'd been so active during the morning and had spent so much time in the sun and fresh air we had cultivated a healthy appetite and went in search of lunch. Once we'd consumed a filling and tasty meal we went in search of a boat that would take us to Phi Phi Leh for the afternoon. We found someone who would take us and off we went. We were taken to Maya Beach (you may remember that it was THE beach from 'The Beach') and though I do agree it is a very beautiful beach there is so much foot traffic due to the movie that the water has become a bit polluted and the beach isn't kept in as pristine quality as one would hope. I am glad I visited and it is enchanting, but it is unfortunate that with such a level of tourism the environment isn't given the care it deserves. I would still recommend it as a short trip but don't plan on spending a full day there a couple of hours is sufficient. We made arrangements with our boat driver to pick us up but he didn't want to pick us up at Maya Bay because the weather was turning and so he told us he'd pick us up at the bay on the other side of the island. We had never been there before but assumed that the bay would have a beach. He did warn us that we may have to swim a bit out to the boat but he made it sound easy. I have now learned that you should never assume in these types of circumstances and that the term 'bay' can be a very loose term indeed. We went to the other 'bay' early to check it out and assess the pick-up situation and saw only this little cave with waves crashing into it and filling it with water. We thought 'no this can't be it'…. We later learned that it was. The cave, later dubbed the cave of death, was like a little pocket in the rock wall with a rope to hold onto so that you wouldn't be swept away by the waves. Our boatman wanted us to put our valuables in a garbage bag to keep them dry while we wore our cumbersome backpacks as we tried to manoeuvre through this cave as the waves threatened to rip us off the rope and smash us into the rough cave wall. Spud managed to get out ok but when Tabitha and I went it was difficult going. There was a guy trying to help us but I felt a bit like he was pulling me in every direction as he was trying to guide me which made it hard for me to feel like I was in a secure position when the waves came. When we fell over at the crashing of a large wave he was yelling at us to get up, like we wanted to sit on the rocks and wait for the next wave to sweep us out to sea or smash us against the rocks again. But I digress, the point is the going was difficult made all the worse by cumbersome wet backpacks and the loss of one of my shoes (don’t worry the shoe was recovered eventually). Luckily the guy who was trying to guide us out of the cave (it wasn't our boatman just some guy who was guiding other people through the cave) called up another little motorboat that was in the water to pick us up and bring us back to our boat. Originally we were intended to swim out to the boat but honestly our boatman must have been nuts, he was having a hard time swimming out to the boat himself and he didn't even have a backpack on as we did. None of us were pleased when we got into the boat for the trip home, Tabitha and I had a few bleeding cuts and sore bodies from being smashed against the inside of the cave and Spud's phone got soaked. On top of all of this we had paid our boat driver for the ride and also, in the end, this stressful experience. To be fair I don't think our boatman had any mean intent he just didn't plan properly.

Once back at 'H.C. Anderson' we each had a shower and took some time to relax. Spud was pretty frustrated with his phone situation and so went to use the internet and Tabitha and I went for a walk and did some more shopping. After we had all chilled we met up again and returned to the restaurant we ate dinner at the night before. This time Spud got the green curry I had had, Tabitha had the rice cooked in the pineapple and I got garlic pepper shrimp with rice which was very yummy. We had a round of our favourite drinks: the watermelon shake, which is just watermelon in a blender with ice. At dinner we ran into the guys we met on the ferry and were invited to the half-moon party at the 'Hippies Bar'. When dinner was over Spud went back on the internet and I phoned my parents to tell them I survived the cliff jumping and had a short but pleasant chat with my Daddy. Tabitha had forgotten something in the suite so she went back to get it and when my phone call was over we all went back to see our friends. When we met up with our friends again they were working out some food bill issues so we left them and walked down the beach ourselves. Things weren't really happening at the 'Hippies Bar' yet so we continued down the beach and found a lounge/bar with bamboo mats on the beach complete with reclining pillows, torches and fire dancers. We reclined on the pillows and drank more fruit shakes (this time I had coconut). It was nice to recline on the beach drinking a tasty drink that was adorned with a tropical flower listening to Manu Chao and chatting with friends after a day that was full of such excitement. Tabitha packed it in early because, after all, it was a long day, but Spud and I stayed out a bit longer and eventually checked out the half moon party. There were some amazing poi performances going on when we arrived and Brian (Spud) managed to get a lot of cool fire pictures. We didn't stay out too late because we were both beat but the evening ended well and I drifted off into a most excellent sleep when I returned to the guest house.

