Greetings from England.
Ta, Cheers, Greetings from England.
Get yourself a bowl of popcorn and settle in. This turned out to
be a long one. The studio was pushing for a 3 part mini-series, but
instead you get the directors cut. We're over budget and past the
release date.
Cut and paste onto your desktop if you're using a dial-up.
Slow down, speed up, slow down.
Eric and I went to Koh Chang in Thailand. Any Thai place that starts
with "Koh" means that it's and island. Koh Chang is pretty nice.
It's the off season right now, and there was a bunch of construction
on the island, but not where we stayed. There's a long white beach
with many little outfits that will hook you up with a bungalow to
stay in, and a restaurant to eat at. We pretty much just chilled
for 3 days. Mostly there was swimming in the ocean, lounging on
the beach, eating and BATTLING A GIANT CENTEPEDE. This sucker was
HUGE. I've never seen anything like it before. Must have been 10
inches long, each armored segment more than half an inch wide, Spiny
yellow legs that look like bent quills with the pointy end down and
a big nasty head with pinchers in the front. An amazing and really
creepy looking machine. I get shivers on my spine when I think of
what it could do to us. They say the venom from one bite will land
you in the emergency room at the hospital, if you're lucky. Eric
found it first. We were packing up to leave. He opened up his bag
to get some clothes and felt something on his arm, looked down and
saw the nasty beast. I heard the unnatural yell from across our
bungalow. He was pointing at the floor with a straight arm and mouth
wide open in shock. They move fast. It was moving along the floor
in my direction. The nearest "weapon" I had was the water bottle
I was drinking from. I smashed it down on the head of the beast.
I heard crunching of shell. The rest of the body thrashed and whipped
around wildly coming just inches from my hand on the bottle. I pressed
down as hard as I could until the bottle was collapsing under the
pressure. This wasn't good. This thing was totally alive, and now
angry. Eric was ready with the tall floor fan. On the count of
three, I pulled away and Eric came down with the heavy base of the
floor fan. No good. There's a hollow space underneath. Now it had
a hiding place. Eric kept an eye on it while I looked for a weapon.
Searching, searching. No axes, no baseball bats, no blow-torches.
Ok, got to get creative, check outside. Glass bottle, too brittle,
could break in the smashing motion. I'm going to have to come down
quick on this thing with something sturdy. Ok, here we go, a big
aerosol can. Some kind of spray on lubricant made in Germany. It's
one of those cans that has the concave steel bottom. That thin ring
of metal at the bottom can be used to make a blunt cut. The can's
only about 12 inches high. That's cutting it close. This will have
to do. Eric lifts the base of the fan, we flush out the armored tank
insectaziod. I come down with the can right where the head joins
the body. I'm pressing down with all the leverage I can muster and
sliding the can in twisting motions on the concrete floor. The thrashing
gets more fierce every time I move the can. I have to get a picture.
Even the flash from the camera sends it into another wild frenzy.
This thing is seriously pissed, and it won't die. Plan B. We find
a shallow basket, holes too small for it slither through. We trap
it and put some weights on the basket. It's running along the inside
edge with it's cracked and juicing head hanging crooked off it's
body trying to find an opening in it's cage. I spray it with tick
repellent. It thrashes wildly. This poor thing will not die. I'm
starting to feel sorry for it, but I'm too scarred to move it outside.
It could bite me, or someone else out there if I set it free.
It will probably die soon now anyway. I hope. We finish packing,
check out, and let the local management deal with our angry little
pet.
The plane ticket has been purchased. I'm leaving in 4 days. You
see things differently when you know you're leaving soon. Just a
little time to get in some of my favorites. Eric and I head for
Rayong where we will partake, once again, in the best Pad Thai in
Thailand at Tooey's. Tooey and his wife Sow run the restaurant.
