Alrighty, so it's been a week since I've hugged my mom goodbye. Since then, I've completed most of my TESOL certification, and will be done by TOMORROW. Things are really picking up now! With my almost being finished with TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), I will be able to increase my pay rate, as per my aunt. She has been the biggest help in this whole process, and I don't want to let her down.
Now, as for the class, I'm (understandably) nervous, since this will be my first experience teaching a class. Although I'm nervous, I'm excited, because with this arises many new opportunities. I'm already starting to make friends here, with some of my future students, this brings me delight because I love increasing my social circle. Plus, we will teach each other; I will teach English, and will be taught Thai in return. This, in addition to networking, makes me feel a little more comfortable, because my uncertainty, though very strong, is diminishing, little by little.
On the topic of cooking, I've yet to figure out how to operate the oven. My uncle says not to use it, my aunt says that it is in working order. For all who know me, we know that I can bake up a storm when the urge overtakes me; here poses a little bit of a challenge. I have been introduced to new foods, as well as the lack of common luxuries I'm used to in the States. What does that mean? Time to get creative! The options are extremely colorful with all the fruit here. As I mentioned before, I am all about that Salak fruit. It is just so succulent and tart and sweet and mmMmm! I think that if I can figure out a good pairing with that fruit, it would make a delicious fruit tart. Or a filling to cake! The rambutan have the texture and taste a little bit like an apple... Rambutan-ginger-lime hand pies? How about Longon... hmmm very many options! Then there is dragonfruit. It took me such a long time to relate it to a fruit, there was a certain squish to it, and a crunchiness with the seeds; and then it hit me, KIWI! Similar texture, even the crunch with the seeds. And the flavor is light and sweet, I think I could have some fun experimenting with that.
Now, restaurants, I've been to quite a few, and the ones I enjoy visiting most are the Thai-cuisine restaurants. It's not that I don't appreciate the other cuisine restaurants, but if I'me visiting another country, I would like to eat the food it provides, and enjoy the culture that joins it. Soup, seafood, noodles, and fruit are all just a small portion of the wide variety there is in Thai food! I may go to a KFC or Italian restaurant at some point, but I'd like to acclimate first. The other thing, if I haven't mentioned, is the coffee. Seriously, here, it's like: coffee CoffEE! COFFEE!!!! There is practically a coffee shop every bloc here. I will never have to worry about being left to dry and frazzled without coffee. I'm not saying I have a caffeine addiction, far from it, but I do love the taste of coffee, even if it's decaf.
On to the social and personal life stuff. I've kept in touch with anybody who has informed me that they would like to keep in touch: friends and family. It is also nice to see who would like to stay in touch, in addition to having an anchor to something that brings comfort. By that, I mean, support and interest, not necessarily the location of which I've left for the time being. While I enjoy being reminded of "home," and what's going on there, life moves forward, and so shall I. Time for reminiscence is to be limited so that the time to learn is given ample opportunity. Therefore, living in the present is actually happening. That is one of the major problems of society today; so many young adults attach themselves to their electronics, and to their "glory days" or the "easy days" that they don't notice what is happening right in front of them.
And finally, a philosophical thought.
That is one thing being a theater major has taught me: to live in the present. If one were to look at this, they'd probably say, "Yeah, well I am," but think, what does that command even mean? Yes, we are living in the present, but, are we living in the present, really experiencing, smelling, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting this moment. I think that the phrase is rich with the subtext that one must find the quality in each moment they are living, rather than reading into it and giving what they think is the appropriate response. The only appropriate response is your honest response.
Good night, and live in the present, live in YOUR presence.
-K
Monday, September 9, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
9-2-2013 All Ends Welcome a New Beginning
Today is the big day!
It is the end of the vacation for my mother, so we (we being my uncle, cousin, and myself) will be going to Bangkok to drop her off at the airport and send her back on her way to the good 'ole United States. I will make sure to remember my response to sending her away, since this will be a big first for me. Where my parent is more than a day away, even flying! As the title says, all ends welcome new beginnings, and this will be the new beginning.
Now, I would like to catch everybody up on our recent adventures! (I must apologize for my absence, but in order to fully enjoy the thrills of Thailand, I needed to put down the internet and connect).
