What a Difference a Couple Days Can Make

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So I've only been out of the hospital for a little over two days now but what a difference! I feel like a normal person again both physically and mentally. Physically, I feel great. I still fall asleep almost anytime I'm sitting down for more than a few minutes (mostly just when I'm riding in a taxi. and don't worry Mom, I haven't fallen asleep in a taxi by myself and I don't plan on having that happen) but I feel healthy. Outside of still being a little tired it's like my body is back to normal. I still have a couple of days worth of antibiotics so hopefully I'll stay this way once they're finished but I couldn't be happier about the way I feel. And mentally it's like I'm totally on the other end of the spectrum from where I was last week. Monday was still a rough day but that was probably because I was still at home and wasn't doing much but now that I've been back at school the last two days I've just been in a chipper mood all the time and I love it. I'm taking over more responsibilities at school and I actually have stuff to do during my off periods so I'm staying busy and I'm beginning to enjoy it. Even though it still is confusing and stressful as I'm trying to figure out the whole teaching thing, it's like a new challenge everyday and my coops are really helping to guide me through it. As of tomorrow I officially have full responsibility over 2 of the 4 classes I'm in and after the Chinese New Year I will have full responsibility over the other two classes. The kids aren't responding that well to me yet but I get the feeling that a lot of them just don't have personalities in the classroom. It seems like they're there to learn whether they want to be or not and they just sort of accept that fact and do what is asked of them. Some of them seem like they can joke around in the classroom and have some fun but a lot of them are just like robots. It makes it easy in a way because I don't have any issues with authority in the classroom because they all do what I ask them to do but at the same time it makes it boring for me because there's no fun in the room and I don't get much of a chance to develop a relationship with the students. This may change as they adjust to me a bit more but right now I find the kids to be pretty boring. But I'm ok with that. If the kids don't like or enjoy the fact that I am teaching the class instead of the regular teacher, it's their problem. I'll be out of the school in about a month so frankly I don't care what the kids think because I'm going to keep doing my job whether they like it or not.
I'm still not getting out as much as I would like to so I'm disappointed about that but it really is hard to get out and do much during the week. I usually don't get home from school until around 3:30 (sometimes earlier. It depends on traffic and the taxi driver we have. Today's taxi stalled at least 7 times on the ride home so I think it took us a little longer, but it was an exciting ride even though I still fell asleep) so by the time I get home, change my clothes and figure out what I may want to do, it's close to 4 already and at that hour there isn't much to do unless I want to go to a mall or just go to a part of the city and just walk around. I'm sure I'll do that occasionally during the week but to do that everyday would just get to be a bit much. Sometimes it is nice to just relax and take it easy after a long day at school. But I have started going to the gym and working out again so that gives me something to do in the afternoon/evening after school and I think that's helping to improve my mood as well. I enjoy working out because it usually wakes me up and gives me some energy, at least for a little while, and it's a nice way to relieve stress. So that gives me something to do for an hour after school and then I'll catch up on any planning I didn't get to while I was at school and usually just relax and grab dinner with my housemates. So as much as I should be out doing stuff all the time, sometimes it's just hard. As much as I am here as a tourist, at this point I am essentially living here and working full time. If I were to go out sightseeing everyday after work, it would be like anyone back home going to work all day and then going out and doing something exciting for the rest of the day until it's time for bed. It would be nice, but in a way it's not practical. So I'm taking it easy during the week, maybe going out for dinner or going to the mall, but I'm saving my real sightseeing and adventures for the weekends.
As for this coming weekend I'm hoping to finish up most of my sightseeing in and around Bangkok. There are still a couple temples I want to get to in Bangkok and the old capital, Ayutthaya, is about a 2 hour bus ride north of here and I've been told that for a history geek, it's worth the visit so I'm hoping to take a day trip there this weekend. Next week is a short week at school because I have off Thursday and Friday for the Chinese New Year. My housemates and I are hoping to take a trip to Phuket together for a least a couple days during the weekend. Phuket is further south and it's supposed to be a beautiful beach/tourist area. There are supposed to be more beautiful places, but Phuket seems like it's going to be the easiest to get to. I thought about going to Phuket on my own this weekend and then staying in Bangkok next weekend for the new year but in hindsight I think I can handle going with my housemates. As much as I don't like always hanging out with them, I think it would be more fun going with them than it would be going by myself. And I still think I'll have some time next weekend to experience the Chinese New Year here in Bangkok.
So all in all things have improved dramatically and they are still looking up. I guess getting healthy was all I really needed to turn a new leaf and finally begin to enjoy my time here. I guess it's about time considering my trip is almost halfway over. But I couldn't be happier about feeling better and I just hope it will continue throughout the rest of my time here. And even if it subsides, Jason is going to be here in less than 4 weeks so I have that to look forward to.
No photos today but hopefully after this weekend I'll have a bunch of new ones to show from where ever I may end up this weekend.

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