Hi, remember me? So, my weekly blogging in Thailand predictibly didn't make it past week 2. Somewhere between work ("work") and fabulous weekends away, I never really had time to update it. To be honest, I was too busy enjoying myself and trying to make the most of what has been the most incredible experience. However, as it is now my final full day in Thailand (I fly home early tomorrow morning), now is as good a time as any to look back at the last 10 weeks, and my year abroad as a whole, and try to piece together something to take away from it.
WARNING: This post will be very self indulgent and very gap-yah-esque although I will not be saying I "found myself", as I've never been lost (which is more than I can say for my passport....fml).
Looking back at my entire time in Thailand, I am so satisfied with everything and couldn't really have asked for a better experience. I managed to go to most corners of the country which I shall now list (in order cuz I'm ocd like that): Bangkok, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, Ko Samet, Pattaya, Ayuttaya, Korat, Ko Phi Phi, and Ko Tao. I always knew I was going to enjoy my weekends away travelling, but what surprised me more than anything was how much I enjoyed teaching.
Those from Spain will know that I wasn't really feelin' the whole teaching thang, and I spent much of my year abroad moaning about the kids, having to get up early, literally feeling sick when I heard the kids running up the stairs screaming at 8.58am on a Monday morning. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. However my teaching experience at my school was overwhelmingly positive. The children, for the most part, were so polite and genuinely lovely, even though the only English they spoke was "Good morning/afternoon" and "I'm finethankyouandyou". I also really loved the staff at my school and consider some of them good friends who I will keep with me forever.
I can't stress enough how kind and generous Thai people are. I literally paid for NOTHING during the weeks at school, my mentor bought me everything, be it food or phone credit. They always want to feed you (I am going to miss Thai food a LOT) and just want you to be happy.
side note: I went out last night and am not feeling 100% right now so this isn't a particularly flow-y piece I'm just writing what I'm thinking as I'm thinking it so if it's a little jarring SOZ please refer to my previous pieces for literary genius xoxo
I'm sitting in my hotel room now, one year and 3 days after I got on a plane to Madrid to start my year abroad. It truly has been a year abroad, as I worked out earlier, in the last 365 days, I have only spent 27 full days on home soil in the UK. When I think to how I was one year ago, I truly feel like I have grown up so much this year. It's cliché I know, but this has been the most defining year of my life so far. I feel so much more confident than I did one year ago, and I feel like I'm becoming the man I'm meant to be, and I think I like him. I wouldn't say that I learned anything about myself that I didn't already know before going away, but it definitely drew a clearer picture for me.
I'm so proud of myself for everything I've done this year, and living abroad has made me a more rounded person (literally more round after Thailand I've put on OVER A STONE).
So, my brief foray into the world of blogging is almost over (although I actually quite enjoy writing it I may have to start a permanent one....though as if I'd actually keep up with it), so I'd just like to say to every single person who made my year abroad what it was, THANK YOU. I've made some amazing friends, had the most incredible experiences, and started the (ongoing) transition from boyhood to manhood. And with that, I'm out.
(I told you it was going to be self-indulgent)
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Week Two: Dream Worlds and Death Railways
So
we're up to week 2 (only three more week to go then I am up to date!)
but I can hardly call this a "week" as it started on the
Thursday (we were in Chiang Mai till Wednesday thanks to the long
weekend).
Anyway,
on Thursday I had my second
day of teaching in as many weeks....I can't really remember anything
extraordinary happening and the day passed rather quickly. All
enthusiasm and excitement was being saved for Friday, a.k.a. my first
experience of a Thai school trip, to none other than a THEME PARK. I
love theme parks so was thrilled at the prospect of going, even more
so because it was called "DreamWorld" (I love sleeping and
by proxy dreaming too) and was in the mighty Bangkok.
As
a slight derailment to my story, I need to take a moment to talk a
little bit about the school day here and what the world "early"
actually means in Thailand and how when I mention "early"
in my posts/stories, you may understand why I am ranting the way I am
(mini rants though, love over hate). So, the school day runs from
8.30am - 3.30pm which isn't too bad really, only half an hour earlier
than in Spain. Better yet, I live at school so can literally roll out
of bed at 8.20am and still be on time right, right?!?!?!?!!?!!!!
