It is basic -- I have a desk, which is really just a table, and bathroom with a semi-functioning toilet (I have to fill the reservoir with a spray nozzle hose, the kind you have in your kitchen sink to rinse dishes) and a shower that is an electrical-heating unit (seems safe enough, right?) mounted to the wall with a shower spigot that drains directly on to the floor. And I have a wrap-around balcony which I foresee spending many a morning drinking my coffee from.
It is not much. It not what you would call 'nice.' There is no air-conditioning, there is an active construction site next door, and there is a water stain creeping down one of the slanted roof walls. But is only costing me $100 for the entire month. And for me -- right here, right now -- it is perfect and for the next four weeks, it is home.
Each day I am here I am meeting more people I will be going to school with. Today a group of us headed to the infamous Patong Beach in a technicolor bus with ceiling fans.
We spent the day swimming, wandering the markets, sampling the food, getting a taste of the bartering system here and speculating what classes will be like.
Six of us piled in a tuk-tuk to catch a ride back into Phuket Town. The tuk-tuks here are a bit more modern than I imagined and are more of a truck with seats in the bed and a covered roof than the rickety old three-wheeled motorbikes of yesteryear. It is almost a bit of a disappointment to see all the modern amenities and fast food restaurants and chain stores here, but I guess that is inevitable is a place that become such a popular tourist destination.
Still, there are lots of places on this island that are not near as commercial and overrun and I am excited to get to know this exotic place that could potentially be my new home should I choose to stay after our course is done.
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