Day 25/School/Buddha Day

This week I got a new roommate. Her name is Thea and she is from Vermont. She is only 16 years old! She also was placed at the same school I work at so we got to work together quite a bit.

So this week I taught on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just normal stuff; lots of games like Simon Says and Duck, Duck, Goose and Red light, Green light. We also taught some of the more advanced children about vowels and how to put sentences together and we taught them about writing letters. Check out my pictures! It was all a ton of fun and Thea was a huge help coming up with things to teach them. I also got to teach the older kids another dance…the Macarena! They loved it of course. We have kids named Boom, Jenny, Oat, Boat, Ya, Pa, Fa, Da, Few, Cake, Mickey, Natasha, Q , Fast, and other funny names I cant remember. I have so much fun trying figure out all their names.

The main focus of this post is to tell about the holiday that happened on Thursday. It was Buddha day. Apparently at this time of year the monks all retreat into the temples and do not come out for three months because it is the rainy season. This special day is for the children to bring the monks candles and food to last them through this long period of time. We were asked to participate in this and we of course said yes.

We had to arrive this morning at the school at 6:30 am to prepare. We got our makeup done and then got dressed up in traditional Thai outfits. At first they put me in this Sumo wrestler/diaper thing but then they found another skirt for me to wear (thank God!...or thank Buddha…) We got our hair done by the girls and then they covered our buns with flowers. There was a crazy lady helping us get dressed and every time I went to adjust something on my body she would slap my hand away and say “wait a minute!” When we were finally done we got our pictures taken and then we rushed outside to join the rest of the children and the parade. The young kids wore adorable little pants and tops and there were a bunch of little girls dressed similar to us. Apparently we were the Thai dancers! The other girls not dressed up carried food and candles for the monks and the boys all carried large drums or other instruments. One of the older girls was really dressed up and she walked in front carrying a sign. We set off on our way to the temple and we watched the other dancers in front of us to know the dance moves we were expected to do. The boys played the instruments and some of the teachers rode motorbikes to block traffic for our procession. We danced the entire way and by the time we got there…about a mile later…I was sweating to death in my outfit. Once we arrived we were given fans and water and we got a lot of picture taken. Next we went into the temple and kneeled in front of the monks while the children recited…prayers. Once that was over we basically just got into cars and went back to the school. The little girls helped us undress and undo our hair, I said my goodbyes to all the children and the teachers (SO SAD!) and walked home with Thea. We stopped on our way and got ginormous frappacinos for $1 and then went home to nap.

I don’t think I mentioned this yet…I am leaving the program a week early to travel because my mom and my cousin are coming and I want to spend time with them. Its sad and a little selfish but I think it will really be worth it for me. They arrive tomorrow night, we will spend Saturday in Bangkok and then we will be off the Chiang Mai in the north for a few days…more later (probably when I get home!)

BYE!

I HEART PHI PHI

I’m not sure where I left off in my travels but I guess I will start with my trip to Koh Phi Phi.

If I have learned anything since being in Thailand it is that nothing is ever easy and it is always an adventure. This proves true for my trip to Phi Phi. Phoebe was going to be gone for Thursday and Friday so we planned to meet in Bangkok at 5:30 on Friday. Of course my train was 2 hours late arriving so I was late meeting with Phoebe. By the time I got there we had already missed the first bus to Phi Phi then we were told that ALL the buses for the later time were full and that it was simply impossible for us to get to the island with paying a ton of money for a plane ticket. We of course would not take no for an answer and wandered all around looking for someone to get us there. Eventually a woman sent us to the south end bus station. We got there and ran all around the station searching for the place to buy tickets. When we finally found the booth it was 7:50 pm. The bus left at 8:00 so then we were on a mad dash for gate 34. We made it with a few minutes to spare. We were both starving so I sprinted off the bus to 7 eleven and bought instant noodles, a bag of chips and two waters. Not two minutes after I returned to the bus a man started walking around bringing sandwiches, nuts, juice and water to each passenger. It was one of the “duh” moments when I was just like…if I had been patient for two more seconds. We were soooo excited to have made a bus that we were laughing and goofing off. I may have kicked the seat in front of me profusely, prompting the man sitting in the seat to turn and glare at me, get up and change seats. Eventually everyone moved away from us. They just couldn’t handle us, lol.

