First Week of Classes

I've officially finished my first week of class. They haven't been too bad so far. We're going to have to write a lot of research papers by the time we're done here, but most of the professors are really nice and understanding about travel demands and such. I'm taking Thai language and culture, environmental issues, women in Southeast Asia, and contemporary issues in Thailand. I have 3 classes MW, 1 on TR, and Fridays free.

One of the girls here had a Thai roommate at UNC, so we've been hanging out a lot with her and friends. All the Thai people I've met are so nice. And it's great to be spending a lot of time with them because they know more about what to do here, places to eat, etc. We're planning on going to some temples and seeing Thai boxing with them pretty soon. A lot of major events are stalled right now because of the death of the king's sister, and the temples have been packed. We'll probably try everything next weekend.

In the meantime, I've been exploring the area. I started to get headaches from the smells here (and I think a little jet lag) a few days into the trip, so I gravitated to familiar American food for a while. But now I've been eating lunch at school, which is delicious and cheap (usually around $1).

I've been having a lot of trouble with my email here. I can receive, but not send. So a humongous thanks to everyone that has emailed me - I'll respond soon! I'm frustrated with ITS, because when I sent in a help request, they responded with "please call us." Apparently my first sentence, "I am studying abroad in Thailand," and my phone number listing of "n/a" meant nothing to them (12 hour time difference and $2/min phone charge), and my problem itself prevents me from being able to email them back. Arrgh!

Either way, everything is still great. I feel like I've been here longer than a week because I've done so much already. I'll update and hopefully post some pictures soon. The internet here isn't strong enough to post or send video, unfortunately.