Welcome to Thailand...shrimp for breakfast...corn and chocolate crepes for dessert

Well as you can see in the title of this post...Thailand is exotic! Every day I see a food I have never seen before and everyday I am impressed by the combinations of odd things that I can tell you would never have crossed my mind. For instance we eat breakfast every day at the hotel and usually there is rice (sometimes two kinds) and meat usually covered in curry, some sort of seafood, two different soups with meat, and eggs. VERY different than what I am used to but good too. I am impressed with the people here and their daringness to try anything...
Another thing that I appreciate in the US now is chocolate, peanut butter and especially cheese. Pizza here has barely any cheese and if it does, most thai's order it without. I can't think of one American dish that has no cheese in it anywhere. Chocolate is really funky here too, it comes with an odd after taste. Peanut butter is here but in very small quantities in the 7-11 that cost about five dollars and for thailand that is WAY TOO much.
I wish that I could have all three of these things in large quantities right now but I know that I should just shovel in some more rice and come to terms with the fact that I am in Thailand and should be eating hot chilis every hour of the day.
I also have come to appreciate space. Thailand is crowded. I do love every minute of it but sometimes it can get awkward with a close neighbor in a taxi or squishing into a little elevator. I love the hustle and bustle of the city mostly because within the city walls there is a sense of calm everywhere. Buddhism lives and breathes fresh air (or semi polluted) here every day. I walk into the buddhist university and where you would think the sound of the city would crush the calm, it does not. Peace is everywhere here, yelling does not happen, throwing things is non existant and no one needs to blab about their feelings or complain on a daily basis. People deal with their shit here (excuse my french) because they have the means to. They have a religion that just lets humans be human beings instead of human doings.
Last night we just hung out and I got to talk to a friend about Buddhism that goes to the University here. She is incredible. She is not a strict buddhist but you can tell that although she wants to be more "american" she has a sense of calm to her that takes time to create.
I am nervous to move in with my family. At this point all I see are the things that I can do wrong to screw up and make them hate me. I know that if they do dislike me they won't say it and I won't be able to tell...but that is their culture. I need to be like the buddhists and be more attentive to body language and respect the elderly and hierarchy in place.
I am thankful for this trip in so many ways...

Namaste,
Aubs