The Thai Commercial Everyone is Talking About

Have you seen this new commercial from Thailand? This short three minute commercial is getting rave reviews around here. Literally, everyone is talking about it. 

It's amazing. that a three minute add can be more moving than a full length movie. Bravo, TrueMove.

Stuff Thai People Love #5

#5 MAMA

MAMA (pronounced with an emphases on the second MA) is nothing but the Thai version of Ramon instant noodles, but Thai people seriously can't get enough of this stuff. The flavors of the seasoning packets are obviously geared towards typical Thai dishes, but aside from that it looks and tastes exactly the same to me. My personal favorite flavor of MAMA is Tom Yum Khung which is a very popular sour and spicy Thai soup dish.

MAMA is also probably one of the cheapest foods you can buy here, around 15 US cents a package. However, my friends tell me they think MAMA is more of a snack than a meal. There is literally an ENTIRE aisle of the grocery store and supermarkets dedicated to MAMA packages. What I find most funny is that many Thai people will often order MAMA when they go out to eat in a restaurant and they'll essentially receive the same instant noodles they could have made at home but with more oil. Image going to say, The Olive Garden, and ordering Ramon noodles.

Bon Appetit! 

Stuff Thai People Love #4

#4 Straws 

In Thailand, every time you purchase something which comes in liquid form, you will also receive a straw. It does not matter what the liquid is, or what the size or shape of the container is, you WILL receive a straw. In fact, 7-Eleven has about 10 different sized straws that coordinate with different bottles they sell. Each and every liquid item gets a straw. It's like an unwritten law here. Yes, even beer gets a straw.

The straw craze is one of the Thai-isms that I thought was extremely strange the first few months I lived here. I used to be very anti-straws. I remember one time I told the cashier (in Thai) that I didn't want a straw with my liter sized bottle of water and she looked at me like I had three heads.

However, I have to admit I've converted to the straws. In fact, in feels quite weird to me to NOT use a straw now. While Coley was visiting, she made an interesting observation that using a straw does appear much cuter than tilting your head back to drink out of the bottle. Is the cute factor the real reason behind the straw craze? Nobody knows.

Coley Does Thailand: Take 2

Once again, this post is quite late but better late than never, right?

As many of you know, my best friend Coley came to visit me back in June and stayed for the entire month. I can't even express how nice to was to have a piece of home with me at my home away from home. Coley is the same friend that I came to Thailand with the first time I visited back in 2011. Therefore, it was fun to experience Thailand with her again for a second time. However, this visit was much different than the last. Last time, we were backpacking and moving around to a different city every night. It was fun but also felt very rushed. This time it was much for relaxing since we were settled at my condo and had an entire month to explore, eat, and shop.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights from our time together.

Coley's pickup from the airport.

Coley takes a Thai cooking course. The instructor told her she was in charge of getting the chilis at the market because she's "red hot!"

Our sampling of Thai desserts. Some of them were tasty and others...well not so much.

A rainy afternoon at Wat Arun in Bangkok.

A visit to Bangkok's famous Skybar. You can actually see my apartment in this picture! If you've seen the movie The Hangover (Bangkok) you might recognize this place.

Night view of Bangkok from the top of Skybar.

Me, Coley, Mean, Pik, and Beam

Of course, what's a visit to Thailand without a few elephants?

Temple hopping in Ayutthaya

Coley's iPhone case purchase at the night market. Now is this cute or is this cute?

View from our hotel in Krabi, Thailand.

Alright, so who's coming to visit next? ;)

Totally Thai Moment

Back when I lived in Ayutthaya, my life was filled with plenty of weird sightings and experiences. The ones where I just chuckled to myself and thought “Yep...I’m in Thailand.” I like to call these "Totally Thai Moments."

For example, I’ve seen a grown woman casually ride open air public transportation with a GIGANTIC teddy bear bigger than her own body, motorbikes trying to balance 3 tanks of gasoline on the back (safe, right?), monks with weedwackers taking care of the landscaping at the temple, elephants following me while I’m running, and 7-Eleven employees escorting me up 6 flights of stairs to use their private employee bathroom because I told them in Thai that I had to pee REAL bad. And that's just to name a few.

I have to admit that since I’ve moved to Bangkok life has been quite normal for me (well…relatively speaking). While it’s quite nice to have a pretty normal lifestyle, sometimes I do kind of miss those weird and wacky Thai moments that remind me why I love Thailand so much.

However, last week I had an unexpected Totally Thai Moment. I was walking along the Skywalk, which is like an elevated footpath above the street for easy access to public transportation and other places such as shopping malls. Often times, vendors will set up a large blanket on the ground, display and sell items on the busy walkway such as t-shirts, wallets, scarves, shoes, etc. Selling on the Skywalk is not legal in Bangkok and comes with a hefty fine if you're caught. But as with many illegal things in Thailand, this doesn't seem to stop people from doing them. 

So anyway, I was walking along the Skywalk which was lined on both sides with many vendors. I spotted a guy selling women's v-neck t-shirts. I recognized that he was selling the same shirt that I already owned. I really like that shirt so I decided I would buy another in a different color. I chose my color, we negotiated the price, I payed the money, he handed me a (plastic) bag with my new shirt, and at the exact moment that he's reaching into his pocket for my change...

