Bike for Mom and Teach for Money

A few weeks ago I was asked to be one of the 5 teachers taking part in a CEFR (the Common European Framework of Reference for languages) Weekend seminar for the school. As much as I was honoured to be asked to do this, I was a little nervous with the challenge of changing my mindset from teaching 6 year olds to adults; the last thing I wanted to do was sound condescending and start high-fiving people if they got the answer right. However, perhaps the thing I was most stressed about was the preparation. I was asked to prepare a 90 minute lesson about Main Idea/Supporting and Idioms (with visual aids and worksheets) as well as a 90 minute group activity involving listening exercises. As the seminar was expected to attract around 150-200 teachers, it seemed like quite the daunting task. Not to mention from experience, nothing EVER goes to plan in Thailand so I needed to prepare myself for the inevitable changes and switches. But despite all the stress and pressure I was (unnecessarily) putting on myself, the way I saw it was that this seminar was a chance to gain even more teaching experience and a way to strengthen my application for future jobs. The bonus was of course getting paid to do it! The seminar was to take place over two weekends, August 8th/9th and 29th/30th. Both my lesson and group activity was scheduled for the first weekend so I was a little rushed for time to prepare, not to mention I still had 9 exams to mark!

Looking all professional and stuff...

I decided to base my main idea lesson on recent newspaper articles and getting the group of teachers to analyse each article and in groups, present their ideas on what the main idea of the article was and the supporting details they could use to back it. As my lesson was in full swing, the Brother Director of the school decided to show up and observe my lesson from the back of the class...it was terrifying! I was nearing the end of my speech but didn't want to stop whilst the brother was there so I just kept on talking...and talking, whilst making sure I was speaking as slowly and clearly as possible; not an easy task when you're a naturally fast talker like myself in addition to being nervous. The group activity I had planned focused on songs and lyrics. The teachers had to listen to two songs (which eventually only ended up being one -- Bruno Mars' 'When I Was Your Man') and correctly identify the lyrics. Also, due to time constraints with my lesson, we also did an Idioms game that I had planned where they had to match up 24 idioms with their definitions. As fun as it was, I did also get extremely stressed as I had put hours and hours of work into preparing for the seminar and things just didn't seem to pan out or pay off like I thought they would. There really was no need to get so stressed but it was really important to me that I did well and got good feedback because I was asked to do this and didn't volunteer. I felt like I had to prove to them that they made the right choice in choosing me. But in hindsight, I felt I did do a good job and like I said, the first weekend of the seminar was good fun. My initial worry of being the youngest teacher and not being respected as much soon faded away. I felt I had made good rapport with the teachers and tried my best to maintain a balance of being serious in the class but being a bit more comedic and light-hearted in the group activities.

Teacher Mode. (Excuse the unflattering face).

The following weekend, I only had to teach Cambridge ESOL with 5 students which is a way less stressful. And, with my first (and only) free weekend of August, I just wanted to chill and relax. Upon waking up on Sunday morning, the last thing I really wanted to do was cycle 29km. Why are you even thinking about cycling 29km you ask? Well, there was an event happening on the weekend called 'Bike for Mom'. The event I'm speaking of was being held in honour of the Queen of Thailand. With this year being its first year, Bike for Mom had events all across Thailand to raise awareness for the growing number of cyclists in Thailand as well as getting more Thai people to exercise and to do so on behalf of the queen who, now 83, cannot ride like she used to! The Queen is worshipped as the mother of Thailand and in addition to the cycle, we celebrated her birthday on Wednesday with a ceremony celebrating the mother's of Thailand (it's also Mother's Day on the same day here in Thailand) and a day off school...SCORE!

Last minute decision, but so glad I did it! 

Initially, I was pretty excited about the ride. I had purchased a pushbike a few months before and have been able to explore Korat a lot more because of it. However, with the pattern of weather over the past few weeks, around mid-afternoon to early-evening is when the heavens open, and heavy rain/thunderstorms hit the city; I didn't really want to ride 29km in that. Plus, 29km seemed like a LONG journey...I hadn't even prepped for it, could my legs take it? haha. Nevertheless, the day of the ride I was unsure until I went for lunch at a cafe near my condo, where I bumped into some colleagues. And, thanks to some pressure talking from Natalie, I was becoming more and more convinced to do it. The decision-swaying moment was when the girl working in the cafe I was at (knowing that I cycle) asked me if I was doing it. In a not very confident manner, I said no to which I was once again persuaded to do it as I had nothing to lose. Which I guess I didn't right? So, at 2:40 (with the race starting at 3...) I sprint-cycled back to my room, changed, headed to the nearest supermarket to purchase a blue t-shirt (blue is the Queen's favourite colour -- everyone was wearing one who was cycling) and then headed to the race.

Met some awesome guys on the journey! Thanks for letting me ride with you.

