39 days and counting...

I just got back from another ASAP meeting. We meet every Saturday to discuss what to expect, learn a little Thai, fill out some paper work, and we have even started one of our classes already.

Today we discussed some of the "not so fun" things, like what to do when you get food poisoning for example. Besides health and safety we looked at some maps of Japan, and talked about food (which was quite an unsettling conversation). Apparently there are some restaurants where there will be puppies in the front window, and you pick out your puppy and they take it in the back and kill it (which you can hear happening) and prepare it for you to eat it. Ok, if anyone wants to see Rachel break down crying in Asia, take her to one of these restaurants. It will be a challenging experience for me to get used to and accept some of the things people do in these other countries. I guess it is just their way of life, and it’s not my place to condemn it.

Then we continued with our economics class where we discussed globalization. It is a very interesting topic which I am looking forward to seeing in effect overseas. Unfortunately I seem to lack a basic understanding of business that a lot of my peers seem to have. I need to start reading the Wall Street Journal, or listening to NPR, just so I can better understand his contemporary examples. I know little to nothing about most of the companies he talks about.

Next week is what to pack. That should be interesting.