Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

This just in: I'm moving to Klong Klung in the province of Kampaengpat, Thailand in four weeks. It is between 40 and 80 Km from the Burmese border and in the northern part of 'Central' Thailand. It's approximately six hours from Bangkok.  From the information I was provided it's an agricultural community of farmers and small shop owners. I'm very excited to meet my co-teachers. Kru Kate is the one who applied for a volunteer and we'll be teaching primary 4-6 this year. Her good friend Nong teaches in a town only 4 Km away and she's very interested in starting after school programs for the students to help them stay away from drugs and substance abuse. There is also a health clinic 100 meters from the school. The volunteers at the clinic work closely with the school so there is a great opportunity to focus on HIV/AIDS education in the community!
I already feel like this is going to be a good fit and I have not even visited yet!
Also, the next host family has a two year old kid. Thai toddler time for days! Life is good!

** sorry, I was asked to remove the photo for security reasons. 

These are a few of my favorite things...

We're just about to finish week five of pre-service training which puts us just about half way. I'm starting to figure things out which feels nice. So, here is a list of things that I seriously enjoy about my new Thai life:
+ smiling children! they never get old...ever. They might be screaming 'farang' and chasing after my bike, or 20 of them might be grabbing me at the same time just so they can touch my skin but as long as they are smiling and laughing my heart just melts.
+ riding by cows grazing on the side of the road. its a great way to bring me back to the moment of how beautiful my life is. its also comical and much needed after a stressful day.
+ mentally engaged students! teaching is so fun when students want to play along.
+ interested Thai people. today while we were running multiple community members talked to us and were interested in why three foreign girls were running around the school track. I just hope that there are two or three interested parties at my site. making these simple and innocent connections really makes all of the sweating worth it.
+ Som Dom! this is the most delicious meal ever created. learn how to make it by watching this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz0EH5Of63w
+ getting letters and packages. it really makes m already wonderful days ever more amazing!
+ Thai family days. they are very confusing. i never know what's going on but i love it. i get to see a ton of cool things (ancient temples and huge statues of Buddha).
+ The fact that we are really living pretty rural. I mean there are huge lizards, snakes, spiders just by the road. Also, there are little geckos and toads everywhere. I've seen at least fifteen different types of butterflies and more types of birds than I can count. Just before dawn the world comes alive. its an amazing thing to hear!

Nothing but smiling faces and mosquito bites

Once again... sorry I've been so absent with this blog writing thing.
We've been very busy. Everything has been going exceptionally well. Most days start off with a four hour block of language training. I can not believe how quickly we are all picking up the Thai language. Before I left I was pretty terrified about learning the language (it seemed impossible). I'm now at the point where the words and sounds don't sound particularly foreign... they just sound like words. We are also learning the alphabet at the same time and we've gotten to the point in which we can sound out words and read whole sentences! I can't believe we've only been learning for two weeks. So far we can talk about our families, introduce ourselves and ask others about themselves, order food, talk about likes/dislikes with food and activities, ask about languages, talk about things we do well (or don't do well), tell people were we are going and ask about where they have been, and can tell time and ask when things are. I can't wait to learn more and be able to physically write in Thai.
The technical part of training has been a little more challenging. Some of us are unclear about the objectives but we're making it work. Its all part of the process. A bit about my practicum school: I'm co-teaching with the fabulous Erin. We're teaching three sections of M.3 (9th grade) and two sections of M.4 (10th grade). Its been fun so far but our feedback has been that our lessons were too easy...at least the student's liked it (and understood)!

