A Waking Dream

Hello Everyone,

I'm in Thailand at last!  Still a bit jet lagged, so I've been up since 3am setting this blog up.  Yesterday was orientation where we learned the ropes from returning teachers and set up our schedules for the year.  I'll be teaching 11th grade Reading with the option of after school help for other grade levels as well as tutoring students.  The campus here is enormous with 5,000 students.  There are courtyards around every corner and even a fish pond with those gigantic goldfish.  I'll post pictures soon of the campus and the surrounding area.

After orientation a few of the teachers took us to TESCO, a Walmartesque store, nearby to get some of the pleasantries we left at home.  In my case I found not having a towel the first night particularly annoying.  We also got our phone situations figured out. I brought one from the US and had to get it unlocked which was still cheaper than buying a new one outright.  The taxi ride home could not have been worse as I caught my first glimpse of Thai traffic.  It's a combination of New York rush hour and hell.  It took close to an hour to travel two blocks!

Which leads me to comment on the unique driving skills of the Thai people.  If you can maneuver traffic in this city, you can drive anywhere.  Any motorist on the road needs ice in their veins and great insurance. Say a prayer for those who rely on scooters to get around, because I think it's safer to swim in shark infested water than scoot around an unfriendly city.

Jet lag over powered my will to continue exploring for the day, and I clocked out early.

I'd love to read any comments you all might have and feel free to ask questions about each post.  I plan to really get around this city throughout the year, so the pictures and blog posts to follow should be good.