What?! It has to be ... I'm leaving now!
"You forgot to sign it."
Huge sigh of relief!
My flight from SD to LA was uneventful. It was a tiny commuter plane, three seats wide. And the flight time was only about 25 minutes.
In LA I dashed through the airport to the international terminal to check into my flight and get a seat and a boarding pass, etc. Then dashed to meet Max and Cynthia for dinner at a very swank restaurant called Encounters. A bowl of soup and a salad -- both delicious -- cost $20! After dinner I dashed back to the international terminal and stood in line a lot. When I finally arrived at the gate (or actually the area where we caught the shuttle to the gate) I heard my name on the PA. Not a very reassuring start to my trip, especially after SD! But they had only forgotten to remove the ticket itself.
The plane was beautiful! Orange and pink and purple seats. Our own purple pillow and blanket. Water bottles waiting for us. I felt like I was in first class, even in the way back of the plane! They fed us real food, on real dishes, with real metal silverware and glass glasses. Gave us wine at dinner and an after dinner drink. An in-seat TV monitor where we could choose from about 40 different movies, or play games, or learn languages, or watch the plane travel around the world, or ... Swank! I either haven't flown on enough international airlines or Thai airlines is spectacular! Or both. Part of what made the trip so wonderful was that the plane was more than half empty. At least where I was. So I had two seats to my self and could "stretch out" and lie down when I wanted to sleep. The strangest part of the trip though was flying the whole way in the dark. I have never experienced a whole "day" of night. Every time I looked out the window it was pitch black outside. Not much to look at. Though I did enjoy seeing the cities of China lit up in the dark. And the reflection of the moon on the ocean below.
The airport in Bangkok was no problem. Other than the fact that I got confused about weather or not I needed a visa -- wound up not getting one, which was just as well (more on that later). And I managed to find a taxi to the city, and my hotel, even without knowing a word of Thai! This international travel stuff is a breeze!
That night I met up with a German woman, Mareike. She had a tick in her shoulder and together we went to the dermatologist to have it removed. Very strange experience to be surrounded by people waiting to have botox or something and try to explain to someone who speaks limited English about the tick. I'm still not entirely sure we all understood each other completely.
We took our last boat ride back to the hotel and while she figured out how to get to the airport, I met with a woman from the volunteer organization (Volunthai) to figure out how I was to get to the bus to the town where I would have training and then to the school where I would work. Marike and I had one last dinner together and then, after she headed home, I
Next day, I wandered the streets, taking pictures and then headed to the bus station. I met Amy, the other volunteer, at the bus station and she and I (the only white people on the bus) headed to training.
4 comments:
Wow- sounds exciting!
I am ready to sign up!
Can I teach for only a summer say? Or does it have to be a whole year, or year increments?
God Bless,
becca,
who are you working with?
and what is your snailmail addy?
Sounds fascinating!!
I wish i could be there!!
I'm thinking of you!!
(how long will you be there??)
Great to see you are posting again. A pictures?
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