(Firstly, I’d like to apologize for the lack of updates, internet is now less accessible and lesson planning has been keeping me quite busy, but I will still do my best to keep the updates coming!)
So it’s official been over a month since we’ve been here. As many travel experiences go, it feels like we just got to Yangon yesterday but somehow at the same time feels like we've been here forever. Before things really kick into gear, I thought I’d give everyone a little overview of what our time has been like here so far. So here are some highlights and lowlights for ya!
The first full day we arrived was jam packed and one of the most memorable days. Me and four of the other participants wandered through some nearby parks, visited a small temple a block from our apartment, ventured to the grocery store, and hit up Chinatown for the New Year celebration. We ate at the first Yangon street side restaurant, sitting in small plastic chairs made for four year olds (and used the first restaurant bathroom, which was not a pleasant experience). On the way back home, we got disastrously lost. We hadn’t yet learned the name of our neighborhood so the closest thing we could get a cab driver to understand was Shwedagon pagoda. This isn’t actually that far from our apartment, but we took one wrong turn and ended up walking and extra three miles on a long, long trek to find our way back. Completely beat by the end of the day, I called it early and caved for western food at a nearby pizza place.
Orientation week started a few days after we arrived. We got to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda (check out pictures here!) and it was incredible. I could circle that thing for hours until the sun sets and not get bored. My favorite part of orientation was the lethwei boxing class. In traditional Myanmar style, we wrapped our wrists and gloved up (is that a real term?) and learned some kick-ass moves. It was exhausting and I’m a little surprised I didn’t pass out. The last day we went to National Races Park which is like a Myanmar version of Epcot where you can visit traditional house replicas from different states and districts around the country. These first few days we also found all our “regulars” – Winstar, the beer station with incredible barbecue and B-grade movies always on in the background, STK, the breakfast place that Anthony Bourdain went to once, and “Mingalabar” which isn’t actually the name of the restaurant but is delicious and confirmed to be very sanitary. Time spent at those places was what really made the first week great and the transition easy.
After a weekend splurging at a hotel pool and a second visit to Shwedagon, we started the TESOL course. This consisted of a jam-packed two weeks filled with lesson planning and lesson planning and learning about different teaching strategies and lesson planning. We practiced presenting for each other a LOT and also got to teach at a nunnery and an orphanage. Definitely learned a lot from the course and we are (hopefully) now ready to be teachers.
The last few days before we started teaching and some people were sent off to their placement towns was filled with a lot of celebrating and splurging to say the least. We celebrated our completion of the TESOL course with many a margarita, hit up the best western restaurant that serves pasta with vodka sauce (my true love), and frequented our favorite bar for a good boogie, 7th joint. The first month was overall pretty swell. The transition was amazingly easy compared to how anxious I felt before heading off and I can confidently say I love being here. I love the people, the packed streets, the weird smells, the unique food, the sweltering weather…I love almost everything. Except the darn roosters that you can still hear 5 floors up. Other than that, in case your were concerned, things are excellent.
Check back soon for an update on my first two weeks of teaching and more pictures!