Today's picture is of a cliff and the beautiful water at Phi Phi Don close to where we dove and snorkelled. I have also made public a picture of our guide Roy, the picture was taken by Brian (of Roy).

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Swimming Fully Clothed

When we first woke up we got ready to leave the 'inharmonious house', switched to 'H.C. Anderson', and grabbed some pancakes for breakfast. Spud wasn't feeling so well (he's been having stomach problems) so Tabitha and I left him to sleep and we went out to look at all of the shops and kiosks in the village. There are tour shops and internet/long distance phone shops all over the place in Ao Ton Sai village as well as many massage parlours, clothing stores and jewellery stands. We both bought some clothing (my new fisherman pants are awesome). We also went back to the beach were 'Ciao Bella' was located (in the Ao Lo Dalam bay) and had a swim. The water was so blue and shallow we walked out really far without even getting deeper than our waists, it was really cool. When we went to check on Spud he was hungry so, even though we had already grabbed lunch, we went out for some food. We ended up going to a Scandinavian restaurant, on a Thailand island, and having 'Mexican' nachos... kinda funny.

In the afternoon we took a boat out to Long Beach (I forget its Thai name). The trip cost 80baht per person. We hadn't planned on swimming and hadn't thought ahead about whether we would want to and so when we didn't bring any swimming gear. When we looked at the water and dipped our toes in the water it seemed so inviting and eventually we all ended up swimming in our clothes. I have never swum in an ocean that was so warm, or so salty. We played around in the water for a while and then we caught a boat back to Ao Ton Sai and went back to our guest house to get into some dry clothing. We decided to walk down the beach to discover more of the village and to find a restaurant to eat dinner at (we wanted to eat along side the ocean). We ended up finding this restaurant with tables that were just a few feet away from the water and I had a delicious green curry. Spud still wasn't feeling great so he didn't get to enjoy his meal but it was really pretty, it was rice with raisins and chicken cooked in a pineapple. Tabitha had a noodle dish.

In true tourist form we ended up buying a copy of 'The Beach' (the beach in the movie is at Maya bay on Phi Phi Leh). I hadn't planned on visiting the locations of the movie 'The Beach' when I came to Thailand but it seems I'm making the rounds of the film locations (I saw the waterfall used in the movie when I went to Khao Yai National Park).

Before returning to our suite we booked a cliff jumping/snorkelling tour for the next morning. The rest of the evening was spent watching the movie and going to sleep.

Today's picture is of me on our first trip to Long beach.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Arrival at Ko Phi Phi Don

Post for Thursday May 4/ Friday May 5 2006

During the day Thursday we set up our bus trip and after some running around secured a trip on the 8pm bus to Surat Thani. We hurriedly got ready for the bus and took a cab out to the station just in time to get onto our bus. Our cab driver was a very creative driver and if that had not been the case we may not have caught the bus at all, he seemed to create lanes out of thin air and squeeze into spaces that you couldn't have convinced me a car would be able to fit. He was a brilliant driver.

