Happy Holiday

Hello All,

It has been a while since i have wrote in this. Sorry bout that. The month of November was quite nice. I stuck mostly around the city of Nakhon. Two other teachers and I did have quite the cave experience. We went at least a mile back in a Gigantic Cave with a river flowing in it. It was really cool. The cave had bats flying all around it and it was kind of chilly in there.

We also did a few day trips to the beach. There are some pretty nice beaches about 40 miles away. They are not huge tourist beaches with mostly Thais on it. They are pretty nice.

For Thanksgiving we had a big potluck out at a friends. We didn't have a turkey but we did have some wonderful stuffing and mashed potatoes with some chicken. It was a pretty good time.

One weekend I went with one of the Thai teachers to a festival. It was the history of the city it was very interesting even though I couldn't understand what was being said. They also had a bunch of local food which was delicious, it also gave me a great photo opportunity with people in traditional Thai clothing. Also saw some of my students there.

Two of the last three weekends have been a wonder full. A few weeks ago some friends and I went to the Island of Ko Mook. This was one of the most beautiful places I have been. And one of the quietest. There is not very many people on this beach, just a few bungalows. It was great. We did a day trip of snorkeling in some of the most stunning clear water I have seen. We even saw a dolphin ( but are guide would not stop the boat, it really pissed us off) Then we swam through a cave to an opening where it opens to a little sunlight and a really need jungle. Finished the night with a wonder full bonfire on the beach.

Then just last weekend a bunch of us (18 teachers in total) took the motorbikes about two hours north to Kun Chang National Park where we rented a huge little hostel and enjoyed a really cool day of ultimate frisky and some rafting through the national park. The rafting was really enjoyable but not much of a challenge. It was really pleasant with nice mountain water and magnificent views.

As for teaching it has been going quite well. I have been teaching for 9 months now and you can definitely see the improvement with especially the first graders learning English. Its pretty cool when you start getting results. The Thai school system is pretty messed up though. All the parents care about test results. I mean test results for first and second graders think about it. I don't even remember having a in second grade. Many of the first graders can read English. I think that is very good.

Anyways have a Merry Christmas and New Year. We get a week off and headed to a tropical Island to celebrate and do some snorkeling. I am missing home. But when I see how cold it is it is hard to complain.

I have some new pictures posted.

Martin

A little Adventure

Wow,

First of all some people don't like to read which i understand but check out the pics if you get a chance. http://picasaweb.google.com/martin.calkins

Well it was fun litte adventure through Cambodia and Laos. I took the train from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Bangkok. The train was great. I like getting the second class cars because they open the windows and just let you enjoy the fresh air. It was great going by the mountains and just enjoying the scenery on a Friday afternoon knowing your going to go see and do stuff that you have never done any of it before. It was also enjoyable sitting with the Thais on the train and tasting the food that they had.

It was a night train so ended up going to sleep very early. Then meeting up with another teacher and her friend in Bangkok. We then took the bus that same day to the Cambodia border. Where we got off the bus and got on the fist Tuk Tuk (a small three wheeled taxi) which is a big no no. We told him take us to the border. But instead of taking us to the border he took us to this place where they make a visa for Cambodia before you go to the border. Then they have a Cambodian that speaks perfect English and basically lies and cons you end to spending nearly three times as much as you are suppose to do at the border. So basically instead of 30 bucks, we very gullible young Americans get conned end to spending allot more money then we were suppose too.

Once getting to the border we find this out. But there is nothing we can do now. This will not be the last time that u get conned in Cambodia. The place was notorious for people in your face for money. I actually had a 6 year old walking with her mother behind me. Reach into my back pocket and try to grab my wallet. This was in the capitol city of Pen om Pen. I said no no. But what can you really do. That is what the girl is taught to do.

Crossing the border from Thailand you can see that you are in a whole different world. Cambodia is the poorest place I have been to in my entire life. Also these people have been through some very hard times. After America left during Vietnam, A regime took over and killed over 2 million people, over 10 percent of the population. This was only a little over 30 years ago.

Yet through all this you meet some very kind people. Also It has the biggest ancient holy site in the world. The ancient watt on Angkor Watt. This place is so huge and beautiful. We spent a good day exploring the Ancient Watt. It is amazing the work that had to be done to build this place. Every piece of stone has hand carvings in it. It is a very magical place. You can only imagine what the place had to be like during the top of its time.

About 30 minutes from the Ancient City was a girl and her husband in the peace corps from my hometown. We went and spent the afternoon with her and saw her village and school she was teaching at. It was amazing to see the facilities that her and her husband taught at. I have allot of respect for the two volunteers. Doing this for no money, and little resources. But it was very nice to see there village and market. The difference between Thailand and Cambodia is pretty astonishing. It is very neat though. You see people still using donkeys and ox as a way of transportation. It is like you are back in time in some places. Especially when you get out to the villages. The people are not trying to con you they just want to meet you and see you. That is all I want to do too is SEE and Explore.

I then had to go to Pen om Penn where I had to get a Visa before going to Laos. Penom Penn is a city I did not know what to expect. This is the capitol of Cambodia. Everyone is in your face. You feel terrible you don't have a dollar to give to everyone. During the rule of the Notorious Paul Pot who killed so many. He and his military coup planted minds all over the country. So there is many people who were just normal farmers missing limbs begging for money. You also have wonder full little kids trying to sell books, cards, everything trying to make a dollar. They are nonstop and there is nothing you can do.

