Being last isn't so bad after all....

while today was suppose to be our first day in cambodia, thai airways overbooked the flight to phnom penh. so, me and 8 other lucky souls were left behind in bangkok international airport. it just so happens that having a last name beginning with the letters s, t, u, v, w, x, y or z isn't so bad after all. here's a photo of us sitting by the ticket counter waiting to see if they can place us on a later flight:


and, since we had like 10 hours to kill, the gang hopped into 2 taxis and spent half the day in the city. we visited the grand palace and afterward, wolfed down some amazing thai food at a nearby thai cafe.


after that, we took a walk and i ended up buying mangosteen on the street. 1 kilo of this fabulous fruit only put me back 30 baht.


















now, we're just waiting at the airport blogging, uploading photos, eating, wandering around. today was pretty awesome. after a day of staging in sf and traveling for what seems like 2 days, having zero structure and being able to do something spontaneous was just what we needed.

anyway, i have nothing else to say. gotta change back into my "professional clothes". we will be boarding soon and finally getting into phnom penh. our destiny awaits!

later taters!

Peace Corps hooking us up with phat digs

so, we're in thailand for a bit. pc set us up at the hotel novotel bangkok by the airport, so we could catch some z's. we've been traveling for over 15 hours now -- 10+ hour flight from sfo to tokyo; 2 hour layover; 5+ hour flight from tokyo to bangkok. oh and waking up ass-crack early wednesday morning to catch the bus to the airport. i feel sticky and smelly from the recycled air circulating throughout the plane.

we lost someone at the airport earlier tonight. he was taking a cig break. hopefully, we'll see him tomorrow.

off to sleep. in a few hours, cambodia.

still packing and no no no, long good byes

I HATE LONG GOOD-BYES. i'm having ryan take me to the airport tomorrow morning. its probably not the best idea, but i figured it's a wiser option than having my parents do the deed. i am pretty emotional at this point and by tomorrow morning, i'll be on high alert. and having to see my parents faces can only result in unnecessary crying and puffy, swollen, red eyes. so to avoid all this, i'll just have ryan take me since he always has a stone face. i don't want to show up to orientation looking all tore up.

i just said good bye to crystal and gretch. i didn't even look them in their faces when i said bye. and i'm also making the rounds and calling people to say "see to later". if i don't call you, don't take it personal. i'll see you in 2011. or, come visit me in cambodia--the country of the future.

well, talk to you later. read me blog, as i will try my hardest to keep it updated.

di

SOLD!!!

SOLD THE COROLLA. enough said. take that haters! oh, and i'll be checking out HP later this week too.

T minus 6 days...

its pretty unreal...i'm leaving in 6 days...and i haven't packed, i haven't studied...i haven't done much lazying around--in fact, i'm not sure what i have been doing with my time.

anyhow on to another topic. you guys remember goal #7 on my list of things to do before i leave? yup, selling the corolla. my cousin Ben has been helping me achieve this goal by doing all the selling. he posted my car on craigslist friday and a bunch of people have called. no luck yet, but, i have a few more days before i leave. at this point, my dad is telling me to just give it away. we've driven this car over 100k miles now, so i suppose he feels like he got his money's worth. currently, the odometer reads 229,392 miles!

this weekend was special. ryan surprised me with a meal at THE FRENCH LAUNDRY! we spent an amazing 3 and 1/2 hours eating a 9-course lunch (the price was pretty amazing too). but, i'd say it was well worth it. people, you gotta experience fine dining at least once in your life. and when you do, try to make it out to napa to visit the french laundry. it wasn't just the food that was excellent. but, the staff made us feel so comfortable and relaxed. they weren't snooty or stand-offish. i enjoyed listening to them tell a story immensely. so, with each new course, came an explanation or anecdote and i was so very happy to listen to each one. and there was so much effort put into creating the food. from every finely sliced pea to precisely positioned piquillo peppers, i appreciated all the little details that were put into our meal because it created such a happy, fulfilling experience. anyway, i can't tell a good story, even if its to save my life. so, when you have time, check out the photos. they should explain it all.

gotta study now. g'night.

diana

13 days remaining and being unemployed

peace corps supplied us with a list of our mobile numbers yesterday and i have updated the blog with my contact info. there are 47 of us going! i'm excited to meet everyone---yesterday, i took a few moments and imagined what these people looked and sounded like based on their names. its pretty silly, but i'm really excited at this point. i still don't have any jitters yet, but they should be kicking in sometime soon.

last thursday was my last day of work. phew...feels weird being unemployed. i wake up around 8 or 9, but by noon, i'm napping. and, with my extra time, i finally finished reading stay alive, my son. nearly 90% of the book was about being in the labor camp and figuring out a way to secure extra food. nearly a third of the population died in result of starvation or execution or disease. now, i'm reading First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. The author is a female who is part Cambodian and part Chinese. She was only 5 when the Khmer Rouge took over.

well, gotta go. lunch date....