Leeches and Spiders and Lizards, Oh my!

Well, another week down!

Only an infinite amount left.

So my second week went much like the first. I tried to teach, most of my methods of teaching and classroom management failed, I made a fool of myself, I realized how oblivious I actually am, I had some fun, met some new people, and started to not take things too personally. So overall, it was a better week I guess. Oh, and I learned that sleeping at my desk will most likely become a daily thing! (I zonked out for at least an hour on Wednesday because I was so tired!)

Those P3 kids are still just so difficult to handle, but I figured that after a few more classes they will know more of what I expect and the style of teaching I have. It doesn’t help that I spend half of the class just getting them to be quiet and listen, so I have NO idea what they are actually learning. It’s going to be a shocker when I give that first test!

(This is one of my P4 classes)

My other classes are going good. I’m having fun, so that’s what counts right? Most of the students are well behaved and there’s always one or two kids in each of my classes (besides the hellian P3 classes) that help me reign in the other crazies because they actually want to learn. They also help me explain the activities to the students who don’t quite understand. This is extremely helpful and I am so appreciative for their help when I’m floundering trying to explain something in English using pictures and gestures. Regardless of this, I still get loads of blanks stares and “mai kowjai” (I don’t understand) comments.

In other news, I had some fun adventures this week! On Saturday, we went to the Yaroi Waterfall, which is pretty close to the Thale ban National Park. It was so much fun! We go and park our scooters (and I showed my travel buddies how shitty of a driver I am by almost running into a rock wall attempting to park) and then start on this trail to see the waterfall. After 200 stairs, the “designated” trail ends and we go hiking through the jungle to get to the higher pools of the waterfall. After a few leeches that were burned off and some spider’s webs and spiders attacking us, we finally made it to the pool. It was lovely! The water is not super clear, but it’s fresh mountain water and was SO refreshing! You could go up right underneath the falls and it felt amazing. This was by far the highlight of my week and a great way to relax and let off some steam.

The drive was also spectacular! It took about 30-45ish minutes to get there by scooter, and yes my butt was so sore after that drive.  There were brightly colored mosques littering the highway, interesting flora and fauna, and mountains everywhere! It’s like God was playing a game of marbles on a global scale and just decided to leave the ones that landed in Thailand wherever they fell. Really though! There are random limestone cliffs shooting up everywhere. It’s one of the wildest things I have ever seen. We also had some fun driving and at one point I swear we crossed into Malaysia because we went down this sketchy dirt road, passed what looked like a military station of some sort, and then navigated crappy roads for about 20 minutes before turning back. But we made it back! And just beat the rain!

Not that beating the rain really means much because it’s rained everyday this week and more often than not, I end up coming home soaking wet and leave pools of water wherever I go in my apartment. Joy. But now I have invested in a rain poncho so maybe I can avoid the soaked to the bone week I am sure is to come.

All in all, I am starting to enjoy Satun. At first I was reluctant to embrace this place because I wasn’t very happy here. I was lonely, knew nothing about this place, had no friends, and felt like I was way in over my head. I’m not gonna lie, the thought of leaving and going home crossed my mind more than once these past few weeks. But that is NOT the kind of person I am. Whether I’m happy or not, I will persevere because that’s what I do. So I guess it is a good thing I’m happier now huh? I’ve met amazing people who have really helped me to feel comfortable and welcome here. I am so thankful for that and having people to talk too and hang out with is such a nice perk!

On a lighter note, my bug bite count is now in the hundreds! And with all the other random bruises, scrapes, and other various boo-boos, let’s just chalk it up to a fulfilling Thailand experience! Till next time.