tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90831223654806440902024-03-18T20:29:01.247-07:00So OliviaSO OLIVIAAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-43789809852032131572018-04-27T19:26:00.000-07:002018-04-27T19:26:10.912-07:00Life in a throwaway country: sustainability in Korea
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After a hiatus of almost 2 years, I’m back! I’m not saying
I’m back for good, but for now, I’m back. I left wonderful Italy, graduated
from University, and now here I am livin’ the life in Seoul, South Korea as an
English teacher… How things change!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This time, I want to talk about <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">sustainability</b>. There are so many Korea- related things I could talk
about, but the desire to write about sustainability was the reason I reached
for my laptop tonight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve been in Korea for 6 months now, but as soon as I
arrived I realised that life here is very logical and convenient. Due to the
fact that so much of the country was demolished during the Korean War,
everything is new. That means that they built the stuff they needed, where they
needed it, whilst using a system that works. This means that the subway system
is efficient and the wide, straight roads are basically perfectly planned, with
a timed traffic light on almost every crossing. However annoying this is for
pedestrians (its not uncommon to see a pedestrian legging it from a distance to
catch the lights) it keeps the traffic and pedestrians mostly happy, without
favouring either one. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logical</i>.
Korea’s logic is good and it helps people’s busy day-to-day lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Whilst there’s convenience and logic that are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good, </i>the convenience of some things
just isn’t necessary. That goes for the sheer amount of convenience stores
(ironic, I know) on every block, to the 24-hour food delivery services, and
everything in between. Now, I can agree that it’s handy when you fancy a kimchi
stew at 4am and all you need to do is text someone to get one, however, there
should also be a time where these people just sit down and chill for a second.
Furthermore, taxis are so cheap and readily available because so many people
rely on them, so people don’t feel the pressure to rely on public transport.
Food delivery is well priced, quick and easy so who cares about the fuel
emissions of thousands of delivery motorbikes? You <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could </i>walk the two minutes to McDonald’s but naaah, lets get it
delivered. Want to go to a club or restaurant? They won’t give you a flyer out
on the street but instead they’ll just throw whole stacks of them around on the
floor in an attempt to catch your attention. Well, they caught mine, for the
wrong reasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What comes out of this culture of convenience is a knock-on
effect of a throwaway culture. This is clearly shown by the people who throw
leaflets around but also less explicitly. Due to the fact you can buy whatever
you want, whenever you want it, people don’t cling on to things that they
perhaps would if it wasn’t so easy to get it again. Simple examples of this are
plastic bags and chopsticks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In Korea when you buy something in a shop, no matter how big
or small, the cashier will try to give you a plastic bag. I often carry my own
bags- a habit I picked up from living in England where they charge 5p per bag-
so I refuse their bag and I’m often met with a puzzled look. I have even had to
physically take things <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">out</i> of a bag
myself because they couldn’t fathom the idea that I wouldn’t want a convenient
plastic bag from them. The same goes for chopsticks, which by the way, Korea,
you can use more than once! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The ‘throwaway’ item that really gets to me the most is
plastic coffee cups and straws. Korean people work hard. In fact, they work
themselves to death, with some of the highest suicide and alcoholism rates in
the world. Meanwhile, they drink coffee. The amount of coffee shops on every
street in Korea still astounds me. There are the usual big name coffee shops as
well as smaller chain and independent shops, but they are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everywhere.</i> And they are everywhere for a reason. I sat in a tiny
independent coffee shop for 30 minutes and watched about 25 business people
come in and out during that time- all taking a plastic cup and straw with them.
Lets bare in mind, there are about 5 other coffee shops within a 20-metre
radius of that shop- so try to imagine the footfall in all the other cafes, too.
I don’t think it crosses many people’s minds here to take their own reusable
cup for their coffee. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s such an unusual thing to take your own cup or straw to
a coffee shop, that when my friend took the plastic cup and straw from the previous
day back to the same shop to buy another drink, they instinctively put a new
plastic straw into his freshly made coffee. It may not seem a big deal, but
when you make that decision to stop your consumption of plastic straws and
someone puts one in your coffee (meaning that the only place for that straw is
now the trash, then landfill/the ocean), its flipping annoying. The thing is,
all over the world plastic is seen as a throwaway item, when actually it lasts
a lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Long story short: I’m saddened by
the way that daily life in Korea doesn’t really support a sustainable lifestyle. Koreans <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">consume so much, </b>creating unbelievable
amounts of waste every day from coffee cups, plastic bags, food packaging
(especially plastic fruit and veg boxes in supermarkets) and just generally not
caring about their footprint on the earth. Thankfully, there are some good news
stories emerging about the UK Government proposing to ban plastic straws and
cotton buds, McDonalds ditching plastic straws for paper ones, and coffee chain
Boston Tea Party are going to ban disposable cups. There’s light at the end of
the tunnel, so lets get through it before we drown, choking on plastic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-87186493888059704002016-12-20T15:53:00.000-08:002017-07-26T08:33:08.663-07:00Teaching English in Italy: Sanremo & Genova<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HBdt_mipAaDnZiwErHFwTcWRPXRbz3JcBBprOpdznv5m8g7W8StehKY4jQKiYtFQdip900f6neur_GaazHzw-RGOcN8pWCqJ54_7fPo8sPRyob3Fw0EaOteVSCIlAmEXSwyC6gh-D_w/s1600/IMG_2818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HBdt_mipAaDnZiwErHFwTcWRPXRbz3JcBBprOpdznv5m8g7W8StehKY4jQKiYtFQdip900f6neur_GaazHzw-RGOcN8pWCqJ54_7fPo8sPRyob3Fw0EaOteVSCIlAmEXSwyC6gh-D_w/s640/IMG_2818.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Ciao a tutti!</b></span></div>
<br />
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This
year I decided to fill a few empty weeks of my summer doing something that I
love, and that I have actually spoken about on here before. After thinking that
I probably wouldn’t return to working with LSF in Italy again, somehow I wound
back up on the beautiful Ligurian coast for a couple of weeks ready to teach a
whole new bunch of Italian kiddies! Two years ago I did the same thing- read
about that <a href="http://soolivia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-best-summer-ever-sanremo-and-blue.html" target="_blank">here</a> and had such a great time so I took the plunge and put myself
up for it again- this time for two weeks. In my last post about working with
<a href="http://www.linguesenzafrontiere.com/work-with-us.html" target="_blank">LSF</a> I explained everything, but the bare essentials of the job are:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Turn up at a beachside resort in Sanremo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Stay there for a week learning songs and
games that you will use on camp to teach English<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have lots of fun during free time in the sea, at local bars and playing beach volleyball with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glistening</i> Italian men<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Go to your camp, wherever that may be (you are
allocated the day before you go!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Stay with a host family during your stay, who
will feed you and love you like their own child<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Go to camp every day and sweat your tits off<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Finish the two weeks of camp with a show that
your darling, sweet Italian bambini will perform in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfect</i> English to their weeping parents<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Get drunk to celebrate that its over and you can
stop sweating now<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBytWmNMAnI6dTC1JgucNq7UbqOAfHWZv1XKEOYfmL20Jh6gabVRKUajiXrwweThTmJrXtUjbI0Rwe2BGp_sVW9Ki3CxE-ZDZQ4P8YHg7nSLzaIsowbuELpHg02xe4ROlbF1ra3kzIeo/s1600/IMG_2834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBytWmNMAnI6dTC1JgucNq7UbqOAfHWZv1XKEOYfmL20Jh6gabVRKUajiXrwweThTmJrXtUjbI0Rwe2BGp_sVW9Ki3CxE-ZDZQ4P8YHg7nSLzaIsowbuELpHg02xe4ROlbF1ra3kzIeo/s640/IMG_2834.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working with a view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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I was
placed in the lovely seaside city of Genova, with a sweet guy called Steffen.
We got on very well and didn’t mind taking it in turns to nap during break time...
He made camp a lot more enjoyable for me, because we actually only had <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">11 kids</b> in the entire camp; 5 of which
were in my class, making it a very quiet and more of a job for us to entertain
them. Stef was constantly cracking jokes and making me smile, and I even arrived
one morning at 8am to him meditating in the morning light of his classroom.. it
was magical.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Host Family<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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My
host family were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by far</b> the best
part of the experience this time around for me. Part of the reason I wanted to work
with LSF again is because I am now in my final year of an Italian degree, so
living and breathing an Italian lifestyle would always be beneficial! My host
family couldn’t really speak any English, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thank
god!</i> So I was ‘lucky enough’ to speak only in Italian for two weeks solid.
It did mean that I started to sleep walk and talk <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in Italian</i>, which was a hilarious first for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdhjynJn7FwSKD6yEVTrOhTYTtYUxNvk2Ysjn_TA7LTlqc9TPhlNHNMPyrcsfGKy2Zy36CScL34x78wWH3RwLnYPFeGruRxnbbScV9wXEHVF8AmtqxUC3TNnaZ_yYqjQdzCqx_FSfKYw/s1600/IMG_3365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdhjynJn7FwSKD6yEVTrOhTYTtYUxNvk2Ysjn_TA7LTlqc9TPhlNHNMPyrcsfGKy2Zy36CScL34x78wWH3RwLnYPFeGruRxnbbScV9wXEHVF8AmtqxUC3TNnaZ_yYqjQdzCqx_FSfKYw/s640/IMG_3365.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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My
host family consisted of Mama Daniela, Papà Angelo, and 8-year-old twins Jenny
and Gabriel (the cutest, most well- tempered children!) oh, and two little
bunnies. I really struck it lucky with my family and felt <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> at home. Daniela treated me like her daughter and best friend-
and she sends me a weekly photo of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘</i>gnocco’,
or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a very sexy man</i>, and Angelo calls
me “MY DARLING!” (always shouted) and tells me I will “never walk alone”. He is
also a salsa instructor, and one day during dinner he pulled me away from my
pasta/the table and just started dancing with me- with only the Italian news in
the background keeping the beat. It was really funny and made me feel really at
home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGiB9u5GWUWrb3BLKSYIEmxDz9bkZYwjtlgdjUQoKLmT4gFrcY8SMiUY35mm8yB3nW8Zsm0JVa5C-GrirbxUjNemMQqYi2XPjTbXCzRqpEgpj3abTl_apbi3MCs93cUWOnY-9i0ZITwo/s1600/IMG_3136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGiB9u5GWUWrb3BLKSYIEmxDz9bkZYwjtlgdjUQoKLmT4gFrcY8SMiUY35mm8yB3nW8Zsm0JVa5C-GrirbxUjNemMQqYi2XPjTbXCzRqpEgpj3abTl_apbi3MCs93cUWOnY-9i0ZITwo/s640/IMG_3136.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>FOOD<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Angelo’s
simple yet tasty cooking blows the socks off any normal Italian restaurant in
the UK. Every day he would prepare a ‘primo’ first plate of pasta followed by a
‘secondo’ main dish of meat, usually accompanied by salad or cooked vegetables
in true Italian fashion. Breakfast isn’t really a thing in Italy, so when I
made them all a classic English breakfast on my final Sunday before leaving, it
really threw a spanner in the works when it came to lunch time and nobody was
hungry! Ooooops.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MwQDBzP3fb5F7NefTeVDlkqrdrS4lY1NJ6IdnrOI0oVds4c_XQeDJQN6Gu3EkZRvBDr1yp0m1GxK3BbjqE1vrfWPtYbr0NqSg3Gq2bbcYt8j9LPfFWikoRJ8CqcfcWQLFENLxdCBMTg/s1600/IMG_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MwQDBzP3fb5F7NefTeVDlkqrdrS4lY1NJ6IdnrOI0oVds4c_XQeDJQN6Gu3EkZRvBDr1yp0m1GxK3BbjqE1vrfWPtYbr0NqSg3Gq2bbcYt8j9LPfFWikoRJ8CqcfcWQLFENLxdCBMTg/s640/IMG_2950.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Camp</u></b></div>
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</div>
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I was a little disappointed when I was allocated to such a small camp, after experiencing a camp of almost 60 kids two years ago. However, it ended up simply being a totally different experience! Stef and I had to work together and work <i>harder</i> to entertain such a small amount of kids, especially in the first few days when everyone was finding their feet. I bonded with my class (the younger kids, aged 8-12) nicely, working my way into their hearts by letting them listen to their favourite songs, (which were secretly my favourite songs too), and also because I can speak Italian I was able to help the younger ones when they really couldn't communicate in English in some situations. We spent the day singing songs and playing games which aided their language learning, as well as doing classroom activities which focussed on teaching the language.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvAdfK-_gejjaMg93C7XSNu7dLGStnK4zwzY_02EZTLGqNKMFzxW6NTyKmyYA1rtS7YMRviV5gEXWU6WdVzSC7jb6SlkTbYVlTG02yY1TgOxj2VLMasOTveI0feUV3PRQOGpIopVYoEA/s1600/IMG_3268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvAdfK-_gejjaMg93C7XSNu7dLGStnK4zwzY_02EZTLGqNKMFzxW6NTyKmyYA1rtS7YMRviV5gEXWU6WdVzSC7jb6SlkTbYVlTG02yY1TgOxj2VLMasOTveI0feUV3PRQOGpIopVYoEA/s640/IMG_3268.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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I
said it before and I will say it again: I would recommend working with LSF or a
similar organisation to anyone interested in: getting out of their comfort
zone; travelling; teaching; meeting new people; enjoying incredible food every
day; living with a host family, and getting paid to sing songs and drink wine
on the beach for a week. I write about my teaching experiences in the hope to
inform and inspire anyone else thinking of doing it, so if that’s you, stop
thinking and just do it!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBXH3WSaFTVyTkaqOD7-_oTLuHMSonzcIWbhJTELuK0ipgV4l6NqyOccxUZPWMzPR3mcYzOW2R9mmslH47DJm0IlGGbk1mN6eUu_vHYkphKkQKpFsalf7c_M6OekPQItaT65OcGacBoM/s1600/IMG_3242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBXH3WSaFTVyTkaqOD7-_oTLuHMSonzcIWbhJTELuK0ipgV4l6NqyOccxUZPWMzPR3mcYzOW2R9mmslH47DJm0IlGGbk1mN6eUu_vHYkphKkQKpFsalf7c_M6OekPQItaT65OcGacBoM/s640/IMG_3242.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch date....HOW CUTE!? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><br />Do you think you'd be interested in teaching at camp?</o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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A
presto!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Olivia
x<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-46659544485423067502016-03-06T15:57:00.002-08:002016-03-07T03:22:17.545-08:00Coffee Politics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFhCrscLVSm6rKaM7Ys_erYuNGFJSk1U3BQSRPMNBJuVUAO3g2VX637PMvkC_6A8CwBkNRm7die9wdISp8C2Ahjdo1qrwH431fvSO_MvTFG7-kKEVeseCDlSx4g0li32rSLZNRRZ3RZI/s1600/IMG_5837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFhCrscLVSm6rKaM7Ys_erYuNGFJSk1U3BQSRPMNBJuVUAO3g2VX637PMvkC_6A8CwBkNRm7die9wdISp8C2Ahjdo1qrwH431fvSO_MvTFG7-kKEVeseCDlSx4g0li32rSLZNRRZ3RZI/s640/IMG_5837.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Coffee. The dark nectar. The reason you make it to
work with your eyes open. The glue that repairs broken friendships. An excuse to waste hours of the day chatting with a cute guy over a cappuccino slowly going cold… More than just a strong caffeine hit. And let’s not
forget, it is the famous best friend of students worldwide. Coffee is way more
than just a beverage. It’s one of the drugs least frowned-upon all over the
world- and the dealers who know exactly how to perfect their product are the
famously thirsty <i>Italians</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Italian simplicity <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Drinking coffee is a natural movement in an Italian’s day. It
is so ingrained in their routine that they don’t even realise they’re doing it.
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prendiamo un caffè?” </i>is not so much
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">question</i> in Italy, it is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">declaration</i> that’s rarely resisted by
the addressee.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To explain how habitual it is to drink a quick <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">caffè </i>(a single espresso) whilst out on the go, bars often have
two prices for the same drink. Your bill depends on if you drink <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">al banco </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">al tavolo </i>(at the bar/at a table); obviously costing almost double
for those cappuccino-drinking tourists who almost <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">definitely</i> need the table to support their DSLR camera-weakened
arms as they slowly sip away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
On that note, let me tell you rule <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">numero uno</i> about drinking cappuccino in Italy: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it is a breakfast drink</b> and you are likely to incur an eye-roll (or
two) when ordering after midday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Coffee done wrong?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Outside of Italy, however, for example in the UK, we have a different attitude towards coffee. Obviously there are the usual grab-and-go to
the office types, but from my experience as a twenty-something-year old student,
going for a coffee in the UK is often a much more leisurely affair. Coffee
dates can last between 30 minutes to an hour or more! We English don’t simply
order a coffee and drink it without a chair beneath us- are you crazy? We
utilise the time to catch up with friends and treat ourselves to a nice piece
of pie while we’re at it!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHgDtzSMIO4YSVlzAhwaGGwkCXH9Xb4mfnX2E4UGXB0xh1COix93EEVVrnChs1UTFEMv4TxdnAY4CV7TSJnw8drpZ1qjf7T_4muXHYisL_sLgiAQjOu_8AfJcK8ukAY5ndaoN5gOGU8c/s1600/IMG_5835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHgDtzSMIO4YSVlzAhwaGGwkCXH9Xb4mfnX2E4UGXB0xh1COix93EEVVrnChs1UTFEMv4TxdnAY4CV7TSJnw8drpZ1qjf7T_4muXHYisL_sLgiAQjOu_8AfJcK8ukAY5ndaoN5gOGU8c/s640/IMG_5835.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best cappuccino I have ever tasted in Rome!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Furthermore, unlike the simple flavours of classic Italian
coffee, popular places such as Starbucks and Costa in the UK give the
opportunity for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">double-shot-skinny-vanilla-latte-with-a-dash-of-cinnamon-or-cocoa-when-feeling-frisky</i>
drinkers to also join the party, often following fashions and celebrity trends.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, what is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">correct</i>
way to drink coffee? After living in Italy for the past 6 months, I have
experienced both the quick <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">caffè</i> and
the hours sat with numerous<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> cappuccini </i>being
delivered to my table in my favourite cosy coffee shop. I have come to the
conclusion that there really is no right way of drinking coffee. To avoid
looking like a tourist in Italy it is important to obey the ‘midday rule,’ but
apart from this, I would say that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything
goes</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
P.s, here’s a recent article declaring fashionable
Starbucks’ entry into the Italian coffee market! How do we all think that’ll
go? </div>
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<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/29/taking-the-plunger-starbucks-to-open-first-store-in-italy">http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/29/taking-the-plunger-starbucks-to-open-first-store-in-italy</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-17284138189489806092015-11-09T14:26:00.000-08:002015-11-09T14:26:02.670-08:00Erasmus Year Abroad: Being Assaulted and Halloween Happiness<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmmms7Kb8CZ8Fy7fWiuWaX4uxAef8pGjPcXzjdGpAMuwXXxZE53_-dsbT_FPOHY_E9t3RypVcvRKoIG9W3QAvJphhIwrN4DTdjxCED2zKQqNXKD3-ptvp0WWsPE7xr28l9leXFlIzBUo/s1600/IMG_5184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmmms7Kb8CZ8Fy7fWiuWaX4uxAef8pGjPcXzjdGpAMuwXXxZE53_-dsbT_FPOHY_E9t3RypVcvRKoIG9W3QAvJphhIwrN4DTdjxCED2zKQqNXKD3-ptvp0WWsPE7xr28l9leXFlIzBUo/s640/IMG_5184.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Buongiorno!</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Last Saturday was Halloween, which meant that there were of course some funky shenanigans on the cards - but still our usual Thursday
night party ensued. Therefore, we battled through the weekend, drink after drink. Thursday's plan was to have a fairly chilled night in our local bar/club ‘Bella Vista’ so
we were alive and kicking for our friend Toby’s party on Friday and then Halloween
celebrations on Saturday. Of course, the chilled Thursday night wasn’t as
chilled as we planned, so Friday was a bit of a struggle! (But not a struggle that free
sangria couldn’t fix!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, here's a little tale about the events of Friday. There we were at Toby’s party, where free
sangria flowing like a river, when I suddenly felt somebody softly touch my
bum. I jumped round to find a man, about mid 50s standing there without a care
in the world. His grey hair matched his equally grey tracksuit, which struggled
to fit around his disgusting soul. I didn’t think too much about it and carried
on having a good time, but then my friend told me he had also just touched her.
I began to get annoyed with this man who was clearly there just to molest the
young women at the party. Later, I happened to
witness his creepy sausage fingers grope three more girls’ backsides. This just didn’t sit well with me - I’d had enough. I grabbed his hand off
the third Italian girl, who thanked me gratefully and then with a blank
expression, the man held his hands up to say “Whoops”. I told him pretty much
to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stop effing touching everyone up, as
it’s not OK, </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>I turned back
around to my friends. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A minute later, my brain told me that there was a nice cold
beer being poured over my head running through my carefully straightened locks. As
I tried to come to terms with what was happening, the grey man finished by
throwing the now empty glass bottle at me, still, expressionless. Rather than
instantly flipping out, I was in shock about what he had just done,
and also disturbed by the look on his face as he threw the bottle at me. He was
taken out of the club, still holding his hands up as though he was innocent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I went to the ladies to have a second to think about what to
do: go home and be really angry that this man had pissed me off and ruined my
freshly washed, blow-dried and straightened hair; or to stay out a say YOLO. I
decided the latter would be the better option, and I was bought sambucca shots
to cheer me up. Incredibly, as the beer in my hair started to dry, it created
some wonderful volume and I quite enjoyed the look. Every cloud, hey?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But seriously, it’s not right that this kind of thing
happens. In my opinion, this guy should be locked away before someone else
tells him to stop harassing them, and he punches them in the face or something.
But as my friends and I have discussed, we would probably be laughed at or
certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> taken seriously if we
reported him. And this provokes the thought in me about how many other young
women, and anyone else in fact, don’t report this kind of thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AWl_bAPmDkwFrmy5FFlGaN0oqyZFImfwB0RBiUGxaQ7-DxNoV6bD_mOAwmVuzgQkt0ThbAaQST6UvRiJHX7f3Bp6hgDmJPEinh9-ENw0Ruok2N7QjcKobRDPCpRP5kTFFU-HJIg91-g/s1600/IMG_5151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AWl_bAPmDkwFrmy5FFlGaN0oqyZFImfwB0RBiUGxaQ7-DxNoV6bD_mOAwmVuzgQkt0ThbAaQST6UvRiJHX7f3Bp6hgDmJPEinh9-ENw0Ruok2N7QjcKobRDPCpRP5kTFFU-HJIg91-g/s640/IMG_5151.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Halloween<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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When Saturday came we were pretty exhausted, but the party
was still on! After some hilarious pre-dinks in my flat with a fair few of us in my living room, we headed out to the Piazza Del
Campo for a huge silent disco party. Hardly anybody was dressed up (as expected) because Halloween
isn’t really a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thing</i> in Italy, but we
did the usual “minimum effort facepaint” and got away with not being
spoilsports. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmc1leZ4VByI_RV-3grcgY1i7EAyMxHX45QPPHp6qwvVhOvmcvAC563w_qEGUZs4CoGOW1sLkwIUL-ggBbMqrVtN6W_HIIoybVFGyxU6NgEaMdXP5xfNcrkLx5xNXp4jJaFOQHZ4-8G00/s1600/IMG_5210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmc1leZ4VByI_RV-3grcgY1i7EAyMxHX45QPPHp6qwvVhOvmcvAC563w_qEGUZs4CoGOW1sLkwIUL-ggBbMqrVtN6W_HIIoybVFGyxU6NgEaMdXP5xfNcrkLx5xNXp4jJaFOQHZ4-8G00/s640/IMG_5210.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, not all of us were able to get the headphones
from the company, because there were so many people that wanted them. Thankfully, my aforementioned pal Toby
gave me his own headphones that I was able to plug into my phone.
