New Nickname

Today I walked into the room to a new nickname. The Thai kids pronounce my name "sack" or "seck" instead of "Zack", so they came up with something better. I walked in to 70 Thai second-graders reciting, "Gooood mooooorniiiing, Meeestaaahh Seexyy!"

Tee Hee

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Kids Say The Darnest Things

I teach second and third grade students and sometimes they misspell and disorganize things in English. Sometimes they write things that are profound. These are some of my favorite quotations.

"Some of us have black hair. Some of us have blonde or brown. Some of us are city kids."

"I went there with my fram mary."

"very ! love pig"

"i went there with my hyena"

"She bes ten years old."

It was supposed to say "Lower Pierce Reservoir" but the boy wrote "lower poo reservoir"

Multiple Choice:

13. Where do you go every Monday?

25% of the students answered "C: The Police Station"

Correct Answer "D: School"

Tiger Temple

Friday night after class we decide over some beers to take a trip to the tiger temple up north. Lonely Planet said, "if this has not already been shut down, we recommend that you do not go" due to the fact that petting tigers is completely dangerous.

Saturday morning five of us wake up at 8 am and get on a bus heading north. It only takes three hours, and then we are in Kanchanabari, evaluating where best to stay. We decide on the Jolly Frog, it is riverside, and we negotiate a deal. The lawn facing the river is surrounded by guest houses, a restaurant, and is littered with hammocks and lounging travellers.

An hour later we are at the temple, petting 5 month old tigers that would eat your dog if left unsupervised. A little disappointed, we asked if there are any more tigers to pet. "Yes, in tiger canyon" as the densely-tattooed monk points down a path. When we get there we see about 25 massive full grow tigers laying in this canyon. There is no fence, just a rope seperating us. Many Thai peope are milling about amongst them, keeping the peace. A Thai woman grabs my camera and another my hand and they lead me one by one to each tiger so I can pose for a picture. Each time they take us around behind the tiger and tell us to pet them and all I can think of, is a suprised tiger turning around and just ripping my face off. Luckily they didn't.

Overall, it was incredible. They are powerful animals, but they were quite sedated. The monks said it was for a few reasons; they are nocturnal, they are overfed chicken, and they have a rigorous work out every morning. So when you arrive to pet them midday, they are napping and there's no two ways about it.

Some Edited Photos

One Week in Bangkok

My first week in Bangkok has come to a close and though I don't feel drastically different, I certainly have lots of new things on my mind. Everything around me now has a new name. Water, food, shelter, money... I have to learn all of it over again. We travel by taxi to go anywhere. The food is cheaper than I have seen anywhere in the world. The people are about as friendly as they come. At night our Thai friends drink nothing but whiskey and water, and want to share it with their guests late into the night.

The children are pretty decent at English and aside from the positively insane 10 minutes between classes, they seem truly eager to learn. The school is beautiful, well organized and exclusive. It seems American teachers are thought of as valuable assets and we are treated accordingly. The school is full of life just about every day but Sunday it seems, and there is always an activity to enjoy.

Last night on Kao San Road, after a long day of walking, I got an hour long Thai massage for $8 USD. It was an ideal end to a very interesting week.

You can't imagine how much fun we're having.

Study Abroad Video

This is a little older but I am gonna throw it up here. It is a video montage of my experience in Europe (7:25 minutes). Enjoy.

Road Trip

After winter in the Rockies, some friends and I took a road trip so we could enjoy the warm weather with some camping and hiking. This is the path we took:

View Larger Map

Here is a picture of us before we set out. Below are some of the photos taken during the trip.

Weekend in Moab, Utah

Just to whet our palettes we decided to take a two day trip to Moab, Utah, home of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. True desert conditions, when entering the highway to Canyonlands it says "No water next 26 miles", so you have to pack in all your water. Nonetheless incredible, beautiful rock formations, epic canyons, and in the distance you can see the snow-capped La Sal mountains for contrast.

Winter in the Rockies

So I graduate college with a degree in Business and I have had just about enough of it. The thought of spending my days in a cubicle applying what I have learned is just too much to bear. I decide to move to Colorado with a friend where I volunteer for Obama's campaign and then spend the winter skiing. Here are some of the more interesting photos.

Top 5 Experiences at a Ski Resort

5. A New Years for the books. Leaving after the ball, stragglers all over the valley, no buses coming to save us from freezing to death. Then we pull it together at 10 AM for a day of Skiing.

4. The South African Hot Tub Skinny Dip. You'll need some South Africans, booze, a fancy hotel with an outdoor hot tub. This will land you at Denny's at 4 AM. One of them may pass out nude in the lap lane storage chest. (No Picture, obviously)

3. Take a lesson in the Terrain Park, learning how to jump, grind and spin.

2. Hike an hour up the Bald Spot in the back country of Beaver Creek, CO and ski down untouched powder that hits you in the Chest when you turn. Breathtaking.

1. Saint Paddy's Day at Blue Sky Basin in Vail, CO; I lost a backpack, a bottle of Kahlua, a pair of vans, a pair of goggles, barely made it down the mountain, and it was completely worth it.