26.08.2015- Long Overdue Updates

To those who have been trying to check for updates, thank you and many apologies for a long hiatus.

It's been about six months, which means it's been quite a while since my last post, and many things have changed.
Also, I've made a bit of a bad habit of writing drafts, but not successfully posting them. Let's just say, I haven't been making complete thoughts, or following through.

The basic updates since my last post:

• I witnessed two weddings, both small and quiet enough. Both of couples who had been together for at least five years.
• I chopped off a good amount of hair to donate to Locks of Love, for the second time in my life.
• I went to Europe

The one-week detour taken through Europe was fantastic. Most of the trip was quite amazing, to be honest. Unfortunately, I have not so many pictures from the trip because I misplaced my phone one magical night in Cologne, Germany. If I were asked if I would make a return trip, I would say; 'HELL YES" as calmly as my body could contain it.
These were the cities I visited, chronologically:

1) Berlin, Germany 3 nights
2) Cologne, Germany 1 night
3) Paris, France, 3 nights
4) Amsterdam, Netherlands 1 night

In each city.... except Paris, I would say I had an adventure. Adding on to the thrill was managing to stay warm, because in Thailand, there is no need for cold-weather clothes, so I wasn't going to bring many winter clothes for one week.
Nonetheless, I traveled by myself and managed to survive. For someone who still doesn't know how taxes work, and has quite a lot of dependence on her mother for adulthood questions, it was a major feat.... a milestone, one would say.

Many of the activities I did were last minute. Things like... Finding some historic museums, going to an underground funk-hiphop show after trying to fix my lights, getting lost in a city to find my way back, celebrating "Man's Day" with complete strangers. Finding transportation to different cities and booking a room the day before I would arrive. I was living on the edge, maybe.

I even had a chance encounter that made me think of a certain shirt saying.:

"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

Why did I think this? Easy, I was at a café in Amsterdam, eating an apple pancake, when I saw a beautiful young man walk by the window. I watched him curiously. five minutes later, he returned to the café and came inside to eat.
After I finished my breakfast, I left, and started walked across a bridge. On the other side of the bridge, this same boy(pardon me, I'm so used to saying boy, because I'm not used to saying man, unless they look much older than me) was on the other side, walking towards the bridge. We made eye contact, but it wasn't only that. We made solid eye contact that made it obvious that we were looking at each other, turning heads, uncertain of who would make the first move to talk to the other. Sadly, we passed by each other and went our opposite directions. I couldn't help but be reminded of a poem which I heard, but long ago forgotten the title, about how a man was in love with a girl, but he never once spoke to her, for the fear of ruining is idea of her. Then again, it posed the question of: "What if one of us had spoken to the other? Would our perception change, or would we be just as enamored?" Many what ifs were thought, but if one believes in the way the world is and acts, chance encounters will always happen, and if this one random stranger and I were to meet again, it will happen.


Ah, I encountered quite a few people, and what a mix it was: pleasant, wild people, pesky hoverers, and the infamous multi-faceted ones who give one impression of themselves, and turn into something else completely unexpected. That's the way the world can be and as an acting piece in it, one must handle it and move on.

Now, back in Thailand, and after being back at work for a few months already, I've been getting into the grind of things. I moved into a slightly larger home that offered more comforts, figured out a transportation method to and from work, and picked up a few extra side jobs to make the extra income. In addition to that, I've been making more travel plans and developing more of a social life outside of my work friends or, rather, outside the bubble of a town I've been living in.

In doing that, it did open my perspective of how I had been living my life here so far: I had been limiting myself in making friends and enjoying myself because I didn't think I could survive outside of this comfort zone. I made excuses to why I couldn't go out... because of lack of transportation, but I also couldn't leave town because of the appointments I had every weekend, I was depending on them, even though quite a few were less than dependable, canceling last minute, more often than not.
And they payment wasn't so regular. So, lesson learned: payment must be received at the end of every appointment, or paid in advance so that any time wasted wouldn't be a monetary loss.
Of course, someone told me that contracts like that scare Thai people, and frankly, those are the people you don't want to do business with. Wa-HOO.

