Since we have the week off from teaching, we have decided to do a lot of exciting things before we head off to Chaing Mai.
Yesterday we got up late and did nothing all day apart from a bit of cleaning, it was rather nice to have nothing that needed doing.
Today however, we got up early and went to the hospital at 7.30. We then had a physical to check that we were healthy enough to work and a blood test to check that we weren't carrying any diseases. After struggling to determine my height as they didn't have a scale that went as far, the nurser had an effort to stick a fat needle into my arm, which was made worse as I watched it slowly pierce my skin, lovely.
Physical done and we have been dragged round Ubon trying to sort out all the paperwork, the school did not have all the necessary documents, so we have to try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow should be an improvement though as we are meeting Stephen and Lewis in Ubon and since they have not been before, we get to show them all the sights, and then there is a staff party tomorrow night, which hopefully will be more fun that I am expecting it to be!
We are also going to a party on Friday, then staying at Mr Nick's in Ubon. Then leave for Chaing Mai at 12:15 on Saturday, so my next update will not be until Sunday when I arrive in Chaing Mai.
Until then, farewell.
x
PS. I have just downloaded an entire album of Elvis, not sure why, but it is great. Also I have been listening to 'Natty' and 'The Cat Empire', both of which I recommend!
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
A weekend to remember...
This weekend has been a bit like a roller coaster, so many ups and downs I feel dizzy! We left the house at 6.30 am Saturday morning to go to Pha Dem. Which is on the boarder with Laos. We started at the waterfalls, which were spectacular. In England, if you went to see a big waterfall, you would probably have to appreciate the aesthetics from a platform with 10 foot high fencing, for health and safety reasons. However, we got to climb all of the rocks and explore all of the pools and waterfalls first hand. After getting sweaty climbing up as high as I could, I decided to go for a swim, so stripped off and jumped into one of the various pools. It was so lovely and refreshing as was made even better than the small waterfall that flowed into pool gave a great massage! I then persuaded David, Robyn and Claire to join me. The girls were apprehensive at first, but could not help themselves after seeing me and David getting so excited. After a couple of hours and putting my head in many different potholes and getting pummelled by the cascades of water, we left to get some lunch.
We had lunch on the river than separated Thailand from Laos and was lovely, until the bus driver began to egg me on to eat some very spicy food. Of course I rose to the challenge, which I soon regretted as I was in pain for the next half an hour.
We then visited the painted cliffs and mushroom rocks which were both spectacular in their own way, not as entertaining as the waterfalls though! One thing that surprised me on our day of tourism was the comparison to England. There was virtually no health and safety measures in place, we were allowed to climb everything, even the mushroom rocks and stood on the top of the painted cliffs, which was quite scary. One thing we didn't account for was a 5km walk to got and see the actual paintings on the cliffs, which were at the bottom. This doesn't seem like much, but is rather difficult when it is 35 degrees and very humid.
We got back to Ubon just after 6, which gave us time to get ready before going out at 8. We started at a bar for a couple of drinks and some food, then moved to U-bar. One of Ubon's hotspots. I was just having a nice time being introduced to Doni's friends and getting free drinks. David on the other hand was on a mission, what this mission was I will never know, but it lead to him becoming very drunk, being rejected by numerous girls and then 'accidentally' flirting with a ladyboy.
We were all laughing at him when we left at 4 in the morning, but one of my highlights was when he made a move on an American girl by pretending to be French, she saw through it straight away everything got a bit awkward as he thought she was loving it. 'Oh dad' was used often by both me and
Robyn.
After an amazing Saturday, Sunday was not so fun. I woke up feeling a bit rough, as expected, but I wasn't as bad as David. At first I thought he might have been dead, but a huge fart, which he woke himself up with proved otherwise. He then progressively got worse throughout the day and ended up in hospital. He had gone for a late night snack and turned out to be some rather uncooked chicken. I felt quite bad for him as he was firing from both ends. He still managed to cheer me up as he asked for a towel, I asked if everything was ok and he replied in a very weak voice. 'I didn't make it to the toilet'. However unfortunate this was for him, it had me in stitches till I had tears in my eyes. I think I paid for it though as I was made to clear up his sick a couple of hours later.
I spent most of my day sat watching Touch, which was rather nice as it has been a while since I have watched TV.
He is feeling much better now, which is good and we have just had our last day of teaching for a month. There are exams for the students this week, so we don't have to teach, and then we leave for Chaing Mai on Saturday.
