Maha Sarakham... ( belated)

Hey, guess what I am back in Maha Sarakham…. Guess how many days until I go back to Bangkok… no common actually guess. 2 days, 5 days, 7 days, 20 days, 50 days, never…

I am going back to Bangkok on Sunday, exactly seven days after I left Bangkok and 5 days from now. What can I say, I love it there and just don’t really like it here in Maha Sarakham.  I am officially on summer break now and it sucks. All my family does is sit at home and watch tv all day. That’s why I am leaving again. Originally I wasn’t going to go back to Bangkok this month because I spent way too much money last month and am seriously beyond broke, like I spent money that I had mentally prepared for next month. But after 3 days of staring at my ceiling in my bedroom, I decided I would rather be broke than bored, ( anyone want to send me money J) so I am heading back down to Bangkok!!

I am not sure who I am going with but a bunch of exchange students should be in and around Khao San because its summer break and because in a week and a half we all have to meet in Bangkok for our big NORTH ADVENTURE TRIP. I think my friend Ashlee is going to come teach English with me on the 26th, 27th and 28th of March and then my friend Annie is going to meet us down in Bangkok on the 28th or 29th.

As for my last week in Bangkok, I had an amazing time. Ashlee and I taught at an English camp for three days up in the mountains in the Rayong province. Then we came back to Bangkok and stayed with my friend Luis and his cousin. We met up with exchange students from our district and from the Bangkok district and just had a blast. We went to the grand palace again and I got in for free this time ( vs. the usual $12) because I had my school ID which meant I was officially “Thai.” That was a major achievement. Then we went to this fancy mall called Siam discovery and went ice skating. It was funny because most Thai people cannot skate, so they have a railing around the rink and everyone just holds onto it as they circle the rink, not quite like Canadians but at least they are trying.

We didn’t do much else in Bangkok we were really just relaxing and enjoying Khao San road. I got hair extensions  but my friend cut them and messed them up a bit. So I had to go to a hair dresser and get them re done, she cut all my hair and now it looks great.

I will try my best to post videos and pictures on my tumblr tonight, I know I have a lot I still haven’t posted so maybe I will sit down for a few hours and just post a months worth of pictures.

I know I didn’t write much today and I kinda just mumbled on, I just wasn’t feeling it. I need some inspiration… or extreme boredom. Wait a couple of days and I am sure I will post more.

Xoxo Chantel <3

Bangkok/Rayong Trip Day 1

So I am in Bangkok right now, in a bar/café with my friend Ashlee, listening to Britney Spears while lying on couches surrounded by our suitcases, waiting for my councilors daughter  to come home so we can go to her house and go to bed. AHHHH I am sooo tired.

Yesterday, I took a bus to Khon Kean to meet up with Ashlee and spend the night at her house. Then this morning we woke up at 6am and drove back to Khon Kean to catch our bus to Bangkok. At 2pm we arrived in Bangkok and went to J.J Market with two suitcases, two purses and one back pack. It was crazy but we did it. I bought one gift for a special someone ;) and Ashlee bought a bunch of dresses. Around 5pm we headed over to the mall to go shopping at forever 21. It’s funny because you know you’re an exchange student when you have pockets full of money you have saved for this trip and your favourite shop in the world and all you buy is new underwear and yoga pants. For two reasons, a) you have learned how to be logical and sensible about what you spend your money on and you really need new underwear and b)  Thanks to lovely exchange weight gain, yoga pants are like all that fits you. After buying some NESSECITIES we headed out for a feast of very random food, raw salmon in balsamic vinegar, spinach and cheese casserole, dumplings, stir fried vegetables and tofu, garlic bread and TWO Apple crumples…. Yeahh. That’s our feast of this trip from now on only vegetables and fruit I PROMISE!! I want to be able to wear something other than yoga pants!!!

Then we headed home and Anin wasn’t home so we found this bar/café with free wifi and that’s where we are now. Tomorrow at 4:30 am for the English camp in Rayong for three days. Then we are not sure how many days we will spend in Bangkok after that because its expensive and fattening, not a good combination!

I will keep you posted on our misadventures.

Xoxox Chantel <3

A lunch with Farangs

A lunch with Farangs

Today I went to Serm Thai, the local plaza in Maha Sarakham on the search for a good lunch and a new bathing suit. I looked and looked for this bathing suit I had been eyeing for months but couldn’t find it. So I headed down to my favorite restaurant, Black Canyon Coffee shop and ordered a sandwhich and pumpkin soup. About half way in to my meal I saw two Swedish ladies I had met earlier this week. We all sat down together and had a good ol’ chat about life in Thailand. It was a mother and daughter who were here for four months to exchange ideas and methods with Thai doctors.

