Sawaatdii Kha!

Thailand is HOT. Hot, but awesome! I am living in Phang Nga (pronounced Pung-Nah) town, in Phang Nga province.  Phang Nga town is pretty small and has very few westerners.  The town is surrounded in beautiful mountains, and with a little exploration I've stumbled across some incredible caves.

I arrived in Phang Nga on June 4, 2010, and there was a mix-up with the apartment I was supposed to live in, so I am staying with two Thai teachers [one who teaches English (Sah) and one who teaches Chinese (Pon)] from Deebuk.  They have been pretty incredible and gave me my own room, make sure that I am always fed and learn the name of some of the dishes I am eating, take me everywhere on their motorbikes, and are teaching me Thai.  After I got over my jet-lag, I hung out for a few days and started my job two weeks ago.

I am teaching at Deebuk Phangnga Wittayayon school, and it has been quite the experience already. The students are extremely respectful of teachers, and that has been really amazing; yesterday was teacher appreciation day and each of the 2000 students brought flowers to give to us teachers during a ceremony.  In class they are a little rowdier, and some like to push the limits to see what I will let them get away with, but I think as they get to know me better they are starting to understand what I am saying, and are starting to listen better.  For the most part, they do really want to learn English and value me being here to teach them, which is awesome. 

I spent the first week in Phang Nga alone, and then the other Princeton in Asia fellow, Steve showed up.  We've had a good time hitting up the local markets/stands/restaurants and are going to explore the mountains and caves of Phang Nga more once I get my motorbike. 

Last weekend we went on our first 'adventure' to Phang Nga Bay. All of these pictures are from different islands on the bay.  The picture of me in front of James Bond Island. They filmed part of "The Man With the Golden Gun" here, hence the name. One is of art work in a cave on an island that is believed to be 3,000-5,000 years old [daddy we also saw a TON of stalactites, which I know you love].  On our boat ride to these islands we saw some sketchy snakes and rode on sea canoes under cave openings that weren't taller than 2 or 3 feet high (we had to lay down completely flat as we pushed through).  It was sick.