Jen's Visit

I was very lucky, and extremely grateful, to have an awesome visit from Jen for the past two weeks.  It was easily my favorite two weeks since I've been here.  Due to the fact that we were extremely busy while she was here, I haven't blogged in awhile.  So here is a rundown on everything that we did during her adventure in Thailand.

 
I should begin by saying that the adventure came very close to being made dramatically shorter and almost did not happen at all.  The big snowstorm that struck the east coast nearly wreaked havoc on Jen's trip.  However, she, unlike most people from what I understand, was able to make it out of JFK on her scheduled flight.  The hardest part was actually getting to JFK, due to many canceled buses and trains.  She managed to get there in time and made it to Thailand Wednesday night in one, very tired, piece.
 

Fortunately, Thursday was pretty much a day off for me.  The school had its annual sports day so there were no classes.  Sports day is basically a combination of what we would call field day at home and dancing routines similar to those in Red and Gold.  All of the students are divided into four teams represented by color.  Each team participates in the various athletic activities and creates dance routines.  It was really cool to watch my students playing sports but I must say I had less interest in the dance part of things.  It was also a nice time to give Jen a tour of my school. That night, my school hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner party, which gave Jen a chance to meet the teachers I work with (as well as get a taste of some Thai karaoke).  I think she enjoyed seeing that side of my Thai lifestyle.

Intense action on the track during Sports Day.

"The Yellow Airplanes"

"Green Magic"

My personal favorite..."Cow Blue"

That Friday was New Year’s Eve and we headed out early to catch a bus to the island of Koh Chang, in the Gulf of Thailand.  The five hour bus ride was no fun but it was well worth it; the island was amazing.  The beaches were relaxing, the restaurants were nice, and the bars were all fun.  We met up with a few friends of mine who teach in various places around Thailand.  I think there were 11 of us total, and we had a great time ringing in the New Year on the beach.  Jen and I even participated in a Thai holiday tradition which is to launch a lantern into the sky.  Sort of like a mini hot air balloon, the fire inside the lantern heats it up and causes it to rise into the air.  The idea is that you are supposed to send off your worries and hopes on the lantern.  We thought it was a fun and unique way of starting off the New Year.  Overall, it was a very relaxing weekend and a certainly a memorable New Year’s Eve.

Celebrating New Years

The view from the hotel

Sunset from the beach

Launching our lantern

Unfortunately, Monday came and it was time to head back to my extremely arduous job.  The good thing about returning to work was that Jen came to class with me on Tuesday.  I was really looking forward to showing off in the front of the classroom but when it came time to teach I was actually a little bit nervous.  It was the first time I've had someone in the classroom with me who could understand more than 25% of what I said.  I think it went pretty well though in the end.  I organized a "Pronunciation Bee" for the students.  Jen helped me prepare my lesson - we wrote out pairs of words with "R" and "L" in them and had the kids work to pronounce the difference.  For example, one pair was "RIP" and "LIP" another was "GLASS" and "GRASS."  I went around the room the same way you would for a spelling bee and had the students say each word in the pair.  If I, or my trusty guest judge "Ms. Jen", didn't think the students said it correctly, they were out.  She was a lot more of a stickler than I was, that’s for sure. 

"Mr. Connor" hard at work

Pronunciation Bee

Very few of them actually pay attention.

Wednesday was the only slow day during the time that Jen was here.  I had to go to the Department of Labor to finalize all my visa stuff and I dragged Jen along.  I find it funny that I've already completed more than half of my time in the country and only now has my visa stuff been finalized.  That's life in Thailand. We were able to salvage the afternoon by visiting one of my favorite temples in Thailand, Wat Arun. Then we got some dinner in the Chinatown section of Bangkok.

Wat Arun

I was able to get Thursday and Friday off so Jen and I took a little trip to my favorite non-beach in Thailand, Kanchanaburi.  As my loyal readers will remember, I've been there twice already.  Once was briefly during orientation and the second time was about a month ago.  I was so impressed with the Erawan Waterfalls, and Jen was so psyched to ride an elephant, that I knew it was a place she would love.  We had an awesome weekend.  We booked a tour that took us to the Waterfalls (I'll spare the details because I wrote all about the falls two or three posts ago), as well as elephant riding, bamboo rafting, and to the Bridge over the River Kwai.  Basically, it gave Jen a chance to do some of my favorite things that I've done so far in Thailand and allowed me the opportunity to experience them for a second time, which I was thrilled to have.

Jen at the second tier.

Us at the fifth tier.

Jen and our elephant

They're really not very comfortable to sit on.

Before leaving Kanchanaburi on Saturday we decided to do something that I've wanted to do since I arrived here but hadn't had the chance to do yet: we took a Thai cooking course.  Although I am certainly not a good cook, I actually really like to cook.  After eating so much delicious Thai food over the past three months, I knew I had to learn some of the secrets to making it.  The course was awesome.  They picked us up at our hotel and brought us to the restaurant where together all eight participants picked the four courses we would learn to make.  We decided on pad Thai, massaman curry, coconut chicken soup, and pork stir fry.  After our menu decision, we were taken to the market where the instructor showed us various Thai ingredients and told us about their uses.  Next, we headed back to the kitchen.  Our first dish was the pad Thai.  We watched the instructor make it and then had our shot.  After all four pairs made their dish we took them to the tables to eat and compare.  I'm proud to say ours was voted the best.  After this first course, we headed back into the kitchen and made the remaining three courses.  It was a lot of fun.  Between dishes, all of our work stations were cleaned and our ingredients were laid out for us for the next dish.  I felt like Emeril.  The curry and the stir fry turned out great but the soup was terrible.  I really dislike Thai soups so I figured I wouldn't be a fan of that dish.  Overall, it was a fantastic day and I'm definitely going to try to make some Thai meals when I get home.

One of the butchers at the market

Martha Stewart

I'm very focused on my work.

The end of Jen's adventure found us in the heart of Bangkok once again.  We took a riverboat up to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (basically the St. Peter's Basilica of Thai Buddhism).  I had been there during orientation when we were lead around by a tour guide and I now realize how much more interesting the place is with a guide.  We had fun but it was hard to really enjoy the buildings without hearing about their significance.   After the Palace, we headed the Chatachuk Market.  This is an enormous weekend market in Bangkok that has everything imaginable.  It gave Jen a chance to pick up a few souvenirs before heading home.

Unfortunately, Sunday night came and it was time for Jen to leave.  Although I was definitely sad to see her go, it was great to have spent the previous two weeks showing her all around Thailand.  We had a fantastic time.