Skatbos in Thailand

English camp

We are officially done with our contract in Thailand.  We just returned from English camp and had a great time.  We went with 24 students and about 8 other teachers to a resort in the wilderness.  The foreign teachers (us) were in charge of the activities.  We played games, sang songs, and watched video clips in English.  The food was amazing, the kids were a lot of fun, and it was so great to be out of the city.

Rafting with the kids.

We went white water rafting with the kids.  That was interesting because all the instructions were given in Thai and we just had to figure it out.  During the first swell of rapids our instructor fell out of the boat and was pretty

River swim

much under the raft all the way through it.  He was okay but all the girls were screaming and then laughing.  We stopped part way through the trip to swim in the river.  It was fun getting pictures with the kids and just getting to be ourselves, not the mean, strict, cruel teachers we usually are.

We took a hike to nearby waterfalls and had more photo ops.

Dinner with our teacher friends.

The biggest “problem” had to do with a fairly large lizard that appeared in our room.  It ran across the wall while we were watching TV after the activities had ended for the day.  We looked at each other like, “Ummm….I’m not sure if that’s okay or not!”  We asked one of the Thai teachers and she said it was a gecko and that it wouldn’t hurt us.  We decided we would just leave it alone and it wouldn’t bother us.  About 4 minutes later there was a knock on the door and two of our Thai teacher friends were there with mops and sticks to try to get it out of the room.  We were informed that yes, they do bite.  I stood on the bed and watched these grown, barefoot, men chase the lizard out the back door.  We all slept comfortably and had no more reptile problems.

We spent our last night in Krathumbaen celebrating the retirement of 2 of the school’s janitors.  It was a nice way to finish up our stint as English teachers and say goodbye to the staff at Wiset school.  We are definitley going to miss some of our coworkers and new friends we have met.  We were bummed that it wasn’t until English camp that we really had the opportunity to get to know these people better.

We are feeling a mix of emotions as we finish packing up to start our SE Asia travels.  We bought our tickets and will be back in Chicago on November 3rd.

We have been done teaching English for a week now.  After we finished classes last Friday and got our grades and lesson plans turned in, we left for a few days of fun.  Our first stop was Bangkok to see some of our friends for the last time and pick up our TESOL certificates.  Our mood was a little different this weekend.  It was odd to say goodbye to friends and not know if we will see them again.  Some are staying to teach and others are heading home, like us.  Everyone has a break and is starting their travels.  We said to some, “maybe we can meet up in Laos” and “We’ll be around until the end of October.”  I think we all knew that there is a slim chance we’ll all be in the same place, at the same time again.  Tim and I are also pretty done with Bangkok. There is so much to see and do but nights in cheap guesthouses on Khao San Road has its limits.

We enjoyed the little luxuries of Khao San Road one last time.  We both got 60 minute Thai massages for 200 baht ($6).  Thai massage is different than our traditional massages.  They push on pressure points instead of rubbing muscles and do a lot of bending and stretching joints and muscles.  I WAS IN HEAVEN!  Tim describes his experience like this, “My massage was a metaphor for my entire experience in Thailand, extremely painful but worth it!”  Miraculously we woke up the next day and had no muscle pain at all.

Sitting on a curb, eating a wine and cheese dinner.

Sunday we left for Koh Samet.  This island is pretty close to Bangkok and is a weekend getaway spot for the locals.  Luckily, we were there during the week.  It was really nice to be on vacation with Thai people rather than the overly westernized touristy spots we have also encountered.  While waiting for the fairy to take us to the island we found a little shop with boxed red wine and Gouda cheese, so that was our dinner.

Beach restaurant

During our 4 days on Koh Samet we layed on the beach, ate seafood bbq, slept in, watched international TV (little luxuries), and watched fireshows at night.  It was pretty rainy some days but that reduced the guilt we felt for

Dinner date on the beach!

sleeping in and watching TV on an island in the gulf of Thailand.
Thursday we started our trip back to Krathumbaen.  We have English camp from Monday to Wednesday and then our contract is officially done.  We are leaving for Cambodia the following day, October 1.  We are now working on packing everything we need/want back into our backpacks.  We will officially be homeless starting Oct 1.  It’s hard to believe that a year ago we were starting to research opportunities abroad and now we are in our final weeks in Asia.