WRONG.
My mentor has me be ready for 7.30am each and every morning (even
when I don't have class first thing) so I can go and sit by where we
have assembly until 8am when said assembly occurs. I don't really
mind attending assembly as I guess I am kind of a member of staff
lolz as if but getting ready for 7.30am is a bitter pill for me to
swallow. When I was in Spain I used to leave the house at 7.40am, a
good 10 minutes after here, even though I worked 35KM AWAY FROM
SCHOOL IN MADRID AS OPPOSED TO 35M HERE. I know if you adjust the day
I'm actually leaving the house proportionally later than I did in
Spain but 7.30 is earlier than 7.40 and that's that and I'm a brat
and don't currr and I love sleeping SO MUCH you don't understand...
Anywho,
after a bright early start on Friday morning, we boarded the coaches
to take us to Dream World. The bus was blasting crazy Thai/Western
infused dance music out of the (rather impressive) sound system, and
I was so bewildered and tired that in other circumstances I may have
just as easily been boarding a party bus. Here is a picture of the
outside of the coach to give you even the slightest idea of what I'm
talking about:
Imagine
the interior
|
On
arrival at Dream World I was given a "teacher ticket" that
allowed me to go on 6 rides free of charge, though a few of the
bigguns had an extra charge. I had a great day and was basically
allowed to just go and enjoy myself, I didn't even have to look after
the kids, they were allowed to roam free. I ended the day looking
like this:
Not
too clear but I am D R E N C H E D
|
After
Dream World I was taken back to Chonburi (the town where I live at
the weekends with 3 other ETAs). We were going to Kanchanaburi the
next day so would be having a - very - early start, so we went to bed
at the early time of midnight (we will never learn). On waking at
5.30am the next day, we left by van to take us to Kanchanaburi, a
province to the west of Bangkok and near the Burmese border.
We
rented a private van for the day which was great as we could fully
recline our seats, and I took full advantage of this by sleeping the
whole journey. Our first stop for the day was the most famous - and
therefore most tourist infested - floating market in Thailand, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Ratchaburi, about 100km west of Bangkok. Locals basically go in boats along the river and sell their produce, from chicken curry to fresh fruit to tacky postcards. You name it, this floating market has it.
Market in action |
Our first stop in Kanchanaburi was to the War Cemetery. There are 6982 buried here, mostly from Britain, Australia, and the Netherlands. I'm not really sure what I expected when I saw the masses of identical gravestones lined up next to each other row by row, but I didn't expect it to effect me the way it did. Most gravestones had the soldier's name, rank and where they were from, and also age. I was struck by how young so many of the men were who died, many the same age as me, 21. What was even harder hitting was the personal engraved messages from family and loved ones. Just seeing different "everyday" names (albeit of the time ~1940s) saying how they would miss them and how they loved them really got to me, and there were some beautiful quotes left on them that really made me think. What pushed me over the edge was seeing a newer, shinier plaque on one of the gravestones. On looking closer, I saw the message was from the 2000's, and it was a message from this man's daughters, who had flown all the way to Thailand from England to visit their father. I found it really touching and the message was equally powerful.
Having read all these messages, my mood changed somewhat for the rest of the day and I felt pretty introspective. We visited the actual bridge and got a train over it before having lunch on a floating restaurant. Finally we went to the JEATH War Memorial Museum before heading home. I may seem a little sombre writing the latter half of this blog entry as it's brought back the memories of the day which really was affecting. Anyway, we soon returned home to Chonburi ready for week 3 of teaching. Here are a couple of pictures of the river and the bridge:
On the bridge |
Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy |
View of the bridge from the restaurant |
All in all, a really interesting, powerful day trip, and one that will remain in my thoughts for a long time.