Yet the city has a charm to it. Just walking around. It is neat city in its way. With some nice parks and the huge Mekong River goes through it on its way to the Ocean. It is very cool walking through the parks at sunset and seeing families and fishermen just hanging out by the river. Many people that go to Pen om Penn go to a place called the "Killing Fields" this is where a majority of Paul Pot and his military killed people. They killed almost every intellectual, anyone who could speak a different language. They did not want anyone to have a critical mind. You can still see the stains of blood at the school that they made a prison. I decided I did not want to go see that. In a way I'm disappointed I didn't. But to be honest with you. I don't think it is something that I wanted to see.

Cambodia is a place that someone has to see while over here. With its history and people. I spent two nights in Pen om Penn and then took the bus to the border of Laos.

Just crossing the border give you a whole different feeling. The people of Laos are nearly the opposite of the people of Cambodia. They are so layed back. I first went to 4,000 islands. Which is an area on the Mekong River with many Islands. On the islands they have bungalows with hammocks and it is just a layed back feeling. It is the wet season in South East Asia. So the River was flowing. It is one of the only places in the world where there are still fresh water dolphins. I did not see any. But I did see the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia. By volume not by height. It was pretty amazing. Myself and some Irish girls and a couple from Great Britain kayaked with a guide down to the waterfalls. The scenery was amazing. The water was flowing really fast. The guides make sure you are out before the waterfalls. Then you drive down to a lookout point. It is very nice. They then drive you back up river where you get to Kayak back down to the island where we were at. It was nice. Some kids were at the beach where we put the kayaks in. They decided to try and steal my kayak. They stripped down and jumped on it and took off. They did bring it back. But I got a chance to take some really cool pics before getting the kayak back. The next day I rented a bike for a dollar and decided to bike through the fishing villages and rice fields about 30 km to the waterfall. It was quite pleasant with just a relaxing atmosphere. With some fun pictures of kids to take. I spent about 3 days and 4 nights on the island. Reading, walking, and riding bike....I did have the occasionally beer Laos. Which is a great beer.

I then decided to take the night bus up to Van Vien in the North part of Loas. It is an amazing little mountain villages. With spectacular views. It is an adventure get away with kayaking and mountain biking. It is also infamous for its tubing down a river with bars and rope swings on both sides of the river. The first day I was there I rented a bike and just road around the villages taking pictures and enjoying the fine day.

The next day was not so layed back. My self and some other people that I met up with. The couple from Great Britain , some Americans....and basically many more people decided to do the tubing thing. It was fun as hell. What else do you expect when you have hundreds of people from all over the world on a river with tubes and rope swings and spectacular scenery. The rope swings were quite fun. I wish I would have had more time and did a kayaking trip there or a trek. It was a stunning place.

The next day being on a tight schedule i took the bus Luanprabong. Luanprabong is on the World Heritage Site. The ride there was six hours and it was only about 130 miles away. You were on top of some of the prettiest views a person can see. The sad thing was they never stop so you can take pictures. You drive through some amazing mountain villages. Where peoples doorsteps look over some of the prettiest views imaginable. The ride was hell though. You were twisting, turning, stoping, going. I never get car sick....but this was one of those rides I came close to you know what.

When finally arriving in Luanprabong I found a guest house and just crashed out. When waking up you understand why this city is on the World Heritage Sight. It is a beautiful city where the Mekong meets up with another river in a Valley. There is a huge French influence in Laos and especially Luanprabong. With French Architecture all over the city. Laos also has a great influence of French food especially the bread and cheese. I was having a hay day with chicken sandwiches. It was a really beautiful town.

I rented a bike the second day I was there and road out to one of the prettiest waterfalls I have seen. I don't know why the color of the water is the way it is. But it makes it look really neat. I came to the first pool and met a group of young Laos a little bit younger then me. They let me sit down and I enjoyed some fish and other food I hadn't tried before. It was really good. They also had some beer Laos. I then joined them up the waterfall, where there is 4-5 different levels with a rope swing on one. I decided to try it. The water was very cold compared to any water I had been in before in Asia. It surprised me. Anyways the waterfall was nice and Luanprabong was a very nice little city.

I then flew back to Chang Mai, I only had a few days before school started back up. Spent a night in Chang Mai then road the train back to Nakhon Si Thammarat. Where I had two days before school started.

The trip overall was very nice. Yet there was allot of traveling involved. But when you are only going to be here maybe once in your life you want to see as much as you possibly can. I think on my next vacation over here. Maybe not so much traveling. The islands only a couple hours away from Nakhon are very nice, and I think will be calling my name.

Love you all.....

Love Martin

Again pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/martin.calkins

Excited For the Trip

Happy Fall everyone.

September was a busy month. There was a huge festival in the park for about two weeks. Music, dancing, fireworks, nearly every night of the festival. The festival was huge with all kinds of colors. It was so packed it took you nearly an hour or two to walk through the whole thing.

We also had sports week in the city. That is when all the schools compete in track and field challenges for a week. We had a parade and had to dress as cowboys during it.

We also took the 4th graders on a field trip down to songla which is about 3 hours to the south next to the Malaysian border. We went to the zoo and aquarium the 4th graders really enjoyed. I thought the aquarium was very nice.