I suddenly hear the female scarf vendor next to him cry out, "ADFSKJHJHFSHEUEFNJH@$*&!!" Actually, I have no idea what she shouted but I'm assuming it was something along the lines of, "POLICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

My t-shirt guy quickly said to me, "pop nueng, pom ja glap" which means, "wait a moment, I will return." Then, right in front of my eyes, I witnessed every single vendor on the Skywalk scramble for their belongings and run for their lives. They all obviously had a system to this madness because I watched my t-shirt guy grab the four corners of his blanket, pick it up in one quick movement, stuff it and all the t-shirts which were neatly displayed on it into a big duffle bag, then he literally BOOKED it out of there. I swear, he did this in a flat 8 seconds. These vendors were scurrying away like a bunch of teenagers who just broke their neighbor's window. The Skywalk went from small market to normal walking path in the blink of an eye. 

I watched my t-shirt guy run quite far and hide his duffle bag behind a pillar so it was out of site. He only owed me 20 baht (about 70 cents) change so I wasn't going to be too upset if he never came back, considering the situation. However, I waited around for a few minutes watching the situation unfold. About 20 seconds later, a guy dressed in a police uniform came walking down the Skywalk with his eyes scanning like a hawk and tickets in hand. I waited around for another minute and sure enough my trusty t-shirt guy returned with my 20 baht change and a big smile. 

Only in Thailand. 

Stuff Thai People Love #3

#3. Ya Dom 

To be honest, I'm not even sure what I would call these in English, but in Thai they're called Ya Dom which literally translates to smelling medicine.

Thailand is endowed with plenty of unusual sites (to a foreigner) such as movable stalls selling edible pig's body parts and intestines, thousands of motorbikes on the road, deep fried insects, and even elephants and monkeys strolling the streets. And with these strange sites also comes...well....strange smells. So how does a local cope? Two words: Ya Dom.

Ya Dom is a stick-type inhaler that is used to clear nasal congestion and help with nausea, fatigue, or dizziness caused by smells. It's made from menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus oil as base ingredients. It works by stimulating nerve endings which allow for improved blood flow which therefore counters conditions such as nausea, figure, and dizziness. To use it, you simply open the cap, stick it up your nose, and sniff.

Ya Dom is used by millions of people in Thailand; in fact, it's hard to find a Thai person who doesn't carry one of these babies with them 24/7. But not only do they carry them, they use them. Often. Despite the current Ya Dom craze in Thailand, its use actually reflects the Thai age-old habit of using aromatic herbal remedies.

So if your're curious - go ahead and give Ya Dom a try next time you're in Thailand. They're only about 15 baht (50 cents) and are conveniently sold at each and every (yep, you guessed it) 7-Eleven in Thailand.

Thai-Style Graduation

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend my Thai friends' Commencement (or graduation) from Silpakorn University in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. This was a fun experience that allowed me to reflect back to my own graduation day. It's hard to believe - but just a little over a year ago, I was the one graduating. To be honest, I don't think that "post grad life" has been as bad or as scary as everyone made it out to be. In fact, I've really enjoyed it so far! 

Attending a Commencement in Thailand was extremely interesting for me because it's so different than in America. One of the main differences is that in America, the only people who actually come to your graduation are your close friends and family. Because let's be honest, who actually wants to sit through a 4 hour ceremony listening to strangers' names being called? 

However, in Thailand, graduates pretty much invite anyone and everyone they know to the commencement. Why? Because no one goes to the actual ceremony, not even your parents! The only people who are allowed in the hall for the graduation ceremony are the graduates and a few particular professors. Therefore, if you're invited to a graduation, that basically means you're invited to come, make an appearance, say hi, bring gifts/flowers/chocolate/teddy bears/etc, take pictures with your friends, then leave. Pretty easy! 

These are two of my close friends that I met through work. Pik (on the left) and Mean (on the right), both graduating from the Faculty of Arts. Pik majored in English and minored in German and Mean majored in German and minored in English (funny, right?). 

This is another close friend, Lukpla, who I met through a mutual friend from college. Lukpla studied the Faculty of Pharmacy which was a 6 year program and now lives and works in Bangkok.

Another major difference is that in America, your graduation ceremony is usually about a week or two after you finish your classes for the semester. However, in Thailand, the commencement is usually months after you finish. For example, my friends finished classes at the end of February and their commencement was in July. Because this is the norm in Thailand, you can still apply and get jobs without having your actual diploma in hand yet.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the graduates have to wear a very strict uniform in order to attend the commencement ceremony. For girls this includes: knee-length formal blue pencil skirts with a brown university belt, stockings, special matching black heels, and a white button-up uniform blouse with a university pin. Then, of course, the black gown and faculty hood over this. My friends all expressed disappointed that they didn't get to wear the caps like we do in America. They said they wanted to throw them in the air, like they've seen in the movies. Also, all girls must have black hair (if it's not, then you have to die it) and is must be tied back. For boys, you can't have any facial hair. If you don't want to follow these rules, then you can't attend the ceremony. It's literally laughable to me to think about the utter outrage that would ensue at Elmhurst College if we were given these same rules for our graduation ceremony. I can already image what the hateful Facebook updates would look like. I would estimate less than 20% of people would come to the ceremony.

