hello!

Sorry that i haven't written in awhile! last night we were able to break away from our school work and walk down to the local market (aka a bar on the side of the road). we had a great time! we sang karaoke (in thai, of course) and had a few drinks with the local people who live near our school. going to class, living, and eating every meal with the same 12 people is starting to feel like a reality show! alliances are being formed, people are playing sneaky tricks, and we've already found out who the back stabber is. it's hilarious. our teachers keep telling us that we're not going to be able to function without each other after our class is finished (i think i'll be just fine!). we only have 2 weeks left, but it feels like forever. If i can get some work done this afternoon i'm going to take a tuk tuk into hang dong (a suburb of chiang mai) and go to the local swimming pool, have dinner, and explore the local market. i hope everyone is doing well in the states! (by the way, it's 85 degrees and sunny!!)

i thought you might be interested in seeing some of my classmates. tomorrow i have to teach a lesson on traveling. i'm making my students create a trip through thailand for some of the guys i go to school with. they're quite a crew, i hope my kids get a good laugh out of this picture.

school

sorry that i haven't written in awhile. i started school last monday and it's just as intense as they said it would be. i have class everyday from 11:30 am till 5:30pm and then we teach from 6-8pm. it's lots of work, but it'll be worth it. the first picture is of my tv and desk in my room. even though i'm in the middle of the northern thai countryside they still feel like we need flat screen tv's in our rooms. last time i checked i couldn't speak thai, so it's of no use for me! i apologize for run on sentences, bad grammar, and things that don't make sense. i spend about 13 hours a day doing school work, so i kinda let my mind run wild when i don't have to follow rules. the second picture is of the outfit they make you wear when you get a massage. lovely isn't it? i'll write more later on. i appreciate all the encouraging emails!

The first picture is of our Australian friend Mick. He drinks too much. The second picture is of me at an umbrella production village. it's amazing how fast you can turn asian if you put your mind to it! The last was taken in the Bangkok airport around 4 am. I ordered roasted duck with noodles and i think i got fake duck with green ramen. it was delicious

getting there

hey everyone, i'm new to this blogging thing so hang in there with me. currently i'm delirious because my body still doesn't know what the hell is going on! I left jacksonville the morning of wednesday feb. 4th and flew to atlanta. from atlanta i flew straight to seoul, korea. it was about a 16 hours flight and i was seated across the isle from sean kingston! for those of you who have no idea who he is don't feel bad, i had no idea that the large dude sitting near me was famous. i think he got irritated with me when i didn't immediately recognize that he was the guy who sang the song 'beautiful girls'. needless to say, after our first encounter he didn't talk to me that much. after leaving korea i flew to bangkok to meet up with andrew. we planned on meeting at a specific hotel bar and when i arrived he was 4-5 beers deep in an intense conversation with a really drunk australian man staying at the hotel. after another few beers the aussie somehow convinced us to take showers in his room (we seriously weren't going to go with him, but he was very persistent and after traveling for so long a shower sounded nice). when we got to the room he immediately passed out and andrew and i got to spend our lovely bangkok layover in a 5 star hotel room (with a drunk man passed out on the bed!). we left him a nice note with an appa sticker and slipped out before he woke up.
our last flight was this morning from bangkok to chiang mai. right now we're staying at a beautiful guest house that belongs to a european man named peter. if you ever travel to chiang mai i HIGHLY recommend staying here. our room is really cheap and i'm writing this blog on the computer they provide next to the pool.
also, andrew and i stick out like sore thumbs, it's awesome