Happy New Year!

Mike

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.

PPS I mean, how sweet is this hat?

My Day Today

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!

Christmas in Thailand Pt 2/Address!

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!

TPWWLT - Sports Guy's Podcast with Chris Connelly

PS - Me in my new fisherman pants:

Christmas in Thailand

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... :)

TPWWLT - Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette

New Home

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

Ugh

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!

TPWWLT - White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Pattaya Pics

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

I'm Here

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.

Woo Hoo!

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!

TPWWLT - Bartender - Tpain

Avatar

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

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. :)

Thrown For a Loop

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!

TPWWLT: Zero to Hero - Hercules Soundtrack

Beach Time

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

Day by Day in Pattaya

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.

Day 2

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...

Day 2 of teaching. Here goes nothing.

I made it!

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! :)

TPWWLT: My stupid mouth - John Mayer

First Day of Class

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.

10 Things to Know When Visting Cambodia

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.

PPS: Happy birthday to my Dad!

Bargaining

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!”