Our Last Week at BMK School

This week has been a crazy one and it's only Thursday. It is our last week teaching and I am pretty sure both Ari and I have almost teared up several times. Each class period has ended with us explaining that this is our last time teaching them ... and us saying goodbye and them yelling goodbye and waving back. Most of the classes then scramble for their phones and take pictures with us-we're basically movie stars.

For this week, we are reviewing all of what we have taught them. First by playing a "teachers vs. Class" game of tic-tac-toe. Three rounds, of course, to give them a chance of beating us ... I think one class beat us two games to one, so apparently they are quite smart ... However, that's one out of sixteen classes, so we are still pretty smart, I. guess!

We then gave them a worksheet to answer the questions we have taught them. By teaching them how to ask a specific question and then answer that question, they are now able to have parts of a conversation with an English speaker, which was the main point of our class.

Many of the kids were able to rattle off what we had taught them, as well as some of the hand motions we taught them as well, which was pretty incredible. Others struggled, but that is to be expected.

After the kids finished up with their worksheet, we had them play hangman, but instead of us leading the game, we allowed students to come up with words themselves-many of them were SO SWEET.

The evenings have been decently quiet. I am starting to pack up some of my stuff for home, which is depressing and exciting all rolled into one. I can't believe how fast the past 51 days have gone ... It's nuts!

Wednesday, Ari came over after school, we went grocery shopping to prepare for Sirilak's daughter's birthday party tomorrow night (Friday). We are making tacos for them, as it's something they haven't ever had the chance to try-wish us luck! After grocery shopping, we went to UD Town for Thai pizza-incredibly delicious.

It is Thursday night now. I ate some of my leftover pizza, am blogging, and am trying to figure out how I am going to pack all of my stuff up. Because it is our last week, we are now receiving "going away" gifts, which is incredibly kind and thoughtful, but is leaving our bags a bit full-hopefully our zippers zip!

Here are some pictures from this week in the classroom:.

Thank you everyone, especially God, that has supported me in this adventure so far, and I'll let you know how the weekend turns out!

Xoxo Kenzkeg

Our Weekend in Phuket

* Disclaimer: I am sorry that some of the punctuation / capitalization is off for some of my blogs. The internet is attempting to translate it to English for me (because I'm Thai ...), so it changes some of things I have written! Sorry if it bothers you as much as it bothers me!

No, it's not pronounced the way that Americans would pronounce it-phonetically, it would be spelled "Poo-ket". If You google Thailand, pictures of The Phi-Phi Islands in Phuket are One of The First Things that Appear. It was the most beautiful place ever.

Thursday, we flew out of Udon Thani in the afternoon, with an extremely quick layover (and when I say extremely quick, I mean we were escorted off the plane, ran through the airport with a airport employee, and hopped on our next flight).  in Bangkok, and arrived in Phuket around 7 PM. From then, We learned that The Two Checked Bags that Ari's Parents had did Not Make The Quick Turn around and were still in Bangkok. We had it arranged that they would be Delivered to The. hotel. 

We hopped in a taxi and drove the hour to our resort.

Our Resort was BEAUTIFUL. We stayed at The Movenpick Resort in A Villa. It was A Two Bedroom, Two bath Villa, along with A Living Room, Deck, and Kitchen. Let's Just say I would gladly stay there again!

View of the mountains on one side of the Resort.

The Ocean on the other side! 

After We got settled, We went to The Sand Bar for A Drink and Pizza. It was glorious Way to Relax.

Friday morning, we woke up around eight and headed to our breakfast buffet. Literally the BEST breakfast buffet I have ever had ... it was great. Four different rooms full of food. Dennis was actually able to try almost all of the food (that was his goal). Ari and I stuck to what we knew and liked-I think we made the wise decision; everything was SO good!

After breakfast, Ari's parents went off to schedule some tours for the day and we headed down to the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL. I wanted to just lay there all day! I love oceans and really any kind of water, so to just be able to float in the water was the best. Of course, because it was so early, we didn't think that the two hours would really make a difference on our skin-we were wrong. Ari fried and I got a bit red as well-whoopsie. What's a vacation without a good sun burn?

After hanging out on the beach for two hours, we went up, changed, and headed out to the front lobby to meet our driver for our ZIPLINE experience. The zipline we went on is one of the top ziplines in Asia and there was a reason why! I would tell everyone to go ziplining if they ever have the chance! I'm partial to the jungle zipline, but that's only because that's what I have experienced! 

Gosh, I could Go on for Days talking About How wonderful that was. Our Tour Guides were hilarious as Well, which Made The entire thing more enjoyable. It was quite A workout as well, which made ​​it more fun! flying through the air on a wire was easily the best Valentine's day I have ever had (Sorry to all the people I have spent other Valentine's with ...)!

