Sunday, June 1, 2008

Update on My Life

So married life is good, especially when you can escape the world of responsibility for a while. Melanie and I are living free in Thailand (which coincidentally means "free" land I've learned). We're staying at my in-laws place which is big and has an Indiana Jones feel to it. We justify our existance by selling Southeast Asian antiques on ebay. I specialize in the Hmong stuff :-). I am trying my best to learn Thai. I have an advantage knowing Hmong, but it still is no easy task. Mel's mom is a great tutor and the gardener and housekeeper who live with the family and only speak Thai make for excellent language practice buddies. Also I've been reading a LOT. Right now I'm reading Wild Swans, a book about three generations of a Chinese family. It is fascinating to learn about how life was in China and especially their perspectives with government changes and communism. It really gives a different point of view on things. Hopefully i can blog an overview of my feelings on that book once i finish, its a big lengthy though. Also (this will reveal my true nerdiness) I've been reading scientific journal articles and doing little pseudo-homework reports on them for fun. I investigated a Harvard paper on the Mediterranean diet for my Father-in Law and am now reading about the Group Socialization Theory (Judith Harris) which Mel and I both plan to read, discuss and write up a paper on it :-). Unfortunately, I've also gotten hooked to a computer game and spend more time than is necessary on the computer :-(.
Tomorrow I have my first day shadowing an American member of the church. He is a virologist and does research for the CDC (Center of Disease Control, I think). I am very excited for that opportunity. I've seen every good movie that has come out this summer, go shopping a lot, and have gotten sucked into the first season of 24.

My life is very relaxed to say the least.

My family arrives in Thailand on the 19th. On the 21st we will have a traditional Thai dowry reception thing which will be a BLAST! Then I will tour Thailand with my family (which has doubled since the wedding) for another month and then get back to the states on July 15th. Not too bad eh?

3 comments:

Shawnanana said...

So the WHOLE fam is going? all the youngins included? thats Fantastic! You are not gonna like coming back to the US i think. lol

Jake & Rachel said...

What an awesome experience! You're so lucky to get to live unattached like that for awhile. On another note, your book list cracks me up, it's so...diverse.
And on another note, I didn't know you wanted to go to med school. Oh man, what a long road you and Mel have :) But it is so worth it, there are so many good experiences. And I miss the student days sometimes. People don't realize how easy it is to be a student!!

K. W. Broad said...

Wow, sounds like a lot of fun. Thai food is so tasty! I imagine the Pa Nang and Tom Yum are amazing out there?
And I couldn't help but chuckle at the 24 part. I worked on the set for Season 4 so I know the cast and crew, yet I still haven't seen the finalized version of the show XD