School has only been in session for two days and already the recent holiday seems like it was ages ago. It started with a 3-day jaunt to Chiang Mai (which I visited before in January), in northern Thailand, with some of my favorite Aussie coworkers. They were staying all week, so we had an apartment and sampled the ex-pat life in the neighborhood with another friend living there. This meant that my time there was mostly spent perusing markets, eating, drinking, and laying by the pool. Highlights included the Sunday Walking Street, when a downtown street is shut down and turned into a phenomenal handicraft market, and the best mangoes/cashew chicken/noodle soup I’ve ever tasted. Though it’s embarrassing to admit, we also visited the “Tiger Kingdom,” where you can pet tigers of differing sizes (we chose “smallest” and “largest,” of course). I won’t attempt to try to defend paying to pet a captive wild animal. So, I’ll only say–touching a tiger was really cool. It’s off the bucket list.
Little did I know when I took this that these would be the Most Delicious Mangoes Ever.
Chiang Mai market snacks: pork rinds, sausage, and chili dips.
Tigers sleep up to 18 hours per day.
After the three relaxing days in Thailand, it was time to head off for the main part of my trip–to Myanmar (Burma). I went there alone for the first few days and later met up with the other Princeton-in-Asia Laos girls when they arrived. It was: hot, fascinating, fragrant, lively, spiritual, friendly, and one of my favorite places I’ve visited so far. Look forward to more thoughts from the trip (and Pi Mai Lao!) coming soon.
Now I’m here back in Vientiane, two days into Term 2, 2011. Though I’ll be very busy with work, like last term, my courses this term are more exciting than ever. During the day, I’m continuing with the adults’ scholarship prep class, this time focusing on teaching how to write for the IELTS exam (something like the TOEFL in the US). I have two young learners’ classes: one are 8-15 year-olds who I’ve taught before, and another are 8-11 year-olds who are learning about Fairytales this term. That’s right: I’ll be reading/acting out/discussing Goldilocks, Cindarella, the Big Bad Wolf, and more with some young Lao children. I can’t wait. I’ll also be teaching Professional Writing to advanced students who want to learn how to write proposals and reports in English. The final class, and the most unique, is a new course that my housemate Alex has been developing, about exploring and reflecting on personal identity through literature. This will be a new experience for the students on many levels, and I’m excited to share more about this class as it progresses this term.
More about Burma coming soon!