Chaiyaphum

Life happens and situations change.  I have switched placement agencies in Thailand and am no longer in the south. I wasn't getting the best guidence or placement I was promised so I decided to switch to another company, for the better. I flew to Bangkok, had a brief orientation, and the next day I was off on a short 5 hour bus ride to Chaiyaphum where I will be teaching English  to the primary level.
When I got to my apartment, it was brand new. Nothing made me feel better than to finally be able to unpack and settle into my new home.

Even better, I got to decorate my fridge with love from home. 

 Yesterday, Monday was my first class. I taught 3 classes yesterday and will be teaching 5 today. I'll be teaching 20 classes a week, which will take a while to get used to as there are like 10-15 different class types with different learning levels. So far everyone is incredibly nice and helpful.  I wasn't exactly sure where my school was yesterday, so the lady who owns the restaurant below my apartment drove me to school on her scooter.

I also got a ride home from another foreign English teacher at my school. Thailand really does have the nicest people. 

Last night, I met the two other foreign teachers in my building, and they work at the primary schools down the street (I'm at the Secondary school, Satri).  

There are a bunch of farang  (foreigners) in Chaiyaphum, which is exactly what I wanted.

I'm sitting at my office desk as I have my first two periods of the day classless, trying to put together lesson plans and remember how I was taught in elementary school. Even though these girls are in high school, they still speak English at at lower level - which is to be expected as this is a foreign language to them. All I can say is, thank you to my fabulous teachers at Vienna Elementary. Fairfax County Public Schools has truly prepared me for this.