Thailand

So I am currently in Thailand!!!! Today was our first full day here and it was great!! The trip from Los Angeles to here took a total of 42 hours from the time we got up to leave for the airport until the time we arrive in Phuket Thailand!! We flew from LA to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Bangkok and then took a bus to Phuket!! It was a long trip and I was exausted by the time I arrived!!! We arrived at a school where we were greeted by beautiful leis and many smiling children. We then met our host families and were fed a meal while we watched beautiful Thai dancers! It was so amazing!! Afterwards we went home with our host families; I am staying with 2 girls from the school and their parents. They own a small hotel on the outskirts of Phuket and so we are staying there because during the slow tourist season this is where they live. Both the parents and the girls speak good English and so it has been fun communicating with them and learning about their culture!! Today we went to a mall and did some shopping. It was interesting to see how modern the mall actually was because I wasn't expecting it. (it had a McDonalds inside of it) Also today we listened to a speaker on the South Thailand culture and prepared for our Community Impact that we will be doing Monday - Thursday of this week. I am working on building a home with habitat for Humanity. The tsunami hit here in 2004 and many people still don't have homes and so we are helping with that. It is the rainy season here currently and so we it isn't that hot yet. To me it feels like a Minnesota summer becasue it is so humid. Like this morning I walked outside with my glasses on and they completely fogged over!! It cools off nicely here though in the evening during this time of year! This evening my host mom cooked us a FANTASTIC Thai meal and I am hoping that later in the week she will show me how to cook one so that I can cook it for my family when I get home! :) That is all for now!!