So… THIS IS IT!

I figure this will be my last post, as my brother arrives in a couple of days and the next two weeks before we come home together will be jam-packed!! I am currently sitting in an internet café on Kao San road in Bangkok awaiting his arrival… which will be delayed because his flight got cancelled and changed to the next day.. brutal! So, I am contemplating how I will spend my time here while I wait, as I am poorer than poor! I’m trying to find anything to do besides sit in my stinky, 15$-a-night hotel room. I think I’ll eat some cheap but delicious street food, and then write some post cards, and then find somewhere to read my book… *sigh. But hey, I really can’t complain… I am in the most amazing place ever!

I have to say, the last 3 weeks in Pattaya were awesome, and there couldn’t have been a better way to end things. For the last 3 weeks, I was able to act as a TA (Teaching Assistant) for one of our students at his Regular International School. He attends half-days with a TA, and then comes to our school- Mountain Smile- in the afternoons. His TA became ill, and I was lucky enough to fill the position. It was so much fun, and definitely a great learning experience. I loved working in the classroom, helping out, and getting to know the other kids. I feel very lucky to have experienced volunteering in these three different school settings (Regents International School, Mountain Smile, and Father Ray). They were all very different experiences and I learned so much from each place.

As a final “hurrah” from Mountain Smile School, I planned a Play Day hosted by our school, on my last day. We invited kids from Regents School and Father Ray, and had them visit our school and participate in some fun activities for the afternoon. It went over pretty well, and it was really nice to be able to share our little school with others! Everyone loved it. We had arts and crafts, some wide-games, face painting, trampolining, Wii games, and everything else our school has to offer. Overall, the kids enjoyed themselves, and it was a nice way for me to say goodbye to the kids from all of the schools I volunteered at!

A huge part of me wishes I could stay here longer, and a big part of me feels like my time here is not meant to be over just yet, but I also feel ready to come home, and get back to my life… real life; work, school, etc.! As I sit back and reflect on my leaving soon, I have mixed emotions. I am so excited to come home, but I know I will miss it here; I will miss the weather, the beaches, the food, the traffic (believe it or not), the bars and clubs (haha), the hustle and bustle of the streets, the smells (good and bad), the cheap cheap shopping and amazing markets, the schools and the kids I have worked with, and my amazing new friends… Maybe I will just have to come back… one day!

Well, I am going to go find somewhere to relax now. I’ve had a rough weekend of partying, sushi-eating, and shopping around Bangkok; Chatuchak Market, Central World Mall, Siam Paragon Mall, China Town, etc. And I’ll do it all again in 2 days time when David arrives! Until next time (if there is a next time), take care :)

Peace and Love

Denise

Stolen Camera, Birthdays, a New Job, and New Hair!

It has been an INTERESTING 2 weeks to say the LEAST. I am not sure I can even retell some of my stories. Actually, I am sure I cannot tell some things. But don't worry, I'll try to keep you entertained.

I guess the most exciting and saddening event of the past two weeks was the loss of my camera on the Island of Koh Samed. The weekend was wonderful until my camera was stolen on the last evening. I travelled to Koh Samed for three days with three of my new friends, as Koh Samed is very close to Pattaya, but a nice little island getaway. We promised to do the weekend on a budget, as none of us really have money to spare. And on a budget, we stayed! Our hotel rooms cost each of us 7.00$ a night! And we survived off of fruit, fish, chicken, and corn being sold on the beach, and of course saved money in the evenings by drinking 5.00$ bottles of Sangsom (Thai Rum) from 7-eleven! By the end of the weekend I gained a new nickname: Sangsom. Enough said. The weekend was relaxing and fun; we lay by the beach all day, and watched amazing fire shows and danced at night! And all was lovely until my camera was stolen. Two days and 130.00$ later, however, I have a NEW, pink, fujifilm camera. It is definitely not as nice as my original camera, and definitely not waterproof like my old one, but it does the trick!

The following week brought more funfilled days and evenings, as we celebrated two friends' birthdays. Long story short, we ate too much cake, drank too much wine, and stayed out way too late, on more than one.. or two occasions!

