From the Beginning

Before leaving for Thailand, I was really nervous. The three weeks I spent in the states were wonderful. For the first time, I felt really comfortable and knew that I had a life waiting for me when I decided to come back. Because it was so great, obviously it was difficult to leave everything. I was so anxious getting on the plane in LA, and with the Swine Flu making air travel more frustrating that usual, it was quite a challenge convincing myself to board the plane. I am so glad I did. This experience has been amazing. 

As soon as I landed in Bangkok I knew I was in a good place for me. I could feel the difference immediately from the Incheon Airport in Korea. It was so laid back. People were relaxed and enjoying their time. No one was yelling, grunting, or even angry. I was excited. And then I got ripped off. Big time. This is Thailand. 

I paid more than twice as much than I should have for a cab, and the second I got in I knew I was getting a raw deal, but there wasn't anything I could do about it at that point. I took it as an instant lesson, and decided to play the game a bit better in the future. Otherwise I would be giving all my money away for no reason. They will often charge foreigners anywhere from twice as much to over 10x the price for Thai people. I learned how to deal with that immediately, and feel pretty confident in my new-found negotiating capabilities.

Aside from losing money, the first thing I realized was the heat. Man, it is HOTTTT. But more than that, it is humid and there is rarely air condition. In Texas, we are so spoiled. We think we can deal with the heat but we really can't. We just go inside and blast the AC and talk about how hot it looks through the window. Here I have to live it and breathe it everyday. It's almost completely unavoidable. I've discovered that I have the personality of a door knob in this kind of weather. I simply cannot function. I have a friend in town, and he described me as a fish just put back in the water when I'm in AC. Teaching with only a fan is going to prove quite a challenge. I cannot think well enough to answer simple questions, much less teach other people to answer simple questions. We will see how it goes. Luckily, my apartment has an air conditioner. It is a must for me.

After I was here for about 48 hours my feet had swollen up to an extreme. My shoes didn't fit and I had cankles, to say the least. It was so crazy! My feet were squeezing out of my sandals like I had never seen.

To think I was planning to pay extra for hot water in my apartment. You couldn't pay me enough to take a hot shower in Thailand. I never thought I would be able to live without hot water, no matter the outside temperature. It's very very easy to do here, and I'm very thankful for the cool water I use to shower about 5 times a day.