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Week One PART 2: Long Lost Friends and a Long Weekend
Picking up straight from where we left off, my mentor gave me a lift to Chonburi, where I got a mini-van (a legit mode of public transport in Thailand) to Bangkok. I was heading to the capital in order to see two Australian friends, the wonderful Sophie and Tineka, who I was friends with from my first year at Leeds (they came over as study abroad students). I was SO excited to see them as it's literally been a year and a half since we were last together.
On arrival in Bangkok some two hours later (traffic is be-yond a joke around there), I caught the SkyTrain (which is amazing) to meet them at their hotel. After the inevitable excessive excited squeals/hand flapping on seeing my two babz, we all got showered before heading out for some cheap dinner. And with dinner comes Chang. Oh Chang. This Thai beer is so DECEPTIVE and creeps up on you (the fact the bottles are ma-hoosive also plays a part), so by the end of our second one we were already tipsy and I was sending voice messages back to friends in England lolcringe (SHOUTOUT TO U MICHAELA). Here's a picture of me with my two bottles of Chang, effortlessly cool as ever...:
We headed out after dinner, not to Khao San Road, which is where most "backpackers" go, but to stylish(ish) Silom. To save you from hearing another "Drunk in Bangkok" story I'll summarise by saying we all lost each other and then proceeded to find each other (aside from Sophie who was fast asleep back at the hotel by this point) on the Khao San Road (where we weren't even meant to be going and is nowhere near Silom). This was always going to happen and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Anyway, after waking up and having that little heart attack moment (where am I/who's next to me/WHAT HAVE I DONE) I remembered I was staying with Sophie and Tineka at their hotel. I also remembered, at the spritely hour of 8am, that they were leaving at 8.30am (with my flight to Chiang Mai not till 9.30pm that night). So I had a whole day to myself, alone, in Bangkok, with 2% battery on my phone, still drunk, sticky and sweaty, with next to no money. My life.
After catching the Metro (tick) to Lumphini, I tried to sleep in the park there, which is the biggest green space in Bangkok afaik. Retiro it ain't, the grass was all dry and scratchy to my poor delicate legs, and I was attacked by a vicious army of ants, intent on getting in ma pantz. At least someone is I guess....
ANYWHO, I decided the sleep-in-the-park-all-day dream was offically dead, so I just walked around aimlessly for a few hours until it started to rain. Heavily. Again, my life. At this point I decided to check out one of Bangkok's malls, Siam Paragon (this also happens to be the biggest). It was literally incredible and I've never been in a shopping centre as huge as it. I proceeded to eat McDonalds there (my 3rd in a week, 2nd in 24 hours) and then, as it had stopped raining, walked around Bangkok aimlessly for a few more hours.
Eventually it was time to go meet my Chiang Mai travel buddies at the airport, when of course, my phone battery COMPLETELY died, so I had no way of arranging a meeting point. Thankfully I spotted Tom by chance pretty much as soon as I got there, so we all got checked in and through security quickly. We had dinner at the airport (either KFC or Burger King I can't remember which although I've definitely been to both since I've been in Thailand obesity beckons etc) and got on the plane a little later.
After sleeping the entire 1 hour journey we arrived in Chiang Mai tired but excited. We were staying with Prapasri and her sister at their house, which was AMAZING. After those two nights at school it was so nice to have fast Wi-Fi, a hot shower, and air-con. After arriving we went to bed pretty quickly as it was late and we were tired and we had lots to do and see over the following days.
Rather than yaddayaddayadda on about what I did/saw, how about a few choice pictures with captions to keep you captivated:
All in all, a top weekend all around. On Wednesday afternoon we packed our bags and went back to Chonburi, where our second official week of teaching was due to start the next day (all 2 days of it, or 1, as you will see in the next entry).
So, you may think my best moment this weekend was maybe riding an elephant, or bamboo rafting down the river, or even visiting some local hot springs, but no. Those who are near and dear will know the absolute highlight of my weekend was getting a m-f-in BANDANA. I have been going on about getting one for months (along with getting a tattoo, piercing, cutting ma hair S H O R T etc) and the moment finally happened where I got not one, but TWO, from Walking Street Market. I don't exactly know why I wanted one so bad but I don't know why I want a lot of the things I want (gr8 English) AND GOD DAMN I WANTED IT. So I shall leave you with an image of me poutin' with my bandana, proud as a peacock.