          Dennis zip lining --->

                                  Our great zipline tour guides!

After ziplining, We headed back to The Hotel, Relaxed by The Pool, and then got Ready to Go to The Simon Cabaret Show. This was interesting, to say The least. The best Word that I know to Semi-describe it would be A.  Drag Show. Thailand is Semi-known for their "lady Boys", which is really A male A female Who dresses and ACTS like. Please do Not think I AM trying to be Offensive by Calling someone A lady-boy. I AM Cringing as I Type this, actually.  It's really what they say here and it is Not seen as A derogatory Word; it's Simply A title. They danced and Made jokes throughout The Show, which got A few chuckles from Me. They danced to Songs from Burlesque and Chicago, so that was A Win in My Book. It was strange, but I was glad to See it. The Dancing was A disappointment, however. . They were A bit off beat for Most of The Show ...

Afterwards, we went out to dinner. I ordered fried rice and chicken (yes, I have cravings for that now, be aware!) And laughed / discussed the show!

Saturday Morning, We were up Early to Go on A Snorkeling Tour. The Snorkeling was A bit lacking, however, as Snorkeled We actually only at One Place. The coral was actually dead there, too, but some of the fish were beautiful-I wish I would have been able to capture them on film!

We were able to swim, get some more sun, and people watch for the entire day, so there is absolutely no complaining on my part-three of my favorite activities!

We got back around six pm, as it was an all day excursion, showered up, and went out to dinner at the Sand Bar again. I ordered a club sandwich, and it was delicious. The first club sandwich I have had in probably three months-yum yum yum!

Sunday morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and then Ari and I wandered around the shops near our resort. There were tons of fun things, of course, but I was good and didn't buy anything for myself!

Afterwards, We headed back to The Airport, hopped on our Flight, said Goodbye to The Anderson Parents, and arrived back in.  Udon Than around 8pm Sunday night. It was A fabulous Weekend and I'll Remember it Forever!  I wish We could have had more time there!

* A special thanks to the Andersons-Cindy and Dennis. Without you, there is no way Ari and I would have been able to see half of the things that we did the past week and a half. Thank you so much for everything, and We'll see you in a week!

Valentine's Day

Will you be my valentine?

That would be the question of the week.

We taught the students about Valentine's day and made Valentines this week. They didn't have school Friday and several of the other classes had activities, which meant little class for us, so we took advantage and taught them something that was simply fun and a part of American culture (a large part, actually, according to. . my twitter feed). We gave the kids three sentences that they were able to write:.

-Be Mine

-Happy Valentine's day!

-Will you be my Valentine?

They also had to write who it was to and from. Asking some of the students if it was for their boyfriend or girlfriend was hilarious. They would blush as their friends around them would yell yes and point to who it was, or say the name if it was someone in another class. Ahhh, seventh and eighth grade love-it'll probably last for a good couple more days!

Monday night, our host families took Ari's parents to BBQ (our favorite restaurant in Udon Thani) because they had to try the experience. It was delicious, as always, but they struggled a bit with the chop sticks. Ari and I are pros now, so there's that!

Tuesday night, we met up for pizza at Pizza Company-it was fabulous as well. Afterwards, we went walking down past some of the outdoor stands to see what they were selling. Ari's dad, Dennis, definitely had enough of the market setting for awhile.

Wednesday night was dedicated to skyping both my mother and Markie. It was great to talk and catch up with them as well.

Thursday morning, I was suckered into getting up early to skype Britta and Kelli. They organized, being the great best friends they are, to have more than just them there. So I was able to talk to those two, Megan, Steph, Chan, Josh, Kyle, and Kelcie as well! It was the best, and actually made me okay with going home for a little bit ... Keyword: little bit. I am getting more and more sad as my time in Thailand comes to a close.

After I was done skyping, I went to school to finish up the week, as we left for Phuket with Ari's parents at 2:30!

And to answer your Question, yes We Both Received several Valentines. J

One Night in Bangkok. (actually three)

Friday, we taught three classes before quickly rushing off to the airport. Of course, Ari's mom lost her phone (which had a data plan), so there wasn't a way to contact her before we left for Bangkok. When we got to the airport, I checked in, but Ari got a random security check where they wanted to see her credit card to prove that it was her. Well, Ari's parents paid for her ticket and she obviously did not have it with her. They then had her buy a new ticket and they said they would refund the other account within 13 days ... how dumb. After getting that squared away, we went and sat in the airport. The Udon Thani airport is HUGE!!! Just kidding, there are two gates. We sat for about 45 minutes until we were able to board. Once upon the plane, they provided us with a meal (it was a one hour flight ..) in typical Thai fashion.

