Orientation

Sorry this first blog has taken me so long to post, but orientation thus far has been a whirlwind. It's been exhausting these past four days having so much information thrown at us. We have been taking classes about teaching English to Thais, basic Thai language and various information sessions that will help us once we head to our schools. With each day I get more excited and more nervous about teaching. The thing that scares me the most is I really have no idea what level my students will be. I'm going in blind to my first class and basically have to make a snap judgement. One huge relief came when I learned that I am not there to teach grammar (thank goodness!) because Thais are generally sticklers for rules. My main job is to work on their pronunciation and conversational skills. Thankfully I'll be working with another guy, Andrew, and another girl, Ciana, and we plan on bouncing a lot of ideas off of each other and sharing our lesson plans. As for orientation our last day is tomorrow, and Tuesday we all leave for our various schools. It will be weird leaving the comfort of our hotel and the cushion of 80 other Americans, but I'm excited to explore my town. I'll get there Tuesday afternoon and will have just about a week to get situated before I have to start teaching. I'm sure I will have lots to update once that day comes...

As for Bangkok it has been quite an interesting experience. If you look at a map of greater Bangkok our hotel isn't on it. This presents one huge problem-the people here don't speak any English. If you're in the city center almost everyone speaks English and it's fairly easy to get around, not so much here. This has made me feel pretty helpless on more then one occasion (particularly when it comes to ordering food.) On a positive note it has really motivated me to pick up as many Thai words as I can in the short time I've been here.

For me, one big question has stemmed from this language barrier. I came to Thailand because I fell in love with traveling and wanted to explore the world. However, the places I've spent extended periods of time in have all been English speaking, or I have been surrounded by people who speak English. That is clearly not the case here. When I travel will I seek out meeting other foreigners, or will I want to meet Thai people? In New Zealand and Australia it was always about avoiding the tourist spots and finding that little hole in the wall to meet locals. But here I can't really communicate with the locals...so does that priority change? I know as my time here increases I will pick up more of the language and feel more comfortable in my surroundings, but will I crave the presence of other native English speakers? Or will my desire to explore those little local places remain? I really have no idea.

I really do look forward to the next couple of weeks, but I know they are going to be hard. We keep being told we are in the 'honeymoon stage', which is totally true, because everything is new and exciting. I'm nervous for the time when that fades away. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I will keep this blog updated as time goes on, so keep checking in! Please update me on all of your lives! I will post pictures soon from my adventures so far, including my school and apartment! Miss you all!