Back-to-school shopping

Big Greg has been written out of the story, so we need a new character. Meet Betsy, a fellow English teacher-trainee in my class, which starts tomorrow.

Betsy just earned her degree in Economics from UO and is starting a yearlong Thai adventure of her own before getting on with real life. In the apartment lobby I stumble across Betsy and her many bags fresh off the plane from South Dakota -- although "fresh" is clearly the wrong word -- waiting for hours for an apartment rep who might never come. She is wildly grateful to meet another IH Bangkok attendee, especially one who seems to know his way around. I hang out and share as many survival tips as I can until someone finally arrives to show her to her apartment.

The next day Betsy and I go on a supply run to Mall Bang Khae -- the same mall where Greg showed me around, only this time I get to play guide. We spend hours and hours wandering up and down gaping at stuff. The gaping goes both ways: at 6'1" and blonde, Betsy draws more than a few eyeballs, especially from small children and young Asian dudes.

At the mall I track down a nice pair of slacks, the "polite clothes" that teachers are expected to wear. The clerk, a pleasant middle-aged woman, punches up the price on her calculator ... and then punches up a second, lower price "without receipt," looking up at me inquiringly. A second clerk stands off to the side, eying me. I pay cash, they bag up the goods (in a generic shopping bag) and I am now party to petty corruption in Thailand. But at least the pants are a decent fit.

On Sunday, our last day before start of school, we visit Wat Arun, one of Bangkok's most elaborate and sacred Buddhist temples. Betsy and I are spiritually overcome by the steaming-fresh plates of authentic Pad Thai we enjoy at a vendor hut just outside the temple gates. The other stuff inside was pretty cool, also.