I wish I had a soundtrack to my life.

I mean seriously, the songs just of this past month make me question things. Like hearing George Michael while riding a bus around Singapore. Or that bus trip and its soundtrack on the way to Hua Hin( We swear it was the top love songs of the 80s, followed by a Thai Cd which we quickly learned the words to). Then coming back from the airport today it was oldies, mainly Elvis. And the L, is for the way you look.... song.

Anyways, I went to Singapore for the weekend. Well just 24 hours. And that was enough. I didn't know what to do with myself there. I got there and was quickly overwhelmed. First I couldn't find the hostel, then I couldn't stay at the hostel since they were cleaning, so I chose a random place in my book to go, and left my book at the hostel. So yeah, after spending 30 mins finding the metro, I got to my stop, and realized I didn't know what I was looking for. It was about this point that I realized I was in a country all by myself. I've gone places by myself, like going to Krabi. But my cell phone didn't work in Singapore, and I knew no one. Yeah people knew I was there, but its a big place. No one knew my hostel, flight times, anything. I started to freak, but then realized it was okay. And that somewhere in these past 3 years, I really have gotten courage. All this traveling by myself, going off to half way around the world. I never imagined this would be my life.


Eventually after my freak out I had a delicious lunch in one of the many malls. And I used chopsticks, which I really need to work on. I have to say though, as much as I didn't really enjoy Singapore, the food there was delicious. For dinner I had turkish food, so falafel and this bread/spinach/cheese thing. I was in heaven. I miss having good food. I really think after this summer I will never want to see rice or noodles again. Or at least for a few weeks.

My trip to singapore was spent the majority on a bus. Like those big red opentop city tour buses everywhere else in the world. The bus just came along and I had no idea where I was, so I jumped on. It seemed like a good idea. I really got to see the majority of the city and it was cool. And there was no more getting lost or mass transit issues. So I was happy.

My one goal in going to Singapore was that I had wanted to go on the night safari. Well it was full at my hostel. And by the time I paid for this bus tour, I didn't want to spend another 40 bucks to go the zoo. So I did one of the night tours through the bus company. We went to go see the biggest show in Singapore. OH wow. Basically, it was a bunch of kids lipsyncing and being overdramatic, like seriously over dramatic with the hands and such. It felt like the Indiana Jones show at Disney world, mixed with a fountain show, and then 10 times worst. All the Asians were clapping and taking pictures, I was not that impressed. It was hilarious though in some way. And I guess it was better than spending the night in the hostel, where I found it impossible to sleep.

Anyways, tonight is my last night in VP tower. I'm actually sort of sad. It's weird with everyone being gone, I don't know what to do. So I did laundry and now am waiting to pack. I hate packing. But it is nessecary. I hate to say it, but I might have changed my mind, I think I might just miss this city. All yesterday I just wanted to go home, home as in VP tower.

Part 1: Completed

And my Thai field school is done with. It's a huge sigh of relief. Granted I still have some assignments to do for it, but this whole month in Bangkok, this group, it's done. I feel like I haven't learned much while being here. I also feel at the same time I really haven't made any connections with this group. It was a great experience, and as always, I never have regrets, I just don't know. It could have been a lot better, let's say that. It's over though, so yay.

The last few days here were pretty blah. Wednesday and Thursday I really only left the room to go eat. Today we had a final group meeting, then I went on some adventure to the mall, and then a group dinner. Oh, and I decided to cut my hair. Yep, went to the mall, bought scissors, and cut it. I think it turned out pretty good, considering I've never done this before. We shall see my opinion in a few days on that matter though.

Tomorrow it is up bright and early to Singapore. Just a 24 hour trip, basically a visa run. I hope I get to see the city, I'm afraid I might be too tired or overwhelmed going there all on my own. It as always, will be an experience.

Is it August yet?

I'm in a very weird state right now. With the field school ending in 3 days, everyone here is anxious to go home. Everyone has been talking about how they miss people from back home and all that such. You can really tell it is the end though, because we are all just starting to grate on each other's nerves. Which is making me slightly happy this is ending. The field school, well its been unexpected. I really feel like this has been a month of vacation, not school. I'm getting credits though, even though I feel completley clueless about Thailand or anything anthropological.

But back to the going home thing. I've heard it several times, people don't know how I do it, not going home after this. Well, I don't know how I'm going to do it either. It's not so much I want to go home. I know CT is boring as can be, and no one is in Raleigh right now. I just want it to be August, so school(well school life) can start up and I can see everyone. I miss hanging around with people I can talk to and who know me. On a trip with 9 girls, all of who have strong personalities, it feels like I am on the defensive a lot here. Its a lesson in patience some days, but I never have liked lessons. A huge part of this is also I'm terrified about next month. Terrified. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm completely unprepapred for teaching lessons. I'm sort of just predicting a huge disaster. I think if I could right now, I would drop out of LE. But I cant. And it is something I need to do. It just might take a lot of work.