Speaking of the 4th graders, my sister's 4th graders and mine are going to be pen pals. We will start this in November when I get back from break. The Thai students will enjoy it because they have great respect for America. Hopefully the students in my sisters class will enjoy it because so they can try to have an understanding of another place.

We are having test this week. They really pressure these students. It is nice to see that the students that I tutor after school are doing really good on the test though. But I still don't understand making such a big deal out of 6 and 7 year olds taking test. I really enjoy my 1st graders. They kind of remind me of a dog when you come home from work. Always happy to see you. When I walk into class, they are always very happy....."teacher Martin" teacher Martin". The 4th graders aren't so happy all the time!

On one of my days off my neighbor has a 67 volstwagon bug. He took me for a good cruise up to one of the mountain. These mountains around here are really beautiful. We are at sea level in the city. But once you get out of the city the elevation really starts to soar. The range is about 2300 meters. Which is alot when you consider we are at sea level in the city.

I also spent another weekend up in Kanom. I really like this stretch of paradise. Its very quiet up there with a beautiful beach and mountains in the back ground. There is a guy from Chicago the lives up there and he owns some Kayaks. When I get back from break we are going to take them up to the Mountain and cruise them all the way down to the ocean and back to his place.

Hard to believe that it is already fall. We have a break starting in two days. I am taking the train up to Bangkok for a couple days. I've decided that I am going to spend a day just walking throughout the city. Not knowing where I am going or what I am going to do. Just EXPLORE! It should be quite interesting. I plan on visiting China Town and little India on the way. Other then that just walk walk walk. And take many pictures. Then I am taking the bus to Cambodia. I am going to stop at a National park on the way there. Plan on going to see Angkor Watt in Cambodia. Then taking a boat up to Loas where I plan on white water rafting. I will tell you all about and publish pictures when I am finished.

The picture above is getting ready for the parade and the historic temple at night in the town.

Hope everybody has a good October! Talk to you soon

Martin

Seems Like there is Always Some Sort of Festival

Hello All.

Well not to much has changed here. Seems like there is always a festival going on somewhere. With delicious little snacks and lots of colors.

It starts to get a little frustrating when you can't speak the language. Recently my school took all the teachers up to the the Island of Ko Sumui for the weekend. I was the only fa rang teacher that went. It was a nice resort. But it is very hard when you can't speak Thai. The Thai teachers are very kind and try there best to make you feel welcome. There idea of a vacation and our idea of a vacation are a little bit different. We were at a very nice resort with a great beach. But they did not want to hang out on the beach. To Hot for them! So we sat in a restaurant for two hours and then decided to drive two hours to see a temple for 10 minutes. Not my idea of a Saturday at one of the most gorgeous beaches in Thailand. Hey but it was a good experience and very nice of the school to send us up there for a weekend.

Sometimes I will go out to eat with Thai friends and it gets hard because maybe one of them can speak English but most of them can't. So they will get into a conversation that I cannot follow. I'm learning Thai a little bit. But it is tough! They have the same words with different pitches.

I don't know if anyone gets used to all kinds of people yelling "HELLO" at you. Or pointing at you and saying FA RANG (which means foreigner). But they do not mean it in a mean spirited way. This is a very welcoming culture and country. If all cultures and countries would be so kind to people from other parts of the world when people come to there countries. We would all be very lucky.

Two weeks ago. I went up to Kanome again. Which is just a beautiful beach with mountains in the background. There are some really nice people that own bungalows and restaurants up there. I spent an day kayaking hoping to see the famous pink dolphins that swim in that area. But no such luck. Maybe next time. They kayaking was great though. I kayaked right up next to some fisherman in the banana boats. Took some neat pics and said hello in Thai. I also saw some young kids fishing who offered me some water. The bay is very nice, with no waves. I did get see a storm come in from the mountains and get drenched.

This weekend we have a English Competition at our School. Everybody seems to be pretty excited about it. We have been preparing the students. I hope they do well. You would not believe how much pressure parents put on these first and second graders. Wow, they are just kids let them have fun. There is some crazy mothers.....But overall most of the parents are very nice and kind.

Next weekend i'm going back up to the Island of Ko SuMui with a bunch of fellow teachers. Farang teachers that is and we will be enjoying the beach and the heat.

Another thing I wanted to mention, I really do have some fun students. One story I would like to share. One of the students lost one of his tooth in class. And ran up to the front of the room to show me. Then he showed me he another tooth loose. He decided to pull that one out right there. So he lost two teeth in one class. He had a third one lose too. But not loose enough to lose it.

Three more weeks and I am on my way to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Loas. Might run into some people from home along the way. Not sure yet though. I will make sure I blog before I head out.

Above is some pictures from one of the festivals I attended and one of my view from kayaking. Again for more pictures click on the picture of the pool to the right.

Talk to you soon

Thailand is pretty neat!

Hey everyone. I guess I'm not going to update this thing every week like originally thought. But I think every couple weeks to a month will be okay. Its been another busy couple weeks.

