first day in Thailand

It sure was a long trip! 30 hours, or a bit more counting the drive from Phuket Airport. But I must say that God really comforted me on all my flights (5 of them, as a matter of fact), and I wasn't as nervous as I expected to be. Sat next to some interesting people, including a German lady with a very cute baby. It was really nice to speak some German. Singapore and Silk airlines were great! I also liked the Hong Kong airport. It was very pretty- surrounded by really tall mountains. So now I'm at the Step Ahead Center, which will be my new home for the next (at least) 6 months. It's great here. So many impressions of a new place all at once. We drove past a mosque, a Buddhist temple, a bunch of stray dogs, and a school bus w/ the back open and full of kids! The scenery is lush, green, and beautiful. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Florida. My co-workers at the Step Ahead Center are so wonderful and helpful; they've made me feel right at home. It was Benz's birthday today, so we had a birthday cake for her. Benz is the Thai staff girl who coordinates all sorts of things at Step Ahead, and Paul is the other teacher here; he's from England but grew up in Thailand for at least part of his life. The living quarters are really decent. The Step Ahead Center has three levels with the living quarters on the third, 2 classrooms on the 2nd, and a large common area with computers, a nice dining area, and a kitchen on the 1st. Ok, I've stayed up 'til night so I can hopefully minimize jet lag. I'm very tired now, signing off.