Everyone calls her sow, because thats what Tooey calls her. Sow
means wife. There's a little covered area under a thatched roof
where there are some bar stools made of sanded and lacquered logs
around an elbow high table. No walls. The kitchen is under a different
roof around the back. The cold drink selection is whatever is left
in the cooler. Best Pad Thai Gai sai Kai ever! After that two hour
massage. It was good, but we've had much better on our trip. But
for only about $2.33 an hour one can't complain too much. It was
getting late, about 1:30am and Eric had to work the next day. I checked
into a hotel and Eric caught the bus back to Bangkok.
Koh Samet for two days of fun and relaxation on my favorite Thai
island (ok, so I've only been to two islands). I visit my friends
at Gecko Bar and Restaurant. They greet me by name now. Ocean swims,
dirt biking, dancing and delicious food. I'm here without Todd
or Eric this time. I get to do things at my own pace. That in itself
is relaxing. I love this place. Absorb it. Soak it up, cause it's
all going to be different in a few days.
Bus back to Bangkok (or Krunthep as some of the locals still call
it). For my last night in Thailand for who knows how long, I really
wanted somtam (fresh papaya salad). The lady in the back soi makes
it best. But as the taxi drove down the back alley to Eric's apartment
I could see that the Somtam Lady was gone for the night. Eric was
happy to see me. I was happy from my last couple of days. Eric read
my mind. He got somtam for me and saved it. Prepared just the way
I like it, mai sai poo - mai sai kung lek - pet saam, krup.
Feelin pretty good. This is nice. A good last night in Thailand.
Then Eric throws me a curve ball.
He says Monday when he was at work his boss Tim said they were looking
to hire more English teachers for the new language school opening
up, and asked Eric if he knew anyone, because the last person Eric
recommended worked out really well, and they were actually getting
kind of desperate to hire people anyway because the school is supposed
to open in 2 weeks. Eric says, on my behalf, "Uhm, yes, actually,
I might know someone."
Eric says, they want to get you in for an interview in two days,
and does this sound interesting to you dude?
Well yeah, I'm interested. I'm leaving tomorrow for England at 5:
20pm, I'm not a certified English teacher and I still have to pack
my bag. Sure, I'll go for an interview. That night Eric gives me
a crash course on being an English teacher in Thailand, covers all
the legalities related to working and living in Thailand and gives
me all the interviewing tips that I would need.
When you've got nothing to lose, it can actually be fun. In the morning
I call John and say Hi, I'm Jesiah, and he says, Oh yes, I'm so glad
you called...
I propose that we meet today for an interview, because tomorrow I'm
getting on a plane to London. He says "I'll call you back in 15
minutes." He scrambles, finds a way to make the interview happen.
I want to be to the Airport by 3. We agree on 2:00, and he promises
it will be a short meeting, I'll be out of there in less than an
hour. Ok, I can make that work. It's 11:20 by the time we finish
on the phone, I get myself ready, nice clean clothes, shower, I have
about 15 minutes to organize some of my stuff for packing, then leave
to meet Eric for lunch where he teaches. We get nourishment, plus
I get a few more interview details, use the computer in his office
to type up a resume and print, I'm running a bit late. I leave with
15 minutes to get all the way across town. Yeah right, maybe at
3 in the morning you could do that. Maybe I can make it. I have
the address written in Thai Sanskrit and hand it to the driver, he
says "yeah." I make it clear that I need to get there right away,
quickest way possible. He does his best, but traffic is horrible.
Half hour later he drops me off. I dash inside the school and
ask for Bell Language Center. I'm at the wrong school. Fortunately
the nice lady that I happened to ask spoke wonderful English, and
knew exactly where Bell Language Center was and even offered me a
ride there. In a different climate, like where I call home for example,
I could have jogged the blocks to get there. Not in this heat.
Even to walk it would turn me into a dehydrated puddle of sweat
by the time I reached it. In her nice air conditioned car I learn
that she herself is an English teacher, and has taught for over 40
years at her school, and this was her very last day. She is now retired
and is not sure what she will do now. I suggested going to Koh Samet.
She was really excited to talk with a native English speaker.
