The Lub D and Orientation Jitters

Sawatdee ka!

so the first few days here have passed so quickly (so much so i forgot to call home! sorry mom!)

anyways, i arrived at the hostel, Lub D (meaning sweet dreams in thai), and immediately turned on the ac and face planted onto the bed. i knew it would be hot, but goodness! its like walking into a wall of heat every time you leave a building. not to mention the buffet of sounds, smells, and colors that abound outside the walls of the hostel.

after wandering the streets in the Silom neighborhood, and performing a second collapse into air conditioned heaven, i ventured out in search of CIEE participants. walking directly across the street into a hole in the wall restaurant, i found a small group of beautiful, laughing girls who i quickly identified as americans. (shout out to tessa, sarah, jo(h), stacey, and susan!)

since then, we moved into the orientation hotel, Louis Tavern (no special meaning in thai) and met the other 91 participants. this hotel is located in a smaller neighborhood consisting of one main street, Soi 64. we spent the afternoon perusing the street vendors: experimenting with thai crepes, stick food, curry, and soupy noodle carts. the result: delicious!

we also managed to locate the one and only bar in the area, the name of which is still unclear, but the inside was magical! the walls were plastered in tiger, singha, and heineken beer posters as well as manchester club posters and tvs blasting thai mtv! after four hours of sharing "cheers" brand beers and recruiting other farang (westerners) off the streets to join us... it was time to refuel with some noodles and head back to the hotel.

Orientation began this morning, a little overwhelming... we have thai language, culture, and society classes as well as teaching training. I won't bore you all with the details, but it was very interesting and illuminating to understand all the thai customs.

We're heading out to the streets to find more delicious street food for dinner, but tomorrow we are going back into the madness of Bangkok to see some sights, so there will be more to come very soon.

xoxo
dena