two of my students got squirrels for pets

they're three and a half weeks old. they joined us for tutoring on wednesday night. they drink milk and sleep with the girls at night.

me plus an ADORABLE RODENT. yes, it's wearing a collar and a bell.

UPDATE: these squirrels died one week later.

notes on thailand

• hula hooping seems to be very popular right now. i'm waiting for skip it to make its thai debut.
• sweetened condensed milk is a regular and extremely popular condiment. you have an iced coffee? let's put some scm in it. you have a pancake (roti, which is really more crepe-like than pancake-like)? i bet it'd taste good with some scm. i see you have a mango there--what do you think about pouring some scm on it? 
• i still have 700+ students. this is normal.
  
• breakfast, lunch, and dinner can all be the same meal--some form of noodles and rice. there's no such thing as "breakfast food."
• robert pattinson is known as RPattz to my girls.
• slapstick comedy reigns supreme.
• the conversational equivalent of "hey, how are you?" is "hey, have you eaten yet?" the question literally translates to "have you had rice yet?"
• having a huge nose with a monstrous bridge is incredibly sexy. some of my students stare at my nose in awe and touch theirs with a bit of sadness. rumor has it thais don't like to wear sunglasses because they don't rest on their noses well.
  

it's the final countdownnnnnnnnnn

this post is probably best viewed while listening to europe's "the final countdown." you know, that's pretty ballsy for a rock band to name itself after a whole continent.

also, this won't be the final countdown. i'm being dramatic, but i think life's more fun that way.

days until...
...kate and wendy come: 12
...my final grades are due: 32
...i leave for laos and vietnam: 34
...maddy and i land in mumbai: 46
...we look at the pyramids: 54
...i once again see western society (in vienna): 64
...we walk on the swiss alps: 71
...aj rawls welcomes us to paris with open arms: 77
...i step back on american soil: 83