Trying Thai Food

This post was written during my first year in Thailand:

I try to be adventurous when it comes to food. I'll try anything twice is my motto. I've tried some really spicy soups and lots of things that I can't even name. I order food in a restaurant at the bottom of my apartment by pointing at pictures. It's hit or miss. Some of foods are good and others are just weird. At school the lunch has been different everyday. I've had squid. It wasn't bad. It just doesn't look very appetizing. Yesterday there was this jello-like stuff around some fruit that was crunchy and served in coconut milk. Thais love the coconut milk. There is something with coconut milk almost everyday at lunch. I have also tried some Thai fruits. I think "mangosteens" are my favorite fruit now. They have a brown skin and two leaves. It's messy when you peel them off. It has a bunch of red junk, but inside it has a juicy white part. It has a flavor unlike anything I've ever tried before.

Later, I went to a restaurant called BBQ Plaza with my friends from Baylor. It had grills on the tables. You order meat and vegetables and then cook them yourself. They pour water on the grill and it becomes a nice broth. They had some awesome dipping sauce with garlic and chilies.

Yesterday, I hung out with some Thai friends. They taught me some words and told me not to repeat them, except to specific friends. They aren't curse words, but I guess they are too informal. I've been warned that I could get into some trouble if I use therm with people I don't know well.

I'll also hopefully play soccer this weekend with a team of school teachers.

Later

Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand

This post was the first email I sent after I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand to teach English:

Hello Everyone,

Sawat Dii, Krahp!
Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand.

This is my big e-mail that I'm sending to lots of people. I won't send very many like this. I will start updating my online journal soon. I have not talked with some of you in so long that you may not know what I am up to at the moment. I am currently in Bangkok, Thailand. I will be teaching English for the next nine months.

Here is a brief update of what is going on right now. I am having a blast! I graduated on Saturday, May 19th. Then I caught a flight on Wednesday morning and I arrived in Bangkok on Thursday at 10:30 pm local time. The time is about 12 hours different from Central Standard Time. I didn't suffer from jet lag too badly, but I don't want to go near a stinkin' plane again for a while.  It was so boring. The day after I got to Bangkok I went on a bus trip with some of the other teachers from the school. What a great cure for a plane trip, right? I don't know what I was thinking. It was a very long bus trip. They told me it would only be three hours. It ended up being seven hours. Oh well. It was fun. I got to meet other teachers before school started. The other teachers who went were mostly Thai. But two Australians came along too. After getting back from the bus trip yesterday, I taught my first day of school today.
The kids were hard to control. Some of them were well behaved, but others were just running around the room. I told them to sit down but either they didn't understand or they pretended not to. I had almost no preparation time. I was given a lesson plan half an hour before class.  But I did get some things accomplished.  I took attendance and taught some of them how to say "Hello, my name is ..." Fortunately, Namon, the lead teacher of the 2nd grade, came by and helped me get the class under control. Some of them started their homework and some even finished in class. One kid was very funny. He wrote his answers in a fluorescent pen so they would be invisible. Then, he showed me with a big smile as he lit up the letters with a special light. Another kid was a troublemaker. He got up on a chair, bent a plastic ruler and then launched it in the air at the ceiling. Later, I was talking to the class with a microphone. I asked each kid, 'What is your name?' He ran up and shouted, "JAPON!" into the microphone then he ran back and sat down. He is a very funny kid!
Well I'm going to write some more individual emails, but I won't be able to write everyone individually. Please be patient for a response from me if you write me an email. God bless you all. I will keep you in my thoughts.

I have a job this summer

This post was written during my senior year at Baylor University:

I am so excited. I am doing the Baylor in Thailand program. I will be teaching English in Thailand for nine months. I leave a few days after graduation and get back in March 'O5. If you're shocked, just imagine how I am feeling. I didn't even think this was a possibility two days ago. But I think God had plans for me. I really do. I was not on the list to go, but yesterday I received an e-mail that told me there was a spot available. I called Professor Mueller and I got it. Now I'm scrambling to get a passport and visa and a plane ticket. I'll let y'all know more details later.
I really am thrilled! You cannot understand how cool this is! I'll try to keep updating this blog while I'm there. Later.