So with the last few days here, you think I would be running around making the most of the city. Not really. I have seen all the major sights, and the only things I really want to do are on weekends or at night. Yesterday I went to my last temple, the Golden Mount. I think I will be happy to never see another Buddha statue in my life again. After that I was in the need of good food, so Cari and I went to Paragon. Can I say how much I love Mexican food? I was such a pig. It was one of those days where I kept eating because it tasted good, not because I was hungry. So then we walked around Paragon, with me complaining about how full I was. I got some new books to read and wanted to do some shopping. Zara here was so ridiculously expensive, I was highly dissapointed. I guess we were in the desinger mall though. After that we had our last group outing and went on a dinner cruise. It was a challenging night. But 2 large Singhas later, I was doing alright. Like I said, we are all ready to go home.

After all of that, I came back and could not sleep. I don't know what I've caught, but I feel awful today. So after napping on and off until 2pm, I finally got up. That's what an invitation to Mister Donut can inspire. After donuts though, it was right back in bed. And now I just finished watching Definetley Maybe online. It was alright. Nothing too moving, but it did entertain me for 2 hours.

Now I think tonight we are going out to an Issan club with Bill. Something about traditional Issan dance and music. It should be fun. I really do like our professor Bill. He's been frustrating at times, but he is such a nice man, and I love all of his stories. It's just about the timing. And well, sometimes Singhas help with that issue.

It's called courage.

Yesterday we had our last class session. It really was just tying up business, nothing class like. I still am in a bit of disbelief about how this whole program turned out, especially after Peru last summer and hours of homework last night. I'm not complaining though. I don't feel like I've learned much here, and yet I'm getting 6 credit hours. Hopefully when I get home I will realize the impact this month has had.

So after "class" I came back here just to hang out. Some people had said they were going over to the big bargain/knock-off mall. I can always put in some more shopping, so I decided to take a nap until they called. Well, I never got a call, just the intrusion from the maids here. It was good to just take an afternoon to rest, I was back in Bangkok 24 hours and I was already exhuasted. There's just something about this city that wears me out.

Jenn and I had decided we both wanted to check out Khao San Road, which is backpacker's alley. Wow, I figured out where all the Westeners in this city are hiding. My defnesive coat definetly came out, establighing that I was not like these tourists, but know my way here. I think my face may have betrayed taht though, I was sort of walking around with my mouth half open. There were so many people, stores, bars, vendors, it was insane. Awesome to check out though. Jenn and I had come with a mission plan, falafel and tattoos. The tattoo thing started in Hua Hin where we saw an ad for a place, which then turned out to be sketch-y. The place we went was still a bit sketch, but it was clean. I feel like everything in this country is a bit sketchy and just slapped together, so it was fitting. So after finding the falafel, which wasn't too impressive but still tasted great after all this rice and noodle eating, we hunted down the place we read about. Took us a while, but we found it. I never have gotten too good at the map skills. Anyways, I knew what I wanted, and Jenn was looking to be inspired. I think I overwhelmed the guy because he obviously did not like writing out English characters. He told me which script he liked best, and nope, of course I like another one. So I think based on that and the fact he was a bit uncomfortable, I might have paid a bit more than I should have. He did a great job though, and I love it. It may have taken me 2 years and several walking outs of tattoo parlors, but I now have my tattoo. yay.

After all of that, we decided we deseved ice cream But of course, Khao San road is the one street in this city that does not have a Swensens. We gave up eventually and just came back here. Some of the other girls were going to Rain Tree, this bar that plays local music down the road. I went for a little while. A Thai man defiently tried to pay Jenn to take her home last night. Note, even if you are an anthroplogist and need to document, some times it is best to avoid taking pictures of people. After several attempts and awkward moments latter, the guy left the table. I think he may have finally understood the "no". I was done at that point. But of course somehow my glass was magically getting refilled. I can say, they don't lack on service in Rain Tree. I eventually got out of there, and we stopped at 7-11 to finally get that ice cream.

Not sure what today holds. It's my last week here and there's so much I want to see, but I dont know. A lot of it is night activities, so it is hard to fit it all in. I think tonight we might finally be going on the river cruise. I'm excited about that. Maybe I'll go see my last few temples today, I haven't been to a temple in awhile so I think I can handle it. I also might be returning to Khao San, I think some of the other girls got inspired to get tattoos. We'll see.

Just in case anyone watches the news..

I'm alive and well here. CNN just played footage of the protesters and such. They've been in the city for years. We drive by in taxis and they are just napping on the street. I guess there was a big movement on Saturday, but I wasn't here. It's making papers and the news, but is nothing to worry about. I guess the last time there was coup, the big thing was just to go take pictures. I really have never felt safer in a city.

