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Asia » Thailand » Southern Thailand » Hat Yai
April 26th 2010
Published: April 26th 2010
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Outside my hostel in SingaporeOutside my hostel in SingaporeOutside my hostel in Singapore

Early morning in the Muslim Quarter-amazing!
I really can't believe that I've been in Thailand for 3 weeks now! The time flew by. Well in the middle of last week during our student teaching it wasn't flying by. It was intense! We would find out what our teaching topic would be and what school we'd be at mid-afternoon the day before. Then we'd all be up until the wee hours preparing all our materials and lesson plans, get up and be on the road by 7am, teach and then repeat. It was a great challenge and super fun. My favorite place was at an orphanage. The kids had a ton of energy and although I think they may have learned very little English, we had a blast together 😊 I feel more like an artist and actress than a teacher, getting up there and doing my 40 min. show for them.

There were 27 other techers in the TESOL course with me. They were from all over the world, but mainly the UK and US. I wonder if the words mum, bloody hell and brilliant will stick with me now that I'm not around all those Brits?! We lucked out with our accomodations. We ended up at the tip of Phuket at Nai Harn beach. We really lucked out with the whole course. You never really know when you're signing up for something like this online. All of us had the same fears, are we going to get ripped off, is this a scam, are we going to end up in a cheap hostel somewhere, etc. I would whole heartedly recommend the American Tesol Institute-they rocked out! When I arrived at the resort I was in complete shock. First off somewhere during the immigration/entry process I lost all the contact info for the resort and there was no internet at the airport. So I tried to recall from memory the name of the resort. The fact that I had read the email a month prior and only once didn't give me much confidence. But, alas, I loaded into the taxi and we were off. I was so relieved when I checked in and they handed me a packet with my name on it 😊 As I walked to my room I passed through the dining cafe and my jaw about hit the floor. So much food and opulence was stretched out before me. My room had
Dog and MeDog and MeDog and Me

One night in Phuket while walking to the store this fella tagged along.
a comfy bed, AC and they gave us bottled water. I couldn't believe it! Here I had been living for 2 months on fish, rice, a few veggies and fruits and conserving every drop of water I could and now I was surrounded by those things. I never got used to it, even after 3 weeks. I'll confess I'm a bit of a freegan...I do buy food and stuff but I don't turn down much that's given to me. Frequently I would be walking to my room and see a plate of fruit that people hadn't finished. They would have eaten only half of it and if I walked by later and it was still there, I took it. I hated to think it was just going to be tossed. Anyway, I ate a lot of bananas and grapes. Thanks people!

Speaking of food I just have to say if you ever have a chance to go to Singapore, go! So many people scuff at Singapore and say how its culture has been lost in the race to modernization. I say true, a lot of it has been. But go to the Muslim and Indian district and you'll find
Whoa!Whoa!Whoa!

I flagged down a pickup for us after grocery shopping.
such a unique subculutre there. Not only do you have a fusion of religions, ideals, globalization and history; you also have a fusion of foods. If I have a weekend to kill and some cash burning a hole in my pocket, I will absolutely fly back to Singapore to eat! I also became friends with some really amazing people there. I was sitting outside a mosque during their final prayer. Its so intoxicating to listen and although I couldn't go inside I was quite content sitting on the bench outside. Before I knew it a gentleman had sat down next to me and we were chatting about Islam, Allah, the constellations we could see...and so on. I ended up hanging out with him and his buddy for the remainder of my time in Singapore. Their wives had their lady, shopping, bonding time and the guys and I ate food and contemplated life for the next 24 hours.

Now I'm in Southern Thailand in the town of Hat Yai. Again an interesting fusion of Malay, Chinese and Thai. Its your typical shady border town, but interesting in its own way. I'm doing a quick visa run today to Malaysia and
Carrot artCarrot artCarrot art

A woman on the side of the road was carving this. Amazing!
then I need to find a train to Bangkok. Up until yesterday when the stars aligned and my funds restored I was down to my last dollars. I had set up a work exhange in a town outside of Bangkok in order to save money during our 2 week holiday. I'm still going there since I told the guy I would help him. He's building a earth home, so in exchange for me helping him I get a place to crash and food! I'm excited about it and it should be an interesting side journey 😊


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Those kids Those kids
Those kids

can suck the life outta ya. One day after student teaching.
Technical H.S.Technical H.S.
Technical H.S.

They're totally paying attention. Hah!
Heading outHeading out
Heading out

Going to the bus station with some of the other teachers.
Bus ride to Hat YaiBus ride to Hat Yai
Bus ride to Hat Yai

This little girl and I jammed out to my ipod. Music is universal!
My bathroom in Hat YaiMy bathroom in Hat Yai
My bathroom in Hat Yai

At least I have one and no bed bugs was just a bonus!


28th April 2010

Girl! Amazing stories so far! :)

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