Before my graduation, we had a 1 hour "rehearsal" the night before where we met in the chapel and got  in our seating order and that was about it. However, in Thailand, you have THREE full day (7 hour) rehearsals before the real graduation day. And these are like full dress rehearsals in outfits, makeup, and everything. On the last (real) commencement day, the graduates are actually handed their diploma by a member of the Royal Family. In this year's case, one the King's daughter's (the Princess) will hand the diplomas. Therefore, that is the main reason why everything must be absolutely perfect and everyone must look and act respectable. To be able to meet a member of the Royal Family is a pretty big deal and not every Thai person can say that they've done so.

It was a neat experience to be able to attend (by attend - I mean take pictures?) a Thai commencement ceremony. More cool updates coming soon :)

Cha-cha-ch-changes

Hello everyone!

I know, I know, this post is long overdue. Like 4 months overdue.Whoops....sorry. In the past few months, there's been a lot of changes with my move and job change to Bangkok and my life couldn't be any more different than my old life in Ayutthaya. Many people have expressed interest so I wanted to break it down and explain everything in detail.

School

Before, I taught at a Thai government (or public) high school. Now, I teach at an English language school. Language schools are very different than traditional schools. The best way to think of an English Language School is to not really think of a school. Yes, we are a school, but not in the traditional sense. We're actually located inside a mall. Instead, think of it as an extracurricular activity. For example, when I was in high school, I would go play baseball or attend rehearsals for plays after school. Instead, these students go and study English after school or work.

At my old school, I was assigned to teach specific grade levels and specific classes of students. Now, everyone is technically my student and anyone can sign up for a class with me. Because the teachers are from various countries and have different accents, the students enjoy the variety.

Dress Code

At my old school, I was required to dress very conservatively with my knees and shoulders always covered. I was also required to wear a black skirt, as pants were not allowed. And on Fridays, I had to wear an obnoxious, blue Hawaiian print shirt to work, the "uniform" shirt for all teachers. However, at my new school, I was told that the dress code was "trendy." I'll never forget, on my first day of work, the Director of HR said to me, "short skirts are definitely okay!" I'm not sure if I'll ever have a future employer says those words to me. Needless to say, I spent the first few weeks in Bangkok trying to acquire a new, trendy wardrobe.

Facilities

Once again - 180 degree turn. At my old school, my office and nearly all of the classrooms were not air conditioned (let me remind you it's an average of 90 degrees F everyday in Thailand). Also, I had to walk outside to different buildings for each class. I'm not gonna lie, by the end of the day, I was sweaty and gross. Also, my office only had 1 computer to share among about 15 teachers and the internet and printer were both broken approximately 75% of the time. Therefore, it was very difficult to work and plan lessons without a computer, printer, or internet. My first day of work I was give ONE white board marker and told to make it last for the entire semester. In the classrooms, there were no computers, projectors, smart-boards, speakers, etc. Essentially, it was up to my whiteboard marker and I to entertain 50 students for 50 minutes.

At my new school, we have everything. Air conditioning, plenty of computers, printers, working internet, and unlimited white board markers! The classrooms and facilities at my school are really quite nice.

Students

As you probably know, I absolutely adored my students from my old school. However, the job was difficult because their language level was very low. My class was just a required class that they "had" to show up to because it was required by the government. Even though they usually couldn't understand what I said, and had little to no motivation to learn English, they were still ridiculously sweet and kind. Likewise, I also adore my new students but they're quite different. I would say that my best student from my old school would probably test into the lowest level at my new school.

I think the main difference between the students is the motivation factor. Even if I can clearly tell they don't really want to learn English, they understand that they NEED to learn English for their futures and careers, which makes a world of a difference. In addition, the students (or their parents) pay A LOT of money for them to study here. So as with anything, when your money is involved there's more incentive to get something out of it.

Also, since most of my students grew up in Bangkok, they have more exposure to foreigners and foreign teachers. I'm not really like a novelty to them. While I will admit that I do kinda miss being told a minimum of 50 times a day that I'm beautiful, I feel like the students at my new school treat me like a normal person instead of a celebrity. They ask me about my personal life, invite me to eat dinner with them, and help me with any problems that arise (i.e. reading my electric bill). In fact, they don't even call me "Teacher Kim" but just "Kim." It's not out of disrespect, but the environment at the language school is much more relaxed.

At my new school, about 70% of the students are from Chulalongkorn University which is conveniently located directly across the street from my school. Chulalongkorn (aka"Chula") is ranked the top university and is basically like Thailand's equivalent of Harvard. The other 30% of my students are comprised of university students from other various universities, Bangkok high school students, and working professionals. The youngest student at my school is 14 and the oldest student is 88. I have many students that are doctors, lawyers, Thai Airways international pilots, engineers, businessmen/women, etc.  I would say that I'm pretty lucky because my students are some of the cream of the crop.

Schedule

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am not a a morning person. For my old job, I had to wake up around 5:30 AM because I was required to be at work at 7:30 AM for morning assembly and also had to allot time for the dreaded commute. I was usually so tired from the day and commute that I'd fall asleep by 10:00 PM. I remember in college, I used to make fun of people who went to bed at 10:00 PM. How times have changed.

