Home Sweet Home

*Authors note: I have to point out that my last blog stated that I went abroad in the Fall of 2015, when really it was 2014. Now I feel super old, but needed to correct it because OCD.

I moved into my new home in Saraburi last Thursday night with my roommate Kaitlin, and we seriously lucked out on our placement. We were originally supposed to be placed in the district of Sao Hai in studio apartments, but our plans soon changed only a week or two before leaving for Thailand. My school coordinator Kajee emailed me one morning and said that the apartment they had intended on renting for me was no longer available, and instead they wanted to move me to a house. The house had three bedrooms, a living room, air conditioning, a washing machine, Wi-Fi, and all the other essentials. I asked if Kaitlin could live with me in the house – as I don’t need 3 bedrooms to myself– and my school agreed!

So now we live in the main district of Mueang in our little house, and it’s truly the most adorable place to live. The house is pink, and we even have our own courtyard and balcony. Our living arrangement in Thailand seems to be the exception, not the rule. Some people are placed in apartments/homes without Wi-Fi or some basic necessities. The only hard thing is living without hot water, but I’m pretty used to it now (as I’m a sweaty mess most of the time anyway), and I’m trying to master the 5 minute or less shower.

I have also now mastered the art of killing a cockroach. If you’ve never done this before, it’s TERRIFYING because those suckers are huge and scary and may or may not be able to fly - we saw wings but are unsure of their abilities. Really hoping they can’t because that would just be unfair? Special tip: try and spray/poison them with bug spray with lots of deet in it and this will slow them down, because those assholes are fast.

The kill count is currently Danielle: 2, Kaitlin: 1. Those numbers will probably get higher soon. We also successfully captured a lizard that we found in our kitchen and released it back outside unharmed!!! We were made for this stuff.

In conclusion, my first week in my new hometown has been pretty enjoyable. I got to experience the Loi Krathong festival, eat some amazing fried rice and shrimp, met most of my new students, made new Thai friends, rode to school on a songtow, successfully didn’t fall off a motorbike taxi, and learned to kill some mutant bugs. So far I haven’t experienced culture shock or home sickness, however this isn’t my first time in Asia or living abroad, and everyone's experience is different. Only time will tell.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram to see my day to day activities and life fails: danii_bailey