21 Questions

My dad wrote me an email with a list of questions which I thought you all might like to know, so here it goes...
What's the weather like? Hot and humid everyday. I've gotten good at wearing sunblock everyday because the sun is very intense. Today when I walked outside at 8 am it felt about 90 degrees. I'm so thankful I have air conditioning in my room and in the church. At least I stay cool at night!
How's the food and what's your favorite? Wonderful!!! Arroy for delish in Thai!! I love curry anything. This morning my friend Oi taught me how to make duck coconut curry, and it was amazing! Sum tam which is a papaya salad. I will prepare it when I come home. As you walk down the streets the sidewalks are filled with little road side carts, some even provide table and chairs, where they fix the food right there, little bbq stands right there on the side walk.
How do people react to you/Americans on the street? First I have to say that we represent 9 nations, so we are not just whities! We have Simone from Singapore, Edwin from Malaysia, El from England who is half Trinidad/Tobago, and Jes from Denmark who is half Egyptian. The rest are Germany, Norway, Finland, and Canada. That shout out is for my teammates!! You guys rock! We get lots of looks because we stick out so quickly. The Thai word for foreigners is Farang (fa-wrong) and anytime we hear it we know they are talking about us! I was very nervous to speak English at first but Thai people love me as an American, even if they don't agree with our politics.
In the area I live in, it is not a tourist area so we rarely see farang and it is so wierd when we do. We just stare at eachother like "what are you doing here??!!!" We try to be a friendly face to travelers who do make it to this area of Bangkok. When we go to the touristy area of Bangkok there are so many white people from all over the world, it is wired to see that many. This is one thing I have realizied I really like about California is that it is richly diverse in cultures. I was the only white person in my group of architecture friends in college and I love that!
What's the transportation like? We walk everywhere! Even home with the groceries for breakfast for 20 people!! Taxis are as common as white cars in the US, they are everywhere...but here they are hot pink, orange, green, and blue. There are truck taxis too, they basicly built a cage in the bed with benches, they are very cheap but I've never taken one. The bus system is cheap as well, but you can't find a bus schedule anywhere so we only use them if our hosts are with us or tell us what number to take. Air conditioned buses are the way to go!
How's your bag and mattress working? My dad sent me a compact sleeping bag and thermarest 1" thick sleeping mat for Christmas. They work great. The church had a straw mat that I put down first, then the therma rest. I brought a sheet with me, I start the night laying on my sleeping bag with the sheet, but I get cool enough that I crawl inside my bag and stay there til morning. Thank you dad!
Are you starting to understand the language and currency? I have a few sayings down like hello, thank you, my name is, what's yours?, cool, not spicy or a little spicy or nice spicy. I know how to count up to thirty. I pick up new things everyday and my thai friends are so impressed. They seem so honored that we want to learn their language and not just teach them ours. It makes it really fun!
The baht is the Thai currency and its really easy to use. The exchange rate is 35 baht to 1 dollar. Most places (not tourist places) you can eat a nice portioned amazing meal for 40 to 50 baht. Can you believe it!!! A plate is about 15 to 25 baht, sodas are 10 baht, water bottles are 7, a blended fruit and ice smoothie is 15 to 20.
Any McDonald's in Thailand? Yes, there are McDonald's here, and KFC and Pizza Hut. They are a lot more expensive, ends up converting to what we would pay in the US but it seems like a lot when you are used to eating for 40 baht! I have not eaten at McDonalds, but have eaten at Pizza Hut. They don't serve cheese on anything here and you get tired of eating Thai food everyday so on a day off we ate pizza and it was so great!
How about Starbuck's? I've had Starbucks twice. They are in the big shopping malls in the tourist area. I went over there on my first two days off. It was such a treat! Again, the baht price converted to the same amount in US dollars, maybe a little more!
Do you drink tea, coffee, water, soda, etc.? I drink mostly water here. I buy diet cokes, here called Light Coke, at the mini mart but you can't get it in any restaurant. So I've decided to not drink soda unless it can be diet. I make coffe sometimes or buy it at a little coffee shop right by where I live, 60 baht for an iced coffee. You can buy Thai iced tea at almost any road side stand. But it is made with a condensed milk, so I probably won't get it again until right before I leave! So much of the food is cooked in heavy oil, so cutting out treats like the thai iced tea is how I will attempt to not gain weight here. Of course the boys are losing weight and the girls are gaining and they eat way more than we do! Not fair!!
Are you sleeping and where? I'm living in one of the classrooms at the church we work at. There are four of us in my room. Our bags and sleeping mats take up all the floor room. My bed is also my couch, desk, and changing room.
Are you still in Bangkok? Yes, until 29 January. Then we take a 12 hour bus ride to the Northeast of Thailand to the Isan people. We will be in Ubanratchatawnie, for 10 days. Then we will be going south to a city that is an hour below Bangkok called Chon Buri. Then back to Bangkok to the church for one day and we fly back to Perth on 17 Feb.
Are you homesick? I wouldn't say home sick, but I do miss home. Being here makes me realize how nice of a place I come from. I miss the people, friend, family, my gym!, and the city itself. I miss driving down the roads that I know so well. Thailand has opened my eyes to that more than Australia or Italy ever did.

Well, I hope this proves I'm doing well and happy. I miss you all!!