(I promise this is the last heading that has the word
beginning in it)
At the end of my TESL course I had two job opportunities
lined up for me; the first in a town I’d
never heard of, with nobody that I know
that I know staying anywhere near
me, and offering a less money. The second in a town I’d actually heard
of, with three foreigners I got along with really well and offering a higher
salary… Obviously I took the latter. HAHAHAHA, no.
When on Earth have I ever
done anything remotely rational?
I can honestly tell you right now that I have
no idea why on Earth I chose to come to Lan krabue, and I can’t even say that I
came here because I had a good gut feeling because honestly, every living fiber in my body told me to go to Ranong. Having said that I thank my lucky stars
that I picked here every day… I also have no idea why I like Lan Krabue so
much, I have no hot water, the closest shopping mall is over an hour away,
there are no clubs or bars or cinemas within a 50 kilometer radius. Basically,
I am indeed living in the middle of nowhere…
I remember my first night here to be one of the most
uncomfortable experiences I have ever had. I was picked up from the bus station
by a man who spoke with such a strong Thai accent that I could not understand
most of what he was saying even though he was speaking English. I was dropped
off at the school and told that I would be staying there for the night as I would
have to find an apartment on my own.
While walking from
the gate to my room I nearly shat myself as a frog the size of my face landed
on my foot. Being the person I am, I switched on the torch function on my cell
phone and ran like forest to the room.
This plan was not well executed as shining a light on the floor only
made me realise that the school grounds were in fact, frog infested. This
caused me to run faster. And slip. And fall on a frog. And squash it.
As if that weren’t bad enough, when I eventually did get
into my bedroom I was greeted with a bed filled with stains and a huge spider
web in the corner of the room! Oh and the bathroom? Communal, of course. This
meant if I ever wanted to shower at night I would have to go outside and brave the
mosquitoes and frogs to get to a bathroom filled with even more mosquitoes and
frogs.
I remember going to bed that night and thinking; what am I
doing here? What was I thinking? Scratch that. What the fuck am I doing in Thailand??? Needless to say, I went to
bed that night in tears with plans to get the hell out of Lan krabue the next
day.
In other completely unrelated news
I have a strange ritual when it comes to drinking. When I
get into bed at night and the room is spinning, I swear to myself that I will
never drink ever again, and almost whenever I say this I wake up the next morning
with the intentions of biting the dog that bit me. What I’m trying to explain
is;
1. That I tend to be dramatic when I’m tired,
2. I almost never stick to my plans
3. The whole “sleep with one foot on the floor” thing never
works. Ever. EVER.
My first night in Lan krabue was a lot like one of my nights
of heavy drinking… Even though I previously had every intention of leaving and
finding another job, I woke up the next morning and decided to do the exact
opposite. I woke up that morning and
decided that I could be happy in my new home.
And then I was, and I still am.
Don’t get me wrong, it was most definitely an
adjustment. I just chose to take each
and every opportunity as a challenge and get through
each and every day with half of a smile on my face. The days became easier, and so did the
smiling. And five months later, this place really has become home.My school is
really relaxed, and being an over-grown kid kinda makes me really well suited
for the job of a kindergarten teacher. It also helps that one of the teachers
reminds me of a Thai tom hardy (Brittany that reference was totes for you). Basically
I've learnt that anything worth learning takes time and patience and this
learning curve was soooo worth all of the time and effort
...I just realized that If Lan Krabue were a person, I would be
showing some major signs of Stockholm syndrome
