The flight here was SO easy. I can't believe I worried about it so much. Sure, lots of things could have gone wrong so I'm slightly justified in that, but there were almost no hiccups...and when there were, God placed friendly helpers in my path. It's funny how there seems to be an instant bond between fellow travelers, especially if you're going internationally; you look confused & someone else looks confused, so there's a short interaction and you're just confused together and somehow figure things out. :) I met some very interesting people along the way & heard some great stories, even got a recommendation for an elephant sanctuary from a retired US teacher who spend half the year in Mexico and half the year in Chiang Mai.
The last leg of the trip, a 5ish hr plane ride from Seoul to Chiang Mai, I was seated next to a Canadian who was also coming to teach at an international school in Chiang Mai. It was so much more fun to land in Thailand with someone else who shared the same anticipation and excitement! Then, while standing in line at customs, we began chatting with a women behind us who turned out to be the grandmother of a GIS family!
Upon arrival to the Chiang Mai airport, I rolled my 4 bags out on a large cart and was welcomed by my name on a sign and six smiling faces! So grateful. After 22 hours of flying and layovers in between, I was just giddy to be there. It was after 12am by the time I exited the airport, so I couldn't really see much. It wasn't until the following day that it hit me - I'm in Thailand!!!!
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| Some of the gorgeous scenery I get to pass on the way to school! |
I was able to overlap a few days with the Williams family whose house I'm staying at. They were so gracious, the house is beautiful, and their housekeeper, Jen (from a tribal village nearby), is awesome. I went out with them one afternoon to a traditional Thai market; actually reminded me somewhat of the French bric-a-bracs as people just set up their stalls and sell whatever they can! I had my first mango smoothie which was absolutely delicious! So refreshing in the heat. Ate my first real padThai for lunch.
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| Rubgy, the funny little poodle with a mohawk who won't sit still! My new pet:) |
I also spent some time getting oriented with my SIL coordinator, Kimberly. How exciting to hear more details about the work that God is doing here!! Kimberly was extremely helpful in getting me oriented to the city itself, figuring out which stores to go to and how to use the public transportation. The driving here is CRAZY! Someone said it's like a river, though; if there's a blockage in the road, people just meander around it and don't worry about running into the next lane. There really is an ebb and flow to it all, but I think I'll still with riding my bike on the side streets and taking the public songthaews before I venture out on a motorbike :)
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| Driving on the left side;) I'll probably become quite well-aquianted with the yellow songthaews. |
The grounds at Grace International School are beautiful!! There's a gorgeous mountain view beyond the playground and it's surrounded by tropical greenery. HOT for sure, but gorgeous:) The upper elementary classrooms are in a stable-like structure, so 4th-6th are all together along with elementary art. I've met so many wonderful people at the school already; everyone is so welcoming and willing to help the newbies get settled. I even met a fellow gluten-free friend who shared some of her precious gluten-free flour with me! :) (Gluten free items can be found here but are super expensive.) I bought groceries at the beginning of the week but haven't eaten much of it yet; I've had offers for dinner every night and it really is cheaper to eat out! That works for me:)
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| The elementary classrooms & playground. |
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| My classroom! |
I've just loved hearing how everyone has ended up in Chiang Mai or at GIS; there are people here from every corner of the world! God's plans are unique to each individual - how awesome to serve such a personal God.
Living in a new place inevitably calls for making mistakes and laughable moments. Here's a few so far:
1. Everyone gets purified water delivered in massive jugs that sit in metal holders, which supposedly make it easier to pour; well, of course I had to pour it the wrong way and the jug came tumbling out. Jen and the next-door-neighbor's housekeeping came running when the heard the loud kaboom. (Thankfully water is only about 17baht a jug, which is like $.50)
2. I had heard there were geckos that lived on the walls inside the houses here. After a few days I had yet to see one & naively thought I was safe. But no. One skittered with lighting speed across the wall and took cover behind a bulletin board near my bedroom. I let out a shriek. Probably scared the little 1.5 inch fellow, but now he makes clicking noises at night with his friends...most likely laughing at me.
3. My first venture out by myself was on a bike to the school for a dinner. A few lessons from that: ponchos may keep the rain off, but they make you sweat even more so it's not even worth it; make sure you clarify directions before heading out on your own in a brand new place; it's a good thing to remember that people drive on the LEFT side of the road here; ponchos can get wrapped around bike seats, so you can look like a fool trying to get off the bike; hand motions and gestures for "swing," "slide," and "children" are quite effective if you need to find a playground & don't speak the language; principals who hug you and welcome you with a smiling face even when you look like a wet rat are keepers. ;)
4. Faith and Jessy are two new teachers as well, so we ventured out to Airport Plaza for dinner the other night. After unsuccessfully catching a songthaew (apparently we looked too pathetic standing on the corner, so a friendly Thai women picked us up), we wandered around the food market for at least 30 minutes trying to figure out what the food was. Even after getting a language lesson from one of the vendors on different food vocab, we ended up with some pretty spicy food; so with mouths on fire, we headed for the ice cream shop. Somewhere along the way I ended up with Korean coins, which I unknowingly tried to pay for the ice cream with. I couldn't understand why the cashier looked at me with such an expression until Faith noticed it wasn't Thai baht. We were in tears laughing about it.
Well, that was probably WAY more details than most of you wanted, but as Anne Shirley said, "If only you knew what I could have said and didn't, you'd give me some credit." :)
Starting the new teacher orientation tomorrow at GIS and the students come a week from Tuesday. Can't wait to have my classroom filled with 5th graders!!
