Getting settled

Phew that was a nice long post by Reffa!
So, like she said, we're both working now. My job got me off to a rough start!! I felt like crying day in and day out for a few days. It was realllllly difficult. Here's how it went down:

I went to school on my first day with no lesson plans because they told me that it was introduction day and I just had to say my name and wave at the kids and I would start on Tuesday. I arrived at school (Tessiban Saam) via tuktuk in the rain. The tuktuk went the long way around and I arrived at 8:29 and I Was to be there by 8:30 (even though I had been waiting for a tuktuk since 7:15 am and my school is only 20 minutes from where I'm staying)... I Was stressed the entire drive. So I get there and find the one person in the school who speaks a bit of English, she's the one who is supposed to give me an orientation, take care of me, make me feel comfortable etc. I find her and she says "hiee miee naamee jrin" which is actually "my name is jarin" so that's wha tI'm dealing with.
she takes me around for a bit and then points into a classroom and says "here intradu yoursel" and so I go in and say "hello class! " and they wave. I turn around and Jarin has left me to my own resources and doesn't return for one hour. so, I taught english ... :S:S:S it was so scary and I was mad about the lack of organization.

so then she comes to get me when class is done , and takes me to another classroom and I do the SAME THING!!!! I had to do it 3 times on my first day. Then inbetween classes she says "you can live here relac" (which means, while you're waiting for your classes you can stay in this room if you want) . then I have to track her down after an hour of doing nothing in this random room I'm in and I ask for some sort of schedule. She brings me one in thai which I (obviously) can't read and points to it and then makes a face and goes "ooooo that wrong" and scratches stuff out etc so i have a messy, incorrect, thai schedule taht I am to follow (Which , two weeks later I am STILL using.)

basically about a million more things like this happen, disorganized, thai, non-english events which confuse me, make me nervous, etc. plus they hand me a hitting stick to hit the students with if they're bad (which I just can't do... ) .

I sit there with the staff and they speak thai, all eyes on me, and i just hear "felong felong" every now and then (foreigner) . and then one will try to use their broken english to ask me my name etc. they are warm and accepting, but they can't speak english and my thai isn't that good yet!!

so anyways I came home just about in tears. the kids were cute, but so badly behaved!!!
I thought about packing up and going back to canada. they speak english there. but I decided to force myself into another day.

It got better and better after that. still confusing. even now I'm confused most of the time, but I'm taking on the thai attitude , "mai pen rai" (don't worry it'll be okay) . at the end of the day there's no need to be stresesd about work becaus eI'm there to teach english and I know how to speak english and so it's no problem .

I'm quite enjoying eahc day now! I'm practicing thai, my lessons are better and better and the students don't look at me like i'm an alien anymore. (well not as much anyways... )
my kids are even more amazed by me than reffas. at her private school there have been foreigners before. at my school I Think I might be the first one.

hahahaha. omg. it's quite an adventure. I'm very happy now !
I will post pictures of our house later on today.
miss you all LOTS
can't wait to see mom and dad in two short weeks :)
xox