In Tak, Thailand.

Finally in the province of Tak! Yesterday's 7:15pm flight had been delayed several times, until finally, at 1am, we flew out of Bangkok's airport. When we arrived at 2:30, our school coordinator was there waiting for us and drove us 2.5 hours to a hotel just outside of Tak City. We were told that we couldn't move into our apartments until Monday, so we're spending a few more days living out of our suitcases. The two other teachers teaching at Takpittayakhom School (N and L) are already certified teachers, and we're all ready to settle down into our new homes and meet our students.

When I woke up this morning, and after a dire need of a shower, I went into the lobby and found out that we had free wifi here at the hotel. At first, I was skeptical, as my previous experiences with "free wifi" resulted in none of the pages loading, despite having all bars full, but it worked well, and I had a nice Skype conversation with my father who stayed up late to Skype with me.

Over the course of the week I've been here in Thailand, I've had a fuller, deeper appreciation for the relationships I've had with the people back in the U.S. Sometimes you end up forgetting that these friendships were created through hard work, understanding, and a lot of time. I can't expect to find a close friend in Thailand so quickly

After my experience with Thai internet (and how you have to pay for it, and even when you do, the internet is really slow), I've realized that Thailand is a great place to cultivate patience. Patience and understanding and acceptance. Ultimately, the goal is to, hopefully, not have to use these electronic devices as a second pair of limbs before it becomes too much.

There are palm trees everywhere in Thailand. I've yet to have coconut juice. It's somewhere on my long "Thailand: To-Do" list, but it will happen. The mosquitoes here are vicious; my legs and feet are covered in bites--but I blame being at Chon Buri beach, as mosquitoes breed and feed like crazy near the water. I've quickly discovered a new distaste for mosquitoes.

My main goal at the moment is to become somewhat fluent in Thai as quickly as possible, as whenever I am walking around with N and L, Thai people look to me for translation. Unfortunately for them, I am not Thai, I do not know Thai, and I cannot translate Thai into English (or vice versa). However, for now, I'll try to come up with lesson plans and incorporate into my school before I begin to fully study Thai. One thing at a time!

Thanks for everyone's well wishes. They keep me going when I feel like going home.

Many thanks to my dad and S for being so supportive and optimistic when I'm crying on Skype. hahaha~ It's much appreciated!

Much Thailand love to those who are following this blog! (Comment, please?)