I guess you can yell in Thailand..who woulda thunk it?

Mkay..so my friends and I are on our rooftop lounge..and we come down stairs to get more drinks when we hear screaming and breaking glass. Of course we hesitate bc well..it sounds like a fight. We come downstairs and see a man leaving his room..then a very small, yet very loud woman chases him and tries to get him to stay. He then proceeds to sling her around like a toddler and beat on her..tried to watch but was afraid so I ran to my room and locked my 3 padlocks..legit.

To make a long story short..the police were called. The woman put 3 holes in her front door..and threw all of her bedding off of her balcony. She almost broke everything breakable in her apt..hammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Angry black women are everywhere in the world & they yell in Thailand.

2 weeks in

Hello devout blog followers!

I have been here for almost 2 weeks...it came and went soooo fast! I was the 1st person to get sick and visit the hospital, and I am the first to lose 10lbs. Great 2 weeks...

I have not started working at Keerapat yet (the international school I am placed in) but I have been shadowing the BEST kindergarten teacher at Rajinibon, Nancy. She's is a middle aged Filipino woman who is simply amazing :] very energetic and fun! She has been giving me pointers and has been an excellent example of a kindergarten teacher. Today, I will be shadowing David, another kindergarten teacher at Keerapat. Let's hope I learn a lot more today. I'm gonna need all the help I can get. I will be a homeroom teacher for 10 months...funnnnnnnnnnnnnn or not.

I taught a class earlier today the "i" sound. It was my first teaching experience with kids and they loved me!! They were all fascinated at the fact that my toes were painted :] It was pretty fun. I am super excited to start teacher orientation on Monday!

Major setback #1: leaving my apt by 6:45am every morning
Great thing #1: having a personal taxi service every single morning

Will update you guys after my first day of orientation.

Life is too short & God is too good. Mai pen rai!

Peace&Love.

Elephants!!!

Today was soooo exciting!!! We visited Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden & Resort in Pattaya. Its an hour south of Bangkok. We saw the Thai Cultural Show and the Elephant Show!!!!! The elephants were soooo amazing! Here are some pics..more to come!

Life is too short & God is too good. Mai pen rai!

Peace&Love.

Tummy ache again....

Alright, so today started off sooooo well - woke up. went to the pool. went to lunch. had an amazing hamburger. added minutes to my phone. got some coffee. left for the BTS (Sky Train) to go shopping :) However, somewhere in between all of that, my tummy went awry and I had to run to a bathroom (toy-let = as the Thai's call it) before I threw up. *sigh* What a way to start my shopping trip. To make matters worse, I thought that would make me feel better..but my tummy tricked me :( I got back on the BTS and still felt very queasy and sick to the stomach...so I left with Wesley to come back to the apt. Before I could make it to the other side to get on the train home..I had to vomit again and ran back to the restroom and was once again surprised by my tummy. Let's just say I was really sick (almost Kroger sick for those who know). Once back on the BTS, I had to sit down to control my nausea and took a cab home. Now I'm in my bed..still feeling queasy and nauseous, and hoping to feel better before tomorrow. I do not need to be sick on beach day...

Guess I will take meds and rest for a sec. Tummy pls cooperate with my life.

Life is too short & God is too good. Mai pen rai.

Peace&Love.

Jet lag troubles

Bangkok is amazing, but jet lag sucks. Since we immediately started working the afternoon after we arrived, my body has not had enough time to recover and get back on schedule - hence the reason why I am always up writing my blogs in the wee hours of the am. I have been trusting my sleeping pills to help me with my constant insomnia, and I am hoping that this long weekend will also give my body time to catch up. After having a several stints of the tummy ache, I discovered that indigestion is a symptom of jet lag too..great right? As if being sleepy and droggy isn't enough..I also have to sleep on my toilet. But all in all, my jet lag symptoms could definitely be worse, and since I am up later, I can talk to everyone in the states via skype because its still morning over there. Taking my lemons and making lemonade!

Found out yesterday, after talking with a British teacher, that Thai culture is very much about change. You will NEVER do the same thing on a weekly basis. Monotony is not an option. Easy enough right? Well, you may think your class is meeting in room 385 but 4 minutes before class, that room is changed to 583, and you dont know about it until you actually walk in. Kinda frustrating. However, I am easily adaptable to change and actually kinda like it, so I feel that Thailand will make my life so much less stressful. Thais live by this rule: Mai pen rai = chill the eff out dude (well thats my definition lol).

Well, my sleeping pill is kicking in, and I'm about to hit the sack. Thanx for reading :)

Life is too short & God is too good. Mai pen rai!

Peace&Love

ughhhhhhh..I cant sleep!!

Its 6:48AM and I cant sleep. I woke up with a headache an hour ago and now my body will not go back to sleep..go figure.

Might as well blog.

I have skyped almost everyone I love so far: Ben, Marce, Jaymi, Cec and Austin! Loved every minute of it! Keep the calls coming!

I might as well get ready for shopping now..nahhhhh I will enjoy this chill time. Might sit on the balcony and hang :]

ohhh and btw..IM STARVING!!!! Might hit up that 24 diner downstairs...

