First real day of class.

Thai is not an easy language to learn that is for sure. Everyone keeps telling us it is easy but no Thai words are similar to English words. Even though all of this is true, Thai is really fun to learn the the professors are awesome! We are learning conversational Thai and we are also learning the most practical form and dialect. There are five tones meaning that one word said five different ways means five different things or nothing. The Thai buddies are a great help because learning tones is like unlearning tones when they learned English. They are such great friends already.
We also got a long list of dos and don'ts in Thai culture today. The culture is very conservative and there are many new things I learned. You cannot show the bottom of your feet ever that is a big one. People don't touch in public at all. Not even to hold hands. Never do the traditional American sign for come here because that means something really dirty. And the list continues on and on and on.
We visited the us consulate today too which was the worst part of the trip this far. Basically they had no idea who we are and it took twice as long to go through security then to walk around the grounds, which is all we did there.I think the point of it was so we knew where to go if we had an emergency. Doubt that will happen because the crime rate in Thailand is the lowest of all the Asian countries. Impressive.
We then went to pick out traditional Thai outfits to wear to our formal dinner tomorrow night. I got a long silk skirt and a linen top tradtional of northern Thailand. It is really pretty but I doubt I will wear it outside Thailand. Maybe I will get a display case for it because it is beautiful.
We met a Thai buddy up for dinner up the road from our hotel. It was a new experience because a drunk woman came up to our buddy and yelled at her for speaking in English. I just she does not like furlong or foreigners.
I am loving every minute here and it seems I am learning something new every minute. I hope life in the us is great for all of you and I wish you could visit this country with me. If not with me then eventually with someone else. It is officially one of my favorite places in the world.
Love
Aubs