Week 1: Conquered

Woo! It's Friday of my first week on the job and I only have two classes left today. I think I can safely say that I DID IT! I mostly have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm feeling more comfortable just winging it and feeling out each class. The abilities are verrrrrry mixed within each grade and each class. It's tough. Yesterday, I had a minor freak out when I walked into one of my classes. Written on the board was basically the exact same lesson that I had planned for that class. They had just done it with one of the other (Thai) English teachers. Uhhhh.... I went to my coordinator in a minor panic and he told me to just work on speaking, listening, and pronunciation. I had to wing it but it actually worked out! I wish I could meet with all the teachers (I guess we have meetings during the last period on Mondays) and figure out who is doing what. Telling me my unit is "jobs" doesn't really tell me a whole lot about how to work in tandem with their other lessons.

Ooh, I had one class earlier in the week and I was, once again, kind of freaking out because I had no idea what to do with them. I had just learned that I need to teach something other than what I had prepared for. They actually ended up being my favorite class! So clever, quiet, respectful, and fun. And obviously adorable. The topic was jobs, and at the end of class I had each of them stand up and say what they wanted to be when they grew up. I'm not sure how many of them just said something easy and how many were truthful, but all the same, I'm proud of their reportings! A lot of the doctor and engineer responses were from girls (as was ambassador!)

7th grade career ambitions

On Tuesday I showed up to marching band rehearsal. The band teacher who sort of speaks English wasn't there, so it was a bit of a challenge with the other teacher. I thought I would just watch or help with visuals, but it ends up that Tuesday was just a music day. And there is no woodwinds teacher. So I ended up leading the saxophone section rehearsal. Whaaaaat. I'm not really that good at saxophone and the language barrier was hard. But, nonetheless, I had them do some nitty-gritty rehearsal of half a Sousa march. It was kind of fun but also intimidating!

Marching band saxophone section at the end of our rehearsal

This week I hosted my first Couch Surfer in my new apartment! His name is Alan and he's from the Ukraine (though he's been on the road for 4 years). He stayed for three nights. Apparently my couch isn't actually all that comfortable. Whoops. Luckily he'll be in Bangkok for a while (a month, maybe?) and he's on a budget, so he didn't mind that I've been really low-key. I'm getting a lotttttt of Couch Requests... We'll see how many people I actually host. I want to help out but I also don't want to deplete my resources. Couch Surfing is not about being a mooch and I'm scared that some people see it that way.

Full moon on Loy Krathong

Last night was Loy Krathong, a festival of lights (of sorts) celebrating and giving thanks to the water spirits. Traditionally, you make a wish as you cast your krathong, which is a decorative floating "basket" of sorts with lights and candles. It falls on the full moon of the 12th month of the traditional Thai calendar. I went to the riverfront in Bangkok with Alan and my fellow teacher friend, Cassie. She's also here through the same program, but she's teaching at a kindergarten in the city.

Me and Cassie with our krathongs

To be completely honest, the whole experience was a little underwhelming, but I'm glad I did it. I was really special to cast off my own krathong and take part in a special celebration. There were a few performances but mostly just crowds. By 8:30 I was ready to go home and so I did. Though once home, I was able to see floating lanterns and fireworks from my balcony! Next time I'm in Thailand for Loy Krathong I'll have to go to Chiang Mai to be among the thousands of floating lanterns. That looks incredible. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the festivities:

Cassie casting her krathong into the river

Sharing my flame with a krathong that was actually a pastry

My krathong is lowered into the river and catches up with its friends

Today after work I'm heading to Kanchanaburi! I think it'll be my third time there. A bunch of CIEE/OEG participants are meeting up to spend the weekend in nature. We'll go to the waterfalls and hopefully caves and go ziplining! There may also be a night of camping involved. Katrina and I are going together and I'm excited :D I hope I get a chance to sleep in a little bit. I've been waking up around 5:50 am every day. Yuck. Though I have a feeling it's going to be difficult to stay awake past 10:30 pm. We shall see. A relaxing weekend sounds good, but I'm definitely excited to be surrounded by the gorgeous landscapes and a wonderful friend!