Koh Rong

The trip to Koh Rong was my first experience with a sleeper bus.  Luckily Brittany and I sat together or else I’d have been up, close, and personal with a stranger.  We stopped a few times during the 13 hour drive since the bus had no toilet.  I witnessed my worst and most unclean squatter during this trip.

 The bus took us to Sihanoukville, the beach city in Southern Cambodia where the ferry leaves for Koh Rong.  There, we picked up our ferry tickets, paid for our scuba diving, and booked our departing bus to Phnom Pehn.

We took three steps onto the pier of Koh Rong and immediately decided that we would never want to leave.  While checking in at Monkey Island Bungalows, we asked if they had vacancy for an extra night, and they did.  They even helped us change our bus ticket, so we tacked on an extra night!

Our bungalow was beautiful, but very basic.  We really roughed it for four nights.  Our bungalow was a stone’s throw away from the beach.  The sounds of the ocean put me to sleep every night.  We had a porch with a hammock.  Our beds had mosquito nets, which I had never had to use before.  There was no fan or air conditioning, but this is all authentic to how the island works and operates.  Also, wifi was difficult to come by, and the bungalows are solar powered.  We only got light from 5-11 PM.  Monkey Island’s restaurant is where we found wifi, but it was pretty poor at most moments.  Monkey Island also had a charging dock, run by a generator, for phones, as the bungalows had no outlets.  It was the perfect refuge, and it was nice not reaching for my phone until dinner each day.

 Brittany and I decided to do a fun dive in Koh Rong.  I probably won’t dive again in Southeast Asia, so we decided to go for it.  It cost $80 for two dives and lunch.  We met our divemaster, Luke, that morning.  He seemed awesome and we were excited for the dives (and nervous since it was our first dive since our certification).  Luke told us that two Russian men, who spoke zero English and had not been diving in six years, were also joining us.  I could tell that Luke was a little uneasy about taking the Russians out, but we all geared up and jumped in.  Luke gave us the signal to go down, but once we did, the Russian guys were nowhere to be found.  I also went down too quickly, and my head suddenly felt like it was going to explode.  My left hear was ringing and I began to panic.  Luke motioned for us to go up, as he could not see the Russians.  Luke, not really knowing what to do, asked us to go back to the boat so he could go find the men.

I had two thoughts. One was that I was disappointed that we missed our first dive.  Two was that I was thankful that I didn’t have to go down since my head felt like it had fallen off and my left ear was clogged and ringing (and later on noticed I had popped blood vessels on my face and one on my right eye).  When everyone got back on board to head to the next site, Luke told us that we could tag along with another group because he felt he needed to devote himself to the Russian men.  We completely understood, so we went on the next dive.  The visibility was not great, but my head did not explode, so that was a plus.

When we finished, Luke offered to take us out on Tuesday morning to make up for the first dive.  It was so generous of him since he knew we would not get our money back.  We laid on the beach for the rest of the afternoon and had an amazing bbq dinner at CoCos.

Another thing that is a must do on Koh Rong is Long Beach.  It is one of the best white sand beaches in the world.  Since there are no roads on the island, you can get there two ways: a 25 minute long tail boat or a jungle trek.  We heard the hike was around 45 minutes so off we went.  This was one of the most difficult hikes I have ever done.  We trekked up steep dirt hills, up large rocks, and we climbed down so many boulders.  Brittany seemed to be a natural, while I trailed behind, sliding down on my butt most of the time!  Rocks are not my thing and Britt knows this, so she offered to help with my things.  At one point she said, hey, you’re conquering another fear!  I’m not sure how one could be afraid of rocks but yup, add it to my list!  I’m mostly afraid of slipping and falling off of them, and this had great potential.  I have not been that sweaty in my whole life but every inch of that trek was worth it.  As soon as I saw the white powder and turquoise water, the hike was already forgotten.

I have never seen a beach like this before, nor is it likely that I will ever see it again.  The only accommodation on this side of Koh Rong is Broken Heart Guest House.  It is a series of private bungalows off of the beach, and you could stay for a mere $35 a night.  The only place to eat is the restaurant at BHGH, where I had fish n chips and a coke for $6.50.  Besides this, there is 7 kilometers of beach and a very small amount of tourists.

Brittany and I just laid in the sun all day, trying to fight off sunburns by applying sunscreen often, but failing with the strong sun.  We had many canine visitors throughout the day.  There were a couple puppies who grabbed anyone’s attention they crossed.  While watching the sunset, one precious puppy took it upon himself to crawl up on my lap, curled up into my sarong, and took a nap.  The cutest thing ever.

