Alright, about time for another group email.

I've started teaching and have found it fun, difficult, sweaty,
stressful, and inspiring. I hope that some of the kids are
understanding what I'm saying and actually learning English, but I can
never tell for sure. I teach 14-18 year olds, and as with anywhere
else on the planet, this age group can be "a test of one's patience".
But I cracked the whip today and made some of the Lady-Boys in my
classes sit in the front row and I confiscated their cell phones and
make-up. It was great, the rest of the class showed me some respect
after I dealt out a little punishment. For my next class I plan to
spray anyone that talks with a fire extinguisher.

Alright, some thoughts on traveling:

There is literally nothing in the world better than getting on a plane
and leaving your home soil, with no set plans on a return. I feel as
if the sun is always shining on me and there is literally nothing to
hold me back.
It's also refreshing to meet the people doing the same thing as me.
In some ways they are the same as anyone you meet, but we all have an
adventurous spirit, a thirst for travel, a liberal mentality, and a
humanitarian side that grows out of the utter despair we see on the
streets. We also feel like travellers, not tourists. I've met dozens
of tourists that do nothing but complain about the food, the weather,
the lack of TP, but it takes someone that actually lives in a country
to accept all these things as commonplace. I decided that a place has
to become part of your soul before you can say you've travelled there.
I know Thailand has for me.

It can be lonely, though. Being the only foreign teacher, with thai
co-workers that know only basic English, can make for long days. It
forces me to learn thai and also gives me ridiculous amounts of time
to think and meditate. Anyone that has been on a 13 hour flight to
Taiwan or an 11 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai will agree with me here.
The ipod as only so much music and so much battery.

I found a collection of the James Bond novels by Ian Flemming and have
been reading them like mad. It's mostly just a relief to look at
Roman letters rather than Thai chariacatures.

The one thing I do miss is exercise. Bangkok is made of cement and
Thais do not use gyms. I am trying to get our gym teacher to teach me
Thai kickboxing, but he speaks almost no English and I don't know how
to say "How should I place my bodyweight for this manuever?" in
Thai.......yet. So i am stuck with push-ups, sit-ups, and whatever
lifts I can manage with waterbottles and my desk chair.

Tomorrow I am going to a friendly football match at Bangkok's National
stadium between the Thai National team and the Netherlands. The
Netherlands is pretty darn good and it should be a turkey shoot, but I
hope to see some drunken Thais cheering for the home colors.

I'm also trying to put together a project for my students and was
needing some Volunteers from the U.S. I was hoping to have them write
postcards to people in the U.S. to practice their English writing
skills, then have them get a response. If anyone is interested send
me an email with your address and I'll fill you in on the details.

Other than that I'm just living a normal life and going to school, but
in Thailand.