I almost forgot, something rather peculiar happened on Friday night. We went to the market as usual and went to our favourite stand. I was given a note by the women who works at that stand and it was her number and name, she is called max. She told me to ring her, but I have not as I am a bit scared and since she speaks very little English, I doubt we would be able to have a meaningful conversation.
Tata from Thailand
x
We had lunch on the river than separated Thailand from Laos and was lovely, until the bus driver began to egg me on to eat some very spicy food. Of course I rose to the challenge, which I soon regretted as I was in pain for the next half an hour.
We then visited the painted cliffs and mushroom rocks which were both spectacular in their own way, not as entertaining as the waterfalls though! One thing that surprised me on our day of tourism was the comparison to England. There was virtually no health and safety measures in place, we were allowed to climb everything, even the mushroom rocks and stood on the top of the painted cliffs, which was quite scary. One thing we didn't account for was a 5km walk to got and see the actual paintings on the cliffs, which were at the bottom. This doesn't seem like much, but is rather difficult when it is 35 degrees and very humid.
We got back to Ubon just after 6, which gave us time to get ready before going out at 8. We started at a bar for a couple of drinks and some food, then moved to U-bar. One of Ubon's hotspots. I was just having a nice time being introduced to Doni's friends and getting free drinks. David on the other hand was on a mission, what this mission was I will never know, but it lead to him becoming very drunk, being rejected by numerous girls and then 'accidentally' flirting with a ladyboy.
We were all laughing at him when we left at 4 in the morning, but one of my highlights was when he made a move on an American girl by pretending to be French, she saw through it straight away everything got a bit awkward as he thought she was loving it. 'Oh dad' was used often by both me and
Robyn.
After an amazing Saturday, Sunday was not so fun. I woke up feeling a bit rough, as expected, but I wasn't as bad as David. At first I thought he might have been dead, but a huge fart, which he woke himself up with proved otherwise. He then progressively got worse throughout the day and ended up in hospital. He had gone for a late night snack and turned out to be some rather uncooked chicken. I felt quite bad for him as he was firing from both ends. He still managed to cheer me up as he asked for a towel, I asked if everything was ok and he replied in a very weak voice. 'I didn't make it to the toilet'. However unfortunate this was for him, it had me in stitches till I had tears in my eyes. I think I paid for it though as I was made to clear up his sick a couple of hours later.
I spent most of my day sat watching Touch, which was rather nice as it has been a while since I have watched TV.
He is feeling much better now, which is good and we have just had our last day of teaching for a month. There are exams for the students this week, so we don't have to teach, and then we leave for Chaing Mai on Saturday.
I almost forgot, something rather peculiar happened on Friday night. We went to the market as usual and went to our favourite stand. I was given a note by the women who works at that stand and it was her number and name, she is called max. She told me to ring her, but I have not as I am a bit scared and since she speaks very little English, I doubt we would be able to have a meaningful conversation.
Tata from Thailand
x
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Blogging...
One thing that annoys me about writing these blogs is that I always forget what I have been up to. Just before I started this, my head was going through everything that I wanted to say and now, it has just gone. It is really rather frustrating!
Last night was rather interesting as me and David were cycling through Muang Samsip when we passed by one of the teachers from our school. She stopped us and invited us round to her house. We arrived at her house, which was very nice, and were not sure what to do. We were given a coconut each, and they were delicious. These coconuts are not the same as the ones I am used to in England. They were fresh off the tree, the milk was lovely and the flesh inside was soft and sweet!
We were then taken to the towns radio station and sat in the studio as the teacher was one of the towns DJ's. It was rather confusing as it was all in Thai, David and I just sat there until it was over. We returned to her house and played with her puppies, as in small dogs. One of them was only 2 weeks old and reminded me of when my dog had puppies and how equally clumsy they had been!
We left the house at about half 9, so had been there for a good 5 hours, and returned to our home.
I slept very well last night, it is one of the best nights sleep I have had in a long time. And then I had a lovely breakfast which consisted of French toast and an omelette.
Nothing else has happened since my last post, but even so, I am having a brilliant time, I decided to wear my bow tie for school today and have received compliments from a fair few teachers, male and female.
Whilst I have been sat here, some student have brought me a plate full of food, which I cant complain about. There was a sandwich, salad and a fried egg, a lovely snack between lessons!
I apologise if I talk about food a lot but I cant escape it. Food is a massive part of Thailand and they talk and think about it all the time. I get asked if I am hungry or if I have had lunch at least 15 times a day!
x
Last night was rather interesting as me and David were cycling through Muang Samsip when we passed by one of the teachers from our school. She stopped us and invited us round to her house. We arrived at her house, which was very nice, and were not sure what to do. We were given a coconut each, and they were delicious. These coconuts are not the same as the ones I am used to in England. They were fresh off the tree, the milk was lovely and the flesh inside was soft and sweet!