Now, since I work at a language school, the school is open at times that accommodate to people's school, university, and work schedules. Therefore, I usually work from 12:00 noon - 9:00 PM and occasionally the shift from 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM. That means, I can stay up late and have the entire morning to do whatever my heart desires (sleep in, workout, run errands, etc). Let's just say the new schedule is much for fitting for my lifestyle. The only slight downside is that I usually work on the weekends. I always have two consecutive days off a week that rotate by month. While I occasionally miss out of things happening with my friends who are off on Saturdays and Sundays, it hasn't been that bad so far. In fact, going places in Bangkok during the weekday is much nicer than going on the weekend when its ridiculous crowded.

Commute

By now, I'm sure you've already read or heard about my dreaded commute to my old job. It was long, sweaty, and unreliable. Average time was about 1.5 hours each way. It was probably the one thing I disliked the absolute most about my old situation.

My new commute....total opposite. Although it somehow still involves 3 - 4 different modes of transport, it's short, minimally sweaty, and reliable. I'll write a more detailed post soon about my new commute. I'm really lucky to live near the BTS and take it to work. The BTS is the SkyTrain in Bangkok, similar to the El in Chicago. From my apartment door to the door of my office is exactly 25 minutes. I can also shave off about 5 minutes if I walk on escalators (I think there's like 10 escalators?!). You can ask any Bangkok local - that's a pretty impressive commute time for a city nicknamed "traffic jam city."

What I teach

Just like my old job - I still teach English, I still teach 5 classes a day, and I'm still at school for about 9 hours a day. However, what I teach couldn't be any more different. At my old job, on the first day of the semester I was given a vague list of topics to teach the students such as "conversation in many situations," "Asia holidays," and "apology and concern." I was told by the head of the English department, "Up to you!" and interrupted them as I chose. Since I had no book to teach from, I would create my own basic lessons. For example, different phrases you can say to apologize (excuse me, sorry, please forgive me, pardon me, etc).

On the other hand, at my new job I mainly teach English grammar, sometimes quite advanced grammar. In fact, I'll be honest...I didn't really know much about English grammar before starting this job. However, I quickly learned that Thai students don't learn English the same way that we do. Sure, we all learn grammar in school but when you're a native speaker a lot of it just comes natural and what "sounds right" to you, not the formulas for constructing positive, negative, and question sentences in all 12 tense and of course the irregular forms as well.

On my very first day at my new job, a student came up to me and politely asked me to explain the difference between Verb 1 and Verb 2 and the difference between Present Perfect Continuous and Present Perfect Perfect tense. I had no idea! In that moment, I experienced a minor internal freak out. I'm the teacher and I think the students know more about English than I do! After that, I had to kick myself in the butt and quickly re-learn English grammar and how to simply explain it to students. Now, I finally feel confident teaching any lesson on it. I will admit that the first few months were busy and tough because of the large learning curve.

Class Size

This is a huuuuuuge difference. Class size at my old school was between 40-52 students per class. At my new school there are 3 different types of classes. Type 1 has a maximum of 8 students. Type 2 has a maximum of 4 students. And Type 3 (Activities) have a maximum of 20 students. At my old school, I spent about 50% of the class time saying, "Listen please," "Quiet!" and "Don't talk!" However, at my new job there is absolutely no classroom management involved. The students show up for class, only speak English with each other, and politely listen and respond.

So there you have it. So many differences between jobs, right?. I'm quite happy with my change and really enjoying my new job. I'll write again soon!

What's in the Bag?

Culture Shock Goes Both Ways

Student: Teacher! Guess what? I just got back from studying in America for 3 weeks.
Me: Wow! Did you like it?
Student: Yes, I did. But not everything. For example, the food was sooooooooooo bland. Ugh, disgusting.
Me: Yes, most food isn't spicy like in Thailand.
Student: I experienced culture shock, I think. It was really hard for me. No offense, but some things you do in America are just so strange; I can't even wrap my head around it.
Me: Okay, interesting. Can you share with the group what you think the biggest culture was for you?
Student: *Thinks for a moment*
Yeah. You guys flush toilet paper down the toilet. Why!?!?? I just don't understand. That's so weird....


Different strokes for different folks.

Where the Hell Have I Been?

That's a great question, and I'm wondering the same myself.

I know I've disappeared from the blog world in the past 2 months (thank you dedicated blog followers who reminded of me this numerous times). To be honest, I don't really have a good excuse why I stopped blogging. With a city, new apartment, new job, new students, new friends, new social life, and some new personal goals, I guess I just needed a break from the blog world so I could focus on real life (imagine that?). But my absence hasn't been bad; in fact, quite the opposite. Life in Thailand has been good, probably better than ever! Even though the decision was difficult at the time, I'm confident that I made the right choice by changing jobs and moving. Finally, two months later, I'm feeling settled here in my new life in Bangkok. I know everyone is probably curious about the "new" and I'm excited and ready to write more again. 

I have many upcoming posts in the works....I promise. Stay tuned! 

The Visa Run

While living and working abroad has it's perks, one thing I quickly realized you take for granted is the ability to live and work in your home country, hassle free. Figuring out visa and work permit business in order to legally live and work in Thailand has been a challenge. Not to mention the constant visits to the immigration office and labor office to request to change my visa, extend my visa, report myself every 90 days, extend visa again, apply for work permit, extend work permit, etc, etc, etc....

