Sa was dee

Note: I began this post, but then realized I forgot to introduce what I'm actually doing in Thailand. I am taking 3 classes until September at King Mongkutt's University of Technology at Thonburi- Joint Graduate School on Energy and the Environment and then doing my Environmental Science Capstone Research Project here until December. The classes I am taking are in Graduate School, so all of the fellow students are several years older than me, but that will be really great for me because the classes will be more engaging and especially relevant. Seven other Americans from UNC are joining me on this trip and we are very excited about life in Bangkok and the many opportunities for traveling


After flying for some 22 odd hours across the Atlantic, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, and Myanmar (Burma) I arrived at Survanabhumi International Airport in Bangkok yesterday afternoon at around 3 pm. Since I stayed up all night before I left in preparation for sleeping on the plane, I slept like a baby until London, and I barely remember what happened in JFK. But, then the 12 hour flight from London to Bangkok was brutal. I wasn't very sleepy and the flight left at 8 pm British time so according to most people on board, the flight was a red eye. Thus, the flight attendants closed all the windows and turned off the lights after an hour or two and it sucked when flying over the Caspian Sea and parts of India because I kept trying to sneak peeks out the window (it looked really cool for the few glimpses I had), but it really wasn't kosher with anyone else on the flight. So then we landed, and I was greeted with a free bag of lychee (a native fruit) by the Ministry of Tourism of the glorious Kingdom. We met up with Neung, a TA who has been helping us constantly navigate Bangkok and deal with our logistics at the University and in general. Unfortunately, my bag didn't make it to Bangkok and is apparently still in London, which is good because it's not lost, just on the wrong side of Earth. According to the Thai way, which is very laid-back and loose, it will come eventually, but who knows really. Deadlines or due dates or prompt rigid guidelines are not adhered to in this country and it really contrasts the United States, which makes people much friendlier, less busy, and less stressed, but there is a reality check when it's your bag that is "no big deal." I'm not worried about it, but it would be nice to have at somepoint in the near future. I forgot to mention that not just my bag but 5 of the 7 bags are in London of those who I traveled with and somehow one student's luggage on my flights made it. Oh well, such is airplane travel.

After getting in a very luxurious van provided by KMUTT-JGSEE, we embarked toward Ban-Suanthom, which is the apartment complex I am living in for the next six months. The apartments are quite nice and pretty good rent (~$66 a month including water and electricity). We met Pai and May who also are TAs who have shown us around the past two days. Preceding a short trip to Tesco to buy some housewares for the new casa, we drove through the campus where I'll be studying. After shopping, navigating the ATMs, and getting settled in, I realized that I definitely will need to learn to speak Thai. I've already been learning a bit during the past semester at UNC because all 8 of us had to take a course that met weekly for Spring semester, but I had more important things to do during that time. However, thankfully I have quickly been picking up Thai and while I couldn't hold a conversation by any means I can articulate what I need to say. We came back to the apartment, then ate our first meal, which was a coming out party for some of my taste buds who have never had a chance to show their true colors. There was a smorgasboard of types of som tam (papaya salad): traditional, fried, fruit-laden, extra spicy. Also we ate duck beaks, which were actually sort of like a Thai version of hot wings. Despite the name and the body part, it was pretty delicious. Also, this feast cost me 40 baht, in a world where 35 baht=1 dollar. Content, happy, and tired we slept early.

I woke up at 6 am, probably because of the insane jet lag. Ricker, Matt, and I (my roommates) took a stroll down Pracha-Uthit, the road that houses both our apartment and school. We walked for a good while, several miles at least, and came to some random temple which was really neat. We took our shoes off in reverance to Buddha and walked in to the shrine which makes a gold watch or necklace pale in comparison to the gold smattered all over the place. We ate some breakfast at a cafe next to the apartment complex and then finally met up with Neung, May, and Pai, who took us to JGSEE for our debriefing.

There we met Ajarn Savitri who will be the woman responsible for our academic lives in Thailand. She gave us the low-down on information and then we needed to register for classes. She also discussed our options for the Capstone Research Project I will complete here that I knew little about before coming. It was difficult to explain to people before coming to Thailand about the research I would be doing, since I didn't have any remote idea what it might entail. Now I have a better idea and decisions about classes to make. I am going to take Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, and Energy and Envrionmental Economics and Policy. Probably...Originally I was planning to take Energy and Envrionmental Management and Planning, but the economics class descriptions sounds better and I heard a negative review of the planning professor. I'll only take 3 classes and they meet only once a week which is great. I also have arranged my schedule so that my classes are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, leaving Thursday-Sunday free. Some students are taking 4 classes, but you have to pay extra tuition, and I see no point considering I already have way too many credits and I'd rather just focus on 3 than spread myself thin. It should work out nicely.

