October

I will try not to bore everyone with every detail of the month … considering it was over a month ago (sorry!) But if I know myself at all … it will still be a novel.

After a month of travels with Bean, it was time for me to settle down and make some money ☺ I went back to Ban Phe to work for and live at TEFL International. It started out as a small job, observing trainees and giving them feedback, however after a week, I a few more opportunities for work popped up, and I raised my hand. I started teaching English to two French men who came to Thailand to do an immersion program (yeah … they came to Thailand to be immersed in English … What a world!) I got to do some one on one teaching with one of them in the mornings, and then we would go out with another English teacher (Janet) and do an activity together in the afternoon (visiting temples, cooking classes, watch movies, etc.)

A few highlights from the month were:

Working with monks at a temple in Ban Phe. All of the teaching practices took place at a temple, teaching monks. It was so great to watch these little monks, who you expect to be enlightened perfect beings, turn into real teenage boys by the end of a long day at school. The monks were really fun to work with. They are anxious to learn English, so they were constantly wanting to sit with us and pick our brains, and in turn, we got to pick theirs a little. One monk I became particularly close to is named Sum. He is 17 and from India. I’m still not sure why he is in Thailand or how exactly he got there, but he misses his family like crazy. He knows very little Thai, in fact, he probably knows more English than Thai, which secludes him from the other monks a bit. One day he broke into tears talking about his family and being lonely. Since he is a monk, I cannot touch him in any way … I can’t even get too close to him … but all I wanted to do was hug him. Our last day there, he made us cards and made sure he had our email addresses. I can’t wait to hear where life takes him. With a heart like his, he’s sure to do big things.

Eating crocodile with some of the TEFL Staffers. Not sure if I like it. Tasted like chicken, but had the texture of fat. Meh.

Janet’s house warming party (Janet is another English teacher from the Philippines with the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen), featuring a whole roasted pig, the Macarena and endless karaoke.

The next weekend I went to Khao Cha Mao with my “Frenchies”, Janet, Ree (lovely, lovely Ree … He drives us where we need to go for these adventures … He’s truly wonderful), Joy (ahhh crazy Joy, anther Thai TEFL Staffer … She’s crazy, but that’s why we love her), Helen (she took the TEFL course and did observations with me. She and I have been through a lot together over the last few months … Not sure what I would’ve done without her) … So with all those intro’s, I got lost, which means you’re probably lost too, I’ll start over. The next weekend I went to Khao Cha Mao with my “Frenchies”, Janet, Ree, Joy and Helen. Khao Cha Mao is a beautiful National Park with many waterfalls. We just hiked and splashed around all day; it was great.

Later that night we went to Jenny’s Birthday party at Tia’s (Jenny is a brilliant Aussie English teacher … She’s been a great source of support for me while I’ve been here. Tia is the masseuse I have come to love for more than her massages … She is one of the funniest, loveliest people I have met here. Her place is across from the school, next to Spicy’s and Mama’s). We danced and karaoked the night away. I think everyone who is anyone in Ban Phe was there … including the mayor … that’s right, the mayor ☺

Later in the month, Ron (Mike’s dad) came to Bangkok. We met up with Dan (get ready for this one … Mike’s aunt’s co-worker’s son who lives in Tokyo, but was in Bangkok for the weekend) and went to the Chatuchak Market (the biggest weekend market in Thailand selling just about anything you can imagine … the trick is finding it), Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Jim Thompson Store (my favorite store in all of Thailand … a silk shop with lots of pretty pretty silky things). It was so great to have a familiar face around. I soaked it all up. I felt so lucky to have him here.

And the last highlight for October: Halloween. TEFL Intl is also an English school, so on Halloween, I painted students’ faces and we went to the neighborhood where my bosses live and trick or treated. I haven’t gone trick or treating in years, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to trick or treat this year, but I came home with a ton of candy. It was a blast.

All in all, October was a great month. However, it wasn’t without it’s down days. In mid October we found out that Grandpa Ayers’ Merkel Cell Cancer has returned, and it does not look so good this time around. He has chosen not to take any treatment, and I can’t say I blame him. I still think he is Superman for his strength … both physically and emotionally.

So … It was a month of fun and learning … Now let’s see if I can get November up here … I do not know how I was so good at this blog thing, then suddenly became so terrible at it.