Three days into my teacher training, and I’m enjoying myself overall. The program is very disorganized. Misinformation and an absence of information are the norm. I’m trying to stay positive about the whole thing, but I will admit to moments of frustration. Our hotel is also a major disappointment. Erica and I are sharing a room that could certainly be in better repair. The smell of mildew is the most glaring deficiency, but the water-damaged closet that only has one functional door is also noteworthy. Making up for this, however, is the fact that I must merely cross the street to reach the ocean.
Aside from the problems with the program, everything else is wonderful. The people in the program with me are a lot of fun. Predominantly American with a spattering of Canadians and a lone Brit, they come from all walks of life. I’d guess the average age to be 24, but many have traveled to some pretty amazing places. Time in Morocco, Bulgaria, South Africa, and backpacking through Europe seem to be fairly standard.
We’ve already: had a midnight skinny dipping session in the Bay of Thailand, sang karaoke until the Japanese tourists left (not easy to outdo them), and smoked a hookah on the beach with natives while they grilled us fresh caught crabs. The area our hotel is in must have been quite the tourist attraction at one point, but it seems to have gone bust. Now it’s rather low key with a couple of very good restaurants (using the term very loosely) nearby.
They take us into town every couple of days, and I think that we’re going to have a group trip to Ko Sumet this weekend. I’m really excited about seeing the beaches there, and I think that we’ll just rent a bungalow and crash out. I love living by the ocean; I’ve been swimming every morning before class.
The classes are the very definition of tedium. I’m not certain of their practical application when I get posted, but we’ll have to see. At the very least I’ll have a certificate recognized around the world and resources for local placements. We are taking our classes and will be doing our guided teaching at a local Buddhist school. Interacting with the 300 children has been rather amazing. They speak English at varying levels, but many have quite a command of it. They are also quite nice and it is amazing to watch and participate in their rituals and customs. I look forward to actual classroom work with them.
I still haven’t heard where I’ll be posted. In fact, no one in the program has been told anything about it. I hope to find out soon, but as they guarantee placement, I’m not too worried. Not worrying seems to be the general way of life here. Things will happen when they happen and not before.
As there is no Internet connection at the hotel, my connectivity is rather limited. Despite that, I will be checking in every few days, and hope to continue posting occasionally. I’ve added a link to check out pictures, but the connection here is slow to upload so they might not be as up to date as desired. Bear with me as I navigate the intricacies of the blog world and the challenges of technology abroad. Unfortunately, I must retire to the hotel for the evening to do some homework.
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