With regard to the Capstone project I am going to complete, there were several options presented to me, most of which sounded pretty neat, but I'll have to learn more about them and the advisor before I choose. One deals with Life Cycle Assessment, one deals with Solar Radiation modeling and planning how to incorporate photovoltaics in rural areas, which really intrigued me. Another cool capstone dealt with the King's plan for sustainability in Thailand and analyzing it. We shall see what happens with these over the next couple weeks.

Classes don't really start for me until the 8th of June, but we are going to take class on Thai at the University this coming week. I am really looking forward to this, because it's pretty necessary to speak it. While many Thais do speak some English, it's broken and it's very appreciated to speak Thai. They also want to practice their English. I met a really nice fellow named Wit yesterday who wants to start playing Badminton with me, I thought it was funny but he was really cool. He is from Attayattha, the ancient old city north of Bangkok where there is a very famous old wat for Therevada Buddhism, the dominant religion here.

Until yesterday when traveling in the city to the megamall, MBK, I hadn't seen other white people since the plane ride. The area I live is a pretty average neighborhood, without any touristy areas, which makes the apartment that much better. But, it was funny to finally see some other Americans/Australians/Brits.

Initial impressions of Thailand include the anarchial traffic, neon pink taxis, rampant motorbike use, and of course smiles. Aptly deemed the land of smiles, it's almost freaky how often people smile, which I had read about, but until you experience it, you can't really understand what it's like. Forgiving laughs and wide-eyed grins are constantly veered your way, especially since I stand out so prominently. I've been talking to as many Thais as I can and have actually made a bunch of Thai friends who are in the school with me. I bought a cell phone yesterday with an international plan so theoretically it will be the same cost for me to call locally in Thailand as Internationally. This will help especially with me still trying to get my bag, which apparently is still in London. My cell number is 0838243806, by the way. I have a lot of Thai students' numbers and all the students are excited to take me around their respective hometowns. They come to this school from all around the country, so a chance to show a foreigner their hometown is really exciting for them, and I can't wait to be escorted around the various provinces and beaches Thailand has to offer.

The only complaint I have about the apartment is the plumbing which we learned the hard way after several clogged toilets and nasty surprises lurking. Hopefully we can fix this as we bought a plunger today. Also, there is no internet in the apartments, but it's a very short walk to several Internet cafes, which is where I am typing this because I am up pretty early still adjusting to the time difference.

The flora and fauna of Thailand thus far is pretty amazing and surprising. We definitely have seen all sorts of lizards, frogs, and toads all around the apartment complex and the birds are really different. Every morning I have woken to wild bird calls previously relegated to the Discovery Channel for me. The weather is hot, although the first time it rained was yesterday when leaving the mall after a dinner provided by KMUTT-JGSEE.

The dinner was funny because some students from the University of Colorado were leaving KMUTT so Ajarn Savitri held a dinner for all of them and invited us to attend as well. We ate at a restaurant at the mall in the city, but we weren't clear that the University was going to be buying us dinner. At most meals so far I have been simply asking Neung and May what I should eat, what they recommend, etc. However, this time Neung sat elsewhere and when we asked him, he told us to get everything. We didn't really understand what to do because the restaurant's concept included a pot of water sitting in the middle of the table and then you were supposed to order ingredients to put in the pot. That wasn't very clear at the beginning. We ordered a bunch of vegetables and then some kind of marinated pork and squid, which compared to the other tables was nothing. Then we were confused when Neung kept ordering us food and desert after we finished and I was full and tired. It was pretty hilarious because he kept ordering food to our table and we were not trying to have any more food. Then we realized the situation and it was good. Also I was really tired at the dinner and kept falling asleep at the table, haha. It was bad because this dinner was the first time we really met Ajarn Savitri and another teacher Ajarn Shabbir. That's great because now I am known to all the staff as a chronic sleeper, haha.

I realize the time updates on this first post are kind of weird, they span the first 4 days in Bangkok, so now it's Saturday and this weekend I plan on exploring more of the vicinity near my apartment including the city park right next to the complex, where I may play soccer or basketball. All the Thais are obsessed with frisbee since the last UNC group left and really want to play because they love it, but haven't played in a year. They are begging us to play with them, so hopefully we'll get some games of Ultimate in this afternoon. Pick-up soccer is EVERYwhere, which is pretty neat.

That's it for now, later I can post some pictures and add some more, I've never made one of these before, but hopefully I'll be able to update fairly regularly.