Wow it's been awhile since I have written in here! So last I left you was my birthday weekend...which was fantastic and so happy I got to spend it with my girls :) So began my first week of teaching...What a week! I am teaching all Prathom 4-6 and Matthayom 1-3 whoop whoop! 18 classes and what a term this will be. I have been used to my littles (Prathom 1/2) so teaching kids who are as tall and taller than me, it's new. However...I am loving them! It's less babysitting and actually able to get activities going. I do miss singing and dancing my stupid songs with my kids, but now I get to have the kids sing their favorite songs and having them perform a song/dance in front of their classes next week. Should be good, the kids are already practicing. My younger kids are working on reading short passages and being able to answer (multiple choice) questions based no the passage. My handwriting has improved a lot since I haven't written too much over holiday except in my journal and well, I actually would write "lol" and abbreviate for dayz at a time. Not exactly teacher material...
Okay so I somehow survived my first week of teaching and I had the opportunity to meet these two amazing women traveling while in Cambodia. We spent time on Koh Rong together and then I saw them in Phnom Penh before they headed to Vietnam. Anyhow, they were heading to Chiang Mai in May so we kept in touch and it worked out perfectly that we were able to meet up in Chiang Mai! Crazy how time passes and when we saw each other it was as though no time has passed. We met up at Thapae Gate and gorged on some Mexican food and then decided to do a mini bar crawl to Zoe's. They have been staying in treehouses so the dance scene and well people around in general was much invited. We laughed and ate and giggled and drank and then danced the night away. Exactly what I needed. Spending time with good friends, can't go wrong there :) here are some pics of the weekend:
Imke and I - she wanted b/w photo to hide the "tan" difference
Me, Laura, and Imke
Sneaking a selfie *guilty as charged*
Oh and have to explain this one...I met up with my friend Som at the mall in Chiang Mai because her favorite author was in town for a book signing...and well I said Mai Pen Rai and headed to the mall! Here we are having tea (coffee for her) and then I got to see the author...HELLO FUTURE HUSBAND? haha. I was sending a million snapchats of him and the crowd. Tons of people showed up, it was nuts! I was there long enough to feel like I was a fan as well! I ended up buying a "We Love You Sean" mini scarf and paraded it around for the rest of the day. So here are some pics from that: I love Thailand
Som and I sporting our support!
Som and I having some coffee ----------Sean, the total cutie that makes my heart melt when he wears his glasses
I joked that he was trying to get my attention here...Sean I love you! <3 hehe
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Okay so this is one of the Bday gifts I got from my mom...needless to say HP marathons have begun in Mae Chan. PM me if you want in on this...haha. We have them at Gemma's and snacks are welcomed :)
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Evening run, can't help but gaze up at the heavens :)
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This creepy crawler was just parading around the garden one night...Thailand, why oh why?!?!?!?!
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Okay so back to my life in Mae Chan...Completed yet another week of school and on Friday I had one of my students braid my hair! Needless to say, this is going to be a regular thing. I can't wait for my hair to grow longer so they can do more designs! :)
Here is my Prathom 5 kids NOT doing work because I took my iPhone out to take a photo...totally got busted if you can't tell by the peace signs they hold up...
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Meet the love of my life: Hazel
A golden retriever puppy that has entered my last as of last week
And I have about a million photos on my phone that I didn't upload, it's rather embarrassing, but thankfully I'm in a country that worships the selfies so I'm okay ;) She's a friend's puppy and I can't get enough of playing with her! Needless to say, the friend is always welcome to come by!
So the last dog photo was from Friday and that evening Jeffrey, Wynie, and I hopped on motorbikes and headed to Chiang Rai to see a movie. Basically we wanted to eat popcorn so we have been planning this for awhile now. We first were gonna see Tomorrow Land or something, but opted for San Andreas and despite the terrible acting (hello, The Rock is in it, COME ON) and I started to get excited for California! Not the whole earthquake part, but seeing LA and SF landmarks, I will be there in July! 18/7-31/7 California bound holla! Basically Mexican food consumption with a side of my best friend's wedding ;) But more importantly, my parents arrive in 27 days! Holy cow they are coming to Thailand! MY PARENTS! And how is it June?! Wasn't it just April? So I am starting to get really excited about everything coming up and at the same time staying present. I'm now back to running 1-2 times a day with little workouts. My attempt to get fit so I can eat all the burritos once I'm home and still hopefully fit in the bridesmaid dress :)
So this picture is ridiculous - Chiang Rai has decided to build this restaurant by the airport and you pass it every time driving from Mae Chan to Chiang Rai so on the way back, they stopped on the bikes and told me to take a photo. RIDICULOUS, but hilarious at the same time. So that's why I posted it, it's so random. A huge windmill and Dutch food in Northern Thailand. Oh Thailand...
