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October 12th 2009
We have been in Vietnam for 5 days and it feels more like two weeks. Magical how time can slow down when you remove the routine of work. Thus far we have spent about three days In Hanoi, the captial, and two in Sapa, a mountain town in the North. Currently chilly in Sapa. While I do not know the actual temperature no one else is complaining about being cold as much as I am. Shows me my blood truly has changed after 9 months of living in Thailand. What was once considered brisk is now "freezing!" to me. Today started with Sofia and I being bombarded by hilltribe women as soon as we left our hotel. Most of the hilltribe people in this area are Hmong. There are a lot of Hmong in Chinag Mai ... read more
Welcome to The Team, or The Joy of Teaching
Published: September 8th 2009Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
September 8th 2009
Yes, it is rewarding when I feel as if a student has actually learned something. But the best thing about teaching Thai 15-17 year olds? I get an absolute kick out of them. Here are some tidbits that have made me happy. Some of my classes are working on what I call “sentence trees.” The class worked together to create two flawless sentences. Me: “Okay, we need a subject!” Students: “Teacher Vanessa” Me: “Okay, we need a verb. What do I do?” Students: “Talk.” Me: “Great. What about an object? How do I talk?” Students: “Too fast.” Me: “Alright, can you come up with another object?” Students: “Too much.” Teacher Vanessa talks too fast. Teacher Vanessa talks too much. I quickly got used to my co teachers missing classes and leaving me to fend for myself ... read more
August 8th 2009
I am a high school teacher. I am a foreign language high school teacher. I failed 2 different foreign languages in high school about 7 years ago. There are moments when walking through the halls and I am greeted as a teacher I have to smile to myself. I never imagined I would be a high school teacher. Zandy, Brittney, and I all landed jobs at the same school back in April. I teach over 500 hundred students a week at Watchirawit Secondary School. Watchirawit is a private school, and a second rate private school at that. Some of my experiences are probably true of teaching anywhere, some only in Thailand, and many only at my beloved Watchirawit. From day one, two things have been clear: nothing is consistent and image trumps everything. Having tour bus ... read more
Relying on the Kindness of Strangers/ My Weekend in An Akha Village
Published: June 5th 2009Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Rai
June 5th 2009
While in Ghana I learned that strangers can often be your most reliable allies. I am happy to say this has also been my experience in Thailand. When I was searching for a teaching job a couple of months ago I responded to an ad to teach in a hill tribe village. I was disappointed when I did not hear back from them. But a few weeks after accepting a different teaching position I got a phone call from Rocky. Warmth radiated off of his voice through the phone. I told him that I already signed a contract but I was very interested in what he was doing. Rocky is an American man who lives in an Akha village. He has spent the past two years working through Thai bureaucracy to start an organization to help ... read more
Songkran: Water Mania 2009
Published: April 18th 2009Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
April 18th 2009
I have found myself in the pearl of the north, Chiang Mai. My friends and I have teaching positions lined up and apartments to call our homes. This is the start of a new chapter in our Thai adventure. It is appropriate timing to begin something new because the Thai new year has just passed. Thai new year is called Songkran. This is by far the coolest holiday I have ever encountered. I should say hottest and coolest, April is the hottest month in Thailand and man is it boiling. Traditionally the new year is celebrated by visiting elders and wats (Buddhist temples). While I imagine some people were doing this, many more were on the streets for absolutely epic water fights. It is a tradition to wash temples and Buddha images with special water on ... read more
October 16th 2007
It has been over six weeks since I arrived in Ghana. I have spent most of my time in Cape Coast, only leaving for one week to a village and 5 days to the capital Accra. Komenda was too small and Accra was far too big and western. I even ate sushi and watched MTV while there. Cape Coast on the other hand is just right. This place has really become my home. Here are a list of tibbits of life here. Some are true of many places in Africa, some particular to Ghana, some to Cape Coast, and a few are probably only true for me and my group of friends here: -laughing cow cheese is the only affodable cheese you will find- peanuts are called ground nuts and are way better than in the ... read more
October 2nd 2007
-In the beginning the earth and the heavens existed very close together. There was a woman pounding fou fou but her pounding stick was too long. as she pounded her stick knocked the heavens far away and created the world as we know it today.- African traditional religion creation story (fou fou is a local dish made of cassavas and plantains) I spent last week in a fishing village called Komenda. It was really interesting to finally see more of the country. I do not know Cape Coast's population to compare it to but Komenda is made up of about 10,000 people. The people there are incredibly friendly. It is a coastal village so most of the men are fishermen and the women are fish mongers. Because it is so small there are no Americans there. ... read more
September 13th 2007
Culture shock is incredibly intense and impossible to describe. I wave in and out of moments of feeling comfortabe and extremely uncomfortable. Before coming here I had tons of preconcieved notions of what things would be like. It is as if I thought that the moment I stepped of the plane I would instantly feel different simply because I was in Africa. Instead I was just in a new place which did not feel too different than any other time I stepped off a plane. I had thought that everything would be dirt roads and mud huts. It has been a huge eye opener for me to realize how wrong I was. One of the biggest adjustments has been sticking how so much. Obviously I knew I was going to be a minority but nothing could ... read more
September 7th 2007
well it has now been one week since i began my journey and it feels like two minutes ago and a life time ago all at once. It was the most sureal moment of of my life when we stepped off of the airplane in Acca. When I stepped off the first thing I saw in front of me was a huge sign that said Gemini. I was standing witha fellow gemini and we both agreed it was a personal hello to us. The next sign we saw read "AKWAABA" that is welcome in Fanti, one of the local languages. We spent the night in Accra and then took a three hour bus ride to Cape Coast in the morning. During the bus ride we passed many happy faces who could spot our white skin from ... read more
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