To take a break from laying, we took a walk down the beach.  Luke, our dive instructor, had told us that the Bulgarian version of Survivor was being filmed at the end of Long Beach, and Brit is a huge Survivor fan, so we went exploring.  A couple km down, we saw a bunch of Khmer people carrying wood to a boat.  As we got closer, we saw a colorful obstacle course set up on the sand.  We asked, “Survivor?!” and the men smiled and shook their heads yes.  We aren’t sure if we had just missed the challenge, or if it was going to happen soon, but it was a cool thing to see.  It is funny that we were on one very inhabited part of Koh Rong, all while people are filming a television show on the other side, distraught and needing food and water.

 We stayed on Long Beach for the sunset and took a long tail boat back.  The water was very choppy and the island had one white storm cloud with lightening going constantly.  It was such a cool sight to end the day.

Tuesday morning, Luke took us out for our second dive, just the three of us.  We saw some great coral and wildlife, even though the visibility was worse than Sunday.  I got poked by a black sea urchin, which hurt badly.  Apparently the stinger is just in my finger until it desides to disintegrate. Luck was not on my side with diving on Koh Rong, but I lived to tell about it.

The rest of our time on Koh Rong was filled with a bit more sun and good food, and I was so sad to leave.  Koh Rong is so wonderful that many people who come to visit actually stay more long term.  Luke had been there for 14 months, and Niels, a Dutch guy who worked at Monkey Island, stayed for four months.  It is a common thing for a person to say, “I planned on staying a week but I have been here for two months.”  Why would you not if you had no other plan?  It is beautiful, serene, quiet, hardly touched, fun, peaceful, and very cared for.  Upon arrival, we had two men welcome us, give us a complementary fruit drink, and tell us the do’s and don’ts of Koh Rong.  This was strange to us, as I would never picture being welcomed to a whole island, but the people who live here truly love Koh Rong.  One don’t is no fires.  A couple months back, a candle started a fire that took down a couple of buildings.  Luke was there trying to help.  He said he was petrified, and if the wind hadn’t changed, the whole island could have gone up in flames.  The people of Koh Rong also love their animals.  Choco’s program is a new program started to raise money to keep the dogs up with checkups, sterilization, and shots.  There are organized beach cleanups every week and a three month volunteer program for education.

I feel extremely lucky to have witnessed Koh Rong and its natural beauty.  A year ago, there were only a handful of spots for accommodation.  Since then, development has doubled, and I really fear for the future of this island.  I am blessed that I got to visit the island before it eventually becomes the Phuket of Cambodia.  Unfortunately, build up is what Koh Rong will do, as land is currently being cleared to accommodate the next set of bungalows.  Within 20 years, Koh Rong will be full of resorts, villas, a beach club, many more restaurants, a casino, and roads.  It is sad to think about, but what I can hope for Koh Rong is that Long Beach remains untouched.  With the lack of electricity and scarcity of water (we couldn’t even do laundry on the island), I hope that the most gorgeous beach I ever did see stays beautiful.

Siem Reap

Our train left at 5:55 AM from Bangkok and we paid 48 Baht, or $1.46.  This was the same train as the last nightmare one we took a couple of months ago.  No AC, just the open windows and the countryside.  We stopped at the smallest “train stations” I have ever seen, as well as random places where Thai men seemed to just emerge out of nowhere to get on.

When we got off, Brittany and I took a 20 Baht truck to the border.  Here, we smoothly obtained our tourist visas and entered Cambodia!  Our first glance was a strip of hotel casinos, one being the Tropicana.  Encouraged by a man at the border to only get Riel, we exchanged 3,000 Baht for Riel, and on we drove to Siem Reap on a bus for two hours.  We were swarmed by a load of tuk tuk drivers who wanted to take us to our hostel.  They immediately charged us in dollars, making us very confused about what the dominant currency in Cambodia actually was.

The Siem Reap Hostel warmly welcomed us, and it was a great stay.  The staff spoke amazing English, they offered tours of different attractions in the city, there is a swimming pool and a full bar with food, and the dorms were extremely nice for a hostel.  I guess all of those hours spent planning on Trip Advisor paid off after all!  The first night in, we were exhausted.  We found a restaurant down the street, and we enjoyed great chef salads and our first Cambodian beers (Angkor and Cambodia).

