Orientation - Travel to Teach

It takes quite awhile to travel to N. Thailand by train, about 12 hours.  luckily, i can sleep pretty much anywhere, so i felt fairly rested when i disembarked at 830a.  as promised, two members of travel to teach were waiting to take me, and 2 other volunteers, to the dorm.  many new volunteers have arrived for the orientation that starts today.  we were all given tshirts, thai language packets, and information about the area.  i had a little bit of time to shower, and hangout in the hammocks outside reading thru all the material.  everything seems to move at a much slower pace here, as they say "stores open when they open, close when they close".  at around 1p we went on a bike ride of the area.  midway thru the trip, i realized that it has been about a year since i had ridden a bike.  after the bike accident where i injured my hand, i had given up riding in la.  here, however, bike or motor bike is the optimum mode of transportaion.  it was so nice riding thru the town and getting a nice breaze - since  it is very hot.  i had no idea how close we are to laos - it is literally just accross the river.  after the tour we had a thai culture lesson.  very informative, and we learned more about where we would be teaching.  another girl and i are volunteering in more rural areas in the isan province.  i, and some other volunteers who are already there, are staying at the coordinator + his parents home.  interestingly jack's dad is the mayor of the town - which helps all volunteers become very connected to the community.  the girl who was giving the culture lesson did mention we might be in for a few surprises when it comes to eating, since we are in a more rural area the cooking reflects that.  including the infamous dog roasts at jack's parents place - um yes, it is what it sounds like.  (and not hot dogs either!)  i'm sure i;ll be in for a few surprises while i'm here, but i'm very eager to learn - and to teach!