They were amazed at some of the stories I told about Thai life and Thai families. I was shocked they didn’t know. I guess I was naive thinking that all the other people living and visiting this country  saw the same things I did. But they don’t they will never truly know what Thai Life is like until they live it for seven months with a Thai family. It was nice to talk to a mother and daughter because the daughter could relate to me about living abroad with another family and how it will never really be your family and how everything is sooo awkward and the mother was just as shocked as my own mother and told me that she was proud of me and that I am very brave.

I really enjoyed talking to these ladies, unfortunately they move cities tomorrow. But its ok because it gave me a boost and helped remind me why I do it. Also I received a bunch of comments and emails regarding my last few posts saying that you guys love them and that you guys understand how hard it is and are proud of me too. Thank you to everyone. I love you all so much.

Xoxo Chantel <3

SPECIAL POST #5

So this brings me to the end of my special posts... this makes me sad, I liked trying to come up with interesting and creative posts. For this post I made a vlog talking about my life in Thailand and my trip to Bangkok this weekend. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF IT DOES NOT PLAY!!  Thanks for the continued support and love.

xoxox Chantel <3

Me? a teacher? nahhh

Special Post #4

How to Teach at an English Camp?

Teaching at English camps is  a great way to travel and make a little bit of money. Basically you are required to travel for three days with two or three classes of Thai Teenagers. You play games and teach English.

To teach English, basically you just try and converse with the kids as much as you can in English. A good way to do this is ask them about their lives and joke with them a little bit. As the camp progresses you will learn what kids are more outgoing, who’s  more shy and you will actually learn a surprising amount about the students.

You will be required to teach a lesson or two, that has already been planned by the camp organizers. Read the cheat sheet and memorize the information you have to teach. Usually the topic will be something basic that they have previous knowledge about. Then to start the lesson ask the students, to brain storm what they know about the topic. Get them to write the ideas on the white board. Ask good questions while they are brainstorming to help trigger more ideas. Once they have finished brainstorming, fill in any ideas they have forgotten and  let them write it down.

Next get them to work on some simple work sheets. This will occupy a lot of their time and gives you some time to rest. Offer an incentive for each finished piece of work. At the AYC English camps we give out AYC dollars and then at the end of the camp they can use their  money to buy gifts.

Most importantly encourage participation by participating yourself. Laugh, Dance ,Sing, Scream its all part of it. If the kids see you doing the activities and being silly then they will do it too.

Teaching English at  Camp, could there be any better way to make money??

Xoxo Chantel <3

This is not the post you wanted to read...

This is not the blog post you wanted to read but its on my mind and I felt like writing about it. So Basically, I like really miss home. I don’t even know if its that I miss  it or am just super psyched to be home again or what. I think I dream about home at night because every morning when I wake up I feel like its not that far but then when my host mom knocks on my door while yelling at me in Thai and I roll over and see that its six am and  remember just how far from home I am.

So do you want to know what I am so excited to see again/ what I really miss?

Well, I am going to tell you.

Canadian Food: I miss normal grocery stores and constantly having a variety of food in the house. I miss not eating meat and I miss being able to cook my own food without worrying that I am getting in the way. I miss sitting at the dinner table with my family, talking about our days and joking around. I miss fresh veggies cut up with dip. I miss eating food from all over the world instead of the same thing every night. I miss being able to pick and choose what I am going to eat and not being worried that by declining a piece of a cake I will break my mom’s heart. I miss Canadian food.

Canadian Weather: As I am writing this post it is 28 degrees  and its only 8 in the morning by lunch time it is supposed to reach 36 degrees. OMG! Plus Thailand has no seasons, honestly it rains for a couple months, then its hot, then its so hot you want to cry, then it rains again. I miss all the fun the seasons bring and waking up every morning and having to check the weather. It adds excitement to our humdrum lives.

Canadian Skiing and Snowboarding: Gosh, I miss that like crazy. Skiing and snowboarding are such a routine part of life for my family and friends in Canada. It’s just what we do. I mean I worked at the ski hill where my brothers ski team is based, where my parents spend all day, every weekend and where my all my friends had memberships and went as much as they could. It was a huge part of my life and I loved it. I miss having a place to go and having something to do with my family and friends.  Thai families don’t do anything. Seriously absolutely nothing. Its boring.

Canadian School: There I said it I miss school. I miss seeing people everyday. I miss knowing what I am going to do every day. I miss learning and using my brain. I miss projects and homework and essays and assignments. I miss teachers yelling at me to be quiet and I miss being on a hundred bajillion different clubs and teams. I miss school.