The rest of my friends had the proper headphones and I was unlucky not to get
them, but it really made no difference that I was listening to my own music
rather than their shared playlist.<i> At least I was in control of the tunes and
could secretly listen to Shaggy- Boombastic as many times as I liked, heheh</i>. We
all agree that we felt like 13 year olds at a school disco, starting conga
lines and not having a care in the world! It was so great to look all around
and see so many smiles - the biggest of which was coming from Toby who was
having the best time out of everyone. I even felt the need to take an extremely blurry selfie of Toby and I to capture his happiness mid conga, of course - here it is!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3FpmHoxNRxg3jQCaJtFEagp2r5JNbaqo6XX2LtBoyQZSsDKkICO_cwQt2J6PMQoqjCvTi8ch9Sq2GJBLHRdmGGY83Kq_S_GVH431E6B_m_6RjG0TRFMTRBfcGetaEnYL1hpJu9_khAc/s1600/IMG_5366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3FpmHoxNRxg3jQCaJtFEagp2r5JNbaqo6XX2LtBoyQZSsDKkICO_cwQt2J6PMQoqjCvTi8ch9Sq2GJBLHRdmGGY83Kq_S_GVH431E6B_m_6RjG0TRFMTRBfcGetaEnYL1hpJu9_khAc/s640/IMG_5366.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Again, this post has completely ignored anything about
studying or the actual purpose of me being in Siena. However, at least you’re
getting a real insight into an Erasmus student’s life, right?!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A presto!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
x<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-55415585035323496112015-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:002015-11-09T12:55:31.538-08:00Hair Care: My 'No Poo' Experience and Life-Saving AVEDA<div style="text-align: justify;">
Similarly to most other human beings on the planet, I am always on the look out for amazing hair and beauty products that are that little bit <i>special. </i>Being a student, it is sometimes hard to fulfil my desires for such products, so I love it when one happens to come along at a fairly low price, or if one is <i>extra</i> special that I can justify digging deep for.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNOP565RzFpQVh2IBTt-tU1SvZAVFTksZxxqtdf9HcAB0ugz5-k3eDJoL7OM_MVXY3ZvYJqGx8e1vIHJluLQ5Xqd6sQ-AW8YRI69HAuf_-YLYhZpLoMG4QCnTNWdc-Pep8QjOxNvu-WUs/s1600/IMG_4863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNOP565RzFpQVh2IBTt-tU1SvZAVFTksZxxqtdf9HcAB0ugz5-k3eDJoL7OM_MVXY3ZvYJqGx8e1vIHJluLQ5Xqd6sQ-AW8YRI69HAuf_-YLYhZpLoMG4QCnTNWdc-Pep8QjOxNvu-WUs/s640/IMG_4863.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
No Poo</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love to experiment with different products- especially those that may be somewhat <i>strange</i>. This meant that when I heard about the <b>'no poo' </b>method for washing your hair, I was pretty excited to give it a try. I won't go too much into detail here about what the method entails as <a href="http://thenopoomethod.com/no-poo-methods/" target="_blank">this page</a> clears it up nicely. To cut a long story short, it involves washing your hair with products <i>other than </i>with conventional<i> </i>shampoo and conditioner - fun, eh?! This is to avoid the nasty chemicals used in shampoo/conditioner that make your hair feel clean, but actually strip your hair of its goodness (such as sodium laureth sulphate/ SLS). I'm getting into checking the labels of hair products after reading a lot about the nasties you often find in your normal products, so I'm actually starting to feel like I'm on a diet!</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Mistake 1 - Solely using baking soda</h3>
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Last year I decided to give this crazy idea a go! I went for the baking soda option because it was something I already had in the cupboards. This involved me washing my hair with a teaspoon<i>ish</i> amount of baking soda diluted into a jug of water <i>each time I washed it</i> (rookie error). It doesn't feel particularly good because it doesn't foam up like a ice shampoo does- it just kinda goes on your head and then you wash it off. After this I would sometimes use some kind of hair mask/conditioner on the ends (such as Ro's Argan Body Conditioner - yes, you can use it in your hair!) from LUSH because their products don't contain those pesky nasties that I was trying to avoid. I often left this conditioning stage out though, because Ro's Argan can be a bit heavy and I hadn't yet found an alternative.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Mistake 2 - Not using conditioner</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I went away to Italy for 6 weeks I bought a 'New' shampoo bar from LUSH to take away with me, as it is a little easier to transport in a suitcase than baking soda. Because of the whole 'avoiding chemicals' pilgrimage I was on, I became a little despondent to using conditioner whilst I was in Italy, so I ended up just using my trusty shampoo bar.</div>
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Bad idea.</div>
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My locks were in a bit of a state after 6 weeks, to be honest. "Blimey, your hair's dry!" was literally the <i>first</i> thing my Mum said to me when she hugged me hello. So I knew that I needed to stop being silly and take better care of my hair. But, I wasn't sure how to do it without returning to cheap shampoo that would also further harm my hair.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Repentance</h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFJtv56CSa99qJtua-l3YZlNc1vFTLY6rk54vJq9nMeDL8eRuSo1Fv8xLVYaoCbIuWdcl-xnn6lUs2mILIX6fcbjSQSfP0G7PyDt3Q85JgH1dpZUCiywuJNxX6ArAqYGJp5HSlwQRMXk/s1600/IMG_5240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFJtv56CSa99qJtua-l3YZlNc1vFTLY6rk54vJq9nMeDL8eRuSo1Fv8xLVYaoCbIuWdcl-xnn6lUs2mILIX6fcbjSQSfP0G7PyDt3Q85JgH1dpZUCiywuJNxX6ArAqYGJp5HSlwQRMXk/s640/IMG_5240.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Thats when I discovered AVEDA damage remedy.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After trying to be smart by saving money and not using nasty chemicals on my hair, it turns out that I pretty much caused more harm to it than good! The ends of my hair were very dry and I felt pretty guilty for abandoning my hair. Therefore, to rectify my mistakes I forked out for a hair cut and this dreamy product which I had read great reviews about.</div>
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Aveda products incorporate plant and flower essences to create products that are good for your hair, skin, face etc. I was recommended by the assistant in the Bath store to use <a href="http://www.aveda.co.uk/product/7410/16901/Hair-Care/Hair-Concern/repair-damage/Damage-Remedy-Daily-Hair-Repair/index.tmpl" target="_blank">Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair</a> which would supposedly repair my hair from the inside out. I use this product every time I wash my hair (every 2-4 days). I simply squeeze a 5 pence piece amount into my palms and rub together and then lightly stroke the product through my mids and ends whilst damp after washing. It acts as a heat protectant from irons and blow drying, and also helps as a de-tangler, so brushing time is reduced significantly! (And trust me, I appreciate that!) You can then safely blow dry the product into the hair or just leave it to dry naturally like I do.</div>
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To accompany this product, I bought some Faith in Nature shampoo and conditioner which contain natural ingredients so I didn't revert back to naughty, cheap drugstore shampoo. This worked pretty nicely for me- it didn't foam very much (which is a good sign) and my hair didn't get greasy very soon after washes. It was also pretty cheap at around £10 for the pair. Yay!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ_o5E66gLtTTSeyVurz1SNEXk0lfUshc2mYn6CI2dpCUYkMgZl3CoYFW-XiMu64cPFF9SlA_LKgM9X2KD12mz634zSqXTk-2I1Q2XZCQTt3B72hjTZ1GraKhVBRU2SfqEwwp5foma2c/s1600/IMG_5243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ_o5E66gLtTTSeyVurz1SNEXk0lfUshc2mYn6CI2dpCUYkMgZl3CoYFW-XiMu64cPFF9SlA_LKgM9X2KD12mz634zSqXTk-2I1Q2XZCQTt3B72hjTZ1GraKhVBRU2SfqEwwp5foma2c/s640/IMG_5243.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Verdict</h3>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair is a very good product. It smooths, detangles, protects from heat and repairs your hair with friendly and organic ingredients. It's not a miracle worker, but I <b>do</b> think that it contributes to the long-lasting, good condition of my hair. Maintaining long hair is <i>hard</i>, and this product reduces my hair-brushing rage A LOT, which in turn means that I rip less hair out. Win win!! It has also lasted me a long time which is surprising, seeing as I have so much hair.</div>
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<div>
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I wouldn't recommend anybody use baking soda on their hair for a long period of time, especially if you aren't using a conditioner to accompany it. I have heard that using apple cider vinegar is a good, natural conditioner that can be used alongside the baking soda, so perhaps give that a try if you are dead set on going 'no poo' using baking soda!</div>
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I'd love to hear your stories about how you have gotten on with this method/ or if you will give it a try after reading this! Fingers crossed you learn from my mistakes.</div>
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A presto! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-67108991650906302152015-11-09T12:28:00.001-08:002015-11-09T12:28:52.534-08:00Erasmus Year Abroad: San Gimignano, Worlds Best Gelato<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8388r8udW9zNeRDq4_wn3DlmaSwDlIDvfbBPvd0D3czuVk4dV_0GyPwdkgWGPk24F0SI29DNSSA5E65HIhS_tjI2mThe2ADtDMViwOgp9uUekf6HLeBbKAH9pq3NT6ESad2X8wzR1pU/s1600/IMG_5053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8388r8udW9zNeRDq4_wn3DlmaSwDlIDvfbBPvd0D3czuVk4dV_0GyPwdkgWGPk24F0SI29DNSSA5E65HIhS_tjI2mThe2ADtDMViwOgp9uUekf6HLeBbKAH9pq3NT6ESad2X8wzR1pU/s640/IMG_5053.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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CIAO!<br />
So, I am now well into the swing of things on my year abroad
in Siena. I have been very naughty by pushing every single important thing I
should be doing to the back of my mind, hence why I haven’t written here in a
couple of weeks. One of the things to blame is my discovery of Netflix, or more
directly, Breaking Bad. How have I missed out on this show for so long? Over
the past two weeks or so I have been binge-watching like a mo-fo and I am
really starting to worry how I will cope once I complete it. However, I <i>am</i> in Italy after all, and let not pretend that I'm the only relaxed one here.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYe_oiElUvWOwHT4_zllEM9Gy9RRrtw2a2-v1BDYncGHJKLKFr5n3Za607ViNyT6aApjxUPSeCtFXCu-cofS06j0nvc0L2LwYgEVpUBJkvG6tTOO2Egql1vfK80VO1iu2eNO_f_LL-ioY/s1600/IMG_5085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYe_oiElUvWOwHT4_zllEM9Gy9RRrtw2a2-v1BDYncGHJKLKFr5n3Za607ViNyT6aApjxUPSeCtFXCu-cofS06j0nvc0L2LwYgEVpUBJkvG6tTOO2Egql1vfK80VO1iu2eNO_f_LL-ioY/s640/IMG_5085.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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My pals and I have kind-of worked out that we can’t survive
the week if we party before a Thursday night. This means that from Thursday
onwards it’s all go! Up until Thursday, we all stumble through the week
(probably still hungover from our three-day bender) going to lectures,
studying, eating and napping. I think I am finally done with going to random
lectures, deciding I can’t understand a thing, and never returning- and
actually settled on 4 subjects to do this semester. Year Abroad bureaucracy is
busting our balls as expected, and the deadlines for handing in important
documents stating our subject choices are currently happening. It is possible
that we have actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">missed</i> the
deadline for the dreaded “learning agreement’ hand-in, but none of us really
know what the hell is going on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmE0PX9jCXroZQzwv0R9XOR5fFfZyKfkftJwJtz6DlWm7RrdlenzMev6CoPdo8vH-2a6MojpR0z_YYiEdCwrH8jIXg15elApxCLUtpQUXo3tX2XMOyhEfTD5x3bYGs-pDOBliXgwKb2Y/s1600/IMG_5052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmE0PX9jCXroZQzwv0R9XOR5fFfZyKfkftJwJtz6DlWm7RrdlenzMev6CoPdo8vH-2a6MojpR0z_YYiEdCwrH8jIXg15elApxCLUtpQUXo3tX2XMOyhEfTD5x3bYGs-pDOBliXgwKb2Y/s640/IMG_5052.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned before, we usually party Thursday through to
Sunday, so our three-day weekend is mostly full of hangovers and regrets. But
last weekend, we thought we should do something worthwhile. The nearby town of San
Gimignano with the girls was the perfect little day trip! Following a Friday
night spent in the pub, we almost missed the bus and had to run for it with
doughnuts and espressos in our hands. An hour and a half later we arrived in an
extremely cute and picturesque town perched on top of the rolling Tuscan hills.
It was quite a relief to be off the bus full of 12 year old boys saying “I have
a very long spade” with suggestive Italian smirks. The weatherman said it would
be around 24 degrees, and he certainly delivered. We strolled through the
winding streets in the autumn sun, stopping occasionally to gawp at the views
of the hills around us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rather than having lunch in an overpriced restaurant, we
found a supermarket and filled our baskets with mozzarella, cured meats, bread,
olives and other Italian delights (not forgetting the vino!) We found a lovely
little spot in the corner of a sunlit piazza and laid out our feast on the
floor. A musician played a steel drum in the background as we chatted and
scoffed our faces with cheese; it was absolute perfection.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br />
Ice cream was the next thing on the list. San Gim is
renowned for its ice cream, as one of its gelaterias earned the “Gelato World
Champion” title twice in recent years. In my eyes it isn’t worthy of its title,
(nor the huge queue that we had to battle through to get in the door) - but it
was still nice of course, as it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> gelato
after all!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Almost every one of us fell asleep on the bus home as we were all so wiped out from our exciting day trip! Our plans for that night quickly went out of the window as we were all so tired....PARTY HARD!<br />
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A presto!</div>
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x</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-47774012165845800202015-10-11T15:26:00.001-07:002015-10-11T15:26:27.360-07:00Erasmus Year in Siena | The Party Continues<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-rr0KuJ9Z_fS0NewB-WC0sD84c0G3270E0t8Qc56ffHfZXM6mJOUlOdNGG4YNA9c23Me8OA7VDll6EV2JUnr-wZquc8bS4GE9efJMDnu8zC_NjfcQ2gSR8W5dcYz1ZQzsHxXgsUjefw/s1600/IMG_4626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-rr0KuJ9Z_fS0NewB-WC0sD84c0G3270E0t8Qc56ffHfZXM6mJOUlOdNGG4YNA9c23Me8OA7VDll6EV2JUnr-wZquc8bS4GE9efJMDnu8zC_NjfcQ2gSR8W5dcYz1ZQzsHxXgsUjefw/s640/IMG_4626.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Week 1 of lectures is done! It wasn’t a completely
successful week- but I survived it. As expected, I didn’t understand the three
Italian literature lessons I attended, nor the social anthropology one that I
left half way through. I even managed to miss the first three lessons of my
Sociology module but made the fourth and it was the first lecture that I’ve
understood a word of- so it’s not all bad…<o:p></o:p></div>
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In between these dreadful lectures, I have been eating a lot
and crying myself to sleep... Not really, I’m joking. But, I did have a few
“how the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">F</b> am I going to survive
this year?” moments. I’m sure things will get better though, and I know that
I’m not the only Erasmus student to feel like this so I’m not going to pack it
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just yet</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMlioevYjQwY26JwPRN9BJkJTMK7iDDSyAEarsthkWUqH31wjF0dHhMbxeHpf3E25E2rYnJXIOKcPlzYIRt539as7PQ34Nx2StQVyr7f_gTJF3_Je_wGF0ZfU8-97DDdTsM8XV8TVaGc/s1600/IMG_4662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMlioevYjQwY26JwPRN9BJkJTMK7iDDSyAEarsthkWUqH31wjF0dHhMbxeHpf3E25E2rYnJXIOKcPlzYIRt539as7PQ34Nx2StQVyr7f_gTJF3_Je_wGF0ZfU8-97DDdTsM8XV8TVaGc/s640/IMG_4662.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from my room. I wish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Aside from crapping my pants in-and-out of lectures, normal
practise has resumed. Some of us went on a city tour, and a tour of the big
municipal building on Piazza dal Campo- which were both very good and
insightful. Even though I have been here for a few weeks now, I still hadn’t
learnt much about some of the main parts and foundations of Siena, so I was
really happy to finally find out some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stuff.
</i>The municipal building was really cool, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i> beautiful. The ceilings and other paintings throughout the
building are the best I’ve ever seen! I mean, just look at this ceiling and see
for yourselves. Unfortunately, I only had my phone that doesn’t produce the
best of photos!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialbP2H9eNyOqeU_a6ar8DU4-47O2L6ORGWBAe_ryhl5h5H8bc2u0MyU9HvSZH7ppzT7JIEaI1rBL7I_L5ezrm0kDSzo95Ic3qYYgHJ5UZ4NKU3LiWBX16Wj4X_bYFTGf3AT503zs34jE/s1600/IMG_4644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialbP2H9eNyOqeU_a6ar8DU4-47O2L6ORGWBAe_ryhl5h5H8bc2u0MyU9HvSZH7ppzT7JIEaI1rBL7I_L5ezrm0kDSzo95Ic3qYYgHJ5UZ4NKU3LiWBX16Wj4X_bYFTGf3AT503zs34jE/s640/IMG_4644.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pano</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Last weekend, my housemate Emma and I went on an Erasmus
trip to the Chianti hills where we visited some wineries, tasted different
wines and then randomly ended the trip in a thermae spa. I must say, we were
rather hungover and tired so the highlight was the really cool spa, which we
went to in the dark. The outdoor pools were all lit up, and even though the
whole place stank of sulphur, it was a very nice end to the day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p><br /></o:p></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZh0PvdWm78qgYbw09QPCVERa5ToRGVPS4LE9BI0IuW2FHa8JziY1HURhecGqg4WhPDq79FSPvNdmq1gxq68C4NTaZLg1_QGu8yFn-CSfVLdTRKF6m-wKKuXt-Z-qvWzYFJv-C184hSU/s1600/IMG_4793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZh0PvdWm78qgYbw09QPCVERa5ToRGVPS4LE9BI0IuW2FHa8JziY1HURhecGqg4WhPDq79FSPvNdmq1gxq68C4NTaZLg1_QGu8yFn-CSfVLdTRKF6m-wKKuXt-Z-qvWzYFJv-C184hSU/s640/IMG_4793.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On Thursday we had a crazily drunk night out. Well, drunk <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">day</i> actually. The weather was
incredible, so we had to enjoy it in the Piazza with some prosecco, of course! I
was clearly too eager for the night ahead and possibly peaked a little early
under the 4pm sun whilst having a blast in the piazza. We cooked up a load of pasta
which sorted us all out before we headed back out for the real party. We later
had pre-drinks around Mia’s, which was fun as always: playing embarrassing
games and annoying the neighbours with noise. There were more of us than usual,
which meant extra fun and the chance to make more friends. The night ended in
me being extremely inebriated and sick in front of said new friends, and
getting locked out of my apartment because drunk Olivia forgot to pack her
‘night out’ bag properly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday consisted of shame and a terrible hangover. And then,
I don’t know how we did it, but we actually all managed to drag our bottoms out
for another night out for the Erasmus social- which resembled a school disco in
a beautiful courtyard. My new best buddy Dario (literal <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">buddy</i>- there’s a buddy scheme here!) organised it so I had to show
my support after he’s been so kind and helpful to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl93TRG1RBnr4vgMZkj7qSIXo_vIkN-DxE1vRw_G0hgAYGk_YgJBQatKMnJXxaJhx3q6sWdjH92zhQh5J1okJOWvWgqXCI21TbLGg5ol7nMEdkK1WOPfjHjhCncUR3fLpZ6bp2vYyHpxA/s1600/IMG_4608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl93TRG1RBnr4vgMZkj7qSIXo_vIkN-DxE1vRw_G0hgAYGk_YgJBQatKMnJXxaJhx3q6sWdjH92zhQh5J1okJOWvWgqXCI21TbLGg5ol7nMEdkK1WOPfjHjhCncUR3fLpZ6bp2vYyHpxA/s640/IMG_4608.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dario's milkshake brings all the buddies to Siena</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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Saturday night was always going to be a drag because of our previous
two heavy nights out. After a lazy day round our friend Giles’ house watching
the rugby and hiding from the relentless rain outside, we powered through some
slow, sociable pre-drinks round Marc’s. Us girls called it a night rather early
but incredibly, the boys continued to go out and have a very messy night
themselves, including a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lot</i> of shots
and some funny stories to tell us the next day. Sunday consisted of meeting friends for coffee, walks around the city and supper round Georgia's. She made us a great spag bol and APPLE CRUMBLE! In Italy! Incredible. Thanks G!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeY4EYU5yp7AVWTU_QpeQEyr22Z-SveUSqf6t81tZZG0yKqWVA8I4zmUpZ3AFymFrsvIFPjGed0TUgqigS3gm0CK-1Iw4k3BVFmpCA4xWWC98D51vCcixTa1cI89HrZExi10in87pQwCw/s1600/IMG_4807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeY4EYU5yp7AVWTU_QpeQEyr22Z-SveUSqf6t81tZZG0yKqWVA8I4zmUpZ3AFymFrsvIFPjGed0TUgqigS3gm0CK-1Iw4k3BVFmpCA4xWWC98D51vCcixTa1cI89HrZExi10in87pQwCw/s640/IMG_4807.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5SQFFBJBHTgzk8PUsvt-LrXAjhPhhYh5J9GCqixuS6TzHvYkob2s0p25WAeDUA247OGBLiLiOxSGV1whlpwP9HbqLcXhTrPSQPnE59VjBKf5fssJFfAweELlTTI4Ybb9XOhQNrV9njs/s1600/IMG_4799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5SQFFBJBHTgzk8PUsvt-LrXAjhPhhYh5J9GCqixuS6TzHvYkob2s0p25WAeDUA247OGBLiLiOxSGV1whlpwP9HbqLcXhTrPSQPnE59VjBKf5fssJFfAweELlTTI4Ybb9XOhQNrV9njs/s640/IMG_4799.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crumble heaven and G</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I know what you might all be thinking- similarly to my mum,
who’s words were “I’m worried for your liver”- but we don’t spend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> our time drinking the lovely Chianti
from our mate Guilio in the wine cellar- we mostly meet for pizza/ ice cream/
coffee/ shopping, or just chill in the piazza. I’d love to tell you that we’re
all studying hard and learning loads of Italian, but I’m afraid to say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that’s not quite how its been, so far!</i> I’m
sure in the next few weeks we will all realise that the sh*t is about to hit
the fan and we should learn some stuff for our impending exams, or that we’d
simply have our modules chosen and finalised before the deadline comes. But the
rubbish WiFi makes that kind of hard, too- well, that and the unhelpful Italian
lecturers and bureaucratic system!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilf-AazWTzGF8qKPFEFjAw4OHr90lQTbL5erMYbA4etKUxvPnNP0UHuFW4V_pCDZepeeXyNZf9HUJDSPaBvNyvRzoDJRdj2aASUEkQ9b6nEAYBS356HZy0Yr9_WK9thxJnDQ291_TXfqk/s1600/IMG_4696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilf-AazWTzGF8qKPFEFjAw4OHr90lQTbL5erMYbA4etKUxvPnNP0UHuFW4V_pCDZepeeXyNZf9HUJDSPaBvNyvRzoDJRdj2aASUEkQ9b6nEAYBS356HZy0Yr9_WK9thxJnDQ291_TXfqk/s640/IMG_4696.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S Q U A D</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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I’m looking forward to the day that I understand a lecture
here without feeling stupidly foreign. Who knows, that might even happen this
coming week! I highly doubt it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A presto! <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-57351518349281831432015-09-27T15:51:00.000-07:002015-09-27T15:51:12.360-07:00Erasmus Year in Siena | My First Week<h4>
Hey ladies and gents!<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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Here is a little (or perhaps large- lets see) slice of
what’s been going on in my life over the past week! This is my first proper
post from Siena, Italy, where I am going to be spending the next 10 months or
so for my Erasmus year abroad. I’ve only been here for a week yet it is already
crazy and living up to my expectations!<i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><o:p><br /></o:p></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAj4HsCFkJUDPSvMhEpTIinhw7cwIihWC1NoMC969d7eRhhjzt0Q5O6OrkUf1v0llJ_8v043rXQVppXHVvDlhsLD5Ae7HoEEbpB3HfCs5_FoAJ7-PIlp-E5cm_-qAcHarw_Zekp3_PpwM/s1600/IMG_4322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAj4HsCFkJUDPSvMhEpTIinhw7cwIihWC1NoMC969d7eRhhjzt0Q5O6OrkUf1v0llJ_8v043rXQVppXHVvDlhsLD5Ae7HoEEbpB3HfCs5_FoAJ7-PIlp-E5cm_-qAcHarw_Zekp3_PpwM/s640/IMG_4322.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Il Duomo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<h4>
<i>A bit about how I got
here, and how bloody awkward it is to get to Siena.</i> </h4>
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<br /></div>
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Seeing as Siena is way
too cool to have an airport, I had to fly into Pisa with three bags, weighing
in at about 45kg in total. The journey from Pisa meant that I had to lug
aforementioned bags up and down many flights of stairs and onto a few different
modes of public transport, including a bus, two trains and a taxi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choosing to wear my thickest items of
clothing (to save room in the bags) was the worst decision I made that day.
