Day 1 in Salaya

Tierra and I exploring Mahidol University

     This morning I arrived at my apartment in Salaya at 2 am. I found out that I don't have a roommate for  now and probably won't for the rest of the trip, which is nice I guess since I could definitely use the extra storage space. Six girls from my program with KEI are on the hall with me and they are all super sweet. Tierra (in the picture above) is one of the girls that I was lucky enough to get to know some ahead of time. 

     After unpacking and skyping family and friends back home it was time to hunt down some food. For breakfast Tierra and I got some amazing crab rangoons and fried minnows. We then met up with some of the other girls from our program and continued exploring the area. Everybody is so nice here, especially compared to the Chinese in the Beijing airport! They were pretty mean there and nobody spoke English. 

     Our advisor View took us out for a traditional Thai lunch and it was delicious! I got pad thai with shrimp. While walking there we passed two police officers on motorcycles who had AK-47s strapped to their backs. We were slightly concerned about this and it seemed to surprise her as well so I do not think it was normal. The people at the restaurant were very nice and helpful. A few minutes after we got there they even put on the movie  Step Up 4 in English!

A flower that fell from a tree at the University

     After lunch we met with a few administrators at the International College (where we will be taking classes). While walking the campus View told us that there are a good amount of "small crocodiles" around the campus that are about two feet long...but they usually don't bite people so it's okay.

There were signs like this promoting the uniform all over campus. I thought they were pretty funny :)

     

The courtyard in the middle of the library

A feature meal at a KFC

    After a much needed nap we went took the bus to a grocery store/shopping center. There wasn't a lot of diversity in food but it was interesting to see and nice to stock up on a few staple groceries. Although most Thai people dress very conservatively it appears that this might not reflect personal values as much as it may appear. In the middle of the grocery store/food court place there was a giant lingerie store. Throughout the store they also had lots of condoms and items such as KY jellies at the end of aisles and by the checkout where we usually have candy.

   It has been a long day but I am loving it here so far! Once I finish unpacking I will put up pictures of the apartment. I hope everybody had a happy New Year!