Nature's not so bad

Captain Mauch: One more thing. Do me a favor. Don't go chasing waterfalls.

Allen Gamble: Is that accidental or are you trying to quote TLC on purpose?

Captain Mauch: I don't even understand the reference.

Allen Gamble: You don't understand what you said?

Captain Mauch: I don't know what that is. Get out.

- The Other Guys

With some time off and a few relaxing days in Nakhon Pathom, I figured it was time to do some traveling. There were a decent amount of CIEE people heading to Kanchanaburi for the weekend so the timing was perfect. I had been there the week before but it’s huge and has a lot to see. I made plans to meet up with Claire (who lives there) and her roommate Pi-Jane (Most Thais take on English nicknames).

After waiting an hour for the 81 bus that allegedly comes every 15-30 minutes, I was on the road. We met up at the station and tried to grab the 9:30 AM bus, which apparently had left 10 minutes early. Thai time yet again. This gave us some time to walk around the area, which was filled with markets and restaurants.

We eventually arrived at Erawan National Park. The park is known for its seven-tiered waterfall. As you follow the trail, you reach several different waterfalls, with each ascending one being more beautiful than the rest. I could try to describe it but the photos speak better.

So we made our way up the waterfall, stopping occasionally to go in the water or just observe. Anyway at about 2:30 PM we realized we were at the 5^th tier and that the last bus left at 4:00 PM. If we missed it, we either have to try to find a close hostel or hitchhike – neither sounded ideal. So we began booking it to get to the top and finally made it around 3:00 PM. We took a few quick photos and started running back. It was actually a blast jumping and weaving down this mountain. Poor Pi-Jane was not ready for this sprint down and probably hated us for doing it. We made it with about 15 minutes to spare.

Awesome.

We eventually arrived at the hotel on the River Kwai. The room was actually located on a raft which was pretty neat. The confusing thing for me was the toilet.

It took me a good 5 minutes to come to the realization that it didn’t flush. So I tried using the hose to shoot the business down the drain. It didn’t really work. I found out a day later that you use the hose to fill the bucket and then pour it in the toilet. Essentially this just puts all your waste into the river. Sorry environment. I never had a choice.

The area around there was pretty fun and obviously geared toured tourists. There was about a 2 mile strip filled with bars and restaurants that were pretty fun. The next day we relaxed and ended up walking around Kanchanaburi city. We tried going to the War Museum but it was closed. Here’s a picture to show the attempt we made to go there.

Around dinner time we met up with 10 other people from the program who were there for the weekend too. It was really fun to catch up with everyone and hear stories about their respective living situations. It made me reallyyyyyy appreciate my apartment and school. Washing machines and flushing toilets seem to be a luxury.

We ended up having a long dinner since everyone was having a good time talking. We then decided to go to some of the bars on the street. Our group started walking down the road but noticed something weird. Every single bar and restaurant was closed. This was incredibly confusing considering it was a Friday night and we had seen everything open the night before. A Thai man on the street explained.

Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara had just passed away the previous day at the age of 100. He’s the equivalent of the pope for Buddhism in Thailand. Currently Thailand has called for a 30-day mourning period. Due to this, bars now close early and don’t play music out of respect. Government workers are also expected to wear black and white during this time. Since I’m now technically a government worker, I might have to go out and get a new wardrobe since none of my button-downs are black or white.

On the way back, I hopped on the 81 bus again. But it was a different type of 81 bus and it ended up taking an alternate route back. I spent half the ride craning my head through the windows trying to find my stop before I finally gave up and got off the bus. I luckily found a great cab driver who told me that I was in the next town over and gave me a ride back to the apartment. 25 minutes later, I was home. I’ve really got to figure out directions.

Well that was my first attempt at traveling! I’m resting up now and getting ready to start my first real job on Tuesday. Yeah baby!

Mark

P.S. Still no post from Davis. It sounds like his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework has really been piling up :(

First Week in Nakhon Pathom!

"I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup! I love maple syrup! I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. And I take maple syrup and put a little bit in my hair when I've had a rough week. What do you think holds it up slick?" - Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers

Well I made it through my first week on my own being a semi-real person! Here’s what’s been going on in Thailand:

I made it to my apartment in Nakhon Pathom a week from last Friday. I was driven here from Bangkok by my coordinator, who is essentially my boss while I’m here. In Bangkok traffic our hour drive turned into three and half.  That being said, it gave use some good time to get to know each other.

