Disclaimer - I'm exhausted but realized I haven't posted in my blog yet - even though I promised you all I would.  So, here is a rough outline of what's going on so far.  Excuse the typos, run on sentences and ideas that might go nowhere, please.

I've completed week one of my Peace Corps training and we're already into week two.  On one hand I feel like time is flying by.  I've already forged great friendships, learned a little bit of Thai, moved in with a Thai family, and am riding my bike on my own throughout the city.  Oh, and I can change a flat tire in the middle of a rice paddy, covered in mosquitoes when it's 8000 degrees outside -all while in a skirt!  Not all of that's true.  I'm not allowed to wear skirts when biking :). 

My homestay is an incredible experience.  Those of you who think I'm a picky eater would be both amused and proud to see what I've accomplished (and eaten) over the past few days.  I can't tell you what I've eaten because I'm not sure what it was, but I did it.  And I liked it!  Right now I'm eating what I believe to be dried starfruit.  It's "arroi" - which means delicious in Thai.   My family is pretty awesome.  I've posted a picture of them on facebook if you want to see them.  My family loves photos.  When they picked me up from the hotel on Sunday they took pictures.  When they dropped me off at my classes yesterday they took pictures.  When I got home from my "first day of school" my host Mee (mom) and prounounced like "May" gave me a scrapbook she had already put together about our first day adventures.  I would look just like a frightened kindergartener on the first day of school with my backpack, bike helmet and new outfit except I'm drenched in sweat from the bike ride and already look exhausted and confused. 

As you might know from facebook, my grandmother passed away this week.  This has been an extremely hard thing for me to process.  Coupled with culture shock, knowing I won't be home for at least a year, jet lag, and just adjusting to having a full day after being unemployed for three months, losing my grandmother was a pretty rough blow - even if I knew it was coming.  The good news is that I think she would be proud of me for being just as strong and independent as she is, and that I've made some good friends in my group (something I was very scared wasn't going to happen when I arrived in Detroit and met everyone) and they stepped up with shoulders to lean on.  It's nice to be able to share these emotions with people who get it.  I love my friends and family back in the States, but there is something magical about being able to talk to other PC trainees and how all of these emotions are unspoken but shared.

Alright, that's enough for now. I don't really have any funny or embarrassing stories yet - Sorry!  Well, unless you count the first night when my host family told me I needed to shower then made me change in the living room (but it wasn't that bad - only women and the Thais wear a cloth cover called a Pasin [pah-seen] when they shower.  I was unsure about the Pasin at first, but it's quickly become my very best friend.) Culture shock - but in a good way!