Adventures in Eating!!

If there is one thing the Thais seem to love, beside the King of course, its food! Streets are lined with vendors and it seems like every other shop is a restaurant! They usually serve small portions and people eat often. Then they have large markets everyday as well, down near the pier is the large outdoor night market (in addition to the line of vendors at the pier) then up by my house is another night market that is a large open building/pavilion where you can find everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, raw meats, fried meats, curries, and more. Then there is Pacific Plaza, a 4-story enclosed market (the bottom level is a large food market, the middle two stories are mostly clothes/accessories, and the top floor is a food court of fast-food type places). And then every Sunday there is a huge “Floating Market” which isn't really floating but it is right next to the water and is definitely a popular scene for locals, it was crowded with people shopping, hanging out, making crafts, or having picnics next to the water!

Next to the Sunday Floating Market - Locals having family picinics <3

I quickly found that the outdoor markets are MUCH more pleasant to walk through, the more enclosed

ones seem to hold in the most awful smells! So much so that I can barely make it through, and I am mouth-breathing and covering my face to avoid the wretched smells... I'm not sure if the smells are just from the raw meat that sit out all day, but it is literally the worst smell I have ever experienced. The worst was Pacific Plaza, my first time through I saw a huge rat, then looked up and locked eyes with a chopped off pig face and I knew it was time to go! The second time through I was still not prepared for the smell and couldn't stay in there more than about 5 minutes!! Between the smells, the dark environment, rats, dead fish on the ground, bugs, and sitting water that you had to walk through it was almost too much!

Vegetable & fruits side of Pacific Plaza, still not pleasant!

Beginning of the meat section at Pacific Plaza.... not going back!

And then I discovered the Sunday Floating Market, which was outdoors so I could breathe comfortably and enjoy looking at the crazy varieties of food.. Unfortunately I wasn't able to figure out what the majority of the foods there were, and I just took photos and was too scared to actually TRY anything! I did catch on quickly that they seem to have a thing with food on a stick! Here are some of the photos that I took, again don't ask because I have no idea what any of it is!!!!

It's crazy because the meals here are so inexpensive it almost doesn't make sense to cook ever, but I have found that I am still needing more fruits and vegetables so my best bet for those is to head over to the open pavilion style market near my house, it is semi-enclosed so I still have to hold my breath through the meat section but it is really well-lit, clean, and they have a great selection of fruits and vegetables! My favorite fruit are the pomelos – its kind of like an orange mixed with a grapefruit and they are delicious! But I have also found a few staples that are popping up daily, including fried rice with vegetables (Cow Pad Pak) or fried noodles and vegetables (Pad Siew Pak) and with the assistance of Holly, I was able to order a delicious vegetarian noodle soup around the corner from my house! The girls who work there now know my name so I can go in and order “Neung Mari” (neung = 1) and they will bring me the most delicious spicy ramen tofu soup ever!! Pretty much been eating there everyday since Holly helped me, their menu is all in Thai so the first time I tried to go there I wasn't able to communicate anything or even order!!

Ramen noodle soup, loaded with fried tofu, bean sprouts, kale, celery, cilantro, crushed red peppers & peanuts!

Another favorite I have found is these street vendors that make amazing banana pancakes, you can get it with honey (my favorite), chocolate, or condensed Carnation “milk” on top!! 

Banana and honey pancake!!!

a Life of Highs and Lows

Since arriving in Thailand just over two weeks ago I have had an extreme range of experiences, from the amazing to the terrifying, but it has all seemed still surreal. Last weekend we headed out by the night ferry to Koh Tao, at about 5:30am I awoke drenched in sweat and 2 inches from bodies on either side. The heat and the smell made me instantly nauseous so I headed out to the non-existent deck – basically there was about 2 feet of wood planks around the outside of the boat and from the lower level you could climb out and hold on to the side! As we approached land we spotted a large shark not too far from our boat and after the 7 hour ride we finally caught sight of land... more specifically an island paradise, forests of palm trees & mountains jutting out of the sea. 

At the docks we caught a truck taxi, literally two benches in the back of a pick-up truck and had an amazing ride through the forest and up a ways towards the main strip of beach where we would be able to rent out bungalows for the night!

Bungalows!!

After settling in and changing clothes we headed straight across the sidewalk to the beach. Now knowing me, I'm sure none of you will be surprised to learn that within 30 min of getting to the coast and into the water I sustained my first injury in Thailand. We were all jumping and playing about in the sea when I suddenly stepped on a sharp bit of coral reef and sliced my toe right open! In the crystal clear water I had no excuse to not see where I was stepping, but it caught me good and I was instantly bleeding profusely! Luckily one of the couples with us, Phil & Julia, have an adorable 3 year-old, Isabelle, with them so mommy Julia was quickly on the scene helping me hobble out of the water and getting me all bandaged up! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get back in the water the rest of the day and I've still got a bit of a limp even a week later!!

That evening we took the opportunity to scope out the night life on the island where all of the bars are literally right on the beach! The first spot we stopped into had small beach mats with tables set around the sand and the bar was made under a large palm tree, and they had awesome guys fire-dancing!

