Hey everyone...
The last week or so has been pretty boring, in a good way. The boys are all doing much better after the accident. Andre got his stitches out today, and Scott got his nose unpacked. They are still recovering, but doing better every day!
I have been VERY busy...Korea upped my schedule just before the accident, and now I have taken on all of Scott's classes, and some of Andre's. I teach ALL DAY, every day now. I am pretty tired, but its ok.
Tom has been having fun, despite my absence. We went over to Koh Samet last weekend and Laurie, Morgan, Alex and Courtney came! It was great to see all of them. We had a blast on the island. Tom really liked it.
Tom leaves tomorrow to go back home! I feel bad because I couldn't do much with him from working so much. But I have great friend here who have adopted him. Rachel had a day off and came over one morning to take him windsurfing, and Andre took him to the night market once he was feeling better. He said hes had a great time, and we did get to go to Cambodia!!
Things are going to continue to be busy for the rest of the month. Next weekend, we are heading up to Bangkok, because Alex's school is putting on a Thai/English version of Romeo and Juliet. The best part: it's a musical, and she has to be in it singing and dancing! Of course I wouldn't miss this kind of public humiliation for anything!
Scott has decided to go home for a couple weeks. He leaves Feb.2nd. I am bummed, but he needs to see his family and get checked by doctors at home. He will be back at the end of February.
In other news, we booked plane tickets for our travel when work is done. April1-15 the boys and I are going to the south of Thailand (all the islands) and will go to a full moon party and the songkran water festival. April15-27 we will be in Vietnam. Fly into Hanoi, and out of Ho Chi Mihn, seeing all in between. From there we will go to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...then onto Bali and the Gilli islands in Indonesia for 10 days. Finally, we will head back to Malaysia and see Singapore. On May 13th I will fly back into Bangkok, and the boys will continue on to Australia (I would love to join them, but its so dang expensive!). I will come home May 15th. All in all it's about a month and 1/2 of traveling! All 7 of my flights came to a total of $350 US!! AMAZINGLY CHEAP! Should be fun! Then in June, Scott is coming to CA for about 2 1/2 weeks (he's never been). I will take him all aver from San Fran, to San Diego.
All in all, there's a lot to look forward to. February should be kind of boring. I will be saving (or trying to save) most of my paychecks for traveling, so I am sorry to say most of the updates will be travel-less for a while!
Hope everyone is doing well at home!
xoxo
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
update
Hey! The boys are ok! I got over to the hospital yesterday morning, and didn't get back until a couple hours ago...needless to say I haven't slept for a few days. Yesterday, I was getting the boys clothes, passports etc. getting gready to go to the hospital when I saw my Korea boss. He said he was covering their classes, and then complained about it! He then told me I couldn't go to the hospital because I had to teach at 2 (prick). I looked him square in the eyes and said "THEN FIRE ME...My friends are more important than this or any job will ever be." I think he got the message...though not sure I have a job anymore.
I got Natt (one of the Thai staff) to take me to the hospital. When I got there I found Andre first. He looked awful. His eyelid was sliced in half. The nurse said he might not be able to shut his eye again, and that he was going into surgery in 20 minutes. I found Matt then and he filled me in on the accident. Apparently it was dark and foggy. Bruce took a turn too sharp and they careened into a ditch. The car flipped on its side. Matt said he felt blood everywhere but none of it was his own. The boys crawled out of the car, managed to flag a van down, and that person brought them to the hospital. As you know, there are no seatbelts in Thailand, so they are pretty lucky to be alive.
I saw Scott then, and it was horrifying. He didn't look like himself at all! He broke his nose pretty bad and his face was swollen. he also sliced open his head. He looked like Rocky (at the end of the movie) ewwww. I tried not to look as scared as I felt. He too had to go into a surgery to re-break his nose. We told the doctor that if they needed blood to take it from either Matt or Myself. Luckily they didn't need it!!
The boys left to surgery and were gone for a couple hours. I finally cried, and a nice old Thai woman gave me a hug! 2 hours later, Andre was wheeled back in. He looked a million times better, and could shut his eye! He will probably just have a minor scar. (I told him chicks dig scars so it's ok).