Bungalows, they look like houses for the 7 dwarves.

Everyone told us that when you travel/live abroad you gain more than you give.  I couldn’t agree more!  Living in Krathumbaen, Tim and I have a lot of time together…a lot!  Living in a 1 room apartment with no TV and one miniature computer has taught us about sharing, respecting each others space, and learning to just sit quietly.  It sounds silly but is harder than you might think.  Here are a few things we’ve come to realize or understand better.

1.  It’s good to learn to sit quietly and not constantly be entertained.  TVs, iphones, mobile phones, computers, video games,  consume so much time.  We have both read so much this summer that our reading speed has increased significantly.

2. We have had hours/days/weeks to talk about dreams, goals and plans.  Turning off the world helps you connect to those you love.

3.  Tim has learned a lot about photography, both the technical and artistic aspects to his favorite new hobby.

4. I have started to learn to relax.  I tend to create work for myself and have a hard time just sitting and relaxing.  Notice I say that I have “started” to learn…..there’s always room for improvement.

5. The Thai language may seem impossible at first but learning a few words and how to pronounce your favorite dishes make life so much easier.

6. We have to many rules/laws/policies in the USA.  We need to relax a little and stop worrying about everything, having insurance for every possible situation, stop thinking that we are going to get every possible foreign bug/illness, etc.  Trust in God a little bit, give up some control!

7.  Thailand needs more rules/laws/policies, especially in regard to noise pollution, air pollution, and how their education system is set up.

8. It’s really good to practice living simply.  Get rid of clutter and all the excess in life.  It helps you realize how little you actually need and what is truly important in life, people!  It seems scary at first but you really can survive with a backpack of stuff, a few baht in your pocket, and your best friend.

9. Being married to your best friend is AWESOME!  (Okay, we already knew this one, but it has been reinforced.)We have had so much fun together and given each other so much crap.

10.  It’s okay not to love ever experience, you are still learning something and only God knows how he will use it in your life!

11.  Working in a tropical climate without AC/fans and having to wear dress clothes and be a role model is challenging.  It is totally doable and you won’t die of a heat related death.  Your body somehow adapts and we are both realizing that winter temps back home are going to be harder to tolerate than usual.

12.  Hold on to impossible dreams!  It’s okay to be totally freaked out, but try it anyways.  You may regret not trying it for the rest of your life!

Here endeth the lesson!

The Foreign English teachers at Wiset School (Charlowe, Tim, Meghan)

While everyone back home is winding up for the start of the school year, we are finishing up our semester.  It’s hard to believe that we only have 5 days left of teaching.  Tim and I will see each class one last time this week.  Last week we gave verbal and written finals to the students.  My 7th graders had to write the 12 months and answer the question, “What is the date today?” verbally.  Tim’s 9th and 10th graders along with my 12th graders had to introduce themselves, verbally, by telling us where they were from, who their hero was and why, what jobs they want when done with school and why, etc.  Some classes did really well…..others….well we felt like we had just wasted 17 weeks of class.

Tim got a surprise from one of the school administrators.  She come into one of Tim’s classes as he was verbally testing the kids.  Her jaw dropped when she heard the students introducing themselves in English.  That made our week.

This week we have to start planning for our 3 day English camp, which is  at the end of September.  We also have to get our final grades in by the end of the week.  We are officially retiring as English teachers on Friday.  It has been a rough ride but we are going to miss a lot of the kids.  Since we will be done teaching we will spend the next 6 weeks or so traveling.

Here is our rough itinerary:

9/19-9/20 – BANGKOK – ATI reunion this weekend.  The group we started with in Phuket will meet to receive our TESOL certificates and spend what will probably be our last weekend together as a group.

