Adventure in Thailand: Part 23

February 6th, 2017

One day before final evaluation, arghhh my nerves become so tense right now. I know I've prepared all of the things I want to bring to the classroom and I know tomorrow won't be my first time being evaluate (since I've done once back home in Banjarmasin when I had my PPL (3 months teaching practices in high school) but still, I'm feeling nervous. 

We went to school at almost 8. We woke up late haha.. But it's okay, since we didn't have morning classes today. So my mentor asked me to go observe her class at period 4-5. Turned out that's the class I went before haha Mathayom 6/8. Today they've learned about population. After almost a month here, finally I know how to called something that they always perform to the older person. It's called "wai" 🙏. According to Wikipedia (slightly click the wikipedia letter to go to the link), Wai is a Thai usual greeting consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. Uuu, I love when my students perform wai to me. It feels like they give me a lot of respect. 💕

Perform Wai to Ajarn Salubsri 🙏

Because today the class was full (didn't like the first time  I went to their class) so I sat in the back. At the beginning the table was empty. No one sit in the back. But after 30 minutes or so, came 3 boys to the classroom. They were late. I was confuse, why Ajarn Salubsri just let them enter the class even if that was 30 minutes late. Turned out, that 3 boys usually skip the class, so she let them come late. She said it's better rather than they skip the class, right? Haha, I totally agree then if she said so. During the session, they talked a lot in Thai but sometimes in English (they recognized my presence there haha finally). They asked me several question about the lesson that day. We also had so much fun. Hahaha.. I am gonna miss them later especially this two guys!

Ajarn Nida's fave students from M 6/8 💣😎

After observation, I went back to the office to print some stuff for tomorrow final evaluation and suddenly some junior teachers gather and prepare for a surprise. I didn't know a the first time whose birthday is it? Mr. X a.k.a Mr. Kittipong (Head of Science Department) told me that today is Ajarn Sum's birthday. She was inside the meeting room (a lot of teachers like to stay inside the meeting room maybe because it's cooler inside and have fluffy seats haha) and Mr. X played some drama and told a student's mom come for some complains about her teaching things. With some shock expression (I still remember perfectly her worry and panic face looks like) she came out from the meeting room and all of us suddenly sang "Happy Birthday" first in Thai version and second in English version. It was a very good surprise. We took some pictures before ate the cakes. Here we go...

สุขสันต์วันเกิด Ajarn Sum!

I remember other teacher bought various cakes. Lemon, orange, chocolate, green tea, coconut, and vanilla. My favorite was the orange and green tea. Damn that was delicious. Even until now, I still could imagine the taste in my buds. Hahaha..

Pardon, I am not a food photographer 🍰

In the afternoon, I went to Alyssa's class with Dr. Tim as well until 15.45. She taught about exponential growth and logistic growth to this classroom. I don't know why, the students from this class usually well-behave. But today, my God. They didn't! Even Alyssa sometimes raise her voice just to get their attention. So bad kha 😢

Alyssa in action! Su Su na Ajarn!

Kyla didn't go home with us today because the teacher from her department asked her to go out for some dinner. Kyla never forgot her team (huehehe, benefit for me and Alyssa). When she came home, she gave us this dessert (or cake, or whatever it is). It's sweet. I think it made from sticky rice flour or something. It's greenish and wrapped with palm-like-leave. It was delicious even it was my first time to eat that. Hahaha..

Outside look

Inside look

However, I think I couldn't sleep tonight because of this weird feeling called : NERVOUS for tomorrow evaluation. Wish me luck. I am Nida and I'm checking out ! bye!

Adventure in Thailand: Part 22

February 5th, 2017

"I still have 7 days left before I go back, I need to do something unforgettable a.s.a.p"

That sentence keep playing in my mind. LOL. Maybe because I have so many things to think. Aaaa, we just got back from vacation but I feel I need another vacation right now. Remember on the previous blog that I told our mentor from SRP will take us to another beach today, yeah, unfortunately it's cancelled. They said because they need to prepare for M6 ONET. 

