Tuesday morning when I showed up at Union Language School for my Thai classes, I exited the elevator only to find the hallway filled with a refugee scene’s worth of students and teachers – standing, sitting, huddled together in small groups.  It was quarter till eight and nobody seemed to have a key for the front door.

The school just moved to a new building operated by the Church of Christ in Thailand, so I thought it unlikely that they had simply ceased operation, unannounced.

About eight o’clock the principal appeared.  She did not have the correct key, either, but explained that they had just rekeyed the building.  The hallways began to get very warm, lacking both air conditioning and ventilation.  The teachers hid in the emergency stairwell trying to stay cool and to avoid and uprising by an angry mob of farang. 

Eventually it was the coffee lady who saved the day.  A kind and robust woman who sells coffee and tea from a folding table for 12 baht and serves as the defacto den mother for the students, the coffee lady went down to security and secured the key for the back emergency exit.  She then climbed up the seven stories, opened the back door, and appeared on the other side of the front door: our saviour. 

By the time classes started it was 8:30.

Since arriving home from the holidays, my eating habits have shifted in two ways:

First, I’m eating less food again.  Despite my best efforts at moderation, I gained at least seven pounds while back in the US.  There simply is just too much food and I think too much of it has excess sugar and fat in it.  Dairy products are a particular concern.  I love them, but they seem to add a lot of calories, quickly.

Second, I’ve started eating regularly at the local vendors for lunch.  Previously, I had stayed away from these vendors who operate small open-front restaurants along the main streets.  Eating at the mall food courts was okay, regular restaurants were okay, but local vendors and street vendors were considered unsafe – at least in my mind.

But heading back home each afternoon from class and wanting some quick and easy food that was still healthy and inexpensive, I gave in to the temptation.  What was I waiting for?  It is like a buffet.  The vendor has a dozen different pans of food and you choose one or two items to go with your plate of rice.  The serving size is adequate – portion control is what it is all about – and the food is very fresh and tasty.

Typical: stir-fried fish with sweet-spicy sauce, and fried cabbage and mushrooms with tofu.  Or curried pork and stir-fried morning glory with capsicum.  Or chili pepper chicken with broccoli.  Each plate is only 25 baht, a significant savings over the 45-60 baht I’d pay at one of the shopping center food courts.

So far, I’ve dropped two pounds and am on my way to maxing more progress.