Booked

Our housing trip is booked! June 11th- June 22nd.

Here's a link to the hotel we'll be at the entire time: http://www.kantarygroup.com/kantaryhotel-ayutthaya/index.html This is located north of Bangkok and is in the same city as the new HTI plant.

An Insider's Perspective

Bangkok has been in the news a lot lately. Weekly we get asked the same questions, "Are you still going?" "Is the violence close to where you are living?" " Doesn't the turmoil make you nervous?" The answers to those questions are respectfully the following: Yes, Nope, Just a bit.

The Bangkok troubles have spurred some pretty far out humors at HTI. About a week ago, Greg got off a conference call from Bangkok with his boss Creighton, only to hear from someone that Creighton couldn't get to the plant and everything was getting shut down. Nope, Creighton is fine and things are actually ahead of schedule at the moment.

I've been looking at a website called Ajarn.com for job postings. Ajarn is Thai for teacher. Recently they sent out a newsletter where the director shared his insight. Copied below is a portion of that email that gives us and you an insider's perspective and maybe gives you a better feeling about us moving to this great city....

As you will be aware, rioting, looting and public disorder in the wake of the anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok has made front page news all over the world. To make matters worse, much of the violence and mayhem then spread to a handful of provincial Thai towns.

It would be foolish of me to try and convince you that Thailand is currently the safest place on earth, but when you have lived here for a number of years, anti-government demonstrations, military coups and political instability are very much part and parcel of life in Thailand. I guess that this last episode in Thailand's volatile political history has been just that little bit scarier because it has affected so many of us.

However, when all is said and done, I still consider Thailand a safe country to live in. I would much rather walk down a Bangkok street at midnight than I would a street back in my native hometown. If you are a teacher thinking of coming to work in Thailand, don't let recent events put you off. I live on the outskirts of Bangkok and if you take a walk around my neighborhood, then you will see that life goes on very much as normal -- and it's a very working class area. It's an area you would expect to be brimming with anti-government sentiment.

At the moment, the Thai authorities seem to be doing their level best to restore peace and sanity to the country. Let's hope that there are better times ahead.

Welcome to the USA

Before moving to Thailand, the Thai engineers that have been hired are being trained here in the USA. The 3 engineers are part of a group of around 30 Thais and 10 people from India who are staying in Eau Claire. Greg has spent the majority of the past two weeks in Wisconsin meeting the new engineers and helping start their training process. Greg is very impressed with their knowledge and experience, all with 5-10 years of hard-drive experience.

Part of the training process includes helping the Thais get acclimated to the US culture. This has included dinner at Texas Roadhouse where all ordered, "Beef Steak and Local Beer." In an earlier training Greg had learned that they would be overwhelmed with the amount of choices on an American menu, so Greg was prepared. Greg translated for the waitress, "Bring them an 8oz sirloin and a Fat Squirrel (local WI beer)"

Greg and the other US engineer, Eric, have also noticed how the 3 Thais have a different perception of personal space. Nid, the female Thai that will soon be in Hutchinson, always has a hand on whoever she is talking. Nid and Suwat, he will stay in WI for training, came up to Greg this past week, and shared, "Not like other American men," while patting Greg's stomach! Next, Nid touched Kai's, the other Thai engineer that will come to Hutch, stomach and said, "Don't worry, you're becoming more like them!"

This week I had the opportunity to go to Eau Claire and meet Eric's wife Melanie for the first time. We discussed what we're packing, vaccinations, and the local Bangkok turmoil over sushi and wine. It was nice to have the chance to spend time with the people we'll be moving with to Thailand.

Also this week, the group of engineers toured the Leinenkugel Brewery. Here is Greg and Suwat enjoying the Leinie Lodge!

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning takes on a whole new meaning as you are preparing to move. This past week Terry, from Barrett Moving and Storage, came to our apartment to see our things. He determined that all of our belongings would fill around 60% of a 20 foot shipping container. He even said Greg's model train table would probably fit into a mattress box and will not have to be specially packed. That means, it will be insured during the move.

While we are a few months from the men coming to pack up all of our things, we have begun the process of asking... Are we bringing that? Would that work with 50Hz 220V electricity? Should we send that in the shipping container, or in our air shipment? How many winter clothes do we still need? When should we sell our cars? We realize, we have a lot to do in the next 3 months.

I began sifting through clothes and other belongings sorting them into three piles. Donate, Bring, and Store. The donate pile is really two sections, one headed to the thrift store (the pile on the left) and the other our family cabin (the pile in the middle). The store pile (on the right) needs a Rubbermaid tote and will be kept in Marion for storage.

Some of our house plants will be adopted by a co-worker of mine tomorrow, and slowly but surely we will be ready to move. Bangkok here we come.

Our Calendar

Recently, many of our friends and family have said to us, "We hope to come see you before you leave." While we welcome anyone who wants to venture out to Hutch, you may want to make sure we are here first. Our calendar is filling up quickly! If you can't make it here, perhaps we will get to see you where ever we are going. Let us know if you want to come, we have a futon, some floor space, and usually some beverages in the fridge. Here is what our weekends look like from here to July.

This weekend- Here!
17th- Here, but busy until Saturday afternoon
24th- Here, but tentative plans
May 1- Back to Iowa
8th- Cabin Opening
15th- Duluth to visit friends
22nd- OPEN!!!
29th- Maybe here, Maybe at the cabin
June 5th- Wedding in Michigan
12th- Thailand
19th- Thailand
26th- Boundary Water Trip
July 3rd- Cabin
July 10th- From here on out we have no plans, but it is probably within a month or less of moving.

Vaccinations

While Greg started his vaccinations for moving over a year ago, I just started the vaccination process this past week. It wasn't too bad, but still- shots are never fun. Good thing for us we only have 4 to complete! Here's what our schedule looks like:

Hepatitis A- Now
Hepatitis A second dose- I'll get mine in Thailand, Greg will get his here
Typhoid- Get in June right before we go on our housing trip.
Malaria- Get in Thailand

As you can tell, we are new to this blogging thing... I need to learn to take pictures of things, not just pull things from Google!

Happy Easter!

Welcome to our Blog!

As you are most likely already aware, we are planning a move to Bangkok, Thailand! We wanted to create a spot that we could post updates of our timeline, give details of this adventure, and share stories along the way.


Andrea McGlynn, our cousin, can be credited with giving us our blog name. We considered From Hutch to Bang, The Real World MacLeod Edition, The Adventures of Greg and Mary, but ultimately decided on The MacLeod Thaimes. We hope you add the Thaimes to your favorites to check up on what we are doing!

A few weeks ago, Greg sent out an update email to our family. Here are a few of the highlights:

• HTI (Greg's employer) is in the process of building a new factory just north of Bangkok near the city of Ayutthaya (about 40 miles north of downtown Bangkok)
• We'll be moving in late summer. Greg's tentative start date in Thailand is Mon. August 9th
• Greg and one other engineer will help trail 4 Thai Engineers that will be working with HTI in Thailand. They will arrive to the US in April for training.
• Our June looks to be quite busy: To Grand Rapids for a wedding, finishing my year at school, going to Bangkok on a house hunting trip, and a Boundary Waters adventure.

We hope this helps get you caught up on our lives! Thanks for reading The MacLeod Thaimes!