Author: Erin Frawley

December has been an adventure in and of itself, considering I’ve had many more days off than actual work….if only every month were this easy.

The first weekend was the King’s Birthday. Seeing as I live in paradise, I had five friends from Hua Hin come to visit little ole me (okay, and maybe the beaches as well). It was absolutely wonderful to get some of the old gang back together, and was as though no time had passed. We swapped stories of our schools, our pain-in-the-ass students, and our cultural slip-ups (inevitable, living in a place where you understand exactly 1% of what’s going on).

We were on Banlga Road for a couple of nights, where we spent too much money and danced our faces off; we lounged on the beach every day; we went kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkelling; we hiked and swam at a waterfall. It was a fun filled, exhausting weekend. The one day we spent at Patong Beach (aka tourist central), we ran into probably 20 other people from our course – obviously we weren’t the only geniuses with the idea of partying in Phuket for the long weekend. I was happy to see that everyone is enjoying their time at their placements. While we were all dealt a different hand, we are all making the most of our time here in The Land of Smiles.

I really lucked out my birthday week: I had the whole week off because my kids went on a field trip to Bangkok. I decided to do a bit of adventuring to pass the time. I went to Krabi for one night, and then I headed to Koh Phi Phi for the next two nights. I wasn’t expecting Phi Phi to be quite as rowdy as it was; in one word, it was bonkers. I spent one day snorkelling and boating around the islands. I toured Shark Reef, Bamboo Island, Monkey Beach and Maya Bay. The evenings I made some friends with whom I shared buckets and watched some Muay Thai (always with a bucket in our hands, of course). I may have made a bet with one of my new friends and he may have gotten a tattoo as a result. His first tattoo, to be correct. Of an elephant….on his inner thigh. Whoops, sorry Jared….but that was hilarious!

After Phi Phi, I took another bus down to Songkhla to visit my dear friend Janie. It was good to see where she lived, to meet her friends, and to go exploring with her. The best part was just seeing her and talking with her, which we did plenty of, because texting just isn’t the same.

Christmas in Thailand was very different from celebrating back home, of course. It didn’t really feel like the holidays -probably because every day here feels like mid-July. On Christmas Day we sang carols, danced and played games with the kids. It’s kind of surreal to watch these kids prance around in Santa hats when they’re all Buddhist or Muslim. Of course, they know that there’s candy involved, so they don’t care what religion they’re celebrating at the time. Other than that, there wasn’t much of a Christmas celebration for me. I missed being with my family oodles and zoodles, but the fact that they were opening presents on a snowy Christmas morning feels so foreign to me right now.

Finishing this month (and year, I suppose) off with a bang, I’m headed to Chiang Mai in a couple of days to reunite with some friends. Everyone here speaks so highly of Chiang Mai, so I’m excited to go back and experience it again. I’m hoping to do some more hard-core adventuring while up North. White water rafting, anyone?

A very happy belated Christmas and Happy New Years to you all,

x J

Last week we celebrated Loy Krathong, which is a Thai festival that is meant to be cleansing and provide an opportunity for Thais to repent. The krathongs are traditionally made with banana leaves and are always adorned with flowers, incense and a candle. As Thais prepare to float their basket on the lake, they always take a moment to themselves to pray. It’s fairly serene to watch people with bowed heads as the krathongs float on the water.

But that was pretty much the only serene part of the evening. I went with a few friends, including two Thai teachers, to a festival on Bang Maruan. In typical Thai fashion it was loud, busy and had plenty of food (my favourite part). There was music, fair rides, a beauty pageant, and what appeared to be a very dramatic play. I’m happy I got to spend the evening here and see what real Thai families do on Loy Krathong; I even saw quite a few of my students and their families! I have to admit it’s still pretty surreal to respond to kids yelling “teecha!”.

We spent about three hours at this festival trying different foods and taking photos!

I live in Phuket!

We graduated the TESOL course in Hua Hin on Thursday, which was a bitter-sweet occasion. My instructor Justin surprised our class with a rendition of Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again, which was the start of a tearful goodbye.  It was incredibly tough saying goodbye to these friends, and it’s crazy to think we had only met each other three weeks prior. They’re a swell group of people and I know that they’re going on to do amazing things in Thailand and wherever they head to next.

