And how could I forget...

One of the best parts of being here is feeding people. Imagine that you are surrounded by underweight people who make about $30 US/month. At home, how many people are you helping by giving a large pizza to? Very few. Around here, you are helping them out. A cheap pack of hair clips or a soccer ball can win many friends here.

And my Thai so far consists of food names, numbers, "it's not a big deal," "It's cool," and "It serves you right." That ensures that I can never contribute anything useful to a conversation (unless it involves eating/buying things) and almost always gets a laugh.