Talking All Day: ABAC Bang Na, Brazilian Food at the Asia Hotel, and Drinks on Silom

Yesterday found me running all over Bangkok trying to make my four scheduled meetings / social engagements. First off was attending the APSSA conference that my school was helping to sponsor. The conference was held at ABAC's Bang Na campus, which is famous for its unbelievable straight-out-of-the-Vatican architecture.

But even though I was expecting grandeur, I wasn't expecting what I actually saw. Imagine going to college at a Four Seasons Hotel. Every building was huge and made of marble. Gold was everywhere, along with many statues and paintings of Mary and of Jesus and of course of the King and Queen of Thailand. On the one hand, it was beautiful architecture. On the other, it was so unbelievably and outrageously over the top that it was hard to stomach. Just wait until I post some pictures later this week and you will see what I mean.

In the evening, I had a dinner meeting with Jan and Kaya from Monash University. I had met Jan, a current PhD student in the IT department, a couple of weeks ago and tonight her advisor Kaya was joining us.

We ate at the Brazilian restaurant at the Asia Hotel. If you like exotic meat, this is the place to go. Throughout the meal, the waiters bring you plates of sausage, chicken wings, beef, lamb, pork, and even ostrich. It was delicious, albeit a bit expensive at 400 baht per person (US$10). But, then again (as usual) it was nothing compared to a similar restaurant on San Francisco's Market Street that I have enjoyed in the past.

The meal took four hours to finish. Not that the service was slow, but the three of us were talking non-stop. It was a nerdy academic conversation for sure, with topics such as: the Thai social hierarchy and foreigners' position in it, Western Logic Vs Thai Emotions, and the meaning of words like "respect" and "responsibility" and how they are different in western and Thai languages.

The good news is that I felt like we really made a connection. We talked about my vague plans to get a PhD and the possibilities of working with Kaya and getting a Monash degree but staying and doing the work in Thailand. In any case, I was very excited about my future by the time the dinner was over.

The last meeting of the day was joining Rupert for drinks on Silom. As usual, we talked a little bit about my life here and he gave me some really good practical advice about my next steps. It's always so good to have him around. Unfortuantely he leaves to go back to the US tomorrow, but maybe those seeds I have planted about his moving to Thailand someday will take root. (*evil laugh*)