Thailand: The Final Countdown

After Pai, I made a quick stop in Chiang Mai where I took an amazing cooking class at BaanThai Cookery School. I was stoked to learn how to whip up my favorite dishes like Pad Thai, Khao Soy and Spring Rolls - yum! I also learned the primary ingredients of all Thai dishes: chili peppers (spicy!), sugar, fish oil, and oyster sauce - not things I usually stock in my cabinet but I'll definitely be adding upon my return to the States.

From Chiang Mai I took yet another overnight bus to Bangkok to pick up my final visitor of the year from the airport, my little brother Chris! Chris was with me the first time I came to Thailand in 2004, so we didn't have to do any of the touristy things around Bangkok - which was nice because we were able to explore areas and do things  I hadn't made it to yet like Chinatown, a paddle boat ride in Lumphini Park, a rooftop bar downtown, and Wat Arun on the river.

After a few days in Bangkok and warnings of imminent floods, we decided to head down South to the island of Koh Lanta on the Andaman Sea.  Koh Lanta was just as advertised- white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, and gorgeous sunsets. It had a very chill vibe and was the perfect place to soak up the sun and eat curry for every meal.

While in Koh Lanta, Chris and I hopped aboard a long-tail boat for an island tour that took us to Koh Ngai, Koh Mook, Koh Chuek and the Emerald Cave, or "Tham Morakot." The Emerald Cave was a really stunning sight.  The boat dropped us off at the entrance and at the entrance of the cave the water glowed a beautiful green color.  As we made our way past the entrance it gradually got darker until it was pitch black, and our guide thought it was hilarious to turn off the flashlight - not cool! It's definitely a little scary to be swimming in a dark cave somewhere in the middle of the ocean and no idea where you're going...oh, and there were bats. However, once we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, it was all good. We came out of the cave to a beautiful sight, a tiny beach surrounded on all sides by limestone cliffs covered with plants.  It was amazing and one of those moments that made me realize how lucky I am to have seen so many of these hidden wonders in the past year - there are so many beautiful places on this earth!

From Koh Lanta, we spent one night in Krabi re-living our stay there 7 years ago by staying in the same hotel (totally same same and not different) and hitting up the night market for some chicken on a stick and banana shakes. The next morning we hopped a flight and were back in the BKK for my final days in Thailand.  I had planned on making a return trip to Suphan for one last night with my friends - but that ended up being impossible due to the floods - so I guess I'll just have to come back to Thailand soon! 

Nell joined Chris and I in BKK for our final night and my friend Game also came into the city to send us off with some Beer Leo! It was a really good final day/night in Thailand - capped off with my favorite Thai meal, Pad Grapow Moo sai Kai Jiew, and an iced coffee or two from a street vendor. It was weird to say good-bye and honestly it still doesn't feel real, perhaps when I get back to the States I'll have more time to think about it, but for now all I can say is, I LOVE THAILAND. It was the best year of my life, I could not have asked for a better experience, and I am eternally grateful to all of the amazing places I got to see, the students I got to teach, the friends I made, the locals I met, the food I ate, and the experiences I had. I will for sure be back, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I will always have a special place in my heart for Thailand...chop mak!!

Suphan Bucket List

The clock is ticking on my time in Suphan, after 12 months, suddenly the end is upon me way too fast - 6 days! I've finished teaching, so what lies ahead this week is proctoring the kids Thai exams and getting grades in while simultaneously packing up my apartment and trying to make sure I see all of my favorite people and visit all of my favorite spots in the last week. I actually have pretty much every meal mapped out over the next six days to ensure that I get to enjoy all of my favorite dishes one last time. It is going to be so, so hard to say good-bye to Suphan - I've really grown to love my little home amidst the rice paddies. In order to make the most of my last week here, I've written up my own little bucket list of things to do in Suphan before I leave... I've got until Saturday and I've already checked off a couple of things, so I'm off to a good start.

• Visit Banya's coffee shop at least once a day.  This shouldn't be too hard since I already do this every day, Banya makes the most delicious Thai iced coffee, her shop has the only couches I've seen in Suphan (jing jing) and she's a good friend who is so fun to hang out with. 

• Eat as much Som Tom from Dton's, Pad Thai from Pad Thai Lady, Bamee noodles from the noodle shop, and banana shakes from "BSL" (Banana Shake Lady) as is humanly possible. 

