जीवनं सुंदरमस्ति

August 4th – 12.30PM
Location: Kata Beach, Phuket.

At present, I am sat on Kata beach watching the emerald waves go out, thankfully it is beach is a lot less popular therefore more relaxing. I hope that soon I will find a completed secluded beach somewhere whilst I am in Thailand. My netbook is definitely coming in handy because the versatility has allowed me to write a blog updates in a stunning location. Tracy is sitting beside me, topping up her tan before she returns to the Australian winter on Wednesday evening.

We left the school as planned on Friday evening and stayed in Patong which is the most popular town for tourists in Phuket. There are an endless amount of street vendors constantly asking if you’d like to buy a DVD, have a massage or get a tuk tuk. Despite how many times you pass them in a day they will continue asking and this becomes very frustrating very quickly. Patong’s nightlife is located on Bangla Road and is mostly made up of small bars with ladyboys dancing on a podium all night long and other various tourist delights. The most shocking and unpleasant thing to see was the huge amount of old Caucasian men with beautiful Thai women.

I would have avoided Patong altogether but to mark the completion of the CELTA course we chose to dance the night away in a nightclub on Saturday. As it is low season, the club we chose called ‘ClubLime’ wasn’t too full but the Thai DJ, who had dreadlocks down to his bum, was very talented and played a selection of good house, trance and minimal beats. A few gin and tonics later, Tracy and I danced for hours on end.

Sunday was a day that I will definitely not forget for a long time. We woke up and went shopping around 11a.m and for the following three hours my stomach churned from nervous anticipation because I was booked in to have my first tattoo. I was very excited because the design was beautiful and exactly what I wanted but I had no idea what the pain would be like and I really hoped I would be able to cope with it.

When I arrived at 90 Nine Tattoo, Barney who is the owner and is originally from North London chatted to me whilst Chatchai, the tattooist, drew up the stencil. Twenty minutes was spent by me asking Barney to explain what it feels like and how painful it is to which he said, expect the worst and hopefully it will not be that bad. The time came for me to lie on my front and wait for the needle to be dragged across my skin. To my surprise and elation, when Chatchai began the work it didn’t even feel painful at all. In fact, I had to try to refrain myself from flinching because the sound of the vibrations was making my spine tingle uncontrollably. The outline took two hours which I sat through continuously and the shading took another hour. Overall, I’d say that I didn’t find the tattoo painful although the shading can feel uncomfortable at times. I’d certainly prefer to get a tattoo over getting muscle cramp, period pains or stubbing a toe!

Chatchai is a very talented tattooist and he has won Thai competitions for freehand work, he made me feel very comfortable and I’m sure I will return in the future for more. It is true what they say, tattoos are addictive and over the next few years I would like to complete an artwork on my whole back.

On our last day in Patong, we went on a full day tour of the Phi Phi Islands which was a great experience with beautiful scenery although it is unfortunate that it is spoilt by huge amounts of tourists that visit the islands on a daily basis. We travelled to each island on a speed boat and Tracy and I chose to sit at the front which was extremely adventurous. The boat went speeding over waves 3 metres in height which would result in a very hard collision with the sea underneath, in total this made up 4 hours of the day but I thought it was the most fun. Even three young men who sat at the front couldn’t bear the feeling of the collisions and they were holding onto each other for their lives which made fantastic entertainment.

The day ended with a move to Kata, an evening meal and a quick return to our hotel room because we were so exhausted. I had the pleasure of watching ‘Flight of the Concords’ for the first time yesterday before going sleep, an excellent programme indeed.

July 29th – 11:43PM
Location: British International School, Phuket.

Finally, the CELTA course is coming to an end with only two days left. It seems to have taken a lifetime throughout the experience but upon reflection the last 4 weeks feels like a scattered memory in my mind and I feel as though I only left my home in Leicester a few days ago. I am mentally exhausted from the intensive study hours I have put in to this course and I can truly say I have never worked so hard, I can only hope that this pays off when we are given our recommended grades. I have a one hour lesson left which I will teach on Friday and I am striving to achieve what my trainer believes to be a thorough, well planned and logically staged lesson that uses a variety of techniques to allow the students to practice the present perfect tense. Grammar, the hardest lessons to teach in my opinion, has been a regular occurrence in my overall 9 teaching practices and this has often left me learning it myself the night before to ensure my lesson runs as smoothly as possible, so far it has been all good and I hope that this continues.

There is, however, a shining light at the end of this tunnel that is keeping me going. The opportunities that are available in English Language teaching are varied, interesting and rewarding. This has certainly made me want to put my learning into practice. I’m confident to say that I do feel as though I have found my ‘destiny’ in life. Strangely enough, I have had numerous occasions whereby I have recognised snippets of Déjà Vu, experiences that happen in the present that I have seen and felt in my mind’s eye a long time ago in the past. It is all very peculiar, but surely it’s a good thing.

