So what in the world am I doing here?

Thailand is great! It is a strange mix of extremely modern/materialistic and third world, with shacks and very poor people. I have already seen a lot of the country, as we drove to Ao Manao Beach. It was a long drive, but the sights and company made it go fast. I saw an elephant on the street, and monkeys on the top of a truck. I learned that the monkeys are used to climb trees and pick fruit for their owners.
English camp was fun, and easier than I expected. We sang a lot of songs: YMCA, The Macarena and some that I have never done before. The students were 14-16 and spoke only a little english. They were great fun and very friendly. They dance to techno better than most Americans. (Andy will be thrilled that they dance alone) I was surprised at how they hung on eachother, even in the heat. Boys even sat on eachother's laps! That was a culture shock. Camp was by the beach and outdoors. Thankfully we had a bunch of mango trees to provide some shade. I also did some games on the beach. The sea is beautiful, I was sad to leave it.
Today was my first day at the school. The students are more relaxed than I had anticipated, yet very polite and calm compared to US children. Noi and I will see six different english classes each day. We eat luch from the canteen and bring it to the classroom. Today the food was great. I may get sick of rice in a month or two... The things Noi has added to her room make it fairly modern. Some parts of the school, particularly the toliets are not modern at all. Gross! I really had fun with a few older girls who are trying to teach me some Thai words. I am trying hard.
Noi's house is not as modern as the first place I stayed, but it very nice. I am using her internet to do this. The "children" are almost my age, but communication is hard. Each evening Noi teaches from her home, so no computer for me until 8pm. It is too distracting to the little ones. I feel as if I am saying so little about everything, but I can't type all night. Much, much more including pictures to come, so keep looking.