You're Going The Wrong Way!

Today after school I was exhausted, but needed to go to the mall on the outskirts of town to make a return within the 5 day window.  The mall is too far out to walk, so I walked the few blocks to the main intersection and caught a songthaew (the main mode of public transportation in Sakonnakhon).  Below is a picture of what one looks like....basically a truck with benches and a cover over it.  It costs 10 baht to take to the mall and 10 baht home.

It was about 5:15 and I knew the songthaew's stopped running at 6:30.  When I got on I realized I'd left my cell phone at home, but figured it would be no big deal.  Make the return fairly easily without the assistance of Google translate.  Found a restaurant with a decent cheeseburger, and headed back out to the area where the songthaew's drop off and what i assumed was pick up.  The mall is on a split highway.  I get into a songthaew and figure it will make a u-turn and head back into town at the next light.  But instead it turns left.  But I see the bus station and I knew they came out there.  We go through the bus station and back to the light.  Where I'm guessing we will make a right to head back to town.  But we turn left again.  I'm thinking well it's got to turn around at some point.  This thing won't just keep going on the highway to another town.  But I was wrong!!  It in fact kept going on the highway to another town.  

A group of what I think was college students get on the bus.  I finally lean over and ask English? and they all just smile at me.  And the woman who got on with her basket full of fried crickets didn't speak English either!  I see that we are approaching a gas station/7-11 area so I hit the buzzer for the driver to stop.  I figure if I can get off there, maybe I can figure out how to get back to town.  I go to to the window of the vehicle and ask the driver - back to Sakonnakhon? he looks at me.  So I point back towards towards town and saw Sakonnakhon again.  He gets a sad look on his face and says ohhh Sakonnakhon.  No.  I get a little panicky and he says call taxi? I say no phone? and point to the 7/11 and say - they call? he says yes.  Then he says I be taxi.  Wait. Come back for you.  Oh no, buddy I'm already half a second away from a panic attack.  I'm not waiting on the side of the road for you to come back for me!  So I say - I ride.  He nods.  We go through a very small town and let a few people off.  Then we get to a little bit bigger town and let the remaining 3 off.  The driver gets out and says Tesco (the grocery store) Sakonnakhon.  I say yes. He says hotel? (I was not aware there is a hotel in town...) I say no Tesco.  Walk home. He says 300 baht.  What should have been a 20 baht round trip is turning into about 10 days worth of lunches.  But I gotta get home.  And more than likely he lives in the town we are in, so is really going out of his way!

We get back to Sakonnakhon and I have him let me off at the main intersection.  As I'm walking home it started thundering and lightening.  I made it to my apartment and as I was putting the keys into my door, the first rain drops started to fall.  I can guarantee that if it would have started raining on me on the walk back from the intersection, I would have walked straight in and started packing and been back to America in 2 days!  That would have been my last straw! But I'm still here.  I may just stick to going to school, Tesco and my apartment for a while.  If I'm feeling slightly adventurous on the weekend maybe I'll go to 7/11!  Gotta get my ham and cheese toastie fix! 

This is Thailand y'all...Part 4

I wake up and leave the hotel around 10:00 on Friday morning.  A tuk tuk takes me to the bus station.  An older man comes up with a cart to help with my luggage.  They ask where I’m going.  I’ve been practicing how to say Sakonnakhon and think I say it pretty spot on.  They both just stare at me.  I pull it up on the map and try and show them.  Finally the man with the cart says Bangkok.  No, no Bangkok!!!!  Another man comes over and I say Sakonnakhon again.  He smiles and repeats it and I shake my head.  He says it again slowly – an indication I did not say it correctly and need to repeat him.  But I swear we are saying the exact same thing.  He has me follow him and takes me to a pay station and I buy a ticket for 178 baht for a bus that leaves at 10:50. I make sure my bags get on the bus and hand the gentleman 10 baht.  He shakes his head and says 20 baht.  Whatever dude, take the 20 baht and go on.  I get on the bus and am feeling this isn’t right.  1. This bus is old and will be a long 6 hour ride in this seat.  2. I only paid 178 baht. I thought it was going to be 500-600 baht.  3. It leaves at 10:50.  I was told the bus leaves at 12:20.  So I call my new consultant and she asks to speak to someone sitting around me that speaks Thai.  The bus I was on was not going straight to Sakonnakhon. It’s 10:48 at this point.  So I jump up and get off the bus.  When I’m getting off I tell the driver – getting off…wrong bus.