The bus ride to Surat Thani was very long and less comfortable than anticipated. The ride to Surat Thani from Bangkok was scheduled to be an eleven hour ride but in the end we arrived two hours earlier than expected which caused us to be groggy and confused on hour arrival. When we stumbled off the bus half asleep at five in the morning none of us were thinking clearly and unfortunately we agreed to a ride in a sawng-thaew to an office to get our tickets for the next bus trip to Krabi. The reason that this was unfortunate is that when you leave any transportation hub you are bombarded with many people shouting "where you go?" and if you accept someone's offer of a ride right away they'll most likely bring you to their friend's business and over charge you for the ride there. Once you're there you’ll get over charged by there friend. Can you guess what happened to us? The sawng-thaew brought us to some dingy ticket office and then gouged us for the price of the sawng-thaew and once we were at this ticket office there was really no where else to go and they did have some transportation going to Krabi and so we took our chances. Sadly, our chances over charged us by triple the price and we ended up on a dirty city bus for three hours to Krabi. We also had to wait around for this dingy bus to arrive in a dirty room watching poorly dubbed English television and watching the giant moth (which was beautiful) fly in and out of the dirty washroom. We decided when we got off at Krabi that we wouldn't talk to anyone after we got off of the bus until we were all mentally and physically collected prepared to make a decision. We found someone to get us to the pier so that we could take a ferry out to the Ko Phi Phi islands and we also booked a hotel for the night on Phi Phi Don because it was the Friday night of the long weekend and things may be booked since we'dbe arriving later.

You may be doing the time calculations in your head to wonder what time it is in this tale... or you may not, but I will give the break down anyway. We left 8pm Thursday and arrived in Surat Thani Friday morning at 5am, we left Surat Thani at 6:50am for Krabi and arrived at 10am and now we had to wait for the 3pm ferry which wouldn't bring us into Phi Phi Don until 5pm. Since we had time to kill until we grabbed the ferry we ate some lunch and consumed a lot of ice cream, it was quite hot out and we were tired from our bus rides. The wait felt like forever. Finally, we were able to board the ferry. Tabitha and I wanted to stand on the deck for the ride there so we all went to the front of the boat and assumed our positions for the ride (Spud did join us on the deck). I was standing at the railing and got drenched with waves. It was glorious! The water was so warm as was the wind so I didn't feel cold at all and some of the waves were really huge and I was surprised at how wet I got. The only sad thing was that I was wearing my jeans and afterwards they stunk like sea water. Upon arrival at the pier we spied someone holding the sign for our guest house so we threw our baggage onto a cart and he led us through the streets of the village to our home for the night. We stayed in the 'Harmony House' guest house but I wouldn't say it was terribly harmonious. We felt very cramped and the place smelled a little. I have stayed in worse accommodations before but this was our little get away and we were sure we could find better within the same price range. We got ready and cleaned up to go out and decided to go out for some dinner and after dinner to look for a new guest house. We decided to go to a restaurant called 'The Rock' which was up in the trees a bit. The guy working there was a little strange but the food was amazing so we'll let that go. I had a coconut and spicy red curry dish with shrimp and rice. I can't even describe how good it was, melt in your mouth really, and just the right amount of spicy and sweet. So tasty.

We took a little stroll around the village which was full of jewellery stalls and was buzzing with a festival atmosphere... it was a Friday night though so maybe it was just a Friday night atmosphere. We looked for around for a bit and found a new guest house. Originally we saw these really cute little guest huts called 'Ciao Bella' but they were full, boo, but we did find a good place in the end. The place we found to stay was called 'H.C Anderson' which was much nicer than the place we already had without much extra cost. After walking around a bit more Tabitha and I went back to the 'Harmony House' and ate some junk food, studied some Thai, and went to sleep early. Spud (Brian) went out to find some friends we met on the ferry, he wasn't successful in finding them but he did find some other Irish folks and watch a Thai boxing fight with them.

Today's picture is taken looking out from Long beach on Phi Phi Don, the boats are the ones you can hire to take you around.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Off Again On Again

So the trip is on again and we're going to Ko Phi Phi for a few days. Tonight we're taking the bus south and tomorrow will be exploring some beautiful islands! Today there has been some frustrations but I think it all worked out in the end and we'll be on our way in two hours.