The race was supposed to start at 3, but in true Thai style, we didn't set off until nearer to 4. So, despite waiting over 45 minutes, I'm glad I didn't get there super early beforehand. Before the start of the race, I was trying to look out for Grace who was also doing it, but despite every effort to try and locate her I had no luck. But, I did happen to stumble upon some other Assumption Teachers instead (including one of the brothers!) and decided to join in the queue with them. At around 4pm, we finally headed off. The atmosphere was great, despite cycling at a snail's pace for the first 2km or so due to the sheer amount of people that were participating. It was amazing to cycle in the centre of the city and just see a stream of blue around you and as far as the eye could see. The track started off at Thao Suranaree Monument (YaMo), went past the mall, turned onto Mukmontri which headed towards the Zoo/University, down to the Stadium, back around to the Naval Base, and then crossing over the train tracks to head back to YaMo. About 10-12km in, my legs started to hurt a little and due to the heat, my water bottle had become warm so in my best effort to be as quick as possible and not lose the crowd of people I was following, I stopped at the nearest 7/11 by crossroads and grabbed some water. After I came out, the stream of cyclists were continuing to cycle forward so I just cycled on a followed them. However, about 5 minutes after I left the petrol station, I realised that I had missed an entire section of the track! Instead of cycling straight on like I thought the cyclists were doing, I should have turned right at the junction and made my way to the stadium. That meant I actually missed out around 3-4km of the course...oops. But, if it wasn't for that mishap, I wouldn't have got talking to 2 Thai gents who decided to ride with me until the end of the course as at this point I was cycling alone. Like me, they were both English teachers and spoke impeccable English considering the standard of English I've encountered with the majority of Thais. Before we knew it, we had made it back to YaMo and to my surprise, it really didn't feel like I had just rode 29km. Overall, I'm glad I completed it and it was really cool to be part of something so special.

Made it to the finish! What a great ride!

Tioman Island

After midterms were finished, another short but extended break was upon us. And in usual fashion, I made the decision to get as far away from Korat as I could. For this trip, I decided to go exploring once again with my new favourite person, Ezzy. This time though, we decided to venture to Tioman Island, an island located 32km off the South East coast of the Malaysian peninsular, around a 5 hour journey from Singapore and an island which has been voted one of the most beautiful islands in the world by TIME magazine and The Guardian. Our hotel was called Paya Beach and we stayed in a really cute chalet about 15 seconds from the beach.

Our home for the next 2 nights, Paya Beach Resort & Spa

We booked ourselves on a 3 day 2 night package trip which included our room, all our meals, bus and boat transfers and a 3 hour snorkelling session.  Not to mention this came to just over £100pp - bargain! As the tour left Singapore, I decided to head down there as soon as I could after work finished. However, due to the flight being rescheduled, I had to leave school early so I could catch the flight in time which in turn meant that I arrived into Singapore much earlier than expected. But, being the awesome guy he is, Ezzy decided to meet me at the airport and stay up with me until we caught the bus. After getting the bus at around 6:30 in the morning, we finally arrived at Tioman around 1ish. 

Lounging in the sun.

Although not as paradise-esque as Perhentian (the islands I visited last year), the beach resort was still beautiful, peaceful, and just what I wanted from this four day break. We spent the first day (like practically every other day on the trip) relaxing (and mostly indoors watching movies and drinking Malibu). Despite service being somewhat sloth-like (we have to wait nearly 5 HOURS just to get towels...), the food was great, the room was clean and so close to the beach. The only full day we had on our trip was scheduled with snorkelling in the morning. We  visited two locations on our trip (although the second stop has a lot to be desired). That being said, the first stop (Renggis Island I believe?) was great and swarming with tropical fish. My waterproof case didn't quite live up to expectations so not so many pictures we taken unfortunately. That night was spent sitting on a beach swing covering ourselves from the storm and drinking ice cold Coronas, contemplating that the trip, however short, was going far too quick.

Snorkelling trip!

However, regardless of the things that could have got better, I was really happy that I came to Tioman and even more chuffed that Ezzy was able to come with me and that we could spend some time together. 

After we caught the ferry back from Tioman to the mainland, excitement set in that I was to going back to Singapore. I met this couple from the UK on the way back and the guy was working for a business consultancy out in Singapore. He was also 24 and all I could think about was how lucky he was. Granted, he got into that position due to someone he knew etc. but it really made me think that I've gotta get myself into gear and figure out what's next for me. I want to work out in Singapore SO BAD but I just don't know how to go about it. One thing I unfortunately don't really have on my side are contacts. I don't come from a well-to-do family, or a family that work in this profession where I could potentially get contacts from so sometimes I just feel frustrated that its an uphill climb to get where I want to go.

Anyways, enough of tangential conversations. On the way back to Singapore, I was held up at Immigration (the whole bus was waiting for me) due to the fact that I didn't look like the picture in my passport picture. Okay, I know it was taken eight years ago and I HAVE changed but I didn't think it was THAT much. I was stopped for a good 15/20 minutes, being asked where I was born, where I was going and even what airline I was flying on...at that point I was just getting frustrated that I wasn't back in Singapore and that I couldn't enjoy the little time that was left in my favourite city. But alas, we made it back around 9 at night, freshened up, grabbed some Mexican food and headed out to the bars to catch up with a few of Ezzy's mates (but SOBER this time around...after last time's shenanigans, I swore never to get myself in that state again!); I love going out with those guys because although I don't live there, they make me feel like I'm part of their 'crew' and I'm made to feel very welcome. 

Another late night was over, and running on 5 hours sleep, I made sure to utilise my last day with Ezzy as much as possible. We hung out around the city, grabbed some Indian food, and I splurged on H&M as usual. The thing I hated most of course was saying goodbye to Ezzy and Singapore. But, I'm so thankful I was able to spend 4 days with such an amazing guy and have such a laugh with him.

Ezzuan (and Singapore), see you in November.

Thanks for the good times, Ezz!