Keeping it Real Part I

It’s been a few weeks since the world has heard from me and I think that’s a good sign that life here in Thailand is keeping me busy.

Let’s start with last Saturday. A group of us got together to go to the Pala-U Waterfalls just west of Hua Hin. After about 90 minutes on the bus (and a lot of motion sickness) we finally made it to the entrance and started hiking. The Pala-U Waterfalls are amazing because there are 11 different levels of waterfalls, the first five accessible to hikers. The first two waterfalls were underwhelming and easy to get to, but reaching the fifth was a slippery death trap. We used ropes to climb over wet and slippery rocks, waded through hip deep water, and took a few falls. I stopped at the fifth fall to swim in the water (even though there were thousands of fish trying to eat us alive). After a little bit we slid back down to the bottom, ate a quick lunch, grabbed snacks and headed back to the bus for our long drive home.

Other than that big adventure, life here in Hua Hin has been quiet. We are almost completely done with our 120 hour TESOL course and we had our two days of student teaching last Thursday and Friday. Que the explanation of the “Keeping it Real” title of this blog post. Being 100% honest with myself and everyone at home, the student teaching made me question if I am actually supposed to be here teaching. I left after my first day on Thursday feeling defeated and like I had completely failed as a teacher. I had my perfectly written lesson plans with interactive worksheets and my lessons planned from start to finish; but as soon as I got into the classroom it just seemed like pure chaos. It took everything in me to go back with a smile on my face Friday morning to try and do it all again.

First day teaching at English camp!

So with that, I'm glad that I'm sharing the hard things as well. I spend almost every hour of every day with other people which can be exhausting sometimes. Everyone is stressed and anxious about their placements, which makes it really hard to be positive all the time. But I have found it incredibly helpful to try and maintain a normal routine, because why not at least have one thing in my life that I can have control over. So, I exercise every morning before class. I get coffee with my friend Elizabeth every morning. I eat lunch every day at Wagging Tales with my friends Elizabeth, Jon, and Jessica. And every Friday night we go to the market, get massages, eat grilled corn on the cob, and drink margaritas. It’s all about balance, right?

Later this week I will hoping on an eight-hour bus and moving to TRANG! I am so excited to finally know where I am going to be living for the next year and to begin teaching.       

      

Me, Elizabeth, Jon, and Jessica at a beachside restaurant.