Assimilation 101

Ah, Thailand. What a country. Even though our guest lecturer told us that we're all still in the "honeymoon phase" of our experience and that culture shock with inevitably set in, I will remain in my blissful bubble until then. This place seems to have it all - and while I'm not blind to the challenges that Thailand surely faces, it is a wonderful place with so much to do, eat, try and learn.

Yesterday, seven of us explored the vast monster of JJ Market. It's one of the largest markets in Asia (35 acres), and we spent hours roaming through the stalls that held everything from puppies to shoes, furniture to neon signs, quails' eggs to house plants. I felt like a child on Christmas! Buying anything was so overwhelming - how do you settle on something when there are thousands of vendors? We also got a great lunch at this little dive where we were the only farangs (foreigners) in sight.

Friday we went to this cultural performance and elephant show that was planned for our Loyola group in a botanical garden/resort complex. Can't say it was the highlight of my Thai experience. (Photo: why are hula hooping elephants in our budget?  Tourist much?)  But then! We all went to a hotel in Pattaya and spend the afternoon at the beach and pool. Dinner was served overlooking the ocean, and it was a great way to relax and bond as a group.


Last night we celebrated my birthday at a bar, then a nightclub - with techno, live percussion and just a wee bit too much tequila. Is it possible to reject shots that people buy for you? I have yet to be successful in this regard. Everyone was so nice and made my birthday night really special, with cake, well-wishes and love. Due to the craziness ofyesterday, my actual birthday (today!) was a pretty chill one, but definitely cool to be spent in Thailand.

Some other thoughts:

Motorcycle taxi is my new favorite activity. I've started looking for reasons to take them because they are just unbelievably awesome. The coolest moment of my life to date occurred aboard one of these fabulous contraptions, riding back from the night market about 15 minutes away. Here I am in my ABAC uniform, riding side-saddle (necessary with the pencil skirt!), eating a tray of papaya salad, while zipping through traffic, side-streets and walkways. Literally the closest I've ever been to being in a movie - if only there was a soundtrack!

Learning Thai has been an interesting experience, especially trying to practice with the local Thais. Some of the sounds don't even exist in English, which makes it a bit difficult, along with the different vowel tones within words. I've been making a noble attempt to use phrases whenever I can, but people just laugh at me. If it wasn't a common experience for the Loyola crowd then I would feel offended, but it's been happening constantly - not exactly the most encouraging reaction! I've noticed, though, that they don't seem to be laughing at us but with us - and trying to "save face" is a big thing here. It's more like "Oh, look at this poor girl pronouncing everything wrong: let's just laugh it off together!" ....or at least I hope so?

Beware: Thai massages may transform you into a new person. We got them for 150 baht for 1 hour - about 5 US dollars - and it was a nice balance between gentle and deep tissue. It's going to be very hard not to get them too frequently - I could very easily slip into a regular massage schedule.

I've become sooo cheap here, and now I've started to think about prices in baht. If we all thought in US prices, we would end up buying everything - the exchange rate is incredibly in our favor. To get an idea, you can get a fabulous meal for a little over 1 US dollar, and shoes from the market are about 3. An hour-long cab ride is less than 10, and 1 liter of filtered water is 3 cents. Going back to the states is going to be depressing, and I can't imagine how much I used to pay for everyday things at home.

That's it for now!  I'll probably stick to the Sunday night posting schedule since it's been working out so far.  Back to class in the morning - woot woot!  I need to wake up bright and early to be at BangNa campus by 8:45.

May your day be less humid than mine, but with an equal dose of adventure~

Greetings from Bangkok~

Sawat-de ka!  Hello!  We've been in Bangkok for less than a week, and I already feel like so much has happened.  Every hour holds something new to explore, or a silly mistake to make, or something exciting to learn, and I think that the next 5 months are going to make for an incredibly enriching experience.

I'm living on the older Assumption University campus, Hua Mak, with all my fellow Loyola peeps, and attending classes at the newer campus, Bang Na, about 45 minutes away.  Classes are so wonderfully relaxed compared to the states - and apparently the professors love us because we actually pay attention and are fluent in English.  I'm taking Thai Politics and Government, Ethics, Thai Language and Culture, Buddhism (if a section opens up), Social Dance (thai dance, apparently?) and Scuba Diving (so. PUMPED).  Everyone is already 3 weeks into the semester, so we have a bit of catching up to do - and have been thrown into the fray rather quickly.  But I guess it's an experience, right?