• Take at least one long walk through town every night. Nell and I started doing this a couple of months in and it's one of my favorite ways to experience Suphan. People are driving past yelling "hello" or "I love you!" and there are certain groups of people that see us every night and flash us the biggest smiles and say "welcome to Thailand!"... every single time we walk past them. 
• See a Suphan Football Club game. I managed to do this last night, and it was such a great time. I loved cheering on Suphan and my fellow fans were super amazed to see me reppin' my Suphan FC Jersey, one man said to me "I love you because you love Suphanburi." Love you back, dude. 

• Hang out with Game, Spicey, Ex, Sek, Pipe, Aobb, Tong, etc.  (These would be the names of a few of my Thai friends, 555). There are two nightlife spots in Suphan that I've really enjoyed lately, lots of great live music (perfect for my budding career as a Thai music groupie), good people-watching, and it's a great chance for me to pick up some Thai slang and learn random bits of Thai culture that I normally wouldn't know - like it's not okay to get your hair cut on Wednesdays.  Why? "Ancient tradition." This seems to be the answer for most of these little cultural quirks, that explanation works for me.

• Soak up every last second with my students. Even though they will be in and out all week for Thai exams, I plan on pretty much stalking them to see them as much as possible before I peace out. 
• Enjoy everything. I really don't want to get too caught up in the idea of counting down and leaving and saying good-bye. I want to live it up, have fun, and be happy and thankful for all of the wonderful people, places and things that make Suphan so wonderful. 

Building My Ark.

This week marked my 11 month anniversary of living in Thailand, and now that I've been here almost a full year, I'm starting to notice some cyclical things in my Thai life. Some fruits that were around when I first arrived in October are making their way back onto the fruit carts, rainy season is in full swing which means my hair is in full frizz, and the river is back to bursting at the seams - just like it was during my first few weeks in the Soup.

Around town, everyone seems to be gearing up for a major flood: shops and restaurants have spent the past week building flood walls out of cement to keep the water at bay, a truck has been driving around belting out announcements that may or may not be important but I don't understand enough of what's going on, and we've heard stories about crocodiles swimming around outside of school - no thanks! I might have to head to 7-11 to stock up on some flood supplies in case all of the local food options go under. We're definitely short on information, and this week Nell and I took what is likely our last long walk around Suphan because the river walk where we usually go had started to flood and is no longer walkable.

 Many towns and provinces in Thailand right now are finding themselves underwater, and all signs seem to be pointing to Suphan as the next target, but it's odd not being able to read a newspaper or watch the news and find out what's really going on. Some schools around us have moved their holidays and closed for the next 3 weeks - I'm definitely hoping that won't happen here as it's the final weeks I have to hang out with my students and friends here in Suphan - I don't really want to be swimming around town to find them to say good bye! I guess I'll just have to rely on my friends with boats to help me out if we end up in water, and I did see a few market stalls selling floaties and life jackets so I'll have to prepare as much as I can! The latest word on the street is that they will be "opening the gates" on the 15th so that's when we can expect the flood... what exactly that means for me, I'm not sure yet... I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

Chick Mountain Music Festival: มัน ไก่ มาก

I've become more than a bit obsessed with Thai music during the last few months. I admit that it took a while for me to get used to hearing it all the time, everywhere, but I've found some artists that I really enjoy - so when I heard that a lot of them would be performing at an all night music festival at a military training camp, I could hardly say no.

I first heard about the concert, Chick Mountain Music Festival (Man Gai Mak), from a few of my Thai friends. After looking it up and a lot of assistance from Google Translate, I discovered that tickets were not yet sold out so my friends Clare and Nell and I bought the tix. We prepped the weeks before by listening to the tunes of Bodyslam, Da Endorphine, Suckseed, Paradox and Palmy on repeat.  The concert was held in Kanchanaburi, about 30 km from the town center and started at 5pm.  We arrived to the giant field in the middle of nowhere (in military inspired hipster gear, of course) around 3, picked up our wristbands and waited in line, attracting plenty of stares and posing for a few pictures as we were some of the only farang in attendance. Since we were at a military training camp we had the opportunity to shoot guns and jump from a tower in a bungee contraption... but we opted not to!