Teaching has been going good. One of the teachers at my school from Canada decided it was time for her to go home. I ended up taking over her classes. I am now teaching 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade Science. I am enjoying it. Its amazing how much these Thai kids actually spend in a classroom in one day. Pretty much from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 with an hour break. If you ask me, I think they need some more free time. A number of kids also go to after school programs and learn more. I agreed to tutor some students from my school for twice a week. They have a three week break in October. Right now I'm starting to plan on where I am going to go. I think I'm going to to up to the country of Loas and do some rafting and trekking. From what I have heard about Loas it is one of the most breathtaking countries for beautiful mountains and scenery. I also might get certified to go scuba diving.

Live in the city of Nakhon is pretty easy going. The language berrier is very hard. I am starting to learn a little bit. Peaople start to recognise you around town. People yell "Teacher Martin Hello". Above is picture of an elephant that was walking by. I got to feed it. It has been pretty hot and dry lately. But from what I hear October is monsoon season and I have never seen anything like it before.

The Princess of Thailand came a to the city last week. They ended up canceling school and basically shutting the city nearly down. Everybody gathered out by the rode to watch her drive by. It was quite interesting. I bairly saw her drive by. No one can be above royalty in Thailand so we had to sit down when she drove by. She had a pretty huge entourage of people.

About two weeks ago it was my roomates Bday and we took the train down to the City of Hatyai where he used to teach. Hatyai is a pretty big city next to the Malaysian border. It has a unique feel to it. Alot of Chinese influence in the city. Lots of good food and shopping. It used to be a huge tourist center but there have been some terrorist bombings in recent years. Nothing recently. The train ride itself is pretty cool. Lots of Beautiful scenery all the way down there with the windows wide open in the train. Above is a picture of what it looks like from the train. A young man looking outside. The people walk back in fourth on the train selling fruits and crafts. It is pretty cool. It was a really social atmosphere.

This last weekend I went with a group of teachers up to the beach of Kanom. This beach is not really on the tourist track. But it is really nice. Just beautiful white sand with crystal clear water. Supposedly you can see dolphins alot. But we never saw them this weekend. The owner of a pub was having a promotion. He offered free boat rides and kayaking all day. I even got to do a little wake boarding. It is only an hour south of Nakhon. I am defiantly going to have to go back.

Tomorrow is the Queens bday (mothers day in Thailand) So we don't have school. I'm going to go hit up a waterfall.

It has now been over five months since I left the states. I'm getting used to it. But I sure do miss alot of stuff. Especially friends and family. But you really cannot beat an experience like this.

I have new pictures posted. You can click on the photo on the pool to the top right and it will take you to the website where the pictures are.

Peace

Busy couple weeks

Hello, everyone.
Sorry its been so long but I've been very busy.
School has been pretty busy. We have semester test coming up in a week. School is going pretty well. The students really like me. I am enjoying the students also. The Thai teachers are always bringing in new food for us to eat. I can't believe how much they eat. Some of it is really good. Other stuff I don't know if I would feed it to my dog.
I am also teaching tennis with the director on Friday afternoons. I have no idea about tennis so the first day of tennis (the director was home sick) I just hit the ball as far as I could to the kids. But tennis has been going pretty good. We only do it on Fridays.
We did have a five day holiday on the 4th. It was a Buddhist Holiday here. I ended up going to Ko Pan Yan, which is this Island about three hours away. The water and beaches are absolutely gorgeous. The first two nights I rented a motorbike and rode to the northern end of the Island. Got a bungalow on the beach and spent the day snorkeling and reading a book. It is insane how cheap it is. Because you are in absolute paradise. The island is crazy with mountains and waterfalls. There is also huge coconut trees everywhere. The next day I just spent the day reading a book and chilling with some people from France. The last two days I decided to check out what Ko Pan Yan is famous for.(The Full moon Party) This is basically where every month people from all over the world gather and party at this beach for the Full moon. So I took my motorbike on an hour ride across the island to meet up with some other teachers from Nakhon. Its an awesome ride on the motorbike with the mountains and scenery. . Bungalows on this side of the island are two are three times the price then where I was. The Full Moon party beach has from 10,000 to 30,000 people staying on it so prices go up.It isn't half as nice when your talking about scenery and snorkeling. But is nice when your talking about doing a little socializing. It was fun chilling on the beach and talking with everyone from just about every part of the world. Plus there was some absolutely beautiful women on the beach. The party itself at night is crazy. Techno and rave music blaring all over and literally anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people dancing. It was definitely worth going to see. It won't be my last trip to the island. I also gave in and had some good western food nearly every meal on the beach.
On the weekends around Nakhon Si Thammarat (where I am teaching) there is a good group of young people from Australia, Great Britain, America, and South Africa to hang out with. There is a number of waterfalls around the city. These waterfalls are amazing. There are different levels to the waterfalls with these huge pools to swim in and sun bath. You have to hike a little bit to get to them. And the views from these waterfalls are amazing. Just jungle below them, with mountains in the back ground. So every weekend we have been trying to hit up a waterfall.
In between all that has been going on, I ended up renting a house with a dude from Illinois. Pretty nice. Very good location.
I want to wish my mom happy bday.
I will get pictures posted up soon.

Talk to ya soon,
Martin

Fallen in Love ( with seafood) :)

Sorry its been so long since I have wrote in this thing. I have fallen in love with seafood lately. I have been eating alot of it. It is delicious. I have been eating these things called prawn they are basically giant shrimp. I have also been eating lots of crab and friend rice. The fish are really good. You can get it fried are bbq. The Thais don't skin the fresh fish like we do. They cook the whole thing. I wasn't sure about it at first. But you get used to it.

