Well, the final count-down has started!
Despite some logistical difficulties, everything is mostly set for the trip now. I fly out of St. Louis on the morning of the 23rd, and arrive in Bangkok late on the 24th. It's going to be a long trip-I'm flying STL, to Chicago, to Tokyo (I really want to eat a bento box), then Bangkok. The plan is that Daniel, the Program Director (PD) will pick us up at the airport, we'll spend the night in Bangkok, then head off to Taphanhin the next morning! We have orientation for a few days, then on the 28th at night, my host family is picking me up! Scary, but exciting.
So, for those of you who know me, I am (I admit!) a teensy bit OCD, anal-retentive, and I do like to have a plan. Ok so its more of an all consuming, incessant need to plan and organize-details, details. Unfortunately, the people in charge of this program don't seem to share these same tendencies. I can't fault them, it's a "pilot" program, meaning it's the first year they have done this program in Thailand, so it's really difficult to get all of the details hashed out beforehand. Also, Daniel, the PD, is relying on his contacts in Thailand to give him information, so a lot of it is out of his hands. I still do not know how many classes I will be teaching, when I will be teaching, how many students I'll be teaching, or what. I have no information about the school, the community. Needless to say, this has resulted in excessive teeth grinding on my part and some serious anxiety. I keep trying to tell myself to "go with the flow", which is obviously difficult being me, however-I'm going to try :). Or...I'll just try to snag some xanax. Joking...joking...
On a positive note, one of the volunteers, Crystal, who is a rising Junior at Georgetown, is going to be staying in the same community as me and teaching at the same school. Her host father is actually the brother in law-of my host mother. Very cool! She is super sweet, and I am excited that she is going to be working closely with me. Our personalities seem to mesh well-we are on the same page in terms of not wanting to hold hands and sing kumbayah all summer (damn tree-huggers), but work hard and try to do our best given our limited information and resources. The other volunteers are great too. I think (question mark) that they will be staying about 45 mins away from us, in a much more rural community, but my hope is that we will be able to get together often and help each other lesson plan, hang out and de-stress together.
I've received another letter from my host brother, Tee, who is very enthusiastic about meeting me! The family seems so great, and I know that this host family experience will make up for and replace the horrific memories of my French host family (haven't been back since!). I have already mentioned that I would love to learn how to cook Thai food, so look out for some Thai meals a la Stacy in August.
I am excited about Thailand, but at the same time I'm anxious to get back to DC and (imagine this) get everything organized and set up for September. Accenture should be calling sometime in July to tell me my specific start date in September. Once I get back to DC on the 10th, it will be crunch time to find an apartment, buy furniture, move in and everything! Luckily I'll have my madre to help for a few days, and then I get to stay with a Ms. Carolyn Kolb until we move in :) Looking forward to the aerobed and hopefully some trips to Tombs back in my old stomping grounds.
All for now, I will write again either before I leave or once I'm in Thailand!
Miss you all :)
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