ShoestringPrincess

Still in the transition phase for updates Read all about our 2 day trek through the Sumatran Jungle here!!!! http://shoestringprincess.blogspot.com/... read more

It's been a while since my last post, so lets see if I still remember how to do this. After 5 months of being in Thailand we finally got all the stamps, visa extensions and nods we needed to actually leave the country without nullifying our work permits. After going through this whole process, I have a whole newfound respect for immigrants living in America...this is hard! The week began with my first visitors from back home. First to come visit was a coworker Jimmy who came to Thailand to visit his sister up north and decided to swing by the islands before heading back. Next came one of my oldest friends, Jessie and her (recent, congrats by the way) fiancé Brian! They were a welcome reminder of home and a much needed reality check of ... read more

I woke up today, at 5 am, to the sound of BLASTING Thai music. As if the music itself wasn't abrasive enough, after about 3 minutes the local animals started calling back, which created quite the Thai Symphony. I, like any rational human being, was pretty surprised by this and was walking around trying to figure out what was going on. No one else seemed bothered by it, and every time I'd ask a student what it was, they'd just shrug. I later found out that it's common practice to play music from 5-6am for 100 days after someone dies as a period of mourning. Looking forward to the next week of this.... We eventually got up, dressed and headed back to the pavilion for breakfast. Afterwards we caught a tractor to the Lao Khrang Village, ... read more

So today half of my M5 class (11th grade) was out "attending a sport event" (whatever that means) so instead of teaching the few students that were in class just to reteach them the material next time I decided to pull up pictures of Christmas things and have them explain what they saw. This is how it went: I started out easy and just asked then "What is Christmas?" Response: "Birth or Death of Jesus...We aren't sure...but definitely something to do with Jesus." Next question I pulled up a picture of Santa on his sleigh and asked what this was. Response: "That's Santa." Me: "Who is Santa?" Response: "Old fat man who has tiny children slaves who make toys." Me: "Why does he make them make toys?" Response: "To give to children." Next I showed them ... read more

A month, it's been a whole month since coming to Thailand. It somehow simultaneous feels like yesterday and a life time ago. Its the little changes you don't notice until you do...like, I'm no longer picking all the peppers out of my food or how sometimes after school, it'll take 10 minutes of being in my apartment until I remember I forgot to turn on the AC or instead of cursing the speeding motorbikes passing by I've now joined their ranks. It's been a week and a half since school started. I am teaching 3 courses: Algebra, Physics and Communication. The kids are amazing. Don't get me wrong there are a few I'd like to strangle from time to time but they always win you back over. It's when you are in the front of the ... read more