Scott came back very groggy, and in a lot of pain. He actually seemed worse than before he went in. His nose was now 1/3 of his whole face. I held his hand while Matt called his parents to let them know the surgery went ok. A few hours later he was feeling better.
Matt and I both spent the night in the hospital, trading rooms every so often so that one of us was always with one of them. The nurses and Doctors were so nice. This is one of the best hospitals in Thailand, and funded by the queen. It was built during the Vietnam war by the US army...and everything seemed very old...all the monitors and even the beds were hand cranked, and nothing was computerized.
In the morning, Scott woke up looking (and feeling) better...although it will be a while before he can do normal stuff. Around 5 pm they finally discharged the boys and we took them home. I helped Scott wash his hair (there was still blood in it), and got them some mushy food (Scott can't chew) from the grocery store. I AM EXHAUSTED!!
Tomorrow Courtney and Laurie and Alex are coming down for moral support and a relaxing trip to koh Samet. That should be nice. The boys can't go, but Matt will try to come, and we will b e back to make sure they are ok. Tonight I am just going to make sure they are comfortable and medicated. Thanks for all the well wishes!!
I got Natt (one of the Thai staff) to take me to the hospital. When I got there I found Andre first. He looked awful. His eyelid was sliced in half. The nurse said he might not be able to shut his eye again, and that he was going into surgery in 20 minutes. I found Matt then and he filled me in on the accident. Apparently it was dark and foggy. Bruce took a turn too sharp and they careened into a ditch. The car flipped on its side. Matt said he felt blood everywhere but none of it was his own. The boys crawled out of the car, managed to flag a van down, and that person brought them to the hospital. As you know, there are no seatbelts in Thailand, so they are pretty lucky to be alive.
I saw Scott then, and it was horrifying. He didn't look like himself at all! He broke his nose pretty bad and his face was swollen. he also sliced open his head. He looked like Rocky (at the end of the movie) ewwww. I tried not to look as scared as I felt. He too had to go into a surgery to re-break his nose. We told the doctor that if they needed blood to take it from either Matt or Myself. Luckily they didn't need it!!
The boys left to surgery and were gone for a couple hours. I finally cried, and a nice old Thai woman gave me a hug! 2 hours later, Andre was wheeled back in. He looked a million times better, and could shut his eye! He will probably just have a minor scar. (I told him chicks dig scars so it's ok).
Scott came back very groggy, and in a lot of pain. He actually seemed worse than before he went in. His nose was now 1/3 of his whole face. I held his hand while Matt called his parents to let them know the surgery went ok. A few hours later he was feeling better.
Matt and I both spent the night in the hospital, trading rooms every so often so that one of us was always with one of them. The nurses and Doctors were so nice. This is one of the best hospitals in Thailand, and funded by the queen. It was built during the Vietnam war by the US army...and everything seemed very old...all the monitors and even the beds were hand cranked, and nothing was computerized.
In the morning, Scott woke up looking (and feeling) better...although it will be a while before he can do normal stuff. Around 5 pm they finally discharged the boys and we took them home. I helped Scott wash his hair (there was still blood in it), and got them some mushy food (Scott can't chew) from the grocery store. I AM EXHAUSTED!!
Tomorrow Courtney and Laurie and Alex are coming down for moral support and a relaxing trip to koh Samet. That should be nice. The boys can't go, but Matt will try to come, and we will b e back to make sure they are ok. Tonight I am just going to make sure they are comfortable and medicated. Thanks for all the well wishes!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Freaking out
So the last week, we have been commuting to Pattaya for online teaching. Every day the boys and I get a ride from our boss, Bruce 1 hour each way. We teach very late at night, so come home around 11 pm. I only teach T/Th, while the boys teach M-Th.
Today (wednesday), I didn't go to Pattaya because I wasn't teaching. I had been asked to take a class tonight, but had said no to spend more time with Tom.
I talked to Scott around 10 pm on skype, and he said they were leaving then. 3 hours later I was still waiting downstairs. I had a horrible feeling and knew something must be wrong. I tried calling Scott's phone, but no answer. I figured Bruce had forgotten to pick them up, and went to bed. I couldn't sleep.
