Simply Me .

The Blue Lagoon, Iceland

2015-12-12T02:54:00.001+07:00

Iceland Day 2, The Blue Lagoon

Iceland offers many a Bucket List items, and like The Northern Lights, The Blue Lagoon was on ours too. In this blog, I will tell you about my personal experience there, along with some tips I found helpful along the way.

Iceland is famously known among travelers as a popular 'stop over' country. Meaning, on your way to and from The United States and the rest of Europe, it's common that you will have a lay over here. It's so common that the country has even started a hashtag, '#mystopover.' Some airlines, even allow a few day stopover, with out a penalty. So you could, essentially stay in the country for 7 days and have it count as your stop over time, and continue on to the rest of Europe all in the cost of 1 flight. If however, you do not have the luxury of staying in this beautiful country for 7 days, and you have 4 hours or more between your connecting flight. The Blue Lagoon is the perfect one thing to do in Iceland.
It's located less than 30 minutes from the airport and there are even tours that run back and forth that you can schedule. It is important that you book a reservation prior to going, and try your best to arrive early, as the line can be a little long. I'd guess about a 1/2 hour wait. (but we skipped the lines because we were with a group so that is just a guess)

The drive alone to the Blue Lagoon, is beautiful. It is surrounded by lava fields, and us being there in the Winter, the lava mountains were topped with snow. You can even see the smoke coming from the factory right outside the lagoon, along the way.

The Lagoon was actually naturally formed in the beginning. There is a factory close by and the run off from the process created a natural lagoon that the workers would go into at the end of their day. Geothermal pools are commonly spread around Iceland, it is a quite enjoyable pass time among the Icelandic people, especially in the winter. The Blue Lagoon itself has been turned into a very popular tourist attraction, and while Icelandic people do go to it, their normal geothermal pools simply look like swimming pools at home.

Common Concerns about the Blue Lagoon

Many people hear, and are worried that you have to shower naked prior to entering, and while almost all Icelandic people do it with out giving it a second thought, it may not be your preference. So I am here to alleviate your fears, you are required to take a shower prior to entering the lagoon, but The Blue Lagoon is very tourist friendly. There are shower stalls with no doors, and shower stalls with doors. They ask that you shower with out your bathing suit, but do not enforce it. So have no fear, if you don't want anyone seeing your pasty white bum, you are in the clear!
Also, the Germs in the water, warm water seems like the perfect place for germs to breed. However, there are natural elements that act as chlorine, that don't allow certain algae to form. The lagoon is also a constant flow of water that replaces itself everyday.

What to bring to the Blue Lagoon?

You can rent anything and everything you could need,at a cost of course. Iceland is actually very expensive. So I would not recommend this, but should you head there completely on a whim...
you'd survive.

Most tour groups would include a towel, and a fancy package would include flip flops and a robe. While flip flops and a robe would come in handy, they are not necessary. A towel however, is. If you are trying to save some money, you can sneak one out of your hotel. *Don't ask, they will not let you* But if you put it in your bag, or even wrap it under your millions of layers you most likely already have on to stay warm.. you'll be fine. If none of these ideas interest you, you can always bring one from home. I didn't use flip flops, but some people might prefer to have a pair.

Lockers are included, and along with the lockers you get an electronic wrist band, (Kinda like the bands they give you at Disney) This wrist band, counts as your credit card, and access to everything you need. This way, the only thing you need to bring into the lagoon itself, is yourself. (your camera is permitted)

**It is important to note that if you lose this wrist band you will be charged about $100**

Once you enter the locker room, you change into your bathing suit, and shower. Heed this warning!(especially females) ****Due to the minerals in the water, if you go underwater your hair will be very dry and it will be miserable. There is a conditioner in the shower that they recommend you put on your dry hair prior to entering, to prevent this. It helps, but I still would not go under water. ****

Indoor entrance to the Blue Lagoon

Next, is entering the Lagoon. You have 2 options here, The brave, Option 1, make a quick dash through the doors out into the freezing cold weather in your bathing suit, or the.... less brave way, option 2, they built the beginning of the lagoon to start indoors so you can leisurely stroll in, and follow a path to a door that brings you gently into the lagoon itself. I wanted to attempt option 1, but Nick being the Florida boy that he is, (he wont even walk right into a pool in 80º degree weather) we strolled in.

In the lagoon itself, is actually rather large, and there are different spa like activities you can do. Including a sauna, a steam room, a waterfall, and a personal favorite, a swim up bar that serves wine and beer. *this is where your wrist band comes in handy* There are even a few restaurants in the building, ranging to from fancy to cafeteria type food.

One of the popular activities is applying the mineral that comes from the water. It is a silica paste you can put anywhere on your body. It is all natural, and forms when the water is chilled. There are buckets you scoop it out of in certain areas of the lagoon. People put it all over their face, and body. It has been known to severely help psoriasis, and eczema. Your face will feel smooth as a baby's bottom when you rinse it off 5-10 minutes later.

Overall, it's a very relaxing experience, there are a lot of people in the water, but it doesn't really interfere because of the steam, you cannot see everyone. We had a fantastic time, and the scenery leading up to the lagoon, and the drive there is breath taking.

I highly recommend it to any one of any age, any type, it was one of our favorite experiences of the trip. The tranquil blue water, the relaxing atmosphere. Here are some of the pictures from our experience:

For more information go to :http://www.bluelagoon.com/

If you have any questions regarding our experience feel free to leave a comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability.

*Cheers*

Iceland, The Land of Fire and Ice

2015-12-11T23:47:00.001+07:00

It's been quite some time since I've written a blog post, I guess its been a while since I've been 'inspired' so to say, to write one....so bare with me.

Like many, I have a 'Bucket List', but instead of waiting for some horrible disease, or turning 70 and looking back at my life and thinking "I wish I did when I was younger," I choose to tackle that Bucket list as I create it. I've been lucky enough to find a mate in Nick with the same spirit and the same desire to tackle life as it comes. So when we got married, we created a new bucket list together... and "Seeing the Northern Lights" was at the top of that list.

We threw around many ideas and locations, as you can see them anywhere in the the northern part of the world, and southern hemisphere for that matter. Norway, was the original destination, but after some research Iceland just felt like the place.

It's no guarantee if you go to these countries that you will see the Northern Lights, it depends mainly on a few factors.
1. The weather, if it's cloudy or not.
2. The Light pollution in the area and
3. And while they are almost always going on.. they may not that night. Seeing the lights is like a beautiful sunset, we know the conditions that can help create one, but that doesn't mean we are always going to get it.

I know Iceland is quickly becoming the hotspot of Europe, so I just wanted to share a little bit about how we got there, and what I thought of it.

First things first, I am subscribed to the site "Travel Zoo" it is basically like a Groupon for travel. They have organized trips through tour groups, and most trips include air fair, and transportation to and from the airport, the hotel, excursions, etc. This is typically not my preferred way to travel, I'm more of a plan as you go kind of person, but I really enjoyed it.

Everything was planned and paid for in one spot, we got to hang out and meet a bunch of great people from all over, and experience everything together. We went through the group "Gate 1", it was our first trip with them, but they have tours all around the world and if there is a place they offer that we are interested in, I would go through them again. We flew a direct flight from Orlando to Keflavik International Airport, It was about a 7 hour flight.
From the moment we got on the plane I knew we were in for an exciting treat. I felt like I was on the Polar Express, They had Christmas music playing, the kind that is in the scene where the kids reach the North Pole and sneak through Santa's workshop. The almost somber but exciting background Christmas music... I immediately knew we were off to a good start...