Now for a little bit about the area. Nakhon Pathom has a pretty huge landmass. It takes about an hour to drive from border to border. That being said, it’s much less developed than Bangkok. There are lots of highways with green fields and rivers around it. My apartment is about 10 minutes from the Bangkok border. It’s rather ideal because I get the quietness of the town but also can go into the city on weekends. Most major buses run through Nakhon Pathom so travel should be relatively easy.

The apartment itself is a big studio room, furnished with a double bed, TV, Desk and dresser. It connects to a bathroom on the balcony, which is kind of wild. The sink is open air on the balcony, so I’ve got a great view of Bangkok while I brush my teeth. From what I've gathered from other people, I totally hit the jackpot with my accommodations. The apartment is right off the main highway so there’s not a ton around it. There’s a mall with a food court that’s a five minute walk away which is super convenient. A few street vendors are within walking distance so I’ve been able to get some cheap meals and attempt to build up my spice tolerance.

The Bachelor Pad

Here’s how I’ve spent my first week:

Wandering around:

Each day I’ve picked a random street around me and walked down it for a half hour and then turned around. I’ve found some cool little shops and also some beautiful areas as well. I’ve also gotten used to taxis honking at me as I walk down the street. I guess I must look lost.

Another note about most Thais- they never walk anywhere. They use some type of motorized vehicle to get wherever they need to go. The sidewalks are usually barren and not in great shape because they appear to be a low priority. That explains why you’ll sometimes find holes in the ground like this.

Hanging with my Co-workers.

I’ve had the chance to meet a few of the other English teachers at the school which has been great. I’ve been kicking it with two other teachers that have really good English.

One is half-English, half-Nigerian. He’s hilarious to hang out with. He’s quiet but we’ve had a great time eating pizza, watching movies off of youtube, and singing to James Brown in his car.

The other is from England and lives right down the hall from my in my apartment. Also a blast to hang out with and has helped me out a lot with Thai related questions. He can read and speak Thai very well- something I can’t do too well yet.

Creating my personal gym

I haven’t found a gym/don’t have the money for a membership yet so I created my own. I’ve got a yoga mat and couple big jugs of water to function as a weight set. Creativity yo.

Killing Ants

Ants somehow have easily climbed four stories of concrete into my room. It’s forcing me to keep it clean which is good but those bugs are the devil.

There seems to be a little bit of a downtown in Nakhon Pathom that I have yet to see. It features several Wats (large Buddhist temples) and some markets. I’ll make it down there eventually but I don’t feel rushed to do everything at once. There doesn’t seem to be much of a nightlife but Bangkok should be able to fill that void.

I start work next Tuesday which I’m pretty excited for. As of now I’ll have 20 sections of 10^th graders and 11^th graders. Still trying to figure out how I’ll do names but 700 isn’t that many right?

Here’s a few more photos from around Nakhon Pathom: 

WAAAAHHHHH

It rained for about 20 minutes and completely flooded the street. I guess that's pretty normal.

Sorry I’ve been slow with other photos- the blogger website is now half in Thai for me so I’m trying to figure out the most effective way to post them. I’ll actually figure that out tomorrow and post about my weekend trip back to Kanchanaburi!

Mark

P.S. Also, I noticed Davis hasn’t posted in a while. Don’t let the Slytherins get you down bud!

Bangkok Chillin'

“One does not simply walk into Mordor” – Boromir, The Fellowship of the Ring/Hong Kong International Airport Staff

This story begins at the Hong Kong International Airport.

International flights are awesome. I had a window seat and no one was sitting next to me, so I was set. I had a personal video set in front of me- touch screen bay! It literally had about 50 movies and 50 TV shows to choose from. All new releases too. I want on a Brian Larsen- movie binge and watched 4 movies in a row.

The service was impeccable. They kept coming by to offer more drinks and food. I half expected Kanye West to pop out of the overhead compartment and start shooting a video. Sadly he didn’t so there was no Ciroc or foreign models on the plane. Oh well, everyone can improve I guess.

