Bars and birthdays

Car-cessories in the parking lot of Big C (the hypermarket)

Fruit and veggies alongside meal food at the market

Some of today's photos were taken at the local market — not to be confused with supermarket or hypermarket — and some of them were taken at our classmate's birthday celebration, which I proudly organized and secret-ized, to great success on Sunday.

But let's rewind to Friday night... a night of very little true debauchery, but one of fine memories and general good spirits. We were all exhausted and relieved to be at the end of our first week, and had been looking forward to a night out, so we gathered ourselves (11 of the 13) and made our way to the local Western bar advertised by one of our teachers (!). The patrons of the place were about 100% Western, unless I missed a stray Thai customer here or there, but the owners and operators were all Thai. The lot of us CELTA nerds got drinks and promptly took over one of the larger seating areas. I'll try to get photos, as I think we plan to go back again this week!

Sunday's lunch outdoors at a local shop

I was so pleased to have such a good crowd around me, and one of our teachers even joined us at the pub. He told us that it's not always the rule for classmates to get along, and he's even had a few groups where only two people would talk to each other! We all balked at that and expressed gratitude for each other. I had some really nice conversations, and as the night wore on, I also had a really nice time of chaotically demonstrating my best English accent, to mixed reviews. Some of those reviews were gleaming, for the record. Then again, Brits are pretty good at sarcasm. Who knows!

The nail salon

We stayed out till about 3, which really tells you something about the company. I had an awesome time with everyone, and can't wait to do it again. The next day, Saturday, I cobbled together a handmade card for our classmate whose birthday was Sunday, and went around to have people sign it. I then did my poolside lounging and started on our beast of a first assignment. I won't get into details, but suffice to say that the teachers' estimate of our workload time was 8 hours — for just one assignment! And by the end, some of us have spent more than 10 hours. Saturday night, I slipped the birthday card under E's door after she'd gone to bed and studied the night away.

Making a wish (I love her earnest expression here)

Sunday, I was "knackered" from the workload, so I went with my UK friend L for an afternoon break. We decided to check out the local market for lunch and get some due relaxation in the form of pedicures and massage. By this point my toes and toenails were truly a sight, so this was non-negotiable. As well, I picked up a cake at the local bakery for E, and smuggled it into the resort's restaurant fridge with help from the kitchen staff. I had been drilling everyone on our course since Friday to make sure they were around at 8 p.m. for cake.

My persistence paid off, and I even managed to get E in place for the big moment; the staff brought out the cake in all its glory, they played a birthday fanfare over the speakers, and we all sang to her. It was a really wonderful moment and I felt so happy it had all worked out right.