Also, there I was, busting a gut and almost haemorrhaging from every orifice underneath
a tonne of wooly jumper, as I tried to lift my cases up the train station
platform steps- when I realised halfway up that there was a lift. I of course,
struggling, sweating and hating life, missed my train. And possibly slipped a
disk. (Seriously, I really hurt my back and could hardly stand up straight for
days!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fgyZJPtEtMyTYkF5a_IgNmtnhEPce2D58u7T5-VTXpr29J6tGmS8oYrL2MwZa3wtut_U63p71wDlJ16LYMy2GWMAOjb0wN4kNFjQKP4Bgt9u_8-EJDmgoSBmfc0SPZPQz8ecy4A3fQ0/s1600/IMG_4370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fgyZJPtEtMyTYkF5a_IgNmtnhEPce2D58u7T5-VTXpr29J6tGmS8oYrL2MwZa3wtut_U63p71wDlJ16LYMy2GWMAOjb0wN4kNFjQKP4Bgt9u_8-EJDmgoSBmfc0SPZPQz8ecy4A3fQ0/s640/IMG_4370.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PDC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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My dear friend Sion from my university is also in Siena, and
very kindly met me at the station. He lives in the same apartment block as me
so I fortunately had his assistance with carrying my bags up to my top-floor
flat. If it weren’t for him, I think I would still be stood panting at the
bottom of the stairs drenched in sweat from carrying the bags 10ft from the
taxi. After battling with my keys in the old wooden doors, I met two of my
flatmates who seemed lovely from the get-go. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ada</i> is from Poland, and she was cooking pasta when I walked through
the door so I knew we’d get on instantly. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Olga</i>
is from Germany and has a cheeky sense of humour so I also knew we’d get on
just fine! My third roomie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emma</i>
arrived a few days later and she’s a complete babe, so I’m having some
housemate luck (for the first time ever)! </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_JCPLiO4oikMJQNQ717QFf-fm7lTuzXhDtNuRB4g0OD9ne6WWHu1jV2B85qp2oZgCXjHOkmVsEfFz5uimPpsrFyyUNC9LGUvXg37diDdwleycG70eSojRt68dhI6UIHx7wfvn__RNPw/s1600/IMG_4435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_JCPLiO4oikMJQNQ717QFf-fm7lTuzXhDtNuRB4g0OD9ne6WWHu1jV2B85qp2oZgCXjHOkmVsEfFz5uimPpsrFyyUNC9LGUvXg37diDdwleycG70eSojRt68dhI6UIHx7wfvn__RNPw/s640/IMG_4435.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girl band moment (and Sion)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIpm3tO9Uu62pqfAicaxuyHoKFCzMuMqPiAa1RoX-WkDLzRtic8Y5FJOtm9fiviWgNiTsdgj4GPwsVMjSlL9uq1mkKfjW6Hw6ycI8ZlzThgj7pbGAFd4wGDUHO4TW-tsD55fZXduyMNw/s1600/IMG_4361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIpm3tO9Uu62pqfAicaxuyHoKFCzMuMqPiAa1RoX-WkDLzRtic8Y5FJOtm9fiviWgNiTsdgj4GPwsVMjSlL9uq1mkKfjW6Hw6ycI8ZlzThgj7pbGAFd4wGDUHO4TW-tsD55fZXduyMNw/s640/IMG_4361.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*I don't actually know the name of this building*..... and PDC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I was absolutely knackered after
travelling and having a little look around beautiful Siena with Sion, that I
just couldn’t face going out that night with other new arrivals. I stayed in my
lovely and spacious new room and rested my poor, poor aching body. Sion,
however, went out and put in some groundwork with a good bunch of Erasmus
students. This meant that the next day, I had some ready-made friends lined up
which I really appreciated, especially after arriving a bit later than the others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dG2i03luPbYKEe_m3zyMNu7gpsB9hxRHno06hy5p0LMzMZVm3osSgy3aElXwi-4X1WV8Oj3_6_e6NcUNURDDk_aZu1zFEWVDh1H-lacZx5uEyMlJlVBArQNVRj4NHYDoTjyjZognzFI/s1600/IMG_4463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dG2i03luPbYKEe_m3zyMNu7gpsB9hxRHno06hy5p0LMzMZVm3osSgy3aElXwi-4X1WV8Oj3_6_e6NcUNURDDk_aZu1zFEWVDh1H-lacZx5uEyMlJlVBArQNVRj4NHYDoTjyjZognzFI/s640/IMG_4463.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My roomies and I, plus Mia and Amy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, since that next day when I shook the hands of my new
friends in front of the fountain in Piazza del Campo, (or PDC as we now call
it) we’ve been having a whale of a time together! We have almost <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">daily</i> pizza meetings, lunch outings,
gelato sessions, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too many</i> nights out,
and of course, the ‘squad’ FB chats have been well established. We’ve even had
angry neighbours threatening to shut down our pre-drink parties with the police
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">already!</i> It’s a bit like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">freshers</i> all over again! There is a
solid group of ten of us, and that number is rapidly growing every day. *A
really helpful tool for us guys out here on Erasmus, is the FB group(s) that
are created so we can meet and arrange things. (Definitely look out for these
groups if you are going/currently on Erasmus!)*<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGneRBpY9tiIF2jz9s0A5BD7-XDLWgP6A0w1tphyphenhyphenoav-FITVFzFASYZHnXkhlP-2JHkXegN5QGzzPam_GpPc1BGSKyu2EdgquW-_u6XABV3-BP1KcmWKfh_mf_7eq_Jsnnnr0uYIO5UcI/s1600/IMG_4362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGneRBpY9tiIF2jz9s0A5BD7-XDLWgP6A0w1tphyphenhyphenoav-FITVFzFASYZHnXkhlP-2JHkXegN5QGzzPam_GpPc1BGSKyu2EdgquW-_u6XABV3-BP1KcmWKfh_mf_7eq_Jsnnnr0uYIO5UcI/s640/IMG_4362.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm not drinking tonight"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I think I’ll leave it here for now before I ramble on about
the amount of pasta and pizza I’ve eaten, or how truly incredible the view from
my kitchen window is….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5rb1mHhjai662J_nUKLQES7kSxmMusw9UU4BIP6GLMgiQ-iOEmfNd8tPHcQXyXY1QEeRjk9MJtwTGVS-DYJHGe9wXyfp_-IcCYFyZ7DBiepX6_3_FU-hEAeLusAPFmpsLdUtjLjumB4/s1600/IMG_4350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5rb1mHhjai662J_nUKLQES7kSxmMusw9UU4BIP6GLMgiQ-iOEmfNd8tPHcQXyXY1QEeRjk9MJtwTGVS-DYJHGe9wXyfp_-IcCYFyZ7DBiepX6_3_FU-hEAeLusAPFmpsLdUtjLjumB4/s640/IMG_4350.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE VIEW!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Until next time!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia x<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-9346193605661750522015-09-22T13:57:00.000-07:002015-09-22T13:59:22.167-07:00Life Update | Thai Travels and Moving to Italy<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Sawasdee ka! Hello! Ciao!</h2>
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Wowzaaaaa. What a crazy couple of weeks! The last time I posted I was preparing to leave my placement in Thailand to go on a two-week holiday around the south. It is now a few weeks on and I am in Italy on my year abroad! I left Thailand on the 13<sup>th</sup> September and had a short yet sweet time at home before departing again for Italy on the 19<sup>th</sup>. So much has happened and I’m really upset I was unable to blog during my travels- but it <i>really</i> was impossible to do so when staying in hostels, keeping up with a huge group of friends and planning (and living) adventures <i>every second</i> of the day. And that’s not even including the amount of time spent downing dodgy Thai cocktail buckets!</div>
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So seeing as travel blogging is supposedly my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thing</i>, I have clearly been doing a pretty crap
job of it recently. During my short 6 days at home between countries, I had a
mountain of unpacking, washing and re-packing to do, as well as catching up
with family and friends, and celebrating my 22<sup>nd</sup> birthday on the 16<sup>th</sup>!
And now I find myself in a beautiful Italian apartment in Siena, struggling to
decide what amazing experiences to tell you about first. After deliberating
over this issue whilst drinking a €1.50 bottle of red (#studentlife), I have
decided to fill you in on my Italian year-abroad journey whilst it’s still a
hot topic- much like the men all around me. During this time, I will also
prepare the tales of the tens of Thai sunsets and cocktails that I
endured, all with the hope to inspire you to take the journey to beautiful Koh
Tao, advise you to not get pickpocketed at the full moon party in Koh Phangan (like
I did), and not to stay in certain dodgy hostels in Bangkok.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I promise to get my backside into gear ASAP because I hate
not having documented certain things for my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own</i>
records, and not only to tell my nearest and dearest readers about my
unfortunate encounters and incredible confronts. Until then, you can gawp at
some of my favourite sights from my journeys.</div>
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**Oh, and to those of you who followed my daily posts during my teaching placement, thank you for reading and giving your support because it was definitely more time consuming and difficult than I initially expected daily blogging would be. <b>However,</b> I did come runner up in the British Council blogging competition which made my efforts worthwhile. Especially the prize of a fake <i>BOSE</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>speaker from the market which speaks in a hilarious voice every time "the bluetooth dewiz is connect-edd successfullayy" and makes my day every time I hear it.<br />
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Ciao, a presto!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Olivia x</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-11766451556628053422015-08-27T06:46:00.001-07:002015-08-27T06:46:23.499-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Days 60-61, Final Weekend in KK City!<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Saturday 22nd August</h2>
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Isn't it great when you feel like you're a million miles away from home on holiday, when you're really just on the other side of the city?</div>
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This weekend 5 of us ETAs decided to spend our last TET weekend in the city that central to all of us on our placements: Khon Kaen. It has been my home now for two months, and it is still surprising me with new and exciting places. We booked ourselves into the Mai Thai guest house which is fairly central in the city, but I completely lost my bearings so I could have been in Egypt for all I knew.</div>
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On Saturday we spent the day looking for a piercing shop, as it was ETA Hannah's birthday and she wanted to get her ear pierced. A tuktuk took us to Fairy Plaza, which is a little shopping mall that I have visited before. His idea of a piercing shop was a little jewellery stand in the main entrance with a stool for the ballsy customers. He took Hannah round to his side and sat her on the stool, amongst all the junk of the place. He didn't have any surgical gloves or anything that was clearly sterile, but he washed his hands with a bottle of alcohol solution so thats ok, <i>right</i>? The guy looked as though he could have just come in for a wander and ended up piercing quite an intricate part of Hannah's anatomy! I saw all the colour drain out of her face as he twisted the needle around in her ear. Somehow, he managed it and everything was ok- for now!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Dodgy</td></tr>
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Our hotel was really nice and homely. Jess, Gwen and I had the family room, about 1 metre from the pool while Hannah and Valeria shared a double room. We swam and sunbathed for the rest of the day after the piercing scenario which was lovely just to chill. Jess and I went for a wander to get some pre-drinks for everyone (typical students) and I also ended up buying a new outfit for the night which I am in love with, and the price tag was pretty nice too! I will definitely miss the cheap and cute clothes available here. </div>
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We went for dinner at Ton Tann market, which Kanang took me to on my first week of arriving. There were bands playing around the lake and there were loads of food stalls open for us to choose from. I had a bubble tea with a nice surprise treat of a big fly or wasp inside it which I had a nice chew on, thinking it was tea leaves. Gwen also ate a chicken brain which by the sounds of it was pretty disgusting too!</div>
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As it was our last night out together in Khon Kaen we thought we'd go <i>all out</i>, so we ditched the dodgy Thai beer for some classy raspberry Smirnoff vodka- thats right, not Glens! *heave* </div>
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After an hour of funny drinking games the 5 of us piled into a 4 seater taxi (not a problem in Thailand apparently) and went to our 'local' bar Didines. It was empty in there so I was able to teach a tipsy Gwen how to play pool in peace! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Mid- jig! Jess tried to teach me a dance which I absolutely cannot do</td></tr>
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Next location was U Bar, a club full of Thai people where live bands play, as well as DJs. The drinks were crazy expensive so we each splashed on a cocktail (my first Mai Thai was delicious) and we hit the D-floor! A group of young people invited us to join them at their stand-up table on the dance floor. They gave us whiskey and soda water and laughed at us as we attempted to sing along to the band (in Thai). The DJ played crazy techno music with no words, so the night consisted of a lot of jumping, especially on our Jess' part! After the club at about 3am we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a little swim. We weren't sure if we were allowed (probably not) but we didn't make much noise so it was cool. </div>
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We woke up to the best breakfast we could have wished for! A full English breakfast, complete with toast and a cuppa! I can't tell you how happy we all were to have this grace our beings. It was like an out-of-body experience. Much to my mother's surprise, I didn't finish it- in fact, I hardly made a dent in it- simply because it was so big!</div>
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The day was spent by the pool, enjoying the sunshine, and apparently giving the sun full access to my nose alone. Rudolph over here managed to burn her nose- which is nothing new- but it was fairly more tomato-like than usual. Brilliant :)</div>
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In the evening we went for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Pomodoro, which just happens to serve the best Italian food outside of Italy <i>ever! </i>I happened to over-hear an old nonna chatting away in Italian behind me, and really wanted to have a chat but had nothing to say! So when I walked past her and she said "<i>buonasera" </i>and then she shouted "<i>spinga, spinga" - push!</i> as I struggled with the door. It made me so happy, and very excited to go to Italy in just a few weeks time for my year abroad.</div>
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We walked to meet Jess and Gwen's mentor and girlfriend Daina and Nang Za, and they surprised us with gifts! They had made us each a photo frame with photos from our recent trips away- it was adorable! I'm not sure how I'll get it in my rucksack though mind... </div>
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We went to a bar because Daina and Nang Za are insistent that I am "naughty" so they wanted to buy me a beer on a Sunday night, which is very naughty indeed! We had some hilarious chats and we even saw an elephant walking past so we all ran down onto the street and fed it some bamboo. It was the first elly that I had met so I was pretty excited! (and also too scared to stand very close to it for a photo!)</div>
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It was the perfect way to top off a great weekend! I only have four more days at school before we head back to Bangkok and then off on our jolly way! I can't wait to travel round the south!</div>
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Peace, </div>
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Olivia</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-68930836367388054822015-08-21T09:26:00.003-07:002015-08-21T09:26:37.474-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 59, Reflection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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I mentioned yesterday that a reflective post would probably come next week; well here it is now. This weekend I am away again (surprise surprise!) and I have a feeling that next week will be a busy one! So while I have time now, I'll give you a little 'after-thought' on my experience working as an ETA in Thailand. </div>
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I didn't really have any expectations when I came to the school, which I think was the best way to go about it. It meant that I wasn't disappointed with much, like when the teacher came to the class with <i>no</i> plan of their own, leaving me to come up with something on the spot. I wasn't disappointed when I quickly learnt that the students' level of English was extremely low, and they were very shy, meaning we had no conversation out of class. No expectations meant I also wasn't disappointed when I didn't have access to many resources at school. I dealt with that by using the white board <i>a lot</i> and using my body <i>a lot</i> to emphasise what I was talking about- but that was all I had. It also meant that I had to focus my lessons around topics that I could explain, act out or draw- which isn't such a bad thing! It meant that I really gave the students my time and effort, rather than just handing them a work sheet to do which wouldn't have been much fun for any of us. After all, we are here to provide the students with a <i>fun</i> English experience, even if it means wandering (very far) away from the curriculum.</div>
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Things I have learnt</h3>
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Some Thai teachers of English can't actually teach English (very well). You can see this in the older students at school who haven't a clue how to deviate from their daily greeting: "good morning teacher how are you [...] I'm fine thank you." I have even tried and failed in my quest to teach them other emotions that they may feel, instead of "<i>fine."</i> I feel like it is down to the teachers to let the students know that they are allowed to say something other than "fine" in this frustratingly robotic greeting routine.</div>
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I think that more qualified <i>English</i> teachers should teach in Thailand, to provide good teaching with exact knowledge of the subject. By this I mean teachers of English, from England- and good ones at that. Some of the Thai teachers struggle with teaching English, especially stumbling on pronunciation. Furthermore, a favourite technique of the Thais is 'listen and repeat', meaning their poor pronunciation is being shouted back at them after every word they say. This meant that when I asked "what is the time?" to a class, they would reply "what is the time?", rather than actually answering me. It is very frustrating that this way of teaching has been drummed into them from their first days at school, meaning it would take an awful lot to change it. </div>
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Teenagers are still teenagers. Wherever you go in the world, the teens will still have attitude, still want to chill with their friends, and still be similar to most other teens in the UK. I was half expecting the students at school to be really interested in me. I thought they might try and have a conversation with me or they might all try and add me on Facebook, but its really not been like that for me. Their lack of knowledge of English really hinders their chances of having a chat with me, but they can surely <i>try, </i>right?! I mentioned on this blog a while back a girl from M4 who attempted to talk to me once, and it was ok! Shock! We had some exchanged words about ladyboys and all was well. So I know they have it in them! </div>
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Culture shock</h3>
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When I first came to my school, I was faced with a <i>huge</i> culture shock regarding their way of life and their teaching system. I never imagined that the way a teacher may <i>teach</i> would vary so much in different cultures. I was told by my mentor in Bangkok when we first met that many of the teachers use a microphone in their classes. I thought <i>'wouldn't that make it hard for them to move around and get involved with the class?'</i> -well, the answer is yes! If a teacher is limited to where they can go by their mic lead, then of course the huge classes of 40 will be affected. The students at the back will chat and draw on each other whilst the ones at the front try to decipher the distorted voice of their teacher. I thought to myself "I'll stick to my good ol' vocal chord power, thank you very much!" And I'm happy to say that using my voice alone was enough to capture the attention of all the students in the class. </div>
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Food</h3>
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Before coming to Thailand I knew that I would be in for some funky food. I also knew I would enjoy a lot of it, being a lover of things weird and wonderful. However, I draw the line at congealed blood in noodle soup and boiled chicken feet. Yep- thats right- Thai people eat chicken feet. And they put them in your food, expecting you to eat them, too. And it doesn't stop there! Chicken intestines, raw baby crabs, raw, <i>live</i> 'dancing' shrimp, fish heads, chicken bums... You name any part of any animal that we would usually throw away in the western world- they make a meal out of it. <b>Which is great!</b> I love the fact that they are <i>so</i> resourceful out here. They really do make the most of what they've got, which I find really refreshing. Just don't make <i>me</i> eat it! Also, you will often find people wearing plastic bags on their head when it rains, and keeping left over food in their fridges for probably <i>a bit</i> too long.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Congealed blog and soup mmm</td></tr>
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Dogs</h3>
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There are stray dogs everywhere. I'm pretty afraid of dogs at the best of times, even if they are a pedigree, Crufts winning, bow-wearing pretty little thing- I just don't like them. So when there are tens of disease ridden dogs loitering outside your house, the streets, and even in the school, you've kinda got to deal with it. I also didn't splash the cash on a rabies jab either, which doesn't help the situation!</div>
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Crazy roads</h3>
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Every day you will see madness on the roads. This ranges from scooters driving the opposite way up the road, people overtaking and undertaking wherever they like, people sitting in the back of pick up trucks, people asleep on the top of their open-top-brick-carrying lorries, overtaking on one-way-one lane roads.. you name it, it happens here. I'm still unsure about which side of the road we are actually meant to drive on- honestly!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"ooh, these bricks are so comfy!"</td></tr>
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Thai men and safety</h3>
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Thai men don't stare at me!! Every other country that I have been to, I have been gawped at for being blonde (or just insanely attractive). It can become pretty uncomfortable, especially when they start crowding round... But in Thailand, I really haven't felt like I stick out too much. The men don't stare WHICH IS GREAT, and if anyone does look for a <i>little</i> longer than they should, they usually then ask for a photo with me! I also feel very safe getting into taxis with Thai men. They usually just have a little chat with me which neither of us can understand, but we laugh it off and its cool. And I arrive at my destination untouched and alive- yay!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brilliant taxi driver/ hair dresser</td></tr>
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Genuine kindness</h3>