Her school was a public school, and so therefore did not have the
budget to hire Native English speaking English Teachers. Bangkok
Christian College is a private school, and therefore could afford
to hire Bell Language Centers to do English classes. I thanked her
repeatedly as she dropped me off.
I make my way through the building and find John and Kate waiting
for me. After exchanging pleasantries and traffic frustrations we
get started. It's a quarter to 3 now and I still haven't packed.
The interview goes very well. We get through everything in about
half an hour. They ask if I can wait about 15 or 20 minutes while
they talk it over and make a decision. We all look up at the clock
simultaneously. I suggest that if they don't mind, I need to get
going, why don't they take their time and discuss it, and not rush
to a decision. They can contact me by email. They agree, and I'm
off. 3:15. I step out to the still very busy street to hail a cab.
Almost 10 minutes go by and I still have not found an empty cab.
What's the deal? There are so many empty cabs in this city that
most times they'll see this big white guy walking down the street
and slow down, honk or even shout to get my attention to see if I
want a ride somewhere. And now I'm invisible to them. The security
guard at the school helps me. He gets one in about 3 minutes. He's
got technique or something. Very few taxi drivers speak English,
and if they do, it's usually limited to a few common phrases. My
driver spoke none. I handed him Eric's apartment address written
in Thai Sanskrit. He nods.
Eric's at the apartment waiting for me when I get there.
How'd it go?
Good. I feel confident about it. I think they'll ask me to work
for them.
Cool.
I pack quicker than I have ever packed. Back down to the street.
Hail a cab. Eric speaks great Thai. We zoom off to the airport
on the expressway. Our driver is passing everybody.
Pass the first inspection. Ticket counter woman says boarding begins
at 5. It's 4:25. Then the nice woman at the Singapore Airlines
counter leans in and says quietly that I can get on the plane as
late as 5:30, but that's it. I pay airport tax. We have a little
time. We get some food. One of the things I wanted to do before
I left Thailand was download the last batch of pictures out of my
camera on to Eric's laptop. He was going to burn a CD for me of
all the digital pictures I had taken up to that point. This was
one of the things I WAS going to do today before I knew that I would
be interviewing for a Teaching job. I had to load new software to
the laptop to do this. We got it turned on and got the CD in, started
installing software and "blip". It turns off. Eric says the battery
has been acting up lately. We needed an outlet. I find one, and
carry a table and two chairs into the wide airport hallway where
the nearest outlet is. Load software. Hook up the camera, it's working.
Download pictures. It's going SO slow. My eyes dart back and forth
between the progress bar and the clock. Eric says at 5:25 we pull
the plug and run whether it's done or not.
Progress bar
Clock
Progress bar
Clock
Times Up! Red lights and sirens are going off in Eric. We yank
the cord, pack it up and rush off to the next security check. Eric
can't go through this one. We say our good-byes, but it's more like
see-you-later. Neither of us knowing if I'll be back in two weeks,
or not.
Rush through customs.
B-14. Where's B-14? There, way down there.
One more security check. This one has a line. I can see B-14 down
the long hallway. 1 minute to final boarding, do or die, England
or bust cutoff. I get through. No beeps. Wasn't worried about
that. I never beep.
I get down the hall to the B-14 sign, round the corner, through the
door and there in the large room are ALL the passengers of Singapore
Air flight 1208 service to Singapore. No one has boarded. They
are running late. I chill. Chai yen yen (chill out, literally -
be cool like ice tea).
It's a loooong flight to England. Well, Singapore first, hour layover,
then on to Heathrow Airport in London. Singapore Air is a nice
airline. The seats are as cramped as most coach seats are, but they
do take good care of you. Impeccable and friendly service. Interesting
tidbit: Our flight to England from Singapore was Virgin Air and
Singapore Air combined. One plane, two flight numbers. I didn't
know they did this.
You can only watch so many movies in a row before you get sick of
watching movies. I watched more than that amount. I traded off
with writing in my journal and trying to get some sleep.
