Reason #23435 Why I love Bangkok: Fashion!

On one of our many days spent wandering through Bangkok, we came across a little shop filled with beautiful dresses and skirts. It was in a small alleyway that otherwise we probably would have passed right up. I bought a skirt from the woman in the picture and it is one of the cutest skirts I own! I always get lots of compliments because it is so unique. You see shops like this and clothes everywhere in Bangkok! I came back to Tennessee with several dresses, shirts, sunglasses and my favorite - the skirt from this Thai woman. I can't wait to get to Bangkok and do some shopping! I'm sure that when (if) I come back to the US, I will have a completely new wardrobe. I get to have a fresh start with everything in life, including clothes! :)

BANGKOK bound!

Well, after a lot of thought and difficulty, I turned down the very gracious offer from HESS this morning. HESS is the school in Taiwan that seems pretty amazing, they have a great support system for their teachers and even teach programs in culture shock. It was such a hard decision for me because the contract was great and the school was great. I started researching Taiwan and just couldn't see myself living there. I'd be on an island so travel would be much more difficult than in Bangkok. Even just looking at the pictures of Taiwan it seems so much less vivid than Bangkok. My mind is made up. My flight is book. My down payment on school is complete. My life is changing... I am moving to Bangkok, Thailand in 46 days and could NOT be happier! :) Thank you GOD! Can't wait to eat some interesting foods and do some traveling!!!!!

10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Traveling To Bangkok, Thailand

Traveling to Thailand? Here's 10 things I wish someone would have told me before I left for Bangkok!

56 days until departing!!!!

Today marks exactly 56 days before I embark on the journey of a lifetime!!! I've officially made my decision between Taiwan and Thailand but I'm going to keep that a surprise for the time being. You'll have to keep reading to see where I'm going.

I am *officially* booking my flight today! It will be completely paid for and this is the biggest puzzle piece in my journey. I can't believe it's really happening!! I have so many goals I want to accomplish and things I want to do when I reach my destination. I hope these 56 days go by quickly...I am READY! :)

Mystic Place - Bangkok, Thailand

I've been researching hotels in Bangkok and found this AMAZING hotel outside of Chatuchak. It is called Mystic Place Rooms and is a boutique style hotel. Artists designed the various rooms and they are all different! When booking your room, you will see pictures of the rooms by number and will be able to select various ones. They all have interesting names like: Wish You Were Here, Wake Up, Medicine Machine, and Listen. I've never seen anything like it! It's affordable, chic, and very artsy! Check out their website: Mystic Place Bangkok!

Thailand...or Taiwan?

Now to throw even more confusion into all of this, I had formed a backup plan to going to Thailand (due to political turmoil). The second country on my list to travel to was Taiwan. I chose Taiwan mainly because it is an island and the weather doesn't seem to get below 55 (which is actually even colder than I'd like!). So I began researching Taiwan and a really good school there, HESS.

HESS is a free school that has a very rigorous application and interview process but if they like you, they offer you a one year contract somewhere in Taiwan. You have options for different contracts based on the amount of hours and age groups you would like to work with. I definitely want to work with little kids...I think. I guess that's not definite :).

The good thing about this school is you have a constant support system around you and since I am going alone, that is really important to me. They pick you up at the airport and pay for your hotel accommodations while in training. The training programs are all free (there is even a course on culture shock). There is a big difference between this program and Text and Talk in Thailand, they do not give you your TEFL certificate until your one year is up.

I have already completed the online applications and paperwork and had my telephone interview last night. It went really well and got me really interested in HESS. The lady I spoke with had been through the program herself and gave me some great advice. My favorite piece of advice was that you might not realize how slowly you have to speak or how much you have to tone down your language and word usage - especially with the younger children. This is something I never would have thought of and I'm so glad she gave me this advice, among other things.

I'm now incredibly confused because my heart was set on Thailand but now I'm realizing just how great this school in Taiwan is. I feel torn. But I can't jump the gun, I haven't even received a job offer from HESS but today I began hardcore Taiwan research. Hopefully, my heart will lead the way, but as of now it still wants to see me in Bangkok.

Wish me luck!

All Systems Go!

Things are really looking up in Bangkok! The civilians are coming out to clean up the streets! This is such a promising site to me and makes me feel so much better about going. My excitement is, once again, rising!

I do fear that because these issues were only pushed aside for the time being that they will emerge again. I fear that while I am there another state of emergency will be declared. I fear the protests that become deadly. I fear gunshots and fires.

But more importantly, I fear living in fear. I do not want to let something that could or could not happen stand in the way of my life forever changing with this opportunity. The Red Shirts aren't targeting tourists, but at times they are also not thinking clearly (like when they set fire to Central World!). which is a bit scary.

But hey, like my dad says, at least I will be there to document history!

Thailand is a GO!

Stop, Drop, & Roll!

As I mentioned in my last blog, I fell in love with one particular road in Bangkok that sees its fair share of backpackers and hippies from all over the world, although they mainly seem to be Westerners.

As soon as you get close to it, you see flags all above your head and you begin to see people covering the street. Khaosan Road is blocked off to vehicles at certain points of the day so there are literally people filling the streets. There are also street vendors everywhere you look selling an assortment of items: clothing, sunglasses, fake degrees, and lots and lots of FOOD!

We made our way to Khaosan Road twice while we were in Bangkok, mainly because of how much I loved it! Our last night in Bangkok we stopped here to get a meal, a fish massage, a few Singhas, and just walk around and enjoy the scenery before departing.

About halfway down Khaosan Road there were people stopped everywhere. We couldn't get around them! What was going on? See for yourself...and this was just a typical night in Bangkok! :)

Why Bangkok?

People keep asking me..."Why Bangkok?" like it's crazy that I could want to live in Thailand. A lot of people are misinformed or just completely uninformed about the country altogether and I'm here to tell you, it is NOT what you think! The people are kind, they work hard, they appreciate what they have...the country is beautiful, filled with ruins and crystal clear beaches...public transportation is cheap, commonly used...shopping is everywhere!!!! What is not to love? If that doesn't sell you on Bangkok, maybe this will. This is my real reason for wanting to live in Thailand...in pictures. :) These are all pictures taken from my trip in November 2009 to Bangkok, Thailand, when I fell in love with the country!

Khaosan Road...by far my favorite place in Bangkok! Hippie/Backpacker central. Loved it!

Me and my elephant friend outside of a temple in Thailand.

Sleeping Buddha...my favorite temple! Amazing. So breathtaking. I even got a permanent reminder of this place as soon as we left :)

For good luck at the Grand Palace in Bangkok

Nashville flooding. This city needs YOUR help!

This is a blog unlike my others because it is unrelated to TEFL in any way. As you may or may not have heard, Nashville, Tennessee (my home!) is currently dealing with severe problems due to flooding. This past weekend we encountered hours of endless rain which caused rivers to flood. Downtown Nashville is still completely underwater and many historical landmarks in the area have been damaged. So far, the death toll is only at 28 (pray that this number does not go up). Many people are still looking for family members or pets and are trying to put their lives back together as they have lost everything. Please help to spread the word about this amazing city and what it is going through right now. We need your help! At the very least, I ask for your prayers and thoughts for the many people who have lost loved ones, pets or even their homes.

You can help!

Donations to the Red Cross are now being accepted and your donations can help people to start over! You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to help out or visit the Red Cross website.

Also, if you are in Nashville: PLEASE remember to conserve water! This is very important right now!

Take care everyone and please keep Nashville citizens in your thanks and prayers! Thank you :)