Because of that, Alyssa and I woke up late today and just finished out learning media and material for final evaluation on Tuesday. Just wish us luck and will get an excellent scores okay!

Adventure in Thailand: Part 21

February 4th, 2017

🌊 Special Edition: Holiday in Koh Samui 🌊

Yohooo! Finally, the day has come! We went to Koh Samui today! Hahahaha.. Our adventure began at 04.30 am because we need to take shower and put some make up on (you know, girls stuffs) before ready to go! Mr. Batman and campus' van arrived at 6.33, all ready except Putri. She woke up late and still in the shower when he arrived. We all went to the van and took a seat and wait for Putri with nervous feeling. First, because she is late and we all afraid that Mr. Batman will angry to us. Second, because the ferry will leave the port at 07.30 am and it takes maybe 30 - 40 minutes to go there (sorry I gave wrong information on the previous post hehe). But Thank GOD, at 06.45 finally she's ready and we start our journey.

We sat in the back-seat (blurry pic especially Nuriska, sorry girl) 😂

After 38 minutes (approximately), we arrived at the port. Mr. Batman bought us the ticket and we got the passenger ticket. It was a card honestly. It's kinda different from Indonesian Ferry. Because in Indonesia we usually only get paper ticket instead of a card. Hahaha, another culture shock. Mr. Batman said exactly there are two different ferry providers, Seatran and Raja Ferry. According to Mr. Batman and Tripadvisor, Seatran company is better than Raja Ferry because of their service and facilities on board. So that's why many tourist choose Seatran than Raja Ferry. Since we only use Seatran, so I couldn't give my personal opinion about it. Just click the link if you need more information about Seatran or Raja Ferry.

Seatran Passenger Ticket.

At the port terminal, we wait maybe 25 minutes (or more, I forgot) before the departure. The terminal room is quite big with a lot of chairs so the passengers don't have to feel worry to stand all the time haha. 07.30 am the staff was announcing that our ferry was ready and we went to the ferry to board. I amazed with the system. Turned out, we need to insert the card to the automatic gate to board the ferry. Woa, amazing. I never saw something like this before.

Automatic gate to board the ferry

Since at that time so the sun not really burn our skin (yet), we went to the rooftop to snap some  pictures. See, it was like "Father-Daughters" moment, right?

Pre departure wefie!

The ferry took maybe 1 hour before we arrive in Koh Samui. We continued our trip using the same van that took us in the city. Mr. Batman said he will take us to several landmarks in Koh Samui, and our first destination is Lamai Beach. There are two different landmarks in Lamai Beach which are Hin Ta (Grandpa Rock) and  Hin Yai (Grandma Rock). Mr. Batman said we need to use our imagination if we want to get what's exactly the meaning of Grandpa and Grandma rocks.

Tourist map in Lamai Beach

In Thailand, the government always put tourist map everywhere, that will make the tourist get information easier. They put the sign in two language, English and Thai.

Lamai Beach scenery

After walking maybe 2 minutes we arrived at the main landmarks. Remember that Mr. Batman said we need to use our imagination before? Turned out the shape of the rocks imitate something vital for a male and a female. Hahaha.. the rock shaped like (sorry) penis and vagina. Hahaha.. 

Left: Hin Yai Rock , Right: Hin Ta Rock (Courtesy: www.ananashostels.com)

The Hin Ta/Hin Yai legend is a tale of tragedy tinged with hope, as described on a signboard near the rocks: “A folklore of Samui Island tells the story of an old couple by the name of Ta Kreng (Grandpa Kreng) and Yai Riem (Grandma Riem) who lived with their son in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Since their son had come of age, they felt that it was time he got married. “One day they decided to sail to the neighbouring province of Prachuap Khiri Khan to ask for the hand of the daughter of a man named Ta Monglai. During their sea journey, their boat was seized by a storm. The old man and his wife were unable to swim ashore. They died at sea, turning into rocks as proof to the would-be bride's parents of their true intentions. The rocks stand there to this day.”

