Satooning around

Ok so now that the obligatory christmas post is posted, here's a look into everything else December has been about!

So December was a big, eventful, tiring, and amazing month here in sunny Satun (if you want to see more photos, Facebook is the best place to find those...)

With the end of the rainy season, it was so freaking HOT! We still get rain here and there but it doesn't last long and I kinda miss it breaking the heat of the day. But whatever, I'm not Mother Nature and can't control that no matter how hard I might try. Kinda makes me miss the wind and chilly Wyoming air. But that's what they say right? You never appreciate something 'till it's gone.

Bike For Dad. All across the country, people mounted their bicycles and took off on 40 (+?) kilometer rides down highways, country lanes, and roads of all shapes and sizes in honor of the King. I had to work on this day so didn't actually get to participate in the bike ride, but I drove past it on my motorbike and saw everyone lined up ready to go! So many people came out and there where bikes and riders of all shapes and sizes! It was quite the sight, masses of yellow everywhere!

My visa expired. But don't worry, I got my official work permit! Hooray! I'm legally allowed to work in Thailand now and have my visa extended until October 2016. My amazing agent came and picked me up and we took a whole afternoon sitting in offices and making sure everything was all set. I shamelessly fell asleep in the Immigration Office in what turned out to be an hour long check that was only supposed to take 20 minutes. We were a little ircked about that, but hey! I got a nap in the middle of the day!

Satooning around! We have been exploring the farther reaches of Satun Province recently and I've seen some pretty neat things! My friend and I visited Cheibilang Pier and went to a mutual friend's shipyard to check it out. There are some beautiful boats there and we were able to watch them haul a sailboat in that needed some work. It was quite the endeavor and process but really cool to see! Oh also, there were puppies! We also went to Tamalang Pier and that was a great little adventure. There is a massive Nemo fish and Crab statue that were very photogenic. We also walked around a boardwalk (which I wasn't too sure would lead to anything because it just wound through the musky mangroves) but lo and behold it opened up into an open pavilion area right on the water. There were little pagodas to sit under, a lighthouse-esque structure that you could walk up in and it provided a pretty view of the southern waters and islands!

(Heaven is where there's water and boats)

The next weekend was monumental. Why?

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Holy macaroni and cheese! What a good movie! I am a huge Star Wars nerd (Thanks to my dad for instilling that love at a young age) and really enjoyed spending a mini-break in Hat Yai to see the movie and hang with friends. We saw it in 4DX which was a little tooooo much sensory overload for me! Our chairs moved in time to the movie and when anything was flying, we were rocking and wind was blowing on our faces, really making it seem like we were RIGHT there! So it was a lot to take it, but it was worth it! While in Hat Yai, I met up with some friends and we set off for the big municipal park to visit the ice dome! I've heard great things about it and was so excited to see ice (weird I know) but sadly, we go there, and there was NO ice? What?! Apparently the boss-man didn't want to deal with ice this year so they just had flowers. Lame! so we hung around and shopped instead!

(Cool statue at the Park in Hat Yai)

Finally, now that we are all caught up to speed, I can tell you about this past weekend!

We got a group together and headed off to Namtok Wang Sai Thong. This is such a beautiful waterfall and it was super fun to hang out in the refreshing waters! It's so big and has tiers that form countless pools that you can swim in. And because the rock is so weathered, many people slide down the rocks from pool to pool, jumping and swinging in periodically. It was beautiful and well worth the long, winding road to get there!

(View from almost the top of the tiers)

Guys, I WENT TO THE THIRD LARGEST CAVE IN THE WORLD!!!

Phu Pha Pet Cave in the Northern part of Satun and is the largest cave in Thailand (but you won't find it in many tourist books!), and it was a new and thrilling experience! I am so thankful to have had such a good group of fellow adventurers to go with! After the waterfall we ventured off to find this cave and after a few hecklers and a hike up a mountain, we arrived at what seemed to be nothing. Oh yeah, then we noticed the itty bitty hole that served as the entrance into the cave. Shit. How am I supposed to fit my fat ass through that opening?! After toppling inside, we followed the stairs to the first of many massive caverns!

(Before entering the deep dark)

This was such a cool cave and it was such a neat experience to guide ourselves up and down the stairs and get lost off the beaten path. There was one cavern that had a skylight leading outside. To get there, you had to scale a sheer, slippery, muddy/rock mixture and then climb out over some more rocks using ropes. During the course of this, I slipped and fell, scraping up my arm pretty bad. But whatever, I knew I was going to fall at least once and was prepared for it. After backtracking towards the exit, we finally found the little opening once again and were getting ready to leave. Me being me, I stumbled backwards for no reason, caught a rock, lost my balance, and fell pretty roughly between some lights, rocks, and the ground. Literally three steps away from the exit. Bruised both hands, scraped up my OTHER arm and I'm pretty sure I dislocated my thumb.