6am local time. Navigate the airport. Get some London navigation
tips from another traveler. Take the tube to King's Cross downtown
London. The Tube is the common name for the amazing subway system
that brilliantly connects Londoners to London. I killed a few hours
in the city, food, internet, library. I couldn't view any of the
books without a membership card, so I bought a book from the bookshop
there. "Looking Closer 3, Classic Writings on Graphic Design", with
essays by Lissitsky, Tschichold, Ann Rand, Weingart and more. I
was anxious to be done travelling. I just had a little farther to
go. I really just wanted to be done, and rest. In the early afternoon
I caught the train to Cambridge. Due to a slight miscommunication
I ended up waiting there for 3 agonizing hours before Deana arrived
to pick me up. It was evening now. I was relieved and happy to
see her, but she described the look on my face as pained and exhausted.
Yeah, I'm feeling that too.
Things are getting better at this point. We're driving out of Cambridge
toward her small town of Thetford. I'm starting to relax now. She
says, Are you hungry? Would like to get some food?
Silly question.
Everything looks so English out here. English countryside. Stone
and brick houses, who knows how many hundreds of years old they might
be. Through winding streets with odd looking traffic signs we pass
pubs, shops, houses, pubs. It's all pretty much as I expected. Everything
is clean and neat. Organized. Calm. Simple. Homogenous. It's a huge
contrast from Thailand. I had gotten used to the Thailand way of
life. England is completely different.
I think it will be nice to slow down for a while. It is. I look
out the window of Deana's house and I can trick myself that I'm back
in Washington, in Seattle, and maybe I'm in a neighborhood I've never
been in, but I'm back home.
Deana takes the week off. It's nice to hang out with my friend.
We don't do anything spectacular. We see Thetford, Mildnehall,
Brandon. Go jogging. Go to base to use the gym, shop at the commissary.
I'm so happy to be in a place with a kitchen (Eric didn't have
one at his place, like most apartments in Thailand), and the commissary
sells almost all the same food that I'm used to. My second day here,
we get stuff for BBQ. A small group of Deana's friends come over
and we have barbecue chicken, sausages, I grill mushrooms, asparagus
and zucchini with my not-yet-patented method of olive oil and spices.
We drink Fosters, watch a rented movie, "La Vita La Bella", great
movie, and eat ice-cream.
We see Thetford, Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge. Go to the base to use
the gym. Go jogging. It's all very calm. I get to rest a lot.
An OH, a small miracle not to be overlooked, Deana has Jay's computer
at her house. Power Mac G4 Cube, flat screen monitor, Bose speakers,
modem. It's choice. I have been spending a lot of time on this
computer.
I was offered the Job to Teach in Bangkok. Thought hard about it
for a week. Turned it down. I really could use some money, but
I'm not ready to stop my travel plans at this point. Also, from
all that I've heard, finding teaching jobs is not that difficult.
I firmly believe there are better opportunities for me down the
line.
Two day trip to the coast, Hunstanton. Two day trip to London with
Debby and Deana. Tourist stuff mostly. Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly
Circus, Soho, stuff like that. Yesterday I finished reading "Fight
Club" by Chuck Palanhiuk. I enjoyed it. The movie did a great job
of telling the story. Also yesterday on a day trip to Great Yarmouth,
a coastal town, we met a woman who is in the Guinness Book of World
Records for the most piercings. This weekend is Jubilee, something
about the Queen's term, it's been 50 years since the last one, It's
also World Cup, which of course is a HUGE deal around here. Soccer
jerseys and team flags everywhere. I'm going to try and get out
to Brighton. I hear it's nice. They call it "London by the Sea".
Well, I've got some pictures up finally. You should be able to view
them here:
http://www.forreststudios.com/travelgallery/
Most of the pictures are from England, cause all my Nepal, and most
of my Thailand pictures are on Eric's laptop. So it's a small sampling.
I tried to include a bunch with me in them in case y'all forgot
what I look like. They are in no particular order. Just like my
journey. Maybe France in a week.
Till next time friends....
Tell your mother you love her,
Finish your chores,
Then go outside and play.
