Extra! Extra!

So we learned about a Japanese movie being filmed in Pattaya from some friends at the Dive Shop. They are extra's in the film. They gave the Casting Director's number to us. They were in need of white or "American" looking extras. An easy 2,000 Baht a day. Sweet! Plus you always have amazing craft services on film sets.

We were suppose to go out Saturday, but got told they only needed men. Burn.

Tom and Brian on Set

Brian!

Sam got promoted to officer and got to act along side a Baldwin brother :)

Couple of English Teachers

Emily and I were suppose to be nurses, but they needed us Tuesday and Wednesday... when we teach. Of course we choose the film!!! haha... but only one day.

It was nice being on set and not having the stress that I'm usually used to. Being an extra is way easier... but I still hate being in front of the camera. The set was hectic... Japanese, American, and Thai crew. Talk about language barrier. I loved watching the extras. They were clueless. No one explained anything to them! Baaaadddd AD's! I particularly loved how the extras took it upon themselves to move things around on set and argue with the PRODUCTION DESIGNER about where to put things. HILARIOUS. Things like that would never happen in Hollywood haha. You would get yourself booted immediately. I also love how the extras are not aware of the camera at all and keep 'acting' and making noise. If I was on the sound crew I would be like wtf. So many things to comment on... but it was entertaining in short.

Luckily, we spent most of our time sitting around in the AC. The boys spent most of their days in the sun.

Hair and Makeup

Too much Wai Kru practice... Look at those hands

Craft services was pretty weak too. I am used to American craft services a.k.a. a huge buffet 24/7.

Sitting below smoking hot lights with fake fog pumped in. FUN.

Dr. Marcus from England was Hilarious! He directed himself and never did what he was told!!!!

That's a Wrap!

... But Emily and I had fun :)

Outside the Hospital

Floating Market

We were suppose to go to Monkey Island, but no dice. Instead, while reading the weekly Ex-Pat newsletter delivered directly to my email, I discovered that the Floating Market was having a cultural event. Since Brian missed out on the parade yesterday and I missed out on taking pictures, it was the perfect opportunity.

Outside Temple

Type of sweet food stuff.

Cream filled yumminess

Thailand Almonds

Apparently, the floating market here is modeled after the actual thing in Bangkok. A straight forward tourist attraction. It was a bit busy when we arrived. A couple ladies where dressed up... gave me hope that it would be as nice as the parade we stumbled upon... but it wasn't.

My Drink of Choice - Thai Ice Tea

Coconut Snack

Snack Boat

Bowls :0)

More Food

Lots of Canals

We eventually made our way to the back of the market. Something very VIP was happening - lots of paparazzi. I have no clue who the celebs were. Either way, that was the extent of the cultural event that was happening.

Mr. VIP

 We ate our way back through the market. It's nice that admission is free.

Brian Eating Soup

Noodle Lady

Improv Cozy

 Shopping!!!

 After a day at the market, we went across the street from our house. In these jars are homemade whiskeys that are different flavors. Brian and Emily love them. I think it taste like liquid ginseng. Which I guess is a good thing because you can't taste the whiskey. They coat the bottom of the shot glass in honey, and give you pickled fruit to eat with it. Interesting.

Pick your poison.

Cheers!

Help!

Roof Top Pool!

I prefer cloudy rainy weather over sunshine...although humidity makes my hair look like a fro. I know it seems a bit ridiculous since I'm from Hawaii. But at least when its sunny in Hawaii its cool.

People are always surprised to hear that I am Hawaiian because my skin is so light. Luckily, I do not turn into a lobster when I go into the sun... I actually tan fast, but because of my distaste for the sun I stay white. It's not that I do not want to be tan, I just hate baking in the sun. It drives me crazy. I get really bored too. I don't understand people who actually like it... example: Emily. She is a child of the sun. She loves nothing better than to sun bathe. Every spare moment is spent in the sun. Eck!

But lucky for my tan, if I go out with her I will at least try to entertain the idea.

We decided to go to Mikes Shopping Plaza. I figured it would be like the Silk Market in China. Heaven. But, it wasn't. It was a really run-down eerie building. We skipped the shopping altogether and headed for the roof top pool. It was on the 10th floor. Miraculously, this building does not have floors 6-9.

