Last Day of School Celebrations

The last day of the school year came so fast! I was excited to start my summer, but then when it came I was sad to see my oldest kids leave and head to grade 1. I had become so close to my K3's as I spent most of my day with them and each one of them will forever have a special place in my heart. Time is so bright and always looking for new and fun games to play with the class. Hessed her best friend was always laughing and brought a smile to my face. Nicha always wanted to cuddle. She was very emotional but I saw how big of a heart she had. Reggie was my boy and translator lol. His dad is from America so he speaks English to him so Reggie was always helping explain things to the class if I couldn't get my point across. Angelo always loved to be the centre of attention and I loved his mom always running to pick him up to rush him off to soccer (football) games. Michael was a little trouble maker but always kept me on my toes to try and think of exciting ways to engage the class. PangPond was quiet and didn't always participate in class, but during play time loved to make all the kids laugh! Akin had great English speaking skills but was very lazy when it came to writing. I spent a lot of time trying to push him to do his best and his mom thanked me at the end of the year because she noticed his writing had improved, which made me so happy! Joe was the ladies man of my class. He was always the hero in games saving the princess's and always sneaking hugs with me when he could. Hoshi was very special to me. His mom and the school would say he was just trouble and a bad boy but when I observed him I believe he had a learning disability and found it hard to concentrate in the classroom. I made it my goal to change that and would give him special tasks or jobs to do when I noticed he was starting to drift or getting antsy. He built a special bond, and I will never forget him. And lastly Mao Mao. Oh goodness, this kid was smart! He always loved to challenge me and make me laugh. He understood some of my sarcasm when everyone else would not, so we had our own jokes which made the class fun! I will miss them all dearly!
Oh yes, so the last day of school was the graduation ceremony for the K3's and they all dressed up in their gowns and got pictures taken together. They all looked so cute! All the parents had attended this last day as well. Then we had the talent show! Every class participated in the talent show except for the nursery. Each class learned numerous dances that they had been practising for months everyday during lunch at school. I could not believe the dances these 3-5 year olds were doing!!! I was so impressed! A couple of students were in multiple dances so we had to do costume changes and fix their hair and make up, it was hectic! I thought it would be a nice relaxing last day of school where I got to watch all the dances, but nope I was behind the scenes helping put on costumes but that's okay!! The K3 girls did a traditional Thai dance and it was beautiful! All the other dances were fun and cute all with the theme of the circus! The night before the teachers and I had stayed until 8 pm putting up all the decorations, but it was well worth it! It looked amazing and the parents were all impressed and once again so was I! When it was all finished many parents took their kids home, some stuck around for snacks and drinks and I got some pictures with the kids looking adorable in their costumes! It was a fun last day, but sad to see my K3's move on to grade 1. But now it was time for summer and Dad and Debby were on their way in a couple of days to Thailand!!

Koh Samet Round 3....

I think I'm addicted and need help! Just kidding this island is just so perfect to go to for a weekend getaway because it is only 3 hours from BKK and so beautiful! This time I went for Jenna's birthday! She made me birthday so perfect so that is what I wanted to do for her birthday as well! I got off work a little early because Jenna had rented a private van to drive us there and pick us up. There was a group of 8 so we spilt the cost and it was perfect! This van was hella nice!!!! Way better than the vans I usually travel in! We left BKK around 3:30pm and had the beers cracked by 4! I was super excited to arrive earlier because usually I get in on Friday's around midnight because I usually don't leave until 7, but game changer we arrived around that time! We had a late dinner at a restaurant right on the beach and then started our night of celebrations! Of course we were drinking vodka redbull buckets, why wouldn't we! Then to the best and pretty much only bar, Naga we spent the night dancing and drinking and having a jolly good time..... except I don't remember much. So then the sun came up the birds were singing it was going to be a lovely day until I stepped out of bed to go pee and MOTHER  %#%&#^@&*#&^*@&^#. I think I broke my effing ankle. Good one Melissa. This is it, this is the time you really messed things up. I dropped to the floor shrieking of pain and crawled my way to the bathroom. This was real bad. I tried everything, walking on it in different ways but nope, I had to hop around on one foot back to bed. Then as I'm laying there I look down my other leg to a badly open wounded bloody knee. What the hell happened last night!!!! So as I cried a few tears wondering how the hell I'm going to deal with this, I popped way to many advils and went to breakfast. What is usually a 5 min walk took me about 15 but I made it, walking a different style of the walk of shame. I could hear the Thai employees laughing from the restaurant, they must see this way to often! After breakfast I hobbled my way to the beach and did not move all day, not that I had a choice. The sand was the worst too because my foot would sink and man oh man did it hurt. I have never felt pain like this before. Yes, the smart thing would have been to go to the hospital but it was Jenna's birthday and I would wait until Monday to go to the big hospital in Bangkok. Not moving from the beach all day did my give a slight burn though, but other than that it was a nice relaxing day. We then went to dinner and got the restaurant to bring out a cake we bought out and sing happy birthday to her! She was so surprised and it was perfect! We then played some cards against humanity which is always the best game to ever play! Adam's girlfriend is Thai so it was funny playing with her and having her ask what the cards meant! So funny trying to explain those! We went to Naga bar again but I sat on the side lines watching everyone dance because I just couldn't. Jenna was having stomach problems so we walked back to the bungalows earlier than everyone else and just chatted the night away. The next morning the foot still hurt, but was slightly feeling better I think.. or maybe I was just getting used to the pain, who knows. We spent our last day on the beautiful beach again! I love the beach here because it is so quiet and not as busy as other tourist destinations in Thailand. This island is not very well known and I love that! We caught a speedboat back to the mainland around 2 and our private driver was waiting for us there. The drive back took a little longer than expected because of traffic, but made it home safe and sound, with my fingers crossed I could walk just a little better tomorrow for school.

