I haven't written in awhile. Work is taking over. It's ridiculous. I have recently been reminded by more than one person that working isn't my number one priority right now. I need to remember to take some time for myself. It's okay to work hard, but at the end of the day I have to take care of myself before anybody else.

All of that being said, I had a lovely manicure yesterday and while one lady was giving me a manicure, another lady gave me a foot massage. I could get used to living like that. This was all in preparation for a ball that I went to last night. Yes - a ball. You know, like Cinderella, but without the fairy godmother. (or the prince for that matter) Since coming to Bangkok, I haven't seen so many foreigners in one place. The people were from Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland ( I didn't meet any other Canadians). It was so strange. I didn't know so many foreigners lived in Bangkok. It was great fun. There was an amazing dinner, with to die for desserts, wine, beer, music, dancing.. a really good time.

Today is a Thai celebration called Loy Krathong which we celebrated at school yesterday. It was a massive event. Everyone was dressed in Thai costumes (myself included) and there were dozens of activities going on. The children were hyper, the teachers were stressed... One child had a whole entourage of photographers and videographers with him. Kind of ridiculous - but apparently completely normal at our school. The photo is of myself and 3 teachers from our school - all in our Thai costumes. They were absolutely beautiful.

Motorbike Accident

Before anybody gets worried - it wasn't me who had the motorbike accident, but I did witness one today... and I definitely never want to be in that position. But, it wasn't a motorcycle taxi accident, it was just some bloke driving a little too fast with a girl on the back. The driver was wearing a helmet, the girl was not - and strangely enough - it was the driver who was injured and not the girl... anyway, I took a regular taxi home today... just to be on the safe side.



I've joined a lovely gym called "California WOW" It's incredibly Americanized... all of the yoga and dance classes are in English. It's a little piece of California in the middle of Bangkok. Fancier than any gym I've ever been to. All of this from what is known as a second world country. I had become fed up with not getting much exercise and the streets of Bangkok are not all that welcoming to runners due to the extremely large number of stray dogs, chickens and elephants that swarm the sidewalks. So... I took the plunge - joined a gym and now have a good way to get out all of my frustrations of the day.


The weekend is almost here. Hurray!

Healing

So, I had my stitches taken out... I don't really believe that everything is okay as I get a tingling sensation every time I touch the top of my finger. The doctor seemed to think this was okay - but I may get a second opinion. It hurts more now than it did when the stitches were in... perhaps that is normal... what do I know?

It seems that I have started running a military school as we have discovered that the nursery children (age 2) are only capable of walking in a straight line when Miss Teresa beats a drum... so I walk around the school with a drum and the children walk to it... I look like a twit, but that's okay. It could be worse.

Waiting like crazy for the weekend. A friend of mine from Toronto is in town on business so it will be nice to see him. Myself and some of the teachers have also decided that we are going to find something exciting to do at all of the skytrain stops along one line... who knows what these will be, but I'm sure we will be in for a grand adventure. Many pictures should be taken along on this journey...

If only Friday would come faster

No more coconuts for Teresa

I have learned another valuable lesson. Miss Teresa, coconuts, and knives do not mix, and I am going to have to get over my addiction to coconuts. Since arriving here, I have come to enjoy fresh coconut. Normally, I would buy one that is already opened... but I have come up with my own technique of getting the top off... that was working quite well... until Tuesday. Tuesday night, I arrived home after a lovely few hours doing work at Starbucks, and thought I would enjoy a fresh coconut for dessert. I was attempting to cut off the lid, when the knife slipped and went straight through my finger - in one side and out the other. I don't really remember much after that except for a lot of blood... and a doctor telling me that I was extremely lucky to have not gone through any nerves... I still have total feeling in my finger, but 8 stitches (4 on each side) to show for the trouble. No more coconuts for me. Or, I will spend the extra 10 Baht tops(approx. 30cents) to buy one that is already opened.

That is my story of the week. It did get a lot of sympathy from my students... but mostly I just got them to laugh about it with me.

We have started rehearsals for our Christmas play. I never thought that teaching a group of children to sing Frosty the Snowman would be so hard, but when only 2 of them speak fluent English - it poses a major problem. They also have no concept as to what a snowman is... so... it's interesting to say the least, but it is a lot of fun, and I find that I actually enjoy teaching music.

So... send good wishes to my figner for a speedy recovery...

