Since you already know all about how I got to Thailand and my first week here, it is now time to go over my daily routine since I somewhat acclimated to my new adoptive country. It is fair to say that my life here is a lot different from what I’m used to back home. Keep in mind that I do all this rain or shine. It all starts with a natural alarm clock… the neighbours’ rooster sounding off at 5 AM… This makes me a little grumpy since it is 5 AM after all, but I manage to roll over and fall back asleep for 2 to 3 hours more. When I officially wake up, the sun is shining brightly into my room, the rooster is still sounding off and I don’t feel the heat or humidity yet as my fan is running 24/7 and keeping me cool. The very first thing I do every morning open my laptop and talk to my favourite person back home! She wishes me a good morning as I’m wishing her a good night. This still seems odd to me since I’m just starting my day as she is finishing hers. After my conversation with her, I get dressed and have breakfast. This consist of either a bowl of cereal or a pastry from the local bakery – the banana muffins are fantastic and only cost $1 for six mini-muffins. I try usually to leave around 10 to ensure I have enough time to make copies at the print shop and then make the 15 minutes bike ride to Parami since my first class starts at 10:30 AM.
Depending on the day, I arrive at Parami 5 to 15 minutes before class. I take this time to catch my breath and wipe the sweat off my brow, or to dry my head from biking in the rain. After this, I either go over my lesson plan for today’s classes or sometimes I talk with other teachers. I hear the bell ring and head to class. An hour and half later, I have finished both my classes at Parami. On my way out I touch base with the head teacher. Now it’s time for lunch and this goes one of two ways. The first is I stay at Parami and have lunch with some of my students. They hand me a bowl filled full of delicious food, which sometimes makes me question what I’m eating. While eating, I’ll have some of the students say “Teacher try” as they push their own lunch towards me. Some of them will simply take a spoonful and put it straight into my bowl. My second option is to bike home and pick up a piece or two of roast chicken from the market. Once I have my food, I head home and have about 10 to 15 minutes to eat before I head out for Hsa Thoo Lei. Arriving at Hsa Thoo Lei, I catch up with my co-teacher Fanny and we usually go over what we will be teaching. The bell rings and we head to our class. From Monday to Wednesday, we teach for an hour and half and finish around 2:30 PM. On Thursday and Friday, we teach until 4 PM. Once we finish for the day, we bike home and sometimes stop at a small coffee shop. I usually get an ice coffee or cold Thai tea. It makes me realize how cheap it is to eat out in Thailand since a large size beverage only costs about $1. Getting home, I sit at the table on our porch and drink my cold beverage while checking my social media. My late afternoon plans either involve a nap that last much longer than I anticipated or I get straight to my lesson planning. Let’s be honest, I often choose option #1: the nap. When I wake up, I take a shower and then head out for dinner. My three favourite food options are:
After dinner, I do my lesson planning, which take me about an hour or two, depending on my lesson and if I have to find any worksheets to print. When my planning is finished or if I had completed it earlier, I usually head to my room to relax while watching Netflix. My day ends the same way it began. By talking to my favourite person! This time I am wishing her a good morning, we talk for a bit and then she wishes me a good night. As I slowly try to fall asleep, there are some things that keep me awake… It could be the heat; the street dogs howling, cats fighting next to our house or heavy rainfall (which is the best since it helps me fall asleep faster). I eventually fall asleep until my day starts all over again with the annoying roster.
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