- When you are used to 18 hour flights you will wonder if the plane is crashing when it starts descending after what feels like 15 minutes
- It is best not to get the giggles while smooshed in a public mini-bus with fifteen random Thai men for three hours
- You will find it funny that your current concern is whether or not you can reach the airplane sandwiches stashed in your bag which at this point is not really accessible
- Also, in said vehicle you will be the only ones eating (trying to quietly eat an apple is kinda a vain endeavor)
- Apple juice that squirts on the window does not wipe off discreetly
- The man falling asleep on your roommate will wake up when you and your roommate are laughing and accidentally elbow him
- Although you understand some Thai you will have absolutely have no idea what the driver is saying from all the way up front and you just hope someone knows where in the world you are trying to go
- When nearing Monkey Island on a kayak be prepared to hold tightly to all of your possessions and rapidly row in the opposite direction
- Bring sunblock that did NOT expire 5 years ago
- In the midst of an earthquake the jury is out on how best to respond
- When running a summer school in Thailand be prepared for students to come in days after school has started (a week and a half past the registration deadline) and ask to enroll. They will then, after you tell them it is full, proceed to the two other people on the campus and ask them if they can enroll.
- When faced with a classroom of students whose names are some variation of Bim, Bem, Bam, or Ban calling any of those names doesn't necessarily elicit a response
- Be prepared to respond graciously when you are trying to figure out a student's name and you try to spell it in English and he shows you he does indeed write his name F4
- You will feel silly when you replay in your mind the string of names you've just called, "Ahm, First, Nack, Bim, Bem, Bami, Bim, Film, Ging nung, Oh Chawng, Tham, Jem, Tey..."
- While you are so thankful your car has returned from the shop after over one month of repairs since the car accident, you are not so thrilled that everything that used to work in the car no longer does: including the all important gas gauge (see next lesson)
- When you've run out of gas in the middle of a busy road all you can do is sit and grade papers
- When you are in the midst of being rescued and both the driver seat and the passenger seat break in the space of thirty seconds it is okay to laugh hysterically on the side of the road
- When your roommate insists on climbing the mango tree in your "lawn" (a brick patio) it is your job to stand under the tree and catch the falling mangoes
- When you are still standing at the end of the day it is just one more reason to praise the Lord
