Don't worry, I can already tell 2010 will be a great year, even though I'm only 64 minutes into it. You will have a great time tonight, find this crazy bar, set a flaming lantern into flight, and celebrate midnight outside with thousands of people. You will also purchase this awesome hat, that you will refuse to take off for most of the night. So to you, and everyone in America, enjoy the last 12 hours of 2009, get your resolutions finished up, and be safe tonight. Also if its anything like last New Years Eve, bundle up!
Sincerely
Future Mike
PS The 2nd sprite at the bar is not necessary...your stomach will not be happy with you.
I read an entire book. The Girl Who Played With Fire. 724 pages. Started it around 11 this morning, just wrapped it up. Yes, I do in fact need a job. Though in my defense, it was really good. New Years tomorrow, gotta rest up! Take care everyone, be safe!
Ok, maybe I didn't have a tree, or family, or any Christmas cookies, but I did end up with a few presents (even if I bought half of them myself). I already mentioned the books from Anna's mom (thanks again!) My friend Julia also bought me some Thai fisherman pants. They are these huge pants that are like long, huge shorts. They have a huge waistband, but you fold in one side and tie a string around your waist like a belt. To make a long story short, they are like the Thai version of basketball shorts, so obviously I love them. (I put a few pics in at the bottom so you can see how they work.) Two other of my presents, I bought at the night market. First, some white Havaianas sandals that I bargained down from 380 bhat to 200 bhat. (I use the word 'bargained' loosely - he quoted me 380, I said 200 and he immediately accepted. Its a little unnerving when they immediately accept your first offer. I almost cut the price in half and he still said yes right away! Made me feel like I got ripped off despite paying only $5.50 for them.) Second, I picked up a bootleg copy of the first season of Dexter. That I did bargain down from 400 to 260. I was a little nervous buying some bootleg DVD's, but they seem to work Ok. The quality isn't the best, its slightly blurry, almost like an old VHS tape, but you can still watch it just fine. I have only watched the first episode, but fingers crossed the rest work just as well. (Sidenote; the first season of Dexter is one of the greatest seasons of TV I have ever seen. Everyone go watch it.) (Sidenote #2; Season 4 of Dexter...WHAT???) Last, I actually spent the most money on a single book. I bought 'The Girl Who Played With Fire,' the sequel to 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.' I couldn't find it used anywhere, so I found it new for 380 bhat, or almost as much as I spent on a season of Dexter AND a pair of sandals. Whatever, its Christmas, and I loved the first book.
Sorry I just spent 370 words on my Christmas presents, but its amazing how $20 worth of material goods can give you sort of a faux happiness when you are a little bummed about being alone. Also when you are pinching every penny and don't have a job yet, just the very act of buying something and splurging on yourself (even if its only on a few things) can cheer you up immensely. Its almost a little pathetic how happy I get when I look down at my new sandals, or how I don't even want to start my book because I don't want to finish it! Furthermore, schools were closed all weekend, so I really just didn't have a lot going on in my life the last few days. I walk around the city exploring, trying not to spend money and spend my nights watching 30 Rock with Julia. Woo hoo. So yes, my Christmas presents were the most exciting thing in my life in the last few days. :)
Lastly, I was going to try and get a PO Box to get mail, but I haven't been able to find anything like that around here. Buttttt, I talked to the owner of my guesthouse and he said I can just get mail here. Since so many people have asked for my address, I figured I would just post it on my blog. No idea how long it will take things to get here, and I also don't know how long I'll be in this place, though it should be at least for the next two months. Obviously, I don't expect anything from anyone, but I'm just trying to say that if you are planning on sending something, A) thank you very much in advance, and B) sooner is much better than later. Ok, here it is:
Mike Keefer
Room 408
17/2 Loikroh Rd, Soi 1
Changklan
Chiangmai 50100
If anyone has any questions, let me know. Hope everyone is doing well back home, and if I don't talk to you, have a happy New Year!
This is the second Christmas I have been away from home, but the first being by all by myself. (The other was in on our senior year trip to London, and I had most of my friends and Chris's snoring to keep me company and make me less homesick.) The day started off as kind of a bummer, and waking up all alone in a guesthouse, with nowhere to go and no one to get up to see was, I will admit, a little depressing. But I skyped some family and friends pretty soon after I woke up, which helped put me in a better mood. I also started watching Its a Wonderful Life, which always cheers me up. (Those are tears of happiness, don't worry about it.) Left around lunch time with Julia and we took a bus to the mall for a phone. Bought the cheapest one I could find (about 19 dollars), and put the one number I have in there - Julia's. But it is nice to have one, to be able to put on my resume for giving to schools, and to have some way for people to contact me, if (and when) I make some more friends. Came home and took a nap and watched some more of the movie. Woke up around 6 and Julia and I headed out for the night.
We had made reservations at a restaurant serving Christmas dinner - basically we paid a flat fee for a preset meal they brought out to us. The food was good, though it was exactly what we had for Thanksgiving dinner in Cambodia. (So see that blog entry if you want to see pictures.) Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetables, bread and pie. The restaurant we ate at actually had the same meal available for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, so apparently Asian's don't understand the nuances of the different foods at American holidays. But regardless of that fact, and the fact it probably wasn't worth the 10 bucks we paid for it, it was still nice. Both of us weren't exactly thrilled to be away from home and our families on Christmas, so I think we were both kind of happy to do something a little special for the holiday.
