Last night I watched Amelie dubbed in Thai and ate street pad thai that cost less than $1. P. Oh says he has a great recipe for pad thai that will impress all my farang friends. Oh oh oh man. Watch out Lafayette block. I'll have to figure out sweet vegan versions of these dishes.

Finally, a picture of me and my dearest host teacher! This morning I took a bus with P. Wan for about an hour into central Khon Kean area. A beautiful ladyboy did P. Wan's makeup and we were in a great mood so we got some delicious chocolate ice cream! There are cute ladyboy students in my classroom, too. I love how beautiful and graceful they are. I think it's wonderful that ladyboys are appreciated in all of their fantastic grace even in rural areas.

So much happened today...it ended with an epic lesson on how to make som tam (papaya salad) and Thai green curry with coconut milk. Yum! Eeem mak mak! The best ending.

The good news is that I've started constructing basic sentences in Thai language and picking up on familiar words in conversations. I watch (or try to watch) Thai soap operas at night and try to listen to conversations more carefully. I can write my name in Thai now! I wish I had more time to dedicate to the language but I spend my time imagining ways to get my shy Thai students out of their shells and confidently speaking English. My teaching schedule for the rest of my time here has been set after a meeting with all the school English teachers. It looks like I will be teaching all 21 classes at least twice before I leave. My purpose is to make English fun and exciting!

I feel like I am at Wiang Wong Kot High School at a very exciting/critical time. They have a very new administrative staff and the new principal is a man of great vision. Yesterday all the faculty and students got together to plant trees around the school and had a massive clean-up. They are building a brand new library, renovating the faculty housing, and opening an English center. I am proud to say that I get to be a part of the great new vision to improve the English language education at the school (or I hope I leave feeling proud)! Alongside the 21 classes, I am also working on the English Club and the Tourism Club. I met the President of the Tourism club and he was really fantastic. Very bold and well-spoken. I'm so excited about all the changes that are to come!

I am getting used to the little geckos that live in my room and strange bugs. The food is delicious and everyone is so nice! The school community is really so good to me. I hope the mutual enthusiasm continues!

P.S. There is this funny dog that lives around the faculty housing and her name is Dengue Dengue. Like Dengue Fever! It's because the school principal thinks Dengue Dengue brings disease but the teachers take really good care of her. They wash her, feed her, and talk to her! And there are these big old cows that live next door to keep her company...