It's been wet.

The last few days have been very wet. Last week most of my classes were cancelled so it feels like this has been a very long break, I like it. I finally feel like I know my way around Nong Khai. I have been exploring new restaurants and places to eat. I have a little note book with some Thai words in it so I can order food... but still everything that I order tends to be a surprise (even when the menu is in English). We now have a total of 10 volunteers in Nong Khai. Alan (England), Susie (Austria), and Valarie (Germany) came on Thursday. Alan and Susie will be moving to another town tomorrow that is about hour and a half away. Then we had Suzanna (Wyoming, USA) and Karima (Germany) arrive Friday morning. They had been on holiday for the last week traveling around Thailand. Then last night we had Christan (Sweden) come who is the odd one out being a little older than the rest of us(in her 60s). We are split between two dorms.

A man on a boat on the MaeKong River - looking at Laos.

Yesterday I spent the morning with Alan and Nina... first Nina and I got facials... it was a funny experience.. not what i am use to in the US... there were lots of weird sounds. I don't know what all they did. We went shopping in the Indo-China market... looked around... had lunch. Then Valarie and Susie joined us on our ride to the Thai Laos Friendship bridge. Rich, from T2T, told us we could walk half way across it...but it turns out that we couldn't. We were able to get close to the water and the bridge to take some pictures. Last night we had a welcome dinner for all the new volunteers... I was included in this even though I have already been here a week. Today is a lazy Sunday. We went out to breakfast at a place called Mut Mee. It is a guess house and I had banana pancakes! Now I am catching up on e-mails. Tonight we have Thai cooking lessons. I don't know what I will do in the middle of today. The last few days have been much cooler because it has been pouring! Seattle is gray and drizzly but here if you are outside for two minutes you will be soaked! It's amazing to listen to. I wake up in the middle of the night because the rain on the roof is so loud.

I think this next week I will be back to teaching at the Vocational School. It really isn't my favorite place. I much rather spend the whole week just teaching the monks. The monks here really want to learn English and are so happy to have you there. They look up words for you the pronounce... they try hard on their worksheets... and even when i feel that i can't explain why something is the way it is in English the monks are just happy that we are there. Whereas in the vocational school the kids just looks at us with blank faces and we play stupid made up games. We'll see how this next weeks goes... who knows... this week maybe cancelled as well.

Buying pineapple at a stand.

I finally feel like I am getting the hang of things... I can get around on my own if i have or want to. It's great having a houseful of people to hang out with. I forget sometimes how much I like being around people, but at the same time I like having my quite personal time. After a good, busy, day looking around I am happy to stay in and not go out drinking. I think I forget these things while i am at home... or that they have just been brought to my attention here because it seems like every night someone wants to go out drinking.

It has been fun getting to know the new people while I am here. Alan and I talked politics yesterday. So far I haven't found anyone who doesn't want Obama to win. It is interesting hearing all the different kinds of English that are being spoken in the dorm... with people from all over Europe everyone sounds different. At times you can hear people speaking in German or Dutch trying to find the word they are looking for in English. This is quite the experience and I love it. Suzanna from Jackson Hole Wyoming when to U of I in Moscow Idaho for a year! We missed each other by a year but we both think that that is crazy!

My experience here is going well now that i have other people here to keep me distracted and that i know my way around. I can't believe that i have been gone for almost two weeks! It feels like so much longer. I love your comments and e-mails, thanks!

Eating lunch with Alan and Nina (not in the picture).

More on the Festival, Roommates, and Everyday Life

Last night's festival and parade were about Chinese dragons. That's all I know. It sort of reminded me of the Wurst Festival in Seattle but Asian and way crazier. There were lots of food booths, a few games for kids, and a faris wheel. There was also lots of entertainment... I really couldn't see most of it because it was so packed and we weren't sitting in the stands. But there were lots of dragons doing a dance or fighting or something. Nina, a new volunteer and my roommates, is nice and tall so she was commentating for me. There were also these every long poles (like two stories high, ridiculous!) and people would do tricks on the tops of them... it was crazy to watch and i was a little freaked out that someone would fall. With the heat here i wilt quickly and was very tired so didn't stay out too late.

