Leaving is such a broad term. I’m leaving I will see you later, I’m leaving I will be back soon, and  I’m leaving I will meet you tomorrow. No matter what the case is there is usually a time frame for the next time you will see someone.

I came home from South Korea in March . The plans were set to leave before even arriving home. I was supposed to Germany to get my masters, but unfortunately that fell through. While the tuition is free and I was accepted; the cost of living wasn’t. I found myself dwelling on something that wasn’t feasible at the time. My thoughts had to change. Instead of dwelling on something I couldn’t do I decided to look for something that I could.   So this time leaving was different. I began to search and found a program to get a TESOL certification in Thailand…..SO……….

I bought a one way ticket to Thailand. I didn’t want a restricted time frame. I wanted to be immersed in the culture, and take the time to think about the things I want in my life.

All I knew was that I paid to take the TESOL( Teaching English as a Second Language)  course in Thailand.

I was going traveling to a third world country without knowing anything about it…. That’s right, I was clueless.

Researching something too much can make you second guess your decision. So, I chose not to research much and just go with it.

October 26th 6:00 a.m.

The plane descends through the fog and slowly pulls into the airport. This was it, I was in a whole new country by myself again. I start thinking about how fairly easy it was to adjust in Korea. I tell myself “Everything will be fine and I’ll make new friends in no time.” I get in the van and end up at a hotel in Bangkok for a few nights.

During my stay I was placed with a roommate who was also going to be teaching English in Thailand. We mutually agreed to sleep for a few hours, and then get up to explore. We went to the Grand Palace, rode in tuk tuks,  went out to bars,  and walked around the city. It was very busy in Bangkok so three or four days was enough.

This is my roommate Claire. She is from London.

On the way to the hotel I see something that would be highly illegal in the states. …. at least they are wearing helmets ..I start to think ” What am I getting myself into?” 

Then I saw this… anyone would think “Wow, that is very risky to have four people on a motorbike; let alone to be children and not wearing a helmet!”

As the old saying goes.. “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

This is a tuk tuk…there are 7 people crammed in here….let me show you the actual size. …

That’s right. This is made to fit 2-3 people comfortably, but our driver told us all to get in. So what do we do … pile in like clowns…for forty minutes… Let’s just say we couldn’t feel our legs when we got out!

Here are a few photos from the activities in Bangkok.

The Grand Palace

This is the sky bar where the Hangover was filmed!  

We had to be fully covered to get in ..this resulted in renting Thai clothing.

We took a boat to get to the palace.

The next move was to Hua Hin . Here we were placed with another roommate and started taking the TESOL course.

This was my second roommate Denise from Boston.

 

Green Heart Travel and Xplore Asia were the companies I went through to take the course. For the short time that we were there we were able to explore a good bit. There were several activities such as; going to a pineapple farm, to see a monk at a temple, visiting an elephants, going hiking, and volunteering at a local elementary school. From there everyone was moved to different parts of Thailand to start their teaching placements.

 

The hike to the hidden temple was so hot. The beer from the night before was dripping from my pores…great way to cure a hangover… for some…For others it was nap time once we reached the top!

While taking the TESOL course in Hua Hin I volunteered at a local elementary school. It was a good opportunity to get our feet wet…some would probably say that twice!

The school can’t afford to hire a western teacher. Each month the TESOL groups from Xplore Asia get the opportunity to go teach them English a few times. It was a very busy day with a lot of children, but we survived!

That was the first part of my adventures in Thailand. I came through a company this time verses going by myself to Korea. It was a good way to ease into things, make connections with new people, and embrace the Thai culture with others who where just as clueless as me.

I was able to get my certification and move to Ban Bueng, Chonburi.

Stayed tuned for what happens next…you’ll want to know… trust me..