We were very skeptical of the pool as we rode the elevator up. Having seen the pictures, we only assumed that in reality it would actually be moldy and green. Surprisingly, it was very nice. It is probably... no no... it is the best thing about Mike's. The view is very nice, however, they should have designed the pool to actually have an ocean view. 

We saw a price list in Thai... I assumed that Thai people had to pay to use the pool but farang where free to use it. Everything else was in English, why not put the admission fee in English? Plus, alot of places... as horrible as this might sound... try to keep the Thai's out. On walking streets, alot of the bars and clubs do not allow Thai's into them. I don't know if this is legal - not that it matters in Thailand. This happened to Tom before... Cob wasn't allowed in even with a group of farangs. Anyway, this was part of the reasoning behind my thoughts. Obviously, they put a high price up for admission so none of the Thai's can afford to enter. Wrong again.

Somehow, we strolled on in. Didn't pay. I was made aware that we were suppose to pay by a nice Welsh man who sat by me later in the day. Ooops :)

It's always interesting to hear everyone's take on Pattaya.... to listen to each persons story. This man could talk too... I blame my uneven tan on this fact. Anyway, he was on a 3 week holiday from Sweden. He married a Swedish woman and moved to Sweden. Had a kid. Got a divorce. Stayed in Sweden. Married a Thai woman. Moved her back to Sweden. Had a kid. Got divorce. He works as a post office worker. Apparently, the retirement package is very good in Sweden though he has a while to go until he can collect in which case he is planing on moving to Thailand to live out the rest of his days. Ah, pool side jaber...

It was nice talking to him. I'm sure Emily was quiet tired of my grumbling, constant fidgeting, drink runs, and swimming time. I really did try to tan, but I do not have the patience. I have patience when it comes to my kids. I have patience when it comes to Brian. I have patience doing nothing. I don't have patience when my core temperature is put to an extreme. Not to mention my new found phobia of sweat... ewwww.

When we were leaving Mike's, there was a parade coming down beach road. I still have no idea what the occasion was, but it was fun. I wish I had my camera to document the excitement, but it was with Brian. Isn't that some shit... I finally get my camera and Brian takes it. ( Right before we left for Thailand, I had to send my camera off to get fixed. Brian's dad finally got it back from the repair center and shipped it to me. I had to pay an import fee of 700 Baht. Thanks Thailand!) I haven't even gotten to use it yet! He was being lazy not wanting to bring the Nikon with him. Too big he says... erg.

The parade was a nice thing to stumble upon. There was tons of costumes, food, dancing, shopping etc... My highlight was seeing a baby tiger!!!!! Emily was consumed watching a vendor make food. I was staring at the Miss Tiffany and runner-ups. If you don't know, Miss Tiffany is the biggest drag show in the world. They are so beautiful it's mesmerizing. However during the trance, my animal radar went off, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady carrying a baby tiger. Emily was made aware of my disappearance as my voice trailed off. I believe the sound I made was, " oh Oh OH OH OH."

We checked out a couple Hotels on the road. I always like seeing what they look like. Kinda like my obsession with bathrooms. I love to check out bathrooms in places... ever since I was a kid. 

We met up with the boys later in the evening and hung out at Sam's house. Ate another delicious meal.

The day exonerated our bad week.

Searching for Wine in Thailand...

It was one of those weeks where you question your thought process of teaching. Seems like all the teachers were having a bad week. I compare it to mid-season of seasonal jobs. Half way through the season you are wore out and tired of it... unfortunately this job lasts a bit longer than a seasonal job.

With the boys Muay Thai training, Emily and I went in search of wine. Emily is from wine country as well, and we both appreciate a good wine and cheese.

Thailand puts a heavy tax on wine. It is probably 5x the price of what it should be. To drive down the costs, alot of bars use a wine mix. It comes in powder form!

We had discovered a bar in one of the soi's during our wanderings. It said it had red and white wine for 40 baht. We were sold. It wasn't bad... but it definitely wasn't what we were used to. It looked the part, but it must have been the powder mixed with water and grape juice.

