4th Month done and done . . .

Okay, a quick apology for taking a 2 week break from my blog updates! But to be completely honest, the last 2 weekends have been fairly uneventful! I’ve got the “Bangkok blues” . . . I’m not a big fan of staying in the city.

Now, let’s see . . . we’ve visited Khoa San Road a few times – hung out at that gas station. A few of us went to a do-it-yourself BBQ; where there were little grills set out on each table and we could cook our own dinner. There was way too much fish, and the meat looked kinda sketchy, needless to say, I ate lots of veggies! Nicole and I bought fruit shakes from a vendor near our apartment and drank them from a bag! It’s so weird; but surprisingly, convenient and easy: if your hands are full, you can carry your drink with your pinky finger and then hang it on your doorknob when you’re struggling with your keys!

We went to a movie a few weeks ago, and that’s always a neat experience . . . The anthem is played after the previews and before the movie. Everyone stands and there is a montage of pictures of the king played on the screen.

This past Thursday, Friday, and Monday (January 11th, 12th, and 15th), we had Open House at the school. Parents were invited into the classrooms to watch a “staged” lesson. The reason I say staged is because the teachers were told that during the hour, each student had to say at least 2 sentences in English. And, the lesson had to be pre-approved! So, many teachers had the students do skits or scripted interviews. And since I don’t have my own class, I was working in the ‘Small Talk Store’ with the computer and phys ed teacher and some excellent student helpers. For the last month and a half, the foreign teachers handed out coupons to students for speaking English. And during Open House, the students were able to redeem their coupons for prizes. It was really fun to work in there. The kids are so cute! And the coupons are a great incentive – the students have been talking so much . . . often asking me random questions in the hall, but their confidence is improving, so it’s great!

Tuesday, January 16th was Teacher’s Day, so schools were closed. Jill, Kristen, Nicole, and I went on a tour of Bangkok. There is a wonderful taxi driver, named Wan, who speaks fantastic English and is the “go-to-guy” for Lertlah staff (Jill and Kristen arranged for him to take their parents around and they raved about him . . . . Lertlah teachers book him all the time). We hired him to take us around and it was so worth it. He is such a knowledgeable man – he knows so much about the city and its surroundings. He picked us up at Condotown at 9am, and we were with him until 4! We went to the Sam Plan Temple, where there was a celebration for teachers. We visited the Grand Palace and saw the Emerald Buddha. It was amazing to see so much detail in the architecture of the buildings and the grounds were perfectly manicured. It was neat, as Wan drove, he would ‘wai’ in the direction of various buddhas and temples. We then went into Chinatown, where we visited a temple and chose a fortune. In the markets, we saw black chickens – even the skin and meat is black. I’ve never seen so many fish products in my life! He took us to a 40-year-old noodle house for lunch, where takeout noodles were served in newspaper! It was a great day.

That’s pretty much it for the update. I’ve been here for 4 months now, sometimes, it feels longer than that. I received a wonderful Christmas package from mom, dad, and Leah . . . lots of stuff to remind me of home, but the best part was a stocking Leah had made; an almost exact replica of the one Granny made. I have it hanging in my apartment, and it will stay there until I leave. And, just a few days ago, I received an envelope with a powerpoint of Christmas morning at home. It was so neat and it really made me feel like I was there . . . . with Soda and all that paper!

Thanks for reading! Stay well and drop me an email to let me know how things are going!