When I arrived in Hong Kong I really had no idea what was happening or where to go. I noticed that a couple levels above me there were some restaurants and shops. I asked a woman the desk how to get there. She said to take a left and an elevator was just around the corner. I do that and see a few benches – no elevator. Hmmm. I go to another security guard and ask him how I would get to my next flight and the above area. He said I would have to go through immigration. I go through immigration. In front of my lies the baggage claim. I don’t want this. I ask yet another woman and she says that I shouldn’t have come through immigration; the checkpoint to the upper levels was where I just was. I now have to go back through security. AHHHHHHH! SERIOUSLY GUYS?

I probably would have been more frustrated but I had a 12-hour layover. Also, they don’t speak English so it’s really no one’s fault but my own for not knowing Chinese. Anyway the airport is HUGE. Each concourse is at least half a mile. They also have an IMAX and a 9-hole golf course. Crazy.

So I went back through security. I got a quizzical look from the guard as he reminded me that my flight didn’t leave until tomorrow and didn’t even have a gate yet. Yeah yeah buddy, I’m a dumb American tourist, I get it. I spend some more time walking around and grabbed some Hong Kong McDonald’s not surprisingly, it tastes about the same as the America. I slept on a bench and got about 4 hours of sleep and got on my plane in the morning.

I had previously talked on facebook with two other girls in the program about splitting a cab to the hotel. We met in the baggage area and found a cab to take us to there. Thus begins my observations of Thailand.

Thai Traffic

If you ever want to rob a bank and need a getaway driver, just grab any Thai person with a driver’s license. The driving here is totally insane. People merge on a whim without any signals. You pretty much just have to get out the way if someone decides to merge. Speed limits are also ignored. Our cab driver drove on the shoulder for a good two miles on our way there. To top it off, mopeds weave in and out of lanes like it’s their job. Surprisingly, everyone on the road is very good about avoiding each other.

Also, the traffic in rush hour is awful. It can turn hour drives into three hour drives, as I later found out.

CIEE Teach Abroad

All roughly 200 people in the program were split between two hotels in Bangkok. The hotels are within a five minute walk of each other. Meg, Kyle, and myself were struck by how similar the orientation was to ASP. It featured lots of blocking training sessions that were probably fairly overwhelming for most. The sessions were on teacher training, language lesson, and cultural adaptations. It was pretty useful for getting some knowledge about Thailand and the environment I’ll be in.

The people on the program are also super cool. Almost everyone is within three years of graduating college. About half have never been abroad and want to do it while they can, the other half have been abroad a lot and love doing it. I’ve met some incredibly interesting people and made some friends that will be fun to visit on weekends.

Sanuk

“Sanuk” means “fun” in Thai. It’s an integral part of their way of life and they love to celebrate. Everything Thai’s do should have some form of Sanuk in it. A few examples:

-        We had a welcome dinner for everyone in the program. We had a nice dinner and saw some traditional Thai dancing. After it ended, “Gangnam Style” began blasting and huge dance party/conga line/Thai dancing ensued. I somehow ended up in the middle of the stage as the conga line stopped so keep your eye out for the terrible white person dancing when the promotional video comes out.

-        Later in the week we visited Kanchanaburi, which is famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai. We saw the bridge and had dinner afterwards. The dinner was held on a floating restaurant that was pulled down the river by boat. It was awesome. Again, after the dinner ended electronic music started blasting and a dance party erupted on this floating restaurant. And then it started pouring rain which pumped up everyone else even more. Thank god no alcohol was served or we would probably be down five teachers.

-        People have dessert at every meal. Ice cream with noodles and rice? It happens.

-        A couple times we went out to the big tourist hotspot, Kao San Road. This is essentially the Bourbon St. of Bangkok. It’s full of restaurants, bars, clubs, street vendors, and merchants. It’s really fun to go to and packed with people from all over the world. Also, late at night street dance-offs break out. Basically a huge circle will form and people will jump in and bust moves. It’s pretty cool.

