Sweet Duck and Goodbyes

Over the weekend, nearly everyone from Stenden (a university in the Netherlands) moved out of the building. The mood was a bit somber all weekend as everyone said goodbye. It was sad seeing them go, but I am very grateful for having met them. They taught me some valuable things about Thailand like how to use the bus, how to get to the market, which stores to go to for certain goods, which restaurants are best, how much things should cost, and where to travel in my free time. A few of them also gave me some really useful things. One guy, Michel, gave me a really nice pillow. One girl, Maria,  gave me a bag filled with snacks, bug spray, and medicines. Another guy, Radu, gave me a lot of medicine, including malaria pills. My friend Sina gave me a huge bag with towels, a blanket, a swim cap, medicine, and some books.

I am so grateful for there gracious donations. Those goods will be very useful in the weeks and months to come.

There are only a few people left in the Villa. One of them is my friend Malte. Last night was his last here in Rangsit so we went to a cool Thai BBQ place called Sweet Duck. None of the servers spoke English so ordering was a challenge, but in the end we got vegetables, an egg, rice, bacon, pork, and two kinds of beef. You put it on a pan that is on top of a clay pot filled with coals and then you fry the food yourself. It was delicious. After, we got brownie sunday's and lattes at a desert place called Nomwan. It was a bit of an expensive night. I think I spent about $16. It was well worth it though.

I wish the best of luck to my new, and now old, friends from Stenden. I hope their journey's in life take them down the best roads. Maybe if I ever go to the Netherlands I will see some of them again. On Friday, 80 new students from Stenden will be moving into the Villa and this place will be bumping once again.

The food at Sweet Duc

Desert

Despite Being Sick...

Despite food poisoning, I haven't been completely idle. On Saturday I went to the weekend market with my friend, Sina. She had to buy some last minute souvenirs. I only bought a little bag for coins.

Sunday night I went to Bangkok with Sina and Malte. They are both from Germany. We met up with four French people. We went to dinner and had some beers. I didn't drink much or eat much (a side effect of the food poisoning), but it was still a good time. Later in the evening, Malte and I decided we wanted Burger King so we went on an adventure. (I have been on a handful of Burger King adventures abroad, usually with my brother. Sometimes they work out, other times we get lost and give up. This time worked out though!)

On the way to BK there were prostitutes everywhere. It was about 2 am on a Sunday night so the crowds had thinned and the prostitutes were much easier to spot. They were unavoidable. I don't know how else to explain the prostitutes other than that they are very proactive. Aggressively proactive. They touch, and grab, and hold on tight. In all places. "Sabai! Sabai!" is the phrase I quickly learned. It means "Easy! Easy!" Usually that would do that trick. Nevertheless it was very interesting to see how eager they were to work…

At BK I spent $2 and got a Whopper Meal. On the way out, there was a crowd of drunk white guys in front of the BK. These guys were falling down and yelling random stuff. I ask the one seemingly sober guy where he was from. He told me he was from Colorado. "Great, Americans acting a fool," I thought to myself. So I asked where his buddies were from. He proudly told me they were all Canadian. To which I responded, "Oh thank God." I have never been so happy to see drunk Canadians. I really dislike the Ugly Americans that give us other travelers a bad name. I exchanged a cheerful high five with the other American and headed out with Malte.

We rolled back to the Villa at 5:00 am. Not too late…what a night.

I got about 4 hours of sleep, woke up, got dressed and headed to school to meet with Kathy, the international student admissions counselor. I showed her my college and introduced her to the international department here. We also had lunch together. It was a nice few hours. Especially to interact with some one from MO and CC! The admissions department at CC is pretty rad.

Kathy and me

Food Poisoning

Immediately after finishing my last blog entry I went to a restaurant near my apartment called EZ Steak. They serve western food for a fair price. I had a caesar salad and a chicken sandwich with French fries, and some green tea. It all tasted quite good.

Later that night, I went to see American Sniper (my most recently completed book) at the movie theater. I went by myself because no one else was really interested. I was feeling fine when I left, having just gotten over a little cold. About half way through the movie I suddenly got the chills. Then my neck starting hurting. Then my toes felt funny and the strange feeling creeped up my legs. I kept telling myself everything was ok. The movie finished (it was phenomenal, though the book was better) and I headed out to the parking lot. In the process I got disoriented and ended up on the wrong side of the mall. Luckily a security guard radioed for a taxi. I was dropped off at our favorite 711 nearest the Villa and bought some water, tylenol, and ginger ale. I could barely walk the 800 meters back to the apartment. Once back, I immediately went to my room. It was 80 degrees outside but I was freezing. I put on sweats, closed my windows, and laid down. I had a fever. I asked a friend to double check and they confirmed.

At this point, paranoia set in. I thought, "Oh no. I have Dengue Fever. I'm screwed. This will be the worst thing ever." Luckily I fell asleep so I couldn't get more anxiety. I woke up about an hour later covered in sweat. The fever had really taken hold. I took all my clothes off and turned on the air conditioner. At around 5:30 am my fever was gone and I felt better in that regard. At this point, however, my stomach was in a much worse state. I will spare you all the details, but let's say I got well acquainted with the details of the tile floor in my bathroom. I tried to manage for a day, but finally gave in and took antibiotics. I was sick from Thursday to Saturday and I felt weak from Sunday until today (Tuesday). I barely ate during this time, aside from crackers, Pringles, coke, and water. I think I am finally back to normal.