We had read about a few bars that were supposedly big hits for expats on the holiday, so after dinner we headed out to try and track them down. But all of the places we found seemed to be kind of dead. So we wandered the streets looking for some place that was hopping and that had live music (yes, I said hopping). Stumbled upon this bar called Guitarman that had a band setting up, so we grabbed some reclining mats (this is Thailand) and hung out for a while. The band was pretty good, though it was a Thai guy singing and rendition of 'No Woman No Cry' was pretty weak. But it was fun, we took off after a while and headed home. We were walking along the big street near our places and walked right past an elephant. Just a real live elephant standing there on the side of the street. I didn't have my camera or I would have snapped some pics, but he was just standing there with his trainer on the sidewalk! So no my Christmas didn't have a tree, but it did have an elephant. :)
Came home and opened the two presents I had, a crossword book and a sudoku book from Mrs. Brewster that she gave me before I left and made me promise not to open them until Christmas. It was actually very sweet and nice to be open something on Christmas, so Anna, tell your mom I said thank you very much! Read a little bit and hit the sack.
So I made it, I survived Christmas alone in Thailand. It wasn't the best Christmas I've ever had, but none of my siblings cried (that I know about), so I guess it wasn't the worst either. Really, it wasn't that bad. It would have been nice to be home, but like today, I wake up, its not Christmas, and oh yeah, I'm in Thailand. So I guess, like the rest of life, its a trade off, and I'm still pretty happy I'm here. At least until my birthday rolls around that is... :)
Well, I have a home for the next month. Picked out a hostel that looked out, booked it for a month and this morning packed up and walked on over (its only a few blocks away from where I was staying). Paid 4800 bhat ($145) for a room with a fan (no A/C), a double bed and internet for a month. It also has a hot shower (supposedly) and tv that I cant get to work. But the location is good, and its pretty cheap for a month, so I'll take it. The mattress is really hard, hoping I get used to that. My bathroom is actually through another door out the back of my room. Like I open a door onto a balcony with just a sink, and then another door on the balcony into my bathroom. So I have to go outside to get to my toilet and shower, but its outside on a balcony only I can get too through my room. Kinda weird but whatever. There were also about 500 mosquitoes in here when I moved it, but I'm hoping its just because someone left the balcony door open last night and not because there is a nest or something in my room. I have killed 37 today (not an exaggeration) and there are still a few loose ones floating around, thought I think I got most of them. I'll let you know if I wake up and there are a bunch more in the room. Also finally got to unpack my suitcase for the first time in Asia, which was exciting...now I just have to do something about the dirty laundry...
Heading to bed, Merry Christmas Eve Eve! Also a little holiday quiz to get your mind working :) Christmas Carols Reworded
I'm sick. I have some stomach issues going on and I'm not sure what they are. Some people in our course in Phnom Penh had kind of the same thing, and they got some drugs to knock it out of them, so I figured I would try and do the same. Went to the pharmacy for the first time, and they sold me colofac, which is for people with IBS. The 2nd time they tried to sell me an antacid, and the third store I went into they gave me some Norfloxacin, which, from what I can tell is an antibiotic (they sell them over the counter here) that is recommended not to be perscribed in the US and is illegal in Ireland. Also might make some of my tendons rupture. Took one on the way home last night before I looked into it, didn't take any more today after looking this up. Was going to try and track down some Zithromax or Keflex today but I spent the day in bed, so we will see how I feel tomorrow.
Spent all day yesterday walking around town, poking my head into guesthouses, inquiring as to how much they cost, if they did monthly rates, if they had WiFi, etc. Of course, I pretty much walked at random so when I got back home, I couldn't remember which ones went with which prices went with which ones that I liked, or even where most of them were. Got a little more systematic today, found a really good website with a lot of info about different houses, so I pulled out the ones that looked in my price range and sent out the same email to about 40 house with what I was looking for. Have it narrowed down to a few that I'm going to go look over tomorrow morning before I have to check out at noon.
Julia and I went to go find some dinner, actually ate a toasted ham and cheese sandwich that was delicious, and really not too expensive for being a touristy place (though it might also have been because it was the first thing I ate in two days.) Then went to find a cell phone, but the electronic store was closed, I'll have to check it out tomorrow. Also walked through the night bazaar, which looked insane...just like thousands of tents selling everything you can imagine. Not going to allow myself to buy anything thats not necessary, though I might capitulate for a bootleg season 4 of Dexter. Heading to bed, tomorrow I should finally be in a place where I'll be staying for more than two weeks, so here's hoping I find something good! Merry Christmas everyone!
Its been a productive morning. No, I have no left my room, nor done any of the things I was planning on doing, but I did watch 5 episodes of the office and put up new pics from Pattaya, including my kids! :) Everyone have a good short week! Pattaya Pics
Too tired to be funny or think in complete sentences, I'm going bullets.
Finally out of Pattaya. Hung around all day till a taxi bus came and picked up Julia and I and our luggage to take us to the bus station. A Thai lady that works for Language Corps told the driver where to go, we set off. We get to the station at 7:10, our bus leaves at 7:30. We grab seats, everything is in Thai, we don't know whats going on, and here is our actual exchange: Julia: "Should we go ask that ticket lady where we need to go?" Me: "I mean, probably, but you know I won't do it for at least another 15 minutes." Julia (rolling her eyes): "Ugh, fine I'll do it." Well, of course we were at the wrong bus station, so we had to pay another taxi 200 more bhat to take us there, and we made our bus by like 90 seconds. So thank you Julia, because without you I would probably still be in Pattaya and out another 725 bhat bus ticket.