There is a saying in Iceland, 'If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes". You'll read this all over the internet if you do any research. So this, I was anticipating. However things went a little different for us. The day before we landed, Iceland had one of the biggest snow storms the country had seen in years. We had to do about a 4 minute walk from the airport to our bus, there is no real way to describe this walk.. other than it felt like walking through a windstorm (allegedly 38mph winds) while it was snowing. You had to actively push through to move forward, while keeping your head down so you can somewhat see. The wind was so strong, in order to keep upright I turned around and walked towards the wind... It was enthralling, invigorating, and entertaining. If I had to endure it for more than the short walk I would have hated life, but it was such an exciting way to start the trip. The other travelers ranged from 25 to 70 year olds, including this adorable little asian grandma who's daughter left her out in this storm while trying to navigate where to put all the luggage... I took her under my wing and guided her to the bus... "No man left behind" I thought in my head,"Not on my watch..."

"Welcome to Iceland" our tour guide, Olie said to us once we were all on the bus. We sat down and got adjusted, it was still dark since in the winter time Iceland only see's about 4 hours of sunlight.

We landed at 9am Iceland time, and 3am American time. We couldn't check into our hotel right away because, like most hotels, our rooms wouldn't be ready until about 1. So with a foggy mind we all reluctantly went on a tour of the capital city,Reykjavik (Pronounced, Wreck-Ye- Vec) but you have to roll the R a little bit int he beginning. I don't actually recall the names of the places we went this morning, other than the big Church, located in the heart of Reykjavick. *For about $6 you can take an elevator up to the top and get a great view of the city.* Inside was beautiful, and peaceful.

Along the way, we saw some great views, and listened to the history of the city. We even went into this one building that had a 360º view:

How to capture the lights

Next we stopped by a 'Northern Lights Museum" to learn a little bit more of the science behind them, Watched a few videos, and most importantly learned how to take a picture of them. They even had a test room to practice on.

Most people were sleeping in the tour guides face. Including my beloved.. His favorite thing about flying internationally is catching up on the movies he missed out on the past year. Granted, the selection is usually not the best, he stays up the entire flight.

I managed to try my best to stay awake, I like to play mind games with myself before I travel across time zones and get on that time schedule a day before I leave. So it doesn't hit me as hard. I stayed up until 4am that morning and slept almost the whole plane ride as to get my complete 8 hours sleep! Plus, tired or not, the chances of me getting to experience this again is slim, and I want to soak up every moment of it. It's almost like adrenaline kicks in and sleep becomes secondary. But trust me when I say, the minute I get some downtime, my butt is fast asleep.

Iceland Wind from Lisa Dibitetto on Vimeo.

All Bundled up!

Cityscape, decorated for Christmas.

After a few hours, we made our way back to our hotel and checked in. We had some down time to unpack and relax, and after a few ours we met with our group at the hotel restaurant for some drinks and snacks. Here we went over what the rest of our vacation was going to look like. We went out for a quick bite to eat at a local pub/bar, went back home to go to bed! Tomorrow will be the much awaited, Blue Lagoon. Until tomorrow....

skál! (Cheers!)

A little bit of Italy: Lady Madonna

2012-02-23T16:41:00.000+07:00

In honor of Lent, I was inspired to write in my blog for the first time in 2012. It has been a little while, and I apologize for that. I'd like to blame my lack of efficient internet, but if I really wanted to write I would have found a way.

I was a very lucky girl, who got to travel to Italy for Christmas and New Years this year. Well, I actually spent Christmas Eve in the air flying from Thailand --> France-->Italy. It was quite a trip. I left Bangkok, late at night and got to extend my Christmas Eve flying back in time over India, Africa, and Europe.

It was really special, but I missed my travel buddy [Nick Watt].

I could bore you with the same tired pictures of The Vatican City, or The Colosseum but I thought I would share some of those art works, and the story behind them with you.

Everywhere you look in Rome, you are surrounded by amazing history! I've always loved Washington D.C. for the same reason, and I always will. But Rome is different. Here there are centuries of history on every street corner. Everywhere you look something amazing has happened or is built there. We had gone on a couple of walking tours and strolled the streets ourselves. Over the couple of days we were there I had started to notice these random art works of The Lady Madonna on sides of buildings. I just took it for what it was worth, we were in the Mecca of Catholicism.(Haha) But later learned the history behind these beautiful relics.

May I introduce to you The Madonella: Or who may be more commonly known as

Mary and Baby Jesus

A long long time ago, the streets of Rome were not a safe place to live. Not many people would go out after dark, and if they did there was no guarantee they would make it home safe. Rome is so close to the Vatican City, so Catholicism has a lot of influence over the city and the Italian people. In order to cut back on crime and help make the streets safe again artist of all kinds had crafted artwork of Mary and baby Jesus. In the hopes that people would feel and see them watching over them, and not commit crimes. Most were used to hold torches and light up the streets. If you saw them on the side of a building, you knew you were in a safe part of Rome. It actually worked and the crime in Rome went down! Catholic guilt at its best ;)

Over the years the Vatican has stopped the funding of the upkeep of the Modenellas. It is up to the owner of the building to clean and take care of it at their own discretion. So many of them are slipping away but there are still a plethora of vibrant ones around any corner.

Until next time...

Salute!

An Anniversary in Bangkok

2011-12-11T12:11:00.001+07:00

As of November 15th 2011 Nicholas and I have been together for 3 full years. What a ride it has been! Our relationship has been a test from the beginning. We started out long distance, trying our best to see each other every 2 weeks, Then he moved in with me in Jacksonville going from every 2 weeks to seeing each other everyday, then we decided to move to the other side of the world and travel together, live together,work together. Due to my slight fear of being robbed and sold as a sex slave we basically go everywhere together, and sure we have our disagreements from time to time, but we always come out on top.

This year we are lucky enough to spend our 3rd Anniversary in Bangkok. I've been wanting to go to this restaurant since before we even stepped foot in Thailand. I thought it looked so interesting. I had kinda forgotten about it and put it on the back burner, but Nick being the charming man that he is, remembered and surprised me with a dinner at :

Cabbages and Condoms.

This place originally caught my attention because all the decor is basically made with, well, Condoms. I know what you're thinking, great place to go on an anniversary. ;) ;) But the reason this place exist is because in the 70's in Thailand, many people were having babies, spreading diseases, at a rate too fast for the slow growing economy. One man decided to start an organization called "Population and Community Development Association or PDA" According to their website: The organization started campaigns that were tailored to the health of specific target groups such as factory workers, hill tribe villagers and adolescents. In total 12,000 volunteers plus several mobile health units distributed contraceptives to over 10,000 villages.

Today PDA programs cover over one third of the country, helping to lower the national population growth rate from 3.2% to 1%. The thought behind the name of the restaurant came from the idea that condoms should be as readily available to everyone as vegetables...Ie: Cabbages and Condoms

So basically, it is a fun way to promote safe sex, and population control. 100% of
the proceeds from the restaurant go to supporting these efforts. The food is delicious and
the decor is hilarious, please take a look for yourself:

Condom Family, and for some odd reason they are white.

Condom Santa and family?

The decor was complete with Birth control boarder condom box. If you look closely it says "Republican size" and "Democrat Size" (They were the same size) .

Our meal was delicious I had chicken and sticky rice cooked in banana leaves, and we were entertained by a lovely Thai women playing traditional Thai music!

And of course instead of mints..... Two Condoms were provided!

The service was great and if you are ever in Bangkok, or Pattaya Beach

I highly recommend it :Cabbages and Condoms They accept reservations Nick even request a nice quiet table with good scenery, it was really sweet and a nice surprise! So

thank you Nick and here's to another 3 years.... ;)

*Cheers*

Thanksgiving in Thailand

2011-12-11T11:58:00.001+07:00

An American Thanksgiving-In Thailand

For those of you who know me, you know that my protein of choice is Turkey. A turkey sandwich with tomato, bacon and lettuce can make me a happy girl any day. [Preferably from Publix.] So going an entire year with out Turkey in my life is quite a task. It's no coincidence that Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. For the past 5 years I have been hosting a Thanksgiving potluck ... I cook the turkey and you bring the fixins. It is always a great time with too much food and lots of amazing people. From the moment I got to Thailand, I was plotting where I could buy a turkey, and whose oven we could use to cook it in. If you have followed my blogs you know that ovens are not a usual way of cooking. Most Thai food is cooked in a wok or deep fried in lots of oil. Ovens are very hard to come by. Luckily one of the teachers that lives in our apartment is an amazing sculptor, so he has to bake his pieces after making them. The moment I spotted it the wheels started turning.

