Ready for Take-Off?

Dear family & friends:

I hope this e-mail finds you well and at peace. Tomorrow, I will leave for my long overdue and highly anticipated trip to Bangkok, Thailand. Right now, I'm a little more occupied with some of things I'm going to leave behind with loose ends than by the barrage of new sights, sounds and smells upon my arrival in Bangkok. Still, I think that these minor details will be resolved in their own time. After all, I am coming back home!

I suppose what I'm dreading more than anything is the getting to Bangkok part. From the moment I get out of bed tomorrow until I can collapse into bed again in my Bangkok condo, I will have been traveling for about 25 hours! Now, those of you who have traveled internationally before probably don't find this unusual, but it was hard for me to sit still long enough to get to my family in East Texas! And that flight only took about 6.5 hours of traveling. I'll be leaving out of an airport in Shreveport, LA since it the closest one to my family's home in Marshall, TX. From Shreveport, I head out to Memphis, TN. I know, a little bit backwards – sometimes you have to go backward to go forward…or something like that?? From Memphis, I fly to San Francisco and have time to grab some lunch. Then it's off to Bangkok I go. Some people like non-stop flights because it shortens the overall travel time and you don't have to go through the rituals of boarding and deplaning over and over again. I'm of the opinion that breaking down the nearly 18-hour direct flight from San Francisco to Bangkok might have been the preferred option for me.

I've only ever flown internationally once – that was from Seattle to Manila, with a stopover in Taipei. I think the flight to Taipei was a little over 10 hours. I kept myself occupied with the array of digital entertainment that was available to me for free. I probably watched four movies in their entirety a couple of others that were just too horrible to stomach. Also, I had some fun listening to all of the messages that were being broadcast over the intercom in about, oh, five different languages (well, if you count the different dialects of Chinese). One of the highlights of our trip to Taipei was that they served congee for breakfast, that's right, rice soup! I don't know why I was as surprised as I was. We were flying China Airlines! At any rate, when I grew tired of trying to determine which words meant what in what language and was too antsy to sit through another movie, I could always turn to my fellow PIE (Philippine Immersion Experience) peeps for some good old-fashioned chatter – and you all know how much I LOVE to chatter! After what I felt was an eternity had passed, we had finally arrived at Taipei International Airport. I welcomed the chance to stretch my legs and use a bathroom that wasn't about 3 feet by 4 feet (if that). There was a stall in the bathroom that looked fairly odd. It basically looked like a hole in the ground, but had a seat around the edge and was on a raised floor – has anybody ever traveled to Taiwan (outside of the airport) and can tell me what that is? Katrina??

Anyway, this e-mail should be about my trepidations about Thailand, not my experience in the Philippines (although I'd gladly correspond with anybody who has questions about my time there as well). I mentioned earlier that I would be collapsing into my bed in my Bangkok condo – so let me tell you more about that! I have a friend who lives in Seattle. Nika (aka, Nachanicha Prasitsilpsiri – say that 5 times fast) is from Thailand and is familiar with Bangkok and its various districts. Apparently, the fact that I'm high-maintenance came across without my having to say anything because she helped me to get a place that is in the heart of the commercial district and offers amenities that cater to farang (foreigners) such as myself – Sukhumwit. I'm told that it is also one of the centers of nightlife in Bangkok. This might be dangerous, I thought to myself. Anyway, I'm on the 13th or 14th floor, so well above where any street level noise will bother me. I have my own deck and a swimming pool to keep cool on those sweltering days so often a normal part of life in a tropical country like Thailand (and the Philippines). Not only did she do all the research necessary to look for places within my price range, she made all the phone calls necessary to bargain for all the amenities that I will have as part of my lease. So thanks to Nika, I will have high-speed internet, cable to watch the English language news channels AND she was able to get the landlord to agree to come pick me up at the airport for no charge. Boy, is she skilled. I'd like to see her just have at it at the open-air supermarkets for which Bangkok is well known and bargaining is a must. She also gave me a Thai phrase book – khawp khun khrap, Nika!

The day after my arrival, Friday, October 13, I'm supposed to make my way down to the Fulbright Thailand office (on my own). Also, that's not official name of the office, mind you. They go by the Thailand-United States Educational Foundation (TUSEF). It's going to be an adventure trying to get down there on my own the day after a long flight. But I think I can manage. The fabulous ladies at TUSEF have arranged for me to meet with my academic advisor, Dr. Isra Sarntisart, in the afternoon after I go through a short orientation where they have me sign some papers and hand me a wad of cash. I'm not sure what I'm doing afterwards or if my liaison from the TUSEF office will be accompanying me throughout my tour of the campus. I planned my trip so that I can have Saturday and Sunday to just lounge about if I needed to.

The other day, through the good graces of a one Jo Kirschner, I was able to browse through the blog of fellow Seattle University 2006-07 Fulbright recipient, James Nau. He's in Germany on a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, which is a little bit different from my research/study grant. Still, a lot of the things he's had to do since his arrival in Germany a little over a month ago will be similar to what I have to do – opening a bank account, getting a different visa to stay for the duration of the grant, making new friends, visiting new places, adjusting to language and cultural differences, etc. Anyway, what came out of my readings of his blog was that I came to the conclusion that I'm going to maintain one as well. I have to admit that I resisted it – mostly because it means that I'd have to write for all of my adoring fans – er, family and friends. Anyway, thanks for giving me the final push, Jo.

I guess one of the differences between James and I is that I already have an idea of what the first couple of days will look like, so I am able to share it with you here. Once I get settled in, I will be sure to send some pictures of my new pad the fabulous people in Bangkok who helped to put this together. I think the approach that I will take is to update my blog fairly often for those who want to check in with me everyday and send out a longer email every so often – we'll just have to see what the feasibility of it all is time-wise. I will send you all a link once I have the blog up and running, but I may be quiet for a few days. Until then, take care!

Love,

Hong