Thoughts at Christmastime

The funniest thing I heard today at school was, when I asked another English teacher if I had class later, “Oh if they come…that’s up to the students.”

Welcome to the Thai educational system, my friends.  On a daily basis, I have been dealing with many frustrations and differences in the way schools are run here.  Although I consider myself to possess an easygoing personality, things are taken to a whole new level here.  Some days my students don’t show up.  Some days they run out of class (is my teaching that horrific?? Ha) or they are going to buy ice cream in the opposite direction when I am walking to teach class.

My materials are very, very minimal. I have a whiteboard and some pens. No technology and at the elementary (prathom) I teach at once a week, I teach 50-60 little kids outside at one time, talk about exciting! I am usually hoarse by the end of the day.  As I walk into that elementary school, I see the little kindergarten faces peering at me through screen doors; their excited and nervous giggles already putting a smile on my face.  As I teach, I try to put as many little positive things as I can into their lives---because that is what I think teaching is.

 I learned today that my students are the poorest of the poor.  Northeast Thailand is the poorest region in the country, and these children come from parents who are barely eking out a couple dollars a day by farming dry lands.  For many of the students, their dirty and tattered school uniform is all they have, their legs are covered in scabs and they don’t own a notebook.

In class today, as I put a sticker on each one of my students and said a little “Merry Christmas’, I saw their faces fill excitement.  My heart was simultaneously utterly broken and filled with a fulfillment that I cannot explain.  Broken, because they are so excited about one little sticker.  Broken, because I take everything I have for granted.  Broken, because I cannot completely fix their lives and communicate how much I love them. But thank goodness the joy is bigger than the brokenness…I know that there is hope and that there is one who loves them who can do all that I cannot.

My traditional Thai dance team!

On a lighter note, I got to travel to the neighboring province of Chaiyaphum with the Thai traditional dance team.  We took a karaoke bus for eight hours and let me tell you, I’m good for about three hours of karaoke! It was incredible to see all the behind-the-scenes work that went into the complex dances.  The dancers had been living at school for weeks, practicing every night and making their own costumes.  They competed against many other teams from all over Isaan, and performed so beautifully! I was so proud.  The girls wept uncontrollably after they were finished and those were the first tears I had seen in Thailand.  Emotions are not to be shown here---especially anger or sadness.  But they were so happy, relieved and tired that catharsis just happened naturally.  Such a beautiful thing to watch.

So proud

The team was comprised of about ten girls and five ladyboys.  For those of you who have no idea what a ‘ladyboy’ is (in Thai ‘kathoey’), I’m referring to the effeminate gay or transgender males that are very, very common here. In so many ways, Thailand is more liberal than America.  Clothing is much more modest, but ladyboys are widely accepted and from my point of view, in school they hold prominent positions of leadership and academic success. They are also some of my best students at English!!  Sexuality is a continuum here, completely different from the Western way of putting people into clearly defined boxes.  Each morning I watch my neighbor ladyboy painstakingly put on makeup on his balcony across my mine.  It makes me think, what is gender really? Gender is so constructed by society and if society is different, like Thailand for example, it can mean something completely different from what I have experienced.

Whew. I feel like the post has been so random.  I guess they are just a few of the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head the past few weeks that needed to be pinned down.

Although Christmas has been sad at times for me, talking to my mom made me realize that the ache I feel in my heart for my family is a beautiful thing.  It is something good from God that shows how close we are.  I hope that each one of you got to experience joy from life, whether with family or without this year.

Merry late Christmas and Happy Holidays friends. Know that I am missing you from the other side of the world!

My Christmas! Eating with students and watching a fabulous impromptu Ladyboy Miss Thailand competition!

The ladyboys workin it!

I tutor Paew after school, she's a go-getter! Also was forced into this awkward see-through Vietnamese dress...

Sports Week cheerleaders

Learning to drive on the left side of the road is weird...

"Are you lost or a teacher?"