Now where do we find a turkey in Thailand? Luckily, like most big cities there is a great International market in Bangkok {at the Paragon Mall} not only did we get a turkey.. but it was a Butter Ball!!! Straight from America! It may have cost us 50$ for a 12 pounder but we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We invited all the Americans who lived in our building which turned out to be 6, and our good friend Eric who we met in Cambodia when we took our TESOL course. We have been great friends since we began our journey in Southeast Asia. He was kind enough to pick up the turkey for us.. and along the way he found cranberry sauce and baked a fresh apple pie!!!

I love Thanksgiving because it is a time where you are forced to stop look around and Thank the people in your life, and thank God or Buddha or whoever it is you worship for all the good things you have in life. Everyday things that some people take for granted on a daily basis. I have so much to be thankful for this year. The amazing journey that my wonderful Boyfriend and I have been on and all the amazing people who have supported my decision.

I am not only thankful for those I've known for years but those I've just met. There are about 30 Foreign teachers who live in our building 6 of them being Americans. The invite went out to all.. but when none of the Brits showed up...we were able to cheers to our independence from them with ease!! I was really proud that we were able to pull together a non-traditional-traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade apple sauce, peas and carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing and let's not forget the star of the show the Turkey. All the proper smells were present, all the friendships were there. Though we were not with our "real" families we have found families in each other. For many of my co-workers this was the first Thanksgiving meal they have had in years. Even little William (the Half American and Filipino boy) who we have grown to love, celebrated his 1st Thanksgiving dinner this year. All traditions were present complete with everyone saying what they were thankful for.. tear and heartfelt statements that I will treasure for Thanksgivings to come.

Here are some pictures from our feast:

Head of the Household, Nick carving up our turkey

This is William, celebrating his 1st Thanksgiving

And here is our Motley Crew we celebrated with.

I learned at a very young age that life is short, and since then I have tried to appreciate and live every moment to the fullest. I am so thankful for the people in my life and those that have passed. I miss my family more and more every day especially during the holidays.... but if I can continue with my cliches..

Home is where the Heart is, I may not be eating dinner on American soil but the traditions are kept alive by continuing to live them and passing them on to others. So God bless you and your family this holiday season, be safe and do good for others.

*Cheers*

2011-12-02T20:34:00.001+07:00

Thais often drink their soda out of a plastic bag, with ice and a straw.

Sweet Bali Hai Part. 2

2011-11-10T14:46:00.000+07:00

Everyday the Balinese place these around their homes,
1 offering for the good spirits , in hopes to keep them around and 1 for the evil spirits to
keep them away. They are placed on different levels good high up and closer to home and the evil on the ground and in the entrance way.

**This blog is a continuation you can read Part 1 Here!**

So here we are on day 6, in Bali, Indonesia. This place really is special, so much to do and see. We are finally fully rested and ready for a day of fun. What is on the agenda today? Renting moto bikes and cruising around the island. Moto bikes are a great way to get around, and usually don't cost to much. I get pretty scared on them mainly because I have absolutely no control over what happens, and traffic all over Asia is crazy and unpredictable. Luckily for me, Nick is a great driver, and respects my wishes when it comes to the speed... It could be the speech I give him every time we hop on, "If you kill me you will have 2 very angry Italian parents that will come and hunt you down!" lol

First stop on our tour of the island is a beautiful Sacred Monkey Temple. It took us about a half hour to get there, with some amazing scenery along the way. I really enjoy going to temples because you get to learn the religion and it helps you to understand the culture. Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is mostly a Hindu country (about 93%), Muslim (5%), and the rest is Christian and Buddist. When we spoke to most of the Balinese we got many mixed feelings about all the religions. We sat down to eat one day and our server asked us where we were from and we said of course
"America", he responds with..
"Ohhh Obama, I don't like him"
I kindly inquired, "Why Not?"
"Because he is Muslim, and they try to take over our country, I love George Bush, he is a very strong man!"

I kindly smiled and tried my best not to vomit in my mouth a little. This has been one of the only negative responses I have heard about Obama since being abroad. Most of the time it is a pretty positive response. The Muslim community has such a strong influence on Indonesia especially since the rest of the country is muslim. However, like most places it is not always a positive one. Today was actually the 5th anniversary of Bali bombings from the muslims. They planted bombs and blew up a very tourist populated area killing many people. But, I am not here to preach about religion or politics!

So back to the Sacred Monkey Temple!

Upon arrival we have to sign a waver and if desired purchase life insurance! Why would we need something like this in a temple you ask? Well, unlike most temples this one is inhabited with over 300 monkeys! They run around freely and you can play with them if you wish, but at your own risk! lol

The temple itself was very beautiful and naturally designed with Monkeys all over it. Unlike Thai temples that usually have Elephants! Monkeys are highly respected in this country and treated accordingly. We were able to enter the temple as long as we were dressed properly. Shoulders, and legs covered they provided cloths for us to cover up with! Here is our motley crew, Monkeying around..[pun intended]

After we paid our respects to the temples, it was time to go play! It was really scary at first because there were monkeys everywhere!! You really had to keep your head on a swivel because these monkeys were very cheeky!

Adorable Monkey Family!

Me and my new friend, who tried to steal
my earrings right out of my ears!

We were warned ahead of time, not to wear sunglasses, hats, or anything that could easily be removed by them. Naturally, Nick ignored this warning and got his glasses stolen by this little guy! He took them right off his face and ran up into the tree...

...and put them on! One of the security guards spotted this and took his sling shot out.. shot him and he dropped them immediately. It was pretty entertaining!

After about 2 hours of playing around, we headed out and got some lunch, hopped on our moto bikes and headed home! There were some beautiful sites along the way. Rice fields, temples, and beautiful art work, which Balinese is famous for, so of course I had to purchase some! Overall, it was an amazing day! We got a little lost on our way home but after swerving in and out of traffic arrived safely at our Guest house, just in time for dinner!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Sweet Bali Hai

2011-11-07T23:21:00.000+07:00

Thailand is the mustard colored country, Indonesia is the Brown
and Bali is one of the tiny islands toward the middle.

Hello everyone! Terribly sorry for the slight delay in my vacation blog. I know I said I would post every day while on vacation but... I was on vacation! So it was much more tempting to put it off and explore.

So, where were we? Oh yeah, Day 4. Winding down our time in Koh Phi Phi [pronounced P.P.] and heading further down south to Phuket [Pronounced Poo-ket] Thailand's biggest island. We took a two hour ferry ride, and one very long overpriced taxi ride and we finally arrived in Phuket International Airport at around 9pm.

Thank You for flying Air Asia.

Our flight left for Bali, Indonesia early in the morning so rather than waste money on a hotel for a couple of hours we decided we would set up camp in the airport terminal. Especially since we had to watch college football and we were going to be up all night anyways. Well the boys at least... Jen and I had our own Gator -Vs- Noles Battle in our sleep.

On to day 5, we arrived in Bali, Indonesia. First impressions: Clean air, Hot weather, darker Asians, beautiful flowers and many hidden fees. Just to go to Bali you have to basically pay a cover fee of 25 USD, however the Thai Baht price was about 30$.

The exciting but frustrating thing to me about arriving in a new country is learning the way their money works. If there is one thing I can't stand is getting ripped off, but you are pretty much guaranteed to when leaving the Airport. People tend to take full advantage of the fact that you are a tourist and probably wont know how much a taxi should cost to get to your destination. We booked a beautiful hotel for the first night and ventured off to find a taxi. We read online that there are metered taxies all over the island. Of course when we get to the airport there aren't any in site. After a about 4 different taxies we were finally able to get a reasonable price. Luckily, the Balinese speak really good English (compared to Thailand) and made things a lot easier.