I ended up buying a motorbike to get around. I thought I could handle just walking around. But it is just too much of hassle walking and taking taxis everywhere. Having a form of transportation will give me so much freedom to do whatever I want and to just take a cruise in the beautiful country side. I'm going to take my new bike up to a beach about 30 minutes to the north and chill out for the weekend. I have not been there yet. But I heard that it is really beautifull. With mountains right next to the beach.

I ended up not going to the the Island of Ko Pan Yan. I ended up going to a fishing village and exploring that instead. It was really neat. Alot of fish. I rented a long tail boat and took it out to the ocean. It was pretty neat. The fishermen have these huge nets that catch the fish.

As for teaching. It has been pretty fun. I have some wild students. Some of those students remind me when I was young. There are a few that just can't sit still in there desks. I don't blame them though, I still can't sit still in a desk! But it is very fun and rewarding. Many of the students were very shy at the beginning, but they are now opening up and starting to try English. Above is a picture of the students doing there National Anthem before school, and one of my students named male. He is a wild one, but he is very fun to teach.

Other then that, not much is new. We have about 5 days off at the beginning of July. I am planning on going to Krabi, trying my hand at some rock climbing and kayaking.

I am going to be completely honest with you guys! I am craving a big juicy T-bone and a baked potato so bad!

I will get new pictures up in the next couple days.

Martin

Getting Settled in

Hello all,

Not much new here. Just getting settled into teaching. It has been alot of fun and alot of work. The students have alot of energy. It is very hard to keep their attention. But alot of fun. Every day is different. They sure are fun and very cute. The Thais have a hard time pronouncing the r. So the students pronounce my name as Teacher Mountain.

The visa process that Thailand makes you go threw is a bunch of shit! But hopefully we get it figured out in the next week or two. If not, I will have to make a visa run down to Malaysia which is about six hours away. I guess it might not be so bad, Malaysia is suppose to be really beautiful.

There is around 100 farangs (westerners) in this city. I have gotten to know a number of them. Many people from the East and West coast and Canada. It has been quite nice because they are willing to give you hand in finding somewhere to go, or recommending somewhere to visit.

Last weekend I rented a motorbike. I had no Idea where I was going. I just took it out into the country and drove around. Basically got lost for 6 hours. It was really great. The locals out in the country are so nice. The countryside is so pretty. Mountains and rice everywhere. The trees are great too. I understand why people want to have motorcycles and drive around. It is so much fun. The roads out in the countryside are surprisingly really nice and paved.

I walk to work everyday it is about 2 miles. I'm really enjoying it. You get a feeling of what it might have been like at home 40 years ago. All these family owned businesses. Everyone says hello when you walk by. Everyone sells something different or makes something different. You don't just go to Walmart to get something, you get a real sense of community. (No huge Corporations yet :) )

Anyways everything is going very nice. Next weekend I am off to Ko Pangan. An island infamous for its full moon parties. As many as 10,000 people from all over the world partying on the beach. Thankfully I won't be there for the Full Moon this time. But I will be there for a little snorkeling and kayaking. One of the teachers from Canada I work with owns some bungalows on the beach. So it should be pretty nice and relaxing.

Love Martin

First week at Teaching

First of all I made it to the National Park outside of town here. It is really pretty with crystal clear water coming down from the mountains. The village at the base of the mountain is really nice also. It will definitely be a place to visit in the coming months. The people in these villages around the city don't see very many farang (what the locals call westerners) so it is very fun going out to them. The kids are very interested in you. A warm smile usually scares off the fears of the children.

Second of all I have been going jogging in a really nice park in town that has a zoo and all kinds of animals. I came around a corner and sitting in the middle of the road was an elephant. It was very surprising to see. Then his keeper yelled something all of a sudden the elephant got up and walked to his keeper. The elephant then sat down next to his keeper in the grass. The keeper just smiled and waved at me. The elephants listen just like dogs I guess.

I also got settled into my apartment. It is in a really good location. And is nice and quiet.

I am teaching 1,2,3,4 grade Health. So it should be fun. Also 1 and 2 grade English. Mostly greetings and basic information. The first week was basically a introduction of myself to the classes. It was pretty interesting. The kids are very cute. But there are some wild ones. Some of them don't like to sit down. The students especially the 1st and 2nd graders love coming up to you and shaking your hand and saying, "hello, nice to meet you." I feel like it might be a little Karma thrown back at me, from my days in school when I made havoc. The gods are getting back at me. But I think it is going to be alot of fun. The students are really bright. I think it is going to be really enjoyable. I spent most of the past week between introductions doing lesson plans. The school that I got assigned too is really nice. The mayor put me in a really good school.

At the beginning of the day all 2,500 kids at the school line up outside and sing the National Anthem. It looks pretty neat. Because each grade wheres a different uniform. The school also has really good lunches.

I'm going to start getting into a regular routine during the week with school. Doing a little jogging. Walking and biking around the city. Then go explore a national park or a beach on the weekend.

