The First Few Days

     The first few days have been a whirlwind of activity!  I have been falling into bed exhausted.  I know it must be worse for James.  When the AFS volunteers told us that this would happen, I never imagined how intense it would be.  And I wouldn't give it up for the world!  Let me start at the beginning.
     After we picked up James at the hotel, we went home and showed him around and helped him bring his stuff up to his room.  (He has his own room on the west end of our home and shares a bathroom with Ted. )  Then we prepared and ate dinner.  Now, I must tell you that I agonized over what to feed him for his first American meal!  It took much discussion and debating with my friends and family until I finally decided that a nice grilled steak, potatoes and a green salad would be the best choice.  Here are some pics:

I didn't actually take the pictures, James did - which I thought was really sweet :)  He seemed to enjoy it and thanked me profusely.  Interesting factoid: In Thailand it is not common to use a knife at the table (the food is usually cut to bite size pieces before it hits the table).  Typically a place setting will only include a spoon and fork.  The fork is used to push food onto the spoon and the spoon is what is placed in the mouth.  Meals are eaten family style, so, the food is placed in the center and everyone serves themselves from the common dishes. Rice is commonly served at every meal...even breakfast.

During dinner we discussed what was going to happen over the next couple of days and just generally began to get to know each other.  After dinner, James gave us some presents.  He gave Allan a very nice tie. 

He gave me a beautiful scarf and Ted a Thai boxing outfit.  

Then he gave us a book on Thailand.  This was wonderful because we spent some time going through the pictures as a family.  We were able to see the beautiful city where he lives, Ayutthaya. I am just amazed at the history and rich culture.  As James spoke, I could hear how much he loved his country and feel his eagerness to share it with us.  He made the pictures really come alive.  Here is a link if you want to learn a little more  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_(city)  

     On Saturday, we ran around all morning doing back to school shopping for uniforms and school supplies.  It went well and we got everything done before lunch!  That meant that we had time for play!!!  Ted took James to the climbing gym for a couple of hours and then they came home and went swimming.  Allan took that opportunity to blow up one of our inflatable kayaks and throw it in the pool.  And yes, less than 24 hours after arriving to our home...we got him in a boat...and the next day...

...onto moving water!

     He did fantastic.  There is really only one rapid on the Lower Salt river.  James cruised right down it without a problem.  At the bottom of the rapid he asked, "Is there more like that?"  ooh!!!! Just what this kayaking family wanted to hear :)  It was fun to share our love of kayaking with our new son.

Next installment:  The First days of school