Nina came yesterday, 25, from Holland. She was doing research in a hospital in Amsterdam for a year and decided that she wanted to do something else so while she was between jobs she would volunteer here. She seems very nice and it is great to have someone else to hang out with. I'm finally feeling like I know my way around Nong Khai... so that makes things better as well. This morning three more volunteers arrived. Two of them will be moving on to somewhere else in Thailand, but Valarie will be staying. I haven't talked to them too much yet.

This morning we went to Tesco which is like Walmart and went shopping. I was able to buy a few t-shirts which I am very happy about... The funny thing is that there aren't any dressing rooms so I just had to guess at which size I was. Normally I would think that a small or a medium, if I want something a little looser, but no, I got larges! I finally tried one of the shirts on over the shirt I was wearing... and even a large seemed like it will be a little tight. I think my plan is to burn all of my clothing once I get home... after wearing the same things for four months straight I don't think I am going to ever want to wear them again. Terry, i was going to take pictures of Tesco but the sign on the front door said I couldn't. :( It was amazing what I could find there. I found English cookies... You can buy milk in boxed containers... the meat sections smells horrible... it was very interesting. i could have spent four hours looking at everything.

Oh, I wish there was a way I could put smells up on my blog. Slowly but surly I am getting use to the smells. Some of the smells are just horrible... i don't know what they are and I'm not sure I want to, but some times I want to gag.

Firecrackers galore!

There is some kind of festival/parade going on tonight. I ran into it once today while I was trying to get back to the dorm. I had to walk my bike through it. And then tonight it came a street away from our dorm. So the roommates and I walked to go watch it. Along with the parade, people were setting off firecrackers. If my video works you can see part of the parade and then me running up a few stair because someone set off firecrackers a little too close for my comfort. I believe that we are going out tonight for the festival... we will eat there and who knows what else we will see.

I have a roommate named Nina. She is from Holland and will be in Nong Khai for the next 4 or 5 weeks. I'm happy to have another volunteer around. Three is always a bad number... it seems like someone is always the odd one out and that is how I have felt the last few days. I'm hoping that Nina and I will get along nicely and we can explore on our own... with us being the newest and all. It's nice to find your way around with someone... that way if you get lost you can at least be lost together.

Yesterday Sev, Debbie, and I went to the vocational school to teach our three classes only to have two of the classes not show. We finally found out, after waiting around for an hour and a half, from the first teacher, that the teachers are somewhere else and we wouldn't have classes today. It sounds like we don't have classes tomorrow either. So today we took it easy and biked about 3 kilometers to a hotel outside the city limits of Nong Khai to lay in the sun and swim in the pool. The rest of the day was spent being lazy and on the Internet...

Don't know what I will do tomorrow. Maybe a trip to Tesco... Sev keeps talking about Halloween and wanting to make a costume. I can't be bothered to make something up. I will be an American Tourist if I need an outfit.

First day of teaching.

Here is a picture of Debbie and Sevinc (Sev). Neither of them have taught before and it looks like they are having fun with it. Debbie quit her job as an accountant before coming to Thailand to teach. I think Sev did that same thing before coming here. Both are having fun with their lives and taking this time to volunteer and travel. In a way we are all here for the same reasons...

Today was the first day of teaching. We are at a vocational college teaching 13-16 years old. I didn't think that three hours sounded like a lot to teach but after 2 hours I was hot, tired, and ready to be done. We have one class for each hour. I did not have the enthusiasm that I did in the first two classes. Everything was chaotic and unorganized. Over all it was a good experience though. We rode our bikes to get there. It takes about 15 minutes or so and that right there made me tired. The heat is killer here. Even when i don't do a lot I'm tried and lazy because of the heat. Right now I am ready to sit in an air conditioned building for the rest of the day (not going to happen though). I have a few hours off before I have my first Thai language lesson and then this evening Sev and I are going to teach the Monks. I have been told that the first hour with the Monks is grammar and then second is conversation.

