Rain

Today's song is: Bus Stop  .. Hollies, 1966

Bangkok has seen a lot of rain lately and it is supposed to get lots of rain this week.  We are approaching the dry season so the rain should let up after this week.  Back home, Ottawa became Tornado alley as 2 tornadoes hit Ottawa on the same day and the stronger of the two knocked out one of the main Hydro Ontario sub stations so much of Ottawa was, and is, out of electricity.

Thavorn and Jaidan remain in the village and see to be enjoying themselves. The only person not enjoying herself is Thavorn's older daughter (12) who is spending lots of time sitting in the corner contemplating how 2 walls make a join. That is something she has learned from me and being time-outed seems to be working quite nicely. Definitely better than a whipping by a trimmed tree branch.

My birthday has come and gone. Last Saturday I had a dentist appointment and spent some time downtown. On Sunday, it was my birthday and I was downtown partying form 11 am to 11 pm. My lady friend Phai joined me from 3 pm onwards and we had fun bar hopping and chatting with the bar girls.  I will miss that when we are in Canada for 6 months.

The number of Chinese visitors seems to be decreasing but I expect that to change in October as there is a major Chinese holiday. The number of Indians traveling does not seem to be decreasing. Thai girls do not Indians too much and some bars refuse them entry. Not sure how they get away with that.

My lady friend Phai

My friends John and his wife Fon

I was out for dinner with my good friend John and his wife Fon. He lives close by at Central Plaza. We visited a Thai restaurant which is quite popular with Thais. As usual, once you are out of the tourist area, we were the only farangs in the place.  We enjoy that  :-)

My coaching is going well, although we did lose to the top team by 7 points.

TTYL

Alone

Today's song is: The Theme Song from Cheers

There is a common scenario among international teachers. The first time you travel overseas to a different country you will experience a strong yearning to return home to your birth country, friends and family. This commonly happens at 3 months into your posting.  It passes with time but some people can't handle it and return home.

The concept of 'home' is indeed, a strange one for expats. What is home?  For me, it is where you find your friends and loved ones.  It is not much of a problem for me when Thavorn and Jaidan are with me, but when they are in the village I find I need more contact with my expat friends to keep the feeling of 'home' going in Thailand.

Yesterday I needed to get to the dentist because I lost a filling and needed a crown installed. My appointment was for 1 pm and I ended up finished about 2:30, much worse for the dental session. Shaun had joined me for the trip downtown  and we eventually kooked up with Arther and Phai and bar hopped, seeing some of my bar favorites.  Kind of reminds me of the old TV show 'Cheers'.

I arrived back home at 00:30 am, a wee bit inebriated and woke up this morning with a hangover.  Today is a quiet day, soup for lunch and supper, as my jaw is sore from the dental work. I need to go back next Saturday for the crown to be cemented in place.

Thavorn and Jaidan are gone for a month so I may be bar hopping again next Saturday.

Basketball is going well as we have won our first 2 games.

Some pics:

My soup  .. Campbell's Tomato, my favorite

Arthur, Phai and me at Country Road last night

Jaidan working on his letters

Dun, helping out and learning some English

Dental office is more like a spa

Awesome place

TTYL

Sick

Today's song is: We are the Champions  .. a bit premature  :-)

I came down with a bad head and throat cold, complete with cough and fever. Not fun so this is a short post.

We played our first U15 game on Thursday and looked good winning 76 to 18. I am sure the season will get tougher but it is always good to win the first and even better to win your last.

Pre-game, they were smiling much more after the game  :-)

TTYL