New Zealand!

Goooood Day Mate! You alright?



New Zealand eh? Arrived in Auckland May 2nd, uneventful flight. Stayed at Base Hostel, clean, safe and pretty central downtown Auckland. If you check out the map below, Auckland is in the North Island. The biggest city in New Zealand but not the capital. The capital is Wellington. Auckland has so many book stores filled with English books, endless food options including Japanese, Indian, THAI, bagels, burritos, kebabs etc. Just phenomenal. Everyone understands me when I speak to them and there are hundreds of different beers to drink. New Zealanders are very friendly and hospitable. Went out a few nights and every night someone comes up to talk to me because they see I'm alone and invites me into their group. My Maybelline eyelashes might have something to do with that too though. Enjoying it so far, even the rainy/mild weather. Love not working. It is crazy expensive. $30 for a movie; are you kidding? Went to an art gallery, took some pictures but can't find my little cord to upload them, will hopefully do that soon. Got to Queenstown today, raining, checked into my hostel, Adventure Queenstown.  Organized, clean, safe and has cool people around. If it wasn't for the internet showing me the best places to stay, trips like these would be much more difficult.

Looked at getting a roommate in Queenstown, looked into buying snowboarding gear. Can you guess if that will be cheap or expensive? Nothing crazy has happened, just enjoying not being different and understanding everything around me. Oh, and what sort of surprised me is the amount of Asians that live in Auckland. I love it! I guess they go there to study and end up staying. Was a welcome surprise. 
Have a job interview on the 17th in the North Island and should have a few more by the end of this week. Will also look into getting a second job so that I don't die starving on the street in this place. The time difference is big and I still don't understand it. Right now it is 12 am, Monday morning. So in Ottawa it is 8 am Sunday morning. I think of it as I'm 8 hours ahead, minus a day. Thanks for staying tuned in, should have a tale or two to come in the coming weeks, enjoy your summer!

“You are what you think about all day long.” Robert 

Schuller

Quick thoughts on Singapore

First, I'm still alive. Yaaaaaayyyyy! Got to Hat Yai okay, got on a bus to KL, then an overnight bus to Singapore, spent the day in the Singapore airport. Got stopped at the Singapore border for having Mr. Johnny Langer with me. Thought I was in big trouble. When a Singapore border agent asks you to step into the office, you consider running. 

Border agent "How much does this bottle of whiskey cost?"

Me "About $3". Took pity on my obvious lack of wealth and let me go. Conclusions I have come up with about Singaporeans. They love to party. I got there around 6 am this morning. There were still a good amount of people out, after bar eating and debauchery. It was TUESDAY morning people!! What recession? If I knew that I might have come a day earlier but I'm not made of money.

Second interesting timbit is throughout my 11 hour stay in the airport, I saw tons of junior and high school kids hanging out and studying. As I was sitting down to eat my first Carl's Jr. Burger, I asked one of the kids why they do this. "Different than studying at home" he said. Kids take a 10 to 30 minute journey to get to the airport...to study..........together...................at the airport!. Kids today and their airports. Waiting to get on a flight that hopefully lands safely in Auckland May 2nd. Enjoy your day everyone!


"Quack, Quack" 

T-minus 5 days

It's coming to about that time. Thailand out, New Zealand in. Leave on Monday for Hat Yai. Spend the night there, then a bus to Singapore on Tuesday then a flight to Auckland on May 1st. Finished teaching today, finished (hopefully) buying all the last minute little things I think I need. Had lunch with Orry, my first Thai friend and her super cute daughter yesterday. She helped me so much when I first got here, can speak amazing English and made my stay in Nakhon considerably better. 

 If I wasn't such a tough guy, I would have cried after they left. I didn't, because...I'm tough...

I came across a to-do list I made before leaving Canada. Had about twenty things on it and only 2 went incomplete. One was to go to the floating market. I didn't do that because it is super touristy, bit of a trek to get to, and is not an excursion people rave about. Definitely okay with not doing it. The second was get and maintain a tan. I'm worried about the sun, it scares me, so I try and stay a safe distance from it in most cases. 

(speaking of the sun, watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fs5yI8K9I) 

Other than that, mission accomplished. Which brings us to now and the upcoming months. If you have been following me from the beginning, please shoot me a Facebook message or e-mail me to let me know what you think. Even if just to say I suck, I would appreciate it, don't get much feedback and would love some. Not sure if I want to change the name of it, go to a different format and possibly put more work into it. Also, I've noticed that people I don't know read what I write for some reason and that fascinates me. Specifically some people who live in Russia and Germany. Who are you and what make you stay? Fascinating. I can only guess you look like all the other Russian girls.