Next, and most exciting for me, I have a new position for my last three weeks of volunteering here in Pattaya. One of our students who requires a one on one assistant at his international school for half of the day, recently lost his Educational Assistant as he got sick. So, lucky for me, I get to fill the position for the next three weeks, and experinece working in a massive international school- Regents, in Pattaya. It is a beautiful school, the teachers are great, and the kids are super cute! I am enjoying this new experience, and very happy to be having the chance to do a variety of things here; making the most of my time volunteering in Thailand. This opportunity also means that I wont be able to volunteer at the Father Ray Foundation anymore, however, luckily I will see the Father Ray children one more time before I leave. As my last "hoorah", I am planning a Play Day at our school, and children from Father Ray, Regents, and another special needs school in Bangkok will be attending. We'll have games, crafts, activities, and of course some Nintendo Wii fun for everyone to enjoy!

Speaking of the Nintendo Wii, we are slowly but surely teaching the kids how to use it. It's been tricky so far, but I am confident that they will get the hang of it! The most popular game so far has been the cooking game! The kids have learned to make crepes; they melt butter in the pan, spread the crepe mix, chop and add berries, and of course flip and catch the crepe on the pan. (I actually think I enjoy this game more than the kids! Joking...)

Last week a Monk came to bless our school. This was a really neat thing to see, even though I didn't completely understand everything he was doing, and why! The Monk told us that he had a very good feeling about our school and its location. After he blessed us and the school, and after we made our offerings, he sat and chatted for a while, and expressed an interest in having me come to the temple and teach English to some of the Monks/ Teachers. This is something I am very interested in, still, however with only 3 weeks left, and so much on my plate, I don't think it's possible anymore, which is a shame, as it would have been another neat experience!

Lastly, my new hair! Yes, all 30 inches of my new, black hair! I cannot express how nice it feels to once again have long hair, even if it's in the form of extensions! I absolutely love it. There is not much more I can say, except for; I love it, period. And I will post pics for those who haven't seen it!

Again, I cannot believe I only have 3 weeks left at the school. And only 5 weeks left in Thailand. Where did the time go? Leaving here will be bitter sweet. I am so excited to see everyone at home, but I know I will miss this place so much. I am afraid for how I will feel after a week back in Canada... in the cold... in the snow!

Anywho, Peace and Love.

Denise

A Wii! Yippieeee!!!

After much discussion and deliberation we decided to go ahead and get the Nintendo Wii for Mountain Smile International School. With the money generously donated by friends and family, I purchased the Wii, along with extra controller and nun chuk, and 25 games! I am so excited to present this gift to the kids. I know it will be enjoyed by all!

So, AGAIN, I want to send out a huge thank you to everyone who donated. Your generous contributions are so very much appreciated. I cannot thank you enough. It truly gives me great pleasure to be able to present this gift to the school, and I wouldn’t have been able to donate the Wii, or purchase all of the other school supplies I’ve donated, without all of your contributions. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Peace and Love,

Denise

What can I say? Island life got me lazy!

I must apologize for the delayed post… what I hoped would not happen, happened; I got lazy and broke a promise to myself and to others which was to post to my blog every week! And 4 weeks later, here I am! So the next few posts will be an attempt to recount the most memorable moments of the past month!

First of all, I cannot believe that I have been here for two months. I feel like I’ve been here for two minutes. And I also cannot believe that I go home in just under two months. The next 8 weeks are so jam-packed full of plans that I know they will fly by, and before I know it, I’ll be stepping out of the airport in Toronto, into freezing cold temperatures and hopefully… or on second thought, hopefully not… snow! I am not going to lie; knowing that temperatures are dropping at home, while I enjoy this heat and sun, makes me feel really good over here! Sorry to rub it in.

So the last time I left you, I believe I was heading to an island… the Island of Koh Chang, which is pretty close to Pattaya. Carol (principal of the school) and I headed to Koh Chang for one night just to catch a day on the beach and do something different for the weekend. It was absolutely lovely, even though it was a little too quiet for my liking. But it was relaxing, nonetheless. The hotel was beautiful, the beach was beautiful, and overall it was a nice little getaway!