We were then taken to the towns radio station and sat in the studio as the teacher was one of the towns DJ's. It was rather confusing as it was all in Thai, David and I just sat there until it was over. We returned to her house and played with her puppies, as in small dogs. One of them was only 2 weeks old and reminded me of when my dog had puppies and how equally clumsy they had been!
We left the house at about half 9, so had been there for a good 5 hours, and returned to our home.
I slept very well last night, it is one of the best nights sleep I have had in a long time. And then I had a lovely breakfast which consisted of French toast and an omelette.
Nothing else has happened since my last post, but even so, I am having a brilliant time, I decided to wear my bow tie for school today and have received compliments from a fair few teachers, male and female.
Whilst I have been sat here, some student have brought me a plate full of food, which I cant complain about. There was a sandwich, salad and a fried egg, a lovely snack between lessons!
I apologise if I talk about food a lot but I cant escape it. Food is a massive part of Thailand and they talk and think about it all the time. I get asked if I am hungry or if I have had lunch at least 15 times a day!
x
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
WOOOOO!!
I am feeling so good right now! I have been doing so much exercise and eating very healthy, apart from the occasional pleasure.
I have been playing a lot of volleyball recently, not really a sport I was expecting to play whilst oversea, but is is great fun, and I am improving the more I play. I played for nearly 3 hours yesterday and for about 2 hours this morning. I was even told by my teacher of my second class this morning that the students had asked if I would play volleyball with them. So I ended up teaching them sport, rather than english, but it was great fun and everyone got involved. One problem I have found is that I tend to almost fall over people as I am jumping to smash the ball down and end up directly above one of the students. Don't worry, I have only landed on them once.
I am also doing a few strength workouts a week to keep me in shape, I am afraid that if I wasn't doing anything, I would return to England as a bit of a slob, and that isn't good for anyone.
One thing that has surprised me is that I am not constantly looking into a mirror anymore. My lack of hair might have a hand in that, or because I have a small mirror at about stomach height. Still, I see this as an achievement!
I have been talking to people at home, which was lovely, and sort of had a conversation with my dad, but the connection was poor at my end, so it there was not too much talking, just nodding at my dad's questions. I tried to talk to my mum on FaceTime, but every time I tried her email, my dads face appeared on the screen, even though I was trying to reach her on her mobile whilst she is in Turkey, I did not account for her still being signed in on the computer at home.
That is about all that has happened this week, so far. I am going to add some photos to keep you up to date on all the amazing places I have been and the people I have been with.
That is all for now.
x
I have been playing a lot of volleyball recently, not really a sport I was expecting to play whilst oversea, but is is great fun, and I am improving the more I play. I played for nearly 3 hours yesterday and for about 2 hours this morning. I was even told by my teacher of my second class this morning that the students had asked if I would play volleyball with them. So I ended up teaching them sport, rather than english, but it was great fun and everyone got involved. One problem I have found is that I tend to almost fall over people as I am jumping to smash the ball down and end up directly above one of the students. Don't worry, I have only landed on them once.
I am also doing a few strength workouts a week to keep me in shape, I am afraid that if I wasn't doing anything, I would return to England as a bit of a slob, and that isn't good for anyone.
One thing that has surprised me is that I am not constantly looking into a mirror anymore. My lack of hair might have a hand in that, or because I have a small mirror at about stomach height. Still, I see this as an achievement!
I have been talking to people at home, which was lovely, and sort of had a conversation with my dad, but the connection was poor at my end, so it there was not too much talking, just nodding at my dad's questions. I tried to talk to my mum on FaceTime, but every time I tried her email, my dads face appeared on the screen, even though I was trying to reach her on her mobile whilst she is in Turkey, I did not account for her still being signed in on the computer at home.
That is about all that has happened this week, so far. I am going to add some photos to keep you up to date on all the amazing places I have been and the people I have been with.
 |
| One of my classes, this was just before we all stated doing the cha cha slide. |
 |
| I am not sure what was going on, but we were dragged into the photo. |
 |
| Lunchtime with the teachers. The director of the school is the guy at the end holding a peace sign. |
 |
| A restaurant, floating on a river. |
 |
| Me, Robyn, David and Claire after our meal on the floating restaurant. |
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| A Buddist temple. They are so much more interesting than churches. |
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| This was the spectral ring which encircled the sun this morning. It was a sight to behold. |
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| Me with some of my students. I was just sitting there minding my own business and then bam! |
x
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Snakes, cooking and floating restaurants.
