*I’m not sure what to call the season, but it’s the one that’s just hot, instead of unbearably hot.
I’m so alive.
Since October, I’ve had a lot on my plate. I’ve been frustrated by studying for the GRE and preparing applications for grad school, but this week I finally managed to relax about it. It helps knowing that there’s very little left I can do. It’s time to just take the test, submit my applications, and see how things play out.
I’ve been going out quite bit, and am really enjoying some new people in my social life. Brenda has become a wonderful partner in crime – we bring out the 20-year old partiers in each other (in a good way, mostly). We go dancing a couple times a week, which is great because we’re meeting interesting salsa/zouk/bachata-obsessed people. Kate also started to join us for Weds night dancing. I’ve had a good time learning zouk and salsa from some of the guys. All the dancing has been a fun way to shake up my normal Hua Mak routine. But on the other hand, I’ve had really nice dinners and chill nights in Hua Mak with my best buds here, and those relaxing local nights have perfectly balanced all the time I’ve spent at Ekkamai, Saxophone, Temples, Khao San and even sketchy Silom. It’s been a very social month, to say the least.
Last night my stated goal was to be a social butterfly and bring together as many people as possible. So I brought Brenda to dinner with my college friends D.J., Alan and their friends. Then, after meeting Jeffrey, Russell and Em for drinks on Sukhumvit, I rallied everyone around the idea of checking out Rain Dogs, an art gallery/bar/funk club that hosted a great house party. There we met Lauren, Jane, Marisa, Big, Kate, Ale and Joke, and I even ran into a guy I’d met months ago at the Bangkok freeze. Social butterfly mission accomplished, I had an excellent time talking to all these different people and doing something quite different from the average night out in Bangkok.
Each semester there are a few students who really grab my attention, and this semester they’re a pair of guys who are attached at the hip. Smith and Nat are hilarious, smart, very sweet and adorably lost without one another. They were in my grammar class from day 1 and shortly thereafter transferred into my convo class as well. So now I teach them 4 lovely times a week, and they truly brighten my day. Their band played last night, so I watched Nat rock out on the bass guitar while Smith crooned Thai pop songs dressed in purple pants, a giant bowtie and a green sequined top hat.
I take the GRE on Wednesday, turn a dreaded 25 years old on Thursday, and will submit all of my applications before I go to Chicago the following Wednesday (23rd). Busy weeks coming up! But it’s nice that Chicago is right there at the finish line. I’m looking forward to the snow, though I’m sure I’ll be over it by the 24th. Sledding, anyone?
