MEETING MY CLASSMATES

I begin my TEFL certification course on Monday.  Last week, I stopped by the school to pay the balance of my tuition and pick up my course material (seven good-sized books — a lot to cover in the next six weeks — housed in a very nice messenger bag).  While there, I met Paul — the course director — and a fellow student from South Africa who seemed a bit perplexed by what he called the "primitiveness" of Phuket.

Last night, we had a gathering so that all of us classmates could get acquainted.  This meet-and-greet was held at a bar called Footrot Fat's on Nanai Road owned by a New Zealander (it's named after a popular Kiwi cartoon).  There are a dozen or so students in all, only one woman.  The majority are from the UK or Australia, there are three Americans (from New York, Las Vegas, and myself from New Mexico), a Canadian, and several other nationalities.  All seem to be very friendly and outgoing.  It's a good bunch of people and I'm looking forward to starting class tomorrow morning.