The last few weeks of August were absolutely crazy! I had purchased my airline ticket already and it was time to take care of the rest of the paperwork. I had to fill out all of my insurance, tax, and employment forms to send in. I also needed to get my visa and get Lucy's health certificate. Well, first I went to drop off my passport and paperwork at the Thai Consulate's office in Houston. She wanted another letter and said I could email it to her once I got it. I left there thinking that I would go back the following Monday after the weekend and pick up my passport and visa. Well, in came Hurricane Harvey which closed down Houston for what ended up being 3 days of that week and I had to start considering the fact that I might not get my passport and visa back in time to leave on my scheduled flight. I also had to get Lucy's paperwork done, but without knowing if I was going to get to leave or not, I was hesitant to spend the money to do it because it expires! I was supposed to be flying out the following Monday. Anyway, long story short, Wednesday I decided out of faith that God had everything under control and I should just move forward as planned (I think He really just wanted to remind me of Who was in control, and it wasn't me). I took Lucy to the vet to get her health certificate filled out that day knowing that I needed to drive to Austin the next day to get it certified by USDA APHIS. I left early, like 5 am, to drive the two hours to Austin to get Lucy's paperwork certified. I had to wait there for two hours while that happened. It was approved and certified and I headed back towards home. On the way home I decided to call the Thai Consulate about my passport. No one had answered the phone Mon-Wed so I was just hoping that she would pick up that day. And she did! At first, I was a little shocked, but then I quickly gathered my wits and asked about when I could get my passport and visa. She asked if I could be there by 2. I answered back with probably, but could I come tomorrow (Friday)? She said they are not open to the public on Fridays. So that was it. I HAD to be there by 2 pm if I wanted to leave on Monday. Of course, don't forget, the airport was still closed to international travel at this point too. So I still didn't know if I could really leave even after getting my passport. I told her I'd be there and she asked for the letter I had emailed her. I told her I emailed and she said she never received it. She said she'd process the visa if I would bring a printed copy of the letter with me. Well guess what that meant? I had to drive all the way back to College Station to pick up a copy of the letter that I had a friend print for me and then drive all the way to Houston. Thankfully the roads were all open (once flooded from Harvey) and I made it there in record time! Less than an hour and a half! I arrived at 1:40 and actually had to wait for her office to open back up at 2. Went in, talked for a few minutes, got my passport and visa, and drove back home! YAY!!! I was set to leave on Monday if the airport opened back up! Needless to say, it was a very, very long day! Of course, shortly after getting home, I headed to the gym to make up for all the time sitting still as I drove. That was 7 hours in the car alone!
After that it was a whirlwind race to pack up everything in my room and bathroom, load it all in my car, and hit the road to my parents' house that Sunday. Even once I got to my parents' house I still had a lot to do because I had to keep packing and unpacking and weighing and unpacking and all that for what seemed like several hours until I just accepted that I'd pay for an extra suitcase and one overweight suitcase. I was tired of trying to figure it out. What was Lucy doing during all of this? She was frantically staying on my hills and watching every move I made hoping she got to go. We got to the airport just fine, weighed all of my suitcases on the official scale and had to reorganize just a few things, got checked in, and Lucy and I spent a few hours walking and waiting to board. The 24 1/2 hour flight with layover went well. Lucy did extremely well. She made it all the way there, almost 2 days with all of the drive time included, without pottying once! But let me tell you, she could not wait to get out of that small carrier! She was beyond excited!!! We were finally in Thailand!! Our new home for a while!
Adjusting has gone pretty well. It didn't take long before I was sleeping through the nights. Jet lag affected me with extreme headaches every day for a week, afternoon exhaustion, lightheadedness, and sometimes just a general feeling of ickiness that could not be attributed to any one thing. I've almost been here 2 weeks now and I'd say that Lucy and I have adjusted very well! First off, Lucy loves the grassy area she gets to play in:
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| Lucy bouncing in the grass barking at nothing |
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| Lucy laying in the shade |
I've been blessed to have another family staying here with me off and on and they showed me around and helped me get some furniture type things. It's been fun to have others to talk to from time to time. It can get a little boring here with not a lot to do at the beginning. I'm looking forward to when I can start language school and find some kind of rhythm to my days. In the mean time, I have a stack of books for required reading before a training I go to at the beginning of October.
Speaking of October, it will be a very busy month for me. I have this required training the first week of October. Then there will be a moral camp for kids from the northeast here at church the next week. There will be lots of people around for that for a while. I fly to Ranong to visit for the day on the 12th and fly back on the 13th. The camp will still be happening so I will join back in there. On the 20th I fly out to Malaysia for about a week and a half. I am looking forward to this trip because I get to see one of my best friends and her family while I'm there! I also get to see lots of other folks and spend time with many like-minded people. It will be great! And then the month of October will be over. Thus, I will not start language school then. I hope to start in November.
Currently, Sundays are my only busy day. I attend Sunday school, church services, eat lunch at the church with everyone, and then help out in a 3 hour English class. I just started that this past Sunday and let me just say that I slept extremely well that night!! I currently live at the church so at least there's not travel time to get home! Just a flight or three of stairs depending on where I'm at. Plus, I can occasionally take home leftovers from lunch if there's anything left!
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| Church |
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| Leftovers from church lunch |
And of course, I had to buy Lucy a new dog bed because her's wouldn't fit in my suitcase. She loves it and I've since bought her a second one so that she has one on my bed and one in the main area. Yes, my baby is a bit spoiled. Nothing new there.
And here's my journey to the BTS (sky train):
I have met tons of new people since being here and look forward to building new friendships with them. I also can't wait to learn Thai because I really want to be able to understand what others are saying rather than get the condensed interpretation. Also, it will help me as I get out more on my own to communicate my needs and of course, ORDER FOOD!!! Food, let's just be honest, is very important! If I can't read the menu and it doesn't have pictures, I'm out of luck.
I'll wrap this up with just a few fun facts about life here so far:
1. My showers are always cold because there is no water heater.
2. I have to buy water frequently because it is not clean from the faucet. But it is very cheap.
3. Every morning at 8 am I hear the Thai National Anthem playing over all loud speakers throughout the city.
4. I only use air conditioner at nights to sleep. Otherwise, I just use a fan. I have one in my room and one in the main room.
5. Cheese and other imported food items are very expensive to buy at the store. For my cheese fix, I go to the Pizza Company and buy a double cheese pizza. Also, Thai people like to put ketchup on their pizza so I have a very large supply of Heinz ketchup packets at my place because they give you so many with each pizza. I'll never have to buy ketchup!
6. There are many different vowel sounds here in Thailand so learning how to pronounce a name is not always as easy as it looks. Then add tones and oh my, will I ever learn?!
7. The Thai people I meet tend to be very friendly and helpful. For example, one lady sat behind me at church Sunday and translated the whole sermon for me. It was a great message and I'm glad she did that for me!
8. I am at a 12 hour time difference and it never fails that when I want to message someone back home, it's the middle of the night for them.
Well, my friends and family back home will be waking up in the next 4-6 hours and I will be entering into my evening time. But happy Tuesday to all of you as you wake up!
