Life with a Bike

Hello everyone, it's been a while!

I am nearing the end of my second semester teaching English in Thailand - time is truly flying! This semester I've been kept quite busy, teaching grades 2-6, instead of just grades 5 and 6 like a taught last semester, and tutoring English after school. But I've definitely still had time to enjoy my time here! Being the rainy season though I haven't travelled as much as I did last semester, but I have met a good group of other foreign teachers in my town, and have spent a lot of weekends with them in Chanthaburi, though also sometimes on weekend trips. One of my favorite trips this semester has been to Koh Mak - an island not far from my town, where my friends and I rented an airbnb and relaxed and snorklned for one of our holiday weekends. My mom also just came to Thailand for a visit, and that was so much fun being able to explore some of Thailand with her, and also show her around my town.

And just as time has been flying this semester, so have I, on my new motorbike! I can't even explain how much this has affected my quality of life. Not having a bike was fine for one semester, since I live near my school, the park where I run and to some restaurants as well. But getting anywhere else not very closeby or at night was often difficult. Beforehand I would need to walk to the bus station to get a motor taxi or songtao, try to explain for about 10 minutes where I was trying to go (oftentimes pictures and maps didn't help) and then finally after the taxi drivers had discussed amongst themselves where they thought I was trying to go, I was sent on my way. Thankfully this whole dance became easier as I become more familiar with the town and could direct the taxi drivers as they drove. I have discovered so many new places since I got a bike , and simply having the freedom to go wherever and whenever I want has been wonderful. Nothing beats an afternoon drive to a nearby waterfall or to the coast, wind in hair, taking in the beautiful scenery on the way!