New Home: Nong Khai, Thailand

Hello all!  This post will document my first week in my new home: Nong Khai, Thailand.

First of all, I have to share that I am so incredibly happy here.  This place is a dream come true.  I pinch myself that I get to live and do my dream job here.  Deep, profound gratitude from the core of my soul.

The overnight bus from Bangkok to Nong Khai was about a nine hour ride.  Waking up an hour south of my new home and looking out of the bus window was surreal; trees, countryside, blue sky, and clear, white moon were all features I did not experience during my time in Bangkok.

I arrived in Nong Khai early in the morning and took a taxi to my apartment building, where I met my landlord and got the keys to my new, very own apartment!

The walls of my apartment are green as can be, I have a wonderful bed and an outdoor room, and the building is a two minute walk from the school where I teach.  It is also such a novelty to live somewhere by myself, as I had roommates throughout college and live with my parents when I am in my hometown.  I truly love my apartment, quirks and all!

First day, I took a trip to the Tesco Lotus, the huge supermarket/mall in my town.  Everything above cost about 1000 baht, the equivalent of $30 USD (averaged to $1 per item!).

After my first day of settling in, I had two full days before I began teaching.  I used the first of these to explore my town.

After walking approximately two blocks from my apartment I stumbled upon a beautiful temple.

A friendly golden Buddha greeted me at the entrance.

This temple is called Wat Chaiyaphon.

The snake/Buddha combination motif is found in temples and all throughout my town.

Perhaps the most beautiful gate I have ever seen.

Three blocks away I found another amazing temple.  I burnt some incense and prayed inside while monks walked around the premises outside.  This one is called Wat Hai Sok.  (For those who do not know, I am Buddhist!  This is part of why I so wanted to live in Thailand, a country in which 96% of the people are Buddhist.)

I sent the above photo to my mom and she pointed out the baby doll dressed as a monk on the right - slightly cute and slightly creepy at the same time?

My town is on the Mekong River, the border between Thailand and the neighboring country of Laos.  This photo is an international snapshot - Laos is on the other side of the river!

It still trips me out that I can see another country whenever I go a couple blocks north of where I live.

There's that dragon/snake motif we love!

This is my favorite temple in my town that I have found so far.  It is called Wat Si Sumang, and is visible from afar because of the large golden Buddha sitting atop the main structure.

I was standing by the lower temple when a monk noticed me looking up to the upper doors, unsure of whether I was allowed up.  He left the gate cracked and motioned to me that I may enter the upper temple.  It was magical up there.  And look at the doors!!  Ornate and glorious.

A silhouette shot of my main guy.

In preparation for my first visit to my school, I put together "Los Angeles" postcards that I brought, along with stickers of my art, to give as gifts to the teachers at my school.

The day before I began teaching, I went to my school to meet my fellow teachers, my bosses, and some of my students.  It happened to be the head director's birthday, and she insisted I join her and the teachers for a lunch of Vietnamese food!  The director is the woman on the far left; is she not beautiful and precious?

My desk, in the back corner of the teachers' office, and my cabinet.  The past foreigner teachers left some materials for me (which I am very grateful for, though they were not left in an organized fashion...), so I spent a few hours at the school sorting through everything and making it into the photos you see above.  I love my workspace!

My school has a bike reserved for the foreign teacher (they only have one foreign teacher at their school at a time).  I love my bike so much!  It makes getting around so easy and accessible.  I am also immensely grateful that I learned how to ride a bike for China a couple just over a year ago...

This day was Halloween!  I decided to treat myself to some candy: off-brand Kit-Kats and Pocky!  Trick or treat!

The next morning, I began my job as an English teacher for Prathom 1 through 6 (grades 1 through 6) at a wonderful school in Nong Khai.

Some of my adorable students.  These are P3 students, equivalent of 3rd grade.

For the first day, I had the students do a name card-making activity.  A couple of my students drew me!  The one on the left is by a P3 student named Gato, and the right is by a P1 named Mint.  I absolutely love my job.

For lunch, I go to a vegetarian restaurant down the street from my school.  Everything they serve there is completely vegetarian, which is so nice because I don't have to think about translation issues when I order there.  This is their delicious soup/noodle dish.

After the end of the work week (which was only two days long, as school started on Thursday), I took a sunset bike ride along the river.

Watching the colors change over the river was a dreamy experience.

The Mekong and its lining temples came alive in a different way at night.

The next day, I repeated a similar bike ride, but in the daytime.

This picture is a good summary of how I feel at this temple and in this town.

A photo of the inside of the upper structure at Wat Si Sumang.

This concludes my first post about my glorious new home of Nong Khai.  More to come in the very near future...

Thank you for reading!