Once arriving in Bangkok, We headed to The Thongta Resort (Same Hotel that We stayed in last time). After getting all of our Stuff Put away, We headed off to Khaosan Road. We took the sky train and the tuk-tuk. I'm pretty sure Ari's parents LOVED their first tuk tuk experience .. haha! 

Khaosan Road is A Short Street Phra Nakhon district in Bangkok in The. It's wonderful. There are tons of tourists, which makes it fun, from all over the world. We heard probably around 20 different languages ​​while we were there and everyone is just simply happy to be there, as were we. We bought A few Things (because why Not?) And at ATE A Middle Eastern Restaurant (wonderful Pizza). After We were done eating, We wandered up and Down The Street People Watching. 

There are seriously no rules at this place because people are from all over. Are you of age? Doesn't matter, have a drink. 

There was A MAN Selling fake IDs. People Wear whatever they want because they do not know Where You are from Anyway, so it does Not Matter. It's such a strange and special place. It was also nice to see some younger people as well. We got home around 12:30, which means bed around 1:30.

Saturday Morning, We MET Ari's Parents for Breakfast before our Special VIP van picked U.S. up to Drive U.S. around all Day. Ari's Host Uncle (Not A thing really, but He's her Host Dad's Brother), Folk, MET U.S. at The Hotel to Come. up with us as well. This was super sweet of him because it made ​​it much easier to translate things between the driver and us, as well as other Thai people.

Our first stop was the elephants. A huge disappointment this was. They were beautiful, but did not You Sit directly on them, but on A seat, You did not get to PET them or anything, and they walked through The City, which is horrible for them. It did not Look like they were being treated Horribly, but You never know. Ari and I decided We did Not want to support this Activity, so We decided that was A no-Go. We did, however, find a huge ancient temple near the elephants, and that was very cool to explore. Ari's parents really seemed to enjoy it as well. 

After The Ancient Temple Ruins, We went to another Temple. There are SO MANY Temples in Thailand. This One had A Chicken / Rooster Temple next to it, which was easily The strangest thing I Saw that Day ... apparently there was a giant chicken war and one of the kings really liked the chickens, so he made ​​a temple for them .. How strange. The Other Temple was HUGE, and We climbed to Look A Million Steps to get out of The Top. After that, We were Templed out and Ready to Go back to The Hotel. Bangkok is stressful and we were wiped out. When we got home, we were SUPER SWEATY. Bangkok is HOT. It was like 100 degrees that day, so we decided to shower and meet up to go out to eat. We went to a bar across the street, ordered some appetizers, and Ari and I tried a cocktail as her parents had a Thai beer. It was a great day.

Sunday morning, we were up and ready to go early as well. We hopped in our VIP van and headed off to the Floating market. This wasn't exactly how we pictured it, but it was still very cool and we enjoyed it. We had lunch on the river, went for a boat ride, shopped, and got Thai foot massages. The massages were only 100 baht, which is three dollars in the US ... whatta steal. No wonder I keep buying things-everything is ridiculously cheap. Discount obsessed Mackenzie is going crazy! We even got Ari's dad, Dennis, to try one as well. I'm not sure he was a fan. Folk refused to get one-annoying! Haha! After spending the day there, we headed back to our hotel. We arrived there around seven pm and made plans to meet up with Folk at eight to go back to Khaosan Road. We were craving some "people our age" time. We went there, had a drink, and watched people. We also tried to set Folk up with some girls, but he refused! I told him if he came to visit us in MN, I'd find him someone!

Monday morning, we were up and ready to go back to the hotel at 5 am ... that alarm came much too soon. After flying back, Arunrat picked us up from the airport. She brought us back to Sirilak's house (and Ari's parents to their hotel) to change for school. We then went out to lunch and introduced Cindy and Dennis to Thai ice cream, as well as some teachers at our school.

Finally, it was time to teach. Week six of teaching has officially began. 

Week Five!

Mayday Mayday! It is already February 6th- where has the time gone? In 18 days, I will be home again in the bitter cold...looking forward to seeing everyone again, but dreading Minnesnowta. I will miss my Thailand.

This week has been busy so far-

On Mondays, we don't teach until the afternoon and so Denny (along with Arunrat and two education supervisors) took us to a primary school in nearby Udon Thani. They have heard of what SMSU is doing and want to get in on the student teachers as well. The students at this school were INCREDIBLE. First of all, this school has an advanced immersion program, where the students pay an extra 25,000 baht, but have an English teacher teaching all of their classes, starting in first grade. The difference in knowledge between Ban Maaken (our school) and this one was amazing. However, I LOVE our seventh and eighth graders and wouldn't trade them in for the world. This visit did put quite a bit of excitement for what SMSU can do in the future- I cannot wait to share my experiences with those back home and hopefully make an impact on their student teaching decision!

