Work Has Begun, but Not Before a Little Fun: Week 1

Sunset on my final night in Naiharn Beach...how incredible!?

After finishing my TESOL course in Phuket, I was informed that I had 18 days before I needed to move into my apartment and start work. Knowing that I was about to start a full time job and this would be my last break for longer than 2-3 days, I wanted take advantage of the opportunity to further explore Thailand.

Despite Phuket's postcard picture beauty, after three weeks there, it started to feel like nothing but a big, expensive tourist trap. From my experience, Phuket was nice, but I don't think it accurately portrays the true culture of Thailand. I especially find this unfortunate because thousands of tourists every year visit Thailand and only stop in Phuket; even worse, they usually only stop in Patong, Phuket (infamous for its outrageous and bizarre nightlife). Anyway, I decided there was no reason to stick around Phuket and left the morning after my course ended.

First stop: Ko Phi Phi Island

Ko Phi Phi is actually made up of two main islands: Ko Phi Phi Don (where everyone stays) and Ko Phi Phi Leh, which is uninhabited because it is a national park (the only way you can sleep on Ko Phi Phi Leh is if you camp). Ko Phi Phi Leh is also famous because of Maya Bay, where the movie The Beach (2000) staring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. Interestingly, many people say that the beauty of Maya Bay was actually improved after the 2004 tsunami that devastated Ko Phi Phi. If you literally type "Thailand" into Google image search, I guarantee a picture of Maya Bay will be one of the first pictures to come up. It looks so serene and perfect. So this is what I was expecting Maya Bay to look like...

Source: http://www.123rf.com/photo_7669743_long-tails-boat-at-maya-bay-phi-phi-island--phuket-thailand.html

And this is what it actually looked like....

Clearly, from the rocks in the background, you can tell it's the same place. Don't get me wrong it's still beautiful, but just not the vibe I was expecting/hoping for. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed with Maya Bay. Darn tourists.

However, after a long hike (did I mention there's no motorized transportation on this island?) to the other side of Ko Phi Phi Don, I discovered Long Beach. Finally, the beautiful secluded beach with long tail boats I've been searching for!

Ironically, on this same tiny island as the above picture, you can find nightly fire shows where you can watch professionals do some pretty neat fire tricks. But then...they open it up for anyone to try out. There's fire jump rope (both single and double dutch), fire limbo, and even jumping through fire rings. Crazy! Don't worry, you all know I'm terribly afraid of fire so I didn't go anywhere near that.

My week on Ko Phi Phi was great. I made some cool friends and somehow even managed to randomly get a sweet job working for a bar handing out flyers one night. But then, as you probably already read... food poisoning struck. I don't really want to talk about that anymore, so let's just fast forward through that part and hit some of the highlights from the week:

Loh Samah Bay

Bamboo Island

Hike to Ko Phi Phi View Point

Oh shoot, how did that picture get on here...?

And there's still another week of this. Stay tuned for part 2.

Big News!

Finally, the information you’ve all been waiting for. After months of unknown answers and patience, I’ve finally received my placement information!

I’m moving to Ayutthaya (pronounced A-you-thai-a), Thailand, which is a city about one hour north of Bangkok. I will be teaching conversational English at a government high school in the neighboring town of Bang Pa In. My students will be in grades M1 (12 years old), M5 (17 years old), and M6 (18 years old). It's hard to believe that some of my students will only be five years younger than me. But they don’t have to know that right? 

I’ve heard great things about Ayutthaya and I can’t wait to tell you more about my new home once I get settled. Word on the street is that Ayutthaya has many wild elephants roaming the streets...

My job will officially begin the 1st of November. Since the month of October is a mid-year break from school, I’ll be starting at the beginning of the school’s second semester. However, tomorrow is the last day of my TESOL course, so that leaves me with 18 days before I can move into my new apartment in Ayutthaya. Also, because of my current complicated visa situation, I can’t leave Thailand.

