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