Well I posted new picture of the city and the area I am at. Again you can click on the picture at the top right or you can go to.

http://picasaweb.google.com/martin.calkins

Love Martin

Congrads Adam Calkins

The hardest decision that I had to make while planning my adventure was missing my only brothers graduation. I feel very bad about this. But I am very proud of this special young man. He is a wonderfull brother and I wish I could be back for his graduation. It is very tough for me not to be there. I send all my love and hope you have a fantastic summer enjoying the outdoors. I deeply want him to make it over to Thailand for a couple weeks and explore some of this exotic country with me. Congratulations Adam and wish i was there! All of you that make to the graduation give him an extra hug for me!

Also congratulations to my cousin Eric. Who will be having his third child any time now. I want to congratulate a couple friends from Garmin that have recently had a child or soon going to have a child.

Anyways I am still in Nohkon Si Thammarat. I ended up getting a job with the government teaching children. I will get to teach children of all ages. I had to meet the mayor of the city. He hired me after about a half hour of talking. A very nice man. But after "the interview he asked if I had read the book the Godfather. I told him that I have. He smiled and said "If you ever have any trouble, you come to me." Something I guess to think about...lol.

I have heard that he is a very nice man though and really does look out for the foreign teachers. He is a good person to be working for. I will be teaching about 20 hours a week and making a pretty decent salary for living in Thailand. I will be speaking English and doing lesson plans while I am not teaching.

Nohkon Si Thammarat is located about 30 minutes from the Gulf of Thailand. Like I said this is the real Thailand. The people of this city are very proud of their city. Over the past week in between interviews, I have been walking around and exploring this city. A Thai women that teaches English children has been showing me around. I went to one of the most Ancient Temples in the world. This temple is around 1300 years old. Think about that! 1300 years. Wow. It was really neat. We went on a Buddhist holiday so there was a number of people there. Buddhist travel from all over the world to see this Temple and give gifts and pray. There is also a very nice park in this city with a free zoo. Pheasants that are now in South Dakota ( they are originally from SouthEast Asia) are located in this zoo. They look about the same but are a little bigger. Maybe just because they are fed in the zoo.

The park has a number of basketball courts. I figured I would strap on my shoes and show these Thai boys how to play some basketball. Well I was a little wrong. These Thai boys can play some ball. They also knew many of the NBA players names. I'm going to have to get the rust out of me before I go back and play again.

I found a very nice and clean apartment. It has a nice garden and the people that run it are very nice. I moved in there this morning. It is not in the heart of the city but is about a 20 minute walk. It is in a very nice location. Located close to a Robinsons ( like a target) and there are various street vendors for food to choose from. Over the last week I have been trying something different to eat for each meal. I have been eating alot of shrimp. I'm not a big fan of the squid.

I start teaching Monday. In the meantime I have been exploring the city as much as possible. I also have been volunteering about an hour or so every day to the Thai woman that has a small English language school. She teaches children that sometimes can't afford to pay her. She is very kind. I plan to keep helping out for a few hours a week. The students are between 8-12 years old. They really know how to read and write English well. They just have a hard time understanding and speaking it because they have not heard it from a native speaker. They really get excited when I come by to teach. It is a really good feeling and I enjoy it. The students are great.

This weekend I'm going to a National Park about 20 km from the city. It supposedly has one of the tallest waterfalls in Thailand. Since it has been raining hard for nearly an hour every day, this will be a wonder full time to visit.

Nohkon Si Thammarat is located in a great spot to explore Thailand. There are numerous mountains and national parks. And is close to some of the most famous beaches in the world. It is not on the tourist path, so also gives me a chance to really have a cultural exchange with this exciting country.

Not everything is fine and dandy in this country. You sometimes see areas where some Thais have no regard for garbage and you will find a ditch full of garbage. It is not a happy sight. Or in the evening you might see an occasional rat run across the street. But for the most part this country is clean and the people go out of there way to help you.

I will get some pictures up of this city in the next few days.

With love,

Martin

A week at the Beach

Hello all.

Well it has been a busy two weeks since I talked to you last. I took the bus from Chang Mai down to Bangkok. I stayed in Bangkok for two days. It was 107 degrees when i was there. That place is like a concrete jungle with know place to hide. I took a river ferry up and down the river to cool off. I also hung out with a fellow South Dakotan that was over there doing an exchange program. Two days in Bangkok is more then enough. It is so big and everyone is hassling you to buy something. It is really neat to see though.

I then met up with a friend from my class and we took a 15 hour bus down to Puhket. The time share thing did not work out as planned. It was NOT a nice hotel. After two days of complaining he got his money back from the company. We still got a chance to spend two days on the beach. The beach is really beautiful there, but the rest of the town is very sleazy. (old men with young Thai women) We decided to jump the first boat to KO PI PI.

It is about a two ferry ride. When I said Pie was the coolest place I have been to, I guess i hadn't seen the rest of Thailand yet. This is the Island where the movie the Beach was filmed. This place is beautiful. The sunomi of 2004 leveled the town. But it is now back and better then ever. The beaches here are white sand, with clear water, and these granite cliffs hanging everywhere. We went strait to the beach after getting on the fairy. I can't say enough about this beach. Gorgeous Europeans everywhere and just a chill spot. Bob Marley music playing in that background. I met a guy from Columbia and we rented some Kayaks and went and Kayaked the cove. It was pretty cool. But I did not realize how far it was out there. It took some effort.

