Week 9; Felt like a big week

Well, I moved this week, to a much nicer place that feels more like an apartment and less like a hotel room. It is also on a nicer, safer-to-walk-on-at-night street, which I am all about. So, for the same price, I am a little closer to work, have a little more room, safer building and feel better about walking home at night.

This week at work felt much more relaxed that previous weeks as their was nothing pressing due or conferences, seminars, etc. I was asked to write a reflection on last month's Policy workshop and give my perspective as an Intern and PhD student in the field. It was my first time writing anything 'journalistic' that would be consumed by the public, and was a little awkward as I was 'judging' the peers I work with. But as I reflected, there really wasn't anything but praise I could say. As an intern and student I had learned quite a bit in content and the mechanics of running a workshop hadn't I? And from what I could remember, and through evaluations, a majority of feelings from participants were extremely positive. The piece will feature in next month's EPR news letter, but you can also find it here; http://www.unescobkk.org/education/news/article/reflection-how-did-unescos-education-policy-workshop-measure-up/

 At the beginning of the week, I also tried to do something more about my recurring knee issues and went to my first acupuncture session in my lunch hour Surprisingly, it was not painful in the slightest. At best, it was uncomfortable and perhaps felt something like when you pull a muscle or get a cramp. The painful part was the 'optional' stretching session afterward. Let me give you this one piece of advice, never let anyone touch your body after needles have been sitting in it for an hour. NEVER. Anyway, at $15 a session, I am looking forward to getting it done every week to see if there is any improvement (apparently one session will never cure anything, it is a slow road).

The weekend was a little bigger, with a trip to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand, planned. We ended up having a group of 7 all climb onto a minivan and travel 90 mins north. Luckily, the weather held out for us and it only started to pour rain on our way back to the city. As an old capital, Ayutthaya was bound to have lots of ruins, and of course there were the sights that were a little more amazing than others. The group decided that we would hire a minivan with a driver to take us to all the noteworthy sights for 4-5 hours , with some lunch on the river in between. After Wat Mahathata (giant Buddha head in a tree),  everything started to blend in, of course it was all amazing, but yes, it all started to look the same in hour five.

After the minivan ride home, we all decided that it would be a mistake to waste Saturday night, but were all a little too tired to make it out into the city, so we went somewhere a little closer (just across the road from work) to the Marriot Sky bar. Wow, super wow. Although drinks were expensive (just laid down my credit card, all adult-like), you definitely were paying for the view. Of course the downside of a roof bar in a muggy city is that it all ends when it rains. Which it does in Bangkok, often. So after $25 worth of drinks (a g &t and cocktail), we all had to run downstairs and call it a night.

Next week at work looks to be busy, with my current supervisor, Satoko officially taking maternity leave, I will be moving to the research and foresight division. Til next week!