it's been..

    So it has been a while since I have blogged last. time seems to go faster than I can keep track of what has been going on. bangkok is like nowhere I have ever been. when I first arrived here the city was all too familiar and all to foreign. now things are starting to settle into place as I learn the language and learn the history not just of the country but of the people.

    This city is a city of opportunity but much of that is also an opportunity for the wrong types of business such as smuggling, prostitution, corrupt business deals, or buying off government officials. one moment I walk past a school, a fitness center, and the next alley rivals vegas for it's light show maybe not quite sin city, but an evident center for the prostitution and drugs flowing through the city. This is where the jobs are most, but this is where the needs are most as well with slums being common place and what money is meant to help the people is just as commonly stolen and run away with.

    I have been able to get involved with some of the slums with my parents and some other locals who volunteer their time to teach english and to spend time with the street kids who may not be able to go to school or have many opportunities.

    Although Thai lessons are very interesting and I enjoy learning the language, due to the extensive commute and pace of lessons I have started to go less frequently in turn to learn more on my own and to get some more hands on experience in how to speak and how they are really pronounced instead of a more academic take on the language. This also gives me a little more time to get some other things done such as blog, edit photography, or even just stay connected to friends back the states.

    Recently I was able to go on a trip outside the city with some friends and my parents a 3 or 4 hours south of Bangkok, my first real exposure to Thailand outside of the city. It was a very good break from the incandescent lightbulbs and pavement to walk on the sand and swim in the ocean which was quite warm even at night.

    I look forward to getting a more complete view of Thailand than the limited view that I have now with a very advanced city in some respects and yet resembles an american society 50 years ago with strict schooling, standards and respect that are part of the culture, and a growing economy.. However with this rapid development, you can see the layers of development as some of the city still seems to be 50 years in the past and others to be cutting edge advancements. With the change in the infrastructure in the city also comes a change in the mindset of those who live here such as the youth who some abandone many of the traditions that have been a part of society for a more modern take on how to live.

   From what I wear, to what I eat, to what I use for currency.. there are many changes in living in Bangkok. I have been wearing pants for most of the time only wearing shorts maybe once every two weeks now, however it is not really different than the Thai people who wear jeans just the same. of course the food is a little hard to get used to. yes some of it is very good, but then again I feel as if I eat the same thing over and over.. yes rice is with pretty much everything you eat, but with pork, or chicken, or seafood, eggs, or with rice. rice, noodles, eggs... every so often I will get something out of the ordinary or hit up one of the BK's with some friends or maybe even DQ. Big news to Bangkok.. yes Krispy Kreme came to Thailand this month. But if you eat off the streets from some of the many street vendors.. you will be eating rice or eggs or pork or noodles and most often with fish oil and pepers.
Then there are many fruit vendors who have a variety of fruit with pineapple, guava, watermelon, cantaloup, and maybe dragon fruit, star fruit, mango, or some other random fruits. there are also some seafood vendors who have small open barbecues on their carts with squid, fishballs, and other seafood, or bubble tea vendors, or icecream vendors..

    There is a pretty good variety, but I still need to really see a larger part of the city or country to really get to experience the wide range of tastes which are Thailand.

   Yes there are many differences from the US, but people still hurt and bleed and they still need Christ.
well for now that is it. I will be posting some pictures up on facebook of things just because it is a little easier just to post them one place.
       here is a link to my photo albums where you should find them easy enough.
          http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=614108857
hopefully be posting new ones soon enough