9/20-??? – KO CHANG – Yes we’re going to check out another island.

9/28-9/30 – ENGLISH CAMP – This is the last event we are committed to with our school.  It should be great, all students who actually want to learn English and our favorite teacher friends from school.

10/1  – Move out of our apartment in Krathumbaen.

10/2 – ???  Traveling through Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos!  Can’t wait!

10/9-10/20 – Our siblings and friend are in Thailand (Liz, Peter, Josh and Jed).  We will see more of Thailand with them.

10/21-????  Last few days/weeks abroad.  Not sure at this point but probably more island time before heading home to the start of a Midwestern winter.

It has been an amazing summer….sometimes we don’t even believe it!

Feeding the elephant sugar cane.

The Skattums recently made the trip to Thailand.  Jeanne and Paul Skattum are VERY adventurous people.  They did it all; shows, culture, history, planes, trains, tuk-tuks, elephant rides through the jungle, petting grown tigers, river rafting in a monsoon, staying in a bungalow that floated on the river.  They did it all!

We had a great time visiting some historic ruins and relaxing on the beach together.

Our first weekend together, we took the

Waiting for the train.

train from Bangkok to Ayuthaya.  I had heard that you could take a night cruise to see all the ruins lit up and I was determined that that is what we would do.  It wasn’t until later that I realized most people walk/bike

Night river cruise in Ayuthaya.

around to see them at night.  After dealing with the frustrations of language barriers we paid for our night cruise and waited for our cruising vessel to arrive.  Our “cruise” was actually someone’s little fishing boat.  I don’t think they usually do night cruises, but they were willing to make some $ and take us foreigners to see the sites.  It was

Ruins in Ayuthaya...so beautiful.

GREAT!  The ruins are absolutely beautiful and it was so nice to be on the river.  Later, police on shore started blowing their whistles and hollering things at us.  We attempted to ask our “captain” if they were whistling at us.  She just laughed and shook her head.  Again, I don’t think night cruises are a typical tourist attraction.  We got a special experience.

Papa Skats and Jeanne Kay

Sunday we took a tuk-tuk to a number of the ancient ruins.  We were able to actually walk in/on/through a lot of the ruins.  We even got to walk down into a secret tomb that was discovered in the 1950’s, VERY COOL!  Ayutthia is a

Paul and Megs in the secret tomb room.

very peaceful place with lots to see.  Tourism is down which made it even better for us!  Sunday we left the Skattums to adventure on their own.

Tim and Dad Skattum

Nothing says tropical vacation like coconuts on the beach!

Last weekend they came to visit our town/school and see what we’ve been doing for the past few months.  Friday afternoon we took off for a little island called Koh Samui!  YES, back to the beach…never gets old!

Beach stroll....I think they will hate that I posted this picture.

It was great to have a few days to just relax.  We played cards, took a midnight swim in the pool, managed to get sunburned through the clouds (that always tricks us).  It was a really nice time!

It has been great sharing our adventures with our families.  We are really grateful that both sets of parents came to visit.  In October the siblings + Jed arrive…holla!  Mom and Dad you guys need to travel more…you’re really good at it.

ONE MORE…..LOVE IT!

Tim and Papa Skats

Tim teaching Dad how to use his new camera.  Look at that focus and determination!!!

We had a HUGE roach in our apartment tonight.  It was on our table…..just looking at me….wiggling those stupid antennae horns.  Now, I killed it….oh yes I did….I won!  We both chased it around but I got the deadly shot and took it!

Spiders I can handle….roaches…..blah!

We also have a gecko that lives in our apartment….she/he can stay!

Tim, Meg, Cho, Pranee

Last week our Thai English teaching friends (Cho and Pranee) took us to a local floating market.  People are cooking in their boats on the water and you just let them know what you want to eat.

River cruisin

Cho and Pranee have been a BIG help adjusting to Thailand.  They help us out a lot and we were really glad to spend a Saturday evening with them.  They also made it SO easy to get around.  They translated and taught us more about Thai culture.

Meghan and Pranee (I'm enormous next to her.)

