I wrote this on Saturday at about four in the morning (my sleep is still funky). I then spent the better part of Sunday trying to locate wifi. Unsuccessful, I left the apartment at about 4 this morning. Didn't know that the busses don't run until 5! That said, I got some correcting done.
I will teach my first class at eight this morning, so being at school by 5 45 was a good thing.
Without further rambling, here is the post.
I Flew, if Not in a Superman-Esque Way
Well ladies and gentlemen (and dudes that may not qualify as gentlemen),
I am now in Thailand, the land of smiles. The trip took somewhere near 39 hours (once you count the time difference). The long haul was the seventeen hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong – on the whole, a nice leg.
The food was impressive on the whole trip – Cathay pacific served some excellent Asian dishes. My main meal was prosciutto with melon and tomato, A really good roll, Chicken with sweet tomato sauce, egg fried rice, mixed veg, Milano cookies, and Haagen Daas vanilla. Yes, I said Haagen Daas. They also brought plenty of tea around.
The Hong Kong airport was pretty cool – the terminals seemed to be on two floors. I was on the top floor, allowing me to see the tall ceiling. I thought it was really cool. There was a lot of food there, and I had some excellent snacks (except for this tea drink that I bought- the lychees tasted odd). I also saw a restaurant across the way that I mistook for saying “The Spagetti Warehouse.” For most of you, that is not important, but my family gets it.
I arrived at around 1:15 am Bangkok time, and was very impressed with the efficiency that they had for getting us processed. Suvarbhumi airport is very new, and it shows.
Professor Supatra and her neice came to pick me up, which was very nice. She is such a nice lady- always smiling and being very helpful.
The drive through the city that morning was very cool – we drove past the UN building, Parliament, Palace, and her school (RMUTP – not the same one at which I will teach. I was amazed that people were still out and about at that time – and they didn’t appear to be partying. I was also amazed at the fact that it was probably 85 degrees and 125% humidity (I am already somewhat used to it).
The next morning (at 8 am – yeah, I slept about an hour and a half due to waking up early to get ready), Supatra brought me breakfast (ham and cheese croissant sandwich and milk from Seven Eleven – hit the spot for sure), and introduced me to Nok.
Nok has been my “guide” for the trip. Her English is very good and she lived right down the street from me, so she was roped into showing me around. My first day, she was with me the whole time – translating and showing me where things are. She is amazing in that, while she is an unassuming lady, she can be very authoritative when necessary. She has shown me two different ways to get to school and back on the public transportation system, as well as show me where I can buy my food and necessities. Her help has been quite invaluable.
My school is a pretty cool place. I like the fact that everything is open to the outside – the offices open toward an inner courtyard (a pretty nice one at that), and my classrooms have hallways open to the outside (although being 8 stories up with the wind is kind of disconcerting). My students are very nice, but I will certainly have to speak slowly. I was told that they learn English in Primary School, but often forget rules once they get to college. Their English is about as good as my Spanish.
The two people that will be in charge of my teaching are Nut and Diep. Nut is Diep’s wife, and they are both very nice. Diep showed me how to use the grade posting system, as well as provided me with a list of the students’ names “Romanized” ( put into letters that would allow for an English speaker to sound them out). They also set up a desk for me (Diep made me a name label for my desk with my Facebook photo) in the Business “Faculty” (the “Faculty” here refers to the Business department) for me to prepare my classes. Otherwise I have an office that I share with Paul and Ryan (Ryan is English, but has been in Thailand for a while now- knows Thai very well and has a Cambodian fiancée). Overall, pretty sweet digs.
I am sorry, but I will not have pictures for quite some time, as I don’t want to look like a tourist – taking pictures while I am not yet established in my classes.
About life at home these first two days: There has not been much time!
On Thursday night, I pretty much showered, worked out a little (yes, there is a fitness center here – a slight bit more information will be provided in a few), and passed out. Last night, I walked down the street to an outside market. Until I can speak more Thai, however, I don’t want to spend too much time walking around those, as I will get charged more than Thai people. I walked through, and resolved to only buy from places with posted prices (even though names were written in Thai), but most of the stuff that I wanted was without prices. It was a nice excursion, after which I showered and passed out.
The condo is very nice. It has a living room, kitchenette (I say ette, because there is no stove- there is a microwave, electric wok, and a big fridge). The bathroom is very snappy (roomy shower), and a bedroom (with a big bed). The condo is nice, with a keycard entry and workout room (very nice, two benches, some dumbbells [only go to forty pounds, bummer], some treadmills, bikes, an elliptical machine, and a multi-bench (flys, lat bar, and a pull cord from the bottom). Overall, it’s quite the nice place. I have the address… written in Thai. I will work on that.
The commute to and from work is somewhat time-consuming. It can take about 1h 15min depending on how you go. The air-conditioned busses are 11 baht (the exchange rate is 30 baht to the dollar), the un air-conditioned busses are 8 baht, and the “express vans” that hold about 15 people and go from only one point to another (much faster) are 20 baht (they are air-conditioned). There are other forms of transit –tuk tuks, taxis, Glorified flatbed trucks with rails and wooden benches bolted down, and moped taxis (for the very coragous). Traffic here reminds me of New York – very congested – except that people here kind of just fill in space wherever they can. I have seen (in my two days) mopeds zip between two buses that are closing on each other, buses get into spaces that no vehicle should fit into, and more near collisions than one cares to think about (I am in these vehicles, you see). It is impressive how the people here can maintain about 3 inches of separation with their vehicles.
I will provide a quick note about busses. If you are to travel here, be prepared for the busses. Unless a lot of people are getting on, they don’t stop all the way. Getting off is like getting off of a moving walkway (like the airport, but with curbs and dangerous things), and getting on is an adventure. If they stop, then as soon as your weight in in the bus, it is moving. What is impressive, however, are the “attendants” who walk around an collect the fares. They stand the entire time, without using any kind of handrail or anything. You can, however, let them know which stop you want and they will give you a heads up.
I believe that this wraps up the post. It was long. Thailand is a very interesting place, and I am fortunate to have been given the opportunity to get here. Thanks to all of those who helped me get here, and as always prayers are appreciated.
If you want any additional information, then ask! Comment, and at some point I will be able to clear some things up.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful period of time (I don’t know when you are reading all of this).
