Last night I went to check out a gym just outside of town with one of the other teachers. We had heard that is was nice and had a herbal steam room and a pool (in addition to regular workout equipment). So at about 6 we headed over on our motorbikes. The place was great and I enjoyed a nice workout and dip in the pool followed by a good steam. While in the steam room, I met an older man who was a director of another school program who knew the director of my program. He spoke a little English, but most of the conversation was in Thai. This is exactly the conversation I enjoy - he could speak a little English, so if things got confusing we could figure it out - but wanted to speak in Thai and teach me. It was great. And it was all happening in a steamroom, so him in his underwear and me in my bathing suit. Must have made for quite the sight. We talked for about 10 minutes in the steam and then carried the conversation into the gym. Just a really nice guy. Then, on top of that, when I ventured out to meet my friend we encountered a woman who struck up a conversation with us. From that conversation we now have an appointment to meet her on Sunday and she is going to take us to her orchard and to the most famous temple in Lampang. We both are interested in coming back to this gym. Such nice people we have met there.
But the story doesn't end there. As soon as we left the gym and got onto the highway, I noticed that my motorbike had a flat tire. I pulled over the check it out and low and behold it started raining. With no other option than to push the bike back into town, I set off with my friend behind me with her turn signal flashing away trying to let other motorist know we were there. We get to a service station, but all they have is compressed air, so we blow the tire up hoping that it'll last for the last kilometer into town, but it doesn't and I end up pushing the bike all the way back into town. All the while the rain is falling harder and harder and it is now dark. We are thoroughly enjoying this through, part due to the fact that we had both forgotten to bring towels and were wet before it even started raining. We finally arrive at a tire repair place that is open (after several attempts) and are able to get the tire fixed in no time. By this point we are soaked and it's about 9:30 at night. We drove the rest of the way home (about 2 minutes...yeah, I pretty much walked the whole way home), changed and grabed some dinner at the restaurant across the way. The couple who owns the restaurant were very amused by our "adventure" and were more than willing to fix us up a nice hot plate of food. All in all, not a bad night.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Re: Drinking
Okay, so I've now been drinking with my boss and can write about that. So, at 6:00 I met him at my apartment. He came with an old student of his, so there were three of us. We first went to a restaurant near my apartment to, as planed, drink and eat. As soon as we arrived he pulled out a bottle of whiskey and we started drinking whiskey and water (not my favorite, but I can't complain because a) he's my boss and b) he's pouring. We order some food and eat and talk and drink. That's pretty much what we did the rest of the night. We did change restaurants though. He didn't like the food at the first place, so we went to a different restaurant - and drank, ate and talked until 11:30! We went through an entire bottle of whiskey. Not bad for a Wednesday night. Anyway, I did enjoy myself and I do like my director, so no complaints. It's just interesting how the nights events transpired.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Umm...drinking with my boss
Well, in about 4 hours I'm going drinking with my boss. He just asked me what I was doing tonight, I said, "Not much" and then he asked me to come to drinks. He's picking me up at 6. Should be an interesting experience. I'll keep you posted. Over and out.
Pictures and Descriptions of Bunyawat
I'm in a picture posting mood and the internet connection is strong, so I'm uploading 3, that's right 3 pictures right now. They are more pictures of the school to help give you a better idea of where I'm actually spending time. The first picture is of the front of the school, or at least the most visible part of the school. This, of course, is dominated by a picture of the King and adorned with Thai flags (the red, blue and white ones) and the Royal flag (the yellow ones). Below the King is a statue of the founder of the school. The whole front of the school here is very pretty and has wonderful gardens and great shade - it is one of my favorite parts of the school.The next picture is a picture of the science building. I'm not teaching there, but that is the designated science building. The building I'm
in (see the last post) is the International Building, which hosts the English Program and many of the English language classes (as well as the English teacher offices). I get to visit this building often and would love to teach there. It is really pretty and has a great breeze. There is not air-conditioning, so the windows are open. My classrooms have air-conditioning, which is nice, but the breezes and the fresh air would be pleasant as well.The next picture is of the main office. This is where the director of the school has his office as
well as all of the other administrators. Each morning the teachers come here to sign in. The campus is fairly large, but smaller than one would think for a student body of 4,500. It is definitely smaller than DU's campus. They do a good job of cramming 60 students into each classroom during class. The next picture is taken from the top floor of my building overlooking campus. Looking out this first building is the shop building. Every few days there is an incessant banging coming from that building meaning the students are hard at work. The building behind that is the main office building followed by more classrooms. To the right there are also two other classroom buildings.