In Indonesia, there's a trend. What kind of trend? Well, if you're traveling outside your hometown it's like a must to send some greetings to friends and family. It's a simple one. Just write their name and location where we are and snap the pic. Just like the pic below. I know for some people it looks like very unusual, but in Indonesia, it's like an appreciation and a good gesture that you still remember your friends and family during your trip outside. Hahaha..

Salam kekinian (Greetings card for friends) -- trending topic in Indonesia

A trip will never complete without documentations. So, never forget to charge your camera's battery and snap a thousand pictures if it's necessary. Beside take some pictures, you also could go to shop some merchandise in the souvenirs market. Tips: don't forget to bargain so you could get a reasonable price. Sorry I forgot to snap picture from the souvenirs market.

Squad!

Another "father-daughters" moment 😂

3rd batch of SEA-Teacher 2017 - Surat Thani team!

After 1 hour in Lamai Beach, we moved to another landmark. It's like a terrace or something. From this landmark, we could see an ocean (whoa haha). But it was very hot at that time. So we just spent maybe 20 minutes there.

As far as you can see, only ocean

At 12.30 pm, we went to International School of Tourism (ISoT), Suratthani Rajabhat Univeristy (SRU) to had lunch and small talks about seminar and farewell party. So basically, SRU has several campuses. As far as I know, one in Surat Na-San road in Muang Surat Thani and one in Koh Samui.

Welcome sign in front of the campus

Mr. Batman said that usually they'll held international seminars in Koh Samui campus, so after the seminar, the participants could do some sightseeing around Koh Samui. The architecture in ISoT more modern and have several elevators. They also have hotel inside the campus and it's open to public. For more information just simply click the link >> International School of Tourism

Minimalism

We were starving and alhmadulillah the food was really good! Since we usually only eat preheat food that we bought from 7-11, every time we have chance to eat good food, we never think twice haha. They served fried rice, fried wings, and cucumber. For dessert they served monkey apple or Annona glabra (see the green things in the picture below). TBH, I never saw or ate this kind of apple before. According to Wikipedia, Annona glabra is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the Soursop and Cherimoya.

Delicious foods!

After lunch and pray, we continue our trip to the Big Buddha Temple. Wat Phra Yai or Big Buddha temple is Koh Samui‘s most famous landmark. This temple has a 12 meter (40foot) high Buddha statue located on the north eastern beach of Bang Rak (Big Buddha Beach). The Buddha statue was built in 1972. Big Buddha Temple was built on a small island connected to Koh Samui by a causeway. The Statue is placed on a elevated platform which can be reached by a stairway flanked with Nagas (mythological serpents). The platform provides a great view to the neighboring island of Koh Phangan as well as Bang Rak beach.

The Big Buddha Statue

In the platform, you also can found big bell like the picture below. There's a mythology. I don't even know if it's true or not. They said if you ring the bell while you're thinking of your wishes, it will granted. You can believe it or just leave it haha

Big bell in the platform

Behind the temple, next to the parking lot, we could see some statues. A father, 2 sons, 2 wives (1 human and 1 mermaid), and 1 guru (teacher). Mr. Batman said that was a Thai famous poet. He told me about the story, but fool me, I forgot to write or record his story, so I simply went to the internet and found the whole story. Just read below!

Phra Aphai Mani (พระอภัยมณี) and his brother, Sisuwan (ศรีสุวรรณ), are Thai princes. Their father sent them away to study with the hope that they would gain knowledge to help them rule the country. Sisuwan learned to sword fight and Phra Aphai Mani learned to play a magical flute that could put people to sleep or kill them. When they returned home, their father was angered by what they had learned and drove them away.

