My third week of School

It’s cool how when I don’t write, you all write to me or each other in the comment section. It’s been over two weeks since I posted….sorry bout that, but I been busy. Just a few days after I got back from Koh Samed I packed up most of my stuff in Pattaya, and moved to Bangkok. When I went and visited the school, they told me that it was no problem getting an apartment in the JTC. That’s the Jewelry Trade Center. It’s the same building that the school is in. The school is on the 33rd floor, and my new apartment is on the 12th floor. Bangkok has traffic jams that you can grow old in, so being able to take an elevator (actually 3 elevators) to school is pretty convenient. The security here is pretty tight, so I feel like me and my stuff are pretty safe.

School is totally fascinating. I’m in a diamond grading and pricing class right now, and although I’m really more interested in colored stones, I’m still really into in what I’m studying. I finish this course shortly and start a class on colored stone grading and pricing. I’m looking forward to that. Living in Bangkok is OK. Although it’s pretty easy for me to just study and sleep, I try to get out when I’m here. This entire area of Bangkok is all about gems. Every storefront has gems or jewelry in the window. Just a walk down the street looking in the windows is pretty interesting. Patpong (notorious Bangkok party zone) is about 3 kilometers away so there’s stuff to do when I want to. I’ve been going back to Pattaya on the weekends so I get a break from city life and have some fun on the weekends. Last week Na came to Bangkok and spent the week with me. We had a really nice week, as well as a lovely weekend in Jomtien/Pattaya. I got into a taxi this morning at 6:00, and made it to Bangkok in time for my 9:00 class. I’m actually feeling good about my life here right now, though it’s not all rainbows and butterflies it definitely has it’s moments.

Fishing boat.

Na...isn't she pretty?

From the boat ride...

Playing cards on the beach.

Four days in paradise.

I just got back from a little weekend trip to Koh Samed. It’s an island just off the coast. The more I see of Thailand the more I realize how beautiful it is. Koh Samed is just the kind of tropical island you would imagine. It has long white sand beaches bordering beautiful blue green water. The central part of the island is a lush jungle. It’s a fairly well developed resort island. Up until recently the power only ran at night, but now they have full time electricity. They still have to bring all the water for the island on ships, then truck it around on the island. I went with my new squeeze Na. She and her sister Ning lived there for a few years, so they made it pretty easy. We stayed at a really nice beachfront hotel. It was really great just to lounge around on the beach all day, and at night they have a disco on the beach. Monday was a holiday here in Thailand, so there were lots of party people dancing around. Yesterday we went out on a speed boat for a trip around the island. We stopped at a sweet spot for snorkeling, but after a couple of deep dives my head reminded me that I had a head cold a week ago, and my inner ear didn’t really want to go snorkeling. That was OK cuz we just switched to fishing. I caught two tiny little fish while Na brought back nine. Speaking of Na, she is a great girl, pretty, smart, and speaks English with a bit of an English accent…..This weekend in Samet was so beautiful it really made me thankful for all the good luck that has come my way.