He is pulling out.  And this is where I absolutely lost it.  My bags with everything I have in Thailand are in the undercarriage of this bus.  That is backing out.  I run over to the side of the bus and start throwing up the doors on the side, all while trying to keep moving backwards with the bus.  I’m also yelling stop the bus. My bags.  A man helps get my suitcase out and I just throw it down on the ground.  I’m pointing at my two other bags and still yelling.  He shuts the door.  Which sends me into more of a panic.  But another man opens one closer to my bags and I grab them and throw them to the ground.   My bags are now out of that awful bus.  But now I’m standing in the middle of this bus station parking lot with my bags all around me, looking like a crazy woman I’m sure.  Definitely not one of my finer moments. 

I collect my bags and am walking over to try and get away from all these people starting at me.  The gentleman that was trying to get me to repeat Sakonnakhon walks up again and points to a sign that is the name of the bus line that leaves at 12:20.  So we walk over there and he’s trying to get me a ticket.  The ticket collector is being a bit of an asshole (in all fairness he had just witnessed what just went down).  I get my consultant back on the phone and she’s talking to him.  At the same time, the other guy is saying ticket.  I’m like I don’t have a ticket.  He says I get you money.  Oh!  You’re going to go get my 178 baht back for the wrong bus ticket. 

I get my phone back and the buses on this line are full for the day.  (But were they really? Or did they just not want the crazy farang on their bus that day…).  I’m standing there trying to figure out what I’ll do next when the guy comes back with my money and motions for me to follow him.  He takes my bags and takes me across the parking lot to another terminal.  He helps get me a ticket that leaves at 11:30 and is 420 baht on the VIP bus.  I’m telling him kap khun khae and wai-ing him the best wai I’ve ever done.  Then I try and hand him 20 baht (which for reference is $0.57…) and he wont’ take it.  Finally I’m about to put it in his shirt pocket he accepts it.  Then he’s gone.  He was saving grace that day!!

I call my consultant one more time and she talks to the ticket agent and confirms this bus will take me straight thru!  It’s a 6 hour ride and the seat is comfy, reclines all the way, I’ve got a plug in at my seat to charge my phone.  And after the morning I’ve had, I’m sure I’ll sleep just fine!!  About 2.5 hours into the ride, we pull over at a rest stop/restaurant area.  I was just going to stay on the bus, but decided I should get off since we still 4ish hours. I'm walking around the convenient store like area and see the bus pulling away. I seriously yelled out (loudly) oh f bomb (sorry mom…)! and was about to start chasing after it. Or something. I really have no idea what I was going to do!! Then I realized the was still empty and the bus driver was just moving away from the entrance because another bus was pulling in...

Luckily, I was able to get back on the bus and relax for the remaining ride.  I got into Sakonnakhon around 6:30 and one of the Thai teachers picked me up at the bus station.  He brought me to my new accommodation (with a flushing toilet!!!) and right away I met two of the other English speaking teachers I’ll be working with.  The guy is from Austin!!!  They’ve both been here going on their 3^rd year.  They took me to the school on Saturday so I could see it and get my books and have shown me around town.  I’ve met two more of the Thai teachers that we are to call Mama – because they are gonna take care of us.  The moment the Thai teacher shook my hand at the bus station I already felt 100 times better than I did in the first town. 

This is really where I’m supposed to be.  And what a hell of a story it was to get here!