We spent the rest of the day getting a bite to eat and checking out the closest beach. First order of business dip my toes into the Indian Ocean. I then laid out my towel on the sand, and drifted off to sleep ...only to be awoken by a large parade of Balinese dressed completely in white, walking towards the ocean. We were a bit confused but watched intently. We later learned that this is a Hindu ceremony they preformed two times a year! It is meant to ward off the evil spirits, and keep the good ones. They light incense and bring offerings to the ocean, and pray to the gods.

We sat and watched from the back and it was quite funny, really.. the women were on one side and the men were playing the music. Most were quite present while others were playing on their blackberries and gossiping with each other. After about a half hour, they continued their parade through the city. It was actually really cool, and we were so lucky to catch it!

At this point we were running on empty, and decided it was time to go back to the hotel and crash! It sure did feel good sleeping on a comfortable bed!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Photo Credit: Jen Cowan and Jon Watt

Trip planning and Island hopping!

2011-10-15T10:57:00.000+07:00

Day 2

Day 2 began with waking up early and heading into the city from our place in Ban Phaeo. We have 1/2 a day to "Do Bangkok" and a Overnight bus to catch at 6pm. After a full day of events the day prior, we didnt want to do too much. On our hit list- some temples, the reclining buddha, and MBK shopping mall. They are all in the same vicinity but when you are dealing with Bangkok traffic... getting from point A to point B could take hours. But some how we managed to do it all. The reclining Buddha is a big attraction mainly because it is so large.. it is really beautiful and overwhelming to see in person,but definitely a must see. After this we headed to some temples to take a look around and get some pictures...maybe if we're lucky see some monks. :) The next couple of hours consisted of running around. Tiring but good because we had a loong 10 hour bus ride to sleep.

The Reclining Buddha, Bangkok.

Traveling is fun, but it is not for sissies, it is a lot of work.. mentally, financially, and physically. But of course the end result makes it all worth it. Here is what the end of day 2 and beginning of day 3 consisted of: After a long FREEZING bus ride, and when I say freezing I mean freezing, I had on Leggins,a long skirt over my leggins, a tank top, a shirt over my tank top, a hooded jacket,and a blanket and was still freezing, I digress. A 10 hour bus ride, followed by waiting at a local shop for our next means of transportation, a short Song tao ride, to another bus ride for 3 hours, followed by a short van ride to a ferry for 2 more hours... then we finally reached our destination. Exhausted, hungry, dressed like a hobo and in desperate need of a shower...

I kindly bring you to ... Koh Phi Phi!

---Day 3--

Day 3 will be our most exciting day yet, because we will spend it at sea! :) The days events include: Snorkeling, Monkey feeding, island hopping, kayaking,and view of the sunset from the boat. [from 10am-6pm] Last time we were here, I decided to join an amateur muy thai fight, I actually injured my foot really bad and we had to cancel the whole day... So Nick and I were REALLY looking forward to this day.

There was a pretty large group of people, all from around the world. Most seemed to be enjoying themselves, others were only concerned with their tan. Non-the less I had a blast all day long: and pictures always seem to tell the best story so enjoy:

Snorkeling was a lot of fun, here are some of the creatures we saw!

Scary looking eel!

Gill from Nemo, a Moorish Idol

Some of the gorgeous scenery
along the way.

The Famous long tailed boats.

Jumping off into beautiful clear water!

Jumping off the plank! :)

And finally, ending the day watching the sun set. It is always surreal watching the sun set because I know my day is ending and everyone's back home is just beginning. I try to send happy thoughts to who ever is about to start their day... as I reflect and finish mine. We were so lucky to have such a great day, weather wise... And the company wasn't half bad either. It was really amazing to be able to share our home and life here in Thailand with Nick's brother Jon and Gf Jen. We are very grateful that they were able to join us while we have this time off to explore the beautiful world we live in.

Until next time......

*Cheers*

For more pictures check out my Fb Page and don't forget to tell me what you think or ask any questions in the comment section below!

A True American Artist.

2011-10-07T08:17:00.000+07:00

Steve Jobs

February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011

Just wanted to take a moment to recognize one of Americas most talented man. He gave us and the world so much, and it is truly our loss to have him takin from us at age 56. So as you play on your ipads, iphones, and ipods today, take a moment to be thankful for the man who gave them to you.

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of

embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the

face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way

I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to

lose.You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

- Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement

speech

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,

the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently

they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them,

but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…

they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones,

we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that

they can change the world,

are the ones who do.”

– Think Different, Narrated by Steve Jobs

For more information: Steve Jobs

Bridge Over the River Kwai

2011-10-06T22:43:00.000+07:00

G’day my fellow Blog followers, sorry about the gap in posts recently, I’ve just been busy and to be quite honest a bit lazy. However, the Holiday (or Vacation time) is here and we have two new travelers joining us. Nick’s Brother Jon and girlfriend Jen came to visit for two weeks! What a treat it has been already! J Our plan is to take them around Thailand and show them where we call home and all the amazing-ness about it! I’ve decided to try my best to write a blog each day so hang in there folks.. it’s about to be a bumpy ride!

Day 1

The first place we chose to visit was Kanchanaburi. We have been waiting to go as it is only about 2 hours away from where we live and is jam packed with fun things to do. The main attraction was for the waterfalls and elephants but what we got when we arrived was so much more. First stop on our tour : Jeath World War II museum, which to be honest, I didn’t even know existed. Kanchanaburi is home to the River Kwai. Some of you may have seen or heard of the movie “Bridge over the River Kwai” , well that is exactly where we went. Here there was a Christian cemetery for all POW from the war. Most of the soldiers were British and under the age of 25.. like any war memorial it was sad to look at but amazing to learn about. I mean obviously the most of the world was involved in “World War II” But it was really cool learning about it from another perspective other than America. It wasent a warped point of view or anything, but just very eye opening and interesting to see a different type of memorial. The same way America chooses to write its own version of history so to the Thais. According to them their land has never been conquered, and to some extent I guess you could say that. Japan did take control of the POW and force them to build this Bridge over the River Kwai for their gain... but to avoid “losing face” we’ll just say, Thailand or as it was called back then- Siam was occupied for a little while.

Unlike most western museums things were just out in the open, and you were able to touch it and see it first hand. Not behind a glass wall, behind bars. Here are some pictures from the memorial.

Crazy, how they recreate what it must of looked like,
but it really helped pull it all together.

After starting our morning with depressing stuff we moved on to our second order of business... Elephant rides! A must do for all Thailand travelers, and something Jen has been dying to do! Nick and I had already gone once in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, but the place we went to was much better. They treated the elephants kindly and you could see it on their faces [the elephants that is] how happy they were. Here are some pictures from our trek:

Following our elephant trek and bamboo rafting we headed to a nearby waterfall to play like little kids! We have been to about 2 other waterfalls thus far in our jounery and these were by far the best! There were little caves, and you were able to climb, jump and play. It was a great time, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Overall day 1 was quite a success. We got a lot accomplished before we headed down south to Koh Phi Phi, including booking our tickets to Bali, Indonesia!!!!

-Sorry it is a little sloppy- Uploading from the road ---

Cheers mate!

Thai khanom, Simply a delicious treat!

2011-10-05T01:29:00.000+07:00

Living in a foreign country, you come across many different things. Different smells, different sounds, colors, foods. And here is no different, Thailand is infamous for it's desserts. Unfortunately, you don't always know what you are getting yourself into. This is mainly because of the way are disguised. Trial and Error has brought this tasty little treat to me, it is called

Thai khanom. and this is what it looks like:

What is inside your guess was as good as mine? Its wrapping is made from banana leaves, the dessert is cooked in this. It is usually held together with a toothpick, but this guy is more high tech with his staple.