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I have come into contact with some extremely kind people. Many of which don't have any reason to be so kind but it is just the way they are! This includes the receptionist at Kiri Nakara in Hua Hin who looked after me whilst I was lonely little lamb, my good friend Rowena who will cook me cakes until I am obese, my host Kanang who has housed me, fed me and taken care of me since arriving, hilarious teacher Ju, taxi drivers and so many other strangers. The kind, laid back attitude that the Thais have is great. I definitely feel like the English could learn something from them- I certainly hope I do! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukFj_J5VJNNF21LeqWjE7NcDEXe4XcpMOnMxk5Blbtg9pInIrz6na2Kdt9XspFvfMH32Eg-XIPCvlzvQ1ZfOzhO8qgtX51JNwF3tqLlffFKKQzZlwWldfs3YlmxxngtH5ZQ7Jz17IE-Y/s1600/IMG_1276-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukFj_J5VJNNF21LeqWjE7NcDEXe4XcpMOnMxk5Blbtg9pInIrz6na2Kdt9XspFvfMH32Eg-XIPCvlzvQ1ZfOzhO8qgtX51JNwF3tqLlffFKKQzZlwWldfs3YlmxxngtH5ZQ7Jz17IE-Y/s640/IMG_1276-2.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Thai host Kanang whipping up a treat for me</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7m6cZYOe9DAurz8Kq6Dtns7zy_rh2E3OjM5uM865hGBXEMxGVbq-k7dY9tSom6oYjFl4AgjrBCZUEkwD14afK_Y2lV013_2bqwoS889yCGSiyyC2oEzidtxaKcIFoCJEhE_szI_5S3S0/s1600/IMG_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7m6cZYOe9DAurz8Kq6Dtns7zy_rh2E3OjM5uM865hGBXEMxGVbq-k7dY9tSom6oYjFl4AgjrBCZUEkwD14afK_Y2lV013_2bqwoS889yCGSiyyC2oEzidtxaKcIFoCJEhE_szI_5S3S0/s640/IMG_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Rowena who has kept me sane for 2 months at school!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfj614vDB86wydRDmfdT15PmP0a5UWtXSRMtvKuW0knMAauLaBWcoIYRzKpjMN91nF7NUHhAnKecpJGozCLvqctpAlRFIiRO6ZHeUI1whhutftlrpfQ1udKsXH5Ly1QSLGWBneGCjIDfE/s1600/IMG_1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfj614vDB86wydRDmfdT15PmP0a5UWtXSRMtvKuW0knMAauLaBWcoIYRzKpjMN91nF7NUHhAnKecpJGozCLvqctpAlRFIiRO6ZHeUI1whhutftlrpfQ1udKsXH5Ly1QSLGWBneGCjIDfE/s640/IMG_1924.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invited to a wedding lunch by a stranger</td></tr>
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Peace, </div>
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Olivia</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-11638688163973656542015-08-20T05:56:00.001-07:002015-08-20T05:56:09.999-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Days 55-58, Not All Rainbows<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes in life, even though things may look great to onlookers, they aren't always so dandy in reality. This applies to every single person on the earth, no matter where they are or what they are doing. To those of you looking in at the people like me who doing exciting things, it seems crazy that we actually still have down days. </div>
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<i>"You're in Thailand, you should be having a great time!" </i>I hear you say.</div>
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Yes, that's true! And for the most part, I am, we are. But, just like anybody else, <i>things</i> still happen. The world doesn't just stop because I'm in Thailand. </div>
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So this week was one of those weeks. I'll speak for myself and also my travelling pals when saying we had an exhausting yet amazing weekend in Pattaya, so it was inevitable some of us would come down with a crash. That, and the fact that we can count the amount of teaching days we have left on one hand can make us feel a bit.... meh. It is so close to the end of our placement, and although the past 8 weeks have flown by, it is also a long time to be living in someone else's home, eating food you would usually retch at the sight of, and of course, teaching a class of 40 all day long every day, when you have very little idea about what you're doing! </div>
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So. This is not necessarily a reflective post on the past 8 weeks (that will probably come next week), but more of a post to explain that even though our Instagram feeds might look like a dream and we try to ignore the lesser-good bits when answering your questions of "<i>hows it going!?"</i> <b>normal things do still happen. </b>And by noting or mentioning these <i>normal</i> or even <i>bad</i> things, we aren't being ungrateful- and I would hate for it to seem that way.</div>
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Take this week: my host, Kanang, has had teacher training seminars for the past two weekends, and again on Monday and Tuesday. This means that she's pretty tired and of course this impacts upon how jolly she is- naturally. I feel bad that I have been off gallivanting every weekend whilst she has been studying, but what else am I to do? Seeing as she wasn't going to school with me on these days, Rowena and I had to get a taxi to school and find a lift home from a teacher. This is sometimes a struggle as I live half an hour away from school, so I really don't want to put people out! </div>
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It does perk me up when my lift home is teacher Ju (the lovely lady who took me to town last Friday and to meet her hubby) because she's so funny. There were really bad floods and torrential rain on Monday, but this didn't phase Ju. She flew through those 2ft floods at 30mph, leaving me clinging on for my life and letting out the odd nervous laugh/yelp! Then when we came to the speed bumps that <i>were clearly there</i>, again, she flew over those shouting "OH, SOLLYY" after we were lifted off our seats in the car. And she had the nerve to tell me "Oh, don't wolly your seatbelt, I drive safe!" Yeah, right! So, Ju has kinda been keeping me smiling all week.</div>
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Another thing that can't be avoided just because you're on a trip, is death. Kanang unfortunately had some bad family news this week and attended the funeral on Wednesday. She invited me but I was sure that it wasn't going to be the pick-me-up that I needed. Its a bit of a hard question to answer, that one, as its not as simple as "would you like to go to the shops with me?" (which of course, is always a <i>yes</i> if it sells chocolate).</div>
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I was having a chat with another ETA who was almost speaking aloud about her issues. She was saying to herself (and me) that it was OK to be feeling a bit annoyed or sad about some things, and that its OK sometimes to feel like she's not enjoying herself here. That, and my bad mood this week is what inspired me to write this post. Especially because I had nothing exciting to write because I've had a boring week- another thing that's gotten to me. Some ETAs seem to be having <i>the best</i> time! They are placed near to the beach or to amazing sights, so they post pictures online that would make <i>anyone</i> a little bit envious. Some other ETAs are at schools that seem to put in loads of effort with them: they dress them up in Thai clothes, take them on school trips, get them involved in activities at school, their students are cute little kindergarteners (definitely jealous about that one), and more! But see- other ETAs are having a great time. Not everybody is thinking these things that I am perhaps being too moany about.</div>
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Where you will stay, what school you will work in, and what your location will be is just the luck of the draw when doing this job. This makes it exciting; when you don't know where you are going to be placed, or if you will be on a joint or solo placement when you receive your spot on the TET Programme with the British Council. Of course, the good outweighs the bad. It's a great experience and a brilliant way to spend a summer! </div>
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Just remember, life still goes on when you're away for such a long time. It's not all glorious beach rainbows and ping pong shows, after all.</div>
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Peace,</div>
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Olive</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-47078538566728129492015-08-17T02:17:00.000-07:002015-08-17T02:17:51.589-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Days 52- 54, A Few Hours in Party Town Pattaya<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday 14<sup>th </sup></span>August</h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite Hollywood..</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank God its Friday!!</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a half-day at school because Kanang
wasn't at school and Teacher Ju took me home at lunch, meaning I missed my
afternoon class. It was the first time I had really got speaking to Ju properly, but she was incredibly caring and kind! On the way home she stopped off and bought me melon because she was worried I
was hungry as we </span>missed<span style="font-family: inherit;"> lunch. I told her that I was going to Pattaya that night, so she offered to
take me back home to collect my bag, and then take me to Central Plaza to avoid
me having to get a taxi later! I insisted that she didn’t have to do that and
that I could get a taxi, but she wasn’t having any of it. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">She suggested we stop in at her house so I
can meet her farang husband- a friendly Australian man. She showed me round her
gorgeous house and directed me to the room I was to stay in with my friends
next time I come and visit Thailand! So sweet! She took me to Central Plaza
which saved me so much effort, ad I really appreciated it, especially because a non-Thai speaking person like me who doesn't know her
Thai address has problems with organising taxis!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once at Central Plaza, I sat outside in the
sunshine as it was a beautiful day! ETAs Heidi and Iman were due to arrive
anytime soon, so we could have some lunch before Heidi and I left for Pattaya,
and Iman went her separate way to visit a friend. A cheeseburger and chips
later, we were in the mini van on the way to Chumpae to meet Jess and Gwen. We
were greeted by their mentor's friend Nang Za, who pulled up in her flashy
white car and told us to get in. Soon, we had Jess, Gwen and their mentor Daina
in the 5 seater car with us. “Queen, get on my lap!” demanded Daina. She’s hilarious.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nang Za bought us ice lollies!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every night they take Jess and Gwen out for
dinner (and pay) because they are absolute legends. They took us to the walking
street evening market as we had a few hours to kill before our 9pm bus. We had
dinner at the same place we went the last time I visited Chumpae because it's
so good there! After, Daina took us to her house where she lives with her
parents and extremely fluffy little dog, so we could get ready for our 10 hour
journey. Soon after, we were on the double decker bus, kitted out with blankets
and free snacks. The journey went pretty fast for me because I managed to sleep
for a few hours here and there. Poor Jess didn't sleep at all, so when we
arrived in Pattaya at 6.30am, we headed to find a comfy place to drink coffee
and relax! </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We found one a little while after walking
through walking street, where last night's party was clearly not over for some!
Dressed up (</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">or down</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">) ladies strutted
past us in their 7 inch heels and 3 inch long hot pants, as men sat drinking
beer, gawping at the 4 backpack-clad farangs sweating their way through the
street.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday 15th August</span></span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the ferry on the pier with Gwen and Jess</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such comfiness</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The coffee shop wasn't actually open at 7am
when we approached it, but the look on our tired, desperate faces made them
pity us and open the door. We sat on the balcony overlooking the sea, in big
hanging chairs for about 2 hours, drinking coffee, spilling coffee, and buying
more coffee. We decided we'd go to the nearby island of Ko Lan at 10am via the
ferry taxi that cost only 30 baht per person; bargain! Once we got there, we
had to hop onto the back of two motorbikes so we could get to the nice beach.
It was my first motorbike experience in Thailand and nobody died! <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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The sight of the beach was tear- worthy: A beautiful long stretch of white sand and clear blue waters. During the day we bumped into more ETAs that I hadn’t met before but only recognised- what are the chances!? They joined us at our sun beds and we shared the usual stories of our experiences of TET.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of us grabbed all the sun that we could, as we all seem
to agree that we haven’t tanned since being in Thailand! This is because we are
teaching indoors all day long, so it is quite hard to catch the sun without it
being an inappropriate lunchtime- sweat- session. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The three boys somehow roped three of us girls into going on
a banana boat ride. I had never been on a banana boat because I was always
scared of getting knocked out by my older brothers on family holidays. I bit
the bullet and threw myself into it (literally) and the next thing I knew, we
were frantically holding on for our lives before being thrown into the water,
each consuming about a pint of the ocean. It was quite a shock to the system,
and I never imagined the impact would be </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">that</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
forceful. So, once we caught our breaths we all struggled back onto the
inflatable banana and off we went again- this time, slightly petrified about
the fall that was about to come. It came with more force than before, with an
unfortunate blow to the head from a friend’s flailing limb. ETA Donna shouted
“is everyone OK?!” as we all shared the same sense of shock and pain.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time of our lives! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'll go slow"... Not!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I unwillingly got back onto the banana of nightmares, with a throbbing
lump on my head. Gwen was struggling to get back on, so rather hilariously Jay
threw himself into the water like the hero he is, to help her on. She wasn’t
having any of it, and I took that moment to also throw myself back into the
water to join her in safety, away from that hellish banana! We struggled onto
the driver’s jet ski, perhaps flashing a bit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i> much bum (and showcasing my terrible upper-body strength). We
took an unsettling ride back to the beach, and I was worried that Gwen was in
shock and that I was going to black out at any moment. Who knew a banana could
cause this much trouble? The boys had a great time, and Gwen and I were afraid
that we cut their ride short by being such pansies. Back on the beach, Jay advised
me on my growing head lump and helped me to track down some ice, as he seemed
to think he was a doctor. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After staying on the beach for a while longer, we decided to
get the boat back to the mainland. The boat took about half an hour, even
though the island looked so close. We all jumped into the back of a songtaew to
go back to our hotels. Somehow, the Shakespeare hotel we thought we were
checking into turned out to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different</i>
one that we had booked. This meant that the boys were in one Shakespeare hotel,
and we were in another, a few streets away. Some of the others were also in
different hotels, as there were so many of us. Even though we were absolutely
hanging after getting very little sleep the night before and having a fairly
active day, we somehow managed to get ready and drag ourselves out for a night
on the town. A quick pasta stop was followed by some games of pool as mine and
Jay’s competition continues, and I beat him again a few more times since Hua
Hin. The score now is 3-1 to me, muahahah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnig-TwF_YPJk8r0-rdcQI0lXZE2wTzLTSO6QI0iIwM_rrtklJ_k_9bFvBdLOlPt6I57ztzxNlvg_S94B-jM8IEJBdoGI8_YAZXZfd4Y2HdgUKsrVAFROfS7GpETPV1B8LKn1JBbf5n5k/s1600/IMG_2861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnig-TwF_YPJk8r0-rdcQI0lXZE2wTzLTSO6QI0iIwM_rrtklJ_k_9bFvBdLOlPt6I57ztzxNlvg_S94B-jM8IEJBdoGI8_YAZXZfd4Y2HdgUKsrVAFROfS7GpETPV1B8LKn1JBbf5n5k/s640/IMG_2861.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;">Heidi with the list of events that we witnessed (all apart from the top two)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We headed to walking street in order to try and find some of
the others. They had been to watch the cabaret while some of us didn’t fancy
it. The night flew by, accompanied by strong drinks and abnormal sights. Three
of us ended up going to a ‘ping pong show’, in which they didn’t only play ping
pong. Above, Heidi displays all the weird and wonderful things we watched them
squeeze in (excuse the pun) in an hour’s show for 200 baht each.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA-5JULFmP6tfrfVgc32q3zMg3oDXf6QpydSY-iqjwN-AkQBcAw9QRKnGWBxDOm4jMozy4SrDtWVUnOQsqkNhyQ0TJx3ChdNAyuZByP_dJOkenqth5S6w1imBiAZPFcM86gvKgWQ-1mI/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA-5JULFmP6tfrfVgc32q3zMg3oDXf6QpydSY-iqjwN-AkQBcAw9QRKnGWBxDOm4jMozy4SrDtWVUnOQsqkNhyQ0TJx3ChdNAyuZByP_dJOkenqth5S6w1imBiAZPFcM86gvKgWQ-1mI/s640/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Busy Pattaya walking street. Photo creds: Jay</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was hilarious, uncomfortable and sad all at the same
time. I wont go into too much detail, but there were cucumbers, razorblades,
darts, whistles, ping pong balls, flowers, cigarettes, pens and liquids, all
being used in unconventional ways. Fortunately for you, we weren’t allowed to
take pictures. I kept a dart (that was launched at the balloon in my hand) as a
souvenir. It smells clean, thank goodness.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pole dancers in a club</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the show we were enticed by a free drink into a huge
club. We found the RnB room and had a jolly ol’ dance to a bit too much
Pitbull. I thought we were there for about 30 minutes but Heidi tells me it was
3x longer than that! It was getting pretty late by now, and we still hadn’t
found the others. We grabbed a McDonald’s and headed home, dreading the 9am
start that was due in just a couple of hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the size of that disco ball!</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday 16<sup>th</sup>
August<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was surprisingly less of a struggle to wake up than I
thought. Maybe all the red bulls I had drank the night before were starting to
kick in! We had a quick slice of toast before getting a songtaew to the bus
station for 9am. We bumped into ETAs Jodie and Hannah at the station who were
also getting the same bus as us. A life saving fruit stall pulled up as we were
waiting for the bus, and a fresh coconut’s rehydrating properties were
definitely appreciated by me. The 10-hour journey was less horrific because we
could see where we were going, whereas we could only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i> ourselves careering into oncoming traffic on Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Halfway through the journey we stopped for 20 minutes to
grab some food. Our free meal ticket bought us some extremely tasty noodle soup,
with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i> scary stuff in it! YAY! The
second half of the journey wasn’t so good for me as it was hard to sleep with
the sun beating down through the window. It seemed like we would never arrive
at Chumpae, and when we did finally arrive (an hour and a half later than
expected), we had to leg it to catch the last van of the day at 8pm. A welcome
sight of Daina and Nang Za greeted us at the van station- even though they
didn’t need to be there. They are so kind, simply making sure that we arrived
safely! I’m definitely going to miss the pair of them, as we always have such a
laugh together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We got the hour-long van back to Central Plaza in Khon Kaen,
and although we had planned to get some food as we were all starving, I decided
to go straight home as I was so knackered! I even managed to explain where I
lived to the taxi driver, who was absolutely mental and kept laughing at
everything I said like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Turn left”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s not that funny!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“HAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAH”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, after travelling for 22 hours this weekend and spending
26 hours in Pattaya, it is safe to say I had another great weekend, and that I
am exhausted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Peace,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Olive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-66789096336379350702015-08-13T06:14:00.000-07:002015-08-13T06:14:48.928-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 50, Mothers Day, Vietnamese Food & Flashing The Cash<h2>
Day 50: Wednesday 12th August</h2>
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It’s Thai Mother’s day! I mentioned yesterday how we
celebrated a day early at school in traditional Thai fashion, along with a fun
music competition. Today, all government run facilities are closed because it
is a national holiday. This meant Kanang and I could have a lazy morning,
before heading off for a leisurely Mother’s day lunch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We went to a Vietnamese place that Kanang has told me about
and kept saying we would visit for ages now. I am a huge fan of Vietnamese
coffee, (although I’ve only tried it in Tampopo) made with condensed milk and filtered
coffee, so I was hopeful that they would sell it! My heart broke a little when they told me they didn't have any, so I had to settle for a huge, delicious fresh coconut- it’s not so
bad!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0utO-H7b7oHRiQjNd-nwtN870GdML3v8cKyFYSJlbBkmCu-89r6Eo2hSqco1UrFvv1fpidZZXBGO6iH3xe5I4MAYiljD6Y_dC-S4dWfgBxi2E0e7Qpp8zKvd1i_lvG1EPPvKh__RSmo/s1600/IMG_2752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0utO-H7b7oHRiQjNd-nwtN870GdML3v8cKyFYSJlbBkmCu-89r6Eo2hSqco1UrFvv1fpidZZXBGO6iH3xe5I4MAYiljD6Y_dC-S4dWfgBxi2E0e7Qpp8zKvd1i_lvG1EPPvKh__RSmo/s640/IMG_2752.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmmmm-Hmmmmm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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The décor of the place was really cool, with old and interesting
things dotted about everywhere, including old telephones, motorbikes, chairs,
oil lamps hanging from the ceiling, and lots of random framed pictures. I
prefer visiting places like this, with interesting things to look at rather
than the usual uniform decoration. However, there were cobwebs intwined with the aforementioned decorations which wasn't so <i>edgy</i>, but rather <i>dirty.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEQ1oZ5jqn2HpIqmCoBYbuELZDEmtVUCwrpkFE1StGWu-H0YjdFlayd6XeWJWDI1yksWyu2_iFNLB-7iQ5-iG41KVhGxl2X6h3ESDC_fImsCiYmsS0zoBJ7FUhyJilFSrbVUkUOQmWXI/s1600/IMG_2760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEQ1oZ5jqn2HpIqmCoBYbuELZDEmtVUCwrpkFE1StGWu-H0YjdFlayd6XeWJWDI1yksWyu2_iFNLB-7iQ5-iG41KVhGxl2X6h3ESDC_fImsCiYmsS0zoBJ7FUhyJilFSrbVUkUOQmWXI/s640/IMG_2760.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the car... #random</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The food was really tasty and healthy at the same time,
which is always a bonus! We ate some sushi style rolls, with noodles, shrimp,
vegetables and tonnes of mint in (which I removed because me and mint will just never work our problems out), with a tasty dip. Also, we had all the ingredients to make our own
little rolls, made with rice noodle wraps, vegetables, satay dip and shrimp
balls. I was also happy that<i> som tam</i> graced our plates, even if it did have
squid and octopus tentacles in it that reminded me of my <a href="http://soolivia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/days-45-47-weekend-trip-to-chiang-khan.html" target="_blank">food challenge in Chiang Khan</a>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTjHUVI0DxNyzH1JgemSR-qGO4xAYb4hezl0-bgRLawn1pSNgxGa6kxauOvrDYRKWD-05R8GKsKTpawpTkpG0HP0R6PuLABBV7GouGbdT7vxR-TNvctAzwMz_p_Gd3EoqbNIIbMIVteg/s1600/IMG_2753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTjHUVI0DxNyzH1JgemSR-qGO4xAYb4hezl0-bgRLawn1pSNgxGa6kxauOvrDYRKWD-05R8GKsKTpawpTkpG0HP0R6PuLABBV7GouGbdT7vxR-TNvctAzwMz_p_Gd3EoqbNIIbMIVteg/s640/IMG_2753.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Som tam gets pride of place, as always</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdostckzsQr4wjS2A1ByQ5M00ws60-bBknE08NcYGlThui8G9f9h5fyqjVBaLxHYiODEB6_RsT9Tj_uEoYv2Xj_DRwkPEinVMErKC9knUK5jom2SQk6LjOW5EZ932GMNVwywwAzeLf2OY/s1600/IMG_2755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdostckzsQr4wjS2A1ByQ5M00ws60-bBknE08NcYGlThui8G9f9h5fyqjVBaLxHYiODEB6_RsT9Tj_uEoYv2Xj_DRwkPEinVMErKC9knUK5jom2SQk6LjOW5EZ932GMNVwywwAzeLf2OY/s640/IMG_2755.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Satay is life <3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After lunch, Kanang took me to Central plaza, the
main shopping centre in Khon Kaen, so I could meet ETAs Jess and Gwen. I was so
happy to see them, and its only been a few days since I was last with them!
