(Photo A.K.)

We've arrived at my favorite moment... that special cusp between discovery, romanticized exclamations, self congratulations and the onset of normalized routines. We've been here almost two months now and what was intially unexpected has become expected. It's a time to sit back and breathe easy. Work permits and all the official hoops have been navigated, our modest home has furniture (kind of), we know our way around (pretty much) and we are super aware of the hazards (we think).

In short, we are feeling very much at home in what was initially an exotic and mildly intimidating environment. Plunking yourself into a foreign culture for the long run begs a certain mind-set; an acceptance of the actions neccessary to sustain the decision to make the move in the first place. It takes a bit of time. It takes a bit of time to coax the leg left behind to follow the one you have planted in a new continent. I think we've done it and it's a rather nice feeling (but who can argue that the conveniences found in the USA aren't the best in the world?) Every decision comes with a pocketful of compromises and giving up this for that isn't always easy.

It's obvious, if we truly want to thrive in the Thai culture, that we must learn to speak the language. That's the next goal. We get by now simply because many Thais on this island speak a kind of "Thainglish." Their economy depends on tourism and tourists from around the world use the English language. I suppose that's why most Americans never bother learning other languages. We haven't found the time to implement a language learning discipline yet, but we will.

So right now... it's kind of kick-back time - sit on a palm frond and gaze at the scenery of the new world we've flown to.