Eh, for 40 baht you can't go wrong :)

Russian Attack!

I remember sitting at my desk counting the days worksheets. 16 - The exact number of students I have in my class. A brief notion crossed my mind. Make more copies, Misty... But then I thought to myself, what are the odds of a new student enrolling 2 months into the term. Ha, Silly me...

Sometimes I feel like my brain is trying to warn me. Instead of listening, I brush it off as a ridiculous thought or paranoia.

Sure enough, one of the office ladies comes waltzing in with a little Russian girl. I have to admit it took a couple minutes to sink in that she was introducing me to a new student. Needless to say, I was not amused once I realized what was going on. Why do I get the new student?!? Give her to Teacher Sam... He has Russians in his class - Fantastic!

Her name is Fisa. She is a beautiful blonde haired blue eyed girl. She speaks a little English or so her mother says. All she speaks to me is Russian. I think she gets frustrated with me because she thinks I should speak Russian. All the Thai teachers speak English to her, which I'm sure confuses the poor child even more. All the Thai teachers look at me like I should be able to communicate with her because she speaks English. Er.

Ironically, Brian has her older sister in his class. She seems very nice and eager to learn. Lucky him.

Fisa, on the other hand, loves to cry. I cannot explain the first day war path of this child. Insane. But somehow I justified it with her being Russian :)

I hardly saw her all day because she was being subdued by Thai teachers. All she wanted to do was run away. I had to corner her at lunch. She was trying to follow her sister back to class. I randomly saw her around school. Fisa crying on the stairs with a Thai teacher. Fisa on the jungle gym crying with a Thai teacher. Fisa falling asleep on the slide with a Thai teacher. And this was just on my lunch break.

It is day 5 in the war with Russia. She still randomly cries, but at least cooperates for the most part. She can write her name incredibly well. I think she is very smart, but understandably is a bit scared and unsure. She loves to smile, but somehow throws a tantrum at a drop of a hat. She needs to hold your hand and be babied. Ugh. Not me. Luckily, she has attached herself to my Thai Teacher. Poor Teacher Mi...

It was like a Russian explosion at our school. After Fisa and her sister came, a couple other Russian students enrolled. I hope they are not migrating down to Pattaya... Unfortunately, they have the stereotype of being the naughtiest children.

I keep hoping she will disappear one day and my class will shrink back in size. But I'm sure this thought is in vain. 

Why Me?

The Wai Kru Ceremony is in honor of teachers. It's pretty much like teacher appreciation day, but Buddhist.

As we were standing around in the heat... avoiding herding students into the school at 8:00 a.m., We were made aware that we would be rehearsing. I must state that you are never clued into what is happening at the school. If you are one of those people that hates sudden change, Thailand is not the place for you. After 30 minutes of watching the children practice, I realized this was cutting into my teaching time. Oh, Darn. It was quiet enjoyable sitting in the shade, talking, and watching the minutes slip away. One more hour of this and I would practically be done with my day! Whoo Hoo!

The party soon came to an end. Brian's teaching "assistant," Khun Pat, was making a bee line for us. I figured she needed to talk to Brian, but her eyes were locked on me. Oh no... I quickly focused on the cement. Everyone hears horror stories about Khun Pat. My philosophy on the woman - avoid at all cost! Crap, she was still locked in on me, and didn't even give a hint of wanting Brian. She told me to go sit on stage. Suddenly, I was part of the rehearsal. Teacher Tom was chosen too. It really isn't as fun being part of the process as it is watching. You have to actively participate a.k.a bow a whole bunch of times and accept fake gifts from all 30+ students. 

Having had the ceremony explained to me by Tom, I figured all the teachers would rotate through and get a shot at practicing. Next time, I would be back sitting in the shade and conversing with the other teachers. Wrong! A day later at the next practice, I was called up again... this time Teacher Tom reveled in the fact by announcing my name of the microphone. I don't particularly like having all eyes on me. Why do Tom and I always have to sit up there and practice... Shouldn't the other teachers get their chance to bow and learn the ceremony too? All teachers are in the ceremony... or at least I thought...

