Mmm, food...

I know you've all been eagerly awaiting a report back on my experiences with Thai food. (Right? It's kept you up nights, I'm sure.) I do believe my first advice to anyone coming here is not to order anything American. It will scare you more than anything else you can order. For example, I'd have a better chance of guessing what is in a Dome Dog than figuring out what they made my cheeseburger with on Monday. And a ham and cheese, which I was looking forward to so much, turned out to be a single thin slice of ham, a touch of cheese... and three thick layers of grilled tomato on toast. Tasty maybe, but not entirely what I was going for.

I'll have you all know that I made it until Tuesday evening before any meal made me cry. It was a simple chicken curry dish that I was conquering quite well until about halfway through... after that not so much. It's quite a predicament to be in when you're hungry, the food is amazing, but your lips and tongue are on fire and you have tears running down your face. Julius was having a lovely time watching me squirm over and over before undoubtedly digging back in to try again. And again. And again. He was nice enough to give me an entire week to practice before he's going to go back and make me try the same dish again. What a pal.

I've also learned to be careful when ordering fish. It so happens that when you order fish, you're actually ordering a fish. It might be an incredibly tasty, filling, and appetizing fish, but certainly will be an entire fish, most likely cooked in some fashion and laid out unceremoniously on a plate, perhaps with some carrots for garnish. Mine was named Ed, I'm quite sure. He was delicious enough that I even dined on him without the barbecue sauce(i.e. liquid fire) that the waiter kindly brought for me.

In most restaurants nearby, you can get an entire heaping plate of fried rice and meat for about 40 Baht, which equates to roughly $1.25 USD. Pair that with a delightful fruit "shake" or Thai iced tea and most days we can have lunch for 75-100 Baht, or $2-3 USD. I'm continually amazed at the variety of beverages carried by most of the shops and restaurants around town. It's already a battle waged every day between ordering something you adore and trying out something new.

At this point I'd love to write on and on about the activities of the past few days, but I've got to get ready for another day of class. I did teach my first lesson yesterday, so I'm free today after 12:30! Whoo hoo! News on that later!

-Tom