6.10.12

A day at the zoo.

We weren’t sure exactly how to get there. It seemed like it should be pretty easy to just grab a tuk-tuk and go. Guess that’s not the case. Walked across the street to Pop’s ice cream shop to ask him for help. Everyone had a different idea about how we should get there. Finally, the lady next door offered to drive us (which really meant her husband would take us) for 200 baht. Sure, why not. We got in the car and, after a quick stop at 7-11 (had to get some chai yen), we started up the mountain to the zoo. Thought it would take a bit of time, with the fuss they were making about getting there and the amount of money we were charged for the ride. I think it took maybe 10 to 15 minutes. Continue reading →

6.9.12

So THAT’S what it’s like to get a full night’s sleep… I had quite forgotten.

The days are starting to run together now. I think it’s Sunday. Yesterday, I had finally had enough and moved out of the unfurnished guesthouse into the Greenview Mansion. Fairly close to where I had been staying. Still in Songkhla. Same place Patricia is staying. I couldn’t spend another weekend not being able to de-stress and decompress. As Patricia told the owner of the hotel “She is at the end of her tether.” Continue reading →

6.6.12

Finally! A taxi to our very door to take us directly to school! It’s the simple things in life…

It was very fortunate, too. The rainy season started last night. At some point, I awoke and thought I heard lots of running water. When I looked out the window, I couldn’t see that it was raining, so I thought it must be our cistern running over, as it does most of the time. I found out differently in the morning. It wasn’t still raining, but I could tell that it had. And possibly would again. Continue reading →

6.5.12

Well, we were supposed to be “picked up” in front of our house and taken to the school. I think something gets lost in translation when they say “I will pick you up at the end of your street”. What it really means is “I will meet you at the end of the street and take you across the road to the bus stop. Then we will get in a mini van with 12 other people and ride in to Hat Yai. The van will drop us off in front of the hospital where we will wait for a tuk-tuk to pick us up. The tuk-tuk will then drop us off a quarter mile from the school and we will walk the rest of the way from there.”

This was our experience the day before when we came to the school for some more training. Continue reading →