Weekend Fun

I have been filling my weekends with lots of fun and exciting things. Sometimes I have to be careful to not overcommit because there is so much happening all the time!

The past few weekends I have started meeting up with a group of expats from all over the world - London, South Africa, Germany, USA, Kenya, Lebanon, and more. I even met someone else who was living in Thailand for a few years and got to reminisce with them about it, we even shared some of our Thai language which really made my heart happy! People are here for all sorts of reasons and for all lengths of time. Is it nice to meet other expats that arent part of school to remember that life exists outside of the people I see literally every day!

Last night I went to the US compound beside school and participated in a trivia night a friend was hosting. Our group of teachers came in 2nd place which was our goal, because first place had to host the next time!! My love of TV was helpful in the final round, which was my only contribution. I am terrible at trivia but I like doing it and being around the people.

Then I met up with a group of people at a new restaurant called Junkyard. It was really hipster and trendy and very chill. Its an outdoor garden type place that I definitely want to return to without a giant group! 

Last weekend was a co-workers birthday so they hosted a big birthday bash and then we went out to a club that a parent invited me to... its weird to socialize so much with parents but they really love the support. Its a new area for me to have parents buy me a drink but you gotta work with the cultures, right! Just to be clear, this parent and his wife were opening this new bar so they were trying to get more business by inviting me and asking me to bring friends, which I did!

My friend Amy who is the Athletic Director at my school!

We had just a bit of fun!

 I have also been participating in new things that I normally wouldnt do!  On Friday the school hosted a Hungarian Percussion Group called Talmaba. They were SO good.  After they performed a bit, they did a few songs with the school band so it was fun. I was really glad that I stayed after a long day at work for the concert.  It was a great way to end the week.

I have also played softball a few times in effort to do new things. I am terrible at it but enjoy being with new people and being outside. We play at school against US Embassy people. Some of the people can be a bit intense, but they are generally pretty welcoming to newbies like myself. 

I love that there is so many options for things to do on the weekends and people who are willing to have tag alongs and share what is happening. The school has done a good job of setting us up with community and helping us feel welcomed. I am so thankful for that. Even though there are times when I feel like I dont belong, I look at my photos and think about all the things I am doing and realize I am busy, I am active, and I am loving my time here!

Im more honest with my students

I found myself being more honest this week with my students than I am with my own friends or people in my life.

Its a realization that really struck me and I had to think about.

As a teacher, it is good that I am being honest with them. At least I am being honest with them and not making the world look better than it is.  But I have the feeling that really I am being more honest with them because I know it wont go anywhere. I know they wont hold me accountable or question me or challenge me.  I know they wont judge me or think Im silly. BUT they also wont encourage me or befriend me or keep me sane.

Yesterday I read a story to them about a kid who moved away and was really sad.  Then we discussed how moving away can be hard and people need time to adjust to new things. That they may not want to be friends right away but that you should keep trying because they might at some point. I challenged them to keep encouraging new people and if they are new to not feel sad for too long when you miss your friends from other places.

As I sent them off to recess, I had to stop and reflect about how much of what I was just saying was true for me. I think I needed to hear my speech more than they did! Transition is hard. Especially when so many things change at once. But I cant give up. And I cant blame others when I am feeling lonely.

These feelings lead me to my conversation today. We were talking about special people in our lives and stories that we could share about these special people. I decided to tell my students about my Gramps.  He passed away on Friday and it has made me very sad.  But what has made me more sad, I think, is that I had told 3 people about it. I needed to share these stories so I told them. But it felt so nice to talk about it that I realized I need to open up with people more. I need to be willing to share about me.

So that was my task this week. To share more of myself with the people that I am living life with, to reach out to people more.  It is not something that comes naturally for me, but it is something that makes me feel better, more connected, more alive. Sometimes it didnt go as I planned, I messed up my words, I overshared, or even worse those who I thought were trusted safe people went and shared my feelings with others, but all of that is life and I will be okay.  I just need to stop sheltering myself so much and allowing other people into my life too.  It will take time, it wont be easy, but it is a vital piece for my sanity, contentment, and joy in life and so it must be done!