Half way house

Half way through the CELTA course and it's been a hectic last couple of weeks. Weekdays have been running pretty much 8 til 6 with lesson plans in the evenings, and weekends we have assignments to do. It's certainly not dosser friendly. It's been really good though and I feel like I've learnt a lot so far. A typical day includes seminars in the morning on various aspects and techniques of teaching, and then teaching practice in the afternoons with authentic English students. It's been getting progressively harder as the days have gone on because the tutors expect you to put into practice all you've been learning. I managed to do really well in the first week but not quite so well this last week so I'll have to really put in the work to get back on top of my game next week. The other thing about the course that's tough is that its in a shopping mall, and you stay in this mall all day. This morning is pretty much the first time I've seen the sun all week!

I can't complain about being outside when it's raining which is has been doing a fair bit. The rain is something else in Bangkok and when it does rain, the streets are flooded and the traffic comes to a complete standstill - a nightmare if you need to get a taxi. On Friday night I got absolutely soaked to the skin walking from our apartment to a restaurant on the main road (a distance of about 400/500m). I felt a bit like a modern day Indiana Jones as I leapt over the various deluges flowing across the pavement whilst at the same time trying to position as much of my body as possible under the one little umbrella that two of us were sharing. My hard work was to little avail as I still turned up at the restaurant looking as if I had swam there.

Victory Monument

On a drier note, I shoud probably mention something about the apartment that Tim and I are staying in. It's near Victory Monument, down the same road I stayed in on my first ever night in Bangkok over four years ago - the infamous Soi Rang Nam. The apartment is pretty big, with a fairly large open plan living area and kitchen, a big bathroom, and a big bedroom with two beds. It also has two balconies. It's become part of our daily routine to drink a cold milo with some oreos before bed out on the balcony. There is a great view of the tallest building in Thailand off to the left, and to the right we look out over a park. The park has a running track and exercise bars which have proved very useful, and everyday at 6pm about a hundred people gather to do aerobics accompanied by loud Thai dance music. You can also spot people doing Tai Chi, martial arts, and badminton. Pretty much a stereotypical East Asian park I think. It's great!

Suan Santhiphip (Peace Park)

So there are two weeks left of CELTA and then it'll be time to get a job. It's going to be really busy but such a good feeling to complete it. I'll next update you when we're all done by which point I'll hopefully be the bearer of good news. That'll do for now though. Take care all.