Day 19 - 23 Teaching

Well I can officially say that I am a TESOL certified teacher. After completing the classroom work the last two weeks the group was able to go into two different Thai schools to teach. On Monday and Tuesday we were at a primary school and taught students between the ages of 10 - 12 years old. These two days went pretty well, but the English level of the students was very low. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were at a secondary school where the students ranged from 14 - 18 years old. This group of students did well with their English. It was a lot of fun helping them expand their vocabulary and teach them to speak proper English!



On Friday night the TESOL program threw us a party at the hotel where we dressed in traditional Thai clothing, enjoyed a wonderful Thai meal, watched 5 Thai women perform traditional dances, and sang Karaoke! It was a nice way to wrap up the course and start saying goodbye to the friends we've made over the past couple weeks!






As I reflect over the past couple weeks I feel like I have been on one of my J-term college trips again, because you are in unfamiliar lands with people you don't really know to share in an awesome experience. I can't believe that the lasting friendships that have been established and the special memories that I have been able to share with these people. I have also been thoroughly impressed with the ATI course. I left the US wondering if it was all a scam and was blessed to be in such a great program with great teachers and good contact people in Thailand. If anyone wants more information about this teaching program please let me know!

*****http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/GoingAwayDinnerInChiangMai?authkey=4kpSQvUgirI#

*****http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/ThailandSchools?authkey=7R5LUewu5QY#

Day 22 - Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY! I am thankful for all you! I just enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at an American restaurant with some friends. It wasn't quite like home but really pretty good! Have a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends! LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Day 22 - State of Emergency in Thailand

I hate to bring up anything not cheerful on Thanksgiving, but I have already gotten emails from people about the state of emergency that has been declared in Thailand today. Currently there are protest groups trying to overturn the Prime Minister of the country and they have taken the two airports in Bangkok under seige. There have been bombings and shootings over the past couple days/weeks in Bangkok and 3 people were killed at a protest in Chiang Mai last night. Right now they are just advising us to travel in groups and to stay away from protest areas in the city but demonstrators are not targeting Westerners. (this is a National affair not an international affair)

I was suppose to fly to Bangkok on Sunday night to start teaching on Tuesday (which I will post more about later), but it looks like I will be taking another mode of transportation. I will keep you posted on any new developments (there are articles on foxnews and other sources if you want further information).

Thank you for the concerned emails but I am safe. I am praying that they will reach a peace agreement soon and also praying for the people of India and the families of those who lost loved ones!

Day 16 & 17 - Trekking

Since we went to class 6 out of the 7 days last week they gave us a 3 day weekend so my friends Julia and Ben Francavilla and Matt signed up to do a two day trek into the national parks close to the Burma boarder.

DAY 1: On Friday morning our guide picked us up at the resort at 8:30 a.m. for our trek. We met another guy from Ireland downtown (it was a great, small group to travel with) and off we went in our Song Tauw (which was an adventure in itself on the roads of Thailand) about an hour North of Chiang Mai to a market where the guide purchased food for the next 4 meals. It was nice to get out of the city to see some of the countryside and smaller villages. Then we headed into the northern part of Doi Suthep National Park where we hiked to Mork Fa Waterfall (pic 1). This waterfall was twice the size of the falls we saw last weekend. From there we headed further North through the foothills and mountains of Doi Huay Nam Dang National park to a hot springs (yes a very "hot" spring) where we ate lunch and soaked in the warm pools of water (pic 2). It was actually very enjoyable, because Friday was not as hot outside (low 80's). After our skin was red and our hands pruned we got our gear ready for the 3 hour trek into the mountains. About a half a mile into the trek was the Pong Dueat Geyser that reminded me of something you would see in Yellowstone (pic 3 didn't think I would see one of them in Thailand!!) The trek continued up and down two parts of the mountain range before we finally arrived in a Karenon village (descendants of the native hill tribes) about 5ish to spend the night in a hut. (pic 4 and 5).

Day 2: The group left the village by 8:30 on Saturday morning and hiked for an hour before we found the river where our elephant trekking began. Here three of us rode on one elephant (no seat belts included) through the river and along the banks for about an hour and half (pic 6). (YAY! I got to ride an elephant!!)

