Round 2 of teaching

It is almost impossible to believe but the two month summer vacation has ended. Children are returning to school and activities are beginning! I am writing this blog to the constant beat of drums, tambourines, singing, and yelling as school has hired a company to entertain the pratom children for a day. Not having class on the second day of school is pretty nice, but the noise is becoming a bit obnoxious.

School is picking up right where it left off with only a few exceptions. The main difference for me is we only have three Americans here now, as four have moved on to either more traveling or have returned home. Emily, Nathan, and I will miss them dearly! I will be teaching 1st and 2nd grade math again this semester and I can't wait to meet my new students. The 1st grade class is coming up from the kindergarten aka anuban and rumor has it they are good at English and well behaved. I am teaching English to the 7th and 8th grade classes in the English Program, but combined it is only six students! I am also teaching English conversation to every class in EP, but that is only one time a week. My classes should be fun this semester and much more relaxed now that I know how to handle the students and their ability levels.

As many of you know Bangkok has been in the news frequently over the last few weeks. I have gotten several emails from people asking where I am located and if I am safe. I am safe! Our school is about 30 minutes outside of BKK and entirely unaffected by the protests; however, my social life is entirely affected! We are ready for the protests to be over so we can go to Bangkok on the weekends. It has been sad to see the impact this is having on the Thai economy and how people view the country! Hopefully the situation will be under control soon.

I am planning on highlighting my favorite places from traveling as the semester continues so stay tuned for that!