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Published: July 30th 2013
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It is exactly 2 weeks and two days until I board that plane home. Looking behind me I see 12months filled with amazing, weird, and hilarious memories. Ahead of me lies the next chapter: Sol Fest, University and life in Glasgow. I still find it hard to comprehend all the happenings, the ups, the downs and the craziness of this year…
That first time we walked into this house we were pasty-skinned, sweaty, and unnerved at the thought of teaching 700 kids a week for the rest of the year. We had been sharing the same, hard bed and had only known each other for a week. Now I regard Ben as one of my best friends and cannot imagine doing any of this without him. That’s not to say things have always been easy. We have argued, fought, moaned at each other and sometimes gone nearly a whole day without saying a word to one another. But through it all we’ve always moved on and got through it, supporting each other all the way. Our house used to be a concrete space with a snake living under the stairs. Today it feels like home with a huge
Union Jack painted across the living room floor (although the snake always comes back when it rains).
I remember thinking how strong Thailand smells compared with home. This is still very true. Thai food is still excellent but you can smell it wherever you go and it’s not always pleasant. Walking around the market in Muang Samsip you’re bombarded with spicy chillies, putrid smelling fish that are kept alive, and an array of sweets, meats and fruit all heated to the humid temperature of 40 degrees. This odious odour can have an adverse effect on a dodgy stomach after one too many Changs.
My views of teaching have changed greatly. Before starting I would plan every detail meticulously and then worry over everything going right. Now I have taken the Thai attitude of ‘mai pen rai’ to heart by just enjoying what I do and having a laugh with everyone whilst still getting through the material. I remember for Halloween when all my M1s were either covered in flour or soaking wet but all happy to get a treat. Or when I spent 3 weeks teaching M5 to sing Razorlight and Killers songs. It’s
not an easy feat trying to explain the question ‘are we human or are we dancer?’ to them all in broken Thai (I still don’t really know what Brandon Flowers was on about). There have always been problem classes like the M3 boys who come in 30 minutes late stinking of smoke or the M1 lads that kick-box their way through every lesson. Yet I’ve always found ways of getting around things like drawing a ‘1’ and ‘2’ on the two Maui Thai fighting identical twins in M1/4.
Other things things haven’t always been easy. I’ll never forget the embarrassment in projectile vomiting all over my host families house (and feeling like the ‘chunder everywhere’ guy out of Gap Yah). Or this house’s appalling drainage with blocking sinks, showers and toilets when the rain starts falling. More recently I went through the Healthcare system in Thailand. There is no enjoyment found in waking up on the operating table; struggling to breath and vomiting (again Gap Yah springs to mind). However, I have no complaints about the nursing staff, both professional and non-professional.
Amazing things have also happened this year. I just have to look
at my wrist to know how many places I have seen and experienced. Diving in the crystal clear water of Koh Tao and riding a mopeds around Pai, Koh Lanta and monsoon ridden Kanchanaburi. Throwing myself off a 50 metre platform in Chaing Mai and having a 4 day water fight in the chaos of Songkran. Partying on beaches, in clubs and in this house will always be both remembered and puzzled over as to what exactly happened on those hazy nights. Yet the most incredible experiences are those shared with the people I have spent this year with. Friends who have made me laugh endlessly, a partner with a never ending source of energy and a host whose kindness is parallel to that of a saint. But none more amazing than Claire. Every vivid memory and rose-tinted recollection has her face in. This year would have been very different without Claire riding on the back of the mopeds; touring Thailand together or both of us finding solitude in Sunee Grand. In all honesty, the future never looked brighter than with her in it. I am still counting the days till we are together again. The most difficult part of
this year is not having her around. Only two weeks and 4 days until that is remedied.
I also need to say a huge thank-you to all the support I have had from family and friends over the last 12 months. The funding given from charities has made this year possible and aid parcels containing the essentials like tea and chocolate have helped me smile through prolonged periods of homesickness.
There is so much that I will miss about Thailand. Being able to watch each and every golden sunset over Isaan. Seeing those warm rays glint off the paddy fields, creating alchemy in the water and form golden mirrors that merge land with sky. Having strangers smile and wave at you down every street and inviting you to take part in festivals like Loi Kra Tung and SongKran. So much beauty and kindness lives here in both the people and the land.
Next week is my last week of teaching. So far I’ve made one boy cry then start laughing uncontrollably after eating a spoonful of chilli powder and M5 now greet me with ‘Nu Teacher’ in the mornings.
It’s going to be a sad farewell to Muang Samsip but I expect everyone to be either in the pub or at Sol Fest when I get back. I can’t wait to be having a pint with everyone in spoons and I will strive not to start every sentence with ‘this one time in Thailand…’ To all those traipsing around Europe, a catch-up session is defiantly in order when you get back. See you all soon.
Sa Wat Dee Krrrrap!
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