The following day I met up with some people with Great Britain that I met on the boat and we went sailing and snorkeling for the day. The guy who owned the sale boat actually sailed across the Pacific from Vancouver, CA. You garmin people will be happy to know that he was using one of your products with Blue Chart Data. He said it was great! The snorkeling was very cool. There are reefs that surround the island. So much color full fish and they travel in these big schools. They would be alot easier to spear then the ones in lake oahe because they come right up to ya and look at ya. The water is so clear. You can see as far as the sun lets ya. The sailing was also very relaxing. We sailed all around these two islands. The granite rocks have some much vegetation growing from them. He took us to a spot where we could go cliff diving. I jumped off once. It was pretty high. Not as high as the Stilling Basin bridge back at home. It would have been fun to jump off more. But it was a pain in the ass to climb up there. It was really slick and rocky. We then went to the spot where the movie the "Beach" was filmed. It was pretty cool. A gorgeous little cove.

O ya the sea food around here is really good. I don't know what kind of fish there feeding me. But it sure taste good.

In the evening there is many bars on the beach that have these fire shows. The Thais must train really hard for this because they are fling fire all around them and through the air. The shows are really neat and performed to all kinds of music. The next couple days we spent pretty much just chilling at the beach. I can't wait to get back there.

Well now i am in Nokhon Si Thammarat which is located on the Eastern side of Thailand. Next to the Golf of Thailand. I had a job interview here Monday. It went really well. They are going to let me know today or tomorrow if I got it. Anyways this city is one of the oldest city's in Thailand. They think it was founded around 1278. This is the real Thailand. I have only ran into one other westerner in my three days here. And only three people that can speak English as a conversation. Yet it is pretty cool. There are street stalls of all kinds of food everywhere and all these old colonial buildings. It is fun to just walk around and get a feel for the culture, people come up to me and ask where I'm from. Everyone is very welcoming. I will fill you in a little more once I figure out if I get the job or not.

Anyways, take care

Martin

I will have new pictures posted today or tonight. Again to go to the pictures website click on the picture of the pool on the top right and that will take you to the website. I will set up new folders.

Pai is amazing

First of all here is a link to the Sokran festival if you want to see what that was all about.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AGOBO60C6R0&feature

For the last six days I have been in Pai Thailand. It is a small mountain village on a little river. Everyone rents mopeds and drives around in the mountains and canyons. There is people here from every where. A lady from Hong Kong from the course came up here with me. She is really cool and has spent most of her life in Great Britain. Has traveled everywhere! We met a group of Germans traveling. We all rented mopeds and went checked out the sights around Pai. It is absolutely Gorgeous around here. Really hot, so the waterfalls were refreshing to swim in.

The first night we stayed in bungalows that cost 2 bucks a day right next to the river. They were pretty nice with a hammock and a good view. But there was a pretty decent size lizard crawling around mine in the middle of the night. The next day I found this really nice place right on the river with a nice balcony and amazing view of the mountains. It also has a really nice garden. I asked the owner to show it to me. I figured the price would be to steep. But she was really nice and I explained I was going to be looking for a teaching position. She herself used to be a teacher. She gave it go me for about 6 bucks a night. It is so nice. I went back and got the rest of the group I was with. She didn't give them the same deal. They didn't get as nice as a place, but they get to come hang out on my patio. The lady and her family are really nice and she is contacting some people about a teaching position.

The second day we were here we rented mopeds and went and drove around the pai canyon. Went and swam in some waterfalls, and just sucked in the view of this landscape.

The day after that we went and chilled out at the pool. Really nice pool, with a nice view.

There has also been the occasional beer or two. Talking it up with backpackers and exchanging stories and places to go see next. I actually met a couple from Jackson Wy. that knows my old roommate from college that now lives out there. Small world after all!

This place has music from artist from all over the world. I have never been into jazz. But we went and watched this Jazz band perform and they really jammed out. Also saw a cover band and surprising enough they played alot of Neil Young. I was pretty stoked about that!

The next couple days I will be hopping on the Train down to Krabbi. Krabbi is known for its Rock Climbing and Sea Kayaking. Also going to go to the place where the BEACH was filmed. A friend from the CELTA class has a Time share down there on the beach and said I could crash there for a week. So that will be nice I guess it is pretty close to the ocean and has three pools! So that should be a fun week. After that I will find a job. But everything is going quite well "In the Land of Smiles". Hope everything is going well for everyone.

Another thing, u can look at my picture by clicking on the picture of the pool to the right and that will take u to the website where all my pictures are. Or you can go to http://picasweb.google.com/martin.calkins

Good night and Good Luck

Finished the course.

Hello people. I finished the celta course a few days ago. It was hard work, but i had alot of fun and it was pretty rewarding. The students at the school were alot of fun.

Sorry I haven't updated this blog much. There wasn't to much to write about during the course.

I tried to download some pitures but this computer I am on does not allow it. But I promise i will get some pictures put up in the next couple days.

Anyways, for the last few days. I have been in Chang Mai enjoying the Sokran festival. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever see. (if you get a chance youtube sokran festival chang mai) The whole town is just covered in water. You literally cannot walk out of your guest house with out getting soaked. Roads are just packed with people. People jumping into the lake. Music, dancing, laughing....it is complete chaos. But it is alot of fun. We have been celebrating with some students from or school. Chang Mai has a part of town that is surrounded by a moat and a road follows it. This is where the main celebration is. There is thousands and thousands of people celebrating. The back of pickups packed with 20 thais. Just driving around squirting each other with water. Mopeds packed with 4 people on them!