Random facts I forgot to mention.

-I got bit by a crab at the beach. A tiny little fellow, but he bit me none the less.
- I think my ankle is royally messed up due to numerous temple climbings and wave jumping at the beach.
-Note: you can not play dirty hippy backpacker if you pay for a 10$ meal with your credit card.
-I miss the sun.

I'm beginning to change my mind on city life.

I could live ocean side forever. I haven't even back in Bangkok 3 hours and I want to scream. This could be in part due to the fact that as we were landing in Bangkok, I realized that as thouroughly as I had checked the hotel in Krabi, my keys were still in that dark corner of the security box. Ooops. At least I think it will only cost 300 baht, or $10 US. Which is much better than expected. Oh, and coming home from the airport? Worst taxi driver ever. I mean worst than the one that kicked us out of the cab. There were signs everywhere at the airport saying meter is the only legal fare for taxis. Of course as soon as I hop in one, he tells me $500 baht. I say no and he starts yelling in thai. So much for that farang friendly sign on the door. He got the point though when I opened the door, and turned on the meter. Then he insisted on using the tollway, and tried to not give me change. And of course he went through victory monument, adding a half hour to the taxi ride. I think it is bad when I know the shortcuts to take around here more so than the taxi drivers know. At least only one more week in this city.

The beach was amazing. I want to go back this instant. The resort, that I splurged on for $30 US a night was worth every penny. They did the whole towel animal thing, and there were flowers everywhere. I had my own little hut almost, it was adorable. Exactly like how staying at the beach in Thailand should be. And the breakfast there that was included was awesome. I miss having real breakfast, and not just "bakery", or toast as we call it back in the states. Rather I had real eggs(that don't make you sick like mezzanine's do) and juice, and coffee, and banana pancakes. I love banana pancakes I have decided. It feels sort of like a tragedy that I have never had them before this week. Breakfast was the only decent food down there though. Last night I went exploring and chose a place with a real brick oven, so I could eat decent pizza. Big mistake. I should have noticed the thai/german/italian mixed menu, but nope. First off they gave me the wrong pizza, and tried to tell me I just didn't know what I ordered. Then my 4 formaggi pizza has almost no formaggi. Umm that's kind of the point. The one cheese on there was cheddar. So woohoo for getting cheddar finally, I just didn't expect it on my pizza. It also proved the point that as delicious as cheddar cheese is, it doesn't belong on some things, like pizza. Other than the food adventures though, the beach was great. I spent all 3 days just laying out on Ao Nang, the beach 400 meters away. I had all these plans to go to other beaches and go snorkling or trekking, but that beach was just too nice. I love laying out in the sun. It's sort of sad getting sunburn gives me such satisfaction, I know I will pay for this one day with skin cancer.

Now I think I will just go lounge around my room, not sure if anyone else is in the city. That and my internet is not working in the room, so I'm at the internet cafe. Hopefully when I go back it will be working. There are a million things I should do, like laundry, but laziness shall prevail.

It's been insanity.

Ooops, I've been a slacker. Well not a slacker exactly, just really busy. Which I knew as soon as that happened this blog would be done, and well, look what happened.

I don't even know when I last wrote. So here's quick overview, Friday went to some museums, then out. Saturday got up early and took a day trip to Kanchaburi to see the bridge over river Kwai and the tiger temple. Tiger temple was sweet. I loved it. Came back, had one of the craziest taxi rides(getting kicked out of a taxi and listening to sound of the music. it was unbelivable). Then to bed to wake up again early Sunday to head to Hua Hin for the beach. Monday, tried to go to a national park but got frustrated, and spent the day beach side instead. I love the beach. Especially when you can get a chair and umbrella with beach side drink service for all of $3. Then today got up early again(does anyone else see a trend?) to go to a monkey temple. The monkey ended up on my head, and the other tried to pull down my skirt. This was after we finally got there, with some off path trekking. Then it was a long long bus ride back to Bangkok.

Now I'm playing catch up(or am pretending to) before going to bed to get up for 7 tomorrow to head to Aytthaya(the old Thai capital).
Sorry I have no effort for this. The past few days have had so many stories, but to type it all up would take hours. And I just don't have hours right now.

Miss everyone.

Another day trapped in Mezzanine

So far it's only been 30 minutes in this place. Today better not be another 3 hour long ordeal. People got really pissed off about yesterday and just this whole trip in general. I'm not so pissed but just disappointed. There were a lot of excursions and such that we were told we would be doing as a group, and then it turns out it is all on our own, and we have to pay out of pocket. Which is not only confusing, but makes this trip a lot more expensive. I've just taken it for what it is though.