The next day, we decided to explore Siem Reap, just me, Brittany, and an old fashioned map.  This became interesting as we both seem to be directionally challenged.  We found many nice Cambodians along the way willing to point us in the right direction, as well as many persistent and annoying tuk tuk drivers trying to give us a ride.  HELLO, can’t you see we are using our legs and walking?!

Finally, we stumbled upon Pub Street at 11 AM extremely dehydrated and sweaty.  Of course, I was thirsty for a $0.50 beer, so down we sat to rehydrate.  We did a bit more walking and went back to shower.  Side note: Siem Reap is dirty.  Not so much dirty with garbage like Thailand, but dirty with dust.  There is bronze dirt lining each side of every road, and it is constantly blowing in the air.  It made our feet look like we had gained a tan, but the fake tan faded with a shower.

That night, we paid Vice, one of our hostel’s tuk tuk drivers, to take us up to Angkor Wat to see the sunset.  The entry fee to get into Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples is $20.  This is a decent fee for it being one of the seven wonders of the world.  Instead of going inside, like the thousands of other tourists, we sat on the opposite side overlooking the water.  Unfortunately, thre was nothing spectacular about the sunset that night, or maybe we just picked a bad spot to sit.  Vice, who waited for us, practiced his English by telling us a short version of the history of Angkor Wat.  He praised our hostel for employing the drivers, and we also found out a bit about his family.  We gave him an extra dollar because he was so wonderful.  Even though it doesn’t sound like very much, that will go a long way for a Cambodian family.  Vice dropped us off at a place called Khmer Kitchen, which has amazing authentic Khmer food and there was a wait at the door for tables when we left!

On day three, Brittany and I rented bikes to do the temples.  4:30 AM came quickly.  We got up, jumped on our rented bikes, and followed the path of the tuk tuks in the pitch dark to get back to Angkor Wat for sunrise.  We sat in the same deserted spot as the night before, and hoped that as the thousands rushed inside, we would see the best rise of the sun come above the temple.  Wrong again.  The sky was a disappointing haze.  We only saw the tiniest hint of pink, and by 6 am we set off on our bikes before the rush of people had the same idea.

In the area, there is Angkor Wat and many other temples and stupas.  We decided to head towards Ta Prohm first.  This is where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed, and we assumed that it would be mobbed during the day.  Biking there seemed to take forever.  My legs were already tired from my rented bike that was stuck in 4^th gear, and by 7:30 AM, it had already reached 90 degrees.  Luckily, this temple was well worth it.  We were smart about going early, as Ta Prohm was nearly empty.  Ta Prohm is undergoing restoration, as is Angkor Wat and many other temples, but it was still amazing.  We got to walk through the tombs and see all of the impressive work from so long ago.  We also ran into so many cute Cambodian kids.  No wonder what Angelina Jolie made all that fuss about.

Back on our bikes we went, stopping at smaller temples along the way to Bayon.  Bayon was my favorite temple.  I’d say it has a lot of character, mostly because of the faces staring at you from the carved stone.  As impressive as it was, we spent a small amount of time there, due to our patience with tourists running low and the sun testing our hunger and exhaustion.

We saved Angkor Wat for last.  We were told to save the inside of Angkor Wat for last because it is the most extraordinary of all the temples.  Well, it was, but I do not recommend saving it for the end.  Brittany and I were so hot, hungry, sunburned, and exhausted at this point that we almost decided to not even go inside.  But, we were there and felt that we would regret it if we didn’t at least snap a few pictures.  So, amongst all of the excited and mesmerized tourists, we climbed the steps and briefly went in.  It was beautiful for sure, but I would have appreciated it much more if it was cooler than 105.

After, we still needed to bike back to the city, which was painful just thinking about.  I don’t think I have been that cranky in all of my bad travel situations in Thailand.  I think Brittany saw me mad for the first time even.  So sorry!! Hot and tired is not a good look for me.

We went to the air conditioned haven of the Blue Pumpkin.  We heard rave reviews and went in to refuel.  Who knew how much AC, wifi, and an iced latte could turn your day around!  The food was spot on as well.  I had a huge chicken pita that had zucchini and HUMMUS!!! Two things that I have missed so so much from home.  I became a much happier camper.

At the dorm, we showered, read, and napped in the comfort of the AC.  We eventually made it out to Pub Street, which is lit up and closed off to cars at night.  We got 'dressed up' and I even put mousse in my hair.  This was all for nothing though, as these restaurants are all open with only fans.  Even at 8 PM it was still 90 degrees.  After discussing our budget, we responsibly decided that staying out was not really an option (nor will it ever really be), and we called it a night.