At about 5pm it started to rain, a heavy/steady rain, thank goodness they gave everyone a free poncho at the entrance, and it did not stop for about 4 hours. The field turned into a muddy mess, but somehow it seemed the perfect setting for a music festival.  Once the show got started we gradually pushed our way to the front end of the crowd and had a great view for the main acts of the night.  The highlight was definitely Bodyslam, Thailand's premiere rock band, lead by a Suphanburi native, P'Toon! With fireworks and lights and confetti - it was an amazing performance, even better when Toon revealed his 8-pack ; )

It was really fun to see some of my favorite Thai bands live and I enjoyed the Thai music festival experience.  The show ended a little after 3am and by the time we made it back to Kanchanaburi we only had to wait around for a bit before we caught the 4:50am bus back to Suphan looking like hot messes. I'm hoping to squeeze in one more music festival this weekend starring my all-time favorite Thai band, 25Hours, here's hoping it all works out!

It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Lately I've been struggling to get out of bed to get to school and I take an extra deep breath before I walk into each classroom to face a room full of rowdy students. I find myself daydreaming for the summer days when I was globetrotting across Asia and exploring new places. Thank goodness this weekend we have our first break in the semester - a four day weekend - holler! Nell and I are off to the island of Koh Mak, a very small island in the Trat province near Koh Chang. If the Google Images of the island weren't enough to convince me, I discovered that every beach bungalow for rent seems to feature its own hammock outside - sign me up!

To reminisce a bit on my summer of freedom, I put together a video of all of my trips in the Tour de Asia - Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam - it's all coming back to me now! Check it out below...

Summer Vacation, Asia Style

Starring: Nell Riccio, Meghan Hart, Emily Rall, Amy Wallace, and heaps of cool locals. 

Song: "Go Do" by Jonsi

Summer Vacation: Asia Style from Sarah Rall on Vimeo.

Music Monday: Love Me, Eat Liver.

The latest song that will never get out of my head is by Thai artist Teng, and the name of it is "Gin Tab" - which means "eat liver." I'm not sure I could tell you exactly what this song is about but the refrain is pretty catchy. If you watch the video below it gets especially exciting around the 1 minute mark, there are some amazing dance moves going on (as with most Thai music videos I've seen).  I also really appreciate the American flag scarf that one of the dancers is rocking.  As I said, I don't really understand (mai kow jai) exactly what he's singing about, but my Thai co-teacher Fon translated the meaning to me as this: "It's just like 'love me, love my dog' but in this case, it's 'love me, eat liver.' The man is singing about how he goes on a date but the woman only wants to eat som-tom or other foods and she won't eat liver, so he can't love her."  So there you have it, "love me, love liver." The music video also shows scenes from a movie that features the song, I love that it's starring a few monks, I'm probably going to need to make a trip to the theatre for this one.

A Suphan Kind of Weekend

It has recently dawned on me that my time in Suphan is slowly coming to a close - I've only got 3 months left in my little corner of Thailand and there are a lot of people, places and things I'm really going to miss. Since I'm attempting to save as much money as possible so that I can travel for a month before I head back to the US, staying in Suphan on the weekends has become more of a regular thing.  Sure, there's not a whole lot going on here, but we make the most with what we have and this weekend was no exception.

Friday night we had a welcome dinner for 2 new teachers, both from Wisconsin, that have joined our staff for the summer.  Like all school functions, and almost any party in Thailand, it featured a lot of karaoke.  Usually I try to stay away from the microphone, but this time I took the stage for "Stop" by the Spice Girls and "The Call" by the Backstreet Boys, and I was pretty, pretty good.

Due to a very important election held today in Thailand, there was no alcohol sold and most of the bars and hang-out spots were closed for the weekend, so we made our own little party on the sidewalk on Saturday night.  We grabbed some yoga mats, snacks and a few beers (snuck away from our friend's restaurant) and camped out on the sidewalk for a few hours for some life chats and funny stories. There was actually a breeze that appears so rarely in Thailand, so it felt like the perfect summer night.

