Sawatdeeka!

Well, I made it to Bangkok!  Here is the quick update.

The flight.. I flew out of LAX with a short layover in Hong Kong, then to Bangkok.  Me and my friend Jenna, who I met at UCSB, were able to coordinate a flight together and actually sit together too, which made the 16 hour flight so much more enjoyable!  Jenna actually told me about the CIEE program and had encouraged me to apply when I told her I was looking into teaching abroad after graduation.  If she hadn’t told me about this program, I might not be in Thailand right now.. Thanks Jenna!! Our flight went very smoothly, other than it was gruelingly long!  After going through the passport check in Bangkok, Jenna and I went to baggage claim to find our luggage.  Most of our flight had already picked up their bags so there were only a few bags left on the stall, including Jenna’s, but mine was no where to be found.  After waiting a few more minutes (and beginning to attempt to figure out how I could make a pair of pajamas, shorts, and a charger football t-shirt that I packed in my carry-on last as long as I needed), I asked a woman that worked at the airport where my luggage might be. I originally thought maybe it didn’t make it on the plane since my huge red suitcase was a few pounds over the 50 pound limit and LAX didn’t charge me for this, but instead told me that on the way back to the states to put my luggage into two bags instead of one.  She asked if it was red and told me that another passenger grabbed my bag on accident but had already returned it to her office.  PHEW!  One bullet dodged.

Our hotel… We then went to meet our program to take the shuttle to our hotel.  It turns out, our hotel is on the way outskirts of Bangkok.  Its kind of in the middle of no-where with a street filled with street vendors and motor bikes.  The first night here, I got a ziplock bag full noodles for 25 bahts (less than a dollar).  Our hotel doesn’t have free internet so I’ve been going to an internet station that says “Internet Playstation” on the front.  The people using the computers there are either some of the 80 participants from my program or young Thai boys playing violent playstation games like Call of Duty.  It only costs 5 bahts (15 cents) for 25 mins so it’s a great deal!

The food.. Our program has been feeding us breakfast at the hotel everyday, which has a variety of rice, cereal, fruit, and even omelets!  I’ve had an omelet and rice every morning, and was ecstatic to find that they have ketchup!  The Thais eat family style, so we’ve had a huge variety of Thai food served for us at lunch.  For dinner, a group of girls and I have been adventuring into the surrounding area.  Last night, we went to an open restaurant looking place and ordered what we could on the menu and what arrived looked nothing like what we thought we ordered.  The language barrier becomes much more prominent at meal time.  But the food is very inexpensive, so I’ve been trying to not be too picky.

The weather.. I was told it would be hot and humid, but boy, its VERY hot and humid!  I haven’t even seen the sun yet since I’ve been here and it hasn’t dipped below 80 degrees.  Its been very most and even wet and rainy.  I’m going to need to start being creative with my hair.

Orientation... We have a packed schedule of language classes, culture classes, teaching classes, and excursions.  Today, we went to the Grand Palace in Bangkok!  Tonight, we meet our school coordinators and I will get all my questions answered about what the heck I’m doing here and where I’ll be living.  We go to a new hotel on Monday to a location where we do some elephant trekking and bamboo rafting.  Tuesday, I am off to Khon Kaen!  I’ve met a lot of awesome people at orientation and we’re starting to make travel plans for the long weekends and breaks.

I’m eating, have my luggage, no longer have much jet-lag, and not sick!  So far so good! 

 This little statue statue reminded me of Milo Boo!

 I made some friends!