Life in Hat Yai

I’ve been settling into Hat Yai. My agent Pi Toi and Des (I spelled her name wrong in the last post) have really become like family. Des is another teacher that works for the same agency I work for. Tonight, Des left Hat Yai to go back to Trang. Des works in Trang as a kindergarten teacher. She needed to head back to figure out her visa. I will see her again soon.

The month of April in Thailand is basically summer time for Thai’s. Schools are out and everyone is on vacation. It’s also the hottest time of the year. Thailand has the Thai New Year coming up mid April, which is a celebration called Songkran. From what I hear it is a giant water festival. I have already seen the water guns for sale on the street corners. My best, good friend Blake is coming to visit. He will arrive next weekend! Lucky him, we will be at the island paradise Koh Lipe for Songkran! I am looking forward to seeing him, catching up and relaxing. And also introducing him to my new city.

Still living on the third floor of the office building at the agency I work for. I was exploring the building the other night and the fourth floor is actually really cool! I spoke with my agent and I might end up fixing up the fourth floor and living there. Instead of renting an apartment. Living at the agency will be much cheaper. However, it is a bit further from my school. The apartments in Thailand are like that of a small hotel room, they typically do not have kitchens. You must wash your dishes in your shower. It’s typically one small room, a huge king sized bed takes up most of the room, with a mini fridge, and a bathroom. The bathroom usually doesn’t have a shower curtain. Its more like a water hose that you then construct it into something of a western shower. All the showers have a hot water box that you have to turn on. It's actually fine and you realize how much less you need, once you begin living in Thailand.

I did find an apartment that is near my school. Its just a small room with orange mirrors and a balcony. There is a yoga studio and a gym near by and I can walk to my school. I would still get a motor bike as I really like the accessibility. Getting a moped is a bit scary. Thailand drives on the opposite side of the road. When I cross the road I still have no idea which direction the cars are coming from... haha I am definitely considering getting a motor bike because it is not as easy to catch a taxi as it was in Hua Hin. The taxes here are called songthaews. Songthaews are basically small trucks with two long seats, that many people can fit on, in the back of the truck bed.. maybe google it for a better description. They are all open air and usually very cheap. Communicating with the drivers can be difficult, and they all try to hassle you for an extra baht (baht is the currency is Thailand). This is a continuous and minor problem that I have encountered. I have found that using something called a wai, which is a formal bow and greeting used in Thailand has always helped me get a better deal.

I’ve been in Hat Yai for over two weeks. I spent my first week working on lesson plans for a 10 day summer camp at my school. The camp if for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. It was a bit challenging because I have no idea the proficiency level of the kids, I was going to teach. So of course.... I over planned. By the time day one of camp began, I barely got through my first lesson. That’s okay though, its better to be over prepared that under prepared. All the kids were grand. I really love teaching girls. I have several hilarious names in my class. The children have Thai names, which are impossible for westerners to pronounce. Therefore their parents give them nicknames. Some of the nicknames were August, De De, Money, and Jelly. I laughed about the De De one for awhile. Tomorrow is the 3rd day of camp and I am excited to see how I do teaching all week. Last time I completely lost my voice, I am working on not using my loud voice as I can't keep it up all day.

Check out the snaps page for new photos of feral cats, teaching, the floating food market, waterfalls and a few photos of me feeding a monkey.

Hat Yai from the Mountain.