"To be friends is the best. Please be happy in Ubon, you teach and help Thai students and this will be the best way to make the world more beautiful" -Pilaiporn, my new neighbor/friend

This one little comment on my Facebook has been making me think a lot the past couple of days.  It all started when the Chinese teacher Sumin and I decided to take a mini-bus trip into town to get some lunch during our week off.  It was just us and a tiny Thai woman, nothing out of the ordinary.  I noticed she was staring at me (also an everyday occurrence), but then the strangest thing happened...an amazingly cohesive English sentence came out of her mouth!

"Are you lost or a teacher?"

My lovely friend Pilaiporn on the left!

Both, perhaps?  To be honest, sometimes I feel so lost here in this different culture.  But she was expecting one or the other (she knew it had to be one because there are no other foreigners her she told me later haha), so I told her we were teachers at the local school close to the bus stop. And with that we started a conversation, that led to her calling her friend to pick us up, taking us to a steakhouse for lunch, taking us to sing karaoke, shopping and finally back to her house (she lives a five minute walk from my house!) where she cooked us a pasta dinner. Pasta. In Thailand. That doesn't just happen! She yelled out to the neighbor men and suddenly we had rides on the back of motorcycles to our homes. She also said I could drive her car, motorcycle or bicycle whenever...and this to the strange farang she had met only hours before!

Life is utterly quirky here.  One moment I am going out to have some noodles with a friend and next I'm singing and dancing with old Thai men, learning the dirty words in Thai and driving around with my new friend Pilaiporn.  Making friends and becoming a part of someone's life here is seamless---you go from nothing to a daughter in one fluid motion and no one bats in eyelash.  In America, it takes the trial period to gain trust or some close connection or acquaintance for hospitality to be extended in such a way.  Here, it is as natural as breathing to extend yourself and take someone under your wing and to give them everything you have.  Nothing is off-limits, personal, protected.  Western culture prizes independence, self-reliance and the accumulation of things that are 'yours'---family, home, money and so on, but I am gradually loosening my grip on those things and am able to see the beauty in the collective spirit of Thailand.  We eat together, many hands reach into the same basket of sticky rice and it a beautiful, messy, communal experience.

Although I think independence will always be ingrained in me, being here allows me to see it in a different perspective.  Why are Americans so intent on self-improvement and 'getting theirs', whether it be through education, relationships or work, that they only see their families once a year?  How can it be that I go months without talking to a friend, and still call them 'friend'?  The individualism that pervades our culture is taken to an unhealthy level and I think being in Thailand has forced me to reexamine something that has been status quo for me.  After this year, I don't want move away from my family and those I love for the sake of 'starting my own life' or the need pioneer some new existence for myself.  There is beauty in togetherness.

My Chinese friend Sumin's first steak! I taught her how to use a fork and knife :)

Provincial Life

At last! My computer is up and running and I can continue to blog about my quirky life here in Thailand.

My cute neighbors cutting open a coconut I found!

I have been teaching at the lovely Warinchamrab School outside of Ubon Ratchathani for the past month now.  Where do I begin to describe the situations I have been in and what my daily life looks like? I think I will try to describe a typical day.  I say 'typical' ironically because...I am in Thailand...and to be honest, you just can't count on anything being normal!

I wake up around 6:30 to the morning sun already streaming into my room.  The five tiny dogs next door and my neighbors (the school volleyball team---don't ask me why ten girls and one ladyboy are allowed to live alone on campus...) are my cheery alarm clocks.  Usually right away I can feel a few bug bites forming on my ankles, due to the fact I gave up the mosquito net after I woke up with it claustrophobically tangled around my face each morning.  Mornings are as hard for me here as they were in the US, but I must be a traitor to Oregon and say that waking up to a bright world is pretty motivational.  I pick out my appropriate-for-Buddhist-culture teacher outfit and decide which flourish I want to add.  By this I mean that I like to add a scarf on my head or some big earrings, just a little something to keep my Thai students and coworkers guessing.  Being here has given me strange urges to act a little crazy.