The next picture looks out to the left. You can see the end of the shop building and the main office building on the right side of the picture. Next to the shop is one of the spirit houses on campus (there are at least two). Off to the left is the science building, the canteen (the cafeteria), the auditorium, the athletic fields and more classrooms. In the distance, you can sort of make out some mountains. Lampang does sit is a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.
My office...where I'm "working"
Hello!
Here are some more pictures for those of you
who have been asking. The first picture is of the inside of the office. The desk in the lower left corner is mine (notice my backpack on the chair). The director of the program sits in the back at the desk that is a bit lighter gray. The other three teachers sit in the desks to my left. There is a row of three computers along the wall where the other teachers spend most of their time. This office is on the third floor of the building in the second picture. That is the newest building on campus and is home to the English Program. We
are in the upper right hand corner of the building on the 3rd and 4th floors. The part that sticks out is the stair well and a common area where students congregate. On the ground floor in the middle of the building is an open area with rows of tables and benches. Students will often gather here to hangout, do homework and other such things that students do. There are students here all hours of the day, everyday of the week. The parking lot in front of the building is where the students congregate in the morning to listen to the national anthem and the school song.
Here are some more pictures for those of you
who have been asking. The first picture is of the inside of the office. The desk in the lower left corner is mine (notice my backpack on the chair). The director of the program sits in the back at the desk that is a bit lighter gray. The other three teachers sit in the desks to my left. There is a row of three computers along the wall where the other teachers spend most of their time. This office is on the third floor of the building in the second picture. That is the newest building on campus and is home to the English Program. We
are in the upper right hand corner of the building on the 3rd and 4th floors. The part that sticks out is the stair well and a common area where students congregate. On the ground floor in the middle of the building is an open area with rows of tables and benches. Students will often gather here to hangout, do homework and other such things that students do. There are students here all hours of the day, everyday of the week. The parking lot in front of the building is where the students congregate in the morning to listen to the national anthem and the school song.Tuesday, July 25, 2006
My motorbike!
Here it is folks...at long last...the picture you have all been waiting for. My motorbike! Mom, note the helment in the basket for easy access before riding. Everyone, notice that I am driving a motorbike with a basket on it. That's right, I'm that cool. For those of you who know what my car in CO looks like, note that again, I have opted for the racing stipes along the side. What is it with my vehicles and racing strips? Also note, I am driving the Fresh II, not Fresh I, but the Fresh II. Oh yeah. For those of you visiting at some point, note that there is room for two. Those not planning a visit, you may change your minds after viewing this picture and come just to get a ride. The bike is parked out front of my apartment with the other bikes of those living in the apartments. This is definitley the primary mode of travel for people here. And I love how much I'm spending on gas. The price of gas here is similar to that in the states, about $3 a gallon. I'm using about 1 gallon every 2 weeks so far. That amounts to about $1.50 a week in gas. Can't beat that. I'm working on a picture of me on the bike. I've got to keep your attention somehow.
Crazy kids of mine
My endless toil to connect with my M2 class (the 8th grade class) continues. Today was a joy as I spend to morning with my M1 class (the 7th graders) and the afternoon with the M3 class (the 9th graders). Both were willing to have fun, listen, laugh and learn. My class yesterday with the M2 class was exhausting. I am preparing their test and maybe after the test we can get a fresh start. But I still don't know what I'm teaching once the test is over! My endless battle...at least there is the knowledge that I will have my M1 and M3 classes. They re-charge my batteries.
