Today is Tuesday. Tuesday is always one of my favorite days. Either my alarm or the roosters will wake me up sometime soon after 7 and I'll lay in bed for a couple minutes before taking my daily shower and then simultaneously getting dressed, sweeping, combing my hair, and spraying air freshener. It was a beautiful day this morning so I had a great drive to school. I stopped for gas because my light was blinking and it only cost $4 to fill my tank. I love getting gas here because its so ridiculously cheap! I was dying of thirst this morning and I was out of water at home so I stopped by the 7/11 on the way to school and got two giant bottles of water. I didn't go to morning assembly like I usually do because I really wanted to start on that water! So I went to my first classroom, P2, and guzzled like never before. This brings me to one reason I love Tuesday: P2 is first.
They are my worst class. I can never control them, no matter how calm I try to stay. All the boys on the left are smart, but they don't pay attention, so it doesn't matter. The girls on the left are smart AND they pay attention so that's great. But the mix in the middle don't pay attention and they aren't that smart. So teaching to them is like teaching to a bunch of cats that are just sitting there licking themselves while you talk. That class is frustration city. But on Tuesdays, they get done first and I don't have to worry about them for the whole rest of the day!
After them I had my P1's, which I love to death. My favorite little girl Lana is in that class and she's brilliant and has excellent handwriting and she's adorable. She's the whole package to a teacher. I love having them before lunch because its always nice to go to lunch on a great note while you're in a good mood. It makes me think much more clearly than if I had P2 before lunch.
This isn't specific to Tuesday, but I bough Ego waffles and I Can't Believe Its Not Butter butter and Log Cabin syrup last night and I downed 6 of those bad boys for lunch today and it was AMAZING! Of course I have to be very careful with syrup because its like the opposite of ant repellant. I have to keep it in the fridge, which I hate.
I had something really exciting to say now, but it just randomly escaped my mind. Its starting to drive me crazy. I'll just tell you it when I think of it.
So in a few minutes I'll go back to school and teach P3 and P4. I like having those guys both in the afternoon because I can talk smart to them and they kind of understand it. Also, they know not to speak to me in Thai, which the other younger classes do not know. I brought candy for them today in hopes that something other than my voice could possibly keep them quiet while I try to teach. My favorite boy, Nut, is in my P3 class and he's like the boy version of Lana.
My Thai teacher, Bim, told me that school would be closed on Thursday and Friday this week. That's great for my brain, but bad for my wallet. I don't get paid if I don't teach so holidays have pros and cons. Luckily, I will get paid this weekend so that's a pro. This weekend I need to find a new place to live because my rent is up on the 24th. My landlord told me I could only stay to the beginning of December because other people made reservations on this specific bungalow. Which is weird because its not that great of a bungalow. But hopefully I can find something good in this area.
I remembered what I was going to say!! It's not that exciting though. I have begun the second stage of culture shock: homesickness. I've started to miss my family and things about my home country a lot. I'm starting to reject Thai food and buy more and more western food when I go out, which is almost never. I feel like all Thai stuff is stupid and I don't like it. And I've been dreaming about home a lot. But it's exciting because it's started two weeks into my placement! And I thought the first stage would last much longer. So I'm happy that I've started the second stage, but its not a fun stage to be in.
Don't worry, this is what's suppose to happen. It'll fade and I'll move on to the third stage which I can't remember what it is right now, but its better than this one. Prayers would be appreciated but worry is not necessary. It's all part of the shock.