There were a few more funny moments/adventures but I doubt they will be as funny or entertaining to you as they were to Phoebe and I, but you get the basic drift. It is always just one thing after another. When we finally got to Krabi (where we would take the ferry to the island) twelve hours later, we sat in the bus station and waited to be taken, by bus, to the pier. The bus turned out to be a pickup truck and we were made to ride in the bed of it lol. We got on the boat and arrived two hours later in Phi Phi where we were instantly hassled about hotel rooms/resorts. We ended up bartering with a guy getting the price of a bungalow down from 700 baht to 500 baht a night which ends up being about $8 a night per person. It was great (the beds ended up being super comfortable, the shower water not too cold although it was extremely hot, the floor was about to cave in and the room was infested with cockroaches and various other insects.) We walked around the island (a very limited amount of space) and met up with Conor at around 3:30 pm. The three of us had dinner that night on the water and we went out to the beach that night where they have parties.

The beach was actually really fun at night. There are a number of bars lining the water and each one is a different scene. The first one we sat at had a bunch of lawn chairs where you could watch Thai men doing tricks with fire and later there was limbo to watch. The next you sat on the beach on little cushions and watched more fire. The third was a hookah bar and the fourth was more of a dance floor. After we bored of this we noticed that the water (the ocean) had receded so where there was normally a foot of water you could walk on the sand. You could actually walk out pretty far. There was a nice breeze out there and this was the first time that I have seen stars in Thailand. The rowdier crowd enjoyed dancing/other activities out there but for me it was just a “wow, I'm really in Thailand right now” moment.

The next morning we woke up and walked around the island some more. At 2:00 we left the island to go on an excursion with five different stops (this all cost us about $6.) The first stop was Monkey Bay…which literally is covered with monkeys. Check out my pics to see them. It was really cool. Then we motored past the Viking Cave where people were mining birds’ nests. Apparently they somehow make a dessert out of these nests. Sounds gross to me. Next stop was a little cove where we were able to jump out and snorkel. The coral was plain colored but there were a bunch of cool fish (rainbow, black and yellow (MOM: A WIZ KHALIFA FISH!), an eel and a bunch of small ones.) We climbed back into our little boat and set off for an even smaller cove where we were able to get out and swim. It was absolutely gorgeous everywhere we went. There were tall cliffs surrounding us and the water was soooo clear and blue. We got back in the boat and set off for the main attraction: Maya Bay. The water was really rough at this point and I was kind of nervous being in such a small boat. The couple next to me (whom we ended up meeting and eating dinner with later) even put on their life jackets. When we got there the man driving the boat told us that there was a storm coming and that the current was too strong for us to take the boats into the bay so instead we were going to anchor on the other side, jump out of the boat into massive waves and swim a ways until we reached this like net/spider web thing which we and about 30 to 40 other people would have to climb to reach Maya Bay. Actually, no, he did not say this, he just told us to jump off and swim. The rest we had to figure out on our own. Lol. So we swam and when we got to the net we held on and waited. Everyone was screaming because the waves were strong and were crashing into us. Then a little Thai man grabbed my arm and told me to come under the rope. He was apparently taking me a faster route…so I went. The waves were so strong crashing against the rock and they kept slamming me into the rocks. I followed him and he lead me through/up through a little hole in the rock and I emerged on the other side shaking in my bikini and thanking God I was alive. I met Phoebe and Conor on the other side…all three of us like “wtf just happened” and we followed the crowd towards Maya Bay. It was gorgeous when we got there and we immediately had to dive into the water because the wind was whipping the sand at us. Once we were in the water the waves were crazy but it was really nice. Getting back to the boats was an even larger adventure. We had to climb back down the spider web/net and jump into the water. The waves were nuts and we had to time it as the water was receding so we wouldn’t get tossed against the waves. Then we had to swim for our lives, quite literally. By the time we got to the boat we were exhausted. The tour guides rewarded us with fresh cut pineapple for the island (seriously wtf!) All I kept thinking the whole time (besides the fact that I might die) was that the stuff we do in Thailand would NEVER be allowed in the states…hence the name of my third Thailand album “We’re not in the states anymore, Todo!”

