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Published: August 13th 2012
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It's been a week since I last wrote; I am really going to try to be good about updating this weekly this time! So here's what you missed in the past week:
I started classes last Monday, with 5 other students. We lost 3 by Tuesday: the young British girl walked away during mid-morning break the first day and e-mailed the teacher saying she was done, the middle-aged American woman next showed up the second day and wasn't heard from until a few days later saying she was interested anymore, and the middle-aged Australian woman had a mental breakdown on day 2 and really has no idea what she is doing with her life so she decided to just go home. That left me with an older Scottish man and a similarly-aged Thai girl for classmates.
In the meantime, John had obtained his intended job at The White Room, a nightclub in Patong Beach, about 20 minutes away. On Sunday night he met up with his boss and the other employees for a wild night out on Bangkla Road. Think Vegas strip, third world style. Flashing lights, mobs of tourists, thousands of bars, and all the lady boys and
hookers you could ever want. Classy. He then spent Monday afternoon doing the real work: attempting to sell entry tickets to tourists on the beach. It was a bit of a slow day…
Come Tuesday morning, our teacher, Eva, feared the collapse of the course, and changed the lesson plans accordingly. Day 2 become a wellness day. We were set free in the afternoon to get settled and explore the island. She recruited John to join our group temporarily, in hopes of raising the group morale (and his). Later that evening John and I joined Eva at a little reggae bar on the beach for drinks and a serious life discussion. She made sure my heart was still in the course, despite the rest of our class dropping like flies. She also made John rethink his work choices and encouraged him to give teaching a try. So on Wednesday John joined our class, bringing the grand total back up to 4 students. Woohoo!
The next three days consisted of learning classroom skills, designing lesson plans, and practicing teaching on our peers. We began setting up interviews with local Thai businesses, offering free English lessons to gain practice hours.
We will start tutoring, both in one-on-one and group situations, this week. John and I are both grasping the material really well and Eva loves our enthusiasm. She has been a great support to us both in the classroom and out since we got here. I know I am really looking forward to finding a job here and making this my new home (for up to a year).
Besides our homework we've been trying out all the local cuisine, enjoying the beach, and making the apartment feel livable. Life on a tropical island is pretty satisfying for us 😊
Check out the pics, leave your comments and questions, and come back for next week's installment!
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Virginia
non-member comment
Hooray!
So glad that you are settled in for the most part and enjoying your new life. I'm surprised by how tourist empty the beach is in your photo. So happy to see your face when we skyped! Everything looked so white...But I like your curtain fabric. Stay happy! love, mom