The bus was actually not that bad for traveling overnight. Seats were comfy, it was dark and quiet. The only problem was that it was freeeeezing. I literally slept with a blanked over my head because I had cold air blowing right in my face. It was probably 55 degrees in there for the majority of the ride.
Got in as the sun was coming up, caught a taxi to my hostel, tried to sleep all morning, and then met Julia (she is in a different hostel) and explored the city. Can definitely tell why everyone loves it so much, I think I'm really going to like it here. There is def a more expensive touristy area, but we walked through quite a few more authentic Thai neighborhoods. And I passed at least 4 or 5 used bookstores, so thats a plus. Checked out the Sunday market, ate some fried banana and this chocolate filled waffle thing. Then of course later in the night I got sick, tried to take a tuk tuk home, he got me lost and dropped me off in the middle of a dark street, and I threw up on the side of the road while trying to figure out where I was. So great day, kind of an inauspicious first night, but I'm home in bed and feel better already.
My plan for the next few days is to figure out a place to stay more long term and then start the job search. My hostel is nice enough (though I liked it a lot more 5 min ago before I chased a gecko off my bed), but I just cant afford to stay here very long. So I'm looking for a place I can rent for a month or two, get in there in the next few days and then start knocking on doors of English schools to show my face and get to know some people. I'll keep you guys updated, wish me luck!
TPWWLT - Rosa Parks - Outkast
PS - This is what part of the alphabet would like like if Q and R did not exist.
Its been a busy day. Had my last day of teaching today, which was pretty bittersweet. Nice to be done and to be moving on to a real job where they pay me money, but I miss my kids already...Princess and Tim and Jim and Ocean and Pablo and Slider and Alec and Ivan all the rest (most of those names are made up.) But, I did take some pictures, I'll try and put them up tomorrow so you guys can all see them!
Got home from teaching and of course I had procrastinated for the last month so I had to do all the paper work to complete my course. I spent all afternoon doing that (self evaluations, language journal, things like that), had my last Thai class at 2, and just got out of a final wrap up meeting. Got our certificates which is kind of cool, I am officially 144 hour TESOL certified! Picked up my laundry and about to head out for dinner. One of our instructors is taking us out, going to a buffet on Language Corps, which is great because A) I haven't eaten all day (so I'm starving) and B) its a buffet. (self explanatory) Then probably coming back here, I know its my last night in Pattaya but I'm tired and should probably pack. And I have seen enough old white men and younger Asian women combinations to last me a lifetime. Tomorrow I am catching an overnight bus up the city of Chiang Mai, where I will start looking for a job! Hopefully I can find one within a couple of weeks and settle down find an apartment and have some sort of permanence in my life! Wish me luck!
Just got home from Avatar. I know its not in theaters back home for another day or two, but I live in the future. Graphics were incredible, story was cliched, and the writing was just bad at parts, dialogue was brutal and there were like major plot holes and unanswered questions. But it almost didn't even matter because it looked so awesome. Go see it. Last day of teaching tomorrow! Wish me luck!
Back to my regular class today, though only for a short while because they were rehearsing for their Christmas show (which seems to consist of each class doing a slightly age inappropriate dance to Korean pop songs...some Christmas.) But in my half an hour of teaching, I got handed a used bandaid off of a child, has 3 kids sneeze on me, two kids cough on me, got poked in the eye and got milk spilled on my tie. And it was still great to be back to my regular class again. :)
I'm getting ready to start teaching this morning, walk into my class this morning to my favorite 13 smiling faces, only to have an administrator at the school come up and ask me (tell me) to teach another class because a teacher is sick. Obviously I can't say no, so she hands me a timetable (schedule) and points out what room I will be in. So I take a deep breath and head over there to a brand new classroom.
Now, my normal class has 13 2-3 year olds, and they are a handful. This one had 29 5 year olds. And to be honest, there isn't much lesson planning going on for 2-3 year olds, I have been doing a lot of the same things everyday, just basic shapes, colors, numbers and a few letters each day. But let me tell you, 5 year olds, they are with it. I have no lesson plan and no real idea what to do with them. And since there are 30 of them packed in a classroom, I cant really have them running around the room like I do with the little kids when they are board. So, I walk in there, introduce myself, write my name on the board and write the letter 'A'. "So what is this?" "Aaaaayy," they respond in unison. "And whats this?" I say, drawing a picture. "Aaapplle," they chorus. "What does it start with?" "Aaaaayy." Ok well, this association would have taken me 5 minutes, here it took 6 seconds, and they already know it! Gulp.
