The Horse Farm

Last November, I met Louisa, my Bavarian friend traveling around SE Asia during her gap year. For those that don't know (because I know I didn't), "gap year" is the time when high school graduates from many Western countries travel abroad before entering college.

Man, I wish I would've traveled like this before college - although I would've been an absolute mess traveling here at that age, and probably would've found myself in trouble!  So, maybe I'll call it a blessing in disguise I didn't!

Louisa happened to still be in Thailand when I moved, and actually came up from the south islands to visit me in Chiang Mai.  She was planning to continue on north to a horse farm owned by a fellow German, that asked her to help out for a month.  

Since I'd never ridden a horse through the jungle, or anywhere for that matter, I made it a point to come visit!

The ride up to the Phrao District is amazing!

Phrao is tucked away in a valley surrounded by a horseshoe shaped mountain range just north of Chiang Mai - so no tourists up here at all. You know you've exited the tourist track when you start turning heads of unsuspecting Thai onlookers by simply driving down the local streets.

It's very dry this time or year, and of course, freakin' hot!

After two and a half ass-numbing hours on the motorbike, I made it to the base of the mountain where the horse farm was.

I was greeted by Lousia and the Thai family she was living with. Boris was the owner, a German who married a Thai woman, started a nice big family here in the country, and ran this horse farm taking tourists on week-long excursions through northern Thailand and Laos. He offered tours of no more than four per group, and options to either trek through the mountains locally, or venture into the southern mountains of Laos for a longer tour.  I didn't have time to do anything that extensive, so I settled on a modest day ride through the jungle the following morning.

The farmhouse was crowded to say the least.  Typical of Thai households:  the whole family lives together, usually about three generations all under ONE roof!  So, there wasn't much room in the house for another head. The only option for me was to pull a mattress outside to an outdoor covered lounge area, next to the horse stable, and sleep outside in a mosquito net!

Ok, so, no complaints sleeping outside...at all!

It was amazing at night to hear all the sounds in the country coming alive, along with the horses practically sleeping at my feet.  It was again, something I'd never experienced before.  

The only downside is life starts ridiculously early on a farm!  Of course, horses are hungry at the first sliver of daylight, so the work started very early - of course, not for me though, the noise just simply woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so it felt like I was up working that early, but I really wasn't. You literally could hear roosters from miles away, like 5 farms over, crowing all morning long. They were relentless, and successfully prevented any sleep past 5am.

We went for our ride that Saturday. We rode into the jungle and began climbing the mountain by horseback. Riding is pretty easy when you're only going 5 mph. The ride was slow, but the scenery was worth the ass-dragging.  These horses weren't really trained, so it was a challenge getting them to do anything but slothfully trudge along the mountainside trail.  

We arrived at a waterfall deep in the jungle, near a small wadding pool where we could take a dip and cool off. The horses voluntarily got in the water as well, practically diving in splashing everywhere, and really enjoying the bath.

It was seriously such a hot day!

We continued back down after a few hours, and quickly realized we may not make it back before sundown at our current pace. This became more concerning when the obedience issues continued.  I made the mistake of letting my horse stop a few times to snack on the low-hanging meals along the trail.  Underestimating his intelligence, I quickly found, like the children I teach, if you give him an inch and he'll take a mile.  He quickly realized his newly enlisted power over me, and stopped at every other green plant he saw, giving little regard to my stern commands to move forward.

We eventually made it back as the sun was setting.  It was quite nice to have such a beautiful scene as we walked the horses back, and after a somewhat stressful fight against time. Getting stuck in the jungle at night is just not ok, anywhere.

That evening, the Thai children were preparing to grill (Thai style), and we ate and drank until the wee hours of the morning.

It was a great experience, and another "first" to add to my ongoing list here in Thailand.



    

Well, I've Never Done This Before

So, I need a job.  

