New Beginnings

My life is now going through another period of change. I will be leaving the Thai village, where I have lived for over three and a half years, to move to a city 370 kilometers away. The move is necessary because I need to start back in full-time teaching, and there is nothing suitable in the local area - where we now live is very rural.

The city that we are moving to is called Lopburi. I actually passed through it on my way to Wat Thamkrabok. The city is close to the temple.

Lopburi is famous for the fact that the city has a large monkey population which are very visible in the old part of the city. If you like monkeys then Lopburi is heaven, but if you hate them then it would be hell on earth. Luckily I like them. I have spent a couple of days there and it does seem like a nice city. It will also be nice living close to Wat Thamkrabok.

I have got a job in a secondary school in the city which has an English Program. This means that they learn every subject in English - except of course for their Thai Language studies. I am not sure which subject I will be teaching, but there has been talk about health studies. The school itself seems well resourced, and I'm delighted to find that the classrooms are air-conditioned. I needed to give a demo lesson and the level of English among the students seems very good.

We plan to move to Lopburi next month. I will not be starting work until May 1st which is the start of the new school year. The students don't come until the 12th, but this gives the teachers a chance to prepare for the year.

This means that my nursing career has now been put on hold - at least for the moment anyway. Who knows? Maybe one day I will return to nursing or use my nursing skills in another way.

I feel both excited and sad about leaving the village. I have made a nice life here and now that it all going to change. As the Buddha pointed out, change is unavoidable and we suffer when we try and fight against it. I will have nice memories of my life here in the village, but I look forward to making new memories in Lopburi.