New Adventures...: Back in Mae Chan

Time for some Mae Chan updates!

Things I haven't done yet:
unpack my backpack (yikes)
laundry (Wednesday...I promise...)
haircut (one day...I have issues)

Things I HAVE done:
yoga
running
laughing with friends
organized activities for English Camp
received teaching schedule for the term
sing/dance with MEP 1 students
been to my favorite local place "the garage" for dinner every night

Just had to make my list of have dones longer than my shortcomings :) So today I got to help out with a mini English camp for the new MEP 1 students...I was so excited to see the kids! Got all fancy in a red dress, after backpacking and sniffing clothes to see if you can get another wear out of them, I welcomed my teacher wardrobe ;) Had to relearn how to walk in heels, apply makeup, keep my hair somewhat tame (as in brushing it in the morning - new concept), and to just embrace the Thai school system again with a smile on my face. Good thing I have lots to smile about, although towards the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready to leave. I changed and biked over to see Un (the girl I tutor) and was so happy to see her again. She couldn't wait to hear all my travels and we gushed over my photos and she likes my tan haha. Apparently I look "sexy" so I'm not sure if she was referring to the tan or what, but I'll take the compliment! After our hour her mom gave me a bag of lycee, such a doll. They used to have desserts for me, but then quickly learned of my fruit addiction and now usually has pineapple, bananas, or watermelon waiting for me haha.

Oh I am so happy to be home. I went for a run on my track and just couldn't stop smiling. The field was bright green, the sun was shining, children were out with their parents walking on the track, and I got to see two of my favorite teachers at the school! I will chat with them later, I had to tell them I needed to get my running on to lose all the weight I gained on holiday. Before holiday I was so good, eating healthy and running. And then the burning season happened and you weren't allowed to leave your room so I just sulked a bit and then was able to go on holiday. Well in Laos and Cambodia they have bread...and I love bread so needless to say 2.5kg was gained, but hey, I had a great time. And now I am back home and able to get back to my regular routine. Okay so after my run I opted for a shower and took a mini nap before planning for tomorrow's activity. My "station" is to teach the kids "pencil" "ruler" "eraser" "notebook" "book" and there's a song to go along with it. And yes I am back to singing and dancing like a hooligan. If you want to know my current favorite song "gummy bear"(as well as the students' favorite song, please click this link and you can picture me doing the same moves in my dress, and I am sure there is video and photos of this somewhere, but I won't link those on here). Anyways, grabbed some dinner at my favorite spot and now preparing for tomorrow.

This school term is going to be super busy and looking forward to diving into lesson planning and focusing on my students again. This holiday took a lot out of me, both good and bad, but happy to be back to some solid foundation. My friends have helped me so much since being back. It's not like I was this emo princess after the whole Belgium hell, but it's not like I felt like I was on top of the world either. Walking to the admin building today I couldn't help but smile when I saw my teacher's faces and got greeted by the dancing queen herself and we laughed and joked with each other, ah the little things. All the teachers were happy to see me (but it's Thailand so you never know if it's completely legit, but I'm just gonna say that they were since it's been two months) and walking up the stairs to the conference room, seeing all the little shoes outside the door (you don't wear shoes in buildings in Thailand) I couldn't help but grin because I could hear the children inside. Walked in and my smile hasn't faltered and my faith restored as to what I truly love to do. Oh children's laughter makes my heart swell. I can't wait for school to start to see my students again - praying they remember who I am! I know I talked about Vietnam, but honestly my family here in Thailand are my life and I definitely don't see myself going to another school any time soon. Still looking at OZ for the work holiday to save some $$ so I can properly travel again, but it's nice to know I can always fall back on teaching. Anyhow, this school term is going to be one for the books and I can already tell that this year has been and will continue to be full of lessons and to always remember to stay grounded and level headed, which if you know me is a bit hard because my head wanders up to the clouds every now and then...but hey! A year ago I was working a job I despised, paying a ridiculous amount of money for my rent, even more for petrol, fighting 5 o'clock traffic to go 5km...but I mean I still didn't have it that bad. San Diego is a beautiful city and loved my yogi's and beach weekends, but point is, lots can happen...

I mean that's how Thailand happened.
It was the first meeting of Yoga Teacher Training and we all were going to make a Facebook group so I activated my FB just for YTT and there was an ad that ran about paid teaching positions in Thailand. So spent about an hour filling out the application (at midnight mind you) and submitted everything online. Then went to sleep and didn't hear from anyone for over a week. Meh, guess it was just a spam email. Then I got an email and setup a time for a phone interview and after about a month or two of phone calls, countless emails, paperwork scanned, I was confirmed for a placement with GVI, the organization I chose to go through. Well, my entire yogi community knew about it, but had to keep it hush hush at work. I told my work director because I needed a professional reference and my friend Karina who is the admin in our department. Couldn't tell anyone else, didn't know if I was actually going to be able to follow through with it. So after thousands of dollars transferred to this bank account (GVI, please come up with a better system for wiring money haha) I just secretly hoped that everything was going to work out. One of my oldest and dearest friends had her wedding around my birthday so it was just a week long of shenanigans in May and that's when friends and family from home started to hear about my moving to Thailand adventure, as in a year ago. I remember my parents at the wedding just stayed mute and would change the conversation, I honestly don't think they thought I was going to be able to pull it off. So months of paperwork and paying for insurance, figuring out what I'm doing with a jeep liberty I just got, the whole buying a one way ticket to a country I didn't know the language or knew anyone there...well it was a bit overwhelming, but I knew it was my calling. When I gave my notice on my house in San Diego and then my notice at work, I was shaking and so excited and everything in between. Left on good terms with the bosses (thank you!) and packed up my life in my jeep and headed up the coast of California for a mini roadtrip to visit friends and my grandparents before jetting off to Asia. My friends were so supportive of me, but also thought and probably still think I'm nuts for doing this. To be honest, it didn't hit me until I was landing in Chiang Mai. I moved my stuff into storage at my parents house and my parents are helping me with my car. Packed up some suitcases and my dad drove me to the airport in September. He couldn't watch me go through the gate, I understood. He had a hard time when I left for Peru and I had a return ticket then. This whole one way ticket and to a country he's never been to, was really hard for him. Well I slept the whole way to Thailand except for maybe 6 hours - so out of 30 hour travel time, not too shabby. When the plane took off in Singapore and I woke up and looked out my window and knew instantly I made the right decision - Thailand's lush green rainforests and landing in Chiang Mai...getting picked up in a tuk tuk (not before praying someone would be there with my name on a sign) and then getting taken to Eco Resort. Went for a bike night tour with some girls in my room and explored the city that would be my home for the first few weeks in Thailand. Just so crazy how just one little thought can change your life, and always for the better. I have never looked back on my decision and thankful every day that I get to live in this beautiful country and work with kids. Granted there have been moments of sadness (homesickness), but overall it has been the best decision of my life.

So with that, I am ready for what is in store and know that anything is possible and to just live in the present, go with the flow, and just always smile. I pride myself with my optimistic outlook, easy going attitude, and my ability to laugh at almost anything. Laughter is a universal language. Ah, Thailand...you have my heart.

And here are some photos from day 1 of the English mini camp :)