Not that it is already past the half-year mark, another things must be taken in to consider: the looming of the decision to be made of renewing my contract or not. On one hand, I could stay, and maybe my contract will be renewed. On the other, it may not.
This is one big decision I have yet to concrete. The decision to move. Lately, this thing has been growing heavier and heavier on my plate of things to do because the pros and cons must be weighed out. The problem I have? I'm not finding so many cons, besides leaving the people I know here, and maybe not finding a job. That being said, job opportunities happen to be quite plentiful in general for foreigners, so is that really a problem? It seems that I have more motivation to move, but the weight of guilt to stay and I think that, if my only reason of staying in the town is because I would feel guilty if I left, I probably shouldn't be staying anyways.


Ah, the decisions of being an adult abroad. Thanks for reading.

Until next time,
K.

Story:I Knew That if I Didn't Get Out Now, I wouldn't Survive

NOTE TO READER: Just a story from a dream. Though it could be relatable to anybody.

 “I would love to have dinner with you tonight.”

This was the response I received after suggesting going to dinner with him after two weeks of not seeing each other. Part of me was excited, but another part of me was worried. How do I look? Have I changed much in the last two weeks?  I know I’ve been really stressed, searching for a new apartment, preparing for my upcoming trip home next month… dear god, my skin is freaking out!

But, I must push these concerns to the back of my mind because this isn’t about me and how I look, but about dinner, and catching up. He said he missed me and couldn’t wait to see me again. When we first met, he spoke softly and sweetly, and we had chemistry. He was gorgeous and a little bit weird. I thought it was cute at the time, and he got me excited. It was two weeks of attraction before he flew to his home country for a two week holiday.

We agreed to have dinner, and I would go home because I had to get ready for work the next day, and I had other plans. I told him that I would finish and go home at 10 o’clock.

We meet at lobby of his hotel, to walk to a restaurant outside to eat. We have a casual conversation about, well, nothing. All the normal: How was your flight? How was your visit home? I’m doing okay, just busy.

"Yes, so we’ll go and eat dinner, and have some drinks, and go back to my place and have sex."

Wait, what?

I look over at him to see if I really heard what I thought. He laughs, so I did, but I’m not sure if he’s joking. I give a playful response, because I’m not sure how to react.

“That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?” He smiles.

He asks me about my day, and I say “Well, I worked since 8 today, so I’m a bit tired, but I had a good day. I’ve been looking for a new place to move into after I come back. I’ve also been preparing for my trip back to the country.”

He responds, commenting on my schedule, that I’m busy, maybe a bit too busy. He says that he wishes I wasn’t so busy so that we could see each other more often, more spur of the moment and by appointment. I tell him that spur-of-the-moment meetings don’t come with ease.

Then he murmurs to himself “you have too many rules.” I’m not sure if he meant for me to hear or not, but the concerns I had from before started to float to the front of my mind.

“Hey, don’t worry, I just miss you and I want you to have a good time. I just feel like you may not because you don’t seem very relaxed.”

“Oh, I’m always like this, but I just have a lot to think about”

He shrugs and nods as we continue to walk.

We reach the restaurant and are seated. He tells me what he wants and insists that we get 2 plates of chicken wings, one for me, one for him, although I tell him that I don’t need a large amount of food if I can’t eat it all. I order what he wants, soup to share (making sure it is not spicy since he doesn’t eat spicy food), and some stir fry vegetables, since I can speak enough of the language here to get what I want. He orders two Heinekens. We clink our glass mugs, and after we sip, he speaks.

“That’s the first time you’ve made eye contact with me today”

Again, I am confused, having looked at him, and conversed, and apparently I hadn’t made eye contact with him? What is he talking about?

As if he read my mind, he responds “I like looking at your eyes.” Well, I suppose that is a sweet gesture. I’m starting to get a weird feeling, though, as if a stone were in my stomach.

The chicken wings arrive and, by his recommendation, I try one. The soup I ordered to share comes, but he says he doesn’t want it. Well, then, I want chilies, and you can have the chicken, this is a lot of soup. I ask for some, and we chat.

