Woooooow! I'M SUVIVING Holy ssshit! However, I'm missing sunglasses, and extra phone chargers that I thought I came with. I wish I brought anti itch cream for bug bites and aloe for sun burns. So, the hotel I've been in, has gotten worse by the second. Or maybe I'm just too set into my American ways. But, the A/C drips water all over the floor and my suitcases, I keep washing my tooth brush with sink water, then have to boil it, (I'll remember not to eventually, right?), the bed has been leaving marks all over my body from the METAL rods in the mattress! You have to use the potty before a shower, because then the toilet is soaked like a baby pool. And their outlets here keep making all of my electronics spark, but they're fine every where else. A cool thing I didn't know, is that Thailand uses American two prong plugs, the voltage is just a little different. Apple is bad ass though, because it converts the voltage through their chargers. Mine just sparked in a freak accident and broke ((((: I finally decided to go out, all by my big girl self, are you proud mom? (; I got a thai sim card, my new number is +66 82 512 5701. It really only works with iMessage, Line or Whatsap. A normal text, costs .11 a message. So down load Line and Whatsap! My line Id is: 06272018, and I can call or text anyone off of it, or whatsap, I think is my American number or user name, MykaylaM. Honestly, I don't even know how to work those. I'm just winging it. APARTMENTS!I went outside right, and crossed the zebra, (white lines across the road, what a clever name) I only almost got hit by a motor cycle, twice. I count that as a win. But I was able to use the train by myself, and see 12 units in a matter of 3 hours. Let me tell you, walking places and being in lobbys or hallways IS HOT AS BALLS. It's crazy, and because water is so unsafe to consume here, most places will offer "drink water", which comes in a little throw away plastic square, with a straw. Almost like a capri sun. All of the apartments are set up the exact same. One might just have a counter in the bathroom, come with an extra or bigger tv, the other one could have a silver of space between the fridge and the wall to store brooms, but in reality, they are all around 30 m of living space, blocked into four rooms; toilet, living, kitchen, bed. THE COST OF LIVING HERE IS SO CHEAP My budget here is roughly 15,000 bths. ($450) a month, for a place with A/C, Wifi, Cable, Washing Machine, Pool and Gym. You know how many apartments fit that bill? Currently on the market, 2,000 within 5 miles of my school. ALL FOR 400! Why can't Oregon be like that? BUT I FOUND THE ONE (enter heart emoji here) Purple blackout curtains, storage, on the river, with a two compartment fridge/freezer, pool, gym and a 20 minute commute to work. Not bad for a first grown up place. They're replacing that red couch for me too. The red shelving isn't so bad, because it's places to hide my bags and suitcases. Overall, its 322 square feet. But, it's just me and looks bigger than the pictures. And my bathroom is nice too! They DO NOT tell you, to have 3 months rent READY at signingWhich honestly, like it isn't thaaaaat bad, but it's not great either. Especially the whole process, cash only. Do you know how hard it is to transfer 30,000 baht from an american account to a thai account? Or how to take out that $1,000 from an atm that swallows your bank card whole? While still needing that card and hoping the machine doesn't take it forever due to fraud? ITS A NIGHTMARE. A BLOODY NIGHTMARE. Plus all the hidden fees, charges, from your american bank and the thai bank PLUS A $40 transaction fee. AND MY ACCOUNT FROZE. And from a Thailand sim card, you cannot call any number in America and then I can't even have people log on to my account for security purposes but really, come on. However it'll be sooo worth it and I'll have a washing machine sent from the heavens above, no toilet shower and a properly working A/C, and a fridge to keep food in (have I mentioned this hotel doesn't even have a mini fridge????). AND with that 3 months rent, I still have to pay for wifi, plates, cups, pots, pans and bedding. I was no where near prepared to have or spend all this up front. Like my 3rd months rent was what I was budgeting to furnish my place. But, I'm adulting, and this is how it goes. It'll work out though, I just know it. Saturday,I went with my new best friend from Ireland, sight seeing! I actually, literally, bumped into her while looking at apartments. Head on collision, and guess what, she works at my school. It's such a small, big world. Anyways, we got to hang out all day, and her accent is like the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. We saw two different temples, went shopping (girls, duh) and had lunch. She showed me everything. She came to Thailand in 2014, went back home and decided to come back after all to teach, so she's been teaching here the last 8 months. Through that time, she knows fluent thai and how to jump from train to train. I was so glad she was my guide. AND ANOTHER THINGEverything I've read on the internet to prepare myself for this trip has been 100% wrooong. Everyone is in flip flops, shorts and tanks tops. I'm sweating my ass off in covered clothes for no good reason. I have to take 3 showers a day, my clothes are wet, and I mean like out of the washing machine, just got out of the shower, ran through a monsoon, dripping wet, only walking outside for 5 minutes. Thailand is the hottest place on earth, try and change my mind. It's almost too hot to eat and even with all the buying water, I still feel my arms shaking. I start my first day teaching on July 2nd! Hopefully the clothes I brought to wear at school don't leave me looking like a version of the boogy man, but sweaty.
