Baan Nahk in Bangkok

Last weekend, Rita, Jes, Nok, and I headed down to Bangkok to get our fill of city life and to take a sneak peek at Jes's growing baby. As soon as we got off at 4 am after our 10 hour bus ride, we knew we were in for an exciting weekend.  Even at 4 am the bus station was packed with people and there were taxis being filed into the area in 3 lanes.  Yes, we were definitely baan nahk (loosely translated to "hicks" and featured in an awesome pop song) in the big city. Just for comparison's sake, Nakhon Phanom is about the same size as  Nashua or Brockton. Bangkok is easily the largest city I've ever been to, it just sprawled for miles upon miles and took more than an hour to get into an out of on the bus.

Nok was able to hook us up in government housing at Chulalonghorn University, but when we got there we had to crash in the lobby for a few hours before our room was ready.  After a nap, we wandered around and went to the MBK center, basically a big mall-type market to look for legitimate flip-flops and look around.  It was absolutely bizarre to see so many tourists and falangs.  Not only were there a lot of westerners, but a lot of middle eastern people as well as africans.  It was really cool to see such diversity after being in the village and "city" for four months.  It feels like we spent most of the weekend pointing out all the different kinds of people we saw.  It was definitely a different type of tourist demographic than you might find in the caribbean or in europe, so we were just fascinated by all the people we saw. After wandering around for a while, we headed back to our room and enjoyed the hot showers.  

Then we went on our first real excursion in the city, and took a cab to the hospital where Jes's will have her baby.  Traffic in Bangkok was crazy!  Going about 85 mph weaving through 3 lanes of heavy traffic was quite an experience.  We pulled up to the hospital and were completely awed by what we saw.  The hospital was like a swanky 5-star hotel.  Bangkok Samitivej is one of the premier hospitals in the world, but I wasn't expecting it to be that nice.  We got to go to Jes's appointment with her and look at the ultrasound, which was awesome.  Its so interesting to hear all about the preganancy stuff, and a lot of fun to feel the baby kick and draw faces on Jes's stomach.  That being said, it was incredible to actually see the baby we've been playing with for the last few months.  After the appointment we were taken to see the birthing suite, where they have a giant tub, ropes to hang from (a Hmong tribe tradition), and even a ladder to climb. No stark white walls or machines beeping, the rooms looked like they could be in anyone's home.  This hospital was simply incredible.  AND it had an Au Bon Pain, where we most certainly enjoyed an awkwardly timed tuna melt.  And a few days later, got a bagel and cream cheese fix too :) when we were in the area looking at apartments for Jes and Abe while they await the baby.

We then tried to go to a restaurant on top of the tallest building in Bangkok, but they didn't have any tables available for us. Mai pen rai, we wandered around the markets on the streets below in central Bangkok.  It was where all the riots had been last year, and where there was a scheduled red shirt protest the next day - something we certainly wanted to avoid. 

The following day we designated as temple and market day.  We traveled to Wat Pho, the largest temple in Bangkok and the home of the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand, as well as the most buddha images in a single temple.  It was definitely an incredible sight to see, but also difficult to navigate through the vast crowds.

After we'd had enough of the temple, we went to Jatujak market, one of the largest weekend markets in Thailand.  With more than 30 acres of market stalls, we were sure to be lost among all the merchandise. We wandered around for a few hours, marvelling at the much higher quality goods than can be found in NKP. You could certainly say that we shopped til we dropped.  After the market, we headed to Siam Square, the posh part of Bangkok and the home to designer stores and the international grocery store.  We looked in the grocery store for a while, checking out the goods, and planning what we might want to purchase later. Granola and cheese seemed to top the list, with wine being quite the tease. 

Jes's uncle, Pat, met us there and treated us to a wonderful dinner in a traditional thai restuarant nearby.  We're so used to restaurant stalls and street food that it was really nice to sit down inside and enjoy a meal.  He was great company too, sharing stories of living all over the world and particularly interesting Thailand stories.  After dinner we headed back to the grocery store to stock up on goodies unavailable in NKP, and Pat treated Jes to several rolls of bakery bread and cookies.  What an incredibly generous man. 