Flying from Singapore on May 1st, apparently a super nice airport with tons of free things to do. Will let you know about that. Feeling that moving on is the right thing to do, if I didn't have a girlfriend it would be incredibly easy. My last post dealt with my goodbyes and my opposition to them. I may have done an airport goodbye the other night to one of my good friends. I'm a hypocrite and I'm sorry. Lesson: Make sure your friends know how to tell military time so they don't almost miss their flight back to America. 0100=1 am not 1 pm.

That should just about do it. I wanted to do a post about how in Thailand almost everything you buy has a whitening element to it. That can't be good for you. Thai people want to be white, white people want to be darker. Sunscreen, body lotion, acne cream, deodorant. There I did it. Was kind of all over the place with this one, sorry for the lack of specificity. Enjoy your weekend, stay in touch, and stick around for posts about life in New Zealand!

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to 

trust them." Ernest Hemingway

The case against goodbyes.

I'm going to make this short and concise. I think goodbyes are unnecessary and should even be avoided when possible. Goodbyes just make people sad. If someone is an important person in your life, it isn't goodbye. Last year at this time I said "goodbye" to Jake, one of my best friends I made in Thailand. Since then, I've seen him in Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia, all within the last year. Skype, Facebook, blogs, phone calls, goodbyes are becoming unnecessary and irrelevant. Oh, I'm having a goodbye dinner because I'm leaving tomorrow, you should come. Or how about I don't and I see you when I see you. 

You might be able to guess I'm even more against the airport goodbye. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? When I left for Thailand, my brothers wife's mom, Maureen (who is very lovely and I miss) dropped me off. I wasn't sad or cried. If my mom had dropped me off, she would have cried and if I was physically able to cry, which I'm not, because I'm a man, I would have. Give it a shot, sometimes it is impossible to duck a goodbye but if you can swing it, do it. Take into account this is a new Bert theory and may not work for you and may be altered in the near future. For right now, I'm sticking with it.

Who doesn't love a cute baby? I mean really. 

GOODBYE!!


Sike! I would never do that...

"It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure." Ernie Harwell

What? You don't have a singing bird?

This is a part of Thai culture that I still don't fully understand and if I think about it, really makes me laugh. I will try and explain it the best I can. If you drive around a super Thai town, especially southern Thailand, you will notice men driving with one arm and in the other arm they are carrying a bird cage with a cover over it to make sure there is less wind hitting the bird. And it isn't like it is a rare occurrence. If I left my house right now I would see one in less than 20 minutes. There are birds everywhere. Why? Because Thai men buy them, train them, then put them in bird singing competitions around town. Obviously. 

These competitions tend to be on the weekend, different cities have different events so maybe one month Phuket has a competition, then Hat Yai then Nakhon has one. Entry fees differ from one hundred baht, to five hundred baht to probably more than one thousand baht for bigger events. The winners can get anywhere from five thousand baht to I honestly don't know how high the prize can be, I'd bet they get close to a hundred thousand baht. How much would it cost to buy a decent bird? One million baht. (Hey, you want to go on a vacation? Sorry can't, all my money is tied up in birds right now...)
Cages can cost you a few hundred baht to thousands of baht. Only male birds can be entered. Women can buy their own bird and train it but from what I understand, women aren't overly interested in the purchasing and training of small birds. I have no clue why then don't....

OK, so once you drive your bird to the competition, you try and find the best spot for your bird. Thai people are pretty superstitious so they probably try and get the same place every time. They also want to position their bird next to an inferior bird to make theirs sound better. From what I understand, it isn't how beautiful your bird is, it is how beautiful they sing. The competition I went to had 3 judges, they blow a whistle and are trying to listen to a specific bird. After about 15 seconds, they mark something down underneath the cage of that bird. The funniest thing about this is that once the whistle blows, the owner of a bird will start to make noises and try to make their bird sing. Sort of like if you wanted a cat or a dog to come into the house, that is the kind of noise they are making to make their small little bird sing. If their bird doesn't sing and the whistle blows, they get all mad and frustrated. Imagine, an older tattooed up old Thai man, driving around town with a bird in his arm, training his bird to sing beautifully then entering him in a competition to try and impress and beat his fellow friends. 

Such a bizarre hobby to me. I think a big reason they do it is just to pass the time, gives them something to look forward to and share with their friends. It was nice seeing a bunch of older Thai men, taking care of their birds, laughing with each other, trying to get their birds to sing. 