Inside you find a thick gelatin like substance made with what I believe is sweet rice and coconut. [But don't quote me on that]

The inside can be stuffed with anything, and I have had the misfortune of experiencing a great variety of things to which I had no idea what I was eating, my least favorite black beans. This one is definitely my favorite, I like to refrigerate mine before I eat them, the coconut is cold and the banana is nice and crisp!

and in two little bites it's gone!

Thoughts?! Looks good? Or Bad?

Cheers!

Hey Bangkok, What are you listening to?

2011-09-16T16:25:00.002+07:00

Check out our latest video:

{Same Video just 2 options, in case one isn't working.}

If you like it- click the "thumbs up" on the Youtube page and feel free to share it with friends! :)

*Cheers*

Friday Fun Fact!

2011-08-12T11:01:00.000+07:00

Thailand's main utensils are the Spoon and fork, in that order. Knives and Chop sticks are not a common practice while eating.

Staying healthy in Southeast Asia

2011-08-12T10:57:00.003+07:00

Before I came here I thought to myself,

"Hell yeah, I'm going to Asia, I am going to eat healthy and be surrounded by all different kinds of holistic herbs and medicines and everything is going to be great!"

Maybe that is the case for China, Japan, or Korea [ I have not been so I do not know first hand]. As for Thailand it is the exact opposite. Staying healthy here is a daily chore. Especially being a teacher, teaching little kids, and living in the area we do. Now I must admit that the school does actively try to keep the school clean. The 5 cleaning ladies bust their buts every day mopping, scrubbing the walls, scraping the stairs etc. But in a country where picking your nose is socially acceptable my little ones constantly take advantage of this norm, or sneeze into their clothes, cough with out covering their mouth.

There are only so many times I can wash my hands between classes to avoid getting sick. Thus I have been sick for almost half the time I have been here. I do my best carry around anti bacterial wipes/lotion and I take multi vitamins every day.

Aside from the external things I can do, eating healthy in the middle of nowhere can be quite a challenge. Every day at school we are served for lunch white rice, [or some sort of carb] with a chicken or pork dish, and a cabbage soup which ALWAYS has at least 1 ant in it. Luckily they always float to the top making it much easy to take out! lol

The way they prepare chicken is just to hack it up and throw it in.. every piece, every bone. And they FOR SURE are not aware of how to properly keep E. Coli and other chicken bacteria's contained. I have been to markets where they have chicken just laying on the table the juices flowing everywhere on the ground on their hands, their clothes. I even saw one lady clean off her table using a chicken breast!

So because of these issues we are forced to eat at "Western Establishments" IE: Mcdonalds, KFC, Pizza Company, etc. Which is also not healthy for you, but you know [ or hope ] that the food is being prepared properly.

Here are some pictures from our local market to support my explanations:

Deep fried chicken heads/necks.
Yummm-E [sarcasm]

Ya know, for days when you are
really craving some pig face!

Animal insides of some sort.

Now I know what your thinking, why not just cook yourself at home? Well most foods that you buy in the grocery store are all written in Thai. They do actually have nutritious facts and what ingredients are in it. How much this is regulated I don't know. Knowing Thailand, they can put what ever they want on the label and leave out what ever they please as well. I just recently found out that one of the most popular beers is made with formaldehyde. Stay away from "Chang" no matter how cheap it is, you will wake up with what is known here as a "Chang Over"

Back to cooking at home, which Nick and I do as often as I can. The only problem is that ovens are pretty much obsolete here. You can find them but they are either really small, or pretty expensive. Leaving the Wok, grill and Microwave as our main source of cookery.

Keeping in mind this is a 3rd world country I cannot expect western ways of life. It is something I have learned to get used to and another reason to appreciate America. It is insane, and quite a difficult way of life, and defiantly the least glamorous part of living in Thailand.

Please send Airborn!

Cheers Mate!

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QOTD: Any tips on how to eat healthy under these conditions would greatly be appreciated!

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Friday Fun Fact!

2011-08-05T16:12:00.001+07:00

*Every Friday I will post a fun fact relating to Thailand*

In Thailand, if you are born on the Kings Birthday, you get free health insurance on that day.

Q. & A.

2011-07-26T22:44:00.010+07:00

I want to leave this post open for questioning.

Each blog entry I try to include a little knowledge so you feel you gain something from reading. Tell me what you want to know about!

Nothing is off limits.

What do you want to know?

Also, check out some links that I find helpful and entertaining...

If you are interested in:

Teaching in Thailand :

Ajarn.com is teaching in Thailand headquarters, you can apply for jobs, resume help, cultural questions, what to wear, ANYTHING teaching related.

Languagecorps.com this is the program I used to get TESOL certified. It is totally legit. I chose Thailand but they have different programs all over the world.

Thaivisa.com Not only help and guidance with Visa questions, but current events and information guide to Thailand.

For Fellow Travelers:

Couchsurfing.org a website dedicated to free accommodations. You need a place to stay? Someone, somewhere wants to be your host. Complete with references, and verifications.

Travellerspoint.com a great place to plot your trip on a map, look at beautiful pictures, blogs and more...

And finally just to be entertained and informed, I like to watch a little Philly D on YouTube.

*None of these people are paying me to advertise, However they are welcome to!

Let me know what ya think...

and Thank You or Korp Kun for reading!

Cheers!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Questions Answered:

1. How's the food in Thailand?

- The food here is pretty good, it is more the experience of eating street food that I really enjoy. Pad Thai,is definitely a favorite followed by Cashew Chicken. The thing is its a third world country, and nothing goes to waste. When they cook with meat every part is present... and sometimes I just want to dive in and enjoy, not pick out different ligaments, etc. However,if you go to a nice restaurant in Bangkok you get properly prepared food. Their specialty is sweets. The amount of desserts they have is amazing... if you can fry it or load it with sugar they're on it!

Overall I'd give the food a solid 3.

2. Are the Thai people friendly?

- They call it "The Land of Smiles" for a reason. Taxi drivers have been the best and most friendly, going out of their way to ensure safety. [Of course there are the random jerks] But people will go out of their way to help you, and are very friendly and hospitable. But, don't cross a Thai, you cross 1 you cross them all...and I'll put my money on the Thai's every time. After living here for a while, you begin to learn the difference between real Thai smiles and fake.

3.Do you understand the language?

- It can be difficult at times, but other times I have a decent understanding of the situation. Context clues and sign language help a lot. My goal was to learn a new word a day.. which in the beginning I was able to do easily, but now its more once a week and focusing on the tone and sentence structure. I do enjoy speaking Thai when I can, and get a very positive response when using it.

4. How long have you been living there?

- Living in Southeast Asia since January 2011. Journey began in Cambodia for about 3 weeks for my TESOL certification. As of August 1st, 2011, 7 months.

5. Would you recommend teaching in Thailand?

- Please keep in mind I have only worked at 1 school and this is based solely on that 1 experience, it is different for everyone.

I love my life here but teaching can be quite a challenge. I have always respected and been interested in teaching, but it has never been my "calling". I think that's why I can teach here. If you are someone who went to school for teaching, have your masters etc. I would recommend an International School because they are more serious.

6. What are the malls like? Name brand stores?

- The malls here are absolutely beautiful. Very big and VERY WESTERN. Also, they are everywhere. They usually have a supermarket, movie theatre, and a karaoke bowling alley combo. There is actually this store in one mall that has a combination of clothes from Target, Forever 21, American Eagle, Aero Etc. They have almost every store we do and then some. Excluding Department Stores.

7. The best recipe for Thai Green Curry?

I actually don't have one for Green Curry, but I'll work on that. I do have a recipe for a dish called, "Tom Kai Gai. " A white chicken coconut curry that I really like. Here is a previous blog entry with the recipe Read Me! It is towards the end! :) Let me know what you think.

8. What are some cool Thai Slang?

- This question has inspired me to learn more, for now I can offer.

"Sut Yat", used like the word Awesome.

Exam Week:My Breaking Point.

2011-07-23T09:30:00.001+07:00

Thai Coordinatator: Why did all the students get this question wrong?