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I think I can still call my arrival here traveling along the road, or my road to travel even though I was in a plane. You can’t say, on the flight path? I guess I could have but anyways. I have officially made my landing in Bangkok, Thailand. I had a 24 hour flight from Portland, going to Seattle then South Korea and back to Thailand. From Portland to Seattle, 2 hours with a 3 hour layover- I was able to paint my nails, eat McDonald’s and get lost. From Seattle to South Korea was an 11 hour flight and I had a two hour layover there. On the way to Korea, the airline gave us tooth brushes, slippers, pillows, blankets and water bottles. We had steaming hot towels to wash with, they brought over brownies and juices at least three times. We were also given two full meals. The first meal included a sunflower seed bun with butter, pot roast beef and veggie pasta (which I didn’t eat all because I’m not sure if there was mushrooms or like tongue or something weird in the meat), wine, coffee, a salad, and mixed fruit. The second meal was chicken and rice in shoyu sauce, another bread roll, cheese and olive salad and an amazing lemon square. I also sat next to this 77 year old doctor of education and medicinal history. She was so so proud to be Korean and talked about her lands history. She kept apologizing for her “bad English” but I understood her just fine. She goes to Seattle to help the Korean studies department at Washington university. She said student who want a doctorate can get one for free if they major in Korean studies. She told me so much history I never knew or paid attention to. And she said that her treasure (which is me) should pass it along. So here is what she told me; Korea is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. Roughly 9,000 years ago they have proof. The flag, was made that long ago as well, standing for their religion. Which is blue for warmth, love, peace, beauty, like a heaven. The red for lonely, cold, a almost like hell state. It’s shaped 🇰🇷 like that to show a ying and yang. That their inner philosophy is to educate and help others. They just want to be there to help anyone in need. The lines around the circle, stands for north, east, south and west. She told me that Japan came and took all their trees, Korea has no trees. They tried to rebuild and replant but now these trees and young and small, no higher than a person. Korea use to be filled with the wild Tiger. They worship that animal. But again, Japan came with their metals “guns” and shot them all, using the fur as a trophy. She told me about the war, and how China wasn’t all that nice to them either. How Japan tried to take over too. She told me that when China made the Great Wall, they wanted it so great that on the map, it’s drawn wrong. China drew their Great Wall all over China AND IN KOREA. But in actuality, the China wall is not in Korea, not even a little centimeter of it. After that, I had a 2 hour layover in Korea, and then another 6 hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand. Coming from America to Korea, my old lady friend helped me find my transfer flight and I had to go through security again. Through the security line, they had to search my bags again, and kept saying “so sorry, thank you for your patience”. On the flight to Thailand, we were again given a meal of chicken and rice, tea, bread, and what I thought was yogurt and granola. It was a thick, soy bean product like of tofu with oriental sauce. Yuck. But then they came around and gave us strawberry cheesecake ice cream, #winning. I was able to make my way through the Bangkok airport. Following signs for costumes and baggage claim. I filled out my arrival card a little bit wrong, because of the visa I have and how I need a work permit to actually be in this kingdom. Then I couldn’t find my bags. I checked them from Portland, and the baggage claim was from Korea so after a little bit of a freak out, I saw them. And one of them wasn’t “ransacked” but had to get looked at for whatever reason. Couldn’t tell if anything was taken out. I found my head master and we went to my hotel. It was raining so haaard. The hotel was actually closed because I got here at 1 am. So we had to check me into a completely different hotel further away. I’m booked at the rainforest guest house until July 8th. The toilet is in the shower, it’s by a cute waffle place, and is 5 minute walk to my campus I still haven’t broke out of my comfort zone yet, which is something I want to do. I’m a little too scared to go out, and run across the street. Moped and motor cycles are everywhere, no one drives in the lanes, no stop signs or lights, I went through one intersection where people were going left, coming at you, moving around from behind you, and like wow. People just jump into the road and walk across, but I guess it’s better than India, with their cows everywhere 😅😅