One day while Aphai's companions were lulled to sleep by the sound of his pipe, a female ogress named Nang Phisua Samut (นางผีเสื้อสมุทร), came and took Aphai away to her cave. She disguised herself as a beautiful maiden and Aphai fell in love with her. They lived together until she bore a son, Sinsamut (สินสมุทร). When Aphai found out that his wife was really an ogress, he fled with his son. He was assisted by a family of mermaids, a father, mother, and daughter. The father and mother were caught and eaten by the ogress. The mermaid daughter took Aphai and Sinsamut to Kokaew Phitsadan (Wonder Island) where a hermit saved them from the ogress. Aphai married the mermaid daughter and they had a son, named Sutsakhon (สุดสาคร).

One day, a ship, carrying King Silarat (ท้าวสิลราช) and Princess Suwwanmali of Phleuk (สุวรรณมาลี), passed Wonder Island. The princess was engaged to marry Prince Usaren (อุศเรน) of Lanka. Aphai and Sinsamut asked to join the ship, but the ogress saw them and became very angry. Nang Phisua Samut attacked them and killed King Silarat. Aphai escaped to the shore, where he played his magic flute and killed the ogress. Afterwards, he met Prince Usaren, who was looking for his fiancée.

Meanwhile, Sinsamut swam with the princess to an island and met Sisuwan and his daughter, Arun Rasami (อรุณรัศมี). Together, they went in search of Phra Aphai. When they found Phra Aphai and Usaren, Princess Suwwanmali refused to leave with Usaren. The two parties fought and Prince Usaren fled to his homeland of Lanka.

Phra Aphai continued on to Phleuk where the queen asked him to rule the country. Angry at Phra Aphai for daring to give her up to Usaren, Princess Suwwanmali fled to become a nun. But later with the trick of a maid, Nang Wali (นางวาลี), Suwanmali abandoned the nunhood to marry Phra Aphai. She bore him twin daughters named Soisuwan and Chantasuda.

Years later, Usaren and his father returned to attack Phleuk. The father was killed and Usaren died heart-broken. The throne of Lanka fell to his sister, Nang Laweng. The very beautiful Laweng decided to take revenge. She declared to all the princes in neighboring that whoever could kill King Aphai would have her and her kingdom. Nine armies moved to surround Phleuk. Aphai followed Laweng and eventually won her love, but the war continued until a hermit came and helped to stop the war between them.

Just like at the Lamai Beach, in Big Buddha Temple you also can found souvenirs market. I didn't buy souvenirs here because later I will spend 1 day in Bangkok, I will buy some souvenirs there I guess. After 1 hours here, we continue our trip to the last destination. It's like a beach club. It's called The Wharf Samui. A lot of cafe and tourists gather here. The beach is really clean, and tbh, the sand -- literally the whitest sand I've ever seen in my life.

Beach with white sand

I didn't go to swim because I was too lazy to bring a lot of stuff haha, but Muti and Kyla went swimming. I just lay down on the sand and enjoy the view, the vibe, the air. ahhh, refreshing.

Squad! INDO x PHIL

Why everything good must come to an end? After a whole day adventure in Koh Samui, we finally have to go back to the port to catch the ferry that will take us home. I do believe my parents will be happy if I could manage to bring them there, especially my father, he loves beach. Well, just like the sign said. BON VOYAGE KOH SAMUI, I'LL DEFINITELY COME BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE 💕

See you later

Adventure in Thailand: Part 20

February 3rd, 2017

Another normal day in school but anyway #TGIF! Honestly I can't wait for tomorrow. We will go to Koh Samui. FYI, Mr. Batman (Mr. Potjanat nickname) was planning to take us to the dam but he change his mind. He told us several days ago that we will go to Koh Samui. A very famous tourists destination in Province Surat Thani. Koh Samui well known as beach and a lot of attractions island. Tourists from around the world usually go to Surat Thani because they want to visit Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, or Koh Tao but Koh Samui is the nearest island with the city. 

See you tomorrow island!