Foreign Teacher:(in a Russian Accent) " All year I've been teaching about BREAST! BREAST! BREAST!, on the exam it says "Nipples" What am I supposed to do?"

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The first 9 weeks is complete, and Exam week is upon us. A simple task you may think to yourself. But we are dealing with Thailand. Before you enter the teaching world here, you need to understand 1 thing: They do things their way,and you can argue all you want but it wont get you anywhere. Common sense is not a factor in their thinking. In the teaching world or the economic world, (but we'll save that topic for another blog)

So, now that you understand the situation let me explain the way "marking" goes. If you have read my previous (Click for previous-->Blog) you know that marking is really all that matters. It has to be perfectly beautiful, no unnecessary pencil marks, all check marks must look exactly the same, all on the same side... it is a very TEDIOUS process.

Before we proctored the exams we were told to give examples and if the students need some help you can help them. As teachers we are to read every question out loud for them. After the test were taken, it was time for marking. The coordinator said to me, if scores are too low, you can erase and change (but it's our secret). This is no secret, it was one of the first things I learned when we got our jobs here. It was something I knew ahead of time that I would need to accept and move on. So I graded and changed here and there, the kids that did horrible I changed a little (as instructed). But then I felt bad, it was unfair to the kids that did good, so occasionally I would change 1 or 2 of theirs as well.. to keep it on a fair scale. Well to my surprise my students actually did quite well! Here I am checking my tests and getting 30/30's! I'm thinking to myself, I must be doing something right! I handed in my test with pride and continue on with my work.

The following day my coordinator walks up to my desk with this awkward look on her face. "Teachuurr Leeza, students test scores...too high!" Okayyyy, I thought to myself.. this couldnt be the problem, I must of misunderstood her, but she continued, " Yes, Teachur too high... have to re-test a couple of the lower scoring students to even out the high scores."

I finally reached the point where going with the flow was going to be a challenging task. Knowing that I have to do things their way, I asked them to please pick the students because I did not want to have anything to do with that. I got to class and the Thai teacher made all the smart kids sit down and have free time while the 10 worst students had to re-take the exam w/o a proctor, or any examples. Basically setting them up for failure. I walked into the classroom and my heart sunk. These are good kids, who try, who are going to go home to their parents and get rep-remanded for getting bad grades when it really wasent their fault. I almost broke into tears while I was giving them their exams... I had finally reached my breaking point. I did what was told of me, but when I was finished I handed the coordinator the exams and said I wanted nothing to do with them... grade them how you want them to be graded and I will put them in the computer when we are done. I plan to reward these students with awards for using good English in class, in hopes that it will help avoid discouraging them from learning the language all together.

The thought process behind their thinking is, if the students are getting too high of grades, their parents wont see an improvement. Therefore they will take their child out of the school. Which then means, less MONEY for the school.

It was one of the most challenging days yet. I was in a funk all day. If i've learned one universal truth here, (aside from Fried Chicken and Michael Jackson) it is that:

M o n e y Talks a n d Bullshit W a l k s.

Cheers!

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QOTD : Would you have been able to bite your tongue?

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Thai Elections: July 2nd

2011-07-22T18:47:00.000+07:00

Thai elections were a couple of weeks ago, and some of you may be aware of the situation in Thailand, but most may not. Just last year, there were bombings in Bangkok from protesters. The 2 groups are "The red-shirts" and "The yellow-shirts" point blank because they wear red and yellow shirts. They are basically like Republicans vs Democrats. One supports The King, and the other doesn't.

Years ago there was this man named Thaksin. Thaksin, was prime minister at one point, but was so corrupt that Thailand actually banned him from the country. He lives somewhere in Europe, but is still heavily involved with Thai politics. He owns all the telephone companies, and still has many supporters.

Election time is pretty similar to American politics except politicians are not allowed to have advertisements on the television or on the radio. But that doesn't stop them from plastering signs all over Bangkok to spread the word. Or riding around in cars with recordings being played over mega phones, or supporters handing out flyers etc. The numbers on the posters represent their voting number. Some have a pretty standard and forgettable image while others like this man below takes the cake!

This is Chuvit, made a fortune in Bangkok soap massage parlors, I.E. bubble bath brothels*. He would pay the cops millions of Baht, in order to stay open. Yet, being the true politician that he is, his campaign is "Against Corruption".

Take a look at some of his hilariously funny advertisements:

Message: The government, says
Chuvit, is steering the wrong way!

Chuvit's message:

Baby's diaper needs a change,

and so does the Thai government.

"Trust"
You can trust your dog more
than a politician these days.

The result of the election was triumphant but scary. On July 2nd, 2554. Thailand officially voted in their first female Prime Minister. A woman no other than Thaksin's sister, the one mentioned above who is banished from Thailand. He even went on record saying, "She's my clone." While she says she wont let him influence her decisions.

The coordinator at my school told me prior to voting that she helps campaign for her province. The following week I asked her if the person who won was who she was campaigning for, she stopped and looked at me bewilderedly and said, " No one has ever asked me that before, in Thailand we do not speak about it." She seemed more pleased than annoyed that I asked her and responded simply by saying "Yes" with a big smile.

During the elections Alcoholic drinks are not allowed to be sold. They don't want to impair judgement or cause any riots. Their way around this? Sell drinks that don't look like alcohol to the naked eye. Sneaky
Thais!

At the end of the day it is kinda refreshing to learn the way their government works. The whole world is screwed up these days, not just America. As horrible as that is its reassuring to hear. We can only go up from here.

[ I hope]

Cheers!

P.S. This is all based on what I could put together from talking to other people and reading on the internet.

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QOTD: Based on the pictures above, what # would you vote for and why?

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Citation:

The photos do not belong to me. I did not take any cause I knew I could find them on the internet.

MsExPat, Thai Elections 2011: The Surprising Rise of the Massage Tycoon.

Retrieved July 4, 2011, from http://www.correntewire.com

Wai Cru, Teachers Appreciation Day!

2011-07-10T02:01:00.000+07:00

Teachers Appreciation Day. Words could not describe this experience. So I recorded and edited a quick little video!

Thoughts?

Erratic and Interesting

2011-07-08T18:05:00.000+07:00

It’s time for another celebrity blog with your friend, Nick Watt. Lisa has written some remarkably wonderful entries on this page, so there’s really not much I can talk about that she hasn’t already touched on. So, I’ve decided not to talk about one topic, but to talk about a few small differences in this country that I think are interesting..

· It’s pretty difficult to find fresh coffee in Thailand. Well, if you’re at a mall or in the city you can walk into a Starbucks or local coffee shop and have no problem, but even then, it isn’t very good. I now get my caffeine fix from instant coffee. The traditional recipe with just hot water is horrible, but when mixed with sugar and condensed milk then poured in a cup full of ice is quite refreshing....and effective.

· Thailand needs those special words of wisdom from Bob Barker, because there are stray dogs everywhere.

· Thai beer is.....okay. My go-to beers are Singha or Leo, with Singha being my favorite. Heineken is widely available, but usually considered top shelf and can get expensive. A normal bottle of beer is about 32 ounces and is usually at about 6 to 7 percent, and yes, I’m still a lightweight.

· Thais hate the sun. Dark skin means you work outside, usually either farming or construction. Therefore, you have a low status and are looked down upon. The solution to this problem: cover the skin with clothing. It’ll be 95 degrees with humidity that would laugh at Florida’s humidity, and I’ll see a 45 year old Thai woman working construction wearing blue jeans, a long sleeve flannel shirt, gloves, A WOOL SKI-MASK, a hat, and of course, Crocs.

· A few Thai obsessions: doughnuts, ice cream and CSI.

· I don’t think speed limits exist here. Police officers don’t really patrol the streets either. Every time I see a cop he’s either posted up on the sidewalk, or directing traffic at a busy intersection. Also, I’ve heard that the government doesn’t provide firearms to police officers. I guess they just buy their own? One cop might have a 9mm and his partner will have a magnum revolver........odd.

