So our weekend in Krabi was great fun; we stayed in a room with 5 of us on one double bed on the first night, and then got up early the next morning to go on a kayaking trip. We were picked up at our resort and taken to the fishing village of ao thalane, where we went round with a guide who showed us some caves, which had gypsy bones inside, and took us round through the canyons where we saw lots of monkeys and massive rock mountains. Then the next day me and kristin chilled on the beach and got a manicure and a foot scrub, before I had to head back home. However when I got the public bus (songteil) to krabi town, the man at the bus station told me I had missed the last bus back to Bansong, but there was one at 5 am in the morning, which i had to get as i had to be at my school at 9am the next day. So he took me on his motorbike taxi to a hostel where I had to stay there by myself and wait till morning. So I went to krabi night Market, which had lots of cool stuff and tasty food, and then in the morning had to let myself out of the hostel as the man who was supposed to drive me to the bus was asleep on the reception room floor and wouldn't wake up. But I managed to get out and find myself another lift, and so made it back in time for work. However, we had nothing to do at work as the students didn't come until the next day, so instead I had to sit for 3 hours in a meeting that was entirely in Thai, until the end where I had to stand up and introduce myself to everyone.
The rest of my week was a bit shaky as I was getting used to the students and the teaching. But the next weekend i got a minibus to thungsong, where my friends kristin and lor live, as they were having a halloween party on Saturday. And then on Sunday we went for a walk to the nearby caves which had a sleeping Buddha statue, and lots of windy steps leading to different parts of the caves. Then I got the train back, which cost 14 baht,rather than the minibus which was 100 baht. However the carriage was disgusting, and the first thing i saw when I got on was a big cockroach which crawled out from under my seat. Then the train sat in the station for almost an hour before it left.
Then last weekend kristin, Lor and Anotina came to Bansong, and we went out for BBQ in my town and then to the local nightclub after. The next day we went to khanom beach, where we hired mopeds, went to a nice beach and had a bonfire and sparklers on the beach for bonfire night. We went for a night swim too and saw phosphorescent fish, which are attracted to your skin and glow when you move, it was beautiful! The next day we went on a boat ride to see some pink dolphins, but we were too late in the day so didn't see any, but there were lots of fish jumping in the boat!
So then this week, there is an English competition happening, so the past couple of days we have had no lessons, but have been doing some coaching instead for the students speeches and spelling bees etc.. Lessons are going ok, I teach 6 maths lessons and 12 English lessons a week, and have to give tests after each module so I can give each student a grade at the end of term. I moved into a house 3 weeks ago with a couple of the other foreign teachers from my school, who are from south Africa, but there was no spare room so I was sleeping on a mat under the stairs. But now one girl has left because she got a job in Phuket, and so yesterday I was able to move all my things up to her room. I didn't mind staying under the stairs, because I have been going away at the weekends with my other friends from my training course, but it is nice to have my own space now, and makes me feel more settled.
Yesterday was a public holiday too as it was Loi Krathong festival, which is where they make these little float things out of leaves and flowers and you put a candle on it and float it down the river. Apparently it is supposed to signify new life and beginnings or something, as it's supposed to be the end of the rainy season. You have to put bits of your hair and nails and thread from your clothes on it as well and then make a wish when you set it on the river. So we joined in the procession from the temple and then got some food before going to the river to light our krathongs. And I bought a Chinese lantern as well and let that go, and there was lots of fireworks and everything too.
So this weekend we are going to krabi again to go to stay on railay island, which apparently has really nice beaches and good rock climbing!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Update 20/10/2011
Since leaving Koh Chang everything has been totally crazy, in kind of a stressful way more than a fun way though. We left koh Chang island on Saturday morning at 9 am, and didnt arrive until 5pm. Then we had one night in Bangkok, which just consisted of another trip to a mall and kao San road, and a stay in the same hostel we were in 3 weeks before- then the few of us going down south had to get an overnight train on sunday afternoon, which was quite exciting but not the best place to catch up on sleep. It was pretty comfortable, but the train is also loud and shaky so not the best nights sleep. Then in Hat Yai we were whisked off to the offices of Teacha-language school to find out about our placements, where I found out that the departure card that I'd ripped out my passport, coz I thought it was unimportant, was actually very important so I had to go down to the Malaysian border to get a new one. It was only about 45 mins from Hat Yai but it was pretty confusing at the border and I had to get on the back of a woman's moped to be taken around the 4 passport control points, but I didn't know that there were 4 so I had no idea where this crazy lady was taking me on her bike. Then the next day we were put in a minibus to be taken to our placements, but the first stop was my friend kristen's town where she was placed with 2 other girls from the other course, and it took nearly all day to find them a place to live so I had to stay the night with them, with 3 of us on a mattress on the floor.