At 4 am I got a knock on my door, t was Lucky, Bruce's wife. From what I can gather through a broken English/Thai mixture, she said they got in a bad car accident on the highway. They are all alive, but Scott is pretty badly injured. Matt is ok, and Bruce and Andre are hurt too. They are at the hospital but she wouldn't take me until tomorrow morning. I tried to call Scott again and he answered, but said he was in too much pain, tried to pass the phone to Matt and we got disconected. I will try again in a few minutes. I hope they are ok.
I know I should feel lucky that I didn't take that class tonight, and wasn't in the car. Who knows what could have happened...there are no seatbelts in Thailand. AT least I know they are all alive, but I have no cue how badly injured they are. I feel awful that I can't do anything. I will keep you all posted as soon as I find out what happened at the hospital tomorrow. It's about 4:30 now...no sleep for me!
Today (wednesday), I didn't go to Pattaya because I wasn't teaching. I had been asked to take a class tonight, but had said no to spend more time with Tom.
I talked to Scott around 10 pm on skype, and he said they were leaving then. 3 hours later I was still waiting downstairs. I had a horrible feeling and knew something must be wrong. I tried calling Scott's phone, but no answer. I figured Bruce had forgotten to pick them up, and went to bed. I couldn't sleep.
At 4 am I got a knock on my door, t was Lucky, Bruce's wife. From what I can gather through a broken English/Thai mixture, she said they got in a bad car accident on the highway. They are all alive, but Scott is pretty badly injured. Matt is ok, and Bruce and Andre are hurt too. They are at the hospital but she wouldn't take me until tomorrow morning. I tried to call Scott again and he answered, but said he was in too much pain, tried to pass the phone to Matt and we got disconected. I will try again in a few minutes. I hope they are ok.
I know I should feel lucky that I didn't take that class tonight, and wasn't in the car. Who knows what could have happened...there are no seatbelts in Thailand. AT least I know they are all alive, but I have no cue how badly injured they are. I feel awful that I can't do anything. I will keep you all posted as soon as I find out what happened at the hospital tomorrow. It's about 4:30 now...no sleep for me!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Cambodia!!
Tom arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, and Friday He and I went to Cambodia! The trip took about 12 hours, but was worth it! We are lucky to be able to go to Cambodia at all. The Thais and Cambodians are not exactly friends, and it is difficult to enter and exit. Because of the turbulent history and the recent genocide in Cambodia, tourists have not been able to enter the country for a while. In fact, up until the late 90's tourists were being murdered there. Angkor Wat just reopened to foreigners in 2001!! I have a feeling after being there that pretty soon things may turn sour again, and people may not be able to enter the country like we got to!
We arrived in Siem Riep and checked into a guest house called "coconut villa". We went to get dinner, and found a restaurant with traditional Cambodian food. The staff was so friendly, and the food amazing. We ended up talking to them about Khmer culture for hours! We also met a German guy who we went to the local bar, "Angkor What" with!
The next day we woke up early to go to Angkor Wat. We had met a Cambodian, Johnny, who took us! We went to the main temple first. There is no way to describe it. The whole thing was breathtaking! These temples are almost 1,000 years old. We saw many of the temples (there are tons, covering many many miles). My favorites include Bantay (with easter island like faces in the towers), and Ta Phrom (with trees growing out of the temple and overtaking the stone). Overall each temple was individual. The experience was almost overwhelming. Pictures will not do it justice. We finished in the late afternoon, and came back to go to the night market. Afterwards, we had dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, and then met up with our Cambodian friends. They killed a chicken and made Cambodian wine. Unfortunately I was so tired I fell asleep, but Tom partied with them all night.
The next morning, we were up at 5 am to go see the sunrise at the main temple. It was FREEZING cold! The sun finally came up, and the cold was worth it! It was a spectacular view. The rest of the morning, we went to the other temples we had not seen yet. We even climbed on the roof of one. One large temple had very small doorways, and I hit my head on one HARD in the afternoon. I suffered a minor concussion (I was very dizzy and Tom and Johnny said I was walking crooked). I really don't remember much of the temples after that, and I went home in the late afternoon and slept. I woke up feeling much better, although had a HUGE goos egg on my head! You know me...super klutz.
That night we walked around town, and went to bed early.