Another odd occurrence happened last week when Matt R, Greg and I went to the local shop to buy postcards, for my writing lesson, and then found a very swish bar at The Boat Lagoon. We sat and relaxed, savouring our short time away from the confines of the school that evening. Matt R pointed out quite early on the course that he often remembers me by the Paul McCartney song, Rosie…I love you (I’m not 100% sure if this is the actual song title), I’ve never heard of this song before nor has anyone referenced it to me but it actually played that night in the bar because the barman had it on his IPod. It just reminded me that there is definitely more to life that what the eye can see when strange things like that happen, seriously, what are the chances!

Last Friday, the course trainees and trainers went for an evening meal at restaurant located at The Boat Lagoon, where we sat outside by the harbour where many magnificent yachts were docked as we ate our meal. The highlight of the evening for me was a very big cockroach, about 2 inches long; scurrying its way happily across the table towards me so I immediately slide right on my chair and squish up against Amoret in the hope that it will head in another direction. However, to my horror it clambers up the side of my coca-cola bottle up to the rim and then makes the decision to fly its way to me and land on my shoulder and take another happy scurry across the top of my back. Of course, I felt every one of its legs assaulting my skin immediately and let out a screechy yelp as I desperately flung my arms around to brush it off me and succeeded in my efforts. Shortly after my ordeal, another cockroach ran over my foot and I was left in a mild state of paranoia for the rest of the evening.

To finish off the perfect night, I discovered that I had been severely bitten by mosquitoes on my feet, lower legs and upper arms. A staggering 42 mosquito bites in fact. Admittedly it is my own fault for not using repellent and I will never opt out of smelling of ‘travellers’ cologne’ and taking the risk of getting bitten again. The incurable itching has been constant agony for me for the last five days and it has finally begun to subside so my lesson has definitely been thoroughly learnt.

The next step of my adventure starts soon and it will actually feel like I’m on holiday, I will leave the school on Friday with Tracy and book into a hotel in Phuket. Tracy flies back to Australia on Wednesday so we are planning to spend a few days relaxing on the beach, being pampered and resting our minds. On Friday 7th August I am flying to Bangkok where I will be taken to Petchaburi Province to start my 3 week volunteer work at the wildlife rescue centre. I am certainly looking forward to being able to use my SLR camera to capture the beauty that is everywhere outside of these school gates!

July 20th – 11:20PM
Location: British International School, Phuket.

International House along with Cambridge University stipulate at the application and interview stages that the 4 week CELTA qualification course is very intensive. I can now certainly agree with this and say that it has exceeded my expectations as to how intensive it would be. This would be why I have neglected to update my blog for the two weeks, simply because I have spent a majority of my evenings planning lessons for hours on end (I will teach 10 lessons by the end of the course) as well as 4 writing assignments over the course period.

First of all, teaching English as a foreign language is not at all similar to any preconceived ideas of standing at the front of the class and passing on your knowledge to the learners. In fact, it is quite the opposite and this is what I have been learning during our afternoon sessions in class and then having to implement this immediately in our lessons. During the mornings, 3 lessons are taught. My class is made up of 6 trainees so we teach one 40 minute lesson on alternative days. I’ve taught intermediate students up to today and from tomorrow I start my elementary teaching. The students are all employed by British International School and the benefit for them to be taught English by unqualified teachers is that the lessons are free.

The trainers, are Carolyn Conway (intermediate lessons) and Barbara Garside (elementary lessons) and they are both seriously talented teachers who have published guidebooks and also examine other CELTA courses for Cambridge University. This is a priceless gift and I believe the words that come out of their mouths are as valuable as gold because they really do know what they are talking about.

I initially thought I would be very nervous in my lessons but it turns out I have a natural talent for focusing completing on the lesson. Most importantly I really enjoy it; it certainly doesn’t feel like work! The hard part is the lesson planning the evening before, but thanks to my organisational skills and meticulousness it has all gone pretty smoothly up to now.

Fortunately, there have been a few evenings that I’ve been able to experience a little of Phuket. My first and so far only venture to a beach as on our first Tuesday evening when I, Matt R, Tracy (a wonderful Aussie) and Amoret (a South African) broke free from our isolated confines and headed to the Patong Markets. From here we went to Karon beach to have a few beers and watch the tide come in, although we did have difficulty buying alcohol because it was a Buddhist bank holiday the following day!

We celebrated our first completed week on Friday by having a few beers at our dorms whilst playing tennis table, a sport I’ve never played before but I gradually got better under the influence of alcohol. Matt R, Tracy and I stayed up until 4.30a.m talking about everything under the sun outside on the grass. A perfect finish to the night.

