Day 77 // FAQ's About Teaching Abroad (Round II)

Round 2 of more Teaching Abroad Questions! Thanks to everyone who is emailing me, it makes my heart happy this blog is being read and helping out some of you :)

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Did you have to get a TEFL Certificate? 
Getting a TEFL Certificate for Thailand is (from what I understand) now optional. I decided to take the 12 week course (after paying CIEE $500 to enroll me in it) about 6 weeks before I left. I was freaking out about taking a job in a foreign country I have zero qualifications for and wanted as much experience as I could get before I left. The problem was once I left for Thailand, all my work started to dwindle. I was tardy on turning in the assignments because moving to Thailand and experiencing everything firsthand was taking priority. So I wound up not completing any of the last assignments, because at that time I had already started teaching and understood what my school needed from me. But because of that I never got TEFL certified...

So my advice is if you want that extra amount of experience to help you before you move to Thailand, I would take the TEFL course, but just make sure you finish it before you leave the country, or right around that time. It becomes too much to balance traveling and meeting new people and orientation, with homework every week (due at exactly midnight Chicago time on sunday nights).  Looking back, I wish I did not take it, just because it was FAR more intense ESL Teaching material than most of us are doing here in Thailand. The TEFL program shows how to teach grammar, critical reading, pronunciation, intonation, and other material that most of the students probably don't know yet, or they are learning from their Thai teachers. And the best way I learned to teach was from the first couple weeks of trial and error (which we all want to avoid the error part, but it's inevitable). Some of my friends completed the TEFL certification before they left and said the Practicum was the most beneficial part, which is where you shadow an ESL teacher or you practice teach for 20+ hours and write a review on it. It sounds like you would be capable of this pretty much any where and could shadow other ESL teachers to get a better feel for the classroom energy.

Did you do it through CIEE? 
I went through CIEE to set me up in a TEFL course, but it took them a while to get everything organized, so I was beginning my TEFL class with 6 weeks left until I left for Thailand (and the program is a 12+ week program). Perhaps it was my fault I didn't contact the correct people in time, but if you want to take the TEFL class through CIEE I would let them know as soon as possible so you can complete it before you leave, or at least be almost done by the time you leave.

Any insight into deciding which country to travel to? 
I have always been drawn to Thailand, ever since my brother traveled here 8 years ago through the same CIEE program and taught in Chiang Mai. His stories of the culture and the people have stayed with me ever since. From my understanding, it is a popular teaching destination because of the more relaxed culture and kind students. My friends taught in Korea and said teaching was more like a military regime, they taught for 7 hours a day with one break…and HAD to follow a ton of curriculum, continuing on even if the students didn't understand. Here we have sufficient down time during the day and I teach for a total of 16 hours a week. I can also plan my lesson plans to my liking, so that is another bonus.

Are you actually making enough money that you will be in good standing when you come back to the States? 
So before I left for Thailand I made sure to have about $4000 saved up as backup for my return. Teaching here gets me about 25,000 baht a month (roughly $778), which is more than enough to live comfortably. If you go through CIEE you should also get housing taken care of..so most of your paycheck is for traveling, buying lots of beautiful things around the country, and eating all of your feelings, be them happy or sad.

All the food please.

I am doing a really good job of spending almost all of my paycheck each month on miscellaneous things around the city and traveling. I'm definitely thinking by the time I get back to America I will be dipping into my savings. I also plan to travel for a couple weeks in October with my boyfriend around Thailand and that will not be cheap. I am lucky to have a place to move into when I get back, but I am not banking on making a profit working here…if anything I will probably break even with my paychecks or have a couple extra thousand baht a month to put aside for when I travel. Living in Thailand is by no means expensive…but our American mindset sees something for 30 baht and we want to buy EVERYTHING because thats only $1!! But it's hard to shift your mindset to realizing you are only making 778$ a month…and not an American salary. Oof.

Is there opportunity to renew the contract?
From my understanding, there will always be an opportunity to renew your contract. My second day at work I was asked to stay an extra semester, and they didn't even know how I would be as a teacher. Native English teachers are in high demand in Thailand, and most schools are looking to keep the same teacher on for as long as possible. It helps the students a lot too to not have a new teacher every 6 months, but rather the same one they become close with for a year or so. Another position that schools look for are Native English speakers to teach different subjects, like Social Studies or Science. The native English speaker at my school who teaches Biology in English to the older students also makes a little bit more every month. So if you want to stay for another semester or two, it is very easy to do so, and the schools would love it.

