About to head out

I am currently in my room back at home in Spokane, looking over everything I have to pack for tomorrow, except for some kayak gear that I'll be getting later today. Right now it looks like I am only going to take with me enough stuff to fill my 70 L backpack--a small amount compared to the load I brought with me to Paris last year for a stay of one month. At 6 AM tomorrow I take off for Chiang Mai, Thailand for five months of environmental studies throughout the country. The program I'll be working with is called "People, Ecology and Development" and is facilitated by the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI for short). You can check out the program at www.isdsi.org if you so choose. From what I have been told, the courses I'll be taking are rather rigorous (as classes abroad go), but I'll be learning in unique settings out in the field backpacking, sea kayaking, climbing...all activities that have had my parents buying me new outdoor gear and replacing old gear that I have lost or destroyed--for example, I just got my third or fourth new headlamp as I have lost everyone I have owned previously. Two or three lucky individuals, most likely campers from Camp Reed, are out there with petzl headlamps that do not belong to them.
The past few days have been rather hectic for me: finishing up my Ritt Kellogg grant for Monday, getting all of my gear for the trip ready, doing some 'pre-departure homework' (reading "A Land on Fire" by James Fahn) and saying goodbye to all of my Spokanite friends, so I really haven't had much time to sit down and get excited for my arrival in a new country on Friday. It doesn't seem like I'll be leaving home anytime soon. I've explained my trip to my friends and my parents' friends several times in the past week, repeating the same speech over and over again as if I were once again a graduating senior in High School explaining Colorado College's block plan to everyone (also similar to Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate' if you know the reference). Every time I tell the wary listener that I am stoked for the experience, but I have had a hard time picturing how stoked I actually am. Asiatic countries are so foreign to my experience that I have no idea what to expect.
Anyways, I decided that I would do as college students do abroad and start a blog as my means of keeping family and friends updated to my exploits in Thailand. I'll go ahead and say that I am probably not going to be too good at updating this regularly, but I'll try to put up pictures as much as possible and maybe write a few words here and there. If you want to stay in contact with me, email me at jack.siddoway@gmail.com and I'll most definitely email back. I'll probably get rid of my facebook for the semester as an attempt to get rid of it altogether (I hate how much I love it).
My first five weeks in Thailand are in Chiang Mai where I'll be staying with a Thai family and should have internet access regularly. From there, I will only have internet access the first week of every month (or the first week of every new class--I haven't checked my schedule but I'll post it from the isdsi website). If you want a postcard, email me your address and I'll try to get one to you. I will be much more likely to write you if you write me--snail mail is my favorite form of communication, so please write me.
My address in Chiang Mai:

Jack Siddoway
ISDSI
PO Box 222
Phra Singh, Muang
Chiang Mai, 50205
Thailand

Schedule: http://www.isdsi.org/courses/calendar/