I dodge the termite hills and gecko poop in my kitchen, make a little breakfast, say goodbye to my Chinese housemate 'Smile' and take off for the day.  The walk to and from school is always an interesting experience because I am still currently a novelty or perhaps a more fitting word---celebrity.  I walk from my little pink jungle house, across the soccer field and I can't even count the number of times I say, "Hello! How are you?" and flash my American smile to the adorable students who muster up the courage to yell greetings to me.  We spend a half an hour praying to Buddha, reciting the national anthem, singing songs and listening to the director speak about whatever directors here speak about.

I walk to class and giggling students flock around me and then it hits me: I love being a "kru" (teacher) here and I admit I enjoy the paradoxical respect and ridiculouness of the profession.  My students take off their shoes when they enter the classroom, they 'wai' to me when I hand them a worksheet, they clean the whiteboards, turn on the fans---then they go CRAZY! Students are out of their chairs, copying papers (not stigmatized here at all) and talking on the phone.  Really, really?  There are no bells, so teachers dismiss when they feel like it and it seems like every other day class is delayed or cancelled because of 'Sports Day' or 'Scouts Day' or 'Let's All Wear the Same Colors and Do Weird Cheers and Who-Knows-What Day'.  As I have said before, Thai life is fluid, flexible, inefficient one might say, and this extends to the educational system as well.

In class, I have an alter-ego that is the most dramatic version of myself.  Imagine teaching classes of 40 students, with a different cultural background and diverse home lives and we also have a language barrier...oh and it's 95 degrees with no air-conditioning. Welcome to my life!!  It's challenging, fabulous and overall the most difficult thing I have done in my 22 years.

A few other highlights in the past month include going to the neighboring province of Surin with five other Fulbrights for an elephant festival.  It monsooned and almost rained out the whole show, but luckily it dried up in time to see the elaborate performance of dozens of elephants and Thai dancers and singers.  I volunteered to run out in the middle of the stadium and play tug-of-war in the mud against a huge elephant with a Thai celebrity---we lost of course!  Later that night, my friend Amanda and I ended up at a Thai-coming-of-age party for a boy from the Surin people.  Think bat mitzvah on Thai steroids.  It was a crazy party with go-go dancers, musicians, and copious amounts of food.  It was only fitting that Amanda and I were made to go onstage and dance for everyone. Oh Thailand.

Last week, Fulbright flew us back to Bangkok to attend seminars on Thai media, celebrate Thanksgiving, run a 'Fun to Learn' fair to promote cross-cultural exchange and have a mini-reunion to share about our experiences thus far into teaching.  It was refreshing to hear others' stories, difficulties and triumphs and it gave me a fresh perspective on my situation.

I am so excited to figure out where I fit in, in Thailand.  I am a farang, struggling to understand the life, weather, culture and language here and yet I will be a part of this community for a year. This is going to be one for the books, folks!

Elephant Festival in Surin

Dancers at the elephant festival

Dancers at the Thai coming-of-age party in Surin

Celebrating Warinchamrab School's 57th birthday by giving alms to the monks with my new friends---Sumin and Hailing from China

Celebrating Warinchamrab School's 57th birthday by giving alms to the monks

Ritzy Thanksgiving dinner in Bangkok with my Fulbright family :)

Gettin Fresh with the Prez at our Fulbright 'Fun-to-Learn' Fair in Bangkok

The New Normal

I cannot believe it has been one month here in Bangkok!  It is mind-boggling how one can become accustomed to a foreign place and get into routine, amidst so many cultural differences.  I consistently cannot communicate verbally with people, consistently am learning and seeing new things, and am consistently sweaty and hot.  Emphasis on the sweaty and hot.  Unfortunately the monsoon season here in Thailand is on its way out and so the gorgeous, drenching downpours that make my Oregon heart blissful are less common.  However, 'winter' is up next.  I am hoping that a slightly less sweaty, hot existence is in my near future.

