Getting My Exercise

So I went to the school again today after a long weekend of walking around Bangkok and exploring some areas. First the weekend...

I spent most of Saturday walking around some markets and malls. There never seems to be a shortage of stands trying to sell jeans or clothes. Either way, it is interesting walking through these places and seeing some of the crafts they have. I caught a movie for a rather cheap price and then walked a little more. I definately feel I am getting plenty of my exercise.

On Sunday I decided to check out some parks that were on the handy map I bought. I found two really nice parks both with big lakes and running/biking trails. I can definitely see myself using these later. They are within walking distance of the Skytrain, so I have no problem getting to either of these places and getting away from the bustling city for a while. I also found Srinakrarintarawiroj University (do not ask me how to pronounce that, I had a hard enough time spelling it), though there wasn't a lot to do there because it was Sunday and not much was happening. Though it is nice to know where it is at, in case I want to take a class there later. It appeared to be a very nice University.

Today, I went back to school to try to see if they had my reimbursement money for my plane ticket and they did. This makes me happy because I now have a lot more money. I also found an apartment, if that's what it can be called. It is very small, a studio, and is made for only one person. I will be moving in to the apartment tomorrow. I will provide pictures of the penthouse when I take them.

I did meet another new teacher while I was at the school. His name is Gil and he is originally from St. Louis, however he spent most of his United States life in Hawaii. I say United States life because he has been teaching on a military base in Japan for the last 22 years or so. He will be teaching English to 11th and 12th graders. I stopped by his place, a 3 bedroom apartment just south of the school about 5 minutes, much larger than mine. In fact, you could probably fit my place in his living room with space to spare. However, he is also paying about 6 times what I am paying for my place. He is also collecting retirement from the military school, so he has the means.

We then walked for about 5 minutes to the nearest Skytrain station. I enjoyed talking to a native English-speaker for a change. Something that I haven't been able to do in a while. We talked a little about teaching and school, but not too in depth. I'm sure we will have an opportunity for more conversations later.