Final Thai Holiday!

SOOO I wrote this a month ago and never posted it.. I didn't mean to abandon my blog once I got home but that is exactly what I did!  Heres my final wrap up of my Thai time..

I've been back in California for exactly a month now.. I'm more behind now on my blog than I've ever been! Now that I'm adjusted and a real person again, its time to catch up.

My last day in Khon Kaen was my kids graduation ceremony. I sat on stage and had to hold back tears as I handed them their diplomas.  They then did a dance performance and at the end of the show, I had to say goodbye to my kids, parents, and other teachers. I'd lie if I said I didn't cry.. because I sure did!

My last three weeks in Thailand was a whirl-wind.. After graduation I headed down south as the Thai islands are my favorite places in the world.  The time flew and I was a whole mess of emotions! I feel like I can't get into too much detail as I'm extremely behind on blogging.. but long story short, I visited a temple in BKK with Liz, spent two weeks on Ko Tao, got my advanced diving certification, did tons of diving, made a ton of new traveling friends, and did one last full moon party. I MISS THAILAND!!!

Farewell Party Time!

Today was our second to last day of school. So naturally, we had a "Bye Bye Party!"  

What does a Thailand Kindergarten end of the school year party consist of?

• Signing paper hearts, kind of like signing a yearbook but since my kids are five and six, we wrote our names and drew pictures on the paper hearts of everyone in class that we love
• Plenty of snacks
• Some dancing
• Singing and karaoke
• Playground play

.. Sounds like a party to me!

What kind of snacks do Thai children like to bring in to share for parties!?

• Lay's seaweed chips (yes, lay's makes seaweed flavor chips and they are sold in Asia)
• Sun chips seaweed chips
• Dried shrimp flavored chips
• Chicken BBQ flavored chips
• Dried fish taro snack
• Fish flavored crackers
• Rice and corn crackers
• A few sweet things which include  chocolate crackers, artificial flavored strawberry sticks, marshmallow filled with chocolate, and JELLY CANDIES

What did Teacher Chelsea bring to the party? Bananas and oranges.  Needless to say, after school Teacher Chelsea had enough bananas and oranges to last me until the day I leave Khon Kaen.

Sharing is caring! In my book if you share a cookie, they must be a REALLY good friend

"Thailands funner than America maybe... I dont know!"

I took this picture the very first day I stepped foot into my school and classroom in October 2010. At that time, I had NO idea what an adventure I would have, how much this experience would help me grow as a person, and how much I would LOVE these children! I remember being very timid, nervous, and convinced these kids could smell the fear sweating out of my pores.  The class I had my first semester in Thailand sure was a handful but they taught me how to be a good teacher when it comes to discipline and patience.  Plus, every single child and class I've had after that seems like a piece of cake after working with that one!

Above is Kenneth.  He's half farang and half Thai and spent the first few years of his life in America before he moved to Thailand with his family.  Kenneth is spunky and thats what I love about him.  His English is the best of any child I've come across in Thailand, English is spoken very frequently at his home. He will say anything on his mind and has no censor, he seriously CRACKS me up!  I appreciate his comments and humor much more now that he isn't my student as he went up to grade one after our one semester together.  

Its SO crazy to see how much the kids I taught my first semester have grown! I still see them nearly everyday at school and they always scream "GOOD MORNING TEECHA" at me, but I love to look back on my pictures and see how little they used to be, think about how far they've come, and realize how much they've learned! Boy oh boy, I'm going to miss every single one of them!

45°C

Me: Wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and my backpack on my back walking the ten minute walk in the sun to the mall to tutor.  


Khon Kaen: Hot season has officially started and today it gave the city a very dry heat, which is a nice change from the moist and humid heat that Khon Kaen is normally feeling.  The streets are filled with traffic and smog which seems to magnify the intense heat on this incredibly toasty day. Its 113°F.

My overall consensus of Thailand Weather: Thailand has three seasons.. Hot, hot and wet, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME hot

"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." - Harry Truman

Hot season, you win. I surrender. I'm ready to throw in my sweaty towel. 

Only seven more days in Khon Kaen!