I talked to Mom, Dad and Adina on the phone today but I woke up a bit moody so I kinda started off a little barky (sorry Mom). I think my annoyance was partly due to my laundry misadventures of yesterday evening where I accidental turned one of my favorite skirts to a cream color and may have potentially ruined one of my only three blouses. Ugh.

I'm tired right now but I have a long bus ride to sleep on. Have a good weekend folks. I'll be back to posting on Monday!

Today's picture is of me, the OHs, OH T's Aunt and Rae's sister and her family and OH T.'s Uncle's house.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

I Need To Escape the City

Nothing really got done today except for my brief trip to Carrefour where I bought snacks for the team (Robbie, Tabitha, Brian and I) as well as mailed out two post cards, three letters and a gift. I did visit Lynne who is home from her surgery and doing really well but otherwise nothing was done. Due to some transportation issues it looks like we won't be going south to any islands which I have to admit is a bit disappointing but I'll find someone to go with some other time. I am feeling a little bit like I need to spend a night out of the city. I get cabin fever in Edmonton and here it is so much worse, I need fresh air and nature and get in touch with my tree hugging self... or at least my country town self. I don't know if I'll be able to actually pull off a day trip but I think I'm going to try.

I wish I had stuff to say today but really I feel like nothing is happening. I'm waiting for my school schedule so that I can plan my lessons and I want to get out of the city but nothing is really going on that is very exciting or out of the ordinary.

Oh, this evening we did have our Wednesday night Ruhi which was good, we didn't do many sections of the study book but the discussion tonight was great. I'm planning the junior youth group that I'll be starting in the community around my soi but I don't know when I'll start that. I know that it's time to set things in motion so I'm just working on my plans, when things start to get going and/or I have more travelling adventures then I'll really have something to write about.

Right now Brian, Tabitha and Robbie are out somewhere having their own adventure in Bangkok, I didn't go because I had Ruhi.

The picture for today is from convention on the weekend. The boy is our very own little Irish spud, Brian, and the woman is a fellow Canadian, Merril, who is pioneering to Yasothon. Also, I had some questions about "horsebox", it's a name that Brian calls everyone... an Irish thing, but he's got the rest of us saying it now.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Horesebox

Ok Today and Yesterday...

I have some new friends who are staying in my building, which I think I mentioned last time but in case I didn't... they are Tabitha from Victoria B.C., Brian from Ireland, and Robbie from... well everywhere really (his parents work at international schools and so he's lived everywhere). On Sunday night we all hung out and then on Monday went back the the Baha'i centre for the final day of the convention, we separated into our community groups and discussed how the core activities (Ruhi, Devotionals, and Children's classes) were going. The sessions ended early on Monday and so we went to Limpini park in Bangkok (which is where today's picture is taken) and hung out for a bit and then we went for dinner and to Suan Lum Night Bazaar for a bit and then onto MBK which is one of the largest (or maybe THE largest shopping centre in Bangkok). We had all had long days and were overwhelmed by the immensity of MBK and so we went home and sat around listening to music and chatting. We found that we all have very similar tastes in music (which was awesome) and played each other song after song of interesting and amazing musics. We all got to bed late and so we all got up later today (some later than others).

After a slow start we went to the swimming pool and Brian (our poor white Irish spud) got a wicked sunburn and the rest of us got a little too much sun. The afternoon was spent just chilling out and then Robbie (serious-head) left us to go meet up with some of his friends and Brian, Tabitha and I went into Bangkok. Tabitha had some errands to run and Brian wanted some "western" food. We had pizza and chocolate ice cream which I dripped all over the front of my shirt (awesome).

This evening we have been just chilling out in our apartment (mine and Tabitha's) watching silly shows on the computer and chatting.I think that Tabitha, Brian and I are going to go out to one of the islands for a few days which will be pretty awesome but that'll mean that I won't be posting for a few days.