Author: pinkbuddha.org
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Pfizer Christmas: Getting My Covid-19 Booster in Chiang Mai
Look what I found under the Christmas tree! Let’s get that free booster shot I had recently arrived back into Chiang Mai after terminating my employment and moving out of my toxic-swamp-diarrhea-stank-apartment in Khon Kaen. While getting caught up with local news, scrolling through the expats-of-Chiang-Mai Facebook group, my eyes fell on a post about
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How to Legalize a TEFL Certificate in Chiang Mai
Legalize it, don’t criticize it (thank you Jimmy Cliff) I completed my TEFL program two years ago at school in Chiang Mai. At the end of the course, each future-EFL-teacher received an official certificate of completion. Since my school is a Ministry of Education affiliated school in Chiang Mai, I am eligible to legalize my
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Teaching English During Covid-19
Zoom class for P2, 2nd graders. All in; will I succeed? In my previous post, I described how I had flown to Thailand during the height of the country’s Covid-19 crisis, which required much quarantine-time, expense, and faith that my goal to teach English would yield a successful outcome. In absorbing all of the hurdles
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Korean Kimbab in Khon Kaen
Being new in this town, I decided to go exploring, find out what the locals enjoy, and expand my boundaries by taking a trip to—the local mall. Yes, mall. In fact, I did discover different cultural offerings, evidenced below! Who’s the real OG Kimbab King? The Korean obsession is alive and well on the ground-floor
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First Impressions: Getting Hired to Teach English in Khon Kaen, Thailand
Typical Khon Kaen-Isaan meal of grilled chicken, somtam (papaya salad), and sticky rice in bamboo containers. The silver bowls—filled with ice water—were not for rinsing greasy fingers, but for drinking out of. Famous last words. In our initial conversation, when I had booked my flight to Khon Kaen, the recruiter insisted on picking me up
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Chiang Mai in the Pandemic
What a difference a pandemic makes: this road, once packed elbow-to-elbow with tourists, bicycles, motorbikes, bustling cafés and street hawkers—now desolate and empty. Ghost town Directly from my 14-day quarantine, I flew to Chiang Mai. Having booked a room in the center of the city, I immediately went out to have a look at my beloved
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Quarantine in Bangkok
It’s not you, it’s me. No, it’s you. I won’t lie. Seven months of living with uh-muh-ni was six and-a-half months too long. At first, I felt as if I had worn out my welcome. By the end, I believed it was she who had worn out her welcome, in her own home. It was
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Karmic Episode Home Perm
Karmic Episode art-card. Chaos reins: Living with uh-muh-mi Let the record show: on June 25, I caused my mother to have a heavy heart and confess it to the Lord. Just a question: Could she not have left her diary in her room and not in mine? The Terrorist on Mother’s Day Years ago, I
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The Dancing Queen In My Room
Sun sets over Bangkok and my time in Thailand I’d been feeling ragged. Chewed up and spit out. Tears would spring out of my eyes in fits and starts. I had canceled my work permit, believing immigration would honor my visa amnesty. They did not. Instead, they gave me seven days to get out of
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I STILL Love Teacher: Teaching English in Thailand
“sa-rang-hae 사랑해— I love you”, artwork on student’s desk The New Puppies Term 2 began like the previous term: short-handed since we lost two teachers, scarfing lunch in less than an hour, and sprinting through periods 1-10. By the end of the first week, I was exhausted. However, the adrenaline of meeting new students powered me