Samchuk 100 Years Market

On Saturday afternoon, Nell and I had taken a stroll that basically covered the entire town of Suphan, and at one point in our wanderings, we were yelled at by someone on a passing motorbike.  This is not an odd occurrence as passing motorists will often yell out things like "farang" (white person) or "beautiful" or even "I love you!"  We reciprocated with our usual smile and they took it as a sign to pull over and ask for our numbers.   They then joined us for dinner and invited us to join them the following day at one of Suphanburi's main attractions: Samchuk 100 Years Market.  We had been planning on going there anyways so we couldn't turn down a free ride when faced with the prospect of a crowded, hot, and long ride on a public bus.  Sunday morning Nell, Liz and I joined our new friends J and Gas for a trip out to Samchuk. I had been there before and it was more of the same: checking out some of the shops and crazy snacks and desserts offered, eating some delicious green curry, and taking a boat to tour a really old house with some amazing antiques - including things like really old cameras and radios - all that still work! J and Gas were the ultimate Thai hipsters and super friendly - showcasing the classic Thai hospitality. I guess normally I wouldn't meet someone in a foreign country and allow them to take me on a road trip the next day, but Thai people are something special and they really love showing off their country to foreigners, so far I've been alright to trust them with my life! 

All in all, a simple but great Thai weekend, and a good reminder to soak up my remaining time in Suphan.

Thai desserts!

Boat Ride Entertainment

Thailand's Exotic Fruits

One of my favorite things back home during summer is the fruits that are in season - pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, etc.  Luckily, I can get most of these fruits in Thailand year-round due to the consistently hot and humid weather.  However, Thailand has a whole slew of fruits that are available during the rainy season that I had never seen before, some of them delicious and some strange... or maybe I should just say different. Here's a sampling of some of the fruits you can find in a stroll around the markets or in a cart on random street corners. I should note that most fruits in Thailand take some serious effort to eat - it usually requires some sort of sharp instrument and some messy fingers - but it's usually worth it.  Thankfully, most of the fruits are cut up and served ready to eat by the vendors. 

Rambutan: Possibly the oddest looking of the bunch, these super sweet fruits are similar in texture to large grapes.  On the inside they look like they could be big grapes... but the outside is a prickly arrangement of red and green spikes. 

Jackfruit: One of my favorite discoveries of South East Asian fruits, I can't find a good way to describe them, but they start as one giant prickly oval shape and are cut into little bright yellow bits.  Once again, they are super sweet (as are most things in Thailand) but not overly juicy or crunchy.  According to Wikipedia it's the second largest and heaviest tree-born fruit out there. I'm so glad that someone else cuts it up for me, because I don't think I could ever figure out how to extract the edible bits. 

Durian: Known as the "king of fruits"... and also the one that smells the most disgusting.  Many people say it smells like dirty feet before the fruit is cut open, and due to this trait, it is often banned in buildings and on public transportation. Durian also features spikes on the outside but is apparently very delicious if you can get past the smell and actually taste it - I haven't tasted it yet, but it is on my list of things to do before I leave. 

Image courtesy of Google Images

Dragon Fruit: This fruit has a fleshy inside that is full of tiny seeds and kind of resembles an artichoke on the outside... if an artichoke was bright pink.  Dragon fruit, in my opinion, lacks flavor and isn't my favorite thing to nosh on.  

Mangosteen: This fruit just started to appear around Thailand, and I'm told it's imported from Indonesia.  I've been hearing about it for quite some time, so I was eager to test it out.  It takes some effort to get to the fruit but once you're in it's pretty delicious, really sweet and a little tangy. 

Wai Kru: or Why It's Cool to Teach in Thailand

Last week our school held its annual "Wai Kru" ceremony and it was one of those special Thailand moments that makes me happy to be living and teaching in this culture.  A "Wai" is the traditional Thai greeting of respect with hands together and a bow of the head, and "Kru" in Thai means teacher. Therefore, the ceremony was essentially a chance for the students to show their respect to the teachers of Sa-nguan Ying School.

The ceremony began with a Buddhist prayer and the students singing several songs in Thai, they made quite the choir, and even though I couldn't understand the songs it was a really nice way to start off the ceremony.  After a moment of tribute to the King, including the students singing the Royal Anthem (love this song!) the students bowed in greeting as the director walked in.  According to someone who translated the ceremony for me, the students were chanting their appreciation for teachers and pledging their respect.

For the Wai Kru ceremony, each class makes an offering that they present to the staff, and they pretty much have creative freedom - some of my favorite offerings included a Doraemon replica, a duck, and a 3-tiered floral display that was just barely able to stay together. The offerings are mainly composed of flowers, and supposedly each flower represents something different, such as respect, patience and discipline.

