Holy crap, I'm really in Thailand. I opened up my lap top to write tonight and the whole shebang came up in Thai.
First, let me just tell you all that I can't wait for my kids to arrive tomorrow. I feel like I'm waiting in paradise for them, and they're going to step off the plane into complete chaos but slowly I'll be able to reveal to them that this.is.living.the.dream. For rizzle.
I left the US in the daytime. Then I didn't pay attention to the windows for the entire flight, and arrived in BKK in the middle of the night. My principal (YES, my PRINCIPAL) picked me up at the airport and took me back to the SWEET garden style hotel I am staying at until our SWEET apartment is ready tomorrow. I came in, wrestled and killed a human sized cockroach (to which my principal replied, "Nice. First kill."), turned on the air, gave my principal some smoked samon and a hug for his kindness, then fell face first into bed and didn't wake up until the Tookay woke me up in the morning. For those of you not in the know, Tookays are these larger than life lizards that scream at you their name "Tookay Tookay Tookay," just so you don't forget what they're called. I opened my door to the first light of the day, my first day light since the US, and HOLY CRAP. I knew I was in the right place. Home. Seriously.
Palm trees, sputtering motorcycles, cooing of mourning doves, hot and sweaty city smell, and the unreplicable feeling of being in Thailand. Fantastic.
Right now I am sitting outside my room, listening to a call to prayer -as amazingly the school is in the Thai Muslim section of town-and feeling like there is no way I can express to you my happiness and peaceful feeling at the sensation, knowledge and awareness that I'm in the right place.
In addition to this absolute satisfaction of being back here, I am also blown away by the school. Teacher friends, I've found Paradise. This is where really good teachers go when we die. The school is the Rolls Royce of international schools, dare I say of any type of school in general, and their IB diploma graduation rate, PISA results, and general high achievement of the students are the type of testimony that big wigs and data crunchers salivate over. But if you're just into good teaching, doing what's right by students, working collaboratively with some exceptionally creative and well rounded individuals, then this is where it's at. This is where "what works" meets reality. This is also where the best educators you can assemble in one room assemble in one room. I've met some highly impressive people, not just their titles of previous manifestations of their lives, but their creative ideas and open mindedness. It was really not a surprise to me to learn that 3,000 people applied for our 40 jobs. The school has a reputation for excellence, and I can see after just one day of orientation that there is a solid, valid reason for that.
To boot, as if I need anything more than just to be in Thailand at an amazing school, there is a Mexican restaurant just 10-15 minutes walk from where I am staying. I really don't mean to sound so shallow, but the school sponsored dinner for us tonight, all 40 of us newbies, and included an open bar tab. I mean, seriously??????? You had me at "Thailand"!!!
And (there's MORE????!), my Peace Corps friends, you'll appreciate this the most. After a great meal, great conversation, and three margaritas, I was walking back to my hotel when I passed the mandatory 7-11 that must be on every other street corner. I was toasty warm from my buzz, happy from a day of high stimulation, and thought it couldn't get any better. But then I saw him. The Roti Man. For those of you that don't know what it is, I guess it's like crepes or something. But I can only just describe him as Angelic. He produces pieces of Heaven that you can eat. His mission in life is delivering the Yum. And he was right there. I mean, come on.
So tonight, I am well friends. Happy, content, confident, and optimistic about what this turn on my course will bring.
Sawatdi, and good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment