Sugar Addict

Right, so I'm addicted to sugar. I guess everyone is sorta addicted to sugar; but I literally crave it all the time, have headaches when I haven't had my daily fix and have sugar hangovers when I've had too much. It's gross.

Now that I'm writing it down, it's official - sugar detox starts tomorrow.

I'm already off all alcohol for September and so this is my next step. I know, I'm hard on myself - but it's because I can't stand feeling dependent on something as nasty as sugar. Plus, I'm all about health these days, so I'm just moving on to the next level. The next few entries might be quite negative... blogging through sugar withdrawal...

Start blogging again...

this is my resolution. I'm not going to email the blog to everyone anymore, unless of course I start traveling again, but for now I just want to get writing more. So here I am, back in Canada. In fact, I've been home for over 2 months now! I arrived home a right mess - we went straight from the airport to the doctor's office. My body was just so torn up from all the moving around and the 3 day journey home, delayed in Abu Dhabi of all places. It's so great to be home with my family and friends again, but it's taking me a long time to digest the last 2 years. Every so often I get overwhelmed with all the memories of places, people and experiences and at other times, overcome with nostalgia. It seems that no matter what I do or how I'm feeling, I'm always missing someone or somewhere. While I try to digest all these things, I'm busying myself with work and my new exciting interest in living organically. More to come, not sure what will be the new focus of this blog - but it'll be awesome no matter what.

"Momma I'm comin' home!"

Greetings all from Australia! Melbourne – to be more specific. I've found myself back in one of my favourite cities, only to realize that in fact, the only place I truly want to be right now is home. Canada-home that is. It's getting confusing these days – where is home exactly? I've been told that “home is where the heart is;” unfortunately, I've left my heart in so many places that I bet it's even been found lying in an alleyway in Latvia by now. People say they travel to “find themselves” but for me, I feel sometimes like through traveling I've lost myself, so to speak. I decided last week - while waiting for a bus that never showed – that it's time I go home. I'm feeling very “world weary” these days and just need some time to recharge. So - I've dropped the China contract and I'm flying to Toronto on June 28th!

That being said, I'm very excited for new opportunities that settling in one place will bring me. I am looking forward to practicing regular yoga again and especially eager to enjoy a warm Canadian summer again! If anyone knows of a job opening (in the GTA) that might suit me – I'm all ears! Also, I'm looking to purchase a used car – under $5,000.

I can't wait to see everyone again, especially if we didn't get a chance to connect when I was home at Christmas!

Thailand is hot, hot, HOT!

I've been receiving lots of emails asking for an update - no worries, I haven't disappeared in Thailand (though sometimes I do feel like I could just melt away). The truth is, it's so hot here these days that I find it difficult to gather enough motivation to do anything beyond the essential.

With only 9 days left in the country, I am now reflecting on the time I've spent here. Upon arrival, I thought I had my whole 10 weeks planned out - teaching at a daycare in the mornings, helping out at the orphanage in the afternoons. I was really looking forward to James' arrival and our return back to Australia together. Crash, bam! An unexpected school summer vacation, a break-up and a change in job description later... here I am.

Thailand has sat me down, shut me up and taught me a great deal in the school of life, especially the part dealing with "unexpected change."

While it's simply impossible to relay all the events that have impacted my time here, I will say that what I have gained in character is far more valuable than anything I could have foreseen. Living among children and adults who have experienced loss far greater than anything I can imagine - I have learned much about the value and importance of human connections. Children here are without mothers, fathers, siblings or family homes, and they carry with them memories that no child should ever be burdened with – but they are some of the happiest children in the world. The reason is because they are still loved by the incredible staff here and they have found new homes and families in each other.