Was the application/interview process hard? 
CIEE Teach in Thailand only had an application process that I completed through the website. I had to answer questions about where I wanted to be placed, upload my resume and two professional recommendations, and write a personal statement. I think the personal statement was the most challenging part, just because I was desperately trying to avoid the cliche "I want to teach abroad so I can give back to a culture that in turn will give so much to me"… which I think is what I wrote anyway… Regardless, it wasn't as drastically important as I made it out to be, they just want to make sure you are literate and have some recommendations backing up your skills. There was no "interview" per se, I was just assigned to school, showed up on a Sunday and started teaching on Tuesday.

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If anyone has more questions, send them my way! AmySkinner05@gmail.com

Day 65 // A Normal Teaching Schedule (Or what will inevitably change 6 times)

I'm about 7 weeks in, and getting more and more used to the new schedule of teaching, lots of sitting, and almost too much free time at work.

At the beginning it was a challenge.

Going from 10 hour non stop shifts at a bar where my only free moments were spent shoveling food into my face in the kitchen or complaining about weird customers... to a job where I actively teach/do something for only 1-4 hours a day, was a drastic change. Put that on top of moving to a new country to do a new job with new people and new hours and new food and my first weeks felt kind of like.....

I received an email today from someone who will be teaching abroad in October, and she asked me what my normal schedule looks like. 

So as you can see here, any of the white blocks are free time. Sitting. Facebook. Reading. Being really bored. Getting lost on Buzzfeed for hours. A 4th cup of coffee. Reading the world's longest joke (try it, I dare you). That youtube video one more time. Thinking about the weekend.  Oh and lesson planning...sometimes.

Obviously my Fridays are awesome and I'm ready for the weekend on Thursday night. 

This is an average week of 16 classes, some of my friends here have 14, others have 24. 16 to me is perfect. Other teachers took on more for a pay raise, good luck guys. 

The best part about getting this little slip of paper of your PERMANENT SEMESTER SCHEDULE is that it probably (no it definitely will) change a few times. You'll come into work on Wednesday morning and be told at 8:20am, 'Oh by the way, you teach this class at 8:30am now...on Wednesdays... khavefunbai." 

But that's all a part of learning this culture. You try to not smash your head into objects (see above) when THINGS KEEP CHANGING AND NOBODY TELLS YOU. 

So you get some free time as a teacher. It gives you moments to decompress from the excessive amount of energy you use to control a classroom of pre-teens and teach them grammar at the same time. It lets you browse the dark and twisted corners of Facebook for hours on end and develop an even deeper love/hate relationship with your online-self. It also lets you find a super awesome archive of perfect gifs to accurately describe all of the feelz you have.

But most of all it let's you really appreciate where you are and what your doing, and how this experience is really freaking awesome, not matter how many times your schedule changes. 

Shoot me an email if you have any questions about Teaching Abroad: amyskinner05@gmail.com

Day 55 // English Camp

At the beginning, English Camp started off as a weekend requirement at some unknown location where we had little information about any of the goings on. But welcome to Thailand. If you start teaching here and think you will be able to give me a set schedule of your week (let alone day), then you will quickly learn otherwise.

Mai pen rai is a phrase used quite often here, meaning "no worries" and from what I've understood the Thai way to say Hakuna Matata. It's the end all way to respond to any questions about schedule changes and often will make your punctual and uptight American self even more irritated because how can we possible not know every single fact about everything going on in this school all of the time? Am I asking too much?! 

In case it's not obvious, I'm still getting used to the nonchalant attitude towards making/keeping plans and rarely knowing what will happen in the next 24 hours. 

Pardon my rant. 

English Camp brought out a lot of my frustrations with the Thai style of planning. Even today classes were cancelled, yet some of the teachers are asking around if we still have class, or if it is just M1's and M4's. No body knows whats going on and I'm constantly just pretending it doesn't bother me. 

As terribly annoying as it is, it is a constant reminder that everything changes, particularly your permanent schedule. My mind is still adapting to acquiring a relaxed attitude about these things, but my stubborn ways are not budging. Every day is a lesson in patience and adjustment. 

English Camp turned out to be a wonderful weekend, even though it felt like going to school for the whole weekend. We had the students separate into groups and pick a fairy tale, then spend the weekend creating a skit, song, and poster as well as doing activities in English. 