Canadian Houses: More specifically my house. I miss my bedroom, here after moving into my third house, I just gave up on trying to make my room feel like my own. The closet is filled with clothes that don’t belong to me. I have a mattress on the floor and there are Buddha beads and ants every where. I will be so excited to climb into my bed the first night when I get home. To go see all my sewing stuff and my painting stuff and ALL OF MY CLOTHES!!  To have a bathroom right across the hall from my bedroom and to have a kitchen three feet away from my bedroom. To have a hot tub and a backyard and a front porch and a basement. To be able to have friends over. To be able to sit and watch tv whenever I want. To be able to walk around my house freely with out  being scared you are going someplace you are not allowed or shouldn’t be. To be in a house where disinfectant and mops are known of. To be in MY HOUSE.

Canadian Friends: I miss friends who like to sit for hours on the beach with me and make friendship bracelets. I miss friends who you can show up at their house walk in the front door, yell hey mom and sit down and watch tv and it be normal. I miss calling  friends you can call at 3 am because you just had the funniest/ scariest/ awesome dream and you thought they should know. I miss being able to call friends and talk for hours. I miss  doing random things with friends like walking to the library, cleaning a bathroom, just lying on the floor staring at the ceiling, things that are only fun when a friend does them with you. To have people you can cry to, to have people you can laugh with to have people you can be your totally awkward self around.

Canadian Hobbies and Past times: I know skiing falls into this but it deserved its own section. I miss biking around town. I miss rowing and Atlantic challenge. I miss swimming. I miss painting. I miss sewing. I miss taking pictures. I miss reading. I miss boat rides. I miss skateboarding.  I miss always having something to do.

Canadian Families: I miss my family like crazy. I know I have said this a million times before but honestly, I only realized how great they are after leaving. I miss Sunday night dinners with as many people as can make it. I miss eat brunch on the weekends with my family. I miss singing  along to music while driving in the car with my mom. I miss talking to my parents. I miss my little brother annoying me, ok maybe I don’t miss that. But I do miss my little brother, Andrew a lot. I miss eating ice cream at night after my little brother had gone to bed with my Mom and Dad. I miss so much about my family.

Canada: I just miss Canada a lot. I think Canada has such a good vibe and such a great lifestyle that its hard not to miss it. I love the life I have in Canada and I love the people who live it with me. I love Canada and I miss it a lot.

Sorry, if this post is a downer but I feel a lot better now that I have typed it all out. Think about what I have wrote here and remember to appreciate what you have now, because you WILL MISS it when its gone.

Xoxox Chantel  <3

What is that in your purse??? Special Post #3

Special Post #4

 What you can find inside an Exchange Students Purse:

1. First please note I have had to switch from a regular nice cute purse to a heavy duty canvas messenger bag. This is because  I  often traverse long distances enduring treacherous conditions, and  your regular ol’ Coach bag just wasn’t working.
2. Laptop: My constant source of information, communication and entertainment.
3. Random Notebooks: Good for jotting down ideas and counting down how many days until I return home.
4. Journal: Keeping all the crazy experiences in one place  so that I can reread them one day.
5. Wallet: A very full wallet, full of  old receipts and lacking money.
6. Camera charger: In place for camera, which is being used.
7. Extra Pair of socks: Just in Case.
8.Toilet paper: Welcome to life in a third world country/
9. Garbage: Once again third world country, has not instituted the public garbage cans.
10. Magic Thai Bug Bite Cream: My life saver, it makes your bug bits go cold and  a bit numb, but they sure don’t itch any more.
11.Ibuprofen: Life hurts.
12. 1 2 Call Card: 100 baht for my phone J
13. Sunglasses: So that I can stare at people and they don’t know. Hehehe
14.Imodium : Seven months and I still have to take this almost daily.
15. Ipod Charger:  So I can always have my music.
16. Ray Bans: So that I can see this country I live in.
17. Cell Phone: So I can fake text in awkward situations.
18. Candy and Breath mints: In case I get stranded in a rice field.
19.Ipod: Music=Life
20. Pens and Pencils : For graffitti of course.
21.Bangkok Map: In case I get lost.
22. Water Bottle: Hydration is key.
23. Fan: Putting the FUN in Functional.
24. Canada Flag: Just  a little pride.
25. Sunscreen: No one wants wrinkles or skin cancer.
26. Deodorant: No one wants to smell bad.
27. Baby Powder: No one wants to be shiny and everyone wants to be as soft as a baby’s bum.
28. Lip gloss: My lip gloss be smacking…
29. Ear plugs: I need to sleep sometime and honestly, would not be possible with out these.
30. Letters my Dad wrote me to open  through out the year: Incase I need to open one on the go.