So foot update: I just walked it off. Took about a week to have no pain, but I didn't go to the hospital. Hopefully I didn't do something serious that will come back to bit me in the butt if I ever hurt that foot/ankle again. Mai pen rai!

My Weekend in Uthai Thani!

I finally made the trip 3 hours from Bangkok to go visit Mary in her school town of Uthai Thani. I hurried after school on Friday to grab the van knowing the longer drive was ahead of me and the Friday traffic. The van ride was the same as all the others. Long, crowded and bumpy. These van drivers are so pedal heavy and going from gas, break, gas, break can make for a long nauseous ride. I finally arrived around 9 to Mary with her bike. She was going to try and ride with me standing on the back... yea that didn't work lol, so it was around a 20 min walk from the bus station to her bungalow. She lives in the cutest little complex filled with bungalows that are occupied by other English teachers. The town is small and there is not much to do, not even taxis are in this city, but I loved it. They looked like mini cottages! I met her two friends Hayden and Nick. They were so much fun!!!! We started with drinks in their complex then the boys wanted to do some karaoke!!! Mary wanted to catch up on some sleep and isn't the biggest fan of karaoke so she passed but um yea I LOVE KARAOKE!!!! So we walked over to the karaoke bar and got some drinks. This place was interesting... girls dressed in next to nothing dancing on the stage, then some girls who were not girls. We were the only white people in this bar and of course had to start the night off by singing some Taylor Swift... duh! Thai people were singing Thai songs which sounded beautiful! We probably looked like a bunch of white drunk people singing and dancing horribly but it was really fun! Hayden and Nick were rocking the stage with some Celine and Madonna and killing it!! Then Hayden was getting a little too drunk so we walked him back to his place and then on our way back a Thai family invited us to come have some drinks with them! They were so nice and telling us about their family and how close they are and every friday they get together to have drinks and dinner and just celebrate being together. They were so much fun and kept feeding us whiskey until the early hours of the morning. Nick and I dragged ourselves back to the complex to then wake up with horrible hangovers, but it was definitely worth it! The next day we started our adventures by getting breakfast and coffee and one of Mary's favourite coffee shops. We rode bikes everywhere we went, which wasn't too bad because things were only about a couple of km away, but then again I hadn't been biking in forever so it still killed me! We stopped at the bus station and parked our bikes to rent a songtao to takes us to Wat Tha Sung, also known as the glass temple. This place was magical. My breath was taken away as soon as we stepped in the place. All the beams throughout the temple (and there were hundreds) were covered in glass. Everything reflected the light and the chandeliers were huge and extravagant. It did not feel real. I thought if someone wanted to have a magical princess wedding you would want it to look like this! I was amazed. We sat there for an hour no one really talking just observing and taking in one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I will never forget how extremely wonderful it was. Then since we were in the area we went to a couple of other temples and then came the catfish. These things were huge!!!!!! You could buy food and feed them while standing on the dock. The whole time I just kept thinking, what if this bridge breaks and we fall in. These catfish would eat me alive! It would be a nightmare! It was cool to experience though! Then we headed back to town got on our bikes and headed for Wat Bat Manorom which had beautiful murals painted inside of the temples. It always amazes me how much hard work must have gone into all of these beautiful places I have had the chance visit. After this temple we quickly biked over to Khao Sakae Krang mountain. On top of this mountain is a temple and famous bell that travellers from all over the world ring when they come, but to get there you have to walk up some stairs..... and by some stairs I mean 450 stairs. Yes Mary counted them as I took my sweet ass time getting this ass up there. Holy Hannah it just about killed me! We made it though and the view and sunset was amazing! Some of my favourite pictures I have taken in Thailand were from this day and I am so blessed that Mary showed me around. The next day we took it easy and rode the bikes around and went to another one of Mary's cafes. Then on my way I went to the bus station to make the trip back to Bangkok. Another great weekend with great people. I love my life!

