My Living Situation

On average my life here isn't too, too much different than it was in the states. One major change is that I don't cook here. There are two main reasons as to why I don't really cook anymore 1) I don't have a kitchen in my apartment (my food preparation station consists of a lot of easy to make breakfast food, packs of noodles, a few eating utensils, plates and bowls, and a microwave) 2) it's really, really expensive to sometimes cook even the most basic of meals. I can go out and eat a very filling, delicious meal for about 40-60 baht. It would cost upwards of 3-4 times that, if not more, for me to cook a meal. Crazy huh? Needless to say it's going to take some getting used to, to get back into the groove of cooking when I return to the states.

If I do want to cook I usually head to my friend Christina's house. Right now she doesn't have a full range (though a full stove and oven are coming soon) nor does she have an actual oven. Though, we've made some tasty items by using the convection feature on her microwave.

You may be asking yourself why does Mary Beth live an apartment without a kitchen? Well it's actually a fairly common thing here to not have a full kitchen where you live. It's just not that cost efficient. Most apartments consist of one main room, a small outdoor area for drying clothes or cooking, and a bathroom. My main room has my bed, a medium sized wardrobe, and two small shelving units that house my microwave; a small black and white TV (hey it was free); my supply of food and dishes, and my toiletries; and my faithful air conditioner. My outdoor area has a fabulous 6 feet long clothing line and if I wanted to get really ambitious I could get a rice cooker and a hot plate and setup my microwave. Then I would have the relatively standard makeshift kitchen some people setup. The bathroom is one room with a slightly sloping floor, a drain, toilet, sink, mirror, and a showerhead with a water heater. When I shower my entire bathroom gets wet, but I guess it keeps things fairly clean.

While my living situation might seem a little meager, it’s quite comfortable and it's in a great location. The best part of living here by far is my landlord and her family. Pi (a necessary, polite word used when addressing elders) Tom (pronounced kind of like Td-om) is an incredibly friendly woman whose house is just across from my apartment building. She speaks a little bit of English, but has no problem having complete "conversations" with me in Thai. Her sidekicks, her 3 1/2 and 5 year old sons, are adventurous and full of energy. They like to randomly visit and see what I'm up to. Her sons love to search through my selves and find a movie they want to borrow or explore the buttons of my computer. Pi Tom cleans my room once a week and does my laundry. She returns my clothes to me smelling great without a single wrinkle. She leaves my room spotless and freshly organized. I love her.

Through my relationship with my landlord, I've begun to get to know the rest of her family and my neighbors. Pi Tom lives with her kids, husband, mother, father, and grandmother. Her mother loves to give me little things like cups and makes sure that Tom frequently brings me cold bottles of water. They are an incredibly kind and friendly bunch. In terms of my neighborhood, everyone knows who I am. I'm Ajarn (pronounced ah-jhan, meaning professor) Mary. I can hear people talking about me as I pass and everyone I meet for the first time already knows who I am. I've made friends with the owner of a cafeteria down the street and the local store owners. They are patient with me and my usually floundering Thai skills and always have a smile to share with me. As my Thai skills improve and I'm here for longer, I really hope that I can form little bonds with them all.

Intro to my life in Thailand and why I'm here:

For this first post I've decided to write talk about why I am in Thailand and what I'm doing here. On June 1st, 2008 I was offered a position in Thailand as a university English teacher. It was a great opportunity I couldn't pass up even though accepting the position meant that I had to leave at the end of June. I am here through a program called Princeton in Asia (PIA). It is a program run through Princeton and it places college graduates in 15 different Asian countries. There are a few PIAers here in Khon Kaen, which has provided a great friend/support structure here for me.

My last month in the states was whirlwind and wonderful. I was able to see and say goodbye to a lot of my family and friends. The company I worked also helped me a lot by making sure I had the time I needed to get my life in order before I left. Of course I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone and for some this may even be the first introduction you've to me even being in Thailand. I'm sorry that this is the case, but I hope you will be understanding of the circumstances and enjoy finding out about this adventure I've embarked upon.

I arrived in Thailand at the end of June and began teaching on July 1^st. While my program goes until the middle of February, I will be staying on until June of 2009. I really want to be here for a year to soak up as much of the language and culture that I can. I want to make friends here and travel as much as my budget will allow for.

I'm living in a fabulous industrial city called Khon Kaen in northeaster Thailand. I'm working at the Khon Kaen University as a Business English teacher. Sure you may be thinking, what does Mary Beth know about Business English? Well I guess that business program I did a while back paid off. The teaching that I'm doing doesn't require too too much knowledge of business, just a firm grasp of English. Thankfully I happened to have most parts of English down pretty well.

So far I’ve enjoyed teaching, but it’s really tough. I’ve learned a little about my future career goals: I do not want to be an English teacher. I have a new found respect for teachers out there, especially those that teach English. Last semester I taught classes that covered listening and speaking and a very extensive business project. This semester I will be teaching two writing classes, two reading classes, and one listening and speaking class. All of the class I teach deal with the use of English in the business world. Many of my students want to be flight attendants (a highly priced career here), tour guides, or service employees.

The city itself isn’t quite as exciting or cosmopolitan as Bangkok, but it definitely has its advantages. In terms of touristy stuff, Khon Kaen doesn’t offer much, but this allows for a very “Thai” city. Very little is geared towards Westerners and this provides an ideal situation for me. English is not spoken very much allowing for it to be a great place to practice Thai. When I decided I wanted to spend a year abroad I knew that I wanted to be somewhere that would allow me to learn the language; be a part of and learn about the local culture; meet and form relationships in my community; eat and learn about the food of the area; and put myself in a situation that wouldn’t let me hold onto all of the comforts I find at home. Here in this great little city I’ve been able to realize and explore most of these goals. I’m really excited, if a little scared, about what I’ll learn and experience.