Alyssa and I prepare everything today. Clothes, foods, snacks, and etc (even sun protector haha) but Mr. Batman said he's not sure we can go to swim tomorrow 😥 We also prepare for Tuesday examination. So we will not be in a rush on Sunday and Monday haha.. (because maybe on Sunday our mentor from Suratpittaya School will take us to another beach! yeay!). Alyssa asked Mr. Batman who will go with us beside him, and he told us that Itsara (student tecaher in Suratpittaya and after some research turned out that's Ace first name hahahaha) will go with us. We feel relieved, because we thought that will be awkward if only Mr. Batman that will go with us (imagine: 10 females and 1 male, it's gonna be a father-daughters moment tho).

But after school, we got some bad news. Turned out Ace will busy tomorrow and he can't go with us to Koh Samui. TBH, I feel sad. Because I thought tomorrow will be fun because we have someone at the same age with us (beside the 10 girls) during the trip and share some nice experiences. But yeah, if it's for his future, then let it be. Good luck for your tasks, Ace.

Since my money almost out (huhuhu, so I need to go to the ATM to take some baht). Since I was so scared maybe the ATM doesn't have English mode, I asked our buddy Ace about that and he said the ATM has English mode. Haha, scared mode solved. I went to UOB bank near our mansion (not only because it's near but also because UOB's ATM are inside the room (I think it will be safer than ATM in front of 7-11). I can take my money thanks to technology! FYI, if you want to go abroad, you need to bring your ATM card with mastercard, visa, or cirrus logo so you could take your money everywhere but of course with additional charge. I use BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia) card and when I took my money in UOB, UOB charged me 220 baht (among Rp 80.000). I'll give you advice. You better take your money in a big amount (above 1.000 baht) because the bank will charge you with the same number (220 baht per transaction).

ATM 💸

Yeah, finally it's already 23.00 and we need to go sleep early because tomorrow we will go to Koh Samui at 06.00 (the ferry will leave the port at 07.00 and it'll take maybe 20-30 minutes from our mansion to the port), so please wait for my tomorrow adventure story. GOOD NIGHT!

Adventure in Thailand: Part 19

February 2nd, 2017

Woaaaa... You know what, sometimes, we never expect someone treat us breakfast right? LoL.. It was a very good morning. When I walked to the office, Ajarn Sum gave me a full pack of HOT "PISANG GORENG" (a.k.a fried banana). I was like "alhamdulillah (praise the Lord)" because I often skip my breakfast for some reasons (mostly because I'm too lazy to prepare hahaha).

Fried Banana from Ajarn Sum :9

 

After ate two pieces of heaven (overreacted detected haha), another teacher in my office gave me some Jack-fruit (in Indonesia we called it Nangka, in Tagalog they called it Langka). It was very sweet. I wonder why fruits and veggies in Thailand always fresh and sweet. They're totally blessed.

What a sweet Jack-fruit tho!

On period 4-5 (if I am not mistaken), me and Alyssa went to observe a laboratory class M6/11. It's Dr. Tim class. Dr. Tim has his own teaching method. He assigned students in groups, and each group should prepare, demonstrate, and guide other groups to do the experiment. When I was observing, this group had "protein denaturation process" experiment.

They were explaining the steps in front of the class

I think this is a very unique but effective as well. Compare to Indonesia system (especially in my hometown) teacher never allowed to leave students prepare and do experiment alone. But it also effective because of this, students need to study the steps very well before they explain it to their friends. It makes learning become fun and meaningful at the same way.

Preparation

Because they were explaining the steps in Thai (and we both didn't understand of course) so Dr. Tim asked the group to explain it again to us in English. I know they must be felt difficult to explain science in English but they did it perfectly (in my opinion).

They also use Lemon Juices for the acid

After the group finished the explanation, other groups came to the front and start to do the experiment. They were looking very excited!

"One by one guys!" "Be careful it's made from glass!" - Shouted by one student (HAHAHA)

Chemicals!