Having that little bit of what you know, really helps you stay sane when you're so far from home in a different place. We shopped, bought jewellery, big doughy pretzels and
cosmetics that we shouldn’t have blown our budgets on… But who cares!? The
hours flew by and it was soon time for them to catch the last van back to
Chumpae. I waited in the pouring rain for a taxi for about 15 minutes. Usually
there are taxis in excess of people, so I was quite surprised about the wait- but it was Mother's day after all. As usual, I
phoned Kanang and put her on the phone to the taxi man to explain where we
live, as I still don’t know how to say where it is!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New silver ring</td></tr>
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</o:p></div>
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Im pretty sure the taxi turned into a boat at one point as
we drove through floods that covered the whole wheel arches of the other cars!
If this was England, everyone would just stop; the roads would be closed and
nobody would leave the house. In Thailand, they all seem to hop onto their
bikes and into their cars and drive through at normal speed! The rain also
meant that the power kept cutting out at home that evening, so I had dodgy WiFi to contend
with. Oh the joys of monsoon season! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy Mother's day to all the Thai mamas!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-6860758393226266652015-08-12T07:19:00.001-07:002015-08-12T07:19:09.409-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 49, Crying Mothers, Crying Olivia<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 49, Tuesday 11th August</h2>
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This morning, you could tell something was going on at the school by the two cones that were unhelpfully sitting in the middle of the road by the school entrance. They served no real purpose apart from to tell me, "maybe you shouldn't nap at your desk today, Liv."</div>
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All students and teachers headed for the sports hall, where today's proceedings would take place. There were a few parents present, but less than I expected. All the teachers wore the government uniform of a white suit, and I wore the smartest, most modest thing I have in Thailand- a flowery dress that comes below the knee. We all took our seats at the back of the hall, while the students filled the floor space in their neat lines. We were waiting for ages for the show to start, and the WiFi didn't quite reach the sports hall, so Rowena and I snuck out to the canteen for some breakfast and a WiFi hit. I didn't like the look of the spice-ridden curries at such an early hour, so I had some little crispy-wrapped-hot-dog-things and a coconut. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rowena, two students Buum and Chuichai and I</td></tr>
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We saw some of the students who were ready for the show, in their colourful clothes to represent all the different countries in ASEAN. I asked them for a picture because they all looked so '<i>swai'</i> -beautiful.</div>
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We headed back to the hall where the show was just about to start. The students from the photo above all ran through the middle, and one by one presented themselves on the stage to represent 'their' country. It was a little bit like Olympics, where one by one they introduce the countries who irratically wave a flag about to the music. By the time the last country/student came to the stage, they were all dancing in unison to Thai music- save the best until last, eh? It was really good, and I loved seeing the boys getting into it with their feathers, huge false eye lashes (on the boys) and a lot of sass!</div>
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The morning part of the show was to honour the Queen, and the mothers that had attended. Many songs were sung, and certificates given to a few elderly women who take care of the community like mothers, Kanang tells me. Fifteen or so mothers and their daughters paraded through the middle and sat at the front on the stage. Their daughters bowed at their feet, as the rest of the school sang a beautiful mothers day lullaby. I noticed that some of the mothers were crying, and in that moment I was afraid I was going to have a melt down myself. Seeing them cry sparked images of my own beautiful mum and how suddenly I missed her so much. I had to bite my lip pretty hard to stop myself from becoming a blubbering mess. This is a downside of being away from home for so long.. I miss you Mama!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Kanang who is looking sassy</td></tr>
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The afternoon show was completely different to the morning. All the mothers went home, and all the teachers changed out of their uncomfortable and hot suits. The students sat wherever they liked- mostly on top of each other- and it was clearly an afternoon of fun. It was a music competition apparently and the 'famous singers' who visited yesterday were the judges. The boys who I saw rehearsing yesterday rocked the show, and other singers came to the stage individually and in duos. Everyone was really good and <i>so</i> confident to be able to hop onto stage in front of 500 students. There was a power cut during my favourite performance from a young girl. She waited a while, calmly, for the power to return. It took a little longer than expected, so she continued acapella style! She was incredible, and the whole hall was silent as they listened to her hit all the high notes of the beautiful Thai melody. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's got a money necklace!</td></tr>
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What I found really amusing was how people would walk through the crowds of students and thrust money or flowers at the performers! A teacher started it, by dramatically running and waving a 20 baht around. Some students managed to sellotape a load of 100 baht notes together and create necklaces which they put over the singers' shoulders like a medal! I thought about finding some flowers and taking them to a solo male singer, which I knew the kids would absolutely <i>die</i> at. But I didn't have any flowers, and I think I would blush insane amounts, however funny it would be for everyone else! One of the students who identifies himself as a ladyboy, was <i>so entertaining</i> as he threw himself around, flapping his arms and legs en route to the stage to gift a young man with a red rose and a blown kiss. Everyone was in hysterics at this! This boy has only ever been shy and quiet with me, so it was a big shock to see him so flamboyant and showered in attention. Here he is, below!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI01radyOvOEDU0QBuOiTOEeryCvhuUNs5ap_fEJEZ5QNN9eBjOZ8odHmUg-wD5XoKJIC_YJmoOZ05Nlxwhh_W-tr0K5UJETxclMRiyKKiD2wYjosC7BciY_CKU5WUh5efqvwVQ3eOt-I/s1600/IMG_1667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI01radyOvOEDU0QBuOiTOEeryCvhuUNs5ap_fEJEZ5QNN9eBjOZ8odHmUg-wD5XoKJIC_YJmoOZ05Nlxwhh_W-tr0K5UJETxclMRiyKKiD2wYjosC7BciY_CKU5WUh5efqvwVQ3eOt-I/s640/IMG_1667.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a great kid!</td></tr>
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The afternoon carried on like this, and as bands performed songs that the audience knew, everyone would cheer and scream. I had a huge headache by the end of it, but I had also enjoyed every minute of it. Tomorrow we have the day off as it is officially Mothers day, and the Thai Queen's birthday.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-26944162577547851782015-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:002015-08-12T06:06:00.257-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 48, Famous Singers and New Friends<h2>
<b>Day 48: Monday 10<sup>th</sup> August</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></h2>
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A very tired Monday was on the cards for both Kanang and I,
after my busy weekend and her weekend filled with teacher-training seminars. I
feel bad for her and the other English teachers from school, who had seminars <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all day</i> on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
with Sunday’s one finishing at 7pm! Perhaps, for once, Kanang was more tired
than me! Maybe, just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maybe.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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We began the school day with an assembly to practice the
next day’s events. It is Thai mother’s day on Wednesday, so all of the schools
celebrate on Tuesday as the school is closed on Wednesday- another day off,
yippee! So, we had a three hour practice of the activities for the next day. It mostly consisted
of the students, who sat neatly in their lines the whole time, singing and
watching whatever was going on. The teachers congregated at the back of the
hall and chatted, ate, slept.. pretty much anything they wanted to do. I was
enjoying the singing from the kids, whilst drinking tasty water from a fresh
coconut that I bought from the canteen for 15 baht - about 30p- bargain!<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was soon time for lunch, where I was SO excited to chow
down on some tasty som tam! I watched the lady at the little food ‘restaurant’
making it today, as I have never seen- only heard. You see, there is an art to
making som tam. Not every Tom, Dick and Harry can just whip up some raw papaya
and call it som tam… It takes a bit of brute force and elbow grease! It’s made
in a huge pestle and mortar and includes some risky in-air chopping of the
papaya, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a lot</i> of bashing bits
about inside the huge pot. It’s a wonder the salad doesn’t come out looking
like s smashed up fruit salad!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGck7ppyqU3J2NYi5S-lfX4mDEVSr08arwNOcKwzDi8bdcjmTvNlLtgjAS0Vqho6kZC-jiADJhtKQYx5_D5kpfK8bkhNi_BT9ZJssqfCszOf6PgnWeKEYHnlay8SHOyVHkxyZQeqOf_XE/s1600/IMG_2709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGck7ppyqU3J2NYi5S-lfX4mDEVSr08arwNOcKwzDi8bdcjmTvNlLtgjAS0Vqho6kZC-jiADJhtKQYx5_D5kpfK8bkhNi_BT9ZJssqfCszOf6PgnWeKEYHnlay8SHOyVHkxyZQeqOf_XE/s640/IMG_2709.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Som Tam in progress</td></tr>
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Because of this mammoth rehearsal session, two of my lessons
were cancelled, leaving me with only two more lessons in the afternoon. I was
kind of excited to teach these classes, firstly because I had actually written
down a plan which I was confident with, and also because one of the classes was
M6/3, who are all 18 year old boys who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really
don’t </i>want to be there! I trotted along to their class with my little
cardboard clock and the teacher came a few minutes later and announced that
they weren’t coming. “They want to practise their music for tomorrow”. So that
was that- no class! Rather than plonking myself back at my desk, I thought I’d go
and find them, wherever it was they were, practising their music. I found a boy
carrying a guitar so I attempted to have a chat with him about the guitar and
the band whilst following him like a creep! It wasn’t a successful chat, but at
least I made it to the ‘music room’, if you can call a dark, dusty and
cobweb-ridden shed that. I invited myself into the room, where the older boys’
rehearsal was in full swing. It was pretty cool to see them playing their
instruments and confidently singing; contrastingly to what I see of them in the
classroom where they barely make a sound and freeze if I walk over to them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Outside of the ‘music room’ were some more students from M4,
who were just chilling. I don’t know what they were meant to be doing or if
they should have been in class- but I’m the cool teacher that doesn’t tell them
what to do if it doesn’t concern me! Three people turned up in a car and came
over to us. They turned out to be old students from the school who were just
visiting. The girl came and sat straight down next to me, and started speaking
in English. She is called Lita and studies English at University, so we had a
fairly good chat! She helped me talk to the kids, and with her help, I was able
to teach a few of them a game of Fives (a bit like rock, paper scissors) which
seemed a bit confusing for a long time, then they finally got it! Lita came
with me for a walk around the school grounds and then to visit some of the
teachers that taught her a few years ago. She took a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">selfie</i> of us and put it on Facebook, and within 20 minutes it had
160 likes….. Is she some kind of celeb? Or am I? I have no idea! P.s, check out the likes now!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We went back to the music room and listened to her two guy friends
singing, who are apparently (locally) famous singers. One of the students from M3 also hopped up to the mic to blow me away with her incredible voice. It was so beautiful to
watch them singing traditional Thai country music in the dirty old room with no
backing music- with such confidence! Even with me- the scary farang- sitting
right at their feet. I certainly feel a little closer to the students now that they opened themselves up to me today and I got to know some of their personalities a little. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hopefully I will continue in this way, building more friendships with the students who have so far been too scared to even say hello to me, and who shy away every time I wave at them. Small steps, small steps! Or "poco a poco' as ETA Phoebe would say.</div>
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Peace, </div>
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Olive</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-82224141886066909292015-08-10T06:32:00.000-07:002015-08-10T06:32:58.172-07:00Days 45-47: Weekend trip to Chiang Khan and The Mekong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Hello! Firstly, let me just apologise for the lack of posts this week. I had a little blip after my amazing trip to Hua Hin, and returning back to real life was a bit hard. I also only had two days at school this week because they were running activities that didn't require my assistance, so I didn't really have much to say! Update: The other ETA at my school, Robert has left the programme so its just little old me bringing the joy of English to Sawateepittayasan School!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgEfKK_1zjOEduDarxjE84mOA4CS94RsdM-ApVIYQvq93fS9Uadv5gENaSuZIDN8Qo6hbmm137DYFlbbQbCM7yO_ZbRMpOpycG4iByl1dPa2CtMZb2TTEmby2AX8iv_kd9O1HMwhqV5U/s1600/DSC02193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgEfKK_1zjOEduDarxjE84mOA4CS94RsdM-ApVIYQvq93fS9Uadv5gENaSuZIDN8Qo6hbmm137DYFlbbQbCM7yO_ZbRMpOpycG4iByl1dPa2CtMZb2TTEmby2AX8iv_kd9O1HMwhqV5U/s640/DSC02193.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 45: Friday 7<sup>th <o:p></o:p></sup>August</h2>
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I had a lazy day because Kanang had a seminar and it meant
that I couldn’t go to school. I decided to finally look at the heaps of
paperwork I should be sorting out for my study abroad in Italy, where I set off
for only 6 days after returning home from Thailand. I also attempted to do some
Italian revision, because I know it’s going to hit me like a tonne of bricks
when I can’t understand the fast tongues of the Italian population, and
naturally, it will panic me and I’ll have to comfort eat <i>penne alla gorgonzola </i>to make me feel better. <i>Maybe</i> it’s not so bad! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Kanang came home from her seminar and told me she would
continue to attend it on Saturday <i>and</i>
Sunday. I first thought it was only Saturday, so I was happy to stay home this
weekend for the first time. However, this alarmed me that I would be stuck at
home <i>all weekend</i>, with no way of
getting anywhere and with nothing to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After a couple of hours of panic-planning, messaging friends
and phoning taxis, buses and hostels, I packed a bag and headed for the minivan
to Chumpae, where my two ETA friends Jess and <i>Queen</i> (also known as Gwen) live. The 1 hour mini van ride was better
than the horrific van experience I had in Hua Hin <a href="http://soolivia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/days-32-36-hua-hin-holiday-part-1.html" target="_blank">(read about that here)</a>,
however my heart did skip a beat when I thought the driver had fallen asleep,
with his head nodding forward every now and then. I was met at the van station
in Chumpae by Gwen, Jess, their mentor Daina and her pal Nang Za. They took us
for a late dinner at a canteen-type place that sells Chinese style Thai food.
It was probably some of the best food I’ve eaten in Thailand! Dinner was
accompanied by some hilarious and slightly risqué chatter which I won’t go into
detail about! It seemed like we were just a bunch of best friends having a
laugh together which was great. Jess and Gwen live in a hotel right next to
their school, so I was able to pay 100 Baht for a little floor-bed thing- fine
with me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqusYcgf_s8PFPLH96u-K4MlJakG1b_2WRncW8RwmocFiBYCRNVbSfrNP0_ZECvRRn77xjuY0ZlVRiAfqgGg9dX6054FV4-nIadmJzmPA3Vzf8UwxT7R-7hXL5j02q2dXZ8kEbNNe_DeE/s1600/IMG_2608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqusYcgf_s8PFPLH96u-K4MlJakG1b_2WRncW8RwmocFiBYCRNVbSfrNP0_ZECvRRn77xjuY0ZlVRiAfqgGg9dX6054FV4-nIadmJzmPA3Vzf8UwxT7R-7hXL5j02q2dXZ8kEbNNe_DeE/s640/IMG_2608.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stick of rice, anyone?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 46: Saturday 8th August</h2>
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We woke up at 7:30 so we could get the first bus to Chiang
Khan. A food seller in the station sold me a <i>strange</i> looking item of food, which turned out to be raspberry
rice, cooked in the inside of a bamboo tube. The bus was so much better this
time than when we went to Loei (which is very near to Chiang Khan. It was also
broad daylight, so we could at least <i>see</i>
the risky overtakes that the driver was doing, rather than just imagine what
was coming towards us during the stormy, dark ride to Loei. This journey was
also shorter, and after about 4 hours we were dropped at the side of the road
somewhere in Chiang Khan. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAXe6qbOKNyH1WJCX9Iq0JjlIzfFT_RzmuS14dp6g1sDWn-USwznjwaIzoqsbmAhkOrZ2xJRVEBjGKtYuxgLY3W0bFH9dhsfzi42qg8jKx_CQ900tMaPss5nT0zZhujXaARH5qftDiXQ/s1600/IMG_2612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAXe6qbOKNyH1WJCX9Iq0JjlIzfFT_RzmuS14dp6g1sDWn-USwznjwaIzoqsbmAhkOrZ2xJRVEBjGKtYuxgLY3W0bFH9dhsfzi42qg8jKx_CQ900tMaPss5nT0zZhujXaARH5qftDiXQ/s640/IMG_2612.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our unpaid 'tour guides'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Two 17 year old Thai girls saw our looks of “where
the hell are we” and told us they could take us to ‘walking street’- this is
the usually the central market street in most Thai towns. They spoke to us in
fairly good English as they led us for 10 minutes to walking street (sadly much
unlike my students, the same age) and we managed to find our beautiful hotel. I
hadn’t booked a room because Jess and Gwen had already booked theirs so I was
hoping to just tuck in with them or pay for a floor bed. The hotel didn’t understand
this concept very easily, and im not sure how they felt about us saying all
three of us would share the bed, but they finally understood and let me stay. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEC46KH0cLAX-WinbXIXanANrfpmVRiO4y3XALveAUs3oZS6xp-taRbmNlbwEHdW068-cNL0cdE2gQAbYeXHbY6PkFFH8ao-yY6jxHBHov498uIBvEFAQo55sHTVYnfsksmpKmMjzoiM/s1600/IMG_2618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEC46KH0cLAX-WinbXIXanANrfpmVRiO4y3XALveAUs3oZS6xp-taRbmNlbwEHdW068-cNL0cdE2gQAbYeXHbY6PkFFH8ao-yY6jxHBHov498uIBvEFAQo55sHTVYnfsksmpKmMjzoiM/s640/IMG_2618.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep, that's the glorious Mekong river and Laos border!</td></tr>
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We had the most <i>amazing</i>
view from our balcony of the Mekong river, as well as of a whole different
country- Laos! It was pretty novel to be able to sit right on the border of one
country and look at the beautiful mountains and greenery of another. We headed
straight out and rented some bikes for 50 baht (£1) each for the whole day!
There was a walkway along the river which made for the perfect cycling route,
and I even managed to stay on the bike and not fall in! There were a few close
calls though, mind, especially with my hefty camera in one hand! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKGRZooRBgWBhZS2msMvpImQ7cQhJXXgR89S-V-oXQRlMheRIIU9CQFJlBoK33fZSsOgF02BDXoLRqCVJNAPzL0IpdM5uW5Yz0NopagFPi6s9nD2vMwlyTcNydZgU8p52YkO0AqKYVXo/s1600/DSC02086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKGRZooRBgWBhZS2msMvpImQ7cQhJXXgR89S-V-oXQRlMheRIIU9CQFJlBoK33fZSsOgF02BDXoLRqCVJNAPzL0IpdM5uW5Yz0NopagFPi6s9nD2vMwlyTcNydZgU8p52YkO0AqKYVXo/s640/DSC02086.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The sun was out in full force, much to my pleasure! This meant that it was a very sweaty experience that required refreshments and authentic Thai food from a restaurant on the banks of the river. I ordered my first Thai green curry since being in Thailand (shocking, I know!) as well as Som Tam <i>Thai</i> (papaya salad, <b>without</b> all the scary crabs, raw prawns and lashings of fish sauce) and I absolutely <i>loved</i> it! I have been wanting to enjoy Som Tam since being here but I just couldn't get past all the raw seafood. Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely dying from all the chillies that the waitress promised that she wouldn't put in, but it was still great. We drank beer <i>Laos</i> because, lets face it, we were pretty much there!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZolzemdtFWhw760HjWwlSo_L6mmsp3sj1N1gbKKiasoeOyHmtYvteyOa9Q3g9Lgp19XWfYUdYbp2GjpMbgF2_q30lU6CmsaF5iKoV18HZBW2o51hSDf-MWYIqU12lFSJexHUUxfhr8nQ/s1600/IMG_2625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZolzemdtFWhw760HjWwlSo_L6mmsp3sj1N1gbKKiasoeOyHmtYvteyOa9Q3g9Lgp19XWfYUdYbp2GjpMbgF2_q30lU6CmsaF5iKoV18HZBW2o51hSDf-MWYIqU12lFSJexHUUxfhr8nQ/s640/IMG_2625.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, the spice!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After lunch we continued on the bikes (which by the way, weren't kind on the ol' glutes) and stopped by at a little tea shop. It was unbelievably cute and there was a little resident kitty kat that I couldn't stop taking photos of. The tea was a little watery however, so as we cycled on past a beer shack, I went for something a little stronger.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfzVB8C1EjkFu-_2_dVdNZLOTGr_YpciIqJv11s0G21gJfgXgTU6PqsxTWQpW0lNd7_hXcYO9TZofjKTHwBSvzUf2GNiKxZitRBxCLvFI-7FXh5E2M4f5RYkubn2VEhrw4qSQDACjZTk/s1600/DSC02139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfzVB8C1EjkFu-_2_dVdNZLOTGr_YpciIqJv11s0G21gJfgXgTU6PqsxTWQpW0lNd7_hXcYO9TZofjKTHwBSvzUf2GNiKxZitRBxCLvFI-7FXh5E2M4f5RYkubn2VEhrw4qSQDACjZTk/s640/DSC02139.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We sat outside the beer shack which was on the walkway of the Mekong, and drank their home- brewed chocolate infused ale. I think all the Gods' decisions were in my favour, because thats not even the best bit about the evening. We relaxed under the glorious 4pm sun- still sweating from the Som Tam- drinking the tasty home brew and watching the odd passerby; most of whom took a picture of us novel farangs. I’m not sure how strong that beer was, but it was strong enough to have me giggling uncontrollably at Queen searching for a place to relieve herself in the bushes... </div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>You're still waiting for the best bit, aren't you? </i>So were <i>we</i>, for about 2 hours!</div>
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<b>Here it is! </b>When the sun came down in the sky, we couldn't have wished for a better scene. It was the most beautiful thing, and every time I put down my camera, it was back in my hands ready to capture the ever-changing colours of the sky.</div>
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After the incredible sunset we clumsily rode back down
walking street, which was by now crowded with people. We took back our bargain
bikes, and had a wander through the market. Earlier, we had agreed that we
could each choose an item of food for another to eat, and if the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eater</i> couldn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eat</i>, they would pay for it. The first time I laid eyes on those
prawny animals on a stick, I just knew Jess had to eat them. Next up was Jess,
thrusting a dried-out, flattened jellyfish into Gwen’s unwelcoming mouth. It
absolutely stank, and the fact that the market seller had to run it through a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mangle</i> meant that it was clearly a big
deal. Pat on the back for that one, Queen! After that ordeal, she was happy to
lead me to a stall selling octopus on a stick. I insisted that it was warmed up
on the BBQ to take away some of the cringy chewiness. It didn’t help much… But
I’m happy to say that we all completed our tasks! Go team! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like any market that I visit, I bought more stuff that I
shouldn’t have, including funky Thai trousers, jewellery, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i> food, and tea made from 7 types of beans: odd, but obviously <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I </i>liked it! We then wandered the
backstreets and came across a really beautiful place selling- you know it- TEA!
