A Blonde With a Backpack

This week it seems is already the busiest week so far! I am planning a week's worth of lessons for my family's visit, I am writing midterms, I am grading, and I am creating reports for students. SO MUCH STUFF. This has made me feel the need to reminisce on the perfect weekend I had in Krabi! I came to Thailand to be challenged, to do new things, and to be...well a little uncomfortable! This last weekend I decided to take my first solo trip! I was nervous, excited, and just overall giddy as I headed to the airport in a shoddy little van. After wandering around for awhile, I finally found my plane! That was the start of a really, really wonderful travel weekend. I feel I became more dependent on myself, and myself alone, I gained more confidence, I was able to let go of anxieties, and I got to do all of what I wanted to do, all while spending the entire weekend on the beach; perfection! Here's a little glimpse of this paradise... The last ...

This past weekend we had a three day weekend to commemorate and celebrate the King's birthday. A teacher friend and I decided to head to Kanchanaburi, a beautiful area in the West of Thailand. Our journey to the floating paradise entailed MANY forms of transportation: a motor taxi ride to the bus station, a van ride to Bangkok(during Friday traffic), a taxi ride to the train station, a 5 hour train ride, a song-taew ride to the pier, and finally a long-tail speed boat ride to our bungalow! Pictures of these modes of transport: Motor taxi: Van:                Taxi:           Train:          (The train has no A/C and has wooden benches that often decide to topple to the ground. The path we went on is called the death railway, named because many SEA people were killed when they were forced to make this by the Burmese. It connects Thailand and Burma. And yes, we did go on this passage that...

This past weekend I attended the Lopburi Monkey Festival! Lopburi is a town very close to mine that has basically let wild monkeys take over part of the town. When I say take over, I truly mean take over. The monkeys are everywhere in this part of town. Walking down the street, climbing on apartment buildings, running by 7/11; everywhere! Typically, the monkeys congregate at an old temple/ rotary in the city center, because many tourists feed them there. It's obvious that the temple was very beautiful during it's heyday, but it was ransacked by the Burmese many years ago and all of the Buddha statues in the temple are now head-less, unfortunately. Each year, Lopburi holds a huge feeding frenzy festival to thank the monkeys for bringing tourists. The mayor comes and blesses the monkeys and "VIP" attendees sit under a tent and watch the festivities. Meanwhile, monkeys are running around everywhere, jumping on people. I saw one monkey jump on a tiny g...

This past weekend, a teacher at my school got married. Kruu (Thai for teacher) Ae invited all of the English teachers to her wedding with beautiful invitations! I felt SO welcome and I sincerely appreciated the invitation. We were told to wear blue, as every Thai wedding has a theme that everyone has to dress to. So, I put on my blue dress and headed for the wedding in the van she graciously provided for the teachers; I was prepared, or so I thought! However, I had NO concept of the concert,show, carnival, and just all around festival I was about to attend.  Doesn't this look like a HUGE festival?? Not a wedding, but it was amazing! This was the photo area that was set up right when you arrive to the wedding. The couple stands here and takes photos with friends and family for hours. We took pictures, however I unfortunately don't have a copy of any. Performers completed many dances, people sang, and the entertainers told jokes. We had a table at...