sweat

Well, I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life.

I just got back from walking just up the street to check out a bicycle shop (sadly it was closed), and now that I'm back there is just sweat dripping everywhere. It's pretty gross. But I am now happily sitting in front of my fan so hopefully these yucky sweat stains will disappear (probably not).

So yesterday was my first day at work. My boss arranged for a taxi to come pick me up, which was expensive (for here) but totally worth it to see how exactly to get there, once I start going on Monday with hopefully a new bicycle. First day went fine, got to meet all my Burmese (and one Thai) coworkers. I probably won't be posting too much about work, since, although it's very interesting, it's also very high security. For example, I'm not allowed to tell anyone where the office is located. I'm not totally clear on what other restrictions there are, so to play it safe I just won't say anything.

After work my rommate Marisa and I went to dinner and a dog charity event. And I got to take my first ride on her motorbike! It was really fun, and a lot less scary/dangerous that I thought it would be. She's lived here for quite a while, so she knows the rules of the road which makes me feel totally comfortable riding with her. For myself, on the other hand, I'm not sure I'll be getting a motorbike any time soon. I might cave after a couple months, we'll see.

So the road that the dog charity event was on, which is about a block down from my house, is known as the "Western" roads. It's where all the white people hang out. They have a grocery store, Kasem, which has all the good Western breads and cheeses, etc. And they have fabulous boutiques, which I am using all my willpower to avoid. They also have these really fancy coffe shop hang-out spots. The dog charity was at an art gallery owned by a white lady, and it was just PACKED with Westerners. It was really bizarre, actually, to see them all clumped together like that. Lots of Brits, Aussies, and Americans. The best part was definitely the free wine. They also had what appeared to be art by children portraying the street dogs (very sad), and then they later auctioned off some of the pets.

I'm working on my jet lag, and I'm pretty proud of myself - last night I didn't fall asleep until 9pm, and I didn't even take a nap! I also slept all the way through to 6am (very good compared to waking up at 3 or 4:30am). I think I'm slowly adjusting.

Well, that's all for now! Off to run some errands, catch you all later!