Gwen let her little talented fingers loose on the piano as we sipped mandarin
tea and ate macarons; how posh! </div>
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After an incredibly beautiful day, full of
those moments where you almost want to cry at the brilliance <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">that</b> very moment</i>, we 3 beer and tea-filled farangs managed to squeeze ourselves into
the double bed.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-tlm3D76UVFv45Rh0Oux6B5uKqCRrhORedJIo-hCVfwnWUnGQxb8l68aha9Pr4ClKHlCt1MMt5Eg-OYRkj0ch6uUfFJAOiEJY4LhdGCwb2Zblo92LhGN2PnoDVHCfUZ4BWMR5DxNGAI/s1600/DSC02231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-tlm3D76UVFv45Rh0Oux6B5uKqCRrhORedJIo-hCVfwnWUnGQxb8l68aha9Pr4ClKHlCt1MMt5Eg-OYRkj0ch6uUfFJAOiEJY4LhdGCwb2Zblo92LhGN2PnoDVHCfUZ4BWMR5DxNGAI/s640/DSC02231.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jess having a moment hahahaha</td></tr>
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<o:p>Day 47: Sunday 9th August</o:p></h2>
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The plan was to wake up at 5am in order to go and see the
sunrise at the top of a nearby mountain. Those who know me well can already
guess what happened. Of course, horribly lazy Liv didn’t make it out of bed <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L<span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L<span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L </span></span></span></span></div>
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The two of them went ahead, out into the darkness. The next thing I knew, they were back at 7am, beaming from what they had just seen. Of course, I was annoyed at myself. But at the same time, there was <i>no way</i> I was up for getting out of our cosy little bed at 5am! So, we live and learn. And here is a picture of what I missed out on. *kicks self*</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzHjYlTwuOFs4zwATRp1PCd7JSbOI2zyH07-_KB75RVmtxx9GfeL3g1AyI1whF3ULEdDWKPLu8vJKYEc51TXngeBORDfZgwkAMyXGck8-Fdn1NP3DDzQNKmlBIcd4IFcAjEqgxX-TO4o/s1600/sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzHjYlTwuOFs4zwATRp1PCd7JSbOI2zyH07-_KB75RVmtxx9GfeL3g1AyI1whF3ULEdDWKPLu8vJKYEc51TXngeBORDfZgwkAMyXGck8-Fdn1NP3DDzQNKmlBIcd4IFcAjEqgxX-TO4o/s640/sunrise.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at Phu Tok... that I missed. (photo creds go to Jessica!)</td></tr>
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We went to breakfast at 7am, downstairs on the hotel restaurant decking. Again, we had the amazing view of the Mekong as we ate strange pork porridge and toast. We were due to leave Chiang Khan at 1pm ish so we spent the rest of the day wandering round the area, trying out (more) tea shops and sunbathing. I had Som Tam again for lunch because I was so darn happy that I finally liked it! We found our way to the bus station after being ripped off by two tuktuk drivers, and boarded our 4 hour Nakonchai Air bus which costed £3 each, (that will hardly get you 10 minutes down the road in England!).</div>
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On the bus we drove past a van carrying a load of pigs. It was really sad to see them all struggling to stand up, with their hooves sliding around on the smooth floor. They kept falling over and one of them looked like it had broken a leg too. It made me think about what happens to our meat before its on our plate, as it is easy to forget! Its very hard to avoid meat in Thailand though, as almost every dish has it in! Wahh. Ok, now I'm rambling. But, lets see how long I can not eat pork for..</div>
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Again, sorry for the long post. It was a great trip and I am <b>SO </b>glad I managed to make it, rather than just staying at home alone! Hope you enjoyed it as much as me!</div>
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Peace,</div>
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Olivia</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-19296218746267947932015-08-04T07:46:00.000-07:002015-08-04T07:46:23.664-07:00Days 37- 41: Hua Hin Holiday! Part 2<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Days 37-41 in Hua Hin</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETYcgr1HHBiLchEuv1M0i7rgvbA7dHGQUcsRXMPghvgmJvpILKWUHsaG5CIfA670WpaBTADvyTAXY_IFA2eJbjAWAughsDKEXtWAwyr2V4kvIWOBOeRv80cKnL30s-T8m7reZUi_rOaw/s1600/DSC01997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETYcgr1HHBiLchEuv1M0i7rgvbA7dHGQUcsRXMPghvgmJvpILKWUHsaG5CIfA670WpaBTADvyTAXY_IFA2eJbjAWAughsDKEXtWAwyr2V4kvIWOBOeRv80cKnL30s-T8m7reZUi_rOaw/s640/DSC01997.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeky monkey threw some fruit at me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Day 37: Thursday 30<sup>th</sup>
July</b></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTWhVGMpP88Uusyi3kq6rZIcITH4ktk0-u-F32HVgQUV4UfClH8C9qobXX9xq2X6p_-xLc22u9dknXqGGaq5uBywfeJpoeZU52DAKy_-FhwxKlKyYfaZO7iq1hzECquJdD2HPpfLKjR0/s1600/IMG_2469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTWhVGMpP88Uusyi3kq6rZIcITH4ktk0-u-F32HVgQUV4UfClH8C9qobXX9xq2X6p_-xLc22u9dknXqGGaq5uBywfeJpoeZU52DAKy_-FhwxKlKyYfaZO7iq1hzECquJdD2HPpfLKjR0/s640/IMG_2469.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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At breakfast we found Chloe and Phoebe who had arrived late
last night. After cramming in as much free toast as possible, we headed to the
beach. Soon after we got there, ETAs Valeria and Rachel came strolling along as
well! They somehow found us on the beach. I slapped on a load of 50 SPF sun
cream onto my burn from two days ago, and moments later, the heavens opened. We
were already soaked so I just thought we might as well get into the sea whilst
the storm continued. Valeria joined me in the warm sea whilst the others
attempted to shelter out in the cold, or in Phoebe and Gwen’s case, go for a
horse ride in the blinding rain. The rest of the girls joined us after a while
and we had some “deep” sea chats – see what I did there? Heheh. The rain
stopped for a bit so we took the opportunity to leave the beach. Of course, we got
caught in yet more rain and <i>unfortunately</i>
we had to dive into a pizza restaurant. Bummer!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO_sGXjOlfsIswiVSeQl43d3Tb-YLlha3fixHWi6CMi3Hz0aY3TFHL6CNLQarOM_lRpmYnODYahBGm34WUCyC7sONhOTdajoJ9rN9W9tBipwlXnWLDm44ac3itjDrs7hAVB7AqafoacM/s1600/IMG_2350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO_sGXjOlfsIswiVSeQl43d3Tb-YLlha3fixHWi6CMi3Hz0aY3TFHL6CNLQarOM_lRpmYnODYahBGm34WUCyC7sONhOTdajoJ9rN9W9tBipwlXnWLDm44ac3itjDrs7hAVB7AqafoacM/s640/IMG_2350.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scallops</td></tr>
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After pizza we went to the night market, of course. We sat
in a restaurant for somewhere to go out of the rain and I ended up eating
scallops and some vino, oops! It is the Buddhist holiday today so no shops are
selling alcohol, and only some restaurants will serve it if you sit inside. We
sat inside. All the clubs were shut so we went back to the hostel and sat on
the roof terrace (still raining) and drank Chloe’s Thai white whiskey, which
tasted of a mix of tequila, sambucca, vodka and paint stripper. She swears its
“delicious!” – still, thanks Chloe!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSteK1KgV2Nwn7wAAEytO45zcrUvnQSP6qazN50DOKnO1_iVQ_HfLQd30y2QY5xm1oWR11_-1s0JaecobYmjRRfr_KHEcx79YnWYbgFB32rU-skfqx9t-808-4ACseXCIbp_4vP58F05k/s1600/IMG_2324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSteK1KgV2Nwn7wAAEytO45zcrUvnQSP6qazN50DOKnO1_iVQ_HfLQd30y2QY5xm1oWR11_-1s0JaecobYmjRRfr_KHEcx79YnWYbgFB32rU-skfqx9t-808-4ACseXCIbp_4vP58F05k/s640/IMG_2324.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from my bunk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Day 38: Friday 31<sup>st</sup>
July</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmQoXFmdCa21lx7heiaDiX8xl0d7guej6nkokYGdDUNb2-0XmbsJVRRRPPd-JyiL5vv4FOpnzhZ0RmpUbSDzjiqYID_XBAWTuF4rMwWi4Lr9kwsU-M73EeBeq-7VjW4flPUtoIK5rToQ/s1600/DSC01983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmQoXFmdCa21lx7heiaDiX8xl0d7guej6nkokYGdDUNb2-0XmbsJVRRRPPd-JyiL5vv4FOpnzhZ0RmpUbSDzjiqYID_XBAWTuF4rMwWi4Lr9kwsU-M73EeBeq-7VjW4flPUtoIK5rToQ/s640/DSC01983.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauty</td></tr>
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Today we were unsure what to do. There are 12 of us
altogether, so planning things can take a while. Luckily, everyone’s really
easy going and is happy to do similar things, so we managed to all stay
together for the whole trip. We ended up visiting a national park called Khao
Sam Roi Yot, where the biggest attraction is the Phraya Nakhon Cave. None of us
knew what we were letting ourselves in for, as we had only seen the off picture
of the temple that stands in the centre of the cave. Unbeknown to us, we would
have to walk 2km up and down two rocky mountains to be rewarded with the
welcome sight of the cave. I don’t know about anyone else, but I was sweating
from the get-go. And that part was <i>easy! </i>It
was a lot flatter and easier than the second mountain, which we didn’t know we
would have to climb, until it was all up in our shocked (or excited, in Jay’s
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eNYOvN2klhN9L25vs6e_pdp5a-gbJmbmai_VMVjtYkEHct7xQ60LT-wB9KEit9CE65LLWPWymSIoK8PzcnLlE-7s6Ire_J7WJ3yqi1JBcNfyzLTT9lM0-UeHdcWhTzLO-Dx49qhHjn8/s1600/DSC02001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eNYOvN2klhN9L25vs6e_pdp5a-gbJmbmai_VMVjtYkEHct7xQ60LT-wB9KEit9CE65LLWPWymSIoK8PzcnLlE-7s6Ire_J7WJ3yqi1JBcNfyzLTT9lM0-UeHdcWhTzLO-Dx49qhHjn8/s640/DSC02001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Jay was way too excited to see the mountain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylhVAVJwL9U6R2zhoefaBUTkcAwJx1gdMLb0JYyYjMCvQGQU4D837JUgTTH7uPSsrvOoCNdRMN4-YRd7V512TzCzPKju1HUfhhuMO74DHFaUT7hUiGrXyzYmNpXBqF5Z_8IuvMeQ1OBo/s1600/DSC02003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylhVAVJwL9U6R2zhoefaBUTkcAwJx1gdMLb0JYyYjMCvQGQU4D837JUgTTH7uPSsrvOoCNdRMN4-YRd7V512TzCzPKju1HUfhhuMO74DHFaUT7hUiGrXyzYmNpXBqF5Z_8IuvMeQ1OBo/s640/DSC02003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Its the climmmmbbbb" - Miley Cyrus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9js7JSjUC8yiXWEugwVhfKLuYJvgB1OtfEZI_NPNmWeauS27I2ssHwpzWTrB1XaZ3jYdcZyHARUHl-iOzK2z18BSJWy7DzfITk6nDrju0JmV7nX_01XPtR9maOJ4zPwGmUsvY1wdvxsg/s1600/DSC02029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9js7JSjUC8yiXWEugwVhfKLuYJvgB1OtfEZI_NPNmWeauS27I2ssHwpzWTrB1XaZ3jYdcZyHARUHl-iOzK2z18BSJWy7DzfITk6nDrju0JmV7nX_01XPtR9maOJ4zPwGmUsvY1wdvxsg/s640/DSC02029.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You would never believe this is at the top of a mountain!</td></tr>
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The whole way, we were overlooking a beautiful landscape of
the ocean and greenery, which was lovely! But unfortunately, when your life
hangs in the balance of your flip flop on a slippery rock, you don’t want to
look at the ocean. So there we all were, struggling up a mountain. Some finding
it easier than others, and some of us <i>dying</i>
because it’s been a while since doing any exercise! It started to rain as we
approached the top, so the fear of sliding all the way down the killer rocks was
at the forefront of my mind. Shouldn’t have worn flip flops!! By now it was all
very wet and muddy, and moving out of the way for the old ladies who were
(mind-blowingly) climbing back down the mountain was proving difficult between
the trees. It was a long old climb, and once we made it to the top – and
climbed <i>down</i> into the cave, I was
ready to keel over in a shaky, sweaty heap. The rain was coming through the
sky-light holes in the roof of cave and it was all very euphoric. We were all
so proud of ourselves for achieving the goal of getting to the top!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukPRFkvHpUzd60eqckLbqSwU8sOJWX3laQOf4JJ2zwm02eXJ7zdlk7cCkydfcOa1tNaFqtf7GiOYIp1Sxq8SsPEjFGYjV8UbUmkp6wHrVhXQhuEqcjP5Pu5ZmlXga0KEmQOHOt4J2Igw/s1600/DSC02048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukPRFkvHpUzd60eqckLbqSwU8sOJWX3laQOf4JJ2zwm02eXJ7zdlk7cCkydfcOa1tNaFqtf7GiOYIp1Sxq8SsPEjFGYjV8UbUmkp6wHrVhXQhuEqcjP5Pu5ZmlXga0KEmQOHOt4J2Igw/s640/DSC02048.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.... This was planned</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We spent ages attempting to do the classic 'self timer jumping shot' and we actually <i>did</i> get one of all of us (minus Gwen) off the floor! But I think this one is pretty funny because I said "right, now lets just do a classic 'standing up doing the <i>peace</i> gesture' shot. Just before the shot took, Jay and I just looked at each other and knew from the look that we were going to jump! Its actually not very funny is it?.... You kinda had to be there.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9x5FxQgGyAnjDShcf1F_Z90WiY8vriI3S9Lp7zb4dBupDHj0d5XWKz8BH6YKVQuMeyDON0VCXM4i9rd5AHDp9ZLnSh044WDaCQVxbMnevKs9VfrcDDK3Z9EM0IB7pZI_NPGk1gx6Ozc/s1600/DSC02023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9x5FxQgGyAnjDShcf1F_Z90WiY8vriI3S9Lp7zb4dBupDHj0d5XWKz8BH6YKVQuMeyDON0VCXM4i9rd5AHDp9ZLnSh044WDaCQVxbMnevKs9VfrcDDK3Z9EM0IB7pZI_NPGk1gx6Ozc/s640/DSC02023.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pondering about life or something..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The descent was worse than expected. Or was it better? I don't know. Considering I was thinking someone was surely going to slip and fall the whole way down, <b>and nobody did</b>, it was good! But at the same time, it had been raining and all the steps were so muddy and wet and my flip flops were struggling. I contemplated going all "<i>jungle book</i>" and taking them off but I had seen some questionable creepy crawlies on the way up. Somehow, we made it down alive and nobody really hurt themselves! I had to keep reminding myself that 80 year old women were climbing up and down this thing as if they were on an escalator in ASDA, and the 5 year old girl that was striding up and down hadn't died yet so there was still hope for me. I had the jelliest legs known to man once I'd hit the bottom. Rather than stretching all the darn lactic acid out of my poor muscles (or lack of), we went for some grub by the shore. We then faced the task of climbing back up and down the first mountain, which was less of a task than the <i>second</i> mountain to reach the cave, but I was still having none of it. We managed to hitch a lift in a cute little boat for 50 baht each to take us round to the other side to join the others. I regret nothing!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFx7hjJnHovOIodVPe6XD6q3UvF3NPm61KdwQQD7aBLHowSZnHg5LgtObNap5l1dRl4jBxXQhIUT3q-kafPx_VnkVml7YOYEwU2KXU0J70WMRsI-7NxICYQvdgSuUT0cWLfUwVtYskqzU/s1600/IMG_2424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFx7hjJnHovOIodVPe6XD6q3UvF3NPm61KdwQQD7aBLHowSZnHg5LgtObNap5l1dRl4jBxXQhIUT3q-kafPx_VnkVml7YOYEwU2KXU0J70WMRsI-7NxICYQvdgSuUT0cWLfUwVtYskqzU/s640/IMG_2424.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
That night we all went to the market (shock) and then
headed for the clubs. We guessed they might be shut because of the Buddhist
holiday, and we were right. Luckily though, we passed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i> bar that was open, called Ibiza. They welcomed us in and told
us they were pretty much having a lock-in, but its ok because some dude inside
is a police man... We made friends with two South African and New Zealanders
and played some games, including my new favourite game called ‘fives’ which you
can only find at Exeter uni, apparently. Tomorrow the clubs open again so we
plan to finally have a proper night out then.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfe6gpr6NXLsBDNMPcNpEvrbliuqTVJS98piRsirocBhTr-E1tCo6Ccih_d3F6vk56uOkWoRyLfSpt7Ge6ylu1CPhEq-45IXdz9Mzivl6Q4ZWm-qqQF8qrzZ7TUftJ5ronPaU49pmpG8/s1600/IMG_2430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfe6gpr6NXLsBDNMPcNpEvrbliuqTVJS98piRsirocBhTr-E1tCo6Ccih_d3F6vk56uOkWoRyLfSpt7Ge6ylu1CPhEq-45IXdz9Mzivl6Q4ZWm-qqQF8qrzZ7TUftJ5ronPaU49pmpG8/s640/IMG_2430.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Day 39: Saturday 1<sup>st</sup>
August</b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIq0Gx4E5S9jcSRaiQYPJfZMvNaUdy-SV6accoSm5rP8cX58sdwFZ2svOSJGcm3hVblSj9Ycf9oaXvdjiYec8Eja9TVneqcr_Rjt6IBiqzZnm0T1yiiDV4eIrgg8JFOh_3UTJsDK5Vxg8/s1600/IMG_2442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIq0Gx4E5S9jcSRaiQYPJfZMvNaUdy-SV6accoSm5rP8cX58sdwFZ2svOSJGcm3hVblSj9Ycf9oaXvdjiYec8Eja9TVneqcr_Rjt6IBiqzZnm0T1yiiDV4eIrgg8JFOh_3UTJsDK5Vxg8/s640/IMG_2442.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Today was a slow starter! It reached 13:30 and we were still
in the hostel café twiddling our thumbs wondering what to do. Our decision was
affected by the monsoon rain, which wasn’t helping the situation! We decided
finally that we should do something indoors; so we went to a complex that had
some shops, arcades and BOWLING! There were some bets going on between
different people, and my bet with Jay was a strong one. The loser would have to
down a bottle of something later that night, and I knew it couldn’t be me! Its
been a few days now and there are still disagreements about the winner. Even
though it was definitely me, because Jay cheated and unfairly got an extra go.</div>
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After a trusty McDonald’s, we headed to the beach because
the rain had finally stopped! I was dying to use my new bat and ball so I was
very happy to finally get there. Soon though, it got dark and the inevitable
happened: the ball disappeared. We did some aerobics on the beach, led by
Phoebe who had created the dance for her students. I also taught everyone a
song from the Italian summer camp last year. After a long time of lounging
around on the beach, we headed back to the hostel so we could go out for some
draannnks. We played drinking games in the hostel before heading out to a
Celtic sports bar. The competition continued between Jay and I, who I told I
would beat at pool. Of course, I wasn’t lying. It was double or nothing so it
was my pleasure to see him dribble two bottles of Smirnoff down himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2am soon came around and all the clubs
closed. We headed back to the beach, where we found Jimmy, a Thai guy who we
had met last night. He looked like Bruno Mars and after we told him this he
kept singing and playing Bruno Mars songs on his phone. All 13 of us sat
together on the beach in a huge circle, which was cool. All we needed was a fire
and a guitar and we’d be well away! I went for a swim with Phoebe and got all
my clothes soaking so the sand was truly all over me when we sat back down! We
left the beach at about 3:30 and headed for Burger King. We sat outside there
for ages and eventually went back to the hostel and chatted some more!
Eventually I got to sleep at about 6:30.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 40: Sunday 2nd August</h2>
<pre style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So tired and a bit hungover. Everyone left today apart from gwen and Jess and me. We luckily had managed to get the Monday off work so we could miss the bank holiday Sunday traffic and also recover. We spent the day at the beach, relaxing and mostly napping! For the first time, it didn't rain the whole time we were there! And then as we were leaving at about 5pm, it started to rain and we saw the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen! It was perfect and you could see both ends of it. It genuinely made me so happy and really brightened my day. We went to the market to find some food and ended up in the restaurant we went to a few days before (where I ate scallops) and had a gurt steak for about a fiver. Perfetto! Finally tried some delicious coconut ice cream and did more shopping in the market. Home time. Early night, packing, ovaltine, sleeeeeep.</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal;">
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<pre style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal;">
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<pre><pre style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal;"><h2>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 41: Monday 3rd August</span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waking up at 7am came as a shock! Went to check out but it was too early for the receptionist to be there so we didn't get our £6 deposits back unfortunately. We had to leg it to find a tuktuk to take us to the bus station. We had about 10 minutes until we had to be there, and the journey to the station should take 10 minutes. We were cutting it seriously fine, so when I spotted a tuktuk in a line of traffic going the right way, we jumped in and she managed to get us there with moments to spare! The bus journey was about 3.5 hours long and I managed to sleep for most of the way. The seats were so big and comfy, they reminded me of those seats that are made specially for large people. The bus took us to Suvarnabhuni airport which is the main airport in Bangkok, and the one you see in the TV programme Bangkok Airport. We had to get a free 1 hour shuttle bus to the other airport to catch our flight. When we were at the airport waiting for our flight, we did the usual shopping, eating, sitting, and realising we've forgotten something things. Gwen had the scary realisation that she had left her phone in the hostel! There was obviously no way we could have gone and gotten it, but after a quick phone call (off of Jess' phone) we knew the phone was in the safe hands of the hostel. Thank god!</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The flight was meant to take 55 minutes but I swear it was much shorter! I fell asleep and the flight attendant had to wake me up though, so who knows. Khon Kaen airport is SO small, which meant my bag was on the collection belt within about a minute and we hopped straight into a taxi! I was home within the next 10 minutes, which I was very happy about :)</span></div>
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</span></div>
<span style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px; white-space: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know you're all dying to see the 'good' photo of us jumping, so here it is. Oh, I know.. I spoil you! Thank you sooooo much to everyone I spent my holiday with: Jess, Gwen, Phoebe, Chloe, Rachel, Valeria, Kris, John, Jay, Gabby, Jess, Jodie, Hannah, Samten, Cream, Jiang, and of course, the grumpy american guy from the hostel.</span></div>
</span></pre>
</pre>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0DgeJzeQGT6Tu5k7a6PMSAa6FmQU62ZXv4gdepfOO-Hk9KwATPwk3aspd63_CwhI16iIDCP51xe3YLx2ls1_9NMzuWdu0VzElKdKKw67OYJbF0InCrL2qyC4V22f8IG5AVb6fqDJSo8/s1600/DSC02049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0DgeJzeQGT6Tu5k7a6PMSAa6FmQU62ZXv4gdepfOO-Hk9KwATPwk3aspd63_CwhI16iIDCP51xe3YLx2ls1_9NMzuWdu0VzElKdKKw67OYJbF0InCrL2qyC4V22f8IG5AVb6fqDJSo8/s640/DSC02049.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great bunch of people</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry it was long. But it was great!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peace,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olivia x</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-5942016759898564952015-08-04T02:50:00.000-07:002015-08-04T02:50:06.481-07:00Days 32-36: Hua Hin Holiday! Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Days 32-36 in Hua Hin</b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQy_FklX0CVEG0I2w3HzWAW1n3qkbodDKZu14TmEvFAiZrm_04Yx3NTiurjcB2LK2k-TfZPq6k5vZynxB-x2__mn_iIvUuoFItsIOGJdyGtLAH-q1ZvaCCY8xo_zHVm-o2NwMgLYBFj1I/s1600/IMG_2254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQy_FklX0CVEG0I2w3HzWAW1n3qkbodDKZu14TmEvFAiZrm_04Yx3NTiurjcB2LK2k-TfZPq6k5vZynxB-x2__mn_iIvUuoFItsIOGJdyGtLAH-q1ZvaCCY8xo_zHVm-o2NwMgLYBFj1I/s640/IMG_2254.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It’s currently Tuesday 4<sup>th</sup> August and it’s time
to catch up on 9 days’ worth of blogging about my life in Thailand. I have been
away on a little holiday from teaching, because the 30<sup>th</sup> and 31<sup>st</sup>
was a Buddhist holiday, meaning nobody had to work. Also, my school was kind
enough to give me the whole week off leading up to the Thursday, which I was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extremely</i> grateful for! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had an incredible week and have <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">so</b> much to say about it, but I really don’t want to bore you all to
death with reams of information about sand reaching places it shouldn’t,
endless trips to the market and the amount of steak and beer I consumed- so
I’ll try and keep it as short and sweet as possible (a bit like the amount of
sun we got on every beach trip…)</div>
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Day 32: Saturday 25<sup>th</sup>
July</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I woke up to the most amazing 70- something messages on my family WhatsApp chat.... My brother Ross is getting married! He proposed to Lucy, his girlfriend of 9 years whilst on their anniversary holiday in beautiful Santorini. I'm so happy for them!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOe3pxDcv_CcPFqqtZ4Bm4NYr6GMXQYR_3XwzZPAtqAqTdlxPpYj45zrrYTB9Nuey0xi9ChQWcqYzqIj4iinKsE_sSFu_Dml6ZEO2DbpuOqxXVxDlUmDKZrPKbbrb9U-fK0jYQynkrWU/s1600/11781893_10156064084570001_2968421625796872932_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOe3pxDcv_CcPFqqtZ4Bm4NYr6GMXQYR_3XwzZPAtqAqTdlxPpYj45zrrYTB9Nuey0xi9ChQWcqYzqIj4iinKsE_sSFu_Dml6ZEO2DbpuOqxXVxDlUmDKZrPKbbrb9U-fK0jYQynkrWU/s640/11781893_10156064084570001_2968421625796872932_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy and Ross </td></tr>
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Kanang and her friend took me to Ban Pai bus station at 8pm
to meet Hannah, Jodie, Samten, Cream and Jiang. Hannah and Jodie are ETAs like
me, but the other three are Chinese and English teachers in their school. It
was my first time meeting them, and they were all instantly welcoming and
lovely <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span>
We planned to go for dinner before our 10pm bus but ended up sitting in the bus
station eating crisp sandwiches and yoghurts which was equally as good! The bus
was a bit like a tiny coach/ large luxury minivan, which had reclining seats,
TV screens and speakers in the headrests. A lady came round with snacks and
drinks, which was pretty cool too! The 5-hour journey flew by, and the next
thing I knew we were getting into a minivan for the next leg of our journey: a
3-hour hellish death ride to Hua Hin, where I would be spending the next 8 days!
