Back from Thailand

Hello All,

Well I made it back to Japan. If I forgot to mention before, I was taking a 3 week intensive course on teaching English as a Second Language. I have to say that the course was not what I thought it would be, nor what the other students expected either.

It started out when I arrived in Phuket, and the instructor that promised he would pick me up at the airport 2 days earlier did not show up. After waiting for 2 hours of no show and he not answering his cell phone, I caught a taxi into Patong Beach to find myself a place. To cut to the chase, he pulled a fast one and quit his job the next day. He actually stranded all 6 students at the airport, without giving any of us the name of the hotel that we were to stay at. After a few days, most of us ended up at the correct hotel. The thing we did not have is an instructor. So a few days later, we actually did start class.

Things did not go as planned, but this is what makes life so fun. We got our certificates, and an education in the way that teaching ESL can be. Not happy, but why complain???

It is great to be home, but I do miss Thailand. The climate is warm, and the people are so friendly. When it rains there, it really rains. I thought I saw some heavy rain during rainy season here in Japan, but the downpours there were incredible. One minute it would be a beautiful sunny day, the next minute you could not see 50 meters out. This was most interesting when I was riding my scooter at 60KM/H, and hit a wall of water. I do have to say though, that this was a blast. Everyone just slows down and keeps going until you can find some shelter or the rain stops. LOL, it was too cool.

The hotel was on the water, but 10KM out of Phuket Town, so I needed the scooter to go anywhere and everywhere on Phuket. I am happy to say that I had no problems with my Honda Wave100 Scooter the whole time I was there. The one thing that I did keep doing is leaving the kick-stand down. I thought it was not that big of a deal, except the fact of having to replace the thing if it broke off. Then I had a conversation with the owner of a bar I frequented, and he informed me of the error in my thinking. He explained that if I lean over fast onto the side while going, I could pivot on the stand and the rear wheel would go out on me. Needless to say that I became a little more careful about putting it up before heading out on a spin, less I have a little spin-out!
Regardless, this was a great way to get around for the time there, and it was a blast driving in the cities and in the in betweens of Phuket.

No posts to this blog for a while, since connectivity was an issue. I did not bring my laptop, so had to borrow a classmates computer when she was not using it to check email. I had no phone in my room, so I ended up supporting Nokia and bought a Thai cell phone. This was the best decision of the trip!

I planned to go driving while there, but this did not work out with the schedule for school and the weather conditions that existed at the end of the trip. Heavy rain every day was the weather for the last week.

The kids and Shiho are great, and here are some picks that Shiho took to prove they are doing great and the kids continue to grew...

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenkenyon/JapanLiving3

Here are some pics from Thailand. Sorry there are not that many, but just never got a chance to take many pics. Plus I would not carry the camera on the bike when it was raining.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenkenyon/Thailand2007

Hope you are all well, and talk to you soon.
Steve