His friend calls, and he asks if he can join us. “Of course! That’s not a problem” five minutes later his friend, and the vegetables arrive, and we are all chatting. The weight in my stomach eases up a bit as I spoon in my (now) spicy and sour soup. We talk about food, driving, work, the people here, and other monotonous yet information aspects of where we are. My dates tries to show me off, talking about how I can read and speak the local language here, and occasionally the two speak in their native tongue while I sit and watch. Occasionally, I would look over at him while his friend is talking, and he would wink at me. That could just be a weird eye twitch, though. Still, that stone in my stomach has come back.

I start to feel tired, and I know that my friends are waiting for me. I check my phone, it’s 9:30PM.  My dinner date asks me what time it is. “9:30, we should get going soon.”

He frowns “Really? Can’t you stay maybe an hour more?”

I return the frown, because didn’t we agree that I would go at 10? So I repeat what I had said before, but his expression doesn’t change.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I want to go at 10”

“Ok.”

His friend calmly sits, and says “I’m ready to go home.” At that, we get the bill, and they get a driver to take me home, us sharing the SUV. We pass by his hotel as the driver takes me home, my dinner date and I sharing the back seat.

He looks at me deeply and asks me “Are you sure you want to go home now?” I nod. He takes my hand, caressing it, and then leans in to whisper something in my ear.

“You destroyed my evening.”

That was when I felt the stone, no longer a slight pressure, but a heavy pull, as it doubled my weight.

I can’t do this. The concerns I had weren’t about me, but about us, and why it wouldn’t work. The weight of the stone was growing each time some fault of mine was brought up. Even as he tried to reason to make what he said better, I knew that everything else was going to be about what I did wrong to him.

“I had a surprise for you.” It doesn’t matter, we agreed on a time that I would go, and you made your expectations without my acknowledgement.

“I wanted to just spend time being with you” You have been spending time.

“I never get to see you” I have a work schedule that often goes into the late evening, I told you.

“It’s not about sex” No, it’s not. It’s about control.

15.9.2014- I've Got Your Back

Well,
It has been quite a while, hasn't it? I must apologize, my state of absence could be excusable, but let's just say it is only partially excusable.

The key topic of today focuses around relationships.
Right now, I must admit that I am absolutely grateful for the people I have in my life now, whether they are ten minutes away or halfway around the world. I am grateful for my friends, my family, the people who have shaped me to be who I am, and the people who will help me along the way in the adventure we know as life.

Let's go with some updates. It is September, over a week after my sister's birthday, almost two weeks since I last saw my mom, and over a year since I landed on the soil of Thailand. Woah. It has already been a year?!
One (not so kind and revered) person once said, "The people who say that time flies don't do anything. I've done a lot, and time takes forever."
I honestly couldn't agree less with this concept, and debate that it should be the opposite. Time flies when we're doing a lot, and when we are really enjoying ourselves, whereas when we're doing nothing, or loathing what we do, it creeps like the snail up your wall after a heavy rain. I just realized that it has been almost half a year since I started a second job, and saving money to send back home. I've tried to take on new jobs, and ended business agreements. I've worked on projects and programs for my different locations of work. In less than a month, I may be doing something way too awesome, more than I (and maybe others) expected. Yeah, a lot's been going on, and it feels like time is a blurring, bustling by loud and noisily.

As for the weather, rainy season began in May, but it hasn't been too noticeable until recently. The rain is becoming heavier, but it is not bad. There is an occasional flooding of some roads, but life goes on. Thankfully, the rainy season will end in two months, and that will be when high season begins again, woohoo! Time, both the past and future, really does fly when I take a moment to sit and think about it. Of course, that means I cannot sit and wait too long or I will lose some important moments.