On arrival in Bangkok some two hours later (traffic is be-yond a joke around there), I caught the SkyTrain (which is amazing) to meet them at their hotel. After the inevitable excessive excited squeals/hand flapping on seeing my two babz, we all got showered before heading out for some cheap dinner. And with dinner comes Chang. Oh Chang. This Thai beer is so DECEPTIVE and creeps up on you (the fact the bottles are ma-hoosive also plays a part), so by the end of our second one we were already tipsy and I was sending voice messages back to friends in England lolcringe (SHOUTOUT TO U MICHAELA). Here's a picture of me with my two bottles of Chang, effortlessly cool as ever...:
I mean you just would wouldn't you |
We headed out after dinner, not to Khao San Road, which is where most "backpackers" go, but to stylish(ish) Silom. To save you from hearing another "Drunk in Bangkok" story I'll summarise by saying we all lost each other and then proceeded to find each other (aside from Sophie who was fast asleep back at the hotel by this point) on the Khao San Road (where we weren't even meant to be going and is nowhere near Silom). This was always going to happen and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Anyway, after waking up and having that little heart attack moment (where am I/who's next to me/WHAT HAVE I DONE) I remembered I was staying with Sophie and Tineka at their hotel. I also remembered, at the spritely hour of 8am, that they were leaving at 8.30am (with my flight to Chiang Mai not till 9.30pm that night). So I had a whole day to myself, alone, in Bangkok, with 2% battery on my phone, still drunk, sticky and sweaty, with next to no money. My life.
After catching the Metro (tick) to Lumphini, I tried to sleep in the park there, which is the biggest green space in Bangkok afaik. Retiro it ain't, the grass was all dry and scratchy to my poor delicate legs, and I was attacked by a vicious army of ants, intent on getting in ma pantz. At least someone is I guess....
ANYWHO, I decided the sleep-in-the-park-all-day dream was offically dead, so I just walked around aimlessly for a few hours until it started to rain. Heavily. Again, my life. At this point I decided to check out one of Bangkok's malls, Siam Paragon (this also happens to be the biggest). It was literally incredible and I've never been in a shopping centre as huge as it. I proceeded to eat McDonalds there (my 3rd in a week, 2nd in 24 hours) and then, as it had stopped raining, walked around Bangkok aimlessly for a few more hours.
Eventually it was time to go meet my Chiang Mai travel buddies at the airport, when of course, my phone battery COMPLETELY died, so I had no way of arranging a meeting point. Thankfully I spotted Tom by chance pretty much as soon as I got there, so we all got checked in and through security quickly. We had dinner at the airport (either KFC or Burger King I can't remember which although I've definitely been to both since I've been in Thailand obesity beckons etc) and got on the plane a little later.
After sleeping the entire 1 hour journey we arrived in Chiang Mai tired but excited. We were staying with Prapasri and her sister at their house, which was AMAZING. After those two nights at school it was so nice to have fast Wi-Fi, a hot shower, and air-con. After arriving we went to bed pretty quickly as it was late and we were tired and we had lots to do and see over the following days.
Rather than yaddayaddayadda on about what I did/saw, how about a few choice pictures with captions to keep you captivated:
Why am I so awkward? |
At da lake wid da galz |
ME ON AN ELEPHANT |
Natural shot |
Clearly in heaven here.. |
Posing at a traditional Thai restaurant where we watched Northern Thai Dancing |
We went to Prapasri's old school one morning to teach a class...here you can see us singing Step's seminal classic TRAGEDY |
Chiang Mai Crew |
So, you may think my best moment this weekend was maybe riding an elephant, or bamboo rafting down the river, or even visiting some local hot springs, but no. Those who are near and dear will know the absolute highlight of my weekend was getting a m-f-in BANDANA. I have been going on about getting one for months (along with getting a tattoo, piercing, cutting ma hair S H O R T etc) and the moment finally happened where I got not one, but TWO, from Walking Street Market. I don't exactly know why I wanted one so bad but I don't know why I want a lot of the things I want (gr8 English) AND GOD DAMN I WANTED IT. So I shall leave you with an image of me poutin' with my bandana, proud as a peacock.