Well of course, as soon as I FINALLY had my work visa (called Non-Immigrant B) and my work permit sorted out, I changed jobs. Since your work permit is only specifically attached to your place of employment, I would have to get a new visa for my new job and start the process all over again from scratch. Ugh.

The absolute only place you can apply for a visa is at a Royal Thai Embassy. However, as you may or may not know, there are no embassies located IN a particular country. For example, there are no U.S. Embassy's in the United Stated of America and no Royal Thai Embassies located in Thailand. But there is a U.S. Embassy in Thailand and Royal Thai Embassies in the U.S. Make sense?

Therefore, my only option to obtain a new visa was to physically leave Thailand and apply at a Royal Thai Embassy in another country. This is what is refereed to as the infamous Visa Run. Almost every expat knows the term and has done it at least once. To be honest, I'm surprised I got lucky and haven't needed to do it before now.

There are technically two different types of visa runs. The second type, I would consider the "easy" visa run where no visit to an embassy is necessary. All you have to do is physically cross a boarder to leave the country, even if it's only for 1 minute. For example, this process could look like this:
1. Stamp out of Thailand
2. Cross the boarder
3. Stamp into Cambodia
4. Turn around
5. Stamp out of Cambodia
6. Cross the boarder
7. Stamp into Thailand.
Done.

However, this type of visa run isn't very common when living in Thailand because when you enter Thailand by land (i.e. not airplane) you're only granted a 15 day transit visa. 

Anyway, back to my visa run. I highly considered flying somewhere, but since I only had 5 days to both move from Ayutthaya to Bangkok AND do a visa run, I opted to go by land. Technically, the Thai Embassy in Cambodia is the closest in distance to Bangkok, but I was warned by numerous different people that it was risky to go to Cambodia as they deny many applications with no reason. So then, Laos it was.

I could have bought an overnight train ticket to Laos for a bit cheaper, but with the chaos of moving, visa run, and starting a new job all in the same week, I decided to pay a little extra for convenience and went with a visa run company/agency. For this, you pay one set price that includes transportation by mini-van, 1 night in a hotel, meals, and all visa application and processing fees. Basically, you're only actually IN Laos for about 24 hours total while you're waiting for your visa to process, then you turn around and go back to Bangkok.

I won't bore you with all the details of the visa run. Despite the name, the visa run did not actually involve any running. In fact, quite the opposite. Just a lot of queuing up in long lines, standing around, and waiting. If anything, now I'm "running" quite low on passport pages...

The most interesting aspect of the visa run was the other people on the journey. I really had no idea how common these visa runs were until I showed up at the meeting spot and saw 60 other people, which they divided into 6 different mini-vans.

My van had quite the interesting crew of expats: 2 other teachers like myself, 2 models, 4 businessmen, 2 guys with Thai girlfriends/wives, and a movie star (seriously!). After discussing this with my new coworkers, it actually sounds like that is the pretty standard mix of people for a visa run from Bangkok. But the craziest thing was that the guy sitting next to me in the van turned out to be best friend's with my future boss of my new job. Bangkok, a city of 11 million people and I'm sitting next to my boss's best friend on a Visa Run to Laos? Small world.

So anyway, I'm back in Bangkok and started my new job about 2 weeks ago. I have SO much to update you on but have been busy getting settled in Bangkok and the learning curve of my new job. More updates soon, I promise!

Hope all is well for you!

Strange Sitings Around Ayutthaya: Part 2

Well, I officially no longer live in Ayutthaya, but wanted to share some final strange sitings. Stay tuned for "Strange Sitings Around Bangkok." I have no doubt they'll be many.

1. A monk with a weedwacker. Now that's something you don't see everyday.

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

2. Say what?

3. Policeman in Ayutthaya. At least, I think so...

Photo credit: Kate Shultz

4. A load of kids in the back of a pickup truck. Although, while illegal in the US, I've found this is actually quite a normal site in Thailand.

Photo credit: Laura Bulkeley

5. Water Monitor Lizard, cousin of the Komodo Dragon I believe. Again, these are actually quite common. I would often pass these while running in the Historical Park.

Photo credit: Erin Deren

Big News!

I have an announcement to make!

As this term of school came to a close, it was time for me to make a decision about my future life in Thailand. My current job contract was only for one school term, but renewable. Before leaving, I came with the intention of staying and teaching for 1 year. I always told people that my plan was, "If I like my school, I'll stay for a second term and if I don't like my school, I'll find another job on my own."

Well the decision wasn't easy by any means (you can ask my parents and friends how much they listened to me contemplate this decision). Despite the fact that I truly do like my school and LOVE my students, I actually decided not stay at my school for another term. It was time for some change.

So the big news is that:

A) I have a new job! And I start this week! I'll still be an English teacher, but working at a private English language school instead of a government school.

and...

B) I'm staying in Thailand but moving to: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Buriom Udomratchaniewet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

I'm not joking, that's really where I'm moving.

With 163 letters, it's the longest place name in the world! It translates to "The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, the abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.

Do you know yet what city? Okay, that's just the official name. Thai people always just shorten it to "Krung Thep" or City of Angels. But you might be more familiar with just Bangkok, Thailand.

It's always been my dream to live and work in the heart of a big city and now is my time. Bangkok is a city of 11 million people and I can't wait to be one of them.