In four short days, all of us Fulbrighters are pushed out of the nest of city and structure to our various provinces in the north.  I will be in the northeast, in a region called Esaan, which has a culture and language all of its own.  It is the poorest area of the country, but also spicier food, drier climate and supposedly more outgoing people await me there.  Ah, I am a mix of so many emotions right now!  I am absolutely ready to be out of the polluted air and congested materialism of Bangkok, but I have also grown to love this place.  My favorite memories here are at night, when the sun has gone down and everyone is off work.  The street food carts are in full swing, the pad thai guy down my road is creating plates of steaming magic and families and couples are out lingering, eating and strolling.  You don't walk here, you stroll.  The dogs wake up from their curbside comas and hunt for scraps, meanwhile maneuvering the traffic better than I ever will be able to.  Sounds of motorbikes, tuk-tuks and insects fill the evening air.  The adorable meat-kebab lady smiles her toothy smile at me and if I am distracted for a second, I almost am taken out by a car.  Nothing besides vehicles and cockroaches (I admit I still shriek when they scuttle around my feet) move quickly here, but that's okay.  Sabai, sabai the Thai people say.    Be comfortable, take it easy, don't stress.  Have a jai yen or cool heart.  My American easygoing personality is being taken to new levels of flexibility and easygoing-ness.  

Monks are tourist too, ok? Don't hate

Gettin some good luck!

Word of advice: Don't use flash at a Muay Thai fight...

This past weekend I did a ton of sightseeing- temples, the Grand Palace where the Thai royal family used to live, the JJ Market which is the hugest market in Bangkok.  Picture thousands of stalls, windy alleyways, and every possible good imaginable. My idea of hell on earth pretty much!  But the best part of the whole weekend was the little conversation I had with a monk at the Golden Mount, which is the highest temple in BKK that has a great view of the city.  He was coming down the stairs as we were going up and I decided to wai (bow) to him even though I wasn't sure if that was normal for foreigners to do that.  He got this huge smile on his face, turns to me and in perfect English asks 'How did you learn to pay respect to the Buddhist monks like that?!'. Absolutely adorable.  Then we chatted for a bit and I had to pinch myself and ask myself, "How did I get here on the other side of the world, just having a chat with a Buddhist monk in his long orange robes?"  There we were, just having a nice conversation like it was an everyday occurrence. At the same time, it was a reminder that even though outwardly we seem so different from each other, we are just two people who happened to grow up in different contexts.  We still want and need similar things out of life.

With my host teachers from Warin Chamrap! So sweet.

English Camp time!

This week we tested the waters of this whole teaching English as a second language thing we've been hearing about for our entire training month.  We were bussed out to the edge of the city, where we put on an English camp for secondary students.  A bit nerve-wracking, but so exciting! This is what we came to do and it was nice to start to put things into practice.  My friend Kru (teacher) Raffi and I taught a class of 12^th grade girls about music, movies, sports and the grand finale…food! The rooms had no air-conditioning and even with beads of sweat rolling down my face, the show must go on! I would argue that teaching is one of the most physically taxing professions.  It takes a superhuman amount of energy, but is incredibly rewarding to form relationships with the students and see them understand a concept.  

Overall, I would never have guessed that my first teaching job would be in Southeast Asia, but I am so happy to be here and to be a part of this prestigious organization.  I am privileged to take a small stand against the giant problem of the opportunity gap that faces this country, just as it faces most education systems in the world.

Now in four days, I move into my new house, my new job and my new life for a year. Support in this exciting and scary time of transition would be so appreciated :) Love you all.

Pure, authentic Thailand right there.

Let me introduce you to a little thing called the 'Thai massage'.  Sounds relaxing, right? Think again! The word 'massage' is very all-inclusive in this country actually...it also includes physical therapy, reflexology, yoga and little bit of torture to keep you on your toes!

