Team Building Staff Retreat

So you may have noticed that I have not been online for the last while.  This will be because I have not had computer or cellphone since yesterday at 7:30am.  We left for a staff retreat so that the 'foreign' staff could get to know the 'Thai' staff.  The buses were air conditioned so it was a comfortable ride out.  We stopped at a gas station and I picked up a 'peanut bar' snack that reminded me of the Sesame Snacks at home.  It made me think of Wilderness club and a point in time when I was in a much colder place than in Thailand.



We actually drove past where we were going for the retreat for lunch, and went all the way to Hua Hin (where we will be going for the 5 day weekend next week).  We stopped at this little market that had the coolest entrance way.  There was a lot of different food to buy so we tried a bunch of different things.  I bought pineapple but it was covered in sugar (because we all know that pineapple isn't sweet enough already) so I couldn't eat it.  We also found a little stand that Lynne could actually eat at (since she's allergic to fish and seafood) so that was exciting.  They sold pork on a stick, rubbed with cumin, and then a peanut satay sauce on the side and a little salad made up of cucumber, red onion and sliced hot peppers.  I'm proud to say that I even ate the cucumbers, and they weren't half bad - still not my favourite.

The resort was beautiful.  It was right on a beach on the Gulf of Thailand, so the wind coming off the water was cooler and refreshing.  We played games in the afternoon to get to know the Thai teachers and then got a chance to go swimming and get our rooms organized.  Chelsea and I had this tiny room, especially compared to everyone else's rooms but since our third roommate ended up making other arrangements, it worked out quite well.


Dinner was buffet style and so I ate too much and felt quite tired, so before the evening progressed we had to run to the store to pick up these cold coffee shots to stay awake.  It was really cool because we were eating right next to the water.  It made this whole experience start to seem real.

Following dinner was karaoke.  So much fun.  The Thai's pretend that they don't like it but they love it.  A bunch of us foreign teachers also got up and sang, terribly but that's alright - it makes it more entertaining that way.  We then had a huge dance party that scared off most of the Thai teachers (oops) and went swimming again once they kicked us out of the dining space (I'd call it a room but it lacked walls).

This morning I was up before Chelsea and I didn't know where everyone else was so I walked around the resort and took pictures.  Breakfast was down the street, and it was the first time that I ate North American food - mmm eggs and breakfast sausage (actually it was wieners, but whatever). We had lots of free time before leaving so we wondered the beach, since the tide had gone down.  I got a little sunburned but nothing too serious, and I've learned to always put sunscreen on in the morning, no matter what.

The drive back was a bit of a gong show.  Our driver was speeding like a maniac but not at a set speed.  Instead what he would do is accelerate then let off the gas a bit then pump the gas to 'maintain' a speed.  This made it very hard to sleep and it made the ride home feel very long.

Tonight we are probably going out, so we'll see what sort of adventures that will hold for us.

Luv ya.  Amanda