T Minus 5

So yes, only a week more before I say farewell to Thailand. To say it doesn't feel real is.......well, true. Going home just doesn't seem like it is actually happening. I have become used to life here in Thailand, as crazy as it is. But I am still packing, so no worries, I am headed back to the other side of the world.

So let me tell you what I have been doing the past week and what I plan on doing my last week in Thailand. I have mostly been lying in my bed trying not to melt. Sadly, I'm not joking. The heat index for the past three days at MIDNIGHT has been over 100 F. I take like 4 showers a day. Or okay, two real showers and two where I just stand there under cool water going "ahhhhhhhhh."

But besides melting, I have been saying farewell to my Thai friends. I had the end of the year meeting with all of my fellow TTC teachers. It was really sad to say goodbye to my favorite city and the one I was in for my first week in Thailand. But it was a nice goodbye and we even had a Thailand pool party! I knoooooow. The water was soooo cool and we didn't have a whole bunch of people oogling the twenty farang hanging out in scandalous bathing suits. I will never see a lot of my fellow teachers again, but we shared a bonding experience that I don't think that will ever completely go away.

Today, I had my last Thai massage and it was lovely. One thing Thailand has taught me is how my body can move. Those ladies do things to my body I couldn't even imagine and all I can do is think, "Huh! My body can do that apparently!" though sometimes it also goes "Awesome! I can do this. Okay, well I can do that for like 5 seconds, now let me go." It almost felt like this woman was trying to make my back sprout wings with how she was going at it, but now the kinks in my back (thanks to my bed) are out. I also bought two of the massage shirts because they are awesome. They are comfortable and good-looking and I plan on using them as "if I have to wear clothes inside on a hot day, well this keeps me wearing clothes at least" type of shirts.

I also went around the the town and even looked into a cute Thai baby clothes shop (so yes, everyone in my town is going to think I'm pregnant with the guy I was shopping with's baby in about 12 hours). I am also going out with the girls for a big dinner tonight. It should be hilarious, because we are a scandalous and mischievous bunch, at least by Thailand's standards. Maybe I'll end up in another conversation about cooking farang food with the owner of one of our favorite dinner places.

Some of my students have seen me around town and come bounding up to me already telling me how they miss me and I have prepared my older students for interviews into English programs at the upper schools. The ones who did the interviews did well, in case you wanted to know (yeah, I know the farang at their new schools so I get to hear how they did).

Besides doing a lot of reading, cleaning and packing (along with job applications), I am prepping stuff for next year's group (I found out that there will be at least 3 Americans placed in my town next year). So I am leaving things that don't fit in my suitcase and leaving them with advice on certain things, though don't worry, I'm going to leave them with plenty to figure out on their own.

Alright, well I think that is all for now. And T minus 5 days. 5 DAYS!!!