But it turned out ok. We did shapes and transitioned from circle to wheels on the bus, which they liked. ('Whats this? A circle. What else is a circle? A wheel. What has wheels? A bus.....see its easy.) We played the game called, 'How many pencils is the teacher holding up?' We colored, practiced our tens, and sang 5 little monkeys. Three times. The aide in this class was actually really helpful, something I cant really say for my normal class. But they were very cute (though not as cute as my other class, fear not) and they seem to play a game during break called 'See how many students we can have climbing on teacher during break,' of which the winning number today was 9, so congrats on those that took the over on the o/u of 7.5. Overall it was a good experience, though I definitely think I would have preferred to have known about it so I could have prepared something in advance. Two more days of student teaching and then I'm done! Hopefully I'm back with my regular class tomorrow. Seeing all their sad faces as I waived goodbye convinced me that they really do love me. Even if that is just because I am too scared to discipline them and when I raise my voice to them its in English, so they have no idea what I'm saying and thus they just run around for 2 hours. Oh well. :)
No thai class today, sending out more resumes for jobs. Done on Friday night with training, still not really sure what I'm doing or where I'm going after this but I'll keep you updated! Hope everyone is doing well at home, T-9 days till Christmas, somebody better tell Thailand so they can put up some decorations already!
Sat morning we woke and decided to head to the beach. Pattaya is located on the Gulf of Thailand and I am probably a twenty minute walk from the water. There aren't many beaches here in town, but there is a ferry that you can catch for 20 bhat (about 60 cents) that will take you to an island, Koh Larn, about 30 min off the coast. So Julia and I packed up some sandwiches and headed over there around 11. We caught the ferry over with many other farangs (Thai word for white foreigners) and disembarked for the beach. Little did we realize that the beach was like 3 miles away so after walking for a half an hour in 95 degree weather, we flagged down a moto and had him take us the rest of the way. Grabbed a few chairs, and hung out there the rest of the day. We were charged 50 bhat for each of the chairs, which we weren't really sure if that was legit or not, but then later we saw the same lady making other people pay, so hopefully she actually worked there and wasn't just scamming dumb farangs.
The beach was beautiful, and the water was perfect.
Lots of farangs, but very few Americans. Saw lots of speedos and thongs, I think my bathing suit had more material than anyone else's at the beach. The water was the perfect temp, and floating there on my back looking at Pattaya in the distance, I was reminded one of the reasons I decided to leave the Midwest. :) Caught a moto back to the ferry, and decided to splurge on dinner, so headed to Mcdonalds downtown for a Big Mac and a double cheeseburger. And let me tell you, they may not have been exactly what I would have gotten in the states, but they were probably 90%, and that was plenty good enough. :) Sat around all day yesterday, did some stuff for my lesson plans for the week, and went to bed early! Last week of my course/student teaching and trying to find a job this week. I'll keep you guys updated. Miss everyone back home, and a little more every time I look at the date and realize how close it is getting to Christmas!
TPWWLT: When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney
PS Put some pictures up on facebook! Just of my time in Cambodia, here is a link so everyone can check them out: Cambodia Shmodia
Ah the weekend. I made it through my first week of teaching. The kids are awesome, I come in to start the day with them at around 830 and teach till their break at about 9:45. I have 13 kids, 10 boys and 3 girls. 2 of the boys are Russian, and a couple of the kids might by mixed, but the majority are Thai. Since they are 2-3 years old, there isn't really much teaching going on, but we have a lot of fun. This week we have been doing numbers, letters, colors and shapes. We also sing and run around the room touching different shapes and colors. And we have done some coloring. I also only know a few of their names, but I have given them all nicknames in my mind. Though sometime I forget they aren't their real names and then call them by their fake names and then everyone is confused. But thats only happened once or twice. :)
After I'm done teaching, I hop on a moto taxi (basically a motorcycle that is a taxi, you just hop on the back and tell them where you want to go) and head back to my street. Hang out for a few hours, maybe walk around and get some lunch or take a quick snooze and then head to Thai class at 2. We have that for two hours, and then I'm free for the rest of the night. With such small kids, there isn't really much lesson planning that I have to do. The school has a resource room that I can steal flash cards or books from, so everyday when I get there before class starts, I just pick out what I want to do that day. Also, there is a lot of repetition, they aren't memorizing the ABC's in one day. So not much lesson planning other than googling new ideas for things to do in class.
I'm staying in a guesthouse, which is like a hostel, though this place is closer to a hotel. I have a big room and bathroom to myself, with a big tv, closet and fridge. And air con, which is a lifesaver, though mine is quite temperamental. The tv has like 50 channels, and I think maybe 6 are in English. One is universal, which shows about 3 law and orders a day, so thats good. There is a movie channel, 2 European sports channels (one all highlights, one has only shown curling.) The last one in Fox News, no wonder everyone abroad hates us, they are stuck with Glenn Beck as a the only representative of our country they have access too.
There are a ton of little restaurants all over the place to eat at. I can get plate of fried rice or pad thai for 30 bhat (about a dollar). Also there are a million little carts and stands roll by that you can grab some food at. I could sit out front of my place for like 2 hours and have 15 different things to eat roll by. So many fruits, and things on sticks (whole fish, sausage, hot dogs, every kind of meat, snakes, vegetables) that have been grilled. Also, they have a 7/11 maybe every 500 yards. There is probably 35 in the city proper. They don't slurpees, but little packets of 6 choc cookies that are only 5 bhat (15 cents) that I have for breakfast every morning.
Ok off to nap. My friend Julia that I have been hanging with hasn't been feeling so great all week, so we mostly have been hanging out in my room watching 30 rock on my computer. But we are going to check out the town at night, see if its as crazy as everyone says! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the snow, I think Sunday we are going to an island and laying on the beach all day. :) Life is good.
