Observations at one week

It's been a full week here in our new town. During the first few days of settling in, I told a friend that I could feel tiny cracks of stress and homesickness forming. I felt like the mother in The Poisonwood Bible, although I haven't read that book in years; I remember her trying to hold it all together until the solid cake mixes broke her. I am sure that will happen to me too at some point, although the stress has ebbed.

I bought a bike! I am in love with it. I feel like a teenager with a brand-new license when I take it out, just totally free. I picked this color, only because they didn't have orange:

Behind my seat is a passenger seat for one of the girls, and we've taken many trial runs around the 'hood. I just love it so much, especially considering that the alternative is the car... Oh god that car. It's bad enough that we are going to rent a car for a month until we can sell this one and buy another. Our neighborhood security guard hears us coming and has the gate rolling open for us before we even turn down the street. We drove in the rain today and Nick said the windshield wipers were like a drunk guy sitting on the hood trying to rub the window clean. All of the seatbelts in the back are broken. I feel safer on the bike. This car is an abortion.

I came home to this the other day... "Trash Mobile." Sascha's label.

That said, it is fun to drive. It was long ago tricked out for some young gangster kid so it has a racing steering wheel, the clutch is tight and steering is responsive. But the bike! The bike is like wings! I rode it to get a massage yesterday!

Can you see the 300-ft tall Buddha in the distance?

I feel pretty safe because there are so many bikes and motorbikes on the road here that people are used to them being on the road. On the busier main roads, there are bike lanes almost as wide as the car lanes.

And the massage? I went to a hotel spa about a mile down the road. It was gorgeous. The massage involved a shower, a steam box (this weird contraption I sat in with my head sticking out), another shower, then a full hour rubdown with Thai herbs in this magazine-fancy room, all dark wood gorgeousness. After the massage, the woman brought me a plate of tropical fruit and a cup of green tea to enjoy in the beautiful lounge, windows open to a gentle tropical rain outside. In the states this would have cost like $300. Here? It was the highest priced massage on the menu at $30.

A few nights ago, I went to this tiny pizza place in our neighborhood to pick up a few for dinner. They said it would be 20 minutes, so I ordered a beer. As per local custom, they served it over ice.

It wasn't that bad, actually. When in Rome...

There was a huge ornate temple right next door, and while I was waiting, a series of bells went off inside the temple. About a dozen dogs in the surrounding area started howling along! It was one of my favorite moments of Thailand so far. Hilarious. I didn't have my phone with me (that picture above is from dinner last night) but I am determined to capture that on film. It was way too good not to share. Also: Two pizzas plus the beer cost about $9. The entertainment was free.

I have more pictures and videos to load, but they're still on my phone and Sophie is playing with it right now. This post is sloppy, whatever. I just need to get some thoughts down. 

Housework: There is a fair amount of housework, but it's actually kind of fun in such a pretty new house. We have no dishwasher here, fancy as it is. I don't mind it if the kids stay out of the kitchen and I can listen to my audiobook, but the dishes have to be tended to constantly because we get ants. They are teeeeeny weeny and fast, and not biters (I think), but they will swarm anything that gets left out. This is a nice incentive to keep the kitchen clean, but is also a pain in the ass. And it's hard to find Borax here, apparently. We'll figure something out.

I've seen enough House Hunters International to know that clothes dryers are virtually nonexistent in most of the world, so I expected to hang our clothes dry. I am enjoying doing my part for the environment, and there's a big part of me that actually enjoys hanging the clothes. But I am not a fan of the stiffness or how long it takes them to dry in this climate. I will just have to get used to the texture. The stores are loaded with fabric softeners but I'm leery about all the chemicals. At least the scratchy towels are absorbent. We just need to be more judicious in defining what needs to be washed. Unfortunately, with all of the sweating, it's still quite a bit.

Critter report: no heart attacks yet! Nick saw a medium-sized snake on his bike ride today (I nagged him into getting a bike of his own-- his lack of proficiency with a stick shift helped prod him), I saw a dead rat on my bike ride yesterday, there's a small finger-length roach lying on its back outside next to our washing machine (**lying on its back does not mean dead. I learned this the hard way in Texas. And finger-length does not mean big... It just means about 2" long... also learned in Texas). We have loads of small black snails in our little yard, as well as a few centipedes. We found out the centipedes are harmless and now they're Sophie's best friends. She played with one that was about 3" long the other night for about an hour. We heard about a local cobra sighting and something called a Huntsman (?) spider the size of an adult hand, but LALALALALALA I'm putting my fingers in my ears about both of those. Not Googling that spider, no sir, no. We have lots of geckos too, so I'm hoping they'll save us from the more disgusting critters. Speaking of geckos, we had one in our house the other night and now I know where they got their name. It was cute. And I found one in our bedroom today about the size of a quarter. Freakin' adorable. I'm so glad I'm not afraid of lizards or I'd have a problem.

We're heading out to dinner so I'm going to wrap this up. I will load more pictures and videos soon!