My day full of smiles in the land of smiles

I haven’t yet really gone through my typical daily schedule so I am going to take the time to tell you a little about my daily routine during orientation. I feel it is a good blog to add because it will give those of you who gave a donation to me a better sense of what your money is going to.

My day begins around 6 or 7:30. If I am on breakfast duty I rise at 6:00 with the roosters to help prepare a hearty meal for my fellow volunteers. Our field directors get the food for us and deliver it fresh. Last week I was to cook eggs and there weren’t enough eggs but as my two other friends and I were deciding what else to make instead, Jes came on her bike with a basket full of eggs. (She really took a chance by putting all her eggs in one basket, hehehe)

Breakfast is to be all picked up by 9:00 when Thai lessons begin. Our teacher is Adjarn Oa. Oa is her nickname and Adjarn is a the prefix for a teacher typically for high school and older students. Kruu is for elementary teachers so I will be Kruu Rita or eventually get a Thai nickname. We review some common phrases and vocabulary that will be helpful to us as well as learn the Thai alphabet that has 44 consonants, 24 vowels, 4 tone marks. So it’s pretty tricky but so much fun. Thai goes for about 2 hours. (Today 10-19 was our last class and it was very sad.) So that my orientation is coming quickly to an end.

After Thai we have TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) My field director and the field director from last year are the teachers and have provided lots of useful information as to how to teach here in this foreign land.

Then from about 12-1:30 we have lunch. We divide up into groups and go to different restaurants around Pla Pak. Typically we eat fried rice(khaao phat, noodle soup (guay dtiaao), phat Thai, or phat see iu. I have branched out of my comfort zone and went to eat Lab (pronounced Lob) which is meat salad. It is served with sticky rice and is amazing!!! We also got a meat soup at the same place and it was pretty scary with all kinds of animal parts floating around. The broth was delicious though, so I would dunk my ball of sticky rice into it. Another day I went to a Korean BBQ place. They brought out a bowl of raw meat and fish and dipping sauce. I told my other 3 friends I wasn’t going to allow us to eat it. Silly Rita. . . just as I was protesting the raw meal a bucket of hot coals were placed in the center of the table with a cooker for us to cook our own meat. DUHHH!!! So delicious. . . Dad you would be proud of all my crazy meals I have been eating, total veal cutlet story happening each and every day!

More TEFL in the afternoon and sometimes a Thai cultural lesson where we have a guest speaker come and talk to us. We got to make Sohm dtam (Papaya Salad) the other day, a token Isan dish. Ours was fishier than when we have had it other days (it’s made with fermented fish sauce) and really spicy but still a blast to make.

Me chopping the Papaya for sohm dtam

Some days we have afternoon time to chill and go to a fresh market for afternoon treats Cha Khiaao (green tea) bubble tea is my favorite refreshing drink on a hot day or cool day or any time of day. Then we return just in time for dinner at 6:00 made by a teacher and delivered each night at 5:30 on the dot. It usually consists of rice, greens, and some kind of fish or meat dish. The fish is really fishy and I haven’t been able to branch out that far quite yet.  At this time Cha Dam is always around begging and giving his cutest little face and so hard not to share a few bites with since we are his meal source. He is also protective of us if another dog comes around. The cat wines a lot at this time and often has hissing fights with Cha Dam.

The evening closes with some social time with my WT friends (the most gigantic and longest lasting slumber party ever!!!) We listen to music, play games: UNO, Kitty in the Corner (our favorite), thumper, or internet time if it is working.

This note wouldn’t be perfect without mentioning that smiles are had by all many times throughout the day.

Schedule will be changing tomorrow with our first day of teaching in our practicum class. I am teaching 4^th-6^th grades with Heather Jones and Gen for 2 hours for the next six work days then off to my placement on Thursday October 28^th.