So after 2 days at the Avana Hotel, our apartments at Big Tree were finally ready.  They had taken us by yesterday to look at our apartments, and they were distinctly not-done-looking.  The construction crew assured us that our floors would be ready to move into by today, though, and sure enough, our rooms are finished today.  I think a construction crew of like 50 people worked through the night to assure that they were done on time.  It looks like we’ll be living in a construction zone for a few weeks (or months) to come, though.

Since this is Beth and my first place together, we had to take a moment to make it special:

Carrying Beth over the Threshold of our New Apartment!

Our apartment has been mostly great so far.  We have a two-bedroom, two-bath unit that is about 75 square meters big.  We have a basic sink, microfridge, microwave, and magnetic hot plate in our kitchen.

After move-in, we went to the big mall nearest to our new apartments, called Mega Bangna ( http://www.mega-bangna.com/th/about-megabangna ).  We went to the Big C store (like of like a small Wal Mart) for some basic grocery and cleaning needs.  We walked around and looked at the different options we had in the mall, had some great smoothies, and ate at a McDonald’s there (we spent so much time just looking around, we were crunched for time!)

It is nice to be in our new apartment, where we will be spending our next year!  So exciting — we LIVE in Thailand!  Wow.

Our first day in Thailand!

First things first: We went to a nearby health clinic to have some basic physicals administered.  It turned into a good opportunity to bond with the new teachers over our mutual dislike for needles.  Everyone was fine, and I was amazed by the organization and efficiency of the hospital.

Jackie, Me, David, and Beth shortly after our physical exams
( Photo Lovingly Stolen from Ellen Visscher: http://www.flickr.com/photos/southeastellen/ )

After the trip to the doctor, we went to Central Plaza Mall.  First we stopped to get something to eat, and a number of us decided to go for the Thai food for our first big meal.  I made my first major Faux Pas of my new Thai Life (the first of many, I’m sure) when we ordered food.  I got chicken and rice, and the staff pointed to the chili sauce on a table nearby.  I see a ladle, and so I just start pouring it all over my chicken and rice.  Everyone starts laughing and going “nooo no!”  Apparently I didn’t see the little sauce cups next to the chili sauce.  My lunch was unbelievably spicy, but good 🙂

After lunch, we went upstairs and got cell phones.  I was able to unlock my Samsung Inspire and got a Thai Cell phone plan, while we purchased a new phone for Beth and signed her up for a data plan, too.  The 3G hasn’t yet worked on my phone, but it turns out I need to go back and get a 3G Sim Card.

After a very rushed 30-minute layover in Seoul, we finally arrived in Bangkok on Friday, July 20th.  It was late in the evening, maybe about 10:30pm.  Some of the TCIS staff had arranged to meet us at the airport, complete with printed out pages with our pictures on them, and helped us move all our bags to the brand-new TCIS Buses.

(Photo Courtsey of Ellen Visscher: http://www.flickr.com/photos/southeastellen/)

Everyone from the airport was super helpful, and it was our first opportunity to meet all of the other new teachers.  We all seemed quite excited, but tired.  Since our apartments at Big Tree weren’t quite ready, we went straight from the airport to the Avana Hotel (http://www.avanahotel.com/language/english.php).

Our rooms were quite nice, and despite the time difference, I would say Beth and I slept pretty well that first night since we didn’t sleep much on the flight over.  The hotel had a nice coffee shop downstairs with WiFi access, a large buffet breakfast, and a swimming pool that most of the new teachers enjoyed.

The TCIS staff also gave us 4500 Baht, and told us to meet the next morning downstairs at 10am, ready to start our orientation…

Thursday, July 19th, 2012.  1:15pm.  Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

We’re all smiles boarding the Korean Air flight 36 to leave the United States for Thailand, but it is always sad to say goodbye to friends and family. The flight itself went really well.  The food was good, the flight attendants attentive, and the in-seat computer consoles provided us with hours of entertainment to help pass the time.  I think they said it was a 14.5 hour flight, but I could be wrong.

Here’s the path our flight took on the way to Seoul:

Flying over the Eastern Russian mountains was particularly breathtaking, I thought.

We spent the rest of this day in the air, so there’s not much more to tell from the 19th 🙂  On to http://www.jaycarlin.com/jayandbeth/2012/07/20/arrival-in-thailand/  for more!

Welcome to our blog!  We hope you to bring you lots of stories and pictures from our exciting new adventure in Thailand!  More to come soon.