After class, I had an opportunity to chat with the students. They all preparing for university. The boy in the picture already accepted in Faculty of Pharmacy and the girl already accepted in Faculty of Dentistry. Their English better than the others, that's why it's easier for us to communicate with them.

Smile guys!

And an essential thing: WEFIE! 😎

Because it was a laboratory class, so they also had mannequin for demonstration. Alyssa and I found something funny. Alyssa said: If you want to kill someone, just shot directly to the center of someone's chest! Muahahaha....

Why the heart located literally in the center?

I went to observe Alyssa's class (again) after lunch on period 8. She had a lot of classes. I forgot what class they were. I think M6/12 or something. She explained about exponential and logistic growth. Sometimes the students asked Alyssa to repeat what she said.

Class setting

To explain logistic growth, she asked the students to stood up and raised as high as the could. It was funny, because the students were laughing (they though it was funny). She asked them to do that, because logistic growth had limitation and I believe it was easier for the students to understand with some demonstration.

UP UP HIGHER class!

After the class over, I went back to my office and packed my bag and went home. At that time, I found something that I never seen before. They have examination in the cafetaria! LOL. Maybe because they want the students sit alone in one table and prevent them from cheating. Brilliant!

Mathematics examination in the cafetaria

Because we only have several days left in Surat Thani, so #TEAMSRP (Me, Alyssa, and Kyla) decided to explore our neighborhood. We usually turn left from our mansion, now we were trying to turn right. And we found ........ a bookstore. It was a very good-looking and peaceful bookstore. Unfortunately, all the books written in Thai. Hahaha,, the bookstore also allow the visitor to read the books inside the bookstore (they all very generous).

Bookstore with ASEAN countries' flags

Thai peoples love their Late King so much, so inside the bookstore there are a lot of the Late King's biography. Even his beloved dog, Tongdae, also have his own biography book. What a lucky dog!  

The story of Tongdae

We walked again, further and further. We found art supplies store! Ahh, too bad I don't really get into the art. But I believe if Muti or Aufa (my bestfriend in Banjarmasin) go to this store, they'll be crazy. 

Brushes everywhere

We always feel confuse if it's come about dinner. So we looked our Google Maps and found the Pizza Company. We decided to eat there. But GOD!, it was hella FAR! I think it was 5-9 kms away! and we went there by walk. Our feet hurt! After 30 minutes walking we finally made it! Huaaa, turned out it was inside the Sahathai Plaza. I never went there before and we were lucky, because at that night they had night market in front of the plaza.

Sahathai Plaza, Surat Thani

Before we went inside, we found halal stall and buy this snacks. It was cheap, only 20-50 baht.

 

Halal Snack , Halal Snack everyone~

We went inside and order in The Pizza Company. The waiter was very polite and help me to explain what pizza that I could order. So we order French fries with truffle (99 baht), Pasta (99 baht), Beef Pizza (159 baht), and mine-- seafood pizza (179 baht)

Enjoy your meal!

Tonight, we also bumped with Dian and Putri. They love shopping. No wonder why we could find them easily inside the plaza, or market, or mall. Hahaha... Overall it was a very good night!

Cao!

Adventure in Thailand: Part 18

February 1st, 2017

Ahh, it's finally February. Month of Love, because people will celebrate Valentine's Day in two weeks. Too bad I won't be here at February 14th. I watched "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and they're celebrating Valentine's day really good.. Hahaha..

So today, was just a normal office day. We woke up late and came to school at 08.00 am. They had flag ceremony and pray together at the field. It was embarrassing haha.

Just like the past days. We had lunch at 11 (so they will still have a lot of supplies in the kitchen), back to the office, did everything we could do. Hahaha...

After school, we went back to the dorm and bought street food. I don't know the name. It's look very similar with Indonesian Martabak. The seller gave 3 options. With egg only (20 bath), banana only (20 bath), or egg and banana (30 bath). I got egg and banana. 

It was okay, but for me, that's too expensive. Hahaha

Just call it martabak