Yesterday after the 3 hour class it was really too late to do anything. I had wanted to go to a museum or something, but all those places close at 3. Maybe today we will get out at a decent hour to do something. So I just spent the day working on assignments and messing around online. I booked a trip to Krabi for our long weekend next weekend. I'm pretty excited, just to have a few days at the beach to relax. And there might be opportunities for elephant trekking, which we all know was my goal in coming to Thailand. And I booked a wicked nice resort, so it will be different than the city. Which is what I need.

I had tried to go to KhaoSon road again last night, but didn't want to go adventuring on my own. Instead Shayna and Natalie were trying to find this place the Pickle Factory, so I went along. We never found it, mostly due to not knowing addresses or anything. SO ordering Pizza Hut was the substitute. I've eaten so much pizza since being here, probably more so than even in Italy.

I don't know what the plans are for today, I am thinking about the mall and going to see Kung fu Panda. Who knows. For now though, its being forced to sit here and not being able to hear what the professor is rambling about.

I might just scream.

I have been stuck in "class" for over 2 hours now. This is ridiculous. I can't hear the professor, and even when I can, there is no pattern or point to this information. We are here to be seeing the city and exploring, so why are we stuck in this restaurant?

It's not even that I have any plans for this afternoon, but this is so frustrating. The professor is such a disorganized man, and then he got mad at us all for not going to a class he didn't tell us about yesterday. So now structure has been installed, or so he says. This is just so hypocritical. And right now I feel like being bitter about it.

Yesterday was one long adventure. We went across the river to try and find Wat Arun. The adventure started when the taxi did not drop us off at the right temple. We checked the temple we were at out, then started wandering in hopes of finding Wat Arun. Over an hour later and after wandering through many small Thai alleyways, we found it. What did we search so hard to find? A million in one stairs set up almost as a death trap. It was cool though, especially to get to overlook the city. After that was another adventure through alleyways to the barge museum, these really ornate long boats the King uses for holidays and such. Then it was back across the river to Wat Po. The reclining Buddha there was gigantic. I was just in awe. Then it started to rain, and we had the original intentions of massages, since Wat Po is the official school for them. So we ducked out of the rain and got massages. Less than 11 bucks for an hour massage. It was slightly painful but so relaxing. Definitely would repeat. All of this adventure took from 9 am until after 5, so we were exhausted. I had plans to go out to one of the night bazaars and such last night, but it was just too much for one day. Maybe tonight, if I ever get out of this ridiculous class.

I could become a marine biologist

I'll be honest, I don't feel like writing this right now. But it has been 2 days and I know I should. That and the other two options are, report writing, or sleep. Sleep always is a good idea but I need to stop going to bed so early.

Yesterday(Sunday) I woke up feeling pretty crappy, not physically, just emotionally. I decided the best thing for me to do was just go out on my own, find my own excitement. I don't need anyone else in the group for that. So I got up, and had this whole plan to go to the aquarium and the Jim Thompson house. Well as I was in the skytrain, I realized I didn't have my camera so I just decided on the aquarium and then the mall. The aquarium is the bottom two levels of Siam Paragon, the biggest mall of Southeast asia. And guess what? The aquarium is also the biggest in all of southeast Asia. I really loved the aquarium. My main reason for going was the penguins, but the penguins actually weren't my favorite part. The coolest thing had to be the giant sea turtles. I've never seen an adult sea turtle, so it was pretty awesome. The whole aquarium was filled with things I've never seen, mostly cause many of the fish and such were from around Asia. I stared at each tank for at least a few minutes, just in awe. It was really good because it definitely cheered me up, and I got to spend good time to myself.

As I was finishing up at the aquarium, Shayna called me and asked if I was going to the market. I had wanted to go again, so I grabbed a quick bite at Au Bon Pan(Can I tell you how amazing it was to have a croissant? Thais don't believe in bread) and then went back to meet up with her and Bridget for the market. I did really well in the market on the second go round, I only bought stuff at one store, some sweet silk pillow cases with elephant. My apartment next year is going to be so elephanted out. The limited buying was not to say for lack of trying. A lot of stuff the girls were looking at was clothes, and let's just say, Thai sizing isn't the same as American. So that was out. And the market has a ton of camo and army such stuff. I saw a really awesome shirt in Thai I wanted to get, but they didn't have the sizing and all of that. I don't think it helped that when I stepped up to point, the board under me sent the lady's stuff flying. She got a little upset. But yeah the market was good. We saw squirrels with hats on them. And rare parakeets that were too young to be sold, but I'm ignoring that. I will defiantly try and go back again if I have the time on a weekend.

So after all of that I went to bed early last night, only to wake up to a text at midnight telling me we have class at 9am. So I get up this morning, have a migraine, and don't want to go. But I do, because class here isn't that often so I should. Everyone is there at 9, minus Bill. It's not until at least 9:30 that he rolls up. I swear, I'm not being on time for things anymore. I hate waiting. After all of that, this was one of the longest classes once again, we were there at least 3 hours. And there was no new information. Class ended at least twice, but then he had "oh one more thing" that took another 30 minutes. I guess we have to have class though, and I can't complain since its in a restaurant.

