Random search, swollen ankles, sticky rice and a new roommate

I got on my plane Tuesday morning and while sitting in our hotel room, in Bangkok, I thought "Holy cow it's Friday...wasn't it just Tuesday?" It's amazing how fast time can fly when you're on a plane. I felt like I was just watching the little gold hands on my clock go around and around and around.

During our prep course we were all warned of swollen ankles and even blood clots from being on a plane for a long time. So, like a few others in my group, I went out and got myself a pair of T.E.D. socks. They're like the socks that hospital patients wear.

During my eleven hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo I could feel my legs cramping and hurting and I was terrified! During that eleven hour flight I only got up three times for no more than five minutes each. By the time we landed in Tokyo and I put my shoes back on I swear my feet were huge. In the airport I finally took off my socks and I could see my feet had swollen some but they didn't look bad at all. No cankles for me. Thank God!

Now, back to Tokyo. First off I saw a few people wearing masks (like dentists wear) and it freaked me out a little. Why were they wearing masks? Was I going to catch something? I was later told that some Japanese people were paranoid about catching something in an airport and on a plane. Because the air in an airplane is recirculated they were afraid if one person was sick on the plane then we'd all get sick. No worries though, I feel fine.

In Tokyo I was the last in my group to board the plane. Apparently, I was the lucky random that was picked to be searched. It wasn't too bad. She went through my backpack. Then I had to take my shoes off and she wand searched me (the metal wand). Thankfully, I left all my knives, guns and bombs at home.

On my flight from Tokyo from Bangkok I sat by the cutest old Thai lady. She was really sweet and I could actually understand her English. Well, understand it better than other Thai's English. When we were landing she told me to have a wonderful time and to eat sticky rice every morning, cold because it was better that way. I've come to realize how nice Thai people are.

I don't think any of this hit me until our bus ride from the Chiang Mai airport to Payap. It hit me in a good way then. It hit me in a not so good way when I got to my room and started unpacking. My mom (darn her) had hid Peach-O's and a note in my boots. I realized that I'm in Thailand and I'm going to be here for four and a half months. There's no turning back, no going home, it was all finally real to me. I met my roommate and realized my expectations were completely wrong. I came here with the assumption that all the students here would speak English really well. Now I realize how arrogant of an assumption that was. I'm out of America to their country and I'm the one expecting them to speak my language. I'm definitely mad at myself for thinking that.

So, I met my roommate the communication was not going well. Then some of her friends came in and they just started chattering in Thai. I just started thinking "What am I doing here? I can't even speak Thai!" Just imagine the awkwardness of first meeting your college roommate. Now imagine not even being able to talk to them. It was too much to handle for me so I had to go find a classmate that I could actually communicate with and fast, I was too close to a mental meltdown and it's only my first day!

Thankfully, I remembered where one of my friends room was. It's not like I could call any of them or text them. Not having a cellphone has been a bit of a struggle for me. I'm so used to texting or calling someone to see where they're at. I can't do that here. I have to know where they're at or just go looking. After this realization when we all met back up I was sure to write down everyone's room number.

Not until I met back up with some friends and explored campus a little did I start feeling better about the decision to come here. While exploring we ran into a group of students and I'm not sure who asked who where they were from but we found out that we're all from America. One girl is even from Iowa State. It was a relief to see so many people who were in the same shoes as me. I'm not alone here. I know I'm going to have a mental meltdown sooner or later but that's what my friends are for. I bet they'll be feeling the same exact thing.

I'd like to give a special thanks to my amazing mother. She's the one who supports my crazy decisions, like flying half way around the world. She's the one who's always there for advice, the one who wakes up before the crack of dawn (even though she has to work a full day of work) just so I can make it to the airport. She's the one who sneaks candy and little notes into my luggage for me to find. Thanks Mom.