The offerings were presented to the Director and the rest of the teachers at SY by selected class representatives who walked up to the stage on their knees with their heads bowed as a sign of respect.  I didn't score a seat on the stage, but I had a really good view of the ceremony from my seat on the side, it was really cute to see the students make their way to the front and present the faculty with the offerings.  Teachers in Thailand have the ultimate respect of both the students and Thai society as a whole, it was refreshing and beautiful to see the students show their respect in such a uniquely Thai way through this ceremony and I'm glad I got to experience it in my time here.

Rules for "playing" Songkran in Thailand:

Songkran, or Thailand's New Year celebration, happens every year on April 13-15.  When I visited Thailand in 2004 with my brothers we were unaware of this holiday and all that it entailed, so this time I made sure I was armed and ready.

These days, Songkran is pretty much one giant water fight for locals and farang alike, but it hasn't always been this wild. For some historical context, I'll hand it over to my good friend Wikipedia: "The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by capturing the water after it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansing and then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to elders and family by gently pouring it on the shoulder." Today, it's pretty much grab a water- gun/hose/bucket/chunk of ice and throw it on anyone who may decide to cross your path. Thais refer to the celebration as "playing Songkran" (it's pretty obvious why) and although it's a nationwide celebration, the real place to party is up north in Chiang Mai where people play Songkran for a whopping 6 days.

So what are the rules for playing Songkran? In my humble opinion...

• Be prepared. If you go outside, you will get wet. Mai pen rai, don't get mad, get even. Be ready with a waterproof bag to protect your money/phone/camera, and don't wear anything that can't handle a little, ok a lot, of water.
• Be armed. Don't expect people to be nice to you because you are unarmed. You're going to need a weapon. Emily, Amy and I pretty much bought the first set of water-guns we laid eyes on when we got off the plane, but they were not of high quality and only lasted about 25 minutes before they started to leak more water than they could spray.  My next weapon of choice? A bucket.  The perfect tool for grabbing some of the muddy canal water and tossing it to the crowd. 
• Be creative. The party pretty much stops at night, but you can never be too sure when you round a corner that there won't be someone waiting to douse you with water.  The last night of Songkran, the party was still raging when we decided to head out to dinner so we made some mad dashes across streets, down alleyways, and entered a restaurant from the back entrance crossing an abandoned parking lot in order to avoid getting wet. 
• Have fun.  Songkran is a celebration unlike anything I've ever participated in, in America or any other country I've traveled to.  If you can't have fun in a giant water fight when it's 100 degrees outside, we're probably not meant to be friends.  Thai people know how to have a good time, and taking part in this celebration is seriously one of my favorite experiences in my 25 years on Earth.  Being able to take part in this nationwide party, and watching Thai people turn an entire city into their personal playground, is a beautiful thing.  Sanuk mak mak! 

Now for some visuals:

Thailand: It's Easy!

Time for some deets on exactly what I've been up to while I've been wondering around SE Asia for the past few weeks. The adventure began with a trip to the BKK airport to pick up Megh to bring her back to show off our little hometown among the rice paddies.  Suphanburi is small so we were able to show her the whole town in a day - the school, the market, the dragon, the tower, and then on to our favorite Som Tom restaurant.  If you've never had Som Tom - spicy papaya salad - I highly recommend you test it out, I'm not sure if it's as good in the States as it is here with all the fresh fruits and veggies, but add some sticky rice to the meal and you are golden.

That night we headed into Bangkok to hit up the bumping backpacking hot spot that is Khao San Road, home to countless street vendors, beer tanks, and blasting techno music.  It's definitely the place to be for backpackers.  The next day we tried to cram in as much of Bangkok as possible - The Grand Palace, Siam, and Chatuchak Market before hopping an overnight bus to the island of Koh Chang.

 Unfortunately, the overnight bus ended up only taking 4 hours, so we left Bangkok at 11:30 pm and were dropped off literally on the side of the road at 3:45 am.  Luckily, we were dropped off at a tourist office where we hopped in a songtow for a ride to the island ferry and we finally made it to the island and to our hostel (exhausted!) around 7 am.

