Work, stress, tears and Thai Hells Angels!

Its Saturday. Thank goodness! The first week has been a challenge to say the least. There is so much information to take in and retain. Im getting there though, very slowly but surely.

We had to prepare, in pairs, (i was with Marie) our first mock leason plan on wednesday, with a paragraph of text to use as a reference, to be performed infront of the rest of the class (there are 4 of us on the course), which i duly stressed over and even stayed up untill 1am sorting out as i knew i wouldnt be able to sleep if i didnt have it all sorted.
In the morning Meghan went first and did an awsome job and it was good to see what Stephan (our teacher) expected from us. Then Marie went next and also did a fab job. After she had finished Stephan handed out a DIFFERENT text and asked me to prepare this for my lesson plan the following day......i have never felt so deflated in my life. After all that stress and the late night!
I phoned home that night and just cryed down the phone at mum for about 15 mins about my horrid day and how i wasnt any good and i just wanted to not be here. But, mum being mum said that i wouldnt be me if i was like this at the begining and she and my dad would have been worried if i wasnt having a bit of a wobble. And this made me feel so much better, it was good just to let it all out and then calm down and then just get over it and on with it. Which i did. After i got off the phone with mum i worked out my lesson plan in 1 hour and i was quite pleased with it.
The 'perfomance' itself the following day wasnt to bad and i felt more comfortable up infront of the class than i though i would. So hopefully ill get better each time.

After the stress of the week it was such a relief for the weekend to finally be here! We all had that Friday feeling. The sun was shining the sky was blue and it was almost going home time! We had all planned on going to a bar that is owned by one of the teachers at the school, as she was putting on a free BBQ and i never say know to free food! We arrived at the bar at 8pm and found some of the Japansese students from the school (that are there to learn English-and eventually be taught by us)already there and drinking. They are all so lovely and although a little shy, wanting to talk to you in English and ready to learn new words and cockney rhyming slang! After the Japanese group went home we stayed on and got chatting to many random people and drank many more beers and somehow ended up chatting to a group of slightly intimidating leather clad Thai's, who turn out to be really friendly and wanting to know about us and about our teachng course and who we wanted to teach, and how all teachers deserve respect. When i asked one of them where he learnt to speak such good English, i was met with the answer "Ahhhh, The Shawshank Redemption. Its my favourite movie." He had apparently watched it so many times he could recite it word for word and that was how he learnt English. Crazy! I was also chatting to quite a tall Thai with really long wavy hair and a bandana across his fore head, covered with chunky rings and leather chatting about goodness only know what at this point, when Marie leaned over and said "The guys we are talking are the Thai equivilant of Hells Angels. The guy you're talking to is like the head Angel." i wasnt overly sure what to say to that so i just ordered another beer and carried on chatting. They were all so nice though, they were working the Hells Angels look really well, but i kind of got the impression that if they were told of by there mothers they would be reduced to small boys. They were polite and friendly, the only time one of them got a bit peed off was when the token German/Barvairian in the group got narky with Marie, but bandana man just told him tho sit down, be nice to ladies and if he cant have fun, then he should go home.
We stayed out chatting with them untill about 4am at which point i said i had to go. It was only a 15 minute walk down the road but a very nice Angel said he would give me a lift (*dont worry mum, i asked Vanessa, the teacher and the owner of the bar if they were dodgy, and she said she knows them well and they are all good guys*) so i got a lift home on the back of a motorbike! (a scary experience for a car driver such as myself and one that probably wont be repeated but it had to be done once in my life!)

Well thats it for now im afraid, the next exciting installment will be coming your way soon! Im off to the movies with Marie as it is chucking buckets outside! Love to you all. XXXXX