Monday, July 24, 2006
ET is an alien!
Yesterday I decided to check out an internet and coffee shop near my apartment. I went in and was the only person there. I ordered a banana split (for dessert of course) and sat down to get some work done. About a minute after I ordered, I see the owner/person who took my order leave the shop, cross the street to the fruit market, buy a bunch of (yup you guessed it) bananas and brought them back to make my banana split. I love Thailand.
Oh, and while I was there a pop/electronic song with this chorus was playing..."ET is an alien and he is kind of freaky. Coming from the universe to party and go crazy". I laughed needless to say.
Oh, and while I was there a pop/electronic song with this chorus was playing..."ET is an alien and he is kind of freaky. Coming from the universe to party and go crazy". I laughed needless to say.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
School in Thailand is...
A few more interesting tidbits about going to school in Thailand. First, students do wear uniforms. They have 3 different uniforms that they were throughout the year (each uniform is worn every three days). Each level (grade 7-9) wears a different uniform. So, each uniform is worn each day, just by a different grade each day. I hope that makes sense. Each morning the students arrive between 7:15 and 8:00 and at 8:00 gather outside of the different buildings in rows. I'm not sure how they are grouped, but each group has about 150 students. At 8:00 exactly, the Thai national anthem is played over the loud speakers at school and all the students sing along. Following that, the Bunyawat Wittahayalai school song is played and again, everyone sings along. The students are then addressed by a person I believe to be a faculty member (the person changes everyday) and then addressed by a student. All in all the morning activities take about 25 minutes and the students are always late to the first class of the day (which starts at 8:20).
Another cultural note, the year marks the 60th anniversary of the current Kings rule. There were huge celebrations all across Thailand in early June celebrating his ascendancy to the throne. Each king has a certain color that corresponds with their rule (this is determined by a monk prior to their ordination). The current king's is yellow. So, every Monday everyone is supposed to wear a yellow shirt (specifically a polo shirt with the royal crest on the chest). Many people want to show their support of the king more than once a week and so people have purchased 4-5 different yellow shirts to wear everyday of the week (or at least more than once). When I visited my host family in Chiang Mai, sure enough they gave me a gift of a yellow shirt to wear which I proudly wore on Monday.
Another cultural note, the year marks the 60th anniversary of the current Kings rule. There were huge celebrations all across Thailand in early June celebrating his ascendancy to the throne. Each king has a certain color that corresponds with their rule (this is determined by a monk prior to their ordination). The current king's is yellow. So, every Monday everyone is supposed to wear a yellow shirt (specifically a polo shirt with the royal crest on the chest). Many people want to show their support of the king more than once a week and so people have purchased 4-5 different yellow shirts to wear everyday of the week (or at least more than once). When I visited my host family in Chiang Mai, sure enough they gave me a gift of a yellow shirt to wear which I proudly wore on Monday.
That guy just bought me dinner!
I had a fun run in at dinner last night. I went to dinner last night with two of the teachers in the English department and we met the nicest man. We were sitting very close to his table and were conversing about school, lessons, learning Thai and I was trying to teach them a few Thai words. Throughout the meal he would interject with little phases here and there in English and Thai and was very nice. We ended up chatting with him for a while. He is a doctor, now retired, who spent his whole career in Lampang. He studied at one of the best medical schools in Thailand and is now retired - walking around is how he put it. He says he spends his days walking around Lampang. At the end of the night, he paid for our dinner and invited my science classes to come to the hospital he worked at for a field lesson. I told him I would take him up on that. I just love Thai people and look forward to meeting him again as he is a regular to this restaurant.
