Happy Halloween !!

It's been such a hectic few days of packing, unpacking, and now I'm packing again. I moved in with my host family on Tuesday evening. Mom-jeab is a surgeon, her husband is a doctor (his name is too hard to say so I can call him doctor), they have a daughter called Jib who's 16, another called Jang who's 11, and Jun is their little boy who's just turned 4.

That first night they took me out to dinner and I had Phad Thai (noodles in an omelette with king prawns) and Som Tam (spicy papaya salad). I was introduced to her colleague Inging who works at the hospital also gave me her number and said that she'd show me around and take me where I wanted. Thai people are so friendly.

Their house is lovely, and the room they prepared for me is nice, the little girl made me a welcome sign for the little dresser and put flowers on it, how sweet! Mom-Jeab's parents also live there and speak no english (but her mother was looking through Thai Hello! with me yesterday and pointing at pictures of our royal family and saying 'Camilla ugly', hehe), and the children speak a little. Yesterday me and Jang drew Halloween pictures, getting me in practice for being an art teacher. They are all so friendly and hospitable and said I am like another member of the family.

But... they live over an hour walk away from the school/my friends/the town/market/shops, and the buses stop running at 6pm so there's no chance of ever going out in the evening with the other teachers, or getting streetfood which I love, and I don't like to rely on the family to take me places even though they have offered.

I told my organiser that the distance was a bit of a problem, and he spoke to my co-ordinator at the school, and before I knew it I was found another apartment and am moving tomorrow morning!! It's the apartment I should have moved into originally but was told the owner didn't want 'ferang' (foreigners), and I found out yesterday that the only reason is because ferang want hot water and aircon etc., which doesn't really bother me so wish they'd just asked me first time around.

It all happened so quickly, and even though I thought I would not be able to stay with the family for the full five months, I didn't expect to be moving out within such a short space of time, but here you have to rent from the beginning of a month. Luckily when I explained to Mom-Jeab last night that I would have to move elsewhere she understood that it was not anything to do with the family, and said she had been worried that I would be lonely in the evenings as I wouldn't be able to see my friends and because she does not get home until around 9pm. She said she would want me to be happy, and knows that I would be if I was nearer the town and my friends as she thought how she would feel at my age. She's so lovely, and in the evening when she gets home we spend a lot of time talking, and she has so much good advice.

I'm also really happy as even though I won't be living with them, she said I am always welcome to come and stay as they will keep the room spare for me, and that if when I go travelling I can leave things with her. When her family are free she would still like to show me places, and at the beginning of December when we have a long weekend for the King's Birthday I am going with them to Hua Hin, woohoo beach!

So, today I am packing again to move in the morning as I don't need to go to school today. The kids start next week and the last few days I've been in school preparing a few bits for the lessons, but the other teachers said the first week back you need to take things as they come, and any lesson plans rarely get stuck to. Wish me luck!!