Lovin every minute!

Sawadee ka! Greetings from Thailand. This country is exciting, busy, and never to disappoint. I am constantly learning new words and culture tips. I live in a uni-tec that is about a 2 minute walk from my school. The SDA Language School is in the second level of a huge white building. Everyday we have to cross a four lane road ready to play frogger as the busy streets are swarmed with cars, motorcycles, and people.

Going places has made it very convenient since the walking distance to most places are very accessible. But my very first day here in Thailand I was taken to the National Monument where I experienced the Song-tuk which is like an open back shrort bus, then the BTS (Bangkok Train Station), and a taxi. Most of the taxis are a bright pink or purple color so they are very hard to miss. Then we walked the streets, the mall, and went to my first Thai cinema and saw Mummy 3 in English with Thai subtitles. It was 3 stories tall! Each movie theatre had its own level. The unique things about the theatre here is that you pick your seats before you go in to sit down and then before the movie starts everyone has to stand when they begin playing the national anthem with a short video showing pictures of the king.

My image of what I thought Bangkok was going to be like was very wrong. The malls here are beautiful and everyone is very dressed up when going. I mean there was a Farari store inside of the mall... yeah. There is very much a tropical feel here just by seeing the variety of plants and crazy delicious fruits! My new favorite for the week (lol) is Rombutan which looks like a hairy strawberry with a tough skin that when you break it open it has an egg shaped fruit inside that tastes similar, but sweeter, to a grape. There is an almond shaped seed inside so you have to be careful.. Also Dragon fruit is another sweet fruit. Its a bright pink with green tips that looks like its on fire. The inside is white with small black seeds; it looks like a white kiwi.

7/11 Has become our new best friend. It is where everyone goes to get things quick. And the new walmart is Big C. Both are in walking distance and we have learned to love 7/11! It is very underappreciated in the States..lol

After attempting to eat some of the chicken here, I have decided that I will be vegetarian... It was a bad experience. There are many smells here on the streets and most are not appetising.. The smells come from the sewage water and when walking through the street vendors lots of cooking is going on. Lots of meat and vegetables are cooked right on the street that is very inexpensive. but you have to be careful because most is unrecognizable. It has been a little difficult to find things that I like, but I really like Pad Thai with Tofu and Egg. Also I enjoy getting Taro bread, which is a sweet bread with a sweet purple potato like fruit. Eating on the streets is very cheap! And for most meals I usually spend about a dollar or less. Most things to eat is about 30 baht which is a little less than a dollar. Although we did spoil ourselves and ate at the Pizza Company.

This week I have been observing various classes and learning the ropes. These next few days I will be co-teaching. On Thursday they will start me out with two classes: one of English/Social Studies to younger students and then a women's adult class for English. Our school is open from Sundays to Thursdays. It was really weird going to school on a Sunday.. But its nice to have a Friday off. Most of the students at the Language School are Korean, not many Thais can afford to send their children to a Christian school.

The weather is very hot within the 80s and 90s with over 60% of humidity. And since A/C is to expensive we have to do without in our apartments. Basically electricity is expensive. Water is always on hand and bottled water comes very cheap. We can refill bottles for 1-5 Baht, which is about 5cents or less.

There are three other SM's at my school and we are already laying out and planning trips to take on our breaks. Things are going well for me here. It has been very easy to adjust because you can always find things to remind you of home. There are lots of opportunities here. Until then.. love you tons and miss you lots!!