I certainly moved here with money in my poket, but I clearly lack the long-term financial luxuries like a pension or retirement, and certainly don't have any windfall of expendable cash, therefore I'll need some income flowing. Thailand may be inexpensive, but I want to live here a while and not burn through all my savings. So, the obvious next step...

Get a J.O.B.  

I didn't move here to find another 9-5, of course.  Because frankly, the one I quit back in Seattle would be impossible to beat here.  Redfin is just an awesome place to work, period! 

I moved here to do something different.  I want to live, and make a living doing something unique I've never done before...or couldn't otherwise do back in the States.  After some preliminary research before I left, I knew English teachers were always in high demand. Seemingly, this is the best option for making decent money too (comparatively speaking), and something that would likely be more personally rewarding than a desk job.

This was where I'd start.

I put together a "teacher" oriented resume, and hit the pavement in search of a job.  This wasn't necessarily as easy as I thought it would be. 

Chiang Mai is the epicenter for quality education in SE Asia, so teaching jobs are highly competitive.  I have zero experience teaching anyone anything, although in college I was a mentor for disadvantaged inner-city youth for a year, but nothing related to classroom experience.  After realizing this harsh reality of the competitive job market I'm trying to enter, and drained from my exhausted efforts applying for jobs around town, I knew I needed to beef-up the resume.  

Of course, volunteer teachers are always welcome in most schools.  After speaking with a few people, volunteering experience seemed like my only option towards landing a paid position. One high school I found and applied to, allowed me to sit-in on a few classes to get a feel for teaching a class of 40-something kids! This was overwhelming to say the least.  

Madd props to the teachers out there who do this day-in and day-out, it's exhausting work! 

In the meantime, my Thai friend BeBe began reaching out to her personal/work contacts for me, in response to my obvious desperation to find work.

She surprisingly found me a lead rather quickly.  She told me all the necessary details over the phone. When she told me the job, I was a little apprehensive.  This was something I've clearly never done before.  I thought about not doing it, but at the same time, sounded like some relatively easy money for a half day's work - so was listening.  

She found me a one-time gig posing in a video for the Thailand Department of Tourism.  WTF, really?!?  Apparently Thai companies, especially those in tourism, are always looking for farang (Westerners) for modeling work to appeal to Western tourism.  I think there was a degree of urgency to find someone quickly, and I was likely the cheaper option for them shooting last minute in Chiang Mai.  

Oh, and it pays one month's rent for like three hours of work...SOLD!!  I'll do it!

She basically said to dress up, look professional, and go to this swanky hotel outside the city and someone will be there waiting.  The hotel was the Dhara Dhevi!   

When I arrived at the hotel, I was taken back by the extravagance.  It was a beautiful campus built around four huge temple-like buildings in a perfect little rice field and garden area, also surrounded by villas and private lakes.  

I only had my iphone to take these photos, so pardon the terrible resolution.  

I was lead into a conference room where a stunning Ukrainian model was sitting quietly getting her makeup all prepared by a team of stylists - who were all clearly professionals.  

I thought, this was a little much, I mean, the model is clearly a pro (something you can just tell), and I'm just some random traveler looking for work and just happened to know someone who knew someone in a moment of coincidence. 

I was suddenly really nervous, and also very aware I maybe should've asked for more money - (one months rent is only $129). 

This was way out of my comfort zone!  

A few moments during the shoot, Anna mentioned my shaking hand and instructed me to calm down. I could've melted each time she said it to me too, with her cool/calm Eastern Euopean accent.  

Honestly, I don't even like my picture taken at all really - something I just conveniently remembered right then.  However, the trepidation was mixed with the excitement of doing something different, and that was really the whole point.

Plus, I couldn't stop starring at this Ukrainian girl!  

I'm beginning to think my next travel destination will be Eastern Europe...(contingent on the current crisis, of course)

The staff needed some time to prepare, and told us to walk around the property until they were ready for us.  So, Anna and I went for a walk around this place.

