Day in the Life

I realized that I hadn't really talked about day to day life here in Thailand. People keep asking me what it's like here and words don't really do it justice, so maybe a glimpse at a typical day will help. My day starts with making breakfast in my apartment. I purchased a hot plate and have been making things like pancakes or eggs with fruit and yogurt, or something similar. Then, it's off to school in my white, collared, button up shirt, black skirt, and closed toe shoes. Once I'm at school, morning assembly is the first thing on the list. (pictures and description of that to come in a later post) Next, I prepare for my lessons and head out to the classroom. I have 3-4 classes a day, 18 classes a week that I teach. My students are 13-14 for one grade and the other grade is 17-18 or so. The agency I work for, Mediakids, has a curriculum for us to follow, but our lesson plans consist of a lot of games to keep the attention of students who don't speak very much English. Games help keep my students engaged and are a good way to get them speaking in English. Here's a glimpse of what my teaching conditions look like!

The students leave their shoes off while they are inside the different buildings. They take them off before walking into the building and carry them from class to class. Once outside the building, they put them back on. Teachers are allowed to wear their shoes in the buildings though.

Everywhere in Thailand, there are pictures of the king and of the flag, including in the classrooms. Usually, the pictures of the king are much larger and include a picture of the queen, as well.

I eat lunch every day at the school for hardly any money. Lunch costs me around a dollar a day and is really good Thai food. It varies from noodle soup to rice with a chicken and veggie dish to pad thai to fresh fruit. Either way, it's all good. 

After school, I usually take a little time to relax in my apartment before mustering up the energy to make the most of my time post school day. I've been going to the local park to go running. It's a super nice park and is filled with Thai people around 530 or 6. This is the best time to go because the sun is almost set, so it's starting to cool off a little, but it is still light enough to see. There is an aerobics class that takes place every night around the same time. I haven't joined in yet, but it's on the to do list! 

The "workout equipment" at the park. There isn't any weight on the machines, but they machines go through the same motion as the ones back home! It's kind of funny to watch people exercise on these, but hey, at least they're exercising! I also think it's a good idea to have the workout equipment right next to the playground. That way you can workout and watch your kids!

The park goes around a pond and sometimes the fountains go off in the middle

Did I mention how much I sweat in Thailand? Because it's gross how much haha

After sweating my butt off, I wander down the road to try to find something to eat for dinner. The Thai people stare because I'm a foreigner, or farang, in a non-touristy area, but when I'm that sweaty and that white, they tend to stare more haha Usually dinner consists of the same types of things as lunch. The nice thing is that there is always somewhere to eat. The night market is a nice place to grab some stuff for dinner. One of my new favorite places is the smoothie cart, where you can pick a fruit or two and they blend it up with ice and a little juice for about $0.50. The noodle soup, an omelet, or some type of curry are always good choices. Here's what dinner looked like the other night!

Noodle soup with chicken and a cantaloupe and pineapple smoothie! all for a little more than a dollar. 

When I'm not teaching, going out to enjoy some of the local bars or sight seeing is on the agenda. This past weekend, we had dinner in the revolving room of the hotel. It's up above Mukdahan, so the view is really nice. After dinner, we went to the local bar and then to the grand pub. Because of the curfew, not very many people were out, but it was still cool to see!

Ruby and me on the rooftop. She's from New Zealand and a fellow teacher.

The band singing at the local bar

The group of foreign teachers that I was out with! 

Laos beer! It was actually pretty good. Laughed that it was imported, considering Laos is literally across the river.

Other things to do in Mukdahan: go to the local monkey temple and see the monkeys! I also really enjoyed seeing the living conditions of the monks. Seeing monks around town is surprisingly comforting. Only wish I knew more Thai so that I could talk to them.

Other things include walking around the Indochina Market, which is one of the biggest ones. It's really cool to look at everything and walk along the river. Less glamorous activities outside of school include laundry and cleaning my apartment. For the most part, there is always something to do or something to do something with! More on things to do in Mukdahan to come :)