Our last day in Siem Reap was very low key.  I met Brit at Sister Srey Café, where I had the most amazing breakfast: Pancakes stuffed with dragon fruit, watermelon, and caramelized bananas.  Oh, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream of course.  It is the cutest place, and a portion of all bills go to an education program in Siem Reap.  We did some reading there, and I finished To Kill a Mockingbird.  The café happened to have a book swap upstairs.  So, being a good backpacker, I left To Kill a Mockingbird behind and adopted a Jodi Picoult book.  This saved me from spending $14 on a new book, and I hope to be able to do this anytime I need a new read!  We checked out of the hostel at 12, but the hostel let us keep our bags in storage since our bus wasn't until 7 PM.  We found another place to sit and do some writing.  At Café Central, we found a bucket of French fries and the manager Mike, from Canada.  He had volunteered in Cambodia for nine months and liked it so much he decided to stay.  He spent over two months on Koh Rong, which is our next stop, so he wrote down some things for us to do and some people to ask for!

I’d say we started off on a great note.  So far, no travel glitches, an amazing and very helpful hostel, and new sights to add to the list.  Off to Koh Rong we go!

Thai-ed To Thailand

It seems like just yesterday I got off the plane and had a panic attack when I couldn’t find the people picking me up at the airport in Bangkok. I was looking around anxiously trying to find my name written on a piece of paper, but Laura Konderwich was nowhere to be found. I thought to myself, hm, maybe they are waiting for me in a different spot, so on I went, toting my loads of luggage around the airport. After about a half hour of pacing back and forth, I was about to give up and what? Cry? Find a cab and hope they could guess where I needed to go? Go back to America? All of these thoughts were floating through my head when a nice Thai woman stopped me and asked where I needed to go in broken English. She had probably noticed the anxiety in my face as I was frantically looking around. All I knew to say was Anubanchonburi, and I didn’t even know how to pronounce it. Right as the name of the school came out of my mouth, I saw someone whip their head around and say my first name. I’m not sure I’ve hugged anyone that hard in my life.

I experienced Thai time, which I often talk and complain about, in my very first hour in Thailand. My Thai supervisor and Helen, the girl whose class I was taking over, came to pick me up. They profusely apologized for being late. The driver was late to pick them up, then he needed to get gas, and then there was Bangkok traffic. Helen told me right off the bat that being late was something I’d have to deal with and boy was she right.

On my ride to Chon Buri, I was trying to pick Helen’s brain while attempting to take in the scenery of my new home at the same time. No matter what you’re in a new place for, whether it be someplace you move to or someplace you visit for a brief amount of time, it is a crazy feeling. I can vividly remember having this feeling in other new countries, and I think I feel this way in any new place. It’s basically a feeling of I can’t believe I’m here. The same feeling crept back as I got closer and closer to my house. It just felt unreal, and once in a while I still have found myself taking a step back. I give myself a pat on the back, so to say, because I am proud of myself for all I have done here, and for even following through with coming to Thailand at all. I have proved a lot to myself.  I have conquered countless fears. I have become confident about where my future will lead me, and it is all because of my experiences here.

One thing I will never forget about that first day is pulling onto my road. It was then that I actually thought, holy crap, this is actually happening. The only way that I can describe my neighborhood is authentically Thai. We say it has charm. I’m not sure many people would agree, but it was my home for five months and I swear it is charming in its own way! We have gated houses, mom and pop shops, wooden rickety shacks on stilts, and of course the swamp of sewage and garbage right in my backyard. We have become very friendly with some of our neighbors, many who never fail to say hello in English, which goes a long way in my book. Just last night, we had friends over for a "last hoorah".  At one point, one of our neighbors came over to drop off a bag of mangos. Then when we ordered pizza, the Thai woman next door told the man on the phone how to get to our house. Everyone is so friendly in our neighborhood and I will miss the old men offering me whiskey every day!

My most generous neighbor sharing his whiskey

Greeted every day after school by this smiling face!

I thank my lucky stars that Amelia was there waiting at the house for me on that first day. Our mutual friend, Alicia, set us both up at the school, so Amelia and I were in constant contact in the months leading up to the move. From the second I arrived, we hit it off and began exploring. We spent just about every minute of our time in Thailand together, and I am thankful that I can now call her a lifelong friend. You make different bonds with people when you share experiences like this one together and I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate/travel buddy/coworker/friend. I'm not sure what I would have done without her wisdom, knowledge of travel, and advice. For example, she just saved my butt while packing. I showed her everything I had out to take backpacking, which was WAY too much. As I went through each piece of clothing, she was floored when I pulled out four black tank tops to bring, plus the one I was wearing at that moment. She was the voice of reason as usual and gave it to me straight. Laura, please only take one black tank top. My backpack will now be a pound lighter because of her! See you in Vietnam my pretty girl!

