Red. Light. District. (Pattaya)

Thursday July 12, 2012

On Thursday we had regular classes like we usually do, but during one of my breaks we had to go to the local hospital to get checked for syphilis. For some reason, to be able to get a work permit in this country you need a medical exam and a syphilis test. I hate doctors and I hate hospitals, and being in a hospital in Thailand was kind of terrifying but I survived and I am healthy and syphilis free… Now I only have to wait for the very long paperwork process so that I can go on to the next step of my work permit.

When we got back there was a guy here that used to teach 3 years ago. His name is Glyn and he is from Virginia. Danielle my roommate talked to him for a while and he invited us to have dinner at a local restaurant. Danielle had a friend over from Canada that she met at a different province so he came with us. 

We went to this really nice little restaurant by the school. The owner is named “Big Ass” and he took care of us all night. (I don’t know if I already mentioned this but parents give their children American nicknames when they are young, so I have many porns, banks, a muffin, a morphine, and I believe a Garfield…) We sat with all of them and tried to communicate regardless of the language barriers. They kept bringing us drinks and food, and it was a great time. Any time we get to interact with the locals it is a great time. If we can sort of communicate and there is food and drink involved it is entertaining and enlightening… what I came here for. Oh I forgot to mention, I saw a guy eat it on his motorbike. He slipped on the wet ground and ate shit. He was so drunk he did not realize it and it took him a few minutes to react towards us trying to speak to him and make sure he was ok.

Friday I got done teaching early like I always do. I sat around and relaxed until the market was open. We all decided to go to the market together. When we got there I decided that for the first time, I was going to venture the market on my own, at my own pace, looking at everything by myself and attempting to communicate on my own. It was wonderful.

After the market we made some drinks and hung out at the house. My friend Jessica was coming from Bangkok so I waited for her. At about 10 pm my roommate Jessica and I walked to the main street to meet Jessica. When we were walking there we got offered a ride on a random persons motorbike. We took it and waited for Jess. She got here and we headed to big asses again. We drank and ate and had some cake that was for his mothers birthday. It was another great night. I have actually been trying different foods and got to eat fried flowers that night. Like I mentioned everyone has nicknames here, besides Mimi, my other nickname is Anchan, which is purple or violet flower. A beautiful flower… how flattering… except for the fact that we ate deep fried me for me dinner…

Saturday

Jess and I stayed at my place. We woke up early and headed bus was an hour long. I remembered that we had met two Turkish guys in Koh Samed that lived and worked in Pattaya. I called them and they said told me they would pick us up and we could crash at their condo.  We headed there and hung out at the pool while they worked.

Being in a pool was so nice. The weather was amazing and it was very relaxing.

We went to eat some Thai food and headed to the beach. While at the beach we were having a beer and relaxing when this guy from Iran got sand in my beer. I got a little upset so he bought as a round and took me out on a jet sky. Not a bad bargain at all.

When our friends got off work we got ready and headed out to a night out in town. I don’t know if you have ever heard of Pattaya but it is Thailands main red light district. There are hookers everywhere and it is pretty scummy. A lot of men from abroad come here to take advantage of the women who will do anything for about 100 dollars.

We headed back to the main party street and ate some kebabs. I am proud to say I ate lamb for my first time and I actually really enjoyed it. The streets were crazy… Full of bars, karaokes, strip joints, tourists, lady boys, etc. The music was blaring from every corner and there was intense energy everywhere. We got approached by multiple men offering us menus for ping pong shows which range from anything like watching live sex, women shoot ping pongs out of their vaginas, or ever rats… yes rats… coming out of females….

The menus and energy  surrounding all of it was disturbing.

We kept walking and went to the end of the street to the big clubs. Our friends work in the tourism industry so we went in to the VIP area and got a couple bottles of Jack Daniels while we danced to some of the best DJs spin some amazing music… and we danced the night away…

Sunday

Sunday morning Jess and I woke up and made breakfast before heading home. Jess took a bus but I had to flag a bus down myself.

This was horrible! I stood in the sun for about anhour trying to figure out which bus I was supposed to flag down. Eventually I got a mini bus and made it back. I ended my weekend by making homemade salsa which unfortunately I had to eat with potato chips…

Happy Birthday Week US of A!

Each week I am here things get better. I don’t know if its me adapting to the situation or if it is just things become better and better. Either way I am going to take it and run with it. To make the most of every situation.