Who needs organization
For all of you who are interested in teaching and education (those who are already involved I'm sure know this), one of the most important things is organization. Not keeping yourself organized (which always helps), but the order in which you present the material is very important. This first go around, with every class I teach, there is a better order to teach the material. So, it's a bit frustrating to be in the middle of a lesson and realize that you should have taught this two days ago or your next lesson shouldn't be taught until you've covered something else. Alas, the trials and tribulations of the first year as a teacher. But I realized that and got to spend the class today with my 7th graders learning about elements and atoms and creating models with candy. So, that was fun.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Teaching
I am about 1 week into my teaching here in Thailand and have had some adventures already. I jumped right into things and started a genetics unit with my 9th grade students. That has gone really well, partly due to the abundance of resources on the internet. The video clips and animations I have found really make a huge difference especially since I'm teaching them in their 2nd language. Today we spent time reviewing and playing genetics Jeopardy. I'm trying to give regular assessments to make sure they are understanding everything. We had a blast and it was really good to start joking with the students and connect on a different level. Until then, most of our classes were spent doing worksheets, lectures, watching videos etc. I really enjoyed myself. My 8th grade students have been a challenge. But I think I'm finally starting to understand them. The first lesson I taught was the last lesson in the optics unit. It was very disjointed. I really didn't know what they knew and bombed spectacularly. Moving into the next unit, Atoms, Elements, Compounds etc., I tried to spice things up a bit. I have had success with that, but they continue to struggle while I'm talking. After about 5 minutes, they are almost all distracted doing different things. They are the most challenging group so far, but I've also had fun with them. My 7th grade students are the cutest by far. I enjoy them a bunch. Their English is not so good, so everything is slow and steady and repetitive. We are doing a bunch of demonstrations and experiments and I make assumptions I shouldn't every class and end up scrapping most of my lesson to teach them something they need to know to do the lesson. That, is draining.
Teaching has been really fun and draining. The hardest part (aside from learning all their names) has been planning, more specifically, getting ahead. I have been planning for tomorrow today for the past week and it is draining. I'm really trying to get a semester plan put together and get about a week ahead, but it takes so much time. It's fun trying to be creative and teach chromosomes with gummy worms, but it also takes more time. I leave school at about 5:30, head to dinner, take a shower and am ready to crash. But most nights I try to read a little or watch a Thai soap opera (to brush up on my Thai of course) and the occasional cartoon. Cartoons are amazing. They can be understood in any language and nothing beats Bugs Bunny Elmer Fudd speaking Thai.
Teaching has been really fun and draining. The hardest part (aside from learning all their names) has been planning, more specifically, getting ahead. I have been planning for tomorrow today for the past week and it is draining. I'm really trying to get a semester plan put together and get about a week ahead, but it takes so much time. It's fun trying to be creative and teach chromosomes with gummy worms, but it also takes more time. I leave school at about 5:30, head to dinner, take a shower and am ready to crash. But most nights I try to read a little or watch a Thai soap opera (to brush up on my Thai of course) and the occasional cartoon. Cartoons are amazing. They can be understood in any language and nothing beats Bugs Bunny Elmer Fudd speaking Thai.
A proud new owner!
Aside from the tea I'm currently in love with, I thought it time to write about some of the recent happenings around here.
Last Friday I finalized the purchased of a 2004 Yamaha Fresh II motorbike (and helmet). I now have wheels. The next challenge is to learn how to drive in Thailand. I've been trying to figure out how to best characterize driving in Thailand and the best I came up with was controlled chaos. The rules of the road that exists in America, do not apply here. Rules are determined by the biggest car on the road. As in Thai society, there is a definite hierarchy to driving. As a pedestrian, you are the smallest object on the road, thus you must yield to everyone. Bicycles come second and have the right-of-way only during encounters with pedestrians. Bikes are followed by motorbikes, which are then followed by cars. Progressing up the hierarchy becomes a bit more difficult as trucks of all different sizes cruise the road. But, nearly everyone yields to trucks. Those that do not, are no longer driving. So having acquired this bit of information I set out on my first ride. One of the closest parallels to me driving in Thailand is me first trying to speak Thai. My first conversations were disjointed and consisted of me fumbling around saying things like "can I have a penis". I elicited many laughs and friendly offers for help. My driving elicited similar responses. All joking aside, I am really enjoying cruising around and am going to enjoy getting to know the city this way. And my driving is not that bad and it's getting better all the time. I'll post some pictures soon of me on my bike.