Monday we woke up and headed out apartment hunting for a bit, which meant we went back to the hospital (for bagels with cream cheese!) so they could call an apartment's shuttle to pick us up. (concierge service at a hospital?) Afterwards, we went back to MBK to buy legitimate flip-flops and crazy pants - seriously, I got the coolest pants - and check for some last minute purchases. Back at the dorms, we treated ourselves with one last hot shower and packed up for the long journey home.

We got to the bus station with just enough time to get a 7-11 dinner and board our bus.  Due to traffic leaving Bangkok, the bus ride was 12 hours.  We got back to NKP around 7 am, just in time to catch the fresh market at prime time. About 5 minutes after we'd unpacked and were ready for a snooze, Pornchai called to say that he was picking us up to take us to an english competition at one of the city's schools.  1/2 hour later he was sitting in the living room waiting for us to get rip roy and whisk us off to judge the spelling bee and speeches!

Me on the temple grounds

the largest temple in bangkok

Pi Nok and Jes

Buddha images

The largest reclining Buddha in Thailand

Those are Buddha's feet!

Ch..ch..ch..changes....

Although it was an unfortunate experience that led to all these changes in Thailand, I’ve felt very fortunate in what has come from the upheaval that has been my life for the past 3 weeks. There have certainly still been highs and lows, but overall I’m incredibly happy with the way things have been working out. Here’s the basic rundown, and of course, we’ll end with the positive notes:

-          feeling awkward when having to explain my presence at events that I would have otherwise been at Kut Chim during.  Do I explain that I’ve moved and then try to avoid further questions? Or do I just say I teach at Kut Chim, but I had free time and chose to come to the event?

-          Frequent requests for me to return that I (or Jes) have to then turn down.

-          Missing my home in Kut Chim.  I really did love everything about my home (minus the scary spiders) and my village. I still feel very sad about leaving.

-          Missing my students.  This is by far the worst part about my departure. I miss my students each and every day.

-          I still feel incredibly angry at the stupid man that ruined what I had in Kut Chim.  Everything there was going really well and I was so happy.  Emotionally, I have been completely fine, other than the fact that I am so pissed he decided to take all the liberty in the world without even considering the consequences it would have.  

Here are the good changes:

+ gaining incredibly valuable work experience while assisting Jes in the FD office.  Working on budgets, organizing teaching materials, etc. will all prove to be valuable skills in the future.

+ going on site visits to the other volunteers’ schools.  This is one of my favorite parts of the new gig…I love going to see how everyone else’s placements are going.

+ the prospect of Kut Chim students coming in to the city to learn from me a few days a week.  This idea is a great one that my Paw Aaw had, and I’m really hoping that it will work out.

+ working with Pornchai, the director of the English program for elementary schools in the district as well as the liaison for WorldTeach.  He is a truly wonderful man.  During all of the craziness while I was moving out, he helped so much without requiring to know why.  He is so excited to learn English and is so willing to help with anything I need.  The very first day in the office, he rearranged his desk so I could have a desk in between his and Jes’. Every so often he’ll receive some lesson plans from the volunteers.  When he does, he’ll scoot his chair next to mine and ask me to explain everything.  Sometimes it can take 2 hours, but I don’t mind doing it at all.

+My thai language skills have increased 10-fold. Pi Nok and Jes predominantly speak thai at home, and even just listening to them I can tell that I’m picking up more of what they say.  I get the gist of almost all of their conversations, and can always ask Jes when it sounds like its information I should know and that I’m confused about.  Along the same lines, its so much fun to just practice the language a bit. Starting just this weekend, Jes has taken to “testing” me every once in a while, “So Heather, how would you say ‘He’s in a good mood?’” which is kinda a fun surprise.  It’s also hilarious to hear others’ (and certainly my own as well) mistakes.  Rita was on the phone with one of the teachers at her school (phone communication is already incredibly challenging without having laughter in the background) and was trying to confirm a time to be picked up. She said, “phet mong chao ok mai” which translates to “spicy o’clock ok?”

