Almost time for work!!

Good evening,

I am sitting here in my apartment basking in the last days of freedom before I start teaching.  I have met some of the other teachers that have been here for 6 months and they say that it will be a breeze.  One of the guys said that this is the easiest job he has ever had but I am nervous yet excited at the same time.  When I signed up for this adventure, I was under the impression that I would be teaching English.  Well, after we met our school coordinators, they told me that I would be teaching Biology.  I was fine with that UNTIL the head coordinator asked me if I could teach Physics.  I told her as long as I have a textbook, I will be fine.

A little bit about my school.  The school is a secondary school, which ranges from grades 7-12.  The system is different than the American way of teaching, as far as grade levels go, but I will go more into that as I learn more about it.  The name of my school is.......are you ready......Maptaputpanpittayakarn School which is located in Rayong Province.  The city that  the school is actually located in is called Maptaput which is about 10 minutes away from the town center, Rayong.  There are approximately 3000 kids in the school and the prior years teachers are telling me that I will have between 45-50 students per class!!!


So, let me get some rest, watch some TV and relax for a bit until the BIG day arrives!!!  I will definitely take pics when I get to school and meet the teachers and students!!



Keep learning,

Charmel

These are genius!!!

Hello folks,

I am just writing this morning about the songthaew (song-tou), the ou is pronounced like the ou in  ouch.  These vehicles are seen ALL over Thailand and they are "taxis"s in a nutshell.  The vehicles are basically pick-up trucks with 2 benches on each side of them and a roof, GENIUS!!!    They are very convenient and cheap to ride, I can ride from my place to the town center for 15 Baht.  Keep in mind that 30 Baht = 1.00 USD!!!.  So far, I have not had any issues with these and people of all ages ride them.  This is just a little look inside transportation in Thailand.


I only have a few personal pics of the songthaew, so I am going to take some from google.

Keep learning,

Charmel

Songthaew in Koh Samet

Koh Samet

Sawadee ka,

So my latest adventure was to Koh Sahmet Island, Thailand.  Koh means "island" in Thai and I have seen Sahmet spelled Samed also.  The island is located about an hour from Rayong, which is where I currently reside.  We took a "taxi" to Ban Phe and then a ferry boat from Ban Phe to Koh Samet.  The island was beautiful and words can not describe it, so that means.....PICTURES!!!

The people on the island were great and I went to a Bob Marley Reggae Bar, BUT it was not run my Jamaicans my friends, it was run by the locals.  They have a live band, which was not there when I was there, but they are locals as well.  So, I MUST go back to hear the band play.

Today we went on a 6 hour, yes, 6 hour snorkeling adventure.  There were 15 of us in the group and we paid 550 baht each which is about $18.33 USD!!!!  The trip was great and I am definitely going back.

The island is beautiful and post cards don't begin to describe the beauty, it is a MUST see my friends!!  I am truly blessed to have this amazing opportunity and I am writing this blog to share this with you all!!

Never stop learning,

Charmel

P.S.- I want to post more about Koh Samet, but I am ready to get the pics up!! I will post another post later on about my views.

PLEASE leave comments!! It should allow you all to do it now!!

Taweehcai Elephant Camp - Kanchanburi Thailand

Hello!!

My adventures in Thailand are GREAT!!  On October 17, 2013 we visited the Taweechai Elephant Camp in Kanchanburi Thailand.  Kanchanaburi is a province that is located 3 hours west of Bangkok and it is the largest of Thailand's western provinces by area.  The elephant sanctuary houses about 30 elephants and they are very well taken care of and fed constantly.  The visit to the sanctuary included an elephant ride (which was very bumpy), bamboo rafting and an elephant show (which was the cutest!!).  Ok, enough reading, let's get to the pics!!!

Bamboo raft 

Nice elephant

Time to go rafting

Baby elephant

Life jacket, safety first!

Raft guide

Citizens of the camp and their living conditions

Just finished riding through the water

Great adventure!!

Grand Palace Bangkok

This morning we had the pleasure of visiting the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  The Grand Palace in a nutshell is a complex that was built in 1782 to house the royal families.  The palace also has throne halls, a number of government offices and also the renowned statue of the Emerald Buddha. The current King, Rama IX, does not live on the grounds.  A little known fact, he has been the King of Thailand since he was 19 years old and he is now 86 years old.  This was an experience of a lifetime and the place is absolutely breathtaking.  I am going to post a few pics from my visit.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

These are just a few of the images of from the Grand Palace.  I hope you all enjoy the photos.

Always learning,

Charmel

A look around my neighborhood

Good morning!!

I purchased a camera yesterday and was able to take some video this morning!!  One thing that you will learn when being in Thailand, is NEVER pay full price for anything.  So, the camera was priced for 2990 baht which is equivalent to a $95.51 US Dollars but I talked the salesman down.  I ended up paying 2800 baht which is $93.00 US Dollars and got a case and SD card at no extra charge!!!  The power of bargaining.

Here are a few videos, take a look and let me know what you all think.  The area that I am staying is in NOT downtown Bangkok, it is about 32 minutes from downtown.  This is my first time using this camera and taking videos.  Feel free to ask questions and I can't wait to share more exciting things with you all.

Peace,

Charmel

Flight from Houston to LAX

October 10, 2013

     So my flight from Houston to LAX was uneventful.   I had a 2-hour layover, which I thought was adequate time to get from one gate to the next.  Well, it turned out that I had to go to an entirely different terminal and BACK through security.  I arrived at my gate around 12:15pm and as soon as I sat down, I was paged to come to the front counter.  I go to the counter and the attendant is asking me how long I am going to be in Thailand and that I have to get my visa renewed every 30 days.   I told them that I was aware if this and that my job would help me with that.  She then called her counterpart over and asked him a few questions.  She thought that my Visa was expired, she was reading it wrong.  Everything was straightened out and I boarded the flight.  I have now been on the flight about 4 hours….I have watched the movie The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy and it was hilarious.  I downloaded the movie Happy from itunes but I could not hear it, so much for that money.

  They served us lunch and I decided to go with the Salmon. Yeah,  so it consisted of  a piece of Salmon, rice, pink picked cabbage, fruit and veggies.  I am not sure what kind of veggies they were except carrots, miso, and edamame.   They served Haagaen Daas ice cream for dessert (yummo). 

Peace,

Charmel