Koh Chang is a gorgeous place and one of my favorite island stops in Thailand so far.  We stayed in a great little hostel called Rock Sand Resort with a balcony that was directly over the clear blue ocean. Our first major character of the trip was the hotel owner who we lovingly nicknamed Mr. Whiskers due to the very long hairs growing out of his chin - a trend we spotted all over Asia.  We could not understand anything he said to us, in Thai or English, during our stay there, but he would finish almost every answer to our questions with "It's easssssy." One of our first stops was a trip into the main area for one of the more interesting massage experiences I've had so far in Thailand.  As soon as we got there they had us strip down and covered us with little hand towels... interesting.  Due to some lucky timing on our part, there just so happened to be a parade going through town at that very moment, and the ladies doing the massage couldn't bear to miss it so they opened the curtains wide, and as we lay there covered in hand towels a line of children dressed like dragons and beating drums strolled past the windows while we put on a show of our own for the crowds outside.

Our last day in Koh Chang we had to give Megh the typical Thailand experience of riding an elephant.  We had a friendly elephant named Hong Thong (after a brand of Thai whiskey) who took us on a journey through a bit of jungle, over some rocks and through the trees.  Megh got her turn to sit on the elephant and play mahout and was quite the driver, if not a slightly nervous one.  We finished up our time in Thailand with another sampling of Pad Thai for dinner and toasted with some Singha beer.  Next stop: Cambodia!

What time is it? Summertime! It's our vacation...

Summer has arrived! (Yes, the title of this post does reference a song from High School Musical, mai pen rai.)  Although the 90+ daily temperatures that seem to stay in Suphanburi year-round might lead one to think otherwise, there is an actual summer in Thailand, school is out and vacation is on!

I've had a most excellent adventure living in Thailand the past 5 months, (I can't believe it's been that long), and now the time has come for the real travels to get started.  After 2 weeks of teaching summer classes to a few of the students, I'm packing up my big backpack and hitting the road.  Here's a quick glance at my itinerary over the next 5 weeks:

Starting this Friday: Megh gets here (so, so excited)! Checking out Suphan, a day in Bangkok, and then on to one of Thailand's many islands, Koh Chang. From there we head to Sihanoukville and Penom Penh in Cambodia before crossing another border and heading back to Vietnam to explore Ho Chi Minh City.  The final destination on our tour is Hong Kong.  Nell and I get back to Thailand on April 5th and on April 7th my sister Emily arrives (again, so, so excited!) and we're off to Southern Thailand to dive in Khao Lak and camp on Maya Bay before heading North to Chiang Mai for Songkran and then back to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat before returning to Suphan for more summer classes.

CRAZINESS! 


I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to see all of these amazing places.  I'm super excited to see more of Asia, take on this continent with my two favorite redheads, hang out with my sister, eat new food, do some serious snorkeling, and check out night markets around Asia.   While I'm gone I'll try to post updates when possible, and prayers for safe travel would be much appreciated.

Until then, I've put together a video of some of the sights and sounds of Thailand from my first 5 months.  This is my first attempt with iMovie, so don't expect too much, but enjoy!


Sanuk in Thailand from Sarah Rall on Vimeo.

Glad to be Plaid

Last weekend our make-shift Christmas was a complete success, there was a lot of baking, some Uno, a dip in the rooftop pool (first time I've ever gotten a sunburn on Christmas Day!), and a lot of relaxing with our friends.  This week has been yet another chaotic, busy week at school with night classes for the students seeking entrance to the English Program next year, and the students have been rowdy because they're so excited about today's New Year festivities - they have no class and free reign to party all day long.  They've brought in a ridiculous buffet of goodies and decorations and it looks like it will be quite the throwdown.  My boss just walked out of the office with two bottles of red wine for the EP staff - no big deal that it's 9:30 a.m. - wine is something special in Thailand, it's rare to find it on a shelf.

Last night the school had a New Year's party for all of the faculty and staff at Sa-nguan Ying and the theme was....COWBOY NIGHT.  It was legendary.  I've never seen so much plaid, leather, fringe, and 10 gallon hats in one place in Thailand, and I doubt I ever will again!  Everyone was so cute and super into the theme, I rocked an American flag scarf my mom had conveniently shipped my way a few weeks back and some serious pigtails.  There was (loud) karaoke all night long with a set-list that included Dolly Parton and a raffle featuring prizes such as rice cookers, fans, a washing machine, and a refrigerator - I took home some new Tupperware - lucky duck!