I don't even care |
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Week One PART 1: Start of School
Firstly I apologise for not updating this blog sooner, the plan to blog every week still stands, it's just been an incredibly busy first fortnight. Yes, I've been so busy I've taught a grand total of 5 classes...tehe.
Let's rewind back to Tuesday 16th July a.k.a. Orientation Day 2 a.k.a. MOVE TO SCHOOL DAY. The day was run similarly to the day before, with teaching activities in the morning followed by lunch. However today at 2pm we were all due to be whisked off to our respective locations around the country. 'Citin. After a particularly heavy night before on the Khao San road (refer to previous entry for details) my roommate Nick and I subsequently managed to sleep through our alarms and woke up at the ripe old hour of 11.15am, when activities were due to have started at 9am. Oops. After a hurried shower and literally stumbling into my clothes and shoes I arrived at my training room where I found out quite a few other people had missed the first few sessions too which made me feel a liiiittle less guilty. Teacher training followed until about 1pm when we had a final lunch, and then at 2pm it was time to say goodbye to all our new friends and really start the adventure.
My destination, Chonburi, isn't too far from Bangkok (about 50 miles or so), but the notorious Bangkok traffic made the journey time to destination about 2 hours or so. I was travelling with my mentor, Jeab, the Education Officer for Chonburi Area 1, Prapasri (who I also live with Friday-Sunday), and two other assistants, Tom and Giuliana (who will henceforth be known as G) and their mentors. True to form, I quickly fell asleep during the van ride, but not before organising a trip to Chiang Mai at the weekend with Prapasri (who conveniently has a house there) and Tom and G.
We arrived to our destination, the Education Office for Chonburi Area 1, where we were immediately ushered in to a room where we met some important education-type people. We also met Kyle, an American volunteer living and working in Chonburi but through a different program. This welcome ceremony was very surreal and confusing as I was still jet-lagged/drunk, but I decided to just smile and accept everything that came my way.
After the ceremony we got back into the van and went to Prapasri's house, where we will all be living together at the weekends. After lugging my ridiculous suitcase up the steepest stairs of life, we all went out for dinner at the local mall (ew at the Americanism but this is what they call them so ya) and ate the good ol' traditional Thai dish...PIZZA.
So my accomodation is pretty basic but I have a proper toilet and shower (which, although cold, is VERY refreshing and gets me where I need to be at 6.30am) so I'm happy.
Let's rewind back to Tuesday 16th July a.k.a. Orientation Day 2 a.k.a. MOVE TO SCHOOL DAY. The day was run similarly to the day before, with teaching activities in the morning followed by lunch. However today at 2pm we were all due to be whisked off to our respective locations around the country. 'Citin. After a particularly heavy night before on the Khao San road (refer to previous entry for details) my roommate Nick and I subsequently managed to sleep through our alarms and woke up at the ripe old hour of 11.15am, when activities were due to have started at 9am. Oops. After a hurried shower and literally stumbling into my clothes and shoes I arrived at my training room where I found out quite a few other people had missed the first few sessions too which made me feel a liiiittle less guilty. Teacher training followed until about 1pm when we had a final lunch, and then at 2pm it was time to say goodbye to all our new friends and really start the adventure.
My destination, Chonburi, isn't too far from Bangkok (about 50 miles or so), but the notorious Bangkok traffic made the journey time to destination about 2 hours or so. I was travelling with my mentor, Jeab, the Education Officer for Chonburi Area 1, Prapasri (who I also live with Friday-Sunday), and two other assistants, Tom and Giuliana (who will henceforth be known as G) and their mentors. True to form, I quickly fell asleep during the van ride, but not before organising a trip to Chiang Mai at the weekend with Prapasri (who conveniently has a house there) and Tom and G.
