What we've been up to, and other stories...

I cannot believe that Tim and I have been here for three weeks already. Time has flown by! I have been admittedly terrible with e-mail. Sorry guys.

The things that have been taking our time and energy from our loved ones back home include our training classes, sitting through boring lectures (unless it's Suman's (shoe-men) class), teaching cute Thai kids, preparing lessons to teach cute Thai kids, comparing white sand beaches for softness and cheap accommodations, eating delicious dinners and sharing drinks with friends at sea-side cafes. In short, life here has been pretty good.

Oh yeah, and we had our TEFL test last Thurs. on which we had to transcribe Roman script into phonetics....lame.

So, Ban Phe (Ban Pay) is a pretty small and often a stinky little town with a slew of disgusting dogs. We'll have to take some pictures for you so you can see it for yourself, as they cannot be adequately described in words. We have considered phoning Bob Barker and suggesting he head up a special Thai spay and neuter project.

Some things we have learned since we arrived in Thailand:
1. How to order scrambled eggs (this took about 2 and a half weeks to discover). We ate many a fried egg before making this valuable discovery. In fact, this morning we even learned how to say it, not just gesture it.
2. What those hoses in the bathroom are for....yuck. This is a good lead in to #3.
3. Tim learned how to solve bathroom issues sans standard toiletries. More elaborately, without toilet paper, tissue, hose, or any shred of paper or lint that he may have been lucky to have in a pocket of his pants which hung helplessly around his ankles, he managed to "clean" himself "sufficiently." For those of you who don't mind more detail, read on, for those less interested, proceed to #4.
So, you daring soul.... Tim was teaching in a nearby rural school that apparently gives no regard to wiping or spraying the necessary area post-poop. Tim was unaware of this, and since this experience, does not proceed to a rural area without a small stash of tissue in a pocket (as Lisa already insisted). In this particular situation with pants at his ankles, he began to ponder just how large a bill he was willing to use in the cleaning effort... 20 baht?...50.... 100.?!!! Well, he finally decided to do as many Asians do... and this is why it is dishonorable to shake hands with your left. Imagine him trying to get his pants up and belt fastened with one "clean hand" and then appearing sheepishly from a stall searching and eventually finding a sink to wash in... um, no soap. Don't worry folks, we haven't gotten sick yet. I guess that's why Lisa brings tp and hand sanitizer everywhere.
4. Ice cream bars are cheap. Well, everything here is cheap.
5. Bring an umbrella, it will rain if you don't.
6. You don't pay 100 baht for a short lift (this we learned within the first 24hrs.) You can however get a 1 hour Thai massage for this same price (about $3.00)
7. Motor bikes are fun. Actually, we knew that already.
8. People just toot their horns, nothing personal.
9. Cold showers stink, even if it's really hot outside. It's hard to shave with goose bumps, the mosquito bites are challenging enough.
10. No matter how mangy, sad, and elephantine a homeless dog looks the Thais will let it live....well, persist.
One more for good measure...
11. Use the electric converter everytime.

We love you all dearly and hope you have had a good chuckle at our expense. Below you can find pictures of the people and schools with been teaching with.
Next time we'll share with you pictures of our school. It looks really nice.

Lisa and Tim

P.S. I have been wanting to write postcards but realized that in our hurried departure we gathered e-mail addresses but not postal. Send me your address if you would and will somebody please make sure Lana has this address? She left her e-mail on my phone, which I don't have anymore. Thank you!


This is one of the nicest Thail classrooms we've been in so far... whiteboard, large area, bookshelves.... sometimes it's nothing more than a dark room with a hopeless fan and warped, peeling chalkboard.


Elementary students (Pratham) playing outside school while the principal looks on.


Our friend Gen practice teaching. The girls here have to be really careful what they wear in the classroom, nothing that shows skin of the shoulders or knees or even hints at a shapely figure. We've decidid that despite their best efforts, some of the fine ladies in our group are "too sexy for their jobs."


We're pretty sure this is supposed to read "Fry Steam Bake Grill"


Chillin' between classes. Isn't Tim cute?


After a three days of teaching in this school the students presented us with songs and roses.


This is a daily sight in Thailand... you take your shoes off at the door, so schools look like this at the entrances. Just hope none of those sickly dogs doesn't make a deposit in your footwear while you're teaching.


Lisa snapped this shot of a cute Thai student who presented the English teachers with roses.


This is a friend Rob who's also teaching here. He's sporting his superhero-like goggles that he wears when he's on his scooter. Scooters are a major mode of transportation in Thailand. You'll often see entire families on one scooter... baby in a basket on front, toddler standing behind the handlebars, mom, dad, and older sibling riding on the seat. Yep, nuts.


Here we are, making this post on our blog for you to read... love you guys.