With a new job, new city, and new (awesome) apartment, I'm sure you can expect many more updates in the near future. I anticipate that my new job is going to be MUCH different than my current job, but I will be sure explain further in future posts.

And so, the Thailand adventure continues. I'm looking forward to sharing this new chapter with you all!

Muay Thai Training

One day, my coworker I were invited by the Muay Thai coach to train after school in the gym. If you're not familiar, Muy Thai is a combat martial art of Thailand, sometimes also referred to as Thai boxing. However, it is different than traditional boxing and called "The Art of Eight Limbs" because it uses eight different points of contact of the body: hands, feet, elbows, and knees. It is said that the body is used to mimic the weapons of war. The hands become the sword and dagger; the shins and forearms act as armor against blows, the elbows hit opponents like a heavy mace or hammer, and the legs and knees become the axe and staff. 

While I had no intention of actually fighting, I thought that a little Muay Thai training would be good exercise and was unique to Thailand, so I decided to give it a go. On a Friday afternoon, Jeff and I changed into workout clothes and headed over to the gym after school. What we didn't know was that coach doesn't let you start practice unless you've ran for at least 30 minutes since endurance is a huge part of the sport. So we ran around the campus a few times while our students giggled and gave us high 5's as we passed. Once we came back from our run, the coach started me kicking over a plastic chair and had Jeff kick over a plastic garbage bin since he's so tall. He pointed to his right leg. "100!" then pointed to his left leg. "100!" I think that meant we had to do 100 kicks with each leg. At this point, we also had an audience of about 150 kids watching us like hawks. It's my very first try at Muay Thai and I have an audience to witness it. Embarrassing. "It's Friday afternoon, don't you have anything better to do?" Jeff said. But of course, they didn't understand. 

After what seemed like never ending chair kicks, we were finally promoted to the punching bags in the gym which were about 10x more difficult. 

I'll give you a tour of the gym. This is the entrance. 

These are the weights. They're old basketballs filled with cement.

The gym.

I was told this was the "locker room". Lol.

This is coach. Coach trained the female Muay Thai world champion of 1999. He even showed me the poster to prove it. After my first day of practice, he told me, "You. Champion. 1 year." Apparently, with 1 year of training with him, he thinks I can be a champion. Somehow I highly doubt that.

This is Bill, who I guarantee will be a champion Muay Thai fighter very soon. While he's not actually one of my students, I still see him quite a lot around campus and running around Bang Pa-In. He lives with monks in a nearby temple and spends nearly every morning and afternoon training and practicing Muay Thai. He's already won many fights in Bangkok already. Bill is hysterical; probably one of the funniest students, despite his limited English skills. Unlike most shy Thai students, Bill's not afraid to scream "HELLO TEACHER, I LOVE YOU!" across the entire campus.

This is Cartoon. She is perhaps the most dedicated and impressive 7 year old I have ever met in my entire life. She obviously doesn't attend our high school, but she comes every single day after school to train with our coach for her future as a Muay Thai fighter. Her training mostly consists of running to build her aerobic endurance. She also does this with absolutely zero sign of fatigue. A smile and wave from Cartoon can be the highlight of my day. She's awesome. What a motivation!

After telling my mom about my Muay Thai training and Cartoon, all she responded was, "Just don't get beat up by an 7 year old, okay?" Lol.

I know it's hard to believe, this is the crappy gym is where many amazing Muay Thai fighters (past and present) train everyday. I guess we don't really need all the fancy stuff after all, huh?

My Daily Entertainment

It's stuff like this that make me smile as I'm quietly sitting at my desk grading papers. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
 

1. Across all cultures, pimples make teenagers feel angry. Totally understandable. But, can you spot the cultural difference? 

2. Top right. I don't blame you kids; that would make me feel sad too.

3. I think this one just speaks for itself. Lol.

4. Bottom left. Agree or disagree?

 

5. Meet Sexy. Brought to you by a 12 year old. 

6. I just think Chili is cute. 

The Day I Accidently Went to Rangsit

Well, I guess I forgot to knock on wood whilst writing my post The Infamous Commute to Work last week. As soon as I thought I had the commute all figured out... I accidentally went to Rangsit.

Let me explain...

As usual, my coworker Jeff and I were waiting at the train station on Tuesday morning. Our train wasn't listed on the delay board so we were expecting it to come at it's usual time, 7:00 AM. At approximately 6:59 AM, the announcement was made over the speakers, "asfjadjflkajsfdkjfkdjSAMNUENGJEDajsdkjkalsjlfkasjfkjdSAMNEUGNJEDaksjdkfasjdkfjasklKRUNGTEP" Sam, neung, jed towards Krung Thep (Bangkok) - that's our train! So we stood up with the crowd of people, walked to track 4 (where our train almost always comes), the train pulled up, we got on, and we were off. About 10 minutes later, the train conductor came around to punch tickets, as always. However, this time the conductor looked very confused as he looked at our tickets. He shook his head and said "No Bang Pa-In." Huh? "No Bang Pa-In" he repeated. "Next stop, Rangsit" then walked away.

