My long lost blog

So for some reason I'm in the mood to start blogging again!  It really is a cool way to get out your thoughts and save your memories of a season that may not be so memorable.  I'm going to try a challenge:  30 days of blogging with no skips!  Let's see how far I get!

So for my first blog of this challenge I'd like to share the transformation that happened in my house today.  Of course I didn't think to take a picture of the before, but here is my old TV:

 Excuse the dust.  Now this was a NICE TV, in my opinion.  Big, nice picture, and it was given to me for free!  But, for Christmas, I got a new TV!  This was a total surprise because I didn't even think of asking for a new TV.  I was happy with my old one.  However, I was VERY excited when I saw this one!

(Let's hear it for closed captioning!!) Doesn't that look nice! It is so skinny and light and the picture is crazy good.  I can't believe it.  Now I can go to Best Buy and get a wireless connection to my computer and I can watch Netflix on it!  (My old TV was too old to have the right connections to do that.)

Another thing I am doing tonight is filling out my new agenda from Kelly!

Isn't it pretty? 

These are the kinds of things you do when you have strep throat on your Christmas break! I hope tomorrow I feel better and can actually get out of the house!

Day in the life of me

7:00 - Wake up to my iPad alarm - "Aftermath" by Hillsong. Crawl out from under the mosquito net and fold it up, fold up my sheet and blanket. Go downstairs to the restroom and wash my face. The whole restroom thing is getting a whole lot easier and less of an adventure, praise God! Get dressed - every day I have to wear a skirt or dress except on Wednesday, when I can wear pants! I found out that Thai teachers only wear dresses when they are pregnant, which really makes me feel better because people keep asking me if I'm pregnant (I wear dresses a lot!) Put my hair in a ponytail because why try to look cute when I'll be sweating in a matter of minutes? :)

7:40 - Go to school. I get a ride with my house mom - Meow. I ride on the back of her motorcycle. Bai-Thoe, her daughter, sits in front of her! This is exciting because since I wear a dress or skirt, I have to sit sideways! It is an adventure.

8:00 - Walk through lots of students to get to my building. There are 3 buildings on campus. Find my desk in the English department. Take my iPad out and check email and facebook. Love getting emails and carefully read each one! Stand when the Thai Anthem is played throughout the building. I can actually just about sing it to you after all this time!

8am - 3pm - Teach! My days vary from 1 class to 5. Sometimes the days go by very slow and sometimes I am so busy they pass by quickly! Students are constantly walking by my desk, saying hello! I try to chat with the Thai teachers when they aren't too busy.

Classes- each class has 30-40 students. I am teaching 10-12th grade. The period is about 50 minutes long. Some classes are very interested and hang on to every word, and other classes sleep, talk, or do other homework. My lessons so far have been about asking and answering questions, July 4th, and introductions.

Lunch - I walk to the canteen (cafeteria) and decide on my lunch. It will always be rice (OF COURSE!) with either chicken, eggs, or pork. Sometimes a combination! I buy a bottle of water and walk back to the office. The teachers all eat together and sometimes share their food. I have tasted some pretty interesting things! Today I had yellow rice and friend chicken. It was really good!

About 3:00 - head home. There isn't a set time I have to stay until, so I usually finish up my classes, hang out for a bit, and then walk home. It is about a kilometer long walk. It isn't too long but it is always very hot! I'm happy for the exercise though! Sometimes I ask a teacher for a ride on her motorcycle if they are leaving at the same time.

Afternoon - this varies. Here are some of the things I have done in the afternoon: read (I've read 4 novels so far and am now reading Pride and Prejudice), do my Bible study (Beth Moore's Breaking Free - LOVE IT), watch ER on the computer (my dad burned lots of episodes for me), sleep, go get my hair washed (a luxury that I absolutely love), go to 7-11 for drinks, etc. By the way, I will from this point here on have a deep and intense love for 7-11. Not only do they have Pepsi Max (Diet Pepsi), but it is air conditioned! I have spent many a minute perusing the items in there while I really just try to cool off! I can't forget to talk about Bai-Thoe! Many afternoons we share our snack and watch tv or play on my iPad. She is such a fun and cute friend to have around. Yesterday she walked up to my room carrying a bowl of chicken for us to share!




Evening - around 7 we usually eat dinner. Meow usually fixes a couple of different dishes to be served over rice. I have loved every one of her dinners ! We eat on the floor of her living room - Thai style. Sometimes we go out to eat as well. There is also a night market on certain nights that is fun to go to and walk around.

