We arrived at Lek's after an extremely comfortable journey. We got a VIP bus which meant we got free food (which we did not eat) and were also very excited when Narnia came on the tv. Although we were soon disappointed when we realised it was in Thai of course. When we got nearer we told the bus driver the stop we needed to get off at which was Khukan district. When she finally understood us we realised we had already missed the stop and we're heading to Ubon. After explaining this to Lek she spoke to some other Thai people on the bus who we're trying to help explain the situation. They were trying to be helpful but with their English being as good as our Thai we didn't really know what was happening. Eventually Lek decided we should just get off at Ubon and her friend Nena would come and collect us. We finally arrived at Lek's house 2 hours later and after brief introductions crashed in bed.

The next day we went to the school to meet the director, students and teachers. We had a welcome assembly where we were given flowers and had to give a speech to everyone. It sort of just consisted of "Er hello, we're from England thanks for having us", a very short speech which they didn't even understand. Then we were shown our 'house'. We were very nervous and rightfully so. It had 2 bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and bathroom but it was very different to what we're used to. The bathroom had no toilet and a shower that barely worked. In the kitchen the only appliance to cook with was a gas canister as our toaster got stolen. The bedroom was fine but of course there were no beds. The lounge had a tv which was all in Thai however we soon discovered a Thai soap which became a regular evening treat. We didn't spend any time in the lounge apart from for watching our soap because we soon discovered we had visitors... The first sign was our food disappearing and then the poo everywhere. There was also a foul smell downstairs which we first assumed to be a dead rat smell however we were soon reassured they were alive when our food continued to be eaten. We did our best to baricade Betty and her gang out of the house but all efforts failed misserably, our house just had too many holes!

The village the school was in small village with no shops and mainly consisted of farmers and fields! We taught English to the students for 3-4 hours a day and had the rest of the day free. It was a secondary school so the students aged from 11-18. We usually taught with either Amy or Pinam being there as translators. We taught mostly vocabulary and conversation and helped them with their pronounciation. The classes were normal size with about 25 students in a class. Some students worked really hard so it was really nice teaching because they really wanted to learn. Others weren't so enthusiastic which could be quite frustrating, as we both realised how Mrs Bullen must have felt with us. The Thai school system is way more relaxed than in England and showing up 15 minutes late to the lesson was the norm. Teachers and students not even turning up at all was also allowed! We enjoyed the teaching so much and really felt we bonded with some of the students. It was an amazing experience and we felt really lucky to be given the opportunity.

In Sisaket we felt we really experienced real Thai culture and did so many things we would never have done otherwise. The teachers were all lovely and would go out of their way to do things with us. Often we'd just be sitting in our room hiding from Betty and we'd hear a knock at the door followed by "Dinner, let's go" and off we would follow, very grateful for the escape. We got used eating Thai food everyday as we had it from the school canteen at lunch. Food was not much of an issue for Harri as she could have 'pat pat jay' = fried vegetables and rice. And she ate that for every single meal. Needless to say, she never wants to eat pat pat jay again. Britt too, who had a small variety of meals, was forced into trying many Thai 'delicacies' which Harri managed to escape "sorry, vegetarian". We should just explain that Thai people eat rice for every meal- breakfast, lunch and dinner and are suprised by the fact that we don't. Although, us having cereal for breakfast everyday came as quite a shcok to them too. Needless to say, we've had enough rice to last a lifetime and are definitely looking forward to a greasy McDonalds.

On the weekends we usually went to Lek's as she lived in Khukan which was a bigger town with food stalls, an internet cafe and a 7/11. Our favourite trip was to Surin with Nena and Amy where we visited the Elephant Village. It's the largest group of domesticated elephants in the world with 67 living in one village. First we fed the elephants some bamboo and got up close and took some photos. Harri got a bit too close to the baby elephant who managed to spread poo on her top with its trunk- gross! Then we watched an elephant show where they all showed off their skills including basketball, painting, bowling and football. They then asked for a volunteer and Britt was slightly forced into going up by Nena and Amy. She had to lie down on a mat and a large elephant came along and pretended to stand on her back. After the show we went for an elephant ride around the village. Britt and Harri on one elephant and Amy and Nena on the other. It was exciting but quite uncomfortable and a little bit scary! We stayed in a hotel that evening (very pleased to find it had a toilet and shower) and the next day went to visit a Cambodian temple. Where we are is right near the Cambodian border so it was very interesting to go and visit this temple as it was very different to the ones in Bangkok. We enjoyed the temple and visited the museum afterwards to read about the history of it.

On a different weekend Pinam and another teacher took us out on their motorcycles to a local village to see how traditional Thai handbags are made. We both bought one each in anticipation of the beaches later on. We also had a Thai massage which Britt enjoyed but Harri felt like she had just paid for an hour of pain! We did get taken on a few strange outings such as a baby shower and a funeral of an ex-student. Funerals here aren't like in England as it is about celebrating the life of the person and is more like a party as nobody was upset and there were hundreds of us there. Lek also took us on a journey to another province far away just to buy some plants. We left at 3am and were soon ready to leave after an hour of looking at plants.

We've had a wonderful experience here and all the Thai people we've met had been such lovely people. We feel as if we've seen real Thailand which not many other tourists have the chance to do. Teaching the students has been amazing and we are sad to say goodbye to our new friends. At the weekend we're stopping in Bangkok for a night and then heading down to the islands in the south for the full moon party. We've put photos up on facebook and on here so be sure to let us know what you all think!