(no subject)
Hi everyone!
Reading all these livejournal entries about leaving home and moving into college make me feel weird. I can't believe everybody's leaving already! I wish the best of luck to those of you starting school (college and otherwise)!
I'm still doing very well in Thailand, having a really good time. This weekend I explored Bangkok and found many, many malls and huge markets. Saturday I went to a weekend market that is unbelievably huge. You can find absolutely anything there, including baby alligators, monkeys, snakes, strange food and lots of pretty clothes. I'm not going to want to buy anything when I get home because I'm getting used to everything being so cheap. On Friday, me and a few of the friends I've made here were desperately craving anything that wasn't noodles or rice, so we found an Outback Steakhouse. It was so delicious, and our waiter spoke really, really good English, which was refreshing. For some reason I was under the impression that Thais speak a little bit of English, but I've found that to be completely untrue. The way English is taught in the schools here is a complete mess. Everything is repetition, very robotic, and the kids have no clue what they're saying when they speak. So, needless to say, it's been really challenging, and at times frustrating, to teach English.
The driving style here is absolutely insane. I don't know how there aren't constant wrecks. People drive on the wrong side of the road, motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and traffic laws of any sort don't seem to apply. Also, getting around by taxi is hard because of the language thing. A lot of times, I've had to had someone write my intended destination in Thai so I can tell the taxi driver where I want to go. Even so, about half the times I've gotten on a taxi the driver has gotten lost. It's absolutely crazy. Yesterday I went to the Jim Thompson house, which was really cool. Jim Thompson was an American who lived in Thailand and revamped the silk industry here. It was nice to see the trees and gardens around his house because you get kind of tired of the concrete and metal around here. I bought a silk tie for my daddy, so far the most money I've spent at one time.
Next weekend I'm going to Phuket!! I'm so so so excited. Everybody says its gorgeous. We're going to spend one day on Phuket beach and another day on the nearby island of Ko Phi Phi to see the beaches and help with tsunami clean up. I hope things are going well wherever you are! I miss you all very much!
Love,
Bhanu
Reading all these livejournal entries about leaving home and moving into college make me feel weird. I can't believe everybody's leaving already! I wish the best of luck to those of you starting school (college and otherwise)!
I'm still doing very well in Thailand, having a really good time. This weekend I explored Bangkok and found many, many malls and huge markets. Saturday I went to a weekend market that is unbelievably huge. You can find absolutely anything there, including baby alligators, monkeys, snakes, strange food and lots of pretty clothes. I'm not going to want to buy anything when I get home because I'm getting used to everything being so cheap. On Friday, me and a few of the friends I've made here were desperately craving anything that wasn't noodles or rice, so we found an Outback Steakhouse. It was so delicious, and our waiter spoke really, really good English, which was refreshing. For some reason I was under the impression that Thais speak a little bit of English, but I've found that to be completely untrue. The way English is taught in the schools here is a complete mess. Everything is repetition, very robotic, and the kids have no clue what they're saying when they speak. So, needless to say, it's been really challenging, and at times frustrating, to teach English.
The driving style here is absolutely insane. I don't know how there aren't constant wrecks. People drive on the wrong side of the road, motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and traffic laws of any sort don't seem to apply. Also, getting around by taxi is hard because of the language thing. A lot of times, I've had to had someone write my intended destination in Thai so I can tell the taxi driver where I want to go. Even so, about half the times I've gotten on a taxi the driver has gotten lost. It's absolutely crazy. Yesterday I went to the Jim Thompson house, which was really cool. Jim Thompson was an American who lived in Thailand and revamped the silk industry here. It was nice to see the trees and gardens around his house because you get kind of tired of the concrete and metal around here. I bought a silk tie for my daddy, so far the most money I've spent at one time.
Next weekend I'm going to Phuket!! I'm so so so excited. Everybody says its gorgeous. We're going to spend one day on Phuket beach and another day on the nearby island of Ko Phi Phi to see the beaches and help with tsunami clean up. I hope things are going well wherever you are! I miss you all very much!
Love,
Bhanu