January 11, 2011

After three whirlwind days in Thailand, all I can say is WOW. This whole adventure started last Friday, with a 7am flight out of Detroit. I landed in Chicago, then on to Seoul, South Korea, and then finally, about 30 hours after my departure from Detroit, in Bangkok, Thailand. Tired couldn't even describe how I felt. Wearing the same clothes for that long is never pleasant. But, more than anything, I was overjoyed to have arrive safely, and to see my gigantic, 49.5 lb suitcase waiting for me at the baggage pick-up. And, even more exciting, was the prospect of a soft bed waiting for me back at the university where I am staying, the Asian Institute of Technology.

Since that night, we (I and the other six MSU students who are studying abroad with me) have had a lot of fun. The weather, averaging around 90 degrees with moderate humidity, is fantastic, and according to our professors, is only going to get hotter as spring sets in. The mosquitoes are as bad as I thought they would be. Not only do their bites itch just as much as their Michigander counterparts, they also carry an array of lovely diseases including, but not limited to, malaria, Dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis. As the nurse who administered my Thailand-specific vaccines put it, "Think of bug spray as your travel perfume."

The university's campus is much like MSU's in that it is very green and home to many trees and types of wildlife. The geckos here are all over the outdoor walls, and even on the walls of my dorm room, pleasantly enough. There are squirrels and birds (very noisy, mating birds, might I add) all over campus. That is where the similarities end, however. Although I haven't been unlucky enough to encounter any snakes or spiders (shuddering as I type), we did see a rather large snake skin lying by the road last night (again, shuddering). Also, another reptile we have been seeing are monitor lizards. At about 3feet long, they are pretty intimidating, not to mention their carnivorous tendencies and the fact that when they swim in the pond on campus, they look a lot like crocodiles. If these are the things that we see on campus, close to the city, I am anxious to see what our jungle tour in March will bring.....

One other aspect of life here that begs to be mentioned is the food. Yes, the rumor is true, the food here is fabulous. Everything is fresh and well spiced, and the variety is staggering. In the city, street vendors line basically every side walk selling everything to shrimp salad, with the shrimp still squirming, to grilled squid on a stick, to fresh cut fruit. The best part? It's CHEAP. For one full meal, including a drink, it costs about $1.5o. The cost of a fresh fruit smoothie with yogurt and honey? Fifty cents. And, like I said, there is enough variety to satisfy whatever I'm hungry for. Lately, we've been eating some type of noodle soup for breakfast, but I could order waffles and grilled sandwiches for the same price. The Thai food here is usually very spicy, and when you order, the server automatically tells the cook to make it milder because it is a foreigner ordering. Every dish is served with a few condiments on the side including sugar, red pepper flakes, chopped chiles in vinegar, sliced chiles in oil, and some red sauce that burned the hairs out of my nose when I smelled it. However, I haven't had a dish I didn't like yet.

More to come soon. Enjoy!