Home is where your mom is

This October school was out for the whole month and all the teachers at my school were given two weeks of paid vacation! I was thrilled when my mom finally decided to book a ticket to visit. She flew into Suvarnabhumi Airport on the 13^th and we began our adventure with 5 days exploring, touring, shopping and eating our way through the crowded streets, temples, and markets of Bangkok. We rented out a newly renovated loft apartment in the Sathon district, only a 5 min walk from the Sapan Taksin BTS skytrain station and the Chao Phaya River pier – the location was just far enough from the city center to give us an authentic neighborhood feel, but also allowed us to easily get anywhere in the city by skytrain, boat, tuktuk or taxi. 

One of the first things we knew we wanted  to do was to take a boat tour on the river. There are several different boats that run up and down the river and piers located at many of the touristy destinations like the reclining buddha of Wat Po and the Grand Palace. First, we hired a long-tail boat to take us on a two hour canal tour where we got to see a lot of homes and small temples along the canals and even a few monitor lizards! The boat driver didn't speak any English so it was less of a "tour" and more of a nice boat ride - but the next day we landed on the right taxi boat that had an English speaking tour guide as we went along the river.

One of the highlights of our time in Bangkok was definitely the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC. Located at the city center it is an amazing complex that feels like a museum mixed with a local craft fair. There is no entrance fee and there are 5 or 6 levels each full of galleries, artist studios, restaurants and shops selling all sorts of artsy things - from fine art, to live portraits, books, clothing, and jewelry. The ground level even had an installation done by a few graffiti artists, a pop-up shop by BKK Graff, and my very favorite coffee shop in all of Thailand where they made each cup to order - so pretty much I was in heaven!

Friday mid-day we took an AirAsia flight 1-hour South into Suratthani where I got to spend the weekend showing mom all around my city! We wasted no time after dinner at the pier we went straight to the massage parlor across the street from my house. Saturday we drove out to the lookout at the hill outside of town and wandered around the zoo and the stupa. 

On Sunday we were just planning to go take a walk around Sports Island and we stumbled onto the largest annual festival in Suratthani! Koh Lampu (Sports Island) was jam packed with people, cars, motorbikes, street food vendors, bouncy castles, homemade carnival games, cheerleaders, and every Thai person from the entire region! We were the only farang in sight and it was amazing! From what we could gather it was the Buddha Festival and boat races, there was possibly something about the entire town pulling a huge buddha to the temple - and there were lots of really ornate boats with monks riding in them (some in the river, some actually being driven on the streets in town) and there were boat races with super long boats each with about 50 men rowing!! 

The festival filled the whole island, plus the entire road along the pier was shut down and filled with elaborate displays of different Buddhist scenes and stories as well as tons of shops, food, and a huge temporary photography exhibition. The people in the exhibit were unbelievably friendly to us and even gave us each a copy of the entire catalog of the show, took our photograph, and kindly insisted that we write on the large visitor board. All of the images were taken in this region, and they were all stunning! It made me realize how amazing this place is and how many things I have still yet to see as well as realizing how crazy some of the things I have already seen really are. 

Monday after SP Coffee, a quick tour of Joy School and my staple meal at Green House (spicy fruit salad & vegetable fried rice) we took a bus to Donsak Pier and then caught the ferry to Koh PhaNgan. We found a really nice place to stay in the Northwest corner of the island, High Life Bungalow is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking Haad Yaao beach. It was definitely low season - there were almost no other people around, but the weather was perfect!! 

After 8 days of sightseeing and adventuring we were both ready to relax at the beach! But we could only justify one lazy day so the last day we signed up for a Safari Boat Tour to take us around the island and get a little sampling of the area. The tour was really amazing - we went to a Muay Thai boxing gym, the Chinese Temple, snorkeling, long-tail boat to Bottle Beach, family-style thai lunch, I think we made the right choice and opted out of the elephant rides, then we hiked up to a waterfall, kayaked out to a tiny island and swam in a lagoon! But at the end of even that day, my favorite part still might have been riding in the back of a pickup truck to and from our bungalow!!

