I think I am going to like Thailand

            This blog is about a week old. I won’t typically post long blogs like these everyday but maybe once a week or every other week. I am still trying to catch up so bare with me because I will be posting this weeks blog soon.

 Thai culture is very laid back kind of like Jamaica. Just like how Jamaicans have their saying: “no worries,” Thai’s have their own saying: “mai pen ria.” “This expression represents a cultural value in Thailand. Namely, the belief that we should not worry about what we cannot change, but simply accept it and carry on.” Instead of saying your welcome or when something doesn’t go according to plan, being the laid back culture that they are they will just say “mai pen rai.” It’s almost a way of life or better stated, an attitude towards life… I don’t think I’ll have a problem fitting in being the laid back Ben that I’ve always been. 

I’m still doing great and loving Thailand. It finally stopped raining toward the end of the first week. We are kind of missing the rain because now it’s so hot and humid. The worst part is that its not even the hot season and we are all melting away.  If anyone wants to send me a care package make sure you send an AC unit too. The good news is that the cool season is about to start so I will be able to get acclimated to the heat for a few months before it really gets hot.

I have been very, very impressed with WorldTeach(WT) and our in country directors. It’s amazing how quickly WT has become a part of this community and the relationships that WT has developed in just over a year. The community really appreciates what we are trying to do and are doing everything they can to make it as easy for us. Our director Jess (the director from last year is still here but only thru orientation) is pretty much fluent in Thai and has spent a lot of time here in Thailand. Her experience and advice has been invaluable. Orientation is very well organized and put together. It is demanding, but we need it to be demanding because we are getting a ton of pertinent info. We are in class pretty much 6 days a week from 9 to 5. The other days are not days off but have been more like field trips.

Thursday was a half day of class and then we got to go see our schools that we will be teaching in and we got to see our living situation. For time sake, we split up into groups composed of people who had schools that were near each other. I am near Peter, Zach and Rita and so we were grouped together. We went around to our schools and we were all so excited to see where we are going to be for the next year. After seeing two schools, it was finally my turn to see mine. I was not sure what to expect at all but as we drove up my jaw dropped. It is this big gorgeous school up on a beautifully landscaped hill. You can see for miles and miles around. Then I saw something that I was not expecting at all, especially since Thailand is so flat and the hill the school is on is pretty much the only hill around, I could see the mountains in Laos! Does that just suit me or what? The actual school is a big 3 story building that holds almost 400 students. It is a high school, but it is equivalent to our 7^th grade thru 12^th grade. Mr. Tiiaow Chin is another English teacher at the high school. He speaks English very well and will be my advisor/go to man when ever I need something during school. He gave me a quick tour of the school, showed me my desk in the teacher’s office, and showed me my classroom. I will be in the same classroom for every class which is nice bc I can make that my home and arrange it however I want. I am also excited because they said I am going to get to help coach some soccer. Coaching should be a lot of fun and a good way to break the ice with some of my students. After the school tour I met my future roommates. They are a young married couple whose names are Dohn and Yhuut. Dohn is a physics teacher at the same school where I will teach. He speaks decent English and so that is very comforting.  Dohn and Yhuut will look out for me and so I will become their naawng chaai, or little brother. He showed me our house which is pretty nice for Thai standards. My room is pretty small but I have my own fridge. So all in all, I am very exited and pleased with my placement and I can’t wait to meet my students.

On Sunday we got to take a trip into Nakhon Phanom (NKP) which was about a 30 min ride on a sueng tao (a truck with two benches in the back). The city was really cool with a to of things going on everyday. There are multiple daily markets to go to and to see that have just about any thing you could need. It is also a river front city so I got to see the Mekong River for the first time. Laos is just on the other side of the river and so we could see the mountains a lot closer and they are beautiful… I can’t wait to go hiking in them.

The trip to our schools and to NKP  were our two big trips so far. The other days like I said have just been class days, but are still fun. My Thai is slowly coming along and luckily it is a fairly simple language. The food is still delicious and I am getting more and more use to it. The fruit here though is incredible, and you know how I love fresh fruit. The pineapple, already one of my favorites, is insanely good. Never have I had something so delectable. On that note my stomach has been perfectly fine and I feel great. Thai meals are really well balanced and nothing is processed so I will have a very healthy diet while I am here.  The internet is still spotty at this school so I haven’t been able to start this blog until now, but I kind of like it that way though. I wanted to get away from all the technology and modern day conveniences. Anyways thanks for reading and I will hopefully get this weeks blog posted soon so I can finally be caught up.

Mai pen rai

The first view of Wang Gra Sae High School!

A view from the entrance of my school. Those mountains are in Laos about 30 miles away... unbelievably beautiful

Zach, Peter and I on the back of a sawng tao after our first trip to Nakhon Phanom City

My future home. On my right in the yellow is Mr Cho Chan, the English teacher who will be helping me out this year. On my left in the blue is one of my future roomates Dohn