Now that updates have been made: I'm alive, not sick, nothing is broken, not pregnant, not married, I think it's safe to say we should return to the topic at hand: relationships and depending on people.
As I mentioned before, I am so grateful for everyone in my life. Okay, I'm grateful for people in my life now, and was grateful for people in my life in the past when things were okay between us (even if, now, they are not). Often, we are not aware of these people who provide positive influences or energy to our lives because we are so self-absorbed. I'm not using 'self-absorbed' in a negative way but, rather, as a way to be honest; we sometimes forget the world around us because we let ourselves be consumed by our problems, work, or other stresses in our lives.
These other people are great in helping us remember that we aren't the only ones with problems and there is often a solution to the problems we have, and even go to the extent of helping us find the solution(s) to ameliorate them.
I am thankful for my mother, who is determined to Skype with me every week, reminding me why I decided to take on Thailand, for settling my nerves when I become frazzled, for cautioning me when I should be aware of potential problems, for insisting that have as much fun as I can, and if things run out, I have a flight home at any time.
I am thankful for the friends that have tried to Skype with me at least once since I've been out of the country, updating me on their lives and asking me about mine, for giving me support and being (or feigning, either way, it's appreciated) amazement for what I am doing.
I am thankful for all of the people, really, back in the United States(and abroad), that have kept in touch.
I am thankful for my aunt for when I first arrived, naively. I am thankful for her pushing me into preparation of things, for informing me of the "Thai way," and for helping me get a job.
I am thankful for the friends I have made here, that have helped me socialize and not be a total recluse, teaching me their language and to enjoy life, even if money is tight.
I am thankful for all of the people who have helped me at my work, in scheduling, in motivating, in participating, asking questions and learning.
Lastly, I am thankful for all of the people I have met in Thailand who have given without expecting to receive, who have opened themselves to help others do the same, and who have taught me some pretty valuable lessons about life, whether that are aware of it or not.
Now, the key connection between all of these groups is that I have been able to depend on them. The dependability of a person strongly affects the relationship you may have with them. More dependable people often tend to have a closer bond with you; less dependable people tend to be more of just a person passing by.
Why is this?
If the reason isn't obvious, it's because we look for people that we can depend on when we are in states of vulnerability and insecurity. When someone who says they will be there when you need them happens to disappear when you feel you need them most, it could crush a person. I think, in a way, dependability is correlated with trust and honesty, and trust is often broken with the latter group.
Of course, sometimes we do not always rely on dependability to be friends or be connected to someone, and this can lead to often feeling left out or ignored, depending on how much of yourself you invest in that relationship.
For example, there is that one person you know is 'flaky,' and you make plans with them; if you're not too invested, you already have one, or a few back-up plans, and do not feel too affected. If you are, you have no extra plans, have declined invitations, etc, and only learn at the last minute that you friend "cannot go out tonight," (which either may or may not be true), so now you're stuck at home, in the outfit you were planning to wear, you are smelling nice, and your hair looks presentable, after having taken the effort to actually shower, only to put it all away, and take another shower to go cry yourself to sleep because you are too embarrassed to be caught out by the people whose invitations you declined because you would have to explain being stood up.
That is quite the bruise to your ego, and if you do continue this to yourself, your outlook on people and you changes. You may question your own value as a person, which really shouldn't be the case.
Luckily, you may also have some dependable associate-kind of friends, who you know are flexible to changes without asking too many questions. They may not be you presumed "friend," but they do serve as quite the band-aid at this time. Take a look again, and evaluate your standards of that person, because they might be the better friend.
Back to the topic again, dependability is extremely important; Dependability to stick to a plan, dependability to cancel them with time to spare, dependability to be present or listening when a friend needs to talk, even dependability to depend on others. Dependability helps create a stable relationship of trust, and knowing that you can trust someone makes your life that much better.

Sorry if I got too deep, let me make it up to you with this playlist. Feel free to comment, I love hearing from people, even if they are my family... well, most of them. Some people I just need time away to change. Until next time,
K.

21.2.2014(2557): Late, again, I see...

Hi all,
So, let's get down to it. In the American custom, we have a saying: "To be early is to be on time. To be on time is late and to be late is unacceptable." Basically, when we say this, we make implications that being late require punishment, or that the tardy person is inefficient in timekeeping.
Now, as people, we are erroneous. Sometimes, we are late. For many people, this is normal, and is considered okay, as long as there is a good excuse.
I myself, have had some of these moments. Some of my reasons were due to bad traffic, illness, a random obstacle that was unforeseen, lack of communication between scheduler and schedulee... and some of them were due to basic human error: I fell asleep for too long, I just took too long in getting ready, I contemplated whether I really wanted to go somewhere or not, and other silly dinks of human behavior.
Then there are those people who are habitually late, they have no concept of time or no respect for it and the people it involves, or maybe they just don't care enough to try. These people typically don't succeed in being financially well-off because they normally don't give enough effort to make "having a lot of money" possible for themselves.