Samut Songkhram is the area we were in and it is known for its huge coconuts, salt fields and fireflies.  We took a boat ride so we could see the fireflies and get a view of the market from the water.

Tim and Cho

FUN FACT: Did you know that we get sea salt from fields?  They bring sea water into fields and let it evaporate.  The salt is then collected, packaged, and sold.  Now you know!

Coconuts for sale!

We tried new foods, drank coconut water right from the coconut, and learned a little more about the area we currently call home.

I waited in a line of children for this picture.

During a day off in August, we (the 3 native speaking English teachers Tim, Charlowe, and I) decided to explore our own province.  We went to the local croc farm.  Although the crocodiles were pretty exciting, the elephant show was the main attraction of the day.

We spent the morning watching the crocodiles (ages 2-70 years) bask in the sun, disappear into the ponds, and we fed them raw chicken pieces.  There was a crocodile show that had guys putting body parts into the open mouths of the scary beasts.  It was actually pretty hard to watch.  I thought, “I bet they have done this 1,000 times, but the one time I

WHY......dear lord......please stop...seriously!

watch, someone will lose a limb.”  Nobody got hurt, but I did overt my eyes like I was watching a scary movie.  (Some of you may know that I HATE scary movies and am usually running from the TV or hiding under anything I can find.)

Meghan's celebrity moment.

The funniest part of the day actually occurred while wandering between attractions.  You see, there aren’t many “whities” in our province.  You may remember me mentioning that we are

Feeding chicken chunks to the crocs.

constantly stared at, well this went beyond stares.  Tim and I took about 100 photos with complete strangers that day.  Groups of Thai people would run up to us and wrap their arms around us, while a friend got pictures.  Then another group would see the first group getting their pictures taken and would run over to have their photos with the foreigners.  We actually had to just walk away a few times because they wouldn’t stop.  We’d find another location to relax and they would find us again.  We laughed pretty hard!

The elephant show was AMAZING!  I used to want to be a

Sitting pretty!

dolphin trainer when I was a kid…..screw the dolphins, elephants are the best!  These giant cuties were so amazing.  They dance, play soccer, run relays, and always leave the stage in line holding each others tails with their trunks.   I’m not sure how such giant animals can make you melt just like a kitten or puppy does.  There isn’t much else to say, the pictures prove my point!

Bet you can't do this!

Charlowe and Meghan

Tim and Megs making a new friend.

Leech socks on, ready to trek!

A few weeks ago we had another AMAZING adventure.  We took a bus with 5 of our friends to Pak Chong.  This town seems to have little to offer, but close by is the Khao Yai National Park.  It has been listed as one of the best parks in the world.  It covers 2168 sq km and is covered in jungle.
We stayed at a guesthouse that offers Jungle Trek day trips into the park.  We signed up and were up and ready at 7:15am on a Saturday!  Now in Thailand we always were sandals and we didn’t realize that we needed shoes for our hike.  SO, we had to pick through a pile of old shoes, left by other tourists, to find appropriate footwear.  Now I wear a size 10 womens shoe…..nobody in Asia has feet as big as me.  I ended up with a size 7.5 shoe, pretty funny!

Jungle fun with friends (Sally, Nadia, Andy, Amy, Meg)

When we first arrived in the park we stopped and were given leech socks.  It is the rainy season in Thailand and leeches are waiting on every leaf to find a body to cling to.  Adding even very thin socks to my already tight shoes made things a little more challenging, but better to have cramped toes than leeches!

After we were appropriately dressed for the jungle we jumped back in the trucks and headed further into the park.  It wasn’t far until the truck stopped and we were told to “GET OUT.”  Across the road was a wild elephant slowly making his way through the tall grass.  We were all so excited and

Meg with a machete and hat made of jungle foliage....scary huh?!?!?

we weren’t even in the jungle yet!