I had the purple group, who chose Peter Pan as their fairy tale. Thankfully I brought my hat and a bag of scarves that the students happily used as costumes for the skit. 

Thanks purple team for making me smile all weekend.

Day 45 // FAQ's about Teaching in Thailand

I had the pleasure of someone reaching out to me after reading my blog with questions of my experience with CIEE and teaching in Thailand so far. It provided me with the perfect moment to write down my perspective on this trip so far in a slightly lengthy list, pros and cons included. 

I hope anyone reading this who is interested in the program will benefit from some of this (I also spent a significant amount of time pouring myself into writing this to my new friend, so I wanted to share it).

How was your experience using CIEE?
My experience with CIEE so far has been great. My only real interaction with the organization was during orientation week. I ran into a bunch of other people teaching at the airport, so we all banded together and were picked up by a representative and taken to our hotel. The week in Bangkok is an overwhelming and amazing experience. It felt like college all over again, lots of exploring and fun with new incredible people who all have that desire to push their limits and try something new.  

Orientation gave us a crash course on how to teach and the basics of Thai language, but I'll be honest with you… nothing can really prepare you for when you get to school and start teaching. Most of it you will learn from trial and error and just jumping in with blind faith, but the one thing I've learned (yet still have a hard time practicing) is that it is nothing to stress about… But sometimes, when you are really overwhelmed and pissed off, it's the last thing you want to hear. 

What was the application process like?
The application process was fairly simple, I just followed the guidelines on the CIEE website which are very straightforward. I also kept in contact with my CIEE representative (Alex Legere I <3 you) who would answer questions and give advice on whatever we needed. She was a wealth of knowledge, so if you apply, someone will email you and keep them close if you have questions. The website guides you on how to take care of your Visa and all of the documents you will need once you get to Thailand.  Thailand doesn't require and interview, but if you have any motivation and drive to do well, you will be a kick ass teacher :)

How do you like Thailand? 
I have grown to love Thailand. I've only been here about 7 weeks but it already feels like home. Most people know it's called the "Land of Smiles" and it is more than you can imagine. It is a wonderful energy to be around a culture that encourages inclusion and happiness rather than shaming and judgement. This transcends in the classroom too, sometimes you will have an awful lesson plan that makes no sense or is too easy or is just a train wreck, but the students won't try and make you feel bad. In this culture, if anyone feels embarrassed or doesn't know what to say, they smile or laugh. It really is an incredible way to deal with things that normally stress out Americans.  The culture up in the north is spectacular. I am loving the north: lots of temples, waterfalls, and incredible food. Northern food to try: Kao Soy. It will change your life. 

How safe do you feel there, especially as a woman? 
I feel very safe here. Stealing isn't really a thing, so I feel comfortable carrying my purse around alone. Also the Thai culture is very "polite" in many ways, which means no hollering and harassing women when they walk down the street. You might get the occasional "beautiful lady!" comment, but thats much better than my experiences in Italy where men are grabbing your ass and basically sexually harassing you with inappropriate comments.  There was a curfew for a couple weeks that shut down the city early, but now it's over and things are back to normal. The best advice I got was if you don't go looking for trouble, you won't find any.

What is the living situation like? Were you placed with other Americans?  
I live on campus which is particular to my school since it's a boarding school. Most teachers are housed by their respective schools, and are in houses nearby campus and normally have a short commute to work. I'm lucky since I walk 2 minutes from my house to get to my office. But, the housing was definitely a challenge when I got here. Thank GOD I have A/C in my room because I do not do well with the heat. If you are sensitive to the heat, October-April is the best time to be here. It's cooled off significantly here in the past month. But the first couple weeks I would get heat stroke and come close to passing out because I overheated too easily. So the A/C in my room was a saving grace, but I also have heard most teachers don't have A/C in the houses they get.

I am placed with two Americans and one teacher from China with good conversational English. There is a good sized foreigner community in Chiang Rai too. Some people are placed in schools as the only white person and pretty much the only person who speaks English for miles. This definitely poses a whole new challenge than being placed in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, for instance, where there are foreigners everywhere and all the restaurants are in English. As shocking as it is initially, it's something that quickly becomes the norm and you will find your Thai language skills improving immensely. You will be stared at everywhere you go because a lot of these people never see any white people roaming around, especially the small villages. But there is no hostility and they embrace when you try and speak in Thai or help them with English. 