For the next practice, I made it a point to conveniently disappear to the schools store to indulge in an ice coffee. From around the snack case, I spied Teacher Tom sitting on stage but my seat was still empty! I slipped out of the store and coyly tried to hide naturally. Atlas, I was found. I tried to ask why the other teachers didn't have to practice; But I was hit by a huge brick wall of language barrier. Grrr...

It wasn't until later that I found out that I was chosen to be the representative for the female teachers. I have no idea why, but this fact would have made a world of clarity (for not only me but all the teachers). I feel bad for grumbling so much. I do feel honored in a way. If I would have known, I definitive wouldn't have been such a grouch :)

So, I guess not all teachers get to be part of the ceremony... or maybe they do... everything changes in Thailand...

All in all, should be interesting. Count down - 4 days.

Beach Day!

Sam took us to his favorite beach spot. It's about 20-30 minutes south of Jomtien Beach.

It was wonderful. Like anything, the secret spots are always better than the touristy spots. This place had half the people and double the sand.

Sam's 300 Baht Fish

This area of Thailand doesn't have alot of actual Beach. It's more like road, a patch of sand, then water. However, this spot was away from traffic and had tons of vendors with umbrellas and way more beach. It was also situated in the perfect place for a breeze. Usually laying in the sun is really trying on my nerves, however, having a nice semi-cool breeze blow over you ever 5 seconds makes the experience more tolerable. Two hours at it and not a shade darker. Grr... I want to get a tan, I just hate sitting in the sun. I'm more a rain/cloudy weather kind of girl anyway.

Meow and Samson

Eating all by himself!

The water clarity was no better at this location though. Needless to say I didn't get in.

It was a nice relaxing day. Definitely worth going again. We are hoping to go back next Sunday to go to Monkey Island courtesy of Sam's friend who has a boat. He offered to take us for some mulah. I am excited to see what this boat looks like :) I can only imagine what a beater it must be, but oh well... should be an experience!

Another gorgeous sunset

Muay Thai

Just what a girl wants to do on her day off... watch a bunch of men train to be fighters!!!

Yeah right... the fantasy of watching boys work-out/train is not for this girl...

Through this experience, I found a new phobia - sweat. I did not know human beings could produce that much sweat. Thailand's heat does not help, but then they put on sweatsuits! I'm talking puddles pouring out. Every time they move you run the risk of an unforeseen rain shower or being spit on. I dry-heaved alot. Riding home on the back of the motorbike with Brian was psychologically damaging. Sweat flying backwards at 50 mph - not fun. Ugh...

Anyway, I was more of the unofficial photographer to document Brian's first training experience. 40 mosquito bites later, and I think he has some wonderful pictures. The number of bites I accumulated worried the trainers. This just confirms the fact that I will need way more malaria medicine before I head into the surrounding countries.

Oddly enough, Brian's never been in a fight in his life nor does he have a fighting mentality. He is probably the most passive, gentle boy you will ever meet. However, when in Rome right?!?... plus it doesn't hurt that Sam is trying to become a professional Muay Thai fighter and offered to show Brian the "ropes." Brian developed several bruises on his legs, but apparently it just takes conditioning and it will slowly dissipate. Fun.

I love this picture... "You want me to hit you?" hehe

This new found hobby, however, cost 250 Baht per lesson. Thai people do not pay to get trained. It is the countries national sport. Only foreigners have to pay. I would say there were about 12 foreigners training. Thai fighters do not train with the foreigners either. They keep them separate.

I felt like I was in the Karate Kid... probably because the movie just got released and it's been everywhere on the internet and self adhered itself into my mind. I must say, seeing the velocity of fighters actually kicking and throwing punches is quit nerving. I would hate to be the person on the receiving end of the blows! All I heard for hours was the huge "Bam" sound of flesh hitting bags. The trainers have guts! I'm sure the fighters have clocked them on accident before.... owww.

I keep thinking back to my childhood when I watched the WWF. Everyone would say that it was "fake." Watching it on TV does alot to numb the actual brutality taking place... fake or not.

Alot of Thai children train at this facility. I have never seen so many young boys ripped before. I guess it's their entire life - seeing that the majority of the boys live at the camp too.  They are either orphans or problem children that were 'adopted' by the camp. I can only infer that they train all day long.