Yesterday was a hard day emotionally. I had a meeting with Dave, he is in charge of the teaching aspect of T2T. Talking to him left me depressed. It seems like there is so little I can do in such a short amount of time and that volunteers all just start from the same place... so it doesn't seem like much progress is made. Sev did a good job of cheering me up. She told me that Dave is trying to change so much, the system, and after three years it doesn't seem like he has done much. Really it sounds like he has for the class he teaches... but as a whole it is hard. But with us being volunteers, and here for such a short amount of time, we should have fun with it... and not get caught up with everything. Dave said that there isn't a system so we can't do any wrong... everything that we try is helping. My attitude has changed a little... being in the classroom was a good experience. Just like any set of classes some are better/more excited than others.

Pictures

So, I'm having some problems uploading my pictures onto my picture site... Grrr so I will upload them here instead.

This is Khao San Road right outside my hotel. It was busy at all hours of the day. Lots of little stalls selling all sorts of things... bathing suits, bags, t-shirts, food, fake ids, dreadlocks... the list goes on. It was quite the place to walk along and people watch.

Here I am outside the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha.

The detailing on everything was amazing. I liked these little guys.

I'm tired and I'm giving up with pictures right now... I will try again, maybe tomorrow.

First stop, Nong Khai

I made it to Nong Khai! The train ride was a little scary just because i didn't know how it worked. It all worked out though. It was a hot and long ride. My 12 hour journey turned into 14 hours. I guess we went slowly somewhere. I didn't sleep horrible... better than the first two nights I was in Bangkok. At first i thought that being in the second class was horrible ( I was boiling and didn't know where the bathroom was) but after thinking about it more, I realized that it was just fine. Some person associated with the train would come and make up your bed for you with new sheets and a heavy blanket. And in the morning he would take everything away as well. It was a pretty ride - what I saw this morning. Oh, so i couldn't fine the toilet the first night... but i was very dehydrated so it wasn't the worst thing. i did find the shower though... so I just peed down the hole in the shower. I know... not the best thing to do... but it worked. This morning I ventured a little farther and found the squat toilet.

I have figured out that I am happy to be on this adventure and I'm not ready to come home yet... its is just lonely not having someone who really knows me to be around.

I was picked up at the train station by Rick who works for T2T. He road his motorcycle while I followed in a Tuk-tuk. I am staying in the Green Dorm and have two roommates Sev and Debbie. Sev is from Holland and is 26. She has been here for a week. Debbie, 29, from England, has been here for two weeks. I have been told that next week things will get crazy because lots of people are coming. I'm happy with it being just the three of us in the house for the time being. I had some time to settle in, take a shower, organize myself, and talk to the girls before Nick (a young Thai man would also works for T2T) came to give me a walking tour of Nong Khai. Nong Khai really isn't all that big. I guess it has all the amenities of Bangkok but on a much smaller scale. So there are banks... stores... hospitals... oh, 20 temples... but it only has two main streets. The main way to travel in town is by bicycling so I now have a bike for the month that has shitty brakes and is butt ugly - but it will work. I also rode on a motorcycle today to get to T2T's headquarters. I am at an Internet cafe where it is cheaper to be on the Internet. 30 baht for an hour, whereas I was paying 40 baht for 50 minutes in Bangkok. This afternoon I am going on a cycling tour of the town. Oh, I saw Laos today... it is just right across the river.

I think i had a lot more to write about... but for the life of me I can't remember. Let's see if i can post some pictures with this blog entry. I just tried to up load some pics to my picture site... but i don't know what i am doing wrong... so one picture is all you get. I'm alive and well in Nong Khai!

Emerald Biuddha plus a little more

I'm hot. Hot and sticky and sweaty. Today is my last day in Bangkok (for this part of my trip). Tonight i take the night train to Nong Khai. I didn't think I would be e-mailing again today but I have already checked out of my room and it looks like it is going to rain. Plus I'm 4 hours too early for the train and I think i rather stick around the lobby of my hotel than the train station.