TPWWLT: Whatcha Say - Jason Derulo
PS I know everyone wants to see my kids, just trust me for now that they are the cutest kids in the world. One little girl (who I call princess) would literally not let go of my neck today when I was trying to leave. I'm bringing a camera next week so I can snap some pictures of them. Everyone just hold your horses.
Went out for pizza last night, paid a little more for it than I usually do for food, but it was so worth it. Now if I could just find a good cheeseburger, I would be a happy man...
First day is in the books! Took a taxi over to the school with one of the LanguageCorps instructors who came along to show me the ropes on the first day. Now, I probably slept 2 hours last night, but I was plenty fine this morning, riding high on adrenaline and terror. Though I will admit that riding on the back of moto through South Pattaya, if someone would have stopped my taxi and offered me a plane ticket back to the states, I probably would have grabbed it. But lucky for us all that didn't happen, and I made it to the school without incident. I was told that I would get to observe the class first, but come 830 when all the kids filed in, the teacher walked out, left me with the aid and I was up.
My class is 13 2-3 year olds, what they call Pre-K here. (or what we call day care back home.) I could go through everything I did for the next two and half hours, but lets just say there was a lot of repetitive chanting at them, singing, prancing, pretending to be animals, eating, laughing, pantomiming, and pulling them off of me to go sit in their chair. They wouldn't respond to me in the beginning of the class and by the end I literally had to peel two of them off of me so I could leave. :) there were times that it was very frustrating, and I can already tell that I have a tendency to want to play with them more than actually teach them. And when I get them all riled up, its reallllly hard to calm them down. But I can't help it, they might be the cutest 13 kids in the world. Another class tomorrow, have a few ideas about more things to do, I'll let you know how it goes. But its kinda cool saying I'm a teacher! :)
sorry I havent been very good lately, first day of teaching today, i have 2-3 year olds for 2 hours (40 min each of english, art, and PE), and I've been trying to get ready. In a word, I'm terrified. I'll let you know how it goes.
1. Step over that puddle in the street, its probably urine. 2. When crossing the street, DON’T STOP! No matter that a wall of motorbikes, tuk tuks and cars are coming at you, you need to remember that they will expect you to keep walking and to maneuver around you, so if you slow down, they are actually more likely to hit you. Just keep your eyes ahead and walk steadily. 3. Learn to like rice. 4. If I had a nickel for every homeless person I've seen, I could buy a round trip ticket home for Christmas. It's impossible to give money to everyone, but my friends have started carrying around a bag of suckers to give out to the children we see. It may not do much for their long term quality of life, but their short term smiles are pretty cool. 5. Its hot. November is one of the coolest months and it was 93 yesterday. 6. Just like in America, sex with children is illegal. This sign in posted all over my guesthouse, the child sex trade is a big problem here. 7. There is garbage everywhere. On my entire trip up to Siem Reap, I doubt I saw so much of an acre that didn't have some garbage on it. The city is bad, and sanitation trucks seem to be nonexistent, but I was surprised how bad it was even in the country. With the exception of a few places in the city, it doesn't really smell, there is just litter everywhere! 8. When you go out to eat, its impolite not to eat when your food is brought, even if no one else has theirs. Most places will have smaller kitchens and can't cook a bunch of meals at once, so when they are finished with one meal, they bring it right out so they can cook another. When big groups go out, this can lead to some people being eating before other have gotten their food. One benefit is that your food is always brought out hot. No heat lamps in Cambodia. 9. Don't buy things from the child sellers on the street. You may think you are helping them, bu it's actually a form of child slavery. Of that dollar you just paid for that book or flower, the child may get 2 or 3 cents out of it. 10. I'm not there any more, head for Thailand. :)
TPWWLT: Southbound - Allman Brothers
PS: Finished up my time in Cambodia, traveled up to Thailand yesterday. I'm here for two more weeks finishing up my course, doing Thai language classes and I start student teaching on Tuesday! I'll keep you updated.
Probably the most fun I had all weekend at Siem Reap was the bargaining I did. Now, at every temple we went in, there would be the cutest little Cambodia children who would walk with you until you got the entrance, trying to sell you whatever they could. Bracelets, bags, musical instruments, books, t-shirts, scarves, post cards, water…you name it and they were probably selling it. There were usually a few tents set up too as you walked out of each temple. And at Angkor Wat, the big one, they had a huge line of tents set up along one side, with everything from above along with temple rubbings, art, sculptures, food, beer, etc. So after I left the tour and finished my exploration of the temple, I meandered on over to a line of tents to check it out.
I could go into detail about the tactics I used, how exactly I haggled them down, how many times I walked out of tents to be called back in with a lower price, but I’ll just give you the final damages: I visited 3 spots, or 3 tents different tents, and ended up with a painting of Angkor (box included), a t-shirt, and 10 postcards. Total amount they were going to charge me: 29 dollars. Total amount I ended up paying: $6.50. I bought the painting first, which I actually wanted, and ended up getting it knocked down from 25 to $5 dollars, with the box included. And really after that, I think I just bought the other stuff because I wanted to bargain some more. Like I didn’t really want a t-shirt, nor need postcards, but apparently haggling with old Cambodian ladies is my calling in life. Sure it was cheap tourist crap, but hey, I’m a tourist. So now I have thing to remind me of my trip! Hope everyone is doing well back home, it’s supposed to be 95 today. Just so you all know.
TPLWWT: ‘Holidays’ – Jim Gaffigan. “Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead, what should we do?” “How bout eggs?” “Well, what does that have to do with Jesus?” “Alright, we’ll hide em!”
