flight and arrival

My flight in whole lasted 20 hrs., with a 6 hr. layover divided between LA and Taipei. The entire ordeal was exhausting!!! LAX is a pretty strait forward airport, and as per usual I made a friend at the airport and exchanged contact info to the guy searching my overly stuffed carry on. hahaha! I ended up sitting in between two Indonesians. One young guy named Artie, who I later also exchanged info with. He's from Bali, but now lives in CO., and the other person was an elderly Indonesia lady, who just before we landed looked at me and said in broken English: "You have face of child. I will remember you always. You are lovely."
I love how current movies in the US have previously been released in China, on the plane I watched: Atonement and Michael Clayton. Great movies and both still in American theatres!
Once I arrived in China I was immediately impressed by the airport, which was very large and comfortable. The Chinese were nice and curt. The airport was adorned with high fashion, orchids, buddhist prayer rooms, yummy smelling food, and hello kittie everything! hahahah! When I finally found my gate an old Chinese man sat next to me. He smiled and then repeated "Hello!" until I looked at him. Once I did he asked if I was an Aries. I said "No. Gemini." He laughed and crinkled his index finger and pointed at his nose. Then pointed at my nose. Then he touched his hair, and pointed at my hair, and then laughed hysterically!!! It was very weird. I thought he was crazy....
Once I got on the plane to BKK I felt very emotional. It was difficult to hold back my tears. Maybe because I was tired after all my travel, or because I realized that Mark and I were truly and officially over(and saddend to loose my best friend and confidant), or maybe because I realized the reality of my decision for how long I was stuck with myself in a foreign country, or maybe I just needed to release! I don't know.
When I finally arrived and passed through Customs- piece of Cake! Negotiating a taxi was the next challoenge. You see, because I'm white, that means rich, meaning they double or tripple the price, but finally I found one for $500 Baht=$16, and it drove me an hour through the most insane traffic and poor country I've ever witnessed. Cabbie and I tried to communicate, and did pretty well.
I arrived at the 'Bangkok City Suites' finally, showered, did yoga to release my aching back, meditated, and fell asleep. I woke up anxious, but I still antisipate the arrival of my friend Nichole, who should arrive shortly. Funny... I've been living in Thailand for several hours now, and although I feel overwhelmed, I know I'll eventually get the hang of it. I've learned a lot already! The fear will pass. At first when I saw the poverty clear as day, I felt guilty for having the opportunity to come here, but now... I feel blessed. It'll be ok.
I love you all so much, especially my family. Please keep sending me positive vibes.