What I Will Miss: The Sea, The Forests, The Lake, The Hills
What I Won't Miss: Rubbish
Some just throw their Styrofoam lunch containers
and the plastic bags they came in on the ground when finished. Beach picnickers will leave the remnants of their feast in a
neat little heap in the sand for some city worker to pick up the next morning. It is difficult to find bins, but not impossible.
What I Will MIss: Sunshine
It's always sunny in Songkhla. Even on rainy days during
rainy season, the sun feels obligated to make an appearance at least for part
of the day. I hope I have enough sunshine stored up for when I move to Dublin.
What I Won't Miss: The Heat from Sunshine
I'm sweating any moment I am not in an air-conditioned
environment. No amount of prickly heat
powder and deodorant can stop the trickling of sweat. That is a lot of the day.
Even at 7:00 when I do my run, it's about 80-85 degrees and the temperatures
climb to near 100 in the afternoon. Sometimes the air is so hot, it hurts to
breathe it. Again, I hope I can survive in a country that regards 70 degrees a
"scorcher".
What I Will Miss: Food.
What I Won't Miss: A Lack of Food Other than Thai Food
Sometimes, you need cheese. Or a French fry. Songkhla does
have a pizza place, an Italian restaurant, a Japanese place, and a couple of
pubs with overpriced strange cheeseburgers. But these get old and at times, I
felt I would die if I didn't have a taco.
What I Will Miss: Relatively Stress-free Job
Rajamangala is a pretty laid back place and there seems to
be a holiday every four days. It's also a lovely campus with lots of trees and
birds and a good canteen.
What I Won't Miss: A Too Laid Back Attitude Towards English
in the English Department
There are only about 10 visible words of English in the
English office and two of these are "Angry Birds" which adorns some
official document, possibly the curriculum book. I don't know because it's not in English. I feel strongly that by
not having signs, notices, and information in English and Thai, it sends the
message that English is not important outside of the classroom. Which is the
exact opposite of reality in an English program.
What I'll Miss: Big, Free Apartment
The apartment provided by the university is quite big and
it's great to be across the street from the school. In one year, I only paid
$50 total for electricity.
What I Won't Miss: The uncomfortable bed on the floor, no
hot water, no stove. Ants. In all fairness, though, we could have bought stuff
to make it more homey and comfy, but we were never quite certain how long we'd
be staying.
What I'll Miss:
Friday and Sunday Markets
Imagine a garage sale, farmers' market, and a food fair in
one setting. Every Friday and Sunday morning there is a market near my
apartment that sells cheap second hand clothes, household wares, traditional
Thai foods, fresh meat, veg, and fruit, and accessories. The smells, colors,
and buzz make it an interesting jaunt. Except when you're hungover. Then it's a
nightmare.
What I Won't Miss: No Big Size Clothes and Shoes
The average Thai woman is about 5' tall and a size 0. I'm 5'10" and a
size 12. Need I say more? I've found a few skirts and shirts that I can squeeze
into, but there have been many a time that I was close to tears because I
couldn't find anything that fit. Oh, and shoes? Forget about it. I'm still
wearing the Sketchers I bought in Iowa City in 2009 and the men's Li-Ning
running shoes I found in China.
What I'll Miss: Cheap Transport
I don't have a family so I didn't feel a need to get a
vehicle when public transport is so cheap and easy. Also, I've always had this strange feeling that I would have a bad accident if I had a motorbike. A tuk-tuk ride is about 50
cents and a motorbike taxi is about 75 cents. The market is oversaturated with
them, so it's easy to get a ride during the day. My morning run ends at the fresh food market and all the
motorbike guys know me and where I live. I love my morning ride through town on
the back of a bike, dripping sweat and clutching bags of fresh veggies and
fruit.
The drivers honk at you even if it is painfully obvious you
require no transport, for example, when you are running down the road.
What I Will Miss: Thai Smiles
Thai people are generally lovely and generous. Just this
week, a random stranger pulled over and gave me a pamphlet for a marathon and
another guy at the market said, "Hello Miss Running". I go to the
same vegetable sisters, pork lady, and chicken lady and they always have a
ready smile. Thais love fun and want to smile and laugh. Everything seems to
make them feel "happy, funny, and relax".
What I Won't Miss: "You! You!!" and Aggressive
"Hello"s
About once a day someone shouts at me, usually a young boy,
and usually after I've passed. It makes them laugh hysterically. Usually it's
no big deal, but if I'm having a bad day, it can send murderous shivers down my
spine.
What I Will Miss: Cheap Beer
A large 660ml of Leo beer costs about $2. 
What I'll Miss: The Table
The Table is an actual table at a Vietnamese restaurant run
by the wife of Chris, a long term expat from England. Many teachers and some
off-shore people hang out here for the cheap beer and camaraderie. A lot of
laughter and tears have been shared at The Table. One of the gang, Rocky,
started a side business of Indian food at the restaurant. Sadly, he died in a
car accident April 2012. He was a large part of the heart and soul of The Table
and is greatly missed.What I Won't Miss: No Places to Enjoy English Outside of The Table
Sometimes my whole being craves English in the form of
cinemas, libraries, theatres, museums, galleries, and live bands. Hat Yai has
some, Bangkok a ton, but Songkhla, not so much.
What I Will Miss: This Girl
M is the only other female ex-pat that hangs out at The
Table. We're the same age, and except for the fact that she's good at
practically everything, we have a lot in common. I think I would be a smidge
more insane if it weren't for her. I'll miss our til dawn sessions. Check out
her incredible art at: http://www.gallerymg.com/index.html
What I Won't Miss: Girl Jealousy
Occasionally a Thai girl will get it in her head that M and I are after
her man, which is a bit of an insult to the men we're happily attached
to.
What I Will Miss: This Cat. Beyond Reason.
This little heap of white and gray fur has brought so much
happiness to our lives. I'm incredibly sad that I won't see her again, but
happy that she'll be cared for in a home with a big garden and other cats. And
I'll try not to think about the cobras that also share this space.
What I Won't Miss: Meow O'Clock
Every morning at approximately 6:00 a.m. Friday Cat begins
her relentless meowing until I get up and feed her. Once sated, she goes back
to sleep. For me the day has begun whether I wanted it to or not. What I Will Miss: Travelling to Islands
What I Won't Miss: Rarely Travelling to Islands
Despite the fact that the university has nearly as many holidays and activity days as teaching days, we still had to sign our names every morning. I usually did this for us before my run.
I'm finding it's impossible to capture everything about this experience in one blog. I'm driving myself insane trolling through all of my poorly organized photos looking for the "one". I've realized that I didn't even talk about my main reason for being here which is to impart my expertise of the English language to students! That blog entry will have to wait til another day. Until then, this badly formatted--I just cannot seem to master it---entry will have to suffice as my virtual time capsule.
