Well I've been doing some research of Thailand culture, climate, people, etc. Its quite an intersting place. I get the impression that it will leave quite a mark on our hearts. I'm so excited to go! Here are some of the things I found:

I learned about "the Wai" which is the greeting they use. It is a symbolism of respect and awarness of the people around you. You put the palms of your hands together in a prayer like position and place them against your body, somewhere between your chest and forhead. if you are greeting somebody older than you, or higher in class than yourself, as a sign of respect, you bow slightly as you do it.

As a culture and as a people, they are mostly concerned with showing people respect and having harmonius relationships. You must keep a content and friendly disposition  when in public, or it is concidered disrespectful. To cause anyone discomfort in a social situations is frowned upon. They are completely non-confrontational.

Some facts and statistics:

CLIMATE-  tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid.

POPULATION- 64,865,523

ETHNICITY- Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%

RELIGION-  Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991)

GOV- constitutional monarchy

(http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/thailand-country-profile.html)

Most of what I gather about this country tells me there are incredibly different than America. That may sound verbos, but just the same, when you compare and contrast the two countries its evendent just how much we are different!

I'm exicted for the culture shock! But I do think it is wise and respectful to learn about some of their customs and ways of life before we get there.