A hectic week of confusion, communication errors, and persistance.

      Upon arrival everything was as I expected hot, confusing,

and kind of smelly......for some reason that registered in my

brain as everything I wanted. Maybe because it was 

something sort of new or maybe just because I am an odd person. Either way, I refuse to start this post of with an obnoxiously long description of how I settled in. I will get right to it. The first house we were in was way too small, due to this the COO of the company moved us into a friends "vacation house" with one requirement, that we spoke english with their 14 year-old son. Which is basically a given because it's not like we speak any Thai (in the process of learning.) Pictured right are the two interns I am staying with (two more are coming in a few weeks.) The girl on the left is Vene Freysen, a beautiful woman from South Africa with an ambitious accent and looks that I personally define as exotic to my American eyes. Her ways of productivity, at times, greatly confuse me. When the work day starts frequent episodes of anxiety and stress periodically break out, yet in the end her ways are deemed successful.  Her style is very elegant, through out the day I seem to notice her in natural poses that remind me of a classy woman from the 50's.  Nino Blaschke, the boy on the right is for the time being, my fellow bro. He is a 22 year old Austrian who graduated with a degree in environmental science. Vene is not much of a drinker (which i respect) so Nino steps in to fill the spot. We frequently break out on rants of trying all the new and unique beverages that Thailand offers. 

     The first week was of utter confusion due to moving into an empty house for a few days with loads of work piled onto us. With the work still piled on we were once moved again, with a room change scheduled in the next two weeks. Our current project is preparing artwork and graphic designs for the upcoming THAIFEX food fair in Bangkok, which is basically an event where all food companies in Asia show off the existing or new products. The stress of this project was at an all time high due to a working period of about 4 days, which was the result of a communication error on the management side that cut our working time in half. On a personal opinion: Due to this "company" not being an actual company yet, the people in charge are unclear in themselves who has the final say and most of the chain of command has fractures at pivotal message points. Regardless of these confusions I thoroughly enjoy it, these circumstances prepare you for the unpredicted variables and errors that are ever present in what us undergrads (or kids who dont want to grow up) call the real world. 

     Our nights start late due to big work loads and consist of eating out and maybe having a drink or two. Due to the busy work schedule we have not had time to have a proper night out, which I am perfectly O.K. with. Recently (last night) we went to basically a street fair that is held every weekend called Chiang Rai Night Bazaar. It was filled with cheap to fine products ranging from socks with Colonel Sanders (KFC) face on them to owls (pictured right.) The fact that owls were available for purchase on the street astonished me, who knew? Yet, it gets better, you could buy an owl for 1,500 Baht, which translates to $ 50. 48 USD. In the heat of the moment I put my hand on my back pocket to take out my wallet because who the hell doesn't want a pet owl....for 50 bucks? However, logic got in my way and I thought where the heck would I put this owl? Plus there is a recent outbreak of a new strain of bird flu (H7N9) and a bird from a street vender that smelt like urine was most likely to have that. The night ended successfully as I walked away with a new wallet (milk coffee leather) and two small saber swords the size of my middle finger. The nights out to come are sure to be filled with language barriers, sleazy taxi drivers, foreign expired food, and one confused American. 

                                                                         The worst part about Thai

The best part about the                                     culture is instant coffe that

new house (guy moment here)                 I'm pretty sure has no caffeine.

    This is Ford (Yes, that's his name), that's about as American as a Thai boy's name can be. He would originally live in the house we are at all by himself (at age 14) I'm guessing the Thai culture puts a lot of pressure on their young. He already knows a decent amount of English and his mathematic skills are sharper than mine, which isn't saying much but still. He is my new found friend and I have greatly enjoyed him so far. The first bit of english I have taught him is Q: What's up? A: Just chilling, bro. He loves hanging out with us and to be honest takes care of us more than we take care of ourselves, with the exception of Vene.  

       Thank you for reading, and I guarantee the posts will become more exciting once the confusion is worked out. Enjoy!  

Z