Arriving Early

I really advocate arriving early to the destination of your new school. More time to pick the right property and vehicle if you need one. More time to work out where to shop. More time to work out how to get around. To me it just makes sense, especially if you have a dog (child replacement with fur).

We chose to arrive in Phuket early. We had to vacate our appartment in Suzhou before the end of June and the we expected the Suzhou Summer to heat up and so decided to leave 5 days after I finished work. At the time I didn't realise that this meant I would be arriving in Phuket before my new school had finished for the year. I got asked to go in for a meeting with my new Head of Department. I landed on the Thursday at 1am and on the Friday I had a meeting at 10am.

This all meant that we had to get the hire car a little earlier. I had to consider my outfit very carefully. Shoulders need to be covered at my new school and no open toed shoes are allowed. I knew that it was a staff only day, but I really didn't want to rock the boat before I'd even started my contract.

With a screenshot of the directions we headed out. I considered Melbourne to be the city of U-turns, but Phuket may actually be the winner of this award. I got really confused that the roundabout has gates blocking some of the junctions meaning that you can't actually use it as a roundabout. I really have no clue what is happening here. It basically causes the need for masses of U-turns. Following 4 U-turns, a slow moving bus and some roadworks we made it to school.

Despite being late and having to then walk into the staffroom in the hopes of spotting my HoD. Thankfully everything went well - phew. My work permit is in process too, hurray! One day closer to being allowed to ship our belongings.

We've had a romantic dinner on the beach for 3 with the Head of Secondary and today we had drinks at a different beach with the Head of Primary and some new and returning teachers. It would appear we aren't the only ones that think being in Phuket during rainy season and don't mind arriving early.

Incidentally, this school leaves you to fend for yourself a lot compared to my previous school in China. I can see that it is easier to fend for yourself here though. We sorted our phone cards quickly and looked after ourselves for our "House Hunters International" style quest, which I will talk about in another highly enlightening blog. We are still working out where to buy food cheaper than eating out, but we'll get there. I know that we'll have everything sorted by the time school starts and that way I will be able to focus fully on the curriculum re-writes. For now I will enjoy the weather, the beach and the Thai food.