The overnight bus ride to Phuket was long. We got here bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 8AM and met our agent. We spent yesterday at a brief orientation and looking for houses. At the orientation I learned that I will not, in fact, be teaching P1 English, maths, science and health, but rather will be just teaching P6 maths. Curveball! As I’m just teaching maths to two classes, that means two hours a day (or ten hours a week) of teaching. I really hope that that changes tomorrow and they give me another subject, because I’m not entirely sure how I’ll fill the other 30 hours I’m required to be on campus. Maybe I’ll spend that time trying to relearn the concepts that I’m supposed to be teaching to my 11 year olds. Actually, that’s exactly what I’ll spend my time doing.

I was hoping to live alone when I got to Phuket just because I think that it’s time to try real adulting for a bit. Things didn’t quite go as planned, but it all worked out and I’m living in a really nice house with two friends. The adulting is in full swing though, as I just got back from renting my new scooter! Her name is Snoopy and while I’m f’ing terrified to ride her on the streets, I got a good first lesson and can only get better. Hopefully.

Now it’s just a matter of getting the house set up properly and getting to school. As of tomorrow, you may refer to me as Teecha Jeena. Wish me luck!

x J

I have received the details of my placement! I am going to be teaching P1-6 (grades 1-6) in Cherng Talay, which is a town in Phuket! I am going to be teaching English, maths, science and health….so we’ll see how that goes. I start work in 8 days which is terrifying and so exhilarating. There will be about a dozen of my peers working at the same school as me. The vision I had of being placed in a tiny village in the middle of Northern Thailand could not be further from the truth. If you’re not familiar with Phuket, let me enlighten you as to the typical expectations people have about it:

I’ve been looking at apartments online; one downfall of living in Thailand’s number one tourist destination is the cost of living. Either about 80% of my pay check each month is going to rent, or else I’m going to have to share my home with about 23 other people.

I might be exaggerating a tad. But still, it’s not cheap.

All I have to say is I hope I learn to love the beach.

x J

This past weekend was one of the best that I’ve had in a long time; each day brought something new and exciting. It started on Thursday when we taught at the English camp. My group was working with the older students that day, which was intimidating to say the least. We were told that we were going to be treated as substitute teachers and that the classes would be difficult to control. Well, they got that right. Some of these kids were angels while the others were little shits, but I loved them with my entire heart. My partner Ryanne and I ended up having to teach four hours of lessons, and each class got easier even though we were growing more tired. Talking to my peers at the end of the day, I was disappointed to find that I wasn’t experiencing the same “this is what I’m meant to do” moment that they were speaking of.

That all changed on Friday, when we were teaching Prahtton 4 and 5 (8-10 year olds). I’m pleased to say that I experienced my a-ha moment that day. I loved, loved, LOVED teaching these kids! I was able to tackle a class all on my own, and they seemed to be grasping the concepts that I was teaching and I’m proud to say that I was able to control the classroom well. The kids were all willing to learn; even if they were a little apprehensive at first, when you smiled at them and they smiled back, you knew you were golden.

We all went out on Friday night, which meant for a rough morning on Saturday. We took our song-tao on an hour and a half ride to Phraya Nakhon Cave. We were told there would be a hike, but our instructor failed to mention that it would be incredibly steep, rocky and long hike! I, luckily, wasn’t feeling too awful and had worn running shoes, but there were some people in flip flops trying to traipse up and around these rocks. After about an hour and a half of hiking in the blistering heat, we got to the cave. I can’t even try to describe this cave. It was absolutely breathtaking, and pictures don’t do it justice. Apparently the temple was built in the cave thousands of years ago, but was only re-discovered a couple hundred years ago when a man was seeking shelter from a storm. This place was incredibly vast and serene. I really felt infinitesimal standing in it – what a humbling feeling. Despite being a little worse for wear, the day ended up far exceeding my expectations. That’s pretty much all I can say about it – my suggestion is to visit it for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

After the day of sweating and physical activity, Janie and I decided to pamper ourselves. We lay on the beach for a few hours, got manicures, oil massages, and had some expensive American food to treat ourselves. I had a Caesar salad which cost almost four times what I would pay for any Thai meal. While sitting in the little cafe a monkey passed by the restaurant, as if to remind us that yup, we’re still in Thailand. 

