Goodbye Thailand!

My last day in Thailand was on May 4th, 2015. I took off in the morning of May 4th and got there the night of May 4th. It was the perfect extended day because it was May the Fourth be with you! :) I needed to say goodbye to the kids and the school a couple days and now I need to say goodbye to Thailand.

Saying goodbye to the pre-k kids.

Saying Goodbye to the School.

This semester has shaped who I am today. I have grown stronger as a person. I know how to deal with others and relate to people more. I know I have a lot to improve on still, but this semester is the semester that I have improved the most. I found my place in this world! 

I learned that you just need to be yourself to get people to like you, if they still don't like you then they are not seeing the real inside of that person. I don't have to fit in to get people to like me, I can be myself and I always will be. I know the kids I taught enjoyed having me and if they like me that makes the only difference, I guess it makes me know I make a good difference in this world. Kids don't compare themselves to others they just go with the flow, and why as we grow older we start comparing ourselves to others. We look at others and start to realize that we are all very different. We just need find our place in this world without comparing ourselves to others, and that's what I found. 

I found myself!

We also always dwell on our past, but when we look towards the future we find that we have a lot of potential to change. I am a very forgiving person because I try not to look at the past on the person. In these past four months I will look at the positive things that have happened, falling in love with the sweetest kids ever and falling in love with the place I called home for four months.

This four months has been the best! Every morning I woke up and I knew that it was going to be a good day doing something in a different country, whether it be teaching or we are on a vacation. When we taught I woke up every morning excited to see the kids I taught, teaching is hard, but if you love teaching the kids will love learning. One of the kids I taught  always wanted to be the teacher, he came in my class loving it. Sometimes he came in class, sat down and then acted as if he was asleep because he wanted to get my attention. Another student always came in my class, sat down and was out of his chair right away trying to get involved in what I was doing right of way because he loved learning. Another student in one of my classes always came in class and needed to sit right next to me, almost sitting on my lap. If I tried to sit him across from me he refused, he needed to learn right next to me and get involved in everything. All the kids had unconditional love, I will miss them so much!

Everyday I rode my bike into the small town we lived in saying hello to the same people on the side of the rode. Eating similar meals everyday for weeks. Also hanging out with the same five other friends that spoke English I went there with. 

It was a great four months in Thailand and it was hard saying goodbye

Thailand Compared to America

Thailand is so different from America and they are pretty big differences.
Goodbye Thailand!

1. Markets:

Thailand: There are markets for everything. Night markets, Sunday markets, Saturday markets, fresh markets, local markets, etc. You can buy fresh food, good snacks, cheap clothes, cheap souvenirs, backpacks, electronics, almost everything is really cheap.

America: I think there is just the fresh produce market and china town. I have never been to either, but I hope to visit them when I am home.

2. Strays:

Thailand: Stray dogs except stray cats in the islands.

America: Stray cats! I noticed I would much rather have a stray cat on the road compared to a stray dog!

3. Food:

Thailand: Rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost all of there meals are the same flavor. Well we eat toast for breakfast, but Thai's eat rice for breakfast.

America: Tons of different flavors and tons of different type of food.

4. Water:

Thailand: They don't drink the tap water, we need to buy bottled water or fill our water at a water station. In our kitchen we get water from the school, its like a water filling station.

America: Drink tap water, buy water, fill at a water station, etc.

5. Toilets:

Thailand: There are squatters, regular toilets, over the top fancy toilets, etc. Thai's probably have awesome leg muscles from squatters. Sometimes there won't be toilet paper in a restroom so you need to carry your own or use a bidet. 

America: There is pretty much just one regular toilet. Oh...and porta potties. Which I find worse then squatters. We also have toilet paper in most restrooms.

6. School:

Thailand: Put kids in school at 2 years old and finish at 18 years old. School is on Monday through Friday from 8:00am-5:00pm. They also only have one month for summer break and some kids don't take a summer break they go to summer camp which is like summer school. (It also depends on the school)

America: Start at 5 years old and finish at 18 years old. School is Monday through Friday from 8:00am-3:00pm. Summer break is 3 months long and some kids can take summer school.