Land of the Smiles

Smiling is huge in Thailand. Thais smile when they’re happy. They also smile when they are sad, angry, or upset. They smile in these difficult situations to try to remove the comfortableness. Overall everyone I’ve meet has been super friendly and helpful. That being said…

Farang/Baht

“Farang” means “foreigner.” Most merchants and cab drivers will try to rip off Farang and charge them extra. It’s not that they are really trying to be mean– they just assume that they are rich and can afford paying extra because the worth of the Baht is so low. That being said the Baht is incredibly cheap. Most meals I can get for $2-4.

Stray Observations

-        The power lines here are ridiculous. They are just stacked one on top of the other.

-        It’s really hot. It’s easy to sweat through your shirt around 3 PM if you’re walking around aimlessly. Speaking of walking aimlessly, my first day there walking around we stumbled upon what appeared to be a black market motor yard. There were literally thousands of motors piled up through this alley. I wanted to take a picture but I’ve seen the Fast and the Furious enough times to know that it probably wasn’t a good idea.

-        Visiting Kanchanaburi was really fun. We went to an elephant camp and I rode an elephant. One also picked me up with its truck. Dude can lift.

      Seeing the Grand Palace was really neat. They also played "The Hangover Part II" on the bus on the way there. Good sense of humor CIEE.

Anyway, I’m in my apartment in Nakhon Pathom now. I’ll post more photos tomorrow when I finish uploading them. Watch for another post about Nakhon Pathom in about week before I start teaching!

Sawatdee-Krap!

Mark

Cambridge - First Impressions

“It must be getting near tea-time, leastways in decent places where there *is* still tea-time”.

 – Samwise Gamgee

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to my half of the blog.  I’m sure that by now you’ve heard enough of Mark’s talk about himself and are thinking to yourself “I really wish David would write about his life, that’s the only reason I’m following this blog in the first place.”  Despite my silence I really have loads to say so I’ll be writing a few posts (hopefully) in the next week or two that focus on different things.  This one took a while to get out because of all the craziness involved with moving to a new country.  Nevertheless, despite melting one alarm clock, locking myself out of my room, getting lost in the city, and looking like an idiot whenever I handle British money, I've been able to put together this post (happy, Mark?). 

Since I’m still newly arrived here, I thought I’d write a bit about some first impression of Cambridge and the UK in general.

The People:

The first thing that struck me was that everyone here is extremely interesting and cultured.  People were eloquent and knowledgeable when they spoke, and seemed to be an expert on the subject of conversation.  The second thing that struck me was that the only person I had talked to was the customs agent and despite him telling me where the baggage claim was, I had only paid attention to his British accent.

In all seriousness, though, the people I’ve met since my arrival have been very welcoming and kind to me.  Even in bustling Heathrow, where I was forced to miss my bus because the luggage compartment was full, the transportation agents were helpful in getting me on the next bus to Cambridge.  When I arrived at King’s College (the college I belong to; watch for a future post on the relationship between King’s College and the University of Cambridge), I received the dedicated attention from a member of the staff who helped me locate my room and find information on the upcoming orientation week. 

Food:

The food in the dining hall here is amazing.  And cheap.  And the portions are huge.  It’s pretty great.

My Building:

At King’s, I live in a building called Spalding Hostel, where it seems that at any given moment it's more likely that you are standing on a staircase than in a hallway.  The building is quite the maze of spiral staircases and narrow halls with random sets of three or four steps sprinkled among the hallways.  

As you can see in the picture at left, my room is one of several that exists all by itself at the top of a stair!  Despite not having next-door neighbors I've enjoyed my corner room that looks over the intersection of streets below.  Although I’m not quite as close to King’s as some of my classmates who literally live above the dining room and bar, the location of Spalding is amazing.  The front gate of King’s is a minute’s walk, and I can get to my lecture building (as well as four or five pubs) within five minutes.  On top of that, the college's brand new gym is opening approximately 50 feet from my front door (I have no idea how many times I'll actually go to said gym - I just mention it to make Mark jealous.  How close is your gym in Nakhon Pathom?).  And last but not least, King’s College itself is located centrally within the historic area of Cambridge, so travel within the city should never be a problem.  

