ant bites.

Gaysorn and I eating Indian food the Friday before my birthday--I am really going to miss all the international food. I should probably eat more Thai food--its cheap, but sometimes I get enough at school. except for sum tum. mmmm!

apparently--I have one ant in my room, that bites me approximately once a night. and then it swells like to the size of nickel/quarter with a whitehead in the middle--and then scars. my legs are hideous. and I am sad. this has just started in the past couple weeks...and it sucks. although it does make me excited to go home to a real house.

on a more positive note, I got to interview kids today for an Australian exchange program. and I learned that Thai people don't like the Australian accent--interesting. and it was really nice to be on the other side of the table.

grad school apps are in--I feel strangely calm this year. last year at this time I was verging on a crisis...ahh the future. my future. so important. but in actuality--not so much. I could just go on teaching. esl. hmmm. meanwhile,

"I'm waiting on you Lord and I am hopeful...I will serve you while Im waiting..." john waller--thanks for the cd, faith! so encouraging!

-CD

yee-sip-song!

that's 22 in Thai--yep, 22. I am pretty excited actually. Every year since I turned fourteen I have had the urge to cry on my birthday and not just b/c I can if I want to. but because growing up is just such a pain. maybe this is because of yks (you think so matt?) anyway, people have been telling me that there are really no good bdays after 21, but I beg to differ, its much less pressure to turn 22. I just feel like it's going to be a good year. whatever it brings. I did not feel like crying.

every year I tell myself that I will be more subtle about my birthday and not such an attention monger. and every year it is a massive fail. Geoffrey insisted on telling everyone. which meant that the accounting office gave me tiny little presents. for some reason thai people ADORE tiny little trinkets, just like their tiny little selves. I am now the proud owner of some fake miniature cupcakes and miscellaneous food items. and a display plate of the king.

hurray for Thailand. and my students singing to me. they are so cute. they thought I was turning 21, 20, 19, 27, 32. it was a wide range. when they sang to me I turned bright red. luckily I used that moment to teach the words blush and embarrassment.

22 in thailand,
CD

Why I love Thailand...

aren't these girls cute? this was in China--one of the girls tried to give me all her popcorn.
We have been having quite delightful weather in Bangkok. I was actually chilly walking the other day--which has led me to have a euphoric sense of my life. so I thought I'd share:

Yesterday, in class my 11th graders were all crowding around a phone watching a video (I let them have 15minutes of free time after 1.5 solid hours of teaching the passive verb--I kept constantly cheering about the passive verb during the lesson--but even I was sick of it.) I immediately assumed they were watching a bad video, so I (being super nosy) moseyed on over to their table and asked to see it...and it was in ENGLISH. I cheered again...(I like anything that remotely encourages English!) anyway it was an apple and an orange talking to each other. that's all it was...and apparently that is the height of comedy. now I don't feel so bad when they don't like my jokes. I had tried to sing "Istanbul was Constantinople" earlier that day...and it was a dismal failure. Now the students quote the video ALL the time--but it's English so I laugh encouragingly.

Next, I taught my baby 7th graders. ahhh some of my post got deleted. to sum up--7thgraders said I looked like Gisele from Enchanted. I swooned on hearing this and said I wished I had a prince. this went over well. then we played battleship (past simple tense style! woo!)

then tutoring--much talking about hannah montana.

then yoga-I like it because I really miss lying on the floor with carpet..

then saxophone pub for live jazz and the cutest singer singing michael buble and sinatra...and my friend sang! yay bangkok!