Its been so long and I feel like there are so many stories from each week that I am not sure where to start. So, I think I'll sum up some of the coolest moments so far or the most impressive memories.
- The Thai people. I seriously can not believe how nice everyone is. It is rude not to smile at strangers (such a strange experience after France). Everyone is more than hospitable. I just was informed today that there is a man who's house we ride by on the way to language in the morning and he wants to cook us lunch in the next few weeks just to hep welcome us 'fa-rangs' to the community.
-The Language training. I know I mentioned just above but the methods that the ajaans (teachers) use is seriously impressive. We speak no English for 4 hours and just absorb Thai like our brains are two years old again. Its pretty cool.
- The food. Its been delicious, a little freaky, new and exciting. I've started calling all meal times 'adventure eating' because that is exactly what it is. I never know what is actually in the food that I'm given. I just try it and go from there. So far its been overwhelmingly good.
-  The children. Each day we ride our bikes to a Wat (temple) to learn Thai at a small school there. Each day we are greeted by anywhere from 5-20 smiling faces singing 'Hello! Good Morning!'...it really is the best way to start a day. Plus, they all line up for high-fives as we ride by on our bikes on the way out. Absolutely adorable.
- All in all I just feel very lucky and thankful for the opportunity to be here. I've met some fantastic people and I am sure that will only continue. Everyone is open and ready to meet the strange white foreigner. The Vice-Director at my practicum school already tried to hook me up with her son. He evidently speaks English very well and has white skin just like me... match made in heaven, right? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken-feet soup

Students at the school where we learn Thai.

Monkeys rule the streets of Lop Buri.

The view from my host family's river-side convenience store/ hangout area.

Karissa getting into the moves at a Thai birthday party!

These cows are huge and always just wandering around grazing. 

Our first elephant!

My February resolution is to write my frequently. They say resolutions are more likely to be stuck to if you write them down so, here goes nothing.

So this is the new year!

First, hello from Thailand!
Second, sorry this has taken so very long for me to update.

I don't have a ton of time so I will try my best to do a quick update to get everyone up to speed on the situation and whats going on with me on this side of the world.

All 52 of us met in Detroit for a staging orientation which was helpful to get some of the logistical suff out of the way. The next day we left for a grueling day of flights. After crossing the international date line and 21 hours of flying we arrived in Bangkok to a fabulous welcome of orchid leis and big smiles. We then took a bus 2 hours away to the provence of Sing Buri.

The first two days of Pre Service Training (PST) were full of a ton of information about safety. language (it's actually going very well), and home says with the host families...which included demonstrations on how to do laundry, chance while wearing a pasin, and use a squat toilet.

Today was the best day so far. We met with the vice govener of the provence and had to introduce ourselves in Thai (name, last name, and where we were from city, state and america). I should mention that we only learned how to say that yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, we're all rockstars and nailed it. After that we took a huge group photo with all of the important people from the community.

Next we went to the Hub site (where we'll all be meeting during our home stays for lessons) and got our bikes! We got the serious hook up: brand new mountain bikes, helmets, locks, pump...the works! Not only did we get new stuff but we got to spend the whole day biking and hanging out. It was a very needed almost-free-day.

I just bought a cell phone and it's time for dinner and shopping. I'll add photos as soon as i have a spare few minutes. Thanks for following along! it going to be a great story!

Mad dash to the finish line

The last few weeks have been a crazy mixture of emotions and activities. We finished teaching ten days ago which left plenty of time for ‘last suppers’ and beautiful picnics and bar crawls. The down side to such fun sounding activities? Each one was a farewell to one or more friends who were ready to take off to their homeland the next day. Being one of the last to leave means that I am able to partake in the festivities but also have to watch as our social group for the last seven months shrinks daily.

Aside from that, I’m packed and ready to go except for the box of books I most likely need to mail home unless I can effectually fit them into my suitcase, but that’s not looking promising. Leaving my room in Les Herbiers was an emotional task. Its really strange how attached one can get to a living space. It was my little sanctuary since October and leaving it behind was a little like losing a comfort blanket. Leaving Les Herbiers itself was not as emotional as it could have been considering Melissa was in Spain with her dad and Mattia was in Italy visiting his family and showing some students around. When we arrived in October I was a little upset that I had to move to the country while the other girls set up shop in the city. Now, I am very sad to say goodbye to my rural home. I will miss the cows, local bakeries, students, kind teachers, birds and crickets singing outside of my window all day, and sharing cultures and stories with Melissa around our tiny kitchen table. All good things have to come to an end, I suppose.

I’ve now set up shop (my backpack is on the floor) in Gregory’s old room as I wait for Wednesday when Keri Ann, Jennifer and I will fly to Iceland for two days before taking our final flight to Seattle. Last week I was feeling like I didn’t want to go and holding on to the France-mode mindset for dear life. But, now that nearly everyone is gone it doesn’t feel the same. So, America, we’re coming for you; be ready!