When we arrived on land we basically kissed the ground and headed out to dinner. We treated ourselves to more expensive Mexican food and the couple we met on the boat joined us. It was by far my favorite meal since I arrived in Thailand aside from Cartoon’s mom’s birthday dinner. It was really nice.

The next day was our last day on the island and it was super sad to say goodbye (although Phoebe and I were glad to be getting out of our bug infested room.) We had breakfast that morning and then just kind of walked around looking at the little shops for the billionth time. I bought a grilled corn on the cob and Phoebe got a Thai pancake (both delicious) then we set off to find somewhere to sit down. We found these extremely comfortable chairs, sat for about 3 seconds, and then were informed we had to rent them. Phoebe was having some reaction to something in her eye so she went to the clinic and Conor and I found a bench to sit on. Big mistake…the bench was covered in water! There was literally nowhere to sit. Blah blah blah…sorry if this is boring.

Then it was goodbye time…Phoebe left for Korea and Conor and I took a boat an hour later to Krabi and then parted ways as I headed back to Bangkok and eventually Ayutthaya. SOOOO SAD L

Day 18

Okay first I want to apologize that I havent been posting regularly like I used to...Ive been soo busy :)

So I switched schools this week. I felt kind of useless at the other school because I was only teaching like one or two classes a day. I was sad to leave the children but I really want to be of help while Im here so it was worth it. The new school Im at is soooo different and to be honest so much more fun. I teach a class every period and I am basically on my own to do it...that means no one is translating to Thai for me. Its a challenge but soooo fun! I love every minute of it! I also get to work with all age groups which is fun too...from 3-16 :) In the morning I get to play with the little kids. This morning was song/dance time. We sang/did the chicken dance, B-I-N-G-O, and something about animals in a pool where the kids act out the animals. It was hysterical. One little boy was doing the Michael Jackson crotch grab every five minutes...I was dying. After that I got to go one grade up and work with 5 year olds. I had a box and the kids could stick their arm inside and pull out an animal. Then I would say the animal name in english and we would count the legs and talk about the color and the sound it makes. Loads of fun. Then I got to go and work with a little bit older. We talked about body parts...legs, arms, toes, fingers, head etc, and then we played head shoulders knees and toes and Simon Says so they could practice identifying the body parts (yes I did come up with this lesson plan by myself!) Then I got to have lunch with the children which is also lots of fun. We wait in line to get our food (curry noodles and coconut joice today) and then we eat, then wash our dishes and go and "play." At one I had another class...and this was my favorite. They were 16 year olds and the teacher told me to teach them a song and dance. Of course they dont want to learn "Im a little teapot" or something so I really had to rack my brain for something they would be interested in. What I came up with? The Cha Cha Slide...and yes...I did teach it to a bunch of Thai high schoolers. They were super excited to learn something that almost every American teen knows by heart! :) So i started off teaching them right and left, the hopping, the cha cha, and sliding...and the rest of the dance. They loved it. We practiced a few times then I let them do it in groups of five. It was hysterical! Ill have to get the pics from the teacher and post them! After that class I had another...like 12 year olds I think and I taught them about family...mom, dad, sister, brother, pets and had them make family trees. Fun stuff. After that I went home. Tomorrow is half day so I just get to play with the little ones in the morning, go home and pack to leave for Koh Phi Phi :)

(ohhh as a sidenote...this school is also only a five minute bike ride from the hostel so thats a plus!)

thats all for now...idk when Ill write again because I am going away for the weekend again but I cant wait to update you all!
<3 to everyone!

