#andrewlyon

[bakedmacaronitastes]

[0046]

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

SONGKRAN FESTIVAL 2015

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

Beach photos

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

Songkran Festival

So I’ve told you how amazing Thailand is right? Well let’s add the fact that they have three days in a row where EVERYONE in the entire country stops what they’re doing, and has enormous water fights in the streets all day and night long! The festival is called Songkran, and it’s the Thai New Year. The water represents renewal as we leave the worries and negatives of the previous year behind, and begin the new year fresh and worry-free. 

Now when I say everyone gets involved in Songkran, I literally mean old everyone from old grandmas, to infants, policemen, cab drivers, and of course the Xplore Asia staff and teachers! 

We awoke early on April 13th and set up “home base” at a restaurant with the rest of Xplore Asia. I’m a big proponent of “Doing the thing you’re supposed to do, in the place you’re supposed to do it” so I went all out for Songkran. My armory consisted of one large super-soaker, two pistol side arms, and a backpack water gun just in case of emergency. 

I knew that this day would be awesome, but I never expected it to be this awesome.

Giant tubs line every street full of water as eager Songkran participants await anyone walking or driving past them.

NO ONE IS SAFE DURING SONGKRAN! 

I watched as our CEO stepped into traffic to stop a motorbike driver, and then go on to splash him in the face with a bucket of water. OKAY GAME ON! 

(The cool thing is that nobody gets mad during Songkran. You get hit in the face with ice cold water, “ha ha SONGKRAN!”)

We spent hours running around soaking each other, splashing everyone who passed our restaurant, and even splashing the police as they drove by! 

After lunch we walked into the main part of the city and oh man was I in for a treat. Nothing was dry, water was everywhere, you couldn’t go more than a few steps without either attacking someone with a squirt gun, gettting hit in the face with water, or both! What an amazing day! The Thais also walk around with some sort of powdery-watery substance they put on everyone’s faces. It has something to do with renewal and is a blessing, so we just went with it! (So when you see the pictures you’ll know what is all over our faces too)

As we walked I began to realize that I couldn’t stop smiling. I mean, I’m in the best country in the world, splashing everyone in the face from my own C.E.O to a group of lady-boys to an old granny on a bike! This is the best day ever! I had my friend take a photo of me right then because in all honesty, I’ve never been more happy than at that exact moment in time! 

As we passed block after block of pure water-based bliss, out of nowhere we realized a real live parade had formed around our group. Like, there were signs and floats and everyone was dancing! We got asked to dance with them, ride on the floats, and of course, KEEP SPLASHING! 

Hours later we ended up at one of our favorite bars where of course, Songkran doesn’t stop. INSIDE OF THE BAR, like actually inside of the bar we had a full on squirt gun fight with locals! WHAT IS MY LIFE???

Hours seemed like minutes as I camped out next to a 50 gallon bin of constantly refilled water and just splashed the day away. Nothing is more freeing and refreshing than being in a day long water fight. Nothing. And I think that’s why the Thais have come to embrace this festival so much. 

For years I have made New Year’s resolutions to stop drinking pop, or quit eating 100 slim jims a week, or whatever. So we try and make sure the next year will be better, but what we don’t do is make sure we’ve properly let go of the past. If everyone had a Songkran celebration (not that it’s warm enough to do this in January back home) but if everyone could experience Songkran festival and truly feel the renewal and the blank page that a new year brings, I think we would all be so much happier. 

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

Leaving my shoes behind

Our cultural immersion week or amazing activities is in the books and now it’s time for class! I’m taking a 120 hour TESOL course through Xplore Asia in Hua Hin, Thailand for the next three weeks! After that I will be placed elsewhere in the country for the next year to teach English! 

Everyday the Red team boards the Songtao and goes to school. (A songtao is basically a truck with an extended-open bed with small seats to sit on along the sides. (See photos in next photo post). 

We’re learning at a small school primarily for younger students (middle school and below), but since Thailand is currently on break we can take over the whole third floor for classes. 

I cannot say I enjoy sitting in a desk meant for a child from 9-5, but I can truly say that I’m enjoying the classes, my teacher, and especially my fellow Red team classmates. We make class fun as we learn about TESOL theory, lesson plans, classroom management, how to make teaching fun for you and the students, and most importantly how to actually teach the English language! 

I've been taking full advantage of the close proximity of the beach here with my daily lunch ritual consisting of: buying some sort of street vendor meat, a drink, and heading right to the beach. I eat my $2 meal surrounded by paradise, just looking out at the ships and the ocean, it’s hard not to let all of your worries fade away forever. When I’m done, I instantly being to take photos, make friends with dogs, go shell collecting, and play around with hermit crabs! 