“Thai time” is an aspect of living here that has frustrated me to no ends. If you've been to Thailand, you likely have an idea of what I mean by, “Thai time.” In the West, we are obsessed with efficient use of time; in Thailand, things always get done 'tomorrow.' Since my role here has changed from being a teacher to being a Victoria University liaison (working with neighbouring schools and colleges and setting up programs for future volunteer teachers) – I have experienced 'Thai time' in the deepest sense of the meaning. I've had business meetings delayed by hours because someone was having a nap. I've arrived at schools for a pre-scheduled 'observation day' only to find out that, in fact, it's a Nation-wide holiday and no one bothered to tell me! This Thai mentality of time has forced me to become more patient and flexible as a person and as a professional.

One of my favourite roles while here, has been tutoring a woman who works at the orphanage named “Nong.” Nong is being sponsored to visit Australia for 3 months and she'll be living in Melbourne and studying English. We've been preparing together and as things turn out – I'll be in Melbourne for the duration of her stay! Nong is such a special woman – at 43, she's so vibrant and energetic that I had assumed she was in her early 30s. In the tsunami, Nong lost her husband (who was a fisherman out to sea that day) and her 3 children. She was planning a day out with her kids and had only left to fill her motorbike with gas. When she came back to pick them up, everything and everyone was gone. Nong has reclaimed her life but is still left with everyday reminders of what she and her entire community has lost. We were studying at the beach just last night and she told me she can't swim anymore because water holds such heavy memories.

I will be picking Nong up from the airport in Melbourne and I can't wait to see her first impressions of Australia! She's never left Thailand before! She has shared her culture and language with me and I'm so honored that I get to do the same.

What's the plan now? I'm flying back to Melbourne on May 22 and I'm planning to stay there until late September. I've accepted another teaching contract in China – this time in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province – and I'll be home to Canada before Christmas! I'm feeling very traveled-out and so I'm hoping I can stay put somewhere in Canada for a while – I'm considering Vancouver. The next time I write will likely be from Melbourne – Cheers all!

Snippets of my life in Thailand

I'm going onto four weeks now in the same spot! It feels good to have a sense of home again, only this time home is an orphanage in Thailand. Funny how quickly I can set up a “home” nowadays. Since I initially left Canada almost 2 years ago, I've made a home in Taiwan, Australia, China and now Thailand (with lots of 'mini-homes' in between). Who knows where home will be next!? So here I am in Thailand – sweating like its my job. It's hard to believe that less than a month ago I was complaining about how cold I was! The fan is sending hot air my way and I'm ready to update everyone on my life here!

I've been meaning to give an update for a while now, but there's simply so much to say that it's been too daunting a task to start writing! Instead of giving a general sweep-over of my life here, I'm just going to write a couple of interesting snippets to make you smile.

Tags
“Game” is one of the older boys here at the orphanage - he's 17 years old. It's 'summer' vacation now in Thailand and Game has got a job at Le Meridian Hotel cleaning rooms. His English is great and he's hoping that if he pays his dues now he can get a job later on as a desk clerk or driver. Now that he's making some money, he can afford to buy a few things that he wouldn't normally get. A few days ago, Game was wearing a spiffy looking shirt and a crisp pair of trousers. He looked so well-dressed that I had a double-take. On second glace, I noticed that the price tags for both his shirt and trousers were still attached – hanging there in plain view. I shouted at him as he walked away from me, “Game! You've still got the tags on your clothing!” He gave me a massive grin and kept on walking. Puzzled, I asked one of the older kids nearby, “Why doesn't he care?” I could tell she wasn't as confused as I – as if this is an everyday occurrence. She replied, “because he's making sure that everyone can see they are new clothes.”

