The first weekend

ESL in Thailand 

We’re in the midst of the rainy season here in NS, so my four minute walk to work was a wet one on Friday.  It’s heavy when it comes but it brings a coolness - not a ‘down with the kids’ cool, more ‘ah Jaysus that’s better’ kinda cool.  Not many kids at morning song on account of the rain, all the teachers were buzzing around counting heads and mentally reorganising their lesson plans.  Luckily more and more kids turned up by the end of the morning song and dance session. I’d been watching the dance moves all week and although they’re simple preschool moves, not exactly body popping or anything, my shyness was crippling me and it was starting to get obvious.  I’ve made a pact with myself that next week I’m going to abandon the self consciousness and dance.  First lesson started with a review of the week’s lessons on food vocab, pretend pizza shop with cardboard pizzas for older kids and Hungry Caterpillar story for the teenies, so I was pretty starving by lunchtime with all the talk of food.  Today’s menu was noodles and a coconut based curry with beef – lots of kick in that cow. 

The ESL teachers had a lunchtime Game of Life, that lasted well into the afternoon, which was just as well as there was no afternoon lesson.  The school holds a ‘Yuwapat’s Got Talent’ show each Friday, where the kids get to dress up and perform something they’ve been practising through the week.  Some of my li’l tots performed a song and dance routine.  Two of the little ladies got a bit over excited resulting in one having to run off stage to vom and the other weeing herself.  Rock’n’roll.

In the evening I ventured out solo for the first time to find the riverside market, where anything and everything is sold including fresh fish, meat, vegetables, clothing & housewares.  On my way back stopped off for a visit to the Fairyland Shopping Centre, no actual fairies though, talk about false advertising.  I picked up some essentials in the Tesco, I kid you not, they’re everywhere.  Also spotted a Boots, KFC and finally got to see a real American Dairy Queen like on d’telly.  It’s an ice cream place.  At least if I get homesick I can pick up some fried chicken and ice cream, oh hang on I’m not American.  Any chance of a Bacon and Cabbage shop around here, no?  Got home with a hankering for pizza (those cardboard ones did look tasty).

Breakfast at Mercy

On Saturday I was craving my usual weekend breakfast - eggs, toast and coffee.  I visited Mercy Coffee as it has some western things on it's menu.  'Boiled eggs' were served out of their shell in a cup of hot water, messy and goopy.  The toast was cut into squares with condensed milk poured over, what a discovery, I liked this very much!  I succumbed to an iced coffee for the craic and it was delicious, refreshing in the heat with the caffeine kick.  I was ready for the day so I went shopping again!  I’m hellbent on getting my room cosy and welcoming to come back to.  There’s going to be a day when homesickness kicks in and I want a base to call home here.  That involves comforts like cosy bed covers, framed photos, homely lighting and a fan, by God do I need a fan!  The air-con is apparently very expensive to run where I’m staying.  Mind you, I want to acclimatise to the temperature and humidity here, gotta get used to it before the hot season!  I also needed to get an alarm clock for the 6.30am rises.  Unfortunately my guidebook did not have the phrase for clock, let alone alarm clock so I was left to mime it.  How ridiculous can one look in the middle of a department store?  Well, let me tell you.  I made some tick, tock tick, tock, BRRRRRRRRRing noises to signify 'alarm clock'.  You get it right?  The sales assistant didn’t…or perhaps she enjoyed watching me make a tool of myself.   

Catching the songthaew back was a bit of a challenge with the ol’ language barrier up again but no matter what you’re saying the Thai people here will try their best to understand you, or go find someone who can.  It was very much appreciated and I felt a great deal of empathy for the immigrants in Ireland who end up working in the service industry without a word of English.  I’ve heard many criticisms of people “coming over here, taking jobs and they can’t even speak to their customers!”  Well, here in NS I’m one of “those foreigners” and I am very grateful to the locals here for making me feel more welcome than a lot of the people back home would have if I were African or Polish.  I do intend on learning Thai but right now I’m focusing on navigating my way around and settling into work.  The language will come in time and with practise, and no better place to learn it than right here.  It made me realise that the person selling me my breakfast roll in Centra may probably have the same intentions. 

Saturday evening brought some new faces and a lot of fun.  A colleague held a party at her house with a ‘Minute to Win it’ competition, lots of impossible challenges that make you look ridiculous.  Competitiveness, banter and beer makes a great Saturday.  I came joint last place.  Hey, if you can’t come first then at least come last, right?!  I mean, who ever remembers the ones in the middle.  Can anyone here remember who won fourth place in any Olympic Games?  No?  My point exactly!  After the games and the beer ran dry we took off to a club at the end of the road, called Bon Bon.  This place was like a throwback from the 90s, the music was that kind of 90s dance that infected my eardrums during my latter years at school, only this time I was dancing, must’ve been the vodka….or the Johnny Walker that the Thai men were topping our glasses up with.  The punters in the club took great delight in seeing farangs (white people) and insisted on having their pictures taken with us.  The girls took it in their stride and posed dutifully.  As I mentioned in a previous post, being stared at and being photographed is just all part of life here for a farang, you just get used to it.

Views from the park.

I completely slept through Sunday morning, must have been tired from the week of observing classes…oh wait, no, it was the cocktail of spirits I consumed in the club.  Yep, that’ll do it.  I slept right through the daylight streaming through my window and the non air-conditioned humidity.  I decided to get a wriggle on in the afternoon and went to Nakhon Sawan Park for a wander.  The park is right in the centre of town with a path that follows around the periphery and a lake in the centre.  In the evenings you’ll find people exercising, either running or walking along the path, and on the courts there are sports facilities, ie badminton & boules and even classes such as aerobics, zumba and yoga.  It’s a pretty vibrant place to wander around in the evening time and at 18.00 the National Anthem is played when people stop what they’re doing and freeze like statues.  I imagine it looks like The Angeles on RTE but hopefully less corny.  The whiskey and dancing took it’s toll and left me completely zonked by Sunday evening.  Need to be super perky for those crazy little cuties!

Aerobics at the park

Images: Sinéad Millea