How do you deal with all the bugs? 
Dealing with the bugs is just that: you just deal with them. To be very honest, they are fucking disgusting. Showering last night I had a spider, 3 different kinds of ants, mosquitos, geckos, and flies in there with me, all at the same time. One day, I left a bag of food on my desk in my room, and 3 hours later I had a colony of ants overtaking my room. You will get eaten alive by mosquitos when you get here, but it decreases as time goes on. There are also giant lizards called Tokays who are about a foot long who like to live in our house. Some other people I've talked to have much nicer living accommodations (like not as many bugs and sealed rooms) but it all depends. The thing is, you'll get used to them. They are gross and disgusting, but you just learn to accept it (like most things that challenge you in Thailand). 

What is the classroom situation like?  
The classrooms vary from school to school on a vast scale. Some teachers have 8 students in their classes, some have 60. Some have little angels who listen to everything you say and never talk in class, and some have little shits who try and light things on fire and hit each other or push you. I am lucky enough to have VERY well behaved students (I think because it's a boarding school). There are 24 students in each of my classes (one with 36) which is a perfect amount. Ideal for pair work, group work, lectures and games. They don't get as easily distracted as my one class of 36 students, which is much more challenging, but still manageable.

Orientation is going to tell you this every time you have a question about teaching, It depends. It will seriously become the most irritating thing you hear because all you want is an answer about what you are going to experience, but it is seriously the only way to effectively answer. You will VERY quickly find out how your school operates. I know a lot of teachers are having issues with their naughty kids being very rude and inappropriate, so thinking of some effective disciplinary measures would be good to have if you need them. I haven't had to discipline any of my kids though, since they are all so well behaved. Thai students do talk a lot in class, but it's not rude like it would be in America…they just talk a lot. And cheating is a big thing in Thailand too that's not really punished in anyway…you basically just learn how different the school system is than America and learn to adapt very quickly.  But no matter how awful the students can potentially be IN class, outside of class they LOVE you. The amount of respect and excitement they get when you walk by them and they yell, "HI TEACHA" can seriously make any awful class or day you might be having, into a good one. They will listen to you and respect you, even if you have to punish them if they are really bad. But those smiles and waves everywhere you go will make your heart melt. I don't even want to be a teacher in the future and it's making me very attached!

So in conclusion...
The best advice I can give you is to not have set expectations about this trip. My best experiences so far have been the spontaneous things I said "yes" to and never thought I would have the balls to do in my regular life in the states. Playing volleyball with a bunch of 17 year old lady boys who far surpassed my skills? Sure! Renting motorbikes to find an elusive waterfall that took up 2+ hours to find? Yup! Trekking through the scratchy and buggy forest to find a giant buddha cave? Of course.

All I know is that I am a MUCH stronger women in the short weeks I've been here when it comes to dealing with nearly everything: bugs, anxiety, problems, the heat, transportation, language barriers, food…damn near everything. You really learn, as much as I wanted to deny it, that there is nothing to worry about. The culture really starts to infuse your thinking, and you develop a much more casual, laid back attitude about everything. Really nice to learn because I was SUPER uptight when I got here.

I personally never thought I would be strong enough to do something like this, but seeing myself 7 weeks into this makes me so proud of myself. I definitely recommend this to anyone, for me it is a journey to see what I am capable and push my comfort zone, for some it is an excuse to party in Thailand and teach periodically, and for others it's a transition into full time teaching. So whatever this experience is for you, it will be a good one you won't regret.

If anyone has any questions about Teaching Abroad in Thailand or wants to ask me questions feel free to email me: amyskinner05@gmail.com

Love and light to you all! -Amy

Day 39 // A little less Hot, Humid, and Homesick

More than a month has passed since I left for Bangkok. It's hard to believe I've been teaching for four weeks. It feels like just yesterday I was curled up in a ball on my bed crying about how hard this all is.

But it's not really hard anymore. The storm has settled and things are proving to be more comfortable. 

It's still really freaking hot, but a tad cooler than the week I arrived. 90 degrees now feels like acceptable weather, since it's a cool relief in comparison to the 100+ and NO A/C ANYWHERE from the first couple weeks. I now know how much water to drink so I don't want to kill myself in the sticky, stagnate classrooms. And I've found a new community of people in Chiang Rai to spend time with.

