My apologies for being a poor blog author, I will get more regular updates soon.
We have finished our first (and almost second) full week of teaching. Quite a different experience from America. We've had our fair share of frustration and small victories, but are still adjusting to life here in Bangkok.
The students are the run of the mill typical students. Some days I feel like a first year teacher, and others I feel pretty good. Yesterday for example, I had eight students crying by the end of a class. The downside of being in a foreign country is that we can't always communicate... needless to say, I have no idea what they were crying about.
In three weeks time I will be abandoning my dream of being a P.E. teacher to once again teach music. The current music teacher has resigned, and I was offered the spot. It will once again present new challenges, but I'm excited to be going back to the subject I love.
This weekend Christine and I will be going to Koh Kret, an island to the north (???) of Bangkok. It is known as an old colony of Mon people, famous for pottery. The island itself is actually man made from the clay gathered from dredging the canals through Bangkok. The potters use this clay in their craft.
So far we have been exploring the markets and city life of Bangkok while familiarizing ourselves with the city. It can be a challenge to go places when the taxi driver doesn't know where you want to go, or you don't know what bus to take.
The best part so far has been the food... very tasty. Come visit us in Bangkok and I will take you to my favorite places. (mm mm!!)
All for now... need to teach.
Ed
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Up and running
Dear friends and family,
We have arrived in Bangkok! Sorry for our delay in posting our arrival, we had some technical difficulties.
Here is a quick recap of our week so far...
Our flights were great! Christine and I had an exit row seat from LAX to BKK. What a plus! The only downside was a few screaming children. Our in flight meals were okay for the most part, but we caution you not to get the Thai Air omelet, definitely go for the fried rice if you get the chance.
Jay successfully met us at the airport. It was rather nice to arrive early in the morning instead of late at night like the last time. We got to see the sights of Bangkok instead of falling asleep in the back of the van.
Our room is one floor below where we stayed over Christmas. To our surprise we already had visitors upon our arrival! Two small lizards were calling our apartment home. We did our best to take some video, but those little buggers are quick! Unfortunately we think one of them may have come to an untimely demise after running into the air conditioner to escape the flash from my camera. No smell yet, but we are eagerly awaiting its arrival.
Teaching: Not much to say about it yet, we haven't started! Monday will be our first day in the classroom. The planning has been going well, but can be frustrating when trying to clarify translated documents with Thai teachers who don't speak much English. Fortunately there are others around that are willing to lend a helping hand whenever possible.
Our biggest adventure (other than our surprise guests) this week was a good ol' fashioned snake wrangling down at the local market. We had just finished dinner and decided to explore our new neighborhood. We found a small market close by with lots of fruit, chickens (sliced, diced, and boy do the insides look nice... gross!), fish that were still breathing, and all sorts of things I couldn't begin to describe. After some browsing around and finally settling on some freshly cut pomello, we began to walk back home. We didn't get far before seeing a group of scooter taxi drivers all yelling and jumping around. You can imagine that this peaked my interest, so I wanted to move in for a closer look. All of the yelling and jumping was over a 4' snake with BIG fangs. I'm not sure how it got loose, or where it came from, but it was big and out in the open. The scooter drivers corralled the beast and fought it into a garbage bag, but it was a tense few minutes. Afterwards Christine and I had a good laugh about our snake experience as we walked back home.
Get this!
I've flown half way around the world, and I still can't escape!! When we got back, the Assumption Marching Band was practicing... I must admit I had to stop and listen. Who knows, I may even get involved!
Tomorrow Christine and I will be heading out for wonderful adventure in the touristy area of Bangkok. Stay tuned for pictures and updates (including video).
Until next time...
We have arrived in Bangkok! Sorry for our delay in posting our arrival, we had some technical difficulties.
Here is a quick recap of our week so far...
Our flights were great! Christine and I had an exit row seat from LAX to BKK. What a plus! The only downside was a few screaming children. Our in flight meals were okay for the most part, but we caution you not to get the Thai Air omelet, definitely go for the fried rice if you get the chance.
Jay successfully met us at the airport. It was rather nice to arrive early in the morning instead of late at night like the last time. We got to see the sights of Bangkok instead of falling asleep in the back of the van.
Our room is one floor below where we stayed over Christmas. To our surprise we already had visitors upon our arrival! Two small lizards were calling our apartment home. We did our best to take some video, but those little buggers are quick! Unfortunately we think one of them may have come to an untimely demise after running into the air conditioner to escape the flash from my camera. No smell yet, but we are eagerly awaiting its arrival.
Teaching: Not much to say about it yet, we haven't started! Monday will be our first day in the classroom. The planning has been going well, but can be frustrating when trying to clarify translated documents with Thai teachers who don't speak much English. Fortunately there are others around that are willing to lend a helping hand whenever possible.
Our biggest adventure (other than our surprise guests) this week was a good ol' fashioned snake wrangling down at the local market. We had just finished dinner and decided to explore our new neighborhood. We found a small market close by with lots of fruit, chickens (sliced, diced, and boy do the insides look nice... gross!), fish that were still breathing, and all sorts of things I couldn't begin to describe. After some browsing around and finally settling on some freshly cut pomello, we began to walk back home. We didn't get far before seeing a group of scooter taxi drivers all yelling and jumping around. You can imagine that this peaked my interest, so I wanted to move in for a closer look. All of the yelling and jumping was over a 4' snake with BIG fangs. I'm not sure how it got loose, or where it came from, but it was big and out in the open. The scooter drivers corralled the beast and fought it into a garbage bag, but it was a tense few minutes. Afterwards Christine and I had a good laugh about our snake experience as we walked back home.
Get this!
I've flown half way around the world, and I still can't escape!! When we got back, the Assumption Marching Band was practicing... I must admit I had to stop and listen. Who knows, I may even get involved!
Tomorrow Christine and I will be heading out for wonderful adventure in the touristy area of Bangkok. Stay tuned for pictures and updates (including video).
Until next time...
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