more of Koh Tao

Okay so Im not really sure where I left off and I dont really want to spend forever talking about Koh Tao...if you look at my pictures you can pretty much see all that we did was spend time on the beach. The high light of the trip was definitely or 6 mile kayak trip from Koh Tao to Koh Ngung Yuen which was another close by island. It was amazing to be that far out of the coast of Thailand...I just kept saying "do you realize we are in the gulf of thailand right now...??" lol. It was beautiful. Other than that we enjoyed the heat and the sun and the wonderful food at our resort. We explored the island a bit but mostly just relaxed which was great. It is also great that everything is sooo cheap...$25 each way (a 12 hour trip by bus/boat) and $8 a night for our hostel/the private beach. It was just wonderful. Sooo wonderful that I am headed south again this coming weekend to Koh Phi Phi...another gorgeous island. CANT WAIT!

Day...something...

Wellllllll sawadee everyone.

I just got back from Ko Tao a few hours ago. I am exhaustedd and have sooo much to tell. I may have to do this is portions because its an awful lot to write. Also, if you are also following my photos, I will post those later since I am not on my own computer right now.

Okayyy to start with I went with Elena (american) and Stienne and Svava (iceland) and Allie (Ecuador) to Bangkok on Thursday to spend the night and all day Friday there. We took a train which costs the equivelent of fifty cents and then took a taxi to Lub*D, apparently one of the nicest hostels in Bangkok (hot water, ac rooms AND internet), dropped our things off and set off to get dinner at the mall. There was this restaurant type thing called fifth avenue. They have all types of food from greek to arabic and thai to american. It was insane. You get a card and swipe it according to the food you get. This turned out to be a bit pricey but it wouldnt stop us from going there in the morning as well lol. It was pretty much a feast. We then took a cab to Ko Sahn road which is pretty much backpackers/shoppers heaven and walked around even though it was raining a little. I bought my first sack dress which I pretty much didnt take off all weekend. Then we took a cab back to the hostel and showered with warm water for the first and only time since Ive been here. It was glorious until I got out and realized the bathroom did not have AC and was dying trying to get dressed and do my makeup (for the first time since Ive been here.) Then we went back to Ko Sahn to check out the nightlife there...Ill spare you the details for now. We got back to the hostel late and slept in, went to breakfast, checked out of the hostel and headed to be tourists for the day even though it was pretty much a monsoon outside. We went to Chinatown where we bought much needed umbrellas and trekked through the ginormous puddles, stopping at shops along the way. The funny thing is that most of the things were sold only wholesale...for example: if you wanted to buy a pair of shoes you would have to buy a minimum of six pairs in the same size, style and color. RIDICULOUS. I did, however, buy 12 bracelets for souvenirs for friends or whoever lol. Next I took a tuk tuk back to Ko Sahn to wait for the german girls and Phoebe to arrive there so that we could set off on our way to Ko Tao...this is where things got a bit frustrating.

First of all it was pouring. I mean like a monsoon. I was standing on Ko Sahn for three hours waiting for the others to arrive. They were late arriving because traffic in Bangkok was so bad. When they finally did arrive they had separated from half of the group and apparently the phones were not working meaning we had no way to communicate. Somehow we managed to get a bus/boat to take us to Ko Tao at 8. As we were waiting til it was 8 we ordered some food. Not five minutes later a little boy...Im not kidding, I think he was twelve, walked over to us and told us he would escort us to where the bus would pick us up. Of course the restaurant freaked out but bagged up our food for us, we paid the bill and dashed out into the rain, following the 12 year old boy. Along the way we made several stops, each time picking up more people. A few times we lost sight of the little boy around corners or whatever and we would all pause for a minute til someone caught sight of him again. He led us down an alley way where there was a little tiny sidewalk (this is super hard to explain, I wish I had pics of it) to a Thai bar where Thai men were sitting drinking. It must have been strange to see a large group of white people standing in the middle of the bar waiting for a 12 year old. We finally arrived at the bus station where we were told to wait for over an hour, standing. It was miserable and still raining. We made the best of it however and met a new friend who would accompany us on the rest of our trip to Ko Tao. Conor is from England and is traveling alone through out Thailand and India.

moreeee later...