Nong Khai - Week 1

One week down already? I don't feel like I have done a whole lot. But it is definitely much slower here. My day to day so far has been waking up around 10:30am, taking a bike ride out to Tesco (kind of like a Walmart/Target), and then maybe do some miscellaneous things to help out, until the kids come in for class in the afternoon. Pretty chill. I haven't had my own class to teach yet, but will be doing so this coming week.

But here are some random notes on living in Nong Khai:

1. Thai people here think I am Thai.
A lot of Asian people I have met since traveling have a hard time understanding that I am from the US. What usually follows is "but...you look Asian." When I was trying to find vitamins today, I had to do the "I don't speak Thai" statement/gestures, and the salesperson (who was Thai) said, "You look Thai". It's kind of amusing. I was talking to a new Thai friend from the school, who says that even though I am from the US, the way I behave seems very Asian, not American; I agree with that. (Remember this conversation, Rutsu?)

2. Thai language
Some words/sounds are very similar to Cantonese, so it has been a little easier to pick up so far (like "saam" = 3). I have only learned the name of some dishes, drinks, and the numbers 1-10.

3. 7-Eleven in any Asian country is really awesome; Asian food at your convenience!
Speaking of drinks, they sell Thai Ice Tea (Chai Yen) right from the soda dispensers! It's so good! Their fast food options are pretty tasty too. I've had:
- toasties: they use the sandwich-maker machine from the early 90s (remember those?)
- sticky rice burgers: pork patty sandwiched in between two "buns" made of sticky rice patties
- baos: every Asian country I have been in so far has baos in their 7-elevens...love it.

4. Riding a bike is rad for exploring a small town.
You can cover so much more ground, plus any breeze is excellent in this hot weather! (We would bike just a block just because of that. And it's fun.) The landscape here is flat, so my rides are pretty leisurely (that is, when I am not trying to catch up with someone else).

Hmmm...that's all I can write for now. Pictures to come soon, once I have uploaded them all!