This past weekend I headed north to Chiang Mai (where I spent most of my time when I studied) to see some friends and watch Pirates of the Caribbean. The bus ride took about 2 hours and was standing room only. I caught the last leg of a 24 hour bus trip from the south to the north, so most everyone on the bus had been riding for a long time and had claimed their seats. Silly me, I thought buying a ticket claimed my seat. The standing wasn't bad and I was able to chat with the person standing next to me, so all in all a good trip. I met up with several of my friends Friday night and spent a good bit of time chatting. It was really good to see them all. Saturday was spent shopping and getting the necessary supplies not found in Lampang and going to watch Pirates. I loved it. And it seemed like I was the only one in the theatre laughing. I guess the jokes aren't as funny when they are read from sub-titles. I did hate the ending. Stupid cliff-hanger. Sunday I headed back to Doi Saket (where my host family lives) and saw my host family. It was great to see them and we went out to lunch to celebrate three things - 1) my graduation 2) my birthday and 3) my coming back to Thailand. The weekend was really nice and I enjoyed myself and it again reminded me why I love Thailand.
Last Friday I finalized the purchased of a 2004 Yamaha Fresh II motorbike (and helmet). I now have wheels. The next challenge is to learn how to drive in Thailand. I've been trying to figure out how to best characterize driving in Thailand and the best I came up with was controlled chaos. The rules of the road that exists in America, do not apply here. Rules are determined by the biggest car on the road. As in Thai society, there is a definite hierarchy to driving. As a pedestrian, you are the smallest object on the road, thus you must yield to everyone. Bicycles come second and have the right-of-way only during encounters with pedestrians. Bikes are followed by motorbikes, which are then followed by cars. Progressing up the hierarchy becomes a bit more difficult as trucks of all different sizes cruise the road. But, nearly everyone yields to trucks. Those that do not, are no longer driving. So having acquired this bit of information I set out on my first ride. One of the closest parallels to me driving in Thailand is me first trying to speak Thai. My first conversations were disjointed and consisted of me fumbling around saying things like "can I have a penis". I elicited many laughs and friendly offers for help. My driving elicited similar responses. All joking aside, I am really enjoying cruising around and am going to enjoy getting to know the city this way. And my driving is not that bad and it's getting better all the time. I'll post some pictures soon of me on my bike.
This past weekend I headed north to Chiang Mai (where I spent most of my time when I studied) to see some friends and watch Pirates of the Caribbean. The bus ride took about 2 hours and was standing room only. I caught the last leg of a 24 hour bus trip from the south to the north, so most everyone on the bus had been riding for a long time and had claimed their seats. Silly me, I thought buying a ticket claimed my seat. The standing wasn't bad and I was able to chat with the person standing next to me, so all in all a good trip. I met up with several of my friends Friday night and spent a good bit of time chatting. It was really good to see them all. Saturday was spent shopping and getting the necessary supplies not found in Lampang and going to watch Pirates. I loved it. And it seemed like I was the only one in the theatre laughing. I guess the jokes aren't as funny when they are read from sub-titles. I did hate the ending. Stupid cliff-hanger. Sunday I headed back to Doi Saket (where my host family lives) and saw my host family. It was great to see them and we went out to lunch to celebrate three things - 1) my graduation 2) my birthday and 3) my coming back to Thailand. The weekend was really nice and I enjoyed myself and it again reminded me why I love Thailand.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
My first day
Hello again!