It's getting cold

It's not really getting cold, but judging by the way the children are dressing, you would think there was a blizzard everyday and some serious driveway shovelling happening every morning. I believe the temperature dropped to about 23 degrees the other day, and half of the children were wearing sweaters and hats and socks. Seriously. The hallways of our school are all outdoors, so the children put on hats and coats to walk from class to class. The stores are crowded with scarves and toques, and thick winter jackets. I'm still wearing skirts and flip flops and don't plan on changing my wardrobe anytime soon. Apparently, as the temperature drops to below 20 degrees (gasp) the children will be in full snowsuits. Luckily, this cold snap, when it comes, will not last for long.

I have become addicted to shopping. It's horrible really. I've really never been a fan of shopping. Usually I would shop for what I need and then get out of the mall. But, I have found a new love for a mall.... they are huge here and beautiful. A lot of the same stores as we have in Canada, but others as well. And when you convert prices from Baht to the dollar - you can't help but want to buy out the whole store. Luckily, I came to Thailand with very little clothing, so I have every excuse I need to shop until I drop.

Halloween came and went with not even a Boo! No Halloween treats either, much to my dismay. Send chocolate! (*hint hint*) That was subtle. No witches or goblins or princesses. Not even a jack-o-lantern to put me in the spirit. There was a Halloween display at the mall, but it has quickly disappeared in favour of Christmas trees.

This weekend promises to be exciting with a birthday celebration for a friend on Khao San Road. This is the tourist hub of Bangkok (some would even say Asia). It's going to be wild, it's going to be crazy, and I can't wait. More pictures to come.

I'm also learning about the healing power of crystals this weekend. Not sure what to think about that yet, but should be interesting to say the least.

That's it... children call...

I learned many things on my vacation...

1) Don't trip over things when you are weighted down with a backpack. You will fall and nobody will be there to save you

2) Herbal Nuts are not herbal nuts, they are nuts mixed with dried anchovies. (ugh)

3) When crammed into the back of a picup truck going uphill through a winding road, hold on for dear life or you may fall out.

4) Elephants are big. (I suppose I already knew that... but when you are riding one they actually feel big.

5) Elephants are bristly... and any bare skin that touches them will get poked.

To explain why I am in a bikini while riding an elephant - it's simple really. I was in a pool - bathing the lovely animal, when he decided he didn't want to be bathed anymore and he stood up and I was left riding him back to "camp."... no time to put on normal clothing.

The first picture is just a view of the beach from somewhere in the sea... I have many shots like that. I will share more. For those of you on facebook - you should be able to check out many.

Vacation was wonderful despite learning the above lessons (the hard way). It's quite sad actually to be back in the pollution of Bangkok and the life of having a full time job that requires you to get up early in the morning. Tough life - I know!

I also learned new things since returning to Bangkok

1) busses can change their bus stops whenever they please and they won't tell you about it

2) coming to complete stops to let you on or off a bus is optional

3) when motorcycle drivers get to know you, they see this as an option to drive faster.

anyway... back I go to work

Beaches, buckets and bikinis

Island life... that is what I am living.. .and it is wonderful. Days spent lying in the sun or swimming in the sea, nights spent at the bars meeting people from all over the world. Life is good.

We are on an island called Koh Chang. We spent the first 3 days at a really fancy resort on Lonely Beach. The water was a beautiful aqua-marine colour, with a white sandy beach. Our resort was lovely. Walking along the beach you can stop for a massage anytime (which I did) and indulge in a manicure or pedicure (yet to do, but surely going to happen). The bathing suit collection is constantly growing as every store is selling them for cheap - and who wants to be seen in the same bathing suit twice? As our resort was so fancy we went to the backpackers area in the evenings and met a ton of people. England, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, United States... the whole world is represented over here. People are drinking "Samsung bucets" which are sand pails filled with a bottle of Thai Whiskey, Red Bull, and Coke... extremely strong, extremely cheap, and a little much for me. My new favourite is a coconut shake (served in the coconut) with a touch of Baileys. Trying not to indulge too much, but it looks too good to pass up.

We have now moved on to White Sand Beach. Life is basically the same but the town itself is a bit more built up, with more shops, more restaurants, more bars. We found a fantastic vegetarian menu the other night. The restaurant was lovely, but cats and dogs seemed to like to hang around there and they don't seem to be all that toilet trained. Needless to say, although the food was great, we won't be going back.

There are some amazing fire shows on the beach - basically people dancing with fire sticks. They are amazing to watch... and quite funny. Hair catching on fire, shirts catching on fire... but at least the sea is close by.

Anyway, I could go on and on, and perhaps I will with another post. And when I get back to Bangkok, I promise to post some pictures as I have finally been making good use of my camera.

Must get back to the beach...