The van driver seemed to be on some kind of drug, judging by his driving. I
genuinely cannot understand how we didn’t die in that van. The van’s terrified
silence was rarely broken by the odd gasp, and a shout of “JESUS CHRIST” from
me as we came inches to the car in front at 60mph.</div>
<h2>
<b>Day 33: Sunday 26th July</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrglA3W4J12hTHrH6czY8GtEbu5m5mpIu2UNd6bA-sN-zE42W0bDBMf7H8zalqroAXKKjvw-y2co55qmkLoyVvU-cNB2kN8GmaZ-4nAq6r_-t-6FDj6fF2zmuRU98Obf0XajfpZ7JC_1I/s1600/IMG_2179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrglA3W4J12hTHrH6czY8GtEbu5m5mpIu2UNd6bA-sN-zE42W0bDBMf7H8zalqroAXKKjvw-y2co55qmkLoyVvU-cNB2kN8GmaZ-4nAq6r_-t-6FDj6fF2zmuRU98Obf0XajfpZ7JC_1I/s640/IMG_2179.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah by the pool</td></tr>
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Somehow we arrived unscathed at 6:30am, and found a trusty
7-11 supermarket for an obligatory cheese and ham toastie (which happened to be
my first one!). Even though we couldn’t check into our villa until 12pm, we got
a taxi to the resort and set up camp by the pool. It was so beautiful and calm
at 7am as we swam in the morning light, unsure if we were going to get chucked
out at any moment! We spent the morning there, swimming, napping and
sunbathing. Oh, and a dog came and did a tiny wee on my bag. At 11 we were
allowed to go to our room, which was a lovely villa with a kitchen, living room
and two bedrooms. There were 6 of us and only 2 beds, so we had to do some
shuffling around! After a couple of hours sleep we went to the main Hua Hin
beach. Jiang had never been to the beach or in the sea before, so I was really
excited to be a part of it! I had a foot massage from a really strong, really old lady. Think she was trying to beat me up because I bartered her down! After the beach we went for some Indian food and
then to the night market, where I bought some clothes and too much jewellery,
as usual! We were all knackered so we had an early- ish night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0TjWPhiGZttEXA7_DrUO_uVA6IcrWsqqJeE8u2SH20SQ1pktpKVOkJlcZvak9_G9wn3wtRJpu_R2gbBNAsnZQW2qQi17IEwIF132lUQW1GLnHFPKZ64vFW4q3rjaYR_8YH1aY6LYuNE/s1600/IMG_2196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0TjWPhiGZttEXA7_DrUO_uVA6IcrWsqqJeE8u2SH20SQ1pktpKVOkJlcZvak9_G9wn3wtRJpu_R2gbBNAsnZQW2qQi17IEwIF132lUQW1GLnHFPKZ64vFW4q3rjaYR_8YH1aY6LYuNE/s640/IMG_2196.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach foot massage</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wFx3SBlNPpetLV8a3u-HQGtluGOrTcmX549nsFExp7nWetLfKx1ICu75x6L4Q_oAyNGmUDaCt90gKgDnLnv0ZoX-u4X6MStUifjnAsDSgEasnnNbiWcvoJPr1WtkzGL_eeY0KYnk9X4/s1600/IMG_2221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wFx3SBlNPpetLV8a3u-HQGtluGOrTcmX549nsFExp7nWetLfKx1ICu75x6L4Q_oAyNGmUDaCt90gKgDnLnv0ZoX-u4X6MStUifjnAsDSgEasnnNbiWcvoJPr1WtkzGL_eeY0KYnk9X4/s640/IMG_2221.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Day 34: Monday 27<sup>th</sup>
July</b></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVFGPl8ijbH0BGuBden7jye3zTYrvCWtGxlYvVJ04jQwzB-pudhTwlbBuyHHYLb2XULPAvySPreTnnVe1G0_EzPNy0remNZ0j7P8DTzsuq3Qe3u9PoTMCPaDnKXCpuijFOASLYXNZk-E/s1600/DSC01958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVFGPl8ijbH0BGuBden7jye3zTYrvCWtGxlYvVJ04jQwzB-pudhTwlbBuyHHYLb2XULPAvySPreTnnVe1G0_EzPNy0remNZ0j7P8DTzsuq3Qe3u9PoTMCPaDnKXCpuijFOASLYXNZk-E/s640/DSC01958.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cha Am jumping with Cream and Samten</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We went to a different beach in Cha Am, about 30 minutes
away. It was supposedly nicer, with clear water and whiter sands but it was
pretty much the same as Hua Hin, just quieter. We chilled and swam, and I got
pretty stuck into my new book, “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. In the evening we
went out in search of karaoke. We found a little place which was pretty much a
little box room that smelt of toilets and had no access to natural light or
oxygen, and stayed there all night, belting out the tunes and drinking
cocktails. It was my first time doing karaoke, and I enjoyed it more than I
thought! Cream and Jiang went home as it was late, and the rest of us stayed
out and found a club that played really good music and sold overpriced beer.
After a 7-11 toastie and tuktuk ride, we found ourselves in the middle of our
villa resort, lost and with no clue as to where our villa was! After over 30
minutes or so, we found it- thank God!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXrSxIRl41m288BL1hGFycd5Ig_JJHBV1ta0ZTiTSeO6cNxap95tprn-1i6lG41uQiwJEgZJ5estNTgfz6e-FKghxaQ_7YWA80DggxcJOW6JVSAmKZ_LRqzYGdUaCYmD7I2bDg3Q-2Ao/s1600/IMG_2252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXrSxIRl41m288BL1hGFycd5Ig_JJHBV1ta0ZTiTSeO6cNxap95tprn-1i6lG41uQiwJEgZJ5estNTgfz6e-FKghxaQ_7YWA80DggxcJOW6JVSAmKZ_LRqzYGdUaCYmD7I2bDg3Q-2Ao/s640/IMG_2252.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful train station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Day 35: Tuesday 28<sup>th</sup>
July</b></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Slightly hungover. My companions are leaving today to go
about an hour down the road, while I am staying in Hua Hin in order to meet some
more ETAs tomorrow. This means that I am alone all day today and tonight- eek!
I ask myself: “does this make me a solo traveller now?” hahah. I asked the nice
resort receptionist if I could stay by the pool for the day as I was alone and
she said it was fine. She even offered to take me to lunch, to a place just
outside the resort gates. I had no food and no way of getting anywhere so I
accepted her offer, and so off we went in the little golf buggy to lunch! We
chatted over lunch, and it turned out her boyfriend is Australian and lives
with her there in Hua Hin- that explains why her English is so good! I spent
the whole day alone, lying beneath the cloudy sky. Unbeknown to me, I was
getting burnt to a crisp. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0dLWXenmV_Y3s7MAax_FjPY-oWqpLMKXcT0H8mGJREb1H0lH3KiFWrR626G97K9EBT-MRyZ96lqh1oQSviwPOdsMoLUL6p75MWQRKNUEBjFOMBg_mTisSnK3uRQGJEiey1rRmZu_AAM/s1600/IMG_2251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0dLWXenmV_Y3s7MAax_FjPY-oWqpLMKXcT0H8mGJREb1H0lH3KiFWrR626G97K9EBT-MRyZ96lqh1oQSviwPOdsMoLUL6p75MWQRKNUEBjFOMBg_mTisSnK3uRQGJEiey1rRmZu_AAM/s640/IMG_2251.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving this!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It was so chilled and really nice to just do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i>. I made friends with a 70 year
old Swiss man who lives on the resort with his Thai wife, and he told me a bit
about his life, which was really interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The receptionist also came over to me and offered me a lift to my new
hostel later that day! How kind <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
this woman?! “Be careful she doesn’t kidnap you”, said my Mum. I knew she was
safe enough though, so at 6pm her Australian boyfriend picked us up and took me
to my hostel in town, about 10 minutes away. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As I’m on my own for the night, I thought I would splash £17
on a double room, as I didn’t know what crazy people I would have to face in
the 8-bed dorm on my own. The queensize bed was certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">incredible</i>- quite possibly the comfiest bed ever. <span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">There
are free snacks and coffee available in the hallway which is a nice gesture
that’s unlike any other hostel I've stayed in! I’m just chilling because I
don't fancy going out on my own in the dark tonight. It's nice to just relax!
I've written some letters home to my friends and family and failed to work the
TV. I’m feeling pretty happy right now! And also, I’m proud of myself for
making it through the day alone, and getting to my hostel and being in a random
city- all alone. It sounds simple, but I’ve never done it before! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Day 36: Wednesday 29<sup>th</sup>
July</b></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roof terrace view</td></tr>
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I was rudely awoken by parades at 8:30am by music and
drumming coming through the hostel’s thin windows. I watched the parade from my
window, as dancing girls and dressed-up cars passed by. I had a pretty
leisurely morning, and day for that matter. Jess and Gwen are arriving tonight
at about 7pm so I have a whole day to kill. The hostel provided a free
breakfast of toast and jam in the café below, and coffee from the little snack
station outside my room. I was moved into my new room at 12: the 8 bed female dorm.
I was pleasantly surprised- the room was nice and we even had A/C and a sofa. I
went for a walk, with no idea where I was going. I wasn’t keen on the idea of
going to the beach alone, so I found a familiar part of town and stationed
myself at a Starbucks on the main road. I sat outside for a fair few hours,
glued to my book and drinking fresh carrot juice- I know, how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">edgy! </i></div>
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Once back at the hostel, I took my
7-11 toasties up to the roof terrace as the sun was going down. There were two
swiss girls up there already who I got chatting to. They offered me some wine-
of course I accepted- and we had a lovely chat about our travels and life.
Later that night Jess and Gwen finally arrived, woohoo! We headed out to the
night market, where I was pretty much a local by now, and ate steak and drank
cocktails. We ended up visiting the club that I went to the other night, and
had a good ol’ dance and some bloody cold slushy shots!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">STEAK</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLUzG8DhzIoSqwnnACEAwoen6e8jJIpTS9BsVpZ8N6o4J8-Kr-Gs2IKxdmfk4dlT439FRwIKfbjdaK5LouL7rGSp6yfURzQRAiOJBqw14npWmDxlOyrACkPNJ1cU3JE7xCNDtFkSQgpA/s1600/IMG_2315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLUzG8DhzIoSqwnnACEAwoen6e8jJIpTS9BsVpZ8N6o4J8-Kr-Gs2IKxdmfk4dlT439FRwIKfbjdaK5LouL7rGSp6yfURzQRAiOJBqw14npWmDxlOyrACkPNJ1cU3JE7xCNDtFkSQgpA/s640/IMG_2315.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a pretty bar!</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen shots</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I'm writing the second half of my Hua Hin holiday adventures in another post so you don't all fall asleep like I currently am. Thanks to everyone who made the first half of the week so great!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Peace,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-20049486752613501272015-07-25T02:15:00.000-07:002015-07-25T03:10:36.343-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 31, Ladyboys<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 31: Friday 24th July</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's nothin' like a bit of BBQ pork and sticky rice to start the day! Again, a feast was laid out on my desk this morning. Rowena says she buys it because she likes to give the old ladies at the market some custom. Im not so sure about her motives, but I sure don't mind.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fK5BKGYvPFFhP4zGrVXwouVWcqo_8oVbdFXeVhLLzYc26ksP3DLszAIQQLZcTxMHBME0yDPSOrouc9rq4rFg78InADEmQzO3n6CsK8Zohy5gdbf94XGRLxF6bYWQxnC1tHUOMsSx-K4/s1600/IMG_2132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fK5BKGYvPFFhP4zGrVXwouVWcqo_8oVbdFXeVhLLzYc26ksP3DLszAIQQLZcTxMHBME0yDPSOrouc9rq4rFg78InADEmQzO3n6CsK8Zohy5gdbf94XGRLxF6bYWQxnC1tHUOMsSx-K4/s640/IMG_2132.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kanang at the morning market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BBQ pork</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCZhV_jlM4j6W70JY0b6MP8oEvV0tghymsfrO_UdMDdVpNTr_PTNQeGnacSvjQ-Z7oD3m9HfUq6yq7u6VPFgvb54Ajh-0ytTBRFLLEZYtTxkZrUc3jhG8YyPhOACmL7YIR0cYLYTwIj4/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCZhV_jlM4j6W70JY0b6MP8oEvV0tghymsfrO_UdMDdVpNTr_PTNQeGnacSvjQ-Z7oD3m9HfUq6yq7u6VPFgvb54Ajh-0ytTBRFLLEZYtTxkZrUc3jhG8YyPhOACmL7YIR0cYLYTwIj4/s640/IMG_2133.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I only had 2 lessons today so I had a lot of time to spare. There was a lot of outdoor activity going on at school, such as general meandering around, playing sports or chilling and plaiting each other's hair, in the girls cases. I had enough of sitting in the office and braved the outdoors, seeing as it was very overcast and not <i>too </i>hot. It was still 32 degrees, mind you. I sat for a fair while, watching various students switching on and off the volleyball court. Every now and again a student would call over "Teaacha, play volleyball" and I'd wave my hands to my head, signalling how hot it was. I just didn't fancy getting all hot and sweaty today, and was happy to watch them all get competitive together. Also, the students playing today were <i>really</i> good, and I didn't want to break up the flow with any terrible shots.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNZ0zULd9bfKYV2KA2B6FyXtxGtqr6h2C_jfhWK4ajS9yZyqhyBPIon2uimPHPhmK832aEqoy_Aiqo8BMMSxYzyTixI1RyGeaIyOP4iklfr29Uvn_jLFbArPJPaZ_FZkAFUBs7_gbUrA/s1600/IMG_2138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNZ0zULd9bfKYV2KA2B6FyXtxGtqr6h2C_jfhWK4ajS9yZyqhyBPIon2uimPHPhmK832aEqoy_Aiqo8BMMSxYzyTixI1RyGeaIyOP4iklfr29Uvn_jLFbArPJPaZ_FZkAFUBs7_gbUrA/s640/IMG_2138.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buum bought us all ice cream!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the afternoon I ventured outside as they were playing again. (Do these kids ever study?) I sat on my own at a table near to the court. I don't mind sitting alone at school, because I am a <i>teacher</i> and the kids aren't going to laugh at me and think "haha, that loser is on her own again". Im also the only blonde person (apart from the school stray dog) on the school grounds, consisting of about 600 students and teachers, so I am used to standing out and being the 'only one'. After a while, one of the students from M4 (age 16 ish) came over and sat next to me. It was the first time any of the kids had approached me like this, because they are usually all <i>so damn shy!</i> She didn't want anything in particular, and she didn't seem shy. So we sat quietly together, as we watched the others play volleyball. Every now again again we would say something in very broken English, and sometimes the other would understand. I pointed at one of the boys on the court and asked her, "ladyboy?" and she replied "yes", and went on to point to three other of the boys, signalling that the four of them were all 'ladyboys'. I kind of thought this before, but the first one I asked about had a full face of make up on and painted toe nails, which made it pretty explicit.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eY6TN0KY03xpGEnD09RmGiA7fLwPm8-6bbXRn0-7Kg6BZL72nLg005SYBd7bhtjzousDXzcJj5gOPtHZbJa0KzoQX2GVHxBD5lxRfrWbYyY8KbKU3pOk7GTBeSOewUe6fPxrSHE2nOk/s1600/IMG_2140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eY6TN0KY03xpGEnD09RmGiA7fLwPm8-6bbXRn0-7Kg6BZL72nLg005SYBd7bhtjzousDXzcJj5gOPtHZbJa0KzoQX2GVHxBD5lxRfrWbYyY8KbKU3pOk7GTBeSOewUe6fPxrSHE2nOk/s640/IMG_2140.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving the V ball</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wmnb0qCIGFosg-av-ycbvawR4S6IIJJfhE2QqRdJyft_eFXHsIlpPxy16DRbjRonADyPPA5Ul9rSCQbEfaHQlH8F-wvlXsPbsfDCyT_fxVdznLo7GTFF3CGiaU3hbH-JZ9OnPX6GOm0/s1600/IMG_2141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wmnb0qCIGFosg-av-ycbvawR4S6IIJJfhE2QqRdJyft_eFXHsIlpPxy16DRbjRonADyPPA5Ul9rSCQbEfaHQlH8F-wvlXsPbsfDCyT_fxVdznLo7GTFF3CGiaU3hbH-JZ9OnPX6GOm0/s640/IMG_2141.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shmaaaashhh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even though I've never put much thought into the subject, I always thought that a ladyboy was more of an adult thing- not kids. I thought that men who wanted to be women would dress like them, and sometimes even go the whole way. I wouldn't have called the boys at school who carry a handbag and put talcum powder on their face '<i>ladyboys</i>', but apparently that's the way it is over here. I love how in Thailand, the boys who want to act or dress like a ladyboy <i>can</i>, and everybody accepts them for it. There were 4 ladyboys on the volleyball court, and they were smashing the ball around so hard and powerfully which may surprise some. Many might think that a ladyboy, and even girly girls are too fragile or pretty to get sweaty in a game of volleyball, but it was very refreshing to see an equal distribution of boys, girls, and ladyboys on the court.<br />
<br />
Had a huge headache today so when we got home i just binge-watched Orange is the New Black and had a niiiiceeee sleep.<br />
<br />
I'm going on holiday tomorrow to Hua Hin until Tuesday 4th August (amazing, right?) and Im not taking my laptop for the fear of it getting stolen in a dodgy hostel. Therefore, I will be catching up with my blog posts once I get back so you can have a lovely load of (or one big) holiday post/s to read!<br />
<br />
Peace, Olive</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-41823460842125254742015-07-24T05:41:00.000-07:002015-07-24T05:41:43.009-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 30, Wedding Lunch <h2>
Day 30: Thursday 23rd July</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can tell it's the end of the week, and so can everybody else by the small amount of eyeball that they can see through my struggling eye lids. When I am this tired, I don't know whats better for me- to be busy or to sleep! It turns out, my fate was made, and I only had one class today as many of the kids were at the temple for social studies work. Therefore, sleep was on the agenda! A little snooze at the desk is always naughty but nice, and nobody seems to mind!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I mentioned last week that I was given a wedding invite, to somebody's wedding who I have never met before. Today is the day of said wedding, so at lunch instead of going to our usual restaurant, we went and sat in the middle of a little side road in the village. When we arrived, we realised that everybody there (about 30 people) were all teachers from our school! And there was definitely no sight of any wedding activity going on. We soon figured out that this was a celebratory lunch, preceding the wedding that would happen the next day. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxk3GdE8ix2OVrnqaMZ_Wkyg7mDpqR52y3o-WA6zZy6urKhzPpPljdYfscqCXjRHv53R36WcCoxF9Q47b6pv8xBnoEga2DRRHiCaEIrAkEuPgnx3EzP9irG7FTlCk6_SyB1TmtqYsx64/s1600/IMG_2110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxk3GdE8ix2OVrnqaMZ_Wkyg7mDpqR52y3o-WA6zZy6urKhzPpPljdYfscqCXjRHv53R36WcCoxF9Q47b6pv8xBnoEga2DRRHiCaEIrAkEuPgnx3EzP9irG7FTlCk6_SyB1TmtqYsx64/s640/IMG_2110.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The bride is about 19-20 years old, and is an old student of the school- hence all the teachers! They had laid out loads of food for us, including Penang (red) curry, chicken, veg, salads, fish heads and pork innards. The last two looked exceptionally delightful! I stuck to the Penang and the chicken- even if it was pretty spicy! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rowena and her fish head, mm!</td></tr>
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Towards the end of the meal we finally saw the bride, who popped out of the house to do a whip around the tables and collect the gifted money from guests. She disappeared back into the house then, and that was that! We had been conspiring about where we thought she was: asleep? Shopping? Spooning her future husband, just like two men nearby in their garage were doing? Who knew!? At the end of the lunch, we were all given a small cushion as a gift. Some were also given a little towel- I have no idea what that was meant to be for. Anyway, the cushions are really nice, and are the perfect size to keep on my desk for those sleepy occasions! (I hope it fits in my luggage..)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modelling my cushion</td></tr>
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At lunch I saw a dog carrying a small plastic bag from its mouth with some food (I think) inside it. It then stopped and proceeded to put its whole mouth into the bag, eat the paper napkin inside it and start to also chew at the plastic. It was so sad to see, and I tried to distract the dog from the bag so it didn't suffocate or eat the plastic, because that would would cause the dog some obvious problems. The stray dogs here have to do this in order to survive I know, but it's sad to see them so desperate for food that they have to eat god-knows-what to get to it. (The dog has a collar on, so Im not sure about its ownership, but the problem of stray dogs is widespread in Thailand.) </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't eat the plastic!</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have been craving pancakes for a while now, so I went in search of some flour as Kanang didn't have any at home. We asked in Tesco Lotus for some, and they didn't have any! I couldn't believe it! One of the most basic amenities which can be found in most <i>staple</i> foods, was not in Tesco! What the heck?! So I had to go for the cheater's option and buy a packet mix, which I hate doing because of all the unwanted crap in them. I managed to overcome this battle and go forth in making, cooking, eating and enjoying the pancakes. Thank the lord. They were actually really nice! The mix had some vanilla and some other tasty stuff in it, so my banana, peanut butter and maple syrup pancakes were a delightful dinner. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lBKOR5D-dpvIr1R7pRXYwiUxDD4MZVcMZBbU_eO0wa7sWdWMf15l_JxtnRUzBmVSaVsu-O6vSEgzhyphenhyphenLV47mT6Se-zQKrWm2PfxeQGwh-GJF3rhM-eXP3jBO3eKQhzcBHbWV9D3BfDzY/s1600/IMG_2131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lBKOR5D-dpvIr1R7pRXYwiUxDD4MZVcMZBbU_eO0wa7sWdWMf15l_JxtnRUzBmVSaVsu-O6vSEgzhyphenhyphenLV47mT6Se-zQKrWm2PfxeQGwh-GJF3rhM-eXP3jBO3eKQhzcBHbWV9D3BfDzY/s640/IMG_2131.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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After dinner I decided that my long weekend plans <u style="font-weight: bold;">would</u> be made that evening, and with as little stress as possible! I finally slapped my indecision in the face and decided that I would take the night bus down to Bangkok, and go onto Hua Hin with Jodie, Hannah and crew, before I meet my other friends there on Wednesday. After some confusing phone calls to the bus company, with Kanang's help and Thai tongue, my bus journey was booked. Woohoo! What a relief! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now I just need to book some extra nights in the hostel and the flight back. I never knew how much hassle all this would be!</div>
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<br /></div>
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And <i>breathe.</i> Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-35811062105595713232015-07-23T07:06:00.000-07:002015-07-23T07:06:50.407-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 29, Crazy Teacher Olivia<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 29: Wednesday 22<sup>nd</sup> July</h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wing Wing with her "diet food"</td></tr>
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I was in a bit of shock today, due to many things. First:
because <i>I had time</i> to have a coffee and a sweet brioche bun before school.