The City and its History:

Speaking of the “historic area,” I should mention one of the first things that jumped out at me when I first got off the bus: everything here is old.  As in, “this church is considered to be in the cradle of the Reformation” and “Isaac Newton lived here” kind of old.  Like most old English cities, everything is packed and jumbled together because of the way the city evolved throughout the centuries.  There are very few roads in central Cambridge that are larger than what would be considered a one-way street in the States, and even less which continue in a straight line for any appreciable distance.  The city is also filled with pedestrian-only “passages” that narrowly cut through the tall buildings.  From experience, I’ve found that these passages can be great shortcuts or great ways to get lost, depending on how well you know the city. 

In addition to the buildings in Cambridge, I’ve been continually impressed by the history of King’s College itself.  Of course the most iconic building of the college, and perhaps even the university, is the King’s College chapel.  The construction of the chapel, begun by King Henry VI and completed under King Henry VIII, spanned ninety years and survived during the concurrent Wars of Roses.  Housing a magnificent fan vault ceiling, beautiful stained-glass windows, and enormous pipe organ, it really is a spectacular building, made all the more impressive by its age.  But despite all of these things, it is still a student chapel.  Upon our arrival, the Chaplain made it clear to us that this amazing building is ours to utilize how we like - from reading or acolyting (altar-serving) during services to simply sitting in quiet reflection while the world-renowned King’s College male voices choir sings at Evensong.  I’ve been to two Evensongs (chapel services) since my arrival, and both have been beautiful experiences.  I wish you all could hear how the choir sounds during the service, but there is really nothing like hearing them sing and take advantage of the chapel's unique acoustics.  At first I couldn’t believe that sixteen of the thirty members (called choristers) were not even teenagers, but it soon became very clear when I saw the procession of schoolchildren in top hats across the college!

Not Pictured: Me questioning what I had
accomplished at their age.

The Tourists:

Another thing I didn’t expect before I left the states – my college is a tourist attraction.  The previous few paragraphs highlight the good reasons why they come, but I still haven’t gotten used to the line (or queue, as the English say) of people lined up for tours outside the main gate.  Thankfully, the college has instituted rules that pretty much give preference to students over tourists in any situation.  For example, while over a hundred people daily will line up for Evensong, King’s students are told to skip the line and inform the usher of their status so that they can be led to the beautiful reserved seating area.  Also, some areas of the college like the courtyards and library are completely closed to tourists, giving us students some nice privacy.

Restaurants and Shops:

Even without noting how old everything is here, its easy to tell that I'm not in America anymore when I try to find the big chain stores that are ubiquitous back home.  So far I've managed to find one Starbucks, one McDonald's and one Subway.  The majority of storefronts, however, belong to small cafes, cozy bookshops, hole-in-the-wall pubs, or restaurants of all varieties.  I suppose the one exception to the "small" rule is that there is an enclosed mall sandwiched in the center of Cambridge that contains many chain clothing, electronics, and jewelry stores - although most companies are UK-centric and not found in the states.  

Unfortunately, even with this great variety of shops I'm hesitant to buy their goods because of how crazily expensive things are in general.  I mentioned above that the food bought in the dining hall is cheap, but getting value for your pound pretty much ends there.  A standard meal out in Cambridge will put you back around 8-10 pounds ($13.50-17.00) and even buying a few basic school supplies cost me over 20 pounds ($34), after the student discount.  Today I'm doing ten days of laundry, which will end up costing another $10.  When I'm out buying something I usually look at the price and think "Oh that's a bit expensive, but not too bad," and then remember that I haven't applied the conversion rate, which is to multiply everything by 1.7.  After that bit of math, I start wishing I was living in Bangkok...

Even still, there are some cheaper places in Cambridge that I'm starting to seek out.  The trick is to go a few blocks away from the main tourist sites to avoid the price hikes that take advantage of them.  I could go out to the pub where Watson & Crick presented their discovery of DNA's structure or where CS Lewis used to grab a pint, but if I feel like having money at the end of the night I'll probably just hit the college bar.

Well, that’s all I have for now.  Check out a few more pictures at the bottom of the post!  I don't pretend to be a good photographer, but with sites like these its hard to take a bad picture.  Look out in the future for a post or two about the academics here in Cambridge.  Although it’s hard to tell by looking at this post, I am actually here to study.  

Cheers,

David

P.S.  Apparently tea-time isn’t a thing here.  I’m more than a little disappointed.

