Sooo….first post.

I’m writing this on the morning of what will be my second full day here, so I’ll try to do a little back-tracking so everyone at home knows what’s going on.

The plane ride from D.C. to Tokyo was rough – I only stood up once in the 14 hours. A really nice lady from Taiwan sat next to me. It turns out she had gone to WVU for her graduate work – it’s a small world. It wasn’t too difficult finding the gate in Tokyo, and their security was much easier to get through than the airport in Charleston.

Altogether, there are 10 Fulbright ETAs. I first met up with Karen and Chike in Tokyo while waiting on the plane to Bangkok. It took us a little time, but before we were ready to board, we found the other five people scheduled to be on that flight – Audra, Ahna, Paige, J.R. and Caryn. Unfortunately, I sat nowhere near anyone else. Customs in Bangkok proved to be problem free, as was grabbing our baggage and finding where we were supposed to meet. We waited outside the airport for about ½ hour while Siriporn tried to first find us and second get us a ride.

We’re staying in a dorm called Suksitnives. I was lucky to get a room by myself, so I can sleep extra peacefully. Unluckily, I have a room on the 8th floor while everyone else is on the 5th. Zoe is also on the 8th floor, but I have no idea what room she’s in. Since other Thai tenants occupy the rooms, I am hesitant to go around knocking.

I arrived in Thailand at around 11:00pm local time on the 19th, which would be noon back home. (Eastern time zone adds 11 hours to figure the time here in Thailand. Once the clocks fall back, add 12 hours.) After getting to the dorm, I took a shower and went straight to bed at 2:30. The next morning was a mix of unpacking, gazing over my balcony, and a runny nose from turning my air conditioner down to low during the night.

We met Siriporn at 1:00 to get our first two month’s pay (about $1000) and some lunch at what I think was the University cafeteria. I gotta say, this food beats Wesleyan’s any day. I had a full plate of fried rice with chicken and a bottle of water, which cost 25 Baht, or $0.75. Not bad if you ask me. After lunch, the ten of us found a Walmart like store called Lotus to pick up some cereal. Frosted flakes for me – can’t go wrong with Tony the Tiger. We also picked up cell phones for use in Thailand. Rather than signing a contract or anything, you pay as you go here with phone cards. I paid 1,190 Baht for my phone and starting minutes - $36.

By the time I got back to the room yesterday it must have been around 5:00, and I was beat. Jet lag is rough. I woke up a few times from what turned out being one long nap with a terrible headache that, I think, resulted from a little dehydration. I’ll have to be more careful in the future. Unfortunately, the fried rice and chicken was all I ate yesterday because of my nap. I slept straight through any dinner I would have had.

Right now, it’s 8:30am on the 21st. I was up early today at about 6:30, ate some breakfast, and went for a run. I’m not sure exactly what the temperature has been the past couple days, but it’s not as hot as I had expected.

I’m doing well, though. Don’t know when I’ll actually get to post this or talk to anyone. There is wireless internet here at the dorm, but it’s password protected and we can’t get the password until Monday. So, until then, I love you all and will hopefully talk to you soon.

- Brad