My Unforgettable Thai Birthday!

My birthday was another day I was worried about spending away from home. Turning 24 isn't exciting but knowing I wasn't going to have a dinner at my mom's or go out for drinks with my friends made me sad. I love birthday's, they are a perfect way to get together with the people I love. This year it was with the new people in my life that I love and they made it so special for me, I will never be able to thank them enough. My birthday fell on a long weekend, already off to a great start, and all my friends had planned to make a trip to Bangkok! The long weekend was the Monday off so I still had to go to work on my actual birthday the Friday. My day started off amazing with beautiful messages sent from home and Thailand. Thank you to everyone who took the time to send gifts and cards they made me feel so loved. When I arrived at school my one student, Time came running up to me with a pink rose. The day before she had asked me what my favourite colour was and I told her pink, which is why she brought me a pink rose. I started crying like a baby. How thoughtful that a 5 year old remembered my birthday and asked her mom to take her out to get me a flower for me birthday. Then all day the students sang me happy birthday when I would rotate to the different classrooms and finally my K3 class made me a beautiful birthday card with wonderful drawings of birthday cakes inside! The students and teachers of Dararat Kindergarten made me feel so loved and special it will be something I cherish for the rest of birthday celebrations to come. Then after school My friend Elise came to Bangkok to spend my birthday night with me! We met up with Jenna, Katie, and Callie at our usual weekend hangout, W-District (which is a beer garden type thing near my apartment). We started off with food and drinks and then went to the skybar. It was a beautiful view and great way to start off my birthday weekend! Then we went to the party street, Nana. We went into Aussie Bar because I love it there!!! The weekend band always rocks and plays the best song sets with every possible style of music you could think of! We just had some casual drinks and called it a night so we were well rested for the next day. Saturday morning we went for breakfast at a place called Rocket. It had the best eggs benedict I have ever had in my life!!!!! Mary caught the early morning van ride and met us for breakfast. Elise was leaving to travel to the beach for the rest of the long weekend so we said goodbye to her after breakfast. Then Mary and I went to the Flower Market in China Town. The flower industry is huge in Thailand because they give flower offerings to Buddha images and temples and to monks. Smaller flower offerings are also given to taxi drivers as a thank you and even teachers or other members in the community. This market was huge and had outrageous amounts of flowers ready to be sold in bulk to those who make the beautiful flower arrangements. It was really neat to see where majority of the flowers are bought each day for these arrangements. Mary and I then met up with Jessie and Bailey (the sisters) who also came down for the weekend from Khon Khaen. We got ready for the night and went to an Indian restaurant called Bombay Blues for dinner. It was amazing!!!! Some of the best butter chicken I have ever had! We then went to a pub called Sway. They hold events every week to promote people coming in. This weekend was free wine for ladies from 7-9pm. Perfect :) It was cheap wine, but free wine is good wine so I had about 8 glasses. Fair to say I didn't have to buy any more drinks for the rest of the night!!! Then we went to cheap charlie's and met up with Doug and Matt, some more friends from our program. We had some drinks there and headed to Aussie Bar again because the band is amazing! We sang and danced the night away!!! We finished the night at Levels which is more of a club and it was a perfect night spent with friends! The next day we were all feeling kinda rough, so we took it easy and went to Au Bon Pair for breakfast. I had my first bagel in months and oh man it was worth it!!! We spent a couple hours in here just reminiscing, telling stories of our lives back home and funny things that have happened to us. This was so much fun. These girls have become my everything in Thailand and I am so grateful they took the time to travel to Bangkok for my birthday. I went back to my apartment to have a nap and they went to see a temple in Bangkok. We met back up for dinner and there was a live band playing. I am always amazed at the bands who sing songs in English and sing it perfectly!! I have heard some of the best music in Thailand who only sing western songs! It was a early night in since we were all still tired from the night before. The next morning Mary and I wanted to go back to Rocket for breakfast so we took Jessie and Bailey there to have the best breakfast of their life! I got a sandwich this time and oh it was also amazing! This is one of my new favourite restaurants! After this everyone had to catch a bus back to their cities so we parted ways and said goodbye until we meet up again! Overall amazing birthday weekend and couldn't have asked for anything more from all of my loved ones at home and my friends in Thailand!