Back in Pattaya, before we had our holidays, I did the usual; worked at the school, volunteered at Father Ray on Wednesdays, fed stray puppies, spent most evenings watching a movie or having dinner in town, and went out on "walking street" on the weekends with friends!

Now for the fun part… Island life, hospital visits, and sickness... woohoo!

So, for our two week holiday in October I planned to go to a few islands in the south west. Notice I wrote islands (plural). Well, I didn’t quite make it as far as I had hoped. Originally I had planned on flying to Koh Samui, and from there, going on to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. However, in Samui, I ended up meeting amazing people that I didn’t want to leave, and quite frankly I got lazy, so I didn’t make it Koh Phangan or Koh Tao. I spent the entire two weeks on Koh Samui, and did nothing but suntan, eat, and drink. Hmmm, I guess that doesn’t sound too exciting when I put it that way. But honestly, that IS what I did for two weeks… and that’s what anyone would do on an island holiday, right? I have to laugh, I didn’t even snorkel! However, I’m not too worried, as I will be traveling back to Samui before I come home in December, and I can do everything I didn’t do the first time… Promise.

Next, I am sure you are all wondering about my trips to the hospital and wonderful illnesses that I have endured since I returned form Samui! It all started with what I thought was a sweat-and-sunscreen-induced zit on my chin, which turned out to be an infection on a gland under the skin. I let it sit for a few days, as I thought nothing of it, but when it began to get bigger and reallllly sore, I went to the hospital to see a Doctor. Now, let me tell YOU, hospital service is fabulous here! Within a matter of 30 minutes, I was greeted, processed as a new patient at the hospital, seen by a Doctor, treated, and administered medication and a medical certificate. You can’t say any of that for emerge anywhere in Canada. Oh, and to top it off, the whole ordeal- hospital visit, medication, etc.- only cost $50.00 (all of which will hopefully be reimbursed by RBC)!

I have to add, however, the whole experience was a little frightening at first. It was difficult to communicate as the Doctor didn’t speak much English, and before I knew it, I was lying down on an operating table, having my chin frozen. And there I am, trying to sit up, trying to ask the Doctors and nurses what is wrong with me, and trying to figure out what exactly they were about to do to me. I mean, they must have thought I was absolutely ridiculous because apparently Thai Doctors do not expect questions from their patients. I guess their thinking is, why should patients need to ask questions…. The Doctors know what they’re doing.. right? I hoped so. In the end, all is well; my chin is healed up and the gaping hole in my chin- which I viewed in horror after the procedure- is now nothing but a tiny red speck!

To make matters worse, about 3 days later I seemed to have acquired a lovely Thai bug in my stomach, and let’s just say, I was confined to the washroom for about 2 days. Today is actually the first day I feel 100%. For the past week, my stomach has been weak, and I have been quite lethargic. SO, for now, besides half of my face peeling off from a terrible sunburn I got on Saturday, I am still in one piece!

Obviously my first week back to work after the holiday, was almost entirely interrupted by sickness, but I am back into work and routine just fine now. I am off to Father Ray tomorrow to do some crafts and parachute games, and today I had the chance to go to another international school to see a presentation on Sensory Processing Disorders (which was very informative and interesting). As well, I did a cultural tour of Bangkok on Sunday which was quite nice, despite the fact that my stomach still wasn’t 100%. However, I got to see the big golden Buddha, some nice temples, the Royal Palace, and China Town, and we also got to take a boat ride and eat lunch in the tallest tower in Bangkok. And of course I found a market to do some shopping when we had free time at the end of the day. What can I say, it’s what I’m best at… and everything is so much cheaper in Bangkok!

I think this briefly, but fairly, sums up the past month. I cannot believe 4 or 5 weeks has passed since I last wrote… as I said, time is just flying by. I also surprisingly don’t feel so far away from home. I do wonder how it will feel to come. Maybe by the time I come home it will feel more as if I have been gone for 4 months, but at the moment it doesn’t seem like I’ve been away too long.

Anyhow, visit again soon, as I PROMISE to write more frequently!

Peace and Love,

Denise