It turns out that where I'm living isn't quite as remote as I imagined. In fact, as we were driving through Pak Chong on the way to my school, we passed "Premium Outlet Khao Yai," an outlet mall that looked similar to ones in the States, complete with a Starbucks. I always find it somewhat comforting when a Starbucks is within reach, it means you can't be that far out of civilization.
However, I don't have my own means of transport yet, so for now I am pretty isolated here in the village. Most of the staff at SIS live in a cluster of bungalows across the street from the school.
My bungalow is pretty sweet. It definitely needs some sprucing up inside, but it's about 3 times as big as my apartment in Seoul. I have a REAL kitchen with an oven this time, so I have no excuses for not cooking. The porch is pretty awesome too.
The only downside (besides the heat) is my recently developed fear of snakes. I've never really liked snakes (really, who does?) but now that I'm living somewhere where they are actually a threat, I'm truly paranoid. My coworker Nicole told me that someone once found a snake in the bottom of their wardrobe, and now I keep imagining that a snake is going to jump out at any moment and attack me. (Poisonwood Bible, anyone?)
There are lots of creatures in the village; mostly geckos and all sorts of insects, and a huge toad that scared the living daylights out of me last night. All of this is going to take some getting used to. I sort of feel like I'm at camp right now, it hasn't really set in that this is my life for the next year.
Had my first day of work yesterday, this week is teacher prep and next Monday school starts. I spent most of the morning in a jet-lagged daze while a lot of information was thrown at me. It was a little overwhelming but I think today will be better. I've just been looking through the previous teacher's files and trying to piece together what she did with students on a day-to-day basis.
I found out I will have "Year 8" through "Year 13," which means students aged 12-18. The school uses the British National curriculum, which I have zero experience with, so this year will be a lot of learning as I go. I can already tell that my position here will be far more demanding than my job in Seoul, but that's what I wanted. My class sizes are really small (they estimate I'll have 10 kids per class max) so I'll actually get to know my students and I'm looking forward to that.
That's about it for now. I find myself missing Minnesota and Seoul a lot, but it was like that in the beginning in Korea as well; I just need to give it some time.
I hope this post has satiated those of you who are living vicariously :)
XoXo,
Taryn
A few pictures:
My hut
My bedroom, complete with mosquito netting
View from my front porch
The Staff Village
My School
Trying to stay awake my first day, after 22 hours of flying
