And the rainy season has begun

Photo of the first storm approaching, taken by my colleague Austin

So, as you can see, those are some pretty intense clouds, showing that indeed, rainy season has begun. The first rain spurt was actually a day before, on June 30th. I had just gotten an apartment (finally! it's great), I was walking on the street about to get on the BTS to join a gym near my new home, and all of a sudden, as if without warning because it was already dark, it started to rain. And then it started to pour. It pours for about 30 minutes to a hour and then stops. The streets become huge contiguous puddles and no one moves. It's pretty nice though because it really cools down quite a bit. The weather's been really cool and lovely lately.

Also while on my way to the BTS, I saw an elephant on my street--my first elephant sighting. I was shocked and amazed, I thought it was a novelty. I told me friend who then told me I would get used to it, and that they just bring them into the streets for tourists. I saw an adult and baby elephant together last night, and I started to feel bad for them, since they really shouldn't be in urban settings. Anyway, they are beautiful creatures and I can't wait to see them in their natural habitat.

Elephant walking and greeting tourists

Other than the rain and the elephant sightings, I'm starting to really like Bangkok. I've met some really nice people and my job seems like it's going to be very interesting. I'd really like to learn Thai because I still get very frustrated by the communication barrier; hopefully I'll be starting Thai lessons soon. I did go to a very interesting party on Tuesday night with some friends. It was at one year anniversary party for a small "art gallery;" I put art gallery in quotations because it was more like a hovel. There was some interesting performance "art" (again with the quotations) and there were some very good illustrations and drawings. The party was filled with Thai hipsters and a few internationals. It's funny how the hipster culture totally translates across oceans and countries.

Anyway, trying to make these short but will post more soon!