Vacation!

(Written October 14, 2010)

So I've survived the first eight weeks of my teaching contract here in Thailand. It's been rough... I've had many "moments," but things should be a lot more smooth from here on out. This weekend the gang (a small group of teachers I work with) and I are heading to Bangkok to a Thai Rock Music Festival. They are huge fans, and while I haven't quite jumped on the bandwagon yet, I'm hoping after this weekend I'll be more keen* on Thai rock. (*I've picked up a lot of British slang working at a British school)

Sunday we are going to see Eat, Pray Love in preparation for Bali, and Sunday evening we fly to Kuala Lumpur. I could have skipped KL, honestly, and gone straight to Bali, but over the past few days I've been doing research and the shopping is supposed to be fantastic. I am going to allow myself to splurge a bit since I haven't bought ANY new clothes in the last 8 weeks, which is very very good for me. They also have Forever 21, which I developed a fondness for while living in Seoul because it's cheap and they actually had foreigner sizes.

After a few days exploring Kuala Lumpur, we're flying to Bali and spending the first 4 days in Kuta, which is on the coast. After that, we'll head up to Ubud for a few days, which is up in the mountains and supposed to be the cultural heart of Bali. I liken it to Thailand's Chiang Mai, and Kuta to Phuket.

The thought of this vacation is what's been getting me through the hours and hours of lesson planning and miserable rainy weekends in the hut. I cannot wait.