After, that class we had our conferences, where we discussed our progress, etc. Then we got out certificates for TESOL and then they took us to dinner. Which was awesome. It was one of those Japanese conveyor belt sushi things, but the sushi was on the sides and the conveyor carries plates of raw food, so you can pick up noodles, wontons, bacon, chicken, etc and dump it in the boiling soup in the middle of your table and it all cooks. It's awesome. You pay by the hour and it was the company's gift to us, so I ate until I made myself sick...obviously.
Afterwards, we took to the streets of Pattaya, where seedy takes its definition from. Went to some bars, got invited to a lot of Ping Pong shows ( which inadvertently has nothing to do with Ping Pong, it's literally women shooting objects, such as ping pong balls, out of their vagina.) I know this not because I went to one, but because the people on the street throw you menus of the items that you can see being catapulted out of the 'entertainers'. We ended up at a bar called Lucifer, which was fine until a bar girl/dancer, named Cookie, brought me up on stage with her to be oogled by Russians, which I will now be openly racist towards at least in South East Asia, I do not find myself favoring Russians. Aside from Cookie wearing a fedora, she was pretty cool.
The next day, we caught the baht bus to the station ($2), then the real bus to Bangkok ($4) and a taxi to the hostel ($3). Not bad. The hostel was...a hostel. In my mind, just because a place isn't fostering armies of rats does not necessarily make it clean. The (receptionist) guy on the couch across from the front desk wearing a shirt that read 'Wake the Fuck Up' was neither friendly or unfriendly. Hostels are a weird concept. So we left and stayed out as late as we could to avoid spending any time there. First we looked for housing in Silom, that were all much more than what we could afford then we met up with our friend Russel and went to Condoms and Cabbages for dinner. A restaurant/organization that all the proceeds go to AIDS education, etc. There's mannequins covered in clothes made entirely out of condoms and birth control packets. They even had a Tiger Woods made out of condoms that said "Did you Wear one Tiger?" After that we grabbed a few drinks in downtown Silom which is the business district area. At 2am the cops came down the street and all the bars immediately started closing which was strange.
The next day we spent the entire day apartment hunting again. We went to Mo Chit and walked through a huge market place. We asked a woman where we could find an apartment and these two guys took us on their motos. It was like playing a video game with my life. There's nothing to hold on to and the boys are driving the opposite direction of the traffic on the sidewalk at no less than 40mph. After the adrenaline, we found nothing. Three our of four places said they were full and the fourth was weird as shit and our drivers tried to leave us there.Our last attempt was the end of the train line called the MRT. After getting lost in the taxi we got to the place and the owner who said we could come later that night was nowhere to be found. A tenant and her son, Felix, showed us around and translated for the house keeper while she showed us around. We called the owner and told her we were moving in the next day. The next day we caught a taxi and drove here. I hope you read this far because this is the most interesting thing in this whole blog post.
The owner of the apartment's name is Fun (pronounced like foon). We sit down in her office to draw up a contract. She sees our US passports and tells us how she likes American tenants. THEN she goes on to tell us how a previous American girl tenant had her Black American boyfriend come visit. When he came he apparently went up to her room and slit her throat. But she didn't die, she called the front desk for help. He also threw an American cigarette out the window lighting the neighbors house on fire. Because they hold all guests IDs and he smoked American cigarettes the apartment could give this information to the police. She then immediately asks us how we feel about the election and says, "I am an Obama fan, but I was surprised he won because I know Americans do not like Black people." There are always times, especially when abroad, that one should keep their mouth shut. This was one of those times. She went on to say how even though Americans don't like black people, her and her dad, who is an American citizen, both like Obama and they bought his T-shirts last election and bought them again this year. There really wasn't anywhere to take this conversation, so we just moved in. Despite, this incredibly weird introduction, Fun is actually a very nice woman I swear. The apartment is in Bang Sue set back kind of in an alley. I have a balcony that I can somewhat see a Bangkok skyline from, although technically I'm still in Bangkok. That said, you can drive 2.5 hours and still be in Bangkok. Anyways after moving in, we set out and went to Khal San Rd. The backpacker party scene. We mainly just ate dinner and wondered a little bit, but next weekend some Language Corps people are visiting again so I'm sure we will back and it's only $1 taxi ride away from our new place.
Today I had two interviews. One in Silom for Wallstreet, the company I've been dying to work for the other for a Language School in Mo Chit. I may possibly go to another one on Thursday. Both went fairly well, but the earliest I can start in Mo Chit is November 5th (the day rent is due) and Wallstreet I wouldn't start for almost another month. I'm extremely poor because I had to buy a bunch of apartment stuff so I'm not sure how long I can last without a tutoring freelance position. Also, if I work for the Language School, I will need to go to Laos to renew my visa. To get to the train station this morning I took a moto. As a result of not being able to wear my matching pants because I couldn't button them, I wouldn't risk straddling a motorcycle in my other dress pants. So I rode side saddle...which is scary as hell.
Because I can't start working anywhere immediately, I have been in contact with previous employers about private tutoring work. Her correspondence was hilarious so I'm going to copy and paste the email she sent me here:
"Pretty Kate...
I'm very glad to hear that you have got the good place to live.
I'll ask my friend for tutor their children.
if it's OK. Can I give your email for them to contact you directly.
So it's OK for English class on Monday but you and Becca are beautiful
then 2 new teacher. Yeah...
Cheer..
Take you time.. "
In addition to the sender of that email, I received a call from one from the bar girls asking when I was coming back, and another just emailed me a picture of some flowers and sent me a picture she took of us at the bar...it's good to keep in touch.
It's been really nice to be able to unpack for the first time in a month. The new apartment is fully furnished with a queen size bed, A/C, a shower and a tub, a mini fridge and a stove top, a desk and chair, a closet and a balcony. Unfortunately, I can't hang anything on the walls, but there's a few large windows I'm going to tape shit on. I'll post pictures sometime next week once I am a little more organized.
Condoms and a lot of other shit? Such a provocative blog title KK. Haha keep em coming!
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