Sawatdii kha from Thailand!

Right now I'm sitting in a musty internet cafe in Bangkok, next to one of the most gringolandia streets! Filled with market vendors, great and not-so-great smells, hustlers for tailor suits and tattoos, and singing wooden frogs played by ladies in funny hats. I first met with my CIEE group tonight at dinner (good vibes), but for the past week, I've actually been at an island....

Ko Chang! That's the name of the island. Thailand's biggest and in places perhaps most touristy, though we made sure to mo-ped it around and hit up the quieter bays. Even though we were just there for a week, Marc (my brother) and I felt nearly at home, and definitely comfortable. Some things to note:
-some hilarious and crazy personalities. One restaurant owner went to the edge of the place to yell at some guy running on the bay "Hey running man! running man you come eat here, stop running first hehehehehe!"
-I got invited by a restaurant owner (Tiger) to play soccer on the beach against his Thai friends, and be goalie on the farang (foreigner) team. I did my fair share of blocking, if I might say so myself :)
-delicious fruit! i didn't realize what a banana could be until I came here
-ERIC CLAPTON, being played everywhere on the radio or by live solo guitarists at bars and restaurants
-even when you order something, having no real idea what they'll actually serve you
-really, just chilling! it was great to have the whole day up for you to decide and laze around, or splash around, or snorkel a bit. I felt very lucky!

It'll be hard to leave such a caring, wonderful brother and host to dive into pits of the unknown. Marc's been a great, funny and fun buddy to travel with for a week (thanks!), but I know I must continue into my journey and put on my L-cape. Two more days here in Bangkok, then some seculded mountain place, then homestays, then seminars begin early Febuary.

Whoever's reading this, I probably miss you already. Thanks for reading this and keep in touch :)