Elllllloooo friends and fam! It’s my last day here in Hua Hin, can you believe it?! I can’t. The pre-move jitters are beginning to set in. I’m pretty nervous for my big move to Isan. I received my contract confirmation last Friday and it said that I began Monday, October 19th. I kind of freaked out. I even had a nightmare about it and emailed my director at 4 am. We sorted it all out and all is well now. As excited as I am to begin teaching, I am pretty nervous about going to live somewhere by myself where I don’t know anyone or speak the language. I know I’ll be okay though. I’ll definitely miss the amazing friends I’ve made here.
We graduated TESOL on Thursday. I also learned that I passed my edTPA, meaning that I’m now a certified English teacher in New York State! YAAY! I begin the moving transition on Saturday. I’m taking a van to Bangkok, where I will meet with my agent to arrange my travel details to Ubon. It’s been a pretty big culture shock to me to not have all of the details coordinated and planned in advance. It’s definitely been stressful, especially since I start on Monday and still have no clue how I’m getting to Ubon, but that’s just the way things work in Thailand. Finding out important information at the very last minute is entirely normal here. It’s called the “Thai way” or “Thai time”. Efficiency is not a priority in Thailand. Their top priority is harmony, so things aren’t quite as organized or planned as I’m used to in the states. They say that in Thailand, you learn to be a very, very patient person. The adjustment to the Thai way of things has been pretty hard for me. My mom would freak out, that’s for sure. Finding out logistics of moving to a new area has been my biggest stressor. I’m nervous about the actual process of getting there and getting settled in, then beginning right away. Once I get settled, I’ll be fine.
But enough with the talk about the anxieties of the logistical challenges of moving. I had an AMAZING last full weekend in Hua Hin. It was a 3-day weekend, and I spent it doing some pretty awesome stuff. Here’s a run down of my weekend.
Friday:
I woke up with great intentions of getting lost in the city by myself and exploring. Then my roommate mentioned that she was going shoe shopping and to the cat café. I tried to control myself, but she’d just presented me with my two weaknesses. I caved and I don’t regret a thing. After some retail therapy, coffee, and cat cuddles, I set out on my endeavor to explore the city. My first stop: a naval base. I thought I was walking towards the beach, and then realized that I had walked onto a naval base. I looked up and there were a bunch of military men staring at me like I was a fish out of water. It was super awkward. I tried to play it cool, but just scurried right out of there. Then, I found some pretty cool stuff. There was a whole area of shops right near the water, with all sorts of amazing restaurants. Then, I found the most amazing beach I’d ever been to. There were horses riding up and down the beach, palm trees, blue skies, and sand softer than I’d ever felt. I ran into a couple of fellow farangs (foreigners) and chilled for about an hour before heading back. I got back via motor taxi. I have been terrified of the scooters since day one, but let me tell you, they are AWESOMEEEE! You know when you’re driving down the road and see a dog sticking its head out the window with a look of pure joy on its face as the wind blows its fur everywhere? That’s me on a motor taxi. My new preferred method of transportation for sure, and it’s super cheap. For dinner, my friends and I headed to Cicada Market: Hua Hin’s super artsy night market. There was all sorts of live entertainment (music, break dancers, dog shows), artsy vendors, and delicious Thai food. I basically ate my body weight in food. I had some pineapple chicken skewers, peach cider, mango sticky rice, and deep-fried banana coconut balls with chocolate sauce. SO YUMMY.
Saturday:
On Saturday, a group of my friends and I decided to see what the Thai mountains had to offer, and it was amazing. We took a songtao to Pala U Waterfall, about 1 mile from the Myanmar border, and began our adventure. First and foremost, TLC, I love your song, but “don’t go chasing waterfalls” is TERRIBLE advice. Chasing this waterfall was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I’ve hiked before, but let me tell you, hiking mountains and waterfalls in Massachusetts and New York is an entirely different than this experience. The terrain in Thailand is insane. It was so hot, so challenging, rather dangerous, and very undisturbed by man. There were points where we were scaling rock walls, wading through the water fully clothed with our backpacks held over our heads, and jumping from boulder to boulder hoping that the traction on our shoes would be strong enough on the slippery rocks to keep us from plummeting. Every step was calculated and deliberate, because one wrong step could’ve ended in serious injury. When we got towards the top, we ended up letting the current take us back down a bit further. It was almost like a waterslide. Super fun. We saw a few spiders that were, I kid you not, the size of my fist. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a completely irrational fear of spiders. I surprised myself with my reaction to it. As terrified as I was, I did not run the hell down the mountain or dive into a pile of rocks to get away from it (though the thoughts did cross my mind). It was such an adventure. I’m surprised that none of us got seriously hurt (I made it out with only a few minor cuts and bruises). We made it up to about tier 8. I would’ve loved to go even further, but time was not on our side, and the hike was only getting more treacherous. The scenery was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. It looked like something straight out of a movie. I definitely will be looking into doing more hiking wherever I go.
Sunday:
I ended my long weekend with a nice, relaxing day. I woke up early and caught a motor taxi to the beach I had discovered on Friday. Though I generally prefer the company of others, it was nice to do something by myself for once. I figured that’s probably how it’ll be once I get to Ubon, so I should get comfortable with it. As I was hopping off the scooter and about to head to the beach, a table full of Thai kids (probably 19 or 20 year olds) called me over. They seemed pretty surprised when I actually walked over to them, as if they had expected me to ignore them entirely. It was as if I was the first girl they’d ever talked to. It was kind of funny to me to see them giggle and blush likes little kids talking to their crushes. Thai people are overall very intrigued by white people. It’s so strange. They asked me where I was from, how old I was, what I was doing in Hua Hin, told me I was beautiful, and basic stuff like that. Thais throw around the word beautiful very casually, I’ve noticed. It was nice to chat for a few minutes, but the language barrier got to be a little bit much, so I said my goodbyes and headed to the beach. I grabbed a fruity drink and set up under the shade of a palm tree. I stayed there for a few hours enjoying the beautiful day before packing up and heading back. It was so relaxing and lovely. If only I’d worn sunscreen.
That’s all for now! I move tomorrow, so I’ll post sometime next week once I’m settled in!
<3 Erin