Tales from the land of Tajine and bartering

    I returned from Morocco two weeks ago and am just now writing it all down. I felt I needed time to reflect and decide how to express the countless experiences I had during my ten day mini tour of the country. So, I've decided to stay away from the mundane day-to-day travel blog details and instead focus on the events which left the biggest impression... that's the point, right? But, if you are interested in some of the more quotidian events you're in luck! My friends and I created a sort of video-blog while we are exploring. You can find the videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/suburbankoolaid#p/u and they will all be labeled 'Maroc video diary'. I'm sure you can figure it out. Go. Fight. View some Moroccan story telling!

    This adventure is one I'm sure I'll remember for quite some time. Not because we did anything extreme or had near death experiences but mostly because it was a great insight into an entirely different culture and way of life. I had never been to a Muslim country before nor Africa. The most exotic place I'd been was Greece and blond tourists are a dime a dozen on those islands. Before we left I was feeling nervous about having to use my French in a practical way. Yes, I speak French everyday and I've lived here for six months but I was still a little apprehensive.

    My concern was swiftly washed away out second day. We were on the train from Casablanca to Marrakesh and settled into a compartment with a mother and her two daughters which were our age. Soon after an 82 year old enters and settles between Richard and on of the daughters. Some time passes where the old man and the family converse in a unique mixture of Arabic and French and Richard and I have no idea what they are talking about. But, then they are searching for a word and one of us knew the answer (in French obviously). So, we shared the knowledge and spent the next two plus hours chatting away while we passed though the Moroccan countryside. The man shared stories of his youth, family and life's ups and downs while staring me intensely in the eyes. It was fabulous but also like the longest oral pop quiz I've ever had the chance to experience. I was so grateful to have had such an experience (not just the pop quiz stare down)! The girls invited us to stay at their house in Fez if we were able to make it north and gave us their emails so we could find them on Facebook (the true connector of cultures). The three hours we spent with our compartment compatriots gave new life to the reason I love languages. Without French I would have never been able to communicate on a real level with these strangers. For me, that's the point of traveling. Not to see the sighs but to discover and experience the culture. A few other times I was complimented on my French while shopping, bartering or taking a tour of the tanneries. It was really encouraging to hear people saying that my accent was good etc... because its easy to feel like you are not improving when you have no summative assessments.

    Also, I have never been anywhere with a more hospitable culture. The Moroccan people are welcoming and encouraging and interested in you and that was a wonderful surprise. Anytime we arrived at a new place or even just walking through the market people would strike up conversations. Where are you from? Is this your first time in Morocco? What do you think? You speak French? Would you like some tea? On one occasion Richard and I were wondering around Essaouria and were stopped by a herb/tea vendor. I said, no thank you, we don't need anything. He replied with, everything is free... to smell. So, as he starts rubbing all sorts of soap-like perfumes on my wrists we start talking. The usual questions come up. He is excited to practice his English and even more excited that we speak French. He invites us for tea in his little shop and sends an ancient old man to fetch the boiling water after he asks Richard if he is my husband and then offers to buy me for an unspecified number of camels. So, we drink tea and people watch a have a casual conversation about Morocco and Essaouria. Once we are finished he doesn't try to make us buy anything (which is very surprising) and thanks us for having tea with him. It is encounters like these which sperate Morocco and what I imagine most of Africa and Asia from the 'Western World'. Morocco is so close to France that you can take a boat to the northern coast. You'd think that the exchange of cultures would be greater. There are still many signs that Morocco was once a French colony such as there is always an 'apéro' when drinks are served. As well as everyone using the formal vous with strangers and guests. But, the Moroccans say 'you're welcome' which is something I rarely hear in France.

    All said and done I am overwhelmingly pleased that I was able to experience Morocco the way I did. By eating where the people eat and staying in the hearts of the medinas we were able to see the real deal instead of the touristic postcard version.

Here are some photos for the road:

Mosque in Casablanca

Tanneries in Marrakesh

Old Palace in Marrakesh

The best orange juice you'll ever have. Marrakesh. 40 cents.