We have recently been given two electric woks so that we can cook our own food, we were delighted by this and immediately went to the market and bought some already cooked food that we didn't have to cook, for a lower price than the ingredients.
The first time we used the woks was last night, I got some eggs and bread from Tesco, and I was really tired, after a long day so decided that eggy bread would go down nicely. Ooh it was lovely!
We also made pancakes today and they were very nice, having a mixture of sweet and savoury. However, all was not well when I accidentally dropped half a pack of sugar onto my pancake as it was still cooking. It wasn't a disaster as I was left with a hard, caramelised pancake, that I have yet to finish.
On Thursday night, Mrs Brayung took us to Ubon to book our plane tickets. We then found that it was more expensive than we thought, so decided to get a bus to Chaing Mai instead. Before heading to the bus station, we went to the mall to buy some of Lucie's cakes. She was re-stocking her cakes when we arrived and chatted to her for a while, as Mrs Brayung perused the aisles.
The bus tickets are booked and the excitement is building for Chaing Mai. One of my main worries is money as Chaing Mai is much more expensive than where we are living at the moment as it is a tourist hotspot. So I might find myself on the streets begging for food, or on the phone home asking for money.
I was awoken quite abruptly by David the other morning as he had apparently found a snake on the stair case. He was quite panicked and I was a bit confused and not fully awake. It had disappeared before I had time to see it, so either the snake made a quick escape, or David is going mad. I hope it's the first option of the two.
We met up with Robyn and Claire again in Ubon yesterday and went to have a look at the river which runs through Ubon, it is pretty impressive, but is spoilt by the colour, which is similar to the water in Morecambe bay. We found a floating restaurant and had some difficulty in ordering food. Collectively we managed to get rice each, and three dishes, one fish, and two chicken. They were delicious and most importantly left us with only a tingling on our lips, as opposed to the burning left by most food served in Thailand.
We then squeezed into a tuk-tuk and went to Sunee Tower, to go to the cinema. We found a couple of English films and decided to watch Ted. It was hilarious, I Loved it! And the caramel flavoured popcorn was delicious.
Yesterday was all in all a good day, one of my favourite points being Davids face after he bought an electric keyboard. However, there were two things that put a bit of a downer on it. The first is when I lost my hat. As we were travelling to Sunee Tower, the wind picked up and took it off my head and onto the road behind us. Don't worry, I bought a new one this morning!
Secondly, David is a very enthusiastic keyboard player and even though he is very good, he stamps his feet against the floorboards and really thumps the keys, which makes it rather difficult to read, no matter where you are in the house.
Today has been very nice and relaxed and we have had another clean and been planning for our lessons this week. A gecko just excreted on my foot, just as I was writing this.
Only in Thailand!
x
The first time we used the woks was last night, I got some eggs and bread from Tesco, and I was really tired, after a long day so decided that eggy bread would go down nicely. Ooh it was lovely!
We also made pancakes today and they were very nice, having a mixture of sweet and savoury. However, all was not well when I accidentally dropped half a pack of sugar onto my pancake as it was still cooking. It wasn't a disaster as I was left with a hard, caramelised pancake, that I have yet to finish.
On Thursday night, Mrs Brayung took us to Ubon to book our plane tickets. We then found that it was more expensive than we thought, so decided to get a bus to Chaing Mai instead. Before heading to the bus station, we went to the mall to buy some of Lucie's cakes. She was re-stocking her cakes when we arrived and chatted to her for a while, as Mrs Brayung perused the aisles.
The bus tickets are booked and the excitement is building for Chaing Mai. One of my main worries is money as Chaing Mai is much more expensive than where we are living at the moment as it is a tourist hotspot. So I might find myself on the streets begging for food, or on the phone home asking for money.
I was awoken quite abruptly by David the other morning as he had apparently found a snake on the stair case. He was quite panicked and I was a bit confused and not fully awake. It had disappeared before I had time to see it, so either the snake made a quick escape, or David is going mad. I hope it's the first option of the two.
We met up with Robyn and Claire again in Ubon yesterday and went to have a look at the river which runs through Ubon, it is pretty impressive, but is spoilt by the colour, which is similar to the water in Morecambe bay. We found a floating restaurant and had some difficulty in ordering food. Collectively we managed to get rice each, and three dishes, one fish, and two chicken. They were delicious and most importantly left us with only a tingling on our lips, as opposed to the burning left by most food served in Thailand.