Now, when it comes down to deadlines, though, there is no leniency, hence the name: deadline. After that set date, there is no excuse that can push for more time, especially for projects given well in advance. We also are familiar with deadlines for school applications, job projects, school projects, applications for projects and papers, and thesis papers for graduate school, and, and, and....

In the Thai culture, there is a sense of relaxation, if you are late, you will be late, but you also will still get your work done, and leave when you finish. I think this can be a great concept in going places, because there isn't as much stress that is involved, it isn't the "life-or-death" kind of situation. But There is one downside, I noticed. This specifically applies for my work. As part of my duties, I need to evaluate the level of English proficiency of the students I am working with so that I can place them into the appropriate class, where they will not be learning at too advanced a level. If they do not test, it makes it difficult for me to appropriately level them and therefore teach them. Now, I tested about 100 people in the span of five days, from February 5th to February 11th.  That number may not seem like a lot, but when the time of the evaluation ranges from five minutes to 30 per person, that's a lot of time dedicated to listening. Not to mention that I made audio recordings of each tester. I started at 70 hours of free time for audio recordings, and after I finished my sessions, I had 48 hours. As part of the evaluation, I also had to listen to these recording again in order to listen to grammar and pronunciation of each tester. There wasn't a major issue until this week, after I had already placed students into levels after a grueling 20 hours of audio-listening, and my schedule for classes had been built after three days of discussion and grouping. This week, people wanted to test to get into a class. The problem is that I have 100 students, and I only have 9 classes, about 10-12 people per class. As maximum capacity, I can only fit 2 people into my room. I just don't have room for more people to test.  

In addition to that, I had been informed that 5 people had not been leveled. Now, I was worried, because that means that I made an error of 5%. In reality, though, I checked the names of the people. One person on this list of 5 names had tested, and was already placed in a level, and her name was in the list. Now I'm down to four. One name, I was very familiar with because I am friends with the woman and I know her face; she did not test at all. I couldn't level her, but because we regularly talked, I put her in a level I felt would be most appropriate. Two down, now three more. One name, I saw, looked very familiar, so I checked my records, and I saw her name, but she wasn't recorded... so I went through all my evaluations and I found her test, which had two of the same name from the same department. I made an error! But I knew her level, and fixed that mistake. Three down, two to go. Now, the last two names here, were in a department in which there were only three people who tested. I knew this because my original roster didn't have their names, and anybody whose department wasn't in the original roster had to fill in their information. Therefore, only three people from this department came in. The two other names, if they came in, would have had to write in their information, so they did not test. Because I was not familiar with their department, I also was not familiar with their names, and therefore couldn't place them in any level. I informed my lovely (no sarcasm intended) HR Head, and we just placed them in the lower-leveled class. All five people taken care of. The funny thing is that three of these people didn't test, so how can the expect to be leveled if they don't try? One person had difficulty finding her name, which happens when there are a lot of names. And then one person was my error. So, out of 100 people, I had a 1% error due to a slight mix-up. Honestly, I don't think that is a problem, considering how easy of a fix it was. (Heads up, keep track of EVERYTHING you do! Trust me)

Now, after that lovely bulk of information, let's talk about one of the reasons I mentioned for being late: lack of communication, of everything. Lack of communication can ruin many relationships: familial, romantic, and business (academic, too!) The reason: because nobody knows what is going on. That is something I really have a problem with, not knowing, and it almost ruined a potential business opportunity for me. The example: there was a potential client, and I gave her my terms of the agreement, via my aunt. Now, after my aunt gave in the terms, she told me that she would let me know what the client said. And the terms weren't anythings serious, basically they said my expected schedule, how much I charge, cancellation for either side, and so forth. Now, this was two weeks before the intended start date that the terms were given to the client. After one week, I didn't hear anything, so I waited. By Friday evening of the second week, I still didn't hear anything, and I was worried, because in the American culture, we have an inclination for confirmations of agreement or appointments, at least a couple days before. This appointment was supposed to be for Saturday morning, but I had no knowledge of whether the client did or didn't want to continue the business agreement. I don't like the idea of preparing a course for a client who does not wish to continue in the agreement, because my time dedicated is then wasted. Also, I should mention that my aunt left with my uncle and cousin on Thursday of the second week for a three day vacation. It is no problem for me, but because I am not the normal recipient of company, I don't want to answer the door, for my own safety. Here's the kicker, at 9:30, the doorbell is buzzing. Why? I'm not sure, I am not expecting company. And the best part of it, this was the client. I called my aunt, wondering what was going on, and she said "This is your appointment! Oh. MY.GOD..... You should've known that it was on because she didn't say no."

