Today I say goodbye to living life out of a backpack, my bare apartment and the people of Ban Phe. For the past two weeks I have gotten to know and grown close with 15 awesome teachers and 100 dynamic kids. All of us teaching each other. At the primary school in Rayong, we teachers … Continue reading Last Day in Ban Phe

We found out our teaching placements today! I will be in a primary school in Chonburi, a town 100km east of Bangkok, with Mel and three other girls from my program. At Anuban Chonburi, I will be teaching kindergarten English and 1st grade English and Science. The little ones require performance and patience and constant … Continue reading Anuban Chonburi

Last Saturday, Mel and I spent all day running up and down the nine spiraling stories of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center. This place blew our minds! They had live music, real coffee, tons of little shops selling handmade recycled crafts, and an overwhelming collection of local Thai art, both traditional and modern. AND, … Continue reading Bangkok Arts and Culture Center

feeling like a jellyfish floating in the Gulf of Thailand. Waxing, waning with the waves. A sweet relief. Like pieces of flotsam not wanting to wash ashore, shipwrecked passengers not wanting to be rescued. As I sway, I am safe. I escape. My oscillation is my refuge. On the beach, tumbling Thai acrobats entertain sun … Continue reading Now I am

My TEFL teacher training has curbed my momentum and put an abrupt end to mine and Mel's backpacking honeymoon. We have been in Ban Phe, a small beach town off the Gulf of Thailand, since Sunday night. We've been working long 10-hour days (7am-5pm) and using our evenings to plan for our lesson the next … Continue reading Ban Phe Boot Camp

This temple in Chiang Mai is, hands down, my favorite I've seen thus far. Old, elegantly crafted teak pillars, temple bells, wooden Buddhas, antique cabinets, ceramics, and mosaics. Clinking of coins dropping into tin bowls, sounds of reverence. Sunlight streaming in through the windows, weaving between golden banners and dancing across the floor, off the … Continue reading Wat Phan Tao

Looking back on Wednesday, October 10th: We spent the day, enraptured, amongst creatures of monolithic majesty. On a 2,000 acre preserve of land in the mountains just north of Chiang Mai, Mel and I, along with 30 others, volunteered at The Elephant Nature Park. The park is a sanctuary for abused and exploited elephants that … Continue reading Elephant Love

Yesterday, we built a mud wall for the entrance to Ban Sai Roong. After walking home from breakfast (spiced pork with sticky rice), the village kids, one by one, started to follow us. I sensed they had this strange intuition, that they knew we needed their help. Now instead of having 3 people to build … Continue reading We built a mud wall!

Looking back on Saturday, October 6th: One of the happiest days. We stayed at the Papa Festival all day long. For two hours we volunteered at the basketball tent and watched traditional Thai performances. Delicacy. Elegance. Perfection. We ate copious amounts of free food, danced with lively women who rivaled us in moves (I was … Continue reading The Papa festival

Looking back on Friday, October 5th: For brunch, Mel, Djun and I made Tom Yum soup, steamed flowers and tempura fried plants from the garden. Then, we went to the temple to hang with the kindergarteners and show off our new song (with dance steps included) that we prepared the night before. It was basically … Continue reading Making friends, feeling at home