Rainy Season
Our entertainment for the night used to involve watching geckos run around and catch their dinners on our front porch – we usually sat silently, transfixed by the sport and occasionally yelled, “c'mon! Get'm! You can do it! He's a big one!” However, now that rainy season has come upon us, sitting on the porch at night is completely out of the question. The “Gecko” programming has been replaced by “Massive Termites and How They'll Drive You Insane.” This show is not one of my favorites, but it's on at prime time and there's really no avoiding it. It seems that the tropical storms have caused a mass-hatching of FLYING TERMITES. Even though we try to avoid these insect beasts by hiding inside and placing towels at the bottom of the front door, they still manage to weasel their way in. Thus, instead of cheering geckos on as they feast on mosquitoes and other small insects, we've resorted to carefully watching the bottom of the front door and killing any successful intruders with my running shoe. We even leave the dead bodies to warn the hopefuls, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

Do not 'dine-out' after a big rainfall
Fiona and I learned this important lesson the hard way. It had rained quite hard that day and we were fully unimpressed by the dining hall conditions. Termites were flying everywhere, into people's dishes and even worse: hair. These insect beasts are out of control and seem to have one mission and one mission only for their short 24-hour lives: mate. They fly around in circles until they crash-land on the floor. Once landed, they can no longer fly and so they resort to walking around on the ground until they find a mate. After making the decision to brave the outdoors (armed with umbrellas and deet), we headed off into the night (to walk the 200 metres to the nearest restaurant). We carefully avoided frogs along the way and soon arrived at the place which I've personally come to know as “Pad Thai Heaven.” We sat strategically in front of a fan and placed our orders. It took a mere 30 seconds for us to realize that in fact, on this particular night, this was not a good alternative to the dining hall. There were termites flying everywhere and those that had crash landed were crawling towards our feet at a rapid pace! Fiona was quick to take action and pulled an insect spray out of her purse. We immediately sprayed a circle around our table, making a “safety shield” from the impending threat. Unfortunately, the termites were not easily deterred and so I had to do the unspeakable: ask the waitress for a broom to sweep them away (whilst trying not to offend her or the cleanliness of the restaurant). The staff quickly realized that we were terrified of the termites and so they set up 2 guards for us (it was a slow night anyways): 2 waitresses sitting on either side of the table armed with brooms and dustpans – patrolling the area carefully for termite-invasion.

Mortified, we ate our Pad Thai quickly so as to end the uncomfortable situation that we found ourselves in. However, the flying termites started to become a nuisance, swooping down on our table, flying around our heads and even crash landing on our bodies! It was when I felt a termite fly down my shirt that I stood up, ran from the restaurant, and ripped off my tank top to shake it in the street. After I calmed down, I returned (even more embarrassed than before) and we moved tables (as did our body guards). Finally, when it was time to pay, we left a massive tip – promising that we would never ever return after the rain.

Beautiful Thailand

So I'm finally staying put for a while - in Thailand! After spending a lovely 10 days in Southern Germany with James, I headed from Frankfurt to Bangkok and Bangkok to Phuket. There was a driver waiting at the airport to take me the 1.5 hours North to Takua Pa where the orphanage Baan Tharn Namchai is located. Once I opened the car door at the orphanage, I got my first real blast of Thailand air – now after more than a week here, I like to describe the air as “blow-drying your hair in the same bathroom that you just had a hot shower in.” It doesn't sound nice, but its actually brilliant after coming from a long haul of dry winter! I never need to use moisturizer!

The Thai people are incredibly hospitable – I eat very well (and they respect my vegetarianism as they are a Buddhist orphanage), everyone is always smiling and the children absolutely adore me and so I get to play games and sing songs whenever I want! I once heard a great quote, “Only in childhood is insanity not only permitted, but expected.” This also rings true for those who teach children! It's great! I live in a 2 bedroom bungalow on the orphanage grounds and in the afternoons I open my front door to at least 30 kids playing in the park on my front “lawn.” This is my favorite time of day because the sun has shifted in the sky so it's not too hot and all of the neighborhood families come out to use the park as well! There's dozens of adorable Thai babies bumbling around just waiting to be held and kissed!

Each morning I teach at a day care about 20 minute scooter ride away from where I live (good thing I learned to ride a scooter in Taiwan! - except here I'm getting used to driving on the left hand side of the road). There is a volunteer, Fiona, who will be here for 2 months and she has offered to come with me each day as well. This has turned out to be a godsend as there are 45 children all under the age of 5! We're a very strong teaching team and have more or less got them under 'control.' We also have lots of fun together while teaching – it's so wonderful to have another foreigner here and we're becoming good friends quickly! There are so many funny things that happen each day and having someone else to laugh with really helps keep me sane!