 

Coo-Coo for Angry Birds

I have NO idea if they are just as popular back home, but my kids are OBSESSED with Angry Birds! I believe they were made popular by an iPad game and my kids LOVE them! Its angry bird shirts, hats, drawings, birthday cakes, and they talk about them all the time.  I found Angry Bird stickers and they are the best reward tool I have found yet!

Tuesday Temple Trip, Makha Bucha Day!

Today, Wednesday, is Makha Bucha Day!  Even though I was here for the holiday last year, I have no idea what Makha Bucha Day is other than its a public holiday so there was no school today!  Lets take a look at wikipedia to answer the question "What is Makha Bucka Day?!"

My summary from Wikipedia: The third lunar month is known in the Thai language as Makha and Bucha means "to venerate" or "to honor", so the holiday is a day for the veneration of Buddha and his teachings on the full moon day of the third lunar month.  The spiritual aims of the day are: 

• not to commit any kind of sins

• do only good

• purify one's mind. 

The evening of Makha Bucha Day, Buddhists go to the temple to perform merit-making activities. Holding flowers, incense and a lighted candle, the monks and congregation members circle clockwise three times around the temple, once for each of the Three Jewels – the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Don't even THINK about poking fun at my teacher voice, I also use this voice with Thai people without even realizing it, its become second nature and primarily the way I communicate to others. I'm going to work really hard to leave it behind in Thailand.. I have a huge fear I'm going to go to PF Changs and find myself trying to order lo mein noodles in my simple English Teacher Chelsea voice. Nightmare!

On Tuesday, my class piled*** into the school van for a field trip to the temple for Makha Bucha Day! The kids were ready with their gifts to give the monks.. snacks, milk, flowers, candles, incense, and they were SO excited to be going to pay respect.  To be honest, I was in the dark most of the time (what else is new, I'm used to being clueless now) about what the heck was going on, what they were doing, and what everything meant. I just followed the kids lead, observed the prayer and was blown away at how my rowdy kids could sit so nicely and chant along with the monk! We then circled the temple in the heat and warm tiled floor three times before the kids payed respect by presenting their flowers and candles to the monk.

***When I say "piled into the school van", I mean we literally crammed all 26 of my kids in the van as it acts as our school bus.  All 26 kids and 2 teachers in an average sized van, not a single one of us wearing a seat belt. Kids sitting on kids, 5 to a bench seat.. safety hazard? This is Thailand.

How many kids can we fit into one school van? This doesn't include the two that sat up front with me!

First aid kit for the Monk

How to Drive Teacher Chelsea BANANAS!

I love my kids.. I really REALLY do! I also consider myself to be a good, patient, in-control, caring teacher.. most days.  However, some of my kids really know what to do to drive. Teacher. Chelsea. CRAZY! Both good and bad days are bound to happen, some days are a walk in the park while some are a little more challenging, not matter where in the world I am or what the heck I'm doing, I expect to encounter a rough day or two.  Today was one of those "I'm going crazy, I need out NOW and never want to see another child AGAIN" days!  My kids can really feel that summer break is around the corner and were bouncing off the walls, running, screaming, not listening, and driving me bananas.  They are itching for school to end and summer to start, as am I!

If you really want to drive Teacher Chelsea bonkers, this is all you gotta do... AKA summary of my day today

• As soon as you're finished with your worksheet, run and scream "TEECHA! FINISHED!" while uncontrollably waving your paper as if you're attempting to send a distress signal and continuously smacking Teacher Chelsea in the face with it
• Whine and fuss every five minutes about how your friend isn't sharing the colored pencils, erasers, or their snack and that your friend says you're not beautiful and they don't love you. I'm sorry but get up and sit with a new friend
• After asking the class multiple times to use the restroom before we leave for the field trip to the temple, frantically run to Teacher Chelsea just as its your turn to present your gifts and show respect to the monks screaming "go to the toilet!" 
• While Teacher Chelsea is trying to teach phonics and explain the alphabet worksheet, talk and chat as loud as you can to everyone around you. Continue to talk after Teacher Chelsea has asked you numerous times to stop, to move seats, and has given you the last warning before Teacher physically takes you to nursery 
• Go "number two" in your pants
• Purposely punch another student in the stomach
• Purposely pants another student while heading back to the classroom
• Pick your nose so hard that it bleeds.. twice

Okay, some of those don't actually aggrevate me.. but are just a hassle to deal with. 