After "class" I had wanted to go the Jim Thompson house, but with my camera today. Jim Thompson is this American who came to Thailand after WWII and re-established the silk industry, and built an amazing teak house. Then he wandered off on some path one day and disappeared. It's an interesting story. But his house. I could so live there. His collection includes a lot of rare Thai and Burma artwork, including ancient Buddhas. It was really neat.

As we went to leave the house, it started down pouring. And I mean down pouring. Cari and I decided to use this time to grab lunch. The restaurant there was surprisingly not that expensive, and is some of the best food I had in Thailand. It was good to eat in a nice restaurant and just take a break. And this whole good meal wasn't even 10 bucks. I love the bhat to dollar exchange rate. It still hadn't finished raining by the time we ate lunch, so we just walked in the rain to MBK, which is this crazy mall. You can bargain for anything in there, and there are vendors set up in the middle. It's market meet mall. It worked out though, I got some sweet yellow jelly shoes for 9 bucks. I've really been wanting yellow shoes. I would have bought a ton more, but then lady just looked at my feet and shook her head no. Oh well.

All of those adventures were pretty exhausting, which explains me being worn out now. After all of this we came back for awhile, then went to the park down the road to watch aerobics. I really liked the park, and want to go spend more time there. After that, our search for dinner didn't go so well, and we ended up in the mall eating pizza. But pizza is good. And is such a comfort food.

As for now, I'm being lazy. And really don't want to do all these assignments. Our due dates aren't so strict, at least that is what is said, so I might bail on them tonight. Afterall, I'm not planning on going to class tomorrow since it was never officially announced, and I'm not up for any more midnight text messages.

I'm waiting for the better than before.

6-6-08

I need to start taking advantage of being in the city, but I just don’t know what to do with myself. Today was just another lazy day. Last night after getting back from the temples, I went to the pool napped, and then just read until I fell asleep. I got a call around 10 to go out, but I just was not up to it. Then this morning I woke up at 6, finished my first assignment, and lounged around. The book I got before I left, the Rosetti Letter, is amazing. I can’t put it down. Which is great for a book I just randomly picked up thinking it would be mediocre and just pass time. It’s a pleasant surprise. So today has been another day of reading that. Cari and I went out around noon to get foot massages. Oh wow. For less than 10 bucks, I had a very pleasant hour. I will be returning. After that we grabbed lunch in the other mall nearby and then I have been back here again all afternoon. Hopefully something will be going on tonight. I’m currently contemplating dinner.

In other news, this trip isn’t off to such a great start anymore. One girl found out some bad news about a friend from home the other day. Now another is in the hospital with food poisioning/dehydration. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for now. I don’t need another repeat of last summer.

7-6-08

I'm beginning to think my impulse decisions may not always be that successful. I don't even know why I am in Thailand right now, or why the heck I am going to China after this. I'm not an anthropologist. It was just a trip to take. All I ever seem to be doing is moving and leaving places, and well it's not as good of a solution as originally planned. I don't know, I guess I'm just having a rough few days here. I haven't really been doing much in the city. The thing is I just don't know what to do. And I never really see people from our group, and it would be nice to have someone to go places with. The group is a bunch of good people, but they just aren't my type of crowd. I can't really feel any connection with these people. It's just that after Italy and meeting such great people, it's a bit like well..... I'll get over it though. I need to make the best of this month, rather than contemplating flights home. This is what I do, I get miserable and then get over it. I'm waiting for the get over it part. It would help to talk to people, but my parents are out of contact and so is everyone else it seems. Hopefully within the next few days I can talk to someone from home, that would be really nice. Ugh, I said I wouldn't miss people while I'm here, and what am I doing? It needs to stop.

Okay, another subject. This morning we went to the market. I got up at 6 to get ready and go because I was told some people were going at 7(well not told, actually I had to ask if people were going). I was all ready at 7, and turns out they all went out last night and now wanted to go later. One girl did get up and go with me though, but she didn't bring money and was tired, so it wasn't as much fun. I did get some shopping in, I could have done a lot more though. The market was huge, we didn't see a fraction of it. Part of it is all pet stores, there were so many adorable puppies and kittens and bunnies. I wanted to pet them all, but the vendors kept yelling at us. I'm just a sucker for animals. We couldn't find the rare animals though, supposedly they are suppose to sell gibbons and such somewhere at the market. It has everything. One notable section was the whole part of camo. Thais seem to really like US Army stuff. It was interesting.

So yeah, we were at the market for less than 2 hours. Now I've been back here reading and don't know what to do with myself. I was thinking of going to the aquarium but I don't know. I need to find something to do though, or else I will just keep being miserable.

