Khun sa-bai-dee mai

(How are you?)

I have only been in Thailand for... what day is it again... Sunday... Two full days? and am already back into travel mode. I remembered today why I love to travel so much - you wake up every day never knowing what will happen, what you will see, what you will do. The world is filled with possibilities. And of course all of the great people you meet. I have plans for April to spend 10 days at the beach with two of my new friends. Who would have thought just yesterday!

There are six in my volunteer group, three of us from the states and three girls from the UK. Everyone except one is in their 20's (I think I may be the second oldest) and we all get on very well. Last night we all went for sushi on Kho San Road (the "backpacker haven" of Bangkok) and it was unlike anywhere I have ever seen. The street is a mix of bars and shops and street vendors and the crowd is a mix of young thais and 20 something backpackers from all over as well as older "hippie types." You can buy almost anything there and the music blaring from the bars is distinctly American. It was definitely not an authentic Thai experience, but there are a great mix of bars and it is great for people watching.

Today was the first day of orientation. The morning was spent talking a bit about Thai culture and customs. We were then split up into pairs and given a "mission." Our mission was to go to a restaurant (specified on our mission card) and buy 40 sticks of "moo satae" (moo = chicken!) and then to 7-11 (they are everywhere) for drinks. The others had to purchase fruit and vegetables at the market and buy sticky rice and mangos for dessert as well as getting their fortune from the Buddha in a local temple. I thought ours was the easiest, but we managed to have somewhat of an adventure.

When we turned on the road to the restaurant, we encountered a monk leading a little boy. Apparently there was something greatly disturbing about us (two western women?) and the monk grabbed the boy and rushed away from us with an ovbious look of distaste. When monks are touched by a women they have to go through some sort of cleansing ritual. Maybe it isn't a very pleasant experience. Or maybe it was just him. I've passed other monks on the road without similar reactions.

On our way to the 7-ll, we passed two women at a food cart and greeted them in Thai. One woman asked if we spoke Thai (in English) and I answered that I could say two words: "Hello" and "Thank you." The other women immediately picked out a bracelet for me from her display and insisted that I take it as a gift. I wasn't sure if I should take it, but did out of respect and thanked her (in Thai). Back at CCS, I asked if that was the appropriate thing to do and was told that it was and that many Thai people love it when foreigners (farangs) attempt to speak Thai and are just generally very friendly people. I had read that sentiment a million times when reading about Thailand, but it was really nice to see just how true it is.

After lunch, we had Thai lessons and learned how to say "What is your name? " "My name is...," "Where are you from?" "I am from...," "How are you?" "I am fine," "Where are you going?" "I am going to the bathroom (hospital, 7-11) and to count to 100. It was a lot of fun and the instructor incorporated practical exercises into each lesson. I am looking forward to shopping now that I can ask "how much?" and understand the reply.

After the language lessons, we went on a tour to learn how to navigate the public transportation - metered taxi to river taxi to sky train. The sky train is similar to MARTA or the NYC subway when it goes above ground. It was neat to finally see more of metropolitan Bangkok. It is HUGE! I doubt I will be able to see a quarter of all I want to see in three months.

Tomorrow we will go sightseeing and have some more language lessons and then Tuesday it is off to our placements. I am looking forward to having some down time to write letters and to plan everything I want to do - there is so much!