A few things I don't understand about bird singing is how do these judges get their jobs and aren't they highly likely to be bribed into letting a certain bird win? I also don't get what is considered singing beautifully? Apparently it is good if they sing in a certain pattern or if they are continuously singing. I found out another reason why you would see birds being driven around town is because if you have a valuable bird, you wouldn't leave it at your home because someone would steal your bird!

I found someone who describes this better than me. If you want to read it go here: 

http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thailand/2013/04/09/bird-singing-competitions-ko-samui/

“It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or 

faith... the saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones 

who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and 

satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any 

happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to 

make it last.” Nicholas Sparks

Advice for new teachers

Looks like it's moving season here in NST. People coming, people going. If you are new to Nakhon, welcome! You've made the right choice. You will soon notice that Nakhon puts the Thai in Thailand. It isn't perfect and can certainly be frustrating. But if you are up for a bit of a challenge and a great adventure, you have found it. With that, I will try and sum up my 2 years here in some timbits of information for you. (I realize most people say tidbits. They are wrong. Timbits are a small, delicious treat....just like these tips)

1-Getting a bike and a house are priority number one. Not being able to drive around the city and explore is a huge disadvantage. Take your time but try and learn. It's worth it. I would also keep like 200 baht locked inside your bike just in case you need it for gas or food sometime. 

2-Learn Thai. I can't do it and it has been a disadvantage. There are some English speaking Thai people around town that will surprise you sometimes. For the most part, you are on your own. You will probably stay more than a year and it is worth the effort. Which brings me to point number 3.

3-Stay for more than a year. I was for sure out of here after my contract was up my first year. No question. I liked it here but NST is a little too small for my liking. Then I started thinking. I don't want to go home to a Canadian winter, maybe I will just stay here in paradise for a few more months, have 2 months paid vacation and come back to a house, a bike, friends and an understanding of how things work here.

4-Get out of Nakhon as much as possible. Nakhon is a cool spot, especially for Monday to Friday living. Whenever you get the chance, go to a beach, go to an island, go to another country. It starts to mess with your mind a little and makes you a bit more cynical in my experience. If you are feeling a little down, take a quick trip out of town and enjoy this beautiful country. 

5-Start bringing bottles to restaurants and bars if you like drinking but want to keep the cost down. Most places will even pour your drinks for you. Just makes financial sense.

6-Make Thai friends. This seems obvious but tons of people don't have any Thai friends. I don't get it. I've noticed quite a few Thai people around and they are super friendly and want to be your friend. Do it.

7-You will have tons of free time. Start up a hobby. Want to learn to play the guitar? Read 100 books? You have the time, just make the effort.

8-Nakhon is sort of like high school. It is small and people know what other people are up to. Just the way it is, embrace the immaturity. 

9-Don't give up. Nakhon can be a tough place to get use to. Make a few friends, try and get into a routine, eat at the same places so people start to recognize you and will start to feel a little more like home. It isn't fair to you or your kids to pack up and leave two weeks in.

10-Have an incredible time. You will make some of the best friends you will ever have here. Thailand is amazing, explore and make some amazing memories!




“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”  

Albert Einstein  

Let's talk about money

If you haven't noticed yet, I am not a baller. I do not have many baht. One day the tide will turn. I hope. Unfortunately, this is the reason I didn't go to Cambodia for my March break. I am under the impression that New Zealand may be slightly more expensive than Thailand. I have a feeling my $1.50 hair washes and food will be a thing of the past. It has taken me 11 years of having a job and making money to figure out that it isn't fun spending money you know in the back of your mind you shouldn't be spending. I wouldn't say I love spending money but I certainly don't hate it. I'd like to blame my parents for this but my dad was super into wanting me to save money. So much so that I had like $200 once and he told me he would give me a dollar a day in interest if I didn't spend it. In retrospect, I think that parents should legitimately force their kids to save money. No choice. When I'm older (I think tons of people say this when they don't have kids then once they do, they act differently) I think I want to sit my kids down and show them how much money our family makes, how much our house costs, expenses, etc. I think kids can handle it and should understand why they can't have a certain toy or go on an expensive March break. I think kids are smarter than we give them credit for and it could help them when they are older. This is only a thought but I think it's a good one. 


For about the last year, I've been writing down everything I buy. I'm pretty accurate, almost exactly every baht I spend I can track. All it has told me that I didn't know how big my love for juice was and drinking is expensive. So to sum up, sorry I didn't go to Cambodia, have no stories or pictures. If you have any money saving habits or advice, let me know. Enjoy your week, enjoy March Madness, and stay classy.



“The speed of your success is limited only by your 

dedication and what you're willing to sacrifice”

― Nathan W. Morris


“Every time you borrow money, you're robbing your future

 self.” 

― Nathan W. Morris