First Thai Post

All right, all right, I know I haven't gotten to post anything yet and all of you have probably given up on me...however I now have internet access in my room and will be able to blog all the time. And with the fact that there is so much to say because I haven't been on you can bet that I will blog much more frequent. I'll try and give you a quick recap...

We were delayed on our trip to Cali so we missed our connecting flight to Bangkok we had a good friend Jessica Schmidt come pick us up and we stayed with her for the night and hung out until our flight came the next night. She has turned me on to PinkBerry if you are ever in Cali go get one it is delicious. As far as the 17 hour flight is concerned Matt and I didn't sleep a whole lot (Brooke didn't have that problem) but we had a mean game of Pong going and watched quite a few movies. I was surprised how easy the flight was, Thai airways is the way to go!! After landing we took about an hour taxi ride to Mahidol university and decided instead of lugging all of our bags around we would just stay at the hotel on campus for the night until we found something else. Cost for one night in hotel: let's just say it was as much as it would be for 1 month's rent. We really got screwed there. After miles upon miles of walking the next day we found a place with 2 beds that was pretty clean for 4,000 Baht. As much as neither one of us wanted to do it it was looking like Matt Brooke and I were about to become really really close. However, we ended up finding an absolutely beautiful place with good security, internet, bathroom, hot water (which you don't need), t.v., etc. Those two are on the 5th floor with a great view and I am on the 3rd floor which doesn't have as good as a view but I can see the tip of the Pagoda which is kind of cool. And we can walk to campus which is a HUGE PLUS!
As far as the culture is concerned it is absoluely incredible: they are really big on cleanliness so everything is really clean and it truely is the land of smiles everyone is incredibly nice. It has been great learning just the little intracacies of this great place. The little things are what you have to be careful about as far as the traffic coming at you from the other side of the road, escalators going the other way, and they say you need to be careful with taxis but we haven't had a need for them yet. One thing I have really enjoyed so far is getting to know Matt's classmates he has someone from Pakistan, Ireland, and Burma which we have all gotten to be good friends (the rest haven't arrived yet). Just learning about their cultures and their incredible experiences has been such a joy. Even all of them have been eager to help me find a job or volunteer organization so I can get a visa.
It is insanely hot and humid here and the breeze is anything but cool. I have found that it is either the fact that I was a pirate in my last life or because I am a Parrot Head in this life that the heat and humidity hasn't bothered me at all, you just have to accept the fact that you are going to sweat all day and have a bottle of water in your hand all the time.
I know this is pretty broad but I will get into some stories and more detail now that I will be able to get on frequently. And of course I will be posting deep insights, quotes, and the like that will most likely be fodder for making fun of me when I get back...but to hell with you guys :)

It is by no means a vacation here but the experience is greater then anything I can imagine and I am looking forward to sharing it with you. I promise to have more frequent posts please keep responding. Thank you all once again

Here's to you,
Ryan