I walked off the plane, still in a sleep-deprived daze and unsure of what to expect from my new life. I went through customs, gathered my bags off the carousel and hurried out to the main part of Don Muang Airport in Bangkok. A huge crowd of relatives, friends and acquaintances of the passengers had gathered outside our gate, and I surveyed the crowd anxiously, searching for my name on a sign and hoping to see a kind-looking family. I saw a man waving rapidly and I smiled-ah! This is my host dad. Another woman ran towards him-maybe not my host dad. I continued to look around the sea of small, black heads, still befuddled. Finally, I saw my name and a group of people waiting patiently. I walked rapidly towards them, shyly saying "Sawaddi-kha," the Thai greeting, in the wrong tones. No one heard in the din of the airport.
Around 10 people were there to welcome me-my host mother, father and sister, who was four. Their friends came along as well as some other exchange students, who later became good friends. One friend photographed me as my Rotary counselor put a marigold chain around my neck. I felt as if everyone in the airport was looking at this strange, oversize, white girl with a bulky necklace around her neck. I also felt honored.
We exited the airport, the sweltering humidity of Bangkok's imitation air hitting my skin. It was the Thai Mothers' Day and the Queen's birthday. Thus, our next destination, a Bangkok mall was packed with people! I worried that I would lose my host family, who were adept at wiggling through the masses. Could I still remember what they looked like? Vaguely.
After some shopping and a meal, we piled back in the van to go to my new town, about 1 1/2 hours away. I tried to talk to the other exchange students but it was hard for us to communicate. I was still exhausted from the 30-hour plane ride and 10-hour stopover in Paris. I went to sleep, wondering distractedly whether we were on the left side of the road or not.
I started school a few weeks later. Truthfully, I had been dreading (but at the same time anticipating) school in Thailand. I thought about exchange students at my school in West Virginia and recoiled. The American students often ignored them. I hoped my experience in Thailand would not be the same.
My host mother, Tew, dropped me off at school. I felt a stab of abandonment but was left in the care of an English teacher and former exchange student to America. (Ajan Rabeab later became my favorite teacher and was definitely the best English speaker and teacher at the school; she made her students think.) Ajan Rabeab took me to French class, containing the same group of students I would be spending most of the day with. They cheered as I walked in the door! A girl scurried up to straighten my collar and another fixed my belt. The rest of the class contented themselves with smiling and staring at me. The teacher asked me to answer a French question; when I got it right, the class cheered for the second time that day.
When I walked outside to get to the next class, girls giggled and boys pointed. Everyone shouted "Falang!" the rough equivalent of "Whitey!" though usually not derogatory. I knew not to expect anonymity, like the exchange students to America experienced; however, I did not expect so grand a welcome. I was definitely happier to be a star than invisible and unloved. I had made my entrance into a new life in Thailand and discovered that the adventure far outweighed the awkwardness.