Gathering peanuts 'tua' from the garden at my homestay (Wahn & Reung-Sri)

My first experience with Thai massage was definitely memorable.  I walked down the street from my international dorm to the first one I found (maybe not the best idea in hindsight...) and saw the advertisement in English for a 1-hour massage for 179 baht, which is equal to about 6 dollars.  Such a steal! So I walked in and in my own special Thinglish language I have developed, communicated my desires and was assigned to a lovely cordoned off section of mattress.  I was prepped ahead of time by a friend that I would have change into some one-size-fits-all attire, so I wasn't thrown off by that at all, but I wasn't prepared for the awkwardness I felt when I was lying in a see-through shift on a mattress, surrounded by thin pink, lacy sheets, with soft music playing in background. At this point, I have to admit that a word *cough...brothel...cough* briefly passed through my mind and I had a tiny moment of panic, thinking maybe I had confused this institution with one of a more shadowy nature!

My doubts were not quite eased when my masseuse, of course a young and rather good-looking gentleman by the name of Gan/Gon, came to into my 'room' and found me in the strange, half-lounge position I had settled on because I had no idea where to sit.  After a few minutes, I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be the average, relaxing massage I had envisioned! I was walked on, pushed, stretched, prodded and folded into origami shapes until I felt like quite a different person. All this while, I had decided to try out some of my new Thai small talk on the poor guy and so we can some good laughs and bonding moments despite our language barrier.  Overall, I feel like we got to know each other pretty well during the session (hah) and I now like to refer to him as 'my dear friend Gan/Gon' when I talk about my massage!

When in Rome, right? :)

Pretty much what I do here is eat

Another exciting part of this week was the homestay with a Thai family that Fulbright arranged for all of the ETAs.  During training the day before we left, Fulbright told me, "Hey Siri, so you are going to be out in the country in a province a couple hours away from Bangkok, by yourself and you are going to spend an extra day there!". Whew. There is nothing like going big for my first homestay ever!  I also think that backpacking through Europe the month before coming to Thailand broke me of all desire for control in my life---I know fully realize that I'm pretty much never in control and that I need to go with the flow....and so that I did!

The house at my homestay

Three days of pure, authentic Thailand.  No malls, very minimal English, no regular showers.  So refreshing to be outside of the big, noisy, polluted Bangkok!  I was placed with a woman nicknamed "A" who was 34 (guessed she was about 26...oops!), her mom Reung-sri and their distant relation/maid named Wahn.  It took 3 hours by a van that provided many extra thrills at no cost, such as a foot of air over each bump, to get outside the city.

When we got out at our stop, I couldn't help but think, "Hmm...I'm in the middle of the Thai jungle, with a complete stranger, it's pitch black and there is not another human being in sight....here we go!".  But I quickly felt initiated into the family when we were met by the mom Reung, I hopped on the back of her motorbike, and tightly clung to her as we sped away into the black, buggy night.  Definitely one of my favorite memories of my two and a half weeks here...I had this huge, cheesy grin on my face the whole time, even as I was greeted/attacked by their dogs once we got to the house.

At their beautiful, country compound I spent a lot of time eating, playing with their dog Adee, asking about words in Thai, watching Thai soap operas, going to neighboring markets and talking to their relatives on the phone, who couldn't speak English. Saturday we did a whirlwind sightseeing tour  They took me to a beautiful beach called Baengsaen, and it was hilarious because it took hours to get there, but when we got there, we spent about 20 minutes there. Typical Thai fashion...take a picture, then leave! It seems like in general, people don't  like to be in the sun or the water I think too.

The pond at my homestay

Here is a shortened list of some things I did wrong while there:
-I put too much food on my plate at once (only tiny bite-size portions are taken from the dishes)
-I had dark colors on when we were going to a temple (white or bright colors are strongly encouraged)
-I didn't make my bed correctly (Thai people fold their covers into a square then place at foot of bed)
-And many, many more!

There were moments when I felt just pure, overwhelming discomfort.  The desire to communicate is so strong within me, that it kills me when I can't!  Also, I wanted to be as polite and respectful as I can, but I kept making mistakes! However, overall 95% of the experience was sanuk (fun)! They lived on land with every exotic fruit tree imaginable (bananas, coconuts, dragonfruit, mangosteen etc etc) and produce of all varieties.  I would wake up and they would show me how they picked the food and then we would prepare it for the next meal. Pretty dang local right there!  I also learned how to bucket shower! I had to ask A how it was done and she looked at me like I was crazy.  Good times.