I was looking forward to watching my first official Muay Thai match. In addition to sweat I'm sure there will be blood. Apparently, you get paid a bonus if you do special moves. These moves sound like gushers.

I never understood what appeal this sport has to people. My father loves boxing. I'm sure if he were to sit in the gym all day and watch the boys train he would be highly entertained - minus the heat and mosquitoes.

But I want to show my support for Sam and his first fight this year.

Sam resting

Betting is illegal in Thailand, but is one of the major draws of people to watch Muay Thai matches. I told Sam that whenever money was tight, to let us know when he wanted to throw a match so we could bet against him... hehe... it's like having an insider tip to a horse race!

I am looking forward to listening to him explain any injuries to his class... I'm sure it will boil down to a motorbike accident :)

Catching some air...

This is what I miss when I'm tutoring...

Today, Pat was sick. I get so happy on these rare occasions. Emily, who just arrived a couple weeks ago now tutors Pat the hour prior to my tutoring session. Poor kid is stuck in school all day - No chance to be a kid. I guess that is what happens when your parents run a school and are hell bent on educating their children. He doesn't even have any friends... It will be very intersting to see how he turns out when he gets older...

Anyway, Emily hates tutoring just as much as I do. We act like little children every time we get out of it. I swear, If I were just tutoring one of my own kids the hour would fly on by... but tutoring Pat is like pulling teeth.

So today instead of tutoring, I got to sit outside with the fellow teachers and hang out. It was so nice. There isn't alot of time to socialize during school because everyone is in their individual classroom teaching.

In conclusion...

I think that Brian and Sam should have their own show. Sam is like the British version of Brian. Listening to them try to communicate is hilarious. The show would defnilty bring the two countries even closer together. When they are not entertaining us with their bizarre teaching methods and stories of the day, they are wowing us with their other antics.

For example, They both truly believe there is a possibility that they could inherit millions of dollars off an email they received on the internet. To anyone else we would term this as a Scam or Spam, but they really believe they are "special."

Sam received the email on Facebook and Brian received it directly in his yahoo mail. Both replied to it with high hopes. Sam even created another email account just for corresponding with this 'lawyer.' The thing that cracks me up is they think its legit because it addresses them by their last name! The basic layout of the email is that someone died with the same last name as them in another country. The only way to get the money out is to have you sign for it because your last name matches. The inheritance will be split down the middle.

This conversation lasted for more than half an hour. Each one just buliding on the legitamacy of the email. The other teachers, including myself where floored. I believe one teachers response was, "And there are thousands of them out there!"

Everyone loves the guys, we just give them a hard time. If not for them it would be boring around school.

I just don't know if I want to burst their bubble by telling them I got the same email too... with my name on it... however, it went straight to the trash.

Flash Floods and the Battle of the Baht Bus

I was so excited to take Brian to the Mall on friday.

I have only been once with Tania, and it made me so happy to see a mall like back home!!! Plus there are so many dentists and spas in the mall :) I knew seeing all the "proper" bread places would make Brian happy too!!!

We left sorta late. Brian had to go running first. His normal routine of running on the beach at sunset.

We decided to take the Baht bus. Why deal with traffic? We paid 10 Baht this time!!!! We were made aware that the Baht bus should only cost 10 Baht one way not 20 Baht.

We ate at a delicious Japanese/Sushi restaurant on the top floor. Sooo good and not very expensive by Baht standards either. Mochi Ice cream for dessert!

We walked around the mall for a bit. The smell of rain was wafting into the mall. Brian was getting pretty anxy looking at spa treatments. He wanted to get to bed early because he was doing his Advance Certification tomorrow. I had no idea it was already close to 10:00 p.m. We only got through 3 of the 5 floors! Boo, I didn't want to leave.

As we neared the doors we could see the downpour. Everyone was crowded around the doors and sitting along the outside of the mall covered by the overhanging roof. I already knew getting home would be a struggle in this weather. If the Baht bus does not have passengers they usually will haggle you for a higher fare. I had already experienced this. Brian had not.