Xoxo Chantel <3

What to do for a Seven hour bus ride? SPECIAL POST#2

Special post #2

What to do for a Seven Hour Bus ride?

I travel to Bangkok frequently, I will be going for times this month, at least.  And to get there I have to take a seven hour bus ride. To say the least I have mastered the art of occupying yourself for seven hours on a bus. I  even have a formula it looks like this.

Hour 1:  This is a good time to listen to music and either think about what you are going to do in your destination or reflect on what you did in your destination.

Hour 2: Music starts to get boring, this is a good time to cuddle up with a blanket and sleep.

Hour 3: This is a good time to wake up and listen to some more music, preferably something upbeat, that you can dance  and jam out too. Yes dance and jam out on a bus. I do it daily, it doesn’t matter who is  beside you, as long as you keep you dancing and jamming out in your seat zone, then feel free to go crazy. My favorite
 is some air drumming, doesn’t take up to much room but is highly entertaining.

 Hour 4: Dig into that bag of snacks you  brought. Be sure to take your time eating every piece slowly and enjoy it. Then  take the rest of your hour to read the back of the labels. If the labels have another language, try to translate it.

 Hour 5: Grab a notebook, or journal and start writing. Lists, letters, doodles, stories, you would be amazed at how much you can write while on a bus. Also you often  come across awesome ideas. I often take the time to plan my next day, week, month, three months, whatever I feel like. Seriously, you can waste a lot of time doing this and it can actually be rather productive. ( I came up with the ideas for all 5 of my special blog posts while writing lists on a seven hour bus ride… BRILLIANCE)

Hour 6: Go through your gadgets and see what type of free games they have. I personally enjoy solitaire on my laptop, music quiz on my ipod and snake on my phone. Play each game until you break your high score. Then play it again until you break that high score.

Hour 7: Stare at the strange people who are surrounding you on the bus, while you figure out what you are going to do when you get off the bus. This is a good time to call and tell rides when you will be home. I like to make up little stories about where all the other passengers are going. An example of this would be:

The guy to my left
By Chantel Ouellet

The guy to my left has black hair and dark skin. I am guessing he is Thai. He hasn’t done much in the past seven hours that we have sat beside each other, but he did drink a bottle of water. He doesn’t seem very interesting. He is the kinda guy you would just pass by on the street and not even notice. That’s why I am almost positive he is a trained ninja assassin. He is going to Bangkok to meet up with a secret government organization and train other secret ninja assassins. I should be careful I don’t want to make a ninja mad.


And Voila your bus ride is over, you have arrived at your destination and ready to go on your way. Congratulations on conquering the seven hour bus ride. Now you just have to conquer it again on you way back home. -___-

Xoxo Chantel <3

How to Conquer a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok ( special post #1)

 Special Post #1

Guide to taking a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok:

Taking a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok is a very iconic and dangerous experience, but don’t worry it’s a staple for transportation and if you follow this guide, you should survive your Tuk Tuk trip with only a few injuries and only half scammed.

Tip #1: Don’t choose the Tuk Tuks just waiting around speaking broken English to you. They will scam you hard and charge you way too much. They can get away with it too because they are in highly populated areas with lots of stupid tourists. Your best bet is to flag down an empty Tuk Tuk on the road or find a nice quiet respectful driver.

Tip#2: Speak Thai  and don’t be afraid to yell, and even walk away. Its all part of the fun. When you find a Tuk Tuk you want to take, ask him if he can take you to where you want to go. Then BEFORE you get in ask him how much? Try to get under 100 baht, the cheaper the better. The price he gives you is already inflated and you can usually get them to go down 10 -30 baht ( about a dollar).  Your conversation will sound something like this.

You: Sawadee ka, bai Khao San dai mai ka? ( hello, can you go to khao san road?)

Tuk Tuk Driver: ( incomprehensive mumbles and grunts, then nods)

You: Tow rai ka? ( How much?)

Tuk Tuk Driver: 200 baht

You: ( laughs) mai chai, mai chai! Hok sip baht? ( that’s not right, 60 baht)

 Tuk Tuk Driver: Mai, Mai  nueng roi ha sip ( No, No 150baht)

You:  ( yelling and waving hands dramatically) Mai CHAI, Ban Maha sarakham ka, lou jak annie hok sip ka, dai mai ka? ( That’s not right, I live in Maha sarakham I know this on is 60 baht, can you do sixty baht?)

Tuk Tuk Driver: mai dai ( No, I cannot.)

 You : Starts walking away

Tuk Tuk Driver: OK Ok pad sip baht ( Ok  80 baht)

You: OK ka,BAH! ( ok, lets go.)