I got in to sort of an argument with one of my roommate. There was not much of an exchange of words, but to put things in my perspective, because I’m sure her idea of what happened was different, I saw in her a lot of things about me that I used to dislike; and though I tried to brush it off and let it be at a certain point I just broke and she said things that shouldn’t have been said (not to me or about me, but about someone else), and I got in the middle and said things in an inappropriate manner at an inappropriate place.

The whole situation made things a bit shaky for the first half of the week, but we talked things out and everything got better. Being alone those few days made me change the way I was doing things a little bit. I am now spending more time alone, and more time with my students after school (playing basketball, helping with homework, etc) which I truly enjoy.

By Wednesday I needed to get out of the house, not only that but it was 4^th of July and I was very homesick. I called my friend Barry and we decided we would go to the beach and celebrate afterschool. I asked my coordinator which bus I should take to his town which is about 20 km away and she told me she would find me a ride with one of the teachers who lives there after school. Just my luck and the fact that it is monsoon season in Thailand it poured that day. There was thunder, rain, and lightning. Definitely not a beach day. But hey this is Thailand and I was determined on having some fun. I still went up to Klaeng.

When I got Klaeng I met up with Barry. We decided it was probably best to not got the beach. We opted to going and getting KFC instead. Let me tell you I am not a fan of junk food but having KFC in Thailand on 4^th of July is the biggest treat ever! I was ecstatic! After KFC we went to a bar to get a couple beers. Oh 4^th of July! We talked and hung out and it was wonderful. Much to my surprise I got a phone call from one of room mates saying that the school coordinator had bought us fireworks and that I should come home to blow them up.

Barry and I headed to my place, not before being distracted by a karaoke bar. I don’t know if you know much about Thailand but most Karaoke bars, and most establishments for that matter double for whore houses. I was not aware of all of this but I guess you live and you learn. We got there and got swarmed by girls who came and sat with us and all literally asked Barry to marry them. Barry and I had a couple beers sang a couple songs and kept going.

When we got back to my school we went to my house and met up with Dani. She had the fireworks. We headed to the soccer field and decided to blow them up. Everyone was scared and of course adventurous 

little me decided I would go first. I know I know I know what you are thinking mom and dad, that’s so dangerous! Well nothing happened and it was a blast. Short lived but it was a blast.

The weekend I headed to Bangkok. Friday I met up with Ford and three of his friends from home. It was so refreshing to hang out with highly educated males. They are all engineers, well traveled, amazing guys.  We hung out at the mall and then headed to one of the hostels where we had pizza and beer. They played the guitar and sang for us while we waited for two of my girlfriends. It was awesome!

When the girls got there we headed to the W hotel. It was soooo nice. One of the guys had a room there so we hung out there. They got ready and we headed out to RCA. RCA was amazing! It was like a whole bunch of really nice indoor/outdoor clubs in the middle of the street. We got a couple of bottles and danced the night away. It was so much fun. Being white we always get a ton of attention when we go out here, but this time it was even more extreme because we were with the only 4 black guys in Thailand… oh 3^rd world countries.

Jess and I headed to her dorm room at the university she teaches at around 4 am. We still managed to get up early in the morning and go out and explore the city. We went to a bagel place and then headed up to China town and India town. It was an adventure to say the least. It was busy and full of crap everywhere. We had fun and laughed the whole way. We took a tuk tuk (a motorbike that pulls you in a little cart) which was pretty cool. On our way back we took a cab, which kept pulling over and telling us one minute every few blocks. We had no idea what was going on but we thought it was hilarious. Oh Thailand! My life has become a blur of confusion…

That night my friend Nick, who is friends with one of my friends back home, invited us to a 4^th of July BBQ. We headed over there and over ate! It was amazing. We were the only Americans, the rest of the people were British, Australian, South African, and I don’t know…. But it was amazing. We got to hang out with some pretty cool people.

After the BBQ we went to a Thai night club. It was amazing. Again we got a couple bottles and danced the night away. This time it was hilarious, we were like celebrities, we had people bringing us drinks and dancing with us and kissing our hands.

We ended the weekend by getting some Mexican food and then I headed on my 3 hour bus ride home which for some reason only took 2 and a half. What a great ending to a great weekend. 

Tiger Temple and Erwan

July 5, 2012

Last Thursday was the teachers meeting at our school, well to be exact it was like the administrators meeting. All the administrators from all around came to our school. They do this once a month at different places. Our school prepared for the whole week building new canopies, and basically turning the look around in a matter of days.