This week is when we find out about our placements. I have learned that I will be living in the South teaching P1 (6 year olds) which will be heaven for me!! I can’t wait to learn more about my placement: who else will be living there, how many students I will have, the name of the school, the pay, etc. It’s a strange feeling to let someone else figure out your future job – I’m so used to applying for dozens of jobs at a time. Here it’s unlikely that I’ll even have an interview before I get this job. Oh well, mai pen rai. I’m sure it’ll all work out.

x J

Having been in Hua Hin for a week, the real work is starting to begin and routines are forming. The first week was a lot of fun and games, but now a majority of the day is spent in a 40 degree classroom.

The mornings start with the twenty-two of us getting into our song-tao, which is a version of a taxi/bus here. Most of them are just pick-up trucks with two benches in the back (song means two, tao means bench), but some of them are decked out with lights and pictures. I honestly have no idea how the system actually works, because the song-taos run on a designated route but you can also call them like a taxi service.

Our TESOL course starts at 9:00AM at the Tesseban school. This is a local government school which, from my understanding, is the lowest type of funded school in the country.  I won’t sugar coat it: the classrooms that we are in are not air conditioned; the desks are riddled with graffiti; the electricity cuts out often; it’s loud; the squat toilets are dirty and smelly, but….those kids, man. The kids are definitely the best part! Our lunch break starts at noon, which means at 12:01PM there are dozens of kids vying for our attention. Last week we were each greeted by students rushing to give us high fives and hugs. They’re always calling us “teacher! teacher!”, which feels pretty odd considering my lack of training in education. So while the school looks as though it’s falling apart in some respects, it’s all those adorable smiles that really make it enjoyable.

For lunch I like to head to a street vendor, rather than grabbing something from a convenience store. Yesterday I had som tam, which is a fragrant and spicy papaya salad. Today I had green curry with chicken. All the food is so good! But, a word from the wise: always bring a full water bottle to lunch because your mouth is going to be on fire.

A typical day in Hua Hin consists of going to 7-11 at least twice, often more. If you’ve been to Thailand before, you know that it is crawling with 7-11’s. These places are my saviour! They provide iced coffee, snacks, breakfast, school supplies and booze (hallelujah!). Albeit, they offer some strange snack options, but who wouldn’t expect that in Asia?

The evenings are free, so I’ve been doing a range of things. Sometimes swimming in the pool, sometimes going to a night market, going to a restaurant with a group. Tonight I’m headed to a night market with some of my new mates. All of this is after homework is completed, of course (don’t worry, mom).

x J

I arrived in Bangkok around 7AM on Sunday morning. I was nervous about the driver not being where they said they would be in the airport, but luckily I met them easily as well as five new friends, who had also just landed. We were getting to know eachother’s backgrounds on the fourty-five minute drive to the hotel, and by the time we arrived we had already solidified friendships and plans for the rest of the day. After showering the plane smell off of us, we met in the lobby to conquer Bangkok. We didn’t have many plans as to what to do, but we ended up taking the Sky Train to another part of town and getting some yummy Thai street food.

After the 30+ plus hour trip to get to Thailand, I figured that I could use a massage. The five of us new friends went to a massage parlour for a Thai massage, and it was an experience like no other! Shreni, Aisha and I were all in a curtained room together as we were being massaged. We were giggling at first at the compromising positions the masseurs put us in, but after about 15 minutes it felt normal to be poked and prodded and stretched in every direction. If you haven’t had a Thai massage before I highly recommend it, but don’t expect it to be a relaxing experience! The masseurs use every part of their body to massage every part of your body, so your inhibitions fade away quite quickly.  Afterwards I felt incredibly zen, so it was definitely worth the $11.50 (have I mentioned I love how cheap everything is here?!)

We made it to Hua Hin on the second day, and it has been filled with mostly ups, but definitely some downs. The friends I’ve made here are fantastic, I love them all so much already. We all come from diverse backgrounds but have so many similar experiences that brought us to Thailand. We have all left a home that we (mostly) loved, but didn’t offer exactly what we wanted. It’s refreshing to meet so many people with this perspective – I don’t feel like a black sheep quite so much. That being said, I miss all my friends and families so much it hurts, but being surrounded by people in the same position is really comforting during this transitional period.

