Emily Takes On Thailand

I want to tell you about Oh. Well, Pi Oh, as I call her. I have mentioned Pi Oh in my blog posts before, but only in passing. And considering what I want to share with you now, that fact is ridiculous. Pi Oh is my coteacher. She has been working at Ban HuayMongkol for 6 years, where she teaches English and Art. She grew up in a neighboring town called Sam Roi Yot, where the mountains were her backyard. Together, we go and visit often, since the only thing she is more passionate about than teaching is her family. She loves drawing, playing with her 4 adorable nieces, and walking her dogs. At the extremely young age of 31, Pi Oh was recently promoted to Head of Teaching staff at our school. To-poorly- summarize, the Head of Teaching staff is responsible for ensuring teacher’s paperwork is completed on time and correctly, and relays to teachers any information that the Principal or Supervisor gives her. Needless to say, the job is exhausting, and the job is thankles...

Ban Huaymongkol School opened in the rural outskirts of Hua Hin in 2514 (1971 in farang years). It is roughly 4 acres large, and on them sit bright red academic buildings, quiet teacher dormitories, and a large soccer field with real, plush grass. From it you can see the Huaymongkol temple, where   Luang Paw Tuad's black marbled, tired body sits criss-cross and smirks at tourists walking by. The school is home to 350 students, donned in red and black uniforms (the school colors) with brown tennis shoes that you can usually find kicked off and splayed , somewhat chaotically, outside a busy classroom. It is home to 22 teachers, 7 of whom stay on campus during the semester. It is home to a passionate, driven, young principal ( Paw Aw).  It is home to three cats, Fried Egg, Black Egg, and Egg Boy, and roughly 7 stray dogs, whose names are unknown. And as of about three weeks ago, it is home to me: Emily, aka Kru Chunpoo, aaka Kru Emily, aaaka Teacher, aaaaka Kru Emiloosh (...