· Twice now I’ve seen a man riding an elephant through the developed and busy streets of the city.

· Most Thai people have nicknames. It really helps when I acknowledge them in class. Even though I only know maybe, fifteen of my kids’ names out of about a hundred. Popular nicknames include: Earth, Boss, Great, Jedi, Wind, Snail, Eye and Don.

· We shop at the village market all the time. There is a supermarket close, but it’s still about fifteen minutes away. The village market is a three minute walk and has, in my opinion, better produce than any supermarket around. The meat, on the other hand, is questionable. God knows where the vendor obtained it, how old the meat is and how long its been sitting out in the late afternoon sun. Flies love to hang out around the pork, and especially the squid. How does the vendor prevent this? She has a stick with an air-filled plastic bag tied to the end of it, and she’ll just wave it back and forth over the meat. Works like a charm.

· I don’t usually drink soft drinks, but Sprite is my drink of choice. Thailand has plenty of Sprite, but it’s twice as sweet and not refreshing at all. I think Coke is the same way, but I never drink that shit so I wouldn’t know. My new soft drink of choice is orange Fanta. It’s still a little sweeter than it is back home, but not bad.

· I don’t want to lump all Thai men together with this attribute, but they have the most infectious laughter. I noticed it first with cab drivers. They usually can’t speak English very well, but still know a few words. We’ll try to hold a conversation, and one of us will inevitably get lost in translation or mispronunciation. All you can do is laugh it off, and when they start giggling, you can’t stop. Honestly, just like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

· Cell phones are a huge status indicator. Every kiosk at every mall sells them, and they’re always busy. As a teacher, I have a pretty high status and it’s pretty well known that I make a hefty amount of money. However, when students or teachers see my phone they notice it’s a Sony Ericsson, circa 1999. Confusion ensues.

· One of my favorite and most interesting things about living over here is the association with the other English teachers from all over the world. In our apartment complex we have: English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, Mexican, Canadian, Russian, Chinese, Romanian and Filipino teachers. I have to admit the English are my favorite. Discussing the differences in our languages is hilarious and endless. The real fun will begin next month. “Football” season starts and everyone is a die-hard fan of a certain team. I still call it soccer every once and a while, followed by the guys “taking the piss out of me”. I want to join the fun, so I told them to give me a team to support. I let them know I wanted a team that was slightly above average, but never really amounts to much. We settled on QPR (Queens Park Rangers) from west London. Believe me, they’ll be the out-of-nowhere frontrunners by December.

· Lastly, don’t think I’ve forgotten about College Football. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion who that “Bobby Bowden guy” is on my shirt. I get to show the Brits how real football is played while they show me how a few guys kick a ball around a “pitch”. The Florida State Seminoles, 2011 National Champions.

Hope you enjoyed these tidbits. Thanks for reading!

Your pal,

Nick

How many people does it take to get 1 hair cut?

2011-06-27T20:46:00.000+07:00

With this hot weather, It was time for a change. So, after much consideration I decided to cut my hair short again. Simple task you would think. Go to the beauty salon. Tell them you want a "bob cut" pay the girl and call it a day.

Well, as easy as that sounds, when you are in a different country and the only hair dresser around speaks ZERO English, you have to make due with sign language and the little Thai that I do know.

In the past I have just had a short trim, but my hair was pretty long. Below my shoulders for sure. So I simply gestured what I wanted, showing an angle and short hair! The woman knew what she was doing, but when you are chopping someone's hair off you want to be sure that it is right.

Luckily, there is a little boy that lives in our building who is half Thai half American. Over the past few months he has taken a liken to me, and follows me where ever I go. I thought he would come in handy this time, because he can speak very good Thai and English. So picture it 2 grown women trying to explain to a 6 year old boy what I want to do to my hair.

"Mai Kow Jai" = Do Not Understand.

I think my hair dresser was just very hesitant. I am a forang, she does not want to screw it up! So she left to look for the 1 other person who speaks good English. Luckily she was here. Mai, our apartment manager. She is all of 24 years old, and has her BA in accounting. Very smart, funny and sweet girl! She came in, her English is the best out of everyone but still not perfect. So she tells me to tell William (the little boy) what I want, then William told Mai what I wanted (in Thai), then Mai told the hair dresser!

At this point I was beginning to feel a little nervous, who knows how this hair cut could get lost in translation. When you have 3 people trying to explain in a different language, and one of them being a 6 year old boy!! She kept saying "Bob tail, Okay?"

I'm like a Bob Tail, I hope I don't walk out of here with a rat tail mullet!

Cross your fingers XX

I just told myself, It is only hair and it can grow back.... In the end I think it turned out fabulous!

and for 80 Baht- a little under 3$ You can't complain.

On a side note I haven't dyed my hair since I have been here.

Side view, Classic Bob!

Random Blog I know, just thought some may enjoy!

Cheers!

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QOTD: Would you have had as much trust in the hair dresser as I did?

Home Sweet Home

2011-06-24T14:12:00.000+07:00

This little girl is the daughter of one of the construction workers on the property. She has the most contagious laugh and the biggest smile.

Sa Wa Dee Ka! My friends, sorry for the delay on this blog. The internet has been very touch and go at our apartments and has taken hours to upload pics etc. Speaking of our apartment, I thought I would take you on a little tour of our living quarters as I'm sure most of you are curious to what sort of accommodations we are living in.

So let me introduce to you, ST Apartments :

It is a brand new building filled with 30 other foreign teachers from around the world. To date we have friends from, Great Britain, The Philippines, Ireland, Holland, America, Romania, China, Russia, Canada and Mexico. The rest of the rooms are filled with Thai Rubber factory workers or random Thais who only frequent the apartment on weekends. Our rent (which is paid for by the school) is a little under 3,000 Baht a month fully furnished. Let me blow your mind for a second and convert that to dollars for you: 3,000 Baht = approx. $95 a month.

Our "Kitchen"

Here is Nick's "Man Cave"

But what exactly does that get us? A/C, refrigerator, clothing amour, vanity, nightstand, full size bed with 2 pillows, small balcony, a bathroom and unreliable internet (all provided by the apartment complex).

On top of that, the school provides free bedding, a microwave, a desk, and a set of dishes. Find me a job in America that does all that including health insurance and I'll apply for it. Nick and I were both given our own room, for two people it could be a little snug. With no kitchen we are forced to get creative, which is the only downfall. Oh, how I miss cooking in a proper kitchen. We use Nick's room for cooking, and my room for everything else! As usual, I tried to make it as homey as I could.

My bedroom, complete with a picture
of the King and Queen!

The Apartment complex is actually really nice. (In my opinion) It is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, so it can get very boring. But getting to Bangkok is just a 45 min taxi ride away... not too bad really. It makes saving money that much easier.
To make up for the lack of entertainment we are forced to figure it out ourselves. Many of the teachers gather downstairs to share stories about their day. Kick around the "football" [Soccer Ball] for hours with the kids who live in the building, sometimes we play badminton, or volleyball too. There are also shops on the first floor of the building which I feel I had a big part in creating. IE: recommending a massage parlor.... hahah. There is also a mini mart, a hair salon, coffee shop and stationary store. It is rumored that there will be a gym which I also had a little hand in influencing, as one of the foreign teachers is opening it up! For somewhere to eat, they have been in the process of building a food court where we can purchase dinner. For now we have been cooking our own food or buying delicious grilled chickens from the market across the street!

The apartment building is brand new. We are the first people to live in our rooms which is really comforting, don't have to deal with another person's mess. Every day they are building something new, whether it is a parking lot, or a cafeteria the workers are kept busy. It is actually pretty interesting the way they work; basically they live where they work. They just build a little community on the land.
The little girl at the top of the post lives
there,

and despite what you may think leads a pretty normal life. She goes to school every day and plays at home riding bikes and kicking the ball around. There is also this game called "Sepak-takraw" it is just like volleyball except you cannot use your hands, and they play with a little wicker ball. The kids are my form of entertainment. I have a lot of fun chasing them around and pretending to be a bear as instructed by them. They run and scream from me and I pretend to eat them. Hahah

This is where the builders live.
Complete with a swing and moat for when it rains.