The “ups” of Hua Hin have primarily been the excursions we’ve gone on as a group. Yesterday we had a brief Muay Thai (aka Thai boxing) class. If you don’t know what Muay Thai is, it’s a blend of boxing, kick boxing and martial arts. These boxers do not mess around, and there are often some fairly serious injuries as a result of a fight. Within the first two minutes of stretching I had sweat dripping down my back, so you can imagine how soaked we were an hour and a half later. Hearing and feeling the connection between your shin and the mat as you kicked reallllly helped to get out some frustration – it was addicting! We’re planning to go cheer on our instructor in a fight on Friday night, so I’ll let you know how that goes.

Today we went to a pineapple farm, elephant sanctuary and “Artist’s Village”. My personal favourite was the village, which I hope to go to sometime later this month to purchase some local artwork. I don’t even know how to describe it…it is a small community of artists that have their pieces on display, while there were art workshops being run, all in this super cool little maze of wooden rooms. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s the best I can do. We drew and painted a little, which was a refreshing change of pace from being either in the blistering sun or lecture halls all the time. The elephant sanctuary was also very cool and a good photo op as we fed the animals pineapples, but it was pretty much what you’d expect from a tourist spot.

I suppose I forgot to mention that this course actually is hard work (I didn’t just come to Thailand to party, I promise!) We have had about 12 hours of lectures in the past two days that have covered Thai culture, visa runs, Thai language classes, what to expect from your school, et cetera. The real teaching English classes start next week, when there will be even more work and assignments to do.

There is one “down” that really stands out from my time here. On Monday night a few of us went to a bar just down the road, which was a lot of fun and it was great getting to know my new friends over a few beers. While we were chatting at the bar, we heard a huge crash come from the road, and of course everyone ran to the patio to see what had happened. There was a head on collision of two mopeds on the road, and when we got to see the accident there were two Thai men lying unconscious in the middle of the street with pieces of their bikes lying around them. Without getting into too much detail, it appeared as though one, if not both of the men, were killed in this accident. It was handled incredibly well by both the paramedics, who arrived within three minutes, and the XploreAsia staff who offered counselling and support for those of us that witnessed the accident. The experience was scary, surreal, sobering and humbling, and really made me not want to jump on the back of a moped any time soon (I hope that makes you feel better, mom).

It’s really difficult to put into words what I have been experiencing here, and pictures hardly do it justice. If you want to imagine what it’s like for us, just sit in a sauna for a couple of hours until there is sweat dripping out of every pore of your body and you’ll get a good idea. But seriously, coming here is one of the best decisions I could have made and I’m already dreading having to say goodbye to these new friends at the end of the month.

Every twenty minutes or so I’ll get a knotted feeling in my gut, reminding me that my life is going to be turned upside down in three days. The same thought keeps running through my head, and it goes something like this: “holy #*@&, I’m moving to Thailand, what the $*%* am I doing?!”

As I’m saying goodbye to loved ones it’s difficult to remember why I’m moving away. I am constantly having to remind myself of the reasons to leave – I want to explore a new career; see a shockingly different part of the world; better myself and grow independently of anyone else. Unfortunately, the path I’ve chosen also means being away from friends and family for an undetermined amount of time. On the other side of the coin, I know that in a few short days I will meet some people that could turn into lifelong friends, which is thrilling in its own right.

I keep adding things to my list of what to bring, and my backpack is already full, so lord knows how I’m going to get everything to Thailand. My backpack and duffel are going to be heaaavy….although, now that I think of it, that may be the perfect reason to get my first Thai massage. One of the items I recently acquired is a GoPro Hero3 – how kickass is that?! I bought it off Kijiji, and am hoping to get some sweet photos while beaching around Hua Hin (stay tuned: my Instagram is about to get infinitely cooler). Unfortunately this also meant having to buy a selfie stick which, if you know me, I am not pleased to own. But sacrifices must be made in the name of art.

In case you’re wondering, I’m mostly kidding.

Hope you’re having a phenomenal Tuesday and start to your autumn!

x J