We arrived to our destination, the Education Office for Chonburi Area 1, where we were immediately ushered in to a room where we met some important education-type people. We also met Kyle, an American volunteer living and working in Chonburi but through a different program. This welcome ceremony was very surreal and confusing as I was still jet-lagged/drunk, but I decided to just smile and accept everything that came my way.
Not really sure what's going on but ^_^ |
The next morning we awoke bright and early to be taken to our new schools, where we would be living Monday-Thursday. I, of course, am living and working furthest from the city (some things never change oh Alcalá) and it took a good 50 minutes in the car to get to school, but not before stopping off for a nice breakfast of FLAMING HOT CURRY AND NOODLES with my director at 7.30am. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not *really* a major fan of spice, but being the passive lil yes-man I can be, I said "Yeah I don't mind spice really". Spice means something else in Thai CLEARLY, as my lips were genuinely on fire till about 2pm.
Anyway, I arrived at school and was shown to my "house". THIS IS MY CRIB:
This is where the magic happens |
I HAVE A BALCONY AT LAST LIFE IS COMPLETE |
After seeing my accomodation, meeting the other teachers and having my first school lunch (spicy -what else- chicken soup), I went to the local market after school with some of the other teachers who live at the school. It was good fun to go and see a real, genuine, non-touristy Thai market at work, although sometimes I felt like I was one of the things on sale (stares aplenty). Later that evening I ate dinner with the teachers and learnt a little bit of Thai, and also tried to teach them a bit of English. Though there is a clear language barrier we all really get on and there was many a laugh shared.
On Thursday I had my first proper classes, M3 (15 year olds aaaah) and K2 (5 year olds). Both classes were great as I introduced myself and got to know the kids a little bit. I was a bit apprehensive about working with older children as my experience lies with the younger years (4-9 is ma forte), but the kids in M3 were really good and very polite. K2 were obviously ridonkulously cute and remind me a bit of Spanish kids in their temperament i.e. a bit wild.
On Friday we didn't actually have classes as we were celebrating the candle festival, which signifies the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The kids performed dances throughout the village (which is literally one street) before offering candles to the monks at the local temple:
SO CUTE. |
This was a great cultural experience, though the most eye-opening moment for me was at the temple. I was quite nervous about being in the temple as I know how revered monks are etc, and I know how I tend to embarrass myself in these kind of situations. So I was doing my best to be very respectful and knelt properly, when all of a sudden one of the monks (who were all sitting in a line facing us, looking very monk-ish) pulled out his iPhone, checked a message, laughed to himself, then put it away. Oh. THAILAND <3
After this, I hopped into my mentor's car who drove me back to Chonburi, and i prepared to hit BANGKOK for the night. More on that and my long weekend in Chiang Mai in the next entry.
I really need to find a way to make these entries more succint....
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
(Dis)Orientation
HAI. So I'm alive...somehow. I've been in Thailand for about 3 days and the whole thing has been one big blur so far. From severe (slight exaggeration) jetlag to a constant stream of new faces and names I had no chance of remembering if it weren't for Facebook to Khao San Road (more on that later), I've hardly had a moment to myself to try and make sense of this whole situation.
Until now. From here on out I'm going to be having a LOT of time to myself, as I sit here in my bedroom at school (you read that correctly, I live at school). I am the only foreign person on site and no one really speaks English aside from my mentor and the 3 other English teachers. Even then, the thick Thai accent makes trying to decipher meaning quite a challenge, but I'm not complaining. I'm actually finding the whole "back to basics" lifestyle refreshing so far, but it's only been a few hours since I moved in, so check back in a few days to see if I still think this.
But anyway, let's rewind back to Saturday 13th July 6:30pm-ish. Having just bid adieu to my wonderful Mumma and the one and only Becky Smith (who travelled the entire length of the Picadilly line just to see me for half an hour, YOU EARNED THIS MENTION GURL), I walked through Heathrow Terminal 4 Security Check, and from then on, I was alone. Lol so dramatic.