Jeff and I just looked at each other. "Well, I guess we got on the wrong train" he said. "Oh well" I responded. I guarantee if this situation would have happened 4 months ago, we both would have literally been freaking out; but today all we could do was laugh at ourselves. This is a perfect example of how the Thai "Mai Pen Rai" attitude has affected us over the past few months. Remember: There's no use dwelling on something you can't change (i.e. being on the wrong train) because your dwelling still won't change the situation.

Well, apparently this mysterious wrong train we accidentally boarded was an express train to Bangkok and the next stop was in Rangsit, which is about 45 minutes away, on the northern edge of Bangkok and home of one of Asia's biggest malls called Future Park. We got off at Rangsit and bought a ticket for the next train going in the direction of Bang Pa-In in 40 minutes. We called one the Thai teachers, told her the situation, and said we'd be there by Period 2.  All she said was "Okay, I'll give your Period 1 classes a free day." I mean they cancel class on us enough, that I think it's okay if we do the same once.

When we arrived at school around 9:30 AM, I saw my 6/3 class (who I was suppose to have for Period 1) in the hallway. They all made fun of me asking, "Teacher, how was Rangsit? Did you go shopping at Future Park this morning?" No one takes anything too seriously here.

Mai pen rai.

The Best Valentine's Day of My Life

I received an email from mom asking "Do they celebrate Valentine's Day in Thailand?" Valid question. I'm sure many of you were wondering the same.

Well, let me tell you, Thai people celebrate Valentine's Day to the extreme! After thinking about it, it makes perfect sense because basically everything about Valentine's Day perfectly matches stuff that Thai people love: stuffed animals, cutesy things, flowers, giving gifts, candy, etc.

When I got dropped off at school in the morning, there were two big street stands selling anything and everything you might want to buy on Valentine's Day. And it wasn't just the 13 year old girls who were really to the holiday. Even my 18 year old male students were seen riding into school on their motorbikes with two big stuffed bears, one under each armpit.

This year, I got more candy, chocolate, flowers (and even a heart-shaped fake diamond ring) then I ever have in my entire life. As I walked down the hallway, students shouted "TEACHER, I LOVE YOU!" I basically got to relive my 5th grade dream of feeling popular on Valentine's Day.

When I walked into my first period class, I literally got attacked by a mob by students trying to put heart stickers on me. This actually happened over and over again all day as I walked into each class. By the end of the day, my cardigan was completely covered in stickers. I mean, what better way to tell someone you love them than by a heart-shaped sticker?

I found this note on my desk in the morning. It's all for moments like this, right?

Valentine's Day was probably one of my favorite days of work so far this term because the kids were so sweet and everyone was in a great mood! However, my friends who teach at another high school in Ayutthaya asked their students to create Valentine's cards during class and their students didn't seem to be as happy as mine. So to all my single friends out there - please remember that Thai kids feel your pain.

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly

Photo credit: Alex Kozela

Photo credit: Mathias Connelly

I hope your Valentine's was filled with as many heart stickers and I love you's as mine!
<3 <3 <3

Happy Chinese New Year: Part 2

The Chinese New Year celebrations on my street continue. View from my apartment building this afternoon.

Photo credit: Kate Shultz

The Infamous Commute to Work

Many of you have probably heard me complain at one time or another about my long and ridiculous commute to work every day. So to give you a little insight into my daily life, here's a breakdown of the process with pictures. Every day is literally an adventure. Let me know what you think!

Step #1 - Motorcycle taxi to ferry dock

I walk out of my apartment door at approximately 6:04 AM. I know, you probably won't even believe that statement because I'm the same person that absolutely refused to take 8:00 AM classes in college. It's about a 20 minute walk from my apartment to the ferry dock, but only a 3 minute motorbike ride. Since every minute in the morning is precisely (and I already leave at 6:04 AM as it is...) I always opt for the motorcycle taxi (or "motor-si" as the Thais say).

On my very first day of work back in November, I found a motorcycle taxi across the street to drive me to the ferry dock. Now, he picks me up everyday and drives me exactly where I need to go without any words exchanged. We never talked about this or organized this arrangement, he is just waiting outside the gates of my apartment at preciously 6:05 AM. I'm sure not complaining. I don't know his name, but I refer to him as "Number 1" (I'll explain why soon).

As a female (particularly a female wearing a skirt to work everyday) I ride on the motorcycle "side saddle" as the Thai women do. It's basically what it sounds like, both of my feet hanging off the left hand side of the back of the motorcycle (definitely not the right side because that's where the hot exhaust pipe is).

I obviously couldn't get a picture of myself on the motorcycle taxi, but this picture should give you an idea. Before I rode on one, I always wondered how Thai women looked so graceful and relaxed on the back of these things. However, you've got to believe me; it's surprisingly comfortable.

Photo credit: http://thomasriddle.net/

Motorcycle taxis are everywhere in Thailand. It's a very common, cheap, and quick method of transport for locals, but definitely not for the faint of heart. While you could be stuck in traffic in a car or taxi, on a motorcycle taxi you can weave in and out in no time. 

Many people have asked me, "how do you know a motorcycle taxi from just an ordinary guy on a motorbike?" The answer is that official motorcycle taxis wear a colored vest with a number on it. That's why I call my guy "Number 1."