The main gate and part of the chapel,
seen from inside the front court.

And they mean it, even for students.  That is, unless you are
"Accompanied by a senior member of the college"

Market Square butting up against Great St. Mary's Church,
first built on that site in 1205.  Two blocks from my door.

Everything I know about Thailand - in one page

“Two words you’ll never hear- Wayne quit” – Lil’ Wayne

With my departure in less than a week, I thought I’d talk a little bit about what I’ll be doing in Thailand. Also, take note that I’ve written two posts and Davis hasn’t written any. You might say, “Well Mark, hasn’t David just landed in a foreign country where he’s experiencing severe jetlag, culture shock, and desperately trying to get his bearings?” Yeah, you might say that. I think Vince Vaughn said it best in Wedding Crashers with “Rule #76: no excuses! Play like a champion!” Step up your blog game, bro.

In early April, I was accepted into a program called CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange). CIEE provides a lot of teach/study abroad opportunities. Thailand looked awesome, so why not?

I’ll be teaching at Wat Raikhing Wittaya School in Nakhon Pathom. Nakhon Pathom is about an hour west of Bangkok and is known as the birthplace of Buddhism in Thailand. About 170,000 people live there, so it’s not a tiny town.

I’m officially a “Communicative English” teacher, which means my class focuses on the speaking/listening aspects of English. I’ll be teaching eighth graders and sophomores and have 22 sections between those groups. Each section has at least 40 students and I see each section once a week. That means I have about 700 students.

That wasn’t a joke. 700 students. Some schools are structured so that the students only go to a certain class once a week. From what I know, my assignments will be all multiple choice because it’s impossible to grade anything else with a scale that huge. It’s a little daunting but I’m pretty excited to see what it’s like.

So I leave on Oct 9 at 3:30 PM. I’ve got a 16 hour flight to Hong Kong, where I have a 13 hour layover. Not bad right? Only half a day. I’m more excited for all the sick movies they show on international flights- the domestic ones always suck. I got stuck watching The Lucky One the last time I flew domestic. 

 My connecting flight gets me in to Bangkok around 10 AM and I’ll have two days to explore the city before my orientation starts. There are about 200 people in this program, with most of them being recent graduates or a year out of college. There’s a facebook group that allows people to meet each other and ask questions.

I have no idea how CIEE answered people’s questions before the internet. I probably get at least 20 notifications a day with people’s questions. That being said, I'm glad other people have posted these questions so I don't have to. It’s neat that I’ll know young people throughout the country and have a support network when I arrive.

What’s really cool is that I already know a couple people who will be there with me.

-        Andy is a friend from Dayton. He’s got a Fullbright Fellowship and will be teaching in Khon Kaen, a couple hours northwest of Bangkok. He’s got a month in Bangkok for orientation.

-        Claire graduated a year ahead of me at ETHS. We got in touch recently because, well, it’s not every day that someone from your hometown is in the exact same program going to an Asian country. She’ll be in Kanchanaburi, about an hour west of where I’ll be.

-        Meg and Kyle (sorry I’m lumping you two together) worked with me on ASP and are in the CIEE program. Meg was actually my boss on ASP in 2012.  They’ll be in Chiang Rai, which is very far north. They’re also a really cute couple. I’m surprised Hallmark hasn’t tried to get the rights to their Instagram photos yet.

-        Maggie is another friend from ASP and she’s studying abroad in Khon Kaen. Chill.

I’ll have a week-long orientation when I arrive. This will consist of teaching training, language learning, information about Thai culture, and some traveling. We head to Kanchanaburi near the end to sight-see for a bit. After that, I’ve got two weeks in Nakhon Pathom before I start teaching.

Well, that’s all I know so far. Until then I’ll be watching The Hangover Part II on repeat trying to get some cultural knowledge. Countdown is 6 days- can’t wait!

Deuces,

Mark

Mark's Life Circa August 2013

McNulty: If Snotboogie always stole the money, why'd you let him play?

Snotboogie's friend: Got to. This America, man.

- The Wire

Hey guys,

Well this is my side of the blog. As many of you know, I’ll be leaving to teach English in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand very soon. I’ll try to update it is much as I can as it will be the funnier and more touching side of the blog.

