I live at Hogwarts- Thailand Style

Hogwarts? What? Yes, my dreams have come true. The school that I teach at was modeled after Hogwarts. Tang, who is the owner of and designed the school, based everything after Hogwarts. For those who know me well enough, you may recall that my life long dream is to receive my letter informing me of my magical destiny. That has yet to come, but it's awesome that I get to live here! Because it's Thailand and everything is so hot, the school isn't dark and cozy but it's all white and marble everywhere. Absolutely gorgeous. Bask in my delight of my beautiful dwellings won't you?

 Front of the beautiful school

The green house where the vegetables grow that we eat in our meals!

 Outdoor playground

 The cute little sinks

 Our showers- cold, cold showers.

Cute little toilets, with hoses. No TP. We have 2 big ones for us. 

Our dormitory. My bed is obviously the one piled with stuff on it. 

Another view of our room.

My first week and a half here have been wonderful. I feel so comfortable here; the people are so friendly. The girls and I ride our bikes all over town and it never gets old having people shout “Hello,” “Beautiful” and other words in English at us as they are happily waving. We feel like celebrities most days. The weather is humid, and I am constantly wet. There are also bugs. Everywhere. At home, if I saw a spider I would probably scream for a roommate to come get it. I'm really proud of myself for how well i am handling it. There are also lizards in my shower. Also proud of myself for how I am handling it. 

The kids are also adorable! I’m taking one home with me. For reals, I don’t think it’d be too hard to pack one away with how tiny they are! I teach the pre-kids, and then K1/K2. They are all about 2-5 and are so fun! Today was day 5 of teaching and it is harder than I expected. All of us had a rough first day, but we’re definitely improving. I love having my own little class comprised of: Leo, Namob, Nick, Nest, Lin, Auto, and Pordee (party.) They are so cute! Here is what my day looks like pretty much every day.

8:00- Teach the Pre-K Kids

9:00-12:00- Teach K1/K2

Eat Lunch

Go bike ride into town for a smoothie. They are delicious and cost 30 baht = 1 dollar

We also do things like get pedicures (3 dollars-that included a 50% tip)

Go to Tesco- It’s like a walmart with really good airconditioning

And then we basically just ride our bikes and discover new places and faces

Today we went to a festival with amazing shopping!

It’s hard to think that this is real life.

Pinch Me. 

13 Hours In Seoul

I have finally arrived in Thailand! Though I haven't seen much of it yet, it's beautiful. This post is not titled 13 Hours in Thailand though, it is titled 13 Hours in Seoul. We had a super long layover in Korea, and so we decided to go exploring! Apparently the Incheon airport is known for having long layovers and they are prepared to entertain you! Not only was there a parade that would wander through every now and then, but there was a place that we could sign up for tours. We chose a 5 hour tour of Seoul.

This was what "Rachel," our Korean tour guide, gave us. We practiced some Korean words, and got to pick out what we wanted for lunch. 

 This is at the..Chenggyecheon Water Stream. It used to be a natural stream, was then covered in concrete, and has now been restored as of 2005. It's really pretty, for a stream.

This palace was so awesome! It was the main palace during a dynasty. Can't remember which, but it was obviously important.

This was my meal. Very spicy, and tofu based. It was supposed to have "tiny" bits of seafood in it. 

I may have screamed when I found this lurking in it. Normally I like shrimp, but this little guy still had his face on. I covered him with rice and ate on. 

Overall Korea was great! I also got a couple items from the market. I kept wanting to say "quanto questo?" each time I went up to someone. Unfortunately Koreans don't speak Spanish.

Why I'm dropping out of life for 4 months

As many of you know, finally making the decision to go to Thailand, was a process to say the least. I first made the decision a year ago, literally an entire year. I have since gone back and forth, making pros and cons lists to no end, and almost withdrew my acceptance on more than one occasion. On one particular night when I was confused and questioning my decision, through tears and frustration, a friend gave me some great advice that has gotten me to the point of packing my bags. He asked me how I felt when I first decided to go, and I told him I felt good. "Then stop second guessing yourself. Take that good feeling you had and cleave to it, no matter what. If it felt good when you first asked, then that is your answer." And so that is what I've done. Each time I get scared, nervous, or find reasons not to go, I think of that good feeling I had, and somewhere inside I know it'll be worth it.

The question you may be asking at this point is, Why? Why are you going, what are you doing, have you seen the movie taken, did you hear about that girls who was imprisoned in a foreign country, have you considered the fact that you may be sold as a sex slave? Well the answer is Yes. Yes to is all. Yes I'm going, and among the countless disasters that could happen, I know I'll be fine. So, onto some more clear answers onto what i'll be doing- the fun part. I am departing my life for 4 months and going to live in the rural town of Phichit, Thailand. I have decided to do this because:

1. The idea of continuing my education and going to school makes me want to puke at this point in my life.
2. I want to travel somewhere
3. I want to meet new people
4. I need a break from my life
5. I want to have some good old "life experience"

And so Thailand won the battle quite easily- surprise surprise. I will be going with International Language Programs aka ILP. They are an organization based out of Happy Valley and they send volunteers each semester to China, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Lithuania, and Thailand. Volunteers who go to countries other than Thailand are in larger groups due to bigger schools and the program has been there comparably longer than the small school in Thailand. The school there is rather new and I will be part of the 5th group to ever go, so there will be 5 of us going. Our purpose while there is to teach English to Thai children. No, I do not know a lick of Thai. The good news is, the little kiddies aren't allowed to speak it. Yes, I win! The girls and I (whom I have yet to meet, but keep praying they aren't weirdys) will live in an apartment above the school we teach at. We teach for 20 hours a weeks, have weekends off, and some sort of vacation time at one point. Our free time may be spent how we choose, lounging by the pool, in the park, traveling to amazing beaches, parading around on elephants, and having exciting adventures. Sounds excruciating right?

So, I leave in 5 days. 5 days of preparing and packing over and over again. 5 days of anxiety, and trouble sleeping. 5 days of nerves and tummy churning. But mostly, 5 days closer to an adventure that I'm sure will impact my life and maybe someone else's along the way.

P.S: I did not take the above picture. I googled Thailand. I needed something to actually show you what I'm going into. Isn't she a beaut?

XOXO
Gossip Girl..just kidding, but seriously i've been hooked on that show lately

- Hope you find a way to wander,
Kelsey