So yesterday I came here to my placement, which is in Wiengsa town, in surathanni province, which is about an hour from krabi and the place where you get the boats to koh phangan. It's a pretty small town but on a very busy main crossroads motorway thing. So there's not much going on it seems but it's very noisy with cars. Anyway, there is one person from the other TEFL course who has been placed at a different school but in the same town as me, 59 year old jane. So when we arrived we were shown a house that had 2 rooms, but then the deposit they were asking for was way too high so we couldn't get it. But luckily there is a group of other foreign teachers living in the same apartment block who apparently have a spare room so they said we could stay until we get ourselves sorted. Theyre all away at the moment but one girl gets back tomoro so we have had to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights, which is nice coz they have good Internet and lovely rooms, and I got another Thai massage too. But last night we went out for some food and Jane started trying to ask some people if they knew of somewhere we could rent, and barely anyone speaks english so everyone got really confused and then this one guy understood and was calling people on his phone, and then other people kept showing up and talking to each other in Thai while we just sat there with no idea what was going on! then he told the both of us to get on the back of his moped, and drove us about 30 metres down the road where he spoke to one guy who showed us what can only be described as a garage in a petrol station car park, so we said no and that we were looking for 2 rooms, so he took us back and then for some reason called his friend who was a teacher at my school who spoke to me on the phone and then showed up and drove us around town to meet another teacher at my school, before taking us back to our hotel. Basically we didn't have a clue what was going on but kept being taken around different places, and all I wanted was to go out for some food! in the end the only place left open was a cafe that did a tuna salad, but when it came it was more of a salad cream soup, there was so much salad cream!
So today I had to go to my school to meet someone who I think is the head of my department, but there was just a lot more sitting around while people speak in Thai and I have no idea what's going on. But basically now I'm not just teaching English, I'm also teaching maths in English! Which in a way i am pleased about, but the guy who organises placements told me it would be very very basic maths, just getting them used to doing it in English, but after speaking to the man at school it seems like the maths is a bit more complex! I know I can do it, but I have had no teacher training whatsoever so I'm not feeling too confident about teaching it! They gave me some textbooks but no real information on what and how exactly I'm supposed to teach, but I think I'm going in on Monday to prepare it with some of the other teachers. Luckily there was another foreign teacher there, Henry from south Africa, who was very helpful and friendly and basically told me not to worry.
So tomorrow we meet with this girl Estelle who we are going to be staying with, and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that she let's me stay permanently! Who knows what could happen. Then hopefully tomorrow after we've moved our stuff in I am going to meet up with kristen and some of the others from the TEFL course and we're gonna go to the beach in krabi for relaxing weekend before i start at my school on monday.
So yesterday I came here to my placement, which is in Wiengsa town, in surathanni province, which is about an hour from krabi and the place where you get the boats to koh phangan. It's a pretty small town but on a very busy main crossroads motorway thing. So there's not much going on it seems but it's very noisy with cars. Anyway, there is one person from the other TEFL course who has been placed at a different school but in the same town as me, 59 year old jane. So when we arrived we were shown a house that had 2 rooms, but then the deposit they were asking for was way too high so we couldn't get it. But luckily there is a group of other foreign teachers living in the same apartment block who apparently have a spare room so they said we could stay until we get ourselves sorted. Theyre all away at the moment but one girl gets back tomoro so we have had to stay in a hotel for a couple of nights, which is nice coz they have good Internet and lovely rooms, and I got another Thai massage too. But last night we went out for some food and Jane started trying to ask some people if they knew of somewhere we could rent, and barely anyone speaks english so everyone got really confused and then this one guy understood and was calling people on his phone, and then other people kept showing up and talking to each other in Thai while we just sat there with no idea what was going on! then he told the both of us to get on the back of his moped, and drove us about 30 metres down the road where he spoke to one guy who showed us what can only be described as a garage in a petrol station car park, so we said no and that we were looking for 2 rooms, so he took us back and then for some reason called his friend who was a teacher at my school who spoke to me on the phone and then showed up and drove us around town to meet another teacher at my school, before taking us back to our hotel. Basically we didn't have a clue what was going on but kept being taken around different places, and all I wanted was to go out for some food! in the end the only place left open was a cafe that did a tuna salad, but when it came it was more of a salad cream soup, there was so much salad cream!