Does anybody think that last part sounded a tad bit weird? Think about it... When is something okay because someone neglected to say no? Think...... thiiiiiiink..... Okay, you probably already have the idea by now.

Lesson I learned from last week? Always confirm at least a day ahead. The good news is that I do have the client and a second job, and I will always need to confirm with them the day ahead, if not earlier.

Until next time,
K.
P.S.- there will be some crazy action happening soon! Like moving, wahoo!

31.12.2013-5.1.2014: The Stopper of Everything...Thinker's Block

Can you remember the last time you completed a project from start to finish, and not because your financial stability or grade point average depended on it?
I'm trying to think, so far, for my personal completions.
So far, it's a short list.
...I'm not saying that I haven't done much, I'm just saying that I cannot actually remember the last time I completed something for fun or a hobby, and for some reason, that creates a feeling of under-accomplishment for me.
I can't count the number of ideas of projects to begin, and those I have already begun, but many of those seems to have gotten lost on the journey towards completion. Books, writing, cooking (well, the cooking everyday kind of thing), and frankly, it's getting quite frustrating. Even for writing this post, I started it at the end of the year, and now am finally finishing and adding to the pile of the going ons. I think it deserves to say how long it took, to further justify that I am currently in a bit of a sludge.
The only problem with this... overall progress block, is the starting point.
So, here I go, my starting point:

New Year's Resolutions...

• Try to be a nicer person

....But not overly nice that guys get the wrong impression

• Be more courageous

Take more risks, and accept that failure is a possibility, if not probability

• Don't dump as much on others

Even my friends. They need that positive influence, right? They can't always be the therapist

• Take less crap from people

I am a human being, right? Not a sidewalk, therefore I should not be walked on.

• Put more effort in keeping in touch with friends

I know it's a longer distance, but they want to know that I care, yeah?
.....Side-note, do I call the people out who aren't putting in the same effort?

• Exercise more, eat better
• Commit to a solid schedule

Learn the importance of and improve time management

• Take on more responsibilities
• Watch less TV and read more books

There are a few books I can't wait to read, probably better than the TV series or movies anyways.
One list made!
Maybe I should commit to writing more lists! Oh, and listen to more music...
So, let's go back to the title: Thinker's Block. I say this because, even though someone has writer's block, it doesn't mean that they are unproductive in everything, just in committing to focusing on writing on maybe one topic to give to their peers. Right now, I have been unproductive in more than one area, and the problem, I think, is that my thoughts aren't fully forming. Maybe it is due to my valley of exercise activity from last week. With the lack in physical activity, maybe my mental activity also felt that it needed to slow down. The way to describe how my thoughts were working is to describe an image. Think of a person in a padded room. They can not get out because the door is locked. They don't get hurt when they fall, or run into a wall because it is cushioned, yet they are unable to move the wall itself. My thoughts are this entrapped person, and the running into the walls expresses how I feel my thoughts have been working. Another possible reason for my sludginess in thinking is that I may or may not have gotten too comfortable in my box. Comfort is not a good thing for moving forward for me, because it doesn't motivate me to move ahead, and push. I need to identify what this box is, and how to get out of it. Past events may have resulted in my getting into this box in the first place, unfortunately, so I will, again, need to address how to handle the events, and move forward.
I think cutting down on TV activities, returning to a healthy exercise regimen and reading more books (with writing included) should help me get my groove back. So long, 2013, hello 2014 and the adventures and struggles you will introduce me to. Another year-long affair in the making, whether is it a love, hate or love-hate type, we will see.

