Friday, July 2

How about an update on the week? 

Bangkok pigeons

Work was much less aggravating this week than last. All us foreign Kindergarten teachers finished our worksheets and videos by the end of the day Tuesday, and we spent all day Wednesday cutting out pictures of animals for the kids' worksheet packets. Then the school told us we could "work from home" Thursday and Friday, which really meant we got those two days off! And I got a paycheck on June 30 for the first time in many months, which means I can finally stop chipping (hacking?) away at my savings.

I also took a trip to Immigration on Tuesday morning, to start the process of getting my Non-Immigrant Visa (once I get that, I can then start the process of getting my work permit). I went with Ms. Rundon from TCS, per usual, and everything seemed to go as planned...and at the end of the visit, they told us we have to return to Immigration in two weeks to get the actual documents we need. Again, per usual.

My school also resumed serving lunch, which is nice (though I do sort of wonder why they require the kitchen staff to come in as Covid numbers continue to rise). But the food is great and generally includes a lot of vegetables—and I always appreciate a well-made and free lunch. I snapped a couple pictures.

This lunch isn't from school, but from a cart near the Phloen Chit BTS.

And this is a spicy vegetable omelet (on rice) from a cart on our street.

I don't think I've told you about Bangkok Baking Company? It's a very fancy bakery just down the street from where we live that serves French patisserie, viennoiserie, and...what's the catch-all term for French breads? I don't think it's boulangerie...pain? I have no idea. Anyway, it's not cheap—small cakes are just under $5 each (Roman just made fun of me for calling $5 for a small cake "not cheap" but, c'mon, it's usually about $1.50 for a whole meal on the street here)...but, starting at 5:45pm, everything at the bakery is half price.

Usually the selection is limited and we choose from one or two nice-looking cakes, but on Tuesday it rained and when we stopped by around 6:30pm, there was still an abundance of items to choose from. We bought a chocolate hazelnut cake, a loaf of French bread with a poppy seed crust, and various viennoiserie—a tiramisu brioche, an almond croissant, an apple tart, and a blueberry Danish pastry.

The chocolate hazelnut cake, cut in two

A couple things around the house came together, too—the last items for our bedding finally arrived, so we were able to put our bed together.

And I finally thought to hide away our big, unused TV and put some newly-repotted plants in its place.

Restrictions in Bangkok have tightened again as Covid case numbers continue to rise. Restaurants are closed for the month of July, gatherings of more than 20 people have been banned, and construction site camps have been shut down. Kids won’t return to school until August at the earliest. We’re disappointed—especially about the restaurants, but it’s of course understandable. 

I was able to go rock climbing with Jo on Wednesday, I'm guessing because it's a big open gym with wide open windows (which means no AC!).

It was my first time rock climbing, and it was intense. Jo has done it many times, and she darted up the walls like a monkey, but on my first attempt I couldn't figure out how to make my way up the wall and I got into my head and thought, I'm not going to be able to do this. But it quickly got easier, and once I climbed my first course to the top, and then dropped back down (!) I felt totally exhilarated—shaky from the effort and the rush of adrenaline, but pretty thrilled that I'd managed it.

We took turns belaying each other, and climbed the different courses until we were both shaky from the effort, sweating, and exhausted. At the end, I tried doing some of the simple bouldering I had managed at the start of the afternoon, and couldn't even manage that! My hands and muscles were like, No.

Anyway, if that all sounds like gibberish to you, I didn't understand what any of those words meant 24 hours ago either (and I'm probably getting the terms I did use wrong). But! It was a cool thing to try. 

Then on Friday, to celebrate the weekend, Roman and I had pizza for the first time since arrived in Thailand. While we waited for the pizza to arrive, a storm suddenly blew in.

While we felt for the poor motorcycle delivery guy, the pizza—from a place recommended by my coworkers—was delicious.

After dinner, as we lounged on the couch, the sun came out again and the storm ended.

Just in time for a night swim.