As much as I loved the solidarity of this, the pictures of my lunch ritual began to attract other future teachers and it became a group thing. But hey, the more the merrier right? 

During the months leading up to my journey, people would say things like, “Oh Thailand, I hear that’s dangerous!” Let me make something crystal clear: Thailand is seriously the safest country you could probably ever go to...ever. The Thai way of life, mixed with their deep Buddhist belief system creates a very anti-crime environment. (Girls on this course have said they feel completely safe walking home alone after a night out in Thailand). Things like stealing and muggings are absurdly rare so you can pretty much trust that your stuff will be wherever you left it.

So on one of my first trips to the beach during lunch I took my shoes off and left them at the head of the beach. Now there’s nothing that special about my pair of vans, but they are my only pair of regular shoes I have here and losing them would suck, so I really had to shut out my American mindset that everything you leave unattended will be stolen.

I kicked off my shoes, left my bag behind, and began walking along the beach. 

“Thailand I’m trusting you!” 

As I left my shoes behind I began to think of the other things I've been holding onto in my life that needed to be left behind as well. People from my past who simply don’t belong in my future, mistakes I've made, preconceived notions about my future and what it holds, and the idea that I should do ANYTHING that doesn't make me happy just because someone says I should. I don’t want to spoil Thailand with any of that junk.

As my shoes got further and further out of sight, I began to consciously drop these things behind one by one as well. I’m in Thailand, I’m starting something completely new, something unlike anything I have ever known, so I’m not going to let anything mess this amazing opportunity up!

Mai Pen Rai right? :) 

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

Photos from Week one in Thailand 

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

Week One! Hua Hin, Thailand!

I'm writing this blog post as I sit in a lawn chair next to a pool. It's 80 degrees with a wonderful breeze, and I just ordered a plate of fried rice with pork for the equivalent of one US dollar. I love Thailand. 

I said my goodbyes last week and boarded a plane from Chicago to LA, LA to Taipei, Taiwan, and finally from Taipei to Bangkok. My first week in Thailand has been absolutely amazing! Wait, let me make sure I emphasize this appropriately...THAILAND IS THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE I AM MEANT TO BE! Within the first seven days I was blessed by a Buddhist monk, ate the juiciest, freshest, and sweetest pineapples of my life during a pineapple plantation tour, took a selfie with an elephant, fed said elephant pineapple after pineapple, designed and painted my own henna tattoo, and spent many a night on the beach drinking $1 beers with my new friends from around the world. Yeah, life is pretty darn good!

Within the Xplore Asia TESOL (Teach English as a Second Language) group for the month of April, there are roughly 70 future teachers divided into three color-coded teams. I am a proud member of the Red team along with 22 other wonderful individuals from all over the world. From Canada, to the States, New Zealand, and especially South Africa, our team is extremely diverse. The accents you’ll hear, and the absurd way some "English" speakers pronounce certain words keeps me laughing on a daily basis. We're a big group of down to Earth people who quite rapidly are becoming a close-knit family...I don't look forward to the day we have to say our goodbyes...:(  "Okay Andrew, you love Thailand we get that, but why?" Good question! I'm glad you asked! Thailand is more amazing and enchanting than anywhere else I have ever been in the world. The Thai people have developed this way of life that is utopia-esc in nature. Everyone, and I mean everyone here prioritizes social harmony over everything else. They will go above and beyond to constantly maintain this peaceful, relaxing society they've created too, and honestly it's not even that complex. It really just comes down to the Thai philosophy of "Mai Pen Rai", basically "no worries," or "Don't sweat the small stuff." 