7. Modesty:

Thailand: They wear pants and a jacket in 100 degree weather.

America: Who cares what we wear! Our weather is also very bipolar.

8. Skin:

Thailand: Make our skin whiter! So they cover up there skin to keep there skin whiter.

America: Make our skin darker! Then lots of Americans wear less clothes during the summer at least to make there skin darker.

9. Race:
Thailand: There are two different kind of cities in Thailand, one that is very touristy that has tons of different races or the other is not touristy at all and people stare at you and amazed when they see a different race.
America: Mostly white people, but there is a huge variety of races everywhere.

10. City:
Thailand: Building are close, old electric wires are still up, it is very green and very pretty, fires burn in random places, dirt and paved roads, houses are on top of each other or really nice and kind of hidden, etc.
America: New and old building which are kind of spread out, green but dry, paved nice roads, you can see houses where ever you go, etc.

11. Transportation:
Thailand: Vans=Buses, Buses=Buses, Train, Car, Motorcycle, Trucks, Bike, mostly everything. Also they barely have any driving rules here so they are really bad drivers. There cars are all also very new, I have only seen a couple old cars. There are never any car accidents in Thailand though which is very weird.
America: Cars, Nice Trains, Vans, Trucks, Motorcycles (not as much though), Buses, etc. We have very strict driving rules and also old and new cars. There are a lot more car accidents here then Thailand.

12. Culture:
Thailand: Mostly Buddhism. Everything falls around there religion, they bow there heads and put there hands by there heart to show respect while they say "Sahwatdee." They don't point there feet at anyone because it is disrespect to the person your foot is appointed towards. Also they take off there shoes in most shops/houses/
America: Different cultures/beliefs. We usually follow our own belief and do what we want. We also wave our hand while we say hello.

13. Language:
Thailand: Thai! Sometimes English and also sometimes Chinese in some places. Also most words around a town are in Thai and English, but you can also Russian, Chinese, Japanese, etc. in some areas.
America: English! Sometimes Spanish and any other language someone wants to learn. Also only English is on most of the signs.

14. Money:
Thailand: Thai Baht and everything is really cheap there at markets or convenience stores. Twenty Baht in Thailand is sixty cents in US Dollar.
America: U.S. Dollars and it is more expensive here then Thailand.

15. Clothes:
Thailand: They have a lot more smaller sizes and if someone needs a bigger size it might be harder to find because most Thais are so small. There clothes are also really cheap! For example a T-shirt is 100 THB which is 3 USD.
America: A lot of different sizes and clothes are a little bit more expensive.

16. Elevation:
Thailand: Where I lived it was 144 feet elevation, it was very humid (one day it even reached 100% humidity), and it is very green.
America: Utah is an elevation average of 6,100 feet, it is very dry most of the time, and also very green but it is a desert.

17. Seasons:
Thailand: Three seasons that are each four months long. Dry season (January-April), Hot Season (May-August), Rainy Season (September-December).
America: Four season that are three months long. Winter (December-March), Spring (March-June), Summer (June-September), Fall (September-December).

18. Recycle:
Thailand: I don't think they recycle, unless it is a big company or someone is trying to raise money.
America: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle! Especially in some places.

19. Weight:
Thailand: Almost everyone is really skinny except for only a couple people I saw that were not. They focus on being so much (they even weigh the kids when they are in school).
America: Everyone is different weights.

20. Cleanliness:
Thailand: Everyone is clean, some kids even shower three times a day. Thai people will know if you haven't showered in a couple days. They are also cleaning there city all the time, but it looks a little dirtier then America because people still liter everything all the time.
America: Maybe shower once a day or every couple of days and smell good still. Most cities look really nice and clean.

There are a lot more differences between the two countries, but this a list of twenty differences of Thailand and America.