After we were done observing the school, as well as chatting with many "higher ups" within the school, we went out for lunch and then headed back to school. Mondays are always the hardest. This week, Ari and I thought we had a great plan. We were going to have the students work on ordering at restaurants in English, as our assigned topic was "food and drink". We split them into groups and were going to "play restaurant" by having them order food off a menu. This was a flop- none of the students understood what we were trying to do and didn't stop moving around to other groups. And giving directions in English was not an option, so we abandoned that technique. Instead, we had the students practice ordering a drink with their partner. Afterwards, we taught them how to order food (what to say) as a class. I then went around asking them for their favorite foods so we could make a huge list on the whiteboard. After each student had given a different answer, we had them write out their own menus for a restaurant. The restaurant was named "___their nickname___'s Restaurant" (Clever, we know). The students then had to add five foods and five drinks that they would share at their restaurant. The students were actually quite clever with this and some even added pictures. We then called on students by their nicknames, which they thought was hilarious, as we don't pronounce words the way they do. Some of their nicknames were simply English words. For example, today I met Boat, Bacon, First, Boss, Bas, Arm, Art, Fern, and even Beer. Some nicknames huh?

Monday night, I started not to feel so well and went to bed early. Tuesday evening was more of the same, but Arunrat had teacher friends over.. when I fell asleep at 11:30, they were still here yelling and laughing, so I'm not actually sure what time they really left. Wednesday, I woke up with a runny nose, a headache, and a terrible sore throat- I blame Ari; she was sick first! After class, I hopped on a public car and came home. Sleep was calling my name. And besides finishing Gossip Girl and chatting with Mark for a bit, that's all I did. 

Today (Thursday) after school, Arunrat and Sirilak had a meeting and so I went home with Ari by public car to hang out, as we didn't feel like sitting at the school till five. We watched part of The Princess and the Frog (made my day) and then Arunrat and Auntie took me to Faroh Steakhouse. Yes, it was decorated Egyptian. Yes, that is how they spell Faroh. No, I'm not sure if they know it isn't correct. This, however, isn't uncommon- I had a student spell water "wetr" today. They spell the way they say it, which may not be how we, as English speakers, pronounce it. 

Just a day in the life here in Thailand. Tomorrow, Ari and I leave for Bangkok to meet up with her parents who are coming to visit- should be a grand ole time!

Xoxo Kenzkeg

Elephant Souvenirs in Chiang Khong

Chinese New Year is upon us here in Thailand, and let me tell you, it's a big deal.

Food would be the main source of entertainment for the events. 

Thursday night, I spent the evening with Ari's host family. Sirilak dropped us off at the Chinese New Year celebrations and we were able to find some chicken that was SUPER good and watch some of the performances. They were having a talent show for kids and some of the performances were absolutely fantastic. There was a little girl, probably around eight, that sang Beyonce. Made our night- she was fabulous. I wanted to give her a hug for trying an American song, let alone Beyonce. Ari and I clapped very loud for her, but nobody else really did. Clapping must not quite be the thing to do after performances because there was not much for applause after any of the children performed, which bums me out. Nothing hurts a child's dream than silence after attempting.

Friday night was more of the New Year, but this time with dancing. It was almost as if it was Miley Cyrus up there at another award's show, which was strange for a family event. It got Ari and I laughing, but we weren't quite sure why it was acceptable. Thai people claim to be quite conservative, but maybe that doesn't count at night- I'll let you know!

As for Saturday/Sunday, we took a trip to Chiang Khong.

Best things about Chiang Khong-

-Cheap Homestay (hostel)
-Arunrat/Auntie/Arunrat's sister/Arunrat's Sister in law/Arunrat's niece came with us! A full car, but lots of fun!

-THE WALKING STREET MARKET. They sold incredible things and Ari and I wanted to buy them all.
-I found elephant pants that I will proudly wear back in Minnesota- if anyone makes fun of me, I'll simply tell them "hey you've never been to Thailand- you don't know".
-we fed monks breakfast- don't worry, we didn't touch them or their bowls!
- we saw Laos again!
- Thai Style breakfast was a must, because who wouldn't want chicken noodle soup stuff for breakfast?
-visited the rapids for wonderful photo opportunities!

It was a great weekend. Truth be told, I had everything typed up nicely ( It was quite long actually), but I lost internet, and therefore lost my entire post, so this is what you are getting instead. Trust me, if you comprehended that Chiang Khong is a must see if you ever find yourself in Thailand, you understood the main point. You would have passed the test if there were one.

Xoxo Kenzkeg