Next topics for pondering: recent adventures with pictures. And hey, the oven works! It. Is. ON.

Until next time,
K.

8/23/2013-8/24/2013 Days 3&4

Good day, all! So I had a post written for the 23rd, but apparently it only saved as a draft and then got trashed, but here's the breakdown. My uncle took my mother and me to my six year old cousin's school and to Pattaya (เมืองพัทยา); there, we went to Central, which seems to be a chain of malls.

8/23/2013
In Thailand, education is very important, but also is private. Each school has a tuition; the one we went to is per semester. Even with the tuition, the cost is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of those in the United States, and the quality of education is excellent. Kevin, my cousin, is currently in kindergarten, and his school teaches kindergarten up to the twelfth grade. After that, they have a university in Bangkok. His school has about five thousand students, but when you think about it, it isn't that many students per grade unit since the ages range from about five years to eighteen years of age. Here's a picture of his school!

Our trip to Pattaya was specifically for the purpose of purchasing some spices we were unable to find in Rayong, specifically chili flakes and sage. Luckily, at Central, you have everything you could possibly want. Besides clothing stores and food hubs, there were electronics, departments stores, grocery marts, spas, banks, pharmacies, and other things you didn't realize you needed until you saw them. One funny observation I made was that there were many "Farangs" (pronunciation by Thai people: fuh- long). Farangs are identified as foreigners, typically with European ancestry. Many of the Farangs in Central, and Pattaya were from Russia, as we had noticed. Apparently Pattaya has turned into a haven for Russians, where the influx of the Russian immigrant population has risen to the point that there may quite possibly be a 'Russian Mafia' about there. Many of the public access locations are owned, or have been built by Russians, which I find intriguing. What I mean is that Thailand is turning into a melting pot of foreigners. There are also a lot of Australians, and Swedish Farangs.

Back to Central, here, if you are a Farang, you won't feel too far off from home because there are many popular name brands in clothing, like Fox, Body Glove, and French Connection. I will have to warn you though, if you are expecting low prices, you may be disappointed, because they about the same across countries for these name brand stores, if not more expensive due to these being imports.

Other familiar icons: Carl's Jr. (also known as "Hardee's" in the United States)

Lunch! (peking duck, and crispy pork, my Dim Sum comfort food)

8/24/2013
Today, we all took a trip to Chanthaburi (จันทบุรี), to purchase Thai jewelry. Chanthaburi is considered the 'jewel capital' of Thailand, known for the excellent quality of jewels that are sold there. Also, the quality of gold is exceptional. 22 karat gold is considered the norm here, versus the 18 karat gold standard in the United States. Also, the designs of the jewelry is superb. One of the most familiar is the Thai princess design, due to it's elegance and that it looks like the crown of Thai Royalty. Here is the building we went into that had a plethora of jewelry to select from.

Before we left, we had the hearty breakfast of Joke!

On our way to Chanthaburi, we passed through Khlong (คลอง) which is a suburb. It was actually very pleasant and quiet, in the opinion of my aunt and uncle, residents of Thailand who have witnessed the population growth and urbanization of Pattaya and Rayong in the last few years. We traveled around, finding the "private" beaches, aka the beaches that the tourists haven't found yet. Let me say, these were beautiful and uncrowded. 
Later, we went to lunch at a restaurant that had the interior design that was inspired by American design, because it was very modern. The food was good, but we had the problem of it coming out slow. The reason for this was that, after we had ordered, a "rally" of people associated with Nissan all came in at once, about 40+ cars. I didn't really understand what was going on, so I will have to ask someone who is more familiar with these groups and what their purposes are. 
The infamous Thai soup cooker! 

Well, that is all for now! Tomorrow is a trip to Bangkok. The trip takes about two hours, but we will see considering how busy the traffic becomes heading into the city. 