We then squeezed into a tuk-tuk and went to Sunee Tower, to go to the cinema. We found a couple of English films and decided to watch Ted. It was hilarious, I Loved it! And the caramel flavoured popcorn was delicious.
Yesterday was all in all a good day, one of my favourite points being Davids face after he bought an electric keyboard. However, there were two things that put a bit of a downer on it. The first is when I lost my hat. As we were travelling to Sunee Tower, the wind picked up and took it off my head and onto the road behind us. Don't worry, I bought a new one this morning!
Secondly, David is a very enthusiastic keyboard player and even though he is very good, he stamps his feet against the floorboards and really thumps the keys, which makes it rather difficult to read, no matter where you are in the house.
Today has been very nice and relaxed and we have had another clean and been planning for our lessons this week. A gecko just excreted on my foot, just as I was writing this.
Only in Thailand!
x
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Bits and Bobs
Me and David have just been bought new bikes, they are so much better than the one we have been sharing since we arrived in Muang SamSip! Although, they didn't have any big enough to fit me properly, I got the biggest one in the shop.
I alos have a new hat, which is made from wood and straw, it is probably one of the coolest items of clothing I have ever owned.
One of the great things about being here is the response you get from the children, a lot of them are very eager to talk and I have joined in a few games of netball and footsong whilst I haven't been teaching. I have quite an advantage at volleyball as the net is just about head height, so I am good for defending at the front. Footsong however is a different story, it is similar to volleyball as each team has to get the ball over the net, but it is played like keepy uppies and with a small ball. I am useless at it, not as useless as I was and hopefully I will improve with practice.
We go to Chaing Mai at the end of September for our language course which is rather exciting as it means that I will be able to develop my Thai skills and also meet up with the rest of the Project volunteers. We have been given a choice of a 17 hour bus journey or a 1 hour flight. The flights are more expensive, so we would have to contribute 1100 Baht to the price, which is about £22.
The flight sounds like a much better option, even though the coaches here are very luxurious!
I have been asking around the teachers where I could do some Muay Thai, and it was rather difficult to get an answer. After some persistence, I have found that one of the teachers does after school classes, I have yet to speak to them, but hopefully I will be learning Muay Thai soon!
There are lots of things that I want to do, but most require a fair bit of travelling, which means that I cannot do it during school times, visiting a temple for example. As we have not been here long, our weekends have been booked with invitations to different teachers houses up until we leave for Chaing Mai, at least I am here for a year!
I am missing everyone more and more as the days pass, but am not really feeling homesick, that is still to come and is one thing I am dreading. I know I have David to talk top, but it isn't the same as talking to someone you have known for years, and I am not too goo at talking to people about feelings anyway. I will just have to get over myself!
Bye
x
I alos have a new hat, which is made from wood and straw, it is probably one of the coolest items of clothing I have ever owned.
One of the great things about being here is the response you get from the children, a lot of them are very eager to talk and I have joined in a few games of netball and footsong whilst I haven't been teaching. I have quite an advantage at volleyball as the net is just about head height, so I am good for defending at the front. Footsong however is a different story, it is similar to volleyball as each team has to get the ball over the net, but it is played like keepy uppies and with a small ball. I am useless at it, not as useless as I was and hopefully I will improve with practice.
We go to Chaing Mai at the end of September for our language course which is rather exciting as it means that I will be able to develop my Thai skills and also meet up with the rest of the Project volunteers. We have been given a choice of a 17 hour bus journey or a 1 hour flight. The flights are more expensive, so we would have to contribute 1100 Baht to the price, which is about £22.
The flight sounds like a much better option, even though the coaches here are very luxurious!
I have been asking around the teachers where I could do some Muay Thai, and it was rather difficult to get an answer. After some persistence, I have found that one of the teachers does after school classes, I have yet to speak to them, but hopefully I will be learning Muay Thai soon!
There are lots of things that I want to do, but most require a fair bit of travelling, which means that I cannot do it during school times, visiting a temple for example. As we have not been here long, our weekends have been booked with invitations to different teachers houses up until we leave for Chaing Mai, at least I am here for a year!
I am missing everyone more and more as the days pass, but am not really feeling homesick, that is still to come and is one thing I am dreading. I know I have David to talk top, but it isn't the same as talking to someone you have known for years, and I am not too goo at talking to people about feelings anyway. I will just have to get over myself!
