Koh Samet

I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Koh Samet, which is a small island about a 3 hour bus ride & ferry ride south of Bangkok. We left the hotel in Bangkok yesterday morning and got here yesterday afternoon. It was pouring by the time we got to Ban Phe, the city we took the ferry from, and the streets were flooded. It didn't really slow us down too much, but the water had no where to go so the streets flooded pretty quickly. We got to Koh Samet and walked down to the beach looking for a bungalow. The first place had no fan rooms left and the second had none with private bathrooms, so we settled on the third, which was, how should I put it?, below standards.

It was also a steep walk with no path to get to it. We were so exhausted though from traveling that we accepted it. I was still jet-lagged from the flight that I laid down for what was supposed to be a nap at around 7 pm and didn't wake up until 7:30 am. We decided to find another bungalow, which we did, and although its a bit more expensive (about $12 each per night as opposed to $4.50 a night) its definitely worth it.
The water is beautiful and warm! For me, it is heaven! We spent hours in the water today. I also got an hour long Thai massage for less than $7. Mom, maybe you should fund some more massages so I can learn from experience ;)
Ok, were off for some dinner! More to come when I get back to Bangkok for shopping and training...

New Adventure

I have 6 days left in the states, for a long while at least. It seems to weird to think about. For those of you who don't know, I'm leaving October 12 for Thailand. I'll be there for 5+ months teaching English at a high school in Lampang, Thailand.

I've been out of the country before but its still a new feeling for me. When I studied in Mexico I had some of the same jitters I do now but I can say that I'm less nervous than my last trip abroad even though I know absolutely no Thai at all. I was nervous about how my Spanish would fair when put to the test (it turned out to be fine). For some reason though, I'm not nervous really about not knowing Thai. The fact that Margo and her parents will be at the airport when I arrive in Bangkok (in 1 week!) is putting me (and my parents) at ease.

The only part I'm nervous about is the teaching part. My undergrad degree in Environmental Engineering did not exactly prepare me for teaching. Why teach English in Thailand when I studied Environmental Engineering you ask? Well, for one, I'm not ready to enter the "real world" and get a real job. My internships have given me a taste of that and honestly I'm not ready for it. Secondly, why not? I wanna travel as much as I can so why not travel and teach English to make enough money to continue traveling. I've only planned as far as February 28th (the last day of the semester). Who knows where I'll be after that.

Margo is working on finding me a house or apartment...but that won't be settled until I get there.
What else? Oh yes, what to pack? I am limited to the amount I can bring on the flight and wouldn't want to bring too much more because we plan on traveling around after the semester is over. Everything is cheap there, but I'm surely much larger than most Thai women that I might have to have clothes made specifically for me...and forget about bras. I know I need to be prepared for not being able to buy any that would even come close to fitting. I'm a procrastinator, and although I've thought about these things- I've done little to address them. Now I'm running out of time to get it all done and see everyone before I leave!

I'm so excited to get out of the country and to see Margo, but the full effect has not hit me yet. I don't think it will until I'm actually on my flight...my 14 hour flight from JFK to Tokyo and then another few hours from Tokyo to Bangkok. I'll have so much time on my hands during that flight- I could write a book, but I promise not to bore you with that.