how beautiful are these little faces?

relaxation...

Everything is easy here. I don't know if that is conducive to actually getting down to business and doing some writing, but I figured I'm allowed to relax for the first few days...

Did I mention how hot it is here? It is balmy, humid, sticky, sweaty, and there are gnats and mosquitos everywhere. It is lovely. (No sarcasm intended- this is exactly how I imagined it).

I feel bugs crawling all over me at all times and there is sand constantly between my toes, under my shirt, on my face. I'm a dirty, happy mess.

The place we are staying tonight is very cool...it is far from the beach but I can still smell the ocean. Next door there are family huts, and the children play in the dirt outside. I can hear a TV somewhere and a man is yelling in Thai. The language is very difficult to pick up; the locals speak slang and fast, and most of the time they are trying to speak to us in English anyway. I get a lot of hearty "Hello!"'s and wide toothy grins, both adorable and disconcerting when I think of how annoying I must seem to them with my large obnoxious camera pointing into their homes and faces.

There is a boxing arena literally next door to our room. I walked by the open door earlier and saw a young boy putting on red boxing shorts. The place is old and smells of sweat- and with the ring lined with brightly colored country flags, I definitely feel the need to witness some traditional Thai boxing before I leave.