Finally, we had to take the ferry back to the mainland, then I flew with my mom back up to Bangkok and got her sent off in a 3am airport shuttle back home. I had an absolutely amazing time with my mom, I am so grateful that she made it all the way to Thailand!!! The more I travel the more thankful I am that my mom always put such a value on travel in our family... road trips, camping, motels, hostels, vagabonds, all bring back really awesome memories from my childhood and helped me develop my own passion for traveling!

~namaste~

may the journey continue

the journey is the destination

All last month I spent my weekends running straight to the Andaman Sea. The beaches and friendly vibes of the low-season are especially appealing after a week of high-energy work. A 2 hour van ride followed by a 30 minute jaunt in the open bed of a truck gets me to the Ao Nang pier. From here Ton Sai is roughly 20 minutes by long-tail boat. then it is only minutes before I will hear a friendly "Welcome!" from one of the few bar owners. And now that I have visited a few times I might get, "Welcome Teacher!" or my all time favorite, "Welcome home!!"

One weekend I went with another teacher, Holly and we had an amazing time exploring and hiking around Railay and over to Ton Sai. I had done the hike between those two before, but along the path from Railay East to West we stumbled onto a path that I had not seen before. It was a rope hanging to the side of the main path, and we noticed a sign that said "No base jumping or parachuting" which caused us to pause. Then we quickly realized it was a trail, and with our bags and all we decided to check it out. 10 rope ladders up later we found another couple of adventurers who told us we were about 1/2 the way up to the view point! We happily continued, in awe of the rope ladder system and the jungle trek we had inadvertently found ourselves on! And the view from the lookout point could not have been more spectacular! 

We attempted to get to the lagoon, but the rocks were super wet and slippery and then as we got to the intense vertical drops it started raining so we took our que and headed back to the main path and continued over towards Railay West.

Spending my weekends in a tourist destination still seems surreal, while most people have traveled half the globe to get here - for me its merely the weekend. And I have had the pleasure of meeting some really interesting people, some other teachers also working in Thailand or elsewhere in Asia, quite a few backpackers, climbers, and adventure seekers, some here for days others staying for months. But for me it is only a matter of 2 days, because its back to work on Monday morning!

So this week we are still in the office all week but there are no classes. This gives us a chance to rebound from this semester and get ready to turn around and do it again! Today was a great day. I got to be crafty all day at work. Then driving to the train station to buy my ticket to Bangkok i found a building full of graffiti!! AND it happens to be day #5 of Vegetarian Festival! So so many things and the day i didn't have my camera!

But I do happen to have a few pictures I took on Sart Thai. Friday was the Chinese Buddhist mid-year celebration, a time to honor spirits and ancestors, as well as the souls of plants and animals. Always held on the new moon of the tenth lunar month this day also marks the beginning of a 9-day Vegetarian Festival. "Kin-che" or กินเจ means to eat vegetarian, and it is one of the first Thai phrases I learned. Buddhist tradition values a strict vegetarian diet and yellow flags are displayed at vegetarian restaurants. This week the markets and streets near the temples and around town have been full of carts and vendors lined with yellow flags! Its a great week to be vegetarian in Thailand! :D
 

and in the spirit of Vegetarian Festival ... here's one for all the animal lovers out there  <3

~OneLove~

One Semester Down

Yesterday was the last day of the semester at Joy School and I experienced an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and pride looking at my students and acknowledging the growth and improvement each of them have accomplished in the  4 ½ months that I have known them. They are each so unique and they have each stolen a piece of my heart. I never could have imagined how intense a bond I feel towards my class.

Grace, Jin, Paipo & Grape

Being that they are only 5 years old and English is not their first language, our communication is largely physical in nature and their limited vocabulary leads to some hilarious conversation attempts! A few of my students in particular already have a great sense of humor and they are just to die for.

N'Pun, Namfah & In

It already feels like we’ve been through so much together! It seems like ages ago that TinTin broke his arm, or when Jin sliced her chin open when she slipped on wet tile in the bathrooms!! Or when Jin brought me an adorable little girl drawn on a cardboard toilet paper roll wearing a pink kimono and a white porcelain hat! Or when we took our field trip to the police training academy!