+ living in NKP.  I feel like I’m in the hub of everything, and I get to see all my friends when they come in to get mail or do errands on the weekends. Not to mention the highly entertaining free aerobics class in the park not far from home…or the prospect of swimming in the nearby high school’s pool for less than a dollar a time. 

Jes with the scissors..scary...

Pi Nok, Myself, and Rita along the Mekong in NKP

Making Rita's Christmas treat!

+Living with Jes and Pi Nok.  I’ve never had sisters, and my friends from home and college come close, but these are two incredible women who really do feel like sisters. We tease each other incessantly, but also help whenever one needs it.  Rita has also been coming in on weekends to get in on this sisterly bond.  We’ve had awesome girls’ weekends filled with baking cookies, watching The Bachelor, making fun-shaped pancakes and talking about anything imaginable. Pi Nok is hilarious and loves any show with American men. I’ll probably write a blog about her at some point but here’s just a tidbit from our last girls’ weekend.  When we explained that we’d have to wait another week to view a new Bachelor episode she said, “No. I cannot wait.” Not in an excited “I can’t wait!” kind of way, but in a literal way, kinda like the way you’d say “no, I cannot wait to go to the bathroom.” Rita's latest blog (including pictures stolen from yours truly) is all about our girls' weekends...check it out: http://www.ritaafarrell.blogspot.com/

Happy Holidays and Big Changes in Thailand

Been a while since I've posted, and I don't wanna get too far behind so here we go!

1. Christmas. I spent a wonderful weekend at Rita's with my WorldTeach fam, sharing old traditions and making some wonderful memories.  90 degrees and fried rice for dinner, but Christmas spirit was all around! The best description of our holiday comes from our word-smith, Peter: http://peterinpeterout.blogspot.com/2010/12/dada-x-mas.html

you can also see videos of our Christmas at
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=worldteach+thailand&aq=f   The first one is of wandering around our party, and the second one is from a really special moment later in the evening when we lit candles, sang carols, and set off fireworks!


2. Big Changes! After Christmas, I ended up leaving Kut Chim and moving in with my field director, Jes, and her roommate Pi Nok in Nakhom Phanom due to some "interesting" circumstances.  Details are still being worked out, but I know it was the right thing to do.  There are now many interesting opportunities for me that I'm very excited about. 

3. Happy New Year! Sawatdee Bpee Mai!  I rang in the new year with some fellow volunteers atop a plateau called Phu Kradueng.  What an interesting hike!  First off, we'd read that it would take anywhere from 3-8 hours to climb as well as a random smattering of descriptions about how strenuous the hike would be.  Like anything in Thailand, we went with an open mind and zero expectations.  Looking around at the people who would be hiking that day, it would seem as though we were just taking a walk down a city street.  Not quite...It was a 5.5 km hike UP.  There were portions with stairs, ladders, and railings, but it was steep.  Then once atop the mountain it was another 3 km to the area where everyone camps.  Phu Kradueng is a rite of passage among Thai young adults, and apparently a popular spot for new years' eve.  There must have been about 8000 people hiking the trail that day. It was hard to get a groove because you were always being stopped be people and porters getting in your way.  The whole thing took us about 4 hours, and we had a lot of fun laughing at the crazy outfits people were wearing, trying to talk to the people that we passed, etc.  Once at the campsite it was a tent city.  There was a big field covered in tents as well as an area that resembled a typical city night market where you could buy dinner and souvenirs.  It certainly was not the wilderness experience we were hoping for, but fun nonetheless. As the clock struck 2011 we hugged in our tent shivering. Lies, we actually spent the first few minutes of the new year negotiating with Peter for the extra sleeping bag (aka snagging it from him) and taking a trip to the bathroom. After freezing our butts off the first night there, we decided to head down a day early and pamper ourselves by splurging ($8) on a nice hotel in a city between the mountain and NKP.  Hot shower! AC! Comfy bed! soooo nice!

Here's Peter, me, Rita, and Sarah atop a waterfall a short hike from the top of the plateau. 

And that's me at the top of Phu Kradeung!

Happy New Year! Here's to many exciting experiences and to making wonderful memories!