First free day!!!!!!!!!!! Laundry, homework, exercise and beer before the next homestay in the slums of Khon Kaen. The last night of the last homestay in Srithan, Jenny and Mallika's family came to get me (I was sitting outside doing homework after my family went to bed, and they came to my house and said, "bpa," which means go. So we went.) We ate and drank and had a dance party to really scandalous music, and when I went back home, my family had padlocked the gate to the house. I had to wake my host dad up to let me in. But it ended well when Ajaan Adisak (one of our program staff) came to my house to help me translate my thank-yous and goodbyes. The family told me that they thought of me as one of their sons. They also apologized for their poverty. I didn't know what to say. They took in a total stranger and gave me a bed while some (there were 20) slept on the concrete floor. They fed me (often, and with some confusion about my vegetarianism) and they washed my clothes and showed me nothing but love. I had no way to thank them the way I feel like I should. They told me to come and visit during the semester, and come back for my honeymoon when I get married.
I also got lots of presents from the other kids at the school, including a paper ninja star, a marble, a shirt, and a long piece of cloth used like a belt that had the picture of a girl inside, with a note that I can't read except for one sentence in English: I Love You.
It's hard to believe we're still in orientation. Thai is a struggle but we have come so far in a couple of weeks. I actually read something on a menu in Thai and successfully ordered a "nga" smoothie (it's a spiky red fruit). It was amazing. Food is absurdly cheap; ~50 cents for a meal is pretty standard. There is an all vegetarian restaurant right across the street from the CIEE office. A welcome relief after white rice and MSG noodles at Srithan. And there are about a dozen bars within a quarter mile. Our apartments are quite nice, and my roommate is a DJ.
Last night a lot of us went out, including our teacher Ajaan John. We stayed at the bar for probably an hour and a half after they turned the lights off. Went home with a girl named Whitney, which was unexpected, and definitely not in step with Thai culture. Their customs about sex are hard to understand; prostitutes and multiple wives are quite acceptable for Thai men, but at the same time touching is not appropriate between men and women in public. Nothing is weird about guys holding hands, but touching a Thai girl's arm might get a guy into hot water.
And finally, today I have discovered the joys of traveler's diarrhea. And I am slowly (very slowly) starting to feel less sketchy about Thai bathrooms, which include a porcelain hole in the ground, a bucket of water for wiping your ass, and in homes, a different bucket for showering. I have also encountered a number of other creatures in the shower, including a cockroach, a toad, geckos, a foot-long millipede, and a cat. No soap in any public restrooms. Everything is wet, everything is dirty, and shoes are not worn indoors. I'm gonna have to get over one of my pet peeves: walking on bathroom tile with wet feet. One can begin to understand why Thais have a very bad feeling about feet.