Hey everyone, Sorry I haven't updated for a while, have just been settling into life and teaching here in Chaloklam which is in the North of Koh Phangan. It is going great and really nice to be settled somewhere. Our accomodation is pretty decent (although we had to upgrade cos the other rooms where so ridiculously tiny that you couldn't even swing a gecko) and they have a big double bed and nice bathroom and a great verandah where I have hung (well Greg did it really) my v.cool hammock that I bought for only two pounds. Yes I know I have another hammock but they are just so cool! The woman who runs our place, called Rose Villa, isn't anywhere near as nice as Marn who ran the first place we are staying at and she's not very talkative so haven't managed to get her name yet - greg and I have started calling her Billie! She also lacks a bit of common sense but never mind we are surviving. Bungalows are pretty much right on beach which is beautiful especially when we have breakfast in the mornings before our early 8.30am classes. Chaloklam is a pretty cool place, it's very local and mainly a harbour/fishing town so every day once we've finished teaching we sit in one of the good restaurants and watch men fishing by standing in the water or see boats come and go. Then once school finishes we see all of our children go by with about 3/4 on a bike that is way to big for them and we all wave at each other! The school is great (despite its lack of any type of fan in the classrooms!) and the classes are a really nice size - from about 12-20 in a class. We are teaching all the years (which are called Patong) of primary school so 6 year olds to 12 year olds. The youngest ones (Patong 1) are such terrors and don't speak ANY english and so our first lesson was rather eventful just trying to get their names! They are all also into their thai boxing and so a lot of them were hitting each other and one even hit Greg where it hurts - very funny! Thankfully our second lesson was better and we managed to control them and even got them to learn A-E! All our classes our very interesting and usually end with a game which they absolutely love but go slightly crazy! Each class is different i.e one is easier to control but not so bright or harder to control but lots of fun etc etc. It's great getting to know all of the kids and very interesting getting to know their English nicknames. So far we've had everything from Ban to Bom to Namtip to Jane! Its especially funny when they ask us how to spell their names on the board cos they don't pronounce them very clearly so I literallly just make it up! What's also quite difficult is that the kids are at very different stages, even in just one class, so Greg and I are mastering a fine line of teaching the slow kids new stuff while keeping the brighter kids entertained. I'm really enjoying the teaching though, especially just being round the kids who are all so happy and just pleased, I think, to have a new english teacher there. The weather at the moment has been quite varying with a quite a few monsoon thunderstorms which isn't great especially when its baking sun when you are teaching in school and then thunderstorm when you come out like today! Have now got a motorbike which is very cool and so has Greg and some of the girls so we all whizz around the island seeing each other and exploring new beaches. It's quite exciting having a motorbike now cos it's so much easier and cheaper to get around. Also feels like I'm living here. Yesterday 7 of us went to a Thai boxing class which was great fun (altho I was rather sore this morning) and we are all gonna carry on and do it twice a week for the next 8 weeks. I'm also doing yoga next week with some of the others so that should be good. I'll be very fit when i come back! Tomorrow a few of us are thinking of going to Bottle Beach which is apparently one of the most beautiful beaches in thailand and one that you can only get to by boat, so we will be leaving the motobikes at home! Our evenings have been spent either eating up here in Chaloklam and trying out the different restaurants - there is one that is so cheap that you can eat a really great meal for under a pound! We've also had one or two nights with the whole group in various places which is nice cos it's a great chance to catch up with everyone and hear what terrors their Patong One class is as well! However the other night we all nearly got stranded in this place called Seatanue which is quite remote because the guy who'd we'd arranged with to pick us up didn't pitch up! Eventually we persuaded some woman in some restaurant that was still open at 12am to phone someone she knew to take us back to our respective parts. Thankfully he did and we all got home pretty safely although we actually thought the guy was on drugs because he didn't slow down for any of the bumps or potholes! Ahhh thai island life - mai pen rai as they say which means never mind! Next week it's Tim's birthday and the Black Moon Party on the night before his b'day so think most of us are going out, thank goodness greg and I teach in the afternoons most days! Should be good anyway. Don't think there is much else to tell really, will be putting up some more pics soon as my memory card is nearly full. Hope everyone is alright and that uni exams went well. Lots of love, Sam xxx