As I prepare to leave Thailand, I have to give it some shout-outs. When I leave a place that I grow to love, I always leave a little piece of me behind, and Thailand is no different (even though we often had a love-hate kind of relationship). I’d like to acknowledge all that I will miss in this wonderful country..

Low cost of living. Tonight I had my last fish dinner at our market, which is my favorite meal here. We got two large fish, endless noodles, lettuce, and cabbage, three plates of fried rice, three plates of papaya salad, and lots of Leo. There were nine of us and it cost 150 Baht a person (close to $4.50). This is an expensive splurge for us, as my dinner usually costs only 50 Baht. A movie ticket costs 120 Baht, or $3.64. If I am the stingiest person you’ve met when I get home, it’s because I am used to paying nothing for everything!

The night market. Our smoothie lady has the biggest smile and never fails to give us a taste of a strange fruit she could tell we had never seen before. The pad Thai couple has the best pad Thai I ever did have, and they also make a mean papaya salad (som tam). Pad see ew, hanging duck, meat on a stick, fresh fish dinner, guava, bananas, dragon fruit, watermelon, omelets, mango and sticky rice, baked goods, ice cream. This list doesn’t do my market justice.

Our smoothie ladies

Can't forget about the bugs

Islands. From Koh Tao to Koh Samet to Koh Chang. Thailand is known for its islands and I am so happy that I got to witness all of their beauty and uniqueness. My island days aren’t over yet though. Some of my last days in Southeast Asia will be spent island hopping. Originally the plan was to take them on alone, but I am extremely happy that my friend Jordan is joining me! Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, and Krabi. So much to see and so little time!

My favorite, Koh Tao

Traveling cheap. Nowhere in America could you travel 12 hours and pay only $22. Yes, getting here and back was a big cost, but traveling within Southeast Asia is dirt cheap. If you can afford to get a plane ticket here, the worst financially is behind you!

My students. I cannot tell you how many times I went home from work with a migraine these past five months. Trying (often failing) to speak over 36 children is nearly impossible, even when using a microphone. Teaching is hard work and often exhausting, but I wouldn’t have traded my students for anything. I love being with kids all day and it was a joy to have hopefully made even the tiniest bit of an impact on them.

Tonight is my last night in Chon Buri. After watching the sunset, eating some of our favorite market meals, and enjoying a couple of Changs, my anxiety is building and I am starting to get nervous about this move. As of tomorrow, I officially do not have a home for over a month. It is an exciting and scary thought at the same time! Tomorrow afternoon, I am dropping off my large suitcase at a storage unit in Bangkok, and then Brittany and I will be off to Cambodia. Posts and pictures may be far and few for a while, but if you’d like to track my journey, here is my travel itinerary:

March 10: Overnight in Bangkok

March 11^th-21^st: Cambodia with Brittany (Siem Reap, Koh Rong, Phnom Penh)

March 22^nd-April 3^rd: Vietnam with Brittany, Amelia, and Mikaela (Ho Chi Min City, Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long Bay)

April 3^rd-5^th: Pick up Jordan/ Bangkok

April 5^th-11^th: Southwest islands with Jordan(Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Krabi)

April 11^th-15^th: Singapore with Jimmy

April 15^th-17^th: Bangkok

April 17^th-May 11^th: London with Kristen (Lance, Dana, and Al arrive May 2nd!)

May 11^th- Back to Americaaa! (Happy Mother’s Day, mom!!)

I have been looking forward to backpacking for months and I cannot believe it is already here! After days of preparing, my bags are finally packed and off I go to continue the adventure! A gigantic thank you to those who have kept in touch these past five months, and especially to those who have mailed things to me. You have no idea how appreciative I am of every text, letter, or package I have gotten. Simple acts of kindness go a long way with me, and I will forever remember those who reached out. I also have to apologize to those who have sent me things that never made it here. Unfortunately, the postal system in Thailand is sketchy and unreliable and I am sorry that some packages got jacked. I love you for trying!