I'm getting course credit for this?

6/4/08

For starters, this whole class thing is pretty hilarious. Class is really just getting breakfast at a restaurant. And maybe minor discussion of assignments. Today we get there just for him to tell us there is a new schedule, and that we really aren't doing anything as a group. This is seriously a month to spend in Bangkok, no organization. I can't really complain though. It's a lot of independence which I like. And it give me time to get away and be on my own, which I think I might be needing a lot. The group is great, I just feel I'm in such a different mindset and place in my life than any of them. Who knows. I still don't really know them, so I shouldn't be judging.

6/5/08

Well yesterday was kind of a wash. I went to class, came back took a nap and then went out for an hour to do this mapping assignment. I came back and hung around here, watched Greek which I downloaded off of itunes. Around 4 some people were going to Chinatown so I went along. We really didn't know what we were doing, so we just wandered. There were lots of store fronts that I could have bought a ton of stuff in. But I resisted. We all got pretty tired quickly and then came back. People were ordering Pizza Hut so I joined in on that, after realizing I hadn't eaten all day. So we played Uno and pizza. Which wasn't the greatest, but it was Pizza and was comforting. After that, I went to bed around 9:30. I just really needed a day to rest and catch up on sleep. Everyone here has taken a day so far it seems, and yesterday was mine. I figure it was okay to take one day, then I won't need to keep taking naps or such.

This morning I got up and had "class" at 9. Only 4 of us were there. Bill showed up around 9:20. 4 more people came at 10. Class here is interesting. We didn't really discuss much, it is just a chance to get breakfast and give business to Bill's friend it seems. I don't really mind. Today all we talked about was some Thai words, and how we are all going to get A's here. So a good class in my opinion.

I really wanted to go to a temple today, so Cari and I decided to go visit the Emerald Buddha. What an adventure. We get dropped off from the Taxi and both were in awe. There were tour buses, street vendors, souvenir shops, and of course a gigantic temple. We try to go in the temple where we were dropped off and the guy starts telling me how we can't get in, something about my shoes and pants. So he says the ticket gate is down the road. We go down the road, the guy at the next gate says the temple is closed to foreigners until 2, but the gate is around the corner. So we keep going. This last gate we meet a man who explains we can't get in until 2, its lunch and time for Thais to pray. He shows us on the map what we can go see meanwhile, and of course a tuk-tuk who can take us there. It was hot, I said we should go for it. So we climb in the tuk-tuk(a 3 wheel little cart, its interesting) and head off to see the "lucky buddha".

The "lucky buddha" is down this side road next to a school, with no one there except a few Thais. This was when I started to question things. We go back to the tuk-tuk, the guy says he is taking us to some factory, he gets a gas coupon so we say yes. It's a silk shop that makes tailored suits. One minute in there and we were back out. Our tuk-tuk driver than asks for the map and says on the way to the next temple he knows another shop that gives him coupons. I made him take us to the temple first, figuring maybe we could ditch him. This temple, the marble temple, was actually a real tourist temple. It was nice. Cari and I thought we were suppose to be seeing a marble Buddha, so were a bit confused that it was just a marble temple. After this we went back to our tuk-tuk and he took us to the shop. Another tailoring place, but this one filled with tourists. Sweet, everyone got conned. The people in that store would not leave us alone, they followed us everywhere we went looking around, and finally the lady yells "OKAY, THANK YOU!". I guess that was our sign to leave, and we took it. Once back in the tuk-tuk, the driver asked for our map again and starts to point out more shops. Nope nope nope. We hopped out, there was a taxi right there. I was tired of this whole scam thing. So we caught a taxi and headed back to the Emerald Buddha.

Of course we headed to the last gate we were at, but no, wrong again. So back to the very first gate where we are dropped off, and finally we were allowed in. I got yelled at for my pants(which I had changed into so I would be appropriate) and had to rent a wrap around skirt, which was itchy as can be. After all of that though, we were in. I'm still in awe, that temple was awesome. It was so glitterey. And the warrior statues, I want them. I took millions of pictures there, you know me when I get camera happy. The temple was in the same complex as the Grand Palace. It was ornate as well, but the temple definitely beat it out.

After all of these temple adventures, we went shopping along the little roads. I bought a few things, but am saving out for the giant market this weekend. We then came back and got lunch at Seasoning. It's my favorite place here so far. I got a delicious smoothie(yes, Thailand has smoothies) and a chicken burger. I still building up my adventure skills for the Thai food. Anyways, after that I came back and hit the pool and have been hanging around the room since. I think people might be going out tonight, not sure if I will join or not. I feel like I should, but I haven't talked to people all day and am still pretty exhausted. We'll see, I have about 2 hours before they would even head out.