In the afternoons I do some English tutoring with some of the staff here (only a few speak some English) and some children as well. There's a handful of kids from the orphanage who are sponsored to go to England in May and so I'm teaching them key phrases that they can use while there. There's a building contractor who wants tutoring as well and he's giving me some Thai lessons in exchange. I'd like to think I'm grasping the language fairly well! Any free time (which isn't much!) is spent either playing around with the kids here at the orphanage or in the computer room trying to maintain some contact with the outside world! It's easy to get lost in time here – I had to buy a clock for my house yesterday so that I know when to actually leave for work – not just when the kids start eating breakfast.

I won't make this update too long, but there will be many more – likely hilarious – coming your way. In short, I live in a tropical paradise surrounded by good food and the happiest children I've ever met. Even though most of them lost 1 or both parents (and siblings, family and friends) in the tsunami (we're about 10 minutes from where the wave first hit land), they've got incredible endurance and now embrace the fact that they've got 50 new brothers and sisters. I want to share as much as possible with everyone and so here is the link to my facebook photo album:

Thailand Photos!

and I've opened a YouTube account to show off my wonderful videos! Click below to see a video of my students greeting Fiona and I in the morning! It's only a little over a minute and it will bring a smile to your face!

Kok Kein daycare!

In Frankfurt - en route to Thailand!

Well the time has come to settle down! At least for 3 or so months... I'm flying to Thailand tonight! James and I have spent the last 10 days exploring a few places in southern Germany. We met up in Nuremberg and stayed with his family friends for 3 nights. From there we took a train to a small town called Fuessen – it's only 1 km away from the Austrian border and nestled cozily in the alps. After spending a wonderful few days drinking delicious Germany beer and eating rich German food, we journeyed to Frankfurt. I say 'journeyed' because it ended up being a tiring 9-hour affair involving 6 different trains and 1 bus. It could have been simple and under 5 hours, but we were trying to save money with cheap trains. At one point we got on the wrong train and had to pay 25 Euro (around $40 Canadian) to get off at the next stop! Expensive 15 minutes! We've been taking it really easy in Frankfurt. Neither of us are very interested in seeing the city (largely preferring German towns) and so we've found some good coffee spots and have been catching up with some work. We also visited a girl (Alex) who I couch-surfed with in London last month (she was home in Germany to have her wisdom teeth removed).

After Estonia and Latvia, Germany has been such a breath of fresh air for me! People here are so much friendlier and happy to be walking around during the day instead of just popping over to the store to pick up some vodka (though, the climate has a lot to do with this). All of the small towns are simply gorgeous! In Fuessen, it didn't matter where I pointed the camera, every shot was like a postcard! You can see the photos by following the links I post at the bottom of this update. James and I both feel so comfortable in the small German towns, we'd love to live here for a while! Taking the train was the best way to get a feel for how Germany (at least Bavaria) is laid out. There are very few places that would constitute as 'cities' and the rest are these lovely small villages surrounding a church steeple. All of the villages are separated by miles and miles of farmland – its all very picturesque (I can't stress this enough!)

Today I'm moving on to Asia and to my job. I'm excited to be heading towards another contract – this 3 month stretch is the longest I've gone (since I was 14) without working! I have no idea what to expect – all that I've been told is that I'm living on the grounds of the orphanage and teaching in the town at a day care facility. My employer doesn't even really know what I'll be doing. I'm to 'assess' the abilities of the children there and report back to Australia with suggestions for what I can do during my 10 week contract. I'm excited for another challenge and also for a stable place to live for a while! As for James, he's going to spend a week now in Berlin and then he's flying to Iceland for 3 weeks to visit friends. After that, he'll be joining me in Thailand and he'll start working on a contract that he's got with the Australian government – developing tsunami prediction software (good spot to do it!)