Just know, as you're headed off into the blue, that a big pice of Here will be going with you!
                            -Dr. Seuss

School's Out

It's funny how many things become so familiar after spending only five months in my classroom. I have been thinking of this familiarity, having spent the last two weeks in Chon Buri with more than an abundance of time to think. There has been a lot to think about, past, present, and future. Normally I'm not one for reflection, but it has been difficult not to with the school year coming to a quick end. Today, I did a lot of thinking about my school, my students, and the eventual familiarity that comes with residing in a new place.

When I first began teaching, I was in a constant state of stress and the nerves would never subside. I rushed into school 45 minutes early every day. I always wanted to make sure that I had papers printed and copied on time, and also that I had all of my PowerPoints and videos downloaded on the classroom computer each morning. Not that I don't want things done ahead of time anymore, but after about a month, my nerves finally began to fade. I got into a routine where I never had to stress about these things. The kids could wait a couple of minutes for me to pull up my lessons, and I now know that copying takes a whopping six minutes, which could be done on any number of my free periods during the week. I have gotten very comfortable in this position. As I think about the future, I see that any new job I get will be scary at first, but the nervousness of a new job always goes away eventually, especially with gained experience.

When I began at Anubanchonburi School, I was overwhelmed with learning 36 students' names. Each student has a number, and I was certain that I would only learn numbers, not nicknames. On the first day of school, I went through the 36 numbers and had each student say and spell his or her name for me so I could make a list. I referred to that list often in the first month to try and remember who was who and to put numbers to names to faces. Proudly, I now know all of my students nicknames, and I even know some of their Thai names. This is a big accomplishment for me!

As I sit at my desk grading grammar homework, I notice the familiarity of my students' handwriting. It is amazing how I doubted learning all of my kids' names, and now I can even identify most of their handwriting. Even when they forget to write their names (a teacher's biggest pet peeve), I can still identify the student. 

Their excitement of the smallest things will always put a smile on my face. My students never fail to have to show me their newest purchase from the store. It is usually the same kids over and over who do so. For example, Yok, my quietest 8 year old, just whispered to me from three desks away in the middle of art. Teacha, Teacha Laura.. and she holds up a pack of Hello Kitty erasers with the largest smile ever. I smile back, and nod as if to say, get back to paying attention (our art teacher teaches in our classroom). It's little things like this that make me love them so much. They care to tell me these momentous happenings in their lives, and it means the world. As I write, I am getting bombarded with the pastel pictures they are making. I appreciate that they want to share with me so badly. Small things like this shows me that whatever job comes my way next, I know I want it to be with children. A majority of my thoughts this past month have been about the future, about finding a career at home. One week I thought about opening a coffee shop. The next week I wanted to open a book store. The next week was a bakery and the next week I wanted to open a coffee shop/bookstore/bakery. I've even toyed with the idea of writing a book. All of those ideas sound great and could always have potential, but what I really want to be doing is teaching. Therefore, teaching is what I will try my best to do when I get home.

Making the phases of the moon with Oreos

Learning about patterns

Outside for a spelling word scavenger hunt

Testing our wind mills

So, as I am ready to leave the school, I am not as ready to leave my students. They have become such a familiar part of my life, and not knowing what I will be doing at home makes me not want to leave them. The tears already began to flow on Tuesday. The students had an assignment to write a letter to someone telling him or her about the weather in Thailand. When Non showed me his, I immediately teared up because his letter was written to me. It also had zero mention of the weather, so I made him write the last sentence.

I don't think it would have mattered if I was with my second graders in Thailand, with fourth graders in Japan, or with sixth graders in America. Any teaching experience is rewarding and is one that forces you to grow as a teacher. I feel ready to move on to a new job in America, and I have this experience to thank for that. If I could succeed here, I am confident that I will be a great teacher in America. And the kids will adore me, I hope.

Tomorrow (Friday the 28th) is my last official teaching day, followed by a week of English and Thai finals. It surprises me every day how fast this term at Anuban has gone. I will be very sad to say goodbye on the 10th, but ready to move on to exciting new adventures with the friends I have made along the way, as well as friends I have had for a lifetime!

Khao Yai

This weekend was certainly one of highs and lows. It seems that no matter how hard we try, traveling this country never ceases to amaze and anger me at the same time.

Using the word ka can go a long way, especially when trying to barter. In Bangkok, we needed a taxi to take us to the bus station. The man who stopped for us offered 200 baht, which Amelia was quick to counter, 150 ka. He immediately accepted with a big smile on his face! Ka is a word that is put on the end of a word or phrase to show respect. After we were on the way, the man proceeded to profess his love to Amelia while holding his heart and calling her 'young'. A handful of kissy noises later, I was crying of laughter and this became the running joke of the weekend. Being nice and respectful can go a long way no matter where you are, and possibly even find you a stalker!

