Day Five- Eyes Wide Shut

 Today is the day I take off to my new home, but the Bangkok fun has not ended.  I join another teacher and explore Bangkok.  We hop on a Tuktuk (you will need to look up a picture on the internet to get the humor of the next part) and go to the post office and then to the river to take pictures. For some reason, we are getting strange looks at each stop.  I guess having us as passengers maxed out the weight limit. Finally, I get a beautiful view of the city and see why so many come to visit this hub.

Next off to a local eatery called Cabbage and Condoms.  Food was ok, but the message of the business was unique.  Let’s just put it this way; I have never seen so many things made out of condoms-- Lamps, flowers, Elvis not to mention the extremely instructive t-shirts on sale in the gift shop. It seems the owner has been awarded as an innovative health initiative (Thai Health Program Receives 2007 Gates Award for Global Health) by the Gates Foundation.  Hopefully the pictures can aid you in envisioning the humor.  Guess what I got instead of a mint???

The welcoming: The one-hour flight from Bangkok to Myanmar was surprisingly pleasant.  The plane was huge, eight seats across, so there was plenty of room to spread out, and the flight attendants were lovely. They served a meal that was actually good (except for the blue cake-like thing that was nothing like cake- who puts orange cheese on the top of a cake?)  Upon exiting the plane, every few feet was an employee smiling and telling the passengers to turn to the left. This welcoming is quite a departure from the “fend for yourself” attitude of the Bangkok International Airport.  Upon coming down the escalator, more welcoming faces- our school director and both principals were behind the glass partition waving and smiling as if to say, “We are glad you made it; welcome to your new home.”  Ever since I got divorced one of the things that I missed was the airport welcomings.  It is a little depressing coming of a plane after a long trip with no one on the other side of the rope; it is as if to say no one missed me or even noticed I was gone.

I got my luggage, and introduced myself to the young men who came to help get us settled.  The school provides much employment for the people of the community. As we drive through the city, I am pleasantly surprised at the lights, sounds and scenery that serve as my new landscape. Modern markets are mixed in with families who have set up their food carts and local crafts. The sights, sounds and smells bombard my senses.

My house (four bedrooms and three baths!) that I will share with another teacher has the potential to be a home. The air conditioning works--need I say more?