Ain't Life A B***h.

Life on a blog seems like one big party. Obviously, as a blogger, I want to record for myself and my family at home the interesting stuff about my life here; the parties, the strange happenings, the holidays. But life in Thailand, my life, is not always a holiday. Life is never always a holiday, unless of course, you are a lucky rich fecker and you are constantly on a holiday in Bali. But I was thinking during the week that, as many people reading this blog are thinking of coming out to Thailand to teach, its important to make a point that you should all be prepared for. Sometimes, you will hate this job, you will hate this country, and you will think that coming out here was the stupidest decision you have ever made.

I know its a depressing thought, and a surprising one considering the life I have portrayed on this blog. But when making a decision to come out here, you must be prepared for the fact that the majority of your time will be spent trying to communicate with children who don't understand a word you say, listening to all of your colleagues having conversations in a language you don't understand, and you will spend a lot of time lonely, missing your friends, struggling to communicate, and feeling like you are hitting your head off of a brick wall. This week, for example, I spent three days adjudicating exams which were extraordinarily boring, and then I spent the rest of my time correcting 900 exam papers where it became clear to me that the students don't remember a single thing I have taught them. In the evenings I ate my dinner and sat in my room watching movies online (nothing in a small Thai town stays open past 6pm). All of this, coupled with being cooped up in the same small town with the same two or three people who speak English, can make for a serious bout of homesickness and cabin fever.

The point must be made that, despite what any company or school sells to you about this perfect idealistic life in Thailand, it is a life. It is not a holiday. If you come here to teach, you will not be sunbathing, drinking cocktails, or partying. You will be correcting exams, looking at blank faces of kids all week, and spending your weekends making worksheets and racking you brain for lesson plans.

After reading all of this you may be thinking 'bloody hell, doesn't sound great'. Its not great. But the question you must ask yourself is 'is my life in my home country much better?'. I am guessing, since you would consider leaving, that the answer is no. For me, sitting here on my front porch feeling completely fed up and contemplating getting the first flight out of here, I have to think 'what am I going home to?'. The answer is 'a boring job in a shop (if I can find one), debt (if I chose to go back to taking notes and doing exams in Uni), and monotony. All brought to you in freezing cold wind and rain'. Not exactly idealistic is it. But that's the thing, real life is never idealistic. A few times a year you get the great nights, and the time on the beach, and the cocktails and a tan. Don't come to work in Thailand if you want a big holiday. Go on holiday instead. Come to Thailand to work if you want to face a challenge, if you want to see how much hardship you can take, if you want to learn how you can deal with life without a circle of family and friends to help you along. If you come here, you wont learn how to make a shockingly strong pina colada, but you will learn (as corny as it sounds) how strong you are. Take a guess which lesson will be most valuable.

Sawatdiikha.