During my lesson this past week, I mentioned to my teacher that I really like eating tom yum kung, a spicy Thai soup with shrimp in it. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite dishes. I'm a bit unusual in that I prefer noodles in it to having it the more traditional way, with rice on the side. My teacher immediately told me of one of the best and busiest places in Bangkok to eat kuay tiaw ton yum kung. He drew me a map and the next day a friend and I set off to find it. The map my teacher had drawn me was helpful but I was glad I'd looked online before setting out. The map he'd drawn showed Siam station and Central World mall; we really needed to get off at the next ... read more

I thought it would be a nice little change of pace to write about how I'm doing, rather than writing about situation here in Bangkok and Thailand. For those of you looking for info on that, don't worry, I'll write more soon. Things have remained pretty steady overall this last week in that regard. It's hard to believe I've been here 11 months already. I can't decide if it seems like only yesterday or a lifetime ago that I was running around the university in China, preparing for the end of the term, saying my good byes, and packing like crazy. Time really is relative. It's summer now, and has been since April. Usually April is the hottest month (the hottest day of the year is supposed to be April 27 because it's the day the ... read more

Life here is fine. There were some protests this weekend, mostly protesting the coup. There have been many warnings to to stay away (more than usual), and they're pretty easy to avoid, which is what I've been doing. Aside from a few key spots, the entire city is normal and all tourist attractions are open during the day. I ended up having to go in to work this weekend. Classes were canceled, mind you, but teachers at many companies were still required to show up and be "on standby" for whatever reason. Classes are scheduled to resume as normal this week. I take this as a good sign and feel safer for it. Curfew is still in affect. No idea how long it will last. It's a little inconvenient, I admit, but I also know it's ... read more

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful, young, fresh university graduate. She'd just finished earning a degree in communications and and giving her university's commencement speech--a surprise to no one except her parents. (She liked surprising them.) News of her achievement made its way to the town crier (the local suburban newspaper) and an invitation was sent to her home. Would she like to join the local Toastmasters club? Having never heard of this group, she was hesitant. It sounded like a group of grey-haired men, sitting in a city hall basement, swilling cheap drinks, practicing homages. This did not fit in with her new and exciting idea of what her uptown life would be like. And it wasn't convenient. So she didn't pursue the matter, ... read more

Songkran is the Thai new year and is marked by a huge water fight for a few days. The water is a cleansing step, like a fresh start; the clay is like a blessing, I'm told. It started in my neighborhood on Saturday but the holiday officially is on Monday and Tuesday. Water fights aren't quite my thing, but from what I could see (from all the people running around with huge water guns, covered in clay) it looks like a lot of fun. Perhaps if I had some friends here to go with, I would. (They've all left for the beach. Like most of Bangkok. Most of the city is pretty quiet this week.) Maybe next year. Most Thais will be nice if you ask them not to squirt you (I'm clearly unarmed) but there ... read more