Finally, we ended up stumbling onto the “Half Moon Party” – this island is famous for their “Full Moon Parties” that are supposed to be full of wild revelry, excessive drinking, and all around chaos – but it looks like they are really willing to make any excuse to party! We had a great time that night and were out celebrating Sophie's birthday – but the next day our group was recovering from a variety of hardships – from sunburns, hang-overs, and me with my toe we were a bit of a rough bunch and by Sunday night we were all eager to get back home! At about 9pm we hopped back onto another large boat, crammed with upwards of 100 people in a small closed in hold and rode off into the night. On our way home we hit a pretty large thunderstorm and were woken up by lightening, thunder, and rain pouring into the open windows! Several of us had some good laughs about the lack of safety standards on the boat, which in some respects felt a lot more like a slave ship!! Just another part of the journey!

After only one week in Suratthani, where we are basically the only farang, or foreigners, we were already a little put off by all the tourists and white people!! The people working on the island looked at us funny when we greeted them with a wai and “Sawatdeekaa”. I think in general we all agreed that the vibe of the Koh Tao was a bit much, from high prices, to lots of obnoxious tourists, and an emphasis on partying – especially in comparison to our weekend of absolute zen in Khanom the week prior!! But the views were definitely worth it, and I think in the future if I went back it would be to do some more hiking and exploring in the island mountains!

Today I had a chance to go with the two Holly's over to the local library and spend a few hours reading stories and singing songs with kids. This was the first of this kind of outreach event where we are trying to promote The Language and get a chance to interact with some of the kids in town who haven't had a chance to study with our company. It was a really fun way to get to spend some more time with the kids and I enjoyed again seeing how much capacity the little ones have for the language skills and picking up vocabulary!!! We read them the Lion and the Mouse, The Brave Hedgehog, and Giraffes Can't Dance and had a blast acting them out with our homemade puppets! I'm always down for any excuse to go into a library, and its great to see that kids still go to libraries and have fun!!!!

Suratthani Library - next to the pier

So far the only thing I have been really struggling with has been the cockroaches!!!!! For some reason the roaches keep showing up in my room, and more specifically in my BED!!! Luckily I have 2 guy housemates that have no problem catching them if they can, but one of the times the stupid thing then ran under my bed and I had no way to get to it! Luckily with the help of YouTube I was able to find a way to make a homemade trap with an empty Snapple bottle filled half way with honey, water and some margarine around the opening!! So far I've caught 3 this way in my bedroom and I don't know if that should make me feel better or worse – but I'm trying to stick with better! For now! 

not okay....

Otherwise there are lots of little things that we are all quickly adapting too, such as ants and flies everywhere. Literally I constantly have bugs on me and the feeling of bugs crawling on me! In restaurants and bathrooms there are just thousands of them alll the time! The toilets here are about as far from glamorous as you could get and the "BumGun" grows on you, but the squatting element is a whole different story!! It surely makes me appreciate the little things in life.... like toilet paper.. and hand soap, both rare commodities in this country!

Eating here is an adventure all in itself, but I think I'll have to wait and dedicate a whole post just to food!! Until then I shall try to be more adamant about photographing my meals as well as the things I'm not brave enough to try!!!

Preparing for my First Class at Joy School!

JoY Bilingual School

http://www.joyschool.ac.th/index1.html

The Learning Network Ltd is a company that brings together several learning facilities under a common goal of progressive education here in Suratthani. The largest of the branches is called Joy School and it is a bilingual school for grades K-6 and where I will be doing all of my instruction. Then there is The Language, an after-school program for elementary students where learning is more informal and classes are smaller (usually 15 students – compared to about 25 students per class at Joy School). Next, there is AE or Alternative English, which is a program for teenagers where they are encouraged to develop independent study habits, using the computers but also having a lot of individual attention and support. Finally, there is an entire program for advancing teacher education and training which is supplied through Global TESOL and gives on-going training and certification programs for ESL teachers.

The education coordinator at The Learning Network is Lisa Garvey and she has an amazing background, having completed all levels of the Global TESOL courses as well as holding a Masters degree in museum and curatorial studies – she was working in museum education in England before she decided to move to Thailand to pursue a career in education! Clearly with the common passion for Art as well as Education the two of us have hit it off nicely and I am looking forward to taking her workshops throughout the year and getting to know her more!!

The school has been so organized with everything from the Welcome Packet all the way to our training, schedules and orientation as well as providing in-depth curriculum outline for the entire year. However, they are also extremely flexible and while they provide you with the topics and required coursework you are able to plan your own lessons and teach in whichever style you feel most comfortable. They encourage creativity and having FUN! The best part is the Director, known as Kru Nok (literally translates as Teacher Bird) who has a pet parrot that chills on her shoulder and flies freely around the school! The birds speak mostly Thai so we are going to see how much English we can teach them this year!! 

http://www.smartbird.joyschool.ac.th/

They have already suggested using yoga as a warm up exercise to begin your day!!! With my class of kindergarteners I will start the day off with the lining up at the flag in the morning for the national anthem, followed by milk time :D then in my lessons I will be building vocabulary, teaching phonics, a little bit of math, story time and my most favorite … ART <3 Finally I will assist in getting them lunch, brushing their teeth, and finally getting settled for nap time. Each day by noon I am off to lunch and have the remainder of the afternoon set aside for planning.

& Since I have not done a great job of taking pictures of the campus quite yet, I will simply leave you with this......