When we finally got to the jungle we realized this wasn’t your typical tourist hike.  Our guide has a machete and we started hacking our way through the jungle!  Within the first 30

Python, our first find of the day.

minutes we found an enormous Python, tons of monkeys, gibbons, a hornbill and a monitor lizard.  The monkeys were very curious about us and made a lot of noise.  The guide told us that the monkeys were nervous because of the python.

Hornbill, beautiful and a lot bigger than I thought.

We trekked through mud pits and ducked under vines and jungle brush.  Our guide was some kind of Tarzan, Eagle Scout, GI Joe combination.  We could barely keep up with him and he would stop suddenly, listen to the jungle sounds, and start chopping through the jungle brush with his machete.

Enormous insect about to be placed on my NECK!

At one point he found a HUGE millipede and picked it up.  He kept making people hold in and eventually it got to me.  I let it crawl on my hand thinking to myself, “I’m pretty sure these are poisonous.”  Before I knew it

Tim attempting a balancing act over an elephant mud pit!

the guide had taken it off my hand and put it on the back of my neck.  I squatted down and just kept saying, “Take it off, take it off, take it off….PLEASE take it off.”  Then Tim chimed in, “TAKE IT OFF HER!”  He finally took it off.  Nobody got hurt, he was really messing with us and he LOVED IT!

Checking for mites.

A little while later he found a hole in the dirt.  He got a stick and started poking it in the hole that could have fit a snake.  Then he pulled out a HUGE scorpion and just picked in up by the tail.  He tried to put it on everybody and definitely got cussed at.  Quite a few people held the scary monster but nobody got hurt and we put it safely back in the scorpion lair.

Leonardo's waterfall

We saw cinnamon trees, ate cinnamon fruit, and hiked to a viewing tower for lunch.  After lunch we were back in the trucks.  Our next stop was the Haew Suwat waterfall.  If you have seen the movie “The Beach” this is the

Tim's pic of the falls...he's good!

waterfall that Leonardo DiCaprio jumps off.  We thought the day couldn’t get better, but the jungle is full of surprises!

Our guide told us that someone had spotted a wild elephant and her baby.

Tourists disturbing and elephant family outing.

We sped through the park and stopped when we found 13 wild elephants on the road!  We kept our distance and one of the females kept walking toward the trucks as if to say, “we are trying to enjoy a family outing,

AMAZING!

please leave us alone!”  After a few minutes of watching them in awe, we left to watch the sunset over the mountains and returned to our guesthouse thrilled but exhausted!

Megs and Tim

The photographer, dreaming he is actually on a National Geographic assignment.

Some of the teachers at Wiset School. Recognize anyone?

Last Wednesday, August 12, was the Queen of Thailand’s birthday and Mother’s Day in Thailand.  We had Wednesday off so Tuesday was the day we celebrated at school.  The morning was filled with songs about Mom,

Students offer flowers to their Moms.

traditional Thai dance in honor of Queen Sirikit, and our students performing.  Tim and I were invited to participate in the ceremony.  We attempted to just follow along as we stood with the other teachers, in front of the Queen’s photo.  I think we did okay, except when Tim curtsied instead of bowed because he was just following along and happened to be surrounded by females.  The students got a kick out of it though.  It was a blisteringly hot day, but as teachers we got to sit under a shaded tent and sip iced coffee, served by the students.

Hugs and tears say "I love you Mom!"

The best student in each grade brought their Mothers to school with them and there was a special part in the ceremony where they thanked them, offered them flowers, bowed at their feet, and gave them hugs.  It was an emotional ceremony and lots of the students were in tears.

The Book, birthday wishes for Queen Sirikit.

We were also asked to sign a book that will be presented to the Queen.  We were coached through it all and told to write “Long live the Queen” as we took our turn.  We were the first foreign teachers at our school to ever take part in the book signing.  We felt kinda special, but we are a pretty big deal around here.
It was fun to be a part of more Thai traditions, see our students perform, and have morning classes canceled.  All good things!

Here is a video of one of the students singing.  Check out the little dancer in the beginning.  SO CUTE! (Not great quality but you can see the band in the background and kind of hear her singing.)