Getting sick is inevitable. Hopefully I just have better luck in the future.

Week 2 of School

In Comparative Political systems, we had a lecture. I like the professor. He speaks good English and has a good perspective on the content he is teaching. Of course, I am the only American in the class so I get called on often. I guess that takes care of my 10% participation grade. The lecture always ends early so I have some downtime to lounge on the couches in the international college building. The second class on Tuesday's is Theories of Democracy. The professor is awesome. We call him "Dr. Charlie" because we can't say his name. Again, I'm the only American and I get called on for my views and the perspective from my country. So, I can again assure my participation grade. We have the entire month of February off from that class as Dr. Charlie is going to India for a seminar. $$$.

Wednesday begins with Introduction to Thai. My Thai name is Chetah (unsure of spelling). It means brother. I can dig that. The professor is really enthusiastic but 2.5 hours is a long time to sit in a class. Thai is a tonal language, English is not. I am also tone deaf. It will be an interesting experience. The final class of my week is Public Policy Analysis. It is a very interesting class. The professor is young and very well read in the field of Public Policy (He has his PhD in the field from Syracuse).

The struggle this week was being sick. I somehow caught a cold and being away from home while sick is so much worse. It's been 4 days and I am finally beginning to feel better. I regret the day that I become violently ill with food poisoning or something of the sort. It is inevitable. All the students I have talked with have gone through it at least once. Maybe I will be fortunate…

One of the girls gave me peanut butter on bread.
It was a nice change from Thai food.
Tastes like home…

View from my college building (14th floor)

Exposed wires are common here.
If you aren't careful you could get a good shock.

Khao San Road

Khao San Road is probably one of the most popular destinations in Thailand. It's almost difficult to describe. Essentially, it is a long road in Bangkok that is lined with bars, shops, restaurants, and clubs. There are travelers from countless nationalities and walking room is shoulder to shoulder. Three of the Dutch girls that live in my apartment building invited me to come along with them on Friday night and see it for myself. I was tired and my financial situation is always looming in the back of my head, but with a little convincing I gave in.

We went to 7/11 and bought some road beers and then took a taxi from Rangsit (the suburb where my school is located) to Bangkok. We paid about $10 total for the 30 minute ride into the city. Once there, we met some Swedish guys who offered to buy us some drinks (traveling with girls has its perks). They were pretty free-spirited and just wanted to chat. After we finished the drinks we moved on to an outside area with a lot of tables in front of a band playing live music covers of popular songs ranging from Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" to Coldplay's "Yellow" to Bob Marley's "Is this Love." The lead singer of the band was a very large Thai guy, but his English singing was on point. They jammed hard. After I finished my second beer of the night I decided I would eat a scorpion. To be honest, it tasted like beef jerky but had the consistency of chewable egg shells. It wasn't that bad. A lot of people around us took pictures as I ate crunched away.

We moved on to another bar where I got a liter of beer for $6. By the time we finished at that bar and moved on, I really had to take a leak but I couldn't just go into any bathroom if I wasn't a patron so I decided to buy a shot of tequila at an empty bar just so I could use the toilet. We ended up at a club (Which I later learned was called "The Club") that was really packed. It was crazy. Eventually we decided to grab a cab and head back to our apartment building. The taxi driver en route to home was flying down the highway and making moves from lane to lane. I'll be honest, sitting in the backseat I was terrified. Luckily we made it in one piece. I will most definitely be returning to Khao San Road for some wild nights so try to find me on snap chat if you want to see the action live.

Seemingly Endless Khao San Road

Crunchy Scorpion

The Classic Runaround

As I mentioned previously, I have had some issues with my visa. At the airport the expiration was stamped as February 5 when it should have been April 6. First I had to find the visa office at school and that was a challenge. Then at the visa office I was just sent away again. So, I returned on Friday with a new phone number, data, and minutes. I would not be turned away!

After 3 long hours of waiting and being pushed from one clerk to another I finally had the appropriate expiration stamp. However, I could not communicate that I wanted a re-entry stamp so I can travel outside of the country and return after a few moments of circumlocution it was lunched time and I was ushered out of the immigration office. Disgruntled, I hailed a taxi for the 20 kilometer trip back to my apartment. So next week I will push my way through more red tape at immigration.

The language barrier has been the biggest obstacle so far. One must be extremely precise when dealing with the Thai people, but without the language it is very difficult.


ผมไม่ได้ พูดภาษาไทย (translation: I do not speak Thai)

Some Food

The food in Thailand is great, that is for sure. I have obviously eaten more than four meals, but these just happen to be the meals that I remembered to take pictures of. In addition to actual meals, street food is also very popular (pot stickers, fried chicken, and french fries are my favorite street foods).

Fried rice with chicken and veggies

Fried chicken wings

Fried noodles with stir fry

    

Chicken & red curry over rice 

My favorite pictured meal has been the fried chicken wings. My favorite meal not pictured was a crispy fried coconut curry chicken served with rice. I have eaten it 3 times already. None of these meals have cost more than $2. (*Happy crying*). Hopefully I don't get fat...