Tip#3 Even though the tuk tuk only seats two make it worth your money and shove up to ten people in the four by four  seat. Some common ways to do this is sitting on peoples laps and just laying on top of one and other.

Tip #4 Do not be frightened if any of the following occurs. Its perfectly normal.

- The driver goes through a red light or stop sign.
- The driver drives in the wrong lane.
- The driver keeps going up on the back two wheels, every time he accelerates.
- The driver doesn’t look at the road or is multitasking, by drinking a  Big Gulp from 7/11, talking to yourself and staring at you threw his rear view mirror.

This may seem very crazy and dangerous in Canada, but its perfectly normal.

Tip #5 Don’t bother Tipping and pay in exact change. I mean you had to fight with them to get them to actually take you where you wanted to go, then almost killed you on the way there. Just pay the tuk tuk driver and run.

Follow these five tips and should be able to successfully survive and conquer a Tuk Tuk ride in Bangkok.

Xoxo Chantel <3

 ps there are more pictures on my tumblr :)
http://132daysofadventure.tumblr.com/

Back from Bangkok

I am back from Bangkok. I know what you are thinking, wait aren’t you supposed to be spending 3-4 weeks there? Only five days have passed.  Well, as we have all learned nothing ever goes as planned in Thailand. So last Wednesday night I received a call from my councilor informing me I had no place to stay in Bangkok. I told her I had already booked my ticket, and that I had already confirmed that I would be attending the English camp. My councilor  said well fine you can spend one night at my daughters house.

So Thursday  I caught the bus at 7:50 am for Bangkok. I arrived around 3 :30pm and went to hang out at the mall until my councilors daughter Anin came home. I went shopping and found a jacket I had tried on in January on sale for  15 dollars ( instead of 45) and it fit me  ( vs. last time it was to small.) I was so excited I bought it and headed home. When I arrived at Anin’s I hopped straight in to the shower. I was happily washing my hair when I felt something crawling on top of my foot and between my toes. I looked down to see a millipede or centipede or whatever the extremely poisonous one is. I shook my foot violently until it went flying off and jumped out the shower grabbed the towel and ran out side. This is a perfectly normal reaction to finding a deadly poisonous bug on your foot. My councilors daughter went in and killed it and I hopped back in the shower. Then out of no where a giant cockroach crawled across my foot. I jumped out of the shower threw my clothes on as fast as I could and decided I could go to bed dirty.

I woke up the next morning at 4:55 am and left Anin’s around 5:30 am to head to the AYC English Camp offices. We picked up the kids around 8 am and headed to Khorat to stay at  a resort. We didn’t do much on the way down, we stopped at a western themed amusement park, which was interesting and then we arrived at the hotel around 4pm. It started pouring rain so, I was on break until dinner. Then after dinner we just played a few games.

The next day I taught a lesson on volcanoes and the students all got to build volcanoes. Unfortunately the students are sixteen and seventeen years old and the teachers didn’t care what their volcanoes looked like so they ended up just building a ton of giant genitalia. Yeah, that’s Thailand for ya, where the kids get away with the craziest stuff. Then we exploded the volcanoes… yeahh that was graphic, played some games at some dinner, had a party and then I was heading back to bed, when all these girls started freaking out. Some one had taken all the girls underwear and bras that had been drying on the balcony’s. Of course this freaked out everyone because there was a potential pervert nearby, but it wasn’t my problem to deal with so I went to bed.

The next morning I woke up taught a lesson, played some games and we got on the bus and headed home. We stopped at this little Italian boutique village that was really pretty and had tons of vintage clothing and antiques, ( my favorite.) Unfortunately I was broke. Then when we arrived back in Bangkok at 5pm, I was tired, hot, hungry and in no way ready for a seven hour bus ride home. So I called Anin and asked if I could stay there again. She said sure. So I spent the night last night.

I woke up at 5:55am this morning and left Anin’s house at 6:30am. I took the bus at 7:50 am home and arrived a couple of hours ago. When I arrived I  found my bedroom covered in red ants. I was so  mad because I cleaned my room before I left on Wednesday night to assure this wouldn’t happen. I forgot that I left my suitcase with my granola bars in my room, that I was supposed to bring to Bangkok. So yeah, there goes my Birthday present…. Oh well.

Now I am off to the gym, to work off the Krispy Kreme Donut I picked up in Bangkok last night.

Xoxo Chantel <3

P.S. Everyone this is my 50th post J YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH  so as a treat to all of you who have kept reading all this time. I will be posting five special posts this week.  So keep a look out for these SPECIAL POSTS!!!