Special Cases Unit: Destination Udon Thani

I'm in Nongkhai. It's hot. The toilets don't flush. I have no luggage.

Saturday morning I awoke around 6:30am. Remember, my new flight isn't until noon. I take a body shower, but don't have any shampoo to wash my hair(since I wasn't planning on being there still). We leave by 7am, there is no traffic and we arrive around 8am. The company doesn't even open until 8:30am. I say bye to my mom and "fake" Aunt Marcy who saw me into the security check point. Or so we thought. So I go down towards the shops, thinking the security check point was soon. In every other airport I've ever been to, there are shops in the terminals. Nope, not the one time that I need it. I am cleared and at the gate by 9am, with two shops in the entire terminal. I make a friend. She was kinda obnocious, but it was someone to talk to.

The plane ride was fine. I sat next to a Thai 20-something guy, and while I never tried to speak directly with him, I think he actually might have known English. They fed us twice, plus a snack. I couldn't really fall asleep, I was just a little too cramped. For an 18 hour flight, being cramped is not pleasant. I did have the screen where we could choose what we wanted to do/watch. I watched Man of the Year, an Officer and a Gentleman(can someone please explain to me the title, I don't get it), some Grey's Anatomy episodes, some America's Next Top Model(Note: I am completely against this show and I think its horrible, but they were in Thailand and I was trying to learn as much as I could about the culture) and I also started but got bored with Chocolat and a Thai documentary. I also played a game which taught me the Thai language, so I learned the numbers, days of the week and some important phrases.

So I'm supposed to arrive at 5pm local time Sunday night in Bangkok. We arrive around 5:20pm. My next flight is at 6:30pm. As I leave the plane there are a bunch of Thai Airways people holding up signs, I thought it was weird, until I saw my own name. The woman told me that I was a "special case" because my flight was soo soon and she was going to try to expedite my process and help me as much as she could. That involved helping me through immigration, cutsoms, and getting my luggage, except we didn't. When you fly internationally and then fly domestically, you can't check your luggage all the way through because you physically have to take it through customs. So we are waiting at the baggage check. 6:00pm rolls around, no luggage, 6:10 luggage starts coming. By 6:20 we realized that if we wait for my luggage we will miss my plane. She promises me that she will look for my luggage and get it back to me asap.

Next plane is 55 minutes long and we get a meal. Mind you, I was on a plane from NYC to San Jose, CA and didn't get much more then crackers and pretzels. I take a "limosine" (a pick up truck) to Nongkhai from Udon Thani(where I flew in). I luck out that another man in the car with me is from texas but his girlfriend(who I'm pretty sure was a GREAT deal younger then him) was fluent in both and helped me communicate with the driver.

I finally arrive and am greeted by Rick who couldn't be happier to see me. He's the program coordinator. He shows me around the dorm and tells me that since I missed all of the orientations, that I will have private orientations within the next few days. Monday, luckily is a holiday, the start of a two week celebration commemorating all the slain and survived soldiers of Thailand. Luckily, I say, because I have an extra day to acclimate myself before I begin teaching.

I meet my roomate Yvette. She's really nice. She invites me out to a bar with a bunch of the other volunteers. Against my typical nature, and without my creature comforts of cleanliness and new clothes I decide to go. I am by they way wearing Brown "teachery" pants, a rayon tank top and a knit polo shirt. Not exactly the outfit to be wearing in 70 degree heat, let alone near 90. I meet everyone and have an OK time. I ate some Green Curry with "zero spice". It was still a little spicey to me, but it was mighty tasty. I also have a margharita. The entire meal costs me less then $5 USD. It was 150THB(Thailand Baht). It's about 35THB to $1 USD.

I go to sleep around midnight I think, and when I wake its still dark outside. After about an hour of trying unsuccessfully to force myself to sleep, I get up and read all the materials that were given to me, including the entire teaching manual, and every tourist book I could get my hands on about Thai culture, customs and the Nongkhai province.

At around 8am, one of my housemates tells me that some of the volunteers are going to a ceremony and I go, figuring I have nothing else to do. The ceremony is great, lots of Thai dancing and costumes. I have pictures. I'll post them at some point.

Then, I meet with Rick again and he tries to get me some THB. In my hurry to get on the plane, I never got a chance to get any Thai currency. Opps. Yeah, so this ceremony is a public holiday meaning banks are closed, and my ATM card doesn't "have enough data".

I go to the Travel to Teach office. Meet the people I've been corresponding with. They are all very friendly. I go on a tour of the town with Gabby, an Intern from Sweeden, although she's from Panama originally. Her story is interesting.

I am now waiting for Rick to come back so we can finally get my luggage and I can get a cell phone. I will explain more about my living conditions in upcoming blogs.

Peace out.