That's One Small Step for Tyler...

... and one giant leap from LA to Bangkok.  Yowzaa -- that was a long flight.  A 22 hour ordeal in all.  I got the best deal on a flight through Shanghai, China on an airline called China Eastern.  Quite the experience.

The trip from LA to Shanghai was 14 1/2 hours.  I made wise use of the time.  The flight was filled by about 95% Chinese people returning to their homeland.  I sat next to a man who spoke English well but had a heavy Chinese accent, making it all the more interesting.  He enlightened me on many things, one being Chinese geography, which for some silly reason had me completely raptured.  Did you know that Hong Kong, while still part of China, is actually capitalist?  It doesn't fall under the same communist rule.  And if you're Chinese you need special approval to even get into Hong Kong.  Fascinating.

I arrived in Shanghai with a four-hour layover for my flight to Bangkok.  The flight arrived around 2am in Bangkok.  For weeks leading up to that moment I thought to myself there would be some point soon where the reality of what I was doing would "kick in".  It wasn't until 5 minutes before actually landing on Thai soil that it did.  It was a sort of, "What the hell am I doing?" moment.  Fortunately, it lasted only a minute or so.  Phew.

Kayne and May, the owners of the school where I am teaching, were set to pick me up when I arrived.  Or should I say, that was the plan.  There had been a confusion on their end where they thought I was arriving at 2am the following night.  Not the case.  Ahh, my first adventure on foreign soil.

To make a long story short, I cabbed it to their house.  The tricky part was that they live about 40 minutes out of Bangkok in a town that, much to my dismay, was practically unknown to the cab driver.  We got lost about 5 times, asking for directions from guards and 7-11 clerks until 5am, when I finally arrived at the house.

Two words: ZOM-BIE.  I cannot sleep on airplanes.  Give me a pillow, eye cover, decent leg room, whatever you want -- I ain't sleepin' on the plane.  The most sleep I'll get is 20 minutes -- and even that's rare.  I could not sleep.

So after sleeping just 3 hours before boarding the flight then being up for 30 hours straight, I finally slept for 5 the night of my arrival in Thailand.  Yikes.  Up by 10:00am Thai time, I was introduced to the many family and fellow school staff I'd be working with.  Great people.  So nice, warm and welcoming.

Better yet, Kayne insisted that I play soccer with he and his Thai buddies that night.  So, to set the priorities straight, the first thing I bought while in Thailand -- before even food -- was a pair of Adidas soccer shoes.  And because they sort of have teams, I had to buy a yellow shirt to identify myself with Kayne's team.

Needless to say, I was a veritable wreck out there and our team got skunked.  We arrived late, didn't have time to warm up and I sort of made an ass of myself.  Ehh, we'll get 'em next week :)

With all that said, and to oblige the many people on my back, I've included some photos of what I've had time to take during the brief amount of time I've been here.  I haven't had a lot of opportunity to travel around yet; just going to the mall and to and from the school.  Much more to come very soon.

This is Kayne.

This is Kayne's wife, May (center), May's sister Bo (left) and Pang (right), one of the teachers at the school.

This is Kayne and May's son, Orion.  Very cute kid.  We hung out together at the school today.  He speaks both Thai and English fluently. 

This is one of Kayne's dogs.  He was showing off some tricks this morning.

This is a full Thai school right across the street from our building.

More postings and pictures to come!

Thai'ler Goes to Thailand!

Well, quite the coincidence that "Tyler goes to Thailand".  That was my father's first response upon telling him that I was planning to make the trip to teach English.  "That's all he has to say...?" I thought to myself.  Of course my father, being the sage fellow he is, expounded on his quip and gave a more appropriate response.  He was happy to hear of my decision and said he would support me all the way.

And so the journey began -- or should I say, the "pre-journey".  Now 6 weeks later, I sit here on the Eve's Eve of my departure to Bangkok and cogitate and mentally regurgitate the innumerable steps I've taken to get here.  I AM LEAVING IN 36 HOURS.  Is this real?  It sure doesn't feel like it.  And, pardon the cliche, but does time fly or what?

I hope you like the picture.  For those that aren't familiar with Nicholas Cage's filmography, a poorly reviewed movie bearing the name "Bangkok Dangerous" was released in 2008 in the U.S.  I asked a friend well versed in Photoshop to surprise me with a "Thailand-like picture of me".  I don't think he could've done it better.

This new adventure is all the more exciting for the fact I've never left the country.  That's right.  At age 25 and with a complete bill of health, I have never stepped foot on foreign soil.  Not even Mexico or Canada.  So I am both proud and slightly embarrassed to say that this is my first trip out.

I've started this blog with the hopes to keep in touch with friends and family; to edify the many that have not visited the beautiful country of Thailand and future countries I may visit in my travels; to provide that "worldly view" to others that I found myself lacking in my day-to-day American grind.  And certainly not of least importance, to bring a little entertainment to the eyes and ears of those I love and care about.

This blog will be fun.  It will be interesting.  It will inspire.  It will articulate my many thoughts and experiences in this faraway land.  Pictures, posts, news bits, videos and more will be updated every few days to a week.  In some cases, I will have the time and appetite to post daily.  Sometimes I will have to mentally spank myself to pick up the ol' fingers and get 'er done.  But I promise that there will always be some routine.

Feel free to forward the blog onto your friends and family.  I wish to communicate to as many as I can reach. Everything in this blog is broad public information and I hope even strangers find me and keep tabs.

With that, I will sign off.  Just these few paragraphs have been fun.  And I haven't even boarded the flight!  Yikes!  More to come!