Bangkok a-go-go

I heart Chang (elephants)!

Thailand so far!!! (written October 6th 2010)

I can't believe I am finally here! I'm slowly getting over my jet lag and adjusting to life in Bangkok. It's been funny traveling around in a pack of the 12 Fulbright Farang (means foreigner or guava in Thai).
During the first couple days, we two of the four mega-malls in our neighborhood. One was super up-scale and even had a market inside that would have given whole foods a run for its money. Thais are very into food courts and they are actually seen as very nice places to eat unlike in America. In the mall, which has seven floors connected by a maze of escalators, I managed to find the cellphone/electronic floor which was a mass of blinking lights and iphones. I bought a charger and now i'm officially reachable. I still haven't figured out my country code or how to dial from the US but email me if you want my number and I can get it to you when I figure it out.

I can't believe we've only been here five days and at the same time I've already been here five days!
I've been to the HUGE outdoor market where there is everything and anything you can imagine, from beautiful handmade paper to silks to graphic tees. I may have to leave all my clothes in thailand so I can bring back all the beautiful things I saw there. After a long day of adventuring, my new friend Stephen and I decided to take our chances with a Thai foot massage. For 100 baht (about 3 dollars) we got stretched, kneaded, and slapped until our feet felt like air. This was also particularly hilarious because both Stephen and I are extremely ticklish (any of you who know me can vouch for this!). The lady massaging me though it was soooo hilarious as I giggle and flinched my way around her foot massage. All in all, it was not the most relaxing process but the end result of happy, pain-free feet made it well worth it.

Our program staff is wonderful! The director is this firecracker of a woman who made our first day of orientation into one long round of stand-up comedy. She was welcoming and had an amazing smile that immediately put us at ease. She told us to call her Pi-tip. Pi means aunt in Thai and Tip is her nickname. Our Thai teacher is equally wonderful and her smile and demeanor remind me very much of Kathy Yep for those of you who know her. She smiles all the time and says oh kah instead of ok (kah means yes in Thai).

Other tidbits:
-We were sitting in the courtyard of the dorm building and this cat came near us. This isn't unusual as there are tons of stray dogs and cats on the streets who are fed by the various shop owners where they like to hang out. All of us fulbrighters, were looking at the cat saying, “aww how cute!” and then the cat looks directly at us and poops. We had to evacuate the area from the smell so I guess his tactic worked...
-I tried durian sticky rice...it was delicious! Many know durian's reputation as being extremely smelly but I guess if you mix anything with enough coconut milk and rice it will be incredibly tasty.
-Chai yen or Thai iced tea is only about 75 cents and sooo yummy! There is also a woman in the food area at the university where we have orientation who sells fresh fruit and you can get a bag of pineapple whenever you want for 10 baht (25 cents).
-Today we had a lecture on healthy living in Thailand which basically scared the crap out of all of us. So sometime this week I will be braving the Thai healthcare system to get a japanese encephalitis shot because the program failed to mention that it is endemic to Northern Thailand and though rare, fatal in 60% of cases. SKETCH. Thankfully, the vaccine that cost $800 in the US costs 400 baht or a little over $13. So wish me luck!