Survived the first week, now off to Asiatique!

Bangkok for the Weekend           

             

                  After a week of, “TEACHA! TEACHA! TEACHA!”, one would think I would need a weekend of rest, but instead Jill and I decided to go on a mini adventure to Bangkok. We were invited to go to breakfast with one of the computer teachers P’ Rachai on Saturday morning and while eating our breakfast and sipping our green teas he invited us to ride with him to Bangkok. P’ Rachai is going to school to get his degree in English and his university has weekend classes in Bangkok. P’ Rachai may hate his weekend classes, but we appreciate the free lift to Bangkok. We weren't in need of a getaway, but were excited to have an American dinner and even more excited for a hot shower.

Family and Friends, meet P’ Rachai!

Ha Ha Ha This isn't really him, but it is his face and I don't have a picture of him yet so this is all I have to show you.

In addition to his awesome hair, P’Rachai has a sweet ride decorated with only the most manly of items, for example:

Needless to say, he has a minion and we get along just fine.

                After our 2 hour drive to Bangkok, Jill and I checked in to our fancy $20 a night hotel, took a hot shower (we had to), and then headed out for the evening. We decided to check out the famous Asiatique. Asiatique can only be reached via ferry, as it is a little peninsula of Bangkok. Even though it was raining, we took a night boat ride to get to Asiatique. You would think we were starving based on how quickly we made our way to the first Italian restaurant we saw, but really we were just craving a familiar meal. Don’t get me wrong, the Thai food is really good and  I have found a lot of dishes that I really like here, but you can only eat so much rice and noodles. It makes perfect sense that we were in need of something other than noodles and we went to have pasta, right? =) The thing about the food in Thailand is that I rarely know what I am getting or what it will taste like. The only dish I know will always taste the same is the ginger chicken and rice, but otherwise it is all a mystery. Sometimes the mystery is a fun adventure and sometimes you just want to order something you know you will really enjoy.

        Besides eating a yummy Italian dinner, Jill and I also attempted to spend all of our money at the hundreds of shops that Asiatique has. Asiatique is a tourists heaven and is filled with all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs. We were also lucky enough to catch the late night firework show before heading back to our hotel room. Here are some pictures from Asiatique.

                                                                  

                                   

        The following day Jill and I, of course took another hot shower, then we ventured out to the world’s largest weekend market, Bangkok’s Jatujak Market. This market had everything from food, to furniture, to paintings, to jewelry, to fake chuck taylors, to souvenirs, and everything in between. The market is set up like a large outdoor swap meet. JJ market was really fun. Weaving in and out of the narrow walk ways and checking out all the shops was a unique shopping experience. Here is a picture of the JJ Market:

        After the market Jill and I jumped on the skytrain to our favorite place in Thailand: the American market. This market has some American candy, American cookies, cheese, tortillas, refried beans, and nearly everything we need.  The market isn’t as good as home, but it is a darn good fix for now.  I know it seems like this weekend was a cry for America, but really I am doing just fine here. Of course there are things I miss, particularly Mexican food and sour candy, but I can’t express how much I love this place. The people are incredible and I feel very welcomed here.

          After our day of market trips, Jill and I went back to meet P’ Rachai and head home. Now is a good time to tell you that P’ Rachai is a cool guy and we have become very good friends with him. I am so thankful to have him here at our school. He was kind enough to introduce us to some of the other Thai teachers who get together every night to eat dinner, watch movies (even movies in English), play cards, and drink whiskey. These teachers get together at P’ Lee and P’ Bird’s house that is on campus, like Jill and I’s house. There are about 10 teachers who gather here Monday- Thursday nights and I like to think of this group as the young and fun teachers of Chamnan School( our school).  Although most of the conversation is in Thai, I am doing my best to learn enough Thai to speak with everyone and between Yaya and P’ Rachai’s translations we are able to have a good time. Here are some pictures from our nights spent with the fun teachers. =)

 

                P' Rachi and P'Off                                         P'Lee and P' Bird, our kind hosts

The "Cool" teachers =)

           

3D Smurf Movie Time!

           Now that we have gotten very close to this group of teachers we decided that teaching them some college beer games was a good idea. We started with a game from UCSB called Gaucho Ball where you sit in a circle and you want to bounce your ping pong ball in to your cup before the person ahead of you. If the person before you beats you then you drink and the last person to drink has to drink a full glass of beer. It is hard for me to explain the game, but it was truly hilarious and so much fun. Here are some pictures from the night we taught our Thai friends college drinking games.

      

                           

                           

          

   

       

I have one last picture for you all and it is a picture of my first Thai motorbike ride with the PE teacher P’ Off (The cutest teacher and the loser of Gaucho Ball). Please note that in Thailand you ride sideways on the back of the motorbike.

 This riding style may not seem safe, especially without a helmet, but mai pen rye (No worries) mom and dad, it is VERY safe! Haha

Sending you all lots of hugs. Miss you all, but sure love my Thai friends! =)

Xo

Amanda