Chiang Mai, Elephant Park, Koh Pha Ngan - Take 2!

I'll add to this later, so check back if you're interested, but very quickly (I know, I know, I always say that), here's the rundown of the past week.

Thursday - Phnom Penh --> Bangkok, got in late at night.
Friday - Bangkok - met up with Katy from PEPY group, hung out with her all day, had dinner with a woman she knew who has been working in Phnom Penh for the last 4 years, talked about working in Cambodia. Very interesting.
Saturday - met Gregg at BKK airport, flew to Chiang Mai, did Chiang Mai stuff.
Sunday - Tuesday - went up to Elephant Nature Park, had an amazing time. Lots of changes from last time I was there. The underweight one week old baby with a messed up leg and really unhealthy mother unable to produce her own milk is now a playful 8 month old boy with a happy, healthy mother producing her own milk. Seeing the actual difference ENP has on these elephants really made me appreciate its existence and realize how important it is for these elephants. There are 30 elephants right now, mostly the same ones as last time except for a couple that were on lease that were taken back and an elderly elephant (around 90!) who unfortunately passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was really nice to be able to go back and start at a point beyond "Oh my god, I'm surrounded by elephants!" I paid more attention to the individual elephants and tried to learn their family groups and everything. And the mahouts remembered me! I figured Mongkun and Kopi would, but the other ones did too! That was really cool too. I also helped in the kitchen this time. I cut up tomatoes and some other vegetable I didn't recognize. It was a lot more trying to be helpful and less taking pictures. Saying goodbye this time was the easiest yet. I live here! I'll be back soon!
Wednesday - Chiang Mai --> Bangkok (via Sukkothai, weirdest stopover ever) --> Samui, then a boat to Koh Pha Ngan. We ate dinner while watching Wedding Crashers and then chilled on the beach, meeting some Frenchies and Israelis.

Thursday - Saturday - There's only so much of Haad Rin a sane human being can take, so on Thursday we went to Haad Salad where Lisa (dutch girl from TEFL course) was staying. It was kind of like Mae Haad, but I didn't work at a bar, so not exactly the same. We didn't have time to make it up to Mae Haad, but it just gives me a reason to go back again later. No problem!

Saturday - Samui --> Bangkok --> Discovery Lodge - back here for a night. I just picked up my TEFL certificate. I got an A! YAY!!! I'm really happy. I would have been fine with whatever I got, and I heard from someone that Steve (grader guy) has only given one A in the past 7 years, which I can't imagine is true, but either way, I decided in my head I was probably going to get a B, so getting an A feels damn good.

Speaking of jobs, TEFL, blah blah blah, before I left for Cambodia I emailed the recruiter guy at AUA Chiang Mai to ask if they would be hiring because the website hadn't been updated yet. He said he didn't think so, but I should check back when I got back from Cambodia. I didn't because I decided not to freak out and try to plan the rest of my life while at the Elephant Park or islands, but then he emailed me. Oi. He asked if I was still interested. This totally threw me off. So while Gregg was drinking on the beach at 10am, I worked on my resume and then sent it off to him.

I don't know what to do. I like kids. I like teaching kids. I like not being in cities. But I feel like to find a place that is perfect is going to take forever, and if it's a real school then they only hire at certain times and they only have certain breaks and all that stuff. And as of right now I don't actually have any real experience teaching English, so I should probably just take what I can.

So we'll see what happens. I emailed my resume and said I would call when I got back to Bangkok when my phone had service. But today I called and it rang four times and made the fax machine noise! Ahh!! I emailed him and said I tried calling, it didn't seem to go through right, and he can try calling me if he doesn't hear from me.

Their next term starts the 18th and from what I've picked up, there's a 4 day orientation on the last week of the previous term, which would mean either Monday (4th) or Tuesday (5th), so I don't know how all of this could work out, but it's Thailand and stuff that seems like it shouldn't be able to work out very often does.

So we'll see what happens! But I think this means I'll only stay one night here and then head back to Chiang Mai so if we do talk on the phone, he says cool, then I can be there already. And Bangkok sucks anyway. It's like a billion degrees here right now and I'm living in a parking lot again.

Peace out friends and family! I'll post the pictures I have soon. But they're all pretty similar to the ones from last time, so don't get too excited.

Tonight's Gregg's last night in Thailand so we're going to go to Khao San and find some grasshoppers and tarantulas for him to eat.