So i wanted to see something touristy while I was here. I wanted to be able to say i saw something. So i picked going to Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha). On the map it really wasn't that far away and usually i can follow the directions from a map pretty well. But for some reason I had so many problems getting there. First of all, i tried not looking at my map and just remember names and directions - that didn't work for me very well. I ended up making a circle back to my hotel. I did decide to eat something and hang out in my hotel lobby with the AC. My second attempt I went around the block again and then pulled out my map and started asking people. I was pointed in the wrong direction a few times. Then I had a woman force bird feed in my hand and had me sprinkle it only then to tell me i owed her money. Grr. I gave her 1 baht. I don't think she was satisfied. She was looking for paper money that starts at 20 baht. I finally found the Emerald Buddha. I paid the 300 baht to see inside it and the Grand Palace.

The detailing and gold on those places were amazing. The time and effort that was put into the buildings astounds me. But i have to say I'm a little disappointed in the Emerald Buddha. For some reason i had this idea that the Buddha would be huge. But no, the Buddha was smaller than me and way up high on tops of a detailed mountain. It was amazing and I could have taken hundreds of pictures... but I tried to limit myself. If my bags weren't being held by the hotel i would up load picture of me being there. Pictures will come some time soon. I decided that i was too hot and tried to look at any more so I walked back to the hotel. I didn't have any problems with my directions back to the hotel but i did have problems with traffic.

Traffic here is amazing. And by amazing I mean horrible. Family - think of Amsterdam! Tailgating is normal, pedestrians don't have any right-aways, you don't really have to stay in your lane, motorcycles will come at you from all directions... it's crazy. I'm surprised that I haven't seen an ancient. Oh, in the back of taxis there are the harnesses for seat belts but no place to hook the harness into.

*right now the staff are setting out big buckets where the roof leaks in preparation for the rain*

The last few days lots of small things have happened that i haven't remembered to write about. I think the best thing that has happened was when i was asked if i was Polish. I guess my sage green, REI button down, shirt looked like something one of the Polish teams wears. I was quite confused but when with it. Last night while I was sticking my feet in the pool i was asked if i was Israeli. She came a little closer and figure it out herself. I guess I could be European or Australian but I think I look very American... especially with all of my REI clothing on.

Last night was the first night that I slept okay, not great but loads better than the two nights before that. I think talking and hangout with Joey gave me a lot of confidence in myself and being here on my own. Oh, I'm also starting to eat more.

I'm tired and am ready to be on the train so i can veg out and not have to worry about the train ride anymore.

Today was a good day

Today was a much better day. I was able to met up with a former teacher's former student, Joey (did that make sense?). He has been living in Bangkok for the last three years. It's always strange to be thrown into a situation where you don't really know someone but you spend the whole day with them. It was a good day and I'm glad we were able to met up.

Getting there was scary. I went off my map to get to his place. Not knowing where I was going and then having the driver ask questions when I couldn''t answer them, let alone understand them, tested my strength. I did make it though. I was slightly freaking out... but no tears.

It was so nice to have someone to really talk to. Plus, Joey has been in the same position of being freaked out in another country by himself. So, it was so nice to have someone to reflect on their experience and understand how just making it to the train station and back is a big deal. Or exploring a different street is a big deal and how you can be so proud of yourself for something that can seem so small to someone else. I really haven't seen much but doing the little that i have done has been hard. I am completely out of my comfort zone.

We didn't have a glamours day doing touristy things, we had a nice day doing small things that were big for me. First, Joey showed me the school he works in. It is a private school and because i like education and teaching, seeing a school is a fun thing to do. It reminded me of schools in Hawaii, but this one is much nicer than where my aunt works. We then went to Tesco which is a supermarket/Costco/alberson type store. This is where we bought me a phone! Joey said i needed to have one for safety and I was happy to get some help on getting a good deal. I was waiting to get to Nong Khai to get some help with buying one. We ate lunch somewhere... it was good... I'm still not eating a lot though. Then, when the thunder started, we headed back to his place to play with his dog and watch The Office. I never figured out if it rained because his places didn't have windows where we were sitting. Getting back was a little scary. When i left Joey's place, around 6:30pm, it was dark and getting a taxi was a little difficult. It took the taxi driver a little bit to figure out where he needed to go. In the process his gas light came on (which had him nervous) and the king drove by so we had to sit still for an extra 5-10 minutes. But I did make it back safely.