Life is too short & God is too good.

Peace&Love

I'm HERE!!!

Wow..where do I begin? Well I guess I'll start at Sunday night: I refused to go to sleep so that I would immediately pass out on the flight(s) to my final destination, and so that I could spend the last few hours cuddling with my boo. My night went well but unfortunately, the sleep thing did not work out that way. I slept on the measly 2 hour flight from ATL to ORD but then after a 3 hour layover, could not sleep at all on the 12 hour flight from ORD to Tokyo Narita. And then I slept for only an hour on the 5 hour flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. We got to Bangkok at 10:30PM and had to be up for a meeting at 1PM - needless to say I am super uber-ly jetlagged right now but I am so stoked that I have internet in my room that I am up skyping :]

But I FINALLY MADE IT! Everything is falling into place! We signed our teaching contracts and had several interviews with schools today..so we should know exactly where we will be placed by the end of this week! Im super excited that I will actually be teaching little kids in a classroom setting versus being an office assistant in the System's Training building. All of the supervisors and employees of System's Training are really nice and very welcoming. I am totally loving it here!

And OMG - we went to the best restaurant we've seen so far called S&P! The food is amazing and the plates look EXACTLY like their pictures! Amazing!

I am having the best time with the best people. This is going to be the greatest year ever. point blank.

Next up: shopping downtown, Pataya Beach & Thai massages!!

Life is too short & God is too good.

Packing sucks..

4 more days in the states..and this packing thing isn't over yet! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..ok I'm done.

India.Arie is soothing my soul. Thank you India.

Well anywho..I've washing my clothes and choosing what I need to take and what I just CANT wear in Bangkok. I have a lot of short clothes..maybe I should rethink my entire closet. Thats something I need to look into when I get back...Well on to the next...

Thanks to everyone who got me gifts for my trip: my daddy got me a really niceeeeeeeee Raphael Leon watch! Its beastly!!!!!!!!!! And Ann got me lotion, Miss Jessie's, makeup, and a bookbag! Thanks Daddy & Ann! My mommy is giving me some mon-ayyyyy! Thanks Ma! And my LS's got me a really cute pearl bracelet engraved :) Thanks Jaymi, Marce & Jalis! And Crystall got me a really nice card with mullah in it! Thanks Crystall! And Rachel got me Vitamins! And my grandma is getting me some soap & toothpaste! Thanks Mama!!!!!!!!!!!!! And lastly, thanks to Mama Little for giving me some work clothes!!! If I left you out, please dont be mad! I love everyone!!!

Well I'm going to continue to pack and listen to India. (Maybe she will sing at my wedding)

Life is too short & God is too good.

6 more daysssssss!!

The formal countdown has begun and we are now down to 6 more days stateside!! My excitement seems to be covering my nervousness..which I guess is a good thing. I have started packing up my apartment, and I did not realize how much stuff I had packed in that little room! Its insane how much crap I have accumulated over the past 4 years of my life...

Anywho..I am about done with my shopping! My most important/favorite purchase yet has been my inflight fleece memory foam neck pillow! I literally fall asleep within 5 seconds of putting it on (*puts pillow around neck* Hi my name is...*sleepssssss*) Yeah..its THAT serious. My least favorite purchase has been my electric toothbrush. Ok dentists - you say they work better than a regular toothbrush but why do I cry everytime it touches my teeth? Seriously, that thing's vibrations are making my teeth loosen. I dont think that's supposed to happen. I forced myself to use it like 3X but idk how much more I can take!!!!!!! Ok Im done.

So I have an idea..Im gonna start a daily picture on my blog as well showcasing my HOPE ring. I will wear it daily and then take pictures of my hand with different backgrounds within Thailand. I did not wear it today so no pic will be taken (dont judge me), but I will be wearing it on the plane and will start the photo's as soon as I board :) EXCITING! So that means you gotta keep up with my blog and check it out daily! Dont wanna miss anything!!!!!!!

Well today's post is a little long (sorry short attention span - havers ie daddy lol) but I wanna add a few lines about my friends Claudine and Rachel! I spent the weekend with Claudine and had a blast! We have been friends since I stepped foot on Mercer's campus..no literally - I walked into MEP and she was like "we are friends, thanks." So I love her to death..and so the story began. Same thing with Rachel - I met her before I came to Mercer and we instantly became friends. The end. I love these girls to death, and they are my truest friends.

Quote of the day: The sky isn't the limit, its the starting point - and you've busted through - Rashedah Davis

Life is too short & God is too good. Fly whereever life takes you.

11 days..is this really happening?!?!

So the time has almost come, and my nerves are almost completely shot! Trying to see and spend time with everyone I care about has been hard work! I have been busy every single weekend this summer, and I will be equally as busy this weekend and the next. My going away party is tomorrow, and I hope it goes well :] It will be a gathering of all the friends I love and care about.

I am tying a lot of loose ends these days: from buying all toiletries and hair products, to making copies of my identification, to packing - this entire event has been tiring. I now have to figure out how I am going to pay my student loan bills while Im away. That is going to be interesting.

Well folks, not too much to say today. I love you all & God Bless

twitter/skype: ivyace08