Hey There, Mr. DJ

A baby Elephant stays close to its mother

Bamboo rafting down the River Kwai

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but this is the first time I have been able to sit down at a computer in quite a while! Orientation is over, and I am now in small hotel in Northeast Thailand and there is a gecko loose in the room. I'll do a quick recap of the past few days here in the Kingdom of Thailand... We left Bangkok on the 25th and took a bus ride up to Kanchanaburi, about 3 hours west. It's a beautiful province with big green mountains and flowing rivers, and how can I forget the Bridge over the River Kwai. There, I went bamboo rafting down the river and although hesitant at first, rode an elephant on a short trek through the jungle. The nights in the resort were spent hanging out in the pool after hours and talking with all my new friends. On the 2nd night, the resort opened up the bar, complete with a DJ booth and a dance floor. Long story short, I made my way on to the DJ booth and plugged in my iPod, and suddenly I was providing the night's entertainment. Most of the 90 people on our program were there dancing and having a grand old time, while I was on stage with a smile on my face having the time of my life. We danced the night away for a couple hours but were forced to stop when the workers turned on the lights, which made everyone chant, "One More Song!" Alas, it didn't happen. The next morning was the last day of orientation and we headed back to Bangkok, where we were all going to be picked up by our coordinators and driven off to our respective schools. Andy and Pat picked me up a little later than the rest, but that gave me time to say goodbye to everyone. The ride to Kamphaeng Saen was extremely bumpy (even though the road was smooth), and I still haven't had the chance to see much of the campus yet, but it seems huge. This morning, Andy took Jon (my roommate) and I up to Northeast Thailand to meet his family, which brings us to where I am now. Tomorrow we are going to see some ancient ruins in the mountains at a place called Phanom Rung. I keep on feeling like I am in the middle of nowhere, far away from any trace of civilization, but I found myself remembering a quote I once heard... "Every nowhere is somewhere to somebody." And then I see things a little differently.