The weekend brought with it monsoon rains and howling winds that cut our electricity throughout both days so there was no option but to stay in doors. I was outside on one occasion before the rain began to pour and the whole sequence is very eerie, the skies flashed as the lightening bolts tore through the clouds, the air became still and thick, then a few seconds later the sound of the rain drops hitting the tree leaves slowly got louder as it approached me. It was definitely a refreshing experience!

The second week was a lot harder, with another grammar lesson to teach and an assignment to hand in, two of my evenings did not end until 5a.mwhich only allowed me have 4 hours sleep. It is paid off in the end and I managed to make it through.

Again, to celebrate on Friday, a group of us ventured to Phuket Town and walked through the narrow streets lined by Portuguese themed architecture of Old Town Phuket. Everyone is Thailand are so friendly, they say hello and no one stares, they’re all just having a nice evening out with no drama – quite unlike Leicester City Centre. Our best find was Krim Krum Bar that played chill out beats with heavy bass lines; we ate some extremely spicy Thai food in the surrounds of vintage furniture and walls lined with all sorts of bizarre memorabilia.

Thankfully, I can say that my hard work and sleepless nights have been worth it because I had my tutorial today and I was surprised to find out I scored ‘Above Standard’ for what would usually be expected from someone studying a CELTA course. My tutor was also impressed with my performance on account of the fact that I have had no teaching experience prior to this which is very pleasing. To maintain this, I must continue the way I have in my elementary lesson teaching and not let the change of level throw me off.

9 more working days left.
4 more lessons to teach.
2 more assignments to complete.

Fingers crossed!

P.S. I was walking across the grass today when I felt a stinging in my foot which I thought was a thorn. To my horror it was a big red ant helping itself to my flesh and blood. I tried to flick the disgusting thing off me but failed because its fangs were clamped into my skin and it was only until I pinched the ant and pulled it off that I managed to pry myself away from its death grip. Utterly gross… and I’m still collecting mosquito bites. L

July 8th - 10:55PM
Location: British International School, Phuket.

I'm very pleased to say that the remainder of the trainees turned up on Sunday and as expected they are all from varied backgrounds. Sunday was spent getting to know one another, sharing our experiences and hopes after we complete the CELTA course. For me, the conversations that I have been lucky enough to have with my co-trainees have given me invaluable information about travelling, teaching abroad and most importantly inspiration. There is no doubt in my mind that this will continue up to the end of the course, in fact, the bonds that have been created between us will be greatly missed by all of us when we go our separate ways on July 31st. Here is a little information about a selection of trainees:

Matt S (24) & Alex (22)
A couple from England who have both resigned from their jobs back home to qualify as TEFL(Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Teachers and then go on to find employment to teach abroad immediately. I admire them both greatly for their courage and because, like myself, they too have realised that a 9-5 career chasing success won't result in happiness or a life that is lived. Amazingly, I discovered today (through facebook) that Matt spent his first year at university with my best friend, Kat. It seems that the Six Degrees of Separation Theory is proving itself to be true.

Dean (41)
He was born in Athens; he grew up in America (Chicago) and is now teaching in Saipan, where he has lived for 17 years. Saipan is a tiny American island with a population of 60,000 and is located east of Thailand in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. His lifestyle seems idyllic but the most important thing about him that I must comment on is his gentle nature, excellent sense of humour and calming voice. He emanates peace in such a way it is infectious, a true pleasure to spend time with.

Matt R (40)
An Australian man of all seasons with a lot of life experience that I am more than happy to here about. He has left Australia to complete his CELTA qualification and thereafter he has a teaching position lined up in Uruguay. After 40 years of growing up in Australia he has chosen to leave the becoming 'police state' to find new pastures. Matt is hilarious, from his quick wit and his affectionate digs at us 'poms'. We have shared many a conversation about life and have similar views; this for me is a rarely found understanding and a relief on my part to be able to express myself so freely. He has been kind enough to say that I should study a Philosophy Major given that I am ability to ponder the reasons of our existence.

Majid (33)
An ESL (English for Speakers of other Languages) Teacher who has his own private school in Iran, the country that he was been born and raised. Similarly to Matt R, the conversation is often about spirituality and beliefs. He has written an article for an Iranian newspaper whereby he was asked to discuss life. For this, he used life as an acronym for love, insight, faith and experience. The logic behind it is that for one to have lived; one should fall in love, gain insight into life, have faith and as a result would truly experienced life. I believe this is a beautiful and accurate ideology.

All of the people here have made the decision to steer away from the rat-race that consumes so many lives and embrace the gift before the sands of time slip through their fingers.