Spent the weekend in Seim Reap visiting the nearby temples at Angkor Wat.The temples are incredible, the only thing I could think to compare them to are the Mayan temples in South America.Just many massive, 1000 year old stone buildings covering something like 30 square miles. (Not just one temple, they are spaced out).Walking through things that are three times as old as our country was pretty humbling, and I was thoroughly enjoying imagining I was an 11th century Siamese King.In honor of PGN, some upgrades and downgrades from the trip:
Downgrades
Loss of impressiveness – Look, the temples are amazing, there is no doubting that.That being said, walking through temple after temple when it’s 95 deg out and I’m feeling a little under the weather, I will admit that they started to look the same after a while.I know it’s a very American thing to say, but I wasn’t the only one saying it in our group, and I wasn’t the only American saying it. (It was kind of similar to the cathedrals we say in Europe senior year of high school.Beautiful, but over and over and over, they lose a bit of their luster.)
Tour guides - it would also have been more interesting to be able to wander on our own as opposed to following one around.Though it was entertaining to hear our tiny Cambodian tour guide with the sense of humor of a 9 year old boy crack joke after joke about the female anatomy in the carvings on the temples.It wasn’t so much that his jokes were entertaining as it was funny to see this little Asian man giggling to himself the entire afternoon. Just imagine the following in Asian accented English, followed by high pitched laughing and you have some idea of what we were dealing with all day: “I come from Phnom Penh.Actually I come from my mom. Hehehe"
Bus ride - took 6 hours each way and could have been done in 2 on an American highway.Our top speed was about 40mph, our average speed was probably 30mph and it was so bumpy that I could barely read.I have a Scrabble app on my iPod and when you shake the iPod, it shuffles the letters in your rack.Well, it was such a bumpy trip that I couldn’t even play because my letters kept shuffling because my hand was shaking so much.
Security guards - I climbed over a ‘no access’ gate and was scaling some stone steps on the highest tower of Angkor but was yelled down by security before I had a chance to pull out my camera. Since the sign was in English and said ‘DO NOT ENTER,’ I just kept repeating ‘sum toe,’ the Khmer for ‘I’m sorry,’ so hopefully they just thought I was Eastern European or something.Regardless, I got away with only a bunch of stern looks and gesturing to get on with my tour.
Forgetting my Indy hat in Phnom Penh – probably the biggest disappointment of the trip
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Sneaking away from the tour - At the last temple, Angkor Wat (the big one) I did manage to sneak away from the tour and do some exploring on my own.Some little Japanese ladies had a good laugh at me trying to set up timer pictures of myself with the temples in the background, but I was enjoying myself.Also where I got caught by security and where I had my first bargaining experience (I’ll post about it later, but let’s just say I’m a natural.)
Angelina - One of the temples is nicknamed “Tomb Raider” because Angelina came and shot like one scene in front of some tree there for the movie.Well, I guess she has given a bunch of money to help with the upkeep and is pretty big in the area.But it was great walking through that temple hearing all the tours in different languages, ‘babababababa Angelina Jolie bababababaa.’
Free breakfast - Eggs, bread and fruit.Hey, free food is always a highlight.
A/C – no in my guesthouse in Phnom Penh, yes in our hotel.
Pretending I was Indy – sans hat, I did still have some fun.We stopped at BengMeleaTemple on the way home on Sunday and it could have been straight out of the first scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.Also we didn’t have a tour guide there, and the temple hadn’t been kept up nearly as well, so we got to wander off on our own climbing huge piles of stone and avoiding ants the size of lightning bugs.Let’s just say my friends were rather impressed when I kept reminding them to avoid the J, there were no J’s in Latin, (they used I’s) and to watch out for poison darts.
Overall the trip was a lot of fun.I did have a sore throat most of sat and a runny nose all day Sunday, but I also slept for 12 hours sat night, so I can’t really complain.And I feel great today, so I’ll blame it on traveling.Hope everyone is doing well back home, I’m trying to mentally send some of this hot weather your way!Take care everyone.
Man, I had a huge post typed up, saved it to a memory stick, ran across the street to throw it on here before my class....and of course I saved it in docx and the computer at the internet cafe only has the old version of word so I cant open it. I'll post it tonight, just didnt want you to think I forgot about you all. Though most of you are asleep and will not be awake by the time I make my next post. So this post is in and of itself, worthless. I'm going to class.
Salad, turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberry, roll, green beans (of which I ate every one) and topped it off with pumpkin pie and ice cream, all for $10.
We found a bar called the Lone Star, and it was pretty much picked up straight out of Texas and dropped in Southeast Asia. They had Espn on TV, stuffed jackalopes framing the bar, pictures of ZZ top adorning the walls, a huge confederate flag hanging over our table, and a bunch of skeevy white men at the bar with Cambodian women half their age. Ok, so maybe that last part wasn't like back home, but for the 4 other Americans I went with, it was a nice slice of home. One guy was 30 and was in the Marines for 9 years and even he was saying that its nice to do stuff like that when you are gone on holidays, helps you remember where you came from.