Before we arrived in Bangkok, we had quite the travel experience.  I flew from Boston to New York, where I met up with the rest of the group, then a 15 hour flight over the North Pole to Hong Kong.  We spent the night there, then flew to Bangkok the next morning - later that night, we started class.  And my bag got lost which was a bummer! But it's safe and sound now.  The first few days felt a bit frazzled with a totally new environment to get used to, from the language down barrier, the food, the classes, and the transportation.

But even everyday experiences can be such a thrill, such as:

• Riding a motorcycle taxi to the Big C convenience store.
• Getting fresh pineapple from a street vendor for about 30 cents.
• Having "Auntie Sam" buy you and your friends yogurt-apple smoothies at 10pm.
• Taking a river boat the Klong to get downtown.
• Triumphantly finding your class, after asking 3 separate Thai students where it is and being redirected twice.
• Going to fantastic, cheap, fun bars without being carded.
• Befriending international students from all over Asia.
• Stumbling upon (and I'm not talking about the internet toolbar) a fantastic market while exploring the neighborhood.

For the first few weekends, we have pre-planned excursions that get us acquainted with the city and the rest of our group.  And since we only have classes Monday through Friday, there's plenty of time for extracurricular trips.  This past Friday, we took the Klong river boat to Wat Pho, which is one of the more famous temples in Bangkok.  The boat was fantastic, except for the fact that the canal water is so toxic that you should try not to get splashed at all costs.  Apparently if you fall in, you need to be seriously scrubbed down....but it was a handy (and cheap!) means of transportation.  The architecture and statues at Wat Pho were stunning, especially the ridiculously gigantic reclining Buddha statue.  Buddhism seems to be such a wonderfully peaceful and introspective way of life that I really want to explore during my time here.  Later that afternoon, we went to Khao San road, the backpacker's mecca.  It's one of the most traveled areas in Thailand, known for it's hippie-esque feel.  Although it was neat to check out, there are much better markets for locals that we are sure to explore later, with less tourist traps and westernized goods.

On Saturday, we took a rather random trip to Siam amusement park.  From buddhas to roller coasters within less than 24 hours!  It was pretty similar to a park in the states, although there were a lot less people and they styling was a bit different.  When a storm blew in and the sky opened up, we relaxed on the lazy river in the rain.  It was so wonderful to finally cool off from the 95 degree, humid weather - and I love swimming in the rain regardless.  They also have the world's largest wave pool, which was fine until a lady started taking pictures of us.  I know we stand out, but seriously?!

Today was a chill day, and we took a walk around the neighborhood to explore what is in our own backyard.  We found an amazing market, with everything from squid on a stick, to curtains, to bear-shaped pancakes (sooo good), to faux Prada wallets, to street sushi (sketch?), to perfume balls.  We'll definitely be back again, when we're hungrier and have more money in our wallets.  It was such a great atmosphere, and was populated almost exclusively by Thais- very different from Khao Sun road the day before.

I also got to meet up with Bethel, a friend from Loyola, who is spending the week in Bangkok with her mother.  I took a cab downtown which turned out to be wonderfully affordable (about $8 for an hour ride) and not sketchy at all.  So far, I have felt much safer here than in many places back home, and everyone has been very friendly and professional.  I also saw the area where the riots happened a few weeks ago - amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the burned mall stood in the background.  It's crazy to think that something so publicized and hyped-up seems to be almost an afterthought.  I got to go shopping with Bethel and out to an Ethiopian restaurant - very strange to be eating Ethiopian cuisine in already-foreign Bangkok, but it was delicious.

That's all for now - good morning from tonight.  11 hour time difference!  :)

Testing, 1, 2...

Alright!  So I finally got this up and running, and feel (at least somewhat) familiar with the controls, options, etc.  I've linked the blog to Picasa, an online photo sharing app, to make picture viewing a bit easier.  And I love photos, so there will probably be more pics than text.

This is really just an experimental post.  Nothing too exciting to report, except for the fact that I still haven't starting packing.  But I guess that's not really exciting anyways...

But you should subscribe - because starting Sunday, there will be many new happenings.  And I would love to hear from all my friends and family who I'm going to miss dearly!  It hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving the wonderful 01970.  So don't be a stranger, because I will be extremely Skype-able.

I'm done blabbing.  The end.