-CD

booked a ticket.

that's right, pending confirmation of credit card info--I have booked a ticket home! yay! Ill be back in the land of mexican food in time for Easter.

today in class I sang "Secret Agent Man" while teaching the word agent. then I sang "just another ordinary...(I actually don't know the words to this song...but I was teaching the word ordinary). being tone deaf is really unfortunate when given a mic. and yes, this is a self-indulgent post about what I do on a daily basis. you should really read my friend Lauren's blog--she really conveys the strangeness of our lives very well. her blog is www.thepurpleness.blogspot.com
I somehow forget that my life isn't normal and that bangkok isn't the only way of life. and there are just weird things that happen.

there really isn't that much to say. I had a fab day teaching. m.1 is the most precious group of human kids ever. and yes, I am letting you know that. I am a little sensitive right now. someone just told me they would NEVER date a girl with a blog. apparently he thinks my generation Y is too self-important. well, I think its too self-important to rule someone out for having a blog. who does he think he is. generation x. bah. and I can say that, b/c my brother who thinks he's in generation x--(being born in 1980-- missed it buddy). anyway he never reads this. maybe Ill say something everyday till he does. sorta like dave letterman and oprah. yes, yes, I did compare myself with dave. he's a delight--minus, his, um, ya know...shortcomings.

feeling self-indulgent and happy in bangkok,
CD

100th Blog!

When I was in Vietnam at a museum--I decided to approach a group of school-age, non-English speaking kids and tried to use the stilts. it was a massive fail. but fun.

Since I kinda skipped the whole New Year's Blog thing--I thought I'd make this one about the old year/new year thing. I guess it's fairly typical that I would center this around MY blog instead of ya know the whole calendar year thing...hmmm....

New year--Im pumped. I LOVED last year. I tend to get kinda melancholy around December and listen to "A Long December" by the counting crows...and I sing the line, "maybe next year will be better than the last"...but I didnt really feel that way this year. I like my job. for example, on monday and tuesday there were no classes and we had carnaval type things. my kids all danced around in the courtyard while my m.5 students performed. my kids are super talented--they jammed out to taylor swift. It was awesome...they were like mosh pitting it up--once again I am confounded by the thai logic, but mai pen lai, it was fun. We went around to different booths buying things--so thai--to have a carnaval with food and shopping. the two faves apparently. the food was good though--it makes me sad that our school food is such a disappointment and it turns me off from thai food. I am starting to freak out about leaving here before Ive done everything!

oh so props to Lindsey and Faith for sending me my first mail (excluding the parents)! and in case anyone was wondering there is still time to send me a card in time for my bday. just a thought.

-CD

another highpoint/lowpoint

Simone and I before hitting up the river.

went to Laos for new years--tubing, caving, it was good.

lost one of my contacts.

made the switch to soft contacts! I no longer look like a druggie. don't even think I am exaggerating. at ninfa's the kitchen workers all said I was the biggest druggie--although that may have something to do with my horrendous spanish.

It's been so long...

On Christmas night we all went to eat. and then we tried to mimic the statues. as per usual.

Dear Blogging World,

I no longer have internet in my apartment, and I miss you. and I am sorry for the delay in writing...too much to say. so here's some little notes--some good, some bad.

- I was on TV in Thailand. Yep, I was visiting the King's hospital to sign a "get well" thing with the baylor group that came and visited. and they put us on the royal news that night. (every night there is a thirty minute segment about the royal family) its kinda cool.

-I had bbq with Professor Kay Mueller-love that woman. and talked to all the baylor students who were on the Thailand trip.

-Have I mentioned that since becoming a Baylor alum--we are all really school-spirited. we did a sic'em at outback on Christmas and there just happened to be other Baylor people. legit. (did I already tell you this? I am so confused--with what I write or send to people.)

-application process should be done this week. so cheers to baylor and tcu--may the best man win. or in this case, will one of you take me? [I was just re-reading this and I realized that if you didn't see the part about baylor and tcu--it would look like I was pleading with any man to take me--that is not the case. just so ya know]

-My cat of 14.5 years died. It is sad. I got her right after I moved to Texas and she really helped me when I moved to Texas. but she had a good life. I wish I could have been there at home, but its maybe better this way.

-Right now there is an awesome lego city exhibition in the mall where I am getting internet. (bangkok is so cool and exciting.)

-I taught the words "preppy" and "fratty" to my 11th graders since our chapter is "consumerism"(about shopping). I also tried to explain why consumerism and materialism are negative words. they really only wanted to see the pictures I brought of fratty boys. but hey at least I tried. I like them lots. and all my students. well, almost.