Local Love
We explored Chiang Rai last weekend since our plans to go to Chiang Mai failed when we didn't buy our bus tickets soon enough. Friday night Rachael and I sought out a restaurant, Lung Eed, that apparently has the best Lop Gai (minced chicken) in the north. Halfway in to our meal, and older man came and chatted with us in broken English. The casual conversation turned into him grabbing a chair and sitting down, and he ordered another beer for us. Not a few moments later he grabbed my arm and told me "You remind me of my daughters!" And insisted that he buy our meal. We tried to politely tell him no, but he made sure he paid. He slammed down a shot of whiskey, walked away slightly toasted, and got in his car after saying goodbye multiple times. It was a moment of pure generosity and kindness, and we got a free meal out of it!

After we ate we wanted to find the Clock Tower and began walking. Our new friend from the restaurant drove past us and honked, then turned around and opened the doors to his car. We caught a ride to the Clock Tower and he let us out, calling us daughters again. Rachael and I found a bar that had a happy hour, but the two beautiful bartenders had no idea how to make anything. Definitely was looking more and more like one of those bars... This didn't stop Rachael and she actually went behind the bar with the short Thai ladies to grab the bottles from the back and show them how to make a Long Island Iced Tea. We enjoyed a few drinks and chatted with the bartenders, and they explained that they have only been working for a couple weeks. Of course...that's why they don't know what a Rum & Coke is...

We walked a few feet to the Peace Bar where we enjoyed live music and the company of other expats who all spoke English. I grabbed the number of the guitar player in hopes to sing with their band in the coming weeks. All of us drank beer in the rasta themed bar and exchanged stories of teaching and advice on traveling. Midnight crept upon us and the bar needed to close. The taxi company wouldn't send a car our way and a local older man, Add, offered to drive us home. He had been playing his guitar the whole night with such dedication he would up breaking a string. He grabbed his wounded guitar and took us home. The amount of love and gratitude the Thai's give is outstanding.

Feeling at home
The school is beginning to feel like a part of me as the days go by. On Wednesday night we walked around campus and ran into all of the students making these beautiful creations out of plants and flowers. They smiled and waved to us as we walked by, and explained they were making offerings to the teachers for tomorrow. Thursday was a teacher appreciation ceremony in which the students offer these beautiful flower creations to the teachers as a thank you and a representation of their knowledge and time in school.

Spending just an hour or so walking around and having them smile for my photos yelling HI TEACHA was one of the most gratifying moments I've had here. It feels so special to be a part of their lives.

Made from individual rose petals.

Dying the flowers.

A "snake"

Day 32 // First Crash and Burn

I now have a class under my belt that went absolutely terrible. 

I teach a total of 16 classes: 4 different classes of M2's (7th grade), 4 M3's (8th grade), 6 M4's (9th grade), and one group of gifted M1's (6th grade) that I meet with twice a week. All of my classes have 24 students, which is a perfect amount and totally manageable, except my M1 Gifted class which has 36. Adding 12 preteens to the mixture ensues some rowdiness, but they are the "gifted" students who show proficiency in English. One of the students is able to have fluent conversations with me and I have to ask him to not answer all of my questions to make sure the rest of class gets a chance.

So class yesterday...

Since I meet with the Gifted M1's twice a week, I have to think of an additional lesson plan for the second class. We worked on interview questions last time where I had them ask their friends a series of questions; find someone who has been to Pattaya, find someone who likes pad thai, find someone who has touched snow. I asked them to write the question down (Have you been to Pattaya?) and find someone who has and write the answer (Yes, Amy has been to Pattaya). Seems simple for a group of students very skilled in English.

Uhhhh, I'm out of paper

I met with these students at the last period of the day, and was informed that about 10 new students were added to bump up the total number to 36. I checked my folder before class and I only had 10 additional worksheets to pass out for this "Interview Your Friends" lesson. In the office, we have no new paper (just scraps and already used) and I don't print out any extras, hopeful that the 26 sheets I passed out will all be in their possession, leaving a perfect 10 for the new students. I get to class and there are only a handful of kids sitting down, and naturally none of them have the worksheet. So once the class fills up, there are probably about 10 of them who don't have the worksheet, and I try to explain that I want those who don't have one to write down the questions on a piece of blank paper. Well some don't have any paper AT ALL and they say "Teacha! Need paper! No fair!" because they didn't get a printed worksheet like everyone else. I tried to blame the ridiculous thunderstorm that happened an hour previous to why I didn't have enough to hand out, but they really didn't understand. I put a power point up of the questions and told the kids to stand up and start asking each other questions and writing down the answers. Okay kids stand up! ::nothing:: STAND UP! ::adding hand gestures to stand up:: STUDENTS STAND UP PLEASE ::blank stares:: Thank god Poo (the very skilled English speaker) translated for me, THEN everybody stood up, still with puzzled faces.

