first day at school

today was the first day of orientation at my new school in bangkok. it is wonderful! the staff is big (31 people) and most (21) are new, like me. it is a good group and i am excited to get started with summer school. i can't wait to meet the boys on monday! most thai people wear yellow shirts on mondays to honor the king's 60th year of reign (that's a LOT!)... and we are allowed to do so, as well. i don't have a yellow shirt yet, but will get one some day. it's a neat thing to see most thai people honoring someone they find so important. he is a very humble and kind man, i've heard. they are very loyal to him and the royal family. it's really neat.

on monday i will meet the boys that i will have all year. as grade one students, they are required to attend summer school. the other grades are not required to attend, but many boys come to summer anyway. we were given the (many) keys to our classroom and all the cabinets and things. it is a nice room that i will have to rearrange and become comfortable with. my teacher's desk is actually in the teacher's room, where all the teachers have desks along with materials and computers. it will be interesting to work so closely with my collegues. i'm very excited!

i received an email from one of my 8th graders who had more questions for me. i told her that i would answer them on the blog, again...

I have a lot of things to ask you.
how do you like it there? i like bangkok and i really love thailand. the people are very kind and helpful. some are afraid of having to talk to me if they don't know english, but i am getting better at speaking slowly in Tenglish (thai english)... it just takes practice. i really like getting out of the city and to the beaches for some relaxation. bangkok is a very busy and dirty place but it is much more comfortable living than the smaller cities and islands.

what do you do in your spare time? i have had visitors from mn staying with me, so i haven't had much spare time. when they aren't here, i catch up on sleep, read, check email, organize things... pretty boring!

how do you like your students? i think i will like them, but i haven't met them yet!

do you like your co-workers? i do like my co-teachers. most of them are from australia and speak very quickly with a strong accent. i am trying to get used to it, but they have to repeat themselves a lot. some of the others are from England, South Africa, New Zealand, and America.

did you make any new friends? yes! i've made some friends who i teach with and some friends from my travels who i've mentioned in past blogs.

how do you like the food? i get tired of thai food once in a while and need some pancakes and eggs... or pizza... but thai food is very healthy and tasty. you can try thai food at Sawatdee or King and I Thai or True Thai in Minneapolis. check it out and let me know what you think!

do you feel homesick sometimes? yes, especially in the first two weeks. i'm doing better now that i know my way around. i miss CHEESE!!! this isn't a big Dairy country, so good cheese is very expensive and i haven't had much since i've been here. the pizza helps sometimes... but i just loooove cheese. i miss it every day! i miss my family, friends, and students. i try not to focus on that because it would make my time here more miserable. so, i like to think that they're all doing good at home and i especially like getting little notes from people to hear about things happening back home.

are you ever going to come back? i will be back before you know it! this next year is going to go very fast... i think.

thanks for the email, najma! it's great to hear school is going good!!!

stay tuned for more photos, coming soon!