First of all, I have made some new connections, with people that I will see soon, and work with in business, but we have Nai, who has such a positive disposition, and positive energy, I really can not wait to work with her on her English, because she understands it very well, I want to give her that confidence so she will speak it more often! She, and Jai, a friend of hers, took my mother and I out on two trips, one to Art in Paradise, which is a fantastic museum of illusions and artwork in which the museum-goers can actively participate in the picture-taking with the works. Some were cool, and a lot were funny. After that, we went to Mimosa, which was a cute little park that was like a miniature town, and there weer shows, much like "drag shows" with the drag queens lip-syncing, but some of the performers were female. There were some that were serious, and some that would knock you off your feet with laughter. (I wish I took pictures of this!) The next trip, (Yesterday) we went to Suphattra Land, where we went on a bus tour, where our guide would stop occasionally, after informing us about the fruits and trees, and pick some fruit for us, and demonstrate, look at what freshly-picked fruit we had the opportunity to eat!
Salak Fruit
About midway into the tour, we made a pit stop, where we could feast on as much fruit as we pleased, and let me say, I could eat a lot!
It is the end of the vacation for my mother, so we (we being my uncle, cousin, and myself) will be going to Bangkok to drop her off at the airport and send her back on her way to the good 'ole United States. I will make sure to remember my response to sending her away, since this will be a big first for me. Where my parent is more than a day away, even flying! As the title says, all ends welcome new beginnings, and this will be the new beginning.
Now, I would like to catch everybody up on our recent adventures! (I must apologize for my absence, but in order to fully enjoy the thrills of Thailand, I needed to put down the internet and connect).
First of all, I have made some new connections, with people that I will see soon, and work with in business, but we have Nai, who has such a positive disposition, and positive energy, I really can not wait to work with her on her English, because she understands it very well, I want to give her that confidence so she will speak it more often! She, and Jai, a friend of hers, took my mother and I out on two trips, one to Art in Paradise, which is a fantastic museum of illusions and artwork in which the museum-goers can actively participate in the picture-taking with the works. Some were cool, and a lot were funny. After that, we went to Mimosa, which was a cute little park that was like a miniature town, and there weer shows, much like "drag shows" with the drag queens lip-syncing, but some of the performers were female. There were some that were serious, and some that would knock you off your feet with laughter. (I wish I took pictures of this!) The next trip, (Yesterday) we went to Suphattra Land, where we went on a bus tour, where our guide would stop occasionally, after informing us about the fruits and trees, and pick some fruit for us, and demonstrate, look at what freshly-picked fruit we had the opportunity to eat!
(Left to right) Lemongrass, starfruit, mulberries.
About midway into the tour, we made a pit stop, where we could feast on as much fruit as we pleased, and let me say, I could eat a lot!
(Left to Right) Salak, bananas, (upper) Rambutan, Longon, (Uppr right) Mangosteen
Salak, and mangosteens are by far, my favorite fruits! Both are tart and juicy.
To better understand what a mangosteen looks like, here's another picture, close up.
See how the meat of the fruit is white? that is the only part of it you eat, like watermelon or oranges, you don't bite into the skin.
We also tried durian, and, if you look at the picture below, it looks like some weapon of the Medieval era!. They also do not have the most pleasant odor (like a smelly gym locker) BUT, if you hold your nose and take a bite, the fruit is creamy and sweet, with the consistency of an avocado. Not too bad!
After the fruit pit stop, we traveled across the road to the other part of this place, saw many grapes (the Thai word for grape sounds like "on-goon"), and made yet another pit stop, and had "sam-dum," also known as papaya salad. And it was prepared before us!
Yum! Tomatoes, garlic, chili, young papaya, peanuts, ginger, lime, this was refreshing and delicious!
And then after that, Nai, my mother, and I picked up Jai, and went to the beach near Rim Pae Beach, and watched the beautiful sunset.
No joke, this is very much worth the visit!
And I've already picked up on words to know, such as food I would like to order and such, you know, the important stuff. ;)
As for now, I will have to write up another entry later, but I need to spend more time with family!
-K
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