Happy New Year!

Of course, this was the most lackluster new year ever. I didn't even notice when the plane crossed the international date line ... we were somewhere between Alaska and Siberia. However, later a Japanese flight attendant went up and down the whole plane passing out little bottles of wine, then mixed nuts, then cheese and crackers, wishing everyone "happy new year!" It was great.

Anyway, now I'm in Thailand! The flights weren't too bad. We got to the house around 2am last night (the "morning" of the 2nd), slept about 5 hours, and then went to Bangkok today to explore. We started at a mall called Siam Paragon, which is huge and very Western, and then walked around outside for a while. There is a place called Big C that is a lot like Target, and I've decided that it's my favorite place ever. Most stuff is really cheap here. I think I spent 20, maybe 25 bucks all day - 2 meals, coffee, cab rides, a Thai sim card, and tons of stuff for the room/house. So far I've noticed that people are really nice, driving is insane (lanes, signs, and laws are optional) and so is trying to walk across streets, and my tolerance of spicy food is not adequate (but will improve).

I'm staying at the international house at Chaiyapruk Village, with other international students (as the name suggests). It's been great so far. We have orientation tomorrow. I have solid wireless in my room, so I can still spend countless evening hours sitting at my computer... it's like I never left. Only difference is Google now comes up in Thai. Hopefully I'll get out more, though. :)

I don't know how often I'll actually update this thing, but I figure I'll at least post a picture or two when cool things happen. So stay tuned...