Tomorrow I take the night train to Nong Khai... i have no clue what to expect but I'm just hoping for a nice train mate. In a lot of ways I really do wish that I had explored Bangkok more. I will be back here and I will see it. But at the same time I am proud of myself for venturing out as much as I have. It's been hard being on my own where I don't know the language or the culture.

I might not respond back to every e-mail that i get because there is only so much time i am willing to let my self spend on the computer but know how happy I am to see that i have mail!

Day Two in Bangkok

The thunder and lighting is back today. It just started, I'm waiting for the rain to start.

Today I made it to the train station. Originally I was going to try and take the bus but I had no clue if i was in the correct spot. After waiting for a while I decided that I would take a taxi. I was able to buy my ticket to Nong Khai with no problems. I didn't get a bottom bunk, which i have been told is better, because the ticket person said it was the last bed in second class. I took it and then walked around the train station exploring a little bit. There wasn't too much to see and I didn't know what else was in the area so I took a taxi back to Khaosan Rd. I didn't sleep well last night so I look a short nap.

When you walk into my hotel room you put your key into a slot to turn the AC and lights on. When i first walked in one light would come on automatically. Then you would turn the other ones on. Well, I didn't understand/see the small button that turned that one small, but bright, light off so I had a hard time sleeping. If i took the key out of it's spot the AC would go off and then I would be hot... it wasn't a good night. Tossing and turning all night... hot and cold. I'm glad i brought my sleep sack and cloth sleeping sheet.

I know that it is normal for people to walk up to you and ask you "where you go" but being by myself I find it very unnerving. I know that it isn't harassment in their eyes but after getting it four times in 10 feet i don't like it. *the rain has started and it is coming down hard, and the thunder and lighting is right over head!* So getting use to that and politely as possible saying go away is hard. *the thunder was so loud that i jumped. the ceiling has started leaking again at the Internet cafe it's a little crazy! this place seems like it's falling apart!*

My stomach can't hold much food right now. Not that I am sick but it feels like my stomach has shrunk and nothing seems appetizing. *I'm getting wet from where i am sitting... a few splashes here and there... more spots are starting to leak.*

The tears aren't coming down so hard today. Reading my e-mail is a little bit of a tear jerker but I love seeing familiar names in my inbox. So keep them coming.

Bangkok

I've made it to Bangkok! I'm tired and really want to sleep but am trying to keep myself up as long as possible... I don't really want to be up at 3am because i went to bed too early. My flights were fine. From Seattle to Taipei I sat next to a nice man,we both slept most of the time and for my flight from Taipei to Bangkok the seat next to me was empty. Sleeping pills are a wonderful thing I was happy to have them. While I was at the Taipei airport walking around I had two people come up and ask me if i knew how to find their gate... I'm not sure how helpful I was and I had no clue why they would ask me.

Being in Bangkok is quite an experience mostly because I am by myself and am scared to venture out on my own. I have walked down the main road that I am staying at, sat at the pool and have read... but really I just want to sleep. I knew that I would have to venture out and meet people but this is where the part of me that is introverted takes over and i become very shy.

It's hard to describe what Bangkok feels like to me. Driving from the airport was long and reminded me of older parts of Hawaii. Were I am staying (khaosan road sp) is most like Malaysia or Chinatown in Singapore. All of my senses are on overload and it is hard to take everything in. I am very much overwhelmed - and when i get overwhelmed I got into tears mode... which isn't great. Oh, it's nice an muggy on top of everything. Stand still and you will sweat. It's great.

I moved from reading by the pool to get on the Internet again because it is just about to pour and thunder lighting and everything. I can hear the thunder but the rain hasn't started yet. Oh, no, the rain is coming down nice and hard.

I'm sitting at the Internet cafe at the top of my hotel... and the ceiling is leaking... it's a nice touch for a room filled with electronics.

