WELCOME TO THAILAND!!!!!

Sawatdee ka!! Hello. Welcome to the Land of Smiles :) Starting out my trip was very interesting. It was right during the Swine Flu scare. Everybody was wearing masks. They even had heat censors in the airport. This was definitely my culture shock for the day. Everyone told me the minute I get off the flight I will feel this insane heat wave. Except, when I stepped outside, it was the perfect weather, not bad at all. Maybe humidity like Florida but not any worse. My flight got in about 1am which I realized the next morning was why it was so nice out. When I walked out of the hotel that morning I seriously could have gone back in 5 minutes later and changed clothes from the sweat. The few days we spent in the city weren't exactly my favorite. Bangkok was a waft of intense smell mixed with heat, people and cars everywhere. 
The orientation we had was great! I met 20 of the greatest people. Everyone clicked with each other right away. This made the week very easy. Even though we had very early mornings after some very late nights. Bangkok is definitely good for entertainment. If you want to go out at night, see a show or just hang out at a restaurant or bar, there will be something for you. During orientation, we learned lesson plans, Thai culture, history and language. Trying to speak Thai for the first time was hilarious! I couldn't remember anything and when I tried it probably just sounded funny. But eventually we could say the basics. Hello (Sawatdee ka), what's your name? (Khun chêu a-rai ka?), Thai fried noodles (Pad Thai). Well that one I already knew. During the week we also had some great excursions. Trip #1-Grand Palace. Before we even stepped foot in the gate a select few who were lucky enough were given Hawaiian shirts and sarongs to wear through the tour. Well, this was actually because we weren't covered properly. Oops! Watch out for that or you will look like the perfect tourist. This place was absolutely gorgeous! Huge buildings and statues all made with gold. It's almost like you could be blinded from all the sparkles. This might not be the best place for anyone who gets distracted my shiny things because your head might start spinning like crazy! Definitely some of the best pictures so far.Trip #2-River Boat Tour. This was pretty cool. We took small boats with motors through the river. It's a nice little trip. Really opened my eyes to the living conditions of some people. Broken homes in the water, no luxury of any kind. Just hoping for food from one day to the next. Some kids were happy jumping in the water that looked like it came from the sewer. Everything was very simple. Talk about a huge contrast from the gold temples on one side of the road to families in houses that look like they may not be there tomorrow.Trip # 3 Kanchanaburi-This was such an amazing adventure! The first full day we were there we road on elephants, bamboo rafted down the river and taught at an orphanage with the cutest kids. Tip #1-Elephant riding. Wear pants. You might get to ride on the back and shorts are not the most comfortable thing in the world! Trust me




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Tip #2 Bamboo rafting. Get your bathing suit on and jump in! Try everything while you're in Thailand and jumping in the river is one of those great moments floating down with the water. Don't worry about the leeches in the water....they wont get you!Tip #3 Orphanage. Bring a camera! You will get some of the greatest pictures. The kids love taking photos and will run off with your camera to take pictures of everything and anything around them, including them selves. It's so adorable.We made it back to Bangkok and within 20 minutes everyone was gone! It was a mad rush of bags flying everywhere, people hurrying to meet their school coordinators and vans picking up the rest. We were off! This ended our fabulous first week in Thailand. Tip # 4-Thailand. TRY EVERYTHING (maybe with the exception of the fried bugs), you wont get to do this stuff again!