This weekend we have Friday and Monday off for the holiday and Nell and I will be packing our bags and heading for the train station...destination unknown!  We're hoping by some miracle to make it up to Chiang Mai but we've been told the buses/trains are all sold out - so we may end up anywhere in Thailand or even across the border in Laos.  Cheers (Choc-tee-ka) to exploring the unknown! : )

Happy New Year to all, welcome 2011!

Things I never thought I'd say...and then I moved to Thailand.

• Do you have any smaller bills? I only have thousands...
• I have 13 mosquito bites on my left ankle.  Hmm...maybe I should start taking my malaria meds.
• This dessert is way too sweet.
• It's so cold this morning! It feels like it's almost 80 degrees! Where's my monogrammed school letter jacket?
• Thank you, geckos in my bedroom, for eating all the flies.
• I should probably buy another pink collared shirt, I only have 2.
• 200 Baht (6 Dollars) for a ridiculously good Thai meal? Yeah right, that's way too expensive.
• Bummer that you're sick, but I love your jewel encrusted surgical mask.
• I love that ladyboys outfit, so adorable!
• This soap opera is so good, I love the 10 minute death scenes in the woods that happen every episode, I just wish I could understand what they are saying.
• I love drinking my coke and iced coffee out of a plastic bag.  Cups are so last year.
• I know it's only been a week, but I already need another Thai massage.
• I can't believe I've only eaten rice once this whole week! I mean, I know it's Monday, but still, that's impressive.
• Pineapple is so much better when you dip it in this salt/sugar/chili pepper mix.
• I wonder what karaoke song I should sing at tonight's party: "When You Say Nothing At All" by Ronan Keating or "Barbie Girl"?
• Hey look, a white person! They must be lost. 

I'm ready!

It's really happening...

After months of preparations and a good-bye tour that took me from Boston to New York to Chicago to St. Louis, I'm finally ready to board the plane to Thailand to start the next phase in my life!

The preparations have been never ending, in the past few weeks I've had to get my vaccinations (Japanese Encephalitis, Hep. A, Typhoid, Polio Booster, Tetanus Booster, Flu Shot), I've seen 4 different doctors and my dentist for final check-ups, I've had to fill out multiple forms to change my address from Boston to St. Louis, I've packed up, sold and donated all of my belongings except for 2 suitcases, I've cancelled my cell phone service, deferred my student loans, and made several trips to Target, WalMart, and Sam's Club for any random supplies I might need in the next year.  I've visited all of my favorite people and all of my favorite places.  Finally, it's time to take off...

Peace out, America. Bring it on, Thailand.

You're Doing What?

Sawatdee! (that would be Thai for Hello!)


I started this blog for anyone who may be interested in following my travels and experiences over the next year.  A little background...I've always had a slight addiction to travel, and 2 years of sitting in a cube in the lovely Kendall Square - with no window in sight -  really fueled my desire to see more of the world while I was still young and free.  As I started crafting my plan to go abroad and when I gave people the official word I heard a lot of  "You're doing what?!?!" So here are the deets on exactly WHAT I'll be doing...


What:
Teaching English in Thailand through CIEE - the Council on International Education Exchange.  Do I speak Thai? No...but I'm totally fluent in English.

Who:
Me!...and my BFF DJ and about 80 other people participating in the program all around Thailand.

 Where:
The Sanguan Ying School, a secondary school, in the province of Suphanburi. 

 When:
Departing October 11th on Korean Air, arriving in Bangkok on October 12th for 2 weeks of training.  Signed on for 2 semesters through October 2011!

 Why:
Thailand, or "The Land of Smiles," has been one of my favorite spots since I went there on my first trip out of the country in April 2004.  Right away I knew I wanted to go back and live there at some point...and now seems like a good time. Also, I miss hanging out with kids, learning about new cultures, and riding elephants!  There are also a few countries in SE Asia I'd like to check out while I'm there: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia...


It feels weird to leave Boston after 6 years--I'll miss a lot of things here: going to BC games and events, my BC friends, family dinners with the lil' bro, SPC crowd, my co-workers at Weber, and even some of my clients!  But... I'm excited for the next chapter in my life and can't wait to get this party started.


*BTW, for those of you curious about the name of the blog: "Trunks Up" - an elephant with its trunk up is often seen as a symbol of good luck and optimism. 

Shipping Off to Thailand