US travel

As many of you know the most popular mode of transportation in Thailand is the bus. It's slow. It's stops often. It's often crowded. And there is no internet or number to call to find out when it leaves. You just have to show up and read the signs. But you will never get shut out. They will put little plastic chairs (the kind you see in 1st grade classrooms) down the aisle to get every last person in. Or you'll find Thais who are willing to stand up in the aisle for hours.

On Friday I was headed back to Boston and so excited to take my 1st bus ride since Thailand. I figured it would remind me of all my traveling adventures in Thailand. I had my ipod charged and my phone on vibrate in my pocket! [get your mind out of the gutter and read on]

I was sadly disapointed. Let's just say greyhound is a step above a baw 2. The engine and road was so quiet I could actually hear my phone ring, no need for vibrate [see, I told you]. There were little TVs spread throughout the bus, and the movie was in ENGLISH. While it would have been quite nostalgic to have stiff upright plastic seats, I was pleasantly surprised to have cushy cloth ones with elbow room.

I did get to listen to my Ipod and all my favorite Thailand music: Ben Folds, Black Eyed Peas, Cake, and even my Thai music.

I love when my Ipod is on shuffle and my Thai language learning tapes come on. Mostly it happens when I'm running. I can only imagine how I would look to the Thais passing on their motorbikes when I would speak along to the tape. "Pria-sa-nee you tee nai?" "Where is the post office?"

I've been doing Thai language tutorials here at school. About once a week I meet Priak, a Thai guy from Bangkok, at the Business school library. It's great to keep thai fresh in my mind. Unfortunately I find more and words are going to hide in the deep recesses of my brain and it takes more effort to pull them forward. "Bor-ree-sat you say? I know I know that. What does it mean??" "Why can't I think of the word for March. It used to roll of my tongue."

I also haven't had as mch practice with my Thai cooking. I am very limited in my cooking space in my studio so it was a TREAT to have access to my parents full kitchen when I went home. Saturday morning I was feeling creative so I did a recipe search and realized we had all the ingredients to make eggs benedicts. If I do say so myself, they were delicious.

I was home to pick up my kitty because my parents were off to Paris and Morocco for 2 weeks with my Brother and Jen. It was a short trip home, but long enough to go to the Atrium mall with mom for a mini shopping trip. And Friday night I met up with Janet for a butt kicking ashtanga yoga class.

Saturday I made the drive back to NY, this time behind the wheel of my mom's subaru. A couple times the rain was falling so hard I couldn't see anything out the window. But who could complain? I had my music playing, my seat heater on, and I was driving myself in a car. I guess you have to be out of the country for a couple years to be that excited to drive yourself. Either that or be 16 years old.

So now kitty is here for a couple weeks. I love her fuzzy company.