Thailand 2014-2015: Wandering around Bangkok.. and start of school!!

Wow! Been here just over two weeks now and it definitely feels like longer! Today is the first day of school, and my first class went REALLY well! The kids are really sweet and well-behaved and ready to learn. These kids remind me why I'm here in the first place, and why I decided to become a teacher :) Everyone here says that discipline is a non-issue, which will be a welcome relief from my extended placement. :P Lots to do.. I'm teaching 5 different PE classes (three Grade 6, one 7 and one 8), one Health class (of course I get to teach sex-ed in my first two weeks of teaching), and coaching U11 cross-country, so that'll keep me busy!

Anyways.. back to the last two weeks..

On July 28, a family friend Abby came to visit for a couple days. It was really fun having her around, from going downtown and having fancy cocktails at a rooftop bar, to taking a riverboat down the back canals of Bangkok, to hanging out at the pool, to seeing the temple of the dawn and exploring some markets! It was a blast, and I hope she'll be back for more!

There's been a ton of orientations.. new teacher orientations, all staff orientations, wellness sessions, housing, financial, shopping sessions, PD, etc. etc. ETC! But one of the coolest things we got to do was go house plant shopping! I bought two hanging orchids, a lemon tree, a lime tree, and lots of other cool flowers.. I hope I don't kill them all! :S We also got our ID cards, set up Thai bank accounts, got our laptops and settled into our new working spaces. I'm settled into the PE office for now, but I have lots of different places to go hang out if I'm bored :)

The next weekend, we went to Chatuchak market, a HUGE outdoor market near Nichada. It reminds me of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.. just soooo many things to buy! Lanterns, glassware, clothes, jewellery, accessories, shoes, pots.. literally anything you could ever want. I came with a list of things I needed and came back with NONE of those things, but many things I couldn't pass up :P Also there's these huge cafeteria-like spaces with tons of plastic chairs and tables, and stands and stands of food vendors. You go get your food, then sit down at the tables with locals and shovel it down with fans blowing in your face.. just crazy! Thai people have an intense love for food stalls. They're literally everywhere and sell everything from homemade popsicles to pad thai to popcorn!

Sarah wandering through the food stall at Chatuchak

I also went downtown to Talat Phlu area to participate in a photography walk around. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I also got to meet some really cool people! The neighbourhood we walked through was by the river and a train track, full of markets and temples. It was such a great experience to see the other side of Bangkok and to see how locals really live. Here are some pictures:

One of the many beautiful temples in the area

Preparing coconuts for a night market

Mother and child by a mosque

Some kids playing by a railroad track

What beautiful eyes you have!

The following weekend, I went downtown with a friend and saw some of the famous Bangkok nightlife. We started at Cheap Charlie's, a famous bar with a mix of locals and travellers (and very strong drinks!) then we went to Hemingways, a fancier expat bar. After that it was on to Soi Cowboy (and if you've never heard of Soi Cowboy, you should look it up!) Here there are the go go bars that, among other things, Bangkok is famous for. It's quite an experience, one that every visitor to Bangkok should experience.

A group of us also went to Ayuthaya, the old capital of Siam, about an hour away from Bangkok. Ayuthaya is beautiful and has many ruins from the Khmer people, who built gorgeous cities and temples in the area. It was an incredible day, starting out at 4am to see the sunrise then seeing 5 different sites including the Grand Palace, Wat Chaiwattanaram, the Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha and the Buddha in the Tree. After all the sites, we had a yummy lunch on the river!