Christmas in Thailand

Christmas came and went in Koh Tao without me hardly noticing. I've always wondered what it would feel like to celebrate Christmas in a tropical place and well, it simply didn't feel like Christmas at all. Sure the beach and restaurants were littered with decorations and holiday cheer, but something was missing: maybe it was my family and friends who were many miles away, the constant sweat I had dripping down my face, the fact that everyone around me (except for the Brits) told me the day before (the 24th) was actually Christmas day, or the fact that I did not have a single present to open or traditional Christmas dinner to eat...whatever the reason, Christmas felt like just another day here in Koh Tao.
Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful walk along the beach in the am, a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, hours of relaxation on the beach, a traditional Thai massage (who knew something could hurt so good) and a Christmas movie rented off iTunes to finish the evening...all in all I had a good "Christmas". I have however decided no one should be alone Christmas day, it's a bit depressing no matter where you are in the world.

I am very thankful for technology these days! I was able to talk/see many of my favorite people back home on their Christmas evening. It was so fun to see my nephew's excitement for his new toys, my cousin's family gathering and of course Kes' cute face. Where would I be without Skype?

Here are a few pictures of what Christmas looks like in Thailand...

My Christmas tree which by the way cost less than $3 (decorations and all):

Some of the KG class getting ready to preform the "12 Days of Christmas":

Christmas cheer on the beach:

I'm A Scuba Diver

After four days of reading, training, testing and diving I am officially a certified scuba diver.
I am so glad I decided to get my certification - it was a great experience and I cannot wait to explore more of the underwater world.
Not going to lie, at first I was a little freaked out, but once I got used to the fact I was breathing underwater and figured out how to "clear my mask" my nerves were calmed.
Our first day in the water consisted of learning all the technical things one needs to know if they ever run into problems underwater: running out of air, breathing off your buddy's air, flooding/clearing your mask, buoyancy control, emergency ascents, etc.
Once we covered the basics, the following two days we got to go on four fun dives.
The first two dives were to 12m and the following two were to 18m (this is the deepest one is allowed to go w/ the open water certification - which is what I have).
We saw blue spotted sting ray, clown fish aka Nemo, eels, angelfish, juvenile barracuda schools, various types of coral and sea anemone...some were even lucky (or unlucky enough) to run into 12 bull sharks.
The beauty underwater is incredible and I look forward to exploring more in future visits!

I've Officially Hit Rock Bottom

You know you've reached an all time low when you have nowhere to sleep b/c the sheets that are suppose to be on your bed are hanging outside to dry b/c you got sick on them at 4:30am.

Yes it is true, I crapped the bed. I wish I was kidding, but I am not. Honestly, I have never been so sick in my entire life. Why I am telling you this? I don't know. Maybe to make light of the situation or maybe because I am not right in my head right now and I will be embarrassed later when I reread this. All I know is, I was mortified and did not know what to do - so I called my sister bawling, naturally.

The past 48 hours I have been in bed (which now has clean sheets) with the worse fever, chills, aches and pains I have ever experienced in my 26 years of existence. And let me tell you, a high fever + 95 degree weather = one sweaty Sarah.

It all started Tuesday morning around 1:30am. I woke up sweating to death, but thought it was simply b/c I got a little too much sun on my weekend excursion. I cranked the fan and proceeded to go back to sleep. This lasted only momentarily as I was awoken by the urge to puke - what joy. Thankfully the puking never came, but other issues did. It was after many trips to the bathroom and the cleaning of my sheets that I realized I had reached rock bottom. I was using a towel as my bottom sheet, a dress Kes bought me in Mexico as a blanket, and had a bucket close by to use for either puking or the unmentionable if needed. I don't think it gets much worse than that! Thankfully I never needed to use the bucket.

I was becoming insanely dehydrated and knew I needed liquids; however, all I had in my fridge was peanut butter, an apple and some chocolates a student gave me for Christmas (which by the way are disgusting, Thais need a lesson on what good chocolate tastes like - that's beside the point though). Anyway, how does one go about getting liquid when they can't even make it 5 minutes without getting sick? Do I call a taxi? Do I try to pay the security guy downstairs to go get me something? Do I risk taking my bike on the 10 min RT ride? I decided to try the latter.

Off I set on my pedal bike to the nearest 7-11. I was in and out in a matter of seconds and ready to ride home as fast a possible. While unlocking my bike, a lovely Thai lady gave me a HUGE and I mean HUGE smile. Now I know I am in the "Land of Smiles", but this was one of those "oh goodie a foreigner, I can practice my English with them smile"...just what I needed right?