Finally leaving the cave in a sweaty, muddy mass, we drove back to Satun with the fading sun, and all was well. Despite the fact that we are all pretty pooped and in various states of frazzle-ment. It was a superb weekend and I loved every minute of trying my hand at being Indiana Jones!

(Car selfies are the best selfies!)

It's the most wonderful time of year

HOLY COW! How is it already the end of December? I don't know where the time went, but I can tell you truthfully that I spent it struggling through lesson plans, having mini-adventures, singing carols over and over until I wanted to pull my hair out, and sweating out every ounce of water in my body!

The biggest thing to happen since I last blogged was CHRISTMAS! It is so different celebrating my favorite holiday without my family and friends and the sub-zero degree weather of wonderful Wyoming.

Christmas looked a littler different this year, but that really shows that it's not where you are, but the people that make your holiday great. At school and at home I experienced love and excitement for Christmas and it still felt pretty darn festive! (I love Christmas carols so I didn't actually want to pull my hair out, but we did sing them everyday for the entire month!)

(The foreign teachers in all our red glory)

The last half of December was spent decorating classrooms, learning to wrap a gift, making snowflakes, wreaths, and snowman, and learning Christmas carols in english. I wasn't sure how festive this holiday would be since it is not celebrated the same way in Buddhist and Muslim cultures. Despite this fact, Christmas is still widely "celebrated" mainly for the decorations and for schools to learn about Santa and stuff. So it was very festive and joyful and very fun to experience!

(Santa and his mini me)

The Christian meaning of Christmas is nonexistent here though, and that's what I missed most. One of my favorite holiday traditions is attending the late night worship service with my family, and then doing holiday shenanigans all night until we all drift to sleep one by one. Then waking up on Christmas day to someone inevitably singing some wake-up/good morning song and gathering to share the holiday together in our pajamas. That's what I missed most about not being able to be home.

Despite having to work on Christmas day, everyone wished me a Merry Christmas and then that night, there was a big party hosted by @On's.

(Disclaimer: On is so amazing and is so fantastic when it comes to helping out and supporting people who come through Satun!)

I started the night with my make-up on point and even took the time to straighten my hair! Of course neither of these things lasted more than 10 minutes, but hey! It looked good for a bit! The party had a live jazz duo who played songs all night, there was delicious food (and plenty of it for those of us who went back for seconds, thirds, and sixths), and hanging out with friends new and old was so fun! I drank, danced, and was merry, and experienced my first Thailand Christmas with my pseudo-family.

Go Speed Racer!

(That theme song went through my head multiple times this past weekend when driving through the curvy, hilly, and winding roads of Phuket!)

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand and one of the most popular tourist destinations! The streets are littered with hotels, restaurants, coffee huts, shops, bars, places to rent this or that, and tour operators. So there is no shortage of things to do! My long weekend in Phuket was a much needed get away from the ho hum Satun lifestyle I have come to know and love.

Thailand is a truly diverse and exciting place to live. There is something for everyone and being able to experience the many aspects of thai life and culture is truly a rewarding experience. Phuket is a metropolis of excitement and lounging on beaches, hitting the clubs, and visiting other attraction like waterfalls and hanging out with friends was how I spent my time. The only downside of the weekend was that I got so sunburned that my nose, forehead, and chin blistered and are healing very slowly!

Meeting up with some of the friends I made in Hua Hin was so great and hearing all about their stories and just knowing we are not alone in our endeavors is very comforting! It was great to catch up, and having some tour guides was also a nice perk! We visited a very secluded beach, Paradise Beach, that was stunning. We kayaked, snorkeled, sunbathed, and relaxing enjoying to simplicity of life! Patong on the other hand, was much faster paced, with huge multiple story clubs and music so loud it'll make you go deaf. We drank and danced our way into the wee morning hours!

(Paradise Beach after a storm rolled by)

I will be going back to Phuket to visit more of the surrounding area in the future! But getting back to Satun and my house was the real adventure! I took the 8 pm bus back to Satun, so I knew that it would be early morning before I got home. The bus rolled into the city around 3:30 in the morning and stopped about a quarter of the way into town. Close to the Big C supermarket that is a 45-60 minute walk to my house. They refused to take me to the bus station and speaking hardly any Thai and them not understanding my English, drove off abandoning me in the dark city. My motorbike was at the bus station. So I walked the 30-40 minute walk home and promptly collapsed into my bed to get 2 hours of sleep. I woke up early, thankfully caught a motorbike taxi to the bus station, got my motorbike, and headed off the school for a busy Tuesday! I don't know if I was just too tired, or my students were exceptionally ornery, but man! It was horrible! Everyone was wild and loud, and not wanting to do school. So we didn't learn anything this week haha

(Janie and I rocking that motorbike life!)

Overall, it was a great weekend and a short school week, so that's always nice! Thursday was Constitution Day and Friday was Bike For Dad, so lot's of things were happening in the city and not a lot of school was going on. Here's to an adventurous weekend and new experiences!