Golden Mountain

Jenny and I recently went to Wat Saket in Bangkok. It is also known as the Golden Mountain because you have to climb 318 steps up a small man made hill where a golden temple resides. The views from the top were some of the best we have seen of the city skyline. I've posted a few pictures below....

Thanksgiving in Thailand & things we're thankful for

Today I said "happy thanksgiving" to a parent (she's from Spain) and they were like oh yeah, is that today? Happy thanksgiving to you! I also told my international students about thanksgiving (a lot of dramatization was going on about pilgrims and Indians) and they were mesmerized! Never have I ever experienced a thanksgiving where it's treated as just another day, a regular Thursday. The metro is still crammed and everone is eating noodles for breakfast on the street, normal day in BKK... When colie asked her students what day it was they replied "your birthday?" we are eating at a resturant called bourbon street cafe & they pretty much have the best thanksgiving menu in Thailand... Not sure how far that goes but they have turkey and other dishes made with avocados (one of our favorites) and pumpkin pie, should be very delicious or arroy mak mak (Thai for very delicious)...

So here are some things we are thankful for as we feel this is a necessary obligation to do as an American, think about what we are thankful for on this very important holiday to our homeland...

In no particular order:
Family and friends, continuous support about our decision to live in Thailand

This amazing opportunity that we've been given

Spicy food of all nations, food in general, as well and especially turkey today!!

Our health

Our youth

Our good spirits

And FRIENDSHIP

Love makes the world go round :)

Xoxo
Jenny & Colie

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Top 10 things we love about Thailand

It was too hard to prioritize this list so it's in no particular order...

• Bed Supper club
• Market by our house and being able to get anything you need from it including shoe repair, mending, keys made, tattoos, massages, nails, hair, dinner, drinks, the occasional fair or concert, fortune telling, shoes, oh yeah and clothes too.


• Cheap massages
• Being able to buy a new outfit for less than 5 dollars
• Khao San road (the main backpackers area in BKK)


• Amazing Pad Thai and papaya salad for less than a dollar
• Pinapple, watermelon, and papaya on every street corner


• Thai islands



• All of the international people we meet
• Being in the center of Southeast Asia






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Top 10 things we miss in America

10. White chocolate mocha lattes... Starbucks here doesn't have that flavor!
9. Jimmy Johns
8. Tangy Sweet
7. Really good margaritas
6. Blueberry stoli
5. Being able to wear pants to work
4. Cheap wine
3. Trader joes
2. American football (let's be honest we really mean tailgating)
1. Turkey... It's going to be a sad sad thanksgiving without turkey!
Of course our family and friends too!

Ko Samet or Ko Samed?

One thing you will notice about Thailand very quickly is nothing seems to be standardized. Last weekend Jenny and I went to an eastern shore island in the Gulf of Thailand called Ko Samet. All of the guide books seem to refer to it as Ko Samet, but once we arrived all of the signs said Ko Samed. Apparently both are correct and if you google either you get the same results....go figure.

Overall we had a great time on the island. Jenny's school was closed on Thursday and Friday because of a hand and foot disease so she got a head start to the island on Thursday with our friend Emily. Once I finally arrived Friday night the three of us went to this seafood restaurant/market where we sat on a platform in the sand for dinner.... very relaxing!

Saturday it rained all day, but we still enjoyed ourselves just relaxing outside of BKK. We made friends with a few locals and ended up at a company's shrimp boil where everyone was trying to feed us and give us drinks. On Saturday night we randomly ran into one of our friends from BKK so on Sunday we all ended up hanging out at the beach where we had a bit of a photo session... below is one of our favorite shots from the day!

My only complaint (if you can even call it that) is about the roads. They only have dirt roads all over the island, and the taxi's consist of the back of a pick-up truck with two benches running along the sides. Its very bumpy and muddy, but nothing that will keep us from going back.

We were very sad to leave Ko Samet, but we definitely think we will be back before our time in Thailand is over. Below is us on the ferry back to Ban Phe where we caught our bus to BKK.

XoXo,

Nichole and Jenny

Thai Christian School

Well where do I even begin... I just finished my 3rd week of teaching here at Thai Christian School. My schedule is actually pretty nice with lots of planning time, but truth is I need it because I am having to reteach myself everything before I teach my students.

I am teaching 7th, 8th, and 9th grade math at Thai Christian School's English Program. The English Program basically means that these kids have almost every subject twice, once in English and once in Thai. In addition to that they have Chinese teachers teaching them Chinese. My school is a private school so the kids that go here come from middle to upper middle class families here in Thailand. Sorry to disappoint those of you that thought I was helping the poor kids of Thailand.

I have six classes, 2 of each grade, and I meet with each of them 3 times a week for 50 minutes. The schools over here are pretty different for starters the students in each grade are divided into different classes and these classes are together for the whole year. They don't place students in different classes or levels of subjects based on their ability it's the same for everyone (which makes it extremely hard to teach math!). Also, I do not have a classroom of my own instead each class has their own classroom and the teachers move around.

Every morning starts out with the morning assembly where the students raise the flag while singing the national anthem. Everyone freezes wherever they are when this song or the kings song plays. Apparently it's like illegal or something to be moving during these songs. Afterwards is homeroom for 10 mins and the classes start. The best part of the classes is the way the students greet you when you enter the room. They all stand up and say in unison "Good Morning Teacher Nichole" and when I leave they stand and say "Thank you Teacher Nichole". Can you imagine middle grade students in America doing that? I can't!

As far as classes go so far so good I gave my first test last week to my 7th graders and most of them did pretty well so that's good news! I guess I'm not terrible teacher. I have had to write a few detentions for students not doing homework and one student for throwing a paper airplane in my class!

Jenn and I are headed to Ko Samet for the weekend. It's an island that is about a 3 hour bus ride (plus a ferry ride) from BKK. We are so excited for the beach and sun!!

Below is a picture of my school :)



Xoxo,
Nichole

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Sunrise

So those of you that know me know that I've never been the type of person that watches the sunrise...unless it's because I haven't been to bed yet, but even that is a rare ocassion. Well things have changed here in Thailand! I very quickly found out that my window faces East therefore every morning between 615 and 630 I get to watch the most amazing sun rises through my window while I get ready for work. I guess it's the only perk to having to wake up so freaking early! Im not going to lie I miss the days at Herren when I rolled out of bed at 830 some mornings...sigh. The picture really doesn't do it justice...


Xoxo,
Nichole


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Loy Krathong

This past Monday night was a holiday here in Thailand called Loy Krathong. "Loy" means to float and "Krathong" is a decorated raft about the size of a hand that is made from a section of a banana tree trunk. During this holiday people float these Krathongs on a river (see picture to the left). The purpose of this is symbolic in that you are letting go of all anger, grudges, and defilements so you can start fresh. People even place their fingernail clippings and hair on the rafts to symbolize getting rid of the bad parts of yourself. Additionally, floating a Krathong is said to bring good luck and it is done to thank the Goddess of Water.

On Monday night Jenn, Pom, and I went down to the river and bought Krathongs. We took a boat up the river to a spot in front of a really old temple where we floated our Krathongs in the water. It was a beautiful festival complete with a parade of decorated barges on the river like the one pictured below.