Thai culture is very concerned about saving face. They like to look good so they tend to parade us English teachers frequently. Therefore the principal invited us to the main event after the meeting. I told Dani and Jessica and we figured why not; anything is better than locking ourselves in our rooms. We head to the soccer field where there was a soccer match between the administrators of the different provinces. We sat with some other principals who kept trying to convince us to go teach at their schools.

The rest of the teachers were serving everyone and the three of us were sitting with the administrators drinking and eating away. I don’t think it sat very well with the other teachers. It was a very fun night, we drank ate, and even karaokeed.

The next day after school we took a bus to Bangkok. It was Mauricio’s birthday and he was going to celebrate it in the big city. We stayed at WE BKK, where we met everyone. After hours of trying to figure it all out we finally went out to go get Mexican food. It was a fun night but an early night for me.

Saturday we headed to Kanchanaburri, we got there and head straight to the Tiger Temple. This is a temple where the tigers grow up with the monks, they are a lot more docile. I got to pet a tiger! One of the most amazing experiences ever.

That night we stayed at a nice little guest house by the Kwai River. It was beautiful. We ate, hung out, and went out in town. What a fun town! This has been my favorite night life so far. I got to see a lot of the people I have met here and met even more awesome people. We went from bar to bar, dancing and drinking. There were live bands, and foreigners and Thais alike drinking and dancing the night away.

My favorite bar was this small little bar called Sugar something or something like that. It was all decorated with crazy sayings on the walls, there was a reggae band, a ton of cool locals, and a tattoo shop all in the spot. It was soooo much fun. I danced and laughed and had one of the best nights I have had in a very long time.

Hungover and tired I still woke up early and went to Erwan waterfall the next time. It was beautiful. Not as hard of a hike as the one we did previously but beautiful. It was clear water with huge waterfalls, and fish everywhere. There were monkeys hanging from the trees stealing food from the tourists and throwing trash at them.  It was hilarious. I did this hike on my own. Ventured from my roommates and spent some very much needed time by myself. On my way up I got stopped by a Thai person because there was a huge snake in my way. At this stop I ended up meeting two guys from Austria. They were so much fun and we went swimming and hiking together for a long part of the afternoon. What an adventure.

When we were traveling back, our bus never showed up. We waited for a couple hours until the bus station sent us a minibus to pick us up. This delayed us like crazy and everyone was very frustrated. It made me glad to have taken very good advice from my mom who told me to ALWAYS bring a book wherever I go, because this always go sideways in Thailand. Well thanks mom, while other people were frustrated I got to enjoy my afternoon with a nice book. It is true TIT (This is Thailand). 

Random Thoughts...

When she was caught up in a whirlwind not knowing how to feel, realizing that nothing that she thought was the real deal, losing grip of everything that she thought was real... That's when she realized that's what her soul needed to feel, that this life changing journey had just gotten real...

Last week was hard, it needed to happen, and it was the best thing that could have happened, but my last connection with what I thought was my present was cut off. No need to go into it, yet I am happier than I could imagine. It has been a few days of soul searching (and partying and enjoying), but I feel like I am in a much better place than I was before I began this journey.

I have been thinking a lot, and reading a lot. I have been spending a lot of time with myself, and I can finally say that I think coming to Thailand was the best decision I have ever made. I have vowed to have an hour of silence a day. This doesn’t mean that I only not speak, but I don’t watch movies, read books, or listen to music. I spend time alone, trying to clear my head. Trying to stop thinking. I have come to believe that silence of the mind, when we clear it of all other thoughts, is the only way of finding out what our true innate desires are. When we find out who we are and what we want, in all aspects of our life.

This, plus running, plus meditation, yoga, and time alone has become my routine. I have so much clarity, so much direction, and so much positive thinking and happiness in my soul, spirit, and heart that there is no other place I would rather be. That or I’m reading too much Deepak Chopra….

I came here because I was lost… Yet I have found to realize that the problem does not lie on being lost. We are all lost, at one point or another... Those who say they are not or haven’t been in my eyes are small minded. They are people who never truly let their inner thoughts and mind connect. Being lost and searching for ones way is the greatest pathway to growth. For when we search for ourselves we learn, we live, and we grow. We just have to make sure that when we are lost, we keep up ways of making our mind, body, and soul grow. That we don’t neglect any aspect of our lives, or the huge opportunity that lies in being lost. The problem is not being lost. The problem is becoming stagnant, and finding comfort in seeking the wrong direction. We know what is right and we should pursue that while searching for whatever it is that we need to find.

Just some random thoughts...

-I love to love. Love to live. And live to travel… A modern day gypsy.