Getting Into The Groove of Things

I know that you all share my excitement with my new wheels but I thought I'd show you the real reason that I liked the bike aside the fact that it is speedy yellow. Check out the lock system below. Pretty cool huh? 

Ready to roll.

All locked up.

So, this morning at 6:45 am I was ready to leave to find that I had a flat tire on my bike....the valves here are something that I have never seen before but Vince had his fixed by the "old bike man" in the shop down the street so I will be heading there in a few minutes. Fortunately, this is Bangkok (okay, suburbs) and taxis are plentiful so 2 minutes later I was flying down the road on the back of a scooter taxi hitting speed bumps like a pro. 

We have three hills (bumps) on the way to school.....just to give you an idea of the terrain. 

They go over waterways (klong), one of which looks like this and the other two look more like marshes. If you look closely on both sides  you can see a "walkway" along the canal which we have been told that people bike along. Well, the one on the right is missing a huge chunk but there are sections that go on for a long time. Uh....no...not for me.

I decided to walk home after work today to see how long it took-maximum 35 minutes along civilized roads like this.

I got the key to my classroom today so took a quick picture before they came in and set it up. It is one side of a square with an open quad in the middle and the chairs that you can see is one of the cafeterias. I have to say it is pretty neat to have a lot of open area and the air conditioning when you really want it. The quad is 6-7 stories high which is a little dizzying from the top. I am excited about teaching both math and science which to me is the best of both worlds. 

 I am at a course at the International School of Bangkok all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as part of the requirements by the Thai ministry for international teachers. Apparently, it is a bit long but it will be over with. The initiation has really been great and we are all glad that we came early to get things settled and explore the area a bit.

Vince went on a trip with a couple of other "trailing spouses" today to IKEA for some office furniture so he should be set up in a couple of days. There are many women who are teaching and their husbands are either staying at home with kids, doing substitute teaching or looking for other opportunities. Vince is the only who has a different job but they really make for a nice group to hang around with and we all seem to meet up in the market or what has become our local hangout for dinner.