After that we got on a bamboo raft, that our porter had constructed that morning, with all our gear and continued down the river (pic 7). (NOTE: Bamboo rafting is about 15 pieces of long, fresh bamboo pieces tied together that the whole group stands on down the river. The porter and guide use Bamboo sticks as oars and when you go through the rapids the group balances the weight of the raft with their feet. However, through the bigger rapids the guide will yell for everyone to get down and everyone just holds on for dear life.) There were 5 other groups bamboo rafting with us that morning and we were the only raft that didn't tip through the rapids. We came very, very close because at one point we were all leaning with half our bodies and gear soaked in the river but luckily we managed to save the raft. After our 2 hour rafting adventure we stopped for lunch and headed back down to Chiang Mai (pic 8 workers in the rice fields on the way home). We had a blast on our trek!

*** See more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/2DayTrekInDoiHuayNamDang?authkey=yVNlHWGH_UQ#

****There are many trekking companies in the Chiang Mai area who offer these package deals, so it was hard to know what company to go with. However, Matt had read about the Eagle's Nest in one of his guide books and we were thoroughly impressed with the company that was run by an Irish woman and her Thai husband. We were able to meet our guide the day before we left and felt very comfortable with what they were providing us. The trek included our guide Doh, our porter Song, food, accommodation, pickup/drop off at hotel, and two amazing days. I would recommend this company to anyway traveling in the area. That's my promotion for the week :)

Day 15 - Chiang Mai

Today we got out of class a little early so a couple of us decided to go to the cultural museum and learn more about the Chiang Mai area. I'll give you a few highlights:

• Chiang Mai is over 700 years old and was founded by the Lanna Kingdom (means millions of rice fields)


• Was under rule of numerous kings from 1200 - 1400's and then moved to a location South of the original dwelling closer to the Ping River


• The new city was built in the early 1400's in a square mile parameter with a Moat (a canal that is about 4 feet deep) that runs around the outer edge. The entire kingdom including the temples and palace were built within these boundaries.


• Between the late 1500's and 1800's the city was overtaken by people from Burma and Ayutthaya. The moat area was overrun at this time but Chiang Mai regained power in the early 1800's and the gates around the city were rebuilt.


• The first Westerns arrived in Chiang Mai in the early 1800's and the first Christians formed a church in the mid 1800's


• The postal service and railway came to the area in the early 1920's and during WWII many Thai people in the area were contracted to build roads around the Northern region to open up travel through Asia


• It is now the second largest city in Thailand with over 200,000 people

Chiang Mai is a very "Americanized" city from what I have seen over the past couple weeks. There are ATM's, coffee shops, Internet cafes and 7/11's on every block and you can find any type of food from around the world in the city. Chiang Mai attracts many forangs (Thai word for foreigners) who live here permanently or backpack/vacation through the region. I heard that there are over 5,000 Americans who have retired here permanently and I would expect the number of retired Europeans to be even higher (NOTE: A foreigner is not allowed to own more than 49% of any home or building in Thailand. A Thai person must own 51% of a building so I guess if you want to live here you better know a trustworthy Thai!) This city is one big tourist trap and sometimes I feel like it is a European city, because I see more foreigners than Thai people! Trust me I don't stick out here as much as you may think with blond hair and blue eyes.

The moat area remains intact today with 4 major gates in the North, East, South and West that allow access into this central downtown area (see picture above). Here you will find numerous temples, restaurants, hostels, hotels, bars/entertainment and markets. However, I am staying out West of the moat near the university so we see more of the everyday Thai lifestyle. It has been nice to be outside of the "forang area" and around the students. We can walk out onto Suthep Rd. (which is where our resort is located) and find Thai food and delicacies at the street vendors and great markets with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I have really enjoyed Chiang Mai the last couple weeks. It is a beautiful city with lots of things to do in and around the area. It also has a rich history that the people respect and cherish.

Day 13 - Gettin' around

There are three main ways that a traveler (foreign or not) can get around Chiang Mai: by scooter, Tuk - Tuk, or Song Tauw. It is very common to see 3-4 people (an entire family) on one scooter driving through the busy streets. I have not dared to ride a scooter yet, because they are very dangerous. We have seen numerous accidents in the street. However, they say it is great to rent one for the day to take up into the mountains! A Tuk - Tuk is a small triangular bike that seats about 3-4 people. They are cute and fun to ride in! (see the picture above) But the mode of transportation we normally take is a Song Tauw. It is a pickup truck with a covered back that has two benches for people to sit on. They do not have a bus system in Chiang Mai, because from what we have heard the Song Tauw business is run by the mafia (along with many other things) and they will not allow the city to start a system. It usually cost us each about 20 baht to get from place to place around the city. They do have cars and trucks here, but I would say that they are about 1 in 15 vehicles on the road.

The pollution level here is very high. The first couple days out on the streets I had to cover my mouth and try not to breath in while we were in a vehicle, because they do not have regulations for the emissions. Unfortunately I think I getting use to it and it doesn't bother me as much now.