From then on it was chaos. 36 students were running around, hitting each other, sitting in the back eating fruit not doing any of the work, or were just completely confused on what to do. 

My voice was completely lost over the sound of a million preteens buzzing around each other. It was pure chaos for about 40 minutes before I decided to pull the plug. I wanted to collect what they had to assess how skilled they were at this assignment, so I asked the class to turn in what they had even if it isn't done. They don't understand this and don't want to turn in a half completed worksheet and look so upset when I take it from them. I try and tell them it's okay and I'm not grading it but they still are sad and distraught. I had ten minutes left but didn't even bother trying to fill it. OK CLASS, I screamed. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK. They all yelled bye and ran out of class. I walked back to the office and all I could do was smile and laugh to myself.  It was a complete shit show, but I got my first disaster out of the way, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined. Plus the kids didn't even realize how terrible it was, they just tried to follow along or didn't even care.

Yet another lesson here of going with the flow.

It doesn't matter if your class was a total flop and nothing went the way you planned, and kids just messed around for half an hour because it just is what it is. Everything is okay, and I'm learning that loss of control isn't the worst thing in the world. The day ended just like any other and I had an entertaining experience to laugh at.

Day 30 // An Update on Teaching

It's become very apparent that most of my posts are about three things,

1. Me complaining
2. My infrequent and brief moments of insight and clarity
3. Fun adventures around Thailand

My coverage on teaching (the actual reason I am in Thailand) is lacking sufficiently. 

A day in the life of a (very) novice teacher

I am on day 12 of teaching, and I seem to really enjoy counting days while in Thailand. Every class I've experienced has been overall pretty productive. 

I get to school every day at 7:45, and teach 3-4 classes a day, except Friday where I only teach one (thank the heavens). 4 hours of wrangling pre-teens and teenagers attention is overwhelmingly exhausting. The only thing I can compare it to is a 12+ hour shift working in the food service industry, but in a fraction of the time. 

I leave school every day around 4:30pm, unless a monsoon traps us in the building for an extra hour, and collapse in my bed when I get home. The A/C is blasting and I try to just relax. Interestingly enough, I spend a majority of my day sitting at my desk playing on my computer, writing blog posts, or editing photos, but I am still so tired after all of it. I normally fall asleep at 8 or 9pm, once my room is chilly enough for me to wrap myself in a blanket, and wake up again at 6:45am the next day to do it all over again. 

Getting in the swing of things

Comparing my attitude from the first week to this week I've noticed a significant shift. Already my anxiety has diffused towards my lesson planning. Thailand is so different than America because these students honor and respect you no matter what. Not using this to justify not teaching well, but the students will listen to you and respect your "lesson plan" even if you just play games with them for 50 minutes. I have started to understand the Teacher Talking Time ratio, and how blissful it is to have the students propel their learning on their own. This week I have been using an adjective crossword puzzle for the students to complete in pairs, and the team to finish correctly first gets a prize (candy). It makes them work together and talk in English to find out what adjectives would fit appropriately in certain sentences. This proved to be a very successful game, and helped them apply adjective use to sentences and context more than just pointing to something "tall" or "green."It also gave me a break for most of the class to not be talking at them the whole time. 

A day at a time

Overall, every day keeps getting better. Occasionally I'll have a day where I get way too hot and that results in me getting very cranky and tired, and I'll sleep for 14 hours. But I'm thankful for the A/C in my room and occasionally in the English department to cool me down. I've given up on looking polished and poised with sweat constantly pouring down my face and neck, small steps in acceptance. I'm thankful that my students are ANGELS compared to some of the horror stories I've heard, and they intently listen to me. I'm thankful my department is very on top of their duties and do a (fairly) good job of telling me about things before hand. All in all, I am very blessed at the school I am at, and I just need to remind myself of that when I'm feeling down. Everything here in Thailand is slowly teaching me a lesson I needed to learn.