Well that's been todays adventures. We have no class until Monday so not sure what to do tomorrow, maybe more temples? I don't want to get worn out on them though. I will say, temples are more interesting than cathedrals. Ugh, I have to do our first assignment still, its due tomorrow. I started it, but school work is just not on my mind right now. Maybe tomorrow morning early, for now I rather write this blog and work on photos.

I love zoos.

Yesterday was fun. We were suppose to meet for our class between 9:30-10 in a restaurant down the street. I heard people in the hall about 9:10 getting ready to leave, even though I wasn’t planning on going until 10. So I headed down with them and we ended up waiting there until 10 for Bill, like I thought. We got breakfast though, and I actually got mine today. I think people in the group aren’t use to the fact of waiters not serving them directly, the food is placed on the table you take what is yours. I think that was the mix up that happened yesterday morning, but whatever, I can deal with it. So in the end we had no class, Bill lost his voice, so it was a free day, which was nice. First though we had to get the checks. I asked and about 15 minutes later still nothing. So Cari asked, and got her’s in about 2 minutes and was done. We had to wait another 20 minutes or so, then go up and get our checks. It was just a diasterous situation. People were freaking out about it taking so long and the service. Yeah, I get frustrated too, but I understand the situation. And getting angry helps nothing.

We weren’t sure if we needed to wait to visit temples and such, so we decided to go the zoo. Anna, Cari and I caught a taxi to the zoo, which was not a pink one, much to my dissapoint. The taxis here are rainbows of colors. It was the first thing I saw when we got out of the airport, and so far it is one of my favorite things. Traffic is just so colorful. I mean how can bright pink taxis not make you happy? You see those colors and need to smile. Back home that would be never allowed, I don’t think I have ever seen a pink car in the US.

Anyways, the zoo. It was really fun, I love zoos of all sorts. The animals here were in such sad exhbits. The poor elephants. There were 3 of them, chained to this little area that was pretty much as big as my room here. Trust me, that’s not enough space for 3 elephants. It was cool though, I got to see a lot of new animals. Some even looked prehistoric. There was one crazy large colorful bird who really looked like he belonged in jurassic park. After seeing all the animals we went to watch some Kenyan boys acrobatic show. We were the only foreigners in there. They kept watching us throughout the entire show. Slightly creepy, but it was kind of hilarious.

After the zoo we went to the mall on the corner by the apartment just to wander and for lunch. I saw this cool restuarant for dim sum, with pots on the table where you boil your own food. Well as cool as it looked, we were confused. No one in there spoke english. We were getting stared at the whole time by the staff, I think they were trying to see if we could figure out how to do it. We eventually ordered and got it taken care of. But after all of that, I didn’t get to cook my own food, it came all ready. Boo. It was an experience though. Everything here has been an experience, I just keep laughing at all these situations.

At night Anna and I went to go see Sex and the City. It was really good, I’m so sad that it is over. And none of the spoilers were true, which was good.

I got a call at 8 this morning saying we are meeting back at the restuarant at 10. Wonder if we will actually have class. We got our assignments yesterday, they don’t look to bad, just a bit challenging. This is where that whole not being an anthro major works against me. I still really don’t think it will be difficult, and if anything my minor will teach me something then.

Well I need to get off this computer. Now that I got internet this is all I have done for 3 hours this morning. eeek. And in all that time, I still can’t get my photos online, which sucks. I’ll figure it out though and then everyone can see my awesome zoo pictures.

Alright, I think I might just go head to “class”.

A miracle.

I was just sitting here listening to music and braiding my hair, when all of a sudden, I get a gmail notification. Which means I have internet. In my room. I'm so happy. And I hope it lasts. here's posts from the last 2 days:

6-1-08

My little side note: This blog is pretty much going to be the only thing that’s daily(and in some cases more than daily). We have the chance to buy internet for our rooms, but I think I’m not going to. One, I would have to spend 60 something hours in an internet cafe to equal the price. Two, I do not want to be spending that much time of my trip on the internet. I spent a lot of my past trips missing people and things. I always regret that. I need to appreciate where I am and the moment. Yeah it would be great to have people here to tell all my stories or that know me, but that’s not the point of this. So I’m going to try something new. That’s part of me keeping this blog. I’m okay with this because I can do it from my room in down time. And it is for once going to give me something to remember my trip by. I love my photos, but thoughts are useful too. So that’s it, I just don’t want people getting mad and thinking I forgot about them. Don’t worry, I miss you all and wish you could be here too. And the thing is, I know after this trip, I’m going to miss plenty of things and people from here.