Now this photo is also from Friday night. After we all got home it was past midnight and I had to get up at 6am to catch a taxi to the airport to head to Bangkok and well...so was in the bathroom washing my face and I glance down and notice something is a little different on my floor and I lean down closer and poke something with a broom AND IT MOVED! It was a FROG! So I yelped and ran into my room and jumped on my bed. Messaged Em, but she was already asleep. I tried to scare it off, but it decided to hop UNDER MY BED. Thankfully I have friends in every time zone so I just pulled an all nighter. There was no way I was going to try and sleep when there was a lurker in my room. I had my friend try and google it and nothing popped up. Finally found out it was a harmless frog, but STILL. no dice. I left in the morning and left the key for Em to rescue me and she referred to him as "my Prince." So needless to say, this picture was sent to me over the weekend when she said she was looking to meet my prince. Oye...my friends are the worst....
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Okay so now my reason for going to Bangkok on my holiday weekend...My dearest friend was in a terrible crash and got transferred to Bangkok hospital, she suffered really bad injuries and won't disclose any of that personal info, but just know that my friends and I hopped on a plane and went to visit her over the weekend. She's doing well and will be heading back to London (sad panda), but hopefully she will be back :) I was so happy I got to see her, she's a beautiful soul and such a strong person. I love you, Sophie! This photo was taken on my birthday weekend, just a week before the crash...
And these are my friends and I functioning on the plane at an ungodly hour and me on 0 hours of sleep.
But we also got some time to relax a bit. We picked a hotel with a rooftop pool so that's basically where I spent all my time. Pool, massage, bed - rinse and repeat.
Beautiful Bangkok sunset...for once
Teacher <3
yes I am wearing a top
My kiwi and I
My girls <3
The group at sky bar...not a bad view of the city :)
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Got back to Mae Chan on Monday afternoon just in time for tutoring...then got dinner with Jeffrey and Emily. OH AND I GOT A NEW BOOK AND AM HOOKED. Random, but thought I would let the world know I am back to being a bookworm. So back to food (my love). This is one of my favorite dishes - the owners' kid goes to our school. She's rather adorable and the whole family is so sweet. All this food - 90 baht TOTAL for 3 people...that's less than $3. I love Thailand...
Happy as a clam
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Now this photo is more for a joke because my friend is ridiculous. Back when we were getting dive certified, we had this joke about a gorgeous navy SEAL that we would dive with and since we were in La Jolla, we were surrounded by beautiful mansions, but this ONE "mansion" that we dove by turned out to be $22 million...not bad, eh? Anyhow, it got ridiculous and then it turned into my prophecy about Lenny and since I told her about the frog, now it's about Prince Charming...And we only communicate through emojiis. So if you can appreciate emojiis, please please enjoy this...my friends are nuts. looooooooooooove them :)
So apparently that is how my life is going to turn out.
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Matthayom practicing for the performance next week
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And because this is Thailand, why NOT have a random Lycee festival thrown at the school and go till the wee hours of the night. So this happened last night. Best teachers ever! ;)
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So that's been my life up until now. It's been a crazy year, but enjoying every moment of it. At least trying to. When I do get frustrated, just remind myself to take deep breaths and just remember that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Last night was a new moon - new beginnings. Letting go of things that don't serve you. yadadada. Enough on my yogi talk ;) Life is beautiful and figuring out this teaching thing. Still eating a ton of fruit. The rains won't be coming (in theory) until August so hoping to keep my fruit consumption strong until then haha. Every morning I wake up with a smile on my face and the children are my life. Walking through the hallways and hearing their laughter, hearing "Good morning, Teacher Dao" warms my heart, a part of my heart that I didn't know could be so happy. Em, Wynnie, and Jeffrey are my life. My family will be here soon. I see my friends on the daily. I am living my passion. Is this real life? I have to ask myself this on the daily. Live with no regrets, everything happens for a reason, and I am exactly where I am supposed to be, I am on my path. I deserve it all. Now time for a run, I promise to start blogging regularly so it's not this long sporadic entry. Till next time...
Love and light :)
Dinner 😍
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