Class field trip @ Suratthani Police Training Academy

It was crazy to realize that we have completed ½ of the year and in another 6 months my kids are graduating to K3. I think to continue teaching I will have to figure out how to NOT get soo attached to each class, hopefully just because this is my first time doing this I didn’t know… But I can’t even imagine having to say goodbye to my 27 wild little children, I feel like no class could ever be as awesome as them. Yet at the same time I guess its just as crazy to think that every year is a chance to experience another set of amazing, unique, creative, and inspiring little people! In some ways it still feels so surreal that I am a teacher right now.

In

I feel so much gratitude for the people that have made my experience here even possible. I work at a great school, with a boss that I view more as a friend, and an amazing team of teachers that I have grown to love & respect as friends and fellow teachers. I have support in every aspect of my life here. We have an amazing teacher trainer, Lisa, who is always available for questions, concerns, advice, or anything related to teaching or culture here. I am thankful for Holly, who was so reassuring to me in my interview and really inspired me and encouraged me with her outlook and perspective after living in Thailand for 7 years and loving it. She met me over Skype and she was the one to hire me on at The Learning Network and ultimately give me this opportunity. Everything has been taken care of by the school as far as visas, immigration, work permits, taxes, insurance, and our housing is provided as well. And thanks to Holly, I even have an amazing yoga teacher! I just don't know what more I could even want!?

Deer, Pussorn, Pin & Grape

Everything is always working out for me.

I feel confident that I am on a path that is leading me towards alignment with my purpose and my highest bliss! How amazing that I get to do art, yoga, music, math, and English with my kids every single day!?!

And now.... just another 8 days and I will be meeting my mom in Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit a.k.a. Bangkok a.k.a. “The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam.” or in Thai script, กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์.

Did you know that Bangkok is the capital with the longest name? Well.... it is. And I can't wait to get there and spend time exploring with my mom!!!!

Life is good.

Namaste friends 

XXX

weekend wanderings

This weekend started with a torrential downpour. It was quite possibly the largest quantity of water I've ever seen come from the sky at one time. In thirty minutes most of the roads were completely flooded and the front of our house had become a lake!! This picture doesn't nearly do it justice, but believe me it was a LOT of water!!!! Luckily it lasted less than an hour, and it made for a nice cool evening ~

The weekends in Surat are usually pretty quiet, any given weekend there are teachers headed in various directions but I have found that there is still plenty of exploring to be done in and around town. My favorite weekly events are the two weekend markets that seem to consistently draw crowds of locals. Every Saturday evening on “Walking Street” vendors and individuals set up next to the water selling everything from clothes, small electronics, dishes, bedding, jewelry, sunglasses, watches, and crafts. Every Sunday evening on the opposite end of the river front is the “floating market” full of a huge array of food carts, stalls, & vendors. Both markets have a great community atmosphere and seated next to the river offer a great view of the sunset!

Koh Lampu is a small island in the river that is easily accessible by motorbike, only about a 5 minute drive from my house over the two bridges, and is also known as “exercise island”. It has at least 4 or 5 outdoor areas with exercise equipment, plus several different tennis courts, a jogging path, and a variety of trees and rocks that are begging to be climbed! There are also meeting areas, picnic tables, a playground, a swimming pool (without any water in it), long tail boats, canoes, small piers, pagodas, and of course a Buddha and several small shrines!

But what has really made the last two weekends in town great has been P'Noi's new Sunday morning yoga gathering!! Normally she only teaches 4 days during the week, but she has started hosting a Sunday morning pranayama class at the outdoor football stadium. 6am sounds like an insane idea, until you remember that by 7:30am the sun is going to be out and blazing! So I have been happy to get up early and beat the heat!! It's also just been really cool to get to practice with a group of 20+ yogis in the park!

~ Namaste ~

My mom is coming!!!!