I actually have grown really accustomed to travelling alone after my year abroad, so I wasn't really fazed by this prospect. Big props to Etihad Airways, they are really great and made the two LONG ASS flights more bearable (for all you film buffs out there Stoker = weird, The Place Beyond the Pines = FANTASTIC, my eyes even leaked a little but shh). After a brief 3 hour layover in Abu Dhabi, I boarded the second flight and a mere 7 hours later arrived in Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit (a.k.a. Bangkok) copy and paste job don't currr.
On exiting the plane all the other ETA's (English Teaching Assistants) who were on the same flight went through immigration together, which was quick and painless, retrieved our luggage and boarded a much needed air-conditioned coach to take us to our final destination, the Ambassador Hotel. Quick note on the weather (can't shake off that quintissential British-ness), it HUMID. HUGH - MID. Anywho, we arrived at the hotel at about 11.30pm and had to buddy up with another ETA to share a hotel room with for the 2 nights. Luckily I saw a guy I'd met when I went to pick up my visa in Birmingham, so we shared da room. As it was pretty late and I was shattered, I only went out to explore for an hour or so, but that's all I needed to get a big impression of Bangkok.
I saw 3 of the biggest cockroaches life has ever punished me with seeing (anyone who knows me knows i H8 roaches) and a rat just casually hopping across the pavement within 20 minutes after leaving the hotel. Lush. On the other hand, there's literally bar-vans (dunno how else to describe them) just set up on the side of the street pumping out shitty music on shitty speakers, which I l.o.v.e.d. Anyway, after a couple of Changs we decided to call it a night as we had an "early" start the next day (9.30am start...after a year going from Madrid to effin Alcalá a 9.30 sounds like the most luxurious lie-in/coming home from da club oh Madrid I love and miss you).
Orientation Day 1 consisted of being given a lot of freebies, meeting our mentors (big shout out to all the Thai people affiliated with me and ma school and Chonburi, they are SO friendly and lovely), and getting to know the other ETAs. There was also the small task of trying to teach us how to be teachers in just over 24 hours (imagine how many times I smugly mentioned "I've actually been doing the exact same thing for 9 months in Madrid, Spain. Have I mentioned I just got back literally a week ago from Madrid M A D R I D Madrizzzzz" (I'm being slightly ironic I'm not a dickhead but I did mention Madrid loads love u long tym xoxo).
After training finished at about 5 I went back to the hotel room and did what I do best: S L E E P. I seriously love napping. I also love planning to nap for half an hour then waking up covered in my own dribble 3 hours later; NO REGRETS NEVER CHANGE. Anywho about 10pm we went up to somebody's room where there were quite a few ETAs drinking, before heading out to the famous Khao San Road. Now, I like to pride myself on not always going for the obvious tourist trail destinations (Mondo, La Riviera and Fabrik count as legit "Spanish" experiences, nothing like partying with the Choniiiis), so I wasn't filled with crazy excitement at going here, but I'd heard big things about it so of course had to give it a go.
Holy lol. Khoa San so cwazy. Lits dunno who I thought I was for the night but I ended up chilling with the locals and helping them sell stuff for the night. I even ended up having a little dance-off with this adorable lil girl selling roses. A quick note to FILET'O'FISH lovers out there, McDonalds Thailand do this amazing burger called DOUBLE FILET BURGER. It does double filets (Read it in "She's a life ruiner; She ruins people's lives" voice). It was so good and there's nothing like inhaling your drunk food and burning your tongue cuz you just can't get enough. Anyway I ended up helping this guy sell balloons till 5am when everything was shut and everyone else had gone...after which all the Thai people who've been selling roses/lewd bracelets/whatever get food and sit down and eat together. And there I was, chomping away, laughing at jokes (I had no idea what they meant and more importantly who they were about, most likely me). I kept thinking to myself, this is a proper legit Thai cultural experience, I'm living like a LOCAL lol who do I think I am but seriously. But I'm glad I had that experience as I got to experience first hand how lovely the Thai people are, they genuinely were so nice to me as I was scoffing my face with the food they paid for. I even got to see the interior of typical Bangkok-ian's house...lol.
