December.



OK. I'm going to try hard to catch up a bit. December was a great month and there is a lot I should have been blogging about. The irony is that the more there is to post about, the busier I am, and thus the more difficult it becomes to blog. Anyway... I still don't have much time but I'm need to get this post up. It won't be polished, but hey, it's February already! So here we go.

First on the list: English Camp.

One of the most memorable, most fun, and just plain cool experiences I've had so far was helping with Kaplan's annual English Camp which was held back in December. This is an annual promotional event that Kaplan offers for FREE to 30 lucky university students. This year we had over 1,000 applicants and 80 interviews before the final 30 were chosen (and subsequently forced to wear pink life jackets).

That's some stiff competition! But I think you'll see why. First, it's free.



Second, it's held here. I'm guessing you understand the appeal. This is the view looking out from Goh Mun Ork (Island Furthest Out) at sunrise. (By the way, yes, I took this picture, and yes, this means I actually got up to see the sunrise one morning!)

The tiny island is located off the coast of Rayong province, about 3 hours from Bangkok by bus and another hour by ferry from this pier.


From the ferry you take a small boat to the shore.


And you arrive here.

You can see from the above that it is a small little spec of an island. In fact, Thursday afternoon of the managers and I rented kayaks, and we were able to circle the island in about half an hour. I also went running on a path that goes more or less around the outside of the island, and I circled it in just 12 minutes, and 4 times in under an hour. (It was just amazing, by the way, to run somewhere other than Bangkok... there were trees, and inclines, and no motorcycles or soi dogs anywhere! It was a lot like some of the running trails I used to go on with Joey back in Ithaca, or at least remarkably similar given the difference in location.)

We got there on a Wednesday if I can remember right, and stayed until Friday. Besides the scenery, English Camp, as you might imagine, involved different games and activities intended to help students improve their English. I ran a game called "The Tower and the City" and it involved building a domino skyscraper on a map of NYC. Students got dominoes for answering questions right and bonus points for the height of the tower when time ran out.

The real attraction though at Goh Mun Ork was the were peacocks and wild turkeys running around the island, and all the people running after them to take pictures.

Next up: Captain Zim!

Zim also came to visit in December. It was just great to see a familiar face, and have someone to show around to some of the places I've gotten to know. His four days here were over in a flash, and we both wished it could have been longer.


The highlight, at least if you ask me, was his last night here. We went out to dinner with my friend Heren from AUA, and on the way met Alex (the other white guy in the picture). Alex stopped us and told us he had been mugged earlier that night, and although I could already see in his face that he was serious, he also showed us the large, nearly split open bruises on his back to prove it. He'd been to the police but they just wasted his time, and after the run around there it was too late at night for him to go to the Swedish embassy for help. He eyes welled up as he said desperately that he'd asked dozens of people for help, but no one would help him.

I said not to worry, and instead of the restaurant we were walking to, we all got in a cab and went to a hostel near my apartment and I got him a room. Then, despite his protestations, we insisted on dragging him out to dinner with us. It was a fantastic experience and I'm so glad we could help him... and I say this even after Heren and I nearly fell asleep at dinner while Zim and Alex discussed with great passion various forms of air transportation.

Alex my friend, I hope you got home safely.

After dinner, Alex went back to the hostel and Zim, Heren and I headed to the bar at Sirocco for a drink. Sirocco might be my favorite place in the entire city and thus is more than deserving of its own post, so this photo (which really doesn't show much of Sirocco at all) will have to do for now.


Ladies, the line starts over there.

Ok. Last thing. Christmas.

My friend Ned (who's not a vampire, I promise) had the good sense to suggest a small get together for Christmas Day. This was good, because I would otherwise have been eating alone, and it was already weird enough to be spending Christmas in a place with no snow, no presents, and no family.


Nothing here was 100% homemade, but hey, there was ham and mashed potatoes and stuffing. Close enough for me! Plus, I brought some white sangria which actually turned out to be a pretty good Christmas drink since it's pink and festive looking as has lots of cinnamon, which is definitely a Christmasty spice.

Well there you have it. A month in the life of Dan, or at least some of the highlights. I'm out.