Motorcycle taxis usually congregate in groups in front of prime locations like 7-Elevens or subway exits, but you can also flag down a moving one if you wish. You just head to the queue and one of the drivers will point you to the appointed motorbike. Although it may not be outwardly apparent, there is a fine science to their rotation schedule so everyone can make money. However, I think motorcycle taxis look like they're hanging out with their friends much more than they appear to be working.

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

Step # 2 - Ferry off Ayutthaya island 

After Number 1 drops me off, I walk down these steps to the ferry dock. If you remember from my previous post, since Ayutthaya is technically an island, I need to cross the river in order to leave the island. The boat ride is only about 2 minutes long, but there's only 1 boat that shuttles back and forth, so sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes if the boat is loading people on the other side.

This is a pretty standard mix at the ferry dock in the morning - (from left to right) normal guy, monk, shirtless guy, Royal Military Officer. I'm actually not quite sure what the deal with the shirtless guy is because he's there every single morning. He's pretty awesome though because he's saved my butt a few times by signaling the boat driver to wait for me as I ran down the steps.

This is the boat that shuttles back and forth all day, every day.

Check out the skills of this woman. 

The monks always stand on the front of the boat. I'm pretty sure this is because they cannot sit on the same bench as women.

Step # 3 - Walk to the train station 

After getting off the boat, I have a 2 minute walk down this busy street to the train station. Amongst the the motorbikes and people, there are many food stands open and cooking up a storm (yes, even at 6:00 AM). This is also a popular spot where monks stand with their bowls to collect daily alms. This is the act of a lay Buddhist person giving food or money to the monks as a sign of respect and to show humbleness. Thai people call this "making merit." This always happens very early in the morning and I learned that all of the food they receive must be consumed by noon the same day. Usually, as I walk past, I can see people giving an offering and the monk, in turn, saying a prayer for them.

Step # 4 - 3rd class train from Ayutthaya to Bang Pa-In 

My first month of work, taking the train was the most stressful part of my entire day. This was because A) The train is usually delayed B) There are about 3-5 trains that come to the station within the 15 minutes I expect my train to come C) The signs on the train are written in Thai script and D) the announcements are only made in Thai. So I was basically stressed out because I just never knew what train to get on. I knew which direction was right, but not which train. They also all look the same which doesn't help the cause.

Well, funny story...

One day, I accidentally got on the wrong train.  It was bound to happen. As soon as I got on, I immediately knew it wasn't the right train by the type of seats. However, the train was already moving and pulling out of the station. I had to make a quick decision. I knew I would NEVER make it to work if I stayed on; so instead, I decided to jump off the train. Granted, it wasn't moving full speed, but it was definitely moving. Yes, I jumped off a moving train like James Bond. I still can't believe I did that either.

The next day I was determined to figure out a way to understand which train was the correct one. As I stared at my train ticket, I realized that even if I can't understand the entire announcement, I know and understand numbers in Thai. Now, I just listen for my train number. I've never had a problem since. I take train 318 (3 = sam, 1 = neung, 8 = pad in Thai) so the announcement sounds something like this to me: klasjkfjasjdfkasjk;jfsjajsf;djSAMNEUNGPADaksjfkajdskfjaklsdjfakdsjfkadsjfSAMNEUGNPADkasjfkjsf.

Let me give you a little tour of the train station.

The ticket office.

The train delay board. I despise this board...

That's my train. Looks brand new, right?

I've noticed that Thai people have this uncanny ability to fall asleep on trains and wake up literally seconds before their stop. Unbelievable.

Bang Pa-In train station - my stop!

Step # 5 - Small songthaew to school 

After getting off the train, this songthaew is waiting outside for us. Songthaew is a Thai word that literally translates to "two rows", which makes sense. This particural songthaew is essentially a pickup truck with two benches in the back for passengers to sit. It's about a 10 minute drive from the train station to my school.

Finally, after making a few stops at the market, the songthaew drops us off right at the front gate of our school (or at 7-Eleven at my request).

You think that sounds rough? I would confidently say that the morning commute is much better than the afternoon commute home. On the way back...the process is pretty similar in reverse but much less reliable and also MUCH hotter. I usually walk down to 7-Eleven and catch a motorcycle taxi to the train station. Sometimes, well actually about 8 out of 10 times, the 4:37 PM train going to Ayutthaya is delayed. Very delayed. Therefore, I more often walk across the street and take the big songthaew home. Because it takes the (very dusty) country roads, it takes much longer than the train but still gets me home before the 1 hour delayed train would.

The big songthaew is basically equivalent to a public transportation bus and used for longer routes between towns. However, you can basically get on and off the songthaew anywhere along the route.  There's no stops, signs, or stations. It's actually quite annoying when the students ring the buzzer to get off 5 seconds after the last kid just did. Also, it has no particular times that it departs or arrives anywhere. The rule is that it leaves when it's full. So sometimes it will come 1 minute after I get there, and sometimes I'll be standing on the side of the road (no seat or shade) for 30 minutes anxiously waiting for it to come. Because many of my students take the songthaew home as well, it's usually JAM packed by the time I get on. This picture doesn't even do it justice. When I say jam packed, I mean there are literally students hanging off those bars on the back. Luckily, they're usually nice enough to give up a seat for Teacher Kim.

Photo credit: Costanza Ferme

My commute to work and back home consists of 5-7 modes of transportation, depending on the day and circumstances. It's definitely far from glamorous but always interesting.

How did you get to work today?