October 10 or 11, 2006

wait what day is it?  Well I had a great time with Beth and the Beach Birneys.  Now I am on my way.  Well here was my schedule.  Uncle Dick dropped me off at the airport around 9 PM.  My flight out was at 1 AM.  I sat next to Daniel who will be teaching English in Taiwan.  How perfect.  We had a lot to talk about and that helps on such a long flight.  Six movies, two meals and a snack, what a flight.  This leg was 13 hours and it only was light for the last hour or so.  I was able to sleep about 3 hours on the flight, a record for me.  So if the flight left at 1am Tuesday and was 13 hour long, but we landed at 6am Wednesday that means my Tuesday was only 7 hours long right?  Then two and a half hours in the airport, a three hour flight to Bangkok. 

Immigration, baggage claim and customs (basically walking past the customs officer) went fast, but I still missed my flight.  Luckily it was only 500 bhat ($12.50) to reschedule. 

Five hour layover and a one hour flight, I can hardly keep my eyes open!  Now I am exhausted, dirty, smelly and I probably look like a zombie.  What a trip, and here is Lisa, one of the volunteers in Chiangmai school, with a sign reading Alice Birney.  This is the first time anyone has met me at the airport with a sign with my name on it.  I also met Dr. Haugland and Oh-pah, a Chiangmai student who has cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic.  They brought me roses and we all went out to dinner. 

Once we reached the school I thought I would collapse, but the children were still awake so I went to meet them all (as if I can remember any of their names) and more importantly they all met me.  Then I took a shower and collapsed.  Ahhhhhhh