Bangkok is busy. Hence why it has taken me over a month to add anything to this blog. So here goes a months worth of updates…

First couple days: Arrived in Bangkok late on Thursday night. 26 hours of traveling is real serious. Luckily on my 12-hour flight I had all 3 seats to myself. On Friday I was supposed to go apartment hunting, but my realtor was sick. I met a fellow teacher, Allistair, in the lobby after breakfast and we decided to go adventuring for the day. 13 hours of adventuring. Jetlag—shmetlag.

We dove right into Thai food. Oh dear.

We were looking around at a market and decided it was time for some lunch, Allistair and Amy, a friend of Allistair’s we met up with, started choosing things from the menu. They ended up ordering one of everything. There were about 10 different dishes and they were about $1.50 a piece, so why not.

Soup. Meet. Noodles. Sauce.

I had absolutely no idea what any of it was… I was definitely panicking at this point. I had to eat it. I couldn’t say that I didn’t like anything they ordered. Who wants to be that girl? Plus, I was starving.

Then they handed me chopsticks.

REALLY!? I have no idea what I was about to eat and how in the world am I suppose to attempt to eat anything when I can’t figure out how hold the chopsticks?

Amy and Allistair are both from New Zealand. They both have crazy accents and talk so so fast. There was no way I was keeping up with their conversations. Perfect, I was able to focus on trying to figure out how to eat the stinkin’ food. I attempted to play it cool and act like I knew what I was doing. Until Amy called me out for not eating much.

Busted.

Embarrassed, I tell them…
1. I have no idea what you guys are saying.
2. I have no idea what I’m eating.
3. I’ve never tried Thai food.
4. I have no clue how to use chopsticks.

It was quite comical. Inevitably, I got a how-to lesson on chopsticks and a quick summary of the food.

THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS.
Thank goodness, because $8 for a box of mac and cheese would have gotten real old, real quick.

Thai tip of the day: Have an open mind. Things are odd, try them anyways.

The next day I relaxed and caught up on some sleep. Checked out the spa and got a thai foot massage. One hour long… for $8!!!

This place just keeps getting better and better.

Sadie, my roommate arrived late that night. I went to the airport with my principal to meet her. We went apartment shopping the following day and found a lovely place.

Week 1 and 2:
The next two weeks at work we had new teacher training, got our phones, bank cards, insurance, and time to work in our classroom, and moved into our new homes. It was the fastest two weeks, very busy and so much to get done.

At the end of the first week the school took all the new teachers to a cooking class. It was a fun way to see and try the popular dishes of Thailand and learn how they were made. They gave us a cookbook of everything we made and our very own pair of chopsticks! I’m going to master chopsticks in no time.

That weekend a few of us went to Chatuchak market. Such a huge outdoor market, rows and rows of different vendors. It is quite easy to get lost because you just start walking and it goes on forever. Anything from household supplies, places to eat, furniture, art, and even a giant pet section. You can literally find anything at Chatuchak. Well, you may not be able to find it because the place is so big, but its there. Stuff is cheap and you can negotiate with them to lower the prices.

As we were leaving we all got coconut ice cream, with sticky rice. Interesting mix, but very delicious.

First 2 weeks in Bangkok were a success! School starts next week.