Kaen Inn Hotel Khon Kaen

... was the home to one gecko has become the home to many. I have one that hangs outside my door at night that is about 12 inches long. They were shy to begin with, but each night more and more show up. Our love connection for Zilla may be on hold!!

To keep them out of the house, I have resorted to keeping the air on in my house at all times. While this is a complete and utter no, no - they do not like to cold.

I didn't expect today be quite as interesting as it ended up being, in part because I had planned to just edit and write all morning and then meet with faculty about their articles in the afternoon. You would think I would have learned by now that every day in Thailand is an interesting one.

In the morning when I walked to work, I tried to drink in every detail I saw and smelled and heard. Sunlight streamed through the trees along the bike path and bees buzzed busily ...

One of the unexpected benefits of my trip to Thailand is that I've had a chance to re-connect with my A.D.D. I had forgotten what it felt like to have to struggle to tame my mind's relentless wanderings without the benefit of medication. (Adderall, the medication I've taken for many years to control my A.D.D., is illegal in Thailand and cannot be brought into the country, even with a doctor's note. I brought another A.D.D. medication with me, Straterra, but quite frankly I took the ...

This morning I came into the office and was tickled to get a sweet surprise from my officemate Pak - a plate of delicious fruit and a pastry. What a great way to start the week!

I spent this morning editing article after article after article. I worked through lunch so that I could get two articles completed in time for my meetings with the authors of the respective articles at 1pm. I met with Mayuree and Sirimart and ...

... This led to one of my favorite conversations I've had since I've come to Thailand: an open and honest conversation about pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy (although I didn't use those terms while we were talking because they don't translate well. For example, androgogy - Greek for "man-leading" - is unlikely to translate eloquently (or accurately) into Thai). I went out on a limb and shared - gently and with a bit of trepidation - my observation that faculty seem to ...

... without wearing a helmet. I will not ever do this again. During the short ride to the on-campus nightmarket (less than 5 minutes away), I realized that I lack the intenstinal fortitude needed to take risks blithely without obsessing over possible consequences. Lesson learned: No helmetless rides for me ever again - the whole time I was on the motorcycle, all I could think about was compound fractures and open head injuries. (There's obviously a reason Kathy teasingly calls me ...

... won't be re-allowed to enter Thailand when we come back but the immigration officer's supervisor confirmed that a single-entry visa can be used for two entries. Very confusing.....

Next stop: We headed to the Lao Consulate to get a visa (or "make visa" as folks say here in Thailand) to go to Lao PDR this weekend. The whole process took 5 minutes and cost me 1600 baht (around $48). It's much more expensive than at the Lao border (where it would have cost me $31) but ...

... named Christine posted a comment saying she could show me a good spot for coffee at the university as she is working there for 3 months. More to follow.

Then, then, then, I'm sitting in church and three ladies come in , one walks over to me and says, "Welcome to Thailand," and hands me a box of candy. Now I'm thinking word must spread fast around here 'cause I don't know this lady from Adam. Turns out she ...

... help fixing this. (An aside: isn't it weird that his name wasn't noted as having matched the terrorist watch list BEFORE he entered Thailand? This does not exactly fill me with confidence in flight security measures....)

(2) There are many many mosquitoes in the dorm rooms. What can I do for them regarding this problem?

(3) The training program contains too much didactic/lecture content. They are looking for a train-the-trainer ...

... side stands are not nearly as unhygienic as they seem. From now on, I'm sticking to eating what Thai folks eat. No more western restaurants for me).

After dinner, we took a short ride over to the center of town near the city gate. There was a building there that looked a lot like a temple. (I don't know the name of the building but I'll find out and amend my blog posting so that people can see the name). It was raining a bit and the parking lot was ...