Friday night and Saturday morning were both met with pure frustration. Long story short: My friends planned on running a race, and not being able to get a concrete answer for anything in this country, we had traveled to the completely wrong location. Race missed. People (my three friends) angry and upset.

Just hanging out at our hostel

We finally got our bearings and showed up at Green Leaf, where we were staying Saturday and Sunday nights. Luckily we had something to do Saturday afternoon to somewhat take our minds off of the disappointment. Why not go hang out with bugs and bats?! With a guided tour, we piled in a songtao and headed for the bat cave! Another adventure, another guide sensing something from me. This time wasn't necessarily fear, but more like disgust and.. Okay yeah, a little bit of fear. Bugs and bats? Not normally my thing. Our guide immediately learned my name and picked on me the rest of the night. Hold the white snake? Fine, snakes I'm okay with after picking up garter snakes in my garden all those years growing up. Hold a scorpion spider? Not so fine. Our guide basically held onto my hand and forced me to hold it, but I did it and am living to tell about it! Go into a cave with over 500 bats? Definitely not my thing and I was not excited for this at all, but it seems that in Thailand I give everything a chance. Luckily I did because it was SO COOL! Absolutely smelly, but incredible. We all had flashlights, or torches as they called them. Looking up with the flashlights, all you could see was the ceiling of the cave littered with bats hanging upside down. Then, we drove to another cave where we stood below and watched 2 billion bats leave the bat cave. Again, SO COOL. It didn't seem like it was ever going to end as it took about a half hour, but as they flew, it was hard not to be awestruck. Doing something like that makes me think, hm, now I don't feel like I need to duck for cover on my deck when the bats come out on a summer night.

White Snake

Scorpion Spider

Bat Cave

Bats

Millions leaving the cave

Sunday was a full day of pure jungle. With a new guide and stylish leech socks, we took on Khao Yai National Park. The guide pulled the songtao over at any sign of wildlife. These men are so good at spotting animals and they are pros at what they do. Our first stop was for a hornbill. Toucan I asked? No, hornbill. (I later asked if other birds were toucans just to joke with our guide and I don't think he thought it was very funny) Next on the tour were the gibbons. Gibbons are not birds, as I honestly have always thought. Gibbons are actually similar to a gorilla. Another animal that truly amazed me. Here I was in the middle of this park and there were gibbons swinging from tree to tree with their families in their natural habitats. A couple of times I had to remind myself that I wasn't in a zoo. It was unreal. We followed them through the jungle to get great pictures, and we could hear the gibbons calling throughout the whole day! Other animals we ran into were green vipers, deer, and macaques (aka the nasty monkeys I ran into a couple of months ago), then of course the jungle itself was thrilling to walk through. The big draw for this tour was of course.. Elephants!! You could imagine my disappointment when we drove around for two hours looking for at least one out of the 200 living freely in the park, but, no dice. As sad as it was to miss them, it was exciting 'looking' for them all day, and just knowing that these elephants are safe living in the jungle environment made up for it. So what, they didn't feel like going for a stroll down the park road. Guess I can't blame them!

Leech Socks

Hornbill

Gibbon

Green Viper

Macaques

After spending a weekend amongst such wildlife, it's hard not to think about nature in general. It's amazing what happens in the world surrounding us. I would have never thought that a bat was such an interesting animal if I never experienced their exit of the cave firsthand. These animals are so lucky that they are still living in their natural habitats in Thailand, and I'm so glad I got to witness them!

On our songtao back to Green Leaf, as the two girls from California and the couple from Belgium probably thought we were insane, we were having an amazing time. We were singing some of our favorite songs from 15 years ago and trying to remember some hand games from elementary/middle school. It made me feel like I was with friends that I have had for a long time. I don't censor myself around them. I say whatever may be on my mind, whether it be smart or completely unintelligent. I eat nonstop with them. I laugh so hard with them, like with Amelia's new taxi driver boyfriend. I never really thought I would find friends as good as the ones I have at home, but I don't belive you can ever have enough great friends. I am happy and thankful to have found Amelia and Brittany in Thailand! Without them I would be completely lost!!

