Orientation

After 48 hour of travel, I successfully made it to my destination of Nong Khai, Thailand.  It is located almost in Laos on the Mekong River (near the new Friendship Bridge).  The guest house that I am living in during my orientation period at Isara sits right on the river and has a lovely view of Laos.  Pretty spectacular.
Today I went to Isara for the first time to meet the program leader and for my (brief) orientation.  I have been placed at a school a few hours from here in a town called Nong Bua Lamphu.  The school is Nong Pua Pittayakan- although I am still not 100 per cent sure on the spelling.
They have done a very nice job making the Isara Center welcoming for both volunteers and students.  The classrooms are big and bright with lots of color and pictures on the wall.  It looks very much the way a kindergarten or first grade classroom would look in the States.  This afternoon I have my first Thai speaking lesson!  I think it is going to be a bit challenging, considering I still can't quite figure out how to spell anything, but hopefully I will be bargaining like a champ in no time. 
So far, I haven't been anywhere with air conditioning, but that hasn't been too much of an issue.  It was quite warm yesterday, but last night there was a huge thunderstorm that continued into the morning and that has cooled things down a bit.  Still hot and very humid, but I actually think it is cooler here than at home.
Everyone has been very friendly and there is a large expat community here, which I was a bit surprised abut.  However, even the people who don't speak English have been great, as getting a sim card for my phone yesterday proved.  Actually putting the sim card in the phone was a greater challenge than speaking with the sales clerk.  Go figure.