Hello from Thailand!

I feel psychotic or something with all my travels. I went from living in Switzerland, to vacationing in Paris and London with my mom, to travelling in Thailand with old friends for a conference. According to my calculations that's 4 countries within a week! Not to mention the various relationships, languages, cultures, etc coming into play.

I'm having a great time in Thailand. I don't know how to describe it because in many ways it's not that different from life anywhere else in the developed world, but on the other hand everything is different.

I've experienced many firsts transportation wise. From sitting in a car with the driver on the right side and driving on the left side, to taking a motorbike to and from the conference everyday, to riding in various Thai taxis, some with only 3 wheels. It's definitely an adventure, especially the motorbike. I'm loving it more and more and get excited when it's time to go somewhere.

The other important experience here is the food. I've always loved Thai food. Here the difference is that you can get a great meal for a dollar! It's awesome. One thing I've learned is that they eat by using the fork in their left hand to push food onto the spoon in their right hand. Don't know whose idea that was, but it seems to work pretty well. Although, as an American who's been living in Europe and is now in Asia, my utinsel usage is totally out of whack. Time to go to Africa and just use my hands!

There's much more I could say about Thai culture and my experiences here and certainly about the International Language Assessment Conference that I'm attending, but I will save that for another day so I can run off to get some sleep. Conferences are tiring!