After I cool down, I realize that yes, they are only six years old. And yes, I need to try to be more patient sometimes. And after a few "Teacher Chelsea, beautiful!" "Teacher Chelsea, beautiful hair!" "Teacher Chelsea, I love you!", I forgive them for their annoying tendencies of the day and I adore them again.

The trouble makers are typically the boys.. above are a few culprits! Photo day in their graduation gowns!

Village Farm Winery!

Last weekend, I went with a group of English teachers from my school to a WINERY!! Yes, a legit winery in Thailand! The husband of one of the teachers has a friend who owns a winery farm about 3 hours away from Khon Kaen.  A group of us teachers were invited out for the Village Farm Winery Harvest Festival!

 A cocktail hour, 5 course dinner, grape picking, grape stomping, and all we could drink wine! 

We stayed at another Thai friend's Tibetan style home (which was HUGE and beautiful with 15 bedrooms!). It was made all out of wood that Uncle Danny has collected from all over Thailand.

Dinner was AMAZING, salad, pasta, clam chowder, salmon, cake, and some cheese. The wine was even better, red, white, and rose wine!  All we could eat.. and drink!

We received a tour of the winery from the owner and he told us all about the process of how the wine is made how they export their wine to France.  We chatted with some of the other friends of Uncle Danny and one had lived in San Diego for 18 years!  We chatted all about San Diego and how good Old Town Mexican food was.

After dinner and countless glasses of wine, we followed the musical band that was our dinner entertainment out into the grape fields where we were handed head flashlights and clippers after a few fireworks.  We frolicked out into the field and picked the grapes.

After our hard work of picking, the grapes were thrown into enormous barrels.  Soon after I hear "Wheres Chelsea?!" as the winery owner was looking for me.  I had told him during the tour that I wanted to stomp the grapes like the traditional Thai girls did and it wasn't long after he spotted me that he forced a Thai guy (much smaller than me) to pick me up and toss me into a bucket along with the grapes (after I washed my feet and put on a long skirt that was too short for my long legs).  Soon I was dancing and stomping along with the Thais!

The evening ended back at the house with some more cocktails and karaoke.. its not party in Thailand without karaoke! The next morning we stopped at a market on the way back to Khon Kaen where I picked up a few bags of grapes, these crazy mushrooms, and fresh tasty vegetables.  Lunch and dinners set for the week!!

Overall, great weekend. Thank you Village Farm!

Farang Girl Problems

My Reality: I'm behind in anything relating to celebrity gossip, the latest styles in the fashion world, social phenomenons and new technology, and anything that has to do with US and World News. I tend to get most of my news on Facebook which is where I found out about Whitney Houston, who won the Superbowl, the end of Kim Kardashian's marriage, and that my brother had a girlfriend. I'm in the dark still about Twitter and only recently figured out what the "#" means when its in a Facebook status (its a hashtag to mark key words for a tweet.. uuh okay I know what it is but I have no idea how it works). I basically live in my own little bubble in Khon Kaen and its hard for me to be concerned with whats going on elsewhere unless it directly affects me, like the Thailand flooding which left my grocery shelves nearly empty for months and bus travel twice as lengthy in time.. I knew about that one!

Along with practically living under a rock and unaware of whats going on in the world (yes, I could check online news more than I do), living in Thailand as a farang girl gives me multiple opportunities every day to experience strange situations and face issues that I wouldn't face if I were Thai.

