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