Tomorrow I need to go to the train station and get my ticket to Nong Khai. There will be more walking around and exploring.

I love you all and miss you so much.

Last days in Seattle

It’s happening. I’m leaving - and it doesn’t feel real. I’ve done my run-through for packing and everything seems to fit. It’s just the last minutes things, like the clothes that are still in the wash that I have to pack. This last week has been spent wrapping up loose ends and saying goodbyes. It’s been quite the week. Sunday night I leave for the airport waiting to depart on my 2am flight to Taipei then on to Bangkok.

For all of you who were wondering I was able to vote! My ballot came just in time and I will mail it off tomorrow.

This is all I am taking with me. Who knows how much I will come back with! 

-Amy

The One Month Count Down

Here is an update on my life and where it is headed for the next few months plus a little background info on how I decided to travel. This is a slightly edited version of a letter I wrote one month before my departure date as an e-mail to friends and family.

I graduated from high school thinking that I would go to Washington State University and graduate with a degree in Elementary Education. I figured out that WSU wasn’t for me and decided that maybe Western Washington University would be a better fit. It wasn’t very long after being at Western that I found that Western was a great school, but that I wasn’t very happy being in school. I wasn’t sure that Elementary Education was the thing for me and I didn’t know what else I wanted to do. So, I decided that I would come home and work for a while, at the same time trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I have been out of school for nine months and haven’t figured out what I want to study. At the beginning of summer I concluded I wanted to be doing something other that working at REI and the before-and-after school daycare program; I have decided that I want to travel.

I came to this decision in a matter of a few days with the help of three people. First, I had my mom, Liz, telling me how fast life went by; that I was growing up and just yesterday I had been crawling on the floor. Second, I had my friend Kari writing a blog about her experience volunteering in Ghana. At the time she wasn’t having the best of experiences but she was learning so much about herself, and even though it wasn’t all good, her experiences sounded amazing. Third, I was at REI talking to a coworker, Thomas, about traveling. We were talking about where we had been. I was telling him that I had the money and the time but no one to go with right now. He told me that there would always be something holding me back; that I just had to do it. With that, I decided I wanted to travel now. I think it took me about four weeks from floating the idea to a few friends, and then to my parents, to having a start date.

I figured that I could solve my problem of not having someone to go with by volunteering and meeting people along the way. I am going through a program called Travel to Teach (http://www.travel-to-teach.org/). I found the program on the Internet, of course, and will be spending a month each, in four different countries. I will fly to Bangkok on October 20th, 2008 and spend a few days there adjusting before going to Nong Khai, Thailand (10/24 – 11/21) (all dates, except the day I leave Seattle, are guidelines of where I will be); Vang Vieng, Laos (11/22 – 12/20); Nha Trang, Vietnam (12/26 – 1/23); and last, Sihanoukville, Cambodia (1/30 – 2/27). My return ticket is set for March 20th from Bangkok, however, what I do for the end of my trip is very up in the air. If I find people to travel with I might keep going. Terry and Liz might come visit me. I may find that I am ready to sleep in my own bed sooner than I expect. Through Travel to Teach I am provided a place to call home and, depending where I am, some food. I will be teaching English a few hours a day (I think mostly to kids) and doing lots of exploring.

This is an experience for me to learn to let go of the things I cannot change, of being on my own, meeting new people, and having a great time. I know that lots more things will happen, there will be good and there will be bad, but it will all work out one-way or another.
Please write to me! I won’t be able to get snail mail while I am away but I would like to be connected to home and the people I care about. Write to me about any and everything.

I can’t wait to update you all about my adventures, let you know where I am going and where I have been.

I love you and thank you for your love and support. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you.

Blogging

I initially decided that I didn't want a blog because I wanted a more personal experience communicating with my friends and family.  However, my mass e-mailing list became too long.  I will still send out e-mails letting you know when I have updated if it has been a while.  I hope to update my blog at least once a week.  Look for updates and leave me comments and e-mail me! I will love seeing your name in my inbox!