I don’t have the baht down. .33 American cents is their $1. So my bills come out to 175baht. But it’s like $5. I forgot that you can’t drink the tap water here and I used it to brush my teeth. Everything is so hot and sweaty. Like you go outside and just sweat. What I read about dressing isn’t accurate. Motorcycle riders for the taxis, sit sideways, NOT holding on to the driver. The movies are in English. And I need to get a Thai SIM card, my international plan works, but internet takes 5 minutes to load a page. I got a food delivery app, and turns out, you can’t use an American number on it. So the desk lady let me use her number, bless her. Eventually I will go explore the mall. But right now, the 17 hour time difference is killing me. And it’s weird not talking to everyone, like being completely alone. Everyone’s sleeping and I’m here alone. Something I’ll have to get used to. I took a train ride which reminded me of using the public system in London. But a little bit more scary. It’s called the air train, it’s above everything, you can even see over the tops of high rises. Something I’ll have to get used to again. ** Hoping to change my life style and grow as a person here. I will also try to update this as much as possible, but I might disconnect and embrace a new place and culture. We’ll see what happens. On my agenda, apartment hunting ASAP. I found some with a pool, gym, WiFi and washing machine and fully furnished for 14,000 baht. Which is around 400-500 American. Trying to figure out the voltage difference so I can charge my laptop without having the outlit SPARKING like a fire (': I guess going into this program, EVERYONE has not had their questions answered.
It took someone until they were physically in Thailand to get a response to her emailed questions. What I wish I would have known;
Thats what I know, upon a two week arrival to BKK. And now, hopefully, you know more too (: In the beginning of my whole journey to Hawaii for college, I always had those people who doubted me. "NO YOU'RE LYING, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAWAII" or "WOW YOU'RE FANCY, GOOD LUCK PAYING THAT OFF". Or even now, when I say I went to school in Hawaii, people don't believe me. I had to beg, cry and promise my family that me leaving the birds nest would be okay. I took my first plane ride and left the small town I spent 18 years in. I came to a state that is known as paradise, and I got to live there! Waking up to breath taking 400 ft cliff views of the sparkling blue ocean, watching waves lap against the ancient volcanic stones. I did, and all by myself. I knew one person coming to this college, and met him once. I was in absolute solitaire. Back then, I had more confidence and could talk to anyone. I was feeling myself. Soon, I was able to meet friends and go on adventures that would last a life time; waking up at 2am to get into a complete strangers car to witness the biggest surf competition in history and still making it in time for a 9am class, going on soaring hikes that make you feel like a billy goat, snorkeling and screaming at giant Hawaiian sea turtles, monk seals and sting rays, being washed up by a wave rolling on to the shore, eating some of the best food- loco mocos, musbi, kaula pig, acai bowls, pa'i'ai , pho and lava flows. I had my first thanksgiving away from home, first birthday and first easter with my new Ohana. Hawaii also taught me a lot,
To always make sure you have a swim suit, a sarong and sunscreen. To not back down when you're the only white kid in class. To stand up for yourself and to fight the system. That some friends will be there until the end, and others fade out. But the most important lesson from these four years was knowing and living in the history of Hawaii. I went to school on the island of O'ahu. A lot of people know this island for Waikiki Beach and Honolulu. What a lot of people don't know is, that Hawaii is actually the name of the Big Island, and then encompasses all 8 main islands as well as over a hundred other ones. The main 8 are, Kauai, O'ahu, Maui and Big Island, then Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Niihau. There are 1.42 millon people living over all these islands. And in Honolulu alone, 953,207. Thats a lot for a college town. I learned about the night marchers, the menehune, the goddess Pele and how Hawaii was illegally overthrown and taken as part of America. How American troops trapped and forced Queen Lilokolani to give up all her rights to the land of Hawaii and forced her people to become "American". With Hawaii under my belt, with a college degree I randomly applied for an interview with Wells International School, in Bangkok Thailand. I got a first interview, and then after some miscommunication, a second one too. This position I was told, had applicants and people interviewing for from all over the world. A couple weeks later, I got the job. Deciding to accept it was a hard choice. Leaving everything and everyone I know to go to a foreign country for a two year commitment, but getting a free masters degree at the end. It paid for itself. There was tears, and 22 unanswered emails filled with questions about Visa applications, shots required for the country, loan deferment, and dress code. But, opportunities like this happen once in a life time. And I'm ready to go teach the children of Thailand. |
AuthorMy name's Mykayla. I'm from the beautiful state of Oregon. Archives
November 2019
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