I nearly lost my way.....

I just got back from Thailand immigration. My non-immigrant visa suppose to end yesterday Ausust 17. I was told by our school to just go to the immigration and show the document which came from the ministry of education and I can extend my visa, but things didn't work out just what they told me. I went at Thailand Immigration last Monday, but to my surprise, they need 10 requirements! What only I had was that one document they gave me. So I need to go back to ask some of the requirements which are from school files. I can't make it to go back since it's already 2pm when I arrived at school. The next day I went back together with ajarn Suthep. Thanks to ajarn for his company. We only spent 20 minutes in the immigaration. But when I was there, it took me so long to explain about the documents I have with me. They can't speak English and could hardly understand English . That's why I spent 30-45 minutes. One thing more was that I need to go back again the next day since I do lack another one document. The immigration told me that I need to pass the letter of recommendation from our school's director, for me to extend one month instead of 14 days only. So that was it. I did it today, my visa was still stamped to expire on August 31, but I still need to go back on 31st for them to stamp it to another 14 days extension that will be on September 16...

Today, I ride by bus. I got lost my way going at immigration. Here in Bangkok, it's hard to ask somebody if you speak English to them. They can't understand. I tried to ask vendors, professionals, even college students who were also in queue waiting for bus, they can't understand English...I need to ask at least 10-15 person just to spot one who can speak English. Today, I met a student and she can understand me and tried to ask a vendor translated in thai on what I'm asking about what bus can I ride going Soi Suan Plu. Unfortunately, I thought the bus she told me was going to the immigration but I ride in a wrong bus! I ended at Hua Lumphong! That was the Bangkok Rail Station! That's far away from the immigration! But since I was there, I just take the opportunity to ask the information . Thanks, somebody can speak and can understand English, of course she's a receptionist! Thanks to her she gave me what I need. She gave me the schedule of train going to Malaysia. I need to ask for it because Bing-bing have plans to go to Malaysia to process her non-immigrant visa. Going out from the station, again, the taxi drivers can't understand English...so I decided to ride by bus. Again, I ride on the same bus the same driver who sent me to Hua Lumphong! I need to go near immigration and ride in a taxi. But the driver and her assistant can't understand. You know what? Eventhough they can't understnd me, they are very much willing to help. The driver's assistant tried to talk and talk and I tried to speak thai to her too. Until one passenger came in and thanks she can speak! So I ride in a taxi and gave the note written in thai (Thailand Immigration, Soi Suan Plu). The thing is, the golden rule here in Thailand, "learn to speak thai so that thai people can understand you better".

I nearly lost my way going to immigration...nearly lost my visa expiration...nearly lost my mind on how to deal talking with thai people (thai people are very helpful eventhough they can't understand you)...nearly lost my money that I save (I have to pay 1900baht for visa extension fee, my bus fare, my taxi fare)...

I nearly lost my way....but I got an adventure out of it....

I got carried away.......

My first time to see how Thai celebrate Mother's Day...Ajarn Suthep told me that all schools in Thailand celebrate Mother's day...It's a very special day I guess since it's Thailand's Queen birthday too...You know what? Last Thursday, we celebrated Mother's Day day in our school....we have a program and there's part where students gave their hand made cards for their mothers...I got carried away with the students who's crying, giving hugs and kisses to their parents....I missed nanay very much....I wanted to hug and kiss her too that day....I remember all those things she did to me I recalled all those scenes (since birth until I grow up)....how am I being brought up with best care nanay can give...I just cant' believe myself that I'm here now at La Salle College of Bangkok, Thailand teaching...I'm a teacher!.....I guess she's happy for me too of who I am now...I'm earning now all those things she gave with love, care prayers etc..."Nay, thank you very much and I love you very much".....If only she's near to me that day.....I wanted to hold her and kiss and hug her tightly....I just can't help myself but to cry that day and Im crying too even up to now while doing this blog.

thank you Lord for my everyday and for everything.....