+jesiah
Get yourself a bowl of popcorn and settle in. This turned out to
be a long one. The studio was pushing for a 3 part mini-series, but
instead you get the directors cut. We're over budget and past the
release date.
Cut and paste onto your desktop if you're using a dial-up.
Slow down, speed up, slow down.
Eric and I went to Koh Chang in Thailand. Any Thai place that starts
with "Koh" means that it's and island. Koh Chang is pretty nice.
It's the off season right now, and there was a bunch of construction
on the island, but not where we stayed. There's a long white beach
with many little outfits that will hook you up with a bungalow to
stay in, and a restaurant to eat at. We pretty much just chilled
for 3 days. Mostly there was swimming in the ocean, lounging on
the beach, eating and BATTLING A GIANT CENTEPEDE. This sucker was
HUGE. I've never seen anything like it before. Must have been 10
inches long, each armored segment more than half an inch wide, Spiny
yellow legs that look like bent quills with the pointy end down and
a big nasty head with pinchers in the front. An amazing and really
creepy looking machine. I get shivers on my spine when I think of
what it could do to us. They say the venom from one bite will land
you in the emergency room at the hospital, if you're lucky. Eric
found it first. We were packing up to leave. He opened up his bag
to get some clothes and felt something on his arm, looked down and
saw the nasty beast. I heard the unnatural yell from across our
bungalow. He was pointing at the floor with a straight arm and mouth
wide open in shock. They move fast. It was moving along the floor
in my direction. The nearest "weapon" I had was the water bottle
I was drinking from. I smashed it down on the head of the beast.
I heard crunching of shell. The rest of the body thrashed and whipped
around wildly coming just inches from my hand on the bottle. I pressed
down as hard as I could until the bottle was collapsing under the
pressure. This wasn't good. This thing was totally alive, and now
angry. Eric was ready with the tall floor fan. On the count of
three, I pulled away and Eric came down with the heavy base of the
floor fan. No good. There's a hollow space underneath. Now it had
a hiding place. Eric kept an eye on it while I looked for a weapon.
Searching, searching. No axes, no baseball bats, no blow-torches.
Ok, got to get creative, check outside. Glass bottle, too brittle,
could break in the smashing motion. I'm going to have to come down
quick on this thing with something sturdy. Ok, here we go, a big
aerosol can. Some kind of spray on lubricant made in Germany. It's
one of those cans that has the concave steel bottom. That thin ring
of metal at the bottom can be used to make a blunt cut. The can's
only about 12 inches high. That's cutting it close. This will have
to do. Eric lifts the base of the fan, we flush out the armored tank
insectaziod. I come down with the can right where the head joins
the body. I'm pressing down with all the leverage I can muster and
sliding the can in twisting motions on the concrete floor. The thrashing
gets more fierce every time I move the can. I have to get a picture.
Even the flash from the camera sends it into another wild frenzy.
This thing is seriously pissed, and it won't die. Plan B. We find
a shallow basket, holes too small for it slither through. We trap
it and put some weights on the basket. It's running along the inside
edge with it's cracked and juicing head hanging crooked off it's
body trying to find an opening in it's cage. I spray it with tick
repellent. It thrashes wildly. This poor thing will not die. I'm
starting to feel sorry for it, but I'm too scarred to move it outside.
It could bite me, or someone else out there if I set it free.
It will probably die soon now anyway. I hope. We finish packing,
check out, and let the local management deal with our angry little
pet.
The plane ticket has been purchased. I'm leaving in 4 days. You
see things differently when you know you're leaving soon. Just a
little time to get in some of my favorites. Eric and I head for
Rayong where we will partake, once again, in the best Pad Thai in
Thailand at Tooey's. Tooey and his wife Sow run the restaurant.
