First Impressions1

I suppose I should now write a real post since I’m actually in Thailand now. After a solid 24 hours of traveling, about 19 of which were spent 4 miles above the ground, I arrived safely in Thailand. Luckily for me there were no protests to keep me from landing. It felt pretty long, but it wasn’t too bad except that I got the center center (no typo) seat and some genius engineer felt it was a good idea to put some metal storage boxes under each seat in the very center. So while everyone else was able to stretch out their legs for a nice long sleep, my 6’1″ frame struggled to get fully comfortable since I was lacking in the leg room department for about 14 hrs. I have no real qualms with Japan Air other than that, just be sure to ask for an aisle or window seat. Good news is my second flight,which was a little over 5 hour, I had an aisle seat and plenty of leg room.

I got the first real taste of the Thailand heat immediately after stepping of the plane to board a bus to take us to the terminal (why they couldn’t park at a gate at thisgiant, brand new airport- I don’t know). It was actually only 82 degrees outside but the humidity slapped me in the face like a woman I just called fat. I’ve never actually done that, but you get the idea. Oh yeah, it was also 11:30 at night. To be quite honest however, it hasn’t been too bad yet during the day, which is good because it allows me to slowly adjust to the heat. Also its the beginning of the rainy season (and it has rained) which tends to cool the air…and smog. Mmmmmm, smog. It’s always pleasant to look out the window at night to see the moon partially blurred from all of the vehicle exhaust. And during the day there is a  grayish haze that sits on the horizon right about the buildings and and right below the clouds.

And the smell. Ohhhh the smell. Each city block has a different smell, but its not like one block smells like peaches, the next like daffodils, and the last like raspberries. Its more like, one smells like trash, the next like old fried seafood, and the last like sewage. And the excitement never ends because you never know what lovely aroma the next block will bring. I want to be clear here however, I’m not really complaining, just trying to give an accurate description for anyone who would like to live vicariously through me, although after reading this it probably isn’t such an appealing prospect anymore.

So while I could start going into detail about all the different culture things I’ve encountered so far, I’ve really only been here for two days, so there’s plenty of time. Plus it’s hard to be motivated when the only way room is being cooled is by a small fan because my air conditioner has been broken for two days. Someone is in my room right now as I write this trying to fix it, so hopefully with any luck it’ll be working soon. The room has a pretty awesome view (see pictures). Anyway, I’ll be back here with more stories in a day or two. I get to start teaching tomorrow! Well actually its syllabus day, and any person who went to college knows its pretty much the easiest week ever. I’ll let you all know how it goes.