Farang: also spelt falang, is the generic Thai word for a Westerner. The word farang teeters on the boundary between positive and negative in Thailand due to the fact that Western religions, lifestyles, eating habits, family dynamics, ideas about respect and independence, clothing styles, language, and even appearance, directly clash with those of the Thai people..... Tourism, in combination with a history of impoverishment, has led some Thai people to associate westerners with money. This association with money and power can lead to a rock star treatment of foreigners; many privileges and a great deal of respect often come to those with white skin. Awe and admiration for foreigners is commonplace. The word suey ('beautiful') often follows the word farang. The idea that white is beautiful is reinforced by store shelves full of skin-whitening products. Thai people also, historically and today, are interested in keeping Thailand for the Thais. This idea has spread into the cultural identity of the farang, both with fees often four times as large at parks and temples, and by restricting visas for spouses of Thai people. All of this is interconnected to the fact that Thais pay close attention to farang in their home country. (Wikipedia)

Farang also is the Thai word for guava.. a farang eating farang.. 555**!

Well, here I am.. a blonde girl in a Thai world with my fair share of "Farang Girl Problems"

• "No spicy!" "Mai sigh pet!"  I stress in both Thai in English hoping to get my point across that I don't need a single chili pepper in my som tam papaya salad I've ordered for lunch.  I take precaution when taking the first bite then I'm instantly hit with fire, my mouth is burning and I'm practically crying. No whole chilies and its still spicy. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I leave my cool and air-coned apartment at 7:45am and begin my walk to school.  By 7:47, I'm sweating.  #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• Sitting next to me on the songtell is an older Thai woman.  She won't stop staring at my face and my hair. Suddenly she begins stroking my arm and jabbering to her friends about how beautiful and white I am. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• As part of my morning ritual, I cover my body with a thin layer of baby powder in an attempt to keep me cool and absorb the sweat.  My entire room is now covered with baby powder. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I need something nice to wear to school for a special activity.  I go to the market and can't find a single thing decent that fits me. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I've been wearing the same pair of beat up grungy Rainbow sandals for 17 months because again, I can't find another pair of shoes that'll fit my farang feet. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• My blonde hair is EVERYWHERE, on my floor, stuck on my shirts, on the back of my skirts.. Is the heat for reals causing me to shed? #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• The season is changing from cold to hot season. My body can't handle the change and heat and I'm left with an allergy reaction in the shape of a batman eye mask across my face. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I'm outside my apartment wearing a tank top and jeans.  Two Thai girls walk by wearing short shorts, tiny bikini like tank tops, and heels.  The mom I tutor for looks at me and notes my bare shoulder by saying "Teacha Chelsea, SEXY today!" Shes being serious. Teacha is showing too much skin. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I threw off my fried rice ladys and ordered something different one day.. I attempted to order one plate of fried rice with shrimp AND crab. 5 minutes later, I've paid for the two plates sitting in front of me. One fried rice shrimp, one fried rice crab. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• Rice for breakfast, rice for lunch, and rice/noodles for dinner.. I don't have an Asian metabolism. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• While eating the school lunch, I am particularly enjoying the mushroom curry. Later in the day I find out it wasn't mushroom, but chicken liver. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems
• I've run out of my face lotion with SPF that I've had sent to me from America as my special request in my care-packages.  I go to the Thai drugstore and can't find a single lotion without skin whitening. #FarangGirlInThailandProblems

**Five is "ha" in Thai.. 555! Thailand's "LOL".

555, silly farang girl.

500 Days of SE Asia!

Today marks my 500th day away from home and my 500th day in Asia! Its been a roller coaster of a ride and I have grown and experienced so much within the past 500 days and feel like I'll be leaving Thailand as a new and improved version of myself.  I only have 45 days left and I could go on and on about how much I'm going to miss beautiful Thailand, my kids, Thai food, Thai islands, the baht, traveling, and so much about my life here.  As excited as I am for my visit home to see friends, family, and eat In N Out and Mexican food, I am oddly anxious and stressed about returning to America and experiencing culture shock.  At times the thought is so extremely overwhelming that I can't picture myself actually getting on the airplane! Don't worry America, I'm sure I'll get on it.  I'm trying to remind myself that leaving Thailand means I'm starting a whole new adventure and I'm SO stoked for Australia and to start a new chapter in my life!  When expressing my mixed feelings about leaving, a friend asked me "who says you can't go back?!".  Australia is fairly close, I know I'll be back to Thailand someday. :)

Okay, I'll stop myself there before I start ranting and getting emotional, I'll leave you with pictures of my favorite experiences in the last 500 days.