Pausing for the Monk
the road to Panyadee
When I arrived on Samui last April, it had just suffered a flood. In fact, most of the tourists had been waiting for days for flights and boats off the island. Many storefronts along the beach suffered great damage and their proprietors were busy rebuilding and cleaning. It was a mess and I wanted to leave. I waited a day for Stacy to arrive and we debated for too long about whether we would skip the TEFL training and make our time in Thailand a vacation. Those few days of indecisiveness were the most difficult. The photograph shows the road to Panyadee, the British School of Samui where we did our training and where I will now be working for the next year or so.
During our month stay, we grew attached to the lifestyle, the food and the sea. Samui is more developed than Koh Tao, where I spent my first vacation from Korea. Because of the location of our residence on Samui (Joy Residence, where I will be living until I find other accommodations) we were forced to pass through Thai neighborhoods on our walks to and from the beach. We learned that these neighborhoods contained the best deals on food and the owners were friendly and generous. I learned to eat Thai breakfast and drink sugary coffee for 30 cents. It was what the locals did. I didnt see much of the 128 miles2 of the island, but most of the interior is uninhabitable jungle mountain. There will be time to do more exploring, but I am quite content to stick close to the area around my school. Every day I can float in the sea and this restores me. Even thinking about it, restores me.
In the meantime I will be very busy sorting out the curriculum for my job. I will be teaching 7th grade (all subjects) to 5 international students. I imagine I will be able to do some very creative things and I am very much looking forward to it. I am also taking 28 primed canvases to work on in my free time.
Rastamonkeys
Thanks to Alison (our TEFL instructor), we were introduced to some local Reggae. These guys perform every night on Samui and the music is incredible. Dancing to reggae restore me too.
moss path
I need a little restoring. The summer has been full of difficult transitions. The first part was spent painting nearly every room in the house and planting the garden. Caleb and I also installed a moss path. We carefully transported bags of moss we collected at the Missouri river.
Ailee's move
Ailee moved in to an apartment next door. Having her in the house was a comfort to me because she is so reliable, but I understand her need for more space. Mad-dog, our neighbor, says we are so much alike and I can see how that is both good and not so good. I hope Ailee will come and visit me and Thailand so I can show her what I enjoy so much about the place.
Tamales Bay, Ellen, Sonya, Mars and Jena
The greatest transition was traveling to and from California for a TEFL job in Long Beach. The experience is worth a short story, but Im trying to shake some of what disrupted my sense of equilibrium there; urban camping, driving great distances in a short time and seeing Jesse (the author confuses Nathan and Janzen–its Nathan’s prose, not Janzen’s). It was wonderful however to spend time in Park City with Thea and Andy and to reconnect with people I love in Marin county. I almost stayed in Marin. Those days of indecisiveness where also the most difficult and I am sure I taxed my friends. A part of me was left in Berkeley too, and that piece is taking the longest to restore. I haven’t yet learned that attachment does indeed cause suffering, but I am, of course, only human. I have begun to investigate Buddhist philosophy and in some ways believe my whole life has led me to its door. I think Thailand will be a good place to explore the tenants of the Buddhism (I continue to be chased by an elusive monk), paint, read many books, live without such a dependence on technology, extend my yoga practice, float in the sea (the thing I most looking forward to) and to slow down, let the monk catch me because there is more wisdom in the body than in the deepest philosophy. Hmm, perhaps it’s time to really start listening.