Me, lala and bing-bing go out sometimes after our work, especially at night...we ride in a motorcycle, where lala is our driver...it's her bike...she rides with it going in her school...so thus we do to go out at night and ride with it too.....like going to the inet cafe surf the net like, watch to gma7 news, make my blog, eat dinner at bangkok's turo-turo and eat their famous "kaopat"...sometimes we eat at kfc, mcdonalds, central city bangna etc...we window shop, or buy groceries, shoes etc., watch movies... you know what?.....sometimes, the three of us pass in a u turn fly over going to central city!...we did it I guess around 4 times already!...and in going home, we have to pass in a highway and speeds up to 70-80 km/hr!...sometimes I'm scared...oh no! not only sometimes, but it's all the time when we had that speed!...but maybe or hope later, I'll get used of it too...

......it's nice to have this way of living here in bangkok that the three of us are together and with our cousin smile too!...I never had imagined it that me and bing-bing are in the same school teaching, and that lala teach just near in our school too...and that smile who's quite far from us, whom we miss her too..since she's not with us sometimes....lala have to travel with her bike 10-15 minutes....

.....I love to live here....but as of now, I still don't know what will happen next.....all I know is that I'm happy everyday....very happy that God give me my everyday blessings...I'm happy for my everyday......my family, my friends, my career and my lovelife too...thank you Lord for my everyday and for everything.....

photo no 1 at la salle college campus

that was the garden of la sallian brothers...we had a chance to take pictures, since it's saturday...no people around...actually we have plan to go swimming, but the swimming pool's closed...so we just roam around the campus and take pictures...bing2 was running to be with us...lucky her that she made it...smile was saying..."dali i na, kay makatul diri...kapoy magpose dri pro"...hehehe...that's why you can see the big smile in our face...(bing2, lala, smile and me...from left to right)

photo no.2

wala lang...we're just amazed by the big last supper picture...we had our own pose with matching pointing on each other's head...just like apostles were doing on the picture...(me, lala, bing2 nad orlan)

photo no.3

thebackground at the back, is the high school building and on the right side of the picture is our aviary...sayang, our background is not enough...hehehe...the one who take picture for us is orlan...obviously he's not there...hehehe...(me, lala, smile and bing2)

photo no. 4

we have to pose another one, to replace the one who take the picture for us...hehehe..bing2's not in the picture...(smile, orlan, lala and me...from left to right)

photo no. 5

we're running in that picture...pushing and pulling each other, running to pose in front...

my busy week

Obviously I'm not in the picture...I was the one standing in front of them, holding a camera...hehehe...that's the la salle football field....

that's our swimming pool...only five of us occupied the pool...we're suppose to take more pictures on that pool...like posing solo...with our suit.......hehehe...maayo lang we run out of battery....hehehe...

our background is our dorm...our school call it as la salle teacher's village...only la salle teachers can occupy that place...we live somewhere on the second flooor in front of the left side terrace...sometimes when smile and orlan's with us, we stay on the terrace and we eat our breakfast, lunch or dinner...on our left and right side, there are other two floor buildings too...I really love the place..it's a very cozy place..

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

I was worried about the news last Friday about the processing of my work permit. There’s problem about my papers. I do lack one requirement, since I’m a Filipino, the ministry of education needs a proof that my subjects were taught in English (eventhough it’s all clear, as it appears in my official transcript of records, that it was all written in English!). Last Friday morning, I gave my certification came from Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Philippines, that I’m a registered and a license secondary teacher and I also gave a photocopy of my (Professional Regulation Commission) PRC ID…I went back in the afternoon to Master Surakit, he was the one who process my work permit, but he was not around that day.