Bangsaen Beach with 'A'

But seriously...I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life! They were sooo hospitable and generous and I could tell that they liked me even though they couldn't communicate it.  Oh and the mom stroked my chin and Wahn held my hand all the way out the gate as I was leaving...good sign? lol. I think so.

Wat Sothon

Alrighty, I need  to go to bed so I can be alive for training tomorrow! Love and miss you all.

Thailand Will Make Me Fat, Patient and a Blessing.

So living in Thailand is going to be nothing like living in the Western world.  I can already see the widening gap between my experience with studying abroad in Northern Ireland and my life here in the jungle (currently the urban jungle that is Bangkok).  When I went to the good 'ol NI, I could make a nice and tidy bullet point list of cultural differences for my blog.  HA! There is no possible way to even BEGIN a list of different things here.  Every morning I wake up to a new world, different scents (lots of poop), different tastes (somtam and exotic fruit smoothies are my favorites so far), different creatures (cockroaches, no me gusta), different colors (ok maybe I'm getting carried away here...).  But seriously, by the fifth time my treadmill at the gym made me break into a dead sprint for my life and I couldn't figure out how to turn it off, I realized couple things about myself in this current stage:

First, I have become a child again.  By that I mean that I literally feel like a baby here---no ability to communicate (besides dramatic gesturing) and I have no idea what is happening around me most of the time.  I can tell that I am going to learn humility here.  I barely have the ability to say 'yes' or 'no' and have only just memorized how to explain what my name is.  Oh and side note: Siri means 'blessing' here and is a common first name. So henceforth, I will only answer to being called 'blessing'...ok? :)

Secondly, my independence and general self-reliance is simply not going to cut it here.  Asian cultures tend to be more communal, so I am told, and there is an interdependence that we just don't have in the U.S.. The community is vital to survival here and I know that I am going to have to rely a TON on others for help, communication, support etc.  Similarly, the new friends I have made so far have shown me how 'hanging out' is done in typical communal Thai fashion.  You meet up, probably an hour later than expected, wander the streets, eat, teach Siri dirty Thai words, see the gorgeous temples/parks/monuments/museums, eat, meet up with more friends that have just been called to join, eat, laugh, make fun of Siri butchering Thai words, and lastly, eat.  A beautiful, sweaty, meandering experience that I am sure will soon make me very, very fat indeed.

Thirdly, I have rediscovered my lack of the virtue of patience!  Another one of my many flaws that have been exposed to me here.  Even walking the twenty hot minutes to Fulbright lectures every morning, I have to coach myself to walk slower.  I keep finding myself zigzagging around the Thais on the sidewalk, awkwardly sneaking through gaps in people or resorting to the striding my long American legs down the street and putting myself at the risk of death by tuk-tuk (mini open motorcar...provides a genuine thrill when I need a little more adrenaline in my day).  The pace is different here; sun and culture combine to set a new, flowing rhythm of life.

On a lighter note, I have gotten to see, hear and do some sweeet things here already!  Some of my favorite include doing Jazzercise with hundreds of really legit people and my new Thai-biochemistry-student-friends in huge Lumpini Park (a Central Park-esque feel), wandering into a hilarious relay race competition in Chula University's stadium (sorry Thai peeps...but you need to get into shape!), karaoke and dancing with the past year's Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (one girl dislocated her knee cap and tore tendons while dancing....NEED I SAY MORE?) and honestly the daily ritual experience of obtaining non-lethal sustenance from street vendors.

Well family and friends, I have learned so much already in the past nine days (I have also figured out I love to use parentheses when I write) and I cannot wait to continue to share them with you!  Please keep me updated on your life, seriously feel free to just stream-of-consciousness email me, and keep me in your happy thoughts and/or prayers.

Miss and love you all.

Love,
Blessing (Please only call me this from now on)

Water, New Friends & A Bright Green Poncho

Sawadee kha from the BKK!  It's a rosy 5:52 am and jet-lag makes me an early bird.

