A First Week's Ramble

I feel pretty ridiculous saying that I have just moved halfway across the world and I have nothing to write about. 

I suppose I could give you a rundown of how I can't sleep past 4:45 in the morning, how we started inservice today, how I signed my name about ten different times on documents all written in another language that I was told would result in my own bank account but I really don't know, how I still don't have wireless internet in my apartment which is really killing my productivity, or how I have had "Mr. Aubrey" written on documents for me and I've noticed my name is the only one ever transcribed to Thai, but I feel like that would be pretty boring to read. (Trust me, it would be. I already wrote that post once.) 

I suppose I could also tell you how I managed to delete my shopping list I had been developing the last week or how I'm pretty sure my dinner last night was just goulash with rice noodles instead of macaroni or how the cab driver took the LONGEST possible route back from the mall today which resulted in a fare double the amount it should have been, but that just shows that using Spanish in response to Thai questions won't get you anywhere in life. On another note, I really need to develop my Thai accent here soon. 

I think it's because I've only been here a week, but I don't feel like I've had to go through a big adjustment. I'm sure it helps I saw the basics of my surroundings last summer, but I kinda feel like it's just business as usual right now. In all honesty, I've been pretty secluded this last week. I still don't know enough Thai to do me any good (thus the doubled cab fares), so I haven't ventured out all that much on my own. My days are pretty much spent at school, the mall, or at home. 

I've been feeling a little guilty about this, but not too much yet. I figure this is my own way of settling in. More than once I have wished I could just drive to the ballpark and kick back for the evening, but I know I can't. Other than that, I haven't felt too much of an adjustment. I'm sure I will be singing a different tune in two weeks when I realize I am not going home any time soon.

Today we spent the afternoons working in our classrooms and I realized that school will be starting in two weeks. I'm not sure I'm ready for it, but I don't have a choice. I also realized how much I need to get myself into a routine with my days. My thesis and COMM class are not going to complete themselves. Since I now get up at the crack of dawn (which has never been the case for me... EVER!), I need to learn to be productive in the mornings so I have free time in the evenings to spend with people. I need to be productive in my days, yes, but I also need to allow myself to experience this adventure I'm on. Balance is not my forte, so this upcoming year will be a learning experience in more than one way!

Well Hello There, Jet Lag!

After my nonchalant comment yesterday about jet lag not being so bad, I promptly woke up at 3:45 this morning and knew I was up for the day. I woke up with a little bit of a headache that I thought was due to dehydration, but it kept getting worse after drinking quite a bit of water, so I laid back down about 7:30 and napped for an hour. All that said, though, it's barely after 6 p.m. and I feel like it's about midnight. I'm ready to shower and be done for the day, but if I go to bed now, I will probably wake at 2:30 a.m. or something crazy like that.

Besides my little headache episode and just generally feeling a step or two behind (I was on my third or fourth meal by lunch time... I'm being a hobbit today), I had a fairly productive day. I went and took care of about half of my school business. I was also able to get into my classroom and poke around in there for a spell. I also did quite a bit of unpacking and am working on rearranging the living room. Today was a pretty boring day by any standards... I tried a new meal at the food stand if that counts for anything. Tonight I had Chinese cabbage with crispy pork. It is definitely a meal that will be in my rotation. I also bought my first popsicle after lunch... The fruit popsicles are my absolute favorites!

Amy tried to teach me "bathroom" today but it didn't quite stick. She also showed me where to empty my garbage, so I kinda failed on that regard as well. But she offered to show me the trash room-- I didn't ask, so I'm not taking full responsibility for not finding it on my own. #Badexcuse #Iknow

Tomorrow Amy and I are going to hit up the mall for a few more household supplies and then grab dinner out. Other than feeling sleepy, I don't really feel like life has been too difficult so far. Come back and talk to me in three weeks, though, when I realize I'm actually here to stay and not just on vacation!

And in case you aren't familiar with the eating habits of a hobbit, I leave you with the following. I definitely ate a breakfast, a second breakfast, and observed elevensies before I met Amy for lunch. It's tough getting up so early... I don't recommend it. #Iatepotatochipsforfirstbreakfast #Andsecondbreakfast #Iatefruitforelevensiesthough

via

I'm Here!

I have made it to Bangkok and am working on getting settled in. The internet service hasn't been the greatest the last couple of days and I don't have a wireless router set up yet, so I'm a little limited on my technology. I would say I'm about 95% unpacked and 80% put away. This is my first time "setting up house" per se so I'm still trying to figure out a system. As it stands, I still have most of my toiletries in the kitchen and I have sporting goods in the living room, but I don't plan for things to stay like that for long.