Wednesday July 27, 2005

I met Brother Peter our school director. He told me about the news that my certification was not accepted. I was getting more worried about it. What made me worried was that, I’ll have to take a TOEFL (it’s an examination for Teaching On Foreign English Language) Examination it costs about $200..It’s about 8000baht! One thing more was that I need to go back to Malaysia to get a new non “B” visa again, since my visa will expire on August 17 2005…I heard about the release of TOEfL Examination will take 6months to 1 year!..so that made my problem worsen!.. . I told brother director if that will happen I’ll have to find another school since I can’t afford the expenses I’ll have to pay…If the school will help me to pay those expenses I’m still willing to stay in la salle…so thus, he told me that It’s alright, they will handle all my expenses but the examination fee only! Thanks to my sister lala, about what she told me last week on what to say if ever my certification won’t be accepted…thanks very much la! I thank God too, for He really heard my prayers… I still have one problem , I still need to go back to Malaysia…What I did was to make an affidavit and be notarized it, at Philippine embassy about those subjects from my transcript of records should be confirmed that it was all taught in English and that I can teach English!…So I made an affidavit and asked brother if the affidavit I made, will be approved in Philippine Embassy, he won’t pay my examination and I won’t come back to Malaysia to pay another expenses for my non “B” visa. HE told me that don’t worry about my visa for they will finance it too! Surprised to hear it! Still I insist that if my affidavit won’t work, I will take the exams and go back to Malaysia. So, I made an affidavit ready for next day, going to Philippine embassy.


Thursday, July 28, 2005

I’m absent in my class. Anyway it’s two days examination, I don’t need to teach. So I went At Philippine embassy. Thanks God that it was notarized! I paid 1,125baht for notarization only! After which, I roam around, in short window shop at Emporium shopping mall. It's one of the mall in Bangkok where most elite people go shop. I went back and stop by at Central City shopping mall at Bangna, which just near from our school. I window shop again…hehehe…I called lala since I know that time she will be on her way home and ask her if she can go with me to buy our monthly grocery needs…she told me that we’ll do the grocery later after she already bought her school shoes. We spent an hour to find one! It’s a 2,200baht shoes but since it’s on sale we bought it 380 baht only!!!…See, that’s just how she could find a worth shoes for herself…I can’t do that!…


Friday, July 29, 2005

I passed the notarized affidavit and prayed for it, hoping it will be approved by the ministry of education…while waiting for the result, I called nanay (Philippines)…I talked to her about my problem. I missed nanay very much that’s why I called her. I told her too about our whereabouts here in Bangkok, together with lala, bing2, smile and all of us out here…my sisters too, nenen, jie-jie and kuya boyet, lola, lolo, my aunts and uncles friends, and everybody, I missed you all out there in Philippines! Hope tomorrow, it’s April….
Anyway,we checked examination papers, whole day. In the afternoon, I got the result…couldn’t wait to give the news to nanay and to everybody…it was approved! Great! Thanks to God!….again he did heard my prayers!…

In the evening we went to smile’s flat..she had a party…it’s the blessing of her flat that day…we did take pictures again…we drink a little…we sleep at about 12am..


Saturday, July 30, 2005

I need to go back since I have a special class in our school. At around 1:30pm, I was surprised that lala called telling me that she will buy a washing machine! at long last we had it…she bought it together with smile…so thus, we’re together again here in our dorm…all of her foods left last night…they brought it here…we’re happy together…take pictures around our school campus..our dorm is inside our school…in the evening we shop at lotus shopping mall..they are on big sale!…me, lala, bing2, smile and orlan each one of us, had a pick …we even take pictures again at the mall!…it’s fun that we all are together again!…hope next weekend we’ll be together again…


Sunday, July 31, 2005

We went to hear mass at 9:45am…after the mass we went home and have lunch together…lala made a leche flan…yum yum…smile bought a kare-kare…there’s a Filipino who sell Filipino foods here…that’s why we have kare-kare….at around 630pm we went to swim in our school's swimmng pool. we take pictures, we played "lagsanay"..bing2 and smile was always the "taya" and me...hehehe..the three of us don't know how to swim....hehehe...instead of swimming we run...hahaha!...in short we walk...hahaha...to touch somebody on who'll be the next "taya".. Isn't that great! eventhough we don't know how to swim we're trying hard to learn...hehehe...it's just that, we are spending quality time... my whole week has been very busy …sorry it's a very long story for you to read...lala told me to write it short...but I can't help myself to tell everything....actually it's still short for me...hehehe...

So that was it…my whole busy week….