So today I had to go to my school to meet someone who I think is the head of my department, but there was just a lot more sitting around while people speak in Thai and I have no idea what's going on. But basically now I'm not just teaching English, I'm also teaching maths in English! Which in a way i am pleased about, but the guy who organises placements told me it would be very very basic maths, just getting them used to doing it in English, but after speaking to the man at school it seems like the maths is a bit more complex! I know I can do it, but I have had no teacher training whatsoever so I'm not feeling too confident about teaching it! They gave me some textbooks but no real information on what and how exactly I'm supposed to teach, but I think I'm going in on Monday to prepare it with some of the other teachers. Luckily there was another foreign teacher there, Henry from south Africa, who was very helpful and friendly and basically told me not to worry.
So tomorrow we meet with this girl Estelle who we are going to be staying with, and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that she let's me stay permanently! Who knows what could happen. Then hopefully tomorrow after we've moved our stuff in I am going to meet up with kristen and some of the others from the TEFL course and we're gonna go to the beach in krabi for relaxing weekend before i start at my school on monday.
Update 9/10/2011
I arrived in Bangkok on Thursday 22nd of September, at about 3pm. Me and Billie were met at the airport by 2 of the TEFL heaven trainers who took us to our hostel where everyone else was staying. We got showered and settled and then I joined the others for a trip to ko sahn road for some dinner. I was very tired from the long flight so it was a bit overwhelming as it was so busy! But I stayed out and we went to a club afterwards which was a lot of fun and then we got a tuk-tuk back to the hostel. The next day I slept in for a long time, despite sharing a dormitory with 7 other people. Then in the afternoon me and a few of the others got some lunch from a food stall and then got the sky train to the MBK mall to have a look round the shops. In the evening we went for a walk to get some food and ended up walking through a red light district! Then some of the guys bought some fried maggots and ate a few; I refused, which I think was a good idea as they said they tasted horrible. The next morning there were some more arrivals and we all piled into 3 minibuses which drove us to koh Chang island. It took about 4 hours to get to the ferry and then it was just a short boat trip and another minibus trip through the extremely steep mountain roads to our resort.
On a first day here some of us hired kayaks and went across to one of the small islands in our bay. We went all the way round but then one of the boys got stuck in some rocks so we had to have a mini rescue mission to save him. Then we had a swim in the infinity pool and in the evening walked down the beach to the town for some dinner. Then the next day we started our teacher training, which involves a lot of fun games which we can play with our classes, and a Thai lesson everyday!
Last weekend we went to a beach party in long beach on Friday night after our teacher training, and then on Saturday went for a long walk through about 3 different towns looking for the elephant camp. Eventually we found a sign that said 'elephant camp: 500 metres'. Then after walking about 500 metres down a deserted dirt track through the jungle there was another sign which said 'elephant camp: 400 metres'. This went on for a long time. But eventually we turned a corner and saw 2 huge elephants in their big shelter. The trek through the jungle was very scary, but the elephants were very sturdy and sure footed, going down steep verges and across rivers. Then we got to swim in a big rock pool in the river, and the elephants joined us for a swim. After the trek we headed back to the resort and I swam in the sea while the sun went down, then we went out to the next town along to go for dinner and the out to a bar. On Sunday we went and relaxed on Lonely Beach and me and my friend Francis got a Thai massage at a place on the beach. It was pretty painful at times but felt great after.
Unfortunately during the week me and some others had a bit of a bug, so we took it easy and joined in with teacher training as much as we could but stayed out of the energetic games! It was a bit annoying being ill but did involve a fun trip to a Thai pharmacy/ doctor to get some medicine, which made us all feel much better. We were fine by Friday and there was a barbecue and talent show where me and some of the other girls did a dance, which wasn't very well rehearsed!
Then this weekend we rented mo-ped bikes and went round the island. It was so scary going up and down the massive hills on a bike, but the views were amazing. On Saturday we went to a big pier and saw some massive jellyfish and then went to an Irish pub to watch the rugby match. After that we went to White sand beach and then to sunset point to watch the sun go down, which was beautiful! Then in the evening we had dinner on the beach and went into town to go to a bar but ended up stumbling across an event which looked like a wedding but turned out to be a party for a big group of Thai teachers! They invited us to join and were so excited that we were there, they kept taking photos of us and getting us up on stage to dance with them- it was so much fun. Then we went to a bar in town afterwards and made friends with a Thai lady boy who was a bit of a diva. Then today we rented the bikes again and went round the island, following signs to the 'tree house'. Unfortunately we came across a sign that said 'be careful: the road have problem. It's DANGEROUS'. but we don't mind a bit of danger so we followed the road anyway, only to come across a big hole in the road where an entire section of the road had collapsed down the mountain. One Thai man came past on his moped and just drove straight across the 2-foot-wide ridge at the side, but we decided this was probably too dangerous for us so headed back the way we had came. So instead of the treehouse we decided to visit a couple of waterfalls in the koh Chang national parks. The first one was lovely, with a narrow boardwalk through the forest, but it wasn't very big so we headed off to khlong phlu waterfall. This one had a much longer and rockier walk, but it was fun and the waterfall was MASSIVE. We got to swim at the bottom bit but the current was very very strong, it was like being in a jet pool! Luckily there were lots of ropes tied up to hold onto so you didn't get dragged downstream. All in all it was a good day, without any injuries or falls off the bike (for me anway: lots of the others fell off a couple of times!) I also saw a few wild monkeys and one totally huge scary spider which was black and yellow and a bit spikey looking.
