Being offered a position in Phuket was a complete 'golden ticket' opportunity for my family and I. Back to the beach, the sun, the surf in low season and the amazing triathlon training opportunities for my husband. Phuket hasn't let us down. It has been an incredible year and I have learnt a lot during this time thanks to the amazing people around me.
Culture.
Adapting to a new culture is always a challenge. I confess to still feeling ignorant and am actually looking forward to the Thai cultural course I have to do during a weekend. Phuket is multicultural with 3 religions prevalent on the island; Islam, Buddhism and a version of Taoism. In some cases people cluster with others of their religion in a particular suburb and are incredibly devout. Others turn to their religion and festival time and are far more relaxed/flexible in keeping with the edicts of their religion. Still, multiple religions live side by side in peace.
Respect is a big part of the culture here. The greetings are friendly and warm where ever you go and if you wai first you are certainly looked upon more favourably. Small acts of kindness make a big difference. Keeping your cool when things aren't quite going so well is a little trickier. I had 90 minutes of nonstop phone calls from the car insurance company photographer and his nephew asking where I lived. That was a real test in patience which I'm fairly certain I failed as I handed the phone to my husband.
Beach Life.
I went through a phase of hating the beach. The sand getting everywhere and my own naive lack of appreciation for the beauty that was around me. Thankfully I got over this phase in my late teens and am very grateful to live near any body of water.
The beaches here are diverse and we have a lazy tendency to go to the closest one, but perhaps away from the crowds by going to the national park at the far end. We started a tradition of going to the beach on a Friday afternoon as we know how easy it is to not appreciate where you live and get into the habit of not going. I go to a local yoga class and if I ask the other students when they last went to the beach most of them don't actually know.
Lots of small beach bars existed at every beach when we first arrived. Flimsy structures built from bamboo, woven mats and corrugated iron. The bars were cheap, cheerful and hired out sun-beds with the added bonus of drink service. It turned out that many of the bars were built on public land and should not have been there. Shortly after the King's Birthday all of the bars were demolished. The beach is now much clearer and I was happy to see people heading to the beach with picnics and in some cases bringing their own furniture to spend the afternoon together.
Many businesses still operate from the beaches. You can hire jet skis, surf boards, go parasailing and buy sarongs, jewellery and sunglasses from hawkers walking up and down the beaches if you are in a very touristy hotel rich spot.
Bella, our Labradoodle, is a beach fan as she used to play on the beach every day when we lived in New Zealand. Bella visits the beach every week and prefers to go around sunset as the crabs appear so that she can chase them around the sand. Unfortunately the beach hasn't always been a positive experience for Bella here as she got attacked by a pack of dogs one afternoon when playing frisbee. This hasn't stopped her being desperate to go and play in the sand and making the most ridiculous whiny noises on the drive to the beach. The shower when gets home is her least favourite part of the trip.
Teaching.
Teaching here has been a different experience to my international school in China. The school is well established and has a number of traditions. Of course there are still elements that are under development, but that is the case with every educational institute. One of the biggest differences for me is the student body. Thai students are allowed to attend the school and receive the same education as expat students. Classes can be predominantly Thai and this actually helps students develop their own awareness of the local culture. Another very big difference in the student body is the social status of many of the students. Many are from very successful and wealthy families. In some cases this has a negative impact on the attitude to education, but thankfully not in too many cases.
There has been a lot of trust in teaching staff and the freedom provided around the development of the curriculum has been wonderful. Developing the units has been fun and being in such supportive environment has given me the time and enthusiasm to pursue my own interests and further professional learning.
A Few Negatives.
Paper is as popular here as it was in China. A lot of paper needs to be processed every time you need to do something new, especially at the bank. Your personal documents need to be photocopied every time that you go too, despite the fact it was copied on the previous 10 occasions.
Road rules. They may exist but are not necessarily followed.
Road works. Highly popular throughout the island.
Settling In Again.
The settling in period is always expensive and frustrating when you have questions which you feel would be a question too far for the person or people you have to help you. The language barrier is nowhere near as difficult and as Phuket is a tourist hub it is easy to get everything you could possibly want. Even when you move to somewhere beautiful and amazing you miss the people you knew before and those relationships. Sometimes you are sure that you are fine, everything is fine, the move is a success, but your brain is in overdrive and you are still working everything out. It takes times and that's ok.
Conclusion.
It's been a great year. I love the sunshine, the people, the teaching, the beach, the lifestyle and most importantly my husband and Labradoodle are happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment