Celebrating a birthday in Thailand was nothing short of a dream come true. I had my last day of TEFL classes but the other girls in my program surprised me with a birthday cake at lunch. The instructor Phil even had ‘happy birthday’ in Thai written on it for me. It was truly a surprise and so incredibly sweet of them. I wanted to spend the night relaxing across the street with a couple beers and call it an early night, but it being my birthday, my friends made sure that didn’t happen. After a complimentary birthday beverages were set in front of me, everybody took turns singing happy birthday in their native languages. English, Swedish, French, Welch and Danish! It was so heartwarming and something I will never forget. We ended the night at the bar next door, listening to a the latest international hits and sipping Mai Thais next to the river. It was a great birthday, as well as last night in Sing Buri.  |
| My Thai birthday cake |
The few days leading up to Monday morning I thought I was ready to leave. The other girls in my program and I talked about how we couldn’t wait to move into more permanent homes, truly unpack our suitcases and feel completely settled again. But when Monday rolled around all of the sudden I didn’t want to go. The Twinhouse had quickly become my home in Thailand and I had made a new family full of people from all over the world. The first two weeks in Thailand was the first time in my life where everything was 100% foreign to me. The Twinhouse became a place I could go that felt familiar and people knew my name and all of the sudden, I was being ripped away from that and thrown back into the uncertainty of solo traveling. But whether I liked it or not, I had to say goodbye.
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| Three other girls in my teaching program. LtoR Megan (England), Ceris (Wales), Andrea (Australia) & Me |
After an extended bus ride to Bangkok (our bus broke down and we had to wait for one to come pick us up) I arrived with not a soul to pick me up. I was told I was going to be meeting a representative from the school at the bus station who would bring me the rest of the way but when I called her, she said I had to take a taxi to the school. Awesome. My blonde hair and fair skin already attract attention here but add an awkward suitcase and me uttering the words “You want me to get a cab?” to the mix and taxi drivers flock. I was approached no less than 6 times while making my way to the taxi cue. Sometimes I wish I had brown hair.
Monday was a holiday because of Chinese New Year so instead of touring the school when I arrived, I spent the day with the director and her husband. They took me to lunch at the mall which honestly, was a bit of a culture shock after being in rural Thailand for 2 weeks. It was the first time since being here I had experienced air conditioning and no rice with my meal. After lunch we went to the grocery store (I could write a post about the Thai grocery store alone) and I was shown my new place. My apartment is decent. It's simple and a bit dated, but the shower is hot and the air conditioning cold, so I'm not complaining.
I have a full week at my new school under my belt and honestly, it has been mostly uneventful. The kids are testing this week so instead of shadowing other foreign teachers or observing lessons I have been proctoring and grading tests. It’s a necessary evil of teaching but I’m looking forward to seeing a real class day and what the English program entails.
Heading to Bangkok for the night to see some friends from the Twinhouse and I'm really looking forward to it. Stay tuned for a post about it and more on teaching!
Love from Thailand
-Meg
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