First, First and ... First!

It’s the end of my very first week here in Thailand and I think I can safely say… this is going to be a year full of firsts.

This week, I moved into a one-room apartment (my first apartment without a roommate) complete with a bathroom with its very own squatty-toilet (also a first). In one lovely corner of my room, there is a hole in the grout of the tile where little red ants come pouring in. I put my Bible over it, so now I only have ants when I’m doing Bible study. Thankfully, I will be moving to a newer apartment building sometime this week. As I got settled in, I took a trip to the local supermarket (Makro… it’s kind of like Costco, only sometimes their bulk is our normal-sized packages). There, I saw the first MSG aisle I’ve ever seen. It seems to be a staple here. Ugh

While preparing for this coming week, which will be the first week of classes, I wrote up my first ever class plan and syllabus. I also realized that I have no idea what I’m doing (… that is NOT a first). But, I do have a lot of ideas and a plan. I think I can work with that. Also, I got so much help with material that I truly think the classes will go well.

This week, I also worked in my first rice paddy. Well, not in the rice paddy, but right next to it! The school owns some land where they plant crops. The goal is to be mostly self-sustaining, so once a month the students and most of the teachers head out to the fields to weed, till, and plant. It was a long, hot day, but it was perfect to do. I’m tanner and stronger than when I started!

This week was filled with firsts. I learned my first Thai names, visited my first Thai waterfall, and attended church for the very first time in Thailand. In fact, as I write this blog, I am drinking my very first authentic Thai iced tea.

No doubt this coming year holds a lot of things I’ve never done before, and I’m so glad it does, because when you do new things… you grow! It’s going to be a very good year.