Amy took a large group of us first year teachers shopping today at Magna Bangna. I bought a cell phone and sim card as well as some other pretty exciting things like clothes hangers, Scotch tape, scissors, and some other household essentials. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I need so I held off on buying much. Plus, returns in Thailand are not at all like the States, so I really want to make sure I have a place and a necessity for something before I spend money on it. First things first, though... I really couldn't handle my clothes hangers not matching. Uffda. 

I'm going to spend tomorrow between my apartment and school. I need to go over to the school in the morning and turn in my paperwork. I have also been told to talk to the IT department about obtaining my school computer and taking care of other related business. Amy and I are meeting for lunch and then I am going to spend the afternoon and evening trying to get a routine established. I need to dig through emails and forward school-related messages to my new school account, figure out a reading plan for the semester, map out my remaining class for my speech endorsement, get my Franklin running again (please don't tell my dad I fell behind!), buy minutes for my Thai phone, and figure out where the garbage can is so I can empty my trash! I know I could ask somebody where to empty my garbage can, but I vaguely remember reading about it in my welcome packet and I've been asking so many questions already, I figure it's high time I do something on my own. #Bigkidprobz #Can'tlivewiththeparentsforever #Iknowwheretotakethetrashathome

Jet lag has not been bad at all yet. I think I got a good start after my first all-nighter (I'm not ready to talk about it yet...) and although I definitely feel a lack of sleep today, it's not anything out of the ordinary. I learned two new Thai words today, so my total vocabulary stands at five words. Khao pan gai (think "cow pan guy") is chicken fried rice. I ordered dinner all by myself tonight and paid for it too. Either the price went up from what Amy remembered or the lady scammed me out of 5B, but I'm not shedding tears over 15 cents. The 40B ($1.23) spent for dinner was worth every Baht.

My goal is to stay up until 8 p.m. tonight, so I have another 90-ish minutes. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get my wireless internet set up and then I can move my pictures off my phone and to my computer! Until then, know that I am well, I am working to get rehydrated, and I'm still needing to learn the Thai word for bathroom!

Little Did I Know (Like Usual)

Little did I know when I was on my way to Thailand last year on July 14 (even though my post published on July 15), I would be leaving 366 days later to move to the country I only planned to visit... maybe once or twice. I was sure to visit last summer because, after all, when else would I have an excuse to go to Thailand?? Although I did make the comment last year that I had a hunch my trip was going to be more than just a vacation.

I had a very relaxing, enjoyable time in Bangkok and I even commented to Amy that I would really consider coming back next year (as in this summer...) but I really did only plan to visit.

The joke is on me... I'm moving instead!

I'm looking forward to this new adventure. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm getting a fresh start in life. 

So I will spend today on airplanes in my maxi skirt, Aztec-inspired shirt, and new moccasinsh sandals-- all while pretending to be more hipster than I really am. I also packed a cardigan if that affects my wannabe hipster status any. If I were a good blogger, I would have taken an OOTD picture, but nobody wants to see me at 4 a.m.

Bon voyage, my dears!

See you on the other side of the Pacific!

100 Measly Pounds... And I Don't Mean from England!

Oh well hey there!

In case anybody ever tries to tell you differently, moving internationally is not easy. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't have to plan for six months of teaching, living, and thesis writing in 100 pounds of luggage, one roller board, and one backpack.

If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have honestly answered that I did not have much stuff.

But now?

I definitely know that is not the case.

I have a lot of stuff.

I struggled for a good five days to get my suitcases near weight limit. I finally hit my appropriate weights yesterday. I know there are things I could have done differently-- there always are, but I did the best I could for what I know right now. In my defense, my luggage packing abilities were pretty compromised by needing to haul my necessary grad school materials for the upcoming year. I certainly wasn't going to waste checked luggage space on all of that paper weight, but it really killed luggage flexibility.

At any rate, I don't like having this much stuff. Oi. It's kinda gross, really.

I am on my last 24 hours in Williston and then it's off to Bangkok! Today is a day of last minute errands, birthday lunch and pedis with my mom (Happy Birthday, Mom!), last minute packing, and then dinner with my whole family. I'm looking to make the most of my last day before I make my way to the other side of the Pacific. 

See you on the other side of the date line!