This morning we woke up at 4 am to head back to Thailand, and made the 12 hour journey. I am exhausted, but really Cambodia was one of the coolest places I have ever seen! Their history is very sad, and much of the country is still feeling the affects of it. I am afraid that Angkor wat may not survive another century. You have to be very careful where you walk because there are still active land mines, and although they deny it, the Khmer Rouge is still active, as is apparent by the numerous checkpoints. the country is very poor, and communist. There are children begging almost everywhere. It is heartbreaking! Despite this, the people are so friendly and eager to share their history and culture. I found Cambodians to be much nicer than the Thais! The country was beautiful, and I wish we had more time to see more of it!
All in all great trip!
I have been teaching much more lately, and have to commute to Pattaya to teach twice a week, so things are kind of hectic here...but good! Tom is having a blast, and I am taking him to Koh Samet this weekend.
I am uploading photos from cambodia...but I took way too many so it may take a while. In the meantime, here is an album of Christmas, new years, and our trip to Hua Hin:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016498&l=b054b&id=83901952
hopefully I will get up the others soon!
miss you all!
UPDATE: 3 hours later...180 photos up! Too Tired for captions...if you have questions about what the pictures are, ask me and I will explain when I haven't been up for 24 hours!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016686&l=5cc85&id=83901952
We arrived in Siem Riep and checked into a guest house called "coconut villa". We went to get dinner, and found a restaurant with traditional Cambodian food. The staff was so friendly, and the food amazing. We ended up talking to them about Khmer culture for hours! We also met a German guy who we went to the local bar, "Angkor What" with!
The next day we woke up early to go to Angkor Wat. We had met a Cambodian, Johnny, who took us! We went to the main temple first. There is no way to describe it. The whole thing was breathtaking! These temples are almost 1,000 years old. We saw many of the temples (there are tons, covering many many miles). My favorites include Bantay (with easter island like faces in the towers), and Ta Phrom (with trees growing out of the temple and overtaking the stone). Overall each temple was individual. The experience was almost overwhelming. Pictures will not do it justice. We finished in the late afternoon, and came back to go to the night market. Afterwards, we had dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, and then met up with our Cambodian friends. They killed a chicken and made Cambodian wine. Unfortunately I was so tired I fell asleep, but Tom partied with them all night.
The next morning, we were up at 5 am to go see the sunrise at the main temple. It was FREEZING cold! The sun finally came up, and the cold was worth it! It was a spectacular view. The rest of the morning, we went to the other temples we had not seen yet. We even climbed on the roof of one. One large temple had very small doorways, and I hit my head on one HARD in the afternoon. I suffered a minor concussion (I was very dizzy and Tom and Johnny said I was walking crooked). I really don't remember much of the temples after that, and I went home in the late afternoon and slept. I woke up feeling much better, although had a HUGE goos egg on my head! You know me...super klutz.
That night we walked around town, and went to bed early.
This morning we woke up at 4 am to head back to Thailand, and made the 12 hour journey. I am exhausted, but really Cambodia was one of the coolest places I have ever seen! Their history is very sad, and much of the country is still feeling the affects of it. I am afraid that Angkor wat may not survive another century. You have to be very careful where you walk because there are still active land mines, and although they deny it, the Khmer Rouge is still active, as is apparent by the numerous checkpoints. the country is very poor, and communist. There are children begging almost everywhere. It is heartbreaking! Despite this, the people are so friendly and eager to share their history and culture. I found Cambodians to be much nicer than the Thais! The country was beautiful, and I wish we had more time to see more of it!
All in all great trip!
I have been teaching much more lately, and have to commute to Pattaya to teach twice a week, so things are kind of hectic here...but good! Tom is having a blast, and I am taking him to Koh Samet this weekend.
I am uploading photos from cambodia...but I took way too many so it may take a while. In the meantime, here is an album of Christmas, new years, and our trip to Hua Hin:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016498&l=b054b&id=83901952
hopefully I will get up the others soon!
miss you all!
UPDATE: 3 hours later...180 photos up! Too Tired for captions...if you have questions about what the pictures are, ask me and I will explain when I haven't been up for 24 hours!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016686&l=5cc85&id=83901952
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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
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
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