Life in Klaeng, Rayong or What I Wish I knew

A week and a half ago I arrived safely in Klaeng district, in Rayong province, situated on the southeast coast of Thailand.  That being said I am nowhere near the beach, one of many adjustments I have made in the past few days.

With adjustments have come many valuable lessons I will never forget in any future English Teaching endeavors or adventures I may choose to pursue, or not, it has been one hell of a week and a half.
 
The days leading up to my departure were a blur of emotions and errands mingling together to make the time race by.  Before I knew it I saw the elevator doors close, tearing me away from my very handsome boyfriend for at least half of one year, one year if it turns out I'm Thai enough.

It was tough to leave home. There were some tears but the Greatful Dead took me through a lonesome ferry ride and I practiced deep breathing I learned in yoga classes.  I was on my own, heading to Hong Kong first then Bangkok.  The potential reality I had given only sidelong glances to a month ago was coming true.  Most of my moves had been cursory.  An e-mail here, a resume there, soon the moves started to pile up and like the chess games I usually lose it was not long before I was backed into a corner putting all my earnings into a plane ticket.    Don't think for a second that moving across the world to be an English teacher in a foreign land suggests that I am courageous or brave; ignorant and foolhardy would be more appropriate.  On to the adjustment phase.

Arriving in Bangkok was a rush.  Suddenly the air was hot and thick, everyone has black hair and speak a foreign tongue.  I seized upon my only link here, the small boned Thai woman in a floral pink shirt holding a sign saying, amazingly, my name. 

We arrived at the school, where bronze statues standing in a pond adorn the sign reading "Wittayasathaworn."  The female statues have very pronounced breasts, there are also some half-human half-dragony looking creatures from a famous poem from this region I have not yet read.

Our house is five minutes walk from the basketball court and boxing ring where teenagers play past dark every evening.  The basketball court has a five foot high picture of the king and queen of Thailand on either side of the hoop.  It is illegal to say anything bad about the king here and his picture is on the side of many buildings and in every classroom against a shiny tinfoil background. 

One of the first things my eyes did spy in our free accomodation was a five centimeter long lizard hanging onto the wall with it's sticky toes. I was enamored to see the first one and a little queasy when I saw my fiftieth somewhere near the ceiling above my bed making it's clicking noise. 

Other animals new English Teachers coming to Thailand should be prepared for that may enter the house are geckos, scorpions, snakes, frogs and hundreds of winged insects if it is about to rain.  None of these creatures are blinked at by locals, after all us humans are bigger in size and they are more afraid of us, or so I have been told.  Here's a tip, if there is a frog in your bathroom, sweep it into a dustpan and hold the broom over it while you take it outside.  Here's another tip, don't bother putting the gecko outside because he actually lives with you, for good.  Don't leave the light on when it's about to rain or you will have to run through a swarm of darting winged insects one inch long. That night, maybe it was the third, I left the light on and retreated to my screened in bedroom.  Leave the scorpion alone or, if it poses a threat, ask a team of pick up soccer players to bash it to death with broom handles as some American co-teachers reported.  This second option is less buddhist in principle but might help you sleep at night.