So how should I spend 18 free days in Thailand…? If you know me at all, you know my answer is traveling, of course. I’m planning to be nomadic and take advantage of this time off and do some island hopping in southern Thailand. Once I start my job, it will probably be a very long time before I lay eyes on a beach or have time to travel again.  I’m anticipating having access to free wifi soon, so I will be able to update more in the next week. I have so much to write about my TESOL course and the past three weeks living in Phuket.

I hope all is well with everyone back home.  Check back soon!

Birthday with Big Buddha

As you may or may not know, this past Wednesday I celebrated my 23rd birthday. How does one celebrate a birthday in Thailand you may ask? 

Well honestly, about 9 hours of the day were spent in my TESOL class, but I still managed to fit something fun in. After class, we grabbed a group of people and took a trip up to Big Buddha to watch the sunset. 

Phuket's Big Buddha is one of the island's most well known and revered landmarks, known among Thais as the Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha in full. When we were driving up the mountain, we could spot Big Buddha perfectly resting on the very top the mountain. When we finally made it up there, we realized that unfortunately, Big Buddha itself is currently under a construction project and had scaffolding all around it. Nonetheless, it was still awesome. 

I think that without a doubt, Big Buddha has the best view of Phuket. Essentially, you have a 360-degree view of the island. Since we decided to go for sunset, we had the neat experience of watching the view turn from day to night within a matter or minutes. 

While we were sitting and enjoying the view, Colin (one of my classmates) suddenly pulled out a Styrofoam takeout container. I remember thinking to myself that it was kinda odd he would bring his dinner up here. But he opened it up to reveal a piece of cheesecake with a candle on top and everyone started to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. I was so surprised! Because of the wind, it took about five minutes and five people to light the candle but we eventually got it and I was able to make my wish.

However, the surprises were not over for the day. When I got back to my hotel room, a staff member from the hotel knocked on my door. When I opened it up, he was was holding a mini birthday cake and said "for you!" When I asked who it was from he responded "Happy Birthday!" and just walked away. How they knew it was my birthday or that coffee flavored cake is my absolute favorite is still a mystery.

I think my 23rd birthday came with perfect timing as I start fresh with a new life in Thailand. This was my second birthday spent abroad and I'm sure it won't be the last. 

The 411

Hi everyone! Thanks for your interest in following along on my journey.  Since I’ve received a lot of questions, I wanted to write a post with some general information about what I’m doing and where I’m headed.

I’m on my way to Thailand to live and work as an English teacher for a year. I’m not sure why, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about this. So just to clarify, I’ll be teaching in Thailand. Not Taiwan (wrong Asian country), not Tanzania (wrong continent), or any other place that starts with a T you might have it confused with. When I first arrive, I’ll be living on the island of Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket) for three weeks while I take a 120 hour TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course and earn my TESOL certification. You might be more familiar with the term TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) but the terms are basically interchangeable. However, since the word "foreign" is considered politically incorrect by some, TESOL is becoming more widely used. 

As you can see from the picture, Thailand is right in the heart of Southeast Asia. I personally think it is somewhat of an oddly shaped country.

Unfortunately, I have not received my exact placement yet so I do not know what school I’ll be working at or what age I’ll be teaching. However, I should be receiving this information in the next few weeks and will keep you posted. I do know that I will mostly likely be living near Bangkok and will have my own apartment. The month of October is a break from school so I will officially begin working in November at the start of their second semester. 

However, just to confuse you even more...I am currently writing you from Taiwan. After stopping in LA for a few days to visit my friends Coley and Erik, I made another stopover in Taipei, Taiwan to visit my friend Alan who lives here. If you're not familiar, Taiwan is an island country officially named the Republic of China (R.O.C) but more commonly called Taiwan. In the picture, you can see it is the green island off the east coast of China. It is a very interesting country and I can’t wait to write more about my experience here this week. Finally, I’ll be heading to my final destination (Thailand) this weekend. 

Please feel free to leave comments and questions on any of my posts or contact me directly through the contact page. Don't be shy; I’d love to hear from you!