Everyone calls her sow, because thats what Tooey calls her. Sow
means wife. There's a little covered area under a thatched roof
where there are some bar stools made of sanded and lacquered logs
around an elbow high table. No walls. The kitchen is under a different
roof around the back. The cold drink selection is whatever is left
in the cooler. Best Pad Thai Gai sai Kai ever! After that two hour
massage. It was good, but we've had much better on our trip. But
for only about $2.33 an hour one can't complain too much. It was
getting late, about 1:30am and Eric had to work the next day. I checked
into a hotel and Eric caught the bus back to Bangkok.
Koh Samet for two days of fun and relaxation on my favorite Thai
island (ok, so I've only been to two islands). I visit my friends
at Gecko Bar and Restaurant. They greet me by name now. Ocean swims,
dirt biking, dancing and delicious food. I'm here without Todd
or Eric this time. I get to do things at my own pace. That in itself
is relaxing. I love this place. Absorb it. Soak it up, cause it's
all going to be different in a few days.
Bus back to Bangkok (or Krunthep as some of the locals still call
it). For my last night in Thailand for who knows how long, I really
wanted somtam (fresh papaya salad). The lady in the back soi makes
it best. But as the taxi drove down the back alley to Eric's apartment
I could see that the Somtam Lady was gone for the night. Eric was
happy to see me. I was happy from my last couple of days. Eric read
my mind. He got somtam for me and saved it. Prepared just the way
I like it, mai sai poo - mai sai kung lek - pet saam, krup.
Feelin pretty good. This is nice. A good last night in Thailand.
Then Eric throws me a curve ball.
He says Monday when he was at work his boss Tim said they were looking
to hire more English teachers for the new language school opening
up, and asked Eric if he knew anyone, because the last person Eric
recommended worked out really well, and they were actually getting
kind of desperate to hire people anyway because the school is supposed
to open in 2 weeks. Eric says, on my behalf, "Uhm, yes, actually,
I might know someone."
Eric says, they want to get you in for an interview in two days,
and does this sound interesting to you dude?
Well yeah, I'm interested. I'm leaving tomorrow for England at 5:
20pm, I'm not a certified English teacher and I still have to pack
my bag. Sure, I'll go for an interview. That night Eric gives me
a crash course on being an English teacher in Thailand, covers all
the legalities related to working and living in Thailand and gives
me all the interviewing tips that I would need.
When you've got nothing to lose, it can actually be fun. In the morning
I call John and say Hi, I'm Jesiah, and he says, Oh yes, I'm so glad
you called...
I propose that we meet today for an interview, because tomorrow I'm
getting on a plane to London. He says "I'll call you back in 15
minutes." He scrambles, finds a way to make the interview happen.
I want to be to the Airport by 3. We agree on 2:00, and he promises
it will be a short meeting, I'll be out of there in less than an
hour. Ok, I can make that work. It's 11:20 by the time we finish
on the phone, I get myself ready, nice clean clothes, shower, I have
about 15 minutes to organize some of my stuff for packing, then leave
to meet Eric for lunch where he teaches. We get nourishment, plus
I get a few more interview details, use the computer in his office
to type up a resume and print, I'm running a bit late. I leave with
15 minutes to get all the way across town. Yeah right, maybe at
3 in the morning you could do that. Maybe I can make it. I have
the address written in Thai Sanskrit and hand it to the driver, he
says "yeah." I make it clear that I need to get there right away,
quickest way possible. He does his best, but traffic is horrible.
Half hour later he drops me off. I dash inside the school and
ask for Bell Language Center. I'm at the wrong school. Fortunately
the nice lady that I happened to ask spoke wonderful English, and
knew exactly where Bell Language Center was and even offered me a
ride there. In a different climate, like where I call home for example,
I could have jogged the blocks to get there. Not in this heat.
Even to walk it would turn me into a dehydrated puddle of sweat
by the time I reached it. In her nice air conditioned car I learn
that she herself is an English teacher, and has taught for over 40
years at her school, and this was her very last day. She is now retired
and is not sure what she will do now. I suggested going to Koh Samet.
She was really excited to talk with a native English speaker.
