Movin' on up

After a few days deliberation, it's official. 60% of the UNC contingent here is movin' on up. Don't get me wrong, the dorms have been above average here, with a bathroom in our room, filtered water just down the hall, and fresh sheets every few days. But I never really felt like I was in Thailand. The main interactions with people outside the university took place during trips to get food and traveling. When you're school and classes are only 2 minutes away, it's pretty easy to confine yourself to that small area.

Everyone living in the house had their own reasons for moving. Me? I had only one: to become more of a part of Thai culture or at least become more exposed to it. Although it didn't hurt that the house has a urinal in it, on the first floor no less.

The new digs aren't anything spectacular, but what can you expect when you're six farang looking for a place to stay in Thailand for only 4 months. Unfortunately we couldn't find a place that was furnished, but we'll manage. I mean, I have yet to see a Thai household with more than one chair in the main floor. Sure, there's a big screen TV, but apparently the comfort of the floor is something they aren't will to give up.

The most difficult part is trying to figure out what to call it. It's a three-storey structure wedged between other similar "houses", with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a living room area. An apartment? More than that. A townhouse? It's not in the Hamptons. I guess I'll just settle on calling it a house. The picture on the right is one I expertly nabbed from the internet, but it is quite similar to what the front of our pad looks like.

By no means is it perfect, but we weren't expecting that. The neighborhood is exactly what I wanted though. As I walked back to university the other day dodging bikes who's capacities were exceeded by two kids, receiving curious looks from old women chatting on the stoop, and losing pounds by the minute in the heat and humidity of Thailand, I realized that this was Thailand. Living in the dorm here gives about as much information about Thailand as living in Hinton James reveals life in Chapel Hill. So as we navigate the intracacies of the house, from the remaining cockroaches to water pressure on the third floor, it'll be interesting to see what the real Thailand has to teach us.

So if you're ever in Thonburi, just stop by street 5/2 and say hi. Just be sure to bring your own chair.