Day 11 - A Great Day in Chiang Mai

Today I woke up and left the resort with 4 other friends at 6 a.m. to go up the mountain to the Wat Doi Suthep (Wat = Buddhist Temple of Doi Suthep = the mountain range) and watch the sunrise over the mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. From the base of Doi Suthep there are 302 steps up to the temple that is famous for the bells that hang all around and make many sounds depending on the wind movement. This temple overlooks the entire town of Chiang Mai and at night I can see it lite up on the mountain.

We left the temple and made our way further up the mountain into the Doi Suthep National Park and started our approximately 4 mile hike down the mountain. The path (or what path there was) followed nine levels of a waterfall down the mountain, so we would hike, then swim, then play in the waterfalls, and hike some more until we made it down to the lowest level of the waterfall about noon. We were so glad we left that early in the morning, because it was cooler out and we only ran into three people the entire morning!!

After our hike we decided to go to the zoo which is at the base of the mountain. None of us were that overly excited about going to the zoo, but we found that the Chiang Mai zoo was different than most American zoos. First of all the did not have to create the surroundings of the zoo like the trees, the flowers, and the plants, they actually built the zoo into the vegetation of the mountain. Second, they allow you to get right up to most of the animals and feed them or go into exhibits and just have the animals out in the open (this was like birds and smaller creatures), so we ended up having a great time at the zoo.

Next, we went to Wat U Mong (the Temple of the U Mong), which is actually located on the road right past our resort. It was a temple built in the 1200's that means the forest, because they have preserved a lot of the trees, plants, and pond around the premise. This temple was very large compared to most (it was kind of like a small college campus)becuase it had numerous buildings connected by walking paths unlike most others in Chiang Mai that only have one or two buildings. The Buddha's at this temple are found in underground caves. We also went to a lecture put on by one of the monks every Sunday where he talked about the religion and the temple.

We were all pretty tired by the end of today, but we are only in Chiang Mai another 2 weeks so we are trying to do everything we can!

***Check out more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/WatPhrathatDoiSuthepTheZooAndWatUMong?authkey=2_aQ8JV5e4I#

Day 9 - Thai Massage

Today I had my first Thai massage and I all can say was fantastic. It was an hour and a half of pure heaven that cost me 550 baht (about $16). Most of the massage places are only about $6 - 8, but we opted for the royal treatment. I just thought I would share my new found relaxation technique that I am incorporating into morning yoga sessions!

Day 6 - 8 Loy Krathong (Loi Kra - tone)

In Thailand each year they celebrate the Loy Krathong festival on the last full moon night of the 12th lunar month which happens to be November 11 - 13th. It is the Thai way to offer their thanks and offerings to the Mae Khong Ka (or the Mother of Rivers) since they depend on the rivers for survival. The people float these beautiful Krathongs made of fresh flowers, candles, and incense down the river to remove all the bad luck.

I was fortunate to be in Thailand during this 3 day celebration, because it was one of the most spectacular events I have been to in my life. All the houses, shops, restaurants, and hotels decorated with lanterns of all shapes and colors. On the second night I went down to the river with some friends to float my Krathong (see picture). We heard that it was good luck to put a couple baht, a piece of hair, and fingernail clippings into the Krathong for good luck, but I just stuck with the baht!! The smell of incense filled the air along the river filled with thousands of the Krathongs.

The other feature of the festival is not only the lanterns along the buildings and streets, but the hot air lanterns in the sky. These are lanterns that have a kerosene flame like a hot air balloon and when it gets hot enough the people can release them into the sky. When you look up into the sky at any given time during the festival there are hundreds of thousands of red flickering stars in the sky floating off into the mountains. It is truly an indescribable scene. (The video shows some lanterns being released).

Each night of the festival there was a parade that featured floats with men and women in their traditional costumes carrying lanterns. Firecrackers are also a big part of this festival. All firecrackers are legal here, so people are constantly setting them off down by the river on the bridge. You actually have to be carefully because the streets are packed with thousands of people each night (all night) and they don't really care where they throw the firecrackers in the crowd or in the air. This starts at dusk and does not end till about 3 am. Unfortunately, pictures and video won't do this blog justice!

*** Check out more pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/LoyKrathong#

Day 5 - American TESOL Program

Today I started my first class through the American TESOL program (Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages) that is conducted right at the resort where I am staying. There are 27 students in the class from America, Canada, Ireland, Indonesia, India, and the United Kingdom. We all come from such different backgrounds. For example, we have a retired doctor/stockbroker, a former high school principal, a dietitian, teachers and everything in between. Most people range from about 25 - 30 years old, but there a few older people who are taking the course as a fun retirement job! Our teacher, Sangeeta, is from South Africa and has taught this course all over the world.

