Well, finally made it to Thailand after a very long trip. It started in Salt Lake and 24 hours, three planes, and a scary ride to the hotel later, I made it to Bangkok safe and sound. The hotel was really nice and thankfully, had air conditioning. My first thought after arriving in Bangkok was about how hot it was. According to the flight attendant, it was 86 degrees and about 80% humidity at midnight. The women on the side of the road offering themselves was also a bit of a shock.

I checked into the hotel, the H-Residence on Sathorn, in Bangkok at 2 AM Thailand time, slept for a couple hours, and woke to find breakfast wasn't anything like American breakfasts. There was toast and frosted flakes next to the fried rice, hot dogs, and various other unidentifiable Thai foods. A fellow soon-to-be-teacher was eating breakfast, so we decided to head out to check out Bangkok. First thing I noticed, besides the heat, was the smell. Garbage cans on the street aren't a common thing, so the garbage is placed on the sidewalk, where it bakes for who knows how long before being picked up. It's a very busy city, but the Thai are very friendly. We took the sky train to a long boat that took us down the river to the Grand Palace.

The river wasn't exactly something I would swim in, but it was cool to take the boat and go down the river. The Grand Palace was closed for prayer, so we hopped in a Tuk Tuk, a small, motorized vehicle, and went to see the Buddha statue.

We rode around in the Tuk Tuk for a little bit and got a glimpse of what Bangkok is like. It's an enormous city and the drivers are scary, ignoring any driving law whatsoever. Can't say I'll be moving there permanently any time soon, but it made for a fun day! We then made it to the Grand Palace and walked around. It was definitely something to see!

Our next adventure was to travel by a van to Hua Hin, where I will be residing for the next month. We started our first day of orientation by going to the local mall for some groceries and other things we may need. There was a McDonald's, KFC, Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin Robins, and a couple other American foods. So much for escaping that! I settled on a noodle soup for lunch with pork. It came with a liver surprise! Either way, it was delicious. After the mall, we went swimming in the Thai Bay. The water was as hot as the bathtub, but refreshing nonetheless.

So far, the experience in Hua Hin has been really nice. It's much smaller than Bangkok, so the Thai culture shows through a lot more. The night we arrived, we went out for the night market. The food has been delicious, but very different. Our second day started out with me going for a run bright and early. It was followed by a day in a classroom at a local Thai school. What would a day in the Thai school be like with air conditioning? I wouldn't know because there isn't any there. What better way to acclimatize?! We had our first Thai speaking lesson from a cute, little Thai lady named Pear. We learned a lot and it's nice to learn some basics for getting around. The fun part of the day was the toilets that required you to squat over a hole in the floor and the flushing system was a pan of water that you poured into the hole. It's all part of the experience right? Either way, I'm loving my time here and it still feels surreal. Tomorrow, we are off to see the elephants! 

departure prep

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  ― Lao Tzu

well, it's officially down to 8 days before i take off for thailand. not a whole lot to tell, but figured now was as good as time as any to start into the habit of blogging. i thought today would be a good time to start organizing and packing. i'm realizing that it's harder to decide what needs to stay and what needs to go than i thought.

what do you take with you when you go half way around the world for 6 months? is my favorite shirt really that important? do i really need 20 pairs of shoes? probably not, but in the suitcase they go! just in case :)

the hardest part is not worrying. am i forgetting something? do i have everything i might need? what if this or what if that? right now, i'm trying to remember to remind myself it will all work out, it's okay to be nervous, and that i need to breathe. deep breaths. ready or not, here goes!