/end scene

This is Thailand y'all...Part 3

I should have never thought easy, I can handle this.  Life decided to show me to never think it’s easy in Thailand.  Now it was up to me to get to Korat to catch the bus instead of having someone pick me up.  I was messaging another consultant at my agency (not Joe) and she told me that there was only one bus line that runs from Korat to Sakonnakon and it left at 12:20 am and 1:50 am.  My first thought was that is a weird time, but there are many over night buses in Thailand so it very well could be.  I even clarified the time and was told 12:20 am.  And Google was failing and I coud not find the times online.

I'm like shit better leave now.  I get checked out of my accommodation and get a tuk tuk to the bus stand outside Sikhio. While I’m there I message the girl who will be my new coordinator to let her know what is going on so someone can meet me at the bus station in Sakonnakhon.  I tell her I’ll arrive around 7:00 am.  We go back and forth a few times on am and pm.  She tells me the bus leaves Korat at 12:20 PM...I'm like well hell I got no place to sleep tonight. So with google translate I ask a man will a bus to Korat come soon? He makes some noises that I assume are a yes. Finally a bus shows up and he gestures for me to follow him. I’m struggling with my large, heavy suitcase, purse and 2 backpacks. Another guy stops and comes back to help me.  I seriously just threw my purse at him.  Here stranger take my purse.  I trust you’re getting on the same bus as me and I’ll get it back.

I get on the bus and there are no seats. I stink. I know I do. I have to stand in close proximity to these unfortunate souls that were lucky enough to have seats for about an hour. The lady comes to get money. I swear she says 60 baht. I hand her 40 and am getting the other 20 out and she says no this enough. I think she just took pity on the stinky farang. Roads in Thailand are very similar to roads in Missouri – awful!  Not only were my feet starting to hurt, but I was getting slightly motion sick. Finally the man in the seat that I've been holding on to for dear life gets up and gets off the bus. I jump into his seat. Then I realize I really have no idea where I am going. So I get out Google translate again and ask the lady in the seat next to me if this bus goes to Korat mall because I've heard people talk about the bus to Korat mall. She speaks some English and says yes mall, I show you. I almost hug her. Then she gets off at the next stop, which is not a mall...but does tell the lady that took my money I need off at the mall. I get to the mall and just sit down on a bench for about 20 mins.

I find a decent priced hotel room online, book it and get a tuk tuk to it. I’m sure the people at the front desk were a little leery to let me actually check in.  I was a hot mess!!  After I got checked in I headed to my safe place aka 7/11 and bought myself two ham and cheese toasties.  After the day I’d had I deserved two, damn it!  I showered and slept in the plush bed, ready for a calm day on the bus to Sakonnakhon.

This is Thailand y'all...Part 2

This change also affected the Filipino teacher at my school. But he wasn’t being offered a job at the same school as me.  Even though we’d only known each other 2 days, we were sad to be going to different schools.  We had been told someone would come pick us up around noon to head to Korat (the capital of the providence we were in) to the bus station and help us get to our new towns.  I received a phone call and a message from two people at XploreAsia after they saw my Facebook status asking how I was doing and telling me good job with the positive attitude.

I had packed pretty much everything the night before.  Jhon, the other teacher, was still living at the other apartments so we met at a coffee shop in between our two places for breakfast.  It was around 10:30 and my phone rang.  It was the HR rep from my agency – the same one that had emailed me the day before.  Her and another lady informed me that the school in Sikhio changed their mind and were back in contract with the agency and I wasn’t leaving, and would still be teaching at the same school.  Talk about messing with your emotions.  I hung up the phone in a shock and walked back in the coffee shop.  And Jhon was on the phone with them now.  After he hung up we both just kind of started at each other in disbelief.  Then my mom texted me that she was going to bed and that she hoped my move went smooth and to let her know when I got to my new place.  I walked outside, called her and absolutely lost it.  I was crying so hard I’m sure she had no idea what I was saying.  But what I was saying was I want to come home.  I can’t do this.  I finally calmed down enough and said I need to call Joe and talk to him.  