Brittany, Amelia, me, and Jason

Countdown

It’s official!  I am flying home to New York on May 11^th.  After toying with which flight to choose, I finally went with a flight that will include all of the luggage that I need to check, and also one that is a short 11 hours of travel time.  One quick layover in Iceland and to America I go!

As I will be home in less than 100 days, I am beginning to get very excited. Maybe too excited for still having that much time left, but the end is in sight and I can’t help but really begin to miss things from home.  I actually blame my rediscovery of Pinterest for making me miss things so badly!

I miss..

1. Making my own coffee in the morning and my French Vanilla Coffee-mate.

2. Hot, or even warm showers.  No, I have never gotten used to the cold showers here.  If I haven't worked out before a shower, I'm frozen.

3. Happy hour/Sunday funday.

4. Flushing toilet paper.

5. Dancing.

6. Fresh air that smells more like roses and less like sewage.  If you think NYC smells bad, you haven’t been to Thailand.

7. My friends.  Sometimes I just want to hop on a plane and meet them for #3 above.  Or sit with them and watch Bravo for 10 hours straight.  Not like we've done that before..

8. The gym. Never in my life did I think I would say this, but working out here is BORING. Five days a week I force my butt to go to the running park to attempt to keep the abundance of rice and noodles I eat daily from packing on the pounds.  The running park is a 4 minute walk from my place and it is a .48 mile track surrounding a park. The scenery has gotten all too repetitive, but it is impossible to run on the sidewalks here, if you could even call them sidewalks.  They’re more like slabs of concrete that are displaced and cracked all over.  Run on the sidewalks if you want to break your ankle.  Also, having free weights, a yoga mat, or a stability ball would be a big help.

9. Forever 21 and buying clothes in general. I bought a pair of Thai pants for myself and that is the extent of shopping I have done in three months.

10. My parents and the rest of my family.  A few weeks ago when I turned on my camera, a very scary message popped up that read battery exhausted.  Already?! Well I looked here and I found no replacement, so the angels that are my parents sent me a new battery and charger.  This package came way faster than I could have imagined, and what a great thing to receive on a Friday!  Of course the package was filled with things I had requested, like a shirt, sports bras, and some medicine, but they snuck in some surprises as well.  Bug spray, Valentine’s Day gifts for my students, and a People magazine!  I cried.  I'm not sure if it was because of happiness, of missing them, or a teeny bit of both.  Something so small as a People magazine will make me happy for days after.  I'll read it slowly throughout the week to make it last longer!

Also, Lindsey and Jake are moving to Connecticut within the next month! Two big moves for my sister this year, and I am hoping that this next one is the perfect thing for them! Wish I could be there to help (but secretly happy I don't have to!)!

11. My car.  I have had nightmares that something bad happens to my car.  This is probably because my dad chooses to keep his boat in the garage while my car is freezing outside all winter.  I have had my car for less than two years, and the poor thing has spent the past three months just sitting there. I miss driving my pretty Ford Focus and I can’t wait until I no longer need to rely on my feet and public transportation.

12. Cooking and having a kitchen in general.  Like I said, Pinterest has been the devil lately.  I have recently pinned cake pops, Reese’s mini cheesecake bites, homemade ice cream, chocolate chip cookie cake, and frozen strawberry crunch cake.  I would do a lot to be able to have these desserts right now.  These things make a person in America’s mouth water, but at least you have the option to go to the store and actually bake these things!  I don’t even have a microwave!!  Oh and CHEESE!  If anyone wants to get on my good side when I get home, a simple block of cheese would earn you big brownie points!!  Speaking of brownie points.. Mmmm, brownies.

13. My queen size bed.  The twin isn’t doing it for me.  My friends here have learned that I like my space when I am sleeping.  A few weekends ago, we went away for one night.  We got a room with a double bed and thought we would also get a cot.  The manager immediately shot us down when we asked for that, but he did bring us a comforter, an extra pillow, and extra blankets.  Although three of us could have probably fit in the double, I was glad to immediately volunteer to sleep on the hardwood floor!  Although I don’t even move around while sleeping, I am looking forward to having all that space back.

Even though there are things that I miss and I now find myself tearing up about the silliest things from home all too easily, there is SO MUCH to look forward to before then!  My travels are all booked, beginning the day after school ends!  Brittany and I are doing Cambodia for 10 days.  We move onto Vietnam to meet up with Amelia and Mikaela, where we will be spending another 12 days.  I will then get 14 days of me time before my flight to London.  It is looking like it will be just me and some island hopping and I am a. okay with that.  Keep in mind, there is still a chance to visit..

Magic