So I graduated in May, went to Daytona, and had another amazing summer on ASP. Since I’ve been back I’ve been up to a few things. Here’s the short list:

1.    1.   Watching an ungodly amount of TV

Did you know that if you take a one month free trial from Netflix and cancel it, they’ll give you another month free trial exactly one year later? I got this beautiful email in March and had been saving this baby up for months. Big shout out to Adam Newman for letting me have his HBO GO password too. I counted eight TV shows I watched all the way through from the best (The Wire) to the worst (Dexter).

Don’t act like you’re not impressed. Although I have to say, the Dexter series finale was one of the most terrible things I’ve ever watched. And I even recently watched the VHS of me as a hobo in Annie in seventh grade. Dexter was worse.

2.    2.   Going to the gym

With two months of free time, I had the opportunity to completely change my body and now look like one of those guys from 300. That’s complete BS but I was able to get back into the shape I was before ASP (McDonald’s 5 out of the 7 days of the week really hurt my  figure). I became a regular at the YMCA and became the seventh person under the age of 50 to work out there.

I did do some research into the diet I would need to get a six-pack and it blew. It was full of very healthy/organic/expensive food and supplements with capital letters and numbers. Not for me.

3.     3.  Getting Important Documents for Thailand

I had to get a bunch or random documents proving I graduated college and that I don’t have a criminal history. Thankfully, I got my visa in the mail a week ago. Long story short – it took a while and was pretty boring. Moving on.

4.     4.  Taking an online TEFL Class

It was recommended I take a Teaching English as a Foreign Language Course (TEFL) before I left. It was a 130-hour online class that trains you to teach students who are learning English for the first time.

The beginning of the course was basic educational information. It was pretty much a rehash of my freshman year of college. After that it was writing lots of lesson plans. Much different than what I was used to: during student teaching I taught primarily literature and TEFL is almost all grammar.

I also spent twenty hours observing at an English as a Second Language (ESL) Clinic. ESL and TEFL are essentially the same thing. It was a free class with the instructor teaching basic English to a class of middle-aged Latino men and women. This was a much different environment than inner-city high schoolers in Dayton.

It was good experience and showed me that I’ll really have to switch up my teaching style. For four months I was in a class with students who had lots of behavioral issues and were years behind grade level. My students now will be much more respectful and motivated but many of my staple activities/lessons won’t work because of the language barrier. Oh well, I’ll figure it out.

5.  5.     Hanging with the “Boys” and family

Many of my friends from high school moved back to the Evanston/Chicago area. Almost all my friends who graduated have jobs, which is awesome. Nice work guys! This was also the longest period of time my family had all been together in four years. Being able to hang with them was a blast. Having home-cooked meals wasn’t bad either (we see you mom and dad).

Other notable highlights: great road trips down to Dayton and Notre Dame, beating Uncle Steve in tennis (Bringing my lifetime record to 2-17), hearing Adam Newman say, "No Sean, I'm talking now" on Hannity, and watching Daniel forget his house key every other day.

I’ll post soon about what I’ll be doing in Thailand. Also, I’ll begin each entry with a quote. Whether the quote has any relevance to the content of the post, is up to you to decide.

Mark

P.S. But seriously, go watch The Wire. It's awesome.

The First Post!

“In the Lenz family, there are two (technically three) separate but equally important brothers: Mark who is teaching English in Thailand and David who is studying math at Cambridge. These are their stories.” – Dick Wolf

Welcome to the Lenz brother’s blog everyone! Over the next year, Mark and David will be living abroad and this webpage will record those adventures. We thank all of you for your love and support so far and can’t wait to share our stories! There will probably be no set dates for when posts will come, just whenever we have free time. If you wish to contact us, Facebook, email, skype, viber, or this website are all great options. Please keep in touch as much as you can. We’d love to hear from you.

Have fun living vicariously through this blog!

Mark and David

P.S. You probably realized that Dick Wolf didn’t say the opening quote. But if you didn’t notice that it’s basically the opening lines from Law and Order, educate yourself by flipping on USA. There’s a 90% chance it’ll be on.

P.P.S. You don’t watch Law and Order? Man, no wonder this government is shut down right now.