ER Thailand

and the borderline motonony was broken. And I have something to write about. OK, so maybe not monotony exactly, but something in some moments akin to boredom. Hmm... though not really because I was bored per se, but three weeks of a near-constant rotation of food, internet, reading and coffee eventually takes its toll on even the most avid eater, web surfer, reader and coffee drinker. Sorry - back to the ER story, which, now that I think about it, is really not nearly as dramatic nor interesting I had thought when beginning this post. So I ended up in the ER after a crazy dog came out of nowhere and - unprovoked - chose to take a healthy little chunk of skin out of the neighboring white girl's leg (mine, as it were). OK, so maybe not a chunk - a small layer at least. I had been assured repeatedly that the inordinate number of stray dogs running around were PERFECTLY HARMLESS and merely barked. Ha. After consuting with my Scottish med-student friend Ian, we decided that a little swing by the ER wouldn't hurt and, despite my utter terror of needles, a rabies shot would be better than my head imploding if the stupid dog was indeed rabid. While not really finding anyone who spoke a word of English around, Ian and I, through an amusing little game of charades and the assistance of the marginally helpful Thai Phrasebook, managed to make the dog bite story clear. As it turned out, I didn't need a rabies shot, though have quite a healthy little bruise as a momento of the evening. Stupid dog.

And, in far happier (though perhaps less entertaining) news, I have a job. That's right. I give a resounding "ha!" to all you nay-sayers out there who thought moving to Thailand with no job, no friends, no place to live, no contacts, no leads to speak of, no real idea of what I was doing besides for a vague desire to work with refugees was not, perhaps, one of my brighter ideas. The crazy, impromtu plan just might work out after all. I have a temporary contract with the UNHCR (United Nations High Committee on Refugees for those a bit out of the int'l loop) that begins on Wednesday, and in the process of negotiating the *real* contract that will begin in January. Anyone who has known me longer than 2 days can imagine how excited I am about this. This does mean, however, that my days of being a woman of leisure (see beginning of paragraph 1) are numbered - to 1.5 to be exact. I have been reading some good books though, for those of you in search of a good read. I just read Bono, in Conversation with Michka Assayas and am currently reading The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins - both of which I highly recommend. And, I have my first Thai class tonight with my new friend Ying who works at the coffee shop. I will be busting out Thai like a local in no time, I'm sure.

Preferred mode of transportation

I met up with an old Peace Corps friend this weekend in Kamphaeng Phet - a town about three hours south of Mae Sot that is home to Buddist ruins dating back to the 14th Century.
We had a fabulous time crawling over ruins, drinking coffee, catching up on Benin, Sri Lanka and Thailand gossip, wandering around the sort of big town that became mysteriously empty at night in an attempt to find food - any kind of food. At least there are always noodles.

Really old Buddahs...

And only one yoga class to my name