So tonight was the American Pacific International School Idol contest (American Idol). It was so much fun! Watching these kids grades 1-12 get up on stage and give it their all. Some of the kids were pretty good, one was incredible, and some just had nothing. All of them were great though. I have some serious respect for these kids. Imagine being a middle schooler getting up to sing in front of big high school kids. I definitely wouldn't have done it when I was their age.
Today was actually surprisingly productive. I had work in the morning, grabbed breakfast, and caught a ride into town with Ms. Nicola. I then took a tuk-tuk to the Indian consulate and applied for my visa (which I'll receive on the 11th), tuk-tuk to the travel agency and made a deposit on my flights to India (could only take out a limited amount from the ATM), then tuk-tuk to the Thai immigration office where I got my re-entry permit which allows me to exit and re-enter the country while keeping my current visa valid. All that in 2.5 hours, allowing me to catch the van back up the mountain to school. Cost me 400 baht for the day.
I enlisted my Dad's help to wire the money to the volunteer agency because apparently I can't do it from here. Once that is done I will have everything about the trip locked down and then I won't have to worry at all about it. My current big task is assembling all the necessary documents and copies for my work permit, which includes 12 1" pictures and 12 2" pictures of myself along with a copy of basically every document on the planet. It's a hassle and I'll be glad to be done with that as soon as I my dad faxes over a few more documents.
So welcome to my first Winter...ever. It is quite literally freezing here. Even in the day under the sun its starting to get pretty cool. I like the cold but I came totally unprepared. I brought 2 sweatshirts, and no jeans - although I bought a pair here last week. So I've got 2 sweatshirts and one pair of jeans. Meanwhile, my bed has one article on it, a very short and rather thin 101 dalmatians blanket that is being loaned to me by the school. I haven't had time to go down to town to buy warm clothes and a blanket...or shampoo for that matter. I need to do that soon, and definitely before India, because it's probably just as cold there.
I just got back from hanging out with Paula, another teacher here, and I collected a TON of new music - mostly roots reggae which I am thrilled about. I love gathering new music, like in Ohio. I'm so excited to start exploring all the stuff.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
New Journal
So, true to form, it turns out that LiveJournal cannot be accessed from where I am, but fortunately, my need to document my journeys is alive and well in Chiang Mai (the CM in my username).
My past entries in LiveJournal were very detailed, probably too detailed. This was a way for me to make sense of my first week in Thailand and also to help me remember what first arriving in my new home country was like. I don't think I need that anymore, and besides, describing exactly what happens throughout my days takes something away from it.
One of the most unique aspects of Thailand as a country in general are colors. There is a color for each day of the week, and walking out on the streets it is so incredible to see everybody wearing the same thing.
Sunday: Red
Monday: Yellow
Tuesday: Pink
Wednesday: Green
Thursday: Orange
Friday: Blue
Saturday: Black
I remember when I was in Surat Thani seeing people wearing these yellow polo shirts with a little emblem on the breast. There were a group of people standing together wearing these shirts and I assumed they were from a school because they looked like a uniform. I even considered asking them what school they were from, I'm glad I didn't. Shops all over Thailand sell these polo shirts with the little Thailand emblem on the breast. I'm sure by the end of my trip I'll own one for each day of the week.
Another interesting quirk about Thailand occurs everyday at 8am and 6pm. At these times the Thai national anthem is played on loud speakers set up everywhere. When the anthem starts, everything else stops. The first time I heard it was at the giant Chiang Mai Sunday market. There were hundreds and hundreds of people packing the streets all busily shouting, moving, and bargaining. When the anthem began, everyone froze in their tracks. People put down their cell phones, stopped talking to the person next to them, and didn't move a muscle for those few minutes. Once the anthem ended everyone burst back into whatever that had been doing a few minutes prior. It's fascinating.
Anywho, I've settled in well at my new place and I'm beginning to get into a good solid routine with my schedule. My jobs include full time residential work, teaching high school chemistry every day, and teaching 7th grade math everyday. I now have 0 days off per week, but I don't think that will matter too much. Come January the chemistry teaching will disappear, and the math class is just once a day. I don't think it will be too bad, I can perhaps arrange so that I get one weekend day off per week so that I can have a day to myself. Right now my day off from RA work is on Wednesday but of course I still teach on that day. Either way, in 2 weeks I've got a full 3 weeks off of work, which I am greatly looking forward to.
I've arranged a flight to India where I'll be volunteering at a rural orphanage outside of Delhi. This was a tough call for me, deciding to work over my break, but I figure when will I have the chance or the resources to do this again? India will always be there for me to explore. Besides, I took this year off school to work, not to travel. Speaking of which, I'll have 2 weekends off over there so I can arrange to go see the one thing in India I've always wanted to see: the Taj Mahal. Indian culture has fascinated me for the past year so what better way to experience it than this?
My past entries in LiveJournal were very detailed, probably too detailed. This was a way for me to make sense of my first week in Thailand and also to help me remember what first arriving in my new home country was like. I don't think I need that anymore, and besides, describing exactly what happens throughout my days takes something away from it.
One of the most unique aspects of Thailand as a country in general are colors. There is a color for each day of the week, and walking out on the streets it is so incredible to see everybody wearing the same thing.
Sunday: Red
Monday: Yellow
Tuesday: Pink
Wednesday: Green
Thursday: Orange
Friday: Blue
Saturday: Black
I remember when I was in Surat Thani seeing people wearing these yellow polo shirts with a little emblem on the breast. There were a group of people standing together wearing these shirts and I assumed they were from a school because they looked like a uniform. I even considered asking them what school they were from, I'm glad I didn't. Shops all over Thailand sell these polo shirts with the little Thailand emblem on the breast. I'm sure by the end of my trip I'll own one for each day of the week.
Another interesting quirk about Thailand occurs everyday at 8am and 6pm. At these times the Thai national anthem is played on loud speakers set up everywhere. When the anthem starts, everything else stops. The first time I heard it was at the giant Chiang Mai Sunday market. There were hundreds and hundreds of people packing the streets all busily shouting, moving, and bargaining. When the anthem began, everyone froze in their tracks. People put down their cell phones, stopped talking to the person next to them, and didn't move a muscle for those few minutes. Once the anthem ended everyone burst back into whatever that had been doing a few minutes prior. It's fascinating.
Anywho, I've settled in well at my new place and I'm beginning to get into a good solid routine with my schedule. My jobs include full time residential work, teaching high school chemistry every day, and teaching 7th grade math everyday. I now have 0 days off per week, but I don't think that will matter too much. Come January the chemistry teaching will disappear, and the math class is just once a day. I don't think it will be too bad, I can perhaps arrange so that I get one weekend day off per week so that I can have a day to myself. Right now my day off from RA work is on Wednesday but of course I still teach on that day. Either way, in 2 weeks I've got a full 3 weeks off of work, which I am greatly looking forward to.
I've arranged a flight to India where I'll be volunteering at a rural orphanage outside of Delhi. This was a tough call for me, deciding to work over my break, but I figure when will I have the chance or the resources to do this again? India will always be there for me to explore. Besides, I took this year off school to work, not to travel. Speaking of which, I'll have 2 weekends off over there so I can arrange to go see the one thing in India I've always wanted to see: the Taj Mahal. Indian culture has fascinated me for the past year so what better way to experience it than this?
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