Twenty hours of flying and two days later, I finally made it into Bangkok! I got to meet up with six other Fulbrighters on the last leg from Tokyo to BKK and it was nice to entire a new country with a group of new friends.

We are staying at the lovely Chulalongkorn University, one of the most prestigious schools in BKK I am told, in the International House.  I share air-conditioned and room-serviced room with another Fulbrighter and I have to admit, Fulbright treats its employees well.

It is true that a barrage of moisture, heat and smell hits you when you step out of the climate-controlled housing, but I think I am already getting accustomed to these elements.  It's crazy how one can adapt. Fortunately this time of year also is the rainy season, which tends to be cooler, so we are getting eased into Thai weather with baby steps.

Now about water.

For a water-spoiled Portlander, even thinking about water is a new concept.  I woke up my first morning here and my first thought was that I was thirsty.  Airplanes, humidity and losing my water bottle do not mix apparently.  It took me until literally turning the faucet at the sink to remember that this was a terrible no-no! I have this weird notion about myself that I have a very hardy stomach, so it was a stab to the ego to concede and try to find water in the lobby downstairs.  As of now, I have semi-figured out the drinking water station that runs on baht and this is what the process looks like:
1)  Insert an assortment of coins until the machine decides it likes one
2) Proceed to put my water jug/bottle under the pouring faucet until it spills over, pours over the machine and myself and sprays everywhere
3) Smile foolishly and nod as the ever kind and patient security guard once again tries to explain the machine to me.

My roommate Stephanie and I at sushi

Hey, at least I got some water.

On another note, my roommate Stephanie has family friends here in Bangkok and so last night the lovely Chinese couple, Masy and Michael, took us out for a delightful Japanese sushi dinner, followed by grocery shopping at the giant TESCO Lotus store down the street.  Although BKK is very westernized, it's still exciting to the senses to walk through a chain grocery store and see exotic fruits and foods I've never heard of.  My favorite purchases so far are dragon fruit, mango (yellow and pointed) and a bright green plastic poncho for 19 baht, equivalent to about 50 cents.

Tomorrow our new friends are taking us to church, first a Cantonese-speaking service and then one in English.  It's amazing how fast I feel connected and supported here.

After dinner I had a very Romantic (capitalization intended) evening.  Britt and I are reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment together and so I sat downstairs in the courtyard and started reading it in the night heat, accompanied by whirring fans and two enemy cats having a stare-down. Then I watched from the balcony my first Thai lightening storm streak across the skyline.

I have to admit that anything I do here feels cooler because...well...I'm here!

Goodbye home, Portland and America!

I am currently sitting on the slick black chairs in PDX airport, waiting for the first leg of three flights to Bangkok, Thailand and wondering how I got here!

It seems like just a day ago that I spontaneously decided to apply to the Fulbright Program. I had no idea what the next step in my life was going to look like and I didn't feel peace about jumping straight into a career. No, no...not quite yet!  I have much adventuring and traveling to get out of my system before then :)

As I scanned the list of countries that you could apply to be an English Teaching Assistant in about one year ago, my eye caught on Thailand.  Why, you ask? I seriously couldn't tell you, other than the fact that my family has sponsored two children there for years and I have had countless friends go and come back with amazing stories about beautiful people with smiles that will melt anyone's heart.

But as I sit here, looking out to a year---365 days full of the unknown, different, scary, challenging, and hopefully fulfilling---I know this is where I am supposed to be going with my life.  I can't quite tell you why, but I hope that God gives me direction and continues to guide me through this new turn my life has taken.  I pray and hope for new understanding about who I am supposed to be and how I fit into this thing called the world.

I would also covet everyone's prayers or good thoughts as I fight jet-lag (due to my recent return from a month of backpacking through Europe with two college girlfriends...I know, I know, I'm crazy!) and transition to a new culture, life and job.  Please stay in touch with me the best you can, if only to send little updates about your life via Facebook or Email...a little bit of home always makes life better :)

Until then, sawadee kha!