While I was on the phone with my mom, Jhon had messaged Joe.  I went back in the coffee shop and told Jhon I needed to go back to my apartment to process all this.  He understood.  On the walk back to my apartment I got a call from Joe.  He was very apologetic and said that the Thai teachers loved us and had nothing to do with what was going on.  It was between the higher ups at the school and the agency.  I told him I was very nervous about going back to a school that so quickly got rid of us over money and once we didn’t show up on Thursday, they had no one to teach about 44 classes of 45 students!  I told him I still wanted to go to the new school.  He completely understood.  Thursday was spent with many phone calls back and forth between Joe and me and even a phone call to people at XploreAsia to see what my options were.  There were also lots of tears and checking out flights back to the US – which resulted in more tears because then I was a failure.  By 4:00 it was agreed that I could move to Sakonnakhon and that my agency would reimburse me for my bus fare.  All that needed to be done now was move out of my apartment, get to the bus station in Korat and on a bus to the very Northeastern part of Thailand.  Easy, I can handle that! 

This is Thailand y'all...Part 1

What a crazy, hectic 3 days it’s been in my world.  I did get moved to a new apartment that had a flushing toilet and was just better overall.  School started on Monday and I was assigned grades M2 and M4, which are basically 7^th and 9^th graders.  The kids were decent.  I had one boy that blew me a kiss as he was leaving.  I fell in love with him.  He earned the spot of favorite in just a short 45 minutes.  There was the one class that was awful.  The girls were the worst.  One boy punched another so hard in the nuts that he was on the ground in tears.  I was never so happy for that period to end!  There were some comments made by a Thai teacher to me, which in America would be considered extremely rude.  But I was assured she didn’t mean it rudely and it was just the way Thailand is. 

            The culture shock was definitely affecting me.  I was trying really hard to push through it.  On Wednesday afternoon, I forced myself to start a conversation with one of the Thai teachers in the teacher’s room.  She was being very friendly.  She was explaining why there were so many parents on campus.  If a student didn’t pass classes the year before, they have until the middle of June to do stuff (stuff like possibly lessons, but also chores or anything the teacher sees fit) to pass the class. But a parent must also come to the school and make sure they are going to class and doing the work to make up the class.

            At the same time, three M6 students (seniors) came into the teacher area and started talking to her.  They were asking if I was interested in tutoring them after school.  One wanted to just improve his English and one wanted to go into the tourist industry and would have to pass an English test to be able to get a job.  She said that it was completely fine for me to tutor them.  That they would be in groups of 4 and would pay me 200 baht per group to tutor them twice a week.  That’s an extra 400 baht a week and I’d get to know the students better and have something to do in the evenings.  I spent about 30 minutes talking to the boy that just wanted to improve his English and finding out things I could teach him and his likes and interests to make it fun and interesting for him.  We were both really excited about it!

            As he left the room, I checked my email on my phone and got this email. 

I would like to inform you Skihiu school is no longer contract with (agency) due to contract issue. We would like to offer another school for you. The schools' name is Sakolraj it is located in Sakonnakhon province. You will be teaching IEP Program (4 skills such as Listening, Speaking, Writing, and Reading) for Mathayom level 1 - 5. Let me know if you are interested.

I apologize for the any inconvenience that this may cause you. The consultants will meet and talk to you about Transportation. We will cover the cost of transportation.

I was in shock at first.  I messaged Joe, my point of contact with my agency.  He called me extremely apologetic and said that he was just learning of it all too…in the same email.  While I was slightly freaking out, I realized that this was a second chance.  I wasn’t 100% happy where I was and while I could make the best of it, I was being given the opportunity at something possibly better.  Even though I was going to pack everything up once again and not be able to tutor those students, it was a good thing.  I got on board and was looking forward to moving to a different part of Thailand, a little bigger area and now closer to Laos and Vietnam…more opportunity to travel to other countries!