We took off into the rain. We flagged down a baht bus. He wanted 200 Baht to go to Jomtien. We got out.

We walked down the street more in the downpour. This is the ideal situation for the drivers to make alot of money in a short period of time. We flagged down another one with passengers in it. He said he was going to Jomtien, but he lied. He took us across the street to the main hub of Baht Buses. We had to pay the 10 Baht. It wasn't ideal, but it was a good location to get dropped off at if it couldn't be our house.

This main intersection was flooding fast! We had to cross two streets to get to the Baht Buses. We crossed over one street and started walking down. The water was up to my ankles. Each time a car would pass, a wave of water would come hurling at you. This is dirty smelly water too, not beautiful clear rain water. The water dramatically got higher. People were walking knee deep in the water on the side walk. I made Brian turn around. There was no way I was walking through that. It would probably be even higher on me!

Alot of the other farang were in the same situation as us. How to get to the Baht buses on the other side, and for us not pay outrageous prices. We starting walking down the street again where it was not flooding yet. We flagged down a baht bus. He wasn't going to Jomtien. Burn. I could tell Brian was getting upset. He wanted to get to bed early and never really wanted to come to the mall in the first place.

We flagged down another Baht Bus - No passengers. Great. He wanted 200 Baht to go to Jomtien too. Awesome... Then, out of nowhere a Thai woman with an old man came up to the bus. They needed to go to Jomtien too. The new deal was we would pay 100 Baht and he would pay 100 Baht.

We took it! We're not dumb. We weren't going to get a better offer than that until after the rain stopped. And there was no telling how soon that would be. I had an anxious boyfriend who needed to get home too!!!!

We got in. The Baht bus turned and started going through the water. I was amazed that we were able to wade through that water. It was nearly up to the floor of the bus. You could hear the engine struggling. I had never experience anything like that before. There were people on their motorbikes behind us. "No way in hell," were Brian's exact words. He was right... How were they able to stay upright and drive? Brian and I would have tipped over. 

We passed the worst portion of the flooding and the old man rang the buzzer. The Thai woman looked a little confused too. Shit, we are going to get kicked out and have to find another Baht bus. But, the old man paid the 100 Baht.  It did little to calm my nerves. Each time the driver slowed down, I thought we were getting the boot.

The old man got off at another hotel, perhaps his wife was back at the Jomtien Hotel.  Either way, I was very grateful for that dirty old man and Thai hooker.

We went through another section of deep water. The usual road we took ahead was closed off. We took a detour. Benefit - We found little India.

Finally, we were half way home. It seemed like forever trying to get home. Paying 100 Baht was seeming more and more like a wonderful price! Having to deal with the traffic and water was worth it. As we neared Beach Road, the flooding started again. We picked up two other passengers on the side of the road. They were so happy to find a Baht bus. Beach road was pretty empty. All the Baht buses were in the city trying to make money.

The driver started to fly down beach road. You could tell he wanted to be back in the city too.

Brian and I made it home. It was still raining. As Brian says, "We had to experience the rain eventually." Next time we will check the weather.

Bowling Night

When our friend was visiting us, we took her to Walking Street. One of the have to do's if your ever in Pattaya. However, it was a Buddhist holiday when we took her. Pattaya isn't that dirty, they do observe their religious holidays. All the bars were closed. Needless to say she didn't get a true glimpse of Walking Street.

However, we did make a wonderful discovery of the Avenue. It is an outdoor-ish mall. It had an Au Bon Pain. Brian was all too excited to buy "proper" bread. It also had a movie theater and bowling alley. It was a very nice mall. You could tell it was new and did not have all it's stores open yet. 

Emily, a new teacher at school, had just arrived from California. It was her birthday in 3 days! We had to do something. I suggested bowling. The bowling alley looked so fun that night we discovered it. It was easy for everyone to meet up at and not get too hammered. We did have to teach the next day.

It was a fun night. 

Tom, Lucky, Me, Emily, Simon, Sam, Brian

Brian with his Chang Beer Tower

Toast to Emily's 22nd Birthday

Me and Tania

Brian's bromance partners Tom and Sam :)

AK represent!

Thanks Hanalani for all the bowling training :)