I am on a roll today and am posting entries like crazy. Today was my first official day of school and the first time I was left alone with the students. I had only one class today, but it was for two hours and it was with the M3 students (the equivalent of the 9th grade). They are just entering into a genetics unit, so I was able to kick that off myself. Planning the lesson has been interesting since I really have no idea what they know, how much they are able to absorb at once and so on, so this lesson was really a shot in the dark. But I think it went well. They seemed to follow well enough and were able to complete the exercise without too much difficulty. We will let the first test/exam speak to that though. I am glad to have the first class under my belt and now I have a better idea of what to expect. The M1 students (the 6th grade equivalent and the first year they are in the program) will be a challenge since they are still struggling with their English skills. Teaching them new science vocabulary in a foreign language will be interesting. But that's why I'm here.
One cultural note, after class one of the students led the others in standing up and thanking me. I'm not sure if they did that since it was my first day or if it is a regular thing. It'll be interesting to see if it happens again. I am also interested to visit Thai classrooms to see how they are taught and compare how the students behave (I have a feeling they are much more outgoing (to put it gently) in the English program with foreign teachers. I'll keep you updated.
Best,
Ryan
I am on a roll today and am posting entries like crazy. Today was my first official day of school and the first time I was left alone with the students. I had only one class today, but it was for two hours and it was with the M3 students (the equivalent of the 9th grade). They are just entering into a genetics unit, so I was able to kick that off myself. Planning the lesson has been interesting since I really have no idea what they know, how much they are able to absorb at once and so on, so this lesson was really a shot in the dark. But I think it went well. They seemed to follow well enough and were able to complete the exercise without too much difficulty. We will let the first test/exam speak to that though. I am glad to have the first class under my belt and now I have a better idea of what to expect. The M1 students (the 6th grade equivalent and the first year they are in the program) will be a challenge since they are still struggling with their English skills. Teaching them new science vocabulary in a foreign language will be interesting. But that's why I'm here.
One cultural note, after class one of the students led the others in standing up and thanking me. I'm not sure if they did that since it was my first day or if it is a regular thing. It'll be interesting to see if it happens again. I am also interested to visit Thai classrooms to see how they are taught and compare how the students behave (I have a feeling they are much more outgoing (to put it gently) in the English program with foreign teachers. I'll keep you updated.
Best,
Ryan
I have arrived!
Hello!
I have arrived! Well, I actually arrived about a week ago and have been getting settled in but didn't have the opportunity to write about the most recent events. The flight was uneventful and I was able to get some sleep on the way. The 9 hour lay over in Bangkok was also bearable and since I was up at 2 AM anyway, I was able to watch the France/Portugal World Cup semi-final game live. Once I got to Lampang it was really easy to find who I was looking for since a) they were the only white person there b) I was the only white person on the plane c) the airplane only had 24 people on it (I counted) and d) the airport was smaller than a small house. They had already arranged an apartment for me, so we went straight there which saved me from having to haul my luggage around as I looked for a place. All in all, arriving was super easy. That afternoon I went to school to meet all of the people I needed to meet and got a tour of the school. Bunyawat is one of the oldest schools in the province and the biggest. The whole school has about 4,500 students. Thankfully, my program only has about 80. Most class sizes are 60-80 students while mine have no more than 30 students. After that I went home, had some dinner and crashed. The next day (Friday) I went into school again and prepared for classes. It was a very relaxing day and I've gotten the impression that's the norm - it appears that none of the other teachers ever take work home with them, so I work from 8-4 in a very relaxed, air-conditioned office and have the rest of the time to myself (that will get even better once I have a motor bike). I also arrived just before a long weekend, so I didn't have classes until Wednesday (today), which is nice. Then I spent Saturday settling in and getting some needed shopping done (sheets, cell phone, fan etc.) and wandered around town getting hopelessly lost and catching a bus back to some place I knew. Then on Sunday I caught up with my friend who is from Lampang and hung out with her. Oh, before I forget - on Friday night I had to attend a wedding. It was the daughter of the director of my school, so I had to go. It was crazy. All we did at the reception was drink whiskey, eat foods (including fish stomach soup) and watch old Eagles concerts. It was ridiculous. Afterward, Kirk (one of the other teachers) took me to a birthday party for another foreign teacher in Lampang and there were quite a few other teachers there, so it was nice to meet them. I was definitely the youngest (and probably the most conservative). There's a group of about 40 foreign teachers in the town that get out (out of about 70 total), and they're an interesting group and all teach English at different colleges around town. So that's pretty much the story...Over the next few days/weeks I'm going to be looking for a motor bike to buy and a house to rent, so that's exciting.
