The weeks are rushing by, and after a wonderful weekend back home with the family (for my sister Beth's doctoral graduation), there's only 5 weeks left until outreach! Each week we are learning more and more about Thailand, building up the the excitement and restlessness that comes with waiting. There was even a couple who have been living in Mae Sot for the past 3 months who came into our classroom for a few hours of Q&A. I wanted to post a quick blog with some of the recent news and fun facts I've learned.
* Our plane tickets are bought! My team flies out of the Denver Airport on June 26 to Bangkok. We even went on a "field trip" yesterday to Walgreen's to get our photos taken and papers filled out to apply for Visas.
* Thailand is a very tropical climate, and since July is the hottest month of the year, it looks like we'll be living in humid temperatures above 100 degrees. Also, this country is considered quite fashionable, so down-dressing in cheap old clothing would not only make us stand out as tourists, but harm our ministry effectiveness. So we will be a very stylish, very sweaty bunch!
* A lot of our travel will be by foot on rural, dusty roads. For any long distance journeys (like in and out of the city), the Compasio base has big, old Land Rovers that we'll be jumping in the back of for 2-8 hour bumpy rides.
* The Thai language is a difficult one. Not only are the characters different than English ones, but the Thai people use tone and sounds to differentiate words that are spelled exactly the same. For example, the word "excuse me" is spelled the same as "excuse me, I have to fart" - just toned differently. So be careful what you say in a crowd!
* It's been told to us by countless staff and speakers that Thailand is one of the friendliest, most welcoming cultures they have experienced. So above all else, just keep smiling! "Smile ridiculously, all the time" were our words of advice. That should welcome us right into the culture and their hearts, even if our dress, language and skin color don't quite fit in.
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