Exploring Khon Kaen

I wrote this on Monday (yesterday).  Recently, I’ve been drafting blogs in word documents to post when my internet is working.

This weekend was my first weekend in Khon Kaen!  We had today off of school (Monday) because of some sort of King holiday.  My friend Jenna came up from Bangkok to spend the weekend with Jess and I since she doesn’t start teaching until November 1^st.  Jenna arrived late on Friday evening, her bus was supposed to get in at 5pm but was 3 hours delayed because of the heavy flooding that is going on south of my city, but she arrived just in time to join Jess and I for dinner with five other teachers from our school. We decided to go to a restaurant that served European food (wahoo!!).  Their menu had everything from pizza to pasta to burgers, definitely a good choice.  I ordered ravioli and French fries, which hit the spot.  My favorite condiment is ketchup, thank goodness they have it here!!

It was nice experience to meet with the other teachers and get the inside scoop on our school and hear their stories of how they got here.  Two of the teachers in their late 30s have been here for about 5 – 7 years, two girls in their late 20s (one from US and one from England) have been here for about two years.  The girl from England was only supposed to be here for only one semester, and went back to England after teaching, but missed it here so much that the school let her come back.  Just one year ago, another teacher who is 23 was in the same exact boat that I’m in now.  He came over to Thailand with the same program and was placed at the Patanadek School.  His contract was to last for the ten-month semester (same as me) but agreed to do one more semester.  In Thailand, the school year goes from May to September and November (or late October) to March (March to May is summer). He said that it was somewhat of a challenge for him to start teaching in the middle of the year, (me right now), and signed on for another semester so his students could start out fresh with a new teacher at the beginning of the year instead of leaving them half-way through. 

After dinner, the three 20-something year old teachers showed Jess, Jenna and I the Khon Kaen night life.  Its very different than what I’m used to at UCSB and San Diego, but it was fun.  Everywhere we went had a live band or someone doing some live singing.  We got a lot of looks because we were the only non-thais I saw all night but it was fun to be in a crowd of our age group.

  

The next day, Jenna, Jess, and I explored the night market, which had dozens and dozens of food vendors, clothing stands, and accessory shops.  I got the BEST chicken kabob I’ve ever had, it had pineapple, zucchini, and the spiciest pepper I’ve ever had (I know now to stay away from this one next time) and covered in a sauce of our choice.  The woman asked us “sweet or spicy sauce??” and laughed when Jenna and I immediately yelled “sweet!”.  All Thai people know that westerns can’t handle Thai spicy.  She dipped it in a sweet and sour terrioky-like sauce and we were on our way.  All three of us also got corn in a cup and were surprised to find that they pour sweetened condensed milk on top and our choice of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla syrup.  It was very sweet and pretty tasty!  I picked up some sliced pineapple to bring back home for the next morning.  With the food and transportation, it all cost me about 3 US dollars!

On Sunday, the girls and I woke up early to check out the big lake in Khon Kaen.  After getting there, we realized that we came too early in the day.  It looked like there was a carnival the night before and that it may open later in the afternoon.  There seemed to be some sort of plant and bird contest going on in a plaza while we were there, but couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.  We decided to take a walk around the lake and even attempted to ride a three person bike.  I wasn’t exactly feeling it (I had trouble getting my feet on the pedals and balancing, I have much longer legs than most Thai people), so it was mostly Jess and Jenna giving it a try.  It quickly warmed up and the humidity magnifies the heat, so we hopped in a cab to go to the five level in-door mall called Central.  The cab driver couldn’t understand where we wanted to go when we said “Central Mall” and tried to show him where on the map.  The mall is so new that it wasn’t on the map, so I think I confused him even more when I was pointing to an empty spot on the map.  He pulled over to a nice hotel and the valet person was able to translate.  Once we got there, this mall was heaven!  There is a Billabong store, a huge department store called “Robinsons”, McDonalds, a movie theatre, bowling alley, Starbucks, and various other things!  I will be going here at least once a weekend!

We decided to get Sizzlers for lunch since again, we were craving American food.  We sat at a table at the window and again, got numerous looks, points, and waves from the various people walking by.  I’ve learned to just smile back and they get a huge kick out of it.  Jess and I shopped for some teaching-appropriate tops and found some in various colors.  They are collared shirts but kind of non-attractive.  To make matters worse, Thai people are SO tiny that nothing smaller than a large would fit.  I bought both a pink and green since we have days at school where the teachers are encouraged to wear certain colors.  I have accepted the fact that I won’t be finding any more clothes or shoes for me here, what I brought is basically what I’ll have for the next year!  After shopping, we went to Swansen’s for dessert, ice cream with bananas and chocolate syrup in a huge cone for only 55 bahts (1.50)!  I’ll be going to the mall just for this place.  They have numerous ice cream sundae choices and banana splits.  I am ecstatic!  There is also a very large super market there with some international snacks.  I splurged and got some nutella, bread, and cookies (mom, I miss our chocolate chip cookies so incredibly much!  Store bought will have to do for now), it feels like a little taste of home.

I know I have mentioned my apartment in a previous post, but I’ll get into more details. It is actually pretty nice.  My apartment building is only a few blocks from Khon Kaen hospital, an easy landmark to refer to when lost.  I have made a collage out of my pictures and put a few maps up on the walls for decoration.  I also got a new comforter for the bed and although its still rock hard, its more comfortable than before.  My gecko friends keep me company and my AC is mostly working.  It has been acting up a bit but keeps my room cool enough.  I have found a TV station with Law and Order and Criminal Minds in English so I’m feeling right at home.  Jess is literally right next door so it is nice to have a friend close by to venture out looking for lunch and dinner together.  We are on a side street right from the main street and it takes us a minute and a half to walk to 7/11 and we are right on the songtell and tuk-tuk path.

Today, we ventured out for lunch and I was a little discouraged in the difficulty in finding something that looked tasty (I’m more picky here than I think I’ve ever been, that may be a good thing).  Many places we walked by look like mystery meat on a stick or literally an entire cooked fish.  I love the pad-thai noodle dishes but couldn’t find any vendors or open restaurants with it today.  I usually try to go to the restaurants with the picture menu so I can just point and smile and hope for the best.  I was ready to turn around to go home to 7/11 to find something there but Jess insisted we try to just sit some place and give it a try (thank goodness for Jess, I would probably live at 7/11 or not eat if I didn’t have her!).  As soon as we sat down, a Thai woman came up and smiled and asked “chicken and rice?”  We were ecstatic. “Yes!  Chicken and Rice! Perfect”.  I think it was the best chicken and rice I’ve had the whole trip, she brought out different sauces for us to try with it.  I’m learning to appreciate the little things like those two words, chicken and rice.  I really should learn how to say them in thai. 

Tomorrow is my first day of teaching!  I’m nervous/excited and hope the kids like me (and listen to me)!  I can’t wait to get into a routine.  I feel like I’ve been here for a month but reality it is only been two weeks, and I know this is just the beginning!