Bye
x
Monday, 10 September 2012
The Shavin' and the Mavin'
I had a shave for the first time in Thailand last night. Since we have to look presentable for school, I thought that I would shave every time I got some noticeable facial hair. Last night was the first time I have shaved since I have left England and my moustache could only be classed as noticeable if you were looking for it.
That basically describes how follically endowed I am when it comes to facial hair, however, it does make it much easier and cheaper when I only have to shave once a month. I feel for those who have to shave every morning.
I taught a lesson this morning which consisted of me handing out pieces of paper and then getting the class to make paper aeroplanes and then taking them outside to see how far they would go. I threw mine straight into a tree, which caused my plane to fall into a puddle, I lost....not good.
Last night was horrible, it was so wet and rainy and the insects seemed especially loud, I think they were trying to compete with the thunder. We keep the shutters open all the time to prevent our house from becoming an oven, so i was covered by water as the mosquito net turned the rain into a fine spray.
We were then awoken at 5 by a neighbour that thought it was an appropriate time to cut the grass with a not so quiet strimmer.
The food here is still great and it is really cheap. We go to the market every night to buy tea, and end up spending just over £1 each. We have now got some electric woks, which I have yet too see, which i rather exciting as it allows me to practice creating mouth destroying dishes that I will test on David.
As for washing our clothes, the several months of ironing I had at home has not aided me so far as the school provides a maid service. So we just put our dirty washing in a basket on Monday, Wednesday or Friday and there it is the same evening, all clean and nicely ironed. It's lovely.
However, we still have to wash our underwear ourselves. And after hanging up some to dry on the balcony, I returned home to find to pairs of underpants in a muddy puddle at the side of our house. Yay!
As for the title, I have no idea.
x
That basically describes how follically endowed I am when it comes to facial hair, however, it does make it much easier and cheaper when I only have to shave once a month. I feel for those who have to shave every morning.
I taught a lesson this morning which consisted of me handing out pieces of paper and then getting the class to make paper aeroplanes and then taking them outside to see how far they would go. I threw mine straight into a tree, which caused my plane to fall into a puddle, I lost....not good.
Last night was horrible, it was so wet and rainy and the insects seemed especially loud, I think they were trying to compete with the thunder. We keep the shutters open all the time to prevent our house from becoming an oven, so i was covered by water as the mosquito net turned the rain into a fine spray.
We were then awoken at 5 by a neighbour that thought it was an appropriate time to cut the grass with a not so quiet strimmer.
The food here is still great and it is really cheap. We go to the market every night to buy tea, and end up spending just over £1 each. We have now got some electric woks, which I have yet too see, which i rather exciting as it allows me to practice creating mouth destroying dishes that I will test on David.
As for washing our clothes, the several months of ironing I had at home has not aided me so far as the school provides a maid service. So we just put our dirty washing in a basket on Monday, Wednesday or Friday and there it is the same evening, all clean and nicely ironed. It's lovely.
However, we still have to wash our underwear ourselves. And after hanging up some to dry on the balcony, I returned home to find to pairs of underpants in a muddy puddle at the side of our house. Yay!
As for the title, I have no idea.
x
Ubon, DAD and Conjunctivitis.
I apologise for the time I have let pass since my last post. The internet at the school has been down and it has been repaired this afternoon. That is an issue with Thai people in that they never have an urgency to get anything done. I have still not moved into my room and am still currently sleeping on my mattress in David's room, this is because I still have no mosquito netting across my windows. I have ben promised by a few teachers that it will be done. I am not sure when, but I hope it will be soon as I am not quite comfortable as I cannot be in my own space, which for me is rather important.
My head is spinning with everything I want to say. So much has happened since my last post and I have no idea where to start.
At the moment, I am still recovering from conjunctivitis which I contracted due to an insect colliding with my eye, causing it to become irritated and infected, not the most pleasant experience as it feels as if there is something stuck in my eye constantly, and it looks like I am always crying. You know how it feels when there is something in your eye and your eye just twitches, that is what I have had to put up with since last wednesday night. It is much better now thanks to the help of the director of the local hospital. Oh yeah, and whilst I was waiting in the hospital, I was asked to pose for a photograph by a few nurses, even though I am not comfortable with situations like these, I though that it would be rude to say no.
We had a very interesting weekend as we visited the girls who were volunteering in Pha Na, which is about 30 minutes drive away. They then met us in Ubon to go shopping, we went to the Sunee Tower, which is a big mall in the centre of Ubon and bumped into Doni, the 22 year old from our host family, and he was working at a modelling contest, so he took us to meet some of the models backstage, one of which was his sister. After many photographs, being the tallest person in the mall by a few inches gets me a little more attention, we watched the show and were laughing at the hot of the show who was a really obvious ladyboy.