The locals are so welcome. A number of times I have road around in the back of the pickup with some random locals. They offer you food, beer, soda. Then you just ride around and soak every person you can. It is quite fun.

After a day of getting wet. There are markets where you can get anything you want. So much food. It is really neat walking around these markets. There are so many people, but it is so quiet with soft Thai music playing everywhere. There was a blind band that i stopped to watch for a little bit. 4 blind guys playing really good thai music.

This afternoon a lady from the course and I are taking a bus up to Pai. Pai is a small little mountain village. It is suppose to be really beautiful there. I'm going to get a little bungalow on the river for a night or two there and just relax. There is a mountain biking company there where they talk you to the top of the mountain and let you ride down. I think I'm going to do that! I have to meet with some people about a job early next week in Chang Mai.

I promise I will get some pictures up on here soon!

Truly is the land of smiles

Hello all,
Well I'm two weeks into the course. It is actually kind of tough, but it is alot of fun. The students are a good time. Its amazing the different ways you can teach English. The teachers don't really like my South Dakota accent. To be honest with ya, I don't really like their British accent. But they are pretty cool for the most part.
The place they have us staying at is pretty nice. It is outside of town and there is a lake around it. It kind of reminds me of the swiss family robinson living style. Even though we have HBO. But everything is made of wood and it is really lush around here even for being the dry season.
About the food! The food is pretty good for the most part. Unless you get it to spicy. So much rice and noodles. Chicken, Pork and Beef. The street food is really good though. This thing called sticky rice with mangos is amazing. There is fresh fruit everywhere. Everytime I go into town I get a fruit shake. It is fresh fruit mixed with Ice or milk and they are amazing for like 50 cents.
I can't wait for this course to be over. I'm going on a trek in a national park North of Chang Mai after the course. . Another guy from America and a Pakistani are going. It is suppose to be pretty cool. You hit up some waterfalls and some hill tribe villages. Then you raft back down the river. I think you even ride an elephent. But I will tell you about it when I'm done.
Another great thing about the timing of the end of the course is that one of the biggest festivals in Southeast asia starts right when I get done. It is the New Year here. The biggest water festival in the world. I guess I will try to tell you about that when it is over also. I'll have alot more freedom once this course is over.
Everywhere you go the Thais smile at you. I going jogging in this village in the morning. No one knows a word of English. But everyone gives you a big smile. The little kids run up to the end of their yards, and one a get a glimpse of the crazy white guy running through the village.
I will put pictures up after this course. So give me two-three weeks!

Above is a picture where i'm staying

Peace

Arrival

Was up people!

I arrived in Bangkok a few days ago. The flight wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. I met a pretty cool dude from Serbia that gave a ride in his car down to Kan Soa Road.

Kan Soa Road is a melting pot of people from all over the world. I swear I could have met someone from each and every country if I tried. It was really fun. I went and explored some temples with some Norwegion Girls that had been backpacking SouthEast Asia for a bout three months.

I didn't get to spend to much time in Bangkok because I had to take the train to Chang Mai. I took a night train which was quite nice. They gave you a nice dinner. Then everyone kind of chilled out and went to bed. I nice Thai lady knew where my guest house was and gave me directions to my guest house.

Once I got to Chang Mai is where the real adventure got started. Some crazy Austrailain talked me and a Canadian Girl into renting mopeds for the day. You have to drive on the wrong side of the road. It is pretty crazy driving over here. Well we ended up driving the mopeds up to the highest mountain next to Chang Mai. There was a huge temple with 306 steps to the top. The temple was really neat. You have to take your shoes off before going in. It was a very relaxing feeling. Very soft music and Thais giving the Budda statue gifts of all sorts. The view would have been amazing. Because the City of Chang Mai is in a valley and the mountain climbs strait up to around 5500 feet. But, it was cloudy and we couldn't see the city very well. The food has been actually really good. But I have seen some weird stuff. Like cockroaches for sale and fried tap worms. The aussie and the canadian tried the tap worms, i fell into the peer pressure and tried it! It actually wasn't so
bad. The Aussie actually took a bite out of the cockroach, he said it was the sickest thing he had ever bitten.

But after the first week in Thailand. I am really enjoying myself. This culture is so peacefull. The food is absolutely amazing(Except for the BUGS). The geography and landscape is so cool. The people of Thailand are so pleasant and peacefull. It is so cool meeting backpackers and travelers from all over the world. I will try and update my blog about once every week or so. During this month course there pry won't be much to write about.

Peace,
Martin

I fly out in two weeks!

Well, the time has come. I finally have every thing put together. I will be heading home Friday for a week before I start a new journey in my life. I fly into Bangkok March 10th. I will be spending a few days in this exciting city checking out the sites before I will take a 10 our train journey to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. The city was founded in 1292 and is known for its beauty and kind people. I will then be taking a CELTA course that will take me about a month. This course will give me certification to teach english as a second language. I am getting very excited/nervous and full of emotions. It is going to be an excitng adventure. I will miss my family and friends. But if I don't do it now, when will I be able to do it.

Peace