They call me Teacher

So I ended up accepting the position at the bilingual school. They pay is great, the fellow teachers are fun, and the kids are adorable- even when they're wild and crazy demon-spawn.

I'm becoming accustomed to my new life: My commute is about 20 minutes, sometimes rain and sometimes shine and occasionally both! I'm teaching 3rd grade science and math to two classes and health to one of them. I came in at the end of the term, filling a vacancy from a teacher that just split to the US. In my first 2 weeks I've had to create exam outlines and the tests. That was [not] easy, seeing as I didn't really know what the previous teacher actually taught. But the other teachers have been supportive and remind me that this is Thailand, the due dates for these tasks don't really matter. This laid-backness has it's pros and cons.

I went to Mae Sai, a town on the border of Thailand and Burma/Myanmar, this past weekend. It has pretty good shopping for counterfeit everything- Nike shoes and Crocs to motorcycle gear, Viagra to Johnnie Walker and Malibu, and of course a plethora of pirated dvds. While I looked forward to potentially scoring some cheap goods, I went to activate my second entry on my visa. I can now stay until November 13 unless I extended my visa for 30 days or replace it with the work visa. Ideally, I will be going to Laos in early October to get the work visa. I didn't take any pictures in Burma because there wasn't much to see where I was, but I plan on taking lots of photos in Laos.

Switching gears, actually to something 'mechanical,' I have become very comfortable riding a motorbike in Thailand. Maybe too comfortable. First of all, let me say that I have been complimented on my abilities. People are surprised when they find out I never road a motorcycle prior to coming to Thailand (so about a month). I'm often told I 'drive like a Thai.' I'm taking that as a compliment, though I suppose it could go either way. Along with this comfort has come confidence, and with that confidence risk. I'll keep my helmet in  my basket, on my seat, or between my knees if I'm just going down a soi. I will wear it if I go longer distances on main roads and always on the highways or big roads. I quickly moved to flip flops from basketball shoes because the shoes made my feet dirty, they were a hassle to change in and out of when going somewhere, and I'm lazy. I think I also tend to drive fast. And I like to pass cars between cars. I watch and learn- that's the key to survival. Even more key- God's grace and protection. I've done some stupid things on two wheels- some on accident and some on purpose, but God has protected me through all of them.