She asks: "Khun cheu a rai ka?". Great, she is speaking to me in Thai...I know what this means, but can't find the words in my brain to answer her, so I politely say "no speak Thai".
The dear little lady nods and smiles and I think to myself, "great, now I can get home".
Not so fast...she then starts speaking to me in English:
"What's your name", "Where are you from?", "Oh America, what state?"
She goes on and on and all I can think to myself is, "lady, I have less than 2 minutes before I get sick again so PLEASE, PLEASE let me go"!

After what feels like forever, I think she sensed my distance. I told her "I'm sorry, but I am sick and must get home".

To my surprise I made it home without any accidents and was now set - I had enough crackers and Gatorade to last me a few days.

After 48 straight hours in bed, I am happy to say some, but not all of the sickness is slowly going away. I still have the fever and aches with the random stomach pains, but I'll take those over the other issues I was dealing with.

I've decided being sick in a foreign country is anything but fun. Its the little things like drinkable tap water and another set of sheets you take for granted. Thankfully I have two awesome friends in my condo who are taking good care of me. I am greeted by a knock on my door every few hours to see how I am doing and drop little get well soon care packages. It's no homemade chicken noodle soup, but who's picky? I'm just happy I have people here who care enough about me to bring me electrolyte powders and crackers!

This is definitely not how I wanted to start my vacation, but I know it can only go up from here. Please send healing thoughts this way as I leave for Koh Tao in 3 days and MUST be 100% if I want to get my diving certification!

Here is a picture of my sad, sick little life: note the lack of sheets, the dress turned blanket, crackers, bucket and all the essentials to entertain me while on my death bed: computer, headphones and a book.

Ko(h) Samed/Samet...eh, whichever

This past weekend I got invited by a few others from my mooban to take a weekend trip to a nearby island called Koh Samet (still not sure if this is the correct way to spell it as I have seen it written four different ways).

Anyway, only after a short two hour taxi ride from Bangkok and about a 20 minute speed boat trip to the actual island, I planted my feet in my own personal paradise!

The white sandy beaches and crystal clear water surrounding the island was incredible! Of course I did not see this until the next morning as we arrived after dark, but it was well worth the wait. A-mazing!

The weekend was spent eating delicious food on beachfront properties, being barefoot, reading trashy magazines on the beach thanks to my awesome cousin Lisa, cooling off in the refreshing salt water, sunbathing, watching fire throwers and fireworks at night and dancing/singing to ridiculous songs played at nearby bars - my favorite by far was the more relaxed/chilled atmosphere of the reggae bar.

In less than 2 days I will have TWENTY DAYS off from school (seriously, why has it taken me so long to become a teacher?!?!). Since nearly everyone I know is headed home for the holidays, I have decided to go South to Koh Tao for 10 (+/-) days. I figure I'd rather be laying on a beach by myself then in Bangkok alone. I have 2 intentions for my beach holiday: 1. to get certified to scuba dive and 2. to get as tan as possible and make all of you at home completely jealous :)

It is my understanding the dive outfit I am staying at offers free wifi, so we should be able to Skype and whatnot over my Christmas break.

Now only if I can make it through the next 36 hours!

Love to you all!

I Made The Website

It's true - I'm such an amazing teacher they put me on the website.
I'm basically famous now ;)
Check it out:
www.ascot.ac.th
When you get to the homepage there are pictures cycling through on the top right hand corner- I am the 3rd or 4th one that comes up (reading to my kiddos in the library).
I'll sign autographs later.

Monkeys, Sunflowers, Oh My.

Last Sunday I spent the day watching monkeys eat loads of junk food in Lopburi and hid amongst the millions of sunflowers in Saraburi. Here is a little background information for those of you who care:

The provincial capital of Lopburi in Central Thailand is home to countless monkeys that have adapted to life in an urban environment. The monkeys have become such a part of the local culture that there is a festival held in their honor – the Lopburi Monkey Festival is located at the Prang Sam Yot temple.

The annual festival takes place on the last weekend in November and is a major attraction for locals and foreign visitors alike. Festivities include a monkey ‘tea party’ where macaques tuck into a spread of fruit, eggs, cucumbers and bananas all prepared in their honor. Last year the monkeys got through around 2,000 kilograms of food provided by locals who believe donating the food will bring them good fortune.

Here are a few pictures from the festival:




After the festival, we hit up the sunflower fields in Saraburi. The tulip fields back home have nothing on these fields, they are simply breathtaking! Each year from November - January full blooms of sunflowers enrich the Saraburi Province. This amazing beauty of millions of sunflowers and green hills under the clear blue sky attract many visitors during this time of year.

Here are a few pictures from my trip: