Jealous. Instagram posts depicting wonderous scenery. Jealous. Facebook friend counts accumulating on a weekly basis. Jealous. Blog posts detailing fantastic adventures. Jealous. Snapchats flashing moments of fun and excitement. Jealous.

I wish I could do that!

While I could go on and detail how you can do that, I’ll have to save that for another time because that’s not what this post is about. Instead, I think it’s only fair to give recognition to the less glamorous and more routine aspects of my life in Thailand. While many days are fun, random, or cool, their stories are less frequently told because in my eyes they have become a new normal. As I cap my 7th week in Thailand, most of the turbulence has settled and I have more of a structure that composes each week day.

A Day in the Life

5:47am

My first alarm goes off. Why 5:47am? I don’t know. Why do you choose 5:45, 6:00, or 6:30? 5:47 just seemed right when I chose it. However, I religiously snooze this alarm because it’s promptly followed by alarms at 5:49 and 5:51am. Typically it’s one of these two that draws me out of bed.

 

6:10am

Teeth are brushed, contacts are in, workout clothes are on, and I’m headed out the door to my apartment’s parking garage. I stretch and warm up for about 5 minutes and then complete a workout that usually consists of jumping rope and a combination of body weight exercises.

6:45am

Sweaty and winded, I march up the stairs to get ready to teach. Nearly every morning looks the same: four scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, an apple, a shower, and a podcast–usually Pardon My Take or Side Hustle School.

7:20am

Steven and I meet outside and commence our 10-minute walk to Saensuk School. On Wednesdays, this whole routine starts about 15 minutes earlier because we have gate duty where we greet the students at the school’s entrance.

7:45am

Milk, the school’s barista, greets me as I walk in the cafe and begins making my usual order: an iced, caffè Americano without any milk or sweetener.

8:00am

Morning assembly begins with the playing of the national anthem followed by a prayer and then announcements. Every other Thursday, Steven and I are required to give a morning talk to the assembly where we teach a new word or concept to all of the students.

8:30am

First period begins. During most mornings I have two or three classes. Typically they are the younger kids, which are more unruly and can leave me with a bit of a headache when they are too loud. If ever I question my decision to be an English teacher in Thailand, it’s during my morning classes. There are, however, many worse positions to be in so my self pity never lasts more than a few minutes.

12:10pm

Lunch. While we originally used to sit alone, Steven and I now join the M6s, aka the 12th graders, for lunch and engage them as best we can while we all eat.

1:00pm

Afternoon classes begin. Most afternoons I have a couple classes except for Monday where I have three. These classes tend to include the older kids, which are much better behaved and help my school days end on a high note.

4:00pm

Drained from teaching and the humidity, I pull off my tie and walk back to the apartment with Steven. I’ll eat some fruit or toast if I’m hungry and listen to a podcast or watch a video for an hour or so in the a/c until I regain my energy and am ready for an afternoon workout.

5:30pm

Most days I’ll run while every once in awhile I’ll pay to drop in at a gym since my membership expired and I decided not to renew. I try to keep the workout under an hour: high intensity over a short time domain.

6:30pm

Metabolism in full gear, I’m ready for a meal and either hit up a market or stop by a restaurant near the apartment for dinner.

7:30pm

My evenings are the one part of my weekdays that do not have a normal routine. You might find my doing any number of activities from reading to writing to Facetiming back home to going out with friends.

10:30pm

Since I wake up before dawn, I like to get to bed fairly early. I still maintain a debatably bad habit of staring at a screen before bed but usually I’m so tired that I sleep clear through the night.

Repeat x4

Not as dazzling as what you normally see in posts from me or other travelers, but I don’t think I’d be going out on too thin a limb in saying that it applies to many of those that work while they travel abroad. There’s good days and bad ones. Social nights and lonely afternoons. Exciting activities and mundane tasks. The biggest difference between now and seven weeks ago is probably that there’s a bit more novelty in what I face each day because it’s nothing like South Texas or Nashville or Utrecht or anywhere else I’ve lived. Simple tasks can sometimes turn into projects and take much longer than you expect.

So why even do it?

I’d say it’s because these moments teach you the most and broaden your mind. New perspectives, formats of communication, methods of creativity, and senses of achievement and self-confidence–among hundreds if not thousands of other acquisitions–rewire you into a more cultured person. Not exactly something I can convey into an Instagram post. I guess ultimately what I’m trying to say is that life abroad is certainly very good but in no way is it always what social media commonly broadcasts.

The Wrap Up

If you liked this post then drop a comment below or share it with a friend! Also, I’d love to know: How do you escape your routine?

Thanks for reading this post and as always, I encourage you to #gotravel!