Her school was a public school, and so therefore did not have the
budget to hire Native English speaking English Teachers. Bangkok
Christian College is a private school, and therefore could afford
to hire Bell Language Centers to do English classes. I thanked her
repeatedly as she dropped me off.
I make my way through the building and find John and Kate waiting
for me. After exchanging pleasantries and traffic frustrations we
get started. It's a quarter to 3 now and I still haven't packed.
The interview goes very well. We get through everything in about
half an hour. They ask if I can wait about 15 or 20 minutes while
they talk it over and make a decision. We all look up at the clock
simultaneously. I suggest that if they don't mind, I need to get
going, why don't they take their time and discuss it, and not rush
to a decision. They can contact me by email. They agree, and I'm
off. 3:15. I step out to the still very busy street to hail a cab.
Almost 10 minutes go by and I still have not found an empty cab.
What's the deal? There are so many empty cabs in this city that
most times they'll see this big white guy walking down the street
and slow down, honk or even shout to get my attention to see if I
want a ride somewhere. And now I'm invisible to them. The security
guard at the school helps me. He gets one in about 3 minutes. He's
got technique or something. Very few taxi drivers speak English,
and if they do, it's usually limited to a few common phrases. My
driver spoke none. I handed him Eric's apartment address written
in Thai Sanskrit. He nods.
Eric's at the apartment waiting for me when I get there.
How'd it go?
Good. I feel confident about it. I think they'll ask me to work
for them.
Cool.
I pack quicker than I have ever packed. Back down to the street.
Hail a cab. Eric speaks great Thai. We zoom off to the airport
on the expressway. Our driver is passing everybody.
Pass the first inspection. Ticket counter woman says boarding begins
at 5. It's 4:25. Then the nice woman at the Singapore Airlines
counter leans in and says quietly that I can get on the plane as
late as 5:30, but that's it. I pay airport tax. We have a little
time. We get some food. One of the things I wanted to do before
I left Thailand was download the last batch of pictures out of my
camera on to Eric's laptop. He was going to burn a CD for me of
all the digital pictures I had taken up to that point. This was
one of the things I WAS going to do today before I knew that I would
be interviewing for a Teaching job. I had to load new software to
the laptop to do this. We got it turned on and got the CD in, started
installing software and "blip". It turns off. Eric says the battery
has been acting up lately. We needed an outlet. I find one, and
carry a table and two chairs into the wide airport hallway where
the nearest outlet is. Load software. Hook up the camera, it's working.
Download pictures. It's going SO slow. My eyes dart back and forth
between the progress bar and the clock. Eric says at 5:25 we pull
the plug and run whether it's done or not.
Progress bar
Clock
Progress bar
Clock
Times Up! Red lights and sirens are going off in Eric. We yank
the cord, pack it up and rush off to the next security check. Eric
can't go through this one. We say our good-byes, but it's more like
see-you-later. Neither of us knowing if I'll be back in two weeks,
or not.
Rush through customs.
B-14. Where's B-14? There, way down there.
One more security check. This one has a line. I can see B-14 down
the long hallway. 1 minute to final boarding, do or die, England
or bust cutoff. I get through. No beeps. Wasn't worried about
that. I never beep.
I get down the hall to the B-14 sign, round the corner, through the
door and there in the large room are ALL the passengers of Singapore
Air flight 1208 service to Singapore. No one has boarded. They
are running late. I chill. Chai yen yen (chill out, literally -
be cool like ice tea).
It's a loooong flight to England. Well, Singapore first, hour layover,
then on to Heathrow Airport in London. Singapore Air is a nice
airline. The seats are as cramped as most coach seats are, but they
do take good care of you. Impeccable and friendly service. Interesting
tidbit: Our flight to England from Singapore was Virgin Air and
Singapore Air combined. One plane, two flight numbers. I didn't
know they did this.
You can only watch so many movies in a row before you get sick of
watching movies. I watched more than that amount. I traded off
with writing in my journal and trying to get some sleep.