6-3-08

It’s weird, I am pretty good at grasping the time zones and the time change between where everyone is. But the fact that I am a day ahead, blows my mind still. It’s 8:30 Am here June 3rd, and still only 9:30 pm on the 2nd back on the east coast. This is going to make getting in contact with people very difficult. At least it is just messing with my mind and not really jet lag. I have been getting exhausted at nights, but that’s heat, doing a lot of stuff, and waking up ridiculously early. I’m having a wake up pattern here I think, I woke up at 6 the first day, then 7, now 8 today. Hopefully it doesn’t keep getting later. But I have an alarm now thanks to the cell phone, so I’m good.

I really can’t wait to explore the city more. Seeing malls is great, and yeah I get it is a huge part of the culture, but I want to see some Buddhas. Or something that will teach me. While getting school credit for going to the mall everyday would be great, it’s not really what I want. I know, just give it time. I’ve only been here 2 full days, and it feels like forever. Which I am really glad about, everyone told me I would be overwhelmed by the city and everything. Granted I haven’t seen much but its not too bad yet.

We have a “class” meeting in an hour, and I don’t really know what this is going to include. Yesterday’s was useless orientation stuff and lasted 4 hours. If I’m going to sit there for four hours again, I want it to be useful. Hopefully we can start exploring soon and going on all these class “excursions”.

Well I just wanted to write more. The past few entries have been written in the internet cafe so have been rushed and I forget things. I’m still debating if I want to get internet in the room or not. Only one girl has been able to connect, I’m hoping she can do it for me. Otherwise its internet cafes. Which isn’t terrible, it will mean me not wasting my life away on the computer. But times like right now, where I’m up before everyone else and don’t have time to go do anything(or the fact that nothing here opens before 10 am), would be good. And the internet cafe isn’t open now. Oh, life abroad.

I think I’m going to go read some of the tourism books Bill gave us yesterday, figure out where I want to go exploring if I get a chance this afternoon.

Day 2

Well we at least started "school" today. Or more of a 4 hour orientation, sitting in a little restaurant. Bill, the professor, is a great guy. But he talks too much. And spend 2 hours on 3 print outs, all of which we could have read on our own, and pretty much knew all of anyways. It's okay though, if this is my class, I can handle it. I just might feel the need to jump around some, as sitting that long in the heat is insanity.

After that whole adventure we returned to Siam Paragon, the gigantic mall. This time with a purpose, cell phones. That was an ordeal. It involved running between two stores several times, and having them get phones from another mall, while we waited for 10 minutes. But I can be reached now. I am not exactly sure the calling codes(hopefully this is right), but my number is 01166 0860419232 when calling from the US.

The trip overall is going good so far, I mean we are only just starting. I want to see more of touristy Bangkok, not just malls. I can't wait to go the palace or temples, then maybe I will actually realize well I am.

Anyways, keeping this brief. I miss you all.

Oh wow.

We haven't even been here 24 hours, I can't believe it. I'm just in a state of awe right now. I get why people move to Thailand. Not that I could see myself doing that, but this city is amazing. It's like no where else I have ever been.

We got in last night around 6ish. Checked into our rooms, which are gigantic. It's bigger than my entire apartment in Italy I think. And the beds. I was expecting European beds, I mean thais are tiny people. No no no. The bed takes up half the room, and its amazing. Our rooms have balconies that overlook towards the Victory Monument. And there's a pool, which I'm about to check out once I am done with this.

Last night after getting settled we went exploring in the area, just down the street. Bill(our professor) was meeting some friends at a resturaunt/bar and invited us. I just got a coke and we sat there for awhile talking with them. (Side note: the waitress there has amazing tattoos. Her upper arm is in leopard print, I love it). Then a 7-11 stop(there's one every block it seems). I was ready to crash by 10 PM, less than 8 hours of sleep in 3 days was not a good thing. I got up wicked early this morning though, about 6. Of course with a migraine, mostly from dehydration and no food. That was quickly remedey though. I really haven't been hit by jet lag, which is good. I mean I might be in bed early again tonight, but that's just from a long day and the heat. We did some exploring today, James and I went to the mall down the street early this morning. These malls are gigantic. We then went back and met up with some others, followed by a trip to the biggest mall. Supposedly it is the biggest in all of Southeast Asia, and I believe that. We got lost just in the food court. Then there was a whole luxury floor, I mean Burberry, Prada, etc. I think I will be staying away from that floor. But I did spot a Zara, which will be a must return. On the way to the mall we spotted a hiphop show being set up, so on the way back we checked it out. It was interesting to say the least. When we walked up, they were playing Low. and it was 8-9 year old thai girls, who I am sure had no concept of the song. It was an experience, especially listening to the promo spots soley in Thai, not getting a word of it.

After sitting out there for awhile the heat was getting to us, so we came back. The others are back in the hotel and going to the pool. Which is my next stop, I just had to send out emails to let everyone know I'm still alive. And don't worry, I think I will be for awhile. It seems really safe here. Traffic is the only concern, and they do stop if you run in front of them, so we all know I'm good.

Okay, pool time!