ANYWAY I was going to carry on and talk about moving to my school etc but it probably deserves another blog entry as dis is so long and I'm tired now and ceebs etc but ciao keep reading back4more x
Thursday, 11 July 2013
First Entry: Beginnings and Endings.
For those of you who know me, just lol.
Writing a personal blog is not something I ever really envisaged myself doing, but, as I am about to embark on perhaps the biggest adventure of my life, coupled with the fact that we have been advised to blog as part of our experience (more on that later), now seems the perfect time to dive head-first into the world of self-reflection written for all to see.
For those of you who don't know me (but seriously I expect even my family/close friends to at most read the first couple of posts, what are YOU doing here?!), my name is Pete(r), I'm 21 and I study Psychology at the University of Leeds.
The reason I have chosen now to start blogging is that, this Saturday, I am going to fly almost 6000 miles across the world from the UK to Thailand, to teach English for two months. The program is run through the British Council and we have been advised to keep a blog for the duration of our stay. So, here it is.
Keen-eyed readers may have seen the title of this entry is called "Beginnings and Endings". Obviously the new beginning is my imminent Thai journey of gap-yah-esque self discovery, but what does the ending refer to, you ask?
Well, I have very recently returned to England after 9 and a half months living and working in the capital of Spain, Madrid. Again, I was teaching ("teaching") English to children in primary schools, and it was without a doubt one of the best years of my life. I intended to blog throughout my year abroad...but, as with many good intentions of mine, I never got round to do it. However, I feel it would be an injustice to my time there and all the wonderful things I experienced if I didn't give it at least one blog entry to try and even give the tiniest impression of how much the year meant to me....
This will have to wait till tomorrow though, as it's getting late and I don't want to bore y'all with a huge essay on top of this spiel. If you're still reading this, lol thanks, I'll try and get my Madrid entry in tomorrow if possible. Don't know how likely that is as I've still got to pack EVERYTHING.
Anywho, that's my first blog entry EVAH done, and I actually kinda enjoyed it. Ewwww.
Pete x
Writing a personal blog is not something I ever really envisaged myself doing, but, as I am about to embark on perhaps the biggest adventure of my life, coupled with the fact that we have been advised to blog as part of our experience (more on that later), now seems the perfect time to dive head-first into the world of self-reflection written for all to see.
For those of you who don't know me (but seriously I expect even my family/close friends to at most read the first couple of posts, what are YOU doing here?!), my name is Pete(r), I'm 21 and I study Psychology at the University of Leeds.
The reason I have chosen now to start blogging is that, this Saturday, I am going to fly almost 6000 miles across the world from the UK to Thailand, to teach English for two months. The program is run through the British Council and we have been advised to keep a blog for the duration of our stay. So, here it is.
Keen-eyed readers may have seen the title of this entry is called "Beginnings and Endings". Obviously the new beginning is my imminent Thai journey of gap-yah-esque self discovery, but what does the ending refer to, you ask?
Well, I have very recently returned to England after 9 and a half months living and working in the capital of Spain, Madrid. Again, I was teaching ("teaching") English to children in primary schools, and it was without a doubt one of the best years of my life. I intended to blog throughout my year abroad...but, as with many good intentions of mine, I never got round to do it. However, I feel it would be an injustice to my time there and all the wonderful things I experienced if I didn't give it at least one blog entry to try and even give the tiniest impression of how much the year meant to me....
This will have to wait till tomorrow though, as it's getting late and I don't want to bore y'all with a huge essay on top of this spiel. If you're still reading this, lol thanks, I'll try and get my Madrid entry in tomorrow if possible. Don't know how likely that is as I've still got to pack EVERYTHING.
Anywho, that's my first blog entry EVAH done, and I actually kinda enjoyed it. Ewwww.
Pete x
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