David then insisted we explored Ubon to find food, but the rest of us were quite happy to get something to eat at Sunee Tower, but he made us feel guilty by reminding us where we are and that we had to go out. So he managed to gain the nickname 'Dad' as he led us around the town, which is even funnier when he has a horrible sense of place and his short term memory is just as bad.
We eventually found somewhere to eat and chatted over a variety of strange foods. The meat surprise on a stick was very nice, not too sure what it was though, could have been pork, or rat or dog..... one of the issues of the language barriers.
We went into town on Saturday night to the mix club, which was quite seedy, but we hung round till Robyn and David had been sick and wanted to go home. The next morning wasn't so nice as a hangover is just accentuated by the heat. However, we got some coffee and were fine by ten. Mrs Brayung then took us to see her friends and a 1 month old baby, who was incredibly small and cute.
We were still with the girls and were craving cheese so we went to the pizza company and I devoured a bowl of lasagne and some fries. I was however defeated by some enormous onion rings, that were basically donuts with a little onion inside. After the meal, Mrs Brayung drove the girls back to Pha Na and took us home. We also bought The Other Guys and Gladiator on dvd, which I have watched already, I forgot how funny Will Ferrell is.
That brings me up to date with everything that has been going on. I just want to say that your responses are welcomed greatly and I am sorry again to disappoint you.
The teaching is still excellent in every way, I love the response I get from the students and it is such a good feeling when someone who is obviously shy comes and talks to you, even if their English isn't great.
Sa Wat Dee Kap
x
My head is spinning with everything I want to say. So much has happened since my last post and I have no idea where to start.
At the moment, I am still recovering from conjunctivitis which I contracted due to an insect colliding with my eye, causing it to become irritated and infected, not the most pleasant experience as it feels as if there is something stuck in my eye constantly, and it looks like I am always crying. You know how it feels when there is something in your eye and your eye just twitches, that is what I have had to put up with since last wednesday night. It is much better now thanks to the help of the director of the local hospital. Oh yeah, and whilst I was waiting in the hospital, I was asked to pose for a photograph by a few nurses, even though I am not comfortable with situations like these, I though that it would be rude to say no.
We had a very interesting weekend as we visited the girls who were volunteering in Pha Na, which is about 30 minutes drive away. They then met us in Ubon to go shopping, we went to the Sunee Tower, which is a big mall in the centre of Ubon and bumped into Doni, the 22 year old from our host family, and he was working at a modelling contest, so he took us to meet some of the models backstage, one of which was his sister. After many photographs, being the tallest person in the mall by a few inches gets me a little more attention, we watched the show and were laughing at the hot of the show who was a really obvious ladyboy.
David then insisted we explored Ubon to find food, but the rest of us were quite happy to get something to eat at Sunee Tower, but he made us feel guilty by reminding us where we are and that we had to go out. So he managed to gain the nickname 'Dad' as he led us around the town, which is even funnier when he has a horrible sense of place and his short term memory is just as bad.
We eventually found somewhere to eat and chatted over a variety of strange foods. The meat surprise on a stick was very nice, not too sure what it was though, could have been pork, or rat or dog..... one of the issues of the language barriers.
We went into town on Saturday night to the mix club, which was quite seedy, but we hung round till Robyn and David had been sick and wanted to go home. The next morning wasn't so nice as a hangover is just accentuated by the heat. However, we got some coffee and were fine by ten. Mrs Brayung then took us to see her friends and a 1 month old baby, who was incredibly small and cute.
We were still with the girls and were craving cheese so we went to the pizza company and I devoured a bowl of lasagne and some fries. I was however defeated by some enormous onion rings, that were basically donuts with a little onion inside. After the meal, Mrs Brayung drove the girls back to Pha Na and took us home. We also bought The Other Guys and Gladiator on dvd, which I have watched already, I forgot how funny Will Ferrell is.
That brings me up to date with everything that has been going on. I just want to say that your responses are welcomed greatly and I am sorry again to disappoint you.
The teaching is still excellent in every way, I love the response I get from the students and it is such a good feeling when someone who is obviously shy comes and talks to you, even if their English isn't great.
Sa Wat Dee Kap
x
Monday, 3 September 2012
DJ Casper's Cha Cha Slide
Where to start...