Let's just say this wasn't a place accommodating the average backpacker.  I'm also pretty confident this would be the last time I'd come here, being it's probably one of the most expensive hotels in Chiang Mai...I was soaking it up!

We returned to the area where they wanted to shoot the video.  They put some makeup on me (another first), and styled my hair.  They positioned us at the foot of this big staircase, and the director started shouting orders.

After about 20 retakes, and what seemed to be countless little readjustments, they finally got the shot they wanted.  This was an exhausting process, mainly because I had to hold a generic smile for more than a few minutes at a time with each retake, so after a few hours I was done with the whole thing.  

Turns out our shot will only be a 10 second spot in this video.  The video team was traveling all over Thailand shooting random clips, and would compile the collection to edit at a later date.  It was all very professional.  The video is suppose to hit Youtube in May, I'll keep an eye out.  For all the time and effort put into a 10 second clip just seemed like overkill, but hey, what do I know, I've never done this before and likely won't again.  

The experience was another addition to my recent list of "firsts" here in Thailand, so it was worth it!

Around this time, I started volunteering at the Burmese Refugee Center near my apartment. The director of the center provided free English classes, a library, and essentially a community center for the refugees.  His name was Garrett, and he just so happened to be from Seattle! 

Small world, no?

He knew I was looking for permanent work, and sent a referral over to a language school he had a great relationship with, and that also just happened to be right across the street. Apparently his word carries some weight, as I was quickly contacted by the school's director inviting me to come in for an interview.  That Monday, I came in for my interview and was hired on the spot!  I felt like things were suddenly falling in my lap, this was just perfect timing!

She told me I could work about 15-20 hours a week, teaching one-on-one English conversation classes with students of various ages.  No set schedule, and I could take time off whenever. Sessions are hourly, so that provides me the flexibility to easily control my availability.  Each session is paid 220baht/1hr, which is equivalent to about $7 - essentially what I made when I was 16 years old bagging groceries.  She also knew I had some online marketing experience, and agreed to pay me to do some light-weight marketing for the school.  

Perfect!  

I've now taught a little over three weeks, and I think I really enjoy my time here.    

For the most part, the kids are really fun.  

Man, life was just so easy back then.  

They're generally always happy and full of energy!  However, these kids are temperamental, and can drive you up the wall insane as well.  But most of the day, the kids are excited to see you and are pleasant.  They're just so simple and funny, it's really a joy to be around them.  You can't help but feel a little nostalgic at times, reminiscing of years past, back when nothing mattered more than Legos and Grandma's house. We didn't know how good it really was back then.  Adults try to simplify a complicated life, while kids are are inherently simple, but forced to complicate it.  Ignorance can be bliss. 

We can learn a lot about life from kids. 

There's obviously the language barrier, but many of the students go to high-end international or expensive private schools, where English is taught very young, so there's some baseline to work with.

I really enjoy my time at the Burmese Center as well, where most of the students are adults.  A few are Thai, but the majority are Burmese who've fled Myanmar for better paying jobs or to escape the instability in the region.  They're all really serious and eager to learn.  I presume this is the case because they are considered second-class citizens here in Thailand, and probably realize more than Thais the importance of learning English as a survival mechanism, so they're more serious about learning the skill. Learning English does lend them an upper-hand.  

The priority to learn seems vastly different between the two ethnic groups.  In some cases I've noticed that Thais try to learn and teach their kids English almost as a symbol of status (you have money if you speak English), rather than a means of improving their livelihood (certainly not the case for All Thais, of course). In Chiang Mai, some Thais seem to live pretty well-off and with relatively decent money.  The language school students are primarily upper-class Thai kids, and sometimes you can feel that parents just don't take it that seriously, but insistent their kids come 5 times a week! 

I think for now, I've secured a good situation here with some cash flow, so I feel comfortable and at ease. Ill see how the teaching goes, I imagine Ill enjoy this for the time being...or let this become the most effective form of birth control, EVER!