All the meals here are usually some combination of rice and meat, and like most things with a lot of rice, they fill you up for a bit, but then you are hungry in a little while. So after downing this feast last night, and all of us feeling uncomfortably full, you can imagine our surprise when we all realized that we actually felt good about being that full. As my friend Julia put it, it was a 'comforting discomfort.' Certainly not for every day and every meal, but when you haven't been really full for a week, it was kind of funny to realize that it felt good to eat until you couldn't eat anymore. It felt kinda like being home. Also, it made us feel more like Americans. :) Hope everyone had a great holiday, I'll be in Ankgor Wat all weekend, so take care of yourselves!
TPWWLT: American Pie - Don Mclean (it was on my shuffle, I swear!)
PS: Test in an hour, gotta go study. Some things never change.
I've seen the future, its about 85 and sunny today, so everyone have a great day. Had a burger, fries and coke for lunch, still working on trying to find some turkey for tonight. I'll let you know! Be safe everyone.
Class today went well.Got a lot of comments on my Chicago accent, how I miss my mahhhhm, how I played sahhhccer instead of football, and how I scratch my baaaack.Our teacher was talking about how our students will sound like us after we are through teaching so I can’t wait to have a room full of small Asian children sounding like Bill Swarksy and the Superfans.Maybe I’ll put a picture of Ditka in the classroom.(The name of the hurricane is Hurricane Ditka…)
After class was over, we walked downtown trying to find the central market, which ended up being closed for the night. But we did find a small fruit and vegetable market which was pretty cool.Also stopped at a street cart for some sort of meat on a stick, which while unidentifiable, was delicious.They also keep telling us we are supposed to haggle if we buy stuff like that, but first of all, I am so ingrained to just pay whatever that I usually forget, second, we can barely communicate as it is, so it’s almost easier to just pay what they ask, and third, I know I am white and you are charging me what you think is an incredible rate, small Cambodian lady, but it comes out to like $.38, so I kinda feel like an idiot trying to bargain you down to a quarter.
We stopped at a resTAUrant for dinner on the way home and I had my first meal here that did not consist of a combination of rice-vegetables-meat.I had a cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake, and while it was a homeless man’s version of the Red Robin I had before I left, it was nice to have beef.And cheese. And ketchup.A I guess some sort of milk product too. (Ah the things we take for granted.)Off to class, have a great day everyone!
TPWWLT: Flight of the Conchords (‘You’re so beautiful, you could be a part time model…but you’d probably still have to keep your normal job.’)
PS. Kept my eyes open for some sort of turkey for Thursday, it’s not looking good.
Had my first day of yesterday. Pretty simple stuff, there are 15 people in it, we have class from 9:30 to 5:30 everyday with a 1.5 hour break for lunch. We have class for two weeks here in Phnom Penh and then 3 of us are going to Thailand for the last two weeks of our training. One of the girls who is going with me is actually from Evanston, (went to EHS though, not New Trier) and just graduated from Wisconsin. Small world. Class was boring, but I can survive it for 4 weeks, and these aren't the sort of classes you can sleep through. One thing to report, we had to do the name game at the beginning, go around and name everyone who came before you sorta thing. BUT then we had to do it again and say something that people could associate with our name so they could remember it. (Felix became Felix the cat, Andrew became Handy Andy) So since my name is Mike, short for Michael, and I'm from Chicago, I told everyone in class to call my Michael Jordan. So now everyone in my class, inc my teacher, refers to me as Michael Jordan. :) K, gotta run to class, took a bunch of pictures this morning so I'll try and get them up asap. Take care everyone.
Ok, sorry for the delay in posting, just trying to get here and get settled. A quick update of the last few days: Traveling went well, had a slight delay at Ohare, but managed to make my connecting flight in Seoul, so it was all good. Actually made three new friends in the Seoul airport, 3 small Korean children came up to me and started chatting at the gate, no doubt because I was the only non Asian on the flight from Seoul to Cambodia. Made it through customs and passed the multitudes of non smiling army guards holding machine guns in the Phnom Penh airport without incident. Met my contact outside the airport and got my first experience in a 'tuk tuk', or an open air carriage type thing pulled by a motorbike. I'll post a picture later so you can all see, but needless to say that showing up with a year's worth of luggage going on 45 min of sleep and 22 hours of flight in the last 30 hours, I was convinced someone was playing a big joke on me.
But a half an hour ride later and my driver pulled up at my guesthouse. Now when I signed up, they told me I would be placed in the Language Corps Villa, so when my driver stopped at this shady looking hostel in the dark, threw me and my humongus suitcase off and drove away, I could feel the tears welling up. The guy at the desk looked at me, didn't say a word, just grabbed a room key and walked away. I hurried after him, trying to cart my luggage after him, and having to make two trips for each flight going up to my room on the third floor. I was shown into my 7' by 9' room, with my shower located directly above the toilet and my, um, spray faucet, instead of a roll of toilet paper.
Despite not having slept in over a day, it still took me quite a while to fall asleep. Here I am, laying in a bed, I have no internet in my room, so I can't even let anyone know I'm alive. I'm all alone in a country were I know not a single person, cant even speak to anyone and am most likely going to get murdered in my sleep or mugged if I even step outside. Well, amidst the cursing myself and trying to figure out why I ever thought it was a good idea to leave everything I know and everyone I have ever cared for, I fell asleep. I was still feeling pretty melancholy in the morning when I woke up. We had a tour of the city arraigned for us, but not until 12:30, so I had quite a few hours to kill, which I spent trying not to cry in my room. Time came, I took a deep breath and headed down to the front gate to find the tuk tuk of the tour.