6am local time. Navigate the airport. Get some London navigation
tips from another traveler. Take the tube to King's Cross downtown
London. The Tube is the common name for the amazing subway system
that brilliantly connects Londoners to London. I killed a few hours
in the city, food, internet, library. I couldn't view any of the
books without a membership card, so I bought a book from the bookshop
there. "Looking Closer 3, Classic Writings on Graphic Design", with
essays by Lissitsky, Tschichold, Ann Rand, Weingart and more. I
was anxious to be done travelling. I just had a little farther to
go. I really just wanted to be done, and rest. In the early afternoon
I caught the train to Cambridge. Due to a slight miscommunication
I ended up waiting there for 3 agonizing hours before Deana arrived
to pick me up. It was evening now. I was relieved and happy to
see her, but she described the look on my face as pained and exhausted.
Yeah, I'm feeling that too.
Things are getting better at this point. We're driving out of Cambridge
toward her small town of Thetford. I'm starting to relax now. She
says, Are you hungry? Would like to get some food?
Silly question.
Everything looks so English out here. English countryside. Stone
and brick houses, who knows how many hundreds of years old they might
be. Through winding streets with odd looking traffic signs we pass
pubs, shops, houses, pubs. It's all pretty much as I expected. Everything
is clean and neat. Organized. Calm. Simple. Homogenous. It's a huge
contrast from Thailand. I had gotten used to the Thailand way of
life. England is completely different.
I think it will be nice to slow down for a while. It is. I look
out the window of Deana's house and I can trick myself that I'm back
in Washington, in Seattle, and maybe I'm in a neighborhood I've never
been in, but I'm back home.
Deana takes the week off. It's nice to hang out with my friend.
We don't do anything spectacular. We see Thetford, Mildnehall,
Brandon. Go jogging. Go to base to use the gym, shop at the commissary.
I'm so happy to be in a place with a kitchen (Eric didn't have
one at his place, like most apartments in Thailand), and the commissary
sells almost all the same food that I'm used to. My second day here,
we get stuff for BBQ. A small group of Deana's friends come over
and we have barbecue chicken, sausages, I grill mushrooms, asparagus
and zucchini with my not-yet-patented method of olive oil and spices.
We drink Fosters, watch a rented movie, "La Vita La Bella", great
movie, and eat ice-cream.
We see Thetford, Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge. Go to the base to use
the gym. Go jogging. It's all very calm. I get to rest a lot.
An OH, a small miracle not to be overlooked, Deana has Jay's computer
at her house. Power Mac G4 Cube, flat screen monitor, Bose speakers,
modem. It's choice. I have been spending a lot of time on this
computer.
I was offered the Job to Teach in Bangkok. Thought hard about it
for a week. Turned it down. I really could use some money, but
I'm not ready to stop my travel plans at this point. Also, from
all that I've heard, finding teaching jobs is not that difficult.
I firmly believe there are better opportunities for me down the
line.
Two day trip to the coast, Hunstanton. Two day trip to London with
Debby and Deana. Tourist stuff mostly. Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly
Circus, Soho, stuff like that. Yesterday I finished reading "Fight
Club" by Chuck Palanhiuk. I enjoyed it. The movie did a great job
of telling the story. Also yesterday on a day trip to Great Yarmouth,
a coastal town, we met a woman who is in the Guinness Book of World
Records for the most piercings. This weekend is Jubilee, something
about the Queen's term, it's been 50 years since the last one, It's
also World Cup, which of course is a HUGE deal around here. Soccer
jerseys and team flags everywhere. I'm going to try and get out
to Brighton. I hear it's nice. They call it "London by the Sea".
Well, I've got some pictures up finally. You should be able to view
them here:
http://www.forreststudios.com/travelgallery/
Most of the pictures are from England, cause all my Nepal, and most
of my Thailand pictures are on Eric's laptop. So it's a small sampling.
I tried to include a bunch with me in them in case y'all forgot
what I look like. They are in no particular order. Just like my
journey. Maybe France in a week.
Till next time friends....
Tell your mother you love her,
Finish your chores,
Then go outside and play.
+jesiah