The End???

Well as I’ve been back in the states for a month I suppose it’s time to bring my blog to a finish.  Traveling the world and back takes time to wrap your head around.  Maybe this is the reason I’m left struggling for my final words.  Also a part of me feels like this blog won’t ever be finished because my time in Ubon and beyond will stay with me for life. 

I know many of you are saying wait weren’t you in Australia?  Did you see rainforests, and beaches, and the barrier reef? Didn’t you go scuba diving in Thailand and not write about it?  Don’t you have more travels and adventures to tell about?  Didn’t you go to Thailand and bring home an Australian boyfriend?

And the answer to all these question is Yes!  I do have more to tell, but I will always have more to tell.  When I have time I’ll try to fill in those pieces of the story that are less documented and shared. 

For now though I need to take a break and get a little closure because my next story has already begun.  Jay (the Aussie boyfriend) and I are already nearly buried by western winter weather.   We are busy with a new adventure, a cold and hopefully snowy winter in Utah. 

Jet Lag, Culture Shock, Family, Friends and MORE!

.... When I have the words to tell about homecoming I will.  But let me just say reverse culture shock can definitely hit hard, and there's nothing in the world like seeing your family after so long away.

The short list of my travel in America is this:

    In a month exactly November 16th-December 16th 2015

• Melbourne, Australia
• San Francisco and Oakland, California
• Vermont
• Connecticut and a family wedding
• North Carolina
• and back to New York and Vermont
• then journeying across the country for about 36 hours of driving and 2 days stuck in a Wyoming snowstorm
• AND FINALLY Midvale, Utah and Snowbird Mountain for a ski season.  

It feels good to have somewhere to stay for a while,  but I have to admit I still a strong travel bug and know that 2016 will hold more travels and adventures as well.  

Life as Teacher in Thailand: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and Funny

Reposted from 11/15 ( My first semester of teaching 7th-12th grade English in Ubon)

The Good Moments:

• "Ms. Krista I love you!"
• "Be my teacher forever" 
• "Ms. Krista is dressed beautifully today, actually she looks beautiful everyday" 
• Frozen parody songs. 
• When you swear that your 11th grade ESL student writes a better essay than half the graduating class of your former high school. 
• When kids don't want to leave class or are still working on their work when class is done.
• When you have advice for a half dozen good restaurants to eat in Ubon after grading students writing assignments.  
• When you get to teach about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Superbowl, and all kinds of American culture. 

The Ugly Moments of Awe

• Yes I love the pictures humorously depicting a fanny man, but I do not appreciate that two students copied his paper as he was drawing them…. 
• When one of the worst student scores the highest on the midterm.  Many Thai students have are mastermind cheaters!! What a credible life skill. 
• "We have nothing in our heads" Graduating students truly feel they know nothing :(

But admist the good, bad, ugly, and funny there is still the fact that many students respect you and enjoy you as a teacher.  And that they learned something whether big or small.