"Get amongst it."

And so it begins...

The past few days have been AMAZING. If I haven't already mentioned this, Rattanakosin (the place I'm staying here in Bangkok) is where a LOT of other exchange students are staying. On Monday, we coordinated via Facebook and all went out for dinner. There were around 20 of us...? Something like that. And since Monday, even more students have moved in here. I've met people from all over the world; Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Thailand (of course), Australia... and quite a few from the U.S. (California, Minnesota, Montana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York, and probably some I'm forgetting).

Anyway, on Monday we had dinner on Khao San, which is a tourist hot-spot of Bangkok but definitely worth the visit. You'll be accosted by a host of people advertising everything from tailor-made suits to popular clubs, "very strong cocktails" to "ping-pong shows". After dinner, we headed to a bar that was just off of Khao San called Gazebo - it looked swanky and the drinks weren't very cheap, but hearing a Thai band play songs we all know and love was kinda funny because we'd all start singing along. They played Blur and Snow Patrol and Green Day and (I actually called this one before it was played) Oasis. They even played some oldies. After that (yes, the night went on!), we headed back to the apartments and went up to hang out and chat for a bit in the penthouse, where 5 exchange students are staying.

On Tuesday, Danielle, Greg from Canada (originally from... Philly?), Martin from Austria, and I walked around a while - we walked through Thammasat campus and down by the Grand Palace. We were going to visit the Grand Palace, but we weren't dressed for the occasion; one thing Thais take VERY seriously is the king, and you can't enter the Grand Palace without being dressed nicely enough (I could get in wearing my uniform).

Yesterday, us four plus Michael from Austria, Alexandra from North Carolina, and Warren from here in Thailand went to this Indian restaurant called Bombay Blues or something for dinner. It was really good - we even played Jenga while waiting for our food! We also got complimentary shots of tequila sunrise after the meal, haha. We talked to a travel agent after dinner, and we're taking a trip to Ko Samet today! Figure, we've got some time before school starts, why not go to the beach now? I'll be sure to take lots of picture, don't worry.

I also went to orientation yesterday. It was for all the exchange students: BBA, BE, Thai Studies... which translates to "business", "economics", and "other". There were about 60 of us there, and that's not including the people who still haven't arrived in Bangkok! We talked about classes and how teachers would be more lenient on absences in our class because, as always, international students like to take weekend trips. I'm taking four classes while I'm here:
Principles of Marketing
Business Finance
Integrated Humanities
Beginner Thai

I would've taken really awesome classes like Thai Massage and Thai Cuisine, but sadly, they wouldn't fit into my schedule.

Anyway, time for another fun-filled day in Thailand! I'll try to get some more pictures up before I leave for Ko Samet today.