Thai People, Dear Reader

Loyal friends and (let's be honest, mostly) family:

Thanks for hanging in there. It's been a crazy two weeks, and I haven't had enough time or internet access to keep you all in the loop. According to Google, I've gotten many, many more visits than I expected, so I really do promise to most more often. Starting now.

A quick overview of things that have happened since last time:

• Went to a super-cheezy and totally lame 4th-of-July party at the Consulate. There was a Watermelon eating contest and the beer wasn't free. Apparently there are a lot of Mennonites in Chiang Mai. I think those two sentences pretty much do the party justice.

• Went caving the next day. It was pretty darn cool, and very, very muddy. I guess that's what you get for crawling around underground in the rainy season. The best pictures are here. (Pictures are captioned in Picasa, too)
  
  

• Went to the Buatong Waterfall with the family. It's about an hour outside of Chiang Mai, and apparently a popular spot with the locals. It's set up like a state park, so you just drive right in, and there's a nice picnic spot at the top of the waterfall. It's not the highest or largest waterfall ever, but it's really cool, because the whole waterfall is a flowstone that you can actually walk up. Pictures are here. More on the picnic below.
• Work has been really busy. We had two big meetings with school-group travel agents/vendors, and we needed to set our new season's prices and make a new catalog. Hence the no blogging at work. However, I'm taking on an alarming amount of responsibility here, which is fun and makes the job worthwhile.
• I've been hanging out a lot with my New Thai Family. My Thai has really been picking up, and it's really fun to try to talk with them... sometimes it ends up being a game of found poetry: how to describe this idea with the 300 or so words that I know? I am officially supposed to move out on Sunday, but I'm going to stay with them for a few extra days because 1) they like me and have offered to host me for the year, 2) they're free, and 3) I can't move into an apartment until the 1st anyway.
• Went for a bike ride around my neighborhood on Saturday. It was hot, but there was this river/irrigation canal and a Thai Gazebo next to it, so I sat in the shade for a bit, watching a waterbuffalo flick his tail while lying in a rice paddy. It was a good day.

Okay, so here it is, the best picture I've ever taken:

Let me explain. We arrive at Buatong at 11:30 in the morning and unroll a big mat for a Thai Family Picnic. Forty minutes later, we've all eaten our fill, and Uncle Tao and Brother Gaw have housed half a bottle of whiskey. Then Tao pulls out this bowie knife that he bought a few days ago. They admire its heft and its serrated edge's ability to cut small sticks. They pose, unwittingly framing their half-empty bottle of whiskey. They don't understand my bliss... it's noon.

Topics for upcoming posts include: The house, my commute, the office, etc. All will be wonderful, eloquent, and fun. Stay tuned. Miss you all dearly! More from me soon.