Now we have 1 more week of training then it's back to Bangkok for 1 night and then me and 7 others will be getting a sleeper train down to Hat Yai where we will be taken to our placements!
On a first day here some of us hired kayaks and went across to one of the small islands in our bay. We went all the way round but then one of the boys got stuck in some rocks so we had to have a mini rescue mission to save him. Then we had a swim in the infinity pool and in the evening walked down the beach to the town for some dinner. Then the next day we started our teacher training, which involves a lot of fun games which we can play with our classes, and a Thai lesson everyday!
Last weekend we went to a beach party in long beach on Friday night after our teacher training, and then on Saturday went for a long walk through about 3 different towns looking for the elephant camp. Eventually we found a sign that said 'elephant camp: 500 metres'. Then after walking about 500 metres down a deserted dirt track through the jungle there was another sign which said 'elephant camp: 400 metres'. This went on for a long time. But eventually we turned a corner and saw 2 huge elephants in their big shelter. The trek through the jungle was very scary, but the elephants were very sturdy and sure footed, going down steep verges and across rivers. Then we got to swim in a big rock pool in the river, and the elephants joined us for a swim. After the trek we headed back to the resort and I swam in the sea while the sun went down, then we went out to the next town along to go for dinner and the out to a bar. On Sunday we went and relaxed on Lonely Beach and me and my friend Francis got a Thai massage at a place on the beach. It was pretty painful at times but felt great after.
Unfortunately during the week me and some others had a bit of a bug, so we took it easy and joined in with teacher training as much as we could but stayed out of the energetic games! It was a bit annoying being ill but did involve a fun trip to a Thai pharmacy/ doctor to get some medicine, which made us all feel much better. We were fine by Friday and there was a barbecue and talent show where me and some of the other girls did a dance, which wasn't very well rehearsed!
Then this weekend we rented mo-ped bikes and went round the island. It was so scary going up and down the massive hills on a bike, but the views were amazing. On Saturday we went to a big pier and saw some massive jellyfish and then went to an Irish pub to watch the rugby match. After that we went to White sand beach and then to sunset point to watch the sun go down, which was beautiful! Then in the evening we had dinner on the beach and went into town to go to a bar but ended up stumbling across an event which looked like a wedding but turned out to be a party for a big group of Thai teachers! They invited us to join and were so excited that we were there, they kept taking photos of us and getting us up on stage to dance with them- it was so much fun. Then we went to a bar in town afterwards and made friends with a Thai lady boy who was a bit of a diva. Then today we rented the bikes again and went round the island, following signs to the 'tree house'. Unfortunately we came across a sign that said 'be careful: the road have problem. It's DANGEROUS'. but we don't mind a bit of danger so we followed the road anyway, only to come across a big hole in the road where an entire section of the road had collapsed down the mountain. One Thai man came past on his moped and just drove straight across the 2-foot-wide ridge at the side, but we decided this was probably too dangerous for us so headed back the way we had came. So instead of the treehouse we decided to visit a couple of waterfalls in the koh Chang national parks. The first one was lovely, with a narrow boardwalk through the forest, but it wasn't very big so we headed off to khlong phlu waterfall. This one had a much longer and rockier walk, but it was fun and the waterfall was MASSIVE. We got to swim at the bottom bit but the current was very very strong, it was like being in a jet pool! Luckily there were lots of ropes tied up to hold onto so you didn't get dragged downstream. All in all it was a good day, without any injuries or falls off the bike (for me anway: lots of the others fell off a couple of times!) I also saw a few wild monkeys and one totally huge scary spider which was black and yellow and a bit spikey looking.
Now we have 1 more week of training then it's back to Bangkok for 1 night and then me and 7 others will be getting a sleeper train down to Hat Yai where we will be taken to our placements!
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