Welp, I'm here, I'm actually here. I arrived in Bangkok last night (well technically this morning, which was yesterday afternoon PST...) and despite being a bit foiled by the drastic time change (14 hours!) I am happy to report everything went rather smoothly. I still have one final leg to complete tomorrow, a one hour flight to Chiang Mai where I will meet with my course mates and begin my TESOL (Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages) training, which lasts for one month.
Despite never running a marathon, and never ever planning on running a marathon, I like to think that international travel has exposed me to comparable mental/physical challenges. Upon checking in at SFO, I learned that my bags would not be sent through to my final destination, and that during my layover I was expected to go through Chinese customs and then collect and recheck my bags on to Bangkok. Thus, my 14 hour flight to Wuhan, China became a solid mixture of sleep, food, Zac Efron movies (both terrible), and just your run of the mill anxiety that I'd get to China, be quarantined for not having a Chinese Visa, sent to Immigration jail without food and water (just to make it extra dramatic) and end up being placed on a flight back to SFO. Isn't it fun where your mind takes you 35,000 feet up in the air when you have absolutely no control over a situation? BUT thankfully my mind redeemed itself because when I finally did fall asleep, I had a dream that there was an Ice Cream Sommelier on my flight passing out various varieties of exotic ice cream flavors. Now, I've never heard of an Ice Cream Sommelier before, but obviously it's been added to my list of potential career paths once I get back.
After my ice cream dream and getting a boarding pass with Spongebob Square Pants and Patrick on it (what/why?), I felt confident that the rest of my trip was going to go swimmingly. And it did. I've found that one of the biggest redeeming aspects of international travel is the kindness of strangers. For the most part, everyone finds it a necessary evil to arrive at a desired location, and I feel like that gives people a sense of camaraderie, making everyone more willing to help one another despite language and cultural barriers. It reminds me of that song from High School Musical, "We're all in this together," (don't judge and see Zac Efron note above). So if you're in need of a little restored faith in humanity, just hop on a 24 hour international flight, preferably to Thailand to visit me!
As for today, I've settled in to my hotel nicely and am currently making predictions about what time of day I will hit that wall of unavoidable sleepiness. Given that I'm only in Bangkok for 36 hours, I am staying really close to the airport, which means really far from the main center of the city. But there is a market not far from me that opens up in the afternoon, so my goal is to keep myself occupied until then (hence starting a blog). I've also heard that 7 Eleven is the home of all my basic needs over here, and there is one across the street from the hotel so I'll probably check that out at some point too, you know, just to gain some culture.
One of my ideas for this blog, if I do keep it up, is to keep a running list of the food I've eaten and a record of the books I am currently reading. This part is rather self-indulgent (but really, what part of blogging isn't?) so feel free to gloss over. And thanks for stopping by virtually! Your next step is to stop by physically. OK? OK.
Food I've eaten:
- Fak Thong Kaeng Buat: Pumpkins in Coconut Milk. This is a Thai dessert/comfort food, which I ate for breakfast (dessert for breakfast because I am an adult). It was so delicious. Cubed pumpkin in a sweet coconut milk sauce eaten over rice with a rich caramel flavor.
Book(s) I'm reading:
- Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Throwing it back to my good friend Jodi. I'm enjoying this book so far although it doesn't yet have all the elements of my favorite Jodi Picoult books. What it's lacking in suspense, it makes up for it in relevant societal/racial issues. I planned to read more today, but I'm afraid it will make me too sleepy.
Photos:
 |
| I haven't really taken many pics yet but I do document the important things when I see them. Oh hi Patrick and Spongebob. |
Looking forward to following along!
ReplyDelete