Well, like most stories like this, things turned around rather quickly. I found the tour and quickly made friends with the girls in it, including 3 who were living in the guesthouse with me instead of the villa. We proceeded to the temple for which the city is named after, and took a tour of the royal palace. My new friends had been there a few days longer than I had, and we chatted as we walked home. Had a welcome dinner that night and we all went out for ice cream on the way home. Nothing to make me feel better like a vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate on it. :) The four of us in the guesthouse (3 girls and myself: two 27 year olds who were friends in Dubai who decided to quit their jobs and do this, one originally from South Africa and one from Scotland, and the 3rd girl, a 25 year old from Ontario) played some Uno before we went to bed at a reasonable hour to prepare for our first day of classes.
So whats the moral of the story? Pretty simple, hang in there and things get better. I had thought a lot about coming here and knew I was going to have some tough moments, so I had tried to mentally prepare myself for something like this, and I think that helped a lot. And as I sit here in a cafe with my two brand new friends from South Africa and Scotland and making plans to visit them in Sri Lanka in 6 months, I am reminded why I ever had this crazy idea in the first place. And life is good. :)
Hope everyone at home is doing well. Walked around in basketball shorts and a t-shirt today and felt great. I'll try and keep my updates shorter and more frequent from now on, and I'll stop being lazy and post some pictures soon, of the city, tuk tuks, my new friends, my room, etc. New update coming soon about classes, etc. Take care of yourselves.
Ok i'm on the ground in Cambodia! Traveling went well, making friends already. Have to run, but I'll have lots of updates later, take care of yourselves and enjoy the cold weather.
Finally paid off the balance of my program fee to LanguageCorps! Ok now its official, I'm really going. I paid that off, I have a plane ticket, and really thats all I need. I'll figure the rest out when I get over there. :) SO excited, 4 days. Now if I could just get out of bed and pack...
TPWWLT: Leaving on a Jet Plane - Chantal Kreviazuk version.
Is 8pm too early to go to bed? Running on three hours a sleep after a fun night last night with Suchy and the always fun KD's from SLU. Got to see my goddaughter today too, gave her her bday present (a Cubs backpack) and she showed me her new skateboard in the parking lot after lunch. :) Got a big hug goodbye and was told she wouldn't visit me because of 'they don't have cheeseburgers in China.' Smart girl. :)
I had left my backpack at school, so I sent it home with Anna's parents and picked it up from them tonight. It had pretty much everything important in my life in it (passport, birth certificate, phone charger, camera, $500 cash, glasses, Indiana Jones hat), so nice to finally have that back. But with its return, and with the house to myself all day tomorrow, no more putting off packing, it starts in earnest in the morning. Plus, mom got me two brand new suitcases, a huge one, and a hanging one I can attach to it. Really excited to see if I can fit something in every single one of the 439 zippers they have between them. Also have to resist the temptation to fill both suitcases entirely with books, though if you have any suggestions to grab for my 22 hours of travel on fri/sat, I would love to hear them. (Just finished 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo,' loved it, waiting for the sequel to come out in paperback, or till I will the lotto and can buy the international Kindle. Also just bought "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' today on two very trustworthy recommendations, so hopefully that lasts me till I cross the Atlantic.) Ok, off to bed, good luck with Monday mornings tomorrow for everyone.
This post written while listening to: 'Orange Sky' - Alexi Murdoch (shout out to JP for introducing him to me about 12 years ago.)
Well, I'm finally out of Champaign. Its been 1239 days since I decided it was better for me to be down there than at home, but I've finally left 61820. My times in Boardwalk, 109, 310, and even the SK were some of the best in my life, but its time to move on. And I'm ready for it.
People at school liked to tease me for being old, and they had a good reason. Already being there for 5 years, and staying 6 months beyond that, to them I must have been ancient. But it's all about perspective. I'm gone, I've left the college town, and suddenly I'm young. I'm just entering the workforce right? Whats the next step after you finish college? You work for 40 years, you get on with your life. Well, I may have been old news at college, but I'm really just a freshman at life. I'm just getting started working, at the ripe young age of 23.
Granted my first job is a little different than most people's. But I wouldn't have it any other way. In 7 days I board a flight headed for Phnom Phen, Cambodia, by way of Seoul. I'll be there for two weeks getting certified in TEFOL and taking a weekend trip up to Angkor Wat. Then I get on a bus for the trip to Pattaya, Thailand, where I have 2 weeks of language training. During those two weeks, I find school to teach at, a place to live, and sign a contract. I don't have any idea where I'll end up, other than then that it will be in Thailand somewhere.
So this week I'm home, just packing, getting ready to go and trying to see everyone I need to see before I leave. Had a great last few days in Champaign, thanks to everyone who took some time out of their busy days to see me off, and if I missed anyone I should have seen, I apologize. I know I haven't left yet, but since I'm officially in the 'very excited to leave' stage of moving, I couldn't help myself. Feel free to leave comments or you can always shoot me an email, michael.p.keefer@gmail.com. Also add me on skype me at mkeefer2 because I would love to see all of your smiling faces when I'm gone. I'll try and update pretty frequently both to let everyone back home know how I'm doing and also as kind of an online journal. This week might be kind of boring but I'll probably be too excited to refrain from posting every little minutiae about my preparation, so I apologize in advance. Take it easy and take care of yourselves, hope to hear from you all soon.