The class includes 80 hours of classroom work for us and 40 hours of teaching and observation in 2 different schools. We learn different formats and teaching techniques to help prepare us, because we are not allowed to speak Thai to any of the children. From my understanding all the students we will be teaching will have learned the English alphabet and numbers, but that is the basics. This is a very intense 3 week course that includes a lot of lesson planning and homework outside the class, but I am excited to share ideas and practices with all these well educated people.

It is now also required that teachers coming into Thailand have 20 hours of cultural training at the completion of the course. Our TESOL leaders here in Chiang Mai will go through that will us on November 29th and 30th.

Day 4 - I am in Thailand!

I arrived in Chiang Mai about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning safe and sound AND with both my pieces of luggage!! Like I had mentioned before I will be staying at the Sinthana Resort for the next month, but please don't get the impression that I am staying in a "resort type room" because our group is staying in a hostel building that is run by the resort. However, I must say the accommodations are still very nice and the grounds of the resort are beautiful! I also lucked out because I am not on the side of the hostel where the roosters wake everyone up at 4 a.m.!! Here are a few more quick facts:

• I have a roommate from Lincoln, Nebraska, and thankfully she studied in Thailand for 6 months during college so she is helping me learn the Thai language.


• The time zone in Thailand is 13 hours ahead of Underwood/Chicago, so it is pretty easy to convert when I call home.


• It is in the mid 80's degrees during the day and it cools down to the upper 60's at night during this time of year which is the winter season for Thailand. They also have a lot of humidity, so it makes it feel even hotter.


• From what I have seen so far the landscape surrounding Chiang Mai is lush vegetation that extends through the mountainous region in Northern Thailand. I am looking forward to some weekend treks to enjoy the scenery.


• The Thai Currency is the baht and approximately 33 Baht = $1. To give you an example of how cheap this region is I can buy 1 liter of water for 13 baht and I can buy Pat Tai at lunch for about 30 baht.

Day 3 - South Korea

On Saturday I arrived in Seoul, South Korea, where I had a 14 hour layover so I signed up for a 5 hour tour of the city. I boarded a bus along with 15 other tourists from all over the world and we enjoyed the hour drive into Seoul from the airport. We made three stops on our tour: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Insadonggil market (a tourist trap), and a traditional Korean restaurant. I found the Palace to be the most educational place on the tour.

GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE

The Palace was built in the late 1300's and spans across more than 400,000 square feet with more than 15 buildings and numerous gardens on the premise. It served 12 kings until 1945 when South Korea elected the first president and the grounds were opened to the public.

The foundation of the Palace buildings were made of stone and roof and walls were were made of hand painted wood that included many different designs and illustrations. Unfortunately the pictures do not do the magnificent colors justice. Below to the left is one of the King's chamber buildings where he would conduct his daily affairs and the picture to the right is the top to one of the gates leading into the plaza area.

Below to the left is an expanded version of the gates leading into the plaza. It was customary for the King to walk down the center sidewalk which is raised above the other stone. This was a sign of respect that he was higher than the other people in the plaza. The picture to the right is the Gyeonghoeru which was a building made of stone pillars that sat on a pond with floating trees. This open, airy building was used for banquets and special events that the King held on the Palace grounds.

Our tour group was able to see the changing of the guards ceremony which takes place once a day. Loud drums and trumpets sounded the old guards leaving and the new guards arriving. The men wore traditional costumes in various colors that symbolized their rank in the guard.

When I arrived back at the airport and returned to the gate area I discovered that the Korean Tourism Committee has set up a free cultural center where tourists can enjoy an art project and traditional Korean music. Below is a picture of a Korean woman playing an ajaeng, which is a string instrument that used a bow to play on the floor. It is used in Korean Folk music. What a fantastic idea to share with the travelers passing by in the airport!!

*** Check out more pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/jglesne/albumid/5266226588726543073?alt=rss&kind=photo&authkey=_CFFUnGXcXk&hl=en_US

CHECKING Things Off the List

• Last Steak and B.B.Q. Rib dinner


• Typhoid, Meningitis, Adult Polio, and Yellow Fever Shots


• Everything in 2 suitcases (well kind of.....)


• Getting out of Dodge before the snowstorm hits tomorrow


• Ready for the journey of a lifetime

Next time I post it will be from a new country.! I hope everyone has a good weekend!