Second: because Rowena announced that she is on a diet. Third: because the diet
requires her to eat two slices of bread and peanut butter for breakfast. Wait... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What? </i>When I’m on a diet I have to fight
with all my soul to not eat peanut butter sandwiches… I think I need to join
her on whatever diet this is, because it looks like a damn lot of fun. So there we
were, spreading Filipino peanut butter on to teeny slices of bread with a fork
at my desk, at about 8:30 in the morning.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing peanut butter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I had three lessons today; in 2 of them I taught about
clothing. I did the same as yesterday, in that each student read out an item of
clothing from the book, they wrote some sentences using the new vocab, then we
played a game of SPLAT. The kids enjoyed the game, but they are all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so shy</i> in getting involved. I either
have to give them a little (big) push to stand at the front, or their fellow
students do! So when I had to drag the tallest boy in the class to the front
and no girls requested to play, I was in the position to partake in the dual
and stand back-to-back with him, even though the boy towered over me! We raised
our imaginary guns and a student became teacher. Each time an item of clothing
was called, we would take a step away from each other. When the magic word ‘PANTS’
was called, we would “shoot” at each other. I got a little bit excited and
absolutely, (hypothetically) shot him to bits with a “BANG BANG BANNGGBANGGBANNGGGGGGGGG!!!”
Everyone laughed so much, and the boy was pretty shocked to have been killed so
amazingly by the little blonde teacher in a stupid skirt.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the other class, I taught what the teacher requested me
to teach, which was about using the phrases “Can you tell me…” and “Do you
know…” The students in this class were about 15 so they had a better ability to
deal with this kind of thing. It was another funny class, and ended up with me
flinging my shoes around asking, “Can you tell me where my shoes are?!” and other crazy stuff that just <i>does not </i>happen in Thai schools. I just think, even though the subject is a little mundane,
I can do as much as I can to make the kids enjoy the lesson still, and lift the
spirits as much as possible!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pad Thai for lunch</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We managed to leave school early because neither Rowena, Kanang nor I had lessons in the afternoon. This just gave me more time to nap once we got home! Every day in the car I am on the verge of falling asleep- I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. In the evening, Kanang and I just stayed home, cooked some stir fry veg (no sugar in mine, but naughty Kanang added some to hers) and I also got extremely stressed out about making plans for the upcoming long weekend, or long-9 days-off, in my case! I managed to decide that I would at least book something for the few days that everyone else could match up with me on. This meant I had booked to go to Hua Hin (beach place) from Wednesday 29th-3rd, but still had no plans from the 25th-29th. I certainly don't want to waste 4 days sitting at home on my own- I think I'd rather be at school invigilating the exams! (Pfft, invigilators? In Thailand? Hmm..)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I have options for those first few days, which are: to go Hua Hin with different friends for a couple more days; stay at home; or leave the country all together and visit nearby Singapore. I have been trying to decide on these options for weeks, and tonight it just all became so stressful because I have approximately 2 days before I leave to go to the designated place! And buses/ flights get booked up so fast around the long weekend bank holiday! Tomorrow's job is to sort out my life and nip my indecisiveness in the ass!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Peace, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-23741292584971457372015-07-23T01:35:00.002-07:002015-07-23T07:07:55.072-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 28, BBQ Pork<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Day 28: Tuesday 21st July</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My new topic for the week is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">clothing</i>. I luckily have access to about 35 picture dictionaries,
which allow me to teach the vocal for lots of different items of clothing. The students
can then use this vocabulary for their writing exercises which consist of "When it is hot/cold/rainy I wear...."- this sounds easy, but believe me, they struggle! Without the picture dictionaries, I'd probably have to draw over 20 items of clothing on the board, and I think the kids know by now how horrific my drawing is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUT1OIvzDOX-M-BWi9_C9jkTdXFbw1Gpph3ka1fVGXBMrs9zS8d2bX_YU-1e9rK6rgl-Vfo4s2LomTomGZHKQege7UcVb1ou6Zlb98DmJD73DNGoPoRKVcWoXZCJSf2JX2JRHElP-8y2I/s1600/IMG_2086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUT1OIvzDOX-M-BWi9_C9jkTdXFbw1Gpph3ka1fVGXBMrs9zS8d2bX_YU-1e9rK6rgl-Vfo4s2LomTomGZHKQege7UcVb1ou6Zlb98DmJD73DNGoPoRKVcWoXZCJSf2JX2JRHElP-8y2I/s640/IMG_2086.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Today's fruit basket!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
During my first lesson of the morning, where I was
attempting to play a game of SPLAT, I saw David arrive, waving his camera around: <i>great!</i>.
What I didn’t realise was that he also set up a GoPro, which was set to record.
This means that there is now a video of me trying to explain how you play
SPLAT; jumping around and shouting the word <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“pants!” </b>because it was the magic word. (I wont mention how out of
breath and sweaty said activity made me. Man, I need to do some exercise!) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David accompanied Robert and I to some of our lessons, and
also had some meetings with our mentor to sort some things out with the school.
It is my school’s first time hosting an ETA from the British Council, so there
are a few teething problems. Today we had lunch at the school for the first
time, as Kanang went out and bought a load of food from the market. She bought
some chicken, sticky rice and some ‘som tam’, which is a spicy salad made from
un-ripe, crunchy papaya. Sometimes you may find raw snails, shrimp and crab in
there, which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> puts me off.
Plus, the whole dish is soaked in fish sauce, which is made from fermented fish.
Yummy, eh?! I wish I could overcome this and enjoy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">som tam</i>, because it is fairly healthy! But today I just stuck to my
dry chicken and rice. #gains<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnmQiAZ9V2qc2vjRgsEcb-1uHFBd4hl73zAZbvNHsUM_WCzhjoCViB9_6V2DVVKo8NGN6mHmAMcKSa5yYRr1sVd2SrskfCv3oVR8uVSmRlGNGqawnmZ17HRLQ5D7cx3BIvZnyY3_5B3E/s1600/IMG_2087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnmQiAZ9V2qc2vjRgsEcb-1uHFBd4hl73zAZbvNHsUM_WCzhjoCViB9_6V2DVVKo8NGN6mHmAMcKSa5yYRr1sVd2SrskfCv3oVR8uVSmRlGNGqawnmZ17HRLQ5D7cx3BIvZnyY3_5B3E/s640/IMG_2087.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch at school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Surprise! I fell asleep at my desk again. Just as David
walked back into the office, I sprang awake and attempted to cover my
watch-imprinted face. (I trust that David won’t read this. If you do, David,
I’m sorry!!) He left soon after, so I woke myself up with a walk to the canteen
to buy ice cream. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">think</i> it was
coconut flavour, but you can never be sure in Thailand! It was covered with
peanuts, condensed milk and some yellow things that kind of resembled the
inside of a sweetcorn kernel. It was odd, but still enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After school I did the usual falling asleep thing, which has
become an expected daily event. Once I had woken up, I asked Kanang if we could
go to the market to buy some duck, so we drove a few minutes in search of some.
Did you know, the Thai word for duck is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bed</i>?
Anyway, there was no duck. So we bought some bbq pork on a stick (I ate this
for breakfast last week) and we intended to have it with salad at home. Kanang
had already bought some salad for us, which was pre-packed and prepared, ready
in individual bags. There was sweetcorn, lettuce, kidney beans, carrot and some
other random white beans that look a bit like pearl barley in there. To this we
added red cabbage, tomatoes and the pork. Two very strange sauces came with the
salad: strawberry yoghurt and kiwi yoghurt sauces! At first I left them because
I thought it was just too weird to put this on my food. But, it turns out that
Kiwi yoghurt is extremely tasty on a porky salad!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0H0X4iLmhr5k4jWKBduO0aKFQyGZ_HjVttzq14V8JcbQD6tj1T7mAfBKsRcd9fFi1yaAyb258tckM0tpMsxt2EZDK_FrvSANyK8pyPrDI7sxwulUwPD_6PTvBYqAgoIlztV3oeRziDo/s1600/IMG_2090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0H0X4iLmhr5k4jWKBduO0aKFQyGZ_HjVttzq14V8JcbQD6tj1T7mAfBKsRcd9fFi1yaAyb258tckM0tpMsxt2EZDK_FrvSANyK8pyPrDI7sxwulUwPD_6PTvBYqAgoIlztV3oeRziDo/s640/IMG_2090.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very fun salad!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fkEJRkhs32GrMucIcng-__0_GdjlD-o7i7IvVUhGQFKU8hDW8dEwH_2whpN8i6djo7Bt9BxxAGoK8GptcGQa79qNiPDdvvkPZlvVQQN3JZdzOV3XWEuQRBtACHvoMnX2-qNKZOnEpm4/s1600/IMG_2092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fkEJRkhs32GrMucIcng-__0_GdjlD-o7i7IvVUhGQFKU8hDW8dEwH_2whpN8i6djo7Bt9BxxAGoK8GptcGQa79qNiPDdvvkPZlvVQQN3JZdzOV3XWEuQRBtACHvoMnX2-qNKZOnEpm4/s640/IMG_2092.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiwi yoghurt/strawberry yoghurt dressing</td></tr>
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</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We had some durian for dessert. It is growing on me each
time I have it! It’s such a shame we don’t have it in the UK because I know I
will miss it a LOT. I don’t even think it smells that bad, whereas many people
wont even allow it in their house, because the smell offends them so much!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg7_mwyxyfGOpB-5Lkrz2z4E2tFuDVgOF6FqLbBRHRtpC1CCm899fAN548ysXrqLgBWR74c53LDccs3C14nhS9nIDNnamGQSPSYhnAspMBkHrfbaZ2p5okE39SLdceBYPdmeq6VTEnEM/s1600/IMG_2094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg7_mwyxyfGOpB-5Lkrz2z4E2tFuDVgOF6FqLbBRHRtpC1CCm899fAN548ysXrqLgBWR74c53LDccs3C14nhS9nIDNnamGQSPSYhnAspMBkHrfbaZ2p5okE39SLdceBYPdmeq6VTEnEM/s640/IMG_2094.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good ol' chunk of durian</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Just realised all of today's pictures are of food. Oh well, thats not a terrible thing, eh!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Peace,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Olivia<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-26008682032202318182015-07-22T03:16:00.002-07:002015-07-22T03:16:54.739-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 27, Dinner on David<h2>
Day 27: Monday 20<sup>th</sup> July</h2>
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I woke up at the crack of dawn (6:50) for school and felt
like utter poo. I think all the weeks and weekends of exertion built up and
ganged up on me! Kanang stuck a thermometer under my armpit, (mm, lovely)
revealing that I had a temperature – or that I just had warm pits. Either way,
there was no chance I could have mustered the strength to get ready and last
all day at school feeling like that. Kanang left for school, and I got back
into bed and slept for another 5 hours!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9U1ydQoRDODM3aT5NIXT_C1m2PUDxb5LrKYxu68YLJLH4i17xNJqTy3Yo1bPO2-NLen0Yl9U_TgLi-vcIMsLGswLDbqrM-A4iPB8kWlmGpn4IuxhaDKvZJhWEqjLP9HfpiXTljkjo-g/s1600/IMG_2080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9U1ydQoRDODM3aT5NIXT_C1m2PUDxb5LrKYxu68YLJLH4i17xNJqTy3Yo1bPO2-NLen0Yl9U_TgLi-vcIMsLGswLDbqrM-A4iPB8kWlmGpn4IuxhaDKvZJhWEqjLP9HfpiXTljkjo-g/s640/IMG_2080.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vietnamese coffee and banana cake from the market<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I woke up at 12:30 to the sound of a phone ringing. I
wondered if there was someone in the house or if Kanang had left her phone
behind because I didn’t recognise the tone. After searching for a while, I
found my Thai phone (a classy Samsung <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">brick</i>
from about 10 years ago), and it happened to be David Mathias calling me. David
works for the British Council and is the director of our Thailand teaching
programme. He told me he was coming to visit the school tomorrow to check up on
how things are going, and also to iron out some creases. He offered to take
Robert and I out for dinner tonight because he would be arriving in the early
evening. I had no other plans so I happily accepted the offer!</div>
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During my day at home I didn’t do much, because I was still
so tired! I found the energy to make and eat some pasta, and also write four
blog posts from over the weekend that I didn’t have the chance to write because
I was away! (Its so hard to make pasta the way I want to with weird ingredients *cries*)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9jDf3TprK50MIPuMjZBCqOQ2u2WWdhajvmHlyfAR-kv11oaQtd00IiHdlPXy1UeD5ag5pK6cGZqYXlOwZl2zaKOBoTddwEVH5gE3rYViZHQiHgxXwoTp1gimwMJ8UuUrx-BfS1zVClM/s1600/IMG_2079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9jDf3TprK50MIPuMjZBCqOQ2u2WWdhajvmHlyfAR-kv11oaQtd00IiHdlPXy1UeD5ag5pK6cGZqYXlOwZl2zaKOBoTddwEVH5gE3rYViZHQiHgxXwoTp1gimwMJ8UuUrx-BfS1zVClM/s640/IMG_2079.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odd pasta. Don't judge me!</td></tr>
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David said we would go for diner at around 7, and that he
would pick Robert up from his house and also pick me up from Kanang’s. By 8pm
Kanang and I were both sitting at home, waiting for David to arrive, but he
never did. We received a phone call from him, explaining that he was lost and
had pretty much no idea where he was! We told him to meet us at the airport,
which is only 10 minutes from our house. After many phone calls and more
getting lost, we managed to meet. We drove just 5 minutes down the road to the
nearest restaurant so we didn’t get any more lost, and we were lucky that it
was a very nice, western style restaurant. David told us to order what we
liked, as it was on the British Council! Of course I went for a steak and a
glass of red! Mmmm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnFiImKMJ2rBR_wHVkSEIi2OZa1j29z2U_J9ZC52QDkX6bK3lDgJ5yiWhwbDd5mv-gy8akJBN0DOfLMAtPbj3h4D02SxNlstRsB5mC7TL9MM083JRQiFe7U_yenSM9y3_euE6s9v4dV4/s1600/IMG_2082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnFiImKMJ2rBR_wHVkSEIi2OZa1j29z2U_J9ZC52QDkX6bK3lDgJ5yiWhwbDd5mv-gy8akJBN0DOfLMAtPbj3h4D02SxNlstRsB5mC7TL9MM083JRQiFe7U_yenSM9y3_euE6s9v4dV4/s640/IMG_2082.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vino <3</td></tr>
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I forgot to take a picture of my food because I was so
excited to eat it. But here’s a picture of my tasty wine in a huge glass! We
chatted for ages about different things, and in the end the restaurant had to
ask us to leave because they wanted to close! Another table were still eating
at this point, and they practically fed the last few mouthfuls to one of the
women so they could take her plate away!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We managed to find my house pretty easily from the
restaurant, thank God, or I don’t know what we would have done! When I got in I
went straight to bed, as it was pretty late by this point. </div>
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Thanks for dinner,
British Council!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03058117903586189401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083122365480644090.post-3776703544244013082015-07-20T05:19:00.000-07:002015-07-20T05:19:11.044-07:00Teaching English in Thailand: Day 26, Not So Good<h2>
Day 26: Sunday 19th July</h2>
<div>
We were woken up by Jess at 11:40, 20 minutes before we had to check out of the hotel. Buggar! I felt less than fresh, and Kirsty had been bitten about 7 times on her bum cheek, so that sums up how we felt nicely. We scrambled to get all our stuff in our bags, and somehow made it down to reception in time. It was still raining a bit, so we went for a stroll in the rain to try and wake us up. We woke up a snoozing tuk tuk driver and bargained with him to take us to Central Plaza for breakfast. His price was annoyingly high, so we left it and kept walking. 5 minutes later, he came driving along beside us and agreed to take us for our suggested price- even though we had already walked half way there! It was a bumpy, hot journey and I was happy to finally half-fall out of the tin-can-on-wheels once we arrived. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fsRVOktOYly1hsn8L4cI8j_vSz9ElsJ-tiqYFn1fGYhqhmm_mV-0F0rFOGFO4gLeX3oA9HA3HFe0jIIgVkE_v9ABVwg3vLBgOVKSnAlNmJrTudXhBvijCh2mebminN1fjpXE-GRlDu0/s1600/IMG_2070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fsRVOktOYly1hsn8L4cI8j_vSz9ElsJ-tiqYFn1fGYhqhmm_mV-0F0rFOGFO4gLeX3oA9HA3HFe0jIIgVkE_v9ABVwg3vLBgOVKSnAlNmJrTudXhBvijCh2mebminN1fjpXE-GRlDu0/s640/IMG_2070.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiwi soda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We did our greatest hungover zombie impressions as we dragged ourselves into McDonalds. Whilst queuing, two girls asked me for a picture. This wasn't particularly strange, but when they said "can we go outside for a video" I was a little confused. It turns out, they wanted to interview me about learning English, and asked me questions like "do you have any advice for people learning English" etc. I'd like to apologise to the girls for pretty much slurring my way through the video as I was struggling so hard to keep my eyes open and not throw up on them at the same time. When we sat down with our food, the girls came over again and also asked Kirsty and Jess for their thoughts. I sat there and laughed encouragingly as they tried to be polite and ignore the dead pigeon just behind them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaid1EeDyR03HvWqnR9HW9gRYk-L9Q_JZ-HKwMPH5yJMcXHgd4RyCY3wOn3gEsaoig-OdYToFTMBQuLMFZ-8fWoCJsyzDhG7D76Mu6e-lAcnYa13CefaNUYk0IadH8obpqTB9SO4K2NbM/s1600/IMG_2066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaid1EeDyR03HvWqnR9HW9gRYk-L9Q_JZ-HKwMPH5yJMcXHgd4RyCY3wOn3gEsaoig-OdYToFTMBQuLMFZ-8fWoCJsyzDhG7D76Mu6e-lAcnYa13CefaNUYk0IadH8obpqTB9SO4K2NbM/s640/IMG_2066.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
We were in no fit state to do anything fun (sorry Jess) so we ended up going to another place for food, this time it was a little cafe/ dessert bar. We chose it for its comfy looking sofas; they didn't disappoint! I had a kiwi soda while the girls tucked into cakes- I wasn't sure if i could handle the sugar in my fragile state. We sat there for a good hour or so, and then finally gave into to the temptation of home, and bed. The girls got their usual 1 hour van journey home and I got into a taxi, where the driver sang sweetly to me the whole way- it was lovely. I almost fell asleep to his sweet voice, but then I was home before I knew it. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjDdZAMCit5bq0X0pydp3bAuUaujfqjl2feqEOjMzpsvFxF4571Nxi2fY_dozHBCarmdeuQxlDWo-vv8G0i4HA6YP4yQAszF3nc7ccmQ7swdxj4DT08s1puBXkGzEpO_M4tLxsvtz4Gs/s1600/IMG_2063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjDdZAMCit5bq0X0pydp3bAuUaujfqjl2feqEOjMzpsvFxF4571Nxi2fY_dozHBCarmdeuQxlDWo-vv8G0i4HA6YP4yQAszF3nc7ccmQ7swdxj4DT08s1puBXkGzEpO_M4tLxsvtz4Gs/s640/IMG_2063.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cor, my bum's really itchy"</td></tr>
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I didn't hesitate to get into bed as soon as I got home! I slept for 4 hours whilst Kanang went out to church. I had one of those moments where you wake up and don't know if its the middle of the night or morning, or if you're even alive! Thankfully, it was just 8pm and I was alive. The sleep made me feel much better, and after some food cooked by Kanang earlier that day, I was good to go!... (Back to sleep!)</div>
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Roll on the start of week 4 of teaching!</div>
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Peace,</div>
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Olivia </div>
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