Life of Wrecklessness: Amy and Monica Take Thailand: Week 2

This week started with a homework assignment.

Our TESOL instructor, Jaco, e-mailed some of the class the assignment and asked those who got the e-mail to spread it around to those who weren't on his e-mail list. Monica got it and shared it with me and a few of the girls we started befriending. Some people did it and some didn't, but we were all interested in what would happen on Monday.

Monica and I walked to this healthy food store. I found the most inappropriate thing in the store.

With Monday came the real hard work. We learned how to present a speaking lesson. And our homework was to create one in a group of three for presentation the next day. My group decided on doing musical instruments. And I'd have to say for a first time, it didn't go too bad. We spent all of Tuesday watching, presenting, and critiquing each other's presentations. Tuesday night we got new partners and were assigned an idea. My partner and I got "Under the Sea." I was so excited. And, the placement people finally talked with Monica and I (separately) about our placement preferences.

And we found Ronald McDonald doing the "Y" for Thailand at the mall.

After class on Tuesday, Monica and I walked back home with a new friend and decided to stop off at this location called the "Holiday House." I'm 95% sure it's a tourist destination for Thais as well as for anyone who comes to visit Hua Hin. They had a cute little carnival area in the back. And a good portion of their food vendors had pictures posted on their stalls with people eating there food. So I assume it's a cool place.

This store played Beatles songs.

This is some Thai dessert.

Eating Mochi!!

On Wednesday we presented our lesson plan. Our warmer was pretending to be in a submarine, our vocabulary words were fun, we had a drawing activity and a word search. And we had a lot of fun presenting it. My peers said it showed. My instructor told me I looked like a fairy running around the room. It was a great day that ended with a new partner and a new activity for an older age group.

On Thursday I presented a hospital lesson with a new partner, had a blast presenting, and then the unthinkable happened! Monica got called in to talk about a placement option. Everyone was excited for her, including me. Until that last person asked me if I was okay with it. Then I learned what a break down was really like. I did get some great hugs because of it. And I felt even more terrible because it was all good news for Monica, she was getting placed at a school that wanted her to teach math and it was up north. While I was trying to regain my composure, I got to hide in a corner office with Jill and with Monica. Because of my breakdown, I shot the day to pieces. Monica went to a burger place with friends. And when they all got back, we hung out in another girl's room for a while. I think there was still a lesson plan to do? But all that worked out fine.

On Friday, with the same partners as the day before, we presented a kindergarten lesson. It was kind of a competition, which ever six groups presented the best lesson plan for kindergartners would be picked to present their lesson at camp. So people were kind of working towards the chance to get to play with little, adorable children at camp. The other exciting part of Friday was that we were actually taken to the school we would be teaching at, to create Loi Krathongs with the older students there! Monica and I ended up making one together because I hadn't realized that I needed my own "teacher" and I didn't really want to use the boys sitting at the end of the table as my teachers. Our friends Danni and Emily ended up having to use the boys at the end because they were late and the boys were not as into making the Krathongs pretty.

Our Loi Krathong teacher, working magic.

Danni and Emily with the disinterested boys.

That's our Krathong!

This is what they do for fun, drag each other around the play area.

Smile!

Working hard.

Finished product.

So what is a Loi Krathong? It is made from a piece of a banana tree trunk (I think?) and then wrapped in banana leaves that seriously, our teacher did origami on these things. Making Krathongs is most definitely an art. You stick the banana leaves onto the trunk piece with metal nails. And on top of the banana leaves, you get to deck it out with flowers, and the final touch is an incense and a candle. We finished our Krathongs that day and got to take them home. Back at XploreAsia, we even took a group picture with all of the Krathongs we made!

On Saturday, it was very important for everyone to go to the print shop to make their copies for camp on Monday because the print shop is closed on Sundays. My first partner said that we could meet at the print shop around 4 PM, the print shop that closed at 5 PM. And my second partner said that he would deal with printing for our lesson plan. I spent the day re-working our lesson for Under the Sea since some of the activities we had could be improved. And then I ended up going to the printing shop without my partner because his phone wasn't working and I didn't want to miss it and not get my things printed. After barely clinching in getting to the print shop, I headed back to the house/hotel/thing and met up with Monica. At this point, I have forgotten what else happened. But I'm sure it was good and involved food, possibly shopping, and friends. And the night ended with people going out to see the nightlife and Monica and I waiting with Jill while she waited for everyone to come downstairs.