So for those who were wondering wtf I’m doing here, I got paid today, as scheduled.
Call me a cynic, but I just wasn’t going to count those chickens before they hatched. Now, it seems real.
Food Again
So for now, I have some money. I spent up medium-large at the local bulk supplier to avoid buying meals each day. The good stuff like olive oil, cheese, olives, 
sauerkraut, kimchi, coconut cream, walnuts, mussels ( cheap as, frozen in bulk ! ). Other stuff which is very cheap at local growers’ stalls, like bok choy, mustard greens, cucumber, eggs ( 5 baht [ ~= 25c ] apeice ), tomatoes ( little ones which look like overgrown Jalapenos ).
Food here is so cheap, though, I’m not sure whether bulk buying is making a saving.
What I have realised is that the food stalls’ fare is really tasty, but usually not the best quality. The oils used are usually … crap ( seed oils like canola ), and the spicy sauces nearly always contain lots of sugar. I know because I can taste it, and it creates dramas in the gut department.
The Thais are very big on fish, pork, and chicken. I’ve been slamming them in that order, avoiding chicken. But the roadside stalls offering tasty titbits of the former two on kebab sticks are just too much to resist. Beef is way harder to come by.
Budget again
So barring getting run out of town, or the office, it looks like I’ll be here at least another month. Which I’m happy about.
One more big hurdle, and dent in the budget, though. That’s the to Savannakhet to get the Non-B Immigrant Visa.
I leave Monday night on a bus. It’s an 18-hour trip. Followed by a day in Laos, then pick up the Visa ( all going well ), then return. It’s unavoidable, a rite of passage all foreign teachers have to go through. Sigh.