I think I'm turning 25. I really think so.

For the one and only time in my life I turned 25 on the 25th of February. In Thailand it's also the year 2555 which made my birthday the 25/2/2555. It was a good enough reason for me to celebrate therefore I invited many of my friends to dinner at a local restaurant.
More than 30 people joined me for dinner at Nong Pu restaurant which the foreigners have nicknamed the Cock and Crab as there are large statues of a Cock and Crab at the entrance.
I enjoyed the night eating and drinking with my friends and following dinner we continued onto the usual hangout Sun.Moon bar.

I am not sure how I feel to be 25 but in Thailand it is either a very lucky or unlucky age. Hopefully for me it will be a lucky year.

Hello. My name is Dylan and I need a job.

Teaching in Thailand is a great job. I am really enjoying it and I feel I am suited for the job. Therefore when I was told I did not have a job at the school I am currently teaching at next semester I started on the search for a new school.
Life in Chachoengsao is also good so my first preference is to stay in the city. It is difficult though to know how to get a job. The first attempt to get a job was to visit the schools and personnally deliver my resume. My friend Tim is also looking for a job next semester so the two of us with my girlfriend Prang visited the schools of Chachoengsao to try and get a job.
If it was the students hiring teachers Tim and I would have been giving a job at the first school we visited. One of the students spoke in Thai and Prang translated for us. The student said '"I am in secondary six although if you are teaching next semester I repeat the year."
The second school we visited told Tim and I they only employ British and American staff. Although the teacher said maybe next semester they will only employ British, American and Australian staff. I am still a little confused as to why some schools do not employ Australian staff.
At the end of the day I did not have a job but at least I felt I was getting somewhere and hopefully something comes up soon. Neither Tim or I got offered a job on the day although Prang who already has a secured job was offered a job.

Teaching 800 students

I have just finished teaching for the week and have taught more than 800 students. One of the English teachers left so I am now teaching one lesson a week to 18 different classes in Primary 4, 5 and 6. Before this week I was teaching nine classes twice a week I am now teaching 18 classes once a week and will continue to do so for the next month until the exams.
I have been teaching Primary 5 and 6 therefore it was easy to teach the three Primary 5 classes I had not previously taught. Although teaching Primary 4 is a new experience. There seems to be a large gap between Primary 4 and 5 and its difficult to know how to structure the class.
In every class there is about 45 students therefore I am now teaching more than 800 students a week. I already struggled to remember five students names. I have no hope of remembering any of the students names.
Teaching the three year levels also means I have to write three exams. It could be interesting to write an exam for the Primary 4's having only taught them one lesson.

Jatujak Market

Since arriving in Thailand I wanted to visit the Jatajuk Market in Bangkok so on Sunday Prang and I took a van into Bangkok to visit the Market. I was quite suprised at how clean and organised the market was. I had heard many stories about how crowded and hot the market is although I actually found it quite ok.
I spent the day buying gifts and some new clothes and Prang's help haggling for a better price made everything much cheaper than the set price.
The stall holders have a price for foreigners and a price for Thais. As I was shopping with Prang everything was at Thai prices for me. To get back to Chachoengsao Prang and I caught the train which is a much more pleasent ride than the vans with drivers who seem to compete against each other as to who can drive the quickest. Driving 160 kilometres an hour weaving in and out of trucks on the freeway is not the most comfortable ride.

Teaching teachers

Every Monday after school I teach English to a class of 20 Science teachers. Although I know very little about Science I have been able to keep the teachers amused doing basic Science experiments and teaching Science vocabulary. The level of English among the teachers is quite varied and therefore they work together to try and explain the English words and translate to each other in Thai when necessary.