I’ve reached the halfway point of my first semester here.

This is, to me, a milestone, and milestones are opportunities for reflection.

For the most part I’m satisfied with how I’ve spent my time here.  I’ve experienced new things, met new people, and forced myself out of my comfort zone on a more regular basis than ever before.  I want to highlight some of the more memorable experiences I’ve had since I’ve been here.  Though I desperately miss cheese (my friends and family too, I guess) and am second-guessing my decision to commit to a year-long contract, I am more glad than ever that I chose to come to Thailand.

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First Cab Ride

I stepped off my plane, worked my way through immigration and customs, and emerged blinking into the morning before finding a cab to take me to my hotel.  It was a long ride, from one end of the city to the other so I had a lot of time to observe my surroundings along the way.  A lot of those observations have stayed with me throughout my time here, both positive and negative: the terrifyingly terrible driving, blissful humid heat, shantytowns built on landfills right next to newly built luxury condo units,  street-food everywhere, stray animals everywhere.  My first foray alone into the unknown; full of stress and excitement and ready for adventure.

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Raft Ride in Kanchanaburi

One of my favorite moments from my first week in Thailand was a short trip on a bamboo raft down the river Kwae.  It was lush, beautiful, and exotic, but most of all it was peaceful.  A quiet moment in a chaotic and overwhelming week.

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Dance Aerobics in the Park

Weight seems to come up in Thailand a lot.  People talk about your weight, about their own weight, about anyone really.  It’s a little surreal coming from America where the topic is practically taboo.  It’s hard to be offended when they matter-of-factually point out that I’m fat since I’ve continued to lose weight since I got here (I’ve lost a total of 55 lbs. since the day I made the decision to come to Thailand).

Even still, it is on my mind a lot, so when Meh, my Thai friend, invited me to dance aerobics at the park I accepted.  She ended up being a no-show, so it was just me and a group of middle-aged Thai ladies bouncing along to a mix of K-Pop and western music at a volume that could be heard throughout the park.  Fun, bizarre, and sweaty: a microcosm of my Thailand experience thus far.

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Birthday Gift from Eh

In the days leading up to my birthday I was melodramatically depressed at the thought of it.  I was an idiot, my birthday was lovely and I had nothing to complain about.  The highlight of the day, besides the fact that I had “Happy Birthday” sang to me at least 5 times, was a gift from one of my favorite students.  A beautiful scarf with elephants with a note that I treasure as much (if not more).  If you can’t read the picture, it says:

To Anna

Happy Birthday to You! 🙂

I hope you be happy very much

And enjoy with teaching in Thailand.

Thank you for help me about interview.

Love U teacher ❤

From Eh 😀

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Candle Festival Parade

July 10th my school celebrated the Candle Festival.  It started early in the day with a ceremony where all of the students and staff got to pour a spoonful of melted wax into a candle mold one by one.  The real event didn’t get started until the afternoon, though.  Around one o’clock, a group of students led me to the front of the school where they were getting ready for the parade.

This is already one of my favorite memories of my time in Thailand so far.  Most of the students (and some of the teachers) had changed into traditional or celebratory outfits for the event, there was energetic music coming from the school’s band, everyone was laughing and smiling and dancing.  I don’t think I’ve taken so many pictures in a short amount of time ever before.  I did try to focus just on taking pictures of the kids I actually knew, but since I have over 800 students this didn’t narrow things down much.

Once everyone was ready to go, the parade began.  It was led by pickup trucks decorated with bunting and flowers and holding students and teachers in traditional Thai costume and, of course, the huge yellow candles that were the centerpiece of the whole event.  It was followed by students doing traditional Thai dancing, a band keeping the music going, and more.  It was festive and lovely and I followed along with some of my students for the length of the parade (about 1 km to the temple).  I, of course, got terribly sunburned but it was worth it!

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Swimming Beneath a Waterfall in Ko Chang

For the long weekend in mid-July I met up with some fellow teachers in Ko Chang, an island in the Gulf of Thailand not far from the Cambodian border.  Despite the on-and-off rain and the long van ride(s) to get there and away, it was a relaxing weekend full of reading, eating, and lounging on the beach; pretty much my ideal vacation.

The moment that stands out in my memory was a visit to a waterfall in the center of the island.  We had to hike to get there, which confirmed a suspicion I had always held: hiking is dumb.  It was relatively short, however, and I arrived, sweaty and grumpy, to see the waterfall.

By Thailand’s standards, it’s probably not an especially impressive waterfall, but it was still pretty spectacular to my eye.  It was an awkward and slippery climb to get closer, but I’m glad I did.  I slid, literally slid, down a rock into the water at the base.  The water was blissfully cool and refreshing.  After swimming about in the strong current, I wedged myself into a semi-submerged position on a rock and let the water flow around me, frightening away the tiny, inquisitive fish nipping at my legs with my fingers, ignoring the gradually increasing number of tourists around me, and just sat enjoying the moment for as long as I could.

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English Competition

On Monday I was sent to Chachoengsao for an English Competition.  It was for primary school students from around the district.  Contests included a speech competition, a spelling bee, and storytelling.  I got the chance to judge the singing portion and it was one of the most adorable things I’ve ever participated in.  Little girls between 6 and 12 years old, dressed in their school uniforms belting out songs in English.  It reminded me strongly of all the recitals and auditions I participated in as a kid.  There were, of course, two who sang “Let it Go” from Frozen.  A few others went with songs written by the king of Thailand; the winners sang “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid and “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

Once the singing portion was over I got to watch the skit competition.  The theme was “Joining Hands Globally” (ironic that an English competition would use such poor English in their choice of theme, but no matter) so there were a couple about the environment and another one about how to be a good citizen of ASEAN.  They were very elaborate in their sets and costumes.  All in all, the day was filled with adorable children and smiles!

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Ride through the Rice Paddies

Just this morning, I took a leisurely ride on my scooter through the rice paddies that surround my town.  It’s a beautiful day; warm and sunny, but with enough of a breeze to keep comfortable; much too beautiful to stay inside.  While I’m strongly biased in favor of ocean-related natural beauty, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate other natural beauty where I find it.  There’s not much that’s more relaxing than a weekend drive.  No destination, no timeline, and no speeding.  A mini adventure in your own neighborhood.

I probably don’t travel as much on weekends as some of the other American teachers and that’s partly because I’d prefer to save my money for times where I can spend more than one night in a new place.  The other reason is that I think part of the experience of living in Thailand is living in Thailand.  I’d like to get to know my town and learn about the community in which I’ve been placed.

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As I was preparing to come to Thailand, I was frequently asked why I had to chosen to teach abroad.  Usually I gave a glib answer about how I am not designed for the harsh Maine climate, and how I much prefer hot, humid climes.  This is true, but it’s obviously not the whole truth.  Really what I was hoping for was an opportunity for personal growth.  A furnace of culture shock and new experiences to mold myself into the person I truly want to be.  A person who has goals for the future, who isn’t crippled by an inability to form new relationships, a person who is worldly and confident.

I don’t know if I’ve achieved exactly what I had in mind, but I’ve certainly can say that I’ve gone a lot farther towards living a full life since I’ve been here.