In the USA, we will yell, fight, and/or sue someone over just about any little thing. Anytime something doesn't go our way we instantly look to "correct" it, usually in the form of blaming someone else and escalating the conflict. It's a very stressful way to live your life. "You messed up so I am going to scream at you to let you know that you messed up!!!!!" -Typical American  How ridiculous. I have never once heard a Thai yell or even raise their voice. It just wouldn't happen. Thais know that plans don't always work out, their plan is to go with the flow and to have no real plan. Now this doesn't mean that they aren't ambitious or have no goals, Thais just simply don't sweat the small stuff, and the result of that is absolute bliss. Plans don't work out...Mai Pen Rai...someone cuts you off in traffic...Mai Pen Rai...You get bit by a spider one of your first days in Thailand and your ankle swells up so much it looks like you have half a baseball on your foot?...Mai Pen Rai...(True story by the way...see next photo post)  I have never been less stressed out and more relaxed than I am here in Thailand. Despite not knowing where I will be in this country a month from now, what grades I'll be teaching, if I will be completely alone, or even if I will be a successful teacher...I'm just not worried because that's not what you do in Thailand. Everything is so peaceful here, and that's why I've already fallen head over heels in love with this country! And I haven't even mentioned things like the best Thai food you've ever eaten for well under $2 a meal, the fact that my housing for a month (air conditioning, wifi, my own bathroom, tv, a pool, balcony, and a restaurant on site) is $200 total, that I get to wear shorts and a tank top every day and can walk to the beach to my heart's desire, or that for the first time in a long time my life is actually exciting again! Everyday something new, everyday a new adventure, a new place to explore, a new food to try, a new person to meet! So when you add all these wonderful things together, the only rational conclusion to come to is that I am in the most amazing place on the planet, surrounded by some of the best people in the world, and I am literally in love with my life again! -Until next time, Andrew Lyon

[andrewlyonthailand-blog]

To Thailand!

Hello world! 

I'd have to assume that if you're reading this blog you probably already know me, but on the outside chance you don't, let me introduce myself: My name is Andrew Lyon, I'm 23 years old, from Maquoketa, Iowa, and last May I graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA with my Bachelors degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. (That's me in the photo below, pretty cool guy huh?)

I'm starting this blog to document my time as an English teacher in Thailand for the next 13 months! (longer???)

Like many of my recently graduated peers, graduation day came and went, and despite EVERYONE and their mother asking me the worst question known to mankind, "What are you going to do now?" ...I still found myself having no real idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. (SERIOUSLY don't ask second-semester Seniors that question! It is not okay, and could easily cause a very public mental breakdown of said Senior!)

Much to my dismay, I found out that it is frowned upon to joblessly lay on the beach and eat hot dogs all day, so I got a job as a "Financial Roofing Consultant" for a home improvement company in Baltimore, MD. --Because that is what you're supposed to do after college,

GET A JOB!

Determined to make it in the "real world", I gave being an adult a try. I'd wake up early, sit in traffic to get to work, devote eight hours of my life a day sitting at work, sit in traffic to get home, and then sit at home and watch netflix...and repeat.

So this is it! Living the dream!...Right?...right?...

Don't get me wrong, this lifestyle is incredibly responsible and certainly pays the bills, it just wasn't what I expected...at all.

The monotony of repeating the same tasks over and over just got to me. I'd stare at the clock hoping, wishing that somehow it would accelerate similar to post-graduate pant sizes and receding hairlines.

The taste of life had gone dull. Life wasn't exciting anymore. I became a shadow of who I was in college. I felt like a wild animal that had found itself behind bars at a zoo. I hated it.

For the first time in my life I felt truly miserable.

Soon my transformation from human-to-zombie was complete. I'd move around, follow orders, complete tasks, and collect paychecks. But inside I was dead. Despite making more money than ever before, my life was at its lowest point.

Six months into the "real world", I found myself newly single. Now this is a perfectly acceptable time to wallow in your heartbreak, eat lots of ice cream, cry, and listen to John Mayer, there's nothing wrong with that. But it can also be seen as an opportunity. An opportunity for something new, something completely new...anything, just get me out of here!

So in mid-November, virtually broke, I quit my job and moved back home to Iowa to live with my parents. (Every parent's dream is to have their 23 year old son move back in right?) But before you judge me too harshly, I had a plan. Well, "plan" might be giving it too much credit. Some might call it an unorganized jumble of half-thought-out ideas, but I'll stick with calling it a plan.

Three big things came out of my time out East:

1) That I stink at trying to control my entire life on my own, and it was time to let God lead me in my next steps.

2) That never again will I prioritize "following societies' rules" over my own happiness.

Seriously how dumb is that?

3) And lastly, I made a promise to myself that I would celebrate my 24th birthday abroad.

I didn't want to just go to the Bahamas for a long birthday weekend either, (as wonderful as that actually sounds), I wanted the real deal. A true adventure!

I want to wake up on the other side of the world, hear languages I don't understand, see, smell, taste, and experience news things, and be so far outside of my comfort zone I can't even see it anymore.

I honestly just wanted to LIVE again!

So I prayed for guidance in my next step, and after a few weeks back home several different “possibilities" emerged as front-runners. 

(My poor parents...their son moves back home with limited details as to why, says he doesn't want to start his "career" yet, and every week says he's moving to a different country to do something outlandish) 

(I love you both, thank you for putting up with me!!!!)

