I'm Here!

View from Bedroom, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

I took this picture from my bedroom window this morning.

After about 18 hours of traveling, I arrived in Bangkok late last night. My flights (Seattle-Seoul-Bangkok) went really smoothly. The first thing that hits you when you exit Suvarnabhumi Airport is the humidity. Last night it was raining, thundering, and very muggy- the weather reminded me of a stormy night in Hawaii.

One of the drivers from my school met me at the airport and drove me and my belongings to the condo building that I'll be living in. I completely forgot that they drive on the left side of the road here and tried to open the driver's seat door to sit down in the van. Oops. My condo is a big high rise (I think over 20 stories?) located only a half an hour (in smooth traffic) from the airport. It seems to have one huge main room- a kitchen/dining/living room combo- with four bedrooms set off of it. My room is enormous compared to what I'm used to and has it's own bathroom. I'd say that it is nearly three times as large as my last bedroom in Chicago. I have no idea what to do with this space!

My plan for this weekend is to try and settle in a bit. My boss called me this morning to welcome me and gave me directions to the nearest grocery store and a 7-11 where I can buy a SIM card for my phone. Right now I'm thinking that I'll wait until my roommate wakes up before I venture out into the great unknown. My boss, J, also recommended that I schedule a guided tour of Bangkok for tomorrow, just to get my bearings and get used to the city. I'm pretty tired at this point yet really excited to explore!