Day One Back

May 30, 2008

Well, the trip across the Pacific turned out to be a success, because here I am, sitting in the Nonthaburi (Big C) McDonald's sipping on a Coke Zero jumbo, digesting a "dub-oh chee set, upsie."

My flights were, for the most part, remarkably uneventful, except that this time, the cuisine served was all North American! I was really looking forward to having another black bean dumpling for dessert on my Taipei / Bangkok flight, but instead they served danishes (don't get me wrong, danishes are amazing... Just not what I was expecting). The trans-pacific flight was, perhaps, the best leg of this trip, as for the first time ever, I flew on the second storey of an airliner—AND had an aisle seat with no one directly beside me. The gentleman sitting by the window was, I think, form the Philippines, as he remarked on how Bangkok had almost as many bars as the Philippines and that I should really check it out some time. Beside that, there was nothing really much to say about my flights. All the in-flight entertainment systems worked this time and I had great rowmates, who mostly kept to themselves & allowed me to sleep.

When I arrived at GES, the first thing I noticed was the remarkable new Kindergarten complex. It has a huge, sweeping roof & was painted white and blue—probably to match the primary/upper-primary building across the courtyard. Much of the complex is glass, which allows for a huge amount of natural light into the rooms. Ajarn Surang was standing outside the complex, looking over plans with some workers when I popped out of my taxi. I think she was a bit caught off guard by my arrival, because the first thing she said to me was, "I thought you were coming later." Apparently, it turned out, her son Solomon miscommunicated my flight details to her and she was uncertain as to whether my room would be ready for me to move in. She proceeded to tell me that in our absence, all of the apartments had undergone extensive cleaning (and repairs, I later discovered) & she wasn't sure if my room had had "the treatment" yet. After a short talk, it turned out that my whole apartment was done—even the icy biohazard that was the refrigerator—and that later on, she'd like to me with me to discuss her plans for the upcoming year.

So far, that's pretty much all I've done. I started unpacking in a zombie-like daze yesterday afternoon, as my 24 hour flight only allowed 90-minute powernap sessions (I'm sure those of you who fly understand why this is... What with the flight service making their rounds every other hour & row neighbours needing to evacuate bodily wastes), had a shower then went to 7-11 for water and didn't recognise a single face behind the counter. What was with that?! Where did all our Sev friends go in such a short time?? Maybe... Just _maybe_ I caught them on a bad shift or something. Later trips should tell all.

Post 7-11, I stopped in Rose's / Soi Dog for some of their delicious pad thai and was again surprised to see not a single customer in the store. They welcomed me gladly, asked me when I had come back to Thailand and if anyone else had come back yet. After my meal, they told me that I got really fat since I left (I think I gained 2 pounds a week when in Canada. So many parties & so much eating out. Ha!), which I must confess, is probably very true... though North Americans would probably call my weight healthy (every time I've gone home, my family makes fun of my thinness, calling me puny or anemic, and my mother expresses concern about my health since I look so thin. I dunno... I thought that I looked good!). Anyways, the day ended with me throwing in a copy of Rush Hour 2 that was lying around the house, and after I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, I stumbled upstairs into my bedroom and crashed for a nice 14 hour sleep.

Today, I woke up, worked out for the first time in 8 weeks & then walked to Big C where I intended on having lunch and making some household purchases upstairs for the apartment. While waiting in the McLine, a short dark-haired girl appeared beside me & said, "Where are you from?"

For a second, I wasn't really sure that she was addressing me, but then I remembered that I was in Thailand, and practically nobody speaks in English unless speaking to a foreigner. "Canada," I said.

"Really? I'm from America. Where in Canada are you from?"

"I'm from Alberta," not sure if she'd know where that was (sorry, Americans, but often it's true!).

"Cool. Some of my best friends live in Alberta. My parents lived in Alaska for like twenty years."

"Nice. So why are you here?" I inquired.

"My parents are missionaries," she responded and proceeded to tell me that her father pastors a church down the road as well as teaches at Global University, apparently a Bible college in Bangkok.

She and her family have been living in Thailand for six years now, and she goes to ICS—not only that, but she also frequents Newsong with the other ICS students and was supposed to be helping out with worship this evening there, but she had to help out with a Pilipino wedding at her church which pre-empted her Newsong participation. After placing her order in perfect Thai (oh, am I ever so envious), she introduced herself as Anna, let me know that the church services at her church (2 blocks down the road from Big C) started at 9:40 (maybe that was Sunday school... I can't remember) and then took off out of the store, with the bag of Mcgoodies that she was sent to retrieve for some people waiting outside. That was a cool little experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll run into her again some day.

All in all so far, Bangkok's been decent—if not with a touch of isolation & loneliness. It's become quite apparent to me how much the idea of Bangkok in my head depends on the people that I share it with. I really am looking forward to the teachers returning in the next 10ish days, so that we can share life again together. The first teacher to come will be Ben, and he should be here on Monday or Tuesday. Ben volunteered for the first few weeks last year and we had a good time hanging out. It'll be nice to touch base with him again, and I'm pretty sure that he'll be a good advocate of pushing the spiritual agenda here on campus.

If any of you reading this are of the praying persuasion, the only things that I can think of right now would be that you ask the Lord to help me and the rest of the staff prepare in all ways for this upcoming year: spiritually, mentally, socially, emotionally and physically. Also, pray for the students who will be gracing our school later in the month, that they would be open, receptive and respectful of the words spoken to them—both educational and spiritual words.

That's all I've got for now. Perhaps, it's the jetlag still fogging my mind, but I'm sure there'll be more to tell in a week's time. Until then, may the God of peace be with you & yours as you earnestly seek His face!


June 1, 2008

I had my first face-to-face chat with one of my students this afternoon, which was great. Apparently, Thai instruction at GES begins tomorrow & the regular academic term will take off on the 16th. I'm pretty sure that this year's gonna be nothing like last year! ;)