Restaurant in the Atlas mountains

Camel ride in the Atlas mountains

Lamp shop in Marrakesh

Ancient doors in Essaouria

Rooftop sunset in Essaouria

Ready to Moroc and Roll

    The last month and a half has flown by. Sorry for the extreme lack of posts. My only excuse is that I was living the dream. That dream consisted of:

Meeting Keri Ann's rugby team (after she broke her ankle)

    My ex-travel partner in crime had an accident during a rugby match and her ankle happened to break during said accident. Bummer 5000. I thought it was a joke. If only we were so lucky. Anyway, the Thursday after it happened I chaperoned her to practice so she would not be forced to sit alone in the clubhouse until everyone was finished. What this really means is that we played the ukulele, sang, drank beer and drew on her cast while we waited. Her team is fabulous. I'm a little jealous I don't play a team sport in France (although I'm sure I'd break something if I tried rugby). It is such a fabulous way to meet cool people without always going to bars.

A free trip to the symphony 

     There was a classical music festival in Nantes called 'La Folle Journee'. Keri Ann received tickets from a colleague who couldn't attend due to her job (you know, teaching) and since broken Keri was excused from work for a while she (we) lucked out. It was a Strauss symphony and was really good. Also, I was so impressed by the fact that the French place such an importance on their youth appreciating the arts. Over half of the theater was occupied by children under twelve years old. One might think that an auditorium full of kids is not appropriate for a symphony. They would be very wrong. The children were captivated by the music; silent and thoughtful. It was beautiful. Thanks Keri Ann for the sweet date!

Turning Jennifer, Keri Ann and Gregory's kitchen into an art gallery

     What started out as an alternative to spending money at bars has now turned into a Sunday Night In Nantes tradition. There is nothing like letting the creative juices flow and then using a thumbtack to post your work. We always work based on a theme and everyone gets to draw or paint their interpretation of that theme or word. Its coming along well. I'll post a photo next time I'm in Nantes.

The Superbowl in France

     Lindsey was fabulous and thew a Superbowl Party at her apartment! We were there before most everyone else and played french Pictionary (so much harder than I thought it'd be...but also great for vocab.) Later everyone arrived and we ate 7-layer dip, chili, guacamole and all sorts of other snacks. Greg and Lindsey eventually found a way to stream the game online without having to pay and we settled in to watch what was to become the longest Superbowl of my life. In all actuality, the game was average length. It was the fact that it started at midnight in France that was the kicker. Go Packers! We finally got to bed at five. Great idea on a school night? At least I only have one class on Mondays.

Hiking through the French countryside

We found adorable cows. Thanks for all of the delicious dairy products!

Shopping at Flea Markets

     Each weekend there are two giant markets in Nantes in the Talensac neighborhood. One is full of wonderful regional products and the other is a giant flea market. I, as you could probably guess, always want to buy EVERYTHING. What is stopping me? The fact that I remind myself that I have to take it back to America. We did find a long, old rope to use as a volleyball net. Good work, Lindsey!

Like most Flea Markets you have to dig but you can find some really cool, really old stuff.

An afternoon of pick-up volleyball

    Instead of playing football on Sunday (as usual) we decided to play volleyball. Lindsey fashioned a net out of the previously purchased rope and we were ready to rock. After the boys arrived it was decided that the teams would be Francis, Tim, Gregory and Rhys versus Melissa, Lindsey, Maria, Julia and myself. Boys vs. Girls. The age old battle. Needless to say we one all three matches. There was a slight disturbance when the ball was lodged into the trees by a member of the male team. Luckily Tim was able to climb the tree and shake the ball out so we could continue our winning streak.

    Now I'm up to speed. As of today:
    We are on school vacation. But, I am teaching an English workshop for the first two days of vacation. The group is very small (the profs all think its because the students just had eight weeks straight of class) but its nice. Its great to be able to work with individual students on pronunciation and things that interest them. For the end of the stage linguistique tomorrow we are going to have a little party and the two groups will share their posters etc... Melissa and I are bringing traditional food from our countries. She is slaving away in the kitchen right now and I decided on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies (homemade of course).  I'm also getting ready to leave for the real vacation on Wednesday. Its off to Morocco we go. Richard and I are flying to Casablanca on Wednesday and then will meet up with Lindsey in Marrakesh on Thursday. I'm very excited. No need to worry. The political climate in Morocco is nothing like that of Libya or Egypt...and if its nuts, we'll leave.
    Hopefully the next post will be full of stories regarding couscous and camels. A+