But as more research forced some options to become less viable, I stopped trying to implement my own ideas and I fully surrendered this process to the Big guy upstairs. All of a sudden my mess of a plan became quite clear and organized: Teach English in Thailand.

So I began researching different companies and blogs about teaching English in Thailand. One of my initial searches lead me to a blog about a girl who did just that through a company called "Xplore Asia". She spoke highly about them, so I simply "Requested Information" on their company page, not really expecting much. The very next day I had an email from an Xplore Asia coordinator who was extremely excited to speak with me.

"Andrew, I looked you up on LinkedIn and our C.E.O went to George Mason too! When are you available to Skype??"

After my interview I was absolutely sold. This was it. This was exactly what I needed and desired to do next with my life. 

I was going to be an English teacher in Thailand!

The only issue was that the ideal certification course began on March 29th. Now between the program fees, certification costs, Visas, documents, and airfare, I would need to come up with over $4,000 to cover it all, not to mention spending money for the month-long course.

So I would need to make at least $5,000 over the next 90 days.

...Ready....Set...Go!

What I would need:

Two jobs: Two part-time jobs that could total at least 60 hours a week.

(Knowing I was leaving within a few months, I didn't think that applying for full-time office jobs would be the right way to go, despite the potential higher wages. Plus this town is mostly full of part-time jobs anyways.)

If I worked 60 hours a week, for the next 12 weeks, then on paper, I would be able to acquire enough money in time!

Rules: If I was going to properly execute this plan I would need a few rules for myself to ensure success.

#1)

Cut out ALL excess spending. (Yes Andrew, ALL of it)

No alcohol -Easier than you'd think with the social life of someone working 60 hour weeks.

No eating out (I bet taco johns will miss me)

No shopping

No candy :(

$20/every two weeks for gas

$100 monthly phone bill

One pop a week at work (because come on!)

Cancel Netflix immediately

Same goes for your precious Spotify Premium account

 (NOT THE Netflix, ANYTHING BUT THE NETFLIX!) 

[Brief insight into my life: I absolutely LOVE to spend money! It doesn't even have to be on myself, just the act of utilizing the currency I've acquired is what I love. If I had $1 for every time my dad has told me, "You're going to burn a hole in your pocket" I could have bought a first-class ticket to Thailand.]

...So basically this was going to be extremely difficult.

But hey, there is was, a plan! If I did all of these things I could literally make my dream come true! It would be tight, and by the skin of my teeth, but I could make it to Thailand!

I got two jobs within a week or so of solidifying my plan. The first was a "Second Shift Team Leader" at a local warehouse. This glorified title turned out to really mean "King of the Janitors" as the only "team" I would be "leading" were the janitors, and by "lead" I mean being a janitor right along with them.

The second job was "Pizza Maker Extraordinaire" at the infamous Casey's West Pizza in town. (This job actually ruled and to date is the best job I've ever had in terms of actually enjoying my job goes).

So there I was, a degree holder from a pretty darn good University who has found himself as a Janitor and a Pizza King. (Go ahead and swallow any pride you had left Andrew)

But I was no normal Janitor and Pizza King, I was a janitor and Pizza King with a BIG goal! 

Only 720 hours of dirty toilets and tasty pizzas stood in between me and Thailand. (Be careful not to mix that up with tasty toilets and dirty pizzas btw.)

Every so often you hear a story on the news about a human doing something  that is normally impossible, but faced with extreme adversity, they were able to do it... Like a lady lifting an oak tree off of her pinned-down boyfriend, a shipwrecked passenger surviving in the middle of the ocean for weeks with no food, or me working 60 hour weeks, abiding by all of my rules, and even working over 50 straight days without a single day off!!!

During this time I learned to say no to impulse buys and unnecessary spending. I could finally go to Walmart for shampoo and not walk out with 5 boxes of Slim Jims and a cat t-shirt. With Thailand constantly on my mind I got through those long days. I took extra shifts, worked late, dealt with rude pizza enthusiasts, applied more and more duct tape to hold my shoes together, and wouldn't you know it, I made it! All of a sudden I was putting my two weeks in at both jobs, saying my goodbyes, and Thailand was right around the corner!

I leave for the journey of a lifetime on Friday, March 27th, 2015! I could not be more proud of myself for setting out to make something happen, and actually doing it! My emotions are a giant mess of happiness, extreme fright, nervousness, but mainly just excitement! The world is at my fingertips, and I'm going to go live life to the fullest!!