COUNTDOWN CLOCKS

Mothers Day

Monday marked the Queen of Thailand's birthday and the entire country celebrated Mother's Day as a national holiday, which meant another long weekend for us! But before we took off to the Gulf of Thailand, we first were asked to participate in a day of sports at school. At first we were all kind of taken back when the principle came into the teachers room and asked us all if we would be able to stay at work until 5pm on Friday - normally we get off at noon on Fridays so this was asking a lot!! We slowly began to realize how seriously the teachers were taking this and several of us agreed to change our plans and stay at work an additional 5 hours!

It turned out to be an awesome day – all the families came and in the morning we had a ceremony with lots of music performances. Then they provided an amazing lunch for everyone, Khanom Jeen (a local favorite dish served with white noodles and a variety of coconut, curry, paprika and other sauces), deep fried noodles, tons of fruit, sticky rice with bananas, fried bananas, fried donuts, and ice cream! After lunch it was time for the games to begin! 

We had been practicing at school everyday for almost two weeks with the other Thai teachers and the match was a good one – it would be Teachers VS Parents! Clearly, this is why they had been taking it so seriously, and we were instructed under no uncertain terms that we MUST win. The stakes were high, and the trophy was higher... quite literally, it was the largest trophy I have ever seen! It was 4 tiers and at least 5 feet tall!!!!!

Kru Nok holding the winning trophy!

After hilarious performances from the cheerleader squads made up of parents & teachers in ridiculous costumes it was time to get down to the real competitions!

our manager, Patrick, with one of the teacher cheerleaders!

First up, the traditional Thai game of Chairball. One team member stands on top of a chair at each end of the court and there is one guard at each basket. If you have the ball you must pass, you cannot move more than one foot. And if you are on defense you can only go for the ball, no contact. Otherwise anything goes! It was a blast to play and we proudly took the win!

Second, was a few rounds of Tug-Of-War. We played best of 3 and there were men & women teams of no more than 700 kilos. The men teachers didn't pull it off, but I was the only farang to join the women teachers team and we won, but not without a fight! The kids got to get in on this one and play a few rounds as well!

Finally, the last match of the day was football and after a close game the teachers pulled out another win!!

can you spot the two farang in the back row?! 

Another great experience that made me so grateful for the school I am at and the people I have met here. It was a great day of bonding and friendly competition, getting to know more of the parents and even the Thai teachers that I work with - plus a good time to get to have fun with my kids outside of the classroom!

Saturday the real holiday began though as we headed off to the sandbar island aka Ko Pha Ngan – 18 out of the 20 teachers that I work with all went together to celebrate Haley's 23^rd birthday! I had to come later so I took the ferry over from Donsak Pier and met up with the rest of the group at Hacienda Backpackers Resort on Baan Tai beach.

Saturday night we went out for a night of epic proportions, that started with a taxi ride with 13 of us in the back of a pick up truck heading to Haad Rin. 

At FUBAR we met up with another group of about 20 teachers from Suratthani who were also on the island for a long weekend ~ the morning came quickly and we enjoyed watching a surreal sunrise from an empty cove looking out to the Gulf of Thailand.

We thoroughly enjoyed the variety and quality of farang food on the island, from margaritas and burritos, to real Italian food, and even Guinness draft beer!!! And although there was a definitely the strong tourist vibe on the island, I still found the locals to be extremely friendly – especially if they realized I was a teacher I felt like people were amazingly generous! I met one guy who ended up being a taxi driver who took me in his pickup truck on the most awesome ride through the forest and over a mountain, another shop owner who was overly kind and kept thanking me for coming to Thailand and calling me “my teacher,” and even at the Irish pub we went to just before leaving, they gave us a free taxi over to the pier, and after dropping us off they realized someone in our group had left an iPod charging there so they drove back to find us and give it back! Turns out it was MINE, and right as I was realizing that part of the charger was still at the restaurant another guy showed up on his motorbike with the other piece and wouldn't even take a tip or anything from me!!!!

The island itself was unbelievably beautiful and with 14 beaches in total there is so much to do there I feel like there will be a number of trips back there to explore! From yoga retreats, to cooking classes, waterfalls, snorkeling, zip lining, jewelry classes, and crystal shops there was no way to see it all in just a few days!!