-K

8-7-2013: Packing and Traveling

August 7, 2013
I can see that I'm terrible with keeping up with writing a regular blog but, to be honest, I'm okay with that. It has been a busy few weeks since my last post; regularly working 35 hours a week, trying to get on with my TESOL [which, might I add, is much more difficult to complete when it is on your own time, and online], packing to move out of my local house, and then packing up for my overseas traveling. Maybe you, as a person, have been told by your elders that you never realize how much stuff you have, or, stuff really accumulates over time. Well, it definitely is true; over the year that I lived at my most recent living space, I had gathered a lot of... stuff. Even with me organizing all of this....(let's just say it...junk) I still had more. On a positive note, I have it very cathartic, this ridding of items, whether it be for donation, or just throwing out for good. Thankfully, my donation pile was bigger...MUCH bigger.

A quick list of my donations:
Queen-sized mattress and box spring
Clothes I no longer wear or, at least, haven't worn in the year I had them
An antique-looking small mirror with a drawer
Printer
Air mattresses
Bicycle (Wal-mart brand)
Canned goods

My mother once said, "Three moves equals one good house fire," and I can see what she means... in both the getting rid of the accumulation, and...well, some relational stuff with people.  Moving, while it doesn't necessarily bring out the bad side in people, it doesn't show them at their best, where it just reveals their worst characteristics. It can also bring out the best characteristics in some people. Some would say these characteristics are for that of survival. The fast survive, and the slow, and unprepared, starve or are killed by the predator. I think that best sums it up of my exprience, and what I realize are some of my better, and detrimental characteristics. Good: Prepared and quick-thinking, therefore ready to move fast. Weak: Easy to make feel guilty of my work in order to help those lacking.

Even after my move to my "liason" location before my big move, I am still making piles for donation, while also packing up for storage. Some of it can be fun, such as the excitement I receive when using a Space Saver vacuum bag (...ooooOOOOOOooooooooh!), while other aspects, such as organizing closets and garage stuff, wrapping shoes for storage, deciding which shoes I can bring, and which I must leave behind for at least a year, arranging for a financial appointment, and learning how to cut off ties with people who have no real positive influence in your life. Bummer, but you have to survive somehow.

As for updates: I have officially gotten into the "techie" era, with the new Samsung Tab 3, look it up, it's pretty nifty. I am still pretty new to it, but so far, I have Netflix, and some Google music application where you use your google account to upload music from your personal collection on your computer, then you connect to your account via your tablet, and you can stream your music library on your tablet. Seriously, that's nifty...it's like Spotify, but without the cost! In addition to that, I have also recently purchased a new computer, for business; it has lots of memory, a faster processor, made of aluminum, and is touchscreen. Of course, I will have to try to figure it out, seeing as I have had a Mac for the past 4 years. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Mac (and it's GREAT!!), but I need a PC for business, as I mentioned before. Now I'll have a PC and a Mac, and if anybody knows a good way to reformat the Mac, PLEASE let me know! I would love to clean it up, saving some stuff, like pictures and some music, but otherwise, CLEAN IT UP, so it can run faster again. It will serve as my "for fun" computer. Also I have been working on mending clothes, like altering some pants to fit me better (Their version of a size 6 is a size 3... no thank you), as well as finishing up clothing projects!

Now, on to traveling.... In less than two weeks, I will be on a plane to Thailand, for what may be one of the biggest adventures of my lifetime, and thank goodness I have most of my packing done, because now I need some time to get excited! I still have a few more errands and tasks to complete, but good progress has been made. We will land in Bangkok after about 26 hours of flying, get picked up by my uncle, and then make our way to Rayong. There, I will get to see my cousin, who is now six, and my aunt. On the slightly down-side, we recently found out that my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she will be undergoing her second round of chemotherapy a week before we fly in. Although it is not under the best conditions, the timing is oddly fortunate since my side has been planning this trip for over a year. So, for at least the first two weeks, I will be assisting my aunt and uncle, and from there, we will start getting a move on with the Teaching medical English. My aspirations with this program is that it turns out successfully, and I will be given more opportunities for travel, not only in Thailand, but in Asia, maybe Europe.

In other preparations, I have set up my Skype account so that I can keep in touch with friends in the United States, as well as wherever some of my friends may be , but one thing I know for sure is that I can't wait to be back in Thailand and eat the food! (That means that I will try to post recipes on here, as well as any music I find, you know the deal)
For now, I must return to my somewhat duller activities that will further my skills, and assist me in my uncertain future.
K.