Ban Phe Week 3

I guess I'll just start from where I left off ...

We spent Sunday exploring a bit more of Ban Phe. It's bigger than we gave it credit for, but we continue to hang out on our street and along the beach. It takes too much energy to walk that far in the hot humid weather. It would be nice for some variation, but again, we're all a bit too tired/lazy :)

Monday was spent in the classroom ... We all crashed pretty early ... It was a typical Monday, slow to start.

Tuesday was another day spent writing a lesson plan. My trainer put me in contact with a school in Bangkok that is sponsored by the princess. It would be teaching "little monks" ... The school has about 800 students, grades K through 9, who are mostly from low and middle income families. I am not sure where they need me, but they need native speakers, and my trainer, Dave, has recommended me, so my chances seem alright. The pro to this scenario is that I have safe housing in a "royal compound", and I'm working under the princess, which is quite the resume builder. The con is, it's in Bangkok, and the pay is less than stellar. So, I'll take the next month of traveling to soak it all in and try to decide what I want.

Wednesday we had teaching practice again ... We had to get up early and sit in a stuffy van for 40 minutes ... but it all paid off. I had a great group of students and it all went really well. When we got back to the school, it was back to lesson planning ... UGH!

Thursday was an awesome morning for teaching. I was really comfortable in front of the class and got through the lesson without feeling like I rushed it. The kids were laughing and having a good time from start to finish. It was a great feeling.

Since we did not have to teach on Friday, we were able to relax a little on Thursday evening. Helen and I went with one of our trainers (Ji) to get facials. It was great to just enjoy ourselves and not think about our next lesson. We ended the night at the night market for dinner ... It was an awesome day.

We had to observe a class on Friday morning, which isn't too bad, but we had to come back and start our lesson plans for Monday. We all left the classroom at 4:45 sharp to start our weekend. We headed to a small bar/restaurant on the beach and had a beach BBQ. The woman (Sus) made a huge bonfire and we roasted our own sausages on the beach. She even went out of her way to get potatoes to make us potato salad. She also has some kittens that I fell in love with. One is tabby, and he's really playful, his name is M because he has an "M" on his forehead. He was playing in the surf, it was hysterical to watch a kitten as small as he is chasing waves. The other two are much more calm. "Blacky" is ... you'd never guess ... black, and she's the sister, a jealous kitty who loved my lap :) I didn't catch the other's name, but it's a beautiful coffee color, and he took some real warming up before he would give you any attention. It was also Natalie's birthday, so I got to talk to her which was really nice. Mom and dad got back from Cabo, so I got to talk to them as well for the first time in a week ... I really can't believe how quickly this all is going by!!

Yesterday (Saturday), Helen and I were on a mission to get Jess to a doctor, because she's been ill for the majority of the class and nearly fainted on Friday. We got with the owner of the school and got her to the doctor, who gave her some anti-biotics and anti-bacterials and sent us on our way. Helen and I then headed to dinner with Jenny (a woman who works at the school), where I got 2 glasses of WINE!!! It was a pretty crummy merlot, but I really wanted red wine, and no one has it by the glass, so I took advantage.

Today I woke up late and came downstairs and Jess still wasn't feeling well. She didn't feel she described her symptoms properly and wanted to go to the hospital. So Helen and I took her to Rayong Hospital. It was a beautiful hospital, we were all quite impressed. It was a little on the pricey side, but only in Thai standards, certainly not U.S. standards. So Jess is feeling better emotionally and physically. However, she still seems pretty emotionally drained from being away from home and feeling so ill (and who can blame her?)


So now, I'm procrastinating. I've finished my lesson plan, made my materials and cheat sheet, but I really need to run through it a couple more times. We teach tomorrow, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, so come Friday when it's all finished, I think I'll be drained and ready to start my vacation with Bean, Kyle and Shannon ... Only one more week!!!

Oh man! I almost forgot!!! For dinner tonight, we went to Sus' place again. She doesn't have a menu, you just go in and ask "can you make 'this' tonight?" and she tells you if she can or cannot, or you walk by and she says "I'm making spaghetti today, come over for dinner" and you just show up, pay one price and eat as much as you want. She doesn't do a whole lot of Thai food, but she is an excellent chef. Today was spaghetti with ... drum roll please ... REAL PARMESEAN CHEESE!!! I think I piled it a mile high. I have been dreaming about cheese, and I finally got it. Tomorrow she's making mustard chicken and pasta ... I just hope she has more cheese laying around for me to devour!