I was going to post earlier but I have been rather ill yesterday and today and spent more time than I would like on the toilet. At least my legs are getting a good workout, I have never done so much squatting. I wont go into any more detail.
I am starting to feel better now but the heat is making me feel worse, so I have migrated from our house to a nice air conditioned office.
Friday night was interesting as it was the last night at our hosts house and Doni, who is 22 wanted to take us out into Ubon. We set off to town and went to a place called U-Bar. It was halfway between a club and a bar and was sort of strange as there was a live Thai band on. We started off with a tower of Heineken and met a few of Doni's friends. It was all very nice and we got a bit merry. Then we met some TEFL teachers from UK. One was from Birmingham and the other from Northern Ireland. They were very nice and pleased to meet some English people. The language barriers caused us some problems as we tried to tell Doni to take us home and we thought he was, until we ended up outside his girlfriends house and he left the car and told us to wait.
We eventually got into bed at 3 in the morning.
Saturday was unusual as we had to teach. This was due to days missed due to teacher training. Luckily I felt fine, maybe a little tired, but still had some very good lessons.
My favourite lesson was when the other teacher told me we were doing directions, so we were playing games where the class had to guide their friends around the room. The teacher then mentioned the Cha Cha slide and wanted the class to do it. I got really excited and got my laptop out and started to load it on Youtube. I then performed in front of a class of 40 16-18 year olds. They loved it!
I then got everyone to get involved and even got other teachers to join in, it was hilarious. I am going to continue with my dance lessons this week.
The weather here is quite similar to England, apart from the intense heat that is constantly around 30 degrees. It is the wet season from June to November and we currently have a small moat around our house and a swamp at our back door. This is not too bad, apart from all of the insects seek refuge in our house, so we are constantly finding them dead, in piles around the house after they have walked through our insect defences.
One of the past times I have come to enjoy is the extermination of mosquitos and other flying insects. I invested in one of those electric tennis rackets to deal with our problem. I was not sure what to expect, but it is shockingly good. (sorry, I had to do it.)
The students here are all very interested in us. In one of my lessons on Friday, I was getting the pupils to introduce themselves to me and in a class of 14 year olds, one girls said she loved me and asked for my number in front of the whole class.
I wasn't surprised. Everyone loves me. :)
Missing you all.
Love and kisses
x
I was going to post earlier but I have been rather ill yesterday and today and spent more time than I would like on the toilet. At least my legs are getting a good workout, I have never done so much squatting. I wont go into any more detail.
I am starting to feel better now but the heat is making me feel worse, so I have migrated from our house to a nice air conditioned office.
Friday night was interesting as it was the last night at our hosts house and Doni, who is 22 wanted to take us out into Ubon. We set off to town and went to a place called U-Bar. It was halfway between a club and a bar and was sort of strange as there was a live Thai band on. We started off with a tower of Heineken and met a few of Doni's friends. It was all very nice and we got a bit merry. Then we met some TEFL teachers from UK. One was from Birmingham and the other from Northern Ireland. They were very nice and pleased to meet some English people. The language barriers caused us some problems as we tried to tell Doni to take us home and we thought he was, until we ended up outside his girlfriends house and he left the car and told us to wait.
We eventually got into bed at 3 in the morning.
Saturday was unusual as we had to teach. This was due to days missed due to teacher training. Luckily I felt fine, maybe a little tired, but still had some very good lessons.
My favourite lesson was when the other teacher told me we were doing directions, so we were playing games where the class had to guide their friends around the room. The teacher then mentioned the Cha Cha slide and wanted the class to do it. I got really excited and got my laptop out and started to load it on Youtube. I then performed in front of a class of 40 16-18 year olds. They loved it!
I then got everyone to get involved and even got other teachers to join in, it was hilarious. I am going to continue with my dance lessons this week.
The weather here is quite similar to England, apart from the intense heat that is constantly around 30 degrees. It is the wet season from June to November and we currently have a small moat around our house and a swamp at our back door. This is not too bad, apart from all of the insects seek refuge in our house, so we are constantly finding them dead, in piles around the house after they have walked through our insect defences.
One of the past times I have come to enjoy is the extermination of mosquitos and other flying insects. I invested in one of those electric tennis rackets to deal with our problem. I was not sure what to expect, but it is shockingly good. (sorry, I had to do it.)
The students here are all very interested in us. In one of my lessons on Friday, I was getting the pupils to introduce themselves to me and in a class of 14 year olds, one girls said she loved me and asked for my number in front of the whole class.
I wasn't surprised. Everyone loves me. :)
Missing you all.
Love and kisses
x
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