8-10 - I read some more, talk to Meow and the neighbors. Usually I talk to Grandma almost every night! This is such a nice thing for me to not get homesick! I also talk to mom about twice a week and I've talked to Kelly twice now. Before bed, I take a bath. Now, this is not what Americans think of a bath! There is a tank of water in the bathroom. You take a plastic bowl, dip it in the water, and splash it on you. Do this several times, and you're pretty clean!


10:00 - go to sleep!

Thanks for reading about my day! I may come back and add more as I think of things!

Location:Khao Phanom,Thailand

American meal

When I was asked to make an American meal, I had to think of something that could be made without an oven and something that I could find all the ingredients here in Thailand. I decided on one of my moms specialties, chicken and dumplings! It was a challenge to find everything but I did! And the next challenge was for a type A like me to cook without any measuring utensils. But I did!

Here are pictures of the cooking process. I took a picture of the final result but for some reason it looks green, so I won't put it up here!

My Thai family liked it and of course ate it over rice! It's something I'll definitely cook again in Thailand.









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Sport day

Oh my favorite of all days, Sport day! Picture field day to the extreme with a parade, costumes, traditional dance, modern dance, and race after race for 2 days. The kids are divided into four colors that compete with each other. Here are some pictures of the festivities.











This last picture shows the four teams under their own tent. Each group has their own dancers in front of them. You can also see the track. These kids are troopers because it is HOT!!

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The latest

**I've been trying to post this since last Tuesday! So, the news is old, but better late than never!

I started school and all is going well! I'm using some of my introduction stuff that I used two years ago so I know what reaction I'm going to get with pretty much everything I do. You have to speak v e r y. s l o w l y. And enunciate like crazy. But it works! I try to imagine some French person was coming to talk to me and how I would feel. Even though I studied it a lot, it's way different with a native speaker. Here are some pictures.






Morning assembly - all students sit and wait, then stand for the Thai anthem, pay respect to Buddha, and meditate. Then they are deluged with lots of school announcements and lectures, from what I can tell.
Lunch - students can eat in the "canteen" but some choose to come back to the English department. The boy on the right always comes to talk to me! I can tell he works up his courage every time!





My second class, 10th grade - they are reading my introduction.

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Location:Khao Phanom,Thailand

My Saturday

This Saturday I had the day to myself. It was kind of nice to be independent after being taken everywhere. I washed clothes, then went to the park to read. You can see it's a very nice park! The first picture is of the exercise machines. Of course I went to 7-11. I go there at least once a day! I walked around town and had lunch. That evening, i went with Meow to a special market, like a fair. It was pretty fun and interesting. I found some American brand clothing there for CHEAP but I didn't see anything I had to have! It was a good day!

Location:Khao Phanom,Thailand

Bai Thoe

This post is all about the adorable three year old that lives in the house where I am staying. Her name is kind of pronounced like buy-toy. She has been coming up to my room in the afternoons when she gets home from school. She calls me Adjun Katie, which means Teacher Katie. The way she says it is so cute!

I introduced her to my iPad and of course she loves it. She loves the pond app where it looks like a real pond with fish and lily pads. I also downloaded an app called Talking Tom 2 which repeats what you say in a funny voice. That was a total hit!

Location:Khao Phanom,Thailand

The offending roosters

Yes, these are the roosters that love to talk. All. Night. Long.







They are on the roof of the house next door.

In other news, check out this much more precious neighbor.




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Location:Khao Phanom,Thailand

Sightseeing on saturday!

On Saturday Richard, Linda, and I had a great time traveling around the province of Krabi. We got lost a couple of times, but it was a good thing because we found new places they had never seen before. Around every corner seemed to be another breathtaking view. Here are some of the pictures I took...

(you can always click on a picture to see it bigger!)


































This is a little off topic, but i saw these dresses, Karlie, and thought of you!










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Location:Thanon Chamaianouson,Muang Krabi,Thailand

My new home

A Thai Christian family has generously provided a room on the second floor of their house! This house is also the meeting place for church on Sunday afternoons. The family makes pork and rice and sells it in front of their house, as well. Here are some pictures of my new room.








Next, the view from my windows.






As I write this, it is Sunday night and I start my first day of school in the morning! I'm excited - even thought the past few days have been fun I will finally begin my real reason for being here. Check out my schedule. (To my teacher friends you might find this unbelievable!)





One more thing, the woman I am staying with is so very nice and thoughtful! I know she will be a good friend soon. (This is for Grandma!) The little girl - Bai Thoe - is so cute and I love the way she says my name! She calls me Adjun Katie which means teacher. She is 3 and I am really going to enjoy her!
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Location:Khao Phanom, Krabi, Thailand