Until next time,
Ryan
I have arrived! Well, I actually arrived about a week ago and have been getting settled in but didn't have the opportunity to write about the most recent events. The flight was uneventful and I was able to get some sleep on the way. The 9 hour lay over in Bangkok was also bearable and since I was up at 2 AM anyway, I was able to watch the France/Portugal World Cup semi-final game live. Once I got to Lampang it was really easy to find who I was looking for since a) they were the only white person there b) I was the only white person on the plane c) the airplane only had 24 people on it (I counted) and d) the airport was smaller than a small house. They had already arranged an apartment for me, so we went straight there which saved me from having to haul my luggage around as I looked for a place. All in all, arriving was super easy. That afternoon I went to school to meet all of the people I needed to meet and got a tour of the school. Bunyawat is one of the oldest schools in the province and the biggest. The whole school has about 4,500 students. Thankfully, my program only has about 80. Most class sizes are 60-80 students while mine have no more than 30 students. After that I went home, had some dinner and crashed. The next day (Friday) I went into school again and prepared for classes. It was a very relaxing day and I've gotten the impression that's the norm - it appears that none of the other teachers ever take work home with them, so I work from 8-4 in a very relaxed, air-conditioned office and have the rest of the time to myself (that will get even better once I have a motor bike). I also arrived just before a long weekend, so I didn't have classes until Wednesday (today), which is nice. Then I spent Saturday settling in and getting some needed shopping done (sheets, cell phone, fan etc.) and wandered around town getting hopelessly lost and catching a bus back to some place I knew. Then on Sunday I caught up with my friend who is from Lampang and hung out with her. Oh, before I forget - on Friday night I had to attend a wedding. It was the daughter of the director of my school, so I had to go. It was crazy. All we did at the reception was drink whiskey, eat foods (including fish stomach soup) and watch old Eagles concerts. It was ridiculous. Afterward, Kirk (one of the other teachers) took me to a birthday party for another foreign teacher in Lampang and there were quite a few other teachers there, so it was nice to meet them. I was definitely the youngest (and probably the most conservative). There's a group of about 40 foreign teachers in the town that get out (out of about 70 total), and they're an interesting group and all teach English at different colleges around town. So that's pretty much the story...Over the next few days/weeks I'm going to be looking for a motor bike to buy and a house to rent, so that's exciting.
Until next time,
Ryan
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Hello Friends!
Hello Friends!
As I begin this adventure teaching in Thailand, I wanted to make sure that there was some way for me to stay in contact with you all. Realizing that I am not the most reliable person when it comes to sending and returning emails, I decided to try something else. So, I am creating this blog. Ideally this will serve as an outlet for my experiences - a way for me to document the experiences I have and a way for me to share those with you. Hopefully this will also reduce the challenge of summing up a month's worth of experiences into a single email and allow me to record events as they occur and post them for you to read at your convenience.
Best,
Ryan
As I begin this adventure teaching in Thailand, I wanted to make sure that there was some way for me to stay in contact with you all. Realizing that I am not the most reliable person when it comes to sending and returning emails, I decided to try something else. So, I am creating this blog. Ideally this will serve as an outlet for my experiences - a way for me to document the experiences I have and a way for me to share those with you. Hopefully this will also reduce the challenge of summing up a month's worth of experiences into a single email and allow me to record events as they occur and post them for you to read at your convenience.
Best,
Ryan
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