Happy 2552?!?

Wow, can you believe it is 2009 already? I have officially been in Thailand for 3 months now, and despite the occasional cultural frustrations, I still love it here!
For New Years, we decided to head to Bangkok, and Hua Hin since we had about 5 days off. We arrived in Bangkok the afternoon of the 31st, and stayed with our friend Nick from our program. The best part about sleeping on his tile floor...he had a HOT SHOWER! It was heaven!
At night, we met up with Andre's friend from home, who is working in Bangkok. His name was also Scott, and both Scotts looked eerily similar. They even ordered the same food at dinner! Together we all headed to Central World plaza, where there were thousands of people and a ball drop! We met up with Matt D., Erica, Lindsay, Anna and Thea from our group, and counted down together! The place was so packed you couldn't even move! Someone stepped on my toe, and completely cracked it in half diagonally (yes I have half a toenail now...ouchie!). The funny thing about Thailand, is that they use the Buddhist calendar, so here it was actually the year 2551. The Thai New year is in April, but they celebrate this new year too, and actually change the date at this time. It is confusing, I know. I almost go cross eyed trying to figure out calendars! Despite the confusion, we rang in 2552 with a bang!
The next morning, we got up early to catch the bus to Hua Hin, about 3 hours south of Bangkok on the opposite side of Ban Phe. Andre decided to stay in Bangkok with his friend, so it was just Scott, Matt, and I. Hua Hin was an adorable town, very clean and pretty! We stayed at a guest house on a pier over the ocean! This too had A HOT SHOWER! We walked around the town and layed on the beach. It was very relaxing!
Saturday morning we caught the 6 am bus back to Bangkok, and then another 3 hour bus to Rayong. Matt had won a free hotel stay at this place in Rayong from the "white person competition". Unfortunately on the bus ride down, I was once again struck with food poisoning (or some other ungodly stomach bug who really knows at this point). I actually puked in a bag while running down the aisle of the bus, then arrived at the hotel in Rayong only to spend the rest of the afternoon puking. The boys once again took care of me (scooping me up and throwing me in the shower, force feeding me sprite, etc.). The free hotel was very nice, although most of my time in it was spent in the bathroom.
This morning, we headed back to Ban Phe, and I am feeling human again. All in all it was a great little trip.
I got my schedule for Korea...I pretty much work 3 hours a day, 2 days a week...but they are pretty late at night. Oh well, more travel time :) We all have different schedules, which kind of sucks, but its not too bad! I can't complain about only having to work 6 hours a week! The only bad thing is I spend more money traveling than I do staying here working. I still make the same amount of money, no matter how many hours I work! We will still do stuff on the side for TEFL, like this Saturday we are putting on a camp for Thai kids with fun games.
Tom should arrive here in 2 days, and hopefully we can head over to Angkor Wat in Cambodia! I am very excited to see him! All in All, life is good.
xoxo