Here is the view of the factory across the street,
with a crazy storm rolling in.

Overall, I am satisfied with our situation. We could be in a high rise somewhere in the middle of Bangkok surrounded by a bunch of Westerners, but I think we have a great community of friends. We are surrounded with plenty of culture to soak up, from Thai-to all over the world! I shall leave you with this beautiful sunrise that we watched from the hallway window right outside my room.

Thank you for reading, Hope you enjoyed!

Cheers!

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QOTD (Question of the day): Would these free accommodations be enough for you, or would find a different job so you could live in a high-rise in Bangkok ?

A School day in Thailand.

2011-06-03T16:47:00.000+07:00

One of the random signs, around school.

It has been about 2 solid months of teaching, and I can finally say I feel like a teacher. I am currently teaching 3 grade levels, and 2 subjects: Math and English. I teach 2 classes of F/C [First Class, or as we call it in the west, Pre-K] 1 class for KG-2, and KG-3. Before the school year started, I was hoping to have a little bit older. It is quite a challaege trying to teach kids about math when they do not understand basic English words. I am starting from scratch, and this can make teaching much harder. Luckily, I am never alone in the classroom, and my Thai is getting better and better each day. There is usually a TA [Teachers assistant] and the regular classroom teachers.

The school day is made up of 9 periods (including Lunch and nap time- for me and the students) Hahah. I actually have a blow up pillow in my desk for when I am finished with my work for the day. It is completely acceptable for me to put my head down and nap. As long as my work for the day is complete, and all my books are up to date with "Marking".

There are 4 things foreign teachers have to do to keep their job.

1. Show up

2. Dress nice

3. Do not get behind on your marking.

4. Do not cause any problems.

(This one is easier said than done, Thai people can be very finicky! )

Here I am at my desk. [I felt this caption was absolutely necessary ;) ]

Simple task you may think, but the word Tedious does not begin to describe the way Asians work. It's no wonder they are so good at math. A 5 page word problem is like crack to them. They use their rulers for everything, even to write the straight edge of a letter, for word searches they make 2 lines with their ruler around the word and then connect them free hand. SO, you could imagine what our books have to look like.

Rules to Marking your workbooks:

1. Must be in Red Pen.

2. All ticks, or check marks must be perfectly aligned and proportional. You must sign and date every page. {I had a stamp made with my name on it, and attached it to a date stamp.}

3. IF the student did not finish, you may write "Please finish" on the page, if they then return it incomplete again, it is YOUR responsibility to finish the work. CrAzY I know, but at the end of the year these books go home with the students and the parents want to see good news, not bad. Or in reality, they want to know that their money is well spent. If you do all these things, you will succeed.

Now that we understand the rules, let me walk you through our school, and a day in the life of a foreign teacher in Thailand.

The green uniforms are for P.E.

The day begins, when all the students are lined up in the center of the school. {I think it looks like prison. haha} The morning greeting is spoken in Thai and English, at separate times. It begins exactly like this, " Good morning teachers, students, parents, and everyone." [Who else is there?!?] A short paragraph is spoken about something western, this week we spoke about the weather, and the 4 climates.

Then on some days a short Chinese lesson, followed by marching in place like little soldiers.

(I recorded this, and will post it soon.) It is quite entertaining, and somewhat gives off the vibe of a concentration camp of some sort. They repeat Sai, Qwa, Sai. (Left, Right, Left) It was pretty creepy at

first but I am slowly beginning to realize its purpose, when they walk around the school it keeps the

students in line, and teaches them discipline.

Finally, it is announced "Please return to your classrooms under the direction of your teachers" This is the best part, they all march in unison back to their classrooms while It's a Small World is played over the loud speaker.... Every. Single. Day.

As foreign teachers we do not have our own class room, we just float from room to room teaching.

One of Nick's classrooms while the kids were at lunch.

And while he is teaching! Nick is fortunate to be teaching the older grades. He also teaches 2 subjects, Science and Social Studies to 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th, and 6th grade. He is able to speak English all the time, they may not fully understand but most get the gist.

This is one of the playgrounds for children under 7 to play on. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Here is the Boy's Nurses office, Not a day goes by that I don't wish I was sleeping in these beds as I walk by..... [Hahah, don't judge me]

Today's lesson, writing the letter "B".

This little girl is the cutest!

My kids hard at work! This picture is from Songkron (Water Festival) hence the floral shirts.

I find this picture very entertaining, mainly because these kids are playing swinging back and forth on this white man who happens to be a pirate.

They had a blast, they were having so much fun that one of the girls actually threw up from excitement!! Oh to be a kid again!

Peace out from Thailand <3

Cheers!

6 Months Check-Up

2011-05-24T20:55:00.000+07:00

Well you know what they say, "Time flies when you're having fun." It has officially been about 6 months now, and it feels like two. I've experienced so many cool things and learned so much along the way...

It is hard to explain how it feels to live in Thailand. Aside from it's beautiful beaches, and delicious street food, Thailand has a special... dare I say, "Vibe" . The people are friendly, and families are strong.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T is such an important value in this culture that it comes second nature. You are the weird one for acting a fool. Although it's known at all times, "You're a Farong you don't know any better." The more you respect the culture, the further you get with them. But it's not that easy. There is a whole crazy societal hierarchy that comes along with this whole "Respect" thing.

Here is what I'ved learned so far: [In No particular order]

#1- Braces are Cool. It is a sign of money.. so they are everywhere.

#2- It is monsoon season right now, in preparation I asked one of our coordinators where to buy cute rain boots?, her response {while shaking head like I was asking a silly question} " Ohhh Nooo Teachuur, look like woorker."

#3- Every Child must Bow to every teacher. Haha, can you just read that line again?

This is one of my favorite customs. Day in and day out, constantly folding my hands and bowing to people. I love it to be honest it just feels more personal. But it is very important that you understand the way of the "Wai", (pronounced Why). To your boss, you Wai first. The cleaning ladies Wai you first. Gym teachers are the lowest on the teacher totem pole. If they walk by the director and she is sitting down they literally have to bend down like they are walking in front of a projector and lower themselves. Physically showing rank. Out of Respect ya know? ;)

#4- When explaining Thai culture it is imperative that you understand the "Mai Bpen Rye" attitude.

Simply put. Mai Bpen Rye = Hakunna Matatta.

No worries, Nevermind, Why do today what you can do tomorrow? Patience is a truly a virtue.

#5- "Losing Face" is a ruthless concept. Thai's will do anything to avoid being looked down upon in any social situation. For example, If you ask a Thai person for directions and they don't know, they would rather tell you the wrong ones than say "I don't know."... Losing Face.

#6- If you are on a motobike, ANYTHING GOES. [and you don't need a license to drive one.] Also 5 people per bike is ABSOLUTELY acceptable, even if none of them are wearing helmets, and 2 of them are babies...this is very common.

#7-You always feel like you are on display here, a smile will get you very far.

Thai's social network is better then Facebook. True story, I went to the marked when we first moved here. Out side venders all lined up selling anything from food, to clothing, to household items, you name it they have it. Anyway, I was looking at the clothes on one side of the street and started talking to one of the stall owners (In Thai) She asked where I came from, what I was doing in the middle of no where basically. So I told her I was a teacher. (The most respected career in the country, might I add.) I told her which school, what grade etc. etc. By the time I crossed the road and started looking at the food I could hear them explaining to each other, right in front of me my whole life story. Repeating everything. Just smile and nod your head, it's all